Blue Horseshoe

Cruz demands answers from Mayorkas on denial of Secret Service protection for RFK Jr .....Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, a member of the Judiciary Committee, urged Secretary of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Alejandro Mayorkas to provide answers about the Biden administration's rejection of presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.'s request for Secret Service protection. ....In July, the DHS determined after 88 days of no response that Secret Service protection for Kennedy was "not warranted at this time," despite numerous recorded threats, according to internal Secret Service documents......A typical turnaround for such a request is usually two weeks. "The records also indicated that the Secret Service is aware that Mr. Kennedy has received increased media attention after accusing the Central Intelligence Agency of involvement in the assassination of his uncle, John Fitzgerald Kennedy, and advocating for the release of the individual currently imprisoned for assassinating his father, Robert F. Kennedy, and speaking out against COVID-19 vaccines," Cruz wrote in a letter Tuesday.....Shortly after his request was denied, an armed man was arrested at one of his campaign events in Los Angeles and charged with carrying a loaded firearm, carrying a concealed weapon and impersonating a Deputy United States Marshal. Secret Service records revealed credible threats against Kennedy two weeks later, including concerning letters and threatening emails, leading to concerns of potential assassination attempts solely due to his Kennedy affiliation.... https://www.foxnews.com/politics/cruz-demands-answers-mayorkas-denial-secret-service-protection-rfk-jr

GOP senators could block Jack Lew from Israel ambassadorship over controversial past with Iran ....Some GOP senators are signaling they may oppose Biden-nominated Jack Lew from the ambassadorship to Israel due to his record on Iran relations during his time as secretary to the Treasury......In 2018, a Senate report by the investigative subcommittee of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee found that Lew, during his tenure as secretary to the Treasury under the Obama administration, "granted a specific license that authorized a conversion of Iranian assets worth billions of U.S. dollars using the U.S. financial system." ....The report found that the administration tried to convert $5.7 billion from U.S. banks to Iranian assets. It noted that the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control "encouraged two U.S. correspondent banks to convert the funds." Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., who sits on the Senate Armed Services Committee, told Fox News Digital on Monday evening that he will vote to oppose Lew during a confirmation vote, and that he will be leading an effort to persuade other GOP colleagues this week to block his confirmation......"Jack Lew, Biden’s nom to be USAMB to Israel, was key point man in negotiations & disinfo campaign for Obama’s dangerously flawed deal w Iran," Sen. Bill Hagerty, R-Tenn., posted on X, formerly Twitter. "The consequences are felt today as Iran — flush w cash due to Biden’s push to revive the deal at any cost — has fueled carnage in Israel." "Jack Lew is an Iran sympathizer who has no business being our ambassador. It’s bad for the United States," he said. "It’s bad for Israel to have an Iran sympathizer as our ambassador to that country. He helped Iran evade American sanctions, and he lied to Congress about it. He defended the Obama administration’s refusal to use our veto … in the final days of the Obama administration to protect Israel from anti-Semitic resolutions." In January 2016, President Obama announced a $400 million cash transfer to Iran, which was part of a larger installment of a $1.7 billion settlement for a longstanding disagreement over an arms deal with Iran. Lew faced scrutiny at the time for the transfer, which was signed before the 1979 Iranian Revolution, signifying the end of Iran's historical monarchy......Lew — a Democrat who also served in the Bill Clinton administration as special assistant to the president’s office — faced scrutiny for the transfer. The Wall Street Journal chronicled during that period that the payment was conducted using a combination of Swiss and other foreign currencies, then transported to Iran on unidentified cargo planes.... https://www.foxnews.com/politics/gop-senators-block-jack-lew-israel-ambassadorship-controversial-past-iran

https://www.fftodayforums.com/forum/topic/517236-war-in-israel/?page=11&tab=comments#comment-7365447 Posted by @The Real timschochet 10/09/23 at 10:14 AM "Hey guys much as I would love to continue to discuss this subject, I find this CDub guy’s comments so distasteful that I really don’t want to participate. If that was his goal, mission accomplished. I’ll bow out so long as he keeps posting his hate...." ******** https://www.fftodayforums.com/forum/topic/517236-war-in-israel/?do=findComment&comment=7366325 Posted by @The Real timschochet 10/10/23 at 11:19 AM "OK I’m going to re-enter this thread because it’s too important not to discuss. I’ll simply try to ignore the anti-Semites. To your point, Israel has just done the exact opposite. They have bombed the road to Egypt, blocking all exits for Palestinians." *********

Oscars voters rip into ‘ridiculous’ new diversity rules for Best Picture .....If it were released today, “The Godfather” would possibly have no chance of winning a Best Picture Oscar. That’s because the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences is beholden to new inclusivity standards. Starting with the March 2024 awards, movies will not be considered for a Best Picture nomination unless they meet two out of four standards.....One of them is featuring a lead or significant supporting character from an “underrepresented racial or ethnic group,” have a main storyline that focuses on an underrepresented group, or at least 30% of the cast comes from two or more underrepresented groups (women, ethnic minorities, LGBTQ or the disabled).... “It’s completely ridiculous,” one director fumed to The Post. “I’m for diversity, but to make you cast certain types of people if you want to get nominated? That makes the whole process contrived. The person who is right for the part should get the part. Why should you be limited in your choices? But it’s the world we’re in. This is crazy.” An industry insider related to The Post, “Their goal is not to disqualify any films, but rather to celebrate and encourage progress towards greater representation and inclusion in the industry.” One of Hollywood’s biggest producers told The Post that very few people in the industry favor the new rules — but, unlike Dreyfuss, they don’t speak out for fear of cancel culture....“Everyone thinks the Academy went too far. It’s ridiculous to tell us we have to regulate our work,” he said. “We talk about it amongst ourselves but it’s not worth speaking up publicly.” ...But other films nominated this year possibly would not qualify. “’All Quiet on the Western Front’ would not have been nominated,” said the director of the World War I film with a historically accurate white male cast.....“In terms of ‘Elvis,’ there are probably enough women and minorities to hit 30 percent and qualify,” Jim Piazza, co-author of “Academy Awards: The Complete Unofficial History,” told The Post. “But many of those people are in dance and party scenes and on-screen briefly. How they count will be difficult. There will be a lot of caveats.”.....“Going further back, think about ‘Schindler’s List.’ Should that not have been nominated since there were no non-white people in the primary roles?” asked the director, referencing the 1993 Spielberg movie which largely features white male actors. “I’m wondering if Jewish people would count for ‘underrepresented racial or ethnic group,’ but it would be up to the Academy to figure that out.” .....Other macho classics that, these days, would likely fall by the Best Picture wayside: “Gladiator” and “All the President’s Men.”....According to Newsweek, past nominees “Ford v Ferrari,” “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood,” “American Hustle” and “Joker” also would not have cleared the Best Picture bar. ....“Imagine if great films were not made because of studio or corporate mandates that every film has to conform to the [inclusionary] standard for a Best Picture nomination?” the director said.....“I’ve never witnessed such a thing happening in the world of the arts,” he told The Post. “I’ve never seen restrictions out on what you can do if you want to receive a certain recognition [for one’s art].” .....“You have to make the best movie,” the exec said. “I want to be inclusive, but I don’t want to put in a person from a certain ethnic group who doesn’t belong there because of the story being told. And I don’t want to make a movie with an LGBT character who does not make sense with the narrative. You can’t do this without hurting the movie. It’s ridiculous to be told what to do at the expense of getting people into movie theaters.”....Said a journeyman screenwriter: “Everyone should be inclusive for good reason. But everyone should also have reasons for believing in meritocracy.....Casting is getting less organic and more about checking [the diversity] boxes. It’s hurting the product, not helping, and I don’t think it’ll be good for anyone in the long run......I think the Academy got itself into a corner with inclusivity and now it can’t get out.”.... .....On top of all this, due to the lack of specificity in what defines a marginalized person, many studios could quite easily lie or stretch the truth about the ethnicity, race, sexual orientation, or gender identity of any member of the cast and crew. The Oscars website does list the ethnicities and races they deem to be underrepresented in media, but many questions might arise from this. What if an actor “appears” white but is Indigenous? Do they have to prove their genealogy? What if an actor is mixed with white? Are they still a person of color? If so, where’s the line? .....Similar questions arise when you think about queer people making up the cast & crew. Queerness is in most instances, not a thing you can prove – sexual orientation is not a fixed thing, and is perfectly capable of changing numerous times in a person’s lifetime. A woman could be married to a man but that does not automatically mean she identifies as heterosexual. Many people, especially in the public eye, prefer not to share their sexuality at all. So they haven’t confirmed that they’re queer, but they also haven’t confirmed that they aren’t. Studios submitting their movies for best picture consideration could claim that 30% of their crew identify as members of the LGBTQ+ community, then there would be no way for the Academy to argue against that. The flaws within these policies become evident quickly because people's identities are not so simply defined. You can’t quantify diversity.... https://nypost.com/2023/06/16/oscars-voters-new-diversity-rules-for-best-picture-are-crazy/ http://www.osatelegraph.org/artmusic/the-oscars-new-2024-inclusion-diversity-standards-are-incredibly-flawed

The Daily Wire Is Making A Live-Action Snow White Movie Starring Conservative YouTuber Brett Cooper, Watch Teaser Conservative media company Daily Wire is making its own live action adaptation of the Brothers Grimm fairytale, Snow White, called Snow White And The Evil Queen.....The film, which is set to release in 2024, will be the first feature-length production for the company’s kids entertainment platform called Bentkey, and will star conservative YouTuber Brett Cooper, host of the platform’s show The Comments Section.... Announcing the project to staff today, the Daily Wire’s Boreing said: “It’s a story about a princess and a prince, about beauty and vanity, about love and its power to raise us from death to life. It’s our own adaptation of an ancient fairy tale.".....“I was raised on the original Grimms’ Fairy Tales, so I’m thrilled that we’re bringing this iconic story to life for the next generation,” said Cooper. “Snow White is such a beautiful character, and I’m honored to be playing her. Like all the best fairy tales, this is a story with timeless values, like love, friendship, and kindness, and I can’t wait to share them.” Actress-turned conservative commentator and YouTuber Cooper (Heathers) is also starring in the company’s fantasy series, The Pendragon Cycle.....Boreing took a swipe today at Disney’s upcoming Snow White movie starring Rachel Zegler. Without providing specific evidence, Boreing claimed the House of Mouse’s film “will expose children to the popular but destructive lies of the current moment”.....“While Disney still uses Walt’s name, they have all but abandoned his legacy,” he claimed. “It’s taken 100 years to build Disney. We know we aren’t what they are today, but we hope in time we might become what they were once upon a time: a little studio with big ideas and the courage to chase them.” The Daily Wire says Bentkey will be available at launch with 150 episodes of 18 shows, including four Bentkey originals. New episodes are due to arrive every Saturday morning. https://deadline.com/2023/10/daily-wire-snow-white-movie-youtuber-brett-cooper-watch-1235574937/

White House rips media for fixating on Biden’s age ....The White House is lashing out at the media’s fixation on President Biden’s age and his stamina for executing the job, seeking to go on offense on an issue that polls suggest is one of Biden’s biggest vulnerabilities in his reelection campaign.....Aides in a series of social media posts took direct aim at news stories and headlines — even those from left-leaning publications — relating to the 80-year-old president’s age, suggesting it was a lazy narrative that ignored Biden’s marathon trip in Asia over the last five days. “Hanging in the basement,” Herbie Ziskend, the deputy communications director wrote in a post on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, along with a photo of Biden’s schedule for Monday, when he was set to spend the morning in Vietnam and the afternoon in Alaska before landing in Washington after midnight.....Ziskend was referring to a campaign attack used by former President Trump’s team in 2020 that Biden was running for president from his basement because he was using the pandemic as an excuse to hide his lack of stamina due to his age. Principal deputy press secretary Olivia Dalton took issue with a CNN headline that highlighted an awkward end to Biden’s press conference Sunday in Hanoi in which press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre interrupted him while Biden was still responding to a shouted question from a reporter in the room. ...“Here on Earth, we saw the President start his day in India at the G20, end the day in Hanoi with a substantive & detailed 40-minute press conference at 9pm, and continue to answer questions—including from cnn—as he departed. What will be enough?” Dalton wrote on X. The attacks by the White House even targeted left-leaning publications seen as friendlier to Democrats. White House Communications Director Ben LaBolt mocked a Daily Beast headline that focused on how Biden concluded his press conference at 9:30 p.m. local time in Vietnam by saying he was going to bed. “Presidents shall never sleep. Not even at night after days of marathon meetings overseas. Sage guidance from The Daily Beast. Next up in the series: Presidents shall never eat,” LaBolt wrote on X. Biden, the oldest person to ever be sworn in as president, would be 86 at the end of a potential second term. A CNN poll released last week found a whopping 76 percent of Americans say they are seriously concerned Biden’s age could negatively affect his ability to serve out a full second term. That followed a Wall Street Journal poll conducted Aug. 24-30 that found 73 percent of registered voters said the phrase “too old to run for president” described Biden well. An Associated Press/NORC poll also conducted in late August also found that 77 percent of Americans and 69 percent of Democrats think Biden is too old for a second term... https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/4198209-white-house-rips-media-for-fixating-on-bidens-age/

Rapper convicted of pumping millions to Obama campaign seeks new trial, says ex-attorney used AI for argument .....Pras Michel of the Fugees is seeking a new trial by arguing his former lawyer used artificial intelligence to generate his closing argument before the hip-hop artist was found guilty of helping a foreign national launder millions of dollars in illegitimate contributions to former President Barack Obama’s campaign. ....Michel was convicted in April after being accused of taking part in an extensive conspiracy to use about $88 million in foreign funds to engage in illegal back-channel lobbying and make unlawful campaign contributions at the direction of the People’s Republic of China. He filed a motion on Monday asking the court for a new trial on all counts. According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, Michel conspired with wealthy Malaysian businessman Jho Low and several others to engage in undisclosed lobbying campaigns at the direction of Low and the Vice Minister of Public Security for the People’s Republic of China, the Justice Department said. A federal grand jury found Michel guilty of using his celebrity status and access to influence U.S. government officials on behalf of undisclosed foreign interests. The entertainer was convicted of orchestrating an unregistered, back-channel campaign beginning in or about 2017 to influence the Obama administration and the Department of Justice to drop an embezzlement investigation of Low in connection with the international strategic and development company known as 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB), and to send a Chinese national back to China, as well as conspiring to make and conceal foreign and conduit campaign contributions during the 2012 U.S. presidential election. https://www.foxnews.com/politics/rapper-convicted-pumping-millions-obama-campaign-seeks-new-trial-ex-attorney-used-ai-argument

MSNBC denies report it sidelined Muslim anchors in Israel-Hamas coverage as ratings slump ....MSNBC denied a report that it quietly sidelined Muslim anchors amid slumping ratings and outrage over the network’s biased coverage of the Israel-Hamas war.....said the network has quietly taken Mehdi Hasan, Ayman Mohyeldin and Ali Velshi out of the anchor chair since Hamas’ cold-blooded terror attack on Israeli children, women, men and senior citizens......MSNBC parent NBCUniversal told Semafor it did not sideline the hosts, saying the changes in the lineup were “coincidental.” The network has lost 33% of its primetime viewers since the deadly attack on Israel. It also saw its total viewer figures plunge 24% for the four days between Oct. 7 and Oct. 10 compared to the same period the previous week.....The network has come under fire for refusing to refer to Hamas attackers as terrorists during its coverage, as well as providing reasoning around Hamas violence, which claimed the lives of more than 1,400 Israelis and 30 US citizens. National Review said MSNBC spent the week “justifying Hamas violence as the inevitable result of Israeli aggression,” citing Mohyeldin’s analysis that the attacks were the “very deadly consequences of failed policies” by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s administration.....Meanwhile, New York Post writer Jon Levine has pointed out that the three hosts spent parts of their careers at Al Jazeera, the Qatari state-run TV network. NewsNation host Dan Abrams said on his nightly show “Dan Abrams Live” that the three hosts were attempting to “pander to the far left” and he slammed them for saying the Hamas assault was the result of “failed policies” by Israel and the US. “Right. It’s Israel’s fault. It’s the United States’ fault,” Abrams said mockingly on Monday. “The policies that somehow justify or even explain the slaughter, rapes, and kidnapping of innocent civilians.” A Washington Examiner editor at the time accused Mohyeldin in a tweet of “denying Israel’s existence” following the anchor’s aggressive questioning of Netanyahu’s spokesman.....Prior to that, in 2014, Mohyeldin, the network’s most experienced reporter in Gaza, was abruptly pulled from NBC’s coverage of the region and replaced by Richard Engel for several days, Semafor said. ....CNN reported at the time that NBC execs did not give Mohyeldin a concrete explanation beyond citing vague “security reasons.” https://nypost.com/2023/10/16/msnbc-denies-report-it-sidelined-muslim-anchors/