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Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick Blames Black Lives Matter for Dallas Shooting

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Also Calls Protesters at Scene Thursday Night ‘Hypocritical’ 

In an interview Friday on Fox News, Republican Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick blamed previous Black Lives Matter protests for Thursday’s shooting that left five police officers dead in Dallas. 

Patrick also called protesters “hypocritical” for running away from the scene of the attack while expecting police to protect them. 

“I do blame people on social media with their hatred towards police,” Patrick said. “I do blame — I saw Jesse Jackson I think it was on Fox the other night, calling police racist without any facts. I do blame former Black Lives Matter protest. Last night was peaceful, but others have not been.”

Patrick added that “this has to stop,” because otherwise no one will serve in law enforcement anymore. 

“We’ve always had bad people,” he said. “We’ve always had dangerous people, but the general public respected the police. Too many in the general public who aren’t criminals, but have a big mouth, are creating situations like we saw last month.

“All of these officers .. lost their lives protecting people who were protesting against them,” Patrick said. “All those protesters last night, they turned around and ran the other way expecting the men and women in blue to protect them. What hypocrites!”

Patrick added that he’s “sick and tired of those who are protesting police and putting their lives in danger.” 

As we reported earlier, the suspect in shooting, Micah Xavier Johnson, told police he was acting alone and not affiliated with any group. 

The protest that preceded the shooting was peaceful, and police officers even posed with participants before the attack. Furthermore, Black Lives Matter leaders have condemned the shooting. 

Nevertheless, Patrick wasn’t the only Texas Republican state lawmaker to blame Black Lives Matter. From GOP state Rep. Bill Zedler of Arlington:  

Meanwhile, Texas GOP Congressman Roger Williams implicated President Barack Obama in the shooting. 

“The spread of misinformation and constant instigation by prominent leaders, including our president, have contributed to the modern day hostility we are witnessing between the police and those they serve,” Williams wrote on Facebook. “As a result, today we are seeing one of the noblest professions condemned by those who could benefit the most.” 

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‘Sovereignly Appointed’: Trump Praised in Pentagon Prayer Event Led by Hegseth and Pastor

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U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, an Evangelical Christian whose religious tattoos drew scrutiny during his confirmation hearings, led a Christian prayer service in the Pentagon auditorium during official working hours on Wednesday. The event featured Secretary Hegseth’s personal pastor from Tennessee, Brooks Potteiger, and included remarks describing President Donald Trump as “sovereignly appointed,” according to The New York Times.

“This morning at 9:00 AM the Office of the Secretary of Defense sent out what appears to be a building wide email to the entire Pentagon inviting everyone to a ‘Christian prayer service and worship’ in the Pentagon auditorium,” wrote Fred Wellman, who writes “On Democracy” at Substack. Wellman is a graduate of West Point and the Harvard Kennedy School, an Army veteran of 22 years who served four combat tours, and a political consultant. “Not the chapel. The auditorium.”

“This is a clear and direct violation by a Cabinet member of the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment and is a direct violation of military norms, traditions, and regulations by the senior official of the entire military,” Wellman alleged.

“The defense secretary said that attendance at the prayer service was voluntary,” the Times added, “but encouraged the uniformed military personnel and civilian employees there to tell their co-workers about it.”

READ MORE: ‘Get Out of Here’: Trump Erupts, Calls for NBC Probe After Reporter Asks About Qatari Jet

Politico Pentagon and national security reporter Paul McLeary noted that there was even an official government email address on the invitation, “to RSVP to this 30 minute event in the middle of a workday.”

The Atlantic’s Tom Nichols, a retired U.S. Naval War College professor and expert on national security, added: “The RSVP is a nice touch, so that they know who’s on board.”

He also weighed in more broadly:

“Not sure of the constitutionality here – not a lawyer! – but years ago, one of the War Colleges used to do this with ‘voluntary’ Bible study opportunities that had the same kind of roster-taking, and that went away pronto after complaints and an investigation,” Nichols wrote.

Last week, the Freedom From Religion Foundation published a report stating that Pastor Potteiger is “known for promoting Christian nationalist views,” and claimed that Wednesday’s event “is expected to be a monthly prayer gathering. According to Potteiger, the event will include Christian preaching, proselytizing and the recitation of the Lord’s Prayer — all within one of the most powerful institutions of the U.S. government.”

“This is a blatant violation of the First Amendment and its proscription of religion in government,” FFRF Co-President Annie Laurie Gaylor said in a statement. “Assuming the pastor’s boast is true, these prayer meetings would not only exclude and marginalize the significant number of nonreligious and non-Christian service members, they will send the impermissible message that Christianity is the Pentagon’s preferred faith.”

“Turning the Pentagon into a church service during duty hours isn’t just inappropriate — it’s unconstitutional,” FFRF also said. “We’ve sent a letter demanding an end to this blatant breach of the First Amendment.”

In January, before he was confirmed, The Guardian reported that in “a series of newly unearthed podcasts, Pete Hegseth, Donald Trump’s pick for defense secretary, appears to endorse the theocratic and authoritarian doctrine of ‘sphere sovereignty’, a worldview derived from the extremist beliefs of Christian reconstructionism (CR) and espoused by churches aligned with far-right Idaho pastor Douglas Wilson.”

READ MORE: ‘It’s a Nightmare’: Trump’s ‘Beautiful’ Bill Slashes $500B From Medicare, Dems Say

Others are also blasting the decision to hold a Christian prayer service inside the Pentagon.

“Hegseth continues to propagate christian white nationalism, while undermining the separation of church and state and the norms of civil-military relations,” wrote retired U.S. Army Lieutenant Colonel Alexander Vindman, the former Director of European Affairs for the U.S. National Security Council, whose whistleblower efforts led to the first impeachment of Donald Trump.

“This is what Christian nationalism looks like: the government using its power to push religion from the top down, said Max Flugrath, Communications Director for Fair Fight Action.

In February, author Brian Kaylor, a Baptist minister with a Ph.D. in political communication, posted a video from a Pentagon town hall where Secretary Hegseth began his remarks by declaring, “All glory to God.”

Watch the video below or at this link.

READ MORE: ‘Full MAGA Lobotomy’: Rubio Rebuked by Senate Dem — ‘I Regret Voting for You’

 

Image via Reuters

 

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‘Get Out of Here’: Trump Erupts, Calls for NBC Probe After Reporter Asks About Qatari Jet

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President Donald Trump called for an investigation into NBC News and the CEO of its parent company after one of the network’s top reporters pressed him on the Pentagon’s Wednesday afternoon acceptance of a $400 million luxury airliner from Qatar—a gift some legal scholars warn may violate the Constitution without congressional approval.

“The secretary of defense has accepted a Boeing 747 from Qatar in accordance with all federal rules and regulations,” Chief Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said in a statement on Wednesday, as The New York Times reported. “The Department of Defense will work to ensure proper security measures and functional-mission requirements are considered for an aircraft used to transport the president of the United States.”

Estimates range as high as one billion dollars for work that would be required to make the luxury jetliner capable of acting as a mission center to not only transport the President but protect them and other top officials in the event of crisis or war.

Experts “said that accepting the 13-year-old jet would likely cost U.S. taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars over time, noting that refurbishing the commercial plane would exceed its current value of $400 million,” NBC News reported last week. “The project might also not be completed by the end of Trump’s term in 2029, at which time the plane is expected to be handed over to Trump’s presidential library foundation.”

READ MORE: ‘It’s a Nightmare’: Trump’s ‘Beautiful’ Bill Slashes $500B From Medicare, Dems Say

But when confronted with a question about the jet, President Trump appeared combative and visibly angered.

“What are you talking about?” Trump asked NBC News Chief White House Correspondent Peter Alexander during an Oval Office meeting with the President of South Africa. “You know, you ought to get out of here.”

“What does this have to do with the Qatar jet? They’re giving the United States Air Force a jet, okay? And it’s a great thing. We’re talking about a lot of other things. It’s NBC trying to get off the subject of what you just saw. You are a real — You know, you’re a terrible reporter,” Trump charged.

“Number one, you don’t have what it takes to be a reporter. You’re not smart enough, but for you to go into a subject about a jet that was given to the United States Air Force, which is a very nice thing, they also gave $5.1 trillion worth of investment in addition to the jet. Go back, you ought to go back to your studio at NBC because [Comcast CEO] Brian Roberts and the people that run that place, they ought to be investigated.”

“They are so terrible, the way you run that that. And you’re a disgrace. No more questions from you.”

Moments later, the President of South Africa, Cyril Ramaphosa, jokingly remarked, “I’m sorry I don’t have a plane to give you.”

READ MORE: ‘Shameless Liar and Insane Conspiracy Theorist’: RFK Jr. Slammed by Democratic Senator

“I wish you did,” Trump replied, also saying he would accept it.

HuffPost White House correspondent S.V. Dáte remarked: “And there you have it. If Palestinians want their own state, they need to come up with a half billion dollar luxury jet to give Trump. Same with Zelenskyy, if he wants US help.”

Before the announcement that the U.S. has formally accepted the jet, U.S. Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD), a former constitutional law professor, wrote: “I’ve introduced an amendment to block Trump from accepting his $400 million Bribe Force One from Qatar, a jumbo global scandal. It’s unconstitutional to take a foreign present ‘of any kind whatever’ from a foreign state, but House Republicans won’t even give me a vote. They don’t give a flying Emolument.”

Critics blasted and mocked the President.

“Someone’s getting testy about his Flying Bribery Palace,” wrote civil liberties and national security journalist Marcy Wheeler.

“Donald Trump has put a ‘for sale’ sign on the White House,” charged U.S. Rep. Brad Sherman (D-CA). “He’s accepting a $400 million jet from Qatar – rubber stamped by AG Pam Bondi, a registered foreign agent for Qatar. He’s accepting $300 million from a company tied to the PRC and TikTok. This is corruption, plain and simple.”

[Bondi is a former registered foreign agent for Qatar.]

Watch the video below or at this link.

READ MORE: ‘Full MAGA Lobotomy’: Rubio Rebuked by Senate Dem — ‘I Regret Voting for You’

 

Image via Reuters

 

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‘It’s a Nightmare’: Trump’s ‘Beautiful’ Bill Slashes $500B From Medicare, Dems Say

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President Donald Trump and his White House have repeatedly vowed to protect Medicare and block any cuts to the vital health care program that serves 67 million Americans—most of them seniors. But according to top Democrats citing a report from the Congressional Budget Office, his so-called “Big, Beautiful Bill” would force Medicare to be slashed by roughly $500 billion.

“I have breaking news for you tonight that literally just came out in the last few minutes, as I’ve been sitting here,” U.S. Rep. Brendan Boyle (D-PA), the Ranking Member of the House Budget Committee, said on MSNBC late Tuesday night.

“The nonpartisan congressional Budget Office, the official authority on these figures, has now confirmed this bill, in addition to Medicaid cuts, in addition to Obamacare cuts, includes $500 billion worth of cuts to Medicare,” Boyle said. “That is now in this bill, as well.”

READ MORE: ‘Shameless Liar and Insane Conspiracy Theorist’: RFK Jr. Slammed by Democratic Senator

President Donald Trump, less than one month after being sworn in this year, told Fox News, “Medicare, Medicaid — none of that stuff is going to be touched.”

Trump’s “One Big, Beautiful Bill” — the GOP budget, or reconciliation bill, reportedly includes cuts of over $800 billion from Medicaid, and $500 billion from Medicare.

U.S. Rep. Jim McGovern (D-MA), the Ranking Member on the House Rules Committee, asked Congressman Boyle about the $500–$535 billion cuts to Medicare during Republicans’ middle-of-the-night hearing on Trump’s budget legislation.

READ MORE: ‘Full MAGA Lobotomy’: Rubio Rebuked by Senate Dem — ‘I Regret Voting for You’

“Well, here we are tonight,” Boyle told McGovern, “because, as you explained, because of the size of the deficits, because of the PayGo, or ‘Pay As You Go Act,’ that would trigger sequestration of Medicare, and it would total over $500 billion. The official figure that CBO confirms, is $535 billion in cuts to Medicare.

“This Republican budget bill is one of the most expensive—and dangerous—bills Congress has seen in decades,” Ranking Member Boyle said in a statement. “The nonpartisan CBO makes it clear: the deficit will explode so badly it will trigger automatic cuts, including over half a trillion dollars from Medicare.”

U.S. Rep. Teresa Leger Fernández (D-NM) at 4:00 AM called the legislation, “the biggest transfer of wealth from the poorer, working families and middle class to the wealthiest.”

“Americans might have just woken up and they don’t know what’s happening, but let me tell you, it’s a nightmare,” she warned. “Republicans are taking from the poor and giving to the rich.”

Watch the videos above or at this link.

READ MORE: Vulgar Trump Boast Claims Credit for Olympics—and Blames ‘Rigged’ Race for Comeback

 

Image via Reuters

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