Three Things You Need to Know - October 11, 2017

October 11, 2017

WRITER

The Weinstein saga makes one thing crystal clear.

Angelina Jolie, Gwyneth Paltrow, Ashley Judd, Mira Sorvino.

All have come out as victims of Harvey Weinstein’s disgusting behavior.

The situation has gone from bad to worst-case scenario for Weinstein.

For almost a week, allegations have mounted that Weinstein sexually harassed an untold number of women over the last 30 years.

Sunday night Weinstein was fired from his own company. Yesterday, his wife, Georgina Chapman, announced she is leaving him. The couple have two children, ages 4 and 7.

Yesterday, The New Yorker published a story that dwarfed last week's original piece from The New York Times with even more appalling revelations. The story quotes two women who say they were raped by Weinstein, and four others describe being touched by Weinstein, without their consent. Four additional women say he exposed himself or masturbated in front of them.

Sixteen former and current employees at Weinstein’s company say Weinstein had a system of preying on young actresses by inviting them for business meetings, then dismissing other employees from the meeting so he could be alone with the actress.

All of the victims told The New Yorker they were scared of Weinstein’s retaliation, fearing he would ruin their lives.

Weinstein released a statement denying the rape and retaliation accusations, ending it with: “Mr. Weinstein is hoping that, if he makes enough progress, he will be given a second chance.” Only in Hollywood.

Now that Weinstein’s ship is sinking fast, former President Obama and Hillary Clinton are feigning surprise that their fundraising pal is actually a creep. Obama, whose daughter Malia interned at Weinstein’s company last year, said, “Michelle and I have been disgusted by the recent reports about Harvey Weinstein. Any man who demeans and degrades women in such fashion needs to be condemned and held accountable, regardless of wealth or status.” Hillary said she is “shocked and appalled.”

Yes, but were they disgusted, shocked or appalled when Weinstein was signing those Democratic fundraising checks? No.

All these after-the-fact denunciations from celebrities and politicians are meaningless. This Weinstein saga has made one thing crystal clear about the liberal elite --- respecting women and protecting them from predators like Weinstein is top priority, just not while the checks are still rolling in.

California's attempt to "destigmatize" HIV is senseless.

The phone rang.

“Hello?”

Silence.

“Hello? Who is this?”

The silence on the other line suddenly turned into hysterical, manically laughter.

“Burn, I got you!”

The man dropped the phone. He knew who the caller was.

It was the man who intentionally gave him HIV.

That man, Daryll Rowe, is on trial in England right now for maliciously infecting four men with the HIV virus without their knowledge.

This creep had a terrifying system. He would sabotage any protection, infect his victim, and then mercilessly mock them with abusive texts and phone calls that he had given them the disease.

If Daryll Rowe moved to California, he would not be behind bars awaiting a court date like he is now.

He would be a free man. Probably swiping right to meet his next victim.

Starting January 1, it will no longer be a felony in California to knowingly expose a sexual partner to HIV with the intent of transmitting the virus.

Why?

To destigmatize HIV.

Bill sponsor Senator Scott Wiener explained, “We are going to end new HIV infections, and we will do so not by threatening people with prison time, but rather by getting people to test and providing them access to care.”

So, let me get this straight. California is going to stop HIV infections by letting terrible human beings continue to spread HIV infections to unknowing victims.

That makes absolutely no sense at all.

California, I’m sorry to break it to you, but you cannot “destigmatize” HIV.

It’s a potentially fatal disease. No one wants it.

It will never be destigmatized.

HIV positive people shouldn’t be judged by their disease or discriminated against, but the disgusting people who intentionally infect others should be criminalized.

California, your efforts to normalize and condone this terrorism is beyond revolting and will have the opposite effect on HIV infections.

How long before something snaps in North Korea?

Strategic bombers were flying over South Korea again yesterday. Two B-1 Lancers flanked by Japanese and South Korean fighter jets buzzed North Korea in yet another show of force.

Perhaps the weirdest thing about all this is how routine it's beginning to feel. This wasn’t an elaborate air show or even a recon mission to take pictures, this was a mission to deter against nuclear war.

Tough talk and saber rattling between Kim Jong Un and President Trump has become so common, it’s easy to miss just how close to war we are literally every day.

Take yesterday for example. It was the 72nd anniversary of the founding of North Korea’s ruling Workers’ Party. Kim Jong Un typically uses these holidays for nuclear or missile tests, and the last threat we heard was a possible hydrogen bomb test over the Pacific.

Trump set the stage last week when he said we were in the “calm before the storm.” Everyone began to wonder what that meant, and on Friday, Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders confirmed there were “world issues” and named North Korea specifically.

Over the weekend, Trump doubled down in an ominous tweet saying diplomacy hadn’t worked for 25 years and “only one thing will work!”

Early Tuesday morning, Trump called for a meeting with Defense Secretary Mattis and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Dunford. They discussed “a range of options” to respond militarily to North Korean aggression. They’ve had these planning missions over a hundred times since this crisis began. Why did they pick Tuesday for another?

A few hours later that day, B1 bombers and Japanese and South Korean fighter jets flew over the Korean Peninsula. Was it just a show of force or were they waiting for an attack order?

The threat of war with North Korea is greater than it’s been in over 50 years. Kim Jong Un apparently got the message yesterday and backed down. Will he the next time?

MORE 3 THINGS

Betrayal of trust: Medicare insurers face lawsuit over kickback scheme

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Editor's note: This article is sponsored by Chapter.

The U.S. government has filed a major lawsuit under the False Claims Act, targeting some of the biggest names in health insurance—Aetna, Elevance Health (formerly Anthem), and Humana—along with top insurance brokers eHealth, GoHealth, and SelectQuote. The allegation? From 2016 to at least 2021, these companies funneled hundreds of millions of dollars in illegal kickbacks to brokers to steer seniors into their Medicare Advantage plans.

If the allegations are true, it means many Americans may have been steered into Medicare Advantage plans that weren’t necessarily the best fit for their needs—not because the plans were better, but because brokers were incentivized by illegal kickbacks.

The Kickback Conspiracy

Navigating Medicare Advantage’s maze of plan options is daunting, so beneficiaries rely on brokers like eHealth, GoHealth, and SelectQuote, who claim to be unbiased guides. But from 2016 to 2021, insurers Aetna, Humana, and Elevance Health allegedly paid brokers millions in kickbacks to favor their plans, regardless of quality. Disguised as “co-op” or “marketing” deals, these payments were tied to enrollment targets. Internal emails revealed executives knew this violated the Anti-Kickback Statute, with one eHealth leader joking that the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) would miss a $15 million Humana deal for minimal enrollments. Brokers used call routing to prioritize high-paying insurers, betraying beneficiaries’ trust.

Discrimination Against the Vulnerable

The scheme wasn’t just about profits—it targeted vulnerable beneficiaries. Medicare Advantage must accept all eligible enrollees, including disabled people under 65. Yet Aetna and Humana allegedly pressured brokers to limit their enrollment, as these beneficiaries were deemed to be less profitable. Brokers complied, rejecting referrals and filtering calls to favor healthier enrollees, incentivized by bonuses. This violated federal anti-discrimination laws and CMS contracts, undermining the founding principles of Medicare by discriminating against the very people it was created to aid.

False Claims and the Pursuit of Justice

The schemes led to false claims to CMS, with insurers certifying enrollments as “valid” despite kickbacks and discrimination. The government paid billions, unaware of the fraud. Examples include Humana’s $12,477 for a 2016 enrollment and Aetna’s $79,047 for a 2020 case. On May 1, 2025, the U.S. filed suit, seeking treble damages and penalties under the False Claims Act. Aetna and others deny the allegations, per May 2025 reports, promising a fierce defense. The case, demanding a jury trial, seeks justice for beneficiaries and taxpayers.

POLL: Are foreign hackers behind 2025 bridge crash?

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A Mexican Navy ship crashing into the Brooklyn Bridge has left the nation stunned, and Glenn is demanding answers.

Are recent devastating ship collisions—first Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge in 2024, now Brooklyn in 2025—really just accidents, or is something far more sinister at play? Glenn recently warned that these incidents, both involving foreign vessels losing power near critical U.S. infrastructure, could be “shark bumps” by foreign adversaries testing our defenses through cyber sabotage. With the government and media quick to dismiss concerns, Glenn is calling for urgent investigations into possible hacking, independent audits of our ports and bridges, and a serious look at whether our enemies are exploiting vulnerabilities in our digitized systems.

Glenn wants to know what you think: Are these crashes coincidental, or are we under attack? Let us know in the poll below:

Could the recent ship crashes into American bridges be the result of cyber attacks by foreign adversaries?

Should the US government investigate these incidents for possible foreign interference?

Is our critical infrastructure adequately protected from cyber threats?

Are you concerned that foreign adversaries might be targeting US infrastructure through cyber means?

Do you think the media and government are properly addressing the security concerns raised by these incidents?

Glenn: Biden’s autopen scandal rocks White House

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Top Democrats knew Biden’s health was deteriorating but covered it up to keep power. Jake Tapper’s book finally lifts the lid on their deception.

Jake Tapper and Alex Thompson’s new book confirms what we suspected all along: Joe Biden’s health was rapidly declining, and the Democratic Party establishment knew it. Rather than be honest with the American people, they chose to cover it up, to prop up Biden just long enough to survive the election cycle. And the media helped them do it.

For years, any mention of Biden’s cognitive decline was framed as a “right-wing smear,” a baseless conspiracy theory. But now, Tapper and Thompson reveal that Biden’s top aides privately discussed the need for a wheelchair after the election — because the man can hardly walk.

We had no functioning president for much of the past administration.

And while Biden’s closest aides were planning that, they and their allies in the press were publicly spinning the fantasy that Joe Biden’s halting gait was due to a heroic foot fracture from a dog-related incident four years ago. They said his frailty was due to his “vigor.” That’s not a joke. That’s a quote.

And while they said this, they were having special shoes made for him with custom-made soles to help him stand. They weren’t planning for a second term. They were planning how to prop him up — literally — just long enough to survive the election. That is a cover-up.

It doesn’t bother me that Biden might need a wheelchair. What bothers me — what should bother every American — is that his aides talked about hiding it until after the election.

Biden wasn’t leading

Needing a wheelchair in your 80s is not a moral failing. It’s human. I own President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s wheelchair — it sits in my museum. That chair represents the strength and resilience of a man who, despite paralysis, led this nation through World War II against a dictator who was gassing the disabled and infirm. He hid his disability out of fear the public wouldn’t accept a leader who couldn’t walk. But he led.

Hannah Beier/Bloomberg via Getty Images

But Joe Biden wasn’t leading. He was a puppet played by faceless swamp creatures whose only concern was maintaining their iron grip on power.

Whatever you think of Tapper, the book reveals the chilling reality that we had no functioning president for much of Biden’s administration. Our commander-in-chief wasn’t just aging — he was declining. And the people around him — government employees, funded by your tax dollars — weren’t honest with you. They lied to you repeatedly and willfully because the truth would have guaranteed a second Trump term. That’s what this was all about.

Who signed the pardons?

Consider the implications of this revelation. We had a president signing documents he didn’t read — or even know about. We had an autopen affixing his name to executive actions. Who operated that autopen? Who decided what got signed or who got pardoned? Who was in charge while the president didn’t even know what he was doing?

Those are not minor questions. That is the stuff of a constitutional crisis.

The problem isn’t Biden’s age. The problem is that the people you elected didn’t run the country. You were governed by unelected aides covering up your elected president’s rapid cognitive decline. You were fed a lie — over and over again. And if anyone tried to blow the whistle, they got buried.

Don’t get distracted by the wheelchair. The chair itself is not the scandal. The scandal is that people inside your government didn’t want you to know about it.

They made a bet: Lie until November, and deal with the fallout later. That is an insult to the American people — and a threat to the republic itself. Because if your government can lie about who’s running the country, what else are they lying about?

We need further investigation and to hold these crooks accountable. If we don’t, it will happen over and over again.

This article originally appeared on TheBlaze.com.

The Woodrow Wilson Mother's Day loophole

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I’ve got a potentially helpful revelation that’s gonna blow the lid off your plans for this Sunday. It’s Mother’s Day.

Yeah, that sacred day where you’re guilt-tripped into buying flowers, braving crowded brunch buffets, and pretending you didn’t forget to mail the card. But what if I told you… you don’t have to do it? That’s right, there’s a loophole, a get-out-of-Mother’s-Day-free card, and it’s stamped with the name of none other than… Woodrow Wilson (I hate that guy).

Back in 1914, ol’ Woody Wilson signed a proclamation that officially made Mother’s Day a national holiday. Second Sunday in May, every year. He said it was a day to “publicly express our love and reverence for the mothers of our country.” Sounds sweet, right? Until you peel back the curtain.

See, Wilson wasn’t some sentimental guy sitting around knitting doilies for his mom. No, no, no. This was a calculated move.

The idea for Mother’s Day had been floating around for decades, pushed by influential voices like Julia Ward Howe. By 1911, states were jumping on the bandwagon, but it took Wilson to make it federal. Why? Because he was a master of optics. This guy loved big, symbolic gestures to distract from the real stuff he was up to, like, oh, I don’t know, reshaping the entire federal government!

So here’s the deal: if you’re looking for an excuse to skip Mother’s Day, just lean into this. Say, “Sorry, Mom, I’m not celebrating a holiday cooked up by Woodrow Wilson!” I mean, think about it – this is the guy who gave us the Federal Reserve, the income tax, and don’t even get me started on his assault on basic liberties during World War I. You wanna trust THAT guy with your Sunday plans? I don’t think so! You tell your mom, “Look, I love you, but I’m not observing a Progressive holiday. I’m keeping my brunch money in protest.”

Now, I know what you might be thinking.

“Glenn, my mom’s gonna kill me if I try this.” Fair point. Moms can be scary. But hear me out: you can spin this. Tell her you’re honoring her EVERY DAY instead of some government-mandated holiday. You don’t need Wilson’s permission to love your mom! You can bake her a cake in June, call her in July, or, here’s a wild idea, visit her WITHOUT a Woodrow Wilson federal proclamation guilting you into it.

Glenn's Show Prep