{"id":60055,"date":"2018-06-05T20:38:47","date_gmt":"2018-06-06T00:38:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/?p=60055"},"modified":"2018-06-05T20:38:52","modified_gmt":"2018-06-06T00:38:52","slug":"the-daily-gouge-archive-monday-june-4th-2018","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/?p=60055","title":{"rendered":"The Daily Gouge Archive, Monday, June 4th, 2018"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>It&#8217;s Monday, June 4th, 2018&#8230;but before we begin, ICYMI&#8230;<\/strong><\/p>\n<h1 class=\"headline head1\" style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/us\/2018\/06\/02\/millennial-evicted-from-parents-home-paid-for-car-storage-but-balked-at-child-support-records-show.html\" class=\"broken_link\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><span style=\"color: #ff00ff; text-decoration: underline;\">Millennial evicted from parents&#8217; home paid for car storage, but balked at child support, records show<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/h1>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/321e392c580259ad749989f8086f77db-1.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-59962\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/321e392c580259ad749989f8086f77db-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"400\" height=\"225\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/321e392c580259ad749989f8086f77db-1.jpg 400w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/321e392c580259ad749989f8086f77db-1-300x169.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">&#8220;&#8230;Rotondo lost joint custody of the child last year after battling the mother in Onondaga County Family Court. <span style=\"color: #ff00ff;\"><strong>And the court\u2019s judge, Julie Cecile, described Rotondo\u2019s efforts to find a job \u201cminimal at best.\u201d<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><strong>A June 2017 filing said Rotondo <em>opposed paying more for <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">child support<\/span><\/em>, <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>despite paying $920 yearly for a storage unit to house his broken Chevrolet Camaro and Volkswagen Passat vehicles<\/em><\/span>,\u00a0according to the New York Post.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"color: #ff00ff;\"><strong>\u201cWhen questioned why he did not sell such belongings, he claimed that they had no value except sentimental, and that he had no legitimate answer for the obvious question of why it made sense to spend more than $9,000 over the last five years to store valueless belongings, at the same time asserting that he could not afford to pay support for his son,\u201d Cecile wrote in a ruling that sided with the mother.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><strong>Rotondo reportedly testified that he <em>applied to only <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">two<\/span> jobs in 2016<\/em> \u2013 <em>but turned his nose up at working in retail or fast food establishments <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">because \u201che did not want to accept a position he did not think he could work at for at least three years<\/span><\/em>,\u201d Cecile added<\/strong><\/span>&#8230;&#8221;<\/p>\n<p><strong>This lazy clown&#8217;s another example of life imitating art, as he&#8217;s the embodiment of Cousin Eddie:<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/crkkHiopnZg\" width=\"400\" height=\"235\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><span data-mce-type=\"bookmark\" style=\"display: inline-block; width: 0px; overflow: hidden; line-height: 0;\" class=\"mce_SELRES_start\">\ufeff<\/span><span data-mce-type=\"bookmark\" style=\"display: inline-block; width: 0px; overflow: hidden; line-height: 0;\" class=\"mce_SELRES_start\">\ufeff<\/span><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><strong>By the way, if you haven&#8217;t figured it out, <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>THESE<\/em><\/span>\u00a0clowns&#8230;<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/5b0eaa3de6a1e.image_.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-59966\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/5b0eaa3de6a1e.image_.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"400\" height=\"297\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/5b0eaa3de6a1e.image_.jpg 400w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/5b0eaa3de6a1e.image_-300x223.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/AdH2DGSXjss?start=94\" width=\"400\" height=\"235\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><span data-mce-type=\"bookmark\" style=\"display: inline-block; width: 0px; overflow: hidden; line-height: 0;\" class=\"mce_SELRES_start\">\ufeff<\/span><span data-mce-type=\"bookmark\" style=\"display: inline-block; width: 0px; overflow: hidden; line-height: 0;\" class=\"mce_SELRES_start\">\ufeff<\/span><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><strong>&#8230;are lying, scum-sucking scam artists&#8230;which constitutes an insult to self-respecting scam artists the world over!\u00a0 Sorry Kenneth, but <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>flying commercial<\/em><\/span> isn&#8217;t akin to getting into &#8220;a long tube with a bunch of demons&#8221;; <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>that<\/em><\/span> would be getting into any aircraft with <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>you<\/em><\/span>!<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Now, here&#8217;s The Gouge!<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>First up, as the editors at the <em>WSJ<\/em>\u00a0term it, The Donald&#8217;s thrown caution to the wind and it&#8217;s now&#8230;<\/strong><\/p>\n<h1 class=\"wsj-article-headline\" style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\">Singapore or Bust<\/span><\/h1>\n<h3 class=\"wsj-article-headline\" style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">Trump gets the summit he wants with Kim Jong Un.<\/span><\/h3>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/2bhbdx.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-59931\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/2bhbdx.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"400\" height=\"225\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/2bhbdx.jpg 400w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/2bhbdx-300x169.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">&#8220;<span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><strong>The Trump Presidency is often harrowing but never dull, <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>so perhaps it was inevitable that a summit between Donald Trump and North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un would be back on again<\/em><\/span>.<\/strong><\/span> The two adversaries who were publicly trading schoolyard taunts a few months ago will now meet on June 12 in Singapore after all, and the only thing we can say with any confidence is that no one has a clue what will happen.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">Mr. Trump announced that the summit is back on a week after he cancelled it amid North Korean insults and unanswered phone calls. <strong><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">But in a sign of the surreal nature of this diplomacy, Kim then sent a top emissary who is on the U.S. sanctions list, Kim Yong Chol, to meet in New York with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.<\/span> On Friday Kim Yong Chol met with Mr. Trump for more than an hour in the Oval Office, and the summit was full speed ahead.<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><strong>\u201cI think we\u2019re over that, totally over that, and now we\u2019re going to deal and we\u2019re going to really start a process,\u201d Mr. Trump said at the White House. <span style=\"color: #0000ff;\">\u201cThe relationships are building and that\u2019s a very positive thing.\u201d<\/span> Asked if the North had committed to giving up its nuclear weapons, Mr. Trump said, \u201cI <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>think<\/em><\/span> they want to do that. <span style=\"color: #0000ff;\">I <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>know<\/em><\/span> they want to do that.\u201d<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><strong><em>But <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">there<\/span> is the rub<\/em>. <span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">If the North <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>is<\/em><\/span> committed to giving up its weapons, <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>it hasn\u2019t said so publicly<\/em><\/span>.<\/span> It has merely <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>committed to a diplomatic process<\/em><em> and a \u201cphased\u201d denuclearization in return for certain unspecified concessions from the U.S<\/em><\/span>. <span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">But that is <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>also<\/em><\/span> what the North <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>committed to do in the 1990s and again in the 2000s<\/em><\/span> only to continue its nuclear work in secret and eventually toss out United Nations inspectors.<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><strong>The summit will be an immediate propaganda coup for Kim, a sanctioned rogue who will appear on the world stage with a U.S. President for the first time.<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"> The question is what Mr. Trump will be able to take away beyond the photos of a presidential meet and greet.<\/span> <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>Mr. Trump is nothing if not confident in his negotiating abilities<\/em><\/span>, and he <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>clearly savors<\/em><\/span> dominating world attention with this kind of made-for-global-TV drama.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><strong>But he also <em><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">isn\u2019t<\/span><\/em> known <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>for mastering policy details<\/em><\/span>, and it was only days ago that the North released three American hostages after months of captivity, <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>and only months ago that it essentially murdered American tourist Otto Warmbier after arresting him for trying to take home a wall poster<\/em><\/span>.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><strong>On Friday Mr. Trump ignored all that and said \u201cI don\u2019t want to use the term maximum pressure anymore. <span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">I don\u2019t want to use that term.\u201d<\/span> He added that \u201cwe\u2019re getting along. <span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">You see the relationship.<\/span> It\u2019s not a question of maximum pressure.\u201d <span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">Mr. Trump always overdoes the diplomatic flattery, but no one should forget that Kim and his family run a country that is <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>essentially a prison for millions<\/em><\/span>\u2014and <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>a literal prison for tens of thousands<\/em><\/span>.<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><strong>Perhaps a summit like this <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>is<\/em><\/span> worth trying since nothing else across four American <span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">Presidencies has worked to stop the North\u2019s drive to become a nuclear power that can strike the U.S.<\/span> We certainly <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>hope for success<\/em><\/span>, <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>but Mr. Trump will have to be prepared for the consequences if Kim is merely there for the show<\/em><\/span>.<\/strong><\/span>&#8220;<\/p>\n<p><strong>In a related item, <em>The Dear Douchebag<\/em> is apparently a little short on cash, as he&#8217;s looking for the Donald to&#8230;<\/strong><\/p>\n<h1 style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.seattletimes.com\/nation-world\/u-s-trying-to-find-discreet-way-to-pay-for-kim-jong-uns-hotel-during-summit\/\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><span style=\"color: #ff0000; text-decoration: underline;\">Pay for My Hotel<\/span><\/span><\/a><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">!<\/span><\/h1>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/2bhcaw.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-59933\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/2bhcaw.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"400\" height=\"267\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/2bhcaw.jpg 400w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/2bhcaw-300x200.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Seriously, is there anything <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>else<\/em><\/span> you need?\u00a0 <\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/KL6FG6qjlts\" width=\"420\" height=\"235\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><span data-mce-type=\"bookmark\" style=\"display: inline-block; width: 0px; overflow: hidden; line-height: 0;\" class=\"mce_SELRES_start\">\ufeff<\/span><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><strong>Since we&#8217;re on the subject of the vainglorious and narcissistic who believe the world revolves around them, in a <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>absolutely must-read<\/em><\/span> commentary from <em>The Washington Free Beacon<\/em>,\u00a0<\/strong><strong>Matt Continetti records The Dear Misleader&#8217;s misrepresentation of history:<\/strong><\/p>\n<h1 class=\"article-header__title\" style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"color: #333399;\">The World as It Wasn\u2019t<\/span><\/h1>\n<h3 class=\"article-header__title\" style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"color: #800080;\">Barack Obama\u2019s revealing reaction to Donald Trump\u2019s 2016 victory<\/span><\/h3>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/2bhtme.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-59958\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/2bhtme.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"400\" height=\"268\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/2bhtme.jpg 400w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/2bhtme-300x201.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">Maybe you can help me out. I&#8217;m puzzling over a line in a\u00a0<em>New York Times<\/em>\u00a0story on\u00a0<em>The World As It Is<\/em>, the forthcoming memoir from Barack Obama&#8217;s deputy national security adviser Ben Rhodes. The\u00a0article, by Peter Baker, is about the parts of Rhodes&#8217;s book that deal with Donald Trump&#8217;s surprise victory over Hillary Clinton.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">&#8220;In the weeks after Mr. Trump&#8217;s election,&#8221; Baker reports, &#8220;Mr. Obama went through multiple emotional stages,&#8221; including flashes of &#8220;anger,&#8221; &#8220;rare self-doubt,&#8221; and taking &#8220;the long view.&#8221; <span style=\"color: #333399;\"><strong>Do not think, however, that during the final weeks of his presidency Barack Obama was withdrawn <em>or more self-obsessed <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">than usual<\/span><\/em>. <span style=\"color: #800080;\">People <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>needed<\/em><\/span> him.<\/span> The day after the election, Baker continues, &#8220;Mr. Obama focused on cheering up his despondent staff.&#8221;<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"color: #800080;\"><strong>For example\u2014<em>and here is the line that confuses me<\/em>\u2014&#8221;he sent a message to Mr. Rhodes saying, \u2018<span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>There are more stars in the sky than grains of sand on the earth<\/em><\/span>.'&#8221;<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"color: #333399;\"><strong><em>Say <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">what<\/span><\/em>?<\/strong><\/span> <span style=\"color: #800080;\"><strong>How does a dimly remembered<\/strong><\/span>\u00a0<span style=\"text-decoration: underline; color: #0000ff;\"><strong><em><a style=\"color: #0000ff; text-decoration: underline;\" href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/sJ_tZr0D2pk\">Carl Sagan<\/a><\/em><\/strong><\/span>\u00a0<span style=\"color: #800080;\"><strong>quote relate to 2016?<\/strong><\/span> Was Obama speaking in code? Was this an example of him taking the &#8220;long view&#8221;\u2014implying that lol nothing matters because we are all cosmic dust adrift in the void? Was he suggesting the planet might be saved from Trump by an alien invasion? <span style=\"color: #333399;\"><strong>It sounds like the message you&#8217;d find inside an especially pretentious fortune cookie.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"color: #800080;\"><strong>Obama&#8217;s words <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>once again<\/em><\/span> revealed <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>his colossal lack of self-awareness<\/em><\/span>. <span style=\"color: #333399;\">The passages of\u00a0<em>The World As It Is<\/em>\u00a0that Baker quotes in his piece <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>reinforce the widespread impression of our forty-fourth president as an aloof, smug, vainglorious chief executive totally divorced from political reality<\/em><\/span><span style=\"color: #008000;\"> (Along with <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>any other<\/em><\/span> form of reality!)<\/span>.<\/span> <em>The shock, disgust, confusion, and horror with which Obama and his team greeted the election results <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">exemplified the very attitudes toward democratic procedure and populist conservatism that fueled Trump&#8217;s rise<\/span><\/em>. <span style=\"color: #333399;\">The only lesson <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>Barack Obama<\/em><\/span> drew from the election <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>was confirmation of his own moral superiority<\/em><\/span>.<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"color: #800080;\"><strong>Even the former president&#8217;s moments of &#8220;self-doubt&#8221; <em>were framed as opportunities for lackeys <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">to remind him of his greatness<\/span><\/em>.<\/strong><\/span> Rhodes describes a ride in the presidential limousine during which Obama asked, &#8220;What if we were wrong?&#8221; A leading question no matter the situation, particularly when the man posing it is president of the United States. <span style=\"color: #333399;\"><strong>What did Obama expect Rhodes to say\u2014&#8221;Yes, Mr. President, we royally screwed the pooch?&#8221;<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">Apparently Obama had read a column\u2014I have an idea of\u00a0<span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><span style=\"color: #0000ff; text-decoration: underline;\"><strong><em><a style=\"color: #0000ff; text-decoration: underline;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2016\/11\/18\/opinion\/the-danger-of-a-dominant-identity.html\" class=\"broken_link\">which one<\/a><\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/span>\u2014about the role of identity in shaping peoples&#8217; lives and political choices. <span style=\"color: #800080;\"><strong>&#8220;Maybe we pushed too far,&#8221; he mused. <span style=\"color: #333399;\">&#8220;Maybe people just want to fall back into their tribe.&#8221;<\/span><\/strong><\/span> No question his fellow passengers that day reassured him that no, no, he did everything he could to bend the arc of history a little more toward justice. <span style=\"color: #800080;\"><strong>It&#8217;s not <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>your<\/em><\/span> fault, Mr. President.<\/strong> <\/span><span style=\"color: #333399;\"><strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>You<\/em><\/span> didn&#8217;t push too far.<\/strong><\/span> <span style=\"color: #800080;\"><strong>All <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>you<\/em><\/span> did was<\/strong><\/span>\u00a0<span style=\"text-decoration: underline; color: #0000ff;\"><em><strong><a style=\"color: #0000ff; text-decoration: underline;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2016\/03\/13\/us\/politics\/donald-trump-campaign.html\" class=\"broken_link\">troll Donald Trump into running for president in the first place<\/a><\/strong><\/em><\/span><strong><span style=\"color: #800080;\">, <span style=\"color: #333399;\">stand by while Ferguson and Baltimore rioted and burned,<\/span> give Iran billions in exchange for empty promises, <span style=\"color: #333399;\">allow Russia to establish a beachhead in the Middle East for the first time in half a century,<\/span> browbeat Israel at every opportunity, <span style=\"color: #333399;\">ram through Obamacare after Scott Brown&#8217;s election in Massachusetts,<\/span> preside over the mass migration of children across the southern border in 2014, <span style=\"color: #333399;\">expand the DACA amnesty despite<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/strong><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em><a style=\"color: #0000ff; text-decoration: underline;\" href=\"http:\/\/freebeacon.com\/issues\/boehner-slams-obama-reads-22-instances-obama-said-he-couldnt-legally-do-executive-amnesty\/\">saying 22 times<\/a><\/em><\/span><\/strong><\/span>\u00a0<span style=\"color: #333399;\"><strong>you lacked authority to do so, <span style=\"color: #800080;\">use the permanent structure of government to devastate the Appalachian economy,<\/span> convince half of America that liberals were ready to take their guns (this wasn&#8217;t hard to do), <span style=\"color: #800080;\">have your Education Department issue orders that led to the campus-assault craze and the deterioration of classroom discipline and that, months before a presidential election, mandated trans-bathrooms in schools,<\/span> have your Justice Department preside over a sloppy (I&#8217;m being charitable) investigation into Hillary Clinton&#8217;s use of a private email server that included, at one point, your attorney general secretly meeting with the husband of the subject of the investigation on an airport tarmac, <span style=\"color: #800080;\">muscle out Joe Biden, <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>who might have won<\/em><\/span>, from the race,<\/span> <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>and hand the party back to the less-likable half of America&#8217;s most polarizing and corrupt political couple<\/em><\/span>.<\/strong><\/span> <span style=\"color: #800080;\"><strong>Not to mention <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>the eight years of lecturing<\/em><\/span>. <span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><em><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Oh<\/span>, the <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">lecturing<\/span><\/em>.<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"color: #333399;\"><strong>One of the refrains of the Obama presidency was that, yes, <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>America<\/em> <em>may have let Obama down in the past<\/em><\/span>, and <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>America<\/em> <em>may let him down still<\/em><\/span>, <em>but <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">America remains worthwhile<\/span>, so long as it maintains the capacity <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">to become more like Obama<\/span><\/em>.<\/strong><\/span> &#8220;Sometimes I wonder whether I was 10 or 20 years too early,&#8221; he says in the book. What was he early for? &#8220;Fundamentally transforming America&#8221;? &#8220;The moment when the rise of the oceans began to slow&#8221;? For the death of the olds who stood in his way?<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"color: #800080;\"><strong><em><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Imagine carrying the burden of Barack Obama<\/span><\/em>, <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>of being too enlightened, sophisticated, mature for his time<\/em><\/span>. <span style=\"color: #333399;\"><em>In his conceit that historical progress is assured and irreversible, and that challenges to such progress are reducible to irrational prejudice, <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Obama is a paradigmatic liberal<\/span><\/em>.<\/span><\/strong> <strong>Yet America&#8217;s frequent elections, tendency to rotate offices, decentralization of power, avenues for the expression of popular discontent, and multiple veto points <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>continually frustrated his desires<\/em><\/span>.<\/strong><\/span> <span style=\"color: #333399;\"><strong>By the end of his second term, <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>he was expending a great deal of energy working around the constitutional structure established in 1789 and amended 27 times since<\/em><\/span>.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">Rhodes gives us a glimpse of Obama&#8217;s interactions with the political leader he most resembles. &#8220;Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany told Mr. Obama that she felt more obliged to run for another term because of Mr. Trump&#8217;s election to defend the liberal international order,&#8221; Peter Baker reports. <span style=\"color: #333399;\"><strong><span style=\"color: #800080;\">&#8220;When they parted for the final time, Ms. Merkel had a single tear in her eye.<\/span> \u2018She&#8217;s all alone,&#8217; Mr. Obama noted.&#8221;<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"color: #800080;\"><strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>One tear<\/em><\/span>: <em>How <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">noble<\/span>, how <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">poetic<\/span>, how <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">sad<\/span><\/em>. <span style=\"color: #333399;\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>Poor Angela<\/em><\/span>.<\/span> She <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>crushes Greece in a vice<\/em><\/span>, <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>destabilizes an entire continent by inviting a million Muslim immigrants into Germany<\/em><\/span>, and <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>this<\/em><\/span> is the thanks she gets: <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>Brexit and Trump<\/em><\/span>.<\/strong><\/span> <span style=\"color: #333399;\"><strong>It never seems to have dawned on either Obama <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>or<\/em><\/span> Merkel that <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>the only people truly invested in defending the always-vaguely-defined &#8220;liberal international order&#8221; are the men and women who sit at the top of it<\/em><\/span>.<\/strong><\/span> <span style=\"color: #800080;\"><strong>Certainly <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>the voters<\/em><\/span> are not as satisfied with current circumstances <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>as they<\/em><\/span>.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><strong><span style=\"color: #800080;\">Last year, it was <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>Merkel&#8217;s turn<\/em><\/span> for electoral repudiation.<\/span> <span style=\"color: #333399;\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>Then<\/em><\/span> Italians repudiated <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>their<\/em><\/span> elites last March.<\/span> <span style=\"color: #800080;\">Unlike their American counterparts, however, the undemocratic liberals of Europe have sophisticated ways of bypassing<\/span><\/strong>\u00a0<span style=\"text-decoration: underline; color: #0000ff;\"><em><strong><a style=\"color: #0000ff; text-decoration: underline;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2018\/03\/04\/world\/europe\/germany-spd-merkel.html\" class=\"broken_link\">popular<\/a>\u00a0<a style=\"color: #0000ff; text-decoration: underline;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/world\/2018\/may\/27\/italys-pm-designate-giuseppe-conte-fails-to-form-populist-governmenthttps:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/world\/2018\/may\/27\/italys-pm-designate-giuseppe-conte-fails-to-form-populist-government\" class=\"broken_link\">sentiment<\/a><\/strong><\/em><\/span><strong><span style=\"color: #800080;\">.<\/span> <span style=\"color: #333399;\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>Obama must be envious<\/em><\/span>.<\/span> <span style=\"color: #800080;\">No third term for him, either literally or figuratively.<\/span> <span style=\"color: #333399;\">Instead <em>Hillary is <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">out<\/span><\/em>, <em>Angela is <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">alone<\/span><\/em>, and <em>Obama is left with his $65 million book deal, his &#8220;high-8-figure&#8221; Netflix deal, and, <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">above all<\/span>, his <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">vanity<\/span> intact<\/em>.<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Even <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2018\/06\/02\/opinion\/sunday\/obama-ben-rhodes-world-as-it-is.html\" class=\"broken_link\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline; color: #0000ff;\"><em>Maureen Dowd<\/em><\/span><\/a> can&#8217;t stomach The Obamao&#8217;s overweening pomposity, observing:<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">&#8220;&#8230;<span style=\"color: #333399;\"><strong><span style=\"color: #800080;\">in his next breath, the president made it <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>clear<\/em><\/span> that what he <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>meant<\/em><\/span> was:<\/span><em class=\"css-2fg4z9 ehxkw330\"><span style=\"color: #800080;\">\u00a0What if we were wrong <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">in being so right<\/span>?<\/span> What if <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">we were too good for these people<\/span>?<\/em><\/strong><\/span>&#8220;<\/p>\n<p><strong>While at <em>American Greatness<\/em>, courtesy of Speed Mach, <a href=\"https:\/\/amgreatness.com\/2018\/06\/03\/a-clueless-final-year\/\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline; color: #0000ff;\"><em>Roger Kimball<\/em><\/span><\/a>\u00a0records&#8230;<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">&#8220;<span style=\"color: #800080;\"><strong><em>In order to understand the shattering surprise that gripped team Obama, <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">it is necessary to appreciate the sensation of absolute moral superiority that wafted them along<\/span><\/em>. <span style=\"color: #333399;\"><em>This was no <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">mere election<\/span><\/em>.<\/span> <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>It was a fight between good and evil<\/em><\/span>. <span style=\"color: #333399;\">And they were in <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>no doubt<\/em><\/span> that <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>they<\/em><\/span> were the <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>good guys<\/em><\/span>.<\/span> \u201c<em>Cuba, climate, Iran<\/em>,\u201d Rhodes says, <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>what will happen to those things now that Donald Trump is in charge<\/em><\/span>? <span style=\"color: #333399;\"><em>Note that he puts forward those items <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">as if they were triumphs<\/span> for the Obama administration <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">and not disastrous missteps<\/span><\/em>.<\/span><\/strong><\/span>&#8220;<\/p>\n<p><strong>In a related item, as Tim Meads reports at <em>Townhall.com<\/em>, <a href=\"https:\/\/townhall.com\/tipsheet\/timothymeads\/2018\/06\/02\/msnbc-hires-obama-advisor-who-admitted-to-creating-an-echo-chamber-with-the-media-n2486771\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline; color: #0000ff;\"><em>MSDNC is &#8220;happy to announce<\/em><\/span><\/a>&#8221; they&#8217;ve hired the utterly unqualified but conspicuously connected Rhodes as a political analyst on <em>Meet the Press<\/em>.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>While you&#8217;ll recall Rhodes as the architect of some of Barry&#8217;s biggest lies&#8230;<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">&#8220;<span style=\"color: #800080;\"><strong>Rhodes, 38, said in the article that <em>it was <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">easy<\/span> to shape a favorable impression of the proposed agreement <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">because of the inexperience of many of those covering the issue<\/span><\/em>.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"color: #800080;\"><strong><span style=\"color: #333399;\">\u201cAll these newspapers <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>used<\/em><\/span> to have foreign bureaus,\u201d he said.<\/span> \u201c<em><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Now<\/span> they <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">don\u2019t<\/span><\/em>. <span style=\"color: #333399;\">They <em><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">call us<\/span><\/em> to <em><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">explain to them<\/span><\/em> what\u2019s happening in Moscow and Cairo.<\/span> Most of the outlets are reporting on world events from Washington. <span style=\"color: #333399;\"><em>The average reporter we talk to is 27 years old, <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">and their only reporting experience consists of being around political campaigns<\/span><\/em>.<\/span> That\u2019s a sea change. <span style=\"color: #333399;\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>They literally know nothing<\/em><\/span>.\u201d<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"color: #800080;\"><strong>Rhodes set up a team of staffers who were focused on promoting the deal, <em>which apparently included the feeding of talking points at useful times in the news cycle <\/em><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>to foreign policy experts who were favorably disposed toward it<\/em><\/span>.\u00a0<span style=\"color: #333399;\">\u201c<span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>We created an echo chamber<\/em><\/span>,\u201d\u00a0he told the magazine.<\/span> \u201c<span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>They<\/em><\/span> [<span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>the seemingly independent experts<\/em><\/span>] <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>were saying things that validated what we had given them to say<\/em><\/span>.\u201d<\/strong><\/span>&#8220;<\/p>\n<p><strong>&#8230;still, he had a sensitive side:<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/xtCs-kK2hQU\" width=\"420\" height=\"235\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><span data-mce-type=\"bookmark\" style=\"display: inline-block; width: 0px; overflow: hidden; line-height: 0;\" class=\"mce_SELRES_start\">\ufeff<\/span><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><strong>We feel Ben&#8217;s pain&#8230;mainly because we&#8217;re laughing so hard our sides are aching.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>And in a follow-up to an item we published last Friday,\u00a0<em>NRO<\/em>&#8216;s Andy McCarthy confirms our concerns about Trey Gowdy:<\/strong><\/p>\n<header class=\"article-header article-header--full\" data-component=\"articleHeader\">\n<div class=\"article-header__inner\">\n<h1 class=\"article-header__title\" style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"color: #800080;\"><a style=\"color: #800080;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nationalreview.com\/2018\/05\/trump-campaign-spying-obama-administration-investigation\/?utm_source=Sailthru&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;utm_campaign=WIR%20-%20Sunday%202018-06-03&amp;utm_term=VDHM\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Yes, the FBI Was Investigating the Trump Campaign When It Spied<\/span><\/a><\/span><\/h1>\n<h3 class=\"article-header__title\" style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\"><a style=\"color: #ff6600;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nationalreview.com\/2018\/05\/trump-campaign-spying-obama-administration-investigation\/?utm_source=Sailthru&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;utm_campaign=WIR%20-%20Sunday%202018-06-03&amp;utm_term=VDHM\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Trey Gowdy and Marco Rubio evidently paid little attention to testimony before their own committees on how Obama officials made the Trump campaign the subject of a counterintelligence investigation<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<\/header>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/Jim-Comey.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-59987\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/Jim-Comey.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"400\" height=\"275\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/Jim-Comey.jpg 400w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/Jim-Comey-300x206.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span class=\"drop\">&#8220;<span style=\"color: #800080;\"><strong>W<\/strong><\/span><\/span><span style=\"color: #800080;\"><strong>ell, <em>well<\/em>, <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>well<\/em><\/span>. <span style=\"color: #ff6600;\">The <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>bipartisan Beltway establishment<\/em><\/span> has apparently <em>had its fill of this \u201cTrump colluded with Russia\u201d narrative<\/em> \u2014 <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>the same narrative the same establishment has lustily peddled for nearly two years<\/em><\/span>.<\/span> <em>The Obama administration <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">recklessly chose to deploy the government\u2019s awesome counterintelligence powers to investigate<\/span> \u2014 <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">and<\/span>, more to the point, <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">to smear<\/span> \u2014 <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">its political opposition as a Kremlin confederate<\/span><\/em>. <span style=\"color: #ff6600;\">Now that <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>this<\/em><\/span> ploy has blown up on the Justice Department and the FBI, <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>these agencies<\/em><\/span> \u2014 <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>the ones that went out of their way, and outside their guidelines, to announce to the world that the Trump campaign was under investigation<\/em><\/span> \u2014 <em>want you to know the president and his campaign <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">were not investigated at all<\/span>, <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">no siree<\/span><\/em>.<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"color: #800080;\"><strong><em>What could <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">possibly<\/span> have made you <\/em>imagine<em> such a thing<\/em>?<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\"><strong>And so, to douse the controversy with cold water, <em>dutifully stepping forward in fine bipartisan fettle are <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">the Obama administration\u2019s top intelligence official<\/span><\/em>\u00a0(and well-known liar) and <em><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">two influential Capitol Hill Republicans<\/span> who evidently <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">pay little attention to major testimony before their own committees<\/span><\/em>.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"color: #800080;\"><strong>Former National Intelligence director James Clapper was first to the scene of the blaze.<\/strong>\u00a0<span style=\"text-decoration: underline; color: #0000ff;\"><strong><em><a style=\"color: #0000ff; text-decoration: underline;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.cbsnews.com\/news\/james-clapper-face-the-nation-fbis-trump-informant-was-most-benign-form-of-information-gathering\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Clapper concedes<\/a><\/em><\/strong><\/span>\u00a0<strong><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\">that, well, yes, the FBI did run an informant \u2014 \u201cspy\u201d is such an icky word \u2014 at Trump campaign officials; <em>but you <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">must understand<\/span> that this was merely to investigate\u00a0<span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Russia<\/span><\/em>.<\/span> <em><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Cross his heart<\/span>, it had <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">nothing<\/span> to do with\u00a0<span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">the Trump campaign<\/span>.\u00a0<\/em><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\">No, <em>no<\/em>, <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>no<\/em><\/span>.<\/span> Indeed, they <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>only<\/em><\/span> used <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>an informant<\/em><\/span> because \u2014 <em>bet you didn\u2019t know this<\/em> \u2014 <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>doing so is the most benign, least intrusive mode of conducting an investigation<\/em><\/span>.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"color: #800080;\"><strong><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>Me<\/em><\/span>?<\/span> <em><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">I\u2019m<\/span> thinking the tens of thousands of convicts serving lengthy sentences due to the penetration of their schemes by informants <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">would beg to differ<\/span><\/em>.<\/strong><\/span> (Mr. Gambino, I assure you, this was just for you own good . . .) <span style=\"color: #800080;\"><strong><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\">In any event, I\u2019ll leave it to the reader to imagine the Democrats\u2019 response if, say, the Bush administration had run a covert intelligence operative against Obama 2008 campaign officials, <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>including the campaign\u2019s co-chairman<\/em><\/span>.<\/span> I\u2019m sure David Axelrod, Chuck Schumer, the\u00a0<em>New York Times<\/em>, and Rachel Maddow would chirp that \u201call is forgiven\u201d once they heard Republicans <em>punctiliously parse the nuances between investigating\u00a0<span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">campaign officials<\/span>\u00a0versus\u00a0the <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">campaign proper<\/span><\/em>; <em>between \u201c<span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">spies<\/span>,\u201d \u201c<span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">informants<\/span>,\u201d and other <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">government-directed covert operatives<\/span><\/em>.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\"><strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>Sure<\/em><\/span>!<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"color: #800080;\"><strong><em><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Then<\/span> there are Senator Marco Rubio (R., Fla.) and Representative Trey Gowdy (R., S.C.)<\/em>, <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>General Clapper\u2019s fellow fire extinguishers<\/em><\/span><\/strong><\/span>&#8230;&#8221;<\/p>\n<p><strong>From Lois Lerner to Benghazi, we urge you to look at what Gowdy&#8217;s\u00a0<span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>DONE<\/em><\/span>, <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>not<\/em><\/span> what he&#8217;s\u00a0<span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>SAID<\/em><\/span>.\u00a0 Then ask yourself this: if a good prosecutor can indict a ham sandwich, why haven&#8217;t Lois Lerner, John Koskinen, anyone even remotely connected with Hillary&#8217;s private email server or Obama&#8217;s election interference <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>even been charged<\/em><\/span>?!?\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Sorry, but at <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>some point<\/em><\/span> one <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>has<\/em><\/span> to conclude <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>Gowdy and his ilk are playing for the other side<\/em><\/span>.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Next up,\u00a0<span style=\"color: #ff6600;\"><em>Yet Another Sign the Progressive Apocalypse is Upon Us<\/em><\/span>, as <em>FOX News<\/em> reports a&#8230;<\/strong><\/p>\n<h1 class=\"headline head1\" style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/us\/2018\/06\/02\/texas-teen-13-is-charged-in-stabbing-death-friend-victims-mother-claims-adult-stood-by-and-watched.html\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><span style=\"color: #ff6600; text-decoration: underline;\">Texas teen, 13, is charged in stabbing death of friend; victim&#8217;s mother claims adult stood by and watched<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/h1>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/1527977396140.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-59988\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/1527977396140.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"400\" height=\"225\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/1527977396140.jpg 400w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/1527977396140-300x169.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"speakable\" style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">&#8220;&#8230;Anntoinette Carter said that the suspect and her daughter, 14-year-old Nylah Lightfoot, were on-and-off friends, and they asked to have a sleepover at the Carter home. <span style=\"color: #ff6600;\"><strong>When she said no, the friend asked Lightfoot to come over and collect her clothes,\u00a0KDFW reported. <span style=\"color: #800000;\">When Lightfoot arrived at the apartment complex in south Fort Worth early Tuesday, <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>the girls got into a physical fight<\/em><\/span>.<\/span> Carter said her daughter prevailed but the suspect retaliated. \u00a0<span style=\"color: #800000;\">According to police, <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>that\u2019s when the suspect pulled out a knife and stabbed Lightfoot several times<\/em><\/span>.<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\">&#8230;<strong>Carter alleged that here was at least one adult inside the home who stood by and watched the ultimately fatal brawl,\u00a0The Star-Telegram reported<\/strong><\/span>&#8230;.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p><strong>So,&#8230;explain again how America&#8217;s ills would all be cured if we just got rid of guns?!? <\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Which brings us, inappropriately enough today, to\u00a0<em>The Lighter Side<\/em>:<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/Chicago.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-59938\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/Chicago.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"462\" height=\"298\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/Chicago.png 462w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/Chicago-300x194.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 462px) 100vw, 462px\" \/><\/a><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/cb053118dAPR20180601124508.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-59939\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/cb053118dAPR20180601124508.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"462\" height=\"349\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/cb053118dAPR20180601124508.jpg 462w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/cb053118dAPR20180601124508-300x227.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 462px) 100vw, 462px\" \/><\/a><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/mle180601c20180601110934.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-59940\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/mle180601c20180601110934.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"462\" height=\"323\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/mle180601c20180601110934.jpg 462w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/mle180601c20180601110934-300x210.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 462px) 100vw, 462px\" \/><\/a><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/cb060118dAPR20180601124520.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-59941\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/cb060118dAPR20180601124520.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"462\" height=\"349\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/cb060118dAPR20180601124520.jpg 462w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/cb060118dAPR20180601124520-300x227.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 462px) 100vw, 462px\" \/><\/a> <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/lb180601c20180531092224.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-59942\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/lb180601c20180531092224.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"462\" height=\"302\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/lb180601c20180531092224.jpg 462w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/lb180601c20180531092224-300x196.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 462px) 100vw, 462px\" \/><\/a><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/trade-war.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-59989\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/trade-war.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"462\" height=\"310\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/trade-war.png 462w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/trade-war-300x201.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 462px) 100vw, 462px\" \/><\/a><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/payn_c15785620180602120100.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-59959\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/payn_c15785620180602120100.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"462\" height=\"311\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/payn_c15785620180602120100.jpg 462w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/payn_c15785620180602120100-300x202.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 462px) 100vw, 462px\" \/><\/a><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/download-1.jpeg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-59943\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/download-1.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"492\" height=\"526\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/download-1.jpeg 492w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/download-1-281x300.jpeg 281w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 492px) 100vw, 492px\" \/><\/a> <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/download-2.jpeg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-59944\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/download-2.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"492\" height=\"451\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/download-2.jpeg 492w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/download-2-300x275.jpeg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 492px) 100vw, 492px\" \/><\/a> <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/download-3.jpeg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-59945\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/download-3.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"500\" height=\"383\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/download-3.jpeg 500w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/download-3-300x230.jpeg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\" \/><\/a> <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/download-4.jpeg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-59946\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/download-4.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"500\" height=\"395\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/download-4.jpeg 500w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/download-4-300x237.jpeg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\" \/><\/a> <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/download-5.jpeg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-59947\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/download-5.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"480\" height=\"600\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/download-5.jpeg 480w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/download-5-240x300.jpeg 240w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 480px) 100vw, 480px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Finally, we&#8217;ll call it a wrap with anther titillating tale torn from the pages of <span style=\"color: #800000;\"><em>The Crime Blotter<\/em><\/span>:<\/strong><\/p>\n<h1 class=\"headline head1\" style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/us\/2018\/06\/02\/shirtless-knife-wielding-man-with-snake-fatally-shot-by-police-at-strip-mall.html\" class=\"broken_link\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><span style=\"color: #800000; text-decoration: underline;\">Shirtless, knife-wielding man with snake fatally shot by police at strip mall<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/h1>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/PCUBvZhHBHs\" width=\"420\" height=\"235\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><span data-mce-type=\"bookmark\" style=\"display: inline-block; width: 0px; overflow: hidden; line-height: 0;\" class=\"mce_SELRES_start\">\ufeff<\/span><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><strong>Now <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>that&#8217;s<\/em><\/span> not something you see everyday, even in <em>The Land of Fruits and Nuts<\/em>.\u00a0 And in our opinion, <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>this<\/em><\/span> poor soul was <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>definitely<\/em><\/span> the <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>latter<\/em><\/span>.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Magoo<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>It&#8217;s Monday, June 4th, 2018&#8230;but before we begin, ICYMI&#8230; Millennial evicted from parents&#8217; home paid for car storage, but balked at child support, records show &nbsp; &#8220;&#8230;Rotondo lost joint custody of the child last year after battling the mother in Onondaga County Family Court. And the court\u2019s judge, Julie Cecile, described Rotondo\u2019s efforts to find [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1988,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_s2mail":"no","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-60055","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/60055","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1988"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=60055"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/60055\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":60056,"href":"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/60055\/revisions\/60056"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=60055"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=60055"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=60055"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}