Thursday, July 2, 2020

Trump Falsely Asserts Biden Was Fed Questions

https://www.snopes.com/ap/2020/07/01/trump-falsely-asserts-biden-was-fed-questions/


President Donald Trump has fabricated a complaint that Democratic rival Joe Biden was fed questions at a news conference and read his answers from a teleprompter.

 

Fact Check: Trump Falsely Asserts Biden Was Fed Questions

https://www.nbcdfw.com/news/national-international/ap-fact-check-trump-falsely-asserts-biden-was-fed-questions/2399301/


President Donald Trump has fabricated a complaint that Democratic rival Joe Biden was fed questions at a news conference and read his answers from a teleprompter. This didn't happen.
 

New Information Bolsters Reports On Russian Bounty Intelligence | Andrea Mitchell Reports | MSNBC


Taliban's Confirmation Of Russia Bounties For Americans Is 'Concerning' | MTP Daily | MSNBC


‘Entirely Inadequate’: Gillibrand Slams Intelligence Briefing On Russian Bounties | All In | MSNBC


Fellow Traveler


Wednesday, July 1, 2020

Ed Henry fired from Fox News over sexual misconduct allegation

https://edition.cnn.com/2020/07/01/media/ed-henry-fired-fox-news/index.html

 Fox News said Wednesday that Ed Henry, one of its top news anchors, had been fired after the network received a complaint last week of sexual harassment from years ago.
 
Months after Henry was sidelined, Ailes was forced out of Fox News after numerous women came forward and accused him of sexual harassment and assault. The scandal exposed deep-rooted cultural problems at Fox, sparked numerous lawsuits and led the Murdochs to make sweeping changes.
Bill O'Reilly, once the network's top star, was forced out of the network less than a year later after facing allegations of sexual harassment, which he also denied.

Armed Services Member: When Did We Know About Bounties? | Morning Joe | MSNBC


Black Lives Matter Risks Premier League Support Loss Over Anti-Israel Views

https://www.newsweek.com/premier-league-football-black-lives-matter-racism-equality-1514700

 The movement has been criticized over its comments on "defending the police" and criticism of Israel.

Curtailed by Coronavirus, What the Loss of Summer Camp Means for Kids

https://time.com/5862316/kids-miss-summer-camp-coronavirus/


It wasn’t just the leadership opportunities or seeing his best friends or even escaping months stuck at home because of the coronavirus pandemic that had Rory Sederoff thinking 2020 would be one of his best summers ever.
This would have been the Toronto teenager’s 15th year at Camp Walden, a sleepaway camp in upstate New York where he has spent every summer since he was 3 months old. He had already started rehearsing the speech he was going to give at the end-of-summer banquet, and imagined the exact tree by the waterfront that he would pick to be named in his honor.

Are Zionists and Evangelicals turning against each other in the Holy Land?

https://www.trtworld.com/magazine/are-zionists-and-evangelicals-turning-against-each-other-in-the-holy-land-36224


But for Simpson, it shouldn’t come as a surprise as missionary work is a founding principle of his organisation.
“This subject preaching about Jesus is a touchy one [in Israel]. We do understand that. We have to be sensitive to it,” Simpson admitted.  
“But that’s what we do. That’s what we are. We are Christians that we are called to go to all the world and preach the gospel. That’s what we’re trained to do, and that’s what we’re doing,” Simpson asserted.
 

Evangelicals to the left, Iran to the right

https://www.ynetnews.com/article/SkFIq00u78



Opinion: Trump thirst for more supporters both in conservative circles and voters has firmly brought the evangelical community into the halls of power and influence, but at what cost for him and for us? 

 One of the main differences between evangelicals and other strains of Christianity lies in their relationship with the Bible.

Conservative evangelicals believe that the Bible is the literal truth. For them, it is a sort of prophetic road map for modern life, with events described and prophesied within the scripture destined to come true.
For evangelicals, the most important prophecy is the second coming, the return of Jesus Christ to Earth. The Bible doesn't mention when this will happen, but it does mention where – the land of Israel.
Several senior evangelical pastors meet with Trump on a regular basis. These are the leaders of megachurches with tens of thousands of followers.
Many of these pastors follow the belief of Christian Zionism, the concept that the return of the Jewish people to Israel is just one of a series of events that will trigger the second coming of the Messiah.
According to this theology, God will reward those who help Israel and punish those who don't - a belief that leads directly to a clash with Iran.

 

Jews Welcome Evangelical Love, Money and Influence for Israel. But Call Our Christianity 'Poison'?

https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/.premium-jews-welcome-evangelical-support-for-israel-but-call-our-preaching-poison-1.8851383


It seems disingenuous that Jewish leaders now blast fervently pro-Israel evangelicals’ faith as toxic, ugly and destructive – just because we won’t, and can’t, stop preaching to Jews
 

'Trump would lose Evangelical support if he doesn't support sovereignty'

http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/282851

Evangelical leader Mike Evans, the founder of the Friends of Zion Museum in Jerusalem warned that the Trump Administration risks losing the support of American Evangelicals if it does not recognize Israel's sovereignty in Judea and Samaria.

In an interview with Israel Hayom, Evans praised the Trump Administration for its close relationship with Israel. "Today we have a dream team. The Secretary of State is Mike Pompeo, an Evangelical, and he has changed the direction of the State Department, which has traditionally sought to weaken Israel. Vice President Mike Pence is Israel's biggest supporter in Washington as [Israeli] Ambassador Ron Dermer has stated. And above all is President Trump, who is the biggest supporter the Evangelical community has ever had and the most pro-Israel president who has ever lived."
Addressing the upcoming US presidential elections, Evens said that "the question now is whether Trump wants to be president. The Evangelical community gave Trump the presidency for two reasons: to be pro-life (meaning against abortions) and to support Israel. We have not forgotten who owns the land of Israel or the theological basis for it, We believe that the land belongs to the Jewish people, because that was G-d's decision in the Hebrew Bible and you cannot say that the bible is illegal,"

Trump threatens veto of defense bill over amendment renaming bases that honor Confederates

https://www.foxnews.com/politics/trump-threatens-veto-of-defense-bill-over-amendment-renaming-bases
 
President Trump late Tuesday night threatened to veto the must-pass bill to fund the military for the 2021 fiscal year if it includes an amendment introduced by Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., aimed at renaming military assets named after Confederate leaders and generals.
 
Warren added: "Those who complain that removing the names of traitors from these bases ignores history ought to learn some history themselves. These bases were not named in the years following the Civil War. No. They were named decades and decades later, during the Jim Crow era, to strengthen a movement that tried to glorify the Confederacy and reinforce white supremacy."

Fox reporter tries to embarrass Biden over “cognitive decline.” He IMMEDIATELY regrets it


Insiders: Trump "Fragile," May Drop Out


Retired Four Star General: ‘In 50 years I’ve Never Seen Anything Like This’ | Deadline | MSNBC


Ex-FBI deputy director: Here's what briefing Trump is like


Persecuted Messianic Believers in Israel Win Court Case After Years of Harassment

https://www1.cbn.com/cbnnews/israel/2020/june/persecuted-messianic-believers-in-israel-win-court-case-after-years-of-harassment


  A Messianic Jewish congregation in Ashdod has won a court case against the Israeli anti-evangelism organization Yad L’Achim. 
The court issued a restraining order against members of Yad L’Achim for harassing Jewish believers in Jesus and trying to prevent them from attending worship services at Beit Hallel, home to about 350 worshippers.
“They harassed us for so long. We filed dozens of complaints with the police and nothing happened so eventually we went to court,” Ludmila Zakharchuk, the lawyer for Beit Hallel told Kehila News. “We won the court case just a few days ago.”

Israeli congregation wins restraining order after 9 years of ‘harassment’ from anti-evangelism group

https://www.foxnews.com/world/israel-congregation-pastor-restraining-order



An Israeli congregation announced it won a court case against a prominent anti-evangelism group after years of alleged harassment, including property damage.
Pastor Israel Pochtar of Congregation Beit Hallel, a Messianic Jewish congregation -- Jews who believe Jesus was the Messiah -- in the southern coastal city of Ashdod, announced a restraining order preventing ultra-Orthodox, Jewish anti-missionary organization, Yad L'Achim, from coming within 100 meters of the congregation's property and personal homes.
 

Biden Delivers Remarks On The Coronavirus Outbreak | NBC News


Trump falsely accuses Biden of being fed reporters’ questions

https://www.politico.com/news/2020/07/01/trump-falsely-accuses-biden-346786



President Donald Trump on Wednesday falsely asserted that former Vice President Joe Biden responded to questions from reporters a day earlier with pre-written answers displayed on a teleprompter — despite video footage of Biden’s interactions with the media demonstrably proving otherwise.

Trump refuses to lead as pandemic worsens and allies desert him on masks

https://edition.cnn.com/2020/07/01/politics/donald-trump-coronavirus/index.html

 Most Presidents would try to stop the United States from barreling toward disaster. But Donald Trump has nothing to say and no answers to mitigate a calamity unfolding on his watch that he seems resolved to ignore.
On the day when the government's top infectious disease specialist Anthony Fauci said he would not be surprised to see the US record 100,000 new coronavirus cases per day, Trump refused to break his deafening silence.
And the day after his White House described record-breaking new infections that are sweeping the nation as "embers that need to be put out," Trump's campaign claimed credit for the "phenomenal" success of his botched pandemic leadership.

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Chris Cuomo responds to Florida governor's virus boast


The 11th Hour with Brian Williams 6/30/20 | MSNBC News Today June 30, 2020


Four reasons why Israeli annexation is not happening July 1

https://www.jpost.com/arab-israeli-conflict/four-reasons-why-israels-annexation-plans-arent-happening-july-1-633389


Still, missing the July 1 date is symbolic of how fraught the process has become. Here are the reasons why it hasn’t come together the way that Netanyahu had hoped.

Sanders signs letter calling for halting of aid to Israel

http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/282786


Vermont Senator adds his name to letter spearheaded by Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez against Israel's sovereignty plans.
 

Supreme Court opens door to state funding for religious schools

https://edition.cnn.com/2020/06/30/politics/espinoza-montana-religious-schools-scholarship-supreme-court/index.html

 In a ruling that will open the door to more public funding for religious education, the Supreme Court on Tuesday ruled in favor of parents in Montana seeking to use a state scholarship program to send their children to religious schools.
The court said that a Montana tax credit program that directed money to private schools could not exclude religious schools.
 

Tuesday, June 30, 2020

Judge temporarily blocks publication of tell-all book by President Trump's niece

https://edition.cnn.com/2020/06/30/media/mary-trump-book/index.html

The ruling, issued by Judge Hal B. Greenwald of the New York State Supreme Court, the state's trial court, is the first legal win for Robert S. Trump, the younger brother of the President. Robert Trump has sought to block the book by Mary Trump, the President's niece, contending it violates a confidentiality agreement related to the estate of the President's father, Fred Trump.

 
The Tuesday ruling comes after a judge for the Queens County Surrogate Court in New York last week dismissed a similar attempt to block the book, citing a lack of jurisdiction.

Berlin authorities placed children with pedophiles for 30 years

https://www.dw.com/en/berlin-authorities-placed-children-with-pedophiles-for-30-years/a-53814208


 
The 'Kentler Project' in West Berlin routinely placed homeless children with pedophile men, assuming they'd make ideal foster parents. A study has found the practice went on for decades.


Starting in the 1970s psychology professor Helmut Kentler conducted his "experiment." Homeless children in West Berlin were intentionally placed with pedophile men. These men would make especially loving foster parents, Kentler argued.
A study conducted by the University of Hildesheim has found that authorities in Berlin condoned this practice for almost 30 years. The pedophile foster fathers even received a regular care allowance.
Helmut Kentler (1928-2008) was in a leading position at Berlin's center for educational research. He was convinced that sexual contact between adults and children was harmless.

765 new infections recorded over last 24 hours, as virus curve bulges

https://www.timesofisrael.com/liveblog-june-30-2020/



Number of seriously ill patients jumps to 52, up from 46 Tuesday morning; single day case tally matches second highest since start of pandemic

The Health Ministry releases new coronavirus data showing 765 new infections over the last 24 hours, as the pandemic continues to trend upward.

 

 

 

Twitch suspends Trump's account for hate speech

https://www.jpost.com/international/twitch-suspends-trumps-account-for-hateful-speech-633315


  US President Donald Trump's Twitch account was suspended on Monday for violating the site's rules regarding hateful content, gaming news outlet Gamespot reported.

“Hateful conduct is not allowed on Twitch. In line with our policies, President Trump’s channel has been issued a temporary suspension from Twitch for comments made on stream, and the offending content has been removed,” a Twitch spokesman said in a statement, according to Gamespot.
The statement gave examples of hate speech used in some of Trump's livestreams, citing both a 2016 rally that was recently rebroadcast, and the recent campaign rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Both examples could be perceived as racist and hateful against Mexicans.
The example from the 2016 rally was the now-infamous quote regarding Mexican immigrants. “When Mexico sends its people, they’re not sending their best. They’re not sending you. They’re not sending you. They’re sending people that have lots of problems, and they’re bringing those problems to us,” Trump said at the time. “They’re bringing drugs. They’re bringing crime. They’re rapists. And some, I assume, are good people. But I speak to border guards and they tell us what we’re getting. And it only makes common sense – it only makes common sense. They’re sending us not the right people.”

New revelations stir old questions about Trump and Russia

https://edition.cnn.com/2020/06/30/politics/donald-trump-russia-taliban-phone-calls/index.html


Reports that a Russian military intelligence agency put a bounty on the heads of US troops in Afghanistan launched the President's team into a new cycle of confusion, apparent half-truths and contradictions as a fresh storm raged over Trump's mysterious deference to Moscow and its strongman leader, President Vladimir Putin.
 
Conflicting messages from the President and his press secretary, Kayleigh McEnany, only deepened the intrigue about what is really going on. 
 
None of what they are saying clears up an episode that comes as new reporting for CNN from veteran Washington reporter Carl Bernstein lifts the lid on Trump's desperate flattery of Putin, his ignorance of basic world events, the way he was manipulated by smarter world leaders and his "near-sadistic" -- according to one source -- behavior toward female world leaders such as German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

White House Was Aware Of Russian Bounties In 2019: Report | Morning Joe | MSNBC


Rep. Slotkin, Ex-CIA Analyst: Bounty Intel Likely Went To President | Morning Joe | MSNBC


'Blood is on their hands': Rep. Banks says NYT revealed sensitive details on Russia bounty intel

https://www.foxnews.com/politics/new-york-times-russia-bounty-story-rep-banks


"Having served in Afghanistan during the time the alleged bounties were placed, no one is angrier about this than me," Banks wrote. "Now it’s impossible to finish the investigation. All b/c the @nytimes will do anything to damage @realdonaldtrump , even if it means compromising nat'l security."
The White House said Monday that Trump wasn't briefed on U.S. intelligence assessments concerning the bounties because the information had not been verified.
Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany told reporters Monday that Trump — even now — had not been briefed on the allegations because the intelligence “would not be elevated to the president until it was verified."

The result was an odd situation in which eight Republican lawmakers attended a briefing at the White House on Monday about explosive allegations that the president himself was said to have not been fully read in on.

 

Joe: Trump Taking The Words Of Putin Over His Own Intel Chiefs | Morning Joe | MSNBC


GOP Lawmakers Urge Action After Russia-Afghanistan 'Bounties' Briefing

https://time.com/5861497/gop-russia-afghanistan-briefing-bounties/

 
The White House seemed to be setting an unusually high bar for bringing the information to Trump, since it is rare for intelligence to be confirmed without a shadow of doubt before it is presented to senior government decision-makers. McEnany declined to say why a different standard of confidence in the intelligence applied to briefing lawmakers than bringing the information to the president.


Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., and Texas Rep. Mac Thornberry, the top Republican on the House Armed Services Committee, said, “After today’s briefing with senior White House officials, we remain concerned about Russian activity in Afghanistan, including reports that they have targeted U.S. forces.”

Bash Says ‘It’s Inconceivable’ Trump Would Not Be Told About A Direct Threat To U.S. Troops | MSNBC


Rice: 'Makes No Sense' That Trump Wasn't Told Of Russia Bounties | Rachel Maddow | MSNBC


Trump battles NY Times on Afghanistan story, deletes inflammatory video

https://www.foxnews.com/media/trump-battles-ny-times-on-afghanistan-story-deletes-inflammatory-video


The president’s first instinct, as always, was to blame the press.
When a damaging story emerged, Donald Trump said he hadn’t been told about it, and besides, it was another “phony hit job” by the New York Times, and the paper should name its unnamed sources which, he said, were probably made up.
Trump went further yesterday, calling the report “possibly another fabricated Russia Hoax, maybe by the Fake News New York Times, wanting to make Republicans look bad!!!”
Much remains murky about what the president was or wasn’t told about Russia and Afghanistan. But unnamed administration officials have since confirmed the guts of the story to the Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, NBC, CNN and the AP, among others.
 
Kayleigh McEnany kept the focus on the Times yesterday, telling “Fox & Friends” that “it is truly egregious when you have anonymous sources spewing out this information on the pages of the New York Times anonymously, giving them false information.” I understand the frustration about leaks, which have plagued Trump from the beginning, but it’s hard to simultaneously argue that the information is both classified and false.
Some Republicans, led by Liz Cheney, have joined Democrats in demanding to know why the president wasn’t briefed, if that’s the case.

Pentagon says ‘no corroborating’ evidence to stand up NYT report on Russian bounties

https://www.foxnews.com/politics/pentagon-says-no-corroborating-evidence-to-stand-up-nyt-report-on-russian-bounties


The Defense Department said late Monday that there is “no corroborating evidence” to support the explosive New York Times report last week that said the Russian military offered bounties to Taliban-linked militants to kill U.S. troops in Afghanistan. 

Robert O’Brien, the national security adviser, said in a statement that since the allegations in the report were not verified by the intelligence community, Trump has not been briefed on the matter.


A White House official told Fox News on Monday that Trump has now been briefed on the issue. It’s unclear exactly when this briefing took place, but the official says it took place sometime “after the NY Times reported on unverified intelligence.”
The statement is at odds with the White House, which insisted that Trump has still not been briefed.
 

St. Louis couple pulls firearms on protesters cutting through their private street

 
"The peaceful protesters were not the subject of scorn or disdain by the McCloskeys," their attorney, Albert S. Watkins, said in a statement to CNN. "To the contrary, they were expecting and supportive of the message of the protesters. The actions of violence, destruction of property and acts of threatening aggression by a few individuals commingling with the peaceful protesters, gave rise to trepidation and fear of imminent and grave."
Watkins says his clients acted, "lawfully on their property," and that "their actions were borne solely of fear and apprehension, the genesis of which was not race related. In fact, the agitators responsible for the trepidation were white."

Golden State Killer pleads guilty to 13 murders

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-53226327



Joseph DeAngelo, the man known as the Golden State Killer, has admitted to 13 murders in a deal with US prosecutors meant to spare him the death penalty.

Trump is facing the thing he dreads most

https://edition.cnn.com/2020/06/29/opinions/trump-facing-thing-dreads-most-dantonio/index.html


 Declaring in 2016 that "I alone can fix it," Donald Trump made the country's fate all about him. He promised so much "winning" we'd get sick of it, and asked "What have you got to lose?" As President he made everything into a fight between Team Trump (good) and everyone else (bad). He bullied those he couldn't persuade and even survived an impeachment trial. But now, confronted with a pandemic, an economic crisis, and a moment of reckoning over racism, the limit of the president's method is obvious, and he seems on the brink of becoming the thing he most dreads: A loser.

With his limited mind, deficient heart and empty soul on full display, Trump is discovering that a man who declares "I alone can fix it" runs the risk of being blamed when everything breaks down. This is why his 2016 campaign aide Sam Nunberg says Trump is risking one of the worst defeats in history and political TV host Joe Scarborough is speculating about Trump quitting. Trump is "acting like he doesn't want to get re-elected," says Scarborough. "He's acting like he really wants to lose badly and take the Republican Party down with him."
Exposed by his own actions, the man who makes everything into a referendum on himself has given Americans another clear choice. He has demonstrated that what we've got to lose are our lives and that the choice really is between him, or us. Now we'll have to decide whether we will all join Team America and deliver to the bully his just deserts.

White House Was Reportedly Aware of Intel on Russian Bounties for U.S. Troops in 2019

https://time.com/5861541/white-house-russia-bounties-2019/

Top officials in the White House were aware in early 2019 of classified intelligence indicating Russia was secretly offering bounties to the Taliban for the deaths of Americans, a full year earlier than has been previously reported, according to U.S. officials with direct knowledge of the intelligence.
The assessment was included in at least one of President Donald Trump’s written daily intelligence briefings at the time, according to the officials. Then-national security adviser John Bolton also told colleagues he briefed Trump on the intelligence assessment in March 2019.