Kurt Schlicter, Brexit strategist Matthew Elliott, DJ Jordan, Jessica Vaughan and VA GOP’s Jack Wilson joined WMAL on Thursday!

Mornings on the Mall

Thursday, March 21, 2019

Hosts: Mary Walter and Vince Coglianese

Executive Producer: Heather Hunter

 

5am – A/B/C INTERVIEW – KURT SCHLICTER – conservative political commentator and author of new novel “WILDFIRE!” — discussed President Trump’s fights with Sen. John McCain and George Conway.

• In an escalation of attacks against the late GOP Senator John McCain, President Trump is complaining that he wasn’t thanked for approving McCain’s state funeral. In a speech at a factory in Ohio, the president said he “didn’t get a thank you,” adding, “That’s OK. We sent him on the way,” and repeating, “I wasn’t a fan of John McCain.”
• President Trump is ramping up his feud with White House aide Kellyanne Conway’s spouse, calling George Conway a “husband from hell” and prompting Conway to renew his accusation that the president is mentally unfit.

5am – D         BALTIMORE CRIME IN SCHOOLS:

• ‘Pro-Criminal’ Baltimore Lawmakers Voted Down Armed School Police, Gov. Hogan Says. BALTIMORE (WJZ) — Those advocating for Baltimore City Schools Police to carry weapons on campus vow to continue their fight— after Governor Larry Hogan lashed out at lawmakers who killed the measure. “The only place in the state where we’re not allowing police officers—trained school resource officers cannot carry a weapon—it’s crazy,” Governor Hogan said Monday. “This seems to be like the most pro-criminal group of legislators I’ve ever seen.”
• FLASHBACK JANUARY: No Armed Officers In Schools, Says… Baltimore. The Baltimore City School Board held a meeting this week where they were scheduled to vote on a new proposal. The meeting came in response to a new Maryland bill currently being considered in the legislature that would expand the ability of security guards in schools to be armed. Given the epidemic of gang violence and gun crimes in Charm City over the past decade, combined with all of the high profile school shootings that have been in the news, you might think this would be an easy call. And it apparently was an easy call. The school board voted unanimously, 10-0 to reject the idea of armed guards.

5am – E         Thousands Of Those Books Baltimore’s Mayor Sold Are Sitting In A Warehouse. (HotAir/Jazz Shaw) — When last we checked in on the growing scandal surrounding Baltimore Mayor Catherine Pugh, we learned that she had resigned from the Board of Directors for the University of Maryland Medical System. (In her resignation letter she stated she had “many other pressing concerns that require my full attention, energy and efforts.”) What the resignation didn’t clear up was the matter of the half million dollars the UMMS had paid her for tens of thousands of copies of a children’s book she had written and self-published. Despite calls from Maryland legislators and even the Governor to give the money back, no mention of that was made in her resignation letter.

(Baltimore Sun) — More than 8,000 copies of a children’s book written by Baltimore Mayor Catherine Pugh are sitting in a Baltimore school system-owned warehouse, according to a spokeswoman… City schools spokeswoman Anne Fullerton said that the district has not been able to locate documentation related to book shipments, but that staff members recall a shipment of “unsolicited” copies being delivered between 2011 and 2013. She said the school system can’t confirm how many books were received or the number of books handed out to students. “However, we can confirm that approximately 8,700 copies of Healthy Holly: Fruits Come in Colors Like the Rainbow are currently located in a district warehouse,” she wrote in an email. “We have no record of any subsequent shipments or donations, and staff members have no recollection of any shipments beyond the one dating from the 2011-13 period.”

 

6am – A         INTERVIEW – MATTHEW ELLIOTT – Brexit strategist, Editor at Large at Brexit Central and was the CEO of the Vote Leave campaign

• UK’s May asks a wary EU to delay Brexit until June 30. LONDON — Exactly 1,000 days after Britain voted to leave the European Union, and nine days before it is scheduled to walk out the door, Prime Minister Theresa May hit the pause button Wednesday, asking the bloc to postpone the U.K.’s departure until June 30. EU leaders, who are exasperated by Britain’s Brexit melodrama, said they would only grant the extension if May could win Parliament’s approval for her twice-rejected Brexit deal. Otherwise, the U.K. is facing a much longer delay to Brexit, or a chaotic “no-deal” departure from the bloc. In a letter to European Council President Donald Tusk, May acknowledged that the Brexit process “clearly will not be completed before 29 March, 2019” — the date fixed in law two years ago for Britain’s departure. In asking to delay Britain’s withdrawal until June 30, May said she would set out h er reasons to EU leaders at a summit in Brussels on Thursday. Tusk said he thought a short delay to Brexit “will be possible, but it would be conditional on a positive vote on the withdrawal agreement in the House of Commons.”For his part, the president called the Republican lawyer a “whack job” in remarks to reporters and a “stone cold loser” on Twitter.

6am – B         Maryland General Assembly votes to raise minimum wage to $15. (WBAL TV) — ANNAPOLIS, Md. — The Maryland General Assembly voted to raise the minimum wage to $15 an hour starting in 2025. The bill passed in the House of Delegates with a 93-41 vote and in the Senate with a 32-13 vote. The legislation now goes to Gov. Larry Hogan’s desk. The House and Senate passed their versions of the legislation by veto-proof majorities. Hogan has not said whether he would veto the bill. He has made it clear, however that he doesn’t like it. Under the compromise, companies with fewer than 15 employees will have until July 2026 to fully pay the new wage. Starting next year, the current $10.10 minimum will incrementally increase by 60 cents  ach year. The Senate voted 32-13 in favor of adopting the compromise. But the legislation did spark a short debate. Hogan previously said he would support a minimum wage increase, but not as much as the General Assembly proposed. On March 8, he proposed a $12.10 minimum wage with provisions. He also wanted lawmakers to wait to increase it until surrounding states raise their rates.

6am – C         People don’t become ‘adults’ until their 30s, say scientists. (BBC) —

Have you ever been told to “grow up” in your 20s or need an excuse as to why you still find cat videos on the internet really funny? Well now you might have an official reason as to why you’re not acting like a mature adult. People don’t become fully “adult” until they’re in their 30s, according to brain scientists. Currently the UK law says you become a mature adult when you reach the age of 18. Scientists who study the brain and nervous system say the age at which you become an adult is different for everyone. Research suggests people aged 18 are still going through changes in the brain which can affect behaviour and make them more likely to develop mental health disorders. Professor Peter Jones, from Cambridge University, said: “What we’re really saying is that to have a definition of when you move from childhood to adulthood looks increasingly absurd. “It’s a much more nuanced transition that takes place over three decades.” He added: “I guess systems like the education system, the health system and the legal system make it convenient for themselves by having definitions.”

Miami Beach police reportedly beefing up number of officers to patrol crowds for remainder of spring break after several incidents involving alcohol-induced revelers have caused chaos in the city. (ABC News) — The Miami Beach Police Department is beefing up the number of officers to patrol crowds for the remainder of spring break after several incidents involving alcohol-induced revelers have caused chaos in the city, according to reports. On Tuesday, Miami Beach officials held an emergency meeting to address the alcohol-induced antics the partiers have brought to the city, the Miami Herald reported. The meeting was filled with resident, who expressed anguish at the disarray, that they said is particularly egregious this year, according to the local newspaper. Incidents have included a driver on the MacArthur Causeway serving alcohol to passengers in another vehicle, a brawl on the beach and a woman, who was knocked unconscious, near Ocean Drive. In another incident, Mariah Michelle Logan was killed by a hit-and-run driver on her way to the airport, according to the Miami Herald. Logan, 23 of Chicago, reportedly yelled “Bye, Miami” while hanging out of the car window on the Airport Expressway before she flew out of the car, landed on the road and was struck. The driver stop, then took off, police said. In addition, numerous videos showing drunk teens and 20-somethings stumbling throughout the city’s sidewalks have appeared on social media, according to the Miami New Times.

6am – D         INTERVIEW – DJ JORDAN – running for the 31st District of the Virginia state House of Delegates

• Henrico Democratic leader stands by fundraising pitch linking GOP House speaker to New Zealand attack. After backlash, Henrico Democrats delete fundraising pitch linking GOP House Speaker to New Zealand attack. (Richmond Times-Dispatch) — The Henrico County Democratic Committee deleted a pair of social media fundraising pitches Wednesday that accused GOP House Speaker Kirk Cox of displaying a secret “white power” hand gesture after the posts sparked a bipartisan backlash. On Wednesday morning, the Henrico Democrats published posts on Twitter and Facebook that featured an old photo of Cox, R-Colonial Heights, juxtaposed with a photo of the alleged New Zealand mosque shooter. The posts suggested Cox was making a coded “OK” hand signal similar to the one the alleged mosque attacker flashed in court. “The Speaker of the House of Delegates should not make the same white power gesture that the New Zealand terrorist makes in his court appearance,” the committee said in its Facebook post, which linked to a donation page. Cox’s office called the claim that the speaker was conveying coded hand signals “ridiculous” and said it should be denounced by other Virginia Democrats.
• D.J. Jordan ‏ @DJJordanVA: It is despicable & baseless accusations like this that breed division & poor race-relations. Our Commonwealth will never move forward on the issue of race as long as it is used as a partisan weapon. The DPV should denounce this hateful action immediately.

6am – E         CORY BOOKER’S LOVE LIFE:

• Katie Couric revealed she once went on a date with Cory Booker. (Fox News) — In Katie Couric’s new ‘Wake-Up Call’ newsletter, the former ‘Today’ show host uncovers footage from 1991 of her old co-host Bryant Gumbel making some cringeworthy comments about maternity leave when she was pregnant. Katie Couric revealed a surprising bit of information about her dating life while on “The Wendy Williams Show” this week. The 62-year-old confessed she once went on a date with 2020 presidential hopeful Cory Booker. “I had a blind date with Cory Booker once,” she said Wednesday. “Wow, this just in! We went to a Giants football game.” Williams then prodded further and asked if they kissed to which Couric sadly admitted no. “He was really nice though,” the former “Today” show anchor added. “This is a long time ago. He’s an incredible person.” Couric also offered her opinion on the New Jersey senator’s current girlfriend, actress Rosario Dawson. “I really like Cory and I really like Rosario Dawson, I’m happy for them,” she said. “Look how beautiful she is. She’s also very politically active, she’s spoken out about gender equality, she cares deeply about stopping domestic violence. She’s a really cool woman.”

6am – F         Cory Booker Teased The Possibility Of A White House Wedding With Rosario Dawson. “She’s just an incredible human being,” Booker told Ellen DeGeneres. (BuzzFeed) — Sen. Cory Booker, a Democratic presidential hopeful, took a brief detour from talking about politics to praise his girlfriend, actor Rosario Dawson, on The Ellen Show and flirt with the possibility of a White House wedding. “She’s just an incredible human being,” Booker told Ellen DeGeneres of Dawson in an interview airing Wednesday. “She’s a deeply soulful person and has taught me a lot of lessons about love already and that sometimes you show the greatest strength when you make yourself vulnerable.” Dawson had similar things to say in an interview with TMZ confirming that the two were dating last month, following months of speculation and Booker hinting that he had a “boo” during an appearance on Power 105.1’s The Breakfast Club. “He’s a wonderful human being. It’s good to spend some time together when we can. We’re very busy,” Dawson told TMZ. Booker told DeGeneres that Dawson has made him more “courageous” in the love that he projects and wants to see in the United States. “I’m very, very blessed to be with someone that makes me a better person,” Booker added. Later in the interview, DeGeneres pushed Booker on the possibility of a White House wedding. “I mean, if you go in single and have a wedding in the White House — I mean, we would watch,” DeGeneres said. “That would be like our royal wedding — that’d be great.” “So you’re saying if Rosario and I get there, wait, don’t do the marriage before?” Booker jokingly asked. “Would you help preside over the wedding?” he asked DeGeneres. “Yes, I’d be a big part of that,” DeGeneres confirmed as they shook hands.

7am – A         INTERVIEW – JESSICA VAUGHAN – Director of Policy Studies for the Center for Immigration Studies – discussed the latest immigration news.

• Record $120 billion sent home to 3 top nations flooding US with illegal immigrants. (Washington Examiner) — Immigrants from the three Central American nation’s sourcing many illegal border crossers sent a record amount of money home last year, bringing the total this decade to $120 billion. Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador all said that natives in the United States sent over $17 billion home last year alone. “These huge numbers also suggest that the United States should follow the lead of Oklahoma, and start collecting a share of the remittances to help mitigate the costs of illegal immigration. You could build a wall with some of that money, compensate victims of illegal immigration, and much more – and Congress should do it,” said immigration expert Jessica Vaughan of the Center for Immigration Studies.
• According to new data obtained by the Immigration Reform Law Institute (IRLI) via a FOIA request, there are 644,488 illegal aliens remaining in our country who have already been served final deportation orders. And those are just from the top four countries of origin – El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Mexico. The IRLI shared much more data with CR. The total number of illegal aliens who remain in the country despite final deportation orders is 1,009,550.
• Gillibrand: Give Social Security to illegal immigrants
• Trump seeks cuts to E-Verify: President Trump’s budget proposes an 8 percent funding cut to the E-Verify program — even though the administration is usually bent on boosting spending on anything to curb illegal immigration. The White House requested roughly $122 million in discretionary funds for the electronic program in fiscal year 2020, down from the $133 million that Congress spent in the spending package approved in February, H.J. Res. 31 (116). ($133 million was what the Trump administration requested for fiscal year 2019, and also for fiscal year 2018.) Here at Morning Shift, we wondered briefly whether we were seeing things. But a USCIS spokesman assured us that the 8 percent cut was real: A higher funding level is no longer needed thanks to technological modernization. A senior administration official added that the White House still favors legislation to make E-Verify mandatory nationwide.

7am – B/C     Kentucky Gov. Matt Bevin says he deliberately exposed his children to chickenpox so they would catch the highly contagious disease and become immune. (NBC News) — During a Tuesday interview on Bowling Green radio station WKCT, Bevin said his children were “miserable for a few days” after contracting chickenpox but said “they all turned out fine.” Bevin and his wife, Glenna, have nine children, four adopted. The Republican governor said parents worried about chickenpox should have their children vaccinated. But he said government shouldn’t mandate the vaccination. Kentucky requires that children entering kindergarten be vaccinated for chickenpox, but parents may seek religious exemptions or provide proof that a child already had the disease. Chickenpox is a highly contagious infection. It’s spread by touching the skin blisters caused by the Varicella-zoster virus or by breathing in tiny droplets when an infected person talks or exhales. Before the vaccine became available in 1995, an estimated 8,000 up to 18,000 people were hospitalized each year with chickenpox and about 100 to 150 people died each year from the infection, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Most healthy people recover completely from chickenpox but serious complications can include pneumonia, encephalitis or sepsis infection. A recent report in the Journal of Pediatrics described an 11-month-old who suffered a stroke after catching chickenpox from an older sibling.

7am – D/E     INTERVIEW – KURT SCHLICTER – conservative political commentator and author of new novel “WILDFIRE!” — discussed President Trump’s fights with Sen. John McCain and George Conway.

8am – A         INTERVIEW — JACK WILSON – Chairman of the Republican Party of Virginia

• Henrico Democratic leader stands by fundraising pitch linking GOP House speaker to New Zealand attack
• FROM VA REPUBLICAN PARTY: Democrats Make Light of International Tragedy for Cheap Political Gain. With their leadership embroiled in scandal, the Henrico Democrats, with nothing left to lose, embrace divisive gutter politics in latest smear. Richmond, VA – On Friday, March 15, fifty people lost their lives and another fifty were wounded in a vile terrorist attack in New Zealand that affected the entire planet. Fifty people were ripped from their families in a bigoted, hate-filled, senseless attack. Leave it to the Democrats to fundraise off of an international tragedy. In a recent Richmond-Times article, the Chair of the Henrico Democrats doubled down on their claim that, because Speaker Cox’s hands were in a certain position, he must be a white nationalist and somehow related to the New Zealand terrorist. The DPVA & House Caucus spokesmen were real profiles in courage (sarcasm intended) and declined to comment, refusing to condemn incredibly dangerous gutter politics. From the Daily Caller: “According to Democrats, anyone who disagrees with their radical socialist agenda is a White Nationalist,” said RPV Chairman Jack Wilson. “The Republican Party of Virginia vehemently condemns the actions of the Henrico Democrats and calls for all area legislators to do the same. That means you Schuyler VanValkenburg, Debra Rodman, and Lamont Bagby.”

8am – B/C     DEM NEWS:

• COFFEE SHOP EMPLOYEES FORCED TO CLEAN UP AFTER COUNTER-HOPPING BETO O’ROURKE. (Daily Caller/Amber Athey) — Democratic presidential candidate Beto O’Rourke has fascinated the public with his love of standing on restaurant counters, but little attention has been paid to the unsung heroes of O’Rourke’s campaign — the baristas and bartenders forced to wipe down the counters after the former congressman’s departure. O’Rourke, who has kicked off his campaign by visiting various small businesses in Iowa, Wisconsin and Michigan, has generated jokes and memes about his constant need to address crowds from atop an elevated surface. Politicos and verified Twitter users have opined on the cleanliness — or lack thereof — of O’Rourke’s dirty shoes trampling the same surface used to serve customers.
• AOC Whines About Fox Mocking Her For Changing Her Accent When She Says Her Name: Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez @AOC: “How dare they refuse to say their name in a wrong accent & not mangle their own family name so that I can feel more comfortable instead of look inside myself & examine why something as small as *a person’s name* makes me uncomfortable in the first place?? This is an outrage!”

8am – D/E     Are These Women ‘The Liberal Diamond & Silk?’ (WMAL) — Washington Free Beacon reporter Alex Griswold and The Blaze’s Jason Howerton have discovered the “liberal Diamond & Silk.” Jamie and Lynn McGonagill are a mother-daughter duo working at the Lightworkers Healing Method in Ocala, Florida. They post a lot of YouTube videos called “The Angelic Initiative.” Lynn is frequently seen lecturing about spirituality, planetary consciousness and the rules from “the deeper denser dimensions given from the Mayans above.” Her daughter Jamie is often seen waving an arm around and interjecting with the phrase “that’s true.” Before teaching thousands of her clients about her method of Angelically guided energy healing, Lynn worked at Price Waterhouse Accounting firm, and was the Controller with a $200 million manufacturing company, and was a partner in another CPA (Accounting) firm. There are some skeptics on Reddit about their method. The McGonagill family have a lot of interesting thoughts about the world.