Random links of interest, concern or curiosity from the past week or so, that deserve at least a SHORT mention:

 
Former Congressional Black Caucus Staffer Was Blackballed For Reporting Sexual Harassment ~ Congress is every bit the same sort of sleaze pit as Hollywood ~

It is beyond hypocrisy that these so-called “leaders” of ours can engage in such behavior and then secretly hide their actions from the voters, all the while acting holier than thou and pointing fingers at others.

 
$58 Trillion – 290 Apollo Programs – to ‘Combat’ Climate Change. This Is Beyond a Joke… ~ Good rant from James Delingpole on the insane cost projections of actually implementing changes proposed by the climate change fraudsters ~

A total of $58 trillion over the next 25 years […]
 
$1 trillion is $1,000 billion dollars.
 
So, if my math is correct, we are being asked by Tom “Rhymes with Liar” Steyer and his green rent-seeking pals and the one world government freaks at the UN to gamble the equivalent of 290 Apollo Missions on the unproven theory that CO2 acts as the control knob for global climate.

 
And because no amount of money will ever be enough for these enviro-wackos, we also have to stop reproducing ~ INSANE: Bioethicist Insists Having Kids Is Bad For Planet Earth ~

For anyone who doubts the unhinged zealotry of climate change activists, NBC News Think now offers the most cruel, heartless suggestion from one activist that has likely ever been offered: having children is bad for Planet Earth […]
 
From murdering children in the womb to ruining the innocence of children by sexualizing them at an early age to likening children who have been born to murderers, the Left consistently displays its utterly hedonistic and self-obsessed point of view.

 
Cuban Exiles Recount ‘Sonic’ Torture By Castro Regime ~ In a congressional hearing this week, Cuban refugees and former political prisoners recounted gripping stories about friends and family who were imprisoned, tortured and killed for resisting communist rule in Havana ~

The tales of two former political prisoners stood out among the heart-wrenching accounts of abuses, if only for their parallels to the strange, unexplained sonic attacks inflicted upon U.S. diplomats in Havana last year. Ernesto Diaz Rodriguez and Luis Zuniga, anti-Castro dissidents who were sent to hideous regime prisons, said they were repeatedly subjected to “ultra-sonic” torture over more than 20 years in confinement.

 
When the Son of a World War II Veteran Is Compared to the Nazis ~ Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) is taking the fight for our First Amendment rights to the Supreme Court, on behalf of Masterpiece Cakeshop ~

Reflecting on his father’s sacrifices also provides (Jack Phillips) a reminder of his own battle. Instead of fighting on the battlefield, Jack is fighting for his rights in the courtroom. And instead of being applauded for standing up for those rights, a commissioner on the Colorado Civil Rights Commission compared Jack’s attempt to defend his religious freedom to the distortion of religion by the perpetrators of the Holocaust. That commissioner also called religious freedom a “despicable piece of rhetoric.”
 
The Supreme Court’s decision in Obergefell may have redefined marriage, but it didn’t redefine freedom. The government does not have the power to force creative professionals like Jack—or anyone for that matter—to celebrate events that violate their faith. That’s the kind of freedom the First Amendment guarantees, and that’s why we seek justice for Jack.

Phillips’ case has been dragging on for five years now. The U.S. Supreme Court will hear it on December 5. Please pray that they side with the Constitution.

 
Tom Coburn Has A Plan To Fight Washington And Save America ~ Former senator Coburn is the fiscal conservative who used to publish the annual government WasteBook. Mark Hemingway reviews his new book: Smashing the DC Monopoly: Using Article v to Restore Freedom and Stop Runaway Government ~

The book really serves two purposes. The first is to convince ordinary Americans that the problems in Washington are so dire they require dramatic action that elected politicians are unwilling to take. The second is to explain how ordinary voters and state politicians have the power to exploit an obscure constitutional process, known as an Article V convention, to bypass Washington and amend the Constitution to institute badly needed reforms, such as a balanced budget amendment and term limits.

The Rough Lives of Older Americans in ‘Nomadland’ ~ They live in RVs and drive from one low-wage job to another ~ This is sad I guess. On the other hand, maybe it’s the camper in me but our ancestors crossed the mountains and prairies in covered wagons… And it does seem awfully freeing; none of us are leaving this world with anything more than we brought into it

 
Judge Roy Moore’s former chief of staff: ‘Never once did I see anything suspicious or improper’ ~ Will we ever really know the truth?? Who knows, but Ben DuPré’s testimony rings true. And he’s far from alone ~ Character Witnesses: Former Girlfriends, Employees, and Childhood Friends Step Up to Defend Roy Moore
 
Hundreds of ISIS fighters smuggled out of Raqqa in ‘secret deal’ ~ What the hell is this? A kinder, gentler war? Thousands died at the hands of these barbarians, and while fighting to reclaim territory from them, and they’re released – only to regroup and fight again?

Almost 4,000 IS militants and their families were reportedly allowed to leave in a four-mile convoy as the group were defeated in the city in Syria last month.
 
Witnesses said it included ‘huge’ numbers of foreign fighters – including some English speakers – who are said to have since spread out across Syria and into Turkey, potentially en route to Europe.
 
This was despite the coalition being assured that no foreign fighters would be allowed to leave and previous US pledges that they would all be killed rather than allowed to return home.

 
Paul Ryan-Patty Murray Bill Will Allow Creation of National Database, Parent Activists Say ~ Don’t these lawmakers have anything better to do than invent new ways to infringe on our freedoms?

Parent and education activists say two bills introduced in Congress – one by House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-WI) and Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA) – are likely to increase surveillance of American citizens without their consent and the likelihood of the creation of a comprehensive national database.
 
The activists (American Principles Project)– many who have been battling federal control of education for nearly a decade – say the Foundations for Evidence-Based Policymaking Act (FEPA) (H.R. 4174; S. 2046) and the College Transparency Act (CTA) (H.R. 2434; S. 1121) – would create surveillance and tracking systems of American citizens in the name of “transparency” and “program evaluation.”

 
Exploding Meteor lights up the Arctic ~ Check out this crazy video of a meteor strike in Finland on Thursday night, from aurora tour guide Tony Bateman.