CHUCK TODD: ROY MOORE ‘DOESN’T APPEAR TO BELIEVE IN THE CONSTITUTION AS IT’S WRITTEN.’

MSNBC’s MTP Daily host Chuck Todd led off Wednesday’s show with an asinine, pants-on-fire assertion, which was that Alabama Republican senatorial candidate Roy Moore “doesn’t appear to believe in the Constitution as it’s written” because Moore said our rights come from God.

For any non-revisionist individual who’s read the Constitution or commentaries on it, they would know that Todd’s slam against Moore is pure and utter fake news. Why? It’s because the Constitution ensures that our God-given rights aren’t hinged upon by the government.

As Allahpundit writes, “What percentage of Americans believe the Bill of Rights recognizes human rights granted by God rather than ‘creates’ those rights? 80 percent, maybe? Next he’ll be shocking America’s conscience by claiming the Founders were divinely inspired. A man with those views couldn’t possibly win more than 75 percent in a statewide race in Alabama.”

Heh, indeed.™ Perhaps Todd should have consulted on this topic with his fellow MSNBC colleague, the Rev. Al Sharpton…

UPDATE (FROM GLENN): Democrats only seem to regard “the Constitution as written” as sacrosanct when there’s a danger that Republicans might be interpreting it. The rest of the time they’re telling us that it’s “confusing,” because it was “written 100 years ago, when America had thirteen states.”

CATALONIA: Madrid pulls out all the stops to block independence vote.

FALLOUT: Restaurants Are Turning Their TVs OFF To The NFL.

AND: DirecTV is offering an unprecedented refund of its ‘NFL Sunday ticket’ package over national anthem protests.

Either DirecTV thinks that few customers will take advantage, or that the NFL has become so toxic that they’re willing to issue a lot of refunds in exchange for good PR. The restaurant move makes me think it might be the latter.

Related (From Ed): CEO of the Dish Network Says That It’s No Longer Unthinkable to Simply Drop ESPN from Cable Networks.

MICHAEL BARONE: Trumpism over Trump? Roy Moore’s win and what it means.

BOOM: Trump Waives Jones Act for Puerto Rico.

NO, THEY AREN’T — NOT REALLY: Venezuela Prepares for War with US with ‘Rifles, Missiles, and Well-Oiled Tanks at the Ready.’

This is merely one more way for Maduro to deflect blame for the many failures of his government’s socialism, faithfully implemented.

GOOD IDEA: Trump ‘thinking about’ lifting Jones Act to help Puerto Rico.

STOP TRYING TO MAKE KATRINA HAPPEN. KATRINA ISN’T GOING TO HAPPEN. Amid NFL Obsession, Media Blinds Itself to Trump’s Puerto Rico Relief Efforts.

The message was clear: Trump was doing nothing to help Puerto Rico (based on liberal bias and tweets).

As it turns out, it was the media ignoring Puerto Rico—not Trump.

PBS’s John Yang spoke to Puerto Rico Gov. Ricardo Rossello about the help he has received from the states. Rosselo immediately said he was “very grateful for the administration” and that “they have responded quickly.”

“The president has been very attentive to the situation, personally calling me several times,” Rossello said. “FEMA and the FEMA director have been here in Puerto Rico twice. As a matter of fact, they were here with us today, making sure that all the resources in FEMA were working in conjunction with the central government.”

He asked Congress to quickly provide an aid package to the island.

Politico reported, “Rossello and other officials praised the federal government for planning its response in detail before the storm hit, a contrast with what Puerto Rico has long seen as the neglect of 3.4 million Americans living in a territory without a vote in Congress or the electoral college.”

Tweets mean nothing. It takes no effort at all to send one. Acting like Trump actually spent all day Monday caring about the NFL because of what he tweeted is absurd. Does the media really think all he does is tweet? It sure seems like it. They would rather write dozens of articles about every single one of the president’s tweets than look into what he’s actually doing.

Or maybe they can’t. Maybe [the press’s] humping President Barack Obama’s leg for eight years has made the current Republican administration unwilling to share as much information, because they know it’ll be spun negatively.

Ouch. Well, there’s lots of info at the FEMA website, such as: “There are more than 8,800 federal staff, including more than 600 FEMA personnel, on the ground in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands engaged in response and recovery operations from Hurricanes Maria and Irma.”

And:

FEMA, working in coordination with federal partners, provided more than 4.4 million meals, 6.5 million liters of water, nearly 300 infant and toddler kits to support 3000 infants for a full week, 70,000 tarps, and 15,000 rolls of roof sheeting to the U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico since Hurricane Maria’s landfall.

FEMA is delivering food and water to territorial points of distribution (POD) locations in 7 municipalities in Puerto Rico. Please reach out to municipality officials for specific locations. More PODs will continue to open as areas become accessible.

Officials in the U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico opened points of distribution (POD) in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands for survivors to get meals, water, and other commodities. The Governor of the U.S. Virgin Islands announced that PODs in the islands will be closed Wednesday, but 16 locations in St. Thomas, St. Croix, and St. John are scheduled to be open tomorrow.

In Puerto Rico, fuel was delivered to 19 hospitals for power generators. 200 gas stations received fuel yesterday for distribution to residents of Puerto Rico.

Maybe if Trump tweets it, the press will notice.

LIZ SHELD’S MORNING BRIEF: Tax Reform, RUSSIAN Facebook Ads and Much, Much More.

HUGH HEFNER HAS DIED, AT 91.

AT LEAST HE’S NOT LECTURING US ON OUR CARBON FOOTPRINT: EPA’s Pruitt took charter, military flights that cost taxpayers more than $58,000. Since these flights were approved through channels, this doesn’t seem like such a big story, especially as there’s no climate-change hypocrisy involved.

CIVIL RIGHTS UPDATE: Sessions says free speech ‘under attack’ on college campuses.

Decrying what he sees as political correctness run amok on college campuses, Attorney General Jeff Sessions said Tuesday the Justice Department will ramp up its support for students who sue universities claiming their free-speech rights have been violated. . . .

In declaring free speech “under attack” on college campuses, Sessions dove into an issue that has become a cause celebre for conservatives who argue their voices are being drowned out on college campuses, with speeches by right-wing figures derailed by protests and threats of violence. . . .

Demonstrations erupted this week at the University of California, Berkeley, around a planned four-day conservative event dubbed Free Speech Week, which was suddenly canceled. Sessions blamed administrators, saying they “coddle and encourage” by caving to protesters’ demands.

“The American university was once the center of academic freedom, a place of robust debate, a forum for the competition of ideas,” Sessions said. “But it is transforming into an echo chamber of political correctness and homogenous thought, a shelter for fragile egos.”

As Sessions spoke, the Justice Department announced it would throw its support behind a student who sued Georgia Gwinnett College, arguing his rights were violated when administrators limited where he could preach Christianity on campus. The department filed a so-called statement of interest in the case, saying its concerns were heightened because the student had also alleged religious discrimination.

I hope this is just the first of many.

WELL, GOOD: The FDA Has Created an Approval “Fast-Track” for Apple, Samsung, and Fitbit.

Called the “Pre-Cert for Software Pilot,” the move is meant to allow companies to develop technologies more rapidly, while still maintaining some government oversight over those projects. The affected companies will be able to get their products pre-cleared going forward, rather than going through the FDA’s standard application and approval process.

The hope with the program is that new health technologies could become available to the public much faster, while reducing the cost and time involved in developing them.

That’s a big step towards encouraging manufacturers to turn simple fitness trackers into actual health monitors.

THINK OF THEM AS DEMOCRATIC PARTY OPERATIVES WITH LAVALIER MICS AND IT ALL MAKES SENSE: CNN covered Republican Ted Stevens’ corruption trial 6 times more than Democrat Robert Menendez: Study.

21ST CENTURY HERETIC: Ohio State Student Refuses To State Preferred Pronouns: ‘If It Looks Like A Duck…”

THIS IS A MESS: Exclusive: Former Congressman Who Nominated Communist Extremist To West Point Aggressively Disavows.

The former Democratic congressman who nominated communist 2nd Lt. Spenser Rapone to West Point is now disavowing Rapone’s recent comments, which range from attacks on Secretary of Defense James Mattis to calls for political violence.

Former Democratic Rep. Jason Altmire of Pennsylvania told The Daily Caller News Foundation that Rapone’s long history of extremist tweets, which include calling Mattis an “evil, vile f****,” is shocking, disappointing and abhorrent.

“Several years ago, I met Spenser Rapone when he was a high school student seeking an appointment to West Point,” Altmire said. “At the time, he was an outstanding, well-rounded student who came from a good family. I have not been in touch with him in the years since the appointment, and I was shocked and extremely disappointed in the recent reports of his indefensible actions.”

“The behavior of 2nd Lieutenant Rapone is symbolic of a larger problem in our society — the epidemic of incivility in our public discourse,” Altmire continued. “While I strongly support the rights of American citizens to express their opinions, the actions of 2nd Lieutenant Rapone are abhorrent and appear to be in clear violation of the Uniform Code of Military Justice, in addition to being inconsistent with the values of the United States Military Academy. I have no doubt that the U.S. Army will take appropriate action.”

Apparently we need more vetting for these appointments, or something.

COMING OUT VERY SOON:  The Monster Hunter Files.  (Full disclosure, it contains a story by yours truly.  Also one by Larry Correia, one by Jim Butcher, and one by Brad Torgersen.)

THAT’S JUST TROLLING. AS IF ANYONE FOLLOWING HER WILL VOTE FOR LESS BOOB:  Playboy model ‘sucker-punched’ by her own boob will let fans decide her busty fate

FOR INSTANCE, IF YOUR FAVORITE SONG IS “IMAGINE”:   Your favorite song could reveal if you’re a psychopath.

THIS HAS BEEN GOING ON FOR A LONG TIME:   Just War Theory and the Baltic Crusades.

LIBERAL FEMALE PRIVILEGE:  Oxford University stabber avoids jail because of her ‘extraordinary’ potential.

WHAT AMAZES ME IS THAT BARNES AND NOBLE IS ESCHEWING EBOOKS:  After all, it was their (and the defunct Borders) full buy-into the push model of marketing that helped make the paper book market untenable.  B&N for the loss.

I TOO WOULD LIKE A RETURN TO CIVILIZED FLYING. I JUST CAN’T AFFORD IT:  Fear Of Flying.

SOMETIMES A REVIEW IS SO BRUTAL AND SO TOTALLY ACCURATE:  The agony of Alger.  And also, communist-worshipers should be slapped, even if (just) with words.