Obama-Appointed Judge Extends Mueller Grand Jury by Up to Six Months, Signaling Russia Witch Hunt Isn’t Ending Soon

Beryl Howell, the Obama-appointed federal judge of the DC District Court who oversees Mueller’s grand jury, issued the 23-person jury a six-month extension on Friday, reported CNN.

Mueller is going to drag his unconstitutional witch hunt into the next presidential election in order to harass President Trump.

The Washington DC grand jury which began in July of 2017, was originally seated for 18 months, however, the Obama judge who oversees the jury just gave Mueller another six months.

Under federal rules, the court can extend a grand jury’s term for an extra six months if it is “in the public interest.”

Recent reports have indicated that Mueller was perhaps working to issue a final report on Trump, however; Friday’s decision to give Mueller several more months to pump out criminal indictments signals his witch hunt is far from over.

House Democrats are also pushing for legislation to protect their precious King Robert Mueller from being removed.

Dems are panicking because a new Attorney General who is critical of King Mueller is set to be confirmed by the Senate.

If William Barr is confirmed as Trump’s next Attorney General, he should put an end to Mueller’s unconstitutional witch hunt and Trump should pardon every American caught up in the probe.

https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2019/01/just-in-obama-appointed-judge-extends-mueller-grand-jury-by-up-to-six-months-signaling-russia-witch-hunt-isnt-ending-soon/

Dem Rep. John Yarmuth admits $5 billion is not that much for a wall, and that walls work

Yarmuth is the chairman of the House Budget Committee

Rep. John Yarmuth (D-Ky.), chairman of the House Budget Committee, admitted in an interview on Hill TV's "Rising" that the $5 billion President Donald Trump wants to fund a southern border wall isn't really that much money.

Yarmuth also admitted, in response to a series of challenges from host Buck Sexton, that border walls or fencing have proven to be effective already.

"At one point, Democrats were willing to give $25 billion for border security, just a year ago, in exchange for a deal on DACA," Yarmuth said.

Yarmouth said Democrats object to the wall because Trump's desire for a wall is "not a decision that's based on any realistic assessment of what is actually security."

Sexton quickly responded and cited conversations with leaders of Customs and Border Protection and Immigration and Customs Enforcement during which they told him "unequivocally" that a barrier would help border security.

"So why do we keep hearing members of the Democratic Congress come forward saying that it wouldn't work and it's stupid, when not only do we have the people who are actually in charge of border security saying it would work and it's not stupid, we can see that it already does work in places where there is a wall?" Sexton asked Yarmuth.

"That's exactly right," Yarmuth responded, after a pause.

After that, he seemed to lose his train of thought a bit as he recovered.

"But we don't know where he's going to put the wall," Yarmuth continued. "He already has $1.3 trillion—er, $1.3 billion that he's only spent 6 percent of that was given to him for border security and he hasn't used that. So the question is, do you just say 'okay, $5 billion, take it'… maybe that's the right idea. Maybe just give him the $5 billion because he won't use it anyway."

https://www.theblaze.com/news/dem-rep-john-yarmuth-admits-5-billion-is-not-that-much-for-a-wall-and-that-walls-work

Why does Rashida Tlaib support US military aid to Israel?

There has been much euphoria over the Michigan primary win on Tuesday that sets up Palestinian American Rashida Tlaib to become the first Muslim woman to enter Congress if, as widely expected, she wins the general election in November.

“As the child of immigrants and an Arab, Tlaib is acutely aware of the issues that impact our community,” the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee said in a message congratulating her. “In Congress, we know she will continue to be a strong advocate for the community, and we look forward to working with her.”

That has been a widely shared sentiment – backed by an assumption that because she is a Palestinian American, Tlaib can be counted on to be a strong voice for Palestinian rights.

But hard political experience tells us otherwise, and the time to look at Tlaib’s troubling relationship with a leading pro-Israel organization is now.

military aid to Israel?

Ali Abunimah Power Suits 9 August 2018

Rashida Tlaib (Rashida Tlaib for Congress)

There has been much euphoria over the Michigan primary win on Tuesday that sets up Palestinian American Rashida Tlaib to become the first Muslim woman to enter Congress if, as widely expected, she wins the general election in November.

“As the child of immigrants and an Arab, Tlaib is acutely aware of the issues that impact our community,” the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee said in a message congratulating her. “In Congress, we know she will continue to be a strong advocate for the community, and we look forward to working with her.”

That has been a widely shared sentiment – backed by an assumption that because she is a Palestinian American, Tlaib can be counted on to be a strong voice for Palestinian rights.

But hard political experience tells us otherwise, and the time to look at Tlaib’s troubling relationship with a leading pro-Israel organization is now.

Raining on the parade

The euphoria over Tlaib reminds me of the ecstasy when Barack Obama was elected president.

People assumed that despite his cautious and even reactionary political positions, his identity as a Black man, the son of a Kenyan immigrant father, and his history as a community organizer in Chicago would somehow seep through into his policies.

Many expected that after the campaign was over, the real, progressive Obama – who was absent in the campaign – would emerge in the White House to fulfill all the fantasies of his supporters.

There’s no need to recount in detail here how Obama became “deporter-in-chief,” a friend of Wall Street, and, despite his Nobel Peace Prize, an avid militarist whose administration dropped more than 26,000 bombs on countries around the world in his last year in office alone.

When it came to Palestine, Obama was clear during the campaign: he was staunchly pro-Israel and that’s how he would govern.

He kept his promise – starting from his failure to condemn Israel’s Operation Cast Lead assault on Gaza just prior to his presidency, to his administration’s decision to resupply Israel with bombs during its summer 2014 slaughter in Gaza of more than one in every 1,000 of the territory’s residents.

And of course he ended his term by giving Israel a $38 billion military aid package, the largest in history.

I tried to warn people in my March 2007 article, “How Barack Obama learned to love Israel,” but my experience generally was that people didn’t want to hear it, and I was often accused of raining on the parade.

https://electronicintifada.net/blogs/ali-abunimah/why-does-rashida-tlaib-support-us-military-aid-israel

Moscow, Pentagon Discuss Syria, Counter-Terrorism Issues - Russian MoD

Chief of the Russian General Staff Valery Gerasimov and Chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff Joseph Dunford discussed the situation in Syria and the fight against terrorism during their telephone talks on Friday, the Russian Defense Ministry said.

"During their talks, the counterparts exchanged opinions on the situation in Syria and fight against terrorism, as well as other pressing issues of mutual interest," the ministry said in a statement. Gerasimov and Dunford also reaffirmed the importance of maintaining the existing channel of communication, according to the statement.

On December 5, Gerasimov said that Russia had suggested to the United States that it eliminate its military base located in the southeastern Syrian city of Al Tanf and establish joint Russian-US control over the zone instead. According to Gerasimov, Washington has not provided an answer to that proposal. The general also stressed that the United States justified its presence in Al Tanf by the necessity of countering Iran, which is allegedly transporting weapons and military equipment to Syria.

US President Donald Trump has announced the start of the US troop withdrawal from the war-torn country, claiming that the Daesh terrorist group has been defeated, and since US troops were present in Syria exclusively to fight, they now had no reason to remain there.

Gerasimov also said in December that the Daesh militants in Syria are present only east of the Euphrates, on US-controlled territory, stressing that the so-called Daesh "sleeping" cells have progressed to active operations and begun to expand their zones of influence.

https://sputniknews.com/military/201901051071230132-russia-usa-syria-defense-ministry-pentagon-talks/

Maryland is the latest state to make businesses pledge they will not boycott the state of Israel

What do certain auto part suppliers, contractors and barbers in Maryland all have in common?

In order to bid for procurement contracts with the State to provide services or goods, they must effectively first pledge loyalty to Israel.

If this doesn’t concern you, it should.

Governor Hogan’s executive order requires businesses with state contracts to promise they will not boycott the state of Israel.

It targets the international Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement – a global campaign that promotes peaceful, economic boycott to protest Israel’s human rights violations against Palestinians.

And it is unethical, unconstitutional and downright dangerous – especially because it prioritizes the interests of a foreign government that is in violation of international law above Marylanders’ own First Amendment rights.

After it was signed, two proponents of Governor Hogan’s anti-BDS executive order, Delegates Sandy Rosenberg and Shelley Hettleman, hailed it as an emphatic affirmation of Maryland’s “commitment to support the only real democracy in the Middle East” – meaning Israel.

What they and others don’t realize or choose to acknowledge is that in 2018, the Israeli parliament voted to pass a controversial “nation-state” bill that debunks the notion that Israel is a democratic state.

This bill reserves the right to exercise national self-determination in Israel exclusively to the Jewish people; establishes Hebrew as Israel’s official language, regaling Arabic to a “special status”; designates “Jewish settlement” as a national value; and mandates Jewish settlement to be actively encouraged and promoted by the state.

Religious pluralism is a hallmark characteristic of any democracy. Imagine a U.S. law mandating only one faith community as being entitled to the right to self-determination in the United States. Every American who values freedom of religion would categorically reject it.

Palestinians make up the vast majority of Arabs who comprise approximately one-fifth of Israel’s population. The “nation-state law” is described by many as a “slap in the face.”

In fact, upon learning that it had passed, Arab parliamentary members ripped up copies of the bill and shouted “APARTHEID” on the floor of the Knesset.

Who can blame them? This legislation codifies racism into law and exposes a nefarious, sinister agenda.

https://govtslaves.info/2019/01/04/maryland-is-the-latest-state-to-make-businesses-pledge-they-will-not-boycott-the-state-of-israel/

Ted Cruz introduced a term limit bill that would end his own career in the Senate

Sen. Ted Cruz introduced a constitutional amendment that would allow only two terms for senators and three for members of the House of Representatives.

It would limit Cruz’s term in the Senate to his current one, which ends in 2025.

Congressional terms are unlimited, though there are limits on individual committees.

Republican Sen. Ted Cruz introduced a constitutional amendment Friday that would restrict senators to two six-year terms. If it’s passed, it would limit Cruz’s Senate career to its current term.

The amendment would also limit members of the House of Representatives to three two-year terms. It’s cosponsored by Republican Sens. Marco Rubio, Mike Lee, and David Purdue.

Cruz just began his second consecutive term in the US Senate, after winning reelection in November 2018 over Democratic candidate Beto O’Rourke. He’s set to end his term in 2025.

Currently, terms in both houses of Congress are unlimited, although there are limits to the number of terms members of Congress may have on committees. Cruz has been a longtime critic of the Constitution not including term limits. He introduced a similar bill a year ago, according to ABC News.

“For too long, members of Congress have abused their power and ignored the will of the American people,” Cruz told ABC. “Term limits on members of Congress offer a solution to the brokenness we see in Washington, D.C. It is long past time for Congress to hold itself accountable. I urge my colleagues to submit this constitutional amendment to the states for speedy ratification.”

For the amendment to be passed, it would need to be approved by two-thirds of both houses of Congress and then ratified by 38 states. The last constitutional amendment, the 27th, was ratified in 1992.

https://www.businessinsider.com.au/ted-cruz-term-limit-amendment-term-senate-2019-1?utm_source=reddit.com&r=US&IR=T

>>4600434

No such pledge for local entities

>>4600467

most likely for optics so when they shoot it down it'll highlight the true nature of those in power