Release of Classified FISA Abuse Memo May End Media’s Baseless Trump-Russia Collusion Narrative

It sounds too good to be true: A top secret memo in possession of the House Intelligence Committee could seriously rupture Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential campaign. The memo doesn’t really have much to do with Russia, however, just like many of Mueller’s Republican targets also have nothing to…

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NYT Changes Headline On Gov’t Shutdown To Lessen Blame On Dems For Impasse

The New York Times changed a headline in an article Saturday morning about the government shutdown that absolves Democrats of blame for the impasse. The original version of the NYT headline on an article reporting the news reads: “Senate Democrat Block Bill to Keep Government Open Past Midnight, Shutdown Looms” – which went through various changes as negotiations on the budget deal broke down.

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Mattis: Countering China, Russia Now Top US Defense Priority

U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis says the United States is losing its competitive military advantage over China and Russia, marking the central challenge to America’s armed forces. “Great-power competition, not terrorism, is now the primary focus of U.S. national security,” Mattis said Friday as he rolled out the unclassified portion of the Trump administration’s National Defense Strategy (NDS) in Washington.

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Commentary: Americans Won’t Let Democrats Weaponize Compassion on DACA

Jeffrey A. Rendall   It’s not a stretch to claim Americans are a compassionate people. From an early age we’re schooled by parents, pastors and teachers to look kindly on our neighbors, help them in a pinch and give regularly to churches and charities to aid the less fortunate in their time of need. Beyond taking these basic personal moral lessons to heart we’re required by law to contribute to government safety net programs such as state worker’s compensation pools and federal Social Security and Medicare funds. These programs are so ingrained and visible that everyone sees how much their paychecks are reduced every pay period to pay for them – and they’re okay with it. Politicians struggle with the percentage of every dollar that should automatically be allotted to these essentially charitable purposes, but few would seriously suggest eliminating them entirely. Privatizing federal entitlement programs is one solution but politically we’re nowhere near taking such a bold step. No one wants to see others living on the edge of life and death. Americans’ compassion is boundless…but is it endless? The Democrats must think so because they appear willing to shut down the government over the controversial Deferred Action on…

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Devin Nunes Named 2017 Congressman of the Year by Limited-Government Powerhouse

By Rick Manning   House Intelligence Committee Chairman Devin Nunes earned recognition as Americans for Limited Government’s 2017 Congressman of the Year for his steadfast pursuit of the truth related to the Obama Administration’s intelligence agency weaponization during the 2016 election campaign and the continued use of these tools against President Trump. Chairman Nunes praised Speaker Paul Ryan for resisting pressure to submarine the Committee’s investigation saying, “The Speaker faced enormous pressure to undercut the Committee’s request for corroborating documents and stood firm in his resolve to get to the bottom of this scandal.” As reported by Fox News’ Catherine Herridge, “A four-page memo circulating in Congress that reveals alleged United States government surveillance abuses is being described by lawmakers as ‘shocking,’ ‘troubling’ and ‘alarming,’ with one congressman likening the details to KGB activity in Russia.” As the #RELEASETHEMEMO movement swirls around Capitol Hill, it is Nunes’ Committee that has opened the door for the potential future public release through their courageous vote to make the memo available for review to all Members of the House of Representatives. The current #SchumerShutdown could expedite the overall process for releasing the memo forward as Members of the House are remaining in Washington, D.C. awaiting…

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Hackers Are Attacking the Electric Grid

Last September, news broke that hackers had laid siege to the U.S. power grid, probing deep into dozens of energy firms, looking for weaknesses to exploit. The Department of Homeland Security issued a threat warning about an ongoing stream of malware attacks that could one day lead to a Black Sky event, crippling cellphones, erasing bank accounts, devastating hospitals, and disrupting every sector of the economy. Girding our grid (some of which dates back to 1917) could cost $500 billion—too pricey for the more than 3,200 private companies that own its hardware.

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32 Children Rescued from al-Shabab in Somalia

A U.S.-backed operation by Somali special forces has freed 32 children who were kidnapped by militant group al-Shabab. Somali Information Minister Abdirahman Omar Osman said Friday that Somali forces rescued the kids from a school in the Middle Shabelle region. “The militants were indoctrinating the children, but now they are safe and are in the hands of the government,” he said in a phone interview with VOA’s Somali Service.

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Tom Petty Died of Accidental Opioid Overdose: Family

American rocker Tom Petty died in October of an accidental drug overdose after taking a variety of medications for his ailments including a mix of opioid painkillers, his family and the Los Angeles county medical examiner said Friday. The autopsy report says the 66-year-old Petty had fentanyl, oxycodone, temazepam and other drugs in his system when he died of cardiac arrest. Petty’s wife Dana and daughter Adria said the medical examiner told them he “passed away due to an accidental drug overdose as a result of taking a variety of medications.”

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Secrecy and Withholding of Information Characterize Move of Tyson Foods Plant into Humboldt, Tennessee

Gibson County Mayor Tom “Welcoming” Witherspoon and Humboldt Mayor Marvin Sikes claim that only positive impacts will result from the arrival of the Tyson Foods chicken plant, first rejected in Tonganoxie, Kansas, but now being relocated to Humboldt, Tennessee. The plan to put the plant in Tonganoxie was defeated by citizen-led opposition because of concerns of Tyson’s history of environmental violations, impact on infrastructure and potential to attract refugee workers. Opposition to the Kansas plant also focused on the secrecy surrounding the plan for Tonganoxie and withholding of information from public scrutiny. Twilight Greenaway, reporting at Moyers & Company, the website operated by far left journalist Bill Moyers, described the citizen-led opposition in Tonganoxie as “staggering” and fueled in part by the secrecy in which the deal was arranged between Tyson executives and local officials until information was finally made public. As Greenaway reported: The Tyson plant was also a long-kept secret with the code name Project Sunset. Local lawmakers were asked to sign nondisclosure agreements when considering welcoming it to town, and the company is said to have worked through intermediaries when negotiating with the landowner over the 300-acre lot it would occupy. But once the deal was done and…

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