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September 2017

Russia hysteria hit a fever pitch when it was revealed Facebook unknowingly (they claim) sold political ads to Russian actors who were attempting to influence the outcome of the 2016 election, sparking curiosity about the ad content. After immense pressure from Capitol Hill, Facebook announced Thursday they'd be releasing the Russian-bought ads to federal investigators.

It was a busy day in New York concerning North Korea. We learned that China's central bank told banks to stop working with North Korea. President Donald Trump met with South Korean President Moon Jae-in and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to discuss the North Korean nuclear crisis. Trump also announced new sanctions against North Korea. From The Hill:
Speaking at the United Nations before a working lunch with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and South Korean President Moon Jae-in, two key allies in the region, Trump said the order would significantly expand the U.S.’s ability to crack down on individuals and companies that do business with North Korea. The president said he had empowered the Treasury Department to “target any individual or entity that conducts trade in goods, services or technology” with North Korea.

California's lawfare targeting President Trump's border security policies has escalated, hitting the centerpiece of the White House's proposals: The Wall. State Attorney General Xavier Becerra filed a lawsuit alleging that President Trump’s proposal to expedite construction of a wall at the southern border violates environmental laws.
Becerra announced the legal challenge standing in front of the existing border fencing at Border Field State Park near San Diego, saying the federal government failed to comply with federal environmental laws and relied on federal statutes that don’t authorize border wall projects in San Diego and Imperial counties.

Virginia police reports show that three Muslim women have told authorities that Imran Awan, Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz's former IT aide in the middle of the House network scandal, allegedly abused them. The Daily Caller reported:
Officers found one of the women bloodied and she told them she “just wanted to leave,” while the second said she felt like a “slave,” according to Fairfax County Police reports obtained by The Daily Caller News Foundation Investigative Group. A third woman claimed she was being kept “in captivity.”

French President Emmanuel Macron said that the nuclear deal with Iran is not enough to keep pressure on the regime since officials continue with ballistic missile tests and still try to bully regions around it. From Reuters:
“Is this agreement enough? No. It is not, given the evolution of the regional situation and increasing pressure that Iran is exerting on the region, and given increased activity by Iran on the ballistic level since the accord,” Macron told reporters in New York.

It's tough for bricks-and-mortar retailers. We reported earlier this year, how Retailers Filing for Bankruptcy Keep Piling Up, May Set Record in 2017. And recently how Toys R Us Files for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy. Chapter 11 at least allows a retailer to reorganize, and perhaps survive in some form. But other retailers are simply folding up shop and going out of business. Benny's is an iconic discount Rhode Island retailer. It has been part of the Rhode Island landscape for generations. It was a discounter before there were discounters, and somehow it survive the big box stores and Wal Mart.

I used to be puzzled by patently- and provably-untrue statements made by prominent Democrats.  For example, former Democrat governor, presidential hopeful, and DNC chairman and current "Democrat consultant" Howard Dean stirred controversy earlier this year with his insistence that "hate speech" is not protected by the First Amendment. I wrote about this a few months ago, noting that restricting Americans' First Amendment rights is a key goal of the left.
One of the fondest dreams of the radical (and not-so radical) left is to undermine the First Amendment and ultimately to control speech.  Democrats have advocated the DOJ’s investigation and even prosecution of climate “skeptics,” condemned “hate” speech formally in the House, supported the criminalization and ban of “hate” speech, and as we see play out on college campuses across the nation, resorted to violence as a response to speech with which they disagree.