100% of 1 college’s donations go to Dems

(CAMPUS REFORM) — Since 2009, only two Williams College employees have donated money to Republicans, but Democrats have raked in thousands from faculty and staff members over the same period.

The Williams Record originally reported that faculty and staff at the New England liberal arts college donated a total of $20,325.22 to candidates and committees in federal elections in 2017, with every contribution going to Democrats.

Individual employees’ total contributions in 2017 ranged from $5,264 to $2, averaging $267 per employee. The various donations went to fundraisers and PACs such as MoveOn.org PAC, ActBlue, and Emily’s List.

San Francisco gives pot prohibitionists the finger

San Francisco officials are retroactively applying the city’s marijuana legalization laws, a move that will help thousands of residents convicted of pot-related crimes over the decades expunge or reduce the convictions.

The San Francisco Chronicle reported:

The move will affect thousands of people whose marijuana convictions brand them with criminal histories that can hurt chances for finding jobs and obtaining some government benefits.

Proposition 64, which state voters passed in November 2016, legalized the recreational use of marijuana in California for those 21 and older and permitted the possession up to one ounce of cannabis. The legislation also allows those with past marijuana convictions that would have been lesser crimes — or no crime at all — under Prop. 64 to petition a court to recall or dismiss their cases.

Rather than leaving it up to individuals to petition the courts — which is time consuming and can cost hundreds of dollars in attorney fees — Gascón said San Francisco prosecutors will review and wipe out convictions en masse.

The district attorney said his office will dismiss and seal more than 3,000 misdemeanor marijuana convictions in San Francisco dating back to 1975, and review and re-sentence thousands of felony marijuana cases.

The move comes as the Jeff Sessions Department of Justice continues to work to remind state and local governments that federal law still prohibits the sale and use of the plant throughout the United States.

San Francisco, however, is certainly not alone in pushing back against Sessions’ anti-pot crusade. Nearly 100 elected officials from various legal pot locales sent a letter to the top law enforcement official on Wednesday to express their disgust for the DoJ decision to reverse legal changes which made it easier for them to regulate the sale of voter-approved marijuana.

They wrote:

Your decision earlier this month to revoke the Cole Memo eliminated these safeguards, which were put in place to protect public safety in our communities. Your decision also created uncertainty for our local governments by leaving federal enforcement decisions up to each individual U.S. Attorney, resulting in what could be selective and unfair enforcement. Of greatest concern, however, is the sheer confusion felt by local officials who now face governing in a chaotic environment. While it may have been the intention to spark uncertainty for legal cannabis license holders across the nation, it also created significant confusion for local governments in thirty-one states and territories where there are comprehensive programs regulating the licensing, land-use, enforcement, and taxation of this industry.

The signatories on this letter have varying opinions about the legalization of cannabis, generally. And, for many of us, our views have evolved over time. Ultimately, though, we all agree that we must follow the directive of our citizens; and that states must have the right to chart their own course on cannabis. Americans have gone to the ballot box in states and communities several times supporting legalizing cannabis for medical or adult use. Most recent polling indicates that more than ninety percent of Americans support legalizing medical cannabis; and six in ten, including a majority of both Democratic and Republican respondents, support legalizing cannabis for adult use. Notably, polls have also found that more than seventy percent of Americans want the federal government to respect all state marijuana laws. This nation’s beginnings can be traced to a ragtag bunch of renegades tossing tea into the Boston Harbor because a large distant government wasn’t listening to its populace. In this case, the public
wants this decision left up to states and localities. And, similarly, our bottom line is that we believe this is simply a states’ rights issue. Each state should be able to decide for themselves their own policies regarding cannabis.

We do agree with you on one critical item: the discrepancy between state and federal law regarding cannabis is a legitimate concern. To address
this concern, we suggest the convening of a bipartisan and bicameral task force to explore aligning federal and state cannabis laws. While this task
force is convening, we would request that the Department of Justice not initiate new enforcement actions in situations where operators are following
state and local regulations. This would provide certainty to the basic operations of local governments across the country.

The post San Francisco gives pot prohibitionists the finger appeared first on Personal Liberty®.

Trump’s approval rating jumps 10 points in 1 month

(WASHINGTON EXAMINER) — President Trump has seen an uptick in his job approval rating since reaching a record low last month, and majority of respondents think the White House has at least partially succeeded in getting Congress to advance its legislative agenda, according to a new poll by Monmouth University.

Forty-two percent of Americans gave Trump a positive approval rating in the new survey, which was released a day after he received high marks for his first State of the Union address Tuesday night. The president carried an approval rating of 32 percent last month, and has since seen a 6 point decrease in the percentage of voters who disapprove of his job performance.

Manchin says Democrats acted like babies at the SOTU (video)

Democrat West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin says his colleagues’ refusal to stand or applaud during President Donald Trump’s State of the Union speech was disrespectful and a signal that the party is more concerned with obstruction than it is with progress.

In a glaring sign of just how stupid and petty things have become in Washington these days, Manchin was invited on Fox News Tuesday morning to discuss how he was one of the only Democrats in the chamber for the State of the Union speech not looking as though Trump killed his grandma.

When others in his party declined to applaud even for the most uncontroversial of the president’s remarks, Manchin did. He even stood for the president when Trump entered the room, a customary show of respect for the office in which his colleagues declined to participate.

“That’s the way I was raised in West Virginia. We have respect,” he said when asked why he didn’t follow Nancy Pelosi’s lead. “There is some civility still yet. There should be civility in this place.”

Manchin did note that Democrats aren’t the only politicians guilty of wearing their feelings on the sleeve during the annual speech, referencing Rep. Joe Wilson’s infamous “you lie” outburst during President Barack Obama’s SOTU address.

But the West Virginia lawmaker suggested that the unified Democrat show of disrespect has a different implication than a lone lawmaker’s childish shouting.

“I’ve seen it on both sides when Obama gave speeches, Republicans. That’s disrespectful and last night was disrespectful,” he said.

The Democrats’ show on Tuesday illustrates just how far the party is willing to go to avoid working with Trump, even as his policies continue to improve the economy and set the stage for major infrastructure improvements in the years ahead.

As Manchin noted, many Democrats bolted as soon as Trump’s speech ended in an apparent effort to signal they can’t even stomach being in the same room as the president.

“Not me, I stayed there and shook his hand and thanked him because he talked about coal, we’re gonna do coal research and development, opioid addiction, I need that,” he said. ”Infrastructure, I’ve never seen a pothole that belongs to a Democrat or a Republican — we both get blamed for that one — so we’ve got to fix this stuff.”

The post Manchin says Democrats acted like babies at the SOTU (video) appeared first on Personal Liberty®.

Trump on GOP memo release: ‘Oh yeah, don’t worry, 100%’

After State of the Union address, Rep. Jeff Duncan, R-S.C., asks President Trump to release GOP memo. Trump responds, ‘Oh yeah, don’t worry. 100 percent,’ waving his hand as if it were a done deal (Photo: screenshot)

Did President Trump just indicate he plans to authorize the release of the four-page memo alleging “shocking” surveillance abuse of his campaign by the Justice Department and FBI?

Just after Trump delivered his State of the Union address Tuesday evening, he took to the House floor, where he came across Rep. Jeff Duncan, R-S.C.

“Mr. President, let’s release the memo,” Rep. Duncan pleaded with Trump.

“Oh yeah, don’t worry. 100 percent,” Trump responded, waving his hand as if it were a done deal.

“Can you imagine, though?” Trump asked.

“You’d be too angry,” the president said, pointing at another congressman on the floor.

Watch President Trump’s comments to Rep. Duncan about releasing the GOP memo: 

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Also, on Wednesday morning, White House Chief of Staff John Kelly said the GOP memo will be released “pretty quick.” Kelly, who has seen the document, said White House lawyers are busy “slicing and dicing” it.

“It’ll be released her pretty quick, I think, and the whole world can see it,” Kelly told Fox News Radio on Wednesday.

As WND reported, the House Intelligence Committee held a meeting Monday night and voted to release the memo to the public. The White House has indicated President Trump supports its publication for the sake of “transparency.” President Trump was given five days to authorize the memo’s release, indicating a decision will come by Saturday.

WND also reported that the names of former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe, Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein and former FBI Director James Comey appear in the memo. McCabe suddenly resigned from his position Monday, just one day after FBI Director Christopher Wray viewed the memo on Capitol Hill.

President Trump has told his aides he’d like to see the memo released as soon as possible, according to CNN, but he “decided against doing so before the State of the Union address to avoid obscuring what the White House hoped would be a unifying message.”

On Monday, the day before Trump’s State of the Union address, Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., took to the House floor to urge the president to release the memo during his big speech to America.

“I hope the first thing [President Trump] does is had to the speaker of the House his consent and his agreement to allow transparency to reign, to declassify this memo and put it before the American people. And then let’s have a debate about its consequences and the opportunity it presents to make things better so these things never happen again.”

Republican congressmen supporting Rep. Gaetz’s proposal included Reps. Andy Biggs, Blake Farenthold, Steve King, Lee Zeldin and Doug Lamborn. House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wisc., has indicated he supports the document’s release.

Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., called it a “very sad day” when the House Intelligence Committee voted to release the document alleging what some GOP lawmakers are calling abuses “worse than Watergate” of government surveillance programs during the 2016 presidential campaign.

Schiff, the top Democrat on the intel committee, has called the classified four-page report “misleading and inaccurate.”

Two senior FBI officials who have reviewed the document “could not point to any factual inaccuracies,” reported the Fox News Channel’s Catherine Herridge, citing a source close to the matter.

One of the officials was from the FBI’s counter-intelligence division and the other from the legal division. They examined the document after the initial review by FBI Director Wray.

But by Wednesday morning, Wray claimed the GOP memo left out key information that could impact its credibility.

“With regard to the House Intelligence Committee’s memorandum, the FBI was provided a limited opportunity to review this memo the day before the committee voted to release it,” the agency said in a statement. “As expressed during our initial review, we have grave concerns about material omissions of fact that fundamentally impact the memo’s accuracy.”

Feds drop corruption case against Dem Sen. Menendez

(NJ.COM) — In a shocking turnaround, the U.S. Justice Department has dropped its case against Sen. Robert Menendez.

In a court in Newark on Wednesday, federal prosecutors moved to dismiss the corruption indictment against the New Jersey Democrat after a federal judge last week acquitted Menendez and his co-defendant, Salomon Melgen, of seven of the 18 counts against them.

Both were facing a retrial after a deadlocked jury could not reach a verdict in the high-profile case in November.

Senators say Russia interfering in Mexico election

(CBS NEWS) — President Trump may have declined to criticize Russia for interfering in the U.S. and other elections around the world — but now, amid reports that Russia may be meddling in Latin American elections, too, two bipartisan senators are asking Secretary of State Rex Tillerson to raise this very issue when he travels to Mexico and Latin America later this week.

“We write to urge you to raise the importance of strong, independent electoral systems in Mexico and Latin America more broadly,” write Senators Marco Rubio, R-Florida, and Senator Bob Menendez, D-New Jersey, wrote in a letter to Tillerson. “We are increasingly concerned about growing efforts to undermine these hard-fought and widely supported advances, particularly those emanating from outside the region.”

Students put through anti-oppression training

(THE COLLEGE FIX) — What type of preparation do students at the University of Pennsylvania need to tutor children in creative writing at a nearby elementary school?

Apparently, anti-oppression training.

Members of the student club have for the past two years been put through the training, which includes discussions on power, privilege, racial tension and systemic oppression.

Congressman Trey Gowdy leaving politics

(GOUPSTATE.COM) — U.S. Rep. Trey Gowdy, R-S.C., announced Thursday that he will not seek re-election, saying his skills “are better utilized in a courtroom than in Congress.”

Gowdy, who is finishing his fourth term, was first elected in 2010 after a contentious battle with former Rep. Bob Inglis.

Gowdy’s full statement is below.

“Words cannot adequately express my gratitude to the people of South Carolina for the privilege of representing them in the House of Representatives. The Upstate of South Carolina has an incredible depth and breadth of assets including numerous women and men capable of representing us. I will always be grateful for the opportunity to serve in the People’s House and—prior to Congress—to advocate on behalf of justice in our court systems.

Train carrying GOP lawmakers to retreat hits truck

(DAILY CALLER) — An Amtrak train carrying several members of Congress was involved in an accident with a large truck Wednesday just before noon eastern time.

According to The Atlantic’s Elaine Plott, the train was taking the congressmen from Union Station in Washington, D.C. to a Republican retreat in Greenbrier, West Virginia.

Multiple injuries have already been reported. It is not yet clear what caused the accident, but photos from the scene show that the truck has sustained extreme damage.