So Sad: Matt Mullenweg loses his Dad

Man, will the bad news please stop? So sad:

Matt with his Dad, Chuck

My father, Chuck Mullenweg, passed one week ago today. After over a month in ICU he had just been transferred to long-term acute care in a different hospital and we were looking forward to a tough but steady road to being back home when he took an unexpected and sudden turn. I’ve started and stopped writing this dozens of times since then and words continue to fail me.

 

Go read: In Memoriam: Chuck Mullenweg | Matt Mullenweg

Matt has also done a special page for his Dad too here.

BREAKING NEWS: Pop Star, Music Visionary and Legend Prince Dead at age 57

This is so sad, this guy was the music soundtrack of the 1980’s and he’s dead. How crazy.

His music and my favorite of his:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pymb-PJzFAo

Here is the story via TMZ.COM:

The Carver County Sheriff Office tells TMZ they are now investigating the circumstances of Prince’s death. At this time, there are no signs of foul play.update_grey_gray_barThe artist known as Prince has died … TMZ has learned. He was 57.

Prince’s body was discovered at his Paisley Park compound in Minnesota early Thursday morning.

Multiple sources connected to the singer confirmed he had passed. We’ve obtained the emergency dispatch call for a “male down, not breathing.”

Here’s the police audio:

More on Prince’s death:

Prince’s body was discovered at his Paisley Park compound in Minnesota early Thursday morning.

Multiple sources connected to the singer confirmed he had passed. We’ve obtained the emergency dispatch call for a “male down, not breathing.”

The singer — full name Prince Rogers Nelson — had a medical emergency on April 15th that forced his private jet to make an emergency landing in Illinois. But he appeared at a concert the next day to assure his fans he was okay. His people told TMZ he was battling the flu.

At the show, Prince prophetically told the crowd, “Wait a few days before you waste any prayers.”

I do know that Prince was a Jehovah’s Witness and he knew the Lord. (Some might dispute that…. but, this ain’t the time for that at all.) Flu can trigger a heart attack, if there’s lots of fluid the lungs. I’ve heard of that happening before.

Either way, this is a huge loss for the music world. RIP Mr. Rogers. You will be missed. 🙁

Others: The Gateway Pundit, WCCO | CBS Minnesota, Star Tribune, Talking Points Memo, AOL, Raw Story, FOX31 Denver, KTLA, WNEP-TV, WHNT-TV, CBS Philly, Infowars, Mashable, Q Political, The Atlantic, The Week, Vox Popoli, John Hawkins’ Right Wing News, The Reformed Broker, New Urban Legends, Towleroad, Althouse, Gothamist, Washington Blade, BizPac Review, Refinery29, Boing Boing, Fox 59, Mediaite and FOX6Now.com (Via Memeorandum)

Things that I should be blogging about

As I you might have noticed, I really have not been writing about politics as of late. I just am at the point of being sick and tired of the thing. The entire Republican primary has become, in my opinion, a clown show, as has the Democrat’s as well.

But, seeing that this is supposed to be my blog, here goes:

Business Insider: ‘I’m getting sick of it’: Sean Hannity blows up at Ted Cruz:

Conservative radio host Sean Hannity and Sen. Ted Cruz had a testy back-and-forth on the host’s Tuesday show, with Hannity telling the Texas senator at one point that he was “getting sick of” Cruz dodging “legitimate questions.”

The interview got off to a tense start. Hannity suggested that Americans were wondering about what role delegates play in the process of choosing a nominee, with talk of a contested Republican convention heating up.

Cruz sharply disputed this notion.

“Sean, with all respect, that’s not what people are concerned about,” Cruz said. “I’m campaigning every day. People are concerned about bringing jobs back to America. People are concerned about raising wages. People are concerned about getting the federal government off the backs of small businesses, and people are concerned about beating Hillary” Clinton.

Cruz said that the media “loves to obsess” about the process of choosing a Republican nominee for president. He said that what amounted to “whining” from Donald Trump’s campaign about the delegate process being unfair is “silly.”

Hannity came back at Cruz, telling him that he hears from people who tell him that they “find this whole process confusing.”

Trump has gone on a tear over the past several days, calling the delegate process “rigged” after a series of contests in which Cruz’s campaign outmaneuvered Trump in the battle for delegates. If no candidate reaches the required 1,237 delegates to lock down the Republican nomination, then many delegates who would be bound to Trump on the first convention ballot could vote for a different candidate on subsequent ballots.

Hannity pointed out that the Cruz campaign has focused on wooing delegates who might be able to switch their votes from Trump to Cruz on a second convention ballot.

“It’s more than a process question,” Hannity said. “It’s an integrity-of-the-election question.”

Cruz responded that the “only people asking this question are the hardcore Donald Trump supporters.”

Hannity told him that he had to “stop.”

“Senator, why do you do this every single time?” Hannity asked, cutting Cruz off as he was speaking. “You’ve got to stop. Every time I have you on the air, and I ask a legitimate question, you try to throw this in my face. I’m getting sick of it. I’ve had you on more than any other candidate on radio and TV. So if I ask you, senator, a legitimate question to explain to the audience, why don’t you just answer it?”

Hannity is in the tank for Trump, and has been for a while. Make no mistake, Ted Cruz is a snake and a half; but, Trump? He is worse, much, much, worse. Having said that, it is good to see someone in the Conservative media hold Cruz’s feet to the fire and knock him off his talking points.

Q13 FOX News: AP: Ted Cruz now mathematically eliminated from clinching GOP nomination before convention:

NEW YORK (AP) — Donald Trump is now the only Republican candidate with any chance of clinching the nomination before the convention.

Ted Cruz was mathematically eliminated Tuesday after Trump’s big win in the New York primary.

Trump won at least 89 of the 95 delegates at stake. John Kasich won at least three and Cruz was in danger of being shut out.

There aren’t enough delegates left in future contests for either Cruz or Kasich to reach the 1,237 delegates needed to win the GOP nomination. Their only hope is to block Trump and force a contested convention.

The AP delegate count:

Trump: 845.

Cruz: 559.

Kasich: 147.

But that won’t stop Cruz and Kasich from trying to steal the nomination from Trump.

John Podhoretz / New York Post: A sobering night for New Yorkers who fear Hillary vs. Trump:

We New Yorkers were excited by the fact that for the first time in 24 years (on the Democratic side) or the first time ever (on the Republican side), our votes were going to make a difference in the nomination of a presidential candidate.

And did they ever. Bad exit polls suggested Bernie Sanders was giving Hillary Clinton a race, but in a matter of minutes, it was clear they were wrong. She just walloped him.

This means New York’s Democrats have brought the Bernie insurgency closer to its inevitable end.

Here in New York, reality bit the Bernie bandwagon. He may deliver endless lectures about how money is everything in politics, but he outspent her in New York by 2-to-1 and she still romped. So give a listen in old Brooklyn-speak: Sometimes, money means bupkis.

Podhoretz hates Trump, because he is not a neocon; plain and simple. Plus too, Trump is king in NYC and NY in general. Hillary is too; Bernie’s VT socialism is not accepted nationally.

More on this at Memeornadum

Gabriel Debenedetti / Politico: How Bernie lost New York:

NEW YORK — Bernie Sanders had just arrived at the rally, and missed the incendiary remark entirely. Many on the senator’s campaign had never even heard of Dr. Paul Song, the speaker who had just commandeered news coverage of a massive Washington Square rally in New York by referring to “corporate Democratic whores.”

Nevertheless, by the next morning, the campaign was forced into full scramble mode. Cable coverage of the 27,000-person rally was eclipsed by reporting on the furor surrounding the comment, requiring a Sanders response. After first resisting an apology, the campaign settled on disavowing the remark with a tweet.

Another day, another lost news cycle.

Like I said above, Bernie’s style of politics is not nationally accepted. Especially calling woman whores; that doesn’t fly in National politics, let alone National LIBERAL politics!

More on this at memeorandum.

John Bresnahan / Politico: Paul Ryan’s House of woes:

Paul Ryan has had a tough couple of months.

The House GOP’s response to Puerto Rico’s debt crisis is stuck, with a big May 1 deadline looming. The leadership’s 2017 budget plan is stalled. And legislation to overhaul the Federal Aviation Administration hasn’t left the runway.

With all the attention showered on Ryan’s non-interest in running for president, it’s easy to overlook the new speaker’s troubles running the House these days.

Almost six months into the job, Ryan and his top lieutenants face questions about whether the Wisconsin Republican’s tenure atop the House is any more effective than that of his predecessor, former Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio). Ryan has flattered the House Freedom Caucus and pursued promises to empower rank-and-file Republicans with reforms to how the House operates — yet it’s yielded little in the way of actual results.

Politics is a beach and sometimes, you’re the ball. Sucks to be him. Is it any wonder that Republicans are being told to avoid the convention?

More on this at Memeorandum

Looks like criminal charges are going to come down related to Democrat’s Flint Water debacle, finally.

A gay “pastor” tries to pull a gay slur hoax and fails, massively. Big surprise there. 🙄

There is much more over on memeorandum. Go check it out.

NYT: Saudi Government warns US over 9/11 Bill in Congress

Once again, the biggest exporter of terrorism in the World, refuses to accept responsibility for it’s own people.

Via The New York Times:

WASHINGTON — Saudi Arabia has told the Obama administration and members of Congress that it will sell off hundreds of billions of dollars’ worth of American assets held by the kingdom if Congress passes a bill that would allow the Saudi government to be held responsible in American courts for any role in the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.

The Obama administration has lobbied Congress to block the bill’s passage, according to administration officials and congressional aides from both parties, and the Saudi threats have been the subject of intense discussions in recent weeks between lawmakers and officials from the State Department and the Pentagon. The officials have warned senators of diplomatic and economic fallout from the legislation.

Adel al-Jubeir, the Saudi foreign minister, delivered the kingdom’s message personally last month during a trip to Washington, telling lawmakers that Saudi Arabia would be forced to sell up to $750 billion in treasury securities and other assets in the United States before they could be in danger of being frozen by American courts.

Several outside economists are skeptical that the Saudis will follow through, saying that such a sell-off would be difficult to execute and would end up crippling the kingdom’s economy. But the threat is another sign of the escalating tensions between Saudi Arabia and the United States.

The administration, which argues that the legislation would put Americans at legal risk overseas, has been lobbying so intently against the bill that some lawmakers and families of Sept. 11 victims are infuriated. In their view, the Obama administration has consistently sided with the kingdom and has thwarted their efforts to learn what they believe to be the truth about the role some Saudi officials played in the terrorist plot.

“It’s stunning to think that our government would back the Saudis over its own citizens,” said Mindy Kleinberg, whose husband died in the World Trade Center on Sept. 11 and who is part of a group of victims’ family members pushing for the legislation.

President Obama will arrive in Riyadh on Wednesday for meetings with King Salman and other Saudi officials. It is unclear whether the dispute over the Sept. 11 legislation will be on the agenda for the talks.

It is a well-known fact, that the Saudi’s were involved with the 9/11 attacks. It was basically financed by low-level members of the Government there. The Al-Qaeda terrorists are Sunni Muslims. The fact that the United States Government is siding with those who wink at terrorism and then allow it to happen, says much about this administration and about our Government in general.

I have never really have put too much stock into what Alex Jones says; but this, this is blatant and it should be observed by those who vote. This is where I do not understand President Obama, he claims to be doing everything to destroy ISIS. But, yet, he will not allow this bill to pass? Something is amuck here, horribly amuck.

 

Sources say that Donald Trump’s campaign manager will not be charged

This comes via Politico:

A Florida prosecutor has decided not to prosecute Donald Trump’s campaign manager for battery after a March run-in with former Breitbart reporter Michelle Fields, sources with knowledge of the situation told POLITICO.

The decision not to press charges against Corey Lewandowski is scheduled to be announced on Thursday afternoon by Palm Beach County State Attorney David Aronberg.

Fields may still pursue a defamation case against Lewandowski, a source said.

Fields filed a police report last month after Lewandowski grabbed her by the arm and moved her out of Trump’s way following a press conference at Trump National Gold Club in Jupiter. She said he left bruises on her arm. Police later charged Lewandowski with simple battery, releasing video from surveillance cameras that shows Lewandowski reaching for and grabbing Fields.

This is really not that big of a surprise to me at all. For one thing Donald Trump probably is good friends with the prosecutor down there in Florida and two, there really wasn’t an assault here.

This was a woman getting her arm grabbed and being pulled back away from Trump that is a far cry from a vicious physical assault.

Not to mention the fact that Michelle Fields sensationalized her story and lied about being thrown to the ground and then once the video came out, she softened up her accusations against him.

Either way, I believe that the campaign manager should have never been charged in the first place and if I was a campaign manager, I would file a lawsuit against the police in Florida for arresting him and then putting him in jail over something silly like that. I believe, it was basically over reach by the Florida police to put him in jail.

Furthermore, I would file a liability lawsuit against Michelle Fields for slandering his name in the public to the media and straight up lying about him throwing her on the floor.

I’m no fan of trump and I will not be voting for him in the general election. But, it is obvious that this woman tried to use Trump as a way of furthering her career as a fabulist journalist for Breitbart and then when the video came out it backfired on her and now she doesn’t have a job and will probably end up getting sued in court for making some very wildly inaccurate statements to the media.

Video: President Obama’s statement on Isis

I just want to preface this video by saying, I might disagree with President Barack Obama’s politics especially on domestic issues and free trade.

However, make no mistake about it, President Barack Obama knows full well the threat of terrorism to the United States of America. Now, I know that there is much debate as to whether he honestly likes the military and it is well known that he does not like the idea of conflict.

But, I honestly believe that he knows the stakes of keeping America safe and knows the stakes of radical Islam and the threat it poses to the citizens of the United States of America and the World At Large and this is why I believe he is doing the best job with the resources that he has to combat it.

Therefore, I present this video which I noticed was largely overlooked in the blogosphere because of the election cycle. I admit it, I did not vote for Barack Obama. But, when it comes to foreign policy, I think he’s doing the best he can with what he has; without getting America tangled up into another endless ground war. For this, I believe he does deserve recognition.

I will also say this: Do you honestly believe that Donald Trump can do a better job fighting terrorism than Barack Obama has? Honestly, what would Donald Trump do any differently?

Having said that I present this video:

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Eagle Forum possibly attempting to oust Phyllis Schlafly over Trump endorsement

This is an outrage!

WorldNetDaily has the story:

Phyllis Schlafly speaks during an interview in her office Wednesday, March 7, 2007 in Clayton, Mo. At 82 the matriarch of the conservative movement is showing no signs of slowing down and is still speaking out against abortion and illegal immigrants, still fighting the Equal Rights Amendment and still a thorn in the side of not only Democrats but of Republicans she sees as leaning too far to the left. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)
Phyllis Schlafly

NEW YORK – Conservative icon Phyllis Schlafly confirmed to WND that six board members of her group Eagle Forum have called a special meeting Monday that she believes is an attempt to remove her as CEO and board chairman because of her support for Donald Trump’s campaign for the White House.

“This may be my Dobson moment,” Schlafly told WND, referring to allegations that James Dobson was pushed out of the organization he founded, Focus on the Family.

“The six board members calling today’s telephone meeting won’t tell me what the meeting is about, but I think it’s an attempt to vote me out,” Schlafly said. “It’s disloyal and it’s terribly shocking, and I’m completely depressed about it.

“I may be one vote short to win today,” she conceded.

The meeting is scheduled for 2 p.m. Central Time.

Asked for reaction to the development, Trump gave a brief statement to WND through his campaign staff.

“Phyllis is one of the most respected conservative leaders in the country, who helped form the conservative movement, and I am incredibly grateful for her continued support,” Trump said.

Along with her support of Trump, her six opponents on the board have cited her opposition to the so-called “Con-Con Movement,” a push to get 34 states to vote for an Article V constitutional convention with the aim of adding a balanced budget amendment to the U.S. Constitution.

“I think the Con-Con issue is really diversionary,” she said. “I’ve always been against Con-Con, from the very first the time the idea was raised. Everybody knows that.”

Schlafly said the board meeting was called by only three members, and Eagle Forum lawyers are arguing that three members are not enough, according to the by-laws, to call a meeting of the board.

“This is a complete takeover attempt,” she said.

“I think the leader of the coup is my daughter Anne Cori and her husband at Eagle Forum of Missouri,” Schlafly said. “I think she and her husband want to take over the organization.”

Her son John Schlafly, the treasurer of Eagle Forum and a board member, explained to WND that among the six board members calling the meeting are several “who feel Donald Trump is unacceptable as the GOP presidential candidate in 2016.”

Phyllis Schlafly endorsed Trump March 11.

The fact that it is her own daughter makes it even worse. I can tell you this; Phyllis Schlafly is the Eagle Forum. If these people, including her daughter do this, the Eagle Forum will fold and collapse like wet cardboard. Because what will happen, Phyllis Schlafly will get the word out about this, as she already has and donations to the non-profit will dry up like a small creek bed in the desert. I do believe that these board members have gotten a bit to drunk with the power that they have and they should resign and start another organization.

It is a awful shame that something as simple as a Presidential endorsement would be allowed to destroy a great institution of Conservative Christian principles as Eagle Forum. These 6 people ought to rot in the Devil’s hell for this little stunt. 😡

(H/T Conservative Heritage Times)