If you watched the debate last night and you went in with a side already chosen, then you probably think your person and side won. Me? I say forget the words and spins and means upon which a question may have been distorted and avoided. Take a look at the five charts that measured the states against each other. Those were the undisputed facts. Education, taxes, crime, citizens moving to and from. Those told the story. The old saying is, you can argue the facts, but you are not entitled to your own facts. The numbers told the story for me. The only question to me is this one. Which person running for President has the greatest chance to bring that to the nation as a whole?
Israel and Hamas
As I write this it looks like the cease fire is over and the hostilities are about to commence again. The more we learn about the atrocities committed on October 7th and how some of the hostages sharing their captivity story were treated, it reinforces for me what Israel must do. The world will be a safer place for all if we don’t stand in their way, and as Senator Marco Rubio told an interviewer asking him about innocent deaths now replied, “Hamas owns every death.” Rubio was right, Hamas caused this and protecting yourself is still allowed.
While On Terrorists
Here’s a vote that didn’t get much coverage on the MSM. I wonder why. The House approved in a veto-proof vote a bill that would permanently freeze $6 billion in Iranian oil revenue previously unfrozen by President Biden as part of a hostage swap deal with the Islamic Republic. House Foreign Affairs Committee Chair Rep. Michael McCaul’s bill, the No Funds for Iranian Terrorism Act, passed in a 307 to 119 vote. Nearly all Republicans and more than 90 Democrats voted in favor of the measure, which imposes a sanction to prevent $6 billion in Iranian oil assets from being accessed by the country.
With Iran acting as the banker for terrorists around the world, how could any administration think giving them these funds is a good idea?
Between the Hamas manipulation of hostage releases and world pressure to continue the cease fire, Israel is under surreal pressure. Hamas, with its trickle release of individuals they illegally took prisoner, and the pressure from leaders, (like our President), on Israel’s retaliatory action to protect itself, they are being limited in their actions. Let me say one more time. There is no moral equivalency. Hamas caused this. Hamas promised to do it again. Israel has the right to take them out before they get the chance to do so.
Senate Majority Leader Schumer, as the highest ranking Jewish leader in the nation, finally addressed this yesterday on the Senate floor. He delivered an emotional speech condemning the rise in antisemitism and what he called a “double standard” for Jews: “I have noticed a significant disparity between how Jewish people regard the rise of antisemitism and how many of my non-Jewish friends regard it. To us, the Jewish people, the rise of antisemitism is a crisis — a five-alarm fire that must be extinguished. Can you blame us for feeling vulnerable only 80 years after Hitler wiped out half of the Jewish population across the world while many countries turned their back? Can you appreciate the deep fear we have about what Hamas might do if left to their own devices? Because the long arc of Jewish history teaches us a lesson that is hard to forget: ultimately, that we are alone.” He wondered where all those who Jewish citizens marched with were now that they are needed. Good question.
A just released Marist poll asked people which side they sympathized with more; 61 percent said Israel and 30 percent the Palestinians – which seems about right. Then there was this YouGov poll which I found interesting and you might too:
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Some Interesting Tidbits:
Elizabeth Hirsh Naftali, a major Democratic donor who is under a House investigation for buying Hunter Biden’s artwork, is also the great aunt of the first American hostage released by Hamas during the cease-fire deal.
How about this? Nearly 4,000 car dealerships signed an open letter to President Biden urging him to delay the timeline for proposed emissions standards that would force two-thirds of new vehicles sold by 2032 be electric. The opposition, which includes 3,882 individual dealers from all 50 states that collectively call themselves EV Voice of the Customer, sounded an alarm that auto manufacturers have also been ringing: Consumers aren’t ready to go electric. “Already, electric vehicles are stacking up on our lots, which is our best indicator of customer demand in the marketplace,” the groups stated in the letter on Tuesday. “Mr. President, no government agency, no think tank, and no polling firm knows more about the automobile customer than us.” Then you knew this was coming — how do we recover the lost revenue from gas tax because of EV’s? The owners of electric vehicles face expensive speed bumps as an increasing number of states tack on costly registration fees to recoup lost gas tax revenue. Critics say the annual expense unfairly punishes climate-conscious drivers who want to save on fuel. Proponents say a tax is vital to fund roads and bridges because of hybrids and EV’s. With internal combustion engines going farther on every gallon of gas, all-electric vehicles have worsened an issue in the making for years. State fuel taxes made up 38.4% of states’ transportation budgets last year, down from 41.1% in 2018, according to the National Association of State Budget Officers. States projected they are going to lose up to $87 billion by 2050 as fuel efficiency improves and more drivers go green. At least 32 states require an annual fee on top of regular registration costs for EVs, and 19 of them also have plug-in hybrid fees, according to the nonpartisan National Conference of State Legislatures. You know all those savings they keep telling you about? Get ready to pay more.
Meanwhile, Donald Trump is out there again. First, he is back to saying he is going to replace Obamacare – with a better policy and lower costs. Remember how he railed against the Affordable Care Act and promised a “better and lower cost plan?” Well, its back: “I don’t want to terminate Obamacare, I want to REPLACE IT with MUCH BETTER HEALTHCARE. Obamacare Sucks!!!” he wrote on his Truth Social.
Then there was this story out of former Speaker McCarthy’s office reported in The Washington Post: During a phone call with McCarthy, following his removal as House speaker: “Trump lambasted McCarthy for not expunging his two impeachments and endorsing him in the 2024 presidential campaign, according to people familiar with the conversation. ‘F— you,’ McCarthy claimed to have then told Trump, when he rehashed the call later to other people in two separate conversations, according to the people. A spokesperson for McCarthy, while not denying the quote, said that he did not swear at the former president and that they have a good relationship. A spokesperson for Trump declined to comment.”
Finally, this report is out today and concerns the “closed border” the administration tells us we have: Immigrants now make up 15% of the U.S. population, the highest share in history, breaking records established more than a century ago, according to a report. The Center for Immigration Studies, citing Census Bureau statistics, says 49.5 million immigrants — both legal and illegal — are residing in the country. The number is rapidly rising, with a net of 4.5 million immigrants settling since January 2021, when President Biden took office. That is equivalent to the entire population of Oregon or Oklahoma in just 34 months.
Some News That Could Have Been Missed Over The Holiday
It looks like Rep. George Santos will be expelled this week. This is a big deal. What you should know isthe House hasn’t expelled one of its own members in more than 20 years. There have only been five expulsions in the entire history of the House! Now, you should know too: The House also voted to bring no charges at all against Rep. Bowman for his fire alarm gig.
Meanwhile, over in the Senate, Majority leader Schumer is slamming Senate Republicans for conditions the House passed on the aid package for a border fix and Ukraine funding. He said Democrats “stand ready to work on common-sense solutions.” You know, the one where the administration money goes to faster border processing, and Ukraine additional funding is all incremental and not paid for. “Common sense” may well be on the House side as I see it.
Did you hear that Major League Baseball is awarding the 2025 All Star Game to Atlanta, the city they pulled it from last year, because of what the President called “Jim Crow Voting Law Changes?” At the time the Governor of Georgia said: “There is nothing ‘Jim Crow’ about requiring a photo or state-issued ID to vote by absentee ballot – every Georgia voter must already do so when voting in-person.” Well, upon reflection there was no reason for MLB to do what they did. In fact, voting numbers weren’t just up, they had a record turnout. MLB owes Georgia and the nation an apology for their misguided and mistaken stance. Gov. Kemp’s reaction to the announcement was: “Georgia’s voting laws haven’t changed, but it’s good to see the MLB’s misguided understanding of them has.” Shouldn’t this have gotten some coverage in the MSM?
The next time you hear this Supreme Court is nothing but far right, add this decision to your counter argument: The Supreme Court refused to allow Florida to enforce its law preventing children from being exposed to adult, sexually explicit performances such as drag shows. In a 6-3 action, the court declined Florida’s request to reverse a district court ruling that blocked its law from being enforced statewide. The lower court said the law infringed on the restaurant’s first amendment rights. Justices Clarence Thomas, Neil M. Gorsuch and Samuel A. Alito Jr. were the three supporting Florida’s request.
Here’s another story that they buried over the holiday weekend: The Education Department approved millions of applications for President Biden’s now-defunct student loan forgiveness program without checking to make sure the borrowers were eligible, Congress’ chief watchdog said in a new report. Read that again. Not only were they going to relieve loans for people, there was no check on eligibility!!
This is only two years after fraudsters stole hundreds of billions of dollars from covid pandemic assistance programs based on self-reporting of eligibility. They trusted, instead of “trusting but verifying.”
The administration was poised to do it again, the Government Accountability Office concluded. It said the department was ready to approve more than 2 million applications that relied on people to self-report their own incomes — the same sort of model that led to the pandemic fraud loss.
Back to the House. Don’t Republicans on the far right ever learn that they have to win elections to govern? This time it’s Rep. Chip Roy,with other conservative members of the House Freedom Caucus, who’re saying they won’t give Speaker Johnson another free pass (on the budget). Now Johnson has limited power to get his way. The Democratic control the White House and Senate.
Roy said that, “Johnson’s concessions to Democrats to pass a funding stopgap lasting until January and February are strike one, strike two.” Which I guess means if he gets strike three, he (and his friends) are ready to recall the new speaker and put us through that debacle again.
Meanwhile, do you know that: Thirty House members — 19 Democrats and 11 Republicans — have announced that they will not seek reelection next year, covering a wide range of congressional seniority, post-House plans and reasons for jumping ship. Sixteen are retiring from public office, 11 are running for seats in the Senate, and three are eyeing other government positions.
And finally, this story on people voting with their choice on where to live: Roughly 300,000 more Americans moved between states in 2022 than in 2021. The federal agency estimated that the number of interstate movers rose about 4% from nearly 7.9 million people in 2021 to about 8.2 million last year. State-to-state migrations also comprised a larger share of all movers between 2021 and 2022. The most relocations were out of California and New York. Where did they go? You got it, Texas and Florida.
It didn’t get much coverage, but a high-profile George Soros woke Democratic prosecutor in northern Virginia, who pursued progressive reforms, conceded defeat in her re-election bid. Buta Biberaj lost the race for Loudoun County Commonwealth’s Attorney by 300 votes out of 135,000 cast. She was the prosecutor in Loudoun County and defended the school board chair during the recent controversy.
Like her or not, Rep. Majorie Greene can drive controversy and make news. In questioning Homeland Security Secretary Mayorkas, she held up a picture of some individual people. After asking the secretary if he sees them and he answers “yes,” she informs him: “They are dead,” tying it back to the border that he claims is closed. She then says: “I want you to know you have a short time remaining, you can honorably resign or we are going to impeach you and it’s happening very, very soon.”
While on Mayorkas, how about this story. He told Congress that he didn’t know that three people he appointed to a new intelligence experts panel in September, had spread disinformation about Hunter Biden’s laptop just ahead of the 2020 election. Here are the names, I bet you knew, but he, the Homeland Secretary didn’t. James Clapper, the former Director of National Intelligence; John Brennan, the former CIA chief in the Obama administration, and Paul Kolbe, a long-time CIA official. With this guy, it is one of two things: He’s either a congenital liar or clueless. In either case he shouldn’t be in the job he is in. Of course some will say “maybe he didn’t know.” Of course they will. After all, you can fool some of the people all the time.
Joe Manchin answers a question very directly and it sends shivers through the White House. He said, “absolutely” he would consider running for president in 2024.
Remember when Hamas first attacked Israel and the left and MSM were all over the House about passing the aid package that was needed now? It was all about those Republicans who need to act? The President proposed a $100 billion new spending package to include Israel, Ukraine and border processing funds. Well, new Speaker Johnson broke the package up and passed the Israel funding the next day, with a means to pay the bill. Remember how urgent it was? So how come the Senate Democrats voted “no” and it gets no coverage? I thought it was beyond urgent two weeks ago. Is it not urgent if Schumer and team vote no; or is it just media bias?
Really, the best person in New Jersey to take on Senator Menendez is the Governors wife? She has never held elective office.
George Santos is a piece of work. The House Ethics Committee unanimously concludes that he should be referred to the Justice Department because there is “substantial evidence” he misused campaign funds, filed false reports on his donations and engaged in other forms of fraud. He knows he’s cooked, so what does he do? Announces he won’t run for reelection in an effort to save his place for the next year. I don’t think it will work.
If you wonder where some people get their news and how they think like they do, take a look at this:
Yes, 32% of 18-29 year olds get their news from TiK Tok. Now, who was it that controls TiK Tok again? And, the share of TikTok users who consume news through the platform has nearly doubled since 2020. Add this in the news this AM: A 2002 letter written by Osama bin Laden attempting to justify the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks he masterminded went viral on TikTok. Some users are drawing connections between the letter and the Israel-Hamas war.
If you watched the press conference after the meeting, you may have come away with the impression I did. They agreed to open military communication again, and China will look to curb fentanyl. Well, since we have lost 75,000 American citizens the past two years from this illegal drug from China, how about not looking and doing? I didn’t see or hear anything else; nor did I come away confident that this President is on top of things. He didn’t appear strong. I didn’t get the impression that he can negotiate from strength for us. I thought about that as I watched him hesitate, read from notes and have pre arranged questioners . Maybe I am used to a Clinton, Reagan or Obama for articulation; or a George HW Bush for knowledge and history, but I don’t get either here.
Leadership Example Toyota
Toyota announced that beginning next year the leading selling sedan car in America, the Camry, will be sold only as a hybrid. From the outset of the plan to convert the nation and world to EV’s, Toyota has been clear that hybrids are the step to get there. They didn’t understand American leadership pushing EV’s now. In the last month we had Ford and GM announce they are cutting back on EV plant investment and autos, pushing their timeline back. Why? They both said the consumer was not ready, and they were losing too much money. Toyota, meanwhile, moved ahead with Hybrids and continues to lead. While GM and Ford reported concerns over sales and profits, Toyota reported record profits because of hybrid sales. They also announced a new SUV hybrid, Crown Signia. Anyone want to bet who will be all hybrid first and lead the way the next decade? Leadership matters.
Leadership Needed: Getting Control Of Our Deficit
There is no leadership on this directive from some we need it from. Why they think they can just continue to spend, add to the debt and drive up interest payments, is beyond my comprehension. Senate Democrats voted down the funding of Israeli aid by reducing 87,000 new IRS agents. They want just the aid and add the costs to the debt. Some information on the debt from the Center To Unleash Prosperity: It would take spending cuts or tax increases equivalent to $2,400 per American per year to stabilize the national debt, according to a new book that shows the U.S. government’s fiscal situation is more precarious than lawmakers of either party acknowledge. Why it matters: The numbers sound an alarm about America’s fiscal vulnerability, at a time when there’s bipartisan resistance to steps that might change that course, What’s happening: The numbers on America’s fiscal vulnerability are spelled out in “Building a More Resilient U.S. Economy,” from the Aspen Economic Strategy Group, led by former Treasury Secretaries Hank Paulson and Tim Geithner. To reduce deficits to the point where the public debt levels off as a share of the economy — a more plausible goal than balancing the budget — Congress would have to enact some mix of spending cuts and tax increases equivalent to 2.8% of GDP, or nearly $800 billion per year. Reality check: There’s zero political momentum for deficit reduction at that scale. Here’s a graph on our public debt and what has occurred over the past few years and where it’s going.
A Few Interesting Polls
We wondered from the day it was announced who thought Bidenomics was a good term and idea. Nothing since then has altered that view. Here’s the latest poll from the respected Financial Times and U of Michigan. President Biden made a strategic decision to own the term “Bidenomics” and make it the centerpiece of his re-election campaign. The media has bought this narrative hook, line, and sinker. Unfortunately for the President, the voters aren’t biting. A new poll by the Financial Times and the University of Michigan finds that a mere 14% of Americans believe they are better off financially now than when Biden took office. Almost 70% of voters thought Biden’s economic policies had either hurt the US economy or had no impact.
A second poll on how safely Jewish students feel here in America at school: The poll, sponsored by the Jewish Federations of North America, found that 70% of Jewish respondents said they feel less safe than a few months earlier. Three-quarters of U.S. Jews worry their communities would face security problems as a result of the Israel-Hamas war. Jews who wear distinctive items such as a yarmulke or Star of David necklace were twice as likely to feel worried “all the time” versus those Jews who do not wear them, the survey said. This should not be, not in America and just 68 years after WWII and the holocaust.
Then We Have The Hunter Biden Subpoena For Donald Trump
Everyone else is taking Donald Trump to court, so why not Hunter? After all, Hunter’s problems are all Donald’s fault. I didn’t realize it was Trump who told Hunter to lie on his gun application. I thought he did it on his own. I didn’t realize it was Trump who supported all the drugs, prostitutes and crack. I didn’t realize it was Trump setting up all those foreign deals. I must have missed the news that day.
With The Holiday Next Week, We’ll Be Limited In Any Blogs. Happy Thanksgiving To You And Yours.
New Speaker Johnson deserves credit for the House passage of his double tiered continuing resolution. Everyone can go home for Thanksgiving dinner, and we will be spared the MSM stories of starving young children because of the mean Republicans. Why did it happen? Republicans well know that the fiasco of removing Speaker McCarthy cannot be repeated. They embarrassed the party and themselves. They have to be in line now and not shut the government down. The Democrats had no alternative. What were they going to do? They couldn’t shut down the government because they don’t like a two-pronged deadline. Thus, Speaker Johnson rides both to an agreement for a few months.
Congress may well need a break if you heard or read about these three events yesterday. Rep. Tim Burchett (Tenn.), one of eight GOP members who voted to strip Kevin McCarthy of the Speakership last month, claimed McCarthy elbowed him in the back — “a clean shot to the kidneys” — in a Capitol hallway. “I guess our elbows hit as I walked by,” McCarthy later told reporters. “If I would hit somebody, they would know I hit them.” Talking to CNN later Tuesday, Burchett accused McCarthy of being “a bully with $17 million in security.” Ever ready, McCarthy hater Rep. Matt Gaetzfiled a formal ethics complaint over the incident.
Also, on the House side we had a Democrat Representative (Moskowitz) attack Republican Congressman Comer (who is leading the Biden family investigation) of doing the same actions as the President — loaning money to his brother. Rep. Comer stopped the clock of the hearing to go after Rep. Moskowitz to “correct the record” in a clear, direct format that you usually don’t see on the House floor.
Then on the Senate side: At a hearing of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee, Sen. Markwayne Mullin of Oklahoma challenged International Brotherhood of Teamsters General President Sean O’Brien to a fight. The senator read a past tweet from O’Brien in which the union leader appeared to challenge Mullin, writing, “You know where to find me. You want to run your mouth, we can be two consenting adults, we can finish it here,” Mullin challenged. O’Brien accepted Mullin’s challenge, with Mullin saying, “Stand your butt up then.” It took committee chairperson, Senator Bernie Sanders to call order on the committee.
While on Congress: As reported yesterday, eight Republicans joined a united Democratic party to not impeach Homeland Security Secretary Mayorkas. He of the “border is closed” remarks. Well, not long after the vote that saved him comes this report. Illegal immigration in October was the second-worst month on record, with Homeland Security recording 309,221 encounters with unauthorized migrants. The Border Patrol also detected 12 terrorism suspects at the southern border and one caught trying to sneak in across the northern border in October. Fentanyl seizures rose, with Border Patrol agents recording massive amounts flowing between the ports of entry. Yup, the border is closed, and we voted to allow him to continue in his role.
The Story Out Of Iowa
With the nation’s first official read of the candidates now closing in, in fact Iowa is two months from today, the pieces are falling into place. Ron Desantis seems to have bet it all on Iowa and is pushing hard now. He is visiting all 99 counties in the state and throwing his resources and funds behind it. The endorsement he won from the state’s popular governor helps him.
Meanwhile, Gov. Nikki Haley, sensing an opening to run ahead of DeSantis, will spend $10 million on campaign ads across Iowa and New Hampshire beginning in the first week of December. She has a three state strategy, Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina. She does seem to have some momentum. Looming over it all, of course, is former President Trump. Iowa and then New Hampshire are shaping up as vital – once again – this Presidential Year.
One more positive story emerging for Haley was this one and involved the respected JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon. The story: He has been talking privately with GOP presidential candidate Nikki Haley about the global economy, and believes she has the potential to bring the country together, a top banking source said. Why it matters: Dimon’s informal phone conversations are a vivid sign of the growing establishment enthusiasm for Haley, the former UN ambassador and South Carolina governor. Haley’s strong performance in debates has led many establishment figures to speculate that if only she could get past former President Trump for the nomination, she’d give President Biden a run for his money. Dimon admires Haley’s grasp of the economy, and her recognition of the role that business and government can play in driving growth by working together, the source said.
One thing on the general election and all the polls you are seeing about Trump versus Biden. You better understand they mean nothing. In the primary, no one is attacking the former President. If he gets the nomination the barriers will be down. The attacks from the left, the Democrats and Media will be relentless and endless. Already we hear the trial in Georgia will “likely” run through the 2024 election. Just think about that and all the other cases before then. Here’s a story out of Politico today on a related thought: Former Vice President Mike Pence and Sen. Tim Scott (R., S.C.) had bet that there was a silent majority of Republican presidential primary voters who wanted a return to sunny, Reaganesque Republican politics, but they were proven wrong. They better think outside the primary.
The President Meets With China
We expect some real news and agreements to come out of this meeting today. The administration has sent no less than four top members to China in preparation to plan and negotiate. We better get real results. I expect China to promise to take some action on fentanyl. After 150,000 of our citizens have died the past two years from the drug and China has allowed it, we need more than a promise to do something. Let’s see. I know the MSM will do all they can to hype anything like this that emerges. I ask, why was it allowed at all?
Which also is a question for the continued attacks from Iran proxies on our troops in the Middle East. We are up to 59 now.
Imagine: A Week And A Day Before Thanksgiving And No Shut Down.
Maybe it is just me but I didn’t realize the Biden-Harris 2024 campaign slogan is: “Finish The Job.” No comment needed.
There is real panic that Sen. Joe Manchin may run as a third party candidate on both sides, but more from the Democrats. It goes beyond the Presidency. They also realize that winning his West Virginia Senate seat is very slim in 51-49 Senate.
Homeland Security Secretary Mayorkas survived his impeachment vote 209 – 201. Eight Republicans joined Democrats to save him.
Maybe they think it’s true that the border is closed.
Meanwhile, Speaker Johnson has proposed a CR (Continuing Resolution) that funds the government at current levels in two stages. Parts through January, the rest through February. He will need Democratic votes to get it past since more than three members of his party disapprove. Why do they disapprove? Because it funds the government at current levels and there are no cuts. Will he (Johnson) get the Democrat votes, or will we face a shut down? I think he will, though the MSM is presenting this as a Republican disagreement. My question is: If it is funding at the levels they want, why should Democrats vote no?
Meanwhile, the infighting in the Republican House remains real. Former Speaker McCarthy said he thinks the Republican Party would benefit “tremendously” if Rep. Matt Gaetz were no longer a member of the House.“People have to earn the right to be here. He’ll admit to you personally, he doesn’t have a conservative bent in his philosophy. And just the nature of what he focuses on. I don’t believe the conference will ever heal if there’s no consequences for the actions,” he said.
Former Governor Chris Christie visited Israel and look at who he blamed for the fighting:, He said that Trump’s “rhetoric of intolerance — as evident today as it was during his presidency — had fueled the surge of bigotry confronting Jews and Muslims after Hamas’s brutal Oct. 7 attack on Israel and the fierce Israeli response in Gaza.” Maybe he knows he’s not getting the nomination and wants a job in the MSM.
If you saw the debate last week and have watched some coverage you see the Social Security issue rising again and how those mean Republicans want to throw Granny over the hill again. Here’s a comment from The Committee To Unleash Prosperity yesterday: The AVERAGE Social Security benefit today is a measly $1,705.80 a month. That’s after paying 40 years of a 12% payroll tax imposed on every paycheck they earned. The GOP should be talking about how to make Social Security a BETTER deal for seniors, not a worse one. If Congress hadn’t stolen payroll tax money (and spent it on other programs) but merely deposited the funds in a passbook low-interest savings account – retirees would be getting two to three times MORE than Social Security is promising to pay. If the money had been put into a 401k plan the monthly benefits would be five to 10 times higher. When social security was running a surplus, congress took the extra money and spent it. They gave social security an IOU. Now we need the funds, and the solution they offer is to cut funds. How about cutting their retirement?
Speaking of debates, did you know the next Republican debate is Dec. 6th and Megyn Kelly will be one of the moderators? That should be interesting. Since the last debate, Republican National Committee Chair Ronna McDaniel has had to defend herself against the comments of Vivek Ramaswamy about her performance. Her latest return fire: “Listen, he’s at 4%, he needs a headline.”
Remember former Baltimore top prosecutor Marilyn Mosby? Without much MSM coverage of one of their favorites, she was convicted of charges that she lied about the finances of a side business to improperly access retirement funds during the COVID-19 pandemic, using the money to buy two Florida homes. She faces real time. She gained a national profile for prosecuting Baltimore police officers after Freddie Gray died in police custody in 2015. His death led to riots and protests in the city. Remember that? By the way, none of the officers was ever convicted. She just was.
On Veterans Day weekend as we celebrated those who served, the news came that we lost five of our youngest, bravest and brightest in a helicopter that went down in the Middle-East. Reports of what happened are still sketchy, and it doesn’t appear the chopper was shot down. But losing five special forces young soldiers is a very sad moment. Meanwhile, almost fifty attacks by Iranian proxies have been conducted on our troops. Yesterday we finally took a stronger action than striking back at an empty building. I don’t think that the action is going to make Iran and others think that President Biden is in a different mood. We need strong, clear, decisive leadership now to protect additional of our young troops.
Wait Now
So, San Francisco, in an action led by Governor Newsom, cleans up the streets, tents, fetus, drug needles and filth because the leader of China and President Biden are coming for a visit. Why isn’t it cleaned for the citizens he leads? How come he knows it’s wrong, but only clears it up for a few days for leaders to visit? Does that bother you too? It’s like when President Biden finally visited the border. They cleared the area and all he saw was a safe clean wall area. Ridiculous, but then again, you can fool some of the people all the time.
Let me understand this. Some of the illegal border crossers, who were relocated to Chicago, want to go back home because it’s too cold there? Wait now, I thought they escaped oppression and to save their lives. What happened?
After all the drama with the House Republicans changing leaders, here we are a few days before the money runs out again and we’re in the same position. The new speaker is offering a continuing resolution (CR), the same action that caused all the chaos. Now what?
The Republican field narrows again as Tim Scott drops out. It was the right move for him, as he said, it is not his time now. He introduced himself to the nation, avoided any of the candidates inter fighting and emerged in a position to have a future. He didn’t endorse anyone, and the thought is he may well be on the Donald Trump short list to be his V.P. candidate. Remember, too, it was Nikki Haley who appointed him to the senate originally. He does owe her something too.
Today the House is holding a meeting over impeaching Homeland Security Secretary Mayorkas. It may pass the House, but I don’t see the Democratic Senate doing the same. In my opinion, there is a good list of current officials who should be out of office, and Mayorkas is right there in the top three.
This is very simple, the debates which started with double digit candidates are down to two for a challenge to former President Trump. It is either Governor Nikki Haley or Governor Ron DeSantis. The others can now exit and try again in the future.
As for the former President, he won one in court yesterday. The Minnesota Supreme Court dismissed the lawsuit seeking to bar him from the 2024 primary ballot. That was the only decision that could be reached. The man is not convicted of anything yet, how can you deny his right to run?
If this were 2024 the question would be this. Can Republicans make this election about the economy, or do the Democrats make it about abortion? That would decide it.
On abortion, the Democrats recognize the poignancy of having the issue on state ballots. They are in the process of trying to get ballot initiatives in the following states: Arizona, Nevada and Florida, Nebraska and South Dakota. A very smart move, obviously.
Former President Trump has been coy about the issue lately, but the Biden campaign has been preparing to hit him if they face off. Here’s a story out of Washington: President Biden’s reelection campaign is reminding voters that former President Donald Trump took credit for the Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade, in the aftermath of an election in which the abortion issue fueled Democratic wins in red and purple states.The Biden-Harris campaign rolled out an online video Wednesday featuring a smattering of past clips in which Mr. Trump said he was honored to end Roe v. Wade, said there has to be “some form of punishment” for women who receive abortions, and said the federal government has a role to play in “protecting unborn life.”“As Republicans lose elections across the country for their extreme abortion positions, remember that this is who they are on track to make their presidential nominee,” the Biden-Harris HQ account posted on X. Mr. Trump is the frontrunner for the 2024 GOP presidential nomination, seeking a rematch with Mr. Biden. For his part, Mr. Trump has called himself “the most pro-life president in American history” and reminded GOP primary voters that his Supreme Court appointees led to the overturning of Roe v Wade, the landmark 1973 court case that made abortion a constitutional right. Mr. Trump also left pro-life leaders fuming after he blamed the GOP’s disappointing showing in the 2022 midterms on candidates who endorsed strict abortion limits. The former president has said Republicans need to rethink the way they talk about the issue, saying they should cast Democrats as “the radicals” on the issue. He also has criticized the six-week abortion ban that Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida signed into law in Florida, calling it a “terrible mistake.” At the same time, he has taken credit for making it possible for Florida and other states, including Iowa, where the Jan. 15 caucuses kick off the nomination race, to adopt such laws. Democrats say Mr. Trump cannot hide the fact that women would still have the right to abortion across the nation if it were not for the moves he made as president. “Donald Trump is responsible for all of it — and he’s ‘proud’ to have done it!” Ammar Moussa, director of the Biden campaign’s rapid response team, said on social media.
You see the issue he will face. Last night Nikki Haley had the best positioning for a general election.
The War In The Middle East
I found this study and review interesting on the feelings of Americans regarding the Israel – Hamas War. Among all adults 40% say Israel has gone too far. 58% of Dems. 18% of Rep. 38% say the action has been about right. 31% of Dem. 48% of Rep. 18% say Israel has not gone far enough. 7% of Dem. 32% of Rep. It’s the appeasement or take action divide.
Finally, Take Note Of This Report And Story
China is disregarding U.S. sanctions by significantly buying Iranian oil, generating billions in profits that Tehran can then channel to its anti-Israel allies, notably Hamas. According to the “October 2023 Iran Tanker Tracker” by United Against Nuclear Iran, the Islamic republic has exported over $80 billion worth of oil since the Biden administration began. The analysis highlights China as the primary buyer, despite U.S. sanctions on Iranian oil sale profits and secondary sanctions on companies involved in shipping Iranian oil.
China’s average purchase was around 1 million barrels per day in October, according to a recent Congressional Research Service report.
China plays a massive role in increasing Iran’s oil exports.
The CRS report suggests the Biden administration may be willingly ignoring China’s purchases of Iranian crude, speculating that the administration does not want to escalate tensions with Beijing.
Serious reductions of Iranian oil exports could raise global crude prices, the CRS noted.
The voters spoke in 2022 and reduced the red wave to a nonexistent one over the issue of abortion. The Republicans doubled down and paid another price last night in key races as abortion looms as issue one. Here are the big four: In Ohio, voters enshrined abortion access in the state constitution, a clear rebuke to Republicans in the state legislature and GOP Gov. Mike DeWine, who signed a six week abortion ban in 2019. Six weeks does not work, and other Republican led states are going to learn that lesson too. In Virginia, Democrats held their majority in the state Senate and took the majority from Republicans in the state’s House of Delegates, a victory for the party’s abortion-rights messaging. A bad night for Gov Youngkin and any presidential plans he had. He was trying to sell 15 weeks. In Red Kentucky, voters re-elected Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear and rejected Republican Attorney General Daniel Cameron, who supported the state’s near-total ban on abortion. In Pennsylvania, Democrats won the balance-tipping election with their candidate, Daniel McCaffery. He won a state Supreme Court seat, after running ads promising to defend abortion rights and voting rights.
So, Republicans can talk all the polls they want about the unpopularity of the current President. Abortion trumps all other issues these days. The people have spoken. They have two choices; they can try to sell the 20 week ban, five months in, or just back off and say the voters have decided. To continue taking what they deem is a moral stance will not help them. Add this, in 2024 President Biden will paint Donald Trump as the man who put three votes in the court to take away abortion rights. No matter how much the former President is running from taking a stand now, it will doom him.
The Republican debate tonight will be interesting. Let’s see how they handle the abortion issue. There will be only five who qualified for the stage. Gov.DeSANTIS, former Gov. HALEY, VIVEK RAMASWAMY, Sen. TIM SCOTT and former Gov. CHRIS CHRISTIE.
Non Election Political News
The House resurrected and ended up voting to censure Rep. Rashida Tlaib for her embrace of the controversial “From the river to the sea” slogan amid the Israel-Hamas war. As you may recall, this vote was defeated last week, but Tlaib’s action caused a Republican who voted no on censure last time to reintroduce the resolution. In the end, Twenty-two Democrats joined most Republicans in supporting the resolution. Four Republicans voted no on censure.
The story is that President Biden has urged Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to agree to a three-day pause in fighting to allow progress in releasing some of the hostages held by Hamas in Gaza, two U.S. and Israeli officialssaid. The Situation: According to a proposal being discussed between the U.S., Israel and Qatar, Hamas would release 10–15 hostages, the U.S. official said. Hamas would also use the three-day pause to verify the identities of all the hostages and deliver a list of names. At least 240 people were kidnapped during the Oct. 7 Hamas terrorist attack in Israel, according to Israeli officials. The two U.S. and Israeli officials said Netanyahu told Biden he doesn’t trust Hamas’ intentions and doesn’t believe they are ready to agree to a deal. Netanyahu also said that Israel could lose the current international support it has for the operation if the fighting stops for three days, the officials said. Thoughts: I just don’t believe we should be dictating to Israel anything as they conduct this operation for their very survival.
Everyday now there’s a story of car makers cutting back on EV models. They say that the vehicles are just not selling and there is no demand. Think about that in light of what they committed to in changing their entire fleet. Here’s today’s news: GM and Ford paused work on new EV factories and scaled back their sales targets. Honda cancelled a $5 billion plan to make affordable EVs with GM. Battery-makers Panasonic and LG Energy Solution noted an EV market slowdown. Even Tesla sounds cautious, saying it would slow plans to build an EV factory in Mexico. And we hear of major rebates (up to $7,500) being offered to consumers to buy existing EV’s.
The push from the administration was always before its time. We repeat – Hybrid – is the way to go.
Today marks one month since the October 7th attack in Israel. It was that act that set everything off. Whatever has happened since is because of what Hamas did. Some people just don’t seem to understand that. When you hear about a ceasefire, remember this, we had one on October 6th. Israel did not break it. Hamas did not announce they were coming. They came to kill, murder and destroy. New born, holocaust survivors and anyone else were targeted. They didn’t warn people to get out as Israel has done. There is no moral equivalence.
Elections Today
Today’s Election Day, and I urge every reader to cast their ballot. You might think, “Oh, it’s only local elections,” but as we’ve learned, it matters. School Boards matter. Local DA’s matter. Your Town Council matters. It all matters. Vote.
Nationally the media will be watching Virginia closely. Governor Youngkin is trying to turn the state right. He has bet a lot on the outcome. What is interesting to me is abortion, the issue that drove 2022 and stopped the red wave. In Virginia, it’s about the 15 week ban, after which it is only for rape and the life of the mother. Does 15 weeks play? Should it have been 20 weeks? Can the left present it as a ban? Can the right present the left wants abortion up to the moment of birth? Whose message reaches, and how do they vote? The outcome will be fascinating to watch.
There are two Governor races to watch. A Democrat defends in Kentucky and a Republican defends in Mississippi. A Pennsylvania Supreme Court race will decide control of that court. It will be closely watched. Ohio has abortion and marijuana on the line. The results of many races will be looked at as a barometer for those states less than one year from the 2024 election. (Election Day 2024 is Nov. 6th, so we are 364 days away.)
Politics
Watching coverage of the Donald Trump trial in New York leaves me with this analysis. Do I think the former President inflated his net worth and tried to mislead on it? I do, without question. Then I ask, who did he hurt? Who lost money because of it? Who was criminally impacted? The answer is no one. Not a single person or company lost anything because of it. I guess that’s why no other person has ever been charged in New York for this. It certainly looks like a vendetta to me. Yet, the judge has already judged him and the company guilty and is now only deciding on the cost of the fine. Wait, no one lost anything. Now, you want to hold him liable for up to $250 million? Maybe I am missing something, but I am confused here.
The President, coming off his weekend in Delaware, on the beach, was out talking “Bidenomics.” Will somebody please tell him that so few think the economy is in good shape that he should be blaming Trump and not taking credit. When they announced Bidenomics, we couldn’t believe it. The fact he is still touting it is better for Trump than any ad he could produce. Here’s some information I came across on base staples that people need and use. Does Biden’s team know this? A pound of bacon costs an average of $7.08 in the U.S., 21 percent more than when Biden took office. The price of coffee beans has risen 33 percent. A gallon of gas is 72 percent more expensive. And because inflation affects everyone, it can damage the public mood more than almost anything else. (Yes, inflation has fallen this year, but most prices have not fallen. Only their rate of increase has.) You can choose any products you want and the story is not good. Why, even the Dollar Store is up 25% to $1.25.
Meanwhile, in Iowa the very popular Governor Kim Reynolds endorsed Ron DeSantis for President. She said something many of us feel. Donald Trump cannot win a general election, and she wants to win. Her endorsement will help DeSantis and may slow the momentum that Gov. Haley was gaining in the state.
What Now, Jeff Bezos?
So, Jeff Bezos is personally moving from Seattle to Miami. If you think it’s because of the weather, well you are naive. You see, Bezos will save billions of dollars in taxes by moving from a high-tax state to a low-tax one. He may contribute and support left leaning candidates. His newspaper, The Washington Post, may never have endorsed a Republican for President, and spout daily liberal views; but this is his personal taxes now. Somehow the MSM missed this little reason. Here’s some facts they forgot to cover: When Bezos built Amazon in Seattle, Washington had no income tax, no estate tax, and no capital gains tax. However, in recent years the progressives took charge with their “soak the rich” agenda. Washington now has the highest estate tax in the country, has just adopted a 7% capital gains tax, AND the legislature is debating a 1% annual wealth tax. Florida, of course, has zero income, estate and wealth taxes – and, yes, better weather.
The MSM avoided mentioning taxes for the move. There’s an old saying about redistribution and low taxes: “High tax rates don’t redistribute income, they redistribute people.” That’s what is happening here, but the left and their friends can’t acknowledge it.
So, after calling Governor Abbott racist and uncaring for busing illegal crossers to New York and proudly claiming how they will care for them as a sanctuary city, New York is now buying them one way tickets to wherever they want to go! Really, Mayor Adams? You are now doing exactly the same thing? Why? Oh, because you are overwhelmed? You didn’t have three percent of the number of people Texas did. How can it be that you are overwhelmed? If Governor Abbott is racist, then what are New York’s leaders besides hypocrites? Add this, all the big cities that got some busloads are demanding the federal government provide billions of dollars to them now. Billions we don’t have, and billions that they thought was ridiculous when the border states asked for assistance. I have an idea. Ask the administration to close the border.
All the talk from the House about both parties about censuring and expelling members went to a vote. Guess what? None of the three were expelled or censured, and one vote was withdrawn. Rep. Santos was brought up for expelling by a neighboring Republican Congressman. After all the noise you heard to expel him, 31 Democrats joined a majority of the Republicans to vote no (on expelling). Why? Here’s left leaning Democrat Jamie Raskin on why. “I’m a Constitution guy. The House has expelled five people in our history, three for joining the Confederacy as traitors to the Union and two after they were convicted of serious criminal offenses … This would be a terrible precedent to set, expelling people who have not been convicted of a crime and without internal due process. If and when Santos is convicted of these serious criminal offenses or ethics charges, I will certainly vote to expel him.” Kind of logical right? How do you convict someone before he is convicted of anything? If you agree with that, here’s a question: Then can I assume you agree the state movements to keep Donald Trump off the 2024 ballot are wrong too? After all, he has not been convicted of anything either. (And the current civil trial is exactly that, a civil, not criminal one.)
Next was a vote to censure Rep. Tlaib for comments on the hospital bombing and Hamas. A good number of Republicans joined unified Democrats to vote the measure down. Her comments and postings that Israel bombed that hospital stands.
After she was safe, the Democrats withdrew their motion to censure Rep. Majorie Greene. So that never made the floor. It was just a childish tit for tat I guess.
So, if you bet one, two or three of them would be removed, censured or taken to task, you lost.
Then over in the Senate there was a concerted move to get past the hold Senator Tommy Tuberville has forced on almost 400 military promotions including the heads of some services. He is blocking them because he disagreed with a military policy that supports individuals to take uncharged leave and receive travel funds for reproductive healthcare, including abortion travel. The session went long over four hours of attempts to approve each promotion one by one. It didn’t work. We are at a stalemate.
Along the way, three congressional members announced they will not run for reelection. One of them was from the gang of eight – Ken Buck of Colorado. If I find out who is going to miss him, I will let you know.
Then we had the jury receive the closing arguments and go to deliberation in the Sam Bankman-Fried case. Surprise, the jury was out less than five hours and he was found guilty of all seven charges against him. He has now been convicted in one of the biggest financial frauds in history with $8 billion in customer deposits missing from what was then the world’s third-largest crypto exchange. It’s also believed he was the second largest donor to the Democrat party in 2020, only behind George Soros.
The Speaker And House Follow Thru
Last night the House did exactly what it said it would, which was pass the Israel support funding, cut the funds from the hiring of 87,000 new IRS agents and move in to funding for Ukraine. The Senate reacted exactly the way it said it would, they do not plan to take it up. The President reiterated what he said before, which is, if it reaches his desk he would veto it. Now, I have people say the House does not want to fund Ukraine. It’s a smokescreen. A great majority of both parties want the Ukrainians to fight the Russians and not NATO. They want separate bills, separate funding decisions and accountability. I told you where I stood earlier this week, I don’t see why we have to bundle all three (border is the third) and why it has to be over budget (increasing the debt) spending. Didn’t we all learn you can’t have guns and butter at the same time without causing an economic mess?
Why are the Democrats so determined to get Donald Trump out of the 2024 race? Don’t they know that half of those polled say they would “never” vote for him? He is their best candidate to run against.
Why are the Republicans so intent to get Joe Biden and impeach him? Don’t they know he is at 40% approval and the best candidate for them to run against?
Why do anti Israel protesters keep tearing down signs and protesting by saying there is no proof? Yesterday we saw that young woman captured from the concert and lying face down on the truck half naked, was found in Gaza – beheaded. How do they think that happened?
Why does it remind me of the old bible saying: “There are none so blind as those who will not see.”
Why does the federal government think they can just keep spending beyond their income and pass the bill on to future generations? If you, me and local governments must budget and spend within, why can’t they?
Why doesn’t the media report news that can educate people instead of taking a side. As an example, do people know that China owns about $1 trillion dollars of our debt? Do we want to add to that?
Why don’t we tell people that we are already spending fifteen cents of every tax dollar to pay interest on the debt and it is projected to increase to over 20 cents in the next decade. If we paid the debt off we would have twenty cents extra to argue about what to do with. We could have more programs or give it back to the taxpayer.
Why won’t the MSM cover the open border and allow the administration to tell us it is secure?
Why did the FBI Director go before congress yesterday and say the terrorist threat to our country is at a “whole new level?” He knows that what is coming across that border can well be the next terror cell.
Why, at the same time, was the Homeland Director saying he didn’t know how many crossed the southern border? He was told it was over 6 million and couldn’t say if any were terrorists.
Why don’t we ever learn about the border? Remember in 1978 Fidel Castro’s boat lift of released prisoners to the U.S.? Now we have Venezuela doing the same, and we cover our eyes?
Why is it close to a month since the October 7th attack that our administration still says we don’t know how many Americans may be held hostage? I’m sure families have reported missing individuals. What are they hiding?
Why are we continuing to get our troops in the area attacked, 27 times now, and doing nothing? How come some people never learn appeasement does not work?
Why didn’t the MSM report today that President Biden, as V.P., used three alias names to send emails? Isn’t it interesting that one of the three was “Big Guy”? The same reference his brother and son used about some “funding for?”
Why didn’t the MSM think this was news as part of the 82,000 document release? In one text message sent on May 20, 2017, a business associate named James Gilliar messaged Mr. Bobulinski to warn him, “Don’t mention Joe being involved, it’s only when u are face to face. I know u know that but they are paranoid.” Bobulinski responded: “Ok they should be paranoid about things.”
The House is going to vote on the administration’s request for a $14.3 billion aid package for Israel. That’s good right? Well it depends on where you stand. Let me explain. The administration wants the whole package as one ($100 Billion) to cover Israel, Ukraine and the border funds (for processing). The Senate led by Democrats intends to pass the full bill. The House, only Israeli funding as a start. Question 1: Should each of these be considered separately or all three together?
Then the House wants the funding to be offset by cuts elsewhere, not to increase the $33 trillion dollar deficit. Where do they want the $14 billion for Israel (the first they intend to pass) to cut from? Answer: From the $80 billion that was passed for additional IRS agents in the Inflation Reduction Act that passed. Remember that? Question 2: Should we increase the deficit by $14 billion or cut new IRS spending by that amount?
Democrats are livid at the new Speaker Johnson at this. They want the whole package passed and new spending allocated to pay the $100 billion. Some comments: Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz said that Johnson is “playing political games with Israeli emergency funding.” Sen. Ron Wyden, called it an “absolute nonstarter” and accused Republicans of prioritizing “giveaways to wealthy tax cheats.”
Each citizen (and voter) should decide where you stand on this. As for me: I think each additional funding request should be considered separately. I want Israel to pass today. I want to understand what Ukraine will do with another $60 billion, and I want any border funding to go to closing the crossing, not processing illegal crosses quicker. On question two: I want to offset spending. I do not want to just keep piling on the deficit at record levels. You decide where you stand.
Political News
Keep a watch on the House for another reason. There are three resolutions up for a vote this week — on censuring Reps.Tlaib and Greene and expelling Rep. George Santos. Should be fascinating to see how representatives vote.
The War Front
The Israeli troop strategy that is coming apparent is fascinating. They appear to be encircling Gaza City. This allows them to move on Hamas still in the area and try to rescue as many hostages as possible.
In a survey released by the WSJ poll there were these results. 48% of Democrats said the U.S. has a responsibility to support Israel in the conflict. 53% of Independents said we do. 64% of Republicans said we do. I can’t help but think that twenty years ago those numbers were reversed. What happened?
Meanwhile, the calls for a cease fire continue, and Benjamin Netanyahu addressed it yesterday. He said: “Calls for a cease-fire are calls for Israel to surrender to Hamas.”
What is going on here with all the pro Hamas demonstrations? Does the world not know that it was Hamas who attacked and slaughtered innocents on Oct. 7th? What is Israel supposed to do, live with people willing to cut babies from the womb and the heads off of those born in their midst? If it’s truly a small number in the U.S. supporting Hamas, then who is funding them and the demonstrations? Who is paying for the signs and organization? Is it true George Soros gave the organizations $14 million dollars? Why? His family was Holocaust survivors. This is the same George Soros who has funded the “woke” prosecutors gave left wing groups money?
Are we really hearing our fellow Jewish citizens saying that they don’t feel safe on campus or in America today? Does the passing of the Greatest Generation mean we forgot the 1930’s? Is the meaning of “Never Again” forgotten? Where is the U.S. elective leadership here standing up for right and speaking out? The President was at his Delaware beach home from Friday night until this morning. Is that what we want?
Hamas has hidden many weapons under hospitals, schools and mosques. Who does that, putting their most vulnerable citizens at risk? Would you approve of America doing that? If the answer is no, then you cannot condemn Israel for their actions. Hamas fighters slip above and below ground, blending with civilians in schools, hospitals and mosques.
Israel has announced where they are going to attack, asking citizens to move away. Did Hamas or the other terrorist networks ever do that? Did they warn the citizens of Israel on Oct. 7th? Did the terrorists warn our citizens in the World Trade Center?
Now the President and administration want to tie Israeli funding to Ukraine and “border” funding. Of his $100 billion request, over $60 billion is for Ukraine. The border is most of the rest, but not to protect the crossing, it is to process the crossers faster. Do we really know who is coming across that border? What country has no border control? They know this will be an issue and the House is going to take up Israeli funding separately. I support the House move.
Even with that some are saying they will vote “no”. Here’s Rep. Marjorie Greene. “I will be voting NO on all funding packages for the Ukraine war (as I have from the beginning) and now the Israel war. We have had over 10 MILLION people illegally cross our border since Biden took office and we are over $33 TRILLION dollars in debt with many major problems afflicting Americans. The United States government needs to focus on spending American’s hard earned tax dollars on our own country and needs to serve the American people NOT the rest of the world. I voted YES on both resolutions condemning the attack on Ukraine and the attack on Israel however I will continue to vote NO on spending American’s hard earned tax dollars to fund wars defending foreign country’s borders while our own border is overrun and our own national security is at risk.”
A Political Note
Former VP Mike Pence withdrew from the Republican primary. A good and decent man, who did what he thought was right on Jan. 6th. Here’s what he said: “This is not my time. We always knew this would be an uphill battle but I have no regrets. The only thing that would have been harder than coming up short would have been if we’d never tried at all.”
How did Donald Trump react to a man he has chastised for not supporting his stolen election claim and some of his supporters think should be strung up? “People are leaving [the race] now, and they’re all endorsing me. I don’t know about Mike Pence. He should endorse me. You know why? Because I had a great successful presidency, and he was the vice president, he should endorse me. I chose him, made him vice president. But… people in politics can be very disloyal. I’ve never seen anything like it.” That from the man who I question his loyalty to people once they leave him.
Just to be sure, political hypocrisy exists on both sides. Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries is attacking new Speaker Johnson as an election denier. Guess who made these statements: “The more we learn about the 2016 election the more ILLEGITIMATE it becomes.” “With [the] legitimacy of Trump’s presidential election in doubt, his lifetime appt. to Supreme Court can wait.” Yes, it was Jeffries himself. His predecessor, Nancy Pelosi said: “Our election was hijacked. There is no question. Congress has a duty to #ProtectOurDemocracy & #FollowTheFacts.” There’s a long list, but why let facts get in the way of having your MSM wing support you?
After 19 attacks and 21 of our troops injured, the U.S. took action last night with two bombings of Syria terrorists. Now here’s the question: Does Iran and its lackey terror groups see this action as a warning and a determined President to defend its people and nation; or do they view it as a weak reaction to two weeks of their attacks and something he (Biden) had to do? If they see it as the former, they will back off and be careful of what they do and tell Hezbollah to do the same in northern Israel. If they see it as the latter, we’ll see more attacks in a few days, as they’ll wait and allow the President to get his due, then resume their activity, believing the President is weak and not ready to defend.
Watch what happens. War and Peace, the lives of many are riding on the outcome.
By the way, the administration continues to soft pedal with Iran and their involvement with October 7th. They should read the WSJ, which had this news: “In the weeks leading up to Hamas’s Oct. 7 attack on Israel, hundreds of the Palestinian Islamist militant group’s fighters received specialized combat training in Iran, according to people familiar with intelligence related to the assault. About 500 militants from Hamas and an allied group, Palestinian Islamic Jihad.”
Politics
Yesterday we told you to watch how the Democrats are going to open up on the new House Speaker and his record. It didn’t take long, and if you watched or read anything from the MSM, you saw it all day. There’s no let up today. In addition to abortion, marriage, gay rights, the 2020 election and other charges yesterday, the NYT introduces a new one today. “Mike Johnson has doubted climate science, opposed clean energy and received campaign contributions from fossil fuel companies.” The message from the left and MSM seems to be this: Speaker Johnson wants to force you to be born, then not be who you are, deny your rights and kill you with the climate. Notice they have not touched race yet. Know why? You see, the Speaker and his wife adopted a minority child when they were married, and he has written about the differences in opportunity for his adopted and birth sons. Did the MSM tell you that? One more thing on the new speaker: Good old Matt Gaetz didn’t do enough damage by recalling the speaker. He called the new speaker “Maga Mike” immediately after his win, proud of his positions. The Democrats, led by Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, now refer to the speaker as “Maga Mike.”
President Biden, you may recall, announced the Democrats will break with tradition and not recognize New Hampshire’s first in the nation primary. Instead, he said that South Carolina would be first. Now this flies against New Hampshire’s state statutory requirement to hold its primary first. Until today it didn’t matter. What changed? Rep. Dean Phillips (Minn.) is in New Hampshire to announce he is running in the Democratic primary. His concern is that “Trump could win the presidency again if Biden is the nominee.” He also said this: “I think President Biden has done a spectacular job for our country, but it’s not about the past. This is an election about the future.” Now, the DNC says it doesn’t matter. If N.H. holds a primary before S.C., the delegates will not be seated. Phillip’s response is this: “Among you, the great people of the State of New Hampshire, who have been the first to vet presidential candidates for over one hundred years and whose motto ‘Live Free or Die’ speaks for all of America. I invite you to join me in declaring a NEW AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE — not from another nation or people — rather from fear and from the status quo.”
Let’s see how this plays out and what kind of coverage it gets today and over the weekend.
Coverage
We note all the time how biased the MSM in print and on the air are in their coverage. Well here’s a report on late night comedians and their joke focus in the two weeks since the strike ended. There were 319 jokes about the former President Donald Trump and current Rep. George Santos on one side. There were 47 jokes about the current President, Senator Menendez, and Rep Bowman. 85% of the jokes about Presidents were about the former President and 15% on the current one. There were more jokes about George Santos than President Biden. And don’t forget that Senator Menendez and Rep Bowman (of fire alarm fame) certainly offered opportunity.
I saw it first on social media, reports of a shooter in Maine. My initial hope was that the shooter was neutralized immediately and that was why it wasn’t on the networks yet. Then a second report, and it started to become clearer that was going to be a story. In twenty minutes it was and continues to grow as I write this. I thought about what was coming. The sad stories of our fellow innocent citizens. To learn it was youth night added to the agony of what was to come. Then I knew the inevitable gun ban banter and the noise to ban guns would be all over. I thought, I wonder who the gunman is, and I bet he had no right under Maine law to have a gun. I bet, too, this gunman gave off signals that today’s society failed to heed. As the night wore on and the search for the gunman was underway, we learned the name and a little history. He had threatened to shoot up a military base. He was admitted just months ago for mental instability – and released. He was known in the community for the issues he had. As they continue to hunt this murderer down, we’ll go through the pain of learning about the victims. But it wasn’t the gun, it was the person and what we failed to do as a society to get him off the streets. The laws forbid him to have arms, he gave notice to society that he needed help. We failed the victims.
Meanwhile
The Middle East went another day with Israel on the border ready to attack, the stories of Palestine deaths continuing to grow and the world on edge. Are we holding Israel back? When asked if he demanded they wait, the President said he did not. Maybe the reporter should have rephrased the question to “did you ask?” When asked about Iran, the President warned them again about getting involved. What about the 14 attacks on our troops the past three weeks with 24 injured? Does that not count? Appeasement does not work. Stay tuned.
Meanwhile, California Governor Newsom was in China and actually got a full scale meeting with leader Xi Jinping. With China supporting Russia and Iran, what did they talk about? That “China has a friend in California, and climate change.” Oh I see. Well, Governor, China is the world’s number one polluter of the air. Did you confront them about that? There was no indication you did from your comments, the Chairman’s comments or any written report. Why is that? You drove a Chinese EV, priced at $160,000, and called it the future. We know California is banning gasoline autos, what is China doing to not be the number one polluter? I say this was all a publicity stunt for the good looking and good hair Governor who wants to be President, with no substance. Does all of America want to be California? The golden land that for the first time has more people moving out than in? But then again, you CAN fool some of the people ALL the time.
So, who is surprised that former President Trump was fined in court for his mouth? The judge in his civil fraud trial said the former president had violated a gag order by attacking the judge’s law clerk again. And it’s too bad he did, because his attorneys got major witness Michael Cohen to admit that the former President never ordered him to change the numbers on his net worth, only suggested he was richer than reported. “So Mr. Trump never asked you to inflate the numbers on his financial statement,” Trump attorney Cliff Robert asked. “Correct,” Cohen said.
The Ready, Shoot, Aim Republican House members finally got a speaker. Rep. Johnson earned high praise for his words following the vote. The gang of 8 all voted for him and love his far right positions. His ascension to the speakership (6 years 8 months from election) is the second shortest in our history. Only one month removed from the shortest. As an example, Kevin McCarthy was 16. He has a big challenge ahead, never having been on the leadership team. But, his party was happy yesterday. Now watch what the Democrats and media do to him. It started already. Here’s a quote from one publication today: “If Democrats have their way, [Johnson] will soon be well-known by every American — as an election denier, an anti-abortion extremist and a slasher of Social Security and Medicare.” Here’s another that provides the blueprint for the opposition positioning: Johnson has made it easy, with reams of op-eds and newspaper columns paired with legislation he recently introduced and supported: Abortion: Johnson posted in January that “we will get the number of abortions to ZERO!!” in Louisiana after the fall of Roe. Sexual orientation and gender identity: “Your race, creed, and sex are what you are, while homosexuality and cross-dressing are things you do,” Johnson wrote in a 2005 op-ed, CNN reports. Criminalizing gay sex: “States have many legitimate grounds to proscribe same-sex deviate sexual intercourse,” Johnson wrote in a July 2003 guest column cited by CNN. Trump’s election denialism: “Johnson led the way in shaping legal arguments that became gospel among GOP lawmakers who sought to derail Biden’s path to the White House — even after all but the most extreme options had elapsed.”
Then we have the vote taken immediately that Speaker Johnson set up to condemn Hamas for the attack on October 7th. You would think it would be unanimous right? And, if it wasn’t, there would be lots of coverage of those who voted not to condemn. Right? You would be wrong. Because ten voted not to condemn and six voted present. 15 of the 16 were Democrats. It was a 412-10-6 vote. These 16 should be as well known as the gang of 8 in my opinion. They are familiar names: Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-NY., Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., Jamaal Bowman, D-N.Y., Summer Lee, D-Pa., Cori Bush, D-Mo., Reps. André Carson, D-Ind., Al Green, D-Texas, Delia Ramirez, D-Ill. and Rep. Thomas Massie R – Kentucky. The six who voted present were: Reps. Greg Casar, D-Texas, and Ayanna Pressley, D-Mass., were joined by Reps. Joaquin Castro, D-Texas, Nydia Velázquez, D-N.Y., Jesús “Chuy” Garcia, D-Ill., and Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash.
Rep. Jamaal Bowman had the added honor today of pleading guilty today to pulling the fire alarm in the House to delay a vote on the budget.
One final thing on politics that just raises my ire. Here’s a story on NYC Mayor Adams that says it all. New York Mayor Eric Adams, greeting the first busload of migrants from Texas, declared in the summer of 2022 that the city was ready with a helping hand for “every asylum-seeker that comes to New York,” and his administration worked with immigration activists to get the newcomers settled. Today, Mr. Adams says his city is full. He uses terms such as “destroy” for what the migrants are doing to New York. He has even traveled to Mexico and Central America to beg people to stop coming.
Doesn’t it seem you are hearing more and more about Iran, even from the administration? Secretary Blinken, in a tense United Nations meeting, warned Iran, after Tehran raised the risk of a larger Middle East conflict in recent days by “unleashing the regional militias” it has spent years building and arming. Now, what’s interesting is that for more than six months these groups refrained from launching drones or rockets against U.S. troops in Iraq and Syria, as part of what appeared to be an undeclared truce between our nations. However, that ended last week when Iran-backed groups launched at least a half dozen military drone and rocket attacks against bases that U.S. troops use in southeast Syria and in western and northern Iran. So we warn, they attack and when we do nothing, they do more. As stated here many times, appeasement does not work. They only know strength.
We need more from the President than “Don’t.”
News Outside The Middle East
I think the Ready, Shoot, Aim House Republicans finally have someone they can vote for today. We’ll see. Yesterday, when former President Trump shot down their fourth choice Tom Emmer, it was because he (Emmer) voted to sustain the 2020 election, and for the former President that is a cardinal sin. That’s a great idea, go into 2024 trying to convince people that 2020 was a fraudulent election. You know what was wrong with 2020? Donald Trump. In a year of covid and people at home,, he told Republicans not to vote early or by mail. He gave the Democrats a three month advantage. Then he showed up at debate one and instead of letting his opponent speak and be exposed, he interrupted every sentence and lost the debate. Then he (Trump) cancelled debate two. Donald Trump lost because of himself. In two weeks, Virginia Governor Youngkin is working to turn the Va. House and Senate and pushing early voting. He has warned the party, if they don’t play the game, they won’t win. Pretty simple. As for Speaker designate Johnson, he is known to be a Trump ally and was a staunch defender of the former president during the impeachment hearings. He also led the amicus brief, signed by more than 100 House Republicans, in support of a Texas lawsuit seeking to overturn the 2020 election results in four swing states.
Johnson should be a good face forward for the party. He speaks well and has a calmness about him. It should be noted that he is from Louisiana. If elected, the number 1 and 2 slots (Steve Scalise is # 2), for Republicans in the House would be from Louisiana. That is a very unusual and rare occurrence.
Speaking of Donald Trump, if you are following his trials, there were interesting developments yesterday. A third attorney for him, fighting the 2020 election, recanted and pleaded guilty yesterday in Georgia. Think about that. A third attorney says she was wrong that the election was not stolen. She tearfully made her plea, and it was sad to see. Then the story broke this AM that his former Chief of Staff Mark Meadows, this morning had agreed to a deal to testify and will not be indicted. The story is, he (Meadows) knew the election was not stolen and told people in the White House. But don’t worry, Trump forced a potential speaker out who voted to certify. The second story is about his trial in New York on overstating his assets. As I watch this trial, I have become convinced that if he had a jury trial that they would find him not guilty. Watching Michael Cohen yesterday just added to that thought. He testified Trump said he was worth more than Forbes said and he (Cohen) should fix the numbers. “My responsibility, along with Allen Weisselberg, predominantly, was to reverse engineer the various different asset classes — increase those assets — in order to achieve the number that Trump had tasked us with,” Cohen said. Umm, Mr. Cohen, you are an attorney doing books, if you are asked to do something wrong, then refuse or resign. It’s that simple.
And, did you see candidate Perry Johnson, a Michigan businessman who was self-financed, withdrew from the race and endorsed Donald Trump? Johnson blamed the Republican National Committee rules for his failure to gain traction. He follows Republicans Francis Suarez and Will Hurd, who previously quit the race. More need to. Republicans need one alternative to the former President.
This from Politico needs no explanation to long time readers of this blog. “Sens. JOE MANCHIN(D-W.Va.), JON TESTER(D-Mont.) and SHERROD BROWN(D-Ohio), considered the three most vulnerable incumbents next year, are making moves to separate themselves from Biden. And they might align with Republicans on some hot-ticket policy matters: Tester and Brown are considering joining Manchin in support of legislation to re-freeze $6 billion in Iranian money. They’re calling for Biden to step it up on securing the southern border. And some of them are staking out independent ground on energy, a bank data collection rule and more — though they emphasize their decisions are about policy, not politics.“
Will it work for them? Well remember, you CAN fool some of the people ALL the time.
Roe v. Wade is gone, but abortions are on the rise. This is an interesting stat that I bet you haven’t heard on the MSM. In the 12-month period since June 2022, when the Supreme Court overturned the landmark ruling, 183 more abortions were performed on average every month compared with the prior year, according to WeCount, an abortion-data project sponsored by the Society of Family Planning, which supports abortion rights. The high court’s decision eliminated the constitutional right to the procedure and paved the way for some 16 states to place limits on timing or ban abortions. Yet, the Democrats continue to run on this as if no one can get an abortion.
Hamas released two more hostages, making four in the two weeks since the October 7th attack. The coverage is vast as the battle for the minds, coverage and world view is underway. The four released were women, which shows Hamas knows the difference between combatants and citizens. What the release does is raise world concern for the 200 remaining. Show the hostages are real people. Build demand for Israel to hold off on their counter attack. Give the demonstrators more fuel to demand a cease fire and negotiated agreement. So what’s wrong? How about stories, pictures and information on the 1400 who were slaughtered? Have we forgotten them? This is not about four released hostages, but the actions that took place October 7th. Did we forget the murdered? Do we not tell their story? Do we let this linger so they can do it again? Did we forget “never again?”
Yes, we want every hostage back, but not through weakness, which will lead to more attacks, additional death and more upheaval. Appeasement does not work with those committed to the death of societies they do not approve of.
If we worried about possible hostages in WWI or WWII, would we be here today? War is hell and we want the wisdom to never start one, but when you are attacked and your future threatened, you must act. We need leadership today, and if appeasement leadership is what you’re okay with, then you own what will happen in the future, because security is not a part of it. Appeasement is seen as weakness and an opportunity for those wanting to destroy you to do more.
If we are holding Israel back, we are wrong. They have a right to make a decision in their best interests today. If they want to act based upon their “never again” founding we should not be standing in their way. Let’s remember that these two hostages are going home, but 25% of the population where they lived were killed. Their lives mattered too.
Since the October 7th attack the President has said the right things about supporting Israel and assuring they have what they need to defend themselves. His trip there, though symbolic, was meaningful to the people of Israel, in a time they needed it. I give him full credit for standing tall with Israel.
The speech last night was a little disjointed to me. Going back and forth between Israel and Ukraine was not what I expected or understood. What I was looking for was moral clarity and American strength.
What I would liked to have heard: In life there are consequences for your actions. Whatever has happened, or does happen, from October 8th forward is owned by Hamas as a result of their attack. No country set out to kill children, women and innocent citizens other than Hamas on October 7th. The resulting action to protect people in the future is Hamas’ fault and there should be no moralizing beyond what Hamas did. Thirty-two of my fellow American citizens were murdered by the Hamas action. It is the worst terrorist act against our citizens since September 11, 2001. We cannot accept that, and Hamas must pay. These citizens did nothing wrong, they were visiting relatives, bringing parents and grandparents home and having children visit. Hamas owns everything that happens now.
In addition, hostages were taken. Eleven of them are American citizens. We do not accept that act. If any hostage is harmed, Hamas and anyone supporting them will pay. Every hostage is a child, parent or relative, who did nothing wrong; they were not combatants.
We have been asked by the U.N. to support humanitarian aid. I am going to ask congress to approve $100 million dollars, but not a single penny will be allocated until the safe return of innocent hostages and I know the aid will reach people in need and not support Hamas and terrorists. Hamas owns the situation in their country now.
In addition, let this be a warning to nations who are thinking about expanding this action. There have been attempted drone attacks against American bases and interests. I have moved three U.S. aircraft carriers into the area. I have done so to protect U.S. citizens, soldiers and interests. I believe Israel can handle their own military situation and we will not stop them against any nation that chooses to attack them. We have tried reason and appeasement and it has been seen as weakness. This time, we will not stop. The carriers will be there to support our interests and if needed, for any reason. I will not hesitate to protect our people.
In war, truth is often the first casualty. We saw that this week. The lie perpetuated that Israel bombed a hospital is an example. It was not Israel, it was the Islamic Jihad, a part of Hamas who misfired a weapon. To have so many believe this lie is a real concern. There have been shelling of hospitals and civilian areas, without warning, but they have come from Hamas and their supporters. I urge everyone to get the facts before believing every rumor.
You get the idea of what I was looking for. He could have moved on to Ukraine from there, but it’s time to stand tall. Appeasing does not work.
Here’s one more action that could have been. This would have taken political courage to do. We know where the funds for these terror activities are coming from. Iran has generated over $100 billion in oil revenue as we eased restrictions and cut American production. Tonight I am announcing we will reverse those policies and make America free of foreign dependence and reapply restrictions. We tried other actions and all we have are dead citizens of our nation and the world. (To all the climate readers who say “oh no” I ask you again. What’s the difference if we produce the oil and not Iran or Russia? We don’t use one barrel more or less, it just comes from us – and is cleaner! So until you explain that, keep your comments to yourself.)
In the end, my assessment is the President has made Israel feel secure and better and that is good. I just don’t see the leadership we need to stop the decline in world security evident today. In three years we will have a war between Ukraine and Russia. The Middle-East blowing up. Attacks on our interests in Yemen, Lebanon and elsewhere. China flexing its muscle and deciding on how far to go. North Korea is back to testing long range missiles. And a border wide open where we have no idea on who is coming into our country. This is not leadership and security.
And the Ready, Shoot, Aim Republican House still founders.
