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While I Was Occupied

(Fast Food, Karen Pence, Government Shutdown, SOTU, Venezuela, and Buzzfeed)

Part One

By Gary F. Zeolla

      In my article Additional Thoughts on the Border Crisis and Government Shutdown posted on Friday, January 11, 2019, I said I just got a new computer and would be spending the next week or so setting it up. Then over a week later, on Sunday (1/20), I posted a message on my social media accounts that I had finished setting it up. But I spoke too soon, as I still had a few technical difficulties to solve. Then I had some personal stuff to attend to, like starting on my tax returns for 2018.

      While I was occupied with all of that, a lot happened in the political world that I wanted to comment on but couldn’t do so at the time. I might be late to the party on some of these events, but I still wanted to add my two cents. In one case, after I began writing this article on Friday morning, January 25, 2019, a major change occurred. I have kept my original comments then added an update.

      This first part of this two-article will address the issues listed in the subtitle. Part Two will address the biggest event that happened during the time I was occupied, along with a few other events.

Trump Serves Fast Food

      After winning the NCAA National Football Championship, the Clemson Tigers were invited to the White House on January 14th. With the government in shutdown and the White House staff laid off, President Trump used his own money to buy fast food for the players from McDonald’s, Wendy’s, Burger King, and Pizza Hut, and the mainstream media (MSM) went nuts!

      “How could Trump serve such unhealthy food to a bunch of growing college kids? High-caliber athletes yet! It just isn’t proper!” The MSM even calculated how many calories were in all of that fast food. But more than health concerns, the MSM used this occasion to “fact check” the fast food, trying to prove Trump was lying.

      Trump said he paid $3,000 for the food. The MSM fact checked it, and it was “only” $2,970. A lie! Trump said the burgers were stacked “a mile high.” But the media calculated it would take far more hamburgers than he purchased to reach that height. Another lie! But of course, the first comment was rounded off, and the second was a figure of speech. But I guess such normal ways of talking are not allowed when you’re the President.

      The MSM never bothered asking the players if they enjoyed the food. But then, it was not necessary to ask, with the way they scarfed it all down, with some players even sneaking some extras into their clothes.

      Generally, I would not approve of serving fast food, as it really is unhealthy. On that, the MSM is correct. But the Clemson Tigers just won the National Championships, so they were entitled to some junk food, after I am sure their stricter diets during the season.

      I even ate fast food after a powerlifting contest in 2017, as I relate in my contest report APF/ AAPF Ohio State Powerlifting Championships. Then after my most recent contest, I regretted not at least getting a milk shake on my way back to my hotel after a contest in hot weather (see RPS Dog Days Powerlifting Contest – 2018). But even then, I still ate some “cheat foods” I bought with me in the hotel room.

      It is just normal for athletes to splurge a little after a competition, so Trump buying fast food was perfectly acceptable. The media in fact completely ignored Obama serving hot dogs and other junk food for a Super Bowl party during his presidency. But unlike Trump, who used his own money, Obama bought that junk food with taxpayer dollars.

      But note, this party has been the subject of some controversy. A right-wing website claimed Obama spent $65,000 of taxpayer money on those hot dogs, a figure which other conservatives repeated. That’s not true, but still:

      It’s possible that the original ___ email was misstating the facts about a Super Bowl viewing party hosted by President Obama at the White House in February 2009. The president did serve hot dogs at that party (as well as brownies, hot fudge ice cream, pizza, soft pretzels, chicken sandwiches, etc.), but we found no reports stating that he purchased $65,000 worth of hot dogs (at $3 a dog, that’s more than 20,000 hot dogs) or that the treats were flown in from Chicago (Snopes).

Karen Pence

      The MSM made a fuzz over Second Lady Karen Pence taking a job as a school teacher at Immanuel Christian School. The reason? The school follows the Bible’s standards on sexuality in requiring sexual purity on the part of its teachers and students, and that includes not allowing practicing homosexuals to be teachers or students.

      That the Bible forbids homosexual sex is demonstrated in my two-volume set God’s Sex Plan. Those books also show that the Bible forbids premarital sex, extramarital sex, and divorce. The school’s standards also include enforcing those standards. If it didn’t, then the school would be inconsistent in singling out homosexuality. But since it does, it is simply following the Bible. And such it is allowed to do given the US Constitution’s First Amendment protecting freedom of religion. As such, there is no basis for the MSM to be critical of Karen, a committed Christian, for taking a job at a such a Bible-based institution.

      It must also be noted, the Immanuel’s rules do not state someone with a homosexual orientation cannot attend its school. It says, you cannot engage in homosexual sex while attending the school, just as it says students cannot engage in premarital heterosexual sex. I explain this important distinction between orientation and behavior in my Sex Plan set.

      However, I must say that the LGBTQ movement is being used to disparage the Christian faith. But true Christians will hold to the Bible’s standards on not just the sinful behaviors indicated by this acronym but on all the Bible says on sexuality. But sadly, many so-called Christians today do not abide by these standards in their own lives, nor do they defend them. But they do so at the risk of their own souls and those of others deceived by these behaviors.

      That is why my God’s sex plan set is so important, and why I expanded my originally planned one book to two-volumes to fully cover these issues in depth, as sexuality is a seminal issue in American and in the Church today. Christians need to know that the Bible does in fact teach without any doubt the standard of one-man/ one-woman together for a lifetime.

Government Shutdown Continues

      In my “Border Crisis and Government Shutdown” article, I expressed hope that by the time I was back online, the partial government shutdown would have ended. But sadly, by Friday morning (1/25), that has not proven to be the case. Both sides still have their heals dug in, with no compromise possible and no end in sight.

      At this point, my heart goes out to the 800,000 government workers who have been furloughed or who are working without pay. The latter especially deserve respect and commendation. They missed their second paycheck, which was supposed to be issued today (1/25). But it must be noted that Congress has already passed a bill, which the President signed into law, that ensures they will receive backpay.

      It must also be noted that Republicans in the House put forth a bill that would pay all 800,000 workers, but only seven Democrats went along with the Republican plan the first time it was proposed and ten the second time. As a result, the bill failed. That means the reason those workers are not being paid is due to House Democrats, not Republicans.

      However, I did not hear if Trump said if he would sign that bill or not. But that was because this bill was barely reported in the media. I only heard about it when new Republican Congressman Dan Crenshaw (whom I mention in my book Tearing the USA Apart) discussed it on FNC’s Fox & Friends Thursday morning (1/24). Of course, the reason this potential deal was not reported was it would make the shutdown the Democrats’ shutdown, not Trump’s shutdown, as the hate-Trump MSM has been delighting in reporting it as.

      Meanwhile, Rose Tenant, of Rose Unplugged (one of this website’s Standard References), led a group of Angel Mother’s to Nancy Pelosi’s office. They wanted her to hear the other side, that of those who have lost loved ones at the hands of illegal aliens. But Nancy refused to come out of her office to meet with them, hiding behind the wall separating them. I guess walls work in keeping lawmakers from having to face those whose stories would shatter their “no crisis at the border” perspective.

      As for the furloughed governmental workers, maybe it is time for them to look for jobs in the private sector. With the booming economy, especially there being more jobs available than job seekers, they should have no problems finding high-paying jobs. But that would require them to leave their cushy government jobs.

      That said; two votes were taken in the Senate on Thursday (1/24). One was for the proposal Trump made the previous Saturday (1/19). He called for about $2 Billion for additional border agents, tech for detecting drugs coming through legal points of entry, and more judges to hear asylum cases, and of course, the $5.7 Billion for his Border Wall.

      In exchange, he offered to give a three-year reprieve to DACA recipients and those in the USA legally on a “temporary” basis due to disasters in their home countries, most notably El Salvador. Both of these are discussed elsewhere on this website and in my Tearing Apart book. They are both supposedly issues of importance to Democrats, but that was not enough to sway them to support the offer , as this proposal only received 50 votes in the Senate. Three Republicans voted against it, but one Democrat, Joe Manchin of WV, voted for it. I mention Joe in my Tearing Apart book. He was also the lone Democrat who voted to confirm Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court.

      The second was a Democratic proposal that reopened the government, but it did not provide any money for the Wall or the other items for increased border security. That proposal reached 52 votes, with all 47 Democrats voting for it, plus five Republicans. But even if it had received the necessary 60 votes to pass, and then passed the House, Trump was sure to veto it.

      Consequently, there seems to be no end to the government shutdown and impasse over Trump’s Border Wall.

The SOTU Canceled

      In a purely political move, Nancy rescinded her previous invitation to POTUS to give the State of the Union Address (SOTU) on Tuesday, January 29. That invitation is generally routine, and she had given the initial invitation after the shutdown began. But then Nancy decided to play politics with it.

      She claimed she rescinded the invitation due to security concerns. But she only heard there might be such concerns from one furloughed DHS agent. But Secret Service and still working DHS agents immediately issued statements saying there would be no such security concerns. But Nancy still stuck by her guns in refusing the President access to the House Chambers for the SOTU.

      Trump initially said he would find an alternative venue for the SOTU. And it was reported he even was writing up two versions of it, one for presenting it in the House Chambers and one for presenting it elsewhere. But then he gave in and said he would wait until the shutdown was over to give the address.

      This whole situation is a terrible example of partisan politics on the part of Nancy and the Dems. And it has opened the door for Republicans to pull the same stunt the next time there is a Democratic President. That is bad for the country. But getting a political win, as always, is more important for Dems than what is good for the country.

Trips by Democrats

      The entire time the shutdown has been ongoing, President Trump has been in Washington, waiting to negotiate with the Democrats, except of course, for the one day of his surprise trip to Iraq on Christmas Day.

      However, Nancy was in Hawaii for over a week over the holidays. Then when the new House Dems were sworn in on January 3rd, their first act was to vote themselves a four-day weekend. Then a group of Dems took a junket to Puerto Rico (paid for by lobbyists they are now beholden to) and basked in the sun, while Trump froze in the Oval Office waiting for their return.

      Then Nancy and her aids and other Dems were prepared to take a seven-day trip to Brussels, Afghanistan, and Egypt. But at the last minute, Trump canceled the trip, citing security concerns, just like Nancy did with the SOTU. But in this case, there were real concerns with Nancy going to a war zone. But even more, Trump was right that Nancy needed to stay in Washington to negotiate, not be flying around the world.

      Then as I was writing this, on the weekend of Friday, January 25, the Dems were again planning on being out of Washington, as they voted themselves another four-day weekend. They sure do like those four-day weekends, that none of us who work real jobs can afford.

      It would seem Trump is far more serious about negotiating to end this shutdown than Nancy and the Democrats are.

Update on the Shutdown and the SOTU

      The preceding sections were written Friday morning (1/25). That afternoon, Trump caved and agreed to a deal initially set forth by Republican Senator Lyndsey Graham back on January 9th—the government would reopen for three weeks, no money would be allocated for Trump’s Wall or increased border security, but the Dems would agree to negotiate about them. But that last point seems unlikely, given that in a spiking the football move, Chuck Schumer said, “hopefully, the President has learned his lesson.”

      Possibly pushing Trump to capitulate were the delays that began occurring at airports due to a high rate of air trafficker controls calling in “sick.” If an airplane had crashed, it would be blamed on Trump, so he had little choice but to give in.

      The three weeks will end on February 15th. By that time, I predict nothing will change. Nanchuck (Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer) will remain entrenched that a Border Wall is “immoral,” and there will be no money for it.

      Then either the government will shut down again, and we will go through all of this all over again; or Trump will issue an executive order declaring a national emergency. He will then reallocate money already allocated for DHS and order that it be used to build a Wall. That order will be challenged in court, and work on the Wall will be halted until the case works its way through the courts, up to the Supreme court.

      Meanwhile, there will never be any comprehensive immigration reform, and all of the problems with the border, caravans, and illegal immigration that I discuss in my Tearing Apart book and on this website will remain and will continue to tear the USA apart, as discuss in my book.

      That is all just as Dems want, as they have no desire to solve this problem. But then neither do Republicans. It was only Trump who was serious about it. But with this capitulation, he might lose his base and his reelection, and that will be the end of any talk of a Border Wall and real border security and immigration reform.

      But on the National Emergency Act, it has been invoked 53 times since the law was passed in 1976. The first time was by President Jimmy Carter in 1979 in regard to Iran and the then hostage crisis. That “emergency” act is still in force, as are thirty additional emergency acts. Most of these concern ongoing situations with various foreign counties.

      What this means is, an ongoing situation qualifies as an “emergency” for this act to be invoked. That means, the ongoing crisis at the border would qualify for this act to be invoked. But that is still sure to be a point which is argued in the courts.

      That the situation at the border is an ongoing crisis was emphasized when an illegal alien killed four Americans in Nevada this month (January 2019). That’s four more deaths due to illegal immigration to add to the ones detailed in my Tearing Apart book and previously on this website. But these examples are just a sliver of the thousands of murders that have been committed by illegal aliens.

      That final point is a bit of a correction to my book, where I said “hundreds” of American citizens have been killed by illegal aliens. I couldn’t find the exact figure at the time, so I thought it best to be conservative. But as it turns out, I should have said “thousands.” That number would be more correct, though it is difficult to get an exact number. But whatever the exact number and rate, I need to reiterate what I said before— if we controlled our border, the number would be zero.

      As for the SOTU, it is doubtful it will go on as originally planned on Tuesday, January 29th. From what I have heard, Nancy seems to want to delay it until after February 15. That is probably because she still does not want to give Trump that celebrated forum to tout the need for a Border Wall. Again, this is all pure politics, with no regard for the American people.

    Finally on the shutdown is the following tidbit, “While the total economic cost is still unclear, the S&P analysis puts the price tag at roughly $300 million more than the $5.7 billion in taxpayer funds Trump wants to build part of a wall along the southern border” (Trib Live. Government).
 

Venezuela Update

      I mentioned previously about the mess in Venezuela due to its socialist policies. Things have gotten so bad that last year Venezuela saw a 1.5 million % inflation rate. Yes, 1,500,000 percent, which is to say, the Venezuela currency has become worthless. A political shakeup is now in process, with our President coming out in support of the dissident claimant to the Venezuelan presidency Juan Guaidó over Nicolas Maduro, the current but said to be illegitimate President.

      To explain, Maduro was reelected in May of last year, but that is said to have been an illegitimate and rigged election, as it was not conducted according to the Venezuelan Constitution, such as it being held in May while their Constitution stipulates it is to be held in December. That means, technically, the presidency is vacant, and according to their Constitution, that means the head of their National Assembly becomes President, which is Guaidó.

      That said; this act of support on the part of President Trump is in stark contrast to Obama’s reaction to the attempted Iranian coup in 2009. Obama said nothing, and the attempted overthrow flailed, and the dissidents were all jailed or even executed. If the US had expressed support, maybe that coup would have succeeded, and Iran would not be the great problem that it is today. But such inaction is yet one more disastrous legacy of the Obama presidency.

      Trump is trying to avoid this mistake, knowing that a stable Venezuela would be good for the US, as it might have been the source of funding for the caravans of illegal aliens that headed for the US border that I discuss in my Tearing Apart book.

      To be clear, Trump is not committing US troops to Venezuela, nor should he. But just the US voicing support, with most other nations following suit, gives credence to Guaidó’s presidency. It should also be noted that Russia and its President Vladimir Putin are backing Maduro, as are China, Turkey, Iran, and a couple of South American countries, while most other counties are following the US in backing Guaidó. If Trump were beholden to Russia and Putin as the MSM and Dems claim, this move on the part of Trump would make no sense.

Buzzfeed Unverified Claim

      Buzzfeed created quite a stir on Thursday, January 17, when it published an article claiming Trump told his lawyer Michael Cohen to lie to Congress about when talks about a proposed Trump Tower in Moscow were called off. Cohen initially said they ended in January 2016, but he later said they continued until June 2016.

      To be clear, there was nothing illegal about Trump talking with Russian officials about building a Tower in Moscow during the 2016 election. Thus, even if the talks had continued until June, it would not be an issue, so there was no reason for Cohen to lie about it, nor any reason for Trump to tell him to do so. Trump was still a private citizen at that time, and he could do what he wanted with his own business. And it was just that, talk. Nothing ever came of the talk. Nothing was ever signed, and ground was never broken.

      But be that as it may, lying to Congress is no small matter, as I detail in my Tearing Apart book. That is why the MSM went crazy, saying “impeachment” all the next day. They would preface their comments by “CNN has not verified” or “MSNBC has not verified” the claim. Then they would say, “But if true …” Then the pundits would pontificate for the next hour on why Trump telling Cohen to lie would be an impeachable offense.

      That pattern went on all day, so that by the end of the day, those two stations had used some form of the word “impeach” 200 times, at least according to Sean Hannity’s count on his January 21 radio show.

      However, there was a time when the news media would not present and discuss something unless they had independently verified it first. That is the standard I use for this website. As I write on the new page Standard References for this Website, “I try to only use information that can be verified by at least two independent sources to ensure it is accurate. If I rely on only one source, the tentative nature of that information is noted.”

      I used the same standard in my book Tearing the USA Apart, as discussed in it. But sadly, the MSM hates Trump so much, that it has now thrown out this journalist standard and will run with unverified information. That hatred for the President and rushing to judgment is a major theme of my book.

      That rushing to judgment will be seen in an even greater degree and with greater consequences in an event to be discussed in Part Two of this article. It will be posted sometime later this week.

References:

Standard References, plus:

Trump Serves Fast Food:

Business Insider. Trump is serving the Clemson football team Wendy's and McDonald's in the White House.

Fox News. Illegal immigrant expected to face murder charges in Nevada killing spree.

NBC News. Trump serving fast food to the Clemson players isn't just insulting. It's especially bad for elite athletes.

Pop Sugar. Donald Trump Welcomes the Clemson Tigers With a Buffet of Fast Food at the White House.

Snopes. Did President Obama Once Spend $65,000 on Hot Dogs?

Karen Pence:

CBS News. Karen Pence takes teaching job at Christian school that bans LGBTQ students and faculty.

National Review. Karen Pence, Are You Now, or Have You Ever Been, Part of a Christian Ministry?

Government Shutdown Continues:

NBC News. It’s Day 33 of the government shutdown, and Washington remains stuck.

New York Times. What Will Happen if the Government Remains Shut Down?

SOTU Canceled:

CBS News. Pelosi tells Trump she won't let him deliver State of the Union from House chamber.

Telegraph, The. UK. Donald Trump delays State of the Union Address after Nancy Pelosi bars him from House chamber.

Democrat Trips:

Breitbart. Media Largely Ignore Democrats’ Puerto Rico Junket During Shutdown.

Federalist, The. Pelosi is Having An Epic Tantrum After Trump Cancelled Her Trip Abroad.

Fox News. Nancy Pelosi is vacationing at Hawaii resort during shutdown.

Update on the Shutdown and the SOTU:

Constitution Party. Illegal Alien Crime And Violence By The Numbers: We’re All Victims.

Daily Beast. TSA Officers Are Already Quitting Over the Shutdown, Union Says.

Daily Wire. 9 Things You Need To Know About Illegal Immigration And Crime.

New York Times. Trump Signs Bill Reopening Government for 3 Weeks in Surprise Retreat From Wall.

Skeptics. Do illegal immigrants commit more murders than mass shooters?

Trib Live. Government shutdown cost U.S. economy at least $6 billion, analysis says.

Trib Live. Trump signs bill to end government shutdown.

Venezuela Update:

New York Times. Yes, Venezuela Is a Socialist Catastrophe.

Washington Examiner. In Venezuela, socialism has succeeded the way it always does.

Buzzfeed Unverified Claim:

Breitbart. BuzzFeed: Trump Ordered Michael Cohen to Lie to Congress About Russia Business Plans.

Buzzfeed. President Trump Directed His Attorney Michael Cohen To Lie To Congress About The Moscow Tower Project.

While I Was Occupied
(March for Life, Women’s March, Abortion, Kamala Harris, Alexandria, Howard)
Part Two

While I Was Occupied (Fast Food, Karen Pence, Government Shutdown, SOTU, Venezuela, and Buzzfeed) Part One. Copyright © 2019 by Gary F. Zeolla (www.Zeolla.org).

The above article was posted on this website January 27, 2019.

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