Tag Archives: Townhall

Will There Be Consequences?

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We have watched for a number of years as the Department of Justice reacted differently to crimes according to the political alignment of the person who committed them. Unfortunately, we may be about to see that happen again.

On Tuesday, Townhall reported the following:

The Republican Majority on the House Oversight Committee announced it would be taking further action against the Biden FBI on Tuesday after the agency again refused to provide unclassified documents responsive to a committee subpoena regarding an alleged criminal bribery scheme between then-Vice President Joe Biden and a foreign national.

In a statement, Oversight Chairman James Comer (R-KY) said that the Federal Bureau of Investigation had informed his committee “that it will not provide the unclassified documents subpoenaed by the Committee,” defying the House’s oversight powers on a matter of significant interest to members of Congress and the American people.

“The FBI’s decision to stiff-arm Congress and hide this information from the American people is obstructionist and unacceptable,” Comer continued. “While I have a call scheduled with FBI Director Wray tomorrow to discuss his response further, the Committee has been clear in its intent to protect Congressional oversight authorities and will now be taking steps to hold the FBI Director in contempt of Congress for refusing to comply with a lawful subpoena,” he explained.

The article concludes:

As Katie reported previously on the FBI’s refusal to turn over the unclassified documents related to the whistleblower allegations that the agency had knowledge of this alleged criminal scheme between Biden during his time as VP and an unknown foreign national:

The document in question allegedly shows then Vice President Joe Biden taking bribe money in exchange for changes in U.S. foreign policy. Earlier this month a whistleblower, who is now protected under federal law, came forward with the bribery allegation in testimony to House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer and Senate Judiciary Committee Ranking Member Chuck Grassley. 

The FBI missed a deadline to turn over the document two weeks ago and sent a letter justifying their belief Congress isn’t entitled to the information. 

“I can’t speak to the specific document. We are committed to working collaboratively with both committees but we also have to balance sources and methods and ongoing investigations,” Wray recently said during testimony on Capitol Hill. “I really can’t get into the specifics here.”

The only thing that I can conclude here is that Christopher Wray thinks that the consequences of not handing over the document will be less severe than the consequences of handing over the document. That simply adds fuel to the idea that the document is important. It also adds fuel to the idea that we are watching carefully orchestrated theater that will eventually remove President Biden from the 2024 presidential race.

Do You Feel That Someone Is Watching You?

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On Sunday, Townhall posted an article about the number of warrantless searches on American citizens.

The article reports:

In the fiscal year for the U.S. government that ended in November 2021, the FBI conducted more than 278,000 warrantless searches on U.S. citizens.

The information was unsealed in a FISA court ruling this past week.

So on average, during just that one year, the FBI was carrying out as many as 762 warrantless searches per day. That’s 32 improper searches per hour. That breaks down to a new warrantless search every 2 minutes.

These numbers do not include proper searches that used warrants and carried out the usual function of the bureau.

It also does not include the 3,400,000 times the FBI searched citizens’ data without warrants. That’s 9,315 per day, 388 per hour, and 6.5 per minute.

So in 2021–every two minutes—the FBI conducted a physical search and 13 data searches—illegally—for the entire year.

The same agency we now know tipped off that Hillary Clinton was colluding with Russia to frame Donald Trump and did nothing about it…

The same agency that lied to the FISA court to extend search warrants to surveil people that were later vindicated and cleared…

The same agency that allowed agents to conduct extra-marital relationships (an action that violates the FBI code of conduct) and feverishly work to remove a lawfully elected President…

The same agency that has held the Hunter Biden laptop in its possession has chosen to do zero in enforcement….

The same agency that knew that one political party was attempting to smear, frame, and remove an incoming President and briefed then-President Barack Obama and then-Vice-President Joe Biden as to the plans…

Please follow the link above to read the entire article. Unfortunately there is more.

Our Constitution protects us from unlawful searches:

Fourth Amendment

The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.

The people engaged in this unlawful surveillance need to be arrested.

Dancing Before The Senate

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On Wednesday, Townhall posted an article that illustrates the problem with investigating the possible corruption of the Biden family business (I’m still not sure exactly what that business was).

The article reports:

Testifying in front of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, State, the Judiciary and Related Agencies last week, FBI Director Christopher Wray was asked why the Bureau has failed to turn over a key document that allegedly shows President Joe Biden taking bribes from a foreign actor during his time as vice president.

“I can’t speak to the specific document. We are committed to working collaboratively with both committees but we also have to balance sources and methods and ongoing investigations,” Wray said under questioning from Republican Senator Bill Hagerty. “I really can’t get into the specifics here.”

When is an answer not an answer? I think the quote above answers that question.

The article concludes:

“It’s clear from the FBI’s response that the unclassified record the Oversight Committee subpoenaed exists, but they are refusing to provide it to the Committee. We’ve asked the FBI to not only provide this record, but to also inform us what it did to investigate these allegations. The FBI has failed to do both,” Comer released in a statement Wednesday about the FBI’s lack of compliance. “The FBI’s position is ‘trust, but you aren’t allowed to verify.’ That is unacceptable. We plan to follow up with the FBI and expect compliance with the subpoena.”

Keep in mind that the ousting of President Biden is a planned activity. It will happen when the Democrats and the compliant media want it to happen. The investigation is not scripted, but the Democrat, Department of Justice, and FBI response are carefully planned to proceed with a plan already in place.

Upholding The U.S. Constitution

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There are a lot of state right now that are attempting to limit the rights of American citizens to own guns. Any law that ‘infringes’ on that right is unconstitutional.

The Second Amendment states:

A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.

On Friday, Townhall reported that a federal judge put an end to one of the attempts to limit the freedom of Americans.

The article reports:

Molon labe. The nation is facing serious domestic and foreign policy crises, making the environment ripe for liberals to pass anti-gun legislation without anyone knowing. The fight to keep our Second Amendment rights is an ongoing struggle. It’s also grounded mainly in lawyer’s work, moving gradually. It took a decade for the Supreme Court to hear oral arguments about whether we have the right to carry guns in public for self-defense. Yes, we can declare we already had that right, but the high court never addressed it until New York State Rifle & Pistol Association, Inc. v. Bruen in 2022. If you look through past dockets, many gun rights cases like Bruen where a writ of certiorari was denied; Wollard v. Gallagher (2013) and Drake v. Jerejian (2014) are prime examples. 

We live in a society where the pace of change is meant to be slow for our protection. So, now that Bruen has decided on this remaining question regarding gun rights expect another lengthy court battle over carry rights, may issue-shall issue protocols, and pushback from blue states who will not go willingly with the Supreme Court’s decision. To start, we have a federal judge in Virginia striking down the age limit for purchasing handguns, which has been set at 21 for years

The article concludes:

Judge Payne is right; our constitutional right to own firearms does not “vest at age 21.” After the Parkland shooting in Florida in 2018 at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, some states, like Florida and Vermont, passed anti-gun laws that increased the age to purchase all firearms to 21. It’s always been 18 to buy a long gun and 21 for a handgun. At least some class of firearm would be afforded to those upon turning the age of 18. It’s not shocking the Justice Department is going to appeal the ruling. While a small victory, it should remind us that as we deal with Joe Biden’s incompetence, high inflation, a proxy war in Ukraine spiraling out of control, a looming real estate crisis, a shaky banking system, and the debt ceiling now becoming a ticking time bomb—the fight to keep our guns and expand those rights remains critical and difficult.

This is a fight that we must continue to fight and that we must win.

One Former CIA Officer Had Integrity

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On Friday, Townhall posted an article related to the former security professionals who signed the letter alleging that Hunter Biden’s laptop was Russian disinformation. It seems that not everyone who was asked to sign the letter did.

The article reports:

But now Fox News Contributor Dan Hoffman, a former CIA station chief who revealed in an op-ed this week for the first time that he had received the letter and was asked to sign it, is explaining why he didn’t add his name when he was asked to do so by former CIA Deputy Director Michael Morell.

“I got the letter October 18, 2020,” Hoffman said Friday on Fox News Channel’s America Reports. He noted that, “at first glance, it seemed natural” to blame Putin for the existence of, and revelations from, Hunter Biden’s laptop from hell. “But, at the same time, there was no evidence, and the letter noted there was no evidence” backing up the conclusion, Hoffman added. “We needed to do the forensics,” he said, in order to assert a conclusion.

Hoffman added that, when he received the letter and was asked to sign it, there was no opportunity to edit its contents or “debate” its merits. Instead, the letter was already in its final form and being passed around seeking endorsements.

In making his decision not to add his name, Hoffman said he believed “it was not up to us to speculate” without evidence showing a connection to Russia. “So, I didn’t sign the letter — I typically don’t put my name to other people’s words,” Hoffman added, “and I didn’t respond.”

It is unfortunate that Mr. Hoffman’s decision was the exception rather than t he rule. I suspect that intelligence officers are trained to evaluate evidence before making decisions. Evidently this was not done in the case of this letter. Note that Mr. Hoffman mentions that there was no opportunity to either edit the letter or debate its merits.

President Biden Has Announced He Is Running For Re-election

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Why would an 80-year-old man run for President? He has obviously lost some of his mental abilities, and he is not likely to regain them. On Tuesday, Townhall posted a fact check of President Biden’s announcement that he was running for President in 2024. The announcement was in video form–it was not live, which in itself is curious.

In the video, the President noted:

“The question we are facing is whether in the years ahead we have more freedom or less freedom, more rights or fewer,” the 80-year-old stated. “I know what I want the answer to be. This is not a time to be complacent. That’s why I’m running for reelection.”

The article notes:

As Katie pointed out, vaccine-obsessed Biden, the so-called leader of the free world, issued a COVID-19 vaccine mandate for federal workers, ordering that all employees were required to get vaxxed against the coronavirus or be subject to disciplinary action, which included termination. Likewise, in an affront to individual autonomy and those bravely fighting for America’s freedom, Biden imposed a military-wide vaccine mandate, causing thousands of U.S. military personnel to have been discharged or sidelined for refusing the jab. Biden’s administration also sought to enforce a draconian vaccine-or-test mandate on private businesses through the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), but the move was deemed illegal.

The article also notes:

Attacking GOP leadership, Biden claimed, “But you know, around the country, MAGA extremists are lining up to take those bedrock freedoms away,” which the octogenarian alleged included “cutting Social Security that you’ve paid for your entire life.”

Townhall previously debunked this oft-repeated claim that Biden regurgitates in office and on the 2024 campaign trail. The majority of conservative lawmakers aren’t on board with sunsetting Social Security and Medicare as Republican top brass has repeatedly declared that mainstream GOP members have no intention of ending these generations-old federal entitlements.

…Moments after the false Social Security claim, Biden alleged that “MAGA extremists” across America are “banning books.”

Please follow the link to the article for further details. I really can’t believe that anyone believes President Biden is capable of being President until 2028. I do wonder exactly what the Democrats are setting up.

It’s Hard To Define Something That Has No Definition

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On Tuesday, Townhall posted an article about a House Appropriations subcommittee hearing where Steve Dettelbach, the man President Biden chose to lead the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF), was questioned on the definition of assault weapon.

The article reports:

Steve Dettelbach, the man President Biden chose to lead the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF), followed in the footsteps of other Biden administration officials who have been stumped by seemingly straightforward questions from lawmakers, questions that deal with subjects within what is supposed to be their purview.

On Tuesday, Director Dettelbach was asked by Rep. Jake Ellzey (R-TX) to give a brief, 15-second definition of the term “assault weapon,” the thing President Biden and Democrats have demanded must be banned within the United States in order to reduce the frequency of crimes committed by individuals with guns. Dettelbach, however, came up completely empty during his testimony in the House Appropriations Committee’s hearing focused on the ATF’s FY2024 budget.

This is how the political appointee danced around the question:

“I’ll go shorter than that because I, honestly, if Congress wishes to take that up, I think Congress would have to do the work, but we would be there to provide technical assistance,” Dettelbach told Ellzey. Huh? So, the man in charge of ATF doesn’t even have a guess when it comes to defining a firearm type that is mentioned and demonized almost daily by the White House?

“I, unlike you, am not a firearms expert, to the same extent as you maybe, but we have people at ATF who can talk about velocity of firearms, what damage different kinds of firearms cause, so that whatever determination you chose to make would be an informed one,” Dettelbach added, confirming that President Biden had put forward another entirely unqualified person to lead a powerful wing of federal bureaucracy.

Actually, I could have saved him the embarrassment–to the Democrats and the people who want to end the right enshrined in the Second Amendment–an assault weapon is any gun that is scary looking. My definition is as valid as his definition.

The Strange World Of The Liberal Left

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I am hoping for an honest presidential election in 2024. That may be a baseless hope, but I am hoping. We have come to a fork in the road–do Americans want to be governed by people who truly represent them or by people who only represent themselves? Are we going to vote for the man who wants us to be free or the man who wants to control us? Right now, California Governor Gavin Newsom is running around the country claiming that California represents freedom and Florida represents tyranny. That’s a very interesting campaign approach considering that California is losing population and Florida is gaining population.

Gavin Newsom became Governor of California in 2019. On April 11, Townhall reported that California has fallen in population for the third consecutive year, after having previously experienced nothing but population growth for its entire existence. According to the same article, Florida has gained more than 700,000 new residents since 2020. So Gavin Newsom, who is running for President, is giving Ron DeSantis advice on how to run his state?!

The article at Townhall reports:

If Biden eventually defies conventional wisdom and pulls the plug on 2024, Newsom conspicuously covets the Democratic nomination.  As a bonus, if he were to win the presidency, he’d get to join the many Californians who are flooding away from his state.  Like many other leftists, it appears as though he’s rooting rather openly for Trump to be the GOP nominee.  Notice that the clip of Newsom above was shared by a Trump fan, as the Trumpworld/Leftist alliance against DeSantis continues to take shape.  The original poster actually argued that Newsom isn’t rooting for Trump to be the Republican candidate, but was giving “honest advice” here.  And if there’s one thing Gavin Newsom is known for, it’s his unfailingly truthful and good-faith guidance to help Republicans be more politically successful.  If someone believes that, or expects others to believe that, I’m not even sure what to say.

It is going to be a very interesting election season. I am just hoping that the outcome of the presidential race has not already determined by someone sitting in a basement with a computer.

 

It’s Finally Over!

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On Monday, Townhall reported that after the Easter Egg Roll, President Biden signed the bill ending the Covid national emergency.

The article reports:

“On Monday, April 10, 2023, the President signed into law: H.J.Res. 7, which terminates the national emergency related to the COVID-19 pandemic,” the White House released in a memo.

…Originally Biden planned to officially end the emergency in May after saying months ago the pandemic was over. Republicans on Capitol Hill forced his hand to do it now by authoring H.J. Res. 7.

The article notes:

Meanwhile, the Department of Justice is still fighting in federal court to reimplement mask mandates on public transportation and maintain the government’s pandemic power.  

On April 18, 2022 U.S. District Judge Kathryn Kimball Mizelle struck down President Joe Biden’s mask mandate for air and rail transportation. The Department of Justice quickly appealed the decision after a request from the Centers for Disease Control. 

Nearly a year later, federal attorneys are still working to force masking on transportation.

DOJ continues this fight despite President Joe Biden declaring the pandemic is over and after a recent admission from White House COVID Response Coordinator Dr. Ashish Jha that masks don’t work to mitigate the spread of COVID-19.

The Washington swamp does not release power easily.

The Current Investigation Into The Events Of January 6th

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On Thursday, Townhall reported the following:

Law enforcement agencies had at least 40 undercover FBI informants participating in surveillance work among defendants during the January 6 Capitol Hill protests.

Roger Roots, the lawyer for defendant American Proud Boys member Dominic Pezzola, filed a motion to reveal all undercover informants related to the January 6 case.

According to the filed document, several undercover law enforcement officers were at the Capitol that day, with at least 40 undercover informants or agents walking among them, which Roots claims were instigating trouble.

…On Tuesday, the government admitted that eight FBI confidential agents were embedded among the Proud Boys on January 6. Roots allege that the Homeland Security Investigations (HIS) agency had about 19 informants active at the time. In addition, at least 13 undercover plain-clothes DC Metro police agents were among the Proud Boys.

“When added to the 8 FBI CHSs now acknowledged by the prosecutors, this means that there were at least 40 undercover informants or agents doing surveillance among defendants on January 6,” Roots said, adding that the defense would have been “much more aggressive” in the initial trial if they would have known “the scope and scale” of January 6 undercover government scheme.

How many undercover agents does it take to incite a riot?

Laws Have Consequences

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On Tuesday,  Stephen Moore posted an article at Townhall about the current employment situation in America.

The article notes:

A policy question these days that has befuddled federal lawmakers is why so many millions of people have not returned to the workplace in the post-COVID-19 era. The labor force participation rate among employable adults is near a record low today. There are at least 2 million to 4 million employable adults who could and should be working but aren’t.

Very few people with even minimal skills can credibly say they can’t find a job. Employers report some 10 million job openings. Small business owners say their biggest problem is finding competent workers. There are many explanations for why so many people aren’t working — fear of COVID-19, the skills mismatch, more people taking early retirement, and so on. But a major factor is that the federal government is back to doing what it did in the 1970s and 1980s. The welfare state today is paying people not to work — even a single hour.

That problem went away in the 1990s after many states, such as Wisconsin and Michigan, began reforming their welfare systems with work requirements. Then-House Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-GA) and the Republican Congress in 1996 passed a historic bipartisan welfare reform bill that President Bill Clinton signed into law.

The article reports on the results of the passage of that law:

Few laws in the last half-century have had such stunning success. Here is a quick summary of the impact, as reported by Brookings Institution welfare expert Ron Haskins:

No. 1: Caseloads declined by 60%, and the number of welfare recipients fell to its lowest level since 1969.

No. 2: Between 60% and 70% of those leaving welfare got a job.

No. 3: The child poverty rate fell every year between 1994 and 2000 because parents were working.

No. 4: The federal government saved more than $50 billion (almost $100 billion in today’s dollars).

During the Covid pandemic, the work requirements were removed.

The article concludes:

America is a rich nation, and we should absolutely have a safety net so that those who fall on tough times, lose a job or become disabled — and that happens to almost all of us at some point in our lives — do not go hungry or homeless or suffer from deprivation.

But welfare is supposed to be temporary and a hand-up, not a handout. The goal of welfare was to end poverty, not perpetuate it.

House Ways and Means Committee Chair Jason Smith (R-MO) said that restoring work for welfare requirements is “a top priority” of his panel. It should be a top priority for our country. Let’s make work, not welfare, pay.

Let’s put the work requirement back into welfare.

Let Children Be Children

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I was a tomboy as a child–I played softball, I climbed trees, I roller skated, I was always moving. I am sure many of the women who are reading this could say the same thing. Thank God no one ever tried to convince us that we were boys. I wonder if it’s safe to be a tomboy today.

On Friday, Townhall reported the following:

At this point, nothing should be shocking regarding the Biden Administration, not even when it means pushing young kids to undergo life-alternating procedures. 

Assistant Secretary of Health for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Rachel Levine promises that medically changing children’s gender will be fully “normalized” soon.

And if that isn’t twisted enough, Levine continued to say that “gender-affirming” treatment of transgender kids is supported “at the highest levels” of President Joe Biden’s administration.

“I can say that the children, their families, and you all as their providers have support at the highest levels of the federal government,” Levine said while speaking at the Pediatric Grand Rounds session in Hartford. “President Biden supports you … Vice President [Kamala] Harris supports you. Across the administration, the departments support you,” Levine said, adding that she talks “about this topic everywhere I go.”

The woke Biden official claimed that critics who aim to end the progressive push of transgenderism on minors are “ideologically and politically motivated,” calling them “unconscionable.”

The article notes:

Levine claimed that “gender-affirming” care is necessary and that hormone and puberty blockers are safe and effective, although research supporting this idea is extremely weak. 

However, critics are pushing back against the Left’s radical push to indoctrinate children. 

Rep. Andy Harris (R-Md.), a House Doctors Caucus physician member, told Fox News that it is “reprehensible for a government official — let alone the assistant U.S. secretary of HHS — to promote the genital mutilation of minors as becoming a standard practice.”

The inmates are running the asylum.

The Trojan Horse In American Ports

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Many Americans are slowly waking up to the threat to America posed by China. Russia openly stated, “We will bury you,” but China is much more subtle. They are slowly undermining us economically, socially, and culturally. The amount of industrial espionage, copyright violations, and spying that has been going on right under our noses is frightening. Every Chinese exchange student in America has ties to the communist government or they wouldn’t be here. China has established Chinese police departments in some of our major cities to keep watch over its citizens in this country (article here).

On Monday, Townhall posted an article about China’s presence at American ports.

The article reports:

The highly visible but generally ignored ship-to-shore cranes at American ports are responsible for loading and unloading tens of millions of shipping containers each year. In addition to being a critical component of American supply chains, they’re also used in some cases by the U.S. military. 

Some of these cranes are innocuous, but an estimated 80 percent of ship-to-shore cranes operating at U.S. ports are made by ZPMC, a China-based manufacturer, leading to rising concern among American defense and national security personnel that have compared the cranes to a “Trojan horse,” according to an exclusive report in The Wall Street Journal.

WSJ reports that the ZPMC cranes made by the Chinese company are “comparably well-made and inexpensive” compared to other cranes produced by other manufacturers, but “they contain sophisticated sensors that can register and track the provenance and destination of containers, prompting concerns that China could capture information about materiel being shipped in or out of the country to support U.S. military operations around the world.”

The article also notes:

The WSJ report quoted the former cybersecurity lead at the port of Houston who warned “[i]t wouldn’t be hard for an attacker to disable one sensor on a crane and prevent the crane from moving” because the “systems aren’t designed for security, they are designed for operations.”

Among other worries enumerated in the report, some fear that the ZPMC cranes could, in addition to being shut down by an outside attacker or tracking what is moving in and out of U.S. ports, be turned into sabotage devices to cripple American ports without a foe needing to float its navy into U.S. waters.

We are definitely paying the price for relying on China for cheap manufactured goods.

Why Is The Government Shooting Cows From Helicopters?

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I’m an animal lover. I can’t say that I am particularly fond of cows, but generally I love animals. The idea that our government is shooting cows from helicopters because they are feral cows is offensive to me.

On Saturday, Townhall reported the following:

This weekend, cows roaming in southwest New Mexico’s Gila National Forest are being hunted from helicopters after the United States Forest Service (USFS) decided to move forward with plans to use “lethal methods” to “remove…approximately 150 head of cattle” in Gila National Forest’s second chopper hunt in as many years.

The article goes on to explain that the cows that are shot will be left to decompose naturally unless they are near water, a hiking trail, or a ‘culturally sensitive area’ whatever that it. So I have a question. If you are going to shoot the cows, why not take them to a meat processing plant, have the meat processed and use it to feed people who are hungry? We are always hearing about the problem of hunger is America, wouldn’t giving the people who need food this beef help with that problem?

The article concludes:

Beyond the cruelty Sullivan [Ranchers-Cattlemen Action Legal Fund United Stockgrowers of America (R-CALF USA) Property Rights Committee Chair Shad Sullivan] accused the U.S. Forest Service of employing, he said a larger issue “may be the unchecked power by unelected bureaucrats within governmental agencies setting a precedent for how federal officials handle authority” and the fact that area cattle ranchers are “contending that the USFS isn’t abiding by its own regulations.”

Apparently, this weekend’s hunt has been “decades in the making” according to local cattle growers:

Over the years, by over-regulation or otherwise, allotment owners have left or have been removed from the area, leaving the land vacant and without proper management. This resulted in remnants of cattle herds being left behind. With no plans by USFS to reactivate vacant allotments and lengthy and unsuccessful contract applications for a more humane cattle removal plan, the decades-long problem has come to a head. 

Sullivan further cited “pressure from environmental groups” as weighing on the Forest Service’s decision to use helicopter hunters to put down the cattle. He and R-CALF USA maintain their call for the USFS to “consider other options, such as seeking applications for private individuals to gather the cattle over time or, at least, putting the meat from the estray cattle to good use such as for feeding people in need.”

So, your tax dollars at work: funding chopper cow hunters that will leave some 65 tons of otherwise good beef to decompose in a national forest because otherwise 150 cows might trample some grass in the three million acre reserve. 

Government overreach at its finest.

 

Will There Be Accountability?

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We have reached the point where some people will do anything to win an election. Inventing tales of foreign collusion, withholding information about a protest that got out of control, and releasing what were supposed to be ‘sealed’ records.

My earliest recollection of releasing ‘sealed’ records was the 2004 Democratic primary for the U.S. Senate in Illinois.

In August of 2012, Townhall noted:

One month before the 2004 Democratic primary for the U.S. Senate, Obama was down in the polls, about to lose to Blair Hull, a multimillionaire securities trader. But then the Chicago Tribune leaked the claim that Hull’s second ex-wife, Brenda Sexton, had sought an order of protection against him during their 1998 divorce proceedings.

Those records were under seal, but as The New York Times noted: “The Tribune reporter who wrote the original piece later acknowledged in print that the Obama camp had ‘worked aggressively behind the scenes’ to push the story.” Many people said Axelrod (David Axelrod) had “an even more significant role — that he leaked the initial story.”

Fast forward to today. On February 19th, Just the News reported:

In an unprecedented breach, the Air Force improperly released to a research firm tied to Democrats’ congressional campaign arm the confidential personnel files of eleven members of the military, including one involving a retired lieutenant colonel running for office as a Republican that detailed how she had been sexually assaulted in the Air Force, Congress has been told.

House Armed Services Committee Chairman Mike Rogers and House Oversight and Accountability Committee Chairman James Comer are demanding that Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin explain how he will prevent future breaches of military members’ private information while pressing to know if there will be criminal prosecutions.

…In January, Green received a letter from acting Compliance Division Chief William J. Alexander Jr. acknowledging that her records were released “without proper redaction.”

“We found that your information was released by the Air Force [Personnel] Center to a third-party (‘Due Diligence’), a private company specializing in public record research without your consent via a SF-180 request,” he wrote. 

Coincidentally, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee has paid more than $100,000 to the Due Diligence Group since 2021 (source OpenSecrets.org). Until people actually go to jail for this foolishness, it will not stop.

 

 

 

Sunlight Is The Best Disinfectant

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One does wonder what behind-the-scenes were made in order to elect Kevin McCarthy as Speaker of the House. Many of us were doubtful as to whether Representative McCarthy represented the change we were looking for–the change from Republican broken promises and spinelessness. Well, so far I like what I see.

On Monday, Townhall reported the following:

Back in January, Leah reported on House Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s declaration that he believed the American people had a right to see all the footage from in and around the United States Capitol on January 6, 2021. “I think the public should see what happened on that day,” McCarthy said last month. 

…Well, now it’s happening. And despite initial reports at the time saying that there were 14,000 hours of footage from cameras around the Capitol complex set to be released, it turns out there’s more — much more — and Speaker McCarthy is giving it exclusively to Fox News host Tucker Carlson. 

Axios scooped the news Monday morning, reporting that “Carlson TV producers were on Capitol Hill last week to begin digging through the trove, which includes multiple camera angles from all over Capitol grounds” and an expectation that “[e]xcerpts will begin airing in the coming weeks.”

Obviously this footage should have been released years ago (at least before the mid-term election), but I am happy to see it being released now. I suspect Tucker Carlson’s television ratings are about to go throught the roof.

The article concludes:

Speaking to Axios, Carlson said “there was never any legitimate reason for this footage to remain secret.” Thanks to Speaker McCarthy and Carlson, it won’t be a secret for long.

“If there was ever a question that’s in the public’s interest to know, it’s what actually happened on January 6,” Carlson added. “By definition, this video will reveal it. It’s impossible for me to understand why any honest person would be bothered by that.”

You can be sure there will be plenty of bothered caterwauling from Democrats and the mainstream media as the footage is released, but it’s little more than the groans of a political system that seems to feel physical pain whenever their narrative setting authority is usurped.

Protecting The Right To Free Speech

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Lawsuits seem to be the only way to protect Americans’ right to free speech–assuming you have a judge who has read the Constitution. An article posted at Townhall on Saturday provides one example of this tactic.

The article reports:

The Smithsonian Air and Space Museum is about to get a lesson in constitutional rights, which could cost them. A mainstay of DC tourist season decided to kick some high school students out. No, they weren’t committing any acts of vandalism or other activities associated with hooliganism. It was an article of clothing that triggered the museum’s staff, reportedly eliciting mockery until they were finally asked to leave the premises. Staff claimed the location was a “neutral zone.” Their offense: they wore pro-life beanies inside the facility.

We live in a sad time when it is considered unacceptable to want to save babies. The suit is being handled by the American Center for Law and Justice (ACLJ).

The article quotes a Fox News story describing the incident:

The group belonged to Our Lady of the Rosary School based out of Greenville, South Carolina, and had traveled to Washington, D.C., for the annual national March for Life. The students were all wearing matching blue beanies with the words “Rosary PRO-LIFE.” 

[…] 

The lawsuit details an encounter between the personnel and students, some of whom are minors. As they were making their way toward an exhibit, two employees allegedly said, “The f—king pro-life. What a bunch of s—t.” 

A Smithsonian security guard then approached the group, according to the lawsuit, insisting that they take their hats off or leave. 

“One of the security guards approached them, gleefully rubbing his hands together, stating they had made his day,” the ACLJ wrote in an online statement. 

When the group asked why other visitors in the museum were able to wear their hats and pride masks without issue, they were told that their hats were “political statements,” and that they were “not promoting equality,” according to the suit.

What is happening to free speech?

Fighting The Rights Of Parents

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On Wednesday, Townhall reported the following:

Every single Democrat in the Virginia House of Representatives voted against a bill this week that would make it illegal for teachers in the state to conceal a student’s transgender “gender identity” from their parents.

Under Virginia House Bill 2432, also known as “Sage’s Law,” teachers would be required to inform parents if a student requests to move forward with “social transitions” at school, such as going by preferred pronouns and a chosen name. The legislation would also require the school to obtain at least one parent’s permission before implementing anything concerning the child’s “gender incongruence” at school, including counseling, Fox News reported. In addition, the bill clarifies that “child abuse” does not include “misgendering.” The bill passed on Tuesday with one Republican and all 47 Democrats voting against it.

As I have previously stated–gender dysphoria is a mental disease. It should be treated–not encouraged. Parents need to know if their child is suffering from a mental disease. The school has no right to keep that information from them.

The bill now moves on to the Virginia Senate.

Saying The Border Is Open Is Racist!

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On Wednesday, Townhall reported the following:

House Democrats on the Judiciary Committee mainly had only one response to Republicans highlighting the disaster the U.S.-Mexico border has become under President Joe Biden’s leadership: Saying the southern border is open is racist.

Pay no attention to the thousands of people walking into America illegally.

The article continues:

After Chairman Jim Jordan (R-OH) outlined the record-breaking numbers of illegal immigrants encountered, those who were able to avoid apprehension, and the amount of drugs seized, meaning much more was able to get into the U.S., Ranking Member Jerry Nadler (D-NY) said the first hearing about the crisis is a distraction and will only expose how racist Republicans are.

Nadler added the GOP’s focus on the border “almost makes me miss the usual obsession with conspiracy theories and the FBI.”

…El Paso County Judge Ricardo Samaniego (D), who was the Democrat’s witnessed, testified the border was not open in his county, despite recently having a massive influx of illegal immigrants in September and December.

“There is no invasion of migrants in our community. Nor are there hordes of undocumented immigrants committing crimes against citizens or causing havoc in our community,” he added.

My advice to the Democrats is simple–if you are going to lie, at least make it believable!

Protecting Children As They Approach Adulthood

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On Monday, Townhall reported that Utah Gov. Spencer Cox (R) has signed a bill prohibiting minors from receiving “gender-affirming” health care, which includes hormone therapy, puberty blockers, and sex reassignment surgery. As I have stated before, what someone does after they are eighteen and out of school is not my business, but I can do my part in trying to protect children and teenagers from doing really stupid things.

The article reports:

A statement from Cox’s office said that the legislation came about as many countries and states have scaled back gender-transition health care for this age group due to the lack of data surrounding its long-term effects. 

“While we understand our words will be of little comfort to those who disagree with us, we sincerely hope that we can treat our transgender families with more love and respect as we work to better understand the science and consequences behind these procedures.

England’s National Health Service, for example, warned late last year that children who believe they are transgender could be experiencing a “transient phase,” which Townhall covered. This came after the NHS announced it would shutter the country’s only dedicated gender clinic for children. 

The bill’s sponsor, state Sen. Michael Kennedy, a Republican, is a family physician. In a meeting with the state’s Health and Human Services Committee, he said that gender-transition care for this age group is “radical and dangerous.” 

Please follow the link to read the entire article. It tells the story of one young lady who transitioned to male beginning at age 9. She now regrets her decision and is encouraging all states to make sure people are mature enough to be thinking clearly when they make a decision to transition.

Fact Checking President Biden’s Recent Speech

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On Sunday, Townhall posted a fact check on President Biden’s recent speech on the economy.

The article reports:

As Biden’s speech kicked off, he claimed that an additional 700,000 construction projects were added across the U.S., however, he largely exaggerated that number. 

The White House issued a correction in the transcript of Biden’s speech saying that only 7,000 construction projects have been created. 

The second false claim Biden made was saying that the cap on senior’s drug spending is in effect now, as of January 1 there is a limit of $2,000 a year on prescription drug costs for seniors.

In reality, the $2,000 annual cap which was in the Democrat’s Inflation Reduction Act that Biden signed last year, won’t take effect for another two years. 

Biden also took credit for millions of people receiving Covid-19 during his time in office, however, former President Trump initiated the rollout of people getting the jab.

In his speech, Biden said that only “3.5 million people” had been fully vaccinated against Covid under Trump, however, 19 million people had already received the first shot before Biden took office. 

The 3.5 million Biden cited was the number of people who had received two shots to complete their primary vaccination series. 

The article concludes:

“My word as a Biden: I’ve never been more optimistic about America’s future than I am today,” the president tweeted on Sunday. 

However, Twitter users felt the exact opposite. 

Rapid Response Director for the RNC Tommy Pigott criticized Biden for misleading the U.S.

“The border is open, real wages are down, energy costs are outrageously high, the Taliban controls Afghanistan, & the cartels are making billions smuggling fentanyl,” Pigott tweeted, adding “there is reason to be “optimistic” though – we have a [House GOP] majority who is working to hold Biden accountable.”

Another user called Biden’s word an absolute “lie,” while another said that “My word as a Biden” is like saying my word as a “Clinton”— meaningless. 

It will be interesting to see if any of the mainstream media does any fact-checking on the speech. The media seems to be participating in the effort to make sure President Biden does not run again in 2024, so it should be interesting to see if any of this is reported in the mainstream media.

Have The Republicans Learned To Play Hardball?

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On Thursday, The Epoch Times posted an article about the oversight efforts of the Republicans in the House of Representatives. The Republicans are getting very little help from the Justice Department in their investigations. In fact, you might even say that they are being stonewalled.

The article reports:

Anger and frustration were the feelings expressed by bipartisan members of the Senate Intelligence Committee on Jan. 25 over a lack of access to the classified documents found in the homes of President Joe Biden, former President Trump, and former Vice President Mike Pence.

Speaking with reporters at the Capitol after a classified briefing with National Intelligence Director Avril Haines, Intelligence Committee Chairman Mark Warner (D-Va.) and Vice Chairman Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) asserted that the Biden administration had been blocking their oversight efforts.

“It is our responsibility to make sure that we, in the role of the intelligence oversight, know if there’s been any intelligence compromised,” Warner noted.

Members of Congress have sought access to the materials—or at least a risk assessment detailing the information they contained—since the discovery of documents at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida last summer. But they say the administration has objected, arguing they can’t provide that access as two special counsels at the Justice Department (DOJ) are investigating Trump and Biden’s mishandlings of the documents.

Rubio, however, said the administration’s position was “untenable,” noting, “The information we’re asking for has no bearing whatsoever or would interfere in no way with a criminal investigation.”

It also defies precedent, the senators argued, as during the DOJ’s Russia investigation, committees were given access to the classified materials that were part of then-special counsel Robert Mueller’s probe.

Warner, noting that there was broad agreement among the committee members on the matter, added, “Literally every member of the committee, without exception, said this won’t stand.”

On Friday, Townhall reported:

Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR) said he and other Republicans will block presidential nominees until members of the Intelligence Committee are shown the classified material found at former President Trump’s Mar-a-Lago residence as well as President Biden’s home and office.

Please follow the links and read both articles for further details. The thing to be aware of is that the desire to see the documents is bi-partisan. I believe that we are looking at Democrats wanting to prevent President Biden from running in 2024. If you watch carefully, you will see leading Democrats quietly removing their support of the President as the major media begins to report his scandals and missteps.

 

A Promise Kept

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In 2021 Marjorie Taylor Greene was removed from her committee assignments, an unprecedented step to discipline a member over past incendiary remarks. The vote was mostly along party lines. Incendiary remarks made by other Congressmen were conveniently ignored and no penalty paid. Well, what goes around comes around.

On January 10th, Townhall reported the following:

Newly minted House Speaker Kevin McCarthy is making good on his promise to strip Democratic Representatives Ilhan Omar, Adam Schiff and Eric Swalwell of their committee assignments. 

“Swalwell can’t get a security clearance in the private sector. I’m not going to give him a government security clearance. Schiff has lied to the American public,” McCarthy told reporters late Monday night. “We will not allow him to be on the Intel Committee either.”

The move is especially damaging for Schiff, who abused his position as House Intelligence Committee Chairman to investigate President Donald Trump over bogus “Russian collusion” during the 2016 presidential election. For years Schiff claimed evidence was “hiding in plain site” that would lead to an indictment of Trump. After years of what Trump called a witch hunt, in addition to Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s lengthy and expensive investigation, the politically charged allegations never came true. 

…Meanwhile, the case to strip Swalwell of his assignments is simple: he slept with a Chinese spy. For Omar, there is plenty of evidence to suggest she committed immigration fraud by marrying and then divorcing her brother. She’s also advocated for terrorist organizations, including Al Qaeda, Hezbollah and Hamas, to be treated more fairly.

There are many precedents that Nancy Pelosi set as Speaker in recent years that the Democrats are going to regret. However, the Republicans have made some positive changes to the rules that I believe are a good thing. I am concerned that the vote of no confidence in the Speaker rule will be abused by the Democrats to block legislation they don’t like.

 

Let’s Watch The Contrast Between How These Cases Are Handled

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On Monday, Townhall posted an article about classified documents belonging to then Vice-President Biden found in a private office at the Penn Biden Center in Washington, D.C. The documents were found before the mid-term elections, but somehow the public was not told about them.

Townhall notes:

As Americans were lectured about for weeks after the FBI’s raid of Mar-a-Lago, federal officeholders such as Trump and Biden “are required by law to relinquish official documents and classified records when their government service ends.” But, according to CNN’s source, Biden didn’t follow that law any more than Trump did, although fewer documents were found in Biden’s private office than at Mar-a-Lago.

Still, Biden asked how “anyone could be that irresponsible” to have classified / top-secret documents from their time in office in a private facility, despite the fact that Biden had similar documents in his private post-VP office. And while we don’t yet know the subject or content of the classified documents Biden evidently kept after leaving office, the government needs to figure out “what data was in there that may compromise sources and methods?” — to borrow a quote from Biden himself. 

This is a developing story and may be updated.

A friend of mine on Facebook who does amazing research notes:

China Joe left classified information at the Biden Institute at the University of Pennsylvania. The $40,000,000, endowment to set up the Biden Institute came from the Chinese Government. Joe’s $350,000, salary at the Institute during the four years between his vice presidency and presidency was paid indirectly by the CCP. For most of those years, It was what we now call a “Hunter Biden job,” where you get a paycheck but never need to go to the office. The Chinese didn’t want him, just his access to top government information.

No need to wonder why Joe left classified documents there. He was paid to do so by the Chinese.

Here is also a very important distinction between CJ’s treason and the Obama and President Trump holding on to some presidential documents. The latter two were the President of the United States when they did it. The President has the exclusive authority to unilaterally declassify documents. The Vice President, like the Secretary of State, where Hillary did the same thing, does not have that authority.

Both Hillary Clinton and Joe Biden committed felonies while they were in office. There is no reason in the world why Joe Biden should not be impeached immediately because of that crime. He and the Democrat party and corrupt news media that support him are setting up the inhalation(sic) of the USA.

I believe he means annihilation, but you get the point. Eventually the lack of equal justice under the law is going to cause serious problems for the Democrats and for the country.

Your Tax Dollars At Work

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On Saturday, Townhall reported that the Biden administration has spent millions of taxpayer dollars on dental and healthcare for illegal immigrants.

The article reports:

In an annual report released by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the Biden Administration spent hundreds of millions of dollars to ensure illegal immigrants were well taken care of. 

The ICE Health Service Corps’ budget was about $324 million, which was an $8 million increase from the year prior. 

According to the report, the money was spent on providing “direct care – including medical and dental health services – to over 118,000 non-citizens housed at 19 IHSC-operated facilities throughout the United States, which exceeded 1.1 million visits over the course of the fiscal year.”

At taxpayers’ expense, illegal migrants are treated to “an initial medical screening, including for mental health needs, as well as all necessary follow-up care” once they have illegally entered the U.S. 

Even migrants flagged as “public safety” are still given these cushy services. 

Last month, the Biden Administration approved Washington state’s request to offer health care insurance to undocumented immigrants, thanks to the Affordable Care Act (ACA).

The state will expand access to qualified health plans as well as dental care regardless of immigration status. 

No wonder illegals are forcing their way into our country when Biden gives out cushy incentives. 

The Federation for American Immigration Reform published a study that shows that for the U.S. to provide the so-called “necessary” needs for illegal migrants, American citizens must burden an additional $20.4 billion every year.

This comes as Texas Attorney General, Ken Paxton, announced he was suing the Biden Administration over a rule that punishes taxpayers to pay for the cost of illegal immigration. 

How many Americans are foregoing dental care because they cannot afford it? At some point, we need to stop the gravy trail for illegals and begin taking care of American citizens. How many veterans are living on the streets of America? Where is the help that they need?