From my friends at Power Line Blog:
Monthly Archives: November 2024
When The Mistakes All Go The Same Way
On Wednesday, The Daily Signal posted an article about an investigation by the House Oversight and Accountability Committee into the last census. Populations in blue states were over-counted and populations in red states were under-counted. Congress wants to know if that was simply an incredible coincidence or something more.
The article reports:
The head of the U.S. Census Bureau is set to face questions from Congress on Dec. 5 regarding its overcounting of residents of blue states and undercounting of those in red states. Such errors could aid Democrats politically by giving blue states a larger share of Electoral College votes as well as more seats in the U.S. House of Representatives.
The Daily Signal first reported in September that the House Oversight and Accountability Committee opened an investigation into the potential politicization of the population count and miscounts in 14 states.
The December Oversight hearing will review the Census Bureau’s 2020 Post-Enumeration Survey, or PES. The hearing will also look at the bureau’s preparations for the 2030 Census.
The article notes some of the miscounts:
The Biden administration’s Census Bureau revealed in May 2022 that it undercounted the Republican-leaning states of Arkansas by 5%, Florida by 3.4%, Mississippi by 4.11%, Tennessee by 4.78%, and Texas by 1.92%. The Census Bureau undercounted one Democratic-leaning state, Illinois, by 1.97%.
The Census Bureau overcounted Biden’s home state of Delaware by 5.45% as well as other Democratic-leaning states: Hawaii by 6.79%, Massachusetts by 2.24%, Minnesota by 3.84%, New York by 3.44%, and Rhode Island by 5%. It also overcounted two Republican-leaning states, Ohio by 1.49% and Utah by 2.59%.
A more accurate census gives us a more representative House of Representatives and a more accurate Electoral College. We need to get this right.
Some Of The Spending Cuts Are Obvious
On Wednesday, The Epoch Times posted an article about some of the federal budget cuts that the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) could investigate.
The article reports:
In a letter sent on Monday to DOGE advisors Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy, Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) outlined her “instruction manual” of ways to eliminate government waste.
“With $3 billion of interest being added to our national debt every day, the longer we delay tackling the problem, the further away the finish line gets,” Ernst wrote in the letter. “To give you a head start, here are a trillion dollars’ worth of ideas for trimming the fat and reducing red ink.”
Ernst pointed out that the cost of maintaining and leasing government buildings costs $8 billion every year.
She noted that the federal workforce still works remotely and “not a single headquarters of a major government agency or department in the nation’s capital is even half full.”
Ernst targeted the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) in her blueprint of cost-cutting targets. She cited her audit of the tax collection agency which revealed that 5,800 employees and contractors owe nearly $50 million themselves.
The lawmaker also called for the DOGE to act as the “Grinch” on the government’s end-of-year “use it or lose it” spending spree which she called “Christmas in September.” The senator said that Sept. 20 every year marks the deadline for the federal government to spend money left over at the end of a fiscal year.
Part of the problem is baseline budgeting–your budget for next year starts with this year’s spending as the bottom line–thus the rush to spend all of your budget. Therefore, if you ask for a 10 percent increase and only get a 5 percent increase, you can say that you budget was cut 5 percent even though your budget grew. It’s very similar to the wife who goes shopping, spends $300, and tells her husband she saved $100.
There is hope that we will finally see government spending cut in the upcoming Trump administration.
I Think We Just Dodged A Bullet
On Wednesday, Zero Hedge posted an article about a meeting between Marc Andreessen, an American businessman and former software engineer, and Biden administration officials.
The article reports:
Marc Andreessen, the billionaire investor and co-founder of the influential Silicon Valley venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz, revealed in a new episode of Joe Rogan’s podcast that after an “alarming” meeting with Biden administration officials earlier this year was the moment he would have no other choice but to support Donald Trump.
For decades, Andreessen has supported Democrats, including Bill Clinton, Al Gore, John Kerry, Barack Obama, and Hillary Clinton. However, a troubling spring meeting with Biden administration officials caused major concerns. During the meeting, officials explained their plan to control AI through government regulatory capture—a strategy reminiscent of Communist policies in China.
“We had meetings [Biden officials] this spring that were the most alarming meetings I’ve ever been in. Where they were taking us through their plans, and it was – basically just full government – full government control – like this sort of thing, there will be a small number of large companies that will be completely regulated and controlled by the government, they told us. They said don’t even start startups – there’s just no way that they can succeed – there’s no way that we’re going to permit that to happen.”
The article notes:
Andreessen told Rogan (Joe Rogan) about the federal government’s rogue “Operation Choke Point.” He described it as a move by the Department of Justice that initially targeted marijuana businesses and gun manufacturers. He said under Biden, it was then weaponized to destroy political opponents, tech founders, and the crypto community.
We have seen the Biden administration act in violation of the Supreme Court in the past (student loan forgiveness). Is there anyone who believes that if Kamala Harris had been elected her administration would have been reined in by the rule of law? I believe we dodged a bullet on November 5th.
Standing Up To China
Author: R. Alan Harrop, Ph.D.
Let me start off with a clear understanding of our relationship with China. Is China an adversary or an enemy? According to Webster’s dictionary, both labels refer to an entity that is out to harm and diminish you. What do the facts show about China’s actions and plans towards our country?
Here are a few things to consider: 1) China is ruled by a communist government which we have been resisting and fighting (Korean and Vietnam Wars) since the end of World War II. Communists are committed to over-throwing all other forms of government worldwide. It is an essential part of their mission. 2) The Chinese are shipping vast amounts of fentanyl to the cartels in Mexico and killing approximately 100,000 Americans each year. 3) The Chinese steal our intellectual property and protected information to produce products and weapons. 4) The Chinese are infiltrating our borders and subverting our universities by using grants and student visas. 5) The Chinese recently hacked into our communications network and recorded telephone calls made by our elected officials (e.g. J.D. Vance) and business leaders. 6) The Chinese flew at least one spy balloon (probably one of many) across our country targeting military bases. 7) Just recently, several drones were sent over three of our military bases in the United Kingdom. 8) The Chinese are in the process of using the profits from our trade deficit with them to build the largest and most advance military in the world–especially naval ships and supersonic aircraft.
In addition to these actions, China has announced its so-called Belt and Road Project, which involves expanding its economic influence globally, and consequently, diminishing our role and influence with other countries, seriously injuring our economy and making the world dependent on the Chinese. This, if it happens, will provide the communist takeover that they have been seeking.
The question is what do we do about it. Thankfully, on January 20, 2025, we will have a president and administration that recognizes the reality of the threat from China and will not be afraid to take necessary action. One obvious thing for us here in North Carolina, is to follow Florida’s lead and curtail and reverse the ownership of land in our state– especially around our military bases. A recent report by the federal Agriculture Department listed North Carolina as one of five (5) states that have “…worrisome amounts of land owned by the Chinese.” (Always remember that all private Chinese businesses are beholden and controlled by the Chinese Communist Party.) In 2010, China did not own any land in North Carolina. They now own over 50,000 acres, most of which is in close proximity to the largest military base in the state: Ft. Liberty ( formerly Ft. Bragg). If you believe this is by mere chance, I have a bridge in Brooklyn I can sell you! Posing as farming operations, the Chinese can set up reconnaissance, radar tracking devises, monitor communications and troop movements, and send out spy drones. Fortunately, the House portion of the General Assembly drafted and passed HB 463 in the last session to restrict China’s ability to purchase land around military bases. The bill was not taken up by the Senate. Personally, I do not think the bill goes far enough. If we really believe that China is an existential threat, we should do what Florida did and preclude them from owning any land in North Carolina and force them to divest themselves of what they currently own. By the way, China does NOT allow any foreign entity to own land in their country; why should we?
We need to get serious about the threat that China poses before it is too late! No more half-measures!
Avoiding The FBI Until It Can Be Repaired
On Wednesday, Townhall posted an article explaining how President Trump is avoiding the traps the FBI set for him during his last administration.
The article reports:
President-elect Donald J. Trump isn’t buying into the FBI’s games, nor should he. The Justice Department has targeted the man and has gone multiple rounds with its lawyers, including a federal raid on his home—all of which was to derail his 2024 candidacy. But he won the election.
He’s in charge, and I hope he takes a baseball bat to the J. Edgar Hoover Building. And yes, no appointee should subject themselves to an FBI background check for security clearances until he’s sworn in and gets his people to run the show. The Biden DOJ cannot be trusted. In a massive middle finger to the bureau, Trump is going to give every appointee a security clearance until his appointees can be reined in and begin the process of cleaning house at the FBI, which has devolved into the Democrats’ political police force (via The Guardian):
Donald Trump’s transition team is planning for all political appointees to receive sweeping security clearances on the first day and only face FBI background checks after the incoming administration takes over the bureau and its own officials are installed in key positions, according to people familiar with the matter.
The move appears to mean that Trump’s team will continue to skirt FBI vetting and may not receive classified briefings until Trump is sworn in on 20 January and unilaterally grant sweeping security clearances across the administration.
Trump’s team has regarded the FBI background check process with contempt for months, a product of their deep distrust of the bureau ever since officials turned over transition records to the Russia investigation during the first Trump presidency, the people said.
The article concludes:
Many of our enemies still work at the FBI and the Justice Department. Look at what’s transpired, not just during the first Trump presidency, but this 2024 cycle—the incoming administration is rightly suspicious of this agency that has ruined countless lives to get Trump.
I’ll support anything that makes the FBI miserable, frustrated, and appear small. They’ve earned it.
This is definitely a different Trump administration than the one that took office in 2016.
Have a wonderful Thanksgiving!
One Person Truly Responsible For Thanksgiving
Peter Marshall was born in 1940. He was the son of the former Senate Chaplain Peter Marshall and author Catherine Marshall. He wrote the book The Light and the Glory, published in 1977, a history of America from the Pilgrims through the Presidency of George Washington. The information below is taken from that book.
On November 11, the Mayflower dropped anchor on Cape Cod. In December, the crew moved the Mayflower into a more sheltered harbor inside Cape Cod Bay. In March, as they were creating their settlement, an Indian strolled casually down their main street and into their common house where he said “Welcome.”
That Indian was Samoset, the Chief of the Algonquin Tribe of Maine. He asked for a beer. They didn’t have beer, so they offered him brandy, which he accepted. He provided the Pilgrims with information about the Indian tribes in the area. He explained to the Pilgrims that the land they were settling on had belonged to the Patuxet Indians, a hostile tribe known for killing any white man they encountered. The Patuxet Tribe had been wiped out by a mysterious plague four years before the Pilgrims arrived. Other tribes considered the land cursed and would not settle there. The nearest Indians were the Wampanoag Tribe about 50 miles southwest of where the Pilgrims had settled. Samoset spent the night with the Pilgrims and headed off the next day with gifts for Massasoit, the head of the Wampanoag Tribe.
The next week, Samoset returned with Massasoit, some of his braves, and Squanto, who would act as a translator. Squanto was a Patuxet Indian who had escaped the plague because he had been captured and sold into slavery twice—once to England and once to Spain. Because Squanto was devastated when he finally got back to Massachusetts and found out that all of his tribe had perished, he decided to stay with the Pilgrims to help them settle in their new land.
Squanto taught the Pilgrims how to hunt deer, plant pumpkins among the corn, refine maple syrup, collect beaver pelts, and other much needed survival skills. Without the help of Squanto, the Pilgrims would probably not have survived.
When The Powers That Be Don’t Like Your Definition
On Tuesday, Hot Air posted an article about Alice Wairimu Nderitu, who has served as the United Nations Special Advisor on the Prevention of Genocide since 2020. Nderitu’s contract has expired. Normally, renewing that contract is routine. However, this time her contract was not renewed–she was essentially fired.
The article explains the reason:
Alice Wairimu Nderitu has served as the United Nations Special Advisor on the Prevention of Genocide since 2020. During that period, Nderitu has urged caution regarding the use of the term, telling the UN to only apply it when genocidal intent is both manifest and the only legitimate explanation, lest “genocide” get watered down into mere political fashion. That is especially true in clear counter-terrorism operations, Nderitu warned, specifically resisting the application of the term “genocide” in the war Hamas started.
According to The Wall Street Journal:
Her paper explains that the term “genocide” was coined in 1944 by Polish lawyer Raphael Lemkin to describe massacres of entire ethnic groups with the intention of eliminating them. That definition, Ms. Nderitu has said, includes the Holocaust, the Hutus’ genocide of the Tutsis in Rwanda, the Serbian slaughter of Bosnian Muslims, and may include the ethnic killings now unfolding in Sudan.
As a legal matter, establishing a pattern of violence as a genocide requires demonstrating intent. Israel’s campaign of self-defense doesn’t qualify. The war against Hamas has had many deaths, but Israel’s strategy is intended to dismantle a terrorist regime, not eliminate an ethnic group. The Jewish state has gone to great lengths to minimize Palestinian civilian casualties, even as Hamas uses civilians as shields so their deaths can be used as propaganda.
That’s not what the anti-Israel cabal at the U.N. want to hear.
The article at Hot Air concludes:
To call this a genocide is absurd. The Israelis are taking far more care about protecting civilian populations than any of the belligerents in World War II did, the conflict that birthed the UN. They are the only army in history that is expected to feed the population that started a war with them while the war still rages, in population centers where belligerents still attack the Israelis from civilian infrastructure.
Moreover, Hamas has made its genocidal intentions against the Israelis and Jews in general explicitly known and declared ever since its founding. After October 7, their representatives announced that Hamas would keep conducting such massacres and atrocities until they destroyed Israel and enslaved the Jews that managed to survive. IDF operations uncovered Hamas’ specific plans for the enslavement of the remnants.
There’s a genocide going on, all right. And the UN is siding with it.
“Can anyone with integrity survive at the UN?” the WSJ editors wonder. Not for long, it seems. If they want to side with genocidal terrorism, what value is there in the United Nations, even as a debating society?
There is no equivalency between the violence of October 7, 2023, and Israel’s fight for its survival. The United Nations has become what it was founded to prevent–an organization acting in opposition to the defense of freedom.
As The Facts Emerge
On Monday, Jonathan Turley posted an article on the information that has recently come out regarding January 6th and the Congressional investigation of the riot.
The article reports:
On Jan. 6, 2021, the nation was rocked by the disruption of the certification of Joe Biden as our next president. With Donald Trump set to return to the White House in 2025, it is astonishing how much of that day remains a matter of intense debate.
Those divisions are likely only to deepen after a slew of recent reports that have challenged the selective release of information from the House January 6 Committee.
January 6 remains as much a political litmus test as it is a historical event. Whether you refer to that day as a riot or an insurrection puts you on one side or the other of a giant political chasm. I viewed the attack on that day as a desecration of our constitutional process, but I did not view it as an insurrection. I still don’t.
It was a protest that became a riot when a woefully insufficient security plan collapsed. And that is a view shared by most Americans. One year after the riot, a CBS poll showed that 76 percent viewed it as a “protest gone too far.”
A Harvard study also found that those arrested on that day were motivated by loyalty to Trump rather than support for an insurrection.
A recent poll found that almost half of the public (43 percent) felt that “too much is being made” of the riot and that it is “time to move on.” Of course, that still leaves a little over half who view the day as “an attack on democracy.”
The continued distrust of the official accounts of Jan. 6 reflects a failure of the House Democrats, and specifically former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), to guarantee a credible and comprehensive investigation.
The House Select Committee to investigate January 6 was comprised of Democrat-selected members who offered only one possible view: that January 6 was an attempt to overthrow our democracy by Trump and his supporters. The committee hired a former ABC News producer to create a slick, made-for-television production that barred opposing views and countervailing evidence. The members, including Republican Vice Chair Liz Cheney, played edited videotapes of Trump’s speech that removed the portion where Trump called on his supporters to protest “peacefully.”
The committee fostered false accounts, including the claim that there was a violent episode with Trump trying to wrestle control of the presidential limousine. The Committee knew that the key Secret Service driver directly contradicted that account offered by former White House aide Cassidy Hutchinson.
Please follow the link to read the entire article. Although I do not entirely agree with Attorney Turley’s conclusions, he is correct to say that we know very little of what actually happened that day.
Generally Speaking, The Voters Support President Trump’s Transition Actions
On Monday, Townhall posted an article about recent polls taken to see how Americans are acting to President Trump’s transition moves.
The article reports:
We recently explored the question of whether Donald Trump has been given an electoral mandate by voters, with my bottom line being, ‘yes, but mandates are fickle and only last as long as voters remain on board.’ Seasoned and insightful political observer Brit Hume, however, has warned Trump’s team not to treat their victory as some sort of triumphal, full embrace: “This was a clear and convincing win for Mr. Trump, to be sure, and — particularly when you think of all the stuff that had been thrown at him as he tried to be elected again — it’s impressive,” he said before adding a few cautionary notes:
“Joe Biden won a narrow victory — convincing, perhaps, but narrow — in 2020, and once he got control of the Senate and had control of both houses, he started thinking that he was going to be the new FDR, and was going to pass all kinds of great social legislation, some of the results of which were an outbreak of inflation, from which his candidacy and his campaign never recovered,” Hume said. “So, you have to be careful about these things. Mandates, real mandates, are rare, and landslides are perhaps even rarer.” … “My thought about this is: The president would be wise to ignore the talk from his supporters about what an enormous mandate he has and what a great landslide he won, because thinking that can lead to trouble,” Hume added. Hume said Trump following through with his promise of mass deportation would be an appropriate reading of Trump’s mandate, given how clear the president-elect was on his goal. “Particularly on the deportation of illegal migrants,” Hume said, “he does, I think it’s fair to say, have an authority to do that, and the voters understood that that’s one of the things he said he was going to do, and he never back away from it.”
The article includes a number of screenshots illustrating where President Trump’s support is coming from and the amount of support President Trump has. Most Americans are on board with the idea of deporting people who do not legally belong here.
This Story Could Have Ended Very Differently
On Monday, The Daily Signal posted an article about Amaya Price, a 20-year-old who was going to share his struggles with gender dysphoria in high school and how he overcame them at an event about social change for a class at Berklee College of Music, a private music college in Boston. The college forced him to cancel the event, but the MIT Open Discourse Society allowed Amaya Price to host his lecture on the campus of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
The article reports:
“I feel like I’ve given a lot of these parents hope, because I’m here today, I’ve been through this, I came out the other side, and I’m OK,” he said, “That’s what a lot of these parents need. They need hope. And right now how it is in Massachusetts, especially, there aren’t a lot of places to look.”
Amaya Price’s presentation highlighted the hate he says he has received on social media since announcing his event and his journey from identifying as trans to accepting his biological sex. He ended with the reminder: “No child is born in the wrong body.”
The article notes:
Amaya Price, who has been diagnosed with autism, said he experienced social ostracism and a mental health crisis in ninth grade, leading him to decide his problem was that he actually was a girl.
He told his therapist, who affirmed his gender dysphoria and referred him to Boston Children’s Hospital for hormones and surgeries. His pediatrician told Amaya Price’s father he could choose between having a “dead son or a living daughter,” and that the then-14-year-old would kill himself if denied hormones and surgery.
Amaya Price’s father immediately shut down the possibility of a medical “transition,” which his son now says is “the best thing he could have done.”
Amaya Price calls himself a “desister,” someone who identified as transgender but decided to live in accord with his biological gender instead of undergoing medical interventions.
Blackmailing parents by telling them their child will commit suicide if they are not allowed life-changing medical treatments that will permanently alter their lives should be considered medical malpractice. Children who change genders generally have a higher rate of suicide. That might be because the gender dysphoria might be a symptom or a deeper problem rather than being the problem. Also, a child who changes their gender will be on hormones for the rest of their life as their body attempts to go back to where it was. No trans surgery can change DNA.
Please follow the link to read the rest of the article. It offers hope to parents dealing with this issue.
The Voice Of The People Is Making Waves In Elections
On Sunday, The Conservative Treehouse posted an article about a recent election in Romania.
The article reports:
Interesting that none of the Europeans saw this outcome looming, which is likely why Samantha Power and her USAID/CIA election operation was not present for round #1. Unfortunately, it should be expected that team USA will quickly react and dispatch assistants to help recover in round #2.
Make Romania Great Again candidate Călin Georgescu came out of nowhere and has won the first round in the presidential election.
Georgescu campaigned on an anti-EU, anti-NATO and anti-war with Russia platform; simultaneously supporting domestic farmers, domestic energy production and advocating for a Romania that is free from foreign influence.
Oh, and instead of traditional media, his campaign message was strongly directed to the Romanian people, via TikTok. Imagine that.
As noted by Politico, “Ultranationalist Călin Georgescu comes from nowhere to lead center-left PM Marcel Ciolacu and liberal Elena Lasconi in first round.
[…] According to the partial results, Georgescu leads with 22.2 percent followed by center-left Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu on 20.2 percent. Reformist candidate Elena Lasconi is on 18 percent, while another hard-right candidate, George Simion, trails with 14.1 percent support, with 96 percent of precincts reporting.
An early exit poll had suggested that Lasconi was set to qualify for the presidential runoff but Georgescu surged as vote counting continued Sunday night, heralding a result that is set to upend Romanian politics.
Georgescu, extremely religious and nationalistic, campaigned on reducing Romania’s reliance on imports, supporting farmers and increasing the domestic production of food and energy.
He has also argued that the EU and NATO do not properly represent Romanian interests and claimed Russia’s war in Ukraine, a Romanian neighbor, is manipulated by American military companies.
Just for the record, America and the other globalist countries need to stay out of other people’s elections.
There Will Be A Price On Ignoring The Will Of The People
Sometimes the Republicans in Congress are bigger obstacles to a Republican President than the Democrats. Unfortunately, that may describe the current situation. There does not seem to be a price paid by Republicans who choose to support the deep state rather than the people who elected them. However, that may be about to change.
On Sunday, The Gateway Pundit reported:
Elon Musk fired off a warning shot at dirty Senate RINOs on Sunday afternoon.
The squishy Trump-hating RINOs in the US Senate are already pushing back against the will of the American people and refusing to approve of President Trump’s cabinet nominees.
It should be noted, as Senator Tommy Tuberville (R-AL) reminded the American people last week. NOT ONE SINGLE DEMOCRAT voted against ANY of Joe Biden’s radical America-hating nominees in 2020!
…Yet, five Republican Senators forced Matt Gaetz to withdraw his nomination for Attorney General after they announced they would not vote for him.
Elon warned the RINOs on Sunday that we would not give you a pass this time!
The article concludes:
We have two years to enact the Trump agenda. We will not forget the RINOs who refused to stand with Trump and his voters.
The only time a Republican Congress ever accomplished anything was under the leadership of Newt Gingrich. The reason the Republicans were not able to undo Obamacare was the pettiness of Senator John McCain. If Republicans expect Americans to vote for them, they had better start listening to what the voters want and acting accordingly.
The High Ground Is Always A Strategic Asset
On Saturday, Breitbart posted an article about a recent discovery by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) 810th Alpine (or Mountain) Brigade.
The article reports:
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) 810th Alpine (or Mountain) Brigade announced Saturday that it had found weaponry manufactured by Iran on the slopes of Har (Mount) Dov, one of two strategic mountains on the border near Israel.
Breitbart News visited the Alpine Brigade on Thursday and toured the Har Dov area, before the discovery of Iranian weaponry was announced. The newly-formed brigade was deemed necessary because of the potential for infiltration into Israel through the unfenced mountain slopes of Har Dov and Mount Hermon, the highest peak in the region.
As Breitbart News reported on location on Thursday:
Har Dov is near the Shebaa Farms, an area that Hezbollah, the Iran-backed terror organization, claims for Lebanon, but which Israel seized from Syria during the Six Day War in 1967. The United Nations, normally hostile to Israel, actually agrees with Israel that Lebanon has no legal claim to the farms or Har Dov.
In recent years, Hezbollah has attempted to encroach on the area. It has also used the Har Dov issue in its effort to persuade Lebanon’s people of the need for war against Israel, rather than admitting that the Iranian regime has been using war for its own narrow interests.
Rather than dismiss Hezbollah’s claims, the Biden-Harris administration took them at face value, and attempted to persuade Israel to withdraw its forces from the Har Dov area as a condition of the ceasefire deal it wanted to impose after Hezbollah had fired missiles, rockets, and drones at Israel for nearly a year, starting in October 2023.
But Israel could not accept such a deal, primarily because Har Dov has a commanding view of almost all of the upper Galilee, making it a key strategic location.
Israel lives in a very dangerous neighborhood. It is to their advantage to maintain control of the high ground that surrounds their nation. Any effort by America or any other country to force them to surrender that high ground is a request for Israel to disappear as a county as it would be overrun by its enemies.
The Case Is Falling Apart In A Trial That Should Never Have Happened
On Sunday, The New York Post posted an article about the murder trial of Daniel Penny that is taking place in New York. As you remember, Daniel Penny is being tried for the subway murder of Jordan Neely in May 2023.
The article reports:
On Friday, the defense rested in the Daniel Penny trial, leaving many observers to ask what Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg was thinking in pursuing this case.
Over the course of the second-degree manslaughter trial, Bragg’s prosecutors tried to sell the narrative that the Marine vet overreacted and behaved “recklessly” when he restrained Jordan Neely on that F train back in May 2023.
But a host of prosecution witnesses, Penny’s fellow passengers, knocked massive holes in that tale, as one after another veteran subway rider described how terror-stricken they felt while trapped in the train car with the angry, unstable, threatening Neely.
One woman said she “was scared s–tless” by Neely’s behavior and recalled him yelling: “I don’t give a damn. I will kill a motherf—er. I’m ready to die.”
She stuck around after the ordeal to thank Penny for defending her and everyone else in the car that day.
Another, a high school student, said she was “so nervous” that she feared she “was going to pass out,” and said she didn’t hear other passengers’ warning to Penny to let go of Neely during the struggle.
The article concludes:
Closing arguments begin Dec. 2; it’s hard to think the jury will need to deliberate long.
It’s Bragg and his team who’ll have to put in time figuring out why they took such a weak case to trial.
There are some real questions in my mind as to how New York is making decisions regarding who to let off for crimes committed and who to put on trial. It seems to me that Daniel Penny is the least of New York’s worries as far as criminals are concerned.
Small Steps As The Path To Victory
Our Founding Fathers were very wise. Townhall reminds us that James Madison said, “I believe there are more instances of the abridgement of freedom of the people by gradual and silent encroachments by those in power than by violent and sudden usurpations.” The election we just saw was an example of one party reaching past the political mindset of the majority of Americans and going too far too fast. Most Americans don’t want their children undergoing major surgery that will prevent them from having children later on. Most parents want to see more crayons and fewer drag queens in our children’s classrooms.
Townhall reports:
Mighty and loud revolutions have happened in history and with some degree of frequency. However, the most insidious “revolutions” are the ones mentioned by James Madison in the quote above. That kind of revolution is, no doubt, the one the Democratic Party and Marxist Left have in mind for America because they have been trying to impose it upon the country for the past two generations.
They almost succeeded but got too greedy the past four years, and the American people stopped them this year. But if we think the Left is finished, if we think they will give up, if we believe their attempt to continue their overthrow of the American Revolution of 1776 is over, then we are, of all people, most naïve. They aren’t going to stop; they are only going to regroup and redouble their efforts.
No doubt, the Left was knocked back on its heels a bit by this year’s election. Their arrogant smugness, sense of elite superiority, the belief that they were right about everything and surely the American people would never reject them—all of this received a severe blow and shocked them significantly. They still have no clue why they lost because they have no clue how utterly abhorrent their agenda is to true, patriotic, God-fearing Americans—and to many others who simply want to pay their bills and not have the Left’s communistic, licentious, anti-scientific garbage rammed down their throats.
The article notes:
“An educated citizenry is a vital requisite for our survival as a free people” (Thomas Jefferson). That education starts with virtue, something our education system has utterly and miserably failed to inculcate into our children the past several decades. “To suppose that any form of government will secure liberty or happiness without any virtue in the people is a chimerical [fanciful] idea” (James Madison). Electing Donald Trump to the Presidency was a good start, but there is so much more to do. If the king is righteous but the people are wicked, the country will still be rotten and headed for destruction.
The Left knows—or will figure out soon—that, even with Donald Trump as President, they will eventually win IF they can continue to control the education system of America (including the media). We better figure that out, too. We didn’t get into this pit overnight and won’t climb out of it overnight. But we’d be wise to get started before the pit gets deeper.
Another reason to remove the Department of Education from the federal government.
Another Mine Left Before Leaving Office
President Trump has repeatedly said that he will begin deporting people who are here illegally as soon as he takes office in January. Hopefully, he will begin with those who are gang members or have broken laws other than the immigration laws they broke when they came here illegally. Oddly enough, if you look at where the illegals have been sent, you will see that a large number of them have been sent to red states. If these illegals had the right to vote, they could change the electoral map permanently. However, the Democrats say that has nothing to do with how many are coming in or where they are going. Right!!!
On Friday, American Greatness posted an article about the latest antic by the Biden administration regarding illegal immigration.
The article reports:
With less than two months left before President-elect Donald Trump returns to the White House, the outgoing Biden-Harris Administration is actively trying to undermine the president-elect’s immigration agenda before they leave.
According to Fox News, Biden’s Department of Homeland Security (DHS) plans to hastily roll out another pro-immigration app called the “ICE Portal” in December. This app will allow illegal aliens to simply skip in-person check-ins at ICE offices and instead check in with immigration officials virtually, either via the app or online.
Due to the sudden rollout, the app has suffered from major glitches and also does not have the ability to track an illegal’s location, as well as whether the illegal is using a phone or a laptop. The app also does no background check on whether or not the illegal in question has arrest records or outstanding warrants. Illegals are even allowed to opt out of government requests for them to be electronically tracked.
The report from the New York Post says that at least 100,000 illegals will be enrolled in the app’s first wave in the next month.
Gee, Obamacare was the last time the Democrats rolled out an app that didn’t work. They need better computer people. Let’s hope we can remove the illegals quickly and use the money that is supporting them to care for Americans in need.
Sad News From California
In America, children can’t buy alcohol or cigarettes until they are 21. They can’t get their ears pierced until they are 18 unless a parent is present. They can’t vote until they are 18. So why are children under 18 allowed to have major, life-changing surgery that will leave them sterile for the rest of their lives?
On November 23, The Gateway Pundit posted an article about when can happen when the parents don’t agree on the child’s sex-change operation.
The article reports:
A California judge has permanently stripped Texas father Jeffrey Younger of all parental rights to his twin sons, James and Jude, granting Younger’s ex-wife, Anne Georgulas, the authority to chemically and surgically transition their 12-year-old son, James, against his father’s wishes.
Younger, whose ex-wife, a pediatrician, began transitioning their son to a girl at just two and a half years old, has fought tooth and nail to protect his child. Despite video evidence supporting his concerns, courts in Texas and California have systematically stripped him of his parental rights.
The Gateway Pundit previously reported that a video of James Younger when he was only 3 years old surfaced, revealing that his mother put dresses on him and painted his fingernails when the child was just an infant!
The abuse from the mother all started because James liked a toy from the movie ‘Frozen’ meant for little girls. It is totally normal for little boys to play with girls’ toys; it does not mean they want to be castrated and ‘transition’ into girls.
This is sad for everyone. Jeffrey Younger has stated that he will not agree to supervised visits for a number of reasons. The cost because of transportation and supervision would be approximately $2,000 per visit, the risk of the reports on the visits being skewed, and the idea planted in his son’s mind that Jeffrey Younger was dangerous in some way. Meanwhile, James Younger will be a medical patient on serious drugs for as long as he decides to be a girl. If he changes his mind at some point in the future, he will discover that some aspects of his decision are irrevocable.
From my friends at Power Line Blog:
The Cost Of The War In Ukraine Just Got Higher
President Trump has stated that he will end the war in Ukraine through negotiations as soon as he takes office. Hopefully, nothing drastic will change in the next month and a half. However, that may be a vain hope.
On November 23, Breitbart reported:
Moscow’s ambassador to Britain asserted that the United Kingdom is now “directly involved” in the war in Ukraine after Kyiv used British-made Storm Shadow long-range missiles to strike targets inside Russia.
In the wake of outgoing U.S. President Joe Biden’s reported decision to allow Ukraine to use American long-range ballistic missiles to attack the Russian interior, London was seemingly quick to follow suit, with reports this week that Kyiv used UK-made Storm Shadows to hit targets in the Kursk region of Russia, where Ukrainian forces waged a surprise counter-invasion over the summer.
…Meanwhile, Russia unveiled what it is describing as a new hypersonic intermediate-range ballistic missile (IRBM) dubbed Oreshnik, striking Ukrainian targets in Dnipro on Thursday.
Mr Putin claimed that the use of the weapon was justified following Ukraine’s deployment of British Storm Shadows and U.S. ATACMS long-range missiles to strike within Russia, saying: “The regional conflict in Ukraine has acquired elements of a global character.”
According to Russian state media, the Oreshnik is designed to travel at Mach 10 (7,600 miles/12,200km per hour) or around ten times the speed of sound. Kyiv has claimed that the missile that struck Dnipro actually hit speeds of Mach 11.
Russia has asserted that the IRBM is difficult to intercept because of its hypersonic capability, with Putin claiming: “There are no means of counteracting Oreshnik-type complexes in the world.”
We need a skilled negotiator to come in and end this war before it goes nuclear. President Trump understands financial leverage (the Biden administration does not seem to grasp that concept) and knows how to use it. If American floods the world oil market, Russia can no longer afford to fight the war in Ukraine and Iran can no longer afford to fund terrorism. That is the joy of ‘drill, baby, drill.’ It will not only help America with its budget deficit, it will lower the cost of fuel for Americans and bring down inflation. The sunrise begins on January 20, 2025. Our long winter will be ending.
The Need To Enforce Citizenship Only Voting In America
The Fifteenth Amendment protects the rights of citizens of the United States to vote. It does not allow for non-citizens to vote. The Nineteenth Amendment allows women who are citizens of the United States to vote. Nowhere in the Constitution does it say that non-citizens have the right to vote. The fact that non-citizens are counted in the census is the result of a court case–not a law passed by any legislature.
On Friday, The Federalist posted an article illustrating how one state is not complying with the Constitution in its voting practices.
The article reports:
The Oregon Department of Motor Vehicles has directed its employees to process the voter registration of those with “unknown citizenship” status, simply requiring that they claim eligibility, The Federalist has learned.
“If you don’t prove that you’re not a U.S. citizen, then you will be asked if you want to self-attest to being a citizen, and they will assist you with registering to vote,” Republican state Rep. Ed Diehl told The Federalist.
Early last month, Democrat Gov. Tina Kotek paused Oregon’s “motor voter” program as the state began a cursory investigation into how the system had registered more than 1,500 potential noncitizens to vote, as The Federalist previously reported.
In response to this discovery, Diehl met with state DMV leaders on Oct. 21. He said the DMV has reverted to only registering voters with a form that relies on attestation to prove citizenship.
“Instead of being optional — a side track basically for voter registration — it’s right now the only way,” Diehl said.
Though the “motor voter” process that Kotek paused allowed more than 1,500 individuals to vote without proof of citizenship, that process theoretically required some level of documentary proof of citizenship, in contrast with the current registration method Diehl described.
The article concludes:
After discovering noncitizens on the voter rolls, Kerns [Griffin-Valade’s (Oregon’s Secretary of State) Communications Director Laura Kerns] said the secretary of state took steps to hire a “motor voter oversight” position in the Oregon Elections Division” to establish a process with the DMV of “regular data checks and review processes” with the elections division and update administrative rules.
Jeff Eager, former mayor of Bend, Oregon, who writes on state politics, told The Federalist he has been trying to obtain public records regarding the “motor voter” program placing noncitizens on the rolls. The DMV postponed releasing records until after the election.
“It looks to me like they’re playing games with the response by continually delaying it,” Eager said. “The concern here is that it’s the tip of the iceberg, because you have the majority of voters in Oregon having registered to vote without providing proof of citizenship at all.”
It’s time to require all states to comply with the law limiting voting in federal elections to citizens or their Representatives and Senators should not be seated and their Electoral College votes not counted.
The End Of Camelot
Sixty-one years ago, John F. Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas, Texas. I will never forget the picture of his wife, Jackie Kennedy, in her blood-stained pink suit standing next to Lyndon Johnson as he was sworn in as President.
The election of John Kennedy in 1960 changed many things in America. His fashionable First Lady was admired by American women. Jackie Kennedy was a breath of fresh air to America. Her poise and elegance played very well on the international stage. The election was a time of hope, when a youthful President was going to bring new energy to America. America’s Camelot had arrived. Obviously, that hope was dashed on that November day.
Today, we are again on a path of hope for a new beginning in America. President Trump wants to be a transformative President who will bring our government closer to its founding principles. As we remember the events of sixty-one years ago, we need to remember to pray for the safety of our incoming administration so that they will be able to create the new beginning they envision.
The End Of The Matt Gaetz Appointment
This is the statement Matt Gaetz posted on X:
I had excellent meetings with Senators yesterday. I appreciate their thoughtful feedback – and the incredible support of so many. While the momentum was strong, it is clear that my confirmation was unfairly becoming a distraction to the critical work of the Trump/Vance Transition. There is no time to waste on a needlessly protracted Washington scuffle, thus I’ll be withdrawing my name from consideration to serve as Attorney General. Trump’s DOJ must be in place and ready on Day 1. I remain fully committed to see that Donald J. Trump is the most successful President in history. I will forever be honored that President Trump nominated me to lead the Department of Justice and I’m certain he will Save America.
I have no doubt that Matt Gaetz would make a great Attorney General. I also would not be surprised if there were some skeletons in his closet. However, I would challenge anyone to find three people in Washington without skeletons in their closet. I am disappointed that he is dropping out. Had the Republicans united behind him as one of President Trump’s picks, he would have been approved. Even when their candidate wins the popular vote and the Electoral College, the Republicans forget that they have a spine.
As Don Surber recently stated:
The big hubbub in DC is over Trump’s selection of Matt Gaetz as his attorney general, who does not meet Washington’s standards.
Those standards include Eric Holder who openly defied a congressional subpoena, Loretta Lynch who discussed Hillary’s case with Bill in plain sight days before the dropping all charges against his wife, and the detestable Merrick Garland who jailed hundreds of Trump supporters.
DC fears retribution for a decade of prosecutorial persecution of Trump and his team.
Pam Bondi has been nominated as Attorney General. Hopefully the deep state will not be successful in ending that nomination. If Republicans continue to cave to unproven scandals, the unproven scandals will continue. It should be noted that the Justice Department investigated Matt Gaetz for years and never filed charges. Do you think they would have filed charges if they had a case?
I Guess It’s Not Okay To Be A Child Anymore
I realize that the world has changed–when our children were growing up, they would ride their bikes to the town swimming pool or to the town general store where they sold penny candy. They understood that they needed to be home by the time the streetlights came on. I realize that the world has changed, but some of the changes are ridiculous.
On Thursday, Hot Air reported the following:
Brittany Patterson lives in a rural part of Georgia with her four kids. Her husband is a superintendent at a school in Montana and is away much of the time. Last month, Patterson had to take one of her children to the doctor’s office. She left her 10-year-old son Soren (he’s nearly 11) at home with her father, the boy’s grandfather.
At some point, Soren decided to go for a walk to a local gas station where he knew his best friend’s grandmother was working. He didn’t ask permission, he just went. Someone saw him walking along the road and called police.
The article quotes an article from The Free Press:
Lenore Skenazy, a parenting advocate who runs the nonprofit Let Grow and first reported Patterson’s story, told me that her case shouldn’t have even required police involvement.
The female stranger who first saw Soren walking down the road asked if he was okay, and was told yes, but the stranger called 911 anyway. “When the sheriff answered the call, that should have been the end of it,” Skenazy said.
The article at Hot Air continues:
Instead, local law enforcement picked up Soren and brought him home. A few hours later, police officers showed up and arrested Brittany Patterson.
…She was taken to the police station, stripped and put in an orange jumpsuit. She was initially told the charge was “reckless endangerment,” but there is no such offense in Georgia. The actual charge was reckless conduct, a misdemeanor which could land her in jail for up to a year. Patterson’s lawyer David DeLugas points out that under Georgia law parents can leave a child aged 9-12 with a caretaker for up to two hours. She left Soren at home with his grandfather for 90 minutes. And since she didn’t give him permission to walk to the store, there was no criminal act here.
The article at Hot Air concludes:
The world has changed a lot since we were kids but 10-year-olds will always need to wander off and explore things on their own. The fact that most kids have phones and can call for help if they get in trouble makes this a relatively low-risk activity these days. It’s part of growing up and not something that needs to be remedied with arrests, threats of jail and government mandated supervision of kids.
The cops in this case really just need to back off…
This is ridiculous. There is a find-my-friends app on most cell phones that can track the location of a child. What kind of a world has drag queens doing library story hour and won’t let a 10-year old walk down the street by himself?