President Trump rally in Ohio

Here's the live stream link via Right Side Broadcasting Network for President Trump's rally today (Saturday, August 4), scheduled to begin at 6:30pm (h/t Sundance).

Or go to the YouTube link at 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MVknMa_m8FU

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Ohio Secretary of State and election integrity

From Ballotpedia:

Heading into the 2018 election, the sitting secretary of state is Jon Husted (R), who was first elected in 2010 and was re-elected in 2014. Husted is prevented by term limits from seeking election to a third term in 2018.

State Senator Frank LaRose is the GOP candidate for Ohio Secretary of State. His website has his bio, and I am not pleased to read that he introduced legislation to make it easier for Ohioans to go online to register to vote. From LaRose’s website:

Senate Bill 318 will simplify absentee voting for all Ohioans by allowing voters to go online and request a vote-by-mail ballot. Currently, voters must mail requests for an absentee ballot to their local board of elections. This bill will make the process more efficient and more secure all while improving speed and convenience for voters. 

More efficient and secure? Or maybe more opportunities for voter fraud. (Remember the Soros-funded Secretary of State Project? To paraphrase Stalin, it’s not who votes; it’s who counts the votes.)

So conservative voters may be looking at another hold-your-nose election.

Former Ohio Secretary of State Ken Blackwell published an article at American Thinker, “The Left Wants to Control Ohio Elections,” that takes a longer view at the race for Ohio Secretary of State:

Hyper-partisan liberals once again have their eyes on Ohio.  This time, they want to take over the office in charge of making sure the state's elections are fair, honest and transparent.  Judging from the money they're spending and false outrage they're spewing, leftists will stop at nothing until they have one of their own in charge of counting votes in Ohio.  We have to stop them. 

. . .

[C]apturing the Ohio secretary of state's office is vital to the left's master plan of electing America's next president.  No Republican has won the presidency without winning Ohio.  A critical swing state, Ohio has voted for the winner in presidential races in twenty-eight out of the last thirty elections.  As Ohio goes, so goes the nation.

They have full access to the Clinton Money Machine and the Obama Operation.  While it may seem strange to witness millions of dollars pouring into a down ballot race in the heartland, there is a method to the Democrats' madness.  Delve below the surface, and you will see that the Democrats have their sights set on 2020, defeating Donald Trump, taking back the presidency.  Winning the [Ohio] secretary of state's race is a means to that end.

In the wrong hands, that office will become a de facto arm of the Ohio Democratic Party and the Democratic National Committee.  Eric Holder and a laundry list of presidential wannabes know that.  Realizing what our rivals are capable of, Republicans should be on high alert.  They mean business.  They've got millions.  They don't fight fair.  It's that serious.

Their candidate for this high office is Kathleen Clyde.  She fits the pattern of coming from the far left of the political spectrum and being loud and confrontational in her style.  She is advancing the preposterous and obviously unconstitutional notion that if a presidential candidate does not release his taxes, he is immediately and irrevocably kept off the ballot in Ohio.  You can see how far-fetched and far left her agenda is.

 . . . 

The person the Democrats nominate, whoever it is, will target Ohio as the missing piece to the puzzle they need to claim the Oval Office so they can pick up where Barack Obama left off.  If they seize control of the Ohio secretary of state's office and they control the machinery of government in the Buckeye State, they will set to work pressing their advantage.  That is why Republicans are taking action: because winning the Ohio secretary of state's race is absolutely vital to the integrity of our elections and the future of our country.

You can read Blackwell’s full article here. I plan to re-post this shortly before Election Day.

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Obama's Ohio endorsements

From cleveland.com today:

Former President Barack Obama unveiled his list of initial endorsements Wednesday, including backing Democrat Richard Cordray for governor of Ohio.

. . . 

Here is the full list of Obama's Ohio endorsements:

·         Richard Cordray for governor

·         Betty Sutton for lieutenant governor

·         Steve Dettelbach for attorney general

·         Kathleen Clyde for secretary of state

·         Zack Space for auditor

·         Aftab Pureval for Congress in the 1st Congressional District

·         Jill Schiller for Congress in the 2nd Congressional District

·         Phil Robinson, Stephanie Howse, Mary Lightbody, Beth Liston, Allison Russo, Erica Crawley, Tavia Galonski, Casey Weinstein and Taylor Sappington for the Ohio House of Representatives

Obama's endorsement of Cordray comes after Republican President Donald Trump endorsed Cordray's opponent - Republican Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine - in the gubernatorial race.

The full report is here.

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Mike Rowe on average Americans

 image credit: nbcnews.com

Mike Rowe is one of my favorite guests on news and opinion programs. Ben Shapiro has a one-hour interview accessible at Legal Insurrection here(scroll to the bottom). Here’s the appetizer:

This week, Shapiro spoke with TV host and entrepreneur Mike Rowe. Their conversation covered a number of topics such as work and higher education. In the segment below, Ben asks Rowe about the divide between elites and average Americans.

The FOX News Insider reports:

Mike Rowe to Ben Shapiro: ‘Profound’ Disconnect Exists Between Elites and Many Americans

Reality TV star Mike Rowe told Ben Shapiro that he believes there is a widening gap between the so-called “elites” and everyday Americans.

Rowe said the gap has always existed to varying degrees, but he now sees a growing “disconnect” and a lack of appreciation of things that are basic in everyday life…

“If we’re not blown away by the miracle that occurs when we flick the switch and the lights come on; if we’re not gobsmacked by flushing the toilet and seeing all of it go away; when we start losing our appreciation for those things, the gap deepens. And I think the gap right now is extraordinary,” said Rowe.

He has a way of hitting the nail on the head. Link here.

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National Korean War Veterans Armistice Day

Photo by USAF Tech Sgt Ashley Tyler

I am a day late with this tribute; via Don Surber:

Friday was a national day to honor the American sacrifice in the Korean War. It coincided with the 65th anniversary of the cease-fire. It remains America's longest war, at 68 years and counting.

Kim Jong Un returned what is believed to be the remains of 55 American soldiers who died in combat. Forensic tests will determine just who these men are.

“For 3 brutal years, our Armed Forces and allies fought valiantly to stop the spread of communism and defend freedom on the Korean Peninsula. On National Korean War Veterans Armistice Day, we remember the bravery and sacrifices of those who fought and died for this noble cause,” President Trump said in his proclamation.

The U.S. media gave scant notice to this.

Surber's full report is here.

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In the news: Richard Cordray, candidate for Governor of Ohio

art credit: telegraph.co.uk

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau was set up under the Obama administration, and it was designed to be exempt from checks and balances and accountability. An overview at Competitive Enterprise Institute sums it up in an article titled “Unconstitutionally Structured and Harmful to Consumers”; article is here.

Cleveland.com has a report by Eric Heisig with the headline

Consumer Financial Protection Bureau loses lawsuit

against Cleveland debt collection firm

A federal judge has ruled against the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau in a lawsuit it filed against Cleveland debt collection firm Weltman, Weinberg & Reis.

. . .

Senior U.S. District Judge Donald Nugent wrote in an opinion released Wednesday that the CFPB did not prove that Weltman, Weinberg & Reis sent demand letters that were false, misleading or deceptive.

The CFPB sued Cleveland firm Weltman, Weinberg & Reis in April 2017, saying the firm's attorneys were not sufficiently involved in sending out the letters, even though the letters prominently mention they were sent out by a law firm and occasionally raise the possibility of legal action for unpaid debts.

. . .

Nugent also wrote that Weltman, Weinberg & Reis sent out similar letters when Alan Weinberg was hired to collect debts for the state of Ohio between 2009 and 2011 under then-Attorney General Richard Cordray.

The point was significant because Cordray, a Democrat who is campaigning for Ohio governor, was the head of the CFPB between 2012 and last year. He was at the federal agency when it sued Weltman, Weinberg & Reis and authorized the lawsuit, the judge wrote.

The Cleveland firm considered calling Cordray as a witness during the trial, which took place before and after Ohio's primary elections, but chose not to do so.

…

Read the rest here. I haven’t followed this one, but I would not trust the CFPB under Cordray from here to the door. From the Wikipedia page:

On May 21, 2018, the bureau was weakened after US President Donald Trump signed into law Congressional legislation repealing the enforcement of automobiles lending rules.  On May 24, 2018, Trump signed into law further Congressional legislation exempting dozens of banks from the CFPB's regulations.

I wish President Trump would just shut the thing down. And Mr. Cordray is running for Governor. 

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Desperation at MSNBC

Art credit: quotesgram.com

Today’s headline at Breitbart:

‘Woke Nation’: Joe Scarborough Rebrands ‘The Resistance’ as Tea Party of 2018

Cultural appropriation?

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