GOP better start acting more like Conservatives and then they would win more.
With all but two out of 593 precincts reporting, Democrat Conor Lamb clings to an 847 vote lead over Republican Rick Saccone in the special election in Pennsylvania’s 18th Congressional District.
Lamb has 111,875 votes to Saccone’s 111,028 votes, according to the Pennsylvania Secretary of State’s website as of 11:30 p.m. Tuesday.
Allegheny County’s absentee ballots are included in that count, but the absentee ballots in the three other counties in the district have yet to be counted: 1,195 in Washington County, 1,808 in Westmoreland County, and 203 in Greene County, for a total of 3,204 absentee ballots yet to be counted.
To pull out the victory, Saccone will need to get a little over 60 percent of these ballots.
The absentee ballots will be counted and reported in these three counties between 11:15 p.m. eastern and an undetermined time on Wednesday morning.
“It’s probably going to take us several hours,” to count, the election director in Washington County told CNN at 11:15 p.m. eastern.
The Westmoreland County election director told CNN their votes will be counted and reported around midnight.
“I would rather be in Conor Lamb’s shoes right now than Rick Saccone’s,” former U.S. Senator Rick Santorum (R-PA), who once represented this district in the House of Representatives, told CNN.
I bet he believes in God Now. When Billy Graham Died Atheist and Liberals Mocked him but we will see who gets the last laugh.
Billy Graham is doing fine right now but I bet you can’t say the same for Stephen Hawking.
THIS IS A QUOTE FROM STEPHEN HAWKINS
“When people ask me if a god created the universe, I tell them that the question itself makes no sense. Time didn’t exist before the big bang, so there is no time for god to make the universe in. It’s like asking directions to the edge of the earth; The Earth is a sphere; it doesn’t have an edge; so looking for it is a futile exercise. We are each free to believe what we want, and it’s my view that the simplest explanation is; there is no god. No one created our universe,and no one directs our fate. This leads me to a profound realization; There is probably no heaven, and no afterlife either. We have this one life to appreciate the grand design of the universe, and for that I am extremely grateful.”
Stephen Hawking, who sought to explain some of the most complicated questions of life while working under the shadow of a likely premature death, has died at 76.
* His children Lucy, Robert and Tim:
“He was a great scientist and an extraordinary man whose work and legacy will live on for many years. His courage and persistence with his brilliance and humor inspired people across the world. He once said: ‘It would not be much of a universe if it wasn’t home to the people you love.’ We will miss him forever.”
* Tim Berners-Lee, the inventor of the World Wide Web:
“We have lost a colossal mind and a wonderful spirit. Rest in peace, Stephen Hawking.”
* Actor Eddie Redmayne, who played Hawking in the 2014 film ‘The Theory of Everything’: “We have lost a truly beautiful mind, an astonishing scientist and the funniest man I have ever had the pleasure to meet. My love and thoughts are with his extraordinary family.”
* Professor Stephen Toope, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Cambridge:
“Professor Hawking was a unique individual who will be remembered with warmth and affection not only in Cambridge but all over the world. His exceptional contributions to scientific knowledge and the popularization of science and mathematics have left an indelible legacy. His character was an inspiration to millions. He will be much missed.”
* Professor Lord Martin Rees, Astronomer Royal, Fellow of Trinity College, and Emeritus Professor of Cosmology and Astrophysics at the University of Cambridge:
“Soon after I enrolled as a graduate student at Cambridge University in 1964, I encountered a fellow student, two years ahead of me in his studies; he was unsteady on his feet and spoke with great difficulty. This was Stephen Hawking. He had recently been diagnosed with a degenerative disease, and it was thought that he might not survive long enough even to finish his PhD. But, amazingly, he lived on to the age of 76.
“Even mere survival would have been a medical marvel, but of course he didn’t just survive. He became one of the most famous scientists in the world – acclaimed as a world-leading researcher in mathematical physics, for his best-selling books about space, time and the cosmos, and for his astonishing triumph over adversity.
“Tragedy struck Stephen Hawking when he was only 22. He was diagnosed with a deadly disease, and his expectations dropped to zero. He himself said that everything that happened since then was a bonus. And what a triumph his life has been. His name will live in the annals of science; millions have had their cosmic horizons widened by his best-selling books; and even more, around the world, have been inspired by a unique example of achievement against all the odds – a manifestation of amazing will-power and determination.”
* NASA:
“His theories unlocked a universe of possibilities that we and the world are exploring. May you keep flying like superman in microgravity, as you said to astronauts on @Space_Station in 2014.”
*Paul Nurse, Chief Executive and Director of the Francis Crick Institute:
“Stephen Hawking was a great physicist, a great public communicator, and a great icon for science and rationalism throughout the world. He will be sorely missed.”
* Matthew Colless, professor of astronomy & astrophysics at The Australian National University:
“Hawking was a great scientist and an inspirational figure. The universe is better understood and more interesting because he was in it.”
* British Prime Minister Theresa May:
“Stephen Hawking was a brilliant and extraordinary mind – one of the great scientists of his generation. His courage, humor and determination to get the most from life was an inspiration. His legacy will not be forgotten.”
* Katherine Mathieson, chief executive of the British Science Association: “He was a true genius who had a great admiration of and connection to the public. Most people, when he published ‘A Brief History of Time’, would have thought a book about physics would not sell. But Stephen knew people would want to read it – and it turned out they did. He simplified and explained, but without gimmicks. His assumption that people are curious about the universe and black holes was true. He inspired us all to wonder.”
“Importantly, he showed that disability and difference are no barriers to success; he challenged perceptions. On a personal note, I remember him – from when I was a student at his University – speeding down the middle of the road to get around, because the pavements were too bumpy. It sent out a message that ‘it doesn’t matter what you look like, you can be a scientist here’.
* Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang:
“Mr Hawking was a remarkable scientist and also was a fighter for science in his long and bitter struggle against illness. He made great contributions to science and to humanity.
“China’s leaders have met with him. China’s scientists and science lovers have had very enjoyable interactions with him. Mr Hawking followed China’s development closely. He gave a high assessment of China’s developments and progress in science. Mr Hawking also had a keen fondness for Chinese culture.
“As I understand it, under his strong persistence and with the help of his assistant, he was finally able to see China’s Great Wall. We express condolences for Mr Hawking’s passing and our sympathies to his family. I have faith that Mr Hawking and his contribution will never be forgotten.”
* Professor Paul Hardaker, Chief Executive of the Institute of Physics:
“A quite remarkable physicist and certainly a remarkable person. He made several fundamental and lasting contributions to cosmology but is probably best known by the public for his passion and enthusiasm in sharing his knowledge of how the universe works.”
Why has 1 Nut Mitt been so quite about Obama cheating and scandals?
* A new book claims former President Barack Obama hired Fusion GPS to dig up dirt on Romney
* Obama used law firm Perkins Coie to hide payment to Fusion GPS
* The Clinton campaign would later do the same thing to investigate Trump
The Barack Obama presidential campaign hired Fusion GPS in 2012 to dig up dirt on Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney, according to a book released on Tuesday.
The Obama campaign hid its payments to Fusion GPS through its law firm, Perkins Coie. The arrangement is similar to the one that the Clinton campaign and Democratic National Committee used to pay Fusion for its investigation of then-candidate Donald Trump in 2016.
That contract led to the creation of the infamous Steele dossier, which was written by former British spy Christopher Steele.
“In 2012, Fusion GPS was hired to do opposition research on Mitt Romney for Barack Obama’s reelection campaign,” reads “Russian Roulette: The Inside Story of Putin’s War on America and Donald Trump’s Election.”
The book is written by Michael Isikoff and David Corn, two veteran reporters who met during the 2016 campaign with Steele and Fusion GPS founder Glenn Simpson. (RELATED: New Book Raises Questions About Steele Dossier Source)
“As had become standard practice in the shadowy world of ‘oppo’ research, the Obama campaign’s payments to Fusion GPS were never publicly disclosed; the money paid to the investigative firm was reported on campaign disclosure reports as legal bills to the campaign’s law firm, Perkins Coie,” the book reads.
The Obama for America committee paid Perkins Coie around $3 million during the 2012 election cycle, according to filings with the Federal Election Commission, A vast majority of the payments were earmarked for “Legal Services.”
It is not clear how the law firm paid Fusion GPS for its research on Romney, a former Massachusetts governor.
Perkins Coie received more than $12 million from the Clinton campaign and DNC during the 2016 election cycle. Fusion GPS was paid just over $1 million for its research on Trump. The oppo firm paid Steele just under $178,000 for his work on the dossier.
This is Arnold with his wife and the maid he knocked up.
Actor and environmental activist Arnold Schwarzenegger says he and a team of lawyers are set to sue major oil companies whose “product is killing people.”
“We’re going to go after them, and we’re going to be in there like an Alabama tick. Because to me it’s absolutely irresponsible to know that your product is killing people and not have a warning label on it, like tobacco,” Schwarzenegger said this weekend during live recording of Politico’s Off Message podcast at the South by Southwest festival. “Every gas station on it, every car should have a warning label on it, every product that has fossil fuels should have a warning label on it.”
Schwarzenegger, who launched the Digital Environmental Legislative Handbook last August to provide fifty state legislators with a blueprint to pass climate change legislation to counter President Donald Trump’s withdrawal from the Paris climate accord, said oil companies and fossil fuels are “no different from the smoking issue.”
“The tobacco industry knew for years and years and years and decades, that smoking would kill people, would harm people and create cancer, and were hiding that fact from the people and denied it. Then eventually they were taken to court and had to pay hundreds of millions of dollars because of that,” the former California governor said. “The oil companies knew from 1959 on, they did their own study that there would be global warming happening because of fossil fuels, and on top of it that it would be risky for people’s lives, that it would kill.”
While suing oil companies may not reap rewards, financial or otherwise, Schwarzenegger hopes the legal effort helps raise awareness about how these companies are “knowingly killing people all over the world.”
“I don’t think there’s any difference: If you walk into a room and you know you’re going to kill someone, it’s first degree murder; I think it’s the same thing with the oil companies,” the Terminator star said.
Speaking briefly about the anti-sexual harassment movements sweeping reforms through Hollywood and media after misconduct scandals rocked those sectors, Schwarzenegger “It is about time. I think it’s fantastic. I think that women have been used and abused and treated horribly for too long, and now all of the elements came together to create this movement, and now finally puts the spotlight on this issue, and I hope people learn from that.
“You’ve got to take those things seriously. You’ve got to look at it and say, ‘I made mistakes. And I have to apologize,’” Schwarzenegger added, having been accused by multiple women of groping and sexual misconduct dating back to the 1970s.
Schwarzenegger also took a shot at President Trump, joking that the plot of his new Terminator movie was written to include Trump.
“The T-800 model that I play, he’s traveling back in time to 2019 to get Trump out of prison,” Schwarzenegger joked.
God Bless You Is Offensive But Not Cutting Off Heads.
If you happen to be in the library at Simmons College in Boston – and somebody sneezes — whatever you do — don’t say “God bless you.”
That’s because the librarians believe that the phrase “God Bless You” can spark something worse than a microagression. They fear it could spark an Islamophobic microaggression.
Which is worst, saying God Bless You or Marrying A child? I’m sure they are mature for 6 and 7.
That’s right, folks – saying “God Bless you” is considered a form of “Islamomisia.”
That bit of information is tucked inside the college’s Anti-Oppression Library Guide – an exhaustive collection of words and phrases that could trigger perpetually offended collegiate snowflakes.
Islamomisia is a fairly new malady that until recently was known as Islamphobia.
“In North America (and throughout much of the western world), people who follow Christianity have institutional power, therefore Islamomisia is a systematized discrimination or antagonism directed against Muslim people due to their religion or perceived religious, national or ethnic identity associated with Islam,” the document states.
It’s not an official college policy, mind you, but — you know the drill.
The librarians — a real sensitive bunch – warn that phrases like “God bless you” and “Merry Christmas” and “Happy Easter” can make Muslims feel slighted.
The resource guide also warned students to be wary of something called “Christian privilege.”
“In the United States and many other Western nations, Christianity and its various denominations and religious practices hold institutional and cultural power,” the guide states. “Christian privilege is the unearned benefit that Christians in the US receive that members of other faiths (or non-religious people) do not.”
For example, if you expect to get a day off on Good Friday or Christmas Eve — you have Christian privilege.
If you can worship freely, without fear of violence of threats, you have Christian privilege.
Clearly, the librarians at Simmons College have plenty of book smarts — but they don’t have the sense the Good Lord gave a goose.
Watch Eminem’s performance at the iHeartRadio Music awards.
Eminem has continued his run of politically charged performances with an attack on the National Rifle Association during a set at the iHeartRadio Music awards in Inglewood, California.
Adding a new freestyle verse to his song Nowhere Fast, he rapped:
This whole country is going nuts, and the NRA is in our way
They’re responsible for this whole production
They hold the strings, they control the puppet
And they threaten to take donor bucks
So they know the government won’t do nothing and no one’s budging
Gun owners clutching their loaded weapons
They love their guns more than our children
The performance was introduced by Alex Moscou, one of the survivors of the school shooting in Parkland, Florida, that left 17 people dead. He said he and his fellow students were “tired of hearing politicians sending their thoughts and prayers to us, and doing nothing to make the necessary changes to prevent this tragedy from happening again”.
Eminem’s attack on the NRA comes after fellow rapper Common criticised them during a performance of Say Something at this year’s Academy Awards, saying: “Tell the NRA they in God’s way.”
The barely veiled reference to “puppet” Donald Trump is another of Eminem’s recent attacks on the president, both in performances of his awards-show freestyles Campaign Speech and The Storm, and in a Vulture interview in which he said Trump “makes my blood boil … I want our country to be great, too, I want it to be the best it can be, but it’s not going to be that with him in charge”.