The Wells Report for Thursday, September 21, 2023
Today's News, Analysis, Commentary & Debats
NATIONAL:
AG GARLAND TESTIFIES BEFORE THE HOUSE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE
NY TIMES:
Attorney General Merrick B. Garland offered a fiery defense of the Justice Department’s investigation of Hunter Biden on Wednesday, telling a House committee he was “not Congress’s prosecutor” — and would not reveal details of the inquiry no matter how much pressure lawmakers applied.
During a grueling hearing before the House Judiciary Committee that foreshadowed a bruising impeachment fight ahead, Mr. Garland repeatedly refused to answer questions about internal deliberations or offer explanations for decision-making in the investigation, or the two federal indictments of former President Donald J. Trump.
House Republicans view Mr. Garland as a linchpin as they seek to bolster an impeachment inquiry into President Biden that is grounded, thus far, in inconclusive evidence that he profited from the business dealings of his son, Hunter.
TWR: If the idea was to back down House Republicans as being a gang of unreasonable zealots interfering with the Department of Justice, AG Garland failed miserably.
In fact, he looked arrogant, flustered, angry, smug and petulant. Example:
When taken to task by New Jersey Representative Jeff Van Drew, for the FBI’s labeling of Catholics as Domestic Extremists, complete with agents infiltrating the meetings of Catholic Church groups, the AG went into a voice-cracking emotional tirade saying:
“…The idea that someone with my family background would discriminate against any religious is so outrageous, so absurd, I can’t even answer your question…”
A cynical if convenient dodge of an appropriately serious question.
Fortunately, Rep Van Drew persisted in his accurate reporting, laying the blame squarely on Garland’s Shoulders. All the AG could do is sit in silence.
VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY TO ASK REPUBLICANS FOR CONTINUED WAR FUNDING
USA TODAY:
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is headed back to Capitol Hill. This time he could be leaving empty-handed.
Congress is consumed with a spending fight that is as much about the war in Ukraine as it is slashing federal expenditures. And unlike last year, a visit from Zelenskyy may not move the needle.
Conservatives in the House of Representatives are pushing for Ukraine assistance be left out of a bill that would keep the government open through the end of the year. They are demanding stronger reporting on how the money is spent −and could end up voting to withhold aid altogether.
U.S. officials say a shutdown would snarl assistance to Ukraine that has already been approved, which could hurt Zelenskyy's ability to drive Russia out of his country.
TWR: The United States, NATO and the European Union is playing with the fire required to ignite World War Three.
While I have no problem with Our Nation helping out with defensive munitions for Ukraine, I can see no reason why the European Union should stand back and allow America to fund yet another defense of Europe.
We the People funded the Cold War defense against Russia for over 4 decades. In fact, the only US who demanded that NATO Member Countries pay their Alliance dues was former President Trump…Who was then accused by the Left and the Mainstream Media of ‘Insulting our Oldest Allies’.
Now we hear that if Ukraine falls, other eastern European Nations will fall into the new Russian Empire.
As my Son Colton often says… “That sounds like a giant load of not my problem…”
Yo!! European Union, stop worshiping at the feet of Climate Cataclysm! Defend yourselves!!
POSSIBLE BIDEN PLAN TO GIVE ICE IDS TO ILLEGALS
USA TODAY:
New images obtained by Fox News Digital shed light on the Biden administration's planned ID for illegal immigrants, as officials look for ways to track the volume of migrants being released into the U.S.
Fox News, along with other outlets, reported last year on the ICE Secure Docket Card program, which Immigration and Customs Enforcement said will "modernize various forms of documentation provided to provisionally released noncitizens through a consistent, verifiable, secure card."
Migrants who arrive at the border illegally and are not removed but instead released into the interior are often given a number of documents depending on their situation.
The images show a card with room for a photograph, a QR code and identifying information and security details, as well as the ICE logo in the top left corner.
TWR: Wow!! A free (to them, paid by us) Government I.D.!!
Just in time for the new 2024 Election Laws requiring a picture ID to vote.
The cynical garbage of “We’re only doing this so we can keep track of all these illegal “immigrants” insults the intelligence of any American.
There are 2 ways to identify an illegal alien…One, with a shiny new government ID Card.
The other is an immigration or law enforcement officer asking for someone’s identification, and they don’t have one.
POLITICS:
TRUMP TAKES CRITICISM OVER ABORTION LAW STATEMENT
FOX NEWS:
Pro-life groups are vowing to put pressure on former President Donald Trump after the leading Republican 2024 candidate did an about-face on abortion and began opposing some restrictions.
Trump turned on the pro-life movement over a matter of days this week, labeling Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis' six-week ban "a terrible thing" and abandoning a push for federal-level restrictions. Now, many within the pro-life movement are prepared to pressure Trump back into the fold.
"Are pro-lifers going to allow themselves to be a cheap date?" Patrick Brown, a fellow with the conservative Ethics and Public Policy Center’s Life and Family Initiative, told Politico. "Are they going to sit back and take it when candidates are denigrating the cause they dedicated their life to?"
TWR: Here, former President Trump is completely correct…again.
The Republican Party likes to deflect blame onto Trump as a ‘misogynistic bad guy’ with Suburban, White Female Voters…Which is why they didn’t vote Republican in 2020.
The reality is last year’s reversal of Roe v. Wade in the Dobbs Decision, coupled with the Anti-Abortion fervor of the Republican Party in the years before, threatened these women’s psychological hold on who controls reproduction in America…
They do.
Politicians of either Party have MANgled this issue for its entire existence.
The Dobbs Decision moved the debate to the separate States, where it belongs.
A National Abortion Law invalidates the rationale for overturning Roe in the first place, and as Trump said, will cause a Republican Defeat.
(One More Thing…The article above is a perfect example of rancid journalistic bias. Shame on FOX News for allowing it, as written on their platform.)
TRUMP JR.’S X ACCOUNT HACKED, STRANGE POSTS ENSUE
US SUN:
DONALD Trump Jr.'s social media accounts have been hacked. The hacker then wrote former several wild posts credited president's son claiming such things as…
"I'm sad to announce, my father Donald Trump has passed away," read a tweet from Trump Jr.'s official X account, formerly known as Twitter.
Another said, "I will be running for president in 2024."
Other X-Posts included references to North Korea, writing that the country "is about to get smoked."
Another tweet included "some interesting messages with Jeffrey Epstein, a known sex offender and financier who committed suicide while awaiting sex trafficking charges.
TWR: When this kind of thing happens, I wonder why account hacking isn’t a 10-year, 100-Thousand Dollar fine Federal Felony. It should be.
MUSK EXPLORING MONTHLY CHARGE FOR X-SYSTEM ACCESS
CBS NEWS:
Elon Musk says X, formerly known as Twitter, is considering having its users pay a "small monthly payment" to use the social media platform.
On Monday, Musk made the remarks during a livestreamed conversation with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu about artificial intelligence, saying the fee would be meant to keep bots off X.
"It's the only way I can think of to combat vast armies of bots," he said.
He also added that X has 550 million monthly users that generate 100 million to 200 million posts a day.
TWR: I would gladly pay a monthly fee to have access to X…This platform is the Free Speech Town Square of this and future Generation(s).
STATES:
GEORGIA—‘FAKE ELECTORS’ ASK THAT TRIALS BE MOVED TO FEDERAL COURT
USA TODAY:
Three Georgia Republicans who were indicted with Donald Trump for allegedly posing as presidential electors to overturn the 2020 election asked a federal judge Wednesday to move their cases from state to federal court, but the judge has already rejected a similar request from former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows.
Georgia Republican Party Chairman David Shafer, state Sen. Shawn Still and Cathy Latham argued their positions as federal electors should protect them from state charges.
“By federal law, these people were not fake, sham or impersonators,” said Craig Gillen, an attorney for Shafer. “They were contingent federal electors when they went and did their duty on Dec. 14, 2020.”
TWR: Them that don’t ask, don’t get…But the reality is, there is no nationa-wide Federal Election for President. There are 50 individual State Elections.
Therefore, charges of Presidential Election malfeasance are made by the States, not by the Federal Government.
This is why President Trump has been forced into the Georgia State Courts System.
ARIZONA—FACT CHECK…CHANGE OF BALLOT PAPER BLAMES FOR ELECTION DAY MISCOUNT
USA TODAY:
Responding to an X-Post titled “BREAKING: Evidence shows the Maricopa County Election Day printer ‘failures' were caused by malware or by remote access,” USA Today Fact Check has rated the post “False”.
The post continued with, "200,000 ballots were ejected out of 248,000 votes cast."
It was liked more than 500 times in five days.
The original X post from the right-wing website Leading Report was shared more than 8,000 times in five days.
An investigation by a retired state Supreme Court justice found the cause of those printer problems was the switch to larger ballots printed on heavier, thicker paper – not malicious actors.
County officials have repeatedly said that all legally cast ballots were counted and included in the official results.
TWR: This ‘Fact Check’ ignores a few realities. On the day, or days before an election, the Voting Machines are tested.
Once the machines are certified as functional, they are sealed.
Either the machines failed the certification tests and were used anyway, or they were changed following that final certification.
Both eventualities are violations of Election Law.
USA Today…Your Propaganda is showing.
NORTH CAROLINA—MAN USING ‘GOOGLE MAPS’ DRIVES OFF COLLAPSED BRIDGE, FAMILY SUES
USA TODAY:
A North Carolina woman blames Google Maps for the death her husband last year after he drove his car off a collapsed bridge following directions from the GPS service.
On the night of Sept. 30, 2022, medical device salesman Philip Paxson drowned after his vehicle plunged off a bridge in Hickory, North Carolina that collapsed in 2013, state highway patrol Master Trooper Jeffrey Swagger told USA TODAY last year.
In a negligence lawsuit filed against Google's parent company Alphabet Tuesday, Paxson's wife Alicia alleged that Google Maps directed him to cross the Snow Creek Bridge as he drove through an unfamiliar neighborhood heading home from his daughter's ninth birthday party.
The state troopers who found the body of the Navy veteran and father of two in an upside down and partially submerged truck said he drove off an unguarded edge crashing 20 feet below, the court filing states.
The troopers added there were no warning signs or barriers present along the roadway, which wasn't repaired by the time of the incident.
TWR: This is a fascinating case.
The bridge was gone for 9 years. There were no warning signs, road closures, or barriers in place.
What is the process Google Maps uses to verify their routes as safe? Do they even need to do that?
Looks to me like the people who should be sued are the North Carolina Transportation Department.
FOOD:
ASPARTAME MAY BE CAUSE OF MEMORY LOSS & LEARNING DEFICITS
FOX NEWS:
The non-sugar, low-calorie sweetener aspartame — which is found in many sugar-free or "diet" foods and drinks — has been linked to potential problems with memory and learning, according to a study from the Florida State University (FSU) College of Medicine.
In the study, which was published in the journal Scientific Reports, male mice that consumed aspartame — even at levels deemed safe by the FDA — had offspring that "demonstrated spatial learning and memory deficits," a press release from FSU stated.
Over a 16-week period, the researchers studied three groups of mice.
The mice were tested in mazes at intervals of four weeks, eight weeks and 12 weeks. The ones that drank only water were able to find the "safe" box to escape from the maze much faster than the ones that consumed aspartame, the researchers found.
The aspartame-consuming groups eventually completed the task, but they took "much longer" to do it and sometimes needed extra help, the release said.
TWR: Artificial Sweeteners are bad for you. Your body simply doesn’t know how to process them.
Nice time you want to pound down a delicious, ice-cold diet beverage…Try unsweetened Ice Tea.
ACTORS:
JOHN CUSACK TURNS ON DEMOCRATS
FOX NEWS:
John Cusack had some strong words for the Democratic Party elite, Monday, when he branded them as being "full of s---" and blasted them on social media for allegedly selling out the working class "for decades."
"They have played a major part in creating the precise conditions for fascism to flourish - Obama corporatist democrats - are to the right of Richard Nixon on domestic policy - Don’t believe me - look it up - and Dems have sold out the working class for decades - and this kind of bought and paid-for betrayal of principals [sic], fairness - historical precedent -any sense of moral or intellectual honesty - The kind of brutal selfish horrific actions one only does - because they can get away with it," he wrote in part on X, formerly Twitter, Monday.
The 57-year-old "Say Anything" and "High Fidelity" star's lengthy post continued with a takedown of the party's complacency with the wealthy, not-far-enough-left politics and neglecting certain principles.
He argued that the party elite's trajectory has planted fertile ground for Republicans like Trump to win.
TWR: First, Cusack is an unabashed Communist Totalitarian.
What he’s saying, however is true:
· Democrats have sold out the Working Class for decades.
· Democrat policies allow other parties to win.
What he’s not saying is that he believes the Socialist Ideal…Which not only sells out the Working Class, but everyone else.
SOMEONE SAID SOMETHING NICE ABOUT KIM KARDASHIAN
USA TODAY:
Just when we thought we’d freed ourselves from “American Horror Story,” which has been virtually unwatchable for nearly a decade, HULU has lured us back into this gory, gimmicky fold with Season 12 of FX's anthology series, “Delicate,” starring none other than Kim Kardashian.
The few times the premiere episode has a pulse come when Kardashian is onscreen. The shapewear mogul has long been called vapid and superficial by her critics.
But here, she cleverly leans into that Valley girl persona, playing Anna’s concerned publicist Siobhan.
She dryly eviscerates everyone from Hilary Swank to the directors of “Everything Everywhere All at Once," and makes Waldorf out of word salad.
“You have a peculiar penchant for turning dreams into nightmares,” Siobhan says, in her dual role as Anna’s confidante and walking exposition.
Kardashian’s acting skills may be more People’s Choice than Emmy-worthy. But like “American Horror Story” alums Jessica Lange and Lady Gaga before her, she’s the only one so far to deliver on the season’s high-camp potential.
And for that, we thank you, Kim. You’re doing amazing, sweetie.
TWR: It really is nice to hear that Kim Kardashian has taken part in a successful artistic endeavor.
(Did I just write that?!?)
Jon-David Wells, Host - The Wells Report c: 2023
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