Document R2K6dx5QBK2LpmNdEXn2kBeyz

Message From: Sent: To: Subject: Americans for Limited Government [media@limitgov.org] 4/27/2018 1:32:56 PM Abboud, Michael [/o=ExchangeLabs/ou=Exchange Administrative Group (FYDIBOHF23SPDLT)/cn=Recipients/cn=b6f5af791al842fladcc088cbf9ed3ce-Abboud, Mic] Did Kanye West just single-handedly defeat the thought police by telling the world he loves President Trump? Kanye West takes on the thought police -- and triumphs April 27, 2018 Permission to republish original op-eds and cartoons granted. Did Kanye West just single-handedly defeat the thought police by telling the world he loves President Trump? Kanye West takes on the thought police -- and triumphs. UFCW Bosses Should Resign From newsrooms to boardrooms, from college campuses to church campuses, and from Hollywood studios to the halls of Congress, powerful men are being called to account for alleged sexual misconduct. But somehow, Mickey Kasparian, a United Food and Commercial Workers International vice president, has managed to keep his job in spite of the scandal swirling around him. Both Kasparian (who is also the president of UFCW Local 135) and Marc Perrone, the UFCW International president, have handled the scandal very poorly; and both of them - leaders of a union in which women make up a majority - should resign. Progressives are using lawfare to target their political opponents The Democrat Party has unveiled a new technique to attack their opponents. Everyone knows about the typical intimidation techniques such as boycotts, protesting, and rioting. Lawfare is an asymmetric technique using the legal system against an enemy. Keeping their enemies tied up in court and legal costs demoralize and sometimes forces the opponents to quit. Republicans need to wake up to tactics of the left and realize they are sometimes playing into their hands. Super special counsel legislation blasted as unconstitutional `disastrous idea' Rick Manning stated, "Americans for Limited Government has always been a leading group in support of Congress reaffirming its constitutional Article I powers. Senator Mike Lee is leader of the Senate's Article I project and has correctly noted that today's Senate Judiciary Committee action is an unconstitutional attempt to protect a Justice Department at-will, political appointee from firing, effectively stripping the President of his constitutional, Article II power to execute the laws. He is not a civil servant and can be removed at any time. " Sierra Club v. EPA 18cv3472 NDCA Tier 7 ED 002061 00002641-00001 Gemma Mullin: North and South Korea agree to `COMPLETE denuclearisation' as Moon Jae-in vows `there will be no war' with Kim Jong-un At their first summit in more than a decade, the two sides announced they would seek an agreement to establish "permanent" and "solid" peace on the peninsula. The declaration included promises to pursue military arms reduction, cease "hostile acts, " turn their fortified border into a "peace zone, " and seek multilateral talks with other countries, such as the United States. Did Kanye West just single-handedly defeat the thought police by teiling the world lie loves President Trump? By Robert Romano Whatever you do, don't put on a Make America Great Again hat. Sierra Club v. EPA 18cv3472 NDCA Tier 7 ED 002061 00002641-00002 Just ask Kanye West. After the rap star tweeted something supporting President Donald Trump -- insofar as it was not antiTrump -- his whole world changed. On April 25, West wrote, "You don't have to agree with trump but the mob can't make me not love him. We are both dragon energy. He is my brother. I love everyone. I don't agree with everything anyone does. That's what makes us individuals. And we have the right to independent thought." It didn't matter that in that same minute, he also tweeted, "I love Hillary too" or that right before, he had prefaced the tweet by stating, "Free thinkers don't fear retaliation for your thoughts. The traditional thinkers are only using thoughts and words but they are in a mental prison. You are free. You've already won. Feel energized. Move in love not fear. Be afraid of nothing." Or that a minute later he added, "Love who you want to love. That's free thought. I'm not even political. I'm not a democrat or a republican." None of that mattered to the thought police, who immediately sprang into action as West was savaged on his own Twitter feed. It wasn't that he had posted something that was pro-Trump. It's that it wasn't anti-Trump. Later, West posted a picture of himself wearing a Make America Great Again hat and a picture revealing that his hat had been signed by Trump personally. And then a picture of the President retweeting West, thanking him and writing, "very cool!" Sierra Club v. EPA 18cv3472 NDCA Tier 7 ED 002061 00002641-00003 Sierra Club v. EPA 18cv3472 NDCA Tier 7 ED 002061 00002641-00004 Songwriter John Legend later texted his friend, which West posted, stating, "So many people who love you feel so betrayed right now because they know the harm that Trump's policies cause, especially to people of color. Don't let this be part of your legacy." To which, West replied, cordially but pointedly, "I love you John and I appreciate your thoughts. You bringing up my fans or my legacy is a tactic based on fear used to manipulate my free thought." Later, Chance the Rapper tweeted in support of West, "Black people don't have to be democrats" and then predicted the next President would be an independent. That was enough to break the Internet. Chance, particularly, inspired by West, had single-handedly smashed identity politics in a single tweet. It seems some won't be silenced so easily. West later doubled down on Twitter, writing, "Claudio will be awesome when me and Chance build new homes in Chicago" and "Obama was in office for eight years and nothing in Chicago changed." Whoa. It must be noted that it is practically impossible to draw an electoral map Democrats can win particularly in presidential contests without the near universal support from black Americans they currently garner -- who comprise 12 percent of the population but 89 percent of whom tend to vote Democrat according to exit polls. What Chance suggested really cuts to the heart of any political power Democrats currently wield because it begs the guestion, what if blacks didn't vote for Democrats? Leaving that aside, that doesn't mean there would a sudden shift to vote Republican either. West has clarified that he does not necessarily share the President's political views. It was not an endorsement as much as a show of respect to the President of the United States. Similarly, Trump's supporters might find little else in common with West, but there's a larger point West is making that does have a universal appeal. Perhaps it's just as West said and he's tired of all the hateful politics and political violence that have become so prevalent today, and so wished as he stated to express a unifying message of love, letting Americans of all creeds and color that it's okay to disagree because at the end of the day, we're still all Americans. Actor Rob Lowe had a similar tweet in response to the ratings success of the new Roseanne show, which features Roseanne as a pro-Trump lead character. In it, Lowe called attention to something that has been seemingly lost today but is actually just being ignored. Millions of Americans "who are able to laugh and love together as they passionately disagree," in Lowe's words, which describes my family and surely yours, too. That's the America I believe in. The one with a dialogue that actually exists in everyday life, if not in the invective and personal attacks we typically find from the social media political warriors behaving as society's thought police, who are so invested in identity politics and political correctness they cannot countenance such a stunning development as free thought. Sierra Club v. EPA 18cv3472 NDCA Tier 7 ED 002061 00002641-00005 For example, Rolling Stone's Jon Dolan, who has written plenty of positive reviews of West, in the past calling his work that of a "genius," was particularly vile in his denunciation, writing, "It's music that until this deal-breaking week most of us could still listen to with revelation and enjoyment." Dolan still called him "the engine of a massive amount of amazing music full of raw beauty and exhilarating contradictions" but concluded he was a "jerkoff" so as to leave no doubt. You see, now that West simply said he loves Trump and called him his brother -- and Hillary and all people, too, but forget about that -- and that's "deal-breaking." How could a message of peace lead to such venom? Still, how refreshing. And how telling it is that today people thinking for themselves is so controversial. Bravo to Kanye West for putting an exclamation point on it. Robert Romano is the Vice President of Public Policy at Americans for Limited Government. By Richard McCarty From newsrooms to boardrooms, from college campuses to church campuses, and from Hollywood studios to the halls of Congress, powerful men are being called to account for alleged sexual misconduct. But somehow, Mickey Kasparian, a United Food and Commercial Workers International vice president, has managed to keep his job in spite of the scandal swirling around him. Both Kasparian (who is also the president of UFCW Local 135) and Marc Perrone, the UFCW International president, have handled the scandal very poorly; and both of them - leaders of a union in which women make up a majority - should resign. Kasparian's scandal began in December of 2016 when Sandy Naranjo, a former UFCW employee, accused him of gender discrimination, retaliation, and wrongful termination. In her lawsuit, Naranjo alleged that "Kasparian created a work environment that was particularly hostile toward women"; she had previously viewed her job as a "dream job." Just days after the first lawsuit was filed, a second former UFCW employee, Isabel Vasquez, broke her silence and accused Kasparian of something much worse - demanding she have a sexual relationship with him. Fearing for her job, she had complied with his humiliating demands, eventually retiring early. Kasparian kept an inappropriate picture of Vasquez behind his desk, and only removed it around the time she filed her lawsuit. In April of 2017, a third former UFCW employee, Anabel Arauz, filed a lawsuit against Kasparian alleging discrimination, harassment, and retaliation. In her lawsuit, Arauz referred to the union and Kasparian's "demonstrated animus, bias, and discriminatory intent/conduct against women." Last December, Melody Godinez, who is an SEIU member and a union executive board member, filed a Sierra Club v. EPA 18cv3472 NDCA Tier 7 ED 002061 00002641-00006 lawsuit against Kasparian alleging that he had repeatedly sexually assaulted her. At her deposition, Godinez expressed a fear of Kasparian, whom she once viewed "as a friend and mentor." It appears that the allegations against Kasparian have been costly. It was recently reported that the legal expenses for Kasparian's union local were more than four times higher than usual this past year. In recent years, his union has spent an average of $203,000 on legal representation; last year, it spent over $829,000. At the same time, the amount of money the union spent representing its members was lower last year than it has been in more than a decade. Earlier this month, Perrone, the UFCW International president, responded to a UFCW member who wrote an open letter to him begging him to take action against Kasparian. In his reply, Perrone made it clear that he has no intention of lifting a finger to oust Kasparian. Instead, Perrone made excuses, writing, "You have made suggestions that the International can freely remove a local union president based on accusations made by others... Please understand, the UFCW International Union does not have this authority." Perrone is trying to mislead with his statement. He would like for us to believe that there is nothing that the International Union can do, but that is not the case at all. In fact, according to the UFCW International Constitution, the UFCW Executive Committee has the authority to both suspend and remove any officer "whenever the activities of any... officer of a chartered body involve, in the judgment of the International Executive Committee, an emergency situation injurious to the welfare or best interests of the International Union or a chartered body..." After more than a year's worth of embarrassing headlines and protests, it seems that Kasparian's scandals are sufficiently serious to enable the Executive Committee to punish him. Just who is on this Executive Committee which has the authority to decide whether or not to suspend or remove union officers? Perrone and four other UFCW International officers. So if Perrone wanted to fire Kasparian, he would only need two of the other four members of the Executive Committee to vote with him. For the good of UFCW members, both Kasparian and Perrone should resign. Kasparian, already a divisive labor figure, has been accused of discrimination and/or sexual harassment by multiple Hispanic women from the labor movement; his union has paid enough to settle lawsuits against him already. For over a year, Perrone has refused to take action against Kasparian, and now Perrone has tried to mislead claiming that his hands are tied. His inaction and dishonesty make him unfit to lead. Richard McCarty is the Director of Research for Americans for Limited Government Foundation. Progressives are using iawfare to target their political opponents Sierra Club v. EPA 18cv3472 NDCA Tier 7 ED 002061 00002641-00007 By Printus LeBlanc The Democrat Party has unveiled a not so new technique to attack their opponents. Everyone knows about the typical intimidation techniques such as boycotts, protesting, and rioting. Lawfare is an asymmetric technique using the legal system against an enemy. Keeping their enemies tied up in court and legal costs demoralize and sometimes forces the opponents to quit. Republicans need to wake up to tactics of the left and realize they are sometimes playing into their hands. This has been a successful strategy for the Democrat Party so far, as we have seen with former National Security Advisor Michael Flynn. After the fraudulent Mueller investigation was started, it quickly became apparent Flynn was one of the primary targets. After months of interviews and interrogations, Flynn finally gave in and pled guilty to lying to the FBI. The charge had nothing to do with what Mueller was supposedly investigating, it was just another scalp. Shortly after the guilty plea, the mainstream media concluded Flynn must have lied to the FBI if he pled guilty. It quickly became apparent the plea had nothing to do with guilt or innocence, it had more to do with finances. Flynn was going broke defending himself against the multimillion-dollar team Mueller sent after him. Almost immediately after pleading guilty, Flynn was forced to sell his home in Alexandria, Va. to pay his legal bills. Since the guilty plea, it has revealed that former FBI Director James Comey briefed several Members of Congress in March of 2017 on the Flynn matter. Writing for the Washington Examiner, Byron York stated, "According to two sources familiar with the meetings, Comey told lawmakers that the FBI agents who interviewed Flynn did not believe that Flynn had lied to them, or that any inaccuracies in his answers were intentional." Why did Flynn plead guilty then? Because he couldn't afford to prove his innocence. Former Trump campaign advisor Michael Caputo has been under constant siege since the end of the 2016 election. Once the various congressional committees started to investigate the non-existent connections between President Trump and Russia, Mr. Caputo would end up retaining lawyers in March of 2017. Rep. Jackie Speier (D-Calif.) would state Mr. Caputo was Vladimir Putin's "image consultant" in congressional testimony with no evidence to back up the claim. Sierra Club v. EPA 18cv3472 NDCA Tier 7 ED 002061 00002641-00008 So far Mr. Caputo has only been interviewed by the House Intelligence Committee as a witness, but that comes at a steep price. Caputo estimates his legal bill will be in the neighborhood of $125,000, and that is if he is not part of the special counsel probe. If he has to go to the grand jury, the cost could further skyrocket. Why would anyone want to serve in the Trump administration if they are going to have to spend more than half if not all their salary on lawyers for non-existent crimes? It has become increasingly obvious the Trump-Russia narrative was faked by the DNC and Hillary Campaign, but do the people caught up in the investigation get their time or money back? No. It appears we had an attempted coup after the last election. Why does it seem the only people that are paying for the coup are Republicans that had nothing to do with Russia? Republicans must realize the longer they keep this sham investigation going instead of focusing on the coup attempt they are only hurting innocent people. Printus LeBlanc is a contributing editor at Americans for Limited Government. iAUTL pv j PRESS RELEASES Super special counsel legislation blasted as unconstitutional 'disastrous idea* Americans for Limited Government President Rick Manning issued the following statement blasting the Senate Judiciary Committee proposal to shield Special Counsel Robert Mueller or any future special counsel from firing: "Americans for Limited Government has always been a leading group in support of Congress reaffirming its constitutional Article I powers. Senator Mike Lee is the leader of the Senate's Article I project and has correctly noted that today's Senate Judiciary Committee action is an unconstitutional attempt to protect a Justice Department at-will, political appointee from firing, effectively stripping the President of his constitutional, Article II power to execute the laws. He is not a civil servant and can be removed at any time. "Even you disagree with Sen. Lee on the constitutionality of the Judiciary Committee's proposal, this is still a disastrous idea. By taking away the Executive Branch's ability to remove a Special Counsel without judicial approval, the Judiciary Committee is effectively creating a permanent position. Once appointed, the Attorney General or Acting Attorney General will be stripped of any meaningful oversight of the actions of the Special Counsel. In effect, the Judiciary Committee proposal would make this and any future Special Counsel one of the most powerful people in the world, able to engage in unending investigations of the President or anyone else without meaningful oversight or worse, with blind eye turned on his misconduct. "In the case of Robert Mueller, his appointment itself is illegitimate because it does not comport with the regulatory requirement that a specific crime be cited by the Acting Attorney General to be investigated. This failure was used by Mueller to cast and recast wider and wider nets desperately seeking crimes that are far afield from the initial allegations. Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Sierra Club v. EPA 18cv3472 NDCA Tier 7 ED 002061 00002641-00009 Chuck Grassley has made a mistake in even considering this ill-conceived legislation, and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell is 100 percent correct in not wasting any floor time on it." Click here for the full press release. ALG Editor's Note: In the following piece from The Sun, Gemma Mullin reports on the announcement of an agreement between North and South Korea to denuclearize the peninsula: North and South Korea agree to "COMPLETE denuclearisation5as Moon Jae-in vows 'there will be no wad with Kim Jong-un By Gemma Mullin At their first summit in more than a decade, the two sides announced they would seek an agreement to establish "permanent" and "solid" peace on the peninsula. The declaration included promises to pursue military arms reduction, cease "hostile acts," turn their fortified border into a "peace zone," and seek multilateral talks with other countries, such as the United States. In his first ever press conference in front of the world's media Kim Jong-un said:"We are one nation we cannot be separated. We share the same blood. "We are living with each other. We are brothers." The Koreas said they hope the parties will be able to declare an official end to the war by the end of this year. He made history as he met with rival South Korean President Moon Jae-in for face-to-face talks on the southern side of the border. President Moon said that the two countries would work to re-unite families who had been separated by the decades long conflict as Kim did what his father and grandfather never managed. The dictator said his heart was "throbbing" as he became the first North Korean leader to cross the 38th parallel since the Korean War ended 65 years ago. The two heads of state had "serious, frank" discussions on the topic of denuclearising the peninsula during the first meeting on southern soil in more than six decades. Kim even quipped about his missile tests saying he wouldn't disturb the South's "early morning sleep anymore". Both parties are drawing up a joint statement due to be announced together at the close of the discussions which will be followed by a dinner, which would also be attended by Kim's wife, Ri Sol Ju. Sierra Club v. EPA 18cv3472 NDCA Tier 7 ED 002061 00002641-00010 Click here for the full story. Americansfor Limited Government 10332 Main Street # 326None Fairfax Virginia 22030 United States This email is intended for abboud.michael@epa.gov. Update your preferences or Unsubscribe Sierra Club v. EPA 18cv3472 NDCA Tier 7 ED 002061 00002641-00011