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Kelly Shackelford, Gen. Jack Keane, White House’s Adam Kennedy and co-host Chris Stigall joined WMAL on Friday!
Mornings on the Mall
Friday, June 21, 2019
Hosts: Vince Coglianese and Chris Stigall
Executive Producer: Heather Hunter
5am – A/B/C AOC KEEPS DOUBLING DOWN ON HER CONCENTRATION CAMP COMMENTS. SHE’S A DEM ‘MASCOT’
- RUSH: Here’s Harris Faulkner — who, by the way, does not like me. So keep that in mind as you listen to this. But here’s her take, and then she throws it to The Daily Caller editorial director Vince Coglianese. Here we go… FAULKNER: It’s great to see. Boy, that’s quite a binary decision, uhhh, between either you misinformed or thirsty [sic] or stupid.
- COGLIANESE: Yeah. No, I mean, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez clearly craves attention and the Democrat Party doesn’t actually know how to handle it. She’s a bit of a mascot for their party so they don’t really want to attack her. She’s well liked on the left and she’s definitely loathed on the right as, kind of, the worst-case scenario of a young liberal. And every time she opens her mouth you obviously have people on the right who attack her, and that’s why the left, oftentimes, closes ranks around her.
- RUSH: Why, is that not the same thing? That’s exactly what I’m saying. She craves the attention that it gets her!
5am – D/E KNIVES OUT FOR BIDEN: Biden won’t apologize after Booker and Harris rebuke his remarks about working with segregationists. Harris criticized Biden’s comments as “misinformed and wrong,” while Booker called for an “immediate apology.” Joe Biden dismissed calls to apologize after citing his memories of working alongside fervent segregationist senators in the 1970s as he stressed the importance of “civility” in Congress, which he claims has all but disappeared. The former vice president struck a confrontational tone Wednesday night when asked about his comments, which have faced mounting criticism from his rivals for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination and prompted renewed scrutiny of his record on race. Asked by reporters outside a fundraiser in Maryland whether he should apologize, Biden asked, “Apologize for what?” “There’s not a racist bone in my body,” the presidential hopeful added. “I’ve been involved in civil rights my whole career. Period. Period. Period.” Biden has faced mounting backlash over remarks he made at a Tuesday fundraiser about the late Sens. James Eastland of Mississippi and Herman Talmadge of Georgia, two Democrats who were staunchly opposed to desegregation. The former vice president recalled the “civility” of the Senate in the’70s and ’80s at a fundraiser, touting his experience working with Eastland and Talmadge.
6am – A/B/C Trump set for first ‘Meet the Press’ interview of his presidency. New York (CNN) President Donald Trump will appear on NBC News’ “Meet the Press” this Sunday, the first appearance of his presidency, two people familiar with the matter told CNN. Trump has taken a number of swipes at Chuck Todd, who hosts the program, calling him names and accusing him of being “totally biased” against him. Spokespeople for NBC News did not respond to requests for comment. Trump recently said on Twitter he would be doing more interviews with news networks. This is Trump’s first interview with NBC News since his 2017 sit-down with Lester Holt. It also comes days before the network is scheduled to host the first debate of the presidential primary
6am – D/E IRAN NEWS:
- NEW OVERNIGHT — NYT: Trump Approves Strikes on Iran, but Then Abruptly Pulls Back: The operation was underway in its early stages when it was called off, a senior administration official said. Planes were in the air and ships were in position, but no missiles had been fired when word came to stand down, the official said.
- WAPO: Trump ordered an attack on Iran, but called off the operation at the last minute
- BREAKING THIS AM: Trump warned Iran via Oman that US attack was imminent, called for talks: Iranian officials
- Trump Calls Iran’s Attack On US Drone A ‘Very Bad Mistake’
6am – F Jack Evans to resign from Metro board after probe shows he ‘knowingly’ violated rules
- ABOUT JACK EVANS: John Evans III is an American politician and lawyer. A member of the Democratic Party, he has represented Ward 2 of Washington, D.C. since 1991, making him the D.C. Council’s longest-serving lawmaker. Evans serves as the Chairman of the Board of the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority.
- Jack Evans to resign from Metro Board after ethics violation. (WTOP) – Metro Board Chairman Jack Evans has released a letter outlining plans to resign from the board next week, now that he has acknowledged helping a parking company he was working for without disclosing the relationship. Evans faced a flurry of new calls to leave the board earlier Thursday after a memo became public late Wednesday that detailed the deal that led to Evans agreeing not to seek another term as Metro Board chairman and to update years of disclosure forms after the Metro Board’s Ethics Committee found he violated conflict of interest rules. An outside law firm’s review found multiple violations, but the committee only supported one of them. Still, Evans had denied any action had been taken at all until the memo became public.
7am – A INTERVIEW – Kelly Shackelford, President, CEO, and Chief Counsel to First Liberty
- Supreme Court says Maryland ‘Peace Cross’ honoring military dead does not constitute government endorsement of religion. (Washington Post) — A 40-foot cross erected as a tribute to World War I dead may continue to stand on public land in Maryland, the Supreme Court ruled Thursday, rejecting arguments that it represented an unconstitutional endorsement of religion. The vote was 7 to 2 for the Bladensburg Peace Cross, which towers over a busy intersection on a highway just outside the District, in Prince George’s County. But the case’s resolution prompted an outpouring of individual opinions as the court struggled to explain what should be done with displays on government property that feature religious imagery. Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. wrote the main opinion and said history and tradition must be taken into account when judging modern objections to monuments that were built with a secular purpose or have come to take on a new meaning. “The cross is undoubtedly a Christian symbol, but that fact should not blind us to everything else that the Bladensburg Cross has come to represent,” Alito wrote. “For some, that monument is a symbolic resting place for ancestors who never returned home. For others, it is a place for the community to gather and honor all veterans and their sacrifices for our Nation. For others still, it is a historical landmark. “For many of these people, destroying or defacing the Cross that has stood undisturbed for nearly a century would not be neutral and would not further the ideals of respect and tolerance embodied in the First Amendment.” Alito was joined in deciding that the cross may remain by Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. and Justices Clarence Thomas, Stephen G. Breyer, Elena Kagan, Neil M. Gorsuch and Brett M. Kavanaugh. Alito wrote that “retaining established, religiously expressive monuments, symbols, and practices is quite different from erecting or adopting new ones. The passage of time gives rise to a strong presumption of constitutionality.”
- U.S. Supreme Court: WAR ON VETERANS MEMORIALS IS OVER: High Court ends efforts by activists to cleanse public of displays of faith, including Maryland “Peace Cross” / WASHINGTON, D.C.—Today, in a 7-2 decision, the Justices of the Supreme Court of the United States preserved the nearly 100-year old Bladensburg WWI Veterans Memorial, along with memorials like it bearing religious symbols across the country. Most importantly, in The American Legion v. American Humanist Association, the Justices reaffirmed that the First Amendment allows people to use religious symbols and images in public. First Liberty Institute and the international law firm Jones Day represent The American Legion. “This is a landmark victory for religious freedom. The days of illegitimately weaponizing the Establishment Clause and attacking religious symbols in public are over,” said Kelly Shackelford, President, CEO, and Chief Counsel to First Liberty. “Our Founders would have been appalled at this attempt to make the government hostile to our religious heritage, history, and symbols. The attempted perversion of our Constitution is now over, and every American now has more freedom than they have had in decades, with a government no longer hostile to people or expressions of faith.”
7am – B/C HOPE HICKS ON THE HILL:
- House Dems slammed for focusing on Hope Hicks’ love life during testimony. (Fox News) – In lengthy and sometimes contentious closed-door testimony on Capitol Hill on Wednesday, former top White House adviser Hope Hicks took a shot at the discredited Steele dossier, told the panel’s Democrats that “we have this thing called Google now,” and revealed new information about her knowledge of President Trump’s supposed “hush-money” payments to two women. And, Hicks, responding to a question about her widely reported remark that she occasionally told “white lies” for Trump, explained, “I stand by my earlier characterization of telling white lies, which I believe to be things like ‘No, the President is not available right now’ when he is. But, no, I’ve never been asked to lie about matters of substance or consequence.” Hicks also said to her knowledge, Trump never told anyone on the campaign to lie. Hicks was, however, blocked by President Trump’s lawyers from answering questions more than 150 times in her interview with the House Judiciary Committee, according to Democrats who released a 273-page transcript Thursday. Hicks refused to answer questions related to her time working for Trump after he was elected, following orders from White House lawyers. Hicks, now the chief communications officer at Fox Corporation, did answer questions about her time before and after she worked in the White House. Lawmakers pressed Hicks in particular about her knowledge of hush-money payments orchestrated by former Trump lawyer Michael Cohen to two women who claimed to have had affairs with Trump — the adult-film actress Stormy Daniels and model Karen McDougal. Trump has denied the allegations. Cohen earlier this year started serving a three-year prison sentence partly for campaign violations related to the payments. On three occasions, Nadler referred to Hicks, apparently inadvertently, as Ms. Lewandowski. Corey Lewandowski served as Trump’s campaign manager for a period in 2016, and rumors swirled that he and Hicks had dated. “My name is Ms. Hicks,” the former Trump aide responded at one point. “I’m sorry, Ms. Hicks. I’m preoccupied,” Nadler responded. Republicans said Democrats’ questions were, at times, inappropriate. “My sources that were inside and did the interviewing said it was quite embarrassing to watch the Democratic congressmen essentially ask Hope Hicks about her love life,” California GOP Rep Devin Nunes told Fox News on Thursday. “I think the American people would be ashamed if they knew what actually happened in that room.”
- Donald J. Trump @realDonaldTrump: So sad that the Democrats are putting wonderful Hope Hicks through hell, for 3 years now, after total exoneration by Robert Mueller & the Mueller Report. They were unhappy with result so they want a Do Over. Very unfair & costly to her. Will it ever end? Why aren’t they…….3:48 PM – Jun 19, 2019
- Hicks says Trump campaign felt ‘relief’ from WikiLeaks release of hacked information damaging to Clinton. (Washington Post) — A former top aide to President Trump told House investigators that officials on the 2016 campaign felt “relief” when WikiLeaks released hacked information damaging to rival Hillary Clinton, underscoring how Trump associates welcomed the dissemination of the material even after Russia was identified as the likely culprit behind the hack. During a closed-door interview with the House Judiciary Committee on Wednesday, Hope Hicks defended the Trump campaign’s use of private Democratic National Committee and Clinton campaign emails that were stolen by Russia, then released by WikiLeaks. Hicks, a close confidante of the president who was mentioned more than 180 times in the Mueller report, argued they were “publicly available information.” “I think that ‘happy’ is not — I don’t think that’s a fair characterization,” Hicks told one lawmaker who asked if the campaign was happy to see the WikiLeaks emails released. “I think relief that we weren’t the only campaign with issues is more accurate.” The committee released a transcript of the interview on Thursday.
7am – D INTERVIEW – GENERAL JACK KEANE – a retired 4 star general, former Vice Chief of Staff of the US Army, the chairman of the Institute for the Study of War and Fox News Senior Strategic Analyst – analyzed rising tensions with Iran and how the Trump administration should handle Iran.
7am – E GE accidentally makes the case for not owning smart GE bulbs. (The Verge) — Anyone that’s ever dabbled in smart home tech knows that part of the experience involves an eventual reset. Having trouble with your C by GE bulbs? No worries, just follow these simple instructions as spotted by Josh Jordan:
- Turn on for 8 seconds…. Turn off for 2 seconds … Turn on for 8 seconds…. Turn off for 2 seconds… Turn on for 8 seconds…. Turn off for 2 seconds… Turn on for 8 seconds… Turn off for 2 seconds …Turn on for 8 seconds… Turn off for 2 seconds… Turn on…
- Did the bulb flash three times? Maybe you mistimed one of the 11 steps. GE recommends counting with “one Mississippi, two Mississippi, three Miss…“Or maybe you have an older version of the C by GE bulb. You did keep the original packaging for reference? It could also be a case of running older firmware on the newer bulbs. Here, try this instead, and don’t forget those Mississippis:
- Turn on for 8 seconds… Turn off for 2 seconds…. Turn on for 2 seconds… Power off for 2 seconds… Turn on for 2 seconds… Power off for 2 seconds… Turn on for 2 seconds… Power off for 2 seconds… Turn on for 8 seconds… Power off for 2 seconds.. Turn on for 8 seconds… Power off for 2 seconds… Turn on
- See, that wasn’t so bad. At least it’s not a Samsung smart TV that requires you to run a virus scan every two weeks.
8am – A IRAN NEWS:
- NYT: Trump Approves Strikes on Iran, but Then Abruptly Pulls Back: The operation was underway in its early stages when it was called off, a senior administration official said. Planes were in the air and ships were in position, but no missiles had been fired when word came to stand down, the official said.
- WAPO: Trump ordered an attack on Iran, but called off the operation at the last minute
- BREAKING THIS AM: Trump warned Iran via Oman that US attack was imminent, called for talks: Iranian officials
8am – B/C Australian researchers find ‘horns’ growing on young people’s skulls from phone overuse – The Washington Post. Mobile technology has transformed the way we live — how we read, work, communicate, shop and date. But we already know this. What we have not yet grasped is the way the tiny machines in front of us are remolding our skeletons, possibly altering not just the behaviors we exhibit but the bodies we inhabit. New research in biomechanics suggests that young people are developing hornlike spikes at the back of their skulls — bone spurs caused by the forward tilt of the head, which shifts weight from the spine to the muscles at the back of the head, causing bone growth in the connecting tendons and ligaments. The weight transfer that causes the buildup can be compared to the way the skin thickens into a callus as a response to pressure or abrasion. The result is a hook or hornlike feature jutting out from the skull, just above the neck. In academic papers, a pair of researchers at the University of the Sunshine Coast in Queensland, Australia, argues that the prevalence of the bone growth in younger adults points to shifting body posture brought about by the use of modern technology. They say smartphones and other handheld devices are contorting the human form, requiring users to bend their heads forward to make sense of what’s happening on the miniature screens. The researchers said their discovery marks the first documentation of a physiological or skeletal adaptation to the penetration of advanced technology into everyday life. Health experts warn of “text neck,” and doctors have begun treating “texting thumb,” which is not a clearly defined condition but bears resemblance to carpal tunnel syndrome. But prior research has not linked phone use to bone-deep changes in the body. “An important question is what the future holds for the young adult populations in our study, when development of a degenerative process is evident in such an early stage of their lives?” ask the authors in one paper, published in Nature Research’s peer-reviewed, open-access Scientific Reports. The study came out last year but has received fresh attention following the publication last week of a BBC story that considers, “How modern life is transforming the human skeleton.” Since then, the unusual formations have captured the attention of Australian media, and have variously been dubbed “head horns” or “phone bones” or “spikes” or “weird bumps.”
8am – D INTERVIEW – ADAM KENNEDY – Deputy Assistant to the President and Deputy Director of Communications at The White House – discussed the news of the president potentially ordering an attack on Iran and also how his meeting with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau discussing trade at White House on Thursday.
