The chuckle-worthy Democrat debate

Support Joe Biden; without him, President Trump would be like Roy Rogers without Gabby Hayes, Gene Autry without Pat Buttram, and best of all Dorothy without the lion. TD

Clowns To The Far Left Of Me

. . . "The DNC can't be happy about this public display of disorganization, non-unity, and whatever the hell the opposite of "charisma" is. It's a bit too early to call, but it's looking more and more likely that the Democrats will end up with a brokered convention in which the eventual candidate is selected rather than elected.
"And we don't want to say who that candidate will be, but we think we can hear her having a coughing spell just offstage." . . .

Fact-checking the Las Vegas Democratic debate  . . . "Biden said that Bloomberg, as mayor of New York City, had “stop and frisk — throwing close to five million young black men up against a wall.' ” . . .

Personal Liberty

More fact-checking here...

Ian Macfarlane

John Bolton Admits Last-Minute Impeachment Leak Was A Publicity Stunt: "A soap opera", said Zelensky

The Federalist

Bolton argued that the House botched the process and condemned House Democrats for having committed “impeachment malpractice.”

"Former National Security Advisor John Bolton admitted Wednesday that his testimony in President Donald Trump’s recent impeachment proceedings involving Ukraine would have had no impact on the trial’s outcome even after sections of his upcoming book leaked attempting to convict the president in its final days.

“ 'People can argue about what I should have said and what I should have done,” Bolton said at Vanderbilt University Wednesday night during a forum with his predecessor Susan Rice, according to ABC News. “I will bet you a dollar right here and now my testimony would have made no difference to the ultimate outcome.”

“ 'I sleep at night because I have followed my conscience,” Bolton added.

"Rice challenged Bolton’s decision to remain silent throughout the process despite not ever being subpoenaed by the House or Senate in the proceedings.

“ 'It’s inconceivable to me that if I had firsthand knowledge of a gross abuse of presidential power, that I would withhold my testimony,” Rice said. “I would feel like I was shamefully violating my oath that I took to support and defend the Constitution.' ” . . .  More...

Ukrainian President Zelensky Calls Impeachment A TV Soap Opera  "In a wide-ranging interview with CNN’s Christiane Amanpour, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky referred to the impeachment of President Donald Trump as a television series, specifically citing the soap operas “Santa Barbara” and “Dallas.” Throwing cold water on what Democrats alleged to be a pressure campaign on Zelensky and his government, the Ukrainian president also said he looks forward to his next conversation with Trump and hopes to visit the White House." . . .

The Most Dangerous Answer at Last Night’s Debate

spectator.org/

Matt Purple  "First of all, Democrats, thank you. I know we’ve had our differences over the years, but last night you did your nation and indeed all of humanity a service when you ritually humiliated Michael Bloomberg. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a debate floor get mopped quite like that. By the end, Bloomberg was like that guy from Airplane, with all the others standing in a line waiting to land a blow.

"That being said, it wasn’t actually Bloomberg who was responsible for the worst soundbite of the night. That would be Bernie Sanders. When asked by Chuck Todd what he would tell the workers who would be displaced by his proposed ban on fracking, he said:

What I tell these workers is that the scientists are telling us that if we don’t act incredibly boldly within the next six, seven years, there will be irreparable damage done not just in Nevada, not just to Vermont or Massachusetts, but to the entire world. Joe said it right: this is an existential threat. You know what that means, Chuck? That means we’re fighting for the future of this planet.

"Even Bloomberg seemed stunned by Sanders’ answer, retorting that “we’re not going to get rid of fracking for a while” and agreeing with Amy Klobuchar that it was a “transition fuel.” Sanders did claim that his Green New Deal would create millions of jobs in renewable energy, some of which could presumably replace those lost in a fracking ban. But that’s government pixie dust, as opposed to real employment in the here and now.
" 'The absolute best you can say about renewables is that it will take many years before they’re in any position to create that level of economic activity—and that’s really a stretch. . . ."   . . .  More...

Picture her as Bloomberg at the debate:

The Truth About ‘Socialism’ as Told by Scandinavian Leaders

But you don’t need to accept American publications’ words on the misconception surrounding the “Nordic model.” You can hear it straight from the Scandinavians themselves. Johan Hassel is a party official for Social Democrats, Sweden’s ruling party. He attended a Sanders rally this year in Iowa and was utterly unimpressed.

Intellectual Takeout  "It says a lot about the 2020 Democratic field when Michael Bloomberg’ defense of capitalism became a point of offense during his first presidential debate.
“ 'We’re not going to throw out capitalism,” Bloomberg said. “We’ve already tried that. Other countries tired that. It was called communism and it just didn’t work.”
"Senator Bernie Sanders, the self-described socialist, took umbrage with this historically accurate comment from the former mayor of New York. Calling it a “cheap shot,” Sanders insisted that Bloomberg focus on “democratic socialism, not communism.”
"Never mind that in the 1980s, Sanders publicly praised the Cuban Revolution and Fidel Castro. Never mind that he honeymooned in the Soviet Union, praised its housing prices, and denigrated America in enemy territory. Never mind that he praised Nicaraguan Sandinista leader Daniel Ortega, a man accused of crimes against humanity not just during the revolution, but as recently as 2018.
"Never mind all that. Let’s honor Sanders’ request, and focus instead on “democratic socialism.”
"The problem is that the Nordic model Sanders points to as the ideal for democratic-socialism has fallen apart. Sweden ranked as one of the top 20 most market-oriented economies in the world in 2019, just behind the United States. This Scandinavian nation may indeed have been a socialist-leaning state in the 1970s and 80s, but the problems kept mounting. Entrepreneurs were taxed into fleeing the country, workers wound up making more money sick than working full healthy days, and there ended up being 151 people deriving their income from the government for every 100 who earned their money from the private sector.
"This changed in the 1990s when a wide-ranging set of taxes were either cut dramatically or eliminated entirely. The welfare system was reduced and Sweden’s top-notch marks for equality fell away. But the Swedes were happy to take that trade off.
"Sanders clearly needs to update his knowledge of Scandinavian economies by a few decades." . . .  Full article.

“I am confident that, liberated from foreign domination and interference, we together will find a way to build an Islamic system in which all Afghans have equal rights...”

Althouse  “... where the rights of women that are granted by Islam — from the right to education to the right to work — are protected, and where merit is the basis for equal opportunity.... We will take all measures in partnership with other Afghans to make sure the new Afghanistan is a bastion of stability and that nobody feels threatened on our soil.... We acknowledge the importance of maintaining friendly relations with all countries and take their concerns seriously.... We will remain committed to all international conventions as long as they are compatible with Islamic principles.... We are about to sign an agreement with the United States and we are fully committed to carrying out its every single provision, in letter and spirit.... Once it is entirely fulfilled, Afghans will see the departure of all foreign troops.... We would then celebrate a new beginning that invites all our compatriots to return from their exile to our country — to our shared home where everybody would have the right to live with dignity, in peace.”

"Writes Sirajuddin Haqqani, the deputy leader of the Taliban, in the NYT."

Doctrine of Taqiyyah  "Taqiyyah, sometimes written as taqiya or taqiyah, is the Islamic doctrine of deception found within the Quran (6:106 & 3:28) and the Hadith."

. . . Taqiyyah also instructs Muslims to be friendly to unbelievers even though they despise them. The Quran instructs Muslims not to take unbelievers as friends unless it is to guard oneself against them," . . .

. . . "Ibn Kathir then quoted Abu Ad-Darda, a companion of Muhammad, who said that “we smile in the face of some people although our hearts curse them.' ” . . . 

The Doctrine of Deceit  
 Kitman  A related term is kitmān – the "action of covering, dissimulation".^] While the terms taqiyya and kitman may be used synonymously, kitmān refers specifically to the concealment of one's convictions by silence or omission. Kitman derives from the Arabic word 'katama', which is defined as, 'to conceal, to hide'. The Ibadi Muslims used 'Kitman' to conceal their Muslim beliefs in the face of persecution by their enemies." . . .