By Mike Huckabee
December 17, 2021
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THE MORNING EDITION By Mike Huckabee
Good morning! Here are some stories from me that I think you will want to read. Topics include:
- Masks on Planes
- Blue City Law and Order
- Moving and Buying Stories
- Prayer Tree
- And Much More
DAILY BIBLE VERSE
This verse was recommended by Tammy S.
15 And if it seems evil to you to serve the Lord, choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of [a]the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”
Joshua 24:15 NKJV
THE LATEST NEWS
1. Masks on Planes:
The CEOs of American and Southwest Airlines testified to Congress this week that they question the need and effectiveness of forcing passengers to wear face masks on planes. They said that in terms of air quality, an airliner is the safest indoor space there is, even safer than an ICU. It’s a sealed environment where the air passes through filters that trap all airborne particles larger than 0.3 microns.
Naturally, Massachusetts Democrat Sen. Ed Markey was aghast at the suggestion of letting passengers remove their masks, “in the face of Omicron, children under five who still cannot be vaccinated…and that we still allow unvaccinated people on planes.” This is a typical reaction by an official from a blue state, where “temporary” COVID restrictions were put in place over a year ago, but there still are no plans to ever lift them. As with all other government programs created by liberals, they become immortal.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/cities-vaccine-mandates-lift-forever-covid
Some are suggesting some airline masking reforms, like at least letting vaccinated people take off their masks. I assume Sen. Markey’s idea of reform would be to keep making vaccinated people wear masks while banning unvaccinated people completely. That would probably just result in unvaccinated people moving from blue to red states by car instead of by plane.
2. Law and Order, Blue City Style:
Attack cops, loot stores and try to burn down a courthouse, and it’s called a “peaceful protest” with no charges filed.
Peacefully protest draconian COVID laws by trying to eat at Applebee’s without a vax card: Slap ‘em in cuffs and haul them off to jail! After all, it’s not as if the New York Police Department has any serious crime to deal with.
3. DC Bar Assn. lower the 'bar' for felon Kevin Clinesmith:
Yesterday, I remarked that Adam Schiff, for repeatedly and shamelessly lying and falsifying evidence to try to get political adversaries imprisoned, should be disbarred. (Others, notably Mark Levin, have agreed.) Of course, for that to happen, lawyers themselves would have to hold their profession to at least some level of ethical standards. Unsurprisingly, that's not happening.
Consider the case of Kevin Clinesmith, who, as you’ll recall, was convicted of doctoring evidence used in a FISA application for a surveillance warrant to spy on Trump campaign associate Carter Page. (By extension, the whole Trump campaign, even going back in time to before the warrant was issued, could have been surveilled.) With the click of a few keys, Clinesmith turned a document that said Page had previously worked with the CIA into one that said he had not. Clinesmith pleaded guilty in August of 2020 and was sentenced to 12 months’ probation in January.
You’d think the DC bar would have sought to pull his law license for something that egregious –- according to Paul Sperry at RealClear Investigations, this is customary –- but they did not. “Normally, the bar automatically suspends the license of members who plead guilty of a felony,” he reported. But they waited five long months to put Clinesmith, a registered Democrat who sent anti-Trump rants to his FBI colleagues, on even an interim suspension, taking action only after RCI exposed their delay. At that point, they temporarily suspended him “pending a review and a hearing.”
They even allowed him to negotiate his fate, which according to Sperry is quite unusual in a case involving a serious crime. Clinesmith had even broken the bar’s own rule by taking five months to report his guilty plea to them, when he was required to do this within 10 days.
In September, the court that oversees the bar and imposes sanctions decided to let Clinesmith off suspension with time served. The Democrat-controlled Board on Professional Responsibility –- I’ll pause while you fall to the floor laughing –- had rubber-stamped the very light sentence he had negotiated with Disciplinary Counsel Hamilton “Phil” Fox, a major Democrat donor. The board did this without even checking with Clinesmith’s probation officer to see if he had violated the terms of his sentence or if he’d completed his required 400 hours of community service.
In order to let Clinesmith off so lightly, Fox concluded that he'd had “no personal motive” in deceiving the court. (Never mind those vicious anti-Trump rants of his.) Fox also had to disregard key findings by Durham about Clinesmith’s intent to deceive the FISA court. Fox apparently just took Clinesmith’s word that he'd thought the change he’d made was accurate. Why, it was merely a “shortcut” to save time (!) and he’d had no intent to deceive FBI agents or the FISA court. Obviously, that is not what was found by Durham, who as evidence cited a revealing internal email between Clinesmith and the FBI agent preparing the application. Durham also cited as plausible motivating factors Clinesmith’s partisan political views and personal dislike of Trump.
Nevertheless, Clinesmith has been restored as an active member in good standing of the DC bar, presumably by others who were motivated by their own partisan political views and personal dislike of Trump.
Sperry did determine that Clinesmith had done some community service, volunteering at the nonprofit group Street Sense Media, but that he stopped last summer. It’s not known how many hours he completed. To give you an idea of what sort of organization Street Sense Media is, Clinesmith’s job was to help edit and research articles for their weekly newspaper, which has articles for the homeless about how to “sleep on the streets” and calls for prison reform and “a universal living wage.”
Sounds as though he was really in his element. Who says punishment can’t be fun? On the other hand, isn’t editing how Clinesmith got in trouble in the first place?
Another condition of his plea deal was that he cooperate with the FBI’s Inspection Division to determine if he was involved in any other surveillance abuses related to the FISA court. This would have involved turning over any relevant materials he had. If he failed to do this, he could be charged with perjury and/or obstruction. Bar officials did not bother to check on this before reinstating him.
U.S. District Judge Jeb Boasberg, a Democrat appointed by President Obama, is the judge who spared Clinesmith jail time in his plea agreement. Clinesmith served out his probation from home. Boasberg also decided that losing his FBI job and its $150,000 salary was enough, so he did not impose the $10,000 fine. Clinesmith’s passport was returned to him. He got to skip the periodic drug testing, too. “Best of luck to you,” the judge told him as they parted.
So, are we looking at a double standard of justice? For comparison, let’s look at Boasberg’s treatment of former Trump attorney and Republican Rudy Giuliani. Boasberg recently opened an official ethics investigation of Giuliani, whom he also put under “temporary disciplinary suspension” pending the outcome. (I wonder if the judge will wish Rudy the best of luck.) In July, Rudy was also placed on interim suspension from the New York Bar. He has not been charged with any crime, let alone convicted of one.
But even though Clinesmith has been lovingly re-embraced by the slightly sticky arms of his fellow DC lawyers, he might still be in deeper trouble with Special Counsel John Durham. According to Sperry, Durham’s mandate “is broader than commonly understood.” Yes, he’s examining the legal justification (or lack thereof) of the FBI’s “Crossfire Hurricane” investigation into supposed Trump-Russia “collusion.” But he’s also looking into their inquiry, such as it was, into Hillary Clinton’s use of a personal, non-secure email server to handle her official and classified State Department business, and also her destruction of over 30,000 subpoenaed emails from her tenure as Secretary of State. Clinesmith was deeply involved in that, too.
Durham is also said to be looking into the actions of Robert Mueller’s special counsel. As it happens, Clinesmith was also the liaison between Mueller’s office and the FBI. In fact, he was the only attorney from FBI headquarters assigned to Mueller. He was in the center of it all.
Durham had argued before Judge Boasberg that Clinesmith’s offense, creating a fake document as a false pretense to spy on an American citizen, was “a very serious crime with significant repercussions" and said it made him unfit to practice law. Apparently this made no dfference to the DC Bar. One of Sperry’s sources with direct knowledge of the case, a longstanding member of the DC Bar, said what we’re all thinking: “The District of Columbia is a very liberal bar. Basically, they went light on him because he’s also a Democrat who hated Trump.”
So that’s why Clinesmith hasn’t been disbarred. Adam Schiff would have to be disbarred in California, so don’t hold your breath on that one, either. I'm all for it, though, even though it would merely be symbolic since all he does is "play" lawyer in congressional kangaroo courts and his membership has been inactive since 2001.
https://apps.calbar.ca.gov/attorney/Licensee/Detail/122595
LEAVE ME A COMMENT, I READ THEM>>>
4. Moving stories:
Here are a couple of moving stories, and I don’t mean emotionally, unless you get choked up at how badly leftists are destroying once-great states and cities and forcing people to move out.
First, we knew a lot of people had been fleeing California, but researchers from California Police Lab were surprised to discover just how many. From the end of March 2020 to the end of September 2021, they found a 12% increase in residents moving out of California and a 38% decrease in people moving in. While this was a statewide phenomenon, the worst gap was in the most liberal city in California, San Francisco, where there was a 12% increase in residents leaving for other states and a 45% drop in people moving there.
I’m sure all the leftists running California will find something other than themselves to blame, like earthquakes or wildfires. In fact, between earthquakes, wildfires and leftist governance, earthquakes are the state’s only natural disaster that isn’t directly related to Californians voting for leftists.
Maybe in San Francisco, they can claim that so many people are moving out because now that they all have a full set of stolen Louis Vuitton luggage, they want to use it.
5. Buyer Beware:
Our other moving story gives new meaning to the phrase, “Let the buyer beware,” especially if you’re thinking of buying a house.
The major real estate websites Redfin and Realtor.com announced that they will stop including neighborhood crime data in their listings because for some inexplicable reason, that’s apparently racist now.
Realtor.com’s CEO issued a statement “explaining” this change. After some PC boilerplate about how some people may be blocked from buying homes in their preferred neighborhoods due to their race, gender, sexual orientation or religion (which is illegal, by the way, so anyone actually experiencing that would have grounds for a lawsuit), it goes on to claim that “Reported crimes may not accurately reflect actual crimes,” and that “crime statistics risk including racial bias…There’s real variety in how people define and evaluate safety, and…it doesn’t line up very well with purely crime-based data…People are interested in safety, not crime.”
So to help potential buyers, including law-abiding minority members, evaluate whether a neighborhood is safe or not, they’re not to tell them what the crime rate is? I’m used to liberals making no logical sense, but this sounds like someone has actually stolen their brains.
6. Did Jeffrey Epstein kill himself? His former cellmate believes he did:
I haven’t been covering the day-to-day of the Ghislane Maxwell trial, but this week some news came out that might spark the interest of people who know only one thing about the late billionaire pedophile Jeffrey Epstein: as they’ve learned from a million Internet memes, “Epstein didn’t kill himself.”
But now, here’s some testimony from his former cellmate who believes he actually did kill himself and why he might have done it.
AMERICA THE BEAUTIFUL
Images of America's cities, landscapes and people.
7. COVID Paranoia can lead here:
Authorities in Rialto, California, are investigating after a man died from cardiac arrest because two paramedics refused to enter his care facility and treat him, citing some “COVID law” that allegedly barred them from entering. By the time the facility’s staffers got him outside, it was too late to save him.
A state official said there is no law that barred paramedics from entering and helping him, and in fact, they cannot refuse service unless ordered by police or the scene is unsafe. The paramedics were placed on leave pending an investigation.
My two cents: even though these paramedics were apparently tragically mistaken, this shows how far overboard we’ve gone with COVID paranoia and authoritarianism that two professionals whose job is to provide emergency medical aid were so cowed by the fear of “breaking a COVID rule” that they would actually stand outside a door and watch a man dying rather than just come inside and help him.
8. Congratulations:
Congratulations to Emma Broyles, who was crowned Miss America last night in a ceremony that marked two special occasions: It was the 100th anniversary of the Miss America pageant, and Miss Broyles was the first Miss Alaska in a century to win the title.
https://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/miss-america-2022-winner-miss-alaska-emma-broyles-crowned
We could even toss in a third landmark: due to last year’s pageant being canceled because of COVID, outgoing Miss America Camille Schrier became the first person ever to hold the title for two years.
9. Double Congratulations:
Double congratulations to newsletter and “Huckabee” TV contributor Laura Ainsworth! Her “other job” is as an award-winning retro jazz singer. This week, she learned that a major record distributor has signed to bring her music to South Korea. Also, this rave review of her new best-of CD “Top Shelf” (“a brilliant interpreter of song”) has just tied the record as the #1 most-viewed review on this music site for six straight weeks!
https://geoffwilburmusic.com/2021/11/04/laura-ainsworth-top-shelf/
She passes along her thanks to everyone who’s clicked on it and shared it. I hope you’ll continue to do so and help her set a new record this week!
10. I Just Wanted To Say:
Thank you for reading today's newsletter.
ANGELS WE HAVE HEARD ON HIGH
Today's Christmas carol is recommended by Cindy S.
LISTEN: https://youtu.be/7RlMuRYvndU
1 Angels we have heard on high,
sweetly singing o'er the plains,
and the mountains in reply
echoing their joyous strains.
Refrain:
Gloria in excelsis Deo,
gloria in excelsis Deo.
2 Shepherds, why this jubilee?
Why your joyous strains prolong?
What the gladsome tidings be
which inspire your heav'nly song? [Refrain]
3 Come to Bethlehem and see
him whose birth the angels sing;
come, adore on bended knee
Christ the Lord, the newborn King. [Refrain]
If you have a favorite Christmas carol/hymn you want to see in our newsletter, please email [email protected].
HELPFUL LINKS
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Our hope is that our newsletter readers and social media followers will consider these prayer requests each day.
HEALTH AND HEALING
"Jim Bennett from Joplin, Mo with Something the doctors cannot figure out. He has not been able to move without help for 3 months "
"Two babies, ages 18 months and 2 years, are in children's hospital having contracted E-coli. Both very critical, especially the younger one. Please pray for God's intervention, and for the parents of each. The baby girls are cousins. Pray for the whole family!"
"Prayers for strength &comfort for Greg Adkins, his wife & surviving son. His son Russell died suddenly on Monday. No other information available. Thank you for the prayers."
"pray for Joe S. mental health issues"
"For everyone who was in the path of the recent tornados! Losing lives, loved ones, homes,, businesses and more.. A season filled with Joy for Christ turned in to a despair. For the many who have stepped up to help.. GOD Bless them all!"
"My husband return to 43 year marriage he left suddenly 3 years ago. Without discussion or notice."
"Donna - My husband and I are both disabled. He also has Alzheimer's disease. We live on a property with another man who is disabled. Usually between the three of us we manage to get everything done. All three of us are struggling significantly right now. Doctors are rearranging my meds and the side effects are giving me a lot of grief. Please pray that I will be able to keep up with the food and caregiver needs for these guys and that my special husband will keep doing well. The other gentleman is struggling to adjust to his "new normal" of being disabled. God is still good. Pray we can show him that."
"Praying for my Grandson Quinn to find his voice. He is 13 year non-verbal autistic. I need prayers to keep him safe and happy."
"Please pray for my cousin Terri, early 60s, has covid and is very very I'll. And that her husband who recently had a stroke does not get it. Thank you very much. They're good people."
"Cecil Cox Jr is dealing with pulmonary fibrosis and he is needing his oxygen more and more. He is not handling it well and is very depressed."
"Please pray for my high blood pressure and that as I finish my cardiac rehab it goes well and I'm able to come off the blood thinners in Feb. That way I can go back to work full time and full speed in January. In Christ Rita Godwin."
"My son Troy. He had a stroke at 40 years old and is struggling with his paralysis."
"My niece Sara as she battles many major health problems. A major Holy Spirit is needed. Thank you."
"Geary Foster has Melanoma and Bone CA; being treated with large doses of chemo.. and perhaps radiation, Healing and courage."
"Prayers for Uncle Dwayne. His cancer has returned."
"Twig Forrest is in serious condition with Covid and blood clot in lung. He is on a respirator. Thank you and God bless."
"Mike we need prayer for this nation, that people will turn to Jesus and turn from their sinful ways, and pray for the evilness in the white house. In Jesus name amen. ?? "
"I am in need of prayer to lose weight, and deliverance from depression."
IN MEMORIAM
My Mom passed in March. Her family needs healing - Ann Hester
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