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Author: Fuzzy Slippers

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Fuzzy Slippers

I am a constitutional conservative, a writer, and an editor.

Follow me on Twitter @fuzislippers

One of the only times I've ever seen my father, a career military man and Vietnam veteran, express genuine concern over the direction of our country was in the wake of the FBI's fall from grace under James Comey.  Generally, my dad is upbeat about the perseverance of Americans because of his extensive study of our nation's history and his belief in American exceptionalism.  His disappointment that the FBI, one of the last agencies to lose its good standing among the American people, had succumbed to blatant partisan politics and could no longer be trusted on points of law enforcement and investigation was palpable . . . and heart-breaking. I mention this only because the revelation that an FBI agent, Peter Strzok, who supervised both the Hillary email investigation and the Trump-Russia probe sent anti-Trump text messages to his alleged mistress, an FBI lawyer, goes straight to the heart of many Americans' sense that the FBI should be fair and impartial, working with an eye on the bigger historical and legal picture, above the petty politics of the day.

With today's revelation of yet another Representative John Conyers' (D-MI) staffer alleging sexual harassment, the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) is reportedly in talks with Conyers about his resigning from Congress.  Of note, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) is quietly supporting the move. CNN reports:
Several Congressional Black Caucus members are in talks to get veteran Rep. John Conyers to resign amid allegations of sexual misconduct, several Democratic sources told CNN on Tuesday. Those members are trying to ease his exit without trampling on his legacy during his 50-plus years in the House. Conyers, a Michigan Democrat, is the longest currently serving member of the House of Representatives.

Mary posted earlier on Representative John Conyers (D-MI) stepping down from his position as ranking member on the House Judiciary committee.  His language is hazy, and it sounds like he's not leaving the committee and intends to resume his position as ranking member when the "investigation" concludes. Clearly, the move is intended to serve as his "punishment" for allegations of sexual harassment that include his attending a meeting with a female committee employee in his underwear and numerous allegations of demanding sexual favors and punishing women by firing them when they rejected his unwanted sexual advances.  He's also alleged to have used, in 2015, taxpayer dollars to settle sexual harassment claims.

Any discussion of tax reform shifts quickly to "tax the rich" with avowed socialist Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and Sanders wannabe Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) at the forefront of the Democrat 2020 presidential hopeful pack.  There are numerous problems with this philosophy, not the least of which is that it's a political slogan not viable economic policy, but that doesn't stop the left. Earlier this year, Seattle passed a "tax the rich" scheme that was immediately challenged.  This week, Superior Court Judge John Ruhl ruled that Seattle does not have the authority to impose such a tax.

Earlier this week, White House press secretary asked reporters what they were thankful for and has since been castigated for "humiliating" and "degrading" the press. CNN reports:
White House press secretary Sarah Sanders encouraged reporters to first state things they were thankful for before asking their questions. Most of them obliged. They shouldn't have. Reporters ask questions at press briefings. Spokespeople answer them.

After clearly stating that as president he had no power to change immigration law, then-president Obama went ahead in 2012 with Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA).  Obama himself referred to DACA as his "action to change the law," a power vested in the legislature, not the executive. In 2010, Obama told an audience of amnesty proponents that he's "not king" and "can't do these things just by myself."  In 2011, he explained further, "that he couldn't "just bypass Congress and change the (immigration) law myself. ... That's not how a democracy works."  And in 2012, he did it anyway. Then-presidential candidate Trump campaigned on ending DACA, and in September, he announced his decision to end DACA after giving Congress six months to pass it into law.  Passing DACA or some equivalent into law is perfectly within the purview of Congress.

Last November, a Pennsylvania couple's home was raided by police who mistakenly believed the couple's hibiscus plants to be marijuana.  The couple is now reportedly suing Buffalo Township and Nationwide Insurance for "excessive force, false arrest, false imprisonment, intentional infliction of emotional distress and invasion of privacy in their lawsuit." The couple's ordeal began when Nationwide Insurance sent an agent out to assess a claim; the agent took pictures of the couple's hibiscus plants and sent them to local police as evidence of the illegal planting and growing of marijuana.  Buffalo Township police reacted by raiding the couple's home and leading a partially-dressed and barefoot Audrey Cramer, 66, out to their patrol car.  Her husband Edward Cramer, 69, was met with drawn guns and arrested upon returning home while his wife was still sitting, handcuffed, in the cruiser.

On Friday, Kemberlee wrote about the bizarre braggadocio exhibited by sitting Ohio Supreme Court justice and candidate for governor Bill O'Neill. His attempt to make light of and sweep back under the carpet the serious allegations of sexual assault, rape, and assorted sexual improprieties unleashed in the wake of the Harvey Weinstein scandal fell flat, leaving most people on both sides of the aisle outraged and incredulous.

Last weekend, I wrote about the 2018 fate of the GOP House majority ultimately being in the hands of Republicans.  They've been granted an immense honor in being bestowed with majorities in both Houses of Congress and the White House, yet they are losing support amongst their voters, including most alarmingly amongst independents.  The remedy, I proposed, was going all-in on President Trump's agenda; after all, his agenda is more popular than the GOP, Congress, and even the president himself.  What, I asked, do they have to lose? Instead of fulfilling their campaign promises and the president's agenda, the GOP is tying itself in knots trying to be more progressive than the progressives and more anti-Trump than antifa.  This leaves them in a bad situation going into 2018 because they will never win Democrat or progressive votes and are losing the Independents votes they did have on the merits of their campaign promises.

Earlier this week, Professor Jacobson noted that Hillary Clinton still very much wants to be president and thinks she was robbed last November.  There is little doubt this is true.  However, between her ridiculous book What Happened and bizarre pretense that allegations against her husband for sexual indiscretion, including rape, never happened, she highlights, even doubles down on, some of the main problems of her failed presidential campaign.