By Thomas Jipping

As the Senate begins the confirmation process for Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh, senators must evaluate Kavanaugh’s qualifications to determine what kind of justice his will be..

Some parts of his record, such as his service in the executive branch, are not relevant to that question, while other parts, especially his judicial opinions and many of his speeches, are very useful.

Three of those speeches are Kavanaugh’s keynote address at the February 2017 University of Notre Dame symposium on Justice Antonin Scalia’s jurisprudence; the September 2017 Walter Berns Constitution Day Address at the American Enterprise Institute; and the November 2017 Joseph Story Lecture at the Heritage Foundation.

These speeches reveal that Kavanaugh understands the role of judges in our system of government to be defined and limited.

He addressed this in a general way at Notre Dame, for example, agreeing with Scalia that “the judge’s job is to interpret the law, not to make the law or make policy.” Approaching this question more specifically at the American Enterprise Institute, he highlighted Chief Justice William Rehnquist’s success “in stemming the general tide of free-wheeling judicial creation of unenumerated rights.” In other words, the law is already made—by the American people and those whom they elect to represent them—by the time a judge uses it to decide cases.

Another example of Kavanaugh’s belief in a defined and limited role for judges is his embrace of what is often called a “textualist” approach. This approach treats the Constitution and statutes as concrete text rather than as vague ideas or concepts that judges can manipulate any way they wish.

At the American Enterprise Institute, for example, he emphasized that the Constitution is “a document of majestic specificity” whose “words have meaning.” Judges must discover and enforce the meaning that the Constitution already has. They may not substitute …read more

From:: Daily Signal – Feed

By Hans von Spakovsky

Peter Strzok’s testimony about the email server scandal involving former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton raised headlines because of his defiant, disrespectful, and unapologetic attitude about the bias revealed in his text messages that permeated his work at the FBI.

Then, there was the verbal combat between him, Republican members of the two committees holding the joint hearing, and Democratic members who were running interference for Strzok and acting as his defense counsel.

The news media jumped on an exchange in which Rep. Louie Gohmert, R-Texas, asked Strzok if he lied to his wife about his affair with former FBI lawyer Lisa Page in the same way as he was in testifying to Congress. That was too much for the Democrats and the media, who leaped to Strzok’s defense.

The media, however, virtually ignored another exchange between Gohmert and Strzok that revealed a potential bombshell. Gohmert asked Strzok about his meeting in 2016 with Frank Rucker and Janette McMillan, an investigator and lawyer, respectively, for then-Intelligence Community Inspector General Chuck McCullough (an Obama appointee).

McCullough sent them to see Strzok, who was the FBI’s deputy assistant director for the Counterintelligence Division, to brief him and three other FBI personnel about an “anomaly” that their forensic analysis had found in Clinton’s server.

According to Gohmert, the IG discovered that, with four exceptions, “every single one” of Clinton’s emails—more than 30,000—“were going to an address that was not on the distribution list.”

In other words, according to the information Gohmert received from the intelligence inspector general, something was causing Clinton’s server to send copies of all of her email communications outside of the country “to an unauthorized source that was a foreign entity unrelated to Russia.”

If true, this means that Clinton’s email communication with her top aides, department leadership, ambassadors, and other officials, including President Barack Obama, …read more

From:: Daily Signal – Feed

By Ken McIntyre

Editor’s note: The issue of separating children from adults who cross into America illegally, and Maxine Waters’ related call for incivility, prompted a wave of comment from our audience. Let’s begin with a sampling. Don’t forget to write us at letters@dailysignal.com.—Ken McIntyre

Dear Daily Signal: What a stupid protest, as reported by Jeremiah Poff and Katherine Rohloff (“We Went to Families Belong Together Protest. Here Are Things We Saw”). Go round up all the relatives of people doing time and throw them in jail too, so the family will be together.

Your neighbors are afraid to come to your child’s birthday party? Why are they here illegally using stolen information?—William Geyer

***

Why did it appear the majority of sign holders and other people attending this rally were women? I’ll tell you why. Because women don’t think. We feel.

And when you make a decision based on a feeling, it isn’t for the good of the other person … it is to make you feel good about yourself. The epitome of selfish.

Obey the law and you won’t ever have to worry about being separated from your family. Common sense. Something that is lacking in too many women.—Carolyn Gray

***

What I want to know is, how far back does the brainwashing by the schools go? I see several seniors in the crowd, and I don’t recall any of my teachers trying to brainwash me. But then, I didn’t go to college, thank God.—Al Lejdly

We went to Families Belong Together protest. Here are 6 things we saw. https://t.co/z5rsDLAJd7 @DailySignal

— George Jones (@Grythym) July 7, 2018

This is what happens (a truly stupid conglomeration of people) when the general population is dumbed down by decades of far-left propagandizing through the government’s educational system and a self-aggrandizing media devoid of …read more

From:: Daily Signal – Feed

By Jarrett Stepman

We break down the top media moments this week—and plenty of misses.

The media lost it this week when President Donald Trump made some questionable comments about Russian election meddling during his press conference with Russia’s Vladimir Putin in Helsinki, Finland. One MSNBC expert even compared the summit to Pearl Harbor in what might have been the most outrageous claim this week.

The actions from many in the media beg the question: Should we be concerned about the rush to link Russian collusion with the Trump administration? A tweet from a Mic political reporter suggests that we should. Mic’s reporter tweeted a photo claiming that Russian spy Marina Butina was pictured in the Oval Office. The reporter later corrected herself. And White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders was bombarded by questions, but she stood her ground in her first briefing since the summit.

The media wasn’t just fired up about Russia. And once again, journalists swung and they missed. Showtime’s Sacha Baron Cohen’s prank backfired on a gun store owner, Comedy Central’s Trevor Noah was called out by the French Embassy for making a joke about the World Cup winners, and tensions were high between Whoopi Goldberg and Fox News’ Jeanine Pirro on ABC’s “The View.” And according to Pirro, it did not end on stage.

There’s no fake news here. Watch the video above for this week’s media misses and be sure to leave us your feedback.

The post Media Misses: Judge Jeanine Pirro Triggers Whoopi Goldberg appeared first on The Daily Signal.

…read more

From:: Daily Signal – Feed

By Kevin Mooney

Environmental advocacy groups that take the Defense Department to court appear to operate as foreign agents working to help China and undermine the U.S. Navy and America’s military readiness in the Asia-Pacific region, congressional leaders suggest.

Rep. Rob Bishop, R-Utah, chairman of the House Committee on Natural Resources, and Rep. Bruce Westerman, R-Ark., chairman of the oversight and investigations subcommittee, called on two environmental groups to submit documents that “identify any policies or procedures” the groups took to ensure compliance with the Foreign Agents Registration Act.

Bishop and Westerman last month wrote the two groups, the Natural Resources Defense Council and the Center for Biological Diversity.

In a letter to Rhea Suh, president of the Natural Resources Defense Council, the two Republican lawmakers expressed concern about China’s “extensive perception-management campaign” and the “NRDC’s role” in assisting these efforts.

The environmental group’s press releases and other written correspondence “consistently praise the Chinese government’s environmental initiatives and promote the image of China as a global environmental leader,” their letter says.

An aide to the House committee told The Daily Signal in a phone interview that there is “a significant level of engagement between the NRDC and Chinese government officials.”

And, the aide said, “the American people should know about the group’s relationship with foreign governments whether or not the connection is direct or indirect.”

The New York-based Natural Resources Defense Council, a nonprofit advocacy group founded in 1970, has $306.2 million in net assets, according to tax records. The group’s website says it “works to safeguard the earth” and has more than 3 million members and “online activists.”

The nonprofit Center for Biological Diversity, based in Tucson, Arizona, was founded in 1989 and has $18.3 million in net assets, tax records show. The group’s mission is “to secure a future for …read more

From:: Daily Signal – Feed

Today, U.S. Representative Bill Flores (R-Texas) announced the details of his upcoming Summer Town Hall Events.

On July 30th and 31st Congressman Flores will host district-wide town hall events to discuss the work being done in Congress, answer constituent questions and get feedback on various issues. These events will be conducted over the phone and a live video broadcast will be available on the Congressman’s website (Flores.house.gov/liveforum) and on his Facebook page.

Each town hall event will target different regions within the 17th Congressional District. Participants will be able to ask the Congressman questions through the caller queue and through the comments section of the video feed. Constituents can sign up to be added to the call list by visiting Flores.House.gov.

Town Hall Events:

Multimedia Town Hall
Northern Counties (Falls, Freestone, Leon, Limestone, McLennan, Milam and Robertson)
Monday, July 30, 2018
6:30 PM – 7:30 PM
Call-in number: 1-877-229-8493 Access code: 111954

Multimedia Town Hall
Southern Counties (Bastrop, Brazos, Burleson, Lee and Travis)
Tuesday, July 31, 2018
6:30 PM – 7:30 PM
Call-in number: 1-877-229-8493 Access code: 111954

###

…read more

From:: Bill Flores – News Feed

By Katherine Rohloff

All but a relative few farmers and other rural residents have had electricity and telephone service for a generation, but the U.S. government devoted $10 million in the current budget to a duplicative Rural Utilities Service program designed to help pay for energy costs.

Taxpayers continue to finance the program even though then-President Barack Obama tried to eliminate the High Energy Costs Program in 2013 because it duplicated the U.S. Electric Loan Program.

The program buried in the Agriculture Department budget is brought to the surface in the “2018 Congressional Pig Book” compiled by Citizens Against Government Waste, a watchdog that has put together the catalog of pork, earmarks, and other questionable federal spending since 1991.

“Earmark spending, deficits, and debt all grow when the lights are turned off—all grow when attention is focused somewhere else,” Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, said Wednesday at the organization’s press conference announcing the new edition.

“What earmark spending, deficits, and debt loathe more than anything is sunshine, is being revealed,” Cruz said. “Because that sunshine has a disinfectant effect.”

The 2018 #PigBook has been released! Find out why this little pink book makes Washington squirm… https://t.co/Fiwzzvv0w6

— Citizens Against Government Waste (@GovWaste) July 18, 2018

The 2018 edition of the Congressional Pig Book exposes 232 earmarks of taxpayers’ money totaling $14.7 billion, doubling the 2017 tally, Thomas A. Schatz, president of Citizens Against Government Waste, told reporters.

At this rate, within two years, lawmakers will pass their $29 billion record in earmark spending set in 2006, Schatz said.

Some of the more egregious spending included in the new “Pig Book”:

—$2.7 billion for the Joint Strike Fighter program to add 20 F-35 fighter jets. The program, in place for 17 years and seven years behind schedule, so far …read more

From:: Daily Signal – Feed

By Jeremiah Poff

Coming from a border state, one of the newest members of Congress is making her presence felt in the immigration debate by introducing legislation that would require the Department of Homeland Security to review all ports of entry to the U.S. for possible security threats.

Rep. Debbie Lesko, R-Arizona, introduced a bill Tuesday that would require the secretary of Homeland Security “to conduct a ports of entry threat and operational analysis of all air, land and sea ports in the United States and create a ports of entry threat and operational strategy and implementation plan.”

Lesko arrived in the House of Representatives from Arizona’s 8th Congressional District after winning an April 24 special election to replace former Rep. Trent Franks, who resigned in December amid allegations of sexual impropriety.

Sworn in to office May 7, Lesko joined the conservative House Freedom Caucus, and at the monthly Conversations With Conservatives event Tuesday discussed the importance of her legislation.

“This is one of the top issues, not only in my district, but throughout Arizona,” said Lesko, who was the newest member of Congress until July 10, when another Republican winner of a special election, Michael Cloud, was sworn in from Texas, another border state. “People want to make sure that the border is secure, and that our nation is safe.”

The bill has co-sponsors from all over the country, she said, because “the entire country wants to make sure that we stop this illegal activity that’s happening: Human-smuggling, drug-trafficking, sex trade. It’s a very important issue that needs to be resolved.”

Lesko said officials at the Department of Homeland Security were “supportive” of her proposal, and she hopes that the White House will be as well.

“A review of threats and operations at U.S. ports can certainly help the U.S. better define the problems we face,” said …read more

From:: Daily Signal – Feed

By Jeremiah Poff

It will be easier to take wildlife off the endangered and threatened lists if Congress passes a bill introduced by Rep. Andy Biggs, R-Ariz.

“The Endangered Species Act has been used as a sword instead of a shield,” Biggs told The Daily Signal in a phone interview.

His bill would streamline the process of removing a species from the endangered list if the nation’s secretary of the interior “receives an objective, measurable, and scientific study demonstrating a species has recovered,” the Arizona Republican said in a press release.

Enacted in 1973, the Endangered Species Act provides a “framework to conserve and protect endangered and threatened species and their habitats,” according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

Biggs’ bill is one of several measures introduced last week by House Republicans aimed at updating the Endangered Species Act.

His legislation includes provisions addressing the issue of a species being “wrongfully listed,” as well as penalizing those who “intentionally submit false or fraudulent data in order to cause a species listing.”

The bill would also provide a way for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to “promptly take action when a species is wrongfully listed, rather than letting the problem linger in federal bureaucracy,” according to the press release.

“This will allow us to focus resources to protect species that actually need it,” Biggs said in a written statement.

The Fish and Wildlife Service currently lists 1,459 species of wildlife considered at risk of extinction in the United States, from the red wolf to the Kemp’s ridley sea turtle to the Northern sea otter. Classifications include endangered, threatened, and experimental populations.

Biggs so far has 23 cosponsors, predominantly from Midwestern states. No Democrat has signed on as yet.

The Trump administration has begun to push related reforms through the Interior Department. The Western Governors Association, meeting last …read more

From:: Daily Signal – Feed

By Kay Coles James

Yesterday, I had the honor of welcoming Ambassador Nikki Haley to The Heritage Foundation. And as she spoke before a packed audience, I realized we were witnessing a true profile in courage.

Ambassador Haley’s principles and tenacity have served her well all her life, first as a young businesswoman, then as South Carolina’s first Indian-American legislator, and later as the Palmetto State’s first female and minority governor.

And today, they serve America well in her role as our ambassador to the United Nations.

To do that tough job right—to stand firm for freedom-loving people in the face of despotic regimes—requires extraordinary courage.

Consider the abuse she has endured for pulling the U.S. out of the U.N. Human Rights Council.

The Human Rights Council is supposed to advance human rights around the world. But it has fallen under the influence of some of the world’s worst abusers of human rights.

It may be hard to believe, but the council’s membership includes such chronic abusers as China, Cuba, and Venezuela. Indeed, Freedom House rates nearly a third of the council’s 47 members as being “not free.” A third! And yet these nations sit at the council table, passing judgment on other nations—including the U.S.

It’s as though the U.N. has selected a pack of wolves to sit in judgment of other animals. And, not surprisingly I suppose, those wolves are condemning sheepdogs for animal cruelty.

For example, the council routinely condemns the U.S. for alleged human rights abuses. It has adopted a scathing report with 348 recommendations for how it thinks the U.S. should address problems ranging from police brutality to racial profiling to violations of “social and economic rights.”

And just this May, the council issued an equally absurd report accusing America of fostering “extreme poverty.” As the U.N.’s report put it, “For almost …read more

From:: Daily Signal – Feed