Could Christian Massacre in Sri Lanka have Been Avoided?

by Daveda Gruber:

In Sri Lanka’s deadliest violence since a devastating civil war in the South Asian island nation ended a decade ago, nearly 300 people were murdered in mass explosions on Easter Sunday by an attack by a domestic radical Muslim group.

Authorities in Sri Lanka had apparently received warnings that a potential attack was coming but took no action. The threat was revealed to authorities on April 4th, nearly two weeks before the attack.

In coordinated explosions that were detonated in three churches and three luxury hotels in and around Colombo, which is the capital city. A few hours later two more explosions went off at a guesthouse and near an overpass.

While at least 290 people were known to have lost their lives in the massacre, another 500 were injured. The death toll could rise.

On Monday the government of Sri Lanka said that the attacks likely were carried out by a local militant group that goes by the name “National Thowfeek Jaamath” which is a radical Islamist organization that promotes an Islamic terrorist ideology.

The director of the International Center for the Study of Violent Extremism, Anne Speckhard, said,  “These attacks appear to be quite different and look as if they came right out of the ISIS, Al Qaeda, global militant jihadist playbook, as these are attacks fomenting religious hatred by attacking multiple churches on a high religious holiday,”

In early April, several times, international agencies warned of possible attacks. Health Minister Rajitha Senaratne said the defense ministry wrote to the police chief on April 9th to give law enforcement a warning about the intelligence.

On April 11, police wrote to the heads of security of the judiciary and diplomatic security division about the warnings. It is not known if any action was taken.

Political dysfunction within the government is allegedly the cause for  Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe and his Cabinet and other top government officials to have been unaware of the threat. An investigation is said to have been launched into the breakdown of communications within the government.

On Sunday Wickremesinghe said, “We must look into why adequate precautions were not taken.”

The ultimate blame for the horrific blasts has been put on at least seven suicide bombers who were citizens of Sri Lanka. Forensic analysis of body parts found at six sites determined the number of the suicide bombers who conducted the coordinated assault.

Authorities said foreign links to the plot were suspected and at least 24 suspects were in custody for questioning.

On Monday, one of the churches that was targeted, St. Anthony’s Shrine, had a van parked outside close the church since Sunday. It exploded scaring many pedestrians who ran for their lives but no injuries were reported after that blast.

The archbishop of Colombo, Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith, said, “We placed our hands on our heads when we came to know that these deaths could have been avoided. Why was this not prevented?”

On Sunday the U.S. State Department confirmed “several” Americans died in the attacks. A revised travel warning for Sri Lanka has been issued. It says that terror groups continue to plot and may possibly carry out new attacks in hotels and churches. Possible targets include tourist locations and transportation hubs, noting the terrorists “may attack with little or no warning.”

Social media has remained blocked after officials said they needed to curtail the spread of false information and ease tension in the country of about 21 million people.

Christians were targeted in this horrendous attack. That fact is clear. Now, I think back to Paris, France and the very large fire that burned Notre Dame Cathedral. There were no fatalities but the beautiful structure became a raging blaze of flames.

Was the fire an accident? I, for one, would not rule out that the fire may have been intentionally set. Notre Dame is a religious icon and I have no doubt that there were some evil people who celebrated the fire that damaged the Christian symbol.

The targeting of Christians is becoming more and more widespread and I find that to be very disturbing.

Want to Read the Mueller Report?

by Daveda Gruber:

We have been waiting for a long time for this day to come. In fact, we’ve waited for nearly two years while Special Counsel Robert Mueller lead the Russian Probe investigation.

On Thursday morning the Mueller report was released by the Department of Justice to Congress and to the American people. The report is redacted but there is still lots to read. I’m pretty sure that many legal minds are reading the report at this moment.

Will the mainstream media actually report it for what it is? I’d be shocked if they do even if there is no collusion and no obstruction involving President Trump or his election campaign in 2016.

You can read the report and come to your own conclusion.

The report can be viewed here:

Mueller Report by on Scribd

President Trump posted these awesome tweets:

Did Pelosi Take Aim at Herself While Trying to Jab AOC?

by Daveda Gruber:

On Monday Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi, made it clear that more praise was due to Democrats who flipped Republican seats in the 2018 midterms rather than to give that praise to representatives like herself and freshman Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez who carried districts where “glass of water” with a “D” next to it could win an election.

While Pelosi downplayed her own win she said, “When we won this election, it wasn’t in districts like mine or Alexandria’s. [S]he’s a wonderful member of Congress as I think all of our colleagues will attest. But those are districts that are solidly Democratic.”

To put emphasis on her claim, Pelosi then picked up a water glass that was next to her and said, “This glass of water would win with a ‘D’ next to its name in those districts.”

The phrase “Dumb as a Rock” comes to mind as I try to compare Pelosi and Ocasio-Cortez to a glass of water. A rock is an inanimate object as is a glass of water. Both don’t seem to have a brain.

Pelosi made the statement while making an appearance before the London School of Economics and Political Science.

This week Pelosi is traveling in Europe with a congressional delegation.

Is Pelosi seeing that the progressive wing of the Democratic party needs to be explained even if it means downplaying the significance of her own win in California?

Well, let’s analyze what Pelosi said on “60 Minutes” on Sunday night to  Lesley Stahl. Pelosi described the influence of the Democrats’ progressive wing as being “like five people.”

Who are the five people? Well, I can pull a few names out of the air but then I seem to get a much larger number than five.

I also find that saying the word “like” a lot seems to be what Pelosi and Ocasio-Cortez have in common aside from winning in easy to win Democratic districts.

What AG Rod Rosenstein Says is Bizarre

by Daveda Gruber:

Attorney General William Barr had an ally in Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein when Rosenstein told the Wall Street Journal that he believed it was strange to say the attorney general was misleading the public.

Rosenstein’s comment came as he defended Barr’s handling of the Robert Mueller report. Barr testified before a House appropriations subcommittee.

The highly anticipated Mueller report has caused a rather big stir in Washington D.C. among lawmakers since it was wrapped up.

Rosenstein appointed Mueller to serve as special counsel for the United States Department of Justice.

Rosenstein who is 54 years old, told the Wall Street Journal that he believed it was strange to say the attorney general was misleading the public.

Rosenstein said, “He’s being as forthcoming as he can, and so this notion that he’s trying to mislead people, I think is just completely bizarre.”

Rosenstein also said, “It would be one thing if you put out a letter and said, ‘I’m not going to give you the report. What he said is, ‘Look, it’s going to take a while to process the report. In the meantime, people really want to know what’s in it. I’m going to give you the top-line conclusions.’ That’s all he was trying to do.”

Rosenstein was not about to give up too much information but he did call on the public to have “tremendous confidence” in Barr.

Barr has defended his decision to send a letter to Congress detailing Mueller’s principal conclusions. This was done because the public would not have tolerated waiting weeks for information that took Mueller and his team nearly two years to put together.

Mueller’s investigation concluded in late March and since then Barr has received the nearly 400-page confidential report. Barr, in turn, sent his four-page summary letter to Congress two days later.

In that letter, Barr wrote that Mueller found no evidence of Trump-Russia collusion despite efforts by “Russian-affiliated individuals to assist the Trump campaign.”

Also noted was that Mueller had not exonerated President Trump on the issue of obstruction of justice.

The Mueller report will be made public in a week but that version will be redacted.

Rosenstein stayed in his position at the Department of Justice “at Barr’s request” saying, “For me, it’s a real privilege.” He hopes to begin a new job toward the end of the summer.

In Capital Hill testimony, Barr said that “spying did occur” against the 2016 Trump campaign.

It’s very clear that Democrats on the Hill were notably disturbed by that claim. In fact, even former FBI Director James Comey made a claim that he had no idea what Barr was talking about when he said that “spying did occur” against the 2016 Trump campaign.

Comey said, “I have no idea what he’s talking about so it’s hard for me to comment. When I hear that kind of language used, it’s concerning because the FBI and the Department of Justice conduct court-ordered electronic surveillance. I have never thought of that as spying.”

So, if spying does not include electronic devices, why have people who were being spied on always thought that their phone was tapped? What are listening devices? When someone goes to a meeting with a wire to record the events or to have agents listening in real time, is it surveillance or spying? Or are the two, if not similar, the same thing?

The covering up has just begun. Not only do I want to see the Mueller report but I want to find out what or who Barr is investigating next.

New York Post Calls Out Ilhan Omar 9/11 Comments

by Daveda Gruber:

September 11, 2001 was a day when America faced the most horrific attack on American soil that the world has ever seen. It was a day that most Americans who were alive and old enough to know what happening, remember exactly where they were when they first heard the awful and shattering news that the first of the Twin Towers had been hit by an airplane.

Apparently, Rep. Ilhan Omar D-Minn., who became the first Somali-American elected to Congress in November, did not feel the horror that Americans felt on that day.

On Thursday the New York Post hit Omar back on comments she had previously made about the fatal day.

Most Americans have the image that appeared on the cover of the New York Post imbedded in their minds. The dramatic front page had an infamous photo of New York City’s Twin Towers on fire on the day of the attacks.

After two planes that were hijacked hit the towers, they collapsed leaving nearly 3,000 people dead and numerous others injured.

Thursday’s front page of the New York Post read, “Rep. Ilhan Omar: 9/11 was ‘some people did something.’”

“Here’s your something: 2,977 people dead by terrorism.”

While referring to Omar’s recent comments at the Council of American-Islamic Relations [CAIR] fundraiser last month, the newspaper had in small lettering at the bottom of the cover, “Omar outraged the families of 9/11 victims by referring dismissively to the terrorist attacks while speaking to a Muslim lobbying group.”

Omar called upon other Muslim-Americans to “make people uncomfortable” with their activism. As if this wasn’t bad enough, another part of the speech surfaced on social media this week in which Omar went on to describe the terror attacks that Al Qaeda was responsible for.

While speaking at the event, Omar said, “CAIR was founded after 9/11 because they recognized that some people did something, and that all of us were starting to lose access to our civil liberties.”

Rep. Dan Crenshaw, R-Texas, is a former Navy SEAL who lost his right eye after being injured by an IED in Afghanistan was quick to notice what Omar had said. He tweeted this out:

Omar made an appearance on the “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” on Wednesday night. She wasn’t asked about her latest comments. She did, however, say that she was still “learning” after she was accused of making an anti-Semitic remark in February.

Omar went on to say, “The whole process really has been one of growth for me, right. I’m learning that everything is not as simple as we might think. As I’ve said to my constituents and my colleagues, when you tell me that you are pained by something I say, I will always listen and I will acknowledge your pain.”

As much as Omar will acknowledge the “pain” of her constituents,  Omar did not seem to concede the “pain” of the American people who suffered and will remember all the details of the day in American history that we cannot forget.

Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Designated as a Foreign Terrorist Nation

by Daveda Gruber:

On Monday Iran got a strong message from President Trump and the United States of America. Iran’s Revolutionary Guard was formally labeled as a “foreign terrorist organization.”

Officials say that the announcement would put the military organization on the same level as terror groups like Hezbollah and Hamas.

This is Washington’s first such designation for an entire foreign government entity and is the latest administration step to increase pressure on Iran.

The IRGC’s ties to terror plots was brought to light by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo who said the designation recognizes a “basic reality.”

Pompeo said, “This designation is a direct response to an outlaw regime and should surprise no one. The IRGC masquerades as a legitimate military organization, but none of us should be fooled.”

Sanctions are to be imposed including freezes on assets the IRGC may have in U.S. jurisdictions. It would also ban Americans who would do business with it.

The move would also allow the U.S. to deny entry to those people who have been found to have provided the Guard with material support or prosecute them for sanctions violations.

Trump gave a statement that the unprecedented move “underscores the fact that Iran’s actions are fundamentally different from those of other governments.”

What sounded like a warning from the president, Trump said, “If you are doing business with the IRGC, you will be bankrolling terrorism.  This action sends a clear message to Tehran that its support for terrorism has serious consequences.”

Implementing these new sanctions would further isolate Iran. Administration officials have said that the U.S. won’t tolerate Iran’s continued support for rebel groups and others that destabilize the Middle East.

Iran has threatened to retaliate. American personnel in the region could face consequences.

Diplomacy will also be impacted. U.S. troops and diplomats could be barred from contact with Iraqi or Lebanese authorities who interact with Guard officials or surrogates. The alternative could be exclusions or waivers to the designation.

One of the biggest reasons for previous administrations not taking these actions, which has been considered in the past decade, is the impact of the designation.

This move by the U.S. does not allow contact with foreign officials who may have met with or communicated with Guard personnel.

Mad Maxine Back to Pushing Impeachment?

by Daveda Gruber:

Mad Maxine is on the prowl again. The Democrat from California, Congresswoman Maxine Waters, is talking about impeaching President Trump yet again.

On Tuesday Waters told the Woman’s National Democratic Club dinner, “Some people say, ‘How dare her (sic) come out and say, ‘Impeach him? She doesn’t know enough about him to talk about impeaching him.’ But now the American people, whether they say it or not, they know that this man is dangerous.”

She went on to say, “That certainly, he conspired with the Kremlin and with the oligarchs of Russia.”

Well, we all know that Mad Maxine has nothing good to say about Trump but now she’s out to attack Attorney General William Barr.

Waters said, according to the Washington Examiner, “I know that you are all worried about the special counsel and the fact that we have a report that has been described to us in a letter by the attorney general. We don’t know what’s in the report yet, and we’re going to demand it,”

Waters then stated, “Let me leave you with this: Despite the fact that we haven’t gotten the report yet, and we’re going after it, and it may be subpoenaed, that it is being worked on. I’m still saying impeach 45.”

In reference to the Mueller report and the conclusions reached by Barr, Waters was on a different train of thought when she said, “I think we do nothing now but concentrate on getting the information, getting that report.”

According to Politico, Waters also said, “[Impeachment has] never been discussed as a strategy for this caucus. It’s only a few of us.”

Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi had a different approach. Pelosi told the Washington Post Magazine, “I’m not for impeachment. Impeachment is so divisive to the country that unless there’s something so compelling and overwhelming and bipartisan, I don’t think we should go down that path, because it divides the country.”

She wasn’t done and added, “And he’s just not worth it.”

The insults always follow anything that could have been misconstrued as a positive comment about Trump.

Is Trump’s Push for More Defense Spending Working?

by Daveda Gruber:

On Wednesday NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg gave an encouraging speech to Congress. He had some good news for Congress. He said that President Trump’s push for NATO allies to pay more for defense spending has “had an impact” and has made the alliance stronger.

Stoltenberg is a two-time prime minister of Norway and the first NATO chief to address a joint meeting of Congress. He spoke a day after having met with Trump and both officials were happy about the increase in alliance spending.

Stoltenberg said, “Allies must spend more on defense. This has been the clear message from President Trump. And this message is having a real impact.”

Even though NATO does not have defense budget, members do commit to spending a minimum of 2 percent of their Gross Domestic Products on defense. Trump has put pressure on members that do not meet that commitment.

Check this out:

The United States spends 3.5 percent of its GDP on defense Stoltenberg said that NATO is stronger as a result of the U.S. pressure.

Stoltenberg said, “After years of reducing defense budgets, all allies have stopped the cuts and all allies have increased their defense spending. Before they were cutting billions, now they are adding billions.”

Stoltenberg told lawmakers in Congress that European allies and Canada have spent an additional $41 billion in the last two years. By the end of 2020, that figure should escalate to $100 billion.
Stoltenberg went on to say, “That money will allow us to invest in new capabilities our armed forces need, including advanced fighter aircraft, attack helicopters, missile defense and surveillance drones. This is good for Europe and it is good for America.”

On Tuesday Trump tweeted:

On Tuesday, Trump said that the relationship with NATO “has been very good” and he welcomed “tremendous progress” on the question of defense spending.

Trump brought up that Germany, in particular, was not, according to him, “paying what they should be paying.”

He said, “Germany is not paying their fair share.”

Hopefully, that will change soon.

Dead Men Tell No Tales

by Daveda Gruber:

On Monday the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that a man from Missouri can be executed. The highest court in the land decided that Russell Bucklew, a man who was convicted of a brutal rape and murder, can be executed by lethal injection.

In a ruling of 5 to 4, the SCOTUS decided that Bucklew is not guaranteed “painless death” even though he attempted to avoid the needle because of his rare medical condition.

Missouri now has the right to proceed with execution protocol in carrying out the sentence.

Bucklew was sentenced to death for the 1996 murder of Michael Sanders. Sanders was dating Bucklew’s ex-girlfriend when he was murdered.

Bucklew had assaulted the couple and stalked his ex-lover to find out the location of where she lived. Bucklew shot and killed Sanders and then fired his gun at his former girlfriend’s 6-year-old child.

He missed and kidnapped the woman and raped her several times. He was eventually arrested after a car chase and police shootout.

Justice Neil Gorsuch said, in summarizing his majority opinion, “Today we bring this case to a close at last because we agree with the courts below that Mr. Bucklew’s claim isn’t supported by either the law or the evidence.”

The court had previously ruled that inmates who challenged the method a state plans to use to execute them must have to show there’s an alternative that is likely to be less painful.

The Constitution does not guarantee a painless death. Missouri can execute Bucklew.

Bucklew had argued that death by lethal injection would be extremely painful because he had a blood-filled tumor in his throat. The tumor was caused by a rare medical condition that could most likely burst during the execution. That could cause him to choke on his own blood and cut off oxygen to his body for up to four minutes.

He called this cruel and unusual punishment that would violate the Constitution. Bucklew had stated that he wanted to die by inhaling pure nitrogen gas through a mask. This method has never been used in an execution.

Chief Justice John Roberts and Associate Justices Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito, Brett Kavanaugh and Neil Gorsuch are the five justices in the majority who rejected Bucklew’s argument.

The ruling said that the inmate failed to show that the alternative method “would significantly reduce his risk of pain.”

Gorsuch noted that Bucklew failed to show that the state would carry out the alternative execution.

Gorsuch wrote, “The Eighth Amendment does not guarantee a prisoner a painless death — something that, of course, isn’t guaranteed to many people, including most victims of capital crimes.”

Bucklew was granted a stay of execution by the Supreme Court hours before he was scheduled to die last year. Another stay of execution was granted in 2014 in the 11th hour.

Chris Nuelle is a spokesman for the Missouri Attorney General’s Office. He said in a statement that Monday’s ruling put the state and Bucklew’s victims “one step closer to justice.”

Do you believe in the death penalty? How humane should it be? I’d love to hear your thoughts on the matter in the comments below.

BOMBSHELL: Charges Against Jussie Smollett Dropped

by Daveda Gruber:

Charges against ” Empire” star Jussie Smollett were dropped in a stunning account from the Cook County State Attorney’s office.

It was announced that all 16 felony counts against Smollett, 36, were dropped in a nolle pros and the record in the case was sealed. Smollett voluntarily forfeited his bond money. Smollett’s attorney, Patricia Brown-Holmes, said the funds would likely go to the city of Chicago.

The charges had come after Smollet allegedly staged his own hate crime.

Chicago Police Superintendent Eddie Johnson said that if he were accused of a crime that he would want his day in court to prove his innocence.

Johnson said, “Our job as police officers is to present them with the evidence … If someone ever falsely accused me [of a crime], I would never hide behind a brokered deal and secrecy. I don’t know what’s unusual for the state’s attorney but we found out about when you all did.
Prosecutors have their discretion of course, we still have to work with the state’s attorney’s office, we’ll have conversations after this. At the end of the day it was Smollett who committed this hoax.”

Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel called it a “whitewash of justice” that cost the city more than $10,000.

Emanuel said, “Our officers did hard work day in and day out, countless hours working to unwind what actually happened that night. The city saw its reputation dragged through the mud … It’s not just the officers’ work, but the work of the grand jury that made a decision based on only a sliver of the evidence [presented]. Because of the judge’s decision, none of that evidence will ever be made public. [This case] sends a clear message that if you’re in a position of influence and power you’ll be treated one way and if you’re not you’ll be treated another way,”

Smollet maintained his innocence and pleaded not guilty to all 16 counts against him.

Today, without a trial to determine if he was guilty of the 16 charges, Smollett is a free man.