Mark Krikorian, Steve Moore and Benny Johnson joined WMAL on Thursday!

Mornings on the Mall

Thursday, January 17, 2019

Hosts: Mary Walter and Vince Coglianese

 

5am – A/B/C HOW THE WORD ‘FAMILY’ TRIGGERED A MELTDOWN AT GOOGLE. (Daily Caller) — A Google executive sparked a fierce backlash from employees by using the word “family” in a weekly, company-wide presentation, according to internal documents obtained by The Daily Caller News Foundation. Many Google employees became angry that the term was used while discussing a product aimed at children, because it implied that families have children, the documents show. The backlash grew large enough that a Google vice president addressed the controversy and solicited feedback on how the company could become more inclusive. TheDCNF received the documents from a source who insisted upon anonymity in order to share them. One employee stormed out of the March 2017 presentation after a presenter “continued to show (awesome) Unicorn product features which continually use the word ‘family’ as a synonym for ‘household with children,’” he explained in an internal thread. That employee posted an extended rant, which was well-received by his colleagues, on why linking families to children is “offensive, inappropriate, homophobic, and wrong.”

5am – D         Virginia man uses flamethrower to clear driveway of snow. AMHERST COUNTY, Va. (WSET/WRIC) — One southwest Virginia man got a little overzealous when tasked with clearing his driveway after this most recent snow storm. Nathanael Caplinger decided to leave his shovel in the garage, and use his flamethrower to melt the snow instead. Caplinger told ABC affiliate WSET that he hates shoveling snow. So, after reading an ad in a magazine about a blowtorch, which advertised its usefulness in clearing snow, he decided to try it out. He bought one after researching the state and local laws and consulting with local officials. Caplinger said the flamethrower worked like a charm but emphasized the importance of using the device safely.

5am – E         A Lawsuit Claims Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee Retaliated Against A Staffer Who Planned To Sue The Congressional Black Caucus Foundation Over An Alleged Rape. The woman, identified by a pseudonym, claimed in a lawsuit that she was raped by a former employee of the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation. She says Jackson Lee fired her as she was preparing to pursue legal claims over the alleged assault. (Buzzfeed) — WASHINGTON — A former staffer for Texas Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee claims in a new lawsuit that the lawmaker retaliated against her and fired her because she was planning to pursue legal action over an alleged rape by a former employee of the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation. The woman, identified in court papers by the pseudonym Jane Doe, alleges she was raped in October 2015, when she was a 19-year-old intern for the CBCF, by the foundation’s intern coordinator at the time, Damien Jones. The woman said she reported the alleged rape to police and told several people, including Rep. Terri Sewell, her former boss and a distant relative of her mother’s, but did not pursue legal action at the time. Several years later, when Jane Doe was working for Jackson Lee, the woman decided she did want to pursue legal action, and told Jackson Lee’s chief of staff Glenn Rushing in early March 2018. The woman alleges that she asked to speak with Jackson Lee about it, but a meeting never happened, and several weeks later she was fired. Jackson Lee is chair of the board for the CBCF.  According to the complaint, on Oct. 24, 2015, Jones invited Jane Doe to dinner, where she said he ordered a large quantity of drinks. She said that he then took her back to his home, poured more drinks, and that her memory became foggy about the rest of the night. She said she sent a series of text messages to a friend that night, including, “Help,” “I’m want t[sic] to go home,” and “I’m ready to cry,” and told the friend she was with the intern coordinator but did not know where she was.

6am – A/B/C PELOSI vs TRUMP on SOTU: The Trump administration and Republicans are pushing back on House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s suggestion that President Trump delay his upcoming State of the Union address because of the partial government shutdown … The president is slated to deliver his televised annual address to a Joint Session of Congress on Jan. 29. But with no compromise in sight to resolve the standoff over government funding for Trump’s proposed border wall — a stalemate that is in its fourth week, with the impact deepening for furloughed federal workers and others — Pelosi, D-Calif., suggested in a letter that Trump put those plans on hold, speak from the Oval Office rather than Capitol Hill, or submit the address in writing. The House speaker also cited concern over whether a partially closed government could provide proper security for the address — but was quickly rebuked. Though President Trump and the White House did not immediately respond to Pelosi, Republicans accused Pelosi of playing politics. House Minority Whip Steve Scalise tweeting that Democrats are “only interested in obstructing @realDonaldTrump, not governing.” Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen denied anyone’s safety would be compromised, saying that both Homeland Security Department and Secret Service “are fully prepared to support and secure the State of the Union.”

• Pelosi Asks Trump to Reschedule State of the Union Amid Shutdown
• Speaker Pelosi reiterates potential security concerns of having State of the Union during shutdown. Asked by @GarrettHaake if POTUS should view this as a consequence, Pelosi says it is a “housekeeping matter” and suggests Trump could do it from the Oval. (VIDEO)
• SEC. NIELSEN: The Department of Homeland Security and the US Secret Service are fully prepared to support and secure the State of the Union. We thank the Service for their mission focus and dedication and for all they do each day to secure our homeland.
• SECRET SERVICE OFFICIAL: PELOSI NEVER CONTACTED US FOR SECURITY PLAN BEFORE CANCELING TRUMP SPEECH
• Pelosi Slams DHS Claim Of Being Prepped For SOTU: ‘I Don’t Care What They Said’
• CHAD PERGRAM: Pelosi spox: The Office of the Spkr has been contacted by a furloughed DHS employee who expressed serious concerns that the dept has insufficient staffing levels to sufficiently manage the security needs for the upcoming State of the Union..due to furloughs of critical staff

6am – D         SYRIA:

• American troops were among 15 people killed in a bombing in Syria claimed by ISIS. It comes as the U.S. prepares to withdraw forces.
• Pence declares “ISIS has been defeated” hours after group claims attack that killed US troops in Syria http://hill.cm/8A23VTo

6am – E         DOJ official Bruce Ohr shared intel from dossier author in 2016 with prosecutors now on Mueller team. (Fox News) — Details about Justice Department official Bruce Ohr’s meetings with the author of the salacious anti-Trump dossier were shared by Ohr with his expansive circle of contacts inside the department — including senior FBI leadership and officials now assigned to Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation, Fox News has learned. Ohr gave a closed-door transcribed interview last August sharing details of his 2016 meetings with British ex-spy Christopher Steele, who authored the dossier later used to secure a surveillance warrant for a Trump campaign aide. The interview was part of the Republican-led House Oversight and Judiciary Committee probes. In a series of questions about his meetings with Steele, including one on July 30, 2016, and who he shared the information with, Fox News has confirmed the Ohr transcript stated: “Andy McCabe, yes and met with him and Lisa Page and provided information to him. I subsequently met with Lisa Page, Peter Strzok, and eventually (an FBI agent). And I also provided this information to people in the criminal division specifically Bruce Swartz, Zainab Ahmad, Andrew Weissmann.” “Andy” is Andrew McCabe, the former FBI deputy director and acting director who left the bureau after the DOJ Inspector General concluded he lied about his role in a media leak about the Clinton Foundation on the eve of the 2016 presidential election. His case is now with the U.S. Attorney in Washington, D.C.  Former FBI Agent Peter Strzok and lawyer Lisa Page, whose anti-Trump texts emerged after the election, left the bureau last year.

6am – F         OCASIO NEWS:

• Liberal star Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has more Twitter power than any other Democrat – including Barack Obama – but is miles behind Trump. Liberal sensation Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has more power on Twitter than any other Democrat – including former President Barack Obama – although she is miles behind that other social media force: President Donald Trump. The freshman Democratic representative has generated more interactions – retweets plus likes – on the social media site than party leaders Obama, Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer. She is second only to the president, Axios found, when it measured the Twitter star power of several politicians.
• Ocasio-Cortez’s latest role on Capitol Hill: Twitter tutor for House Democrats. As the youngest member of Congress, it’s no surprise that U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., has used social media effectively in her campaigning and in her first weeks as a member of Congress. Now she’s offering other House Democrats a chance to learn the techniques she has used. Ocasio-Cortez, 29, and slightly older U.S. Rep. Jim Himes, D-Conn., will pair up to teach the “most effective ways to engage constituents on Twitter and the importance of digital storytelling,” at a Thursday session hosted by the House Democratic Policy and Communications Committee, according to reports. Ocasio-Cortez confirmed Wednesday on — where else? — Twitter that she would be teaching the class.
• Ocasio-Cortez vows to ‘run train’ on progressive agenda in bizarre turn of phrase. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., used a strange – and sexually charged – phrase to describe to The Washington Post her plan for implementing a progressive agenda. “… enjoy being exhausted for the next two years while we run train on the progressive agenda,” the newly minted congresswoman told the newspaper. The choice of words sent the Internet into a tizzy, as it has a well-known and highly disturbing connotation. According to the Urban Dictionary, to “run train” means “to gangbang” someone. The phrase was injected into more mainstream parlance in October, after a client of adult film industry lawyer Michael Avenatti claimed – with no evidence – that now-Supreme Court Justice Bret Kavanaugh “ran trains” on girls while in high school near Washington, D.C.

7am – A         INTERVIEW – MARK KRIKORIAN – nationally recognized expert on immigration issues, and is the Executive Director of the Center for Immigration Studies (CIS)

• Immigration group files suit to force Southern Poverty Law Center revoke ‘hate’ label. Center for Immigration Studies files racketeering lawsuit against watchdog
• Pelosi Asks Trump to Reschedule State of the Union Amid Shutdown
• SEC. NIELSEN: The Department of Homeland Security and the US Secret Service are fully prepared to support and secure the State of the Union. We thank the Service for their mission focus and dedication and for all they do each day to secure our homeland.
• TRUMP MEETS W/PROBLEM SOLVERS CAUCUS: The meeting with both Democrats and Republicans comes the day after the president invited a group of rank-and-file Republican and Democrat members to the White House for lunch. No Democrats took the White House up on that invitation, which was viewed on Capitol Hill by some as an attempt by the White House to create fissures within the Democratic Party – though House Speaker Nancy Pelosi gave approval for Democrats to accept Trump’s invitation.
• BIPARTISAN ATTEMPT TO END SHUTDOWN FAILS: By the end of the day, the letter’s signers were stalled far short of the 20 senators in both parties that supporters were trying to accrue. Many Republicans wanted more of a commitment from House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) to move forward, and others thought it was pointless to endorse it if there was no signal from Trump that he might accept it. Senators tried to set up a meeting with Vice President Mike Pence on Wednesday afternoon, though the meeting never occurred.

7am – B/C     RELIGIOUS BIGOTS IN CONGRESS:

• SASSE INTRODUCES LEGISLATION THAT PROTECT KOC MEMBERSHIP: “It is the sense of the Senate that disqualifying a nominee to federal office on the basis of membership in the Knights of Columbus violates the Constitution of the United States,” the resolution reads.
• ANTISEMITE CONGRESSWOMAN REP. OMAR: Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) defends past anti-Semitic comments she made on Twitter, saying those were “the only words I could think about expressing at that moment”
• Democrat Rep. Rashida Tlaib photographed with pro-Hezbollah activist who says Israel has no right to exist
• FLASHBACK: Rep. Tlaib’s D.C. Office Map Has ‘Palestine’ Sticky Note Over Israel. Palestinian-American congresswoman Rashida Tlaib has made yet another mark of her heritage with a post-it note that marked Palestine on her world map in her office. Buzzfeed reporter Hannah Allam posted the sticky note on Twitter, “Someone has already made a slight alteration to the map that hangs in Rashida Tlaib’s new congressional office.” The map diverges from the United States’ official policy of accepting the Two State Solution, completely wiping off any trace of a Palestinian state.

7am – D         INTERVIEW – STEVE MOORE – former campaign economic advisor to President Trump, economist at The Heritage Foundation and author of book “Trumponomics: Inside the America First Plan to Revive Our Economy” – shared his thoughts on the new rising star “economist” Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.

7am – E         Cardi B is sounding off on President Trump’s border wall, saying he “promised these motherf—ers something that you know you couldn’t do.” The “I Like It” rapper took to Instagram Live this week to blast Trump’s request for Congress to dedicate money to fund for a barrier separating the United States and Mexico. “You promised these f—ing racist rednecks that you was gonna build the wall, but you know that was impossible,” Cardi B, who was born Belcalis Almanzar, told her fans. “But they voted for you and you promised them this shit so now you have to do it,” the entertainer said.

8am – A         INTERVIEW – BENNY JOHNSON – reporter, The Daily Caller – discussed his progressive wall tour.

• The Daily Caller set out to find the truth in a series called “Walls Across America.” In our most recent episode, we set off to the Hamptons on Long Island, New York to investigate if one of the most influential leftists on the planet chooses to live behind a wall. Billionaire George Soros is one of the most prominent progressives on the planet. Soros founded the Open Society Foundations, which exists to advance a global progressive agenda. The foundation donates billions of dollars to liberal causes including those that advocate for global open borders and immigration reform. Soros has long owned a palatial estate in the Hamptons. So how does this progressive billionaire choose to protect the things he loves? In our first episode of “Walls Across America,” we traveled to President Obama’s mansion in Washington, D.C. to investigate Trump’s claim that Obama has a “10-foot wall” around his house.

8am – B/C     PELOSI v TRUMP:

• Pelosi Asks Trump to Reschedule State of the Union Amid Shutdown

8am – D         Julian Castro: Put ankle monitors on illegal immigrants rather than detaining them.  Democratic presidential candidate Julian Castro on Sunday said he would prefer to track illegal immigrants using ankle monitors rather than detaining them. The former Obama administration housing chief and former mayor of San Antonio made the comments while discussing how he would deal with the increase in migrant families crossing the southern border illegally, should he win his party’s nomination for president in 2020. Castro on Saturday officially launched a 2020 White House bid. “What I believe we could do and what the Obama administration did do, I believe, toward the end of its tenure, was to look at things like ankle monitors so that you’re able to monitor where people are in the country,” he said during an interview with CBS News’ “Face the Nation” when asked what he would do with illegal immigrants in lieu of detention or deportation. Castro, the grandson of a Mexican immigrant, said that he didn’t consider detaining family units seeking asylum or refugee status to be a viable policy option. He also hit back at President Trump’s categorization of the situation on the U.S.-Mexico border as a “crisis,” describing it instead as a “tragedy.”