August 26, 2017

Border Patrol says Texas checkpoints to remain open during Hurricane Harvey

As thousands of Texans prepare to evacuate their cities due to Hurricane Harvey, the United States Border Patrol said it is not planning to close its roadside immigration checkpoints north of the Rio Grande Valley unless there is a danger to travelers or its agents.

“Border Patrol checkpoints will not be closed unless there is a danger to the safety of the traveling public and our agents. Border Patrol resources, including personnel and transportation, will be deployed on an as needed basis to augment the efforts and capabilities of local-response authorities,” the agency said in a statement.

The Border Patrol is a law enforcement agency and we will not abandon our law enforcement duties.”

When asked to elaborate on the statement, CBP public affairs officer Roberto Rodriguez said officers would prioritize public safety but keep intact the goals of the agency’s mission.




https://www.texastribune.org/2017/08/24/border-patrol-texas-checkpoints-remain-open-hurricane-harvey/

August 26, 2017

GOP considering resolution condemning both sides of Charlottesville violence

Republicans are floating a resolution to condemn the recent white supremacist protests in Virginia — a measure quickly hammered by Democrats who say the language echoes the equivocal response from President Trump.

The draft resolution strongly denounces the groups that organized the Charlottesville, Va., rallies, singling out the “white supremacists and neo-Nazis” at the center of the marches, which led to the death of a counterprotester and two law enforcement officers responding to the violence.

But Democrats are pouncing on language that condemns, in equal terms, both the racist groups “and counterprotestors engaged in acts of violence.”

“This resolution is a nonstarter for Democrats,” said a Democratic aide. “It equates neo-Nazis and white supremacists with counterprotestors, and reeks of the same moral equivalence as Trump's statements.”

It’s unclear who penned the document or how close the Republicans are to finalizing it.


http://thehill.com/homenews/administration/347966-gop-floats-condemning-charlottesville-violence

August 25, 2017

Japan investigating possible N. Korean missile launch

https://twitter.com/bnonews/status/901206508662345728

August 25, 2017

Breaking: Right Wing Rally Cancelled for San Francisco!!

Just hitting the wires.

August 25, 2017

Before Trump directs storm relief money to Texas, remember this tweet about Hurricane Sandy

https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/263280389039218690

August 24, 2017

Conway: Dems want Clinton to be useful or 'fade out'

Counselor to the president Kellyanne Conway suggested Thursday that Democrats in Washington are quietly steaming about the upcoming release of Hillary Clinton’s book, telling Fox News they want her to “either make herself useful or fade out of the limelight.”

Initial excerpts from Clinton’s book, which details her failed 2016 presidential campaign and is titled “What Happened,” were released Wednesday on MSNBC. In them, Clinton recalls the second presidential debate, in which she accused Trump of standing too close to her. She said her “skin crawled” from Trump's behavior and that she had considered telling Trump to “back up, you creep.”

Without indicating the source of her intelligence on their thinking, Conway said Clinton’s forthcoming book has been a point of frustration for Democrats looking to move beyond last year’s election.

“Look at the crackup of the left,” she said. “You’ve got Hillary Clinton who Democrats are whispering all over this town they wish that this book didn’t happen. That she would just either make herself useful or fade out of the limelight. Where is her bipartisan effort to try to help with infrastructure, meaningful tax reform or the opioid crisis that I work on in the building behind me every single day? We haven’t heard from her.”


http://www.politico.com/story/2017/08/24/kellyanne-conway-hillary-clinton-new-book-241984

August 23, 2017

Feds grant permit for Free Speech rally at Crissy Field

It’s on.

The feds have granted the final permit for the right-wing “Free Speech” rally to be held by Patriot Prayer, which has city officials concerned that violent clashes between protesters may grace the foot of our Golden Gate.

The Golden Gate National Recreation Area and National Park Service was initially set to announce by Friday whether the permit has been granted.

“We cannot deny a permit to anyone planning to exercise their First Amendment rights based on their political stance or beliefs,” the park service wrote in a statement. “We can deny a permit application for public safety reasons if the event raises such significant public safety concerns that law enforcement cannot manage the event.”

Business in the Presidio and Crissy Field will be closed to the public Saturday to ensure public safety, the GGNRA wrote. Traffic will also be impacted.


http://www.sfexaminer.com/feds-grant-permit-free-speech-rally-crissy-field/

August 23, 2017

ESPN, Citing Safety, Says Asian-American Robert Lee Wont Broadcast Virginia Football Game

ESPN has removed an announcer from its broadcast of the University of Virginia’s first football game next month because he has the same name as a Confederate general memorialized in statues that are being taken down across the country.

The network announced late Tuesday that the announcer, Robert Lee, a part-time employee who calls about a dozen college football and basketball games a year for ESPN, would no longer participate in the broadcast of the Sept. 2 game in Charlottesville, Va., which became the center of violent clashes this month during a white supremacist gathering.

White nationalists and neo-Nazis flooded into Charlottesville, marching through the University of Virginia campus with torches, to protest the city’s plan to remove a statue of the Confederacy’s top general, Robert E. Lee.

After the violence in Charlottesville, which left one person dead, ESPN executives and Mr. Lee decided that for his safety it would be best to have him to work on a different game that Saturday, a network spokesman said.

“We collectively made the decision with Robert to switch games as the tragic events in Charlottesville were unfolding, simply because of the coincidence of his name,” ESPN said in a statement. “In that moment it felt right to all parties. It’s a shame that this is even a topic of conversation and we regret that who calls play-by-play for a football game has become an issue.”




https://www.nytimes.com/2017/08/23/business/media/robert-lee-university-virginia-charlottesville.html?smid=tw-nytimes&smtyp=cur

August 23, 2017

"They're trying to take our culture. They're trying to take our history."

There you have it.

August 23, 2017

Phoenix Freakshow Live Thread.

If you have the stomach to watch, this thread os for you.