Mark Robinson, the conservative Republican nominee for governor of North Carolina and a popular Lt. Gov., allegedly made a series of inflammatory comments on a pornography website’s message board more than a decade ago. He’s accused of referring to himself as a “black NAZI!” and expressed support for reinstating slavery, a CNN KFile investigation found. CNN […] The post Mark Robinson Accused of Disturbing Comments on a Porn Forum appeared first on www.independentsentinel.com.

In order to ensure Kamala Harris’ victory in 2024, there has to be some sort of outsized force that propels her to it. But the problem for Harris is that there aren’t going to be more debates where points are teed up for her. If something bad happens in the world, that cuts against the Biden-Harris administration. If a large-scale war breaks out in the Middle East right now, that’s not going to cut against former President Trump; it’s going to cut against Biden-Harris because she’s the vice president who failed to prevent it. If there’s an economic collapse, that cuts against Harris. If there’s any piece of really bad data in the country right now, it cuts against the incumbent. But there is one piece of news that could be released and manipulated in order to try and help Harris. And it happened on Wednesday. The Wall Street Journal reported: ​The Federal Reserve voted to lower interest rates by a half-percentage point, opting for a bolder start in making its first reduction since 2020.  Eleven of 12 Fed voters backed the cut, which brings the benchmark federal-funds rate to a range between 4.75% and 5%. Quarterly projections released Wednesday showed a narrow majority of officials penciled in cuts that would lower rates by at least a quarter-point each at meetings in November and December. They’re going to start cutting, and they want a hard cut. The problem with a hard cut is that, first, inflation has not gone down all the way to the 2% number the Federal Reserve typically looks for, and, second, the economy is still pretty hot, meaning that unemployment numbers are still not radically up. So what are they doing? They’re injecting more money into an economy that actually is not flagging enough to justify that size of a cut. The case for a 25-basis point cut could be made. You could say we need to gradually inject more money into the economy. But interest rates should be free-flowing and not manipulated by the Federal Reserve at all. It’s ridiculous that we have a centralized government agency that decides how much your dollar is worth based on a dual mission of reducing unemployment and keeping inflation down. The free market should decide exactly how interest rates float, and sometimes the interest rates need to go up in order to clean out bubbles. When that doesn’t happen, bubbles end up growing, and then eventually, the bubbles burst. The Journal continues: The Fed governor Michelle Bowman dissented against Wednesday’s decision in favor of a smaller, quarter-point cut. Bowman, who was appointed to the board by Donald Trump in 2018, became the first governor to dissent against an interest-rate decision since 2005. It was the first dissent by any voter on the rate-setting committee since June 2022. The Fed rate cut marks just the sixth time in the past 30 years that the central bank switched from raising to lowering rates. Usually when the Fed starts cutting rates, it doesn’t know whether it will make a handful of small moves—as it did in 1995 and 1998, when the economy avoided a downturn—or whether it is the start of a longer series of reductions, as in 2001 and 2007, when the central bank cut rates a few months before the economy entered recession. So, they’re going to start lowering the interest rates again. There are a few reasons for this. One is the United States government is borrowing money at such an unbelievable clip right now that to leave those interest rates up would ratchet up the interest payments on the national debt. In order to correct for the vast national debt we are piling up, they’re lowering the interest rates so we don’t have to pay people back at as high rates. That’s a major factor. WATCH: The Ben Shapiro Show Another factor is supposed to be that the economy is slowing so much we need to inject a fresh round of capital. But let’s be real about this: Capital has not dried up in the American economy. That is why the stock market is currently riding precisely where it is. Just days ago, the price-to-earnings ratio (which assesses whether a stock is over- or under-valued) for the Dow Jones Industrial Average was riding at 31. The average PE ratio for the Dow over the past three years is 20. That’s insane. That means stocks are overvalued. That means there’s quite a lot of money in the system that is being thrown at the stock market because people don’t know what to do with the money. Investors are getting a fresh infusion of cash in their pocket, and they’re immediately planting it where they think it will possibly earn a return. Stocks would be one place. They’re presumably going to do the same in real estate. The problem is that the interest rates in real estate remain higher than they were five or six years ago. So even if you want to trade a house for a different house, that now means you’re giving up a 3.5% interest rate for a 6% interest rate on your mortgage, which costs you a lot more money. Am I Racist? Is In Theaters NOW — Get Your Tickets Here! So what is the cut designed to do? Making a 50-basis point cut signals two things at the same time. First, it signals the economy is on the verge of a downturn. That’s the reasoning for cutting it 50-basis points as opposed to 25. But second, a 50-basis point cut simultaneously signals that the worries about inflation are over, which means the economy is strong and solid. Obviously, these two things are in conflict with one another. Jerome Powell of the Federal Reserve tried to justify this. He said the Fed’s “patient approach” has paid dividends. If by “patient approach,” he means increasing the prices of everything over the past three and a half years by roughly 20%, then well done, Jerome. Don’t strain your shoulder patting yourself on the back too hard.  The New York Times reported:  People with jobs have started showing up at homeless shelters in Atlanta. Families who can’t cover their grocery bills are pushing up demand at a Boston food bank. A dearth of available houses is plaguing Sacramento. Yet reports of recent raises abound, and a partly retired homeowner near Pittsburgh is happy about his savings. America’s bout of painfully high inflation — and the period of high interest rates meant to cure it — is finally drawing toward a close. Price increases are nearly back to a normal pace, so much so that the Federal Reserve voted on Wednesday to lower borrowing costs for the first time in more than four years. But even as the nation’s tumultuous pandemic economic era begins to approach its end, the period is destined to leave lingering marks. The Federal Reserve does not want Donald Trump in office. They clearly would like to see Harris elected. So what is the cut really about? What it’s about is trying to generate an ersatz feeling of good momentum on the economy, despite the fact the Business Roundtable CEO Economic Outlook Index suggests the job market is slowing. Is it slowing, or is it solid? We don’t know. Jerome Powell won’t tell us. Is inflation conquered, or is it just coming down? We don’t know. He won’t tell us. While White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre has the nerve to suggest the White House is completely independent of the Federal Reserve, have you noticed that every major Democrat in the Senate has been calling for a lowering of interest rates for the last year and a half in an attempt to artificially jog the economy? * * * WATCH THE TRAILER FOR ‘AM I RACIST?’ — A MATT WALSH COMEDY ON DEI

Two dozen House Republicans are firing a warning shot at GOP leadership: remove the provision to “draft our daughters” from the 2025 NDAA — or else. Led by Republicans Chip Roy of Texas and Mary Miller of Illinois, the cohort of Republicans sent a letter to House Speaker Mike Johnson Thursday addressing the passage of H.R. 8070, the Servicemember Quality of Life Improvement and National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year (FY) 2025. The NDAA’s executive summary explicitly notes that it “amends the Military Selective Service Act to require the registration of women for Selective Service.” “[W]e write today in opposition to the Senate Armed Services Committee’s heinous decision to advance an NDAA that includes a provision to draft our daughters,” the Republicans wrote. “Instead of solely focusing on advancing our national security objectives, the Senate Armed Service Committee once again chose behind closed doors to report an NDAA that amends the Military Selective Service Act to register women with the selective service.” Should they all vote against the NDAA, the bill would pass with more Democrats than Republicans voting in support. “Forcing young women to register for the selective service is an affront to our nation’s values and does not enhance military readiness – the only metric by which Congress should measure an NDAA. This is yet another blatant attempt to advance a divisive agenda that seeks to eliminate all distinctions between males and females,” they added. The Republicans emphasized that the GOP should not be complicit in drafting American women. UNITED STATES – AUGUST 23: Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, speaks during a House Freedom Caucus news conference on infrastructure, Afghanistan, and other issues, outside the U.S. Capitol on Monday, August 23, 2021. (Photo By Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images) “Under no circumstances should the House of Representatives greenlight a future that cripples the American family by sending mothers and daughters to the frontlines – drafted to be combat replacements for casualties on the battlefield – while fathers and sons stay home. A country that pursues radical social ideology over basic principles will not remain a strong, resilient nation,” they wrote. The letter calls on Johnson to “unequivocally oppose any effort to draft our daughters,” noting that the effort has been defeated in the past and “must be defeated again.” “The reality is, if we are a country that actively chooses to forcibly conscript our daughters, we are past the point of rescue,” they concluded. The 24 Republicans are Roy, Miller, Bob Good of Virginia, Josh Brecheen of Oklahoma, Harriet Hageman of Wyoming, Paul Gosar of Arizona, Bill Posey of Florida, Andy Biggs of Arizona, Ralph Norman of South Carolina, Brian Babin of Texas, Eric Burlison of Missouri, Barry Moore of Alabama, Warren Davidson of Ohio, Michael Cloud of Texas, Alex Mooney of Maryland, Andy Ogles of Tennessee, Diana Harshbarger of Tennessee, Mark Green of Tennessee, Andrew Clyde of Georgia, Ben Cline of Virginia, Lauren Boebert of Colorado, Robert Aderholt of Alabama, and Keith Self of Texas. Under Section 598A, “Selective Service System Automatic Registration,” the bill says: “Except as otherwise provided in this Act, every citizen of the United States, and every other person residing in the United States between the ages of eighteen and twenty-six shall be automatically registered by the Selective Service System.” Johnson did not immediately respond to a request for comment from The Daily Wire. Read the full letter here.

Actress Patricia Heaton torched Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) after the congresswoman blasted Israel for the explosion of pagers in Lebanon that belonged to Iran-backed Hezbollah terrorists. In a post on Wednesday on X, the 66-year-old actress and outspoken Israel supporter called out AOC, whom she noted was silent about the murder of children by Hezbollah, but upset about the wave of explosions of electronic communications equipment of terrorists. “Hey @AOC where were you when Hezbollah murdered 12 Druze children on a soccer field with indiscriminate bombing?” Heaton wrote. “*Crickets* Please sit this one out. Your J*w h*tred is showing.” Hey @AOC where were you when Hezbollah murdered 12 Druze children on a soccer field with indiscriminate bombing? *Crickets* Please sit this one out. Your J*w h*tred is showing. https://t.co/2FMe5pT35U — Patricia Heaton (@PatriciaHeaton) September 19, 2024 On July 27, a dozen kids were playing soccer on a field in the Druze town in Golan Heights when rockets hit sent by Hezbollah, killing at least 12 kids and wounding a dozen more, as previously reported. AOC’s original post claimed that the detonation of the handheld devices seriously injured and killed “innocent civilians,” labeling the attack a clear violation of “international humanitarian law” and claimed that it “undermines US efforts to prevent a wider conflict.” Am I Racist? Is In Theaters NOW — Get Your Tickets Here! “Congress needs a full accounting of the attack, including an answer from the State Department as to whether any US assistance went into the development or deployment of this technology,” she added. As previously reported, the blasts — which may have killed 19 and wounded 150 of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) members — started on Tuesday afternoon around 3:30 p.m. local time when pagers used by Hezbollah started beeping with a message from their leadership. After a few beeps, the pagers simultaneously exploded across the country, blinding hundreds, tearing off limbs, and leaving gaping holes in bodies. Heaton has been outspoken in her support for Israel following the Hamas terrorist attack on October 7, taking to social media numerous times blasting anti-Semitism and more. She recently called on others to join her — after an anti-Israel representative labeled any of those supporting Israel and Jewish people “the enemy.” In a post on X, the Hollywood actress reacted to a clip of Taher Herzallah, rep for American Muslims for Palestine (AMP), saying, “Anybody who has a relationship with … or identifies themself as a Jewish person or as a Christian Zionist … they are enemy number one. And our community needs to recognize that as such.” “I guess I’m ‘enemy number one.’ Anyone care to join me?” Heaton wrote. Related: Patricia Heaton Says She’s ‘Enemy Number One’ Anti-Israel Rep Labels Those Supporting Israel, Jews The Enemy

In an incident that left one person dead, a Kentucky sheriff was arrested after shooting a judge at the Letcher County Courthouse in Whitesburg, Kentucky. According to The Mountain Eagle, Letcher County Sheriff Mickey Stines, a Democrat, is accused of shooting District Judge Kevin Mullins, District Judge of the 47th Judicial District, in his office. Mullins served as the assistant commonwealth’s attorney in Letcher County before being appointed as a district judge by Democrat Governor Steve Beshear in 2009. According to the profile of Mullins for the Cocaine, Meth & Stimulant Summit in November 2022: Judge Mullins has set forth to implement practices that promote substance use treatment for justice-involved individuals and has successfully helped 971 residents of Letcher County (population 22,000) enter inpatient residential treatment. Likewise, the program developed on August 14, 2018, by Judge Mullins and Matt Brown with Addiction Recovery Care to offer peer support services within the courthouse and courtrooms has been adopted in 50 counties across the Commonwealth helping 16,510 individuals into inpatient residential treatment. Judge Mullins served as a founding member of the Responsive Effort to Support Treatment in Opioid Recovery Efforts (RESTORE) Leadership Team. Judge Mullins’ participation on the RESTORE initiative led to his appointment to the Kentucky Judicial Commission on Mental Health. Letcher County Central High School in Whitesburg locked down; the school wrote on Facebook: Parents and Community: After a call from Kentucky State Police, we were ordered to go into a mandatory lockdown because of an active shooting in downtown. Your children are safe. The shooter has been apprehended, but KSP has not released us to come out of lockdown. Your children were never in a concerning situation. Please give us time to work with KSP to figure out our next steps. The coroner confirmed one person was killed, but did not identify the dead person as Mullins.

'If you are Harris, you are running scared'

'Everyone knew all along that I was the fall guy'

'We want to see the mission'

'Three out of the five scientists were retaliated against'

The Atlanta Police Department (APD) released CCTV footage appearing to show two men breaking into Atlanta Check Cashiers, according to Fox 5. The business was robbed on Sept. 3, authorities said, the outlet reported. Both suspects remain at large. The video appears to show the suspects entering the business through the ceiling and surprising a […]