It’s Friday, September 29th, 2017…but before we begin, two quick comments on a couple of items: first…

Sen. Cory Booker on NFL Anthem Protests: ‘Protest Is Patriotism‘

Cory Booker: he was FOR school choice BEFORE he was against it; it’s mere coincidence the flip-flop coincided with his decision to run for the Senate.

Sure it is…unless of course said protests are against gay marriage…or the mythical penumbra emanating from William O. Douglas’ a*s which gave rise to the unfettered right to murder the unborn…or the junk science of anthropogenic global warming (see link #4 above)…or unrestricted illegal immigration…or any other sacred cow of The Left; in which case said protest is racist, divisive, anti-science, misogynistic and mean-spirited.

Second, as Christine Rousselle reports at Townhall.com…

Sen. Bob Corker Retiring from the Senate in 2018

Here’s wishing Bob, the genius who enabled the rank appeasement which is the Iran nuclear deal, a short and unhappy retirement.  We only hope Volunteer State voters elect a true Conservative next time around.

Now, here’s The Gouge!

Since we’re on the subject of RINO’s in Conservative clothing, the editors at the WSJ list…

The ObamaCare Saviors

Rand Paul did more than Chuck Schumer to save the Affordable Care Act.

Senate Republicans on Tuesday abandoned their latest effort to replace ObamaCare, or, more precisely, a handful of Senators defeated the Graham-Cassidy proposal despite their campaign rhetoric. Mark them down as ObamaCare’s saviors.

Top billing goes to Kentucky’s Rand Paul, who rode into Congress in 2010 on repealing the Affordable Care Act but in office has become the definition of a feckless libertarian. He helped to kill the Senate’s first replacement bill over the summer because it did not repeal every last footnote in the law. Then he supported “skinny repeal” that merely repealed the individual and employer mandates and medical-device tax, justifying that vote as realistic.

Graham-Cassidy would have done the same as the skinny bill plus devolve Medicaid control to the states—the most significant entitlement reform in decades—and the same Rand Paul who scolds everyone about runaway federal spending said no. Perhaps he thinks his vote for the skinny bill will protect him politically, but no one should be fooled. Mr. Paul did more than Chuck Schumer to save ObamaCare.

John McCain is another member of this dishonor roll, and he’s been reminding everyone that he kept his word that the process must be bipartisan. His commitment to Senate procedure is apparently more ironclad than his word to Arizona voters, who re-elected him against Tea Party challengers in part on his promise to repeal the law.

Lisa Murkowski of Alaska supported ObamaCare repeal until the moment a Republican President would sign it. She had not by Tuesday publicly announced whether she’d vote for Graham-Cassidy, though her Alaska First demands in private all but included an unmarked cargo plane dropping off pallets of euros in Juneau.

And don’t forget Maine’s Susan Collins, who opposed both bills after more or less token consideration. That she thought her state couldn’t manage Medicaid better than the federal government is something to remember if she runs for Governor next year.

Mr. Schumer is now vowing bipartisan cooperation—though only on his terms, which means bailing out the ObamaCare exchanges and insurers. Republicans would be wiser to turn to tax reform, and see if they can avoid blowing that one too. Maybe anger from GOP voters will force them to revisit health care next year.

Sorry, but Rand Paul is either as crazy as his old man, or he’s as Manchurian a candidate as Barry Obama.  As for Linda “Bridge to Nowhere” Murkowski, Susan “I Put Planned Parenthood’s Unrestricted Right to Murder the Unborn Above The Good of the Country” Collins and John “I Left My Crippled Wife for a Buxom Blond Beer Heiress BEFORE I Sold Out to Charlie Keating” McCain, we trust they enjoy a shorter, more unhappy existence than even Bob Corker. 

Meanwhile, even as our own health insurance premiums continue to skyrocket, the hits just keep on coming…and the Republican clowns in Congress do nothing about it, as this next item from the Washington Examiner via Jeff Foutch details:

Record $135 billion a year for illegal immigration

“The swelling population of illegal immigrants and their kids is costing American taxpayers $135 billion a year, the highest ever, driven by free medical care, education and a huge law enforcement bill, according to the the most authoritative report on the issue yet.

And despite claims from pro-illegal immigration advocates that the aliens pay significant off-setting taxes back to federal, state and local treasuries, the Federation for American Immigration Reform report tallied just $19 billion, making the final hit to taxpayers about $116 billion…”

We know math is tough for professional politicians, particularly those as dense as John McCain; so we’ll keep this simple:

To put it in perspective, claiming illegal immigrants somehow make a positive net contribution to the American economy makes as much sense, financial or otherwise, as putting taxpayers on the hook for professional sports stadiums based on the fact they create more value than they cost.

Meanwhile, NRO‘s Jay Nordlinger makes an excellent point in this troubling report:

“More seriously, I wish to highlight a report from the AP:

It is no secret that the bulk of Ivanka Trump’s merchandise comes from China. But just which Chinese companies manufacture and export her handbags, shoes and clothes is more secret than ever.

In the months since she took her White House role, public information about the companies importing Ivanka Trump goods to the U.S. has become harder to find. Information that once routinely appeared in private trade tracking data has vanished, leaving the identities of companies involved in 90 percent of shipments unknown. Even less is known about her manufacturers. Trump’s brand, which is still owned by the first daughter and presidential adviser, declined to disclose the information.

The deepening secrecy means it’s unclear who Ivanka Trump’s company is doing business with in China, even as she and her husband, Jared Kushner, have emerged as important conduits for top Chinese officials in Washington.

To read the rest, go here.

This stinks to high heaven. And if it were a Democratic administration, rather than a Republican one, Republicans would be screaming bloody murder. Rightly.“

To borrow a phrase from the late, great Isaac Hayes…

And in the “I am Woman, hear me roar…unless of course crying scores me sympathy points!” segment…

Jemele Hill: ‘I cried’ in meeting for turning ESPN into ‘punching bag’ over Trump tweet

“Controversial ESPN host Jemele Hill cried in a meeting with ESPN President John Skipper because she turned the network into a “punching bag” when the SportsCenter host came under fire for calling President Trump a “white supremacist” on Twitter earlier this month.

“It was the first time I had ever cried in a meeting. I didn’t cry because Skipper was mean or rude to me. I cried because I felt I had let him and my colleagues down,” Hill wrote in a commentary on the ESPN site ‘The Undefeated’ that was published on Wednesday morning.

Hill, an outspoken liberal, admitted that “Twitter wasn’t the place to vent,” but went on essentially to double down on her initial comments about Trump, claiming they were about “right and wrong,” as opposed to politics. “Since my tweets criticizing President Donald Trump exploded into a national story, the most difficult part for me has been watching ESPN become a punching bag and seeing a dumb narrative kept alive about the company’s political leanings,” Hill wrote.

While Hill might consider ESPN’s political leanings a “dumb narrative,” many fans and media watchdogs disagree. ESPN has terminated on-air talent in the past for right-leaning actions on social media, but has stood by Hill, who eventually tweeted that she had regrets for painting ESPN in an “unfair light” but stood by her comments about Trump.

“My comments on Twitter expressed my personal beliefs. (What…and Curt Schilling’s and Mike Ditka’s DIDN’T?!?)

…She continued: “I also can’t pretend as if the tone and behavior of this presidential administration is normal. And I certainly can’t pretend that racism and white supremacy aren’t real and that marginalized people don’t feel threatened and vulnerable, myself included, on a daily basis.”

The SportsCenter host said she doesn’t know when her duties as a sports broadcaster end and her “rights as a person begin,” but said “we’re clearly living in a time of blurred lines.”

One has to laugh at the fact Hill is either unwilling to admit, or too self-impressed to realize, her skin color is the only reason she has her job in the first place!

As for us, until ESPN helps Ms. Hill recognize her limits, we’re completely boycotting the network, having in fact already informed Verizon we will NOT renew our contract if they’re part of our service. 

Turning now to The Lighter Side…

Which brings us to Balls Cotton’s representation of Team Trump opening its doors to North Korea:

Finally, we’ll call it a week with News of the Bizarre, courtesy today of an uncomfortable Colomboan:

Man caught smuggling $30K of gold in his rectum, airport officials say

“A Sri Lankan man’s “suspicious movements” at the airport in the capital Colombo led to the discovery of some $30,000 worth of gold stashed in his rectum, customs officials say. Officials noticed the 45-year-old “walking with difficulty and appearing to be in pain” as he waited for his flight to India on Sunday…”

Sorta like Barney Frank at a Rock Hudson Fan Club convention.

Magoo