The Daily Brief:
Wednesday, November 22, 2017 (Short Form)
A group of deep-pocketed progressive millionaires seeks to "fundamentally reset" America's ideology and economy and "expose the dogma of free enterprise, limited government, and traditional family values," according to a brochure obtained by the Washington Free Beacon at a secretive progressive dark money donor conference. Patriotic Millionaires's newest organizational overview, which is not the same brochure that is currently available on its website, was obtained by the Free Beacon at the Democracy Alliance's fall investment conference held last week at the swanky La Costa Resort in Carlsbad, Calif. Each Democracy Alliance member vows to steer hundreds of thousands in funding to approved left-wing organizations the group supports.
Race, immigration, reproductive freedom, social equality, mass incarceration, and global climate change are labeled as the group's most pressing issues, suggesting they can be dealt with if "a political economy capable of meeting the basic needs of our citizens" is established. The group hopes to establish these tenets as the dominant political system in the United States by 2026, when America celebrates its 250th birthday, its brochure states. (Read more)
- Father, we pray the Democracy Alliance's plans will fail completely, humiliating all who are involved - because their plans are directly against Your Will and Your Word.
- There is no wisdom, no insight, no plan that can succeed against the Lord.
(Proverbs 21:30)
2. FBI has not verified Trump dossier - Washington Examiner
FBI and Justice Department officials have told congressional investigators in recent days that they have not been able to verify or corroborate the substantive allegations of collusion between Russia and the Trump campaign outlined in the Trump dossier. The FBI received the first installment of the dossier in July 2016. It received later installments as they were written at the height of the presidential campaign, which means the bureau has had more than a year to investigate the allegations in the document. The dossier was financed by the Hillary Clinton campaign and compiled by former British spy Christopher Steele.
An August 24, 2017 subpoena from the House Intelligence Committee to the FBI and Justice Department asked for information on the bureau's efforts to validate the dossier. Specifically, the subpoena demanded "any documents, if they exist, that memorialize DOJ and/or FBI efforts to corroborate, validate, or evaluate information provided by Mr. Steele and/or sub-sources and/or contained in the 'Trump Dossier.'" According to sources familiar with the matter, neither the FBI nor the Justice Department has provided documents in response to that part of the committee's subpoena. But in face-to-face briefings with congressional staff, according to those sources, FBI and DOJ officials have said they cannot verify the dossier's charges of a conspiracy between the Russian government and the Trump campaign. (Read more)
- Father, we thank You for continued revelations and pray the House Intelligence Committee will find the whole truth regarding the Trump dossier.
- The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of people, who suppress the truth by their wickedness, (Romans 1:18)
3. Fusion GPS paid journalists, court papers confirm - Washington Examiner
Newly filed court documents confirm that Fusion GPS, the company mostly responsible for the controversial "Trump dossier" on presidential candidate Donald Trump, made payments to three journalists between June 2016 until February 2017. The revelation could be a breakthrough for House Republicans, who are exploring whether Fusion GPS used the dossier, which was later criticized for having inaccurate information on Trump, to feed anti-Trump stories to the press during and after the presidential campaign. The three journalists who were paid by Fusion GPS are known to have reported on "Russia issues relevant to [the committee's] investigation," the House Intelligence Committee said in a court filing.
But the recipients' names, the amounts, and purposes of those payments were either redacted from the documents that Fusion GPS filed to the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia or were not disclosed. Fusion has asked the court to issue a restraining order against the House committee, which is demanding documents from the company that, among other things, explain the payments it made to reporters. Most of the documents sought are banking records. (Read more)
- Father, reveal everything that exposes the truth regarding what was done to influence and corrupt our political process.
- Behold, you have sinned against the Lord, and be sure your sin will find you out. (Numbers 32:23b)
4. Trump expresses grief over killed Border Patrol agent - Washington Times
President Trump on Monday mourned the death of a Border Patrol agent who was killed in an ambush attack in Texas near the Mexico border. The president acknowledged the killing when wishing Americans a happy Thanksgiving, sending his wishes "especially to our brave men and women serving in our military, and our Border Patrol and ICE agents along the very dangerous southern border. As you heard, we lost a Border Patrol officer yesterday, and another one was brutally beaten and badly, badly hurt. Looks like he'll make it," Mr. Trump said at the start of a Cabinet meeting.
The two agents were attacked Sunday in West Texas. They were bludgeoned, perhaps with rocks, according to reports. The Border Patrol released few details about the circumstances surrounding the death of Agent Rogelio Martinez, 36, including whether investigators have any suspects or think smugglers or illegal immigrants were involved. The agent who survived is in the hospital. Mr. Trump said the violence underscored the urgent need for a border wall. "We're going to have the wall as part of what we're doing. We need it," he said. "It's rough territory. That's where the drugs are coming in, a lot of things are happening along the border, the southern border, and we're going to straighten it out." (Read more)
- Father, we mourn over this life taken, Agent Rogelio Martinez, and pray Your comfort for his family. We also lift up the other officer who was badly injured to make a full recovery.
- 'For I will restore you to health And I will heal you of your wounds,' declares the Lord. (Jeremiah 30:17a)
5. Justice Department Vows to Overturn California Judge's Ruling on Sanctuary Cities and States - Washington Free Beacon
The Trump administration has vowed to overturn a federal judge's decision to block President Trump's executive order cutting off federal funds to sanctuary cities, counties, and states. A federal judge in Northern California determined Monday that Trump cannot place new conditions on spending Congress has approved. The judge's ruling responded to lawsuits brought by two California counties, San Francisco and Santa Clara, taking exception to Trump's threat to cut off federal grants to localities that limit law enforcement's cooperation with U.S. immigration authorities. The Justice Department late Monday countered that cities, counties, and states do not have the ability to flout federal law and continue receiving federal money without any repercussions.
"The District Court exceeded its authority today when it barred the president from instructing his cabinet members to enforce existing law," said Justice Department spokeswoman Devin O'Malley. "The Justice Department will vindicate the president's lawful authority to direct the executive branch." (Read more)
- Father, we pray for alignment to the rule of law between the Executive and Judicial branches of our government. We pray the Executive branch will not be hindered from doing what is necessary to keep our nation safe.
- "Perhaps the Lord will help us, for nothing can hinder the Lord. He can win a battle whether he has many warriors or only a few!" (1 Samuel 14:6)
6. The Trump Era of Antitrust Enforcement Dawns - Breitbart
The Justice Department filed its much-anticipated lawsuit to block AT&T's $85.4 billion bid for Time Warner, signaling the end of the Obama era of antitrust and the beginning of the Trump era. The Obama administration's Justice Department, for example, approved Comcast's acquisition of NBCUniversal in 2011, imposing numerous conditions that demanded a level of scrutiny and regulatory vigilance that has been notably absent in the years since. For many on the political left and right, that deal has come to stand for the proposition that so-called behavioral remedies are not able to effectively avoid anti-competitive harm in the digital-everything age.
Makan Delrahim, the Justice Department's top antitrust lawyer, made this point in a speech to fellow lawyers last week. "Behavioral remedies presume that the Justice Department should serve as a roving ombudsman of the affairs of business. Even if we wanted to do this, we often don't have the skills or the tools to do so effectively," he said. Delrahim's speech made clear that in his view-which is to say, now the view of the U.S. government-"antitrust is law enforcement, not regulation." That means that effective antitrust enforcement should not require erecting new powers for the administrative state but instead assure that markets can function properly. (Read more)
- Father, we pray Makan Delrahim's strategy of increasing business competition and effective law enforcement will provide long-term benefits to our markets and ultimately, our citizens.
- Wise words bring many benefits, and hard work brings rewards. (Proverbs 12:14)
7. FCC Chairman Ajit Pai Announces December Vote to Repeal Net Neutrality - Breitbart
Chairman Pai plans to unveil his proposed rulemaking to repeal net neutrality on Wednesday. Pai declared in a statement on Tuesday:
For almost twenty years, the Internet thrived under the light-touch regulatory approach established by President Clinton and a Republican Congress. This bipartisan framework led the private sector to invest $1.5 trillion building communications networks throughout the United States. And it gave us an Internet economy that became the envy of the world. But in 2015, the prior FCC bowed to pressure from President Obama. On a party-line vote, it imposed heavy-handed, utility-style regulations upon the Internet. That decision was a mistake. It's depressed investment in building and expanding broadband networks and deterred innovation.
Today, I have shared with my colleagues a draft order that would abandon this failed approach and return to the longstanding consensus that served consumers well for decades. Under my proposal, the federal government will stop micromanaging the Internet. Instead, the FCC would simply require Internet service providers to be transparent about their practices so that consumers can buy the service plan that's best for them and entrepreneurs and other small businesses can have the technical information they need to innovate. (Read more)
- Father, we thank You for Chairman Pai and his efforts to deregulate the internet. We pray his proposal will receive wide, bipartisan support.
- Good planning and hard work lead to prosperity. (Proverbs 21:5a)
8. Trump Says Alabama Can't Afford To Elect A Democrat - Daily Caller
President Donald Trump told reporters Tuesday that Alabama shouldn't elect a Democrat over embattled Republican Senate candidate Roy Moore. "I can tell you one thing for sure. We don't need a liberal person in there, a Democrat, [Doug] Jones. I've looked at his record, it's terrible on crime, it's terrible on the border, it's terrible on the military," Trump said.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and National Republican Campaign Committee chairman Cory Gardner have both asked Moore to drop out of the Alabama race after several women accused the Senate candidate of having sexual encounters with them when they were minors. White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders has said repeatedly that Trump wants Alabama voters to decide who their next senator should be. The president left open the possibility Tuesday that he would visit the Yellowhammer State to campaign for Moore. (Read more)
- Father, we pray the people of Alabama will have discernment as they go to the polls in December to elect a new Senator. We pray for Your choice, a man of integrity who will do Your will.
- But one who looks intently at the perfect law, the law of liberty, and abides by it, not having become a forgetful hearer but an effectual doer, this man will be blessed in what he does. (James 1:25)
9. Court Strikes Abortion Buffer Zone Law - Liberty Council
A New Jersey federal court struck down a City of Englewood eight-foot buffer zone that prohibits pro-life speech near abortion facilities. Applying the U.S. Supreme Court's unanimous 2014 opinion in McCullen v. Coakley, which held unconstitutional an identically worded Massachusetts buffer zone law, the New Jersey court ruled the ordinance violates the First Amendment.
The decision provides fresh optimism for Liberty Counsel's lawsuit against the City of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, to strike down the twenty-foot buffer zone ordinance passed by the City at the behest of Planned Parenthood. The Harrisburg ordinance violates the constitutional rights of Liberty Counsel's clients Becky Biter and Colleen Reilly, who are Christian sidewalk counsellors being prevented from telling women about alternatives to abortion they will not hear once inside Planned Parenthood. Just as in Englewood, the Harrisburg City Council failed to consider any less restrictive alternatives to its speech ban, opting instead to become enthusiastic agents for the Planned Parenthood agenda.
Both New Jersey and Pennsylvania are in the same federal appellate jurisdiction, covered by the U.S. Third Circuit Court of Appeals, where Liberty Counsel has already secured an early victory in the Harrisburg case. The Harrisburg trial court is now bound by the favorable Third Circuit ruling as the case proceeds, and should be favorably influenced by the plainly sound reasoning of its sister court in New Jersey.
"The New Jersey decision is a great example of clear constitutional reasoning, uncorrupted by the 'abortion distortion' that has pervaded so many court decisions since Roe v. Wade," said Mat Staver, Founder and Chairman of Liberty Counsel."The decision should be an encouragement to pro-life sidewalk counsellors around the country, and a warning to state and local governments who increasingly abdicate their duties to uphold the constitutional rights of their citizens in order to carry water for Planned Parenthood," said Staver. (Read more)
- Father, we thank You for this decision and pray for the removal of all "Buffer Zone" laws around the country. We pray Christian counselors who want to help these women choose life for their babies will not be prevented from speaking to them.
- Now, choose life! Then you and your children may live. (Deuteronomy 30:19b)
10. Rex Tillerson's State Department Marks 'Transgender Day of Remembrance' - Breitbart
A State Department press release in the name of Secretary of State Rex Tillerson is honoring the memory of the so-called "transgender" individuals around the world on "Transgender Day of Remembrance. On Transgender Day of Remembrance, the United States honors the memory of the many transgender individuals who have lost their lives to acts of violence," the statement read. The Day of Remembrance was invented in 1999 by San Francisco activist Gwendolyn Ann Smith. It is not recognized by Congress and a resolution introduced this year by Rep. Joseph Kennedy (D-MA) to change that has received little traction. According to a State Department spokesman, the department has issued a statement in the name of the secretary for Transgender Day of Remembrance since 2013.
The statement in Tillerson's name continues, claiming that transgender rights are enshrined in the U.S. Constitution: Transgender individuals and their advocates, along with lesbian, gay, bisexual and intersex persons, are facing increasing physical attacks and arbitrary arrests in many parts of the world. Often these attacks are perpetrated by government officials, undermining the rule of law. Transgender persons should not be subjected to violence or discrimination, and the human rights they share with all persons should be respected.
On this Transgender Day of Remembrance, the United States remains committed to advancing the human rights and fundamental freedoms of all persons. These principles are inherent in our own Constitution and drive the diplomacy of the United States. (Read more)
- Father, our nation desires to uphold the human rights of all individuals, but we pray this statement will not stand as an endorsement of this lifestyle.
- God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. (Genesis 1:27)
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