Three Things You Need to Know - December 14, 2017

December 14, 2017

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The Justice System Has Been Politicized

Shady meetings in high-level offices, off the books burner phones to hide communications, and whispers of a coup. These plot lines sound like they’re ripped straight out of a late night ID channel espionage series: “Case Files of the KGB”... or something like that. In reality, everything I just described was going inside the hallowed halls of the FBI.

It was reported last week that the former second-in-command of counterintelligence at the FBI had been relieved from the Muller investigation due to a series of anti-Trump text messages. At first - to be honest - this seemed kind of eye roll worthy. I mean, who hasn’t sent a few ant-Trump text messages? Even if you’re fully in the President’s corner - come on - I KNOW you’ve sent at least ONE text saying, “crap I wish he wouldn’t have tweeted that.” That’s really all I was expecting to see here.

On Tuesday night, 375 of the 10,000 text messages were released to the press. Many of them, as expected, were just kind of stupid. Sure there’s a clear disdain for Trump and admiration for Hillary Clinton, but there’s a big difference in having a political opinion versus showing bias in an investigation. That was the vibe Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein was giving to Congress yesterday and that’s primarily how the mainstream media is reporting it.

So that’s that… well, not quite. I kept scanning through the meaningless texts until I came across this one. It says quote:

“So look, you say we text on that phone when we talk about Hillary because it can’t be traced…”

Ok, that sounded a little bad. What could they possibly be discussing about Hillary that requires them to hide their communications? Maybe the fact that this FBI agent was the one that doctored Comey’s Clinton statement to help her avoid indictment? I mean I’m just guessing here… let’s read on.

Ok, there’s an “Eff Trump”... yadda yadda yadda… “Congrats on a woman nominated for President”... wait, what’s this:

“I want to believe the path you threw out for consideration in Andy’s office - that there’s no way Trump gets elected - but I’m afraid we can’t take that risk. It’ like an insurance policy in the unlikely event you die before you’re 40.”

Is that what I think it is, because it sounds an awful lot like the second-in-command of counterintelligence - who was working on both the Clinton investigation AND the Trump/Russia investigation - was making plans with a colleague to undermine Donald Trump. Oh yeah, and the office referenced in the text - “Andy’s” - was likely Deputy Director Andrew McCabe’s.

I’m sorry, but this isn’t a case of a little harmless “political preference”, this sounds like bias with the intent to conspire against a then-presidential candidate. How far did this plot go? At this point we need a Special Counsel… to investigate the Special Counsel.

Rotten Apples in the Movie Biz

Have you heard of the new movie review website called Rotten Apples?

Not Rotten Tomatoes – that’s the one people use to try to convince each other to see a movie. “But honey, it got 92% on Rotten Tomatoes. It must be really good.”

Rotten Apples isn’t like that. It really boils things down for the movie, or TV show consumer. You type in any title and it gives you an instant rating, either “Fresh Apples” or “Rotten Apples.”

It’s a website that really addresses current needs. It’s very of-the-moment, you might even say it’s very #MeToo… because that is exactly what inspired it.

You see, Rotten Apples is a brand-new website that tells you if anyone involved in a movie or show has been accused of sexual misconduct. Notice I said accused of. It’s not a criminal database. And no, I’m not making this up.

If you type in a movie title and no one’s been accused of anything, the page reads “Fresh Apples – This movie has no known affiliation to anyone with allegations of sexual misconduct against them.”

If you type in a show like House of Cards, however, the page reads “Rotten Apples” followed by the name of the person accused. If you click on the name, it links to an article from another media source about the allegations against that person.

The team of four – two males, two females – who created the site, say it’s not meant to incite boycotts of movies or shows, but to help people make “ethical media consumption decisions.”

Wow. This site just launched on Tuesday. It’s so new, I’m not even sure what to think of it yet. Is this another example of the internet keeping an industry honest – like travel or restaurant review sites? Could something like this actually help keep Hollywood predators at bay?

Or, is this website a one-way ticket to libel town since it’s based on accusations?

Regardless, it’s kind of a suspenseful game, to type in your favorite movies and shows, cross your fingers, and hope your childhood isn’t ruined by finding out your hero is a total creep. The results can be surprising. Or not.

Whatever you do, just don’t type in Home Alone 2. Under any circumstances. Or The Little Rascals. Trust me. Just don’t type those in.

Harvey Weinstein Was Salma Hayek's #MeToo Monster

“I will kill you, don’t think I can’t.”

Those are the cruel words Harvey Weinstein reportedly said to Salma Hayek.

The actress is the latest and one of the most high-profile women to share her frightening experience with Weinstein.

In a shocking essay published by the New York Times, Hayek detailed her hellish encounters with the disgraced producer.

She met Weinstein when she approached his company Miramax to help finance and distribute her film, Frida.

He agreed, but his involvement came with a hefty price: her mental and physical wellbeing.

She claims that Weinstein repeatedly stalked her and asked for sexual favors.

When she declined his advances in private, he made a demand for a sex scene in the film with her co-star, Ashley Judd, who was also harassed by Weinstein. An emotionally battered Hayek begrudgingly agreed because the future of the film was at stake.

Frida went on to win Two Academy Awards.

But Hayek clearly lost when she partnered with Weinstein. After reading her essay, it’s clear he made the most important experience of her career a living hell.

Salma Hayek will not be the last person to add to the mountain of allegations against Weinstein, but her account is noteworthy because it draws the line between Weinstein and the other men accused of sexual misconduct. It’s clear Weinstein is in a league of his own.

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Will Trump swap Americans for Russian spies for ‘questioning’ by Putin? Bill Browder doubts it

'On the Basis of Sex': Notorious RBG trailer will make your head explode

Michael Loccisano/Getty Images

On the Basis of Sex. I'm going to go out on a limb here and guess that you probably didn't expect those five words to come out of me this morning. No, that's not my version of a clickbait headline to get you to pay attention — although that probably just happened — but this is the title to the new movie based on the life of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.

Progressives and liberals have been hovering over YouTube like a pack of rabid wolves, anxiously awaiting the first trailer to drop. And — three days — they got their wish. Something in the last few seconds caught my ear. Watch:

Now my first thought after hearing that went something like this: The word "freedom" is literally the fifth frigging word in the first sentence of the First Amendment. It shows up for the second time just two sentences later. How do you screw that up? I always assumed that liberal Hollywood movie makers had never really read the Constitution, but this is just sad.

But my second thought was that maybe they don't consider the Bill of Rights actually part of the Constitution. However, according to the National Constitution Center, the Bill of Rights officially became part of the Constitution — not a separate document — when it was ratified in 1791. This is rather easy to fact check, so there's really no excuse here.

But then I had another thought. Either liberal Hollywood forgot that the Constitution changed in 1791, or they actually prefer the vaguer pre-1791 version of the Constitution where God-given rights can be excluded if the state so pleases. Think about it. The Bill of Rights is the single greatest roadblock to the radical Left's "progress." Do you hate the fact that private gun ownership encourages self reliance and personal freedom? Do you also hate the fact that dissenting views, opinions and speech can't be silenced and crushed? Then the Bill of Rights is a clear and present danger to your agenda. It's enemy number one.

The new Left that is radically moving toward the extreme absolutely abhors the year 1791.

You see, the new Left that is radically moving further toward the extreme absolutely abhors the year 1791. They wish it never happened. The Bill of Rights is a constant reminder that some FREEDOMS can't be given by the government, they're granted by GOD. And that thought — you being aware of that — scares the hell out of them.

Now, it's possible I thought too much into this. It's also possible the screen writer made a simple mistake and thought Ruth Bader Ginsburg was actually born before 1791, figuring it would be a nice tip of the hat to her longevity. I can actually see how you could make that mistake. But it's also possible that this is a sign of the times we live in.

The Bill of Rights is under attack, maybe more now than ever. It's never been more important to let the Constitution of 1791 be our guide, true north and lighthouse.

UPDATE: Here's how the discussion went on radio. Watch the video below.

How did this slip by?

The Left has been foaming at the mouth waiting for this movie to drop and when the trailer finally hit the interwebs, it ended with an embarrassing factual error about the Constitution.

What will happen when the Titan kneels?

Spencer Platt/Getty Images

You can tell that the NFL season is approaching because you can hear the whining from highly-paid athletes as they prepare their kneepads for some kneeling.

In May, the NFL instated a policy that penalizes players who take a knee during the national anthem.

"A club will be fined by the League if its personnel are on the field and do not stand and show respect for the flag and the Anthem," the statement said. "The Commissioner will impose appropriate discipline on league personnel who do not stand and show respect for the flag and the Anthem."

Tennessee Titan's defensive end Jurrell Casey has decided that he will continue his whining and kneeling.

"I'm going to take my fine," Casey said in an interview. "It is what it is, I ain't going to let them stop me from doing what I want to do. If they want to have these battles between players and organizations, this is the way it's going to be."

Maybe Casey can find work elsewhere. I hear that Universities love to hire self-righteous ranting lunatics.

He added that "At the end of the day, we got to do a job, but I will continue to use my platform to keep on speaking up."

Yes, he does have a job to do. And that job is playing football. His bosses have made it clear that political activism is not part of the job. Who knows, maybe Casey can find work elsewhere. I hear that Universities love to hire self-righteous ranting lunatics. There's also Starbucks. They need a self-righteous CEO.

BUCKLE UP: Glenn Beck explains 7 scandals that make up the Russia connection

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All anyone can talk about right now is Russia and collusion, and for good reason. Special Counsel Robert Mueller just indicted 12 Russian intelligence officers for cyber attacks and the hacking of cyber-systems in energy, nuclear, water, and manufacturing sectors which you can read about here.

The Trump-Russia scandal, in a word, is maniacal. There are many moving parts that are very hard to solve — or simply don't want to be solved. All of these are "mysteries wrapped in an enigma," asserted Glenn on Wednesday's episode of "The Glenn Beck Radio Program."

From the curious case of Imran Awan to the hacking of DNC servers to "Russian" meddling in elections via social media, all of these deserve scrutiny.

On today's episode, Glenn examined seven scandals that make up the Russia connection:

Russian operatives who used social media to divide Americans during the 2016 election.
The meeting at Trump Tower between Donald Trump Jr., Jared Kushner, Paul Manafort, and Russian lawyer Natalia Veselnitskaya.
The Fusion GPS Dossier funded by the Clinton campaign and the Democratic National Committee.
Voter fraud in Illinois.
Hillary Clinton's emails.
Imran Awan. Awan was an IT staffer for Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives who was part of a federal investigation and was arrested on bank fraud charges.
Lastly, the 2016 DNC email leaks.

For the entire explanation, tune into the podcast below:

This article provided courtesy of TheBlaze.

There are three tribes when it comes to Trump and Russia: Which tribe do you belong to?

When it comes to Donald Trump, Glenn Beck argues that there are three tribes that categorize the way people examine him regarding his foreign and domestic policy.

Tribe one is the #Resistance. They are the ones who believe that everything President Trump does is bad. They're also the ones who call for impeachment and who label President Trump a "treasonous traitor" even before a summit with a foreign leader takes place.

Those, according to Glenn's analysis, include groups like Think Progress, who published an article suggesting that women's rights would be rolled back if the President's SCOTUS nominee is confirmed by the Senate. This tribe also includes progressive talking heads and far Left publications and politicians like The New York Times and Hillary Clinton.

Tribe two are those who defend the President and his actions at all costs. He can do no wrong. These are the people who deny the President's mistakes. They believe the President is a master chess player and everyone else is a pawn in Trump's game.

Both who operate in tribes one and two maintain a "win at all costs" mentality. They don't care what happens as long as their side wins. Glenn calls this a "cult of personality madness."

Tribe three are those who are "free thinkers." These people question the President with boldness and aim for intellectual honesty when evaluating the President's policies and behavior.

Glenn believes tribe one and tribe two are smaller than tribe three.

So, what do all these tribes have to do with Trump and the Russians? Find out in the clip below.

Where do you fall when it comes to Trump and Russia?

When it comes to Donald Trump, Glenn argues that there are three tribes that categorize the way people examine him regarding his foreign and domestic policy.