The Only Middle Finger Available: If Trump wins, it will be as a gigantic rude gesture to the cultural Left.

Did you destroy historical monuments? Burn private businesses and wreck homes? Ambush police cars and beat up pro-Trump people? Then this is for you.

Rich Lowry  "If Donald Trump wins a second term, it will be an unmistakable countercultural statement in a year when progressives have otherwise worked their will across the culture.

"After months and months of statues toppling and riots in American cities and a crime wave and woke virtue-signaling from professional sports leagues and absurd firings and cancellations, the year would end with a stunning, stark rebuke of all of that.

"If Trump manages to pull off an upset in 2020, it will be as a gigantic rude gesture directed at the commanding heights of American culture.

Getty Images

"It would be hard to understand a Trump victory outside this context.

"It’s easy to see what might be the reasons for a Biden victory, which seems much more likely at this point: a massive turnout among Democrats who fear and loathe Trump; a pandemic that still isn’t under control; a lead on almost every issue, especially on health care; enough appeal in the Midwest and among a few erstwhile Trump voters; a promise of a return to normality." . . . 

. . . "He’s the vessel for registering opposition to everything from the 1619 Project to social media’s attempted suppression of the Hunter Biden story.

"To put it in blunt terms, for many people, he’s the only middle finger available — to brandish against the people who’ve assumed they have the whip hand in American culture.

"This may not be a very good reason to vote for a president, and it doesn’t excuse Trump’s abysmal conduct and maladministration.

"If Trump wins, though, this cultural element will be the subtext, and maybe just the text — he’d be, even more so than now, the president as affront, and he would be felt as such by all the woke progressives and fellow travelers who are accustomed to believing that they represent a steamroller of history.It may well be that Biden will get over the top by implicitly promising a diminution in cultural strife, by which he presumably means a slower pace of woke cultural change (with the Left considerably less agitated than it has been in the Trump years)." . . .

Democrats go ballistic after Amy Coney Barrett’s confirmation

Chuck Schumer, in a surge of hysteria and stupidity, ranted that the confirmation was a “sordid chapter” in American history and “one of the darkest days in the 231-year history of the United States Senate.” And then, in a beautiful self-own from a man who supports unlimited abortion, he said, “Generations yet unborn will suffer the consequences of this nomination.” Perhaps, but with a Barrett court, there’s a possibility that, eventually, they will be born.

Democrats go ballistic after Amy Coney Barrett’s confirmation   "Amy Coney Barrett’s ascension to the Supreme Court marks the first time in 81 years that the Republicans will have a majority on the Supreme Court. The Democrats, rather than accepting gracefully that the regularly-applied constitutional rules finally stopped favoring them, have responded with a complete meltdown. They’ve resorted to apocalyptic predictions, hysterical rants, and threats, lots and lots of threats. The last time the Democrats behaved this disgracefully was in 1860, a temper tantrum that ended in a Civil War that left over 650,000 Americans dead.

Der Schumerglower

"Before describing the Democrats’ psychological collapse, it’s essential to understand the Barrett confirmation was constitutionally correct and had historical precedent. The Constitution states that the president shall nominate candidates for the Supreme Court, and the Senate shall confirm them.

"Seating Supreme Court justices used to be a fairly mechanical process. However, as the left has shifted its efforts from convincing voters to support their policies to placing leftist partisans on the Supreme Court who need no convincing, the process has become increasingly fraught. While Republicans have routinely accorded a Democrat president’s nominees the courtesy of voting for them if they appeared competent, Democrats have imposed various litmus tests and, if those tests seemed futile, accused them of sexual assault." . . .

Most important of all:  . . . "This is the left: As long as they’re winning under the rules, they’ll

Democrat Tlaib

play by the rules. But once they lose, they’ll change the rules, even if they have to burn it all down to make it happen.

"If you would prefer not to see Democrats burn everything down in their pursuit of total power, make sure you vote. And while I don’t usually advocate early voting (because, as Biden voters have discovered, sometimes you learn interesting things before election day), you won’t learn anything new about Trump, who’s been turned inside out in the past four years. Lines will be heinous on election day, so get your vote in sooner, rather than later (or not at all)."

From Sunday:  Fox News "The Senate is set to vote on Monday night to confirm Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court in a move that will make the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals judge and Notre Dame law professor the third appointment to the high court by President Trump, solidifying his administration's legacy even further just a week before Election Day as he seeks a second term. 

" The last president to nominate three new justices to the Supreme Court was Ronald Reagan. "Monday's vote marks the end of a confirmation process that lasted less than 40 days from when late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg died to when her successor, Barrett, will be confirmed. During that time Democrats objected loudly to the speed and timing of the confirmation just before an election. Meanwhile, Republicans have touted Barrett's record as an academic and a judge as impeccable -- and her "Well Qualified" rating from the American Bar Association (ABA) whose representatives relayed descriptions of her as "brilliant" and an "intellectual giant." 

"Barrett is expected to be sworn in by Justice Clarence Thomas at the White House on Monday night." . . .

US threatens to destroy Iranian missiles shipped to Venezuela

Fox News  

US warns it'll destroy potential Iranian long-range missile shipment delivered to Maduro regime

"The United States is warning it will destroy potential Iranian long-range missile shipments delivered to the Maduro regime in Venezuela, a senior administration official tells Fox News.

""The transfer of long-range missiles from Iran to Venezuela is not acceptable to the United States and will not be tolerated or permitted," said Elliott Abrams, the State Department Special Representative for Iran and Venezuela.

""We will make every effort to stop shipments of long-range missiles, and if somehow they get to Venezuela they will be eliminated there," added a senior administration official.

"The officials provided no information that such shipments were imminent. They only claimed that Iran and Venezuela are a likely pair for arms deals." 

" 'Iran has announced its intention to engage in arms sales, and Venezuela is an obvious target because those two pariah regimes already have a relationship," said Abrams. "Venezuela is paying in gold to buy gasoline from Iran, and there is an Iranian presence in the country. Venezuela’s economy has collapsed, so every bar of gold for Iran is tens of thousands of dollars the Venezuelan people need for food and medicine."

"Last week, a United Nations embargo on Iran buying and selling conventional weapons expired. The Trump administration unsuccessfully tried to convince the United Nations Security Council to extend the embargo. 

" 'Iran has shipped missiles to the Houthis, so we know they are ready, willing, and able to ship them to Venezuela and other possible buyers," said the administration official. "Every delivery of Iranian arms destabilizes South America and the Caribbean, and is especially dangerous to Venezuela’s neighbors in Brazil, Colombia, and Guyana." . . . 

TRUMP'S GERMAN AMBASSADOR TRIED TO SECRETLY NEGOTIATE VENEZUELAN PRESIDENT'S EXIT

CNN President Jeff Zucker Faces What Might Be His Last Lap

  MarketScreener    "CNN president Jeff Zucker survived plenty of corporate intrigue since telecom giant AT&T swallowed up the cable network's parent company two years ago.

Donkey Hotey

"Now that is changing, leaving Mr. Zucker frustrated and his future at the cable news network in doubt.

"Mr. Zucker, who has overseen CNN for seven years, felt blindsided by a recent restructuring carried out by parent WarnerMedia, and has had friction with its chief executive, Jason Kilar, according to people familiar with the situation.

"The 55-year-old's contract expires next year and he hasn't committed to extending his deal in meetings with WarnerMedia brass and communications with CNN employees, the people say.

"Asked about his future in a town hall video chat on Wednesday, Mr. Zucker said he loves his job, but added, "The industry is changing, our company is changing, so I have a lot to think about," according to a recording of his remarks. He added, "I'll do that at the right time."

"Mr. Zucker said he won't make a decision on whether to stay at CNN until after the election.

"If this election is Mr. Zucker's last ride, he would leave CNN after transforming its role in the cable news landscape and becoming one of the most polarizing figures in media in the process. On his watch, the network, once accused of giving Donald Trump too much airtime during his first presidential run, has become a critic of the administration.

"CNN, like its rivals in cable news, has enjoyed a major ratings lift during the controversies of the Trump years, especially in election season. The network's ratings have increased about threefold compared with where they were at the start of 2015, reflecting similar gains at Fox News and MSNBC. CNN has been second in the ratings for most of the year among viewers 25 to 54, the key news demographic for advertisers, but trails rival MSNBC in total viewers and is well behind ratings leader Fox News." . . .

Christiane Amanpour Gives The Game Away On Media Blackout Of Biden Scandal

Issues & Insights

"Anyone who is still clinging to the notion that the mainstream press isn’t a wholly owned subsidiary of the Democratic Party needs to watch the exchange between premier journalist Christiane Amanpour and Republican National Committee spokeswoman Liz Harrington.

"As the troubling Hunter Biden story has developed, the press’ reasons for not covering it shifted. At first, the media said they wouldn’t cover it because the veracity of the laptop and the smoking gun emails hadn’t been “verified” and speculated that it was all part of another Russian effort to get Trump elected.

"After the authenticity of the laptop and at least some of the most damaging emails and texts were shown to be legitimate, and after the attempt to portray it as a Russian hoax was demolished, the press decided that it wasn’t a big enough scandal to warrant coverage, that it was just “a distraction.”

"Asked about NPR’s lack of coverage of the scandal, for example, NPR Managing Editor for News Terence Samuel, said that “We don’t want to waste our time on stories that are not really stories, and we don’t want to waste the listeners’ and readers’ time on stories that are just pure distractions. And quite frankly, that’s where we ended up, this was … a politically driven event and we decided to treat it that way.”

"(Websters should add this definition to “distraction” – n: in media parlance, a scandal that involves a Democratic politician.)

"National Review had it almost right when it said in an editorial that “Too many journalists seem to live in terror of being blamed for reporting stories that might influence voters to reelect Donald Trump.”

"Seem to live in terror? Why qualify it? There is no question that the press, which has done anything and everything to ruin Trump’s presidency, will do anything and everything it can to get him out of office, including burying a big scandal involving his opponent. Nor should there be any doubt that a mainstream journalist perceived to have helped Trump would see his or her career immediately canceled.

"It was Amanpour, however, who revealed the deeper reason behind the media blackout of the Biden scandal, which goes beyond hatred of Trump.

"Talking with Harrington, Amanpour, at her sneering best, tries to dismiss the laptop story by once again suggesting that it’s some sort of Russian ploy. The two go back and forth about that for a while.

"Then, Amanpour says this: “As you know perfectly well, I’m a journalist and a reporter and I follow the facts. And there has never been any issues in terms of corruption,” referring to the Bidens. Here is what follows:" . . .

Social Media Erupts Over Woman Who Focuses On Getting Her Dad To Vote For Biden While He Is Dying

Daily Wire  "Social media erupted on Sunday over a TikTok video that was posted to Twitter showing a woman holding up note cards that explained how she got her terminally ill father, a supporter of President Donald Trump, to vote for Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden.

" 'My 55-year-old conservative dad has never voted Democrat in his LIFE,” the note cards said. “He’s dying of Aplastic Anemia. We’ve had some intense exchanges about him voting for Trump this year, which has been painful, since we’ll almost certainly lose him in the next few weeks/months.”

" 'He has six daughters who love him dearly,” the cards continued. “Yesterday, he was so excited to tell me he’d just voted for BIDEN/HARRIS 2020!!!! Because ‘It matters to my girls and my girls matter to me.’ Vote for the guy who respects women! If my VERY Republican dad can… SO. CAN. YOU.”

"The woman’s insistence that Biden is the candidate “who respects women!” comes after he has been repeatedly accused of inappropriately touching women and has been accused of sexual assault." . . .

The Trump campaign is creating catchy, powerful ads

Andrea Widburg

. . . "Scott Adams made swift work of the Biden campaign’s decision:

"Meanwhile, Trump keeps up his peripatetic schedule, putting in up to three campaign appearances a day before wildly enthusiastic crowds. So, again, it’s not surprising that Biden has elected to advertise heavily. Trump, though, is advertising wisely. His videos are funny, powerful, or pointed, depending on the line of attack. Given the way the television and online markets are fragmented so that a person can channel or internet surf for days without watching ads, I thought I’d share with you some of the best Trump campaign ads."

Numerous TV ads here, but we selected this Halloween-themed ad for your viewing pleasure

President Trump makes a bold move to weaken the Swamp’s power

When the Founders ratified the Constitution, they envisioned only three branches of government: The Executive, the Legislative, and the Judiciary branches. However, as America grew, a bureaucratic class grew along with it.

Andrea Widburg    "Thanks to President Trump’s latest executive order, there’s got to be a sense of panic across every administrative agency in Washington. Last week, President Trump issued an order bearing the innocuous title, “Executive Order on Creating Schedule F In The Excepted Service.” Behind that title lurks an earthquake that may finally break the permanent bureaucracy’s stranglehold on federal politics and bring more accountability to the American government."

. . . 

"The same WaPo article argues that the executive order makes the bureaucracy a partisan organization, rather than a pure and nonpartisan workforce:

Still, the order, coming less than two weeks before the election, represents a stunning effort to reshape large parts of the nonpartisan government, which is supposed to serve as a cadre of subject-matter experts for every administration.

"That’s a laugh. There’s nothing nonpartisan about the Swamp. Trump’s order finally gives the President – who is, after all, the boss – the power to get rid of employees who actively resist a president’s policies. This power matters because the American people have selected their president because of his policies. Those employees who “resist” implementing his policies should be fired.

. . . "However, if Biden is elected, he will immediately rescind this executive order. You can then expect the Swamp to grow even more powerful in an administration that has as its primary goal expanding the government into every area of American life."

This is insane.

Every single rioter committing violence (including shooting fireworks at innocent people) should be arrested immediately, prosecuted & sent to jail.

Dem politicians refuse to do so. https://t.co/TMPDiWdMQd

— Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) September 6, 2020

Post-election 2020: Two studies say all hell to break loose

Meme Gallery

Bill Livingstone   "Two recent reports, when combined, paint a dark pathway for America in the coming weeks, a nation set on fire by multiple contentious court battles and widespread daily protests. 

The 79 Days Report, by the Claremont Institute and the Texas Policy Foundation, illuminates possible election legal battles on the horizon and how they might play out in the courts.  The bottom line?  The litigation will be time consuming and combative.  There’s no fast forward button to speed up the process.  It concludes:

• On election night, the winner will not be known “due to millions of uncounted mail-in ballots in 6 battleground states.”
• Given there’s no clear victor, “intense court fights” can be expected that could result “in a struggle right up to the Jan. 6 joint session of Congress.  Uncertainty could extend even beyond this as decisions for both the presidency and vice presidency are battled out in Congress and before the U.S. Supreme Court.”

. . . "The Hold the Line report posits an election outcome that’s fraudulent, where all the votes are not counted and irregularities remedied. Given this scenario, it calls for “another form of power to correct the balance,” an all-out revolution, in which large numbers of people participate in strikes, boycotts, protests, and other nonviolent actions,” until a democratic and accountable government is restored.” 

"In other words, they want to shut down society until President Trump is forced from office, not unlike the 28-Days of Resistance in Tunisia that toppled President El Abidine Ben Ali and the 25 January Revolution in Egypt that ousted President Hosni Mubarak. 

"Such an event seems highly implausible. But if Trump is reelected, no matter what happens, the left will claim the election was stolen, not unlike 2016, opening the curtain to four more years of protests and attacks on his presidency."

Tony Branco