US News, Politics, World News, Commentary/Opinion and Video Post.
US News:
Press Conference: Taylor Greene, Matt Gaetz, Thomas Massie Et al on Ukraine Funding
Emergency rooms reporting long wait times amid medicine shortages
Fox News medical contributor Dr. Marc Siegel discusses factors contributing to long wait times at emergency rooms.
Maricopa County, Ariz. releases latest election results
Arizona gubernatorial nominee Kari Lake is refusing to concede the race to Democrat Secretary of State Katie Hobbs. One America’s Daniel Baldwin has more.
ABC4: 612 Businesses in Seattle Took Out Forgiven PPP Loans Worth $1.3 Billion
The Paycheck Protection Program was created to help small businesses to keep employees on the payroll during the Covid pandemic.
Unfortunately, many businesses have abused the PPP, and many of these loans have recently been forgiven. They’re YOUR taxpayer dollars!
Roku Lays Off 200 While Cisco Reportedly Lays Off Over 4,000—Here Are The Biggest U.S. Job Cuts This Year
Streaming platform Roku announced on Thursday it’s laying off 200 employees, one day after multiple outlets reported networking giant Cisco plans to cut 4,100 employees, and as Amazon starts implementing one of the biggest rounds of layoffs this year—joining dozens of major employers slashing jobs as they fear rising inflation could slide the economy into recession.
TIMELINE
Nov. 17, 2022“Current economic conditions” prompted officials at Roku to eliminate roughly 7% of its U.S. workforce, the company announced in a press release Thursday morning, as the company looks to “drive future growth and enhance our leadership position.”
Nov. 16, 2022Cisco’s job cuts could affect up to 5% of the company’s roughly 83,000 employees, according to CFO Scott Herren, who called the cuts a “rebalance across the board” in an earnings call, Barron’s reported (Cisco did not immediately respond to a Forbes inquiry).
Nov. 16, 2022In a blog post, Amazon Senior Vice President of Devices and Services Dave Limp said the layoffs come as the company continues to face an “unusual and uncertain macroeconomic environment”—days after multiple outlets reported Amazon is planning to lay off as many as 10,000 employees in corporate and technology roles, although the number of jobs being reduced remains in flux, the New York Times noted…..
Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg, others are bankrolling the woke education agenda, says parents group
Parents Defending Education, a grassroots organization helping parents with resources devoted to fighting “indoctrination in the classroom,” investigated where five prominent foundations were awarding grants.
Their study called “Cracked Foundations,” found these organizations gave over $200 million to 70 school districts across the nation from 2017-2021.
The parents group said that students in some of these districts were failing at math and reading, yet grants were being awarded to advance initiatives promoting equitable grading, Social Emotional Learning (SEL) and Critical Race Theory instead of academics.
The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, the Wallace Foundation, the W.K. Kellogg Foundation and the Windward Fund were the focus of the study, which analyzed the last four years. All five organizations speak of their commitment to fostering “equity” on their websites.
Woman who detransitioned warns against minors using puberty blockers due to potential long-term effects
“I identified as trans starting at age 13, but thankfully I did not transition until I was an adult because I was not affirmed by them, by my pediatrician. I was not affirmed by my parents, but if I had been, then the side effects after detransitioning probably would have been a lot worse,” Cattinson told host Laura Ingraham.
“I could be infertile, I could have had a hysterectomy, mastectomy, so I’m grateful I was not affirmed because it ended up in me preserving my health and fertility.”
Ingraham said the mainstream media appears to now be asking some questions about the long-term effects of such drugs, following a New York Times report on the subject.
“Concerns are growing among some medical professionals about the consequences of the drugs,” the Times piece stated.
Cattinson said there is a lack of clinical research into the long-term side effects of using the medications, specifically with minors turning to them as a result of gender dysphoria.
Dr. Marc Siegel and Tucker Carlson talk about how there is an Adderall shortage
Dr. Marc Siegel and Tucker Carlson talk about how there is an Adderall shortage due to an increase in prescriptions:
“This stuff is speed, and I’m concerned about the fact that during the pandemic this has gotten a lot worse.”
On this day in history, Nov. 17, 1871, National Rifle Association founded by Civil War veteran Union officers
Civil War veterans Col. William C. Church and Gen. George Wingate created the organization after they were “dismayed by the lack of marksmanship shown by their troops,” states the NRA in its online history.
The association was determined to “promote and encourage rifle shooting on a scientific basis,” Church wrote in a contemporary magazine editorial, the NRA reports.
Approximately 5.5 million Americans from all walks of life and political persuasions are members of the National Rifle Association today.
The organization’s very first efforts included building a rifle range to promote marksmanship. The NRA’s original 1872 range on Long Island, New York, was moved to New Jersey in 1892.
The Second Amendment has become the target of ever-increasing efforts to undermine the authority of the U.S. Constitution and to deny Americans their “right to keep and bear arms.”
The organization itself has become a high-profile scapegoat for wider social ills, including issues such as mental health.
Gun safety and marksmanship remain the core of the NRA’s mission, the organization says.
“In civilian training, the NRA continues to be the leader in firearms education. Over 125,000 certified instructors now train about 1 million gun owners a year,” the NRA states online.
“For 150 years, millions of Americans from all walks of life, races, colors and creeds have been proud members of the National Rifle Association of America,” NRA CEO Wayne LaPierre told Fox News in an exclusive interview last year for the organization’s 150th anniversary celebration.
House Republicans allege Biden directly involved in business dealings with son Hunter Biden
Comer, citing whistleblowers, asserted that the Biden family “flourished and became millionaires by simply offering access to the family.”
“Was Joe Biden directly involved with Hunter Biden’s business deals, and is he compromised? That’s our investigation,” Comer said.
Comer is the incoming chair of the House Oversight Committee and Jordan is expected to soon chair the Judiciary Committee.
The representatives alleged that Hunter Biden and Joe Biden participated in “waste, fraud, and abuse” in international business dealings.
The Republicans released a report Thursday outlining their findings.
STUDY: Broadcast Networks Bury FTX CEO’s Massive Donations to Dems
MRC analysts examined all FTX coverage between November 11 and November 17 on those broadcast networks’ flagship morning and evening news programs. We found that neither CBS nor NBC even mentioned Bankman-Fried’s status as a Democratic megadonor, while ABC spent only three seconds (a single mention) on it.
All told, discussion of Bankman-Fried’s extravagant bankrolling of the Democratic Party comprised just 0.2 percent of the combined 21 minutes and 17 seconds of FTX coverage across all three networks, and 0.5 percent of ABC’s 9 minutes and 7 seconds of coverage.
Over the past week, ABC has run two full-length segments about FTX on Good Morning America and one on World News Tonight. While the first report identified Bankman-Fried as “one of the biggest political donors in the U.S.,” reporter Rebecca Jarvis conveniently glossed over which party those donations were going to.
CBS ran three reports about FTX’s collapse, totaling 6 minutes and 41 seconds, while NBC offered just two reports with a combined runtime of 5 minutes and 54 seconds.
Bartiromo: This will be one of the most expensive Thanskgivings in a long time
FOX Business’ Maria Bartiromo responds to a Fed official admitting the U.S. may need a recession to combat inflation and discusses the country’s economic outlook heading into the holiday season.
Texas Veteran Who Entered Senate Chamber Found Guilty in Capitol Riot
Retired Air Force Lt. Col. Larry Brock was found guilty on six charges for entering the Capitol and the Senate chamber in tactical gear during the riot on Jan. 6, 2021, The Hill reported.
Brock, 55, from Grapevine, Texas, was in the building for 37 minutes, at times going through paperwork on senators’ desks and at one point picking up a discarded pair of plastic flex-cuffs.
Brock had decided to have his trial before a judge instead of a jury, according to CNN.
U.S. District Judge John D. Bates found him guilty on one felony charge of obstructing an official proceeding, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison and financial penalties.
He was also found guilty of five misdemeanor charges, including entering and remaining in a restricted building or grounds, as well as disorderly and disruptive conduct in a Capitol Building, The Hill reported.
The Justice Department said in a statement that Brock is expected to be sentenced on Feb. 14.
Former Democratic lawmaker receives cheers in calling for border wall
‘The Five’ host and former Tennessee Democratic congressman Harold Ford Jr., sounds off on the border crisis and latest developments.
FARRELL: FBI Warrantless Search of Americans’ Bank Records Following Jan 6!
Judicial Watch Director of Investigations & Research Chris Farrell joins Lars Larson on “The Lars Larson Show” to discuss a Judicial Watch appeal challenging a U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia decision allowing the FBI to withhold records of communication between the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and several financial institutions about the reported transfer of financial transaction records of people in DC, Maryland and Virginia on January 5 and January 6, 2021.
Politics:
House Democrat argues for reparations by connecting slavery to COVID pandemic: ‘Reparations are curative’
Speaking on the House floor to encourage her colleagues to support reparations, Jackson Lee said her plea is not “accusatory” but about “reconciliation,” “restoration,” and “repair.”
Then her speech went off the rails.
“It stands on the basis of facts. There is no doubt we have been impacted, that DNA in the trajectory of slavery to today,” she said.
“For example in COVID,” she continued. “Black African-Americans got COVID at a rate of nearly 1.5x higher than that of white people, or hospitalized at a rate of nearly 4x higher and 3x likely to die. COVID hit us very desperately.”
Kari Lake Says She’s Gathering Evidence of Voter Disenfranchisement, Still Fighting
Arizona Republican gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake said Nov. 17 she’s still fighting, in her first major update since Democrat candidate Katie Hobbs declared victory.
“I wanted to reach out to you to let you know that I am still in this fight with you,” Lake, a former television anchor, said in a video statement.
Lake said concerns her campaign had raised about Hobbs, the Arizona secretary of state, overseeing the election and with electronic voting equipment turned out to be legitimate, pointing to how tabulators across Maricopa County weren’t working properly on election day.
Lake said that she spoke with voters who had to wait in line for hours, including a man who went to three different polling sites before he was able to finally cast his vote.
Louie Gohmert Accuses FBI Of ‘Adopting Gestapo Tactics,’ Blasts Justice System
Josh Hawley grills FBI director Christopher Wray over going on vacation
The People of Arizona Are Angry
Charlie Kirk on the Arizona elections: “It angers me at a fundamental level. The suppression, the intimidation, all this stuff adds up. We’re talking about elections that are on the margins.”
Tipping Point – Chuck Schumer Says Democrats Want Immigration Bill Because of Population Decline
Tulsi Gabbard Calls Out Democratic Party On Gender Lies
Tulsi Gabbard exposes the truth about “gender affirming care” for minors. Gabbard calls out Democratic party officials who are either burying their heads in the sand or using their power to punish parents for objecting to these dangerous treatments.
San Francisco’s Democrat mayor launches guaranteed income program for transsexuals, giving select residents $1,200 a month
Transsexuals may only account for a sliver minority of the population, but they have garnered a majority of certain Democrats’ concern.
With her city facing a 7.4% increase in violent crimes and out-of-control homelessness, San Francisco Mayor London Breed (D) has kicked off a new so-called guaranteed income program for those who identify as members of the opposite sex.
Breed announced the so-called “Guaranteed Income for Trans People” program on Wednesday, claiming that “our trans communities experience much higher rates of poverty and discrimination, so this program will target support to lift individuals in this community up.”
It is unclear whether Breed was referencing a popular albeit outdated seven-year-old survey backed by transsexual activist groups that alleged 33% of transsexual Californians were living in poverty, nearly three times the poverty rate of the general population.
PA Governor-elect Josh Shapiro charges former Democratic political consultant with ‘wide scale’ ballot fraud – more than 1,000 signatures allegedly forged
Current Pennsylvania Attorney General and Democrat Governor-elect Josh Shapiro arrested a former political consultant on Wednesday for allegedly forging ballot signatures in the state’s 2019 Democratic primary races.
Rasheen Crews, a Democratic campaign consultant, was hired by multiple candidates to assist in gathering the required number of signatures for nomination petitions to run in the Democratic primary races in 2019.
According to an investigation launched by the office of the attorney general in September 2019, Crews was charged with the “wide scale forgery of signatures” on his clients’ nomination petitions.
FBI Director Wray refuses to say if alleged Hunter Biden criminal activity is Russian ‘disinformation’
At a Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee hearing Thursday, Johnson asked Wray if he believes anything in the report could be traced back to Russian disinformation.
Wray said he has examined the work of the two senators but refused to assess the quality of the report.
“That would be a hard question for me to answer,” Wray said when asked specifically if there were any signs of Russian disinformation or influence. Johnson argued that the FBI should see his report as a source of verifiable, actionable information.
“There is no Russian disinformation,” Johnson said. “That report is completely clean of any interference of foreign influence, although we have been falsely accused, including by the chairman of this committee of spreading Russian disinformation.”
That exchange happened on the same day that House Republicans said they have evidence that President Biden was directly involved in his son Hunter’s business dealings, and that the president’s claim that he knows nothing about his son’s activities are “a lie.” House Republicans said the Biden family got rich by “offering access to the family,” and said this raises possible national security problems.
Nancy Pelosi Steps Aside: Will Not Seek Reelection as Democrat House Leader
“This I will continue to do as a member of the House speaking for the people of San Francisco, serving the great state of California, and defending our Constitution, and with great confidence in our caucus, I will not seek reelection to Democratic leadership in the next Congress,” Pelosi stated on the House floor.
“The hour has come for a new generation to lead the Democratic Caucus that I greatly respect,” she added.
Pelosi was the House speaker for two stints and has represented her California district since 1987.
Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) may replace Pelosi as the leader of the House Democrats. Reports earlier on Thursday suggested Pelosi would stay in Congress but leave leadership to help guide Jeffries, her chosen successor, as he assumes the leadership position for Democrats.
Tucker Carlson: This lie could get millions of Americans killed
Fox News host Tucker Carlson reacts to false reports Russian missiles hit Poland and gives his take on the FTX meltdown on ‘Tucker Carlson Tonight.’
Tucker Carlson says that if political candidates can’t speak in public, “this can’t be a democracy.”
World News:
Agreement Reached To Extend Black Sea Grain Deal By 120 Days
A deal allowing Ukraine to export grain from three Black Sea ports has been extended for four months, the United Nations said on November 17.
The UN said there were no changes to the initiative. The Russian side allowed the extension of the agreement “without any change in the deadlines or scope,” the Foreign Ministry in Moscow said.
“The Black Sea Grain Initiative is extended for 120 days,” Ukrainian Infrastructure Minister Oleksandr Kubrakov said on Twitter.
Kubrakov said in an earlier tweet that Ukraine had requested the grain agreement be extended for one year and include the port of Mykolayiv.
U.S. imposes new sanctions over Iran sanctions evasion, targets Chinese firms
WASHINGTON, Nov 17 (Reuters) – The United States on Thursday imposed sanctions on over a dozen companies based in China, Hong Kong and the United Arab Emirates that Washington accused of facilitating the sale of Iranian petrochemicals and petroleum products to buyers in East Asia.
The latest U.S. move against Iranian oil smuggling comes as efforts to revive Iran’s 2015 nuclear deal have stalled and ties between the Islamic Republic and the West are increasingly strained as Iranians keep up anti-government protests.
The U.S. Treasury Department in a statement said the 13 companies designated on Thursday facilitated the sales of hundreds of millions of dollars worth of Iranian petrochemicals and petroleum products to buyers in East Asia on behalf of companies under U.S. sanctions, including the National Iranian Oil Company and Triliance Petrochemical Co. Ltd.
Israel to “settle scores” with terrorists; Iran strikes an Israeli oil-tanker TV7 Israel News 17.11
1) Israel ratchets-up its efforts to target terror elements throughout the West Bank – and beyond.
2) An Iranian attempt to murder an Israeli civilian in Georgia has been successfully foiled – while Britain’s MI5 Director General reveals Iranian efforts to kidnap or murder dissidents as well as British citizens on UK soil.
3) The Islamic Republic of Iran strikes at a civilian oil-tanker which is managed by an Israeli-controlled shipping company.
Ukraine war: Dashcam footage shows near-miss blast in Dnipro
A video verified by the BBC and shared on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s Telegram account shows the moment a driver narrowly avoids being hit by an explosion in Ukraine’s central-eastern city of Dnipro.
In recent weeks, Russia has looked to target key Ukrainian energy infrastructure, following a series of battlefield setbacks. Officials have said a missile factory and gas production facility in Dnipro were among the latest targets, and at least four people have died in one area.
The strike comes days after one of Russia’s most intense bombardments of the war.
Turkish official accuses US of complicity in deadly bombing: ‘The killer is among the first ones returning’
The six killed in the blast were members of three families and included two girls, ages 9 and 15.
The Istanbul Police Department said videos from around 1,200 security cameras were reviewed and raids were carried out at 21 locations. At least 46 other people were also detained for questioning.
Turkey and Washington have long considered the PKK a terrorist organization, but they differ on the status of Syrian Kurdish groups, which the U.S. has worked with as part of its efforts to combat the Islamic State in Syria.
Turkey has previously accused the U.S. of indirectly helping PKK, such as in 2016 when arms provided to the Kurdish People’s Protection Units, or YPG, ended up in the hands of PKK.
Turkish ‘sex cult’ leader jailed for life for child abuse and rape
Adnan Oktar, 66, is known for holding theological discussions while surrounded by glamorous women who he dubbed his ‘kittens’.
He was sentenced last year to 1,075 years in prison after being found guilty of ten separate charges including child sexual abuse, leading a criminal gang, rape, blackmail, fraud, political and military espionage and causing torment.
This ruling was overturned earlier this year by an upper court.
But following a retrial, the high court in Istanbul yesterday sentenced Oktar to 8,656 years in prison – an eightfold increase to his previous sentence.
Commentary/Opinion:
House Republicans Announce Bombshell Probe Into Biden Family
Millie gives news updates and political analysis.