Beet L. Jooz

In the wake of the epic news-conference showdown between President Trump and CNN’s Jim Acosta, the White House late Wednesday suspended the reporter’s press credentials, effectively banning him from White House access.

“I’ve just been denied entrance to the WH,” Acosta said on Twitter. “Secret Service just informed me I cannot enter the WH grounds for my 8pm hit.”

The action is being taken after Acosta’s interaction with a White House press aide who tried to remove the microphone from his hands as he tried to ask Trump a second question during the post-election news event.

“President Trump believes in a free press and expects and welcomes tough questions of him and his administration,” said Press Secretary Sarah Sanders. “We will, however, never tolerate a reporter placing his hands on a young woman just trying to do her job as a White House intern.”

She continued: “This conduct is absolutely unacceptable. It is also completely disrespectful to the reporter’s colleagues not to allow them an opportunity to ask a question. President Trump has given the press more access than any president in history. Contrary to CNN’s assertions, there is no greater demonstration of the president’s support for a free press than the event he held today. Only they would attack the president for not supporting a free press in the midst of him taking 68 questions from 35 different reporters over the course of 1.5 hours including several from the reporter in question. The fact that CNN is proud of the way their employee behaved is not only disgusting, it’s an example of their outrageous disregard for everyone, including young women, who work in this administration. As a result of today’s incident, the White House is suspending the hard pass of the reporter involved until further notice.”

Reacting to Sanders’ statement Wednesday, Acosta said: “This is a lie.”

He also pinned a tweet from October 29 to his Twitter page, apparently addressing President Trump, as he said: “We are not the enemy of the people. I am not your enemy. You are not my enemy. It is wrong to call your fellow Americans the enemy. We are all on the same team. We are all Americans.”

CNN released a statement standing by Acosta, indicating the revocation of his pass “was done in retaliation for his challenging questions at today’s press conference. In an explanation, Press Secretary Sarah Sanders lied. She provided fraudulent accusations and cited an incident that never happened. This unprecedented decision is a threat to our democracy and the country deserves better. Jim Acosta has our full support.”

As WND reported earlier Wednesday, the conflict between the establishment media and the president reached new heights with Acosta trying to “challenge” and bully the president, to which Trump responded by calling the reporter “rude.”

Acosta started out by saying he was challenging Trump’s description of a caravan of migrants coming from Guatemala and Honduras, intent on entering illegally to request asylum, as an “invasion.”

“It’s not an invasion,” Acosta instructed Trump at a White House news conference focused on the results of the midterm elections.

“Thank you for telling me that,” Trump said. “I consider it an invasion. You and I have a difference of opinion.”

Acosta then badgered the president, asking, “Did you demonize immigrants?”

Trump explained he wants immigrants to come to America, because its expanding economy needs the workers, but they need to come legally.

Frustrated by Acosta’s criticism of a campaign ad, Trump finally said: “You should let me run the country and you should run CNN. If you did it well your ratings would be much better.”

He moved to another reporter, but Acosta refused to turn over the microphone.

“That’s enough. That’s enough,” Trump said.

When Acosta asked about the “Russia investigation,” Trump said, “It’s a hoax. Put down the mic.”

Trump continued: “CNN should be ashamed of themselves having you working for them. You are a rude, terrible person. You shouldn’t be working for CNN.”

Acosta tried to interrupt, saying Trump was being unfair.

“The way you treat Sarah Huckabee is horrible,” Trump said. “The way you treat other people is horrible. You shouldn’t treat people like that.”

Acosta still refused to quit badgering, prompting Trump to say: “Just sit down please. When you report fake news, which CNN does a lot, you are an enemy of the people.”

“This conduct is beyond reprehensible,” said Sean Hannity on his Fox broadcast Wednesday night. “Imagine anybody doing this to Obama.”

Mark Levin of CRTV told Hannity CNN’s behavior at the news conference was a reaction to the Democrats’ worse-than-expected performance on Election Day.

“They are furious this blue wave was a blue tinkle,” Levin said. “I am sick and tired of these media types trying to hijack these press conferences. … CNN, you don’t even have an audience. … You’re humiliating yourselves, you’re embarrassing yourselves … because you act like the enemy of the people.”

Fox News’ Chris Wallace called Acosta’s behavior “shameful.”

“I’ve never seen anything like it,” Wallace said.

Talk-radio host Rush Limbaugh said the confrontation was “a microcosm of the media’s relationship with Trump from the get-go.”

“It was filled with disrespect and effrontery. … Acosta did try to take over the entire press conference.”

Follow Joe Kovacs on Twitter @JoeKovacsNews

A 28-year-old US Marine Corps combat veteran opened fire in a crowded country music bar in California, killing 12 people including a police officer who rushed in and exchanged shots with the gunman, authorities said Thursday.

They rang his doorbell several times with no answer, gleefully posting their activity on Twitter while chanting, “No Borders! No Wall! No USA at all!”

‘Jeff Sessions, the attorney general of the United States, has submitted his letter of resignation’

Jim Acosta's arrogant behavior and lies make him an effective tool for the Trump administration, but he's too full of himself to realize it.

Riding high after Tuesday night's midterms - which saw his Republican party widen their lead in the Senate while averting a "blue wave" Democratic sweep of the House - President Trump has wasted no time spinning the results as an umitigated win for his "America First" agenda (even as more than two dozen Congressional races have yet to be called).

And as he braces for two years of struggling with Democrats in Congress, President Trump said early Wednesday that he will hold a White House press conference to discuss "our success in the midterms."

President @realDonaldTrump will hold a press conference today at 11:30am at the White House in the East Room. The event will be open press.

— Sarah Sanders (@PressSec) November 7, 2018

I will be doing a news conference at The White House - 11:30 A.M. Will be discussing our success in the Midterms!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 7, 2018

Of course, now that the midterms have ushered in a new era of divided government in Washington, Trump knows he will need to find a way to work with the Democrats. And the Democrats also know that they will need to work with him "for the good of the country," as his senior advisory Kellyanne Conway put it during comments to the press last night.

The conference comes after Trump threatened to fight back against any Democratic investigations in the House into his taxes or alleged Russia ties, declaring that "two can play that game."

If the Democrats think they are going to waste Taxpayer Money investigating us at the House level, then we will likewise be forced to consider investigating them for all of the leaks of Classified Information, and much else, at the Senate level. Two can play that game!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 7, 2018

Republicans have, so far, lost 27 seats in the House. But compared with his immediate predecessors, Trump has good reason to tout that number as a success. Clinton's Democrats lost 52 seats in his first midterm vote, while George W Bush lost 30 Republican seats and President Obama lost 63 Democratic seats in 2010 (before losing 13 more in the 2014 midterms).

While last night's election will undoubtedly be the main focus, Trump could choose to pivot to any number of issues. Though he has said drug prices won't be discussed, an expected reshuffling of his cabinet, his plans for infrastructure reform and demands for Democrats to authorize funding for his promised border wall could all be on the table. Goldman Sachs explored some of these issues in a guide to what gridlock means for our economy published on Wednesday.

The press conference is expected to begin at 11:30 am ET. Watch it live here:

The war in Afghanistan is over. If our aim was to reshape Afghanistan as a modern civilized liberal democracy, we lost.

Does the 14th Amendment mandate that the children born of illegal immigrants and birth tourists are automatically American citizens? The answer is not as obvious as has been suggested in the press.

Progressives who think America is an oppressive regime need only look to China to see what real oppression looks like and how lucky they really are.

A number of state initiatives favoring legal marijuana passed in the 2018 midterms

Researchers say creation of 'bio-hybrids' from fungi and bacteria could be used to power devices

A team of scientists at Tufts University has developed a way to regenerate severed frog legs, which they say is effort to move one step closer to regrowing human limbs.

President hold press conference

Was teen victim of satanic sacrifice?

Big-tech delivered the house, but just barely and now they move to strangle Trump's recovery while it's still in the crib.

Via Middle East Monitor,

Saudi journalist and writer Turki Bin Abdul Aziz Al-Jasser (not a US-resident writing for The Washington Post) has died after being tortured while in detention, the New Khaleej reported yesterday.

Reporting human rights sources, the news site said that Al-Jasser was arrested and tortured to death after Saudi authorities claimed he administered the Twitter account Kashkool, which disclosed rights violations committed by the Saudi authorities and royal family.

The sources said that the authorities identified Al-Jasser as the admin using spies in Twitter’s regional office located in Dubai. He was arrested in March.

🔴 Authorities believe that the writer Turki bin Abdul Aziz al-Jasser (TurkialjasserJ) is the Twitterati KASHKOOL (coluche_ar), private #Saudi security sources asserted to us. The source confirmed what ALQST tweeted about using personal information in Jasser's PC to blackmail him pic.twitter.com/qkNmZe0e2w

— Prisoners of Conscie (@m3takl_en) March 18, 2018

According to the sources, these spies are considered part of the Saudi Cyber Army which was established by Saud Al-Qahtani, the former aide of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad Bin Salman.

In a tweet, Al-Qahtani has said that the fake names on Twitter would not protect those behind the accounts from the Saudi authorities.

*  *  *

Where's the international outrage? The condemnations?

Actress Pamela Anderson certainly violated some of Hollywood's biggest taboos in a new interview, criticizing modern feminism and the #MeToo movement as destructive movements for men.

A week ago, Mickey Montalbano, a World War II veteran, was part of Baton Rouge’s second annual Veterans Parade. He called it the “best one ever.”

The office of Secretary of State Brian Kemp, who is also the Republican gubernatorial nominee, said Sunday it is investigating the state Democratic Party, but gave no evidence to support the allegations.

Canadian taxpayers are supporting terrorists, warns a former military-intelligence officer and court-recognized expert on Islamic terrorism.

Tom Quiggin, in a report published by the Gatestone Institute said Canadian taxpayers “have unwittingly been funding terrorism for more than two decades, often through federally registered charities, many of which have since been banned in other countries and subsequently by Ottawa as well.”

Quiggin is a former intelligence contractor for the Royal Canadian Mounted Police who has contributed to writings about the danger of political Islam.

“The International Relief Fund for the Afflicted and Needy, which has sent tens of millions of dollars in goods and services to the Palestinian terrorist organization Hamas, is one example, he writes.

“Another is the Islamic Society of North America’s Development Foundation, which was discovered to be funding the Pakistani Islamist movement Jamaat-e-Islami. A third was Libyan dictator Moammar Gadhafi’s ‘Jihad Fund,’ which was operating in Canada through a charity registered as the World Islamic Call Society.”

He said there’s been a shift, however, in the way Canadian money is “funneled” to terror groups in the last few years.

“Whereas prior to 2015, the individuals responsible for terrorism-funding were not members of the government or parliament, current evidence suggests that acting politicians are involved in directing money down a path where the ultimate destination is a listed terrorist group,” he writes.

For example, the money “is being funneled through a variety of government organizations and programs, including the International Humanitarian Aid Program (2017), M103 Islamophobia Funding (2018), Canada Summer Jobs Program (2017 and 2018), Myanmar Crisis Relief Fund/Islamic Relief (May 2018), Canadian Humanitarian Assistance Fund (CHAF), Canada’s Humanitarian and Development Assistance to Syria, Iraq, Jordan and Lebanon, and Prime Minister Trudeau’s volunteer work and promotional video for Islamic Relief Canada.”

He said that if true, it would violate the nation’s criminal law, and “an investigation by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police is required to determine the legality of the government of Canada funding a known Islamist front group.”

Quiggin explains he’s already asked the head of the RCMP for a criminal investigation into those who may have knowledge of the money funneling.

In that letter, he raised the concern that members of parliament are using their positions to channel taxpayer money to Islamic Relief Canada.

“The IRC is a federally registered charity, so the taxpayer is subsidizing this activity. IRC in turn is sending millions of dollars to Islamic Relief Worldwide. Seven independent and reliable sources have gone on the public record and stated that IRW uses charitable funds to provide material support to terrorism. In most cases, this means Hamas, an organization which is listed as a terrorist entity by the Government of Canada,” he writes.

Much of the evidence, he explains, comes from other nations who have had significant concerns about terrorism funding, including the United Arab Emirates, which described Islamic Relief Worldwide and Islamic Relief UK as terrorist groups.

Then there was the decision by Bangladesh to ban Islamic Relief, Israel’s related decision, and the determination by HSBC Bank of the United Kingdom to end its links with Islamic Relief.

Earlier, USB Bank cut its ties, and the U.K. Charities Aid Foundation removed Islamic Relief from its donation page.

The report said it was “imperative” for an investigation to be conducted.

President Trump said Sunday while campaigning in Georgia that he and Oprah Winfrey were friends until he ran for president."Oprah was a friend of mine until I ran for office. Once I ran for office she diverged," Trump said while campaigning for...

‘And they take the helmet off, and they take the armbands and you see these little arms’

(AP) — IRONDALE, Ala. — A screaming man has interrupted the live, televised Mass on a global Catholic network.

The unidentified man yelled “this is it!” and profanities as a priest lifted the chalice during EWTN Global Catholic Network’s live Mass on Sunday morning from its studios in Irondale, Alabama.

The top of the man’s head could be seen approaching the altar, but much of what he said was unintelligible. After a brief pause, the service continued.

On Sunday, TMZ caught up with Dan Crenshaw, a Republican candidate for Congress in Texas who lost his eye in Afghanistan and found himself the butt of a tasteless Saturday Night Live joke.

SNL’s Pete Davidson made light of Crenshaw’s war injury during the most recent live show, saying: “I’m sorry. I know he lost his eye in war or whatever … Whatever.”

That jab prompted calls for an apology — and even a CNN panel slamming the attempt at a joke — but Crenshaw doesn’t think an apology is needed.

In fact, he said that the culture of apology-demanding is just not healthy for America.

“I want us to get away from this culture where we demand an apology every time someone misspeaks,” Crenshaw said.

He added: “I think that would be very healthy for our nation to go in that direction. We don’t need to be outwardly outraged. I don’t need to demand apologies from them. They can do whatever they want, you know. They are feeling the heat from around the country right now and that’s fine.”

He then stressed that he would like Davidson and SNL to recognize that “veterans across the country probably don’t feel as though their wounds [that] they received in battle should be the subject of a bad punch line.”

Finally, the veteran and candidate said the “real atrocity” was Davidson’s attempt at a joke wasn’t even funny but “just mean-spirited.”

Watch above, via TMZ

[image via screengrab]

Dozens of disgruntled LSU fans stood in the rain Sunday afternoon waiting to retrieve their cars and lamenting what some consider the unfair practices of one Baton Rouge impound lot that has long received complaints for towing cars around campus.

Pittsburgh Mayor Bill Peduto (D) said he quickly ended a call with President Trump shortly after the shooting at the Tree of Life synagogue because Trump started complaining about death penalty laws....

Two individuals, including a retired California Highway Patrol officer, are suing Riverside County, California, for wiretapping them and not informing them afterward, as required by law.

The claims were filed in Riverside County Superior Court by the Electronic Frontier Foundation and an affiliated legal team.

The two, “with no criminal record,” want to know why their phones were tapped. The are just “two targets of hundreds of questionable wiretaps authorized by a single judge,” Helios J. Hernandez, the organization said Thursday.

Not only were the targets never notified, they learned about the wiretap only from friends and family who had been notified, EFF explained.

“The wiretap in this case was issued over three years ago, a time when Riverside County was issuing a record number of wiretaps. In 2015, for example, the court approved 624 wiretaps, triple the number of any other state or federal courts. The targets were often out of state, resulting in hundreds of arrests nationwide. After a series of stories in USA TODAY questioned the legality of the surveillance, watchdogs said that the wiretaps likely violated federal law,” said EFF.

EFF Staff Attorney Stephanie Lacambra said there are “very real questions about the legitimacy of the warrant-approval process in Riverside County during the time when our clients were wiretapped, including questions about the behavior of the judge and the district attorney’s office.”

“The court should release information about how this wiretap was approved and why, so both our clients and the public can understand what happened during Riverside County’s massive surveillance campaign,” she said.

WND was unable to reach a county spokesman to respond to the claims.

EFF said that after the county’s activities were publicized, the number of wiretaps dropped from 640 in 2015 to 118 in 2017, and those were nearly all related to narcotics cases.

“There are so many questions about what went on with these wiretaps. And it’s only fair our clients get answers. They don’t know if they were targeted by accident, or if they were suspected of something, or on what basis the order was issued at all,” said Tina Salvato of Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton LLP, which is working with EFF. “But this is also a matter of public interest, and we hope the court sees this too.”

The lawsuit seeks a court ruling allowing the plaintiffs to inspect the files relating to the wiretap, especially since “the target was not properly noticed, never charged, and the wiretap was issued in the midst of a highly scrutinized practice of excessive amounts of wiretap authorizations being issued by a single judge.”

Now three years later, the owners of the numbers still have not been notified, or charged with anything.

“This court should grant access to the requested records to the registered owner because it is clearly in the interest of justice. Indeed, this particular wiretap presents an especially compelling case for oversight … because of the questionable circumstances surrounding its issuance,” EFF said in the court filing.

Domain name registrar and host Epik said in a blog post on Saturday it had agreed to host the site, which went up shortly after 5 p.m.