Mr. Chairman, Former President Trump avoided assassination by the tip of his ear because my agents acted fast. Still, the Secret Service failed the country because not one of the female agents who shielded Trump from bullets scooted up to him in a wheelchair. Worse, not one was African American. For that, I am sorry. The Secret Service adequately protected Trump in that he’s not dead but merely dinged up. The same could not be said for Abraham Lincoln, James Garfield, William McKinley, and John F. Kennedy. Can we please get a little credit for sort of doing our job? We wanted that MAGA horde to photograph our excellent work in Butler, so our agents remained on stage with Trump for an eternity instead of rushing him into an SUV after Thomas Matthew Crooks shot him. Had President Reagan’s 1981 detail kept him out of that limo instead of quickly shoving him into it after John Hinckley Jr. nearly killed him, perhaps the Gipper could’ve given a fist pump, too, and won Minnesota and Washington, DC, in 1984. Law enforcement successfully identified Crooks as a person of interest more than an hour before the shooting. However, we lost sight of him. In fairness to us, there were a ton of people at that rally. I mean, you try keeping track of all the weirdos at a Trump rally. It’s like being asked to keep tabs on the oddest creature in that Star Wars bar. It’s not easy. While our counter-snipers spied Crooks 20 minutes before he fired, we could not stop him because there could have been a perfectly rational explanation why Crooks had a rangefinder at a political rally and snuck onto a rooftop with a rifle and ladder. He could’ve been birdwatching or staking out a place to stargaze four hours in advance and simply wanted to protect himself. Remember what Barack Obama said about small-town Pennsylvania folk, they cling to their guns among other awful things. As for the failure to cover the American Glass Research roof on which Crooks perched, I told ABC News: “That building, in particular, has a sloped roof at its highest point. And so you know there’s a safety factor: we wouldn’t want to put somebody up on a sloped roof. And so you know the decision was made to secure the building from the inside.” By now, most Americans can visualize that roof and know its slope rivals that of Mount Everest and not a big white asbestos-laden pancake that a cow could walk across. And while it’s true that counter-snipers were posted on roofs with steeper slopes, to quote President Biden, well, anyway. Females in the Service I’m proud the Secret Service’s female agents fully protected Donald Trump from the chest down. Saying the female agent who shielded him was too short insults short agents and promotes the dangerous stereotype that men are physically bigger and stronger than women. Did it ever occur to you that maybe Trump is too tall? That female agent would have been as tall as Trump had she been wearing stiletto heels, which we will now incorporate into our agency’s dress code for male and female agents. The service’s goal remains 30 percent female recruitment by 2030 as part of the 30×30 Initiative; meaning, should some racist, red-hat-clad white male shoot at future President Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY.), she will be the first female president protected by at least one woman of the following types: indigenous, African American, paralyzed, Latinx, morbidly obese, and undocumented migrant. We will try our best to phase out all white female agents from protective detail by 2030 to promote inclusivity. We always recruit qualified candidates, many of whom exist within that MAGA rabble. Several of these eagle-eyed folks warned us about Crooks just minutes before he fired. Please, MAGA, apply to the Secret Service. We will pay for your reeducation. I, like many sincere liberals, am grateful the existential threat to our democracy who embodies Hitler, Mussolini and Voldemort, and who will turn our republic into a dictatorship if elected, survived an assassin’s bullet. We are a safer country for it. In closing, as ABC News’ George Stephanopoulos and Martha Raddatz stated, Donald Trump and his minions must tone down their vile rhetoric otherwise more people will get shot. And if that’s the case, we will be there to protect him/her/they. READ MORE from Matt Manochio: The Pride Play Book Chapter: Noem vs. The Cartel It’s Good That Some Truth Is Suppressed The post The Secret Service Chief’s Rousing Testimony appeared first on The American Spectator | USA News and Politics.

Last month the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the rights of cities to enforce common sense laws which prohibit the homeless from sleeping in public spaces, such as parks or sidewalks where children play or families walk. It’s almost absurd that the Court was forced to expend its limited resources adjudicating a controversy over whether such laws should be constitutional. It’s time to stop listening to progressive rhetoric that ignores the realities of addiction. A similarly surreal debate took place last September in my hometown of Seattle. After months of debate, our city council adopted, by a contentious 6 to 3 vote, a policy to enforce laws banning the public use of illicit drugs. Such hesitancy — such inability — of a dark blue city to overcome its moral paralysis and protect residents from deadly drugs might be funny if it weren’t so tragic. (READ MORE: The Risk of Drug Addiction) I work in downtown Seattle and lived in the heart of the city for years. One day I drove to work and got lucky — I found a parking space near the office. During that short walk I saw things that are completely normal: A man laying on his back on the sidewalk, totally high. A tent — soiled and half-burned — in a graffiti-covered doorway, undoubtedly reflecting a botched attempt to smoke up. Another man, mentally absent with an upside-down-cross tattooed on his forehead and his pants around his knees, waddling down the road as cars carefully avoided him. A group of five young men and women, huddled near an alley passing around a drug pipe. In most American cities, and in most eras of American life, such sights would shock people and immediately incite strong corrective reactions from citizens and law enforcement. But when you see it every day, it has a corrosive effect on the soul. One begins to think it’s not insane for people to live like this — consequence-free. But then you remember: This dystopia didn’t happen by accident. It was caused by progressive politics. Community Assisted Suicide In San Fransicko, former progressive activist Michael Shellenberger documents that big blue cities attract homeless because of the unlimited supply of drugs and the zero-consequences policies for being an addict on the streets. My co-worker at Discovery Institute, journalist Jonathan Choe, has confirmed this through interviews with homeless people posted on his X account. Many openly admit they are not interested in getting housing, help, or clean. They’re content to live on the streets where nobody bothers them, and where stolen merchandise, ill-gotten cash, and illicit drugs flow freely. Progressive activists “help” by supplying brand new tents, so they can stay there, slowly killing themselves on the streets. Shoplifting is so common that I’ve often seen homeless addict types walk out of stores — from Goodwill to Lowes to Safeway — with goods knowing that there are effectively no penalties if the total value is under about $750. Besides, after Seattle defunded the police in 2020, they don’t have the resources to investigate, enforce, or punish the vast majority of drug-related crimes. One intersection on my commute — the notorious 12th and Jackson — is Exhibit A for how boosted goods are easily converted into drugs. This area has ready black-market buyers, and plenty of drug dealers, making it easy to sell loot and get a fix. Unless you are committing some violent crime, everyone knows there will likely be zero consequences. So the party continues. (READ MORE: Druggies Vote Too) But it’s not really a party. These people are living in hell, and progressives’ “mutual aid” is only keeping them in street-addiction as they slowly kill themselves with drugs. Having spent time ministering to people in homeless camps, and witnessing their soul-crushing suffering, I’ve developed a term for the policies which imprison so many in lives of self-destruction: “Community Assisted Suicide.” Real Compassion How did Seattle come to adopt so many policies which encourage people to live in squalor, crime, and unabated addiction? It’s not that complicated: It comes down to naïve ideology, liberal guilt, and misunderstandings about human nature. Seattle is populated with guilt-ridden liberals who believe humans are fundamentally good. This misguided view pushes the lie that people will make good choices if you just improve their circumstances. Never mind that people with addicted brains usually aren’t capable of thinking clearly and making healthy choices — all their brains can fixate upon is getting the next hit. Negative consequences for illegal behavior that wrecks both society and individual lives are viewed as too “judgmental” or “harsh.” Even if people are rotting before our very eyes, we will at least feel good about ourselves. That’s the other lie that drives community assisted suicide policies — that creating zero-consequence environments somehow makes you compassionate. It doesn’t, because you’re actually inhibiting those most in need of true compassion from receiving help. “Housing first” policies won’t end the daily nightmares these people live in — at best they just mean that community assisted suicides will take place under a roof. Drug Addiction is ‘Cruel and Unusual’ The Supreme Court’s recent ruling in City of Grants Pass v. Johnson rejected arguments that imposing penalties upon homeless drug addicts is somehow a “cruel and unusual punishment.” Quite the opposite, it’s cruel and unusual to refuse to permit city governments to force people out of hellscapes of addiction. It’s time to stop listening to progressive rhetoric that ignores the realities of addiction and uncompassionately fosters people destroying their own lives. It’s time to start implementing policies that encourage or force people to get free from drugs and take responsibility for themselves. Only by presenting tough — but insanely obvious — choices like “go to rehab or go to jail,” will many addicts find freedom from the drugs that truly imprison them. I know former addicts who are grateful when society finally forced them to make that choice. That’s true compassion. It recognizes that a person stuck in addiction needs help — help that broken souls often want deep down, but don’t necessarily have the strength or ability to choose. Only when we stop aiding and abetting community assisted suicide can we finally start making a dent in this homeless crisis. Casey Luskin is an attorney and Ph.D. scientist working at Discovery Institute in Seattle. He is co-founder of Free a Life South Africa (www.falsa.org.za), an NGO helping drug addicts in Johannesburg. His views are his own. The post Seattle’s Policies Are Killing Drug Addicts appeared first on The American Spectator | USA News and Politics.

MILWAUKEE — Since a would-be assassin tried to kill former President Donald Trump during a campaign rally Saturday, his team has been telling the world that the brush with death — which left Trump wearing a white bandage on his ear — had changed him. If there is one individual who benefited from Trump’s self-centered and long-winded rant, it was Biden. And I believed it, until Trump addressed the Republican National Convention on Thursday night as he accepted his party’s presidential nomination. It’s not just that Trump sent mixed messages — one was “fight, fight,” the other was unity. It was that Trump had squandered an opportunity to show a more human side of himself. (READ MORE from Debra J. Saunders: November Is Coming and Biden Has Another Border Plan) Before the RNC speech, Fox News anchor Bret Baier reported that he had talked to Trump and learned that Trump would not utter the name of his rival, President Joe Biden, during his acceptance speech. But then, before his talk was over, Trump did say “Biden.” He couldn’t help himself. Trump told the crowd, peppered with supporters who sported white bandages as a show of solidarity, that he would describe what happened, but only once because it was too painful to recall. But then he changed the subject. It felt like a return to the meandering and unfocused speeches that America saw during Trump’s one term in office. In the moment that was supposed to show that Trump had looked at eternity and become a better man, Trump instead paraded his list of petty grievances and his laundry list of conservative policies. (I write this as someone who agrees with his policies, but not the self-indulgence.) You can like his “no tax on tips” plank and still wish to hear it on another day. In an attempt at humor, Trump even told the crowd, “I’m trying to buy your vote.” Ugh. It was a wasted moment. I had come to expect a transformed Trump who had decided to put cheap shots aside, at least for the night. Instead, I heard a rant with the usual sound bites, such as his slam at “Deface the Nation” and his references to “the China virus.” “Has anyone seen The Silence of the Lambs?” Trump asked at one point. Then he joked that the character Hannibal Lecter, a cannibal, would love to have you for dinner. If there is one individual who benefited from Trump’s self-centered and long-winded rant, it was Biden. Or Vice President Kamala Harris, who could head the Democratic ticket within the week, if news reports are to be believed. Expect the Democratic National Committee to have a field day with Trump’s acceptance speech. In one address, Trump likely burned much of the good will that his bravery and defiance had won him. Earlier in the week, I attended an event put on by Concerned Women for America. I asked the dual U.S.-Israeli families of hostages seized on Oct. 7 how they thought Trump would be different than Biden. Liz Naftali, the great aunt of 4-year-old Abigail Edan, who was released earlier this year, responded, “the Abraham Accords.” It was a good moment that reminded me of some of the great things that Trump had done. All week here in Milwaukee, Republicans have gushed at Trump’s courage and ability to bounce back after his close call with a bullet. He is formidable. (READ MORE: There Are 2 Americas: Pro-Fauci and Anti-Fauci) And now it feels like a return to 2020. Trump had a chance to redeem himself, a chance to woo a slice of the electorate to give him another look, a chance to demonstrate the focus his team had promised. But his ego got in the way. Contact Review-Journal Washington columnist Debra J. Saunders at dsaunders@reviewjournal.com. Follow @debrajsaunders on X. COPYRIGHT 2024 CREATORS.COM The post Trump Gets 2024 Lifeline, Squanders It appeared first on The American Spectator | USA News and Politics.

from BANNED.VIDEO:  TRUTH LIVES on at https://sgtreport.tv/

from Sputnik News: The Russian Foreign Ministry has promised to “calibrate [its] responses” to US plans to deploy new offensive missile capabilities in Germany “without any internal constraints” in terms of what arms to place and when and where to place them to ensure Russia’s security. A leading European military observer lays out the options […]

Breaking! Hillary Clinton to replace Joe Biden as democrat nominee at DNC convention! pic.twitter.com/hF1djOiisn — Alex Jones (@RealAlexJones) July 20, 2024

Rep. Brendan Boyle (D-PA) called on Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle to resign. “I’m very sorry to reach this conclusion: I have no confidence in the leadership of the United States Secret Service. I hereby call on Kimberly Cheatle to resign,” Boyle said. I’m very sorry to reach this conclusion: I have no confidence in the leadership of the United States Secret Service. I hereby call on Kimberly Cheatle to resign. https://t.co/CYwoQOMjUE — US Rep Brendan Boyle (@RepBrendanBoyle) July 20, 2024 “A DEMOCRAT Congressman from PA is now calling on Secret Service Director Cheatle to RESIGN after the attempt on Trump’s life He’s particularly upset that the Secret Service are scapegoating local police She shouldn’t be allowed to resign. She should be FIRED and PROSECUTED,” journalist Nick Sortor responded. JUST IN: A DEMOCRAT Congressman from PA is now calling on Secret Service Director Cheatle to RESIGN after the attempt on Trump’s life He’s particularly upset that the Secret Service are scapegoating local police She shouldn’t be allowed to resign. She should be FIRED and… pic.twitter.com/5EUP3NkfXy — Nick Sortor (@nicksortor) July 20, 2024 Rumors are circulating that Cheatle will resign as soon as Monday. BREAKING: Kimberly Cheatle to resign as soon as Monday. — Graham Allen (@GrahamAllen_1) July 20, 2024 BREAKING: Kimberly Cheatle to resign as soon as Monday. — Ryan Fournier (@RyanAFournier) July 20, 2024 BREAKING: The failed, DEI Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle will resign by Monday. Great! Only 8 days too late. It’s been reported that the Secret Service was intentionally shorting President Trump’s Secret Service detail. Congress MUST create a J13 committee NOW! pic.twitter.com/V7xHZ9xWKg — Brandon Tatum (@TheOfficerTatum) July 20, 2024 According to The Washington Post, the Secret Service repeatedly denied requests from President Trump’s security detail for additional resources and personnel. BREAKING: The Secret Service repeatedly denied requests for additional resources and personnel sought by Donald Trump’s security detail for the past TWO YEARS leading up to last week’s assassination attempt. People need to be FIRED immediately. — Benny Johnson (@bennyjohnson) July 20, 2024 Secret Service chiefs REJECTED Trump's requests for more agents and snipers at his events for two years before assassination attempt – as their shocking reasons are revealed: Secret Service officials refused to provide Donald Trump with additional… https://t.co/5LBhk8jn89 pic.twitter.com/kt5ZbcQEIa — Janie Johnson – America is Exceptional (@jjauthor) July 21, 2024 The Washington Post reports: Top officials at the U.S. Secret Service repeatedly denied requests for additional resources and personnel sought by Donald Trump’s security detail in the two years leading up to his attempted assassination at a rally in Pennsylvania last Saturday, according to four people familiar with the requests. Agents charged with protecting the former president requested magnetometers and more agents to screen attendees at sporting events and other large public gatherings Trump attended, as well as additional snipers and specialty teams at other outdoor events, said the people, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe sensitive security discussions. The requests, which have not been previously reported, were sometimes denied by senior officials at the agency, who cited various reasons, including a lack of resources at an agency that has long struggled with staffing shortages, they said. Those rejections — in response to requests that were several times made in writing — led to long-standing tensions that pitted Trump, his top aides and his security detail against Secret Service leadership, as Trump advisers privately fretted that the vaunted security agency was not doing enough to protect the former president. The Secret Service, after initially denying turning down requests for additional security, is now acknowledging some may have been rejected. The revelation comes as agency veterans say the organization has been forced to make difficult decisions amid competing demands, a growing list of protectees and limited funding. A gunman was able to fire off rounds from an AR-15 style rifle from a rooftop about 150 yards of the former president at the rally last Saturday. Trump was injured as were two others; a man in the crowd was killed. The agency has been under scrutiny over security lapses at the rally. “Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle will testify to the House Oversight Committee on Monday amid calls for her resignation following the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump. On Friday, mourners paid their respects to Corey Comperatore, the firefighter killed at Saturday’s rally,” CBS Evening News wrote. WATCH: Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle will testify to the House Oversight Committee on Monday amid calls for her resignation following the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump. On Friday, mourners paid their respects to Corey Comperatore, the firefighter… pic.twitter.com/uC3pp2AEfs — CBS Evening News (@CBSEveningNews) July 19, 2024 “@RepJamesComer has invited U.S. Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle to testify at a hearing on Monday, July 22. Americans demand answers about the assassination attempt of President Trump,” the House Oversight Committee said. BREAKING@RepJamesComer has invited U.S. Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle to testify at a hearing on Monday, July 22. Americans demand answers about the assassination attempt of President Trump. pic.twitter.com/zKia2oIxCf — Oversight Committee (@GOPoversight) July 14, 2024

House Speaker Mike Johnson said anyone who “gets out of hand” during Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s speech to Congress will be arrested. “There are a number of Democrats in the House who have said they’re going to boycott that event,” Johnson said at an event organized by the Republican Jewish Coalition. “Some others are going to protest,” he added. “We’re going to have extra sergeants at arms on the floor. If anybody gets out of hand,” Johnson continued. “We’re going to arrest people if we have to do it,” he added. WATCH: ICYMI: Speaker Mike Johnson threatens to arrest lawmakers who disrupt or protest Netanyahu's upcoming speech in front of Congress "We're going to have extra sergeants at arms on the floor… we're going to arrest people if we have to do it” pic.twitter.com/azDIVvR6Ir — HOT SPOT (@HotSpotHotSpot) July 20, 2024 Per Daily Mail: Netanyahu is set to address lawmakers on July 24, his first address to US Congress since 2015, when 58 boycotted him over concerns about his opposition to then-President Barack Obama’s nuclear deal with Iran. But with the war in Gaza still ongoing and felt by many communities in the United States, more than 200 anonymous staff members across 122 Democratic and Republican congressional offices have signed a letter calling for Congress to protest or boycott the event on Capitol Hill. ‘Citizens, students, and lawmakers across the country and the world have spoken out against the actions of Mr. Netanyahu in his War on Gaza,’ reads a letter signed by the 230 House and Senate staffers. It added that the joint address was an ‘issue of morality’, not politics, citing the ongoing protests against Israel’s conduct in Gaza as Israelis ‘have been protesting in the streets for months, decrying his failure to negotiate a ceasefire and release of hostages’. ‘Mr. Netanyahu has ordered the bombings of schools, hospitals, and mosques; overseen a campaign of mass-starvation against Palestinian children; and censored efforts by the media to cover the Israeli military’s actions on the ground,’ the letter says, noting that the address is scheduled to go ahead in spite of the chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court’s request for an arrest warrant. New: Speaker of the House Mike Johnson is threatening to arrest members of Congress if they protest Benjamin Netanyahu’s upcoming speech to Congress. Speaker Johnson said, “We’re going to have extra sergeant at arms on hand. We’re going to arrest people if we have to do it.” pic.twitter.com/CAWZ9GMx9c — The Calvin Coolidge Project (@TheCalvinCooli1) July 19, 2024 From The Washington Times: Those who vowed to boycott Mr. Netanyahu’s address cited issues with his handling of the war in Gaza following the Hamas raid into Israel on Oct. 7 that left nearly 1,200 Israelis dead. Earlier this week, 230 anonymous congressional staffers across 122 Republican and Democratic offices called on lawmakers to boycott or protest Mr. Netanyahu’s speech and argued that his appearance is an “issue of morality.” Since then, Mr. Netanyahu and his government have been criticized for the civilian death toll amid his pursuit to obliterate Hamas. As of early July, nearly 38,000 Palestinians have been killed, and 87,000 have been injured, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health. Among the lawmakers boycotting the speech are Rep. Pramila Jayapal, Washington Democrat and chairwoman of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, and Sen. Bernard Sanders, Vermont independent. “I will not be going to listen to Mr. Netanyahu,” Mr. Sanders told MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” on Friday. “I think he’s a war criminal. I think he never should have been invited.”

New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu, a Republican, signed legislation banning biological males from competing in girls’ sports for grades 5 to 12. The Republican governor also signed a bill prohibiting medical professionals from performing transgender surgeries on minors. BREAKING: New Hampshire Governor Chris Sununu just signed a bill into law which prevents men from playing in womens sports. pic.twitter.com/9zsAEKSJ3R — Ian Jaeger (@IanJaeger29) July 19, 2024 Gov. Chris Sununu (R-N.H.) signs bill barring gender-affirming surgeries for youth into law https://t.co/NHak9MGphd — The Hill (@thehill) July 21, 2024 Per ABC News: The bill passed by the Republican-led Legislature would require schools to designate all teams as either girls, boys or coed, with eligibility determined based on students’ birth certificates “or other evidence.” Supporters of the legislation said they wanted to protect girls from being injured by larger and stronger transgender athletes. Sununu signed the bill Friday, saying in a statement it “ensures fairness and safety in women’s sports by maintaining integrity and competitive balance in athletic competitions.” It takes effect in 30 days. The bill banning transgender surgeries for minors takes effect on Jan. 1, 2025. Thank you @GovChrisSununu for signing our common sense bills defending women’s sports & protecting minors from life altering surgeries before they reach the age of 18 in NH. These bills are pragmatic & reasonable and I applaud the Governor for signing them into law! #NHPolitics — Joe Sweeney (@JoeSweeneyNH) July 19, 2024 New Hampshire Bans Transgender Procedures for Children, Reserves Girls’ Sports for Females The governor also signed a bill allowing parents to opt their child out of instruction related to sex and gender.https://t.co/5bymgRvU9T — The Epoch Times (@EpochTimes) July 21, 2024 New Hampshire Bulletin reports: The decisions – which LGBTQ+ advocates denounced Friday and called an attack on the transgender community – were cheered on by Sununu’s fellow Republicans, who have made gender in high school sports and gender-affirming surgeries a key political battleground. Sununu also signed a bill that would allow parents to opt their children out of any public school instruction that features LGBTQ topics – and would require teachers to give parents at least two weeks notice before teaching such material. But he vetoed a fourth bill, House Bill 396, that would have allowed businesses and government entities to discriminate on the basis of biological sex in bathrooms, locker rooms, sporting events, jails and prisons, mental health hospitals and treatment facilities. That bill would have directly rolled back some of the gender identity anti-discrimination protections Sununu signed into law in 2018. “The challenge with HB 396 is that in some cases it seeks to solve problems that have not presented themselves in New Hampshire, and in doing so invites unnecessary discord,” Sununu wrote in a statement.

Twice-failed presidential candidate Hillary Clinton has re-entered the fray, elbowing herself into position to be crowned the Democrat presidential nominee following an open DNC convention next month. The Democrat party is in disarray as party [...] The post ‘She’s Running’: Hillary Clinton Tells DNC Grandees It’s ‘Her Turn’ To Beat Trump appeared first on The People's Voice.