Russianism: Trump’s critics need a scapegoat to explain why they haven’t managed to vanquish him.

Victor Davis Hanson

Russianism is a psychological malady in which furor at Donald Trump’s election victory and presidency — and the ensuing depression resulting from the inability to abort it — finds release through fixation on Russia.

. . . "Obama’s 2009 reset was birthed as a correction to George W. Bush’s modest sanctions against the Putin government for going into Ossetia. What then followed during the Obama administration was the embarrassing red reset-button rhetoric that was usually couched in anti-Bush-administration snark.

"Or, as Hillary Clinton put it:

We believe that there are a lot of challenges and threats that we have inherited that we have to address. But there are also opportunities, and we are being extremely vigorous in our outreach. Because we’re testing waters, we’re determining what is possible. We’re turning new pages and resetting buttons. 

"Then we witnessed a “turning new pages” effort by the Obama administration to downplay Russian aggression and emphasize its own new creative outreach to Putin. They thought the Russian strongman would be charmed by humanitarian sanctimoniousness and the hope and-change charisma of Barack Obama. Instead, Putin, true to character, saw weakness accompanied by pious sermonizing. That is always a fatal combination when dealing with a brute.
And so, Putin proceeded to gather up his easy pickings.

"What variously ensued was the inadvertent hot-mic offer of quid pro quo collusion with Putin by President Obama when he was up for reelection. Obama more than fulfilled this promise. . . "

The American Left's Selective Outrage

Lloyd Marcus

The American left is filled with angry, bitter people without a Godly moral compass. Insidiously, leftists divide Americans into supposedly victimized voting blocs. Leftists consider their duped voters to be useful idiots, mere pawns in furthering the American left's anti-Christian and anti-America agendas.

"Repeatedly pointing out the American left's obvious dishonesty, hypocrisy and selective outrage seems pointless. And yet, I feel compelled to do so.

"For example: Fake news media created a 24/7 media firestorm over Trump's alleged affair with porn star Stormy Daniels before he became president. Due to recordings by Trump's lawyer, CNN has excitedly gone 24/7 in making the case that Trump is unfit to serve because of his private life before he was elected.

"Hypocritically, CNN told us that Bill Clinton's private life was none of our business while he was president. The American left did everything in their power to downplay President Clinton's affair with an intern while he was president; using cigars as sex toys, hiding a semen-stained dress and lying about his adultery. The American left (Democrats, Hollywood, and fake news media) trashed the character of all men to minimize president Clinton's reprehensible behavior. They said no man could resist a young woman coming on to him.

"The left's lie was particularly offensive to me. At that time, my Dad was pastor of a large congregation and my brother was county commissioner of a youth football league. When approached with similar opportunities, neither my dad or brother behaved like President Clinton." . . .

A 'walk away' movement might not be strong enough

Russ Vaughn . . . " In the true homeland of Abraham Lincoln, fully two thirds of the state's twelve million population reside in the Greater Chicago Metropolitan Area and as a result, the fiscally irresponsible and constitutionally nullifying liberal Democrats who govern that city and control the statehouse have all but bankrupted the entire state while legislating away the citizens' Second Amendment rights.
. . . 
"Just as the Founding Fathers had the wisdom to prevent the more densely populated states from dominating the more rural and agrarian, it is time for America's huge majority (2,600 voted for Trump of 3,100) red counties to overthrow the liberal tyranny of blue urban majorities by finding ways to adopt systems similar to the federal Electoral College, but based on counties within the states.  Had such electoral provisions been in place in all states in 2016, Trump could well have added several states such as New York, Maryland, Virginia, Illinois, Minnesota, Colorado, New Mexico, Nevada, Oregon, and Washington to his electoral victory.  Had that happened, Trump would have buried hapless Hillary in an Electoral College landslide, perhaps sparing us the constant carping of the deranged media about an illegitimate president.  Let us hope for more counties to begin defending the rights of their citizens against tyrannical state governments."

The Blue-State Housing Bubble  . . . "The bubble is bursting right now in Illinois and in CA, PA, MA, CT, NJ, NY, and all other big Blue states. California alone has a half-trillion-dollar unfunded pension liability. The financial mechanics are the same and cannot be stopped."

Why Trump Will Survive the Cohen Tape

Rich Lowry   "Trump’s advantage is the power of low expectations. It's a symptom of our time that a tape of the future president of the United States discussing machinations related to an alleged affair with a former Playboy Playmate isn’t truly a blockbuster.

"The brief snippet of conversation between Donald Trump and his lawyer Michael Cohen about buying the story of former Playmate Karen McDougal, who says she had a ten-month-long affair with Trump beginning in 2006, is certainly of interest.

"How often do you hear a future president speaking so frankly, if cryptically, about such a salacious matter? And the tape is part of the storyline of Cohen flipping against Trump that will be an ongoing media obsession.

"But what would be a potential torpedo to the bow of any other presidency is a relative trifle, because tawdry scandals have been built into the Trump baseline.
"Past presidents have needed fixers (John F. Kennedy had his at the top of the Justice Department, his brother Bobby) and have had shady associates (Richard Nixon and Bebe Rebozo; Bill Clinton and almost everyone he knew from Little Rock, it seemed).

"Still, Trump’s relationship with Cohen, a lawyer so disreputable that no one else would want his representation, is off the charts. Q: What kind of lawyer tapes his client (as Trump has asked in recent days)? A: Cohen, whose lack of standards is what made him so useful in the first place. The tape’s political effect is muted because everyone is dug in. " . . .

A great silliness descends on our nation: "Professor: I ‘DEMAND That White Editors Resign’ "

Benjamin Franklin was [said to be] approached by a group of citizens asking what sort of government the delegates had created. His answer was: "A republic, if you can keep it."  Is this nation still worthy of its history? TD

"Randa Jarrar has previously made headlines for

 celebrating the death of former first lady Barbara Bush."

National Review

Since when did it become okay to disqualify someone from a job because of their skin color?

. . . " Obviously, Jarrar is not accepting this apology, as she commented on an apology tweet from Burt with the word “Resign.” It was one minute after posting this tweet that she posted that follow-up tweet stating that, in fact, all white editors should resign, regardless of whether or not they had actually done anything wrong.
"This is ridiculous. It’s one thing to call out specific editors for making specific mistakes; it’s entirely another thing to suggest that an entire race of people cannot be editors only because of their race.
"Unfortunately, however, this sort of idea is far from unheard of. In fact, the tendency of many social-justice warriors to want to silence some voices — particularly the voices of white males — has become so pervasive that Barack Obama recently commented on it." . . .  Katherine Timpf

By the way, because this, um,  lady is a leftist, she can get away with calling people "sweetie", as you will see here. But I digress. TD

They’re Losing Their Minds: Trump Derangement Syndrome Descends into New Level of Ridiculousness

Kemberlee Kaye  "Rather than waning, Trump Derangement Syndrom gets worse the longer Trump serves in the Oval Office.

"Even for a once staunch opposer of Trump like myself, Trump’s governance has been far less threatening than I ever imagined, leaving me and many others pleasantly surprised.

In the age of personal truths and disregard for anything tethered to reality or absoluteness, it makes sense that those whose personal truth requires perpetual outrage even when circumstances don’t require hysterics, would find an abundance of ways to distort reality into something subjectively alarming.

"Such is the case of Jared Yates Saxton. Saxton writes for Salon and has contributed to the New York Times, The New Republic, and Politico.

"But those credentials haven’t saved Saxton from the “debilitating” Trump years." . . .

Sec. Of State Pompeo Schools Dem Senator On Trump’s Russia Policy… "Nice"

Weasel Zippers

"When testifying on Capitol Hill, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo schools Democrat Senator Tom Udall on President Trump’s tough Russia policies."

Central Park Rapists: Ann Coulter: Trump Was Right. UK Mail says wrong!

Far from trembling and afraid, as Burns imagines, the suspects were singing the rap song "Wild Thing" for hours in the precinct house, laughing and joking about raping the jogger. One of the attackers said, "It was fun."

" . . .image of a bloodied shirt retrieved from where Trisha Meili
was raped and beaten

Ann Coulter  "The city of New York released thousands of documents from the 1989 Central Park rape case last week, provoking more weeping and gnashing of teeth over Donald Trump's full-page ads in four New York newspapers taken out soon after that attack with the headline:

"BRING BACK THE DEATH PENALTY.

"BRING BACK OUR POLICE!"

"His ad never mentioned the Central Park rape, but talked about New York families -- "White, Black, Hispanic and Asian" -- unable to enjoy walks through the park at dusk. Of muggers and murderers, he said, "I no longer want to understand their anger. I want them to understand our anger. ... They should be forced to suffer and, when they kill, they should be executed for their crimes."

"According to the media, the five convicted boys were INNOCENT — and Trump would have executed the poor lads! Apart from the "innocent" moniker, the rape victim miraculously survived, there was no murder, so this is nonsense.

"But let's look at how "innocent" they were.

"On April 19, 1989, investment banker Trisha Meili went for a run through Central Park around 9 p.m., whereupon she was attacked by a wolf pack looking for a "white girl," dragged 100 yards into the woods, stripped, beaten with a pipe and a brick, raped and left for dead.

"By the time the police found Meili, she'd lost three-quarters of her blood. Her case was initially assigned to the homicide unit of the D.A.'s office because none of her doctors thought she would make it through the night.

"Of the 37 youths brought in for questioning about the multiple violent attacks in the park that night, only 10 were charged with a crime and only five for the rape of the jogger: Antron McCray, Yusef Salaam, Raymond Santana, Kevin Richardson and Korey Wise. All five confessed -- four on videotape with adult relatives present and one with a parent present, but not on videotape.

"Two unanimous, multicultural juries convicted them, despite aggressive defense lawyers putting on their best case." . . .

The UK Daily Mail declares these men innocent

. . . "The victim, Trisha Meili, still remembers nothing of the attack after she was bound, gagged, raped and beaten nearly to death. When she was found, more than 75 percent of her blood had drained from her body and her skull had been smashed in. 

"Meili was in a coma for 12 days and suffered permanent brain damage.

"The men were released and exonerated after a decade in prison when Matias Reyes, a serial rapist serving life in prison for a murder, confessed in 2002 that he carried out the crime alone. 

"A re-examination of the case found that DNA on the victim's sock linked Reyes to the attack."

More Details Emerge About Destruction Of Trump’s Hollywood Walk Of Fame Star

Daily Wire

"The man who took a pickaxe to President Trump's star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame is set to be bailed out by a guy who was arrested in 2016 for destroying the same star, according to new reports." . . .

Iran, Trump, and Obama

President Trump Puts the Mullahs on Notice "When President Trump appointed former CIA director Michael Pompeo to replace Rex W. Tillerson as secretary of state and former U.N. ambassador John Bolton as his new national security adviser, many pundits predicted that the Trump administration was serious in dealing with rogue states. B oth Bolton and Pompeo had advocated that Iran and North Korea change their behavior, or regime change would be on the table.

"Many people believed that these appointments were a sign that President Trump is serious in dealing with dangerous actors.  Almost immediately, the Islamic Republic's lobbyists started their propaganda machine and scare tactics, as they have done so often in the past twenty years (that war was imminent and Iranians should oppose Trumps appointments).  As for the Iranian people, while cautious, they are hoping that this time around, an American administration is serious and will stand on the side of the oppressed Iranian people as former President Ronald Reagan did with the Polish solidarity movement and all the former Soviet satellite countries.condemning communism is credited as hastening the dissolution of the Soviet Union, and along with Pope John Paul II he was a strong 

Reagan's continued policy of vigorously promoting democracy and supporter of Wałęsa's campaign for presidency in 1990.

. . .
Barack Obama has emboldened Iran.  "Senior members of the administration are apologizing for Iran kidnapping 10 US Navy sailors after seizing two small US craft as they traveled a narrow waterway from Kuwait to Bahrain.

2009: Barack Obama's Top 10 Apologies: How the President Has Humiliated a Superpower  "On several occasions, President Obama has sought to apologize for the actions of his own country when addressing a foreign audience--including seven of the 10 apologies listed below. The President has already apologized for his country to nearly 3 billion people across Europe, the Muslim world, and the Americas.
"The Obama Administration's strategy of unconditional engagement with America's enemies combined with a relentless penchant for apology-making is a dangerous recipe for failure. The overall effect of this approach has been to weaken American power on the world stage rather than strengthen it." . . .Nile Gardiner and Morgan Lorraine Roach

Let's hope Obama atoned for our sin by siding with the ayatollahs against the Iranian people during the Green Revolution.

Well, maybe not:
The Iranians mocked Obama's "my military"

Rosenstein impeachment stunt is cheap kabuki theater

The Maven

"While the game plays out, real problems are not being solved.

"Led by leaders Mark Meadows (R-NC) and Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), along nine co-sponsors, members of the House Freedom Caucus announced that they are bringing articles of impeachment against Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein. Their reasoning, document production which they view as unacceptable conduct.

"The five articles say a variety of different accusations against Rosenstein. However, here are a few things to keep in mind." . . .
. . . 

"While the game plays out, real problems are not being solved. We have a national debt of over $19 trillion. Entitlement programs are going bankrupt and we have no long-term plan to stop cyber attacks. Instead of a public relations stunt, I would like Republican members of the House to focus on lower spending, smaller government, free trade policies, and a strong national defense. Sadly, it seems like those conservatives only exist when there is a Democrat in the Oval Office."

California city OKs jail time for defying plastic straw ban

Fox News  via  Moretti Underground "A California coastal city has become the latest municipality to ban plastic straws, enacting what is potentially the strictest plastic prohibition in the country.

"Santa Barbara earlier this month passed the ordinance authorizing hefty fines and even a possible jail sentence for violators who dole out plastic straws at restaurants, bars and other food establishments.

"According to the ordinance, violators on their first offense will be given a written warning notice. But the second time a purveyor of plastic straws defies the ban is when the heavy hand of the law could clamp down.

"In that case, the ordinance cites penalties from the city’s municipal code for a “fine not exceeding one thousand dollars ($1,000), imprisonment for a term not exceeding six (6) months.”

"In comparison, Seattle, which in the beginning of July became the first major city in the U.S. to ban plastic straws, only fines businesses $250 per offense.

"It’s unlikely the maximum penalties would be imposed in Santa Barbara, but Assistant City Attorney Scott Vincent told Reason.com that criminal charges would be pursued after repeat violations and if there were aggravating circumstances.

"The Santa Barbara ordinance, which goes into effect in 2019, was supported by all but one city council member and comes at a time of growing concern over the problems that plastics cause for marine life.

"Santa Barbara bore a “trifecta of responsibility,” said Councilmember Kristen Sneddon, the Santa Barbara Independent reported, noting the city’s location along the coast, affluent population and status as a tourist destination." . . .