Not the first to profit from a fake story.

Via Daily Wire:

The couple who raised nearly half a million dollars for a homeless man after he gave his last $20 to the woman will face criminal charges as will the homeless man for making up the entire story, officials say.

“Mark D’Amico, Kate McClure and Johnny Bobbitt will face charges including conspiracy and theft by deception,” NBC 10 reported on Wednesday.

NBC 10 reviewed a complaint that alleges the three “conspired with one another to make up a false story in order to raise more than $400,000.”

D’Amico and McClure turned themselves into Burlington County authorities on Wednesday after prosecutors said that they, along with Bobbitt, intentionally prevented those who donated to their GoFundMe page from accessing relevant information that “would affect their judgment about solicited contribution to that fundraising effort.”

The three gained national attention last year after the couple claimed that Bobbitt gave his last $20 to help McClure purchase fuel after she ran out while driving on Interstate 95 in Philadelphia.

The couple came under scrutiny not long after the story broke and the $400,000+ was raised after Bobbitt and his lawyer said that “McClure and D’Amico gave him around $75,000 as well as the vehicle and the camper, but have since learned that the rest of the money is gone.”

Keep reading…

Give that woman a cigar.

Via Washington Examiner:

If you think the press is guilty of giving former President Bill Clinton a pass on his history of sexually abusing and exploiting women, you’re not alone. Monica Lewinsky is right there with you.

The woman at the center of the 1998 Clinton sex scandal accused the press this week of dereliction of duty, claiming in an essay in Vanity Fair that she had to wait nearly 20 years for reporters to ask the former president (somewhat) uncomfortable questions about the affair and his abuse of power.

“The debate over who gets to live in Victimville fascinates me, as a public person who has watched strangers discuss my own ‘victim’ status at length on social media,” she writes, recalling clearly that she was portrayed in 1998 as a star-struck seductress by players in both the Clinton White House and the press. “Do I wish I could erase my years in D.C. from memory, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind–style? Well, is the sky blue? But I can’t.”

“And in order to move forward in the life I have, I must take risks — both professional and emotional. (It’s a combustible combination.) An important part of moving forward is excavating, often painfully, what has gone before,” Lewinsky added, seeking to explain her decision to participate in the A&E docuseries The Clinton Affair. “When politicians are asked uncomfortable questions, they often duck and dodge by saying, That’s old news. It’s in the past. Yes. That’s exactly where we need to start to heal — with the past. But it’s not easy.”

Lewinsky then zeroes in on what has been a common complaint on the Right: that no matter what Bill Clinton admits to doing to women, or is alleged to have done, many in our supposedly serious and hard-hitting news media are eager to give him a pass or simply look the other way. It wasn’t until very recently — nearly two decades after the 1998 scandal first struck — that reporters began asking the former president difficult questions about the fact that he engaged in an extramarital relationship with a 25-year-old intern and that his White House sought later to portray her as the villain.

“For the first time in more than 15 years, Bill Clinton was being asked directly about what transpired,” Lewinsky writes. “If you want to know what power looks like, watch a man safely, even smugly, do interviews for decades, without ever worrying whether he will be asked the questions he doesn’t want to answer.”

That is as succinct a description of the press’ Bill Clinton problem as I’ve ever read.

Keep reading…

Jobs will take people from the plantation of dependency.

Via Fox News:

New York’s top politicians, Gov. Andrew Cuomo and Mayor Bill de Blasio, have been accused of an “immoral waste of taxpayers’ money” and being out of touch with their constituents as the chorus of complaints grows louder over the incentive-laden package put together by the Democrats to lure Amazon to the Big Apple.

The comments come as residents and politicians from within the Democratic Party voice their displeasure with what they perceive as too sweet a deal for Amazon to set up shop in Long Island City, a diverse Queens neighborhood they say has long been in need of improvements in affordable housing, education and infrastructure.

“True progressive leaders of the Democratic Party do not throw corporate welfare at the richest man in the world,” New York City Councilman Jimmy Van Bramer, who represents the area, told Fox News. “Jeff Bezos, Amazon Cuomo, and Mayor de Blasio got in a room and cut out the people who this deal is going to affect, whose money will be spent to make it all possible.”

Van Bramer added in a separate interview with Politico that both Cuomo and De Blasio — two of the most powerful Democrats in the state – “misread the moment” and how much of a backlash the deal for Amazon to bring one of its headquarters there would generate.

“I think if the takeaway from the recent election in Queens, New York City and nationally is that we should actually step up corporate subsidies and billionaires getting billion-dollar bailouts — if that’s the takeaway, somebody’s not got their fingers on the pulse of Democrats, certainly, but people generally in this country,” he said.

Van Bramer is not alone amongst his party. New York Congress member-elect and Democratic Socialist darling Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez railed against Amazon Tuesday for getting tax breaks, citing community “outrage,” while City Council Speaker Corey Johnson questioned why such a wealthy company needs more than $1 billion in public money for their expansion plans.

Ron Kim, an assemblyman who represents another part of the Queens borough, has even gone as far as to file legislation hoping to block some of the subsidies being offered to Amazon from taking effect.

“Giving Jeff Bezos hundreds of millions of dollars is an immoral waste of taxpayers’ money when it’s more than clear that the money would create more jobs and more economic growth when it is used to relieve student debt,” Kim said in a statement obtained by Fox News.

In a co-authored New York Times Op-Ed, Kim and Zephyr Teachout, who ran against Cuomo in the 2014 Democratic gubernatorial primary, wrote: “The company does not seek partnership; it seeks control. Seattle’s experience shows that becoming dependent on Amazon did not lead to broader wealth; it has pushed up home prices and led to increased homelessness. Amazon also threw its political weight around in the city, spending millions in a brutal campaign to resist corporate taxes in Seattle.”

“It would be a special insult in New York City to sell out to a company so closely identified with squashing small merchants, stifling workers’ rights and undermining the publishing and ideas industry.”

“New York has a long, strong history of union power, and Amazon has a long history of union busting. In a 45-minute video leaked by Gizmodo, Amazon’s anti-union tactics were revealed, as Whole Foods team leaders were instructed in how to quell unionization after Amazon bought the company.”

Keep reading…

Great job, Judicial Watch!

Via Daily Caller:

A federal court is compelling former secretary of state Hillary Clinton to respond to further questions — under oath — about her notorious emails.

U.S. District Court Judge Emmet Sullivan issued the ruling Wednesday in response to a lawsuit from Judicial Watch, the conservative research and investigative group that has long had its sights on both of the Clintons. (RELATED: Hillary Clinton Jokes About Email Scandal On ‘Murphy Brown’)

Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton was jubilant about the decision in a Thursday morning tweet: “Breaking: Court rules late today Hillary Clinton must answer more email questions — including key [questions] about the setting up of her email system.”

The decision is the result of a Freedom of Information lawsuit initiated by Judicial Watch that sought to clarify why Clinton’s executive assistant, Huma Abedin, was authorized to be both an employee of the State Department and a “special government employee” for outside jobs, according to news release issued Thursday by Judicial Watch.

Keep reading…

But the ‘scaravan’ doesn’t exist and they’re really not climbing over the walls. This was a group bused ahead of the main portion of the caravan.

Via Fox News:

More than a dozen members of the migrant caravan were arrested Wednesday night along U.S.-Tijuana border, a border patrol source in the San Diego sector told Fox News.

A small group was arrested near the beach in an area called Playas de Tijuana. A large group was arrested in the mountains east of Otay Mesa, a San Diego community that straddles the Mexican border, the source said. All were arrested for trying to cross the border illegally, the source said.

Separately, a fight broke out Wednesday night in Tijuana between local Mexicans and Hondurans arriving in the caravan. The migrants complained that the locals were yelling: “Go home. We don’t want you here!” Members of the caravan complained to reporters that local police made no attempt to break up the fight.

Keep reading…

Gotta love it. Well, he’s thrown her under the bus to advance himself, so it’s only fair she tosses him.

Via Daily Wire:

While everyone waits for President Trump to tweet out his inevitably headline-winning reaction to the arrest of Michael Avenatti for suspected felony domestic violence on Wednesday, the celebrity lawyer’s most famous client has offered her official statement, which ends with an ominous comment about “seeking new representation” should the charges prove true.

“These are serious and obviously very troubling allegations, but right now that is all they are: allegations,” said Daniels in a statement reported by New York Magazine’s Olivia Nuzzi. “We should all reserve judgment until the investigation—an investigation Michael has said he welcomes—is complete, and that’s what I’m going to do. But of course I do not condone violence against women and if these allegations prove true I will be seeking new representation.”

Keep reading…

Obama-appointed judge not complying with Florida law.

Via Daily Wire:

On Thursday, a federal judge in Tallahassee threw yet another wrench into the process of finalizing the vote tallies in the battle for Florida’s U.S. Senate seat between incumbent Democratic Sen. Bill Nelson and GOP Gov. Rick Scott. As the 3 p.m. deadline approached for counties to report the results of a machine recount in the races for the Nelson-Scott race, as well as the elections for governor and agriculture commissioner, U.S. District Court judge Mark Walker, who was nominated to the U.S. District Court by former president Barack Obama in 2012, extended the deadline to Saturday at 5 p.m. for voters whose votes weren’t tabulated due to signature problems.

Scott leads Nelson by 12,652 votes while GOP governor nominee Ron DeSantis leads Democratic nominee Andrew Gillum by 33,633 votes.

The Orlando Sentinel reports, “According to state data presented during a five-hour hearing Wednesday, with 47 of the 67 counties reporting, there were 3,781 ballots rejected for mismatched signatures, including 467 in Orange County.”

Keep reading…

Police don’t arrest for felony domestic violence unless they have something significant.

Michael Avenatti addresses Los Angeles arrest: "I have never struck a woman. I never will strike a woman…I am looking forward to a full investigation, at which point I am confident that I will be fully exonerated" https://t.co/cnwTiOuwxR pic.twitter.com/7RSpTTWG74

— NBC News (@NBCNews) November 15, 2018

Hehehe. Gott love it.

Tucker's not-so-subtle, veiled jab at Creepy Porn Lawyer Michael Avenatti on tonight's show:

"The question is, are the people who claim they are defending free speech actually defenders of speech?

Hashtag Basta.

Whatever that means."

Rekt. pic.twitter.com/ZHHEFNcUAn

— Benny (@bennyjohnson) November 15, 2018

Recounts are rigged against the GOP.

Via Townhall:

Election recounts would be more plausible if Democrats occasionally let the Republican win. But they don’t. Ballots miraculously discovered days and weeks after the election — in the back seat of a car, after helpful “corrections” to the ballots by election supervisors, etc. — invariably result in a surprise win for the Democrat.

Voters are just supposed to accept that, unless Republicans win an election by an insuperable margin, the Democrats will steal it.

And the thieving is cheered on by our media. Whenever President Trump has the effrontery to mention that GOP victories are being stolen by corrupt Democratic officials, the media snippily note that his claim is “UNSUBSTANTIATED.”

Thus, for example, in the first 60 seconds of CNN’s “Erin Burnett OutFront” on Monday, Burnett said:

— “(The email from Trump headquarters) without providing any evidence … warns that, quote, corrupt Democrats are trying to, quote, steal election victories in Florida. …

— “It’s a baseless claim that President Trump has been pushing for days. …

— “(Gov. Rick) Scott (is) talking about rampant fraud without providing any evidence. …

— “Now, ‘steal an election,’ ‘committing fraud’ are big claims to make without having evidence.”

Hey! I have an idea! Why doesn’t CNN rustle up some reporters to go and investigate the biggest story of the year?

No, the burden is on random Republicans — who have jobs other than “reporting the news” — to produce bulletproof evidence of voter fraud. Otherwise, it’s just a wacky coincidence that these “recounts” always result in mysterious new votes for Democrats.

If a freelance investigative reporter like James O’Keefe actually does produce the evidence that our media are too lazy and biased to get for themselves, they sneer that O’Keefe can’t be trusted. He’s not a real reporter!

What a real reporter does is call up some left-wing outfit, get a quote, and peremptorily announce that there has never been an illegal ballot cast in any election, ever.

We called the Brennan Center for Justice, and they assured us that voter fraud doesn’t exist. I can prove I called — I’ll show you my phone records! We’re not going to send our reporters on a snipe hunt. Oh, and we also got an interesting brochure on voter suppression, such as the Nazi-inspired idea that voters should know how to spell their own names.

That’s what we get from our crackerjack media. Journalists’ phones should be taken away, so they’d be forced to do actual reporting.

Republicans control the state legislature and governor’s office in Florida. They control the U.S. Congress and the presidency. If that’s not enough to prevent two statewide Florida elections from being stolen, the GOP is more useless than I’d already imagined. […]

In 1984, Democrat Frank McCloskey won a razor-thin re-election to the House from Indiana’s 8th Congressional District. The state held two recounts, both of which the Republican won. The Washington Post reported that there were “no allegations of fraud” in the recount, and 90 percent of ballot disqualifications had been agreed to “by election commissions dominated by Democrats.”

Consequently, Indiana’s secretary of state certified Republican Rick McIntyre the winner.

But the Democratic-controlled House simply refused to seat McIntyre. Instead, the House undertook its own “recount.” You’ll never guess who won!

Don’t Republicans have a majority in the House for six more weeks?

Keep reading…

Haven’t seen any reports of a bacon shortage.

Via WISTV:

Two billboards showing pigs braving floodwaters urges Columbia residents to “Stop eating meat!”

The billboards our courtesy of PETA, who says the signs, placed near a meat market, restaurants, and a butcher shop on St. Andrews Road and another on U.S. Route 1 between N. Grampian Hills Road and Dogwood Court say pigs like this “die for your cruel and dirty habit” of meat-eating.

The signs, PETA says, are directed toward those who raise the animals and allowed them to die in flooding conditions after Hurricane Florence.

“If this message of compassion inspires just one person to leave pigs and chickens off their plate, there will be less support for an industry in which millions of animals die horrifically, whether in a slaughterhouse or during hurricanes and floods,” says PETA President Ingrid Newkirk. “PETA’s billboards urge meat-eaters to change their ways before the next wave of animals die slowly and painfully in a natural disaster.”

Keep reading…

The gift card loophole.

Via WISN:

A Wisconsin glass-making firm wanting to avoid the impersonal touch of a cash bonus that might be used to pay bills opted to gift each and every employee with a gun of their choice.

Well, to be more accurate, and to keep in line with state law, the father-and-son team at BenShot LLC gave each of employee a gift card with which to purchase their weapon.

“That way the background check was done by the store,” Ben Wolfgram explained to WISN 12 NEWS on Tuesday. “We are a small, close-knit team at BenShot. I want to make sure all of employees are safe and happy – a handgun was the perfect gift.”

The Hortonville-based company has found success on Amazon with its design and manufacture of shot and beer glasses with bullets embedded into the glass. The gift cards to the 16 full-time employees, some of them veterans, cost the company about $8,000, Wolfgram said.

Media relations employee Chelsea Priest said she was grateful for the gift.

“For him to stand for something and for the company to stand for keeping us safe is really awesome for them to do that,” she said in a video interview.

Keep reading…

Turn and burn.

Via Fox News:

A nurse whose truck was destroyed while helping patients escape the wildfires of a Northern California town was offered a new vehicle by Toyota, The San Francisco Chronicle reported.

Allyn Pierce told The New York Times he was on his way out of Paradise — where a wildfire has claimed 48 lives and destroyed 7,700 homes — and decided to turn around and help his community. He said he drove to the town’s main hospital to help evacuate and treat patients.

The report said he drove back to the hospital in Paradise with colleagues, where they broke in to get supplies and “got to work” in the parking lot.

“This truck literally saved my life today,” Pierce wrote on Instagram. “My little Paradise was literally burning down around me and @the pandra got me to safety where I could help others … twice.”

Pierce posted a photo of his destroyed truck on his Instagram. When Pierce’s followers tagged Toyota, the company took notice. Several days later Toyota commented: “Hi Allyn, we are humbled you’d risk your life and Toyota Tundra to drive people to safety. Don’t worry about your truck, we’re honored to get you a new one!”

Keep reading…

Supposedly their machines had all broken and they were getting folks in to ‘fix them’ which apparently hasn’t happened yet.

Florida really needs to get its act together.

Not only is this unacceptable now, how long have they been screwing up elections? GOP has to take it in hand if Democrats wouldn’t.

HT: Twitchy

Everyone else reported on it before them.

Gee, wonder why they were lagging in reporting on their contributor?

Via Twitchy:

Seeing as the story of celebrity lawyer and potential 2020 contender Michael Avenatti’s arrest on domestic violence charges originated at TMZ, maybe CNN wanted to be extra-careful about doing some fact-checking before running a story.

CNN did keep people waiting, though.

Keep reading…

But settled?

Via Daily Caller:

The scientists behind a headline-grabbing global warming study did something that seems all too rare these days — they admitted to making mistakes and thanked the researcher, a global warming skeptic, who pointed them out.

“When we were confronted with his insight it became immediately clear there was an issue there,” study co-author Ralph Keeling told The San Diego Union-Tribune on Tuesday.

Their study, published in October, used a new method of measuring ocean heat uptake and found the oceans had absorbed 60 more heat than previously thought. Many news outlets relayed the findings, but independent scientist Nic Lewis quickly found problems with the study.

Keeling, a scientist at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, owned up to the mistake and thanked Lewis for finding it. Keeling and his co-authors submitted a correction to the journal Nature.

Keep reading…

Tell him to lump it and wait till the next Congress, if he’s going to be a jackass.

Via Daily Caller:

Outgoing GOP Sen. Jeff Flake of Arizona will not vote to advance or confirm any judicial nominees until the Senate enacts legislation protecting special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation.

His announcement casts doubt upon the outcome of several dozen nominations Republicans hope to enact by year’s end.

“I have informed the Majority Leader that I will not vote to advance any of the 21 judicial nominees pending in the Judiciary Committee, or vote to confirm the 32 judges awaiting a confirmation vote on the floor, until S. 2644 is brought to the full Senate for a vote,” Flake said in a Wednesday floor speech, referring to the Special Counsel Independence and Integrity Act.

Though the Senate Republican caucus will grow when the new Congress is seated in January, for the moment they retain a tenuous 51-49 majority. With Flake’s announcement, the defection of one more Republican would defeat a nominee’s confirmation bid, provided all Democrats vote together.

Keep reading…

Some of the migrants appear to have climbed the fence, jumped over, and then climbed back up the fence once Border Patrol arrived. pic.twitter.com/XxI6uEjm6n

— Ryan Saavedra (@RealSaavedra) November 14, 2018

Border patrol was on the hop.

Via Daily Wire:

Hundreds of young men from one of the migrant caravans headed toward the United States arrived at a border fence that separates Tijuana, Mexico and San Diego, California on Monday; some of them began illegally entering the U.S. after climbing the fence.

Video of the incident was first captured by Televisa Tijuana Oficial and FRONTERA, as reported by Breitbart’s Border and Cartel team.

“A few jumped or crawled to openings in the fence onto U.S. soil but quickly ran back as Border Patrol agents approached,” FOX 5 San Diego reported.

Keep reading…

No, no funny business going on at all…

Via Politico:

The Florida Department of State last week asked federal prosecutors to investigate dates that were changed on official state election documents, the first voting “irregularities” it has flagged in the wake of the 2018 elections.

The concerns, which the department says can be tied to the Florida Democratic Party, center around date changes on forms used to fix vote-by-mail ballots sent with incorrect or missing information. Known as “cure affidavits,” those documents used to fix mail ballots were due no later than 5 p.m. on Nov. 5 — the day before the election. But affidavits released on Tuesday by the DOS show that documents from four different counties said the ballots could be returned by 5 p.m. on Thursday, which is not accurate.

Audio of a Florida Democratic Party caller leaving a voicemail message asking a Palm Beach County voter to fix their vote by mail ballot after Election Day, which is not allowed, was also sent to POLITICO separately. It was not part of the information turned over to federal prosecutors.

Among the counties in question is Broward, which emerged as the epicenter of controversy as three statewide races and three local legislative races went into recounts following the Nov. 6 elections. Republicans have pointed to embattled Broward Elections chief Brenda Snipes’ record of past election gaffes in arguing that the largely Democratic country is tilted against them — perhaps fraudulently so.

DOS officials have repeatedly told the media that the monitors they sent to Broward County saw no election fraud. It wasn’t until Tuesday that the office revealed publicly that it had turned over information to federal prosecutors.

Keep reading…

Well, there goes that 2020 run, there is a God.

Via TMZ:

Michael Avenatti, who became famous for representing Stormy Daniels in her battle with President Trump, has been arrested for felony domestic violence … law enforcement sources tell TMZ.

Our law enforcement sources say Avenatti was arrested Wednesday after his estranged wife filed a felony DV report. We’re told her face was “swollen and bruised.”

Our sources say the alleged incident occurred Tuesday, but there was a confrontation Wednesday between the two at an exclusive apartment building in the Century City area of L.A.

We’re told during today’s confrontation the woman ran out of the apartment building and was on the sidewalk on her cellphone with sunglasses covering her eyes, screaming on the phone, “I can’t believe you did this to me.”

Keep reading…