Giuliani says he's 'more of a Jew' than Holocaust survivor George Soros

Rudy Giuliani says he's "more of a Jew" than liberal billionaire George Soros, who survived the Nazi occupation of Hungary as a teen.

In a remarkable interview with New York magazine, Giuliani, President Donald Trump's lawyer, painted Soros as a puppet master who has secretly been pulling the strings in Ukraine. Soros is a frequent target of conspiracy theories about Jews controlling the world.

Don’t tell me I’m anti-Semitic if I oppose him," Giuliani said. "Soros is hardly a Jew. I’m more of a Jew than Soros is. I probably know more about — he doesn’t go to church, he doesn’t go to religion — synagogue. He doesn’t belong to a synagogue, he doesn’t support Israel, he’s an enemy of Israel. He’s elected eight anarchist DAs in the United States. He’s a horrible human being."

He said the former U.S. ambassador to Ukraine, Marie Yovanovitch, who testified in the impeachment inquiry that she'd been smeared and forced out of her job by Giuliani, was "controlled" by Soros.

"He put all four ambassadors there. And he’s employing the FBI agents," Giuliani told the magazine.


https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.nbcnews.com/news/amp/ncna1106701

Neil Abercrombie calls on Tulsi Gabbard to resign from Congress

Former Gov. Neil Abercrombie is calling on Hawaii Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard to resign from her seat in the U.S. House of Representatives, telling reporters today that her missed votes and absence form her district were “unacceptable.”

Abercrombie is a c0-chair of State Sen. Kai Kahele’s campaign to claim Gabbard’s House seat, though he said that he was speaking in his personal capacity as a former member of Congress.

Abercrombie served nine terms in the House, from 1993 to 2010, when he resigned to run for governor.

Gabbard announced in October that she would not seek reelection to her House seat next year and instead would focus on her presidential bid. Her term runs through the end of 2020.

Gabbard has missed about 90% of votes in the House since October, according to GovTrack.us. She recently rented a house in New Hampshire where she is focusing on drumming up support in the early voting state.



https://www.staradvertiser.com/2019/12/23/breaking-news/neil-abercrombie-calls-on-tulsi-gabbard-to-resign-from-congress/

Analyzing 2019: The fall of a Texas House speaker

Dennis Bonnen entered the race for speaker of the Texas House late, after other candidates had faltered, and locked it up quickly. He took office in January, helped steer what had been a cantankerous Legislature through passage of major school finance and property tax legislation, gaveled out the end of the session and won praise for the results.

A couple of weeks after the session, he held an ill-fated meeting with a political activist and critic of the Legislature’s work and, over the course of an hour-long conversation, undid his chances of winning a second term. Bonnen was critical of many of his fellow Republican members, of local officials from around the state and more — and it was all captured in a recording made by that activist, Michael Quinn Sullivan of Empower Texans.

When the recording was made public months later, Bonnen’s chance at another term was gone. He didn’t file as a candidate for reelection in 2020, meaning there will be a new member representing his district, and a new speaker presiding.

A political activist accused House Speaker Dennis Bonnen of trying to undermine the campaigns of 10 members of his own party, an allegation that — true or not — could ruin the goodwill Bonnen built up in a successful legislative session earlier this year.

The crisis around Bonnen is heating up as newly revealed recordings add some credence to allegations that he and a trusted lieutenant plotted with a political activist against some GOP House members. Will his members believe him — or his accuser?



https://www.texastribune.org/2019/12/23/2019-fall-texas-house-speaker-dennis-bonnen/

Invasive Asian giant hornet found in Washington state

The Asian giant hornet, an invasive species which has not been previously found in Washington state, was found in Blaine, according to the Washington State Department of Agriculture.

WSDA officials said a person found the hornet on their property Dec. 8. Two days later, entomologists went, recovered the dead specimen and identified it as the hornet.

The hornet is an unwelcome pest and represents a threat to honeybees, for which they have a “voracious appetite,” scientists said. They also have a powerful sting and are not known to be aggressive toward people.

Scientists and Washington State Department of Health officials are warning people to be on the lookout for the insects and take precautions, avoiding contact.

If a person is stung by the hornet, DOH officials recommend “washing the site thoroughly with soap and water and applying ice or a cold compress to reduce swelling. The agency also recommends an antihistamine or use of an anti-itch cream to reduce itching if necessary. If you are stung multiple times or have symptoms of a severe reaction following a sting, call 911 or seek medical care immediately,” according to information posted by the WSDA.

Asian giant hornets are not usually aggressive, but because of their size and stinger, it’s best to avoid them.




https://www.kiro7.com/news/local/invasive-asian-giant-hornet-found-washington-state/MVL5HAVCKVEJDDY42AAT4U2C3Q/

NJ-SEN: Booker getting primary challenge for Senate from Sanders supporter

Cory Booker will have at least one Democratic primary challenger next year for his Senate seat if his presidential campaign doesn’t take off — a Bernie Sanders supporter from his hometown.

Lawrence Hamm, a longtime Newark civil rights activist who chairs the People’s Organization for Progress, said Thursday he plans to run for U.S. Senate in the 2020 Democratic primary.

Hamm, who announced his plans on social media, said in a brief phone interview he will seek the nomination and wants to appear on the same ballot line as Sanders.

"I support Bernie Sanders for president because I believe in the agenda and the platform that he’s running on," said Hamm, who is the New Jersey chairman for Sanders’ campaign. "And if Bernie Sanders becomes president, he’s going to need a senator from New Jersey who will fight wholeheartedly for those reforms and agenda items and platforms that he campaigned for as president."

It remains to be seen if the Democratic presidential race will still be competitive when New Jersey holds its primary on June 2. New Jersey’s primary is one of the last in the country and just a month and a half before the Democratic National Convention in Milwaukee.



https://www.politico.com/states/new-jersey/story/2019/12/19/booker-getting-primary-challenge-for-senate-from-sanders-supporter-1233676

Doug Jone remains undecided on whether Trump should be removed from office

Sen. Doug Jones (D-Ala.), who won a stunning special election victory in 2017 and faces a difficult reelection campaign next year, said Sunday that he remains undecided on whether President Trump should be removed from office.

Jones — a former prosecutor and moderate Democrat representing a deeply conservative state that overwhelming backed Trump’s presidential campaign in 2016 — said he is keeping his mind open ahead of the pending Senate trial, following the House’s vote to impeach the president last week.

“Quite frankly, I didn’t sit in front of the TV set the entire time the last two or three months. I’ve been trying to read this. I’m trying to see if the dots get connected,” Jones said in an interview on ABC’s “This Week.” “If that is the case, then I think it’s a serious matter. I think it’s an impeachable matter.”

But, Jones added, “If those dots aren’t connected and there are other explanations that I think are consistent with innocence, I will go that way, too. I have got to make sure that — what I really want to see, though, is to fill in the gaps. .?.?. I would like to see a full and complete picture.”



https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/key-democratic-senator-remains-undecided-on-whether-trump-should-be-removed-from-office/2019/12/22/8ef235b6-24dc-11ea-9c21-2c2a4d2c2166_story.html

Teacher placed on leave after allegedly telling students she wants to bring back slavery.

A California middle school history teacher has reportedly been placed on leave after students said she made racist comments, including calling for the return of slavery.

According to a report from The Los Angeles Times, this marks the second time in two months that the teacher, whose name has not been made public, has been disciplined for such remarks. She was previously put on leave in late October.

The unnamed teacher works at the Space and Aeronautics Gateway to Exploration Magnet Academy in Palmdale, Calif., where the L.A. Times says about 70 percent of the school population is composed of Latino students followed by black students.

Students say the teacher is a supporter of President Trump, displaying Trump memorabilia in the classroom and praising his proposed border wall with Mexico. Students also allege she said she would "bring back slavery" and gave them assignments having to do with immigration and Trump.

Palmdale School District's assistant superintendent of human resources said the teacher has been placed on leave and an independent investigator has been hired to probe the allegations. Mental health resources have also been offered to students.




https://thehill.com/homenews/news/475573-teacher-placed-on-leave-after-allegedly-telling-students-she-wants-to-bring

Tweet of the Day

Trump Says He Has a 'Lot of Respect' for Tulsi Gabbard After Her 'Present' Impeachment Vote

Trump took a break from complaining about his impeachment at a Turning Point USA conference in Florida on Saturday to praise Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (D-HI) for voting “present” during the vote. After defending Gabbard against Hillary Clinton's apparent suggestion recently that Gabbard is a “favorite of the Russians,” Trump praised the Hawaii Democrat for her stance on his impeachment. “She didn’t vote the other day. I give her a lot of respect, because she knew it was wrong. But I don’t know, but I know one thing. She is not an agent of Russia,” he said. Gabbard made waves earlier this week by voting “present” in a House vote to charge Trump with two articles of impeachment, blasting the impeachment proceedings as a “partisan endeavor” and saying she had decided to stand “in the center” rather than vote yes or no.



https://www.thedailybeast.com/trump-says-he-has-a-lot-of-respect-for-tulsi-gabbard-after-her-present-impeachment-vote?via=twitter_page

Bonus Tweet of the Day