Wealth, Poverty, and Flight: The Same Old State of California

Victor Davis Hanson

Insulated coastal elites, impoverished immigrants, and a fleeing middle class

. . . "So why is California a blue state? In part, because its conservative base fled, a future blue-state constituency arrived, and both the very wealthy and the very poor, albeit for quite different reasons, preferred a high-tax, big-government redistributionist state government.

"It is easy to envision California largely in a tripartite fashion. One population has wealth and privilege enough to create a garden of Eden, with the proviso that it need not experience firsthand any downsides of its envisioned utopia.

"The second population is largely that of first- and second-generation immigrants, millions of them without legality, and many of them poor and dependent on generous state entitlements and the non-enforcement of myriads of rules, and regulations.

"Then there is the third zombie population: those who want to, or in fact are preparing to, follow the millions who left. They’re convinced that they lack the connections and clout of the wealthy that would let them navigate around the new regulatory morass, and they pay more in taxes than they receive in state services. In the end, the diminishing middle lacks the romance of the distant poor and the panache of the coastal affluent.

"But California is explained not only by sociology but also by psychology. There is a new mentality in which the virtue-signaling elite enjoy the cheap labor of the poor and do not much care about the poor’s inability to access reasonably priced gasoline and electrical power, safe neighborhoods, and quality schools and infrastructure. From their secure keeps, they square that circle by offering generous entitlements, open borders, and progressive empathy — and lots of self-righteous bumper-sticker rhetoric.

"At least for now." . . .  Full article

VICTOR DAVIS HANSON — NRO contributor Victor Davis Hanson is a senior fellow at the Hoover Institution and the author, most recently, of The Second World Wars: How the First Global Conflict Was Fought and Won. @vdhanson

Remember These Fighting, WWII, Hollywood Idols? “Hollywood’s greatest–Compare them to today’s simpletons.”

Jeffrey A. Friedberg

Brigadier, and Then Major-General James Stewart

• . . . George Gobel comedian taught fighter pilots, I believe it was in Oklahoma. Johnny Carson made a big deal about it once on the Tonight Show, to which George said, “The Japs didn’t get past us!”
• Sterling Hayden, US Marines and OSS. Smuggled guns into Yugoslavia and parachuted into Croatia.
• James Stewart, US Army Air Corps. Bomber pilot who rose to the rank of General.
• Ernest Borgnine, US Navy. Gunners Mate 1c, destroyer USS Lamberton.
• Ed McMahon, US Marines. Fighter Pilot. (Flew OE-1 Bird Dogs over Korea as well.)
• Telly Savalas, US Army.
• Walter Matthau, US Army Air Corps., B-24 Radioman/Gunner and cryptographer.
• Steve Forrest, US Army. Wounded, Battle of the Bulge.
• Jonathan Winters, USMC. Battleship USS Wisconsin and Carrier USS Bon Homme Richard. Anti-aircraft gunner, Battle of Okinawa.
• Paul Newman, US Navy Rear seat gunner/radioman, torpedo bombers of USS Bunker Hill.
• Kirk Douglas, US Navy. Sub-chaser in the Pacific. Wounded in action and medically discharged.
• Robert Mitchum, US Army.
• Dale Robertson, US Army. Tank Commander in North Africa under Patton. Wounded twice. Battlefield Commission.
• Henry Fonda, US Navy. Destroyer USS Satterlee.
• John Carroll, US Army Air Corps. Pilot in North Africa. Broke his back in a crash.
• Lee Marvin US Marines. Sniper. Wounded in action on Saipan. Buried in Arlington National Cemetery, Sec. 7A next to Greg Boyington and Joe Louis.
• Art Carney, US Army. Wounded on Normandy Beach, D-Day. Limped for the rest of his life.  

•  Raymond Burr, US Navy. Shot in the stomach on Okinawa and medically discharged.
• Eddie Albert, US Coast Guard. Bronze Star with Combat V for saving several Marines under heavy fire as pilot of a landing craft during the invasion of Tarawa.
• Charles Durning. US Army. Landed at Normandy on D-Day. Shot multiple times. Awarded the Silver Star and Bronze Star and three Purple Hearts. Survived Malmedy Massacre.
• Don Adams. US Marines. Wounded on Guadalcanal, then served as a Drill Instructor.

Transgender boy wins girls' wrestling championship in Texas

James Woods‏Verified account @RealJamesWoods 23h23 hours ago

When historians dissect the Fall of the American Empire, this will be the cover photo...

Transgender boy wins girls' wrestling championship in Texas "Cypress, Texas (CNN)High school wrestler Mack Beggs walked out of the Texas sports complex with a smile on his face and a gold medal dangling from his neck. He had just won the University Interscholastic League (UIL) state girls' championship, making him the league's first transgender boy to win a state wrestling title.

"Beggs, a junior at Trinity High School in Euless, Texas, was born female and currently is transitioning to male. Despite the fact that he identifies as a boy, the league allows him to wrestle only against girls.

""I wouldn't be here today if it weren't for my teammates," he told reporters shortly after his win on Saturday. "We trained hard every single day and that's what the spotlight should've been on -- not me."

"Despite his best efforts to share the victory, he's all that people want to talk about." . . .

Comments are flowing in on Romney's anti-Trump editorial

And Rush Limbaugh hasn't even begun yet.

Wow: RNC Chair Calls Out Her Uncle Mitt for His Anti-Trump Op-ed  . . .

Ronna McDaniel

✔@GOPChairwoman

POTUS is attacked and obstructed by the MSM media and Democrats 24/7. For an incoming Republican freshman senator to attack @realdonaldtrump as their first act feeds into what the Democrats and media want and is disappointing and unproductive.
. . .

Mitt Romney’s Counterproductive Op-Ed by Ben Shapiro at National Review

He’s forcing a ‘Love Trump or Leave Trump’ choice on Republicans.

. . . On the final count, Republican voters would be asked to believe that Trump is unelectable. Of course, that’s the same argument some of us made in 2016, when he then proceeded to beat Hillary Clinton. It’s highly unlikely primary voters will find that contention convincing in light of 2016, no matter what the polls say. And they’d be particularly unlikely to think that someone like Romney — a two-time presidential loser (once in the primaries, once in the general) widely considered to have run a milquetoast campaign — would perform better than Trump."

Mitt Romney casts a pathetic shadow in his WaPo Op-Ed attacking Trump
"Romney, the putative Boy Scout, was turned into a monster by Democrats and the media. And he blames Donald Trump for our divisive politics?"

Dear Mitt:  You are being fêted by the very people who destroyed your presidential ambitions, but that love will be short-lived and only for so long as you are the useful idiot serving their purposes. You also are being praised to the rafters by NeverTrump Republicans whose goal is to see Democrats elected. Think about that.
Of course you can and should speak out on issues of importance to you. But that’s not what you did. You reopened campaign wounds for no good reason.
Sorry Mitt, your current virtue signaling, coming where and when it took place, isn’t noble, it’s just sad and pathetic.

"My feeling on reading it is that Mitt Romney diminished himself more than he diminished Donald Trump.

"The rhetoric in the Op-Ed, while lofty in places, lacks a reality. Romney was viciously attacked by Democrats and the media, accused of deliberately giving women cancer and putting them in binders, of being a cruel heartless businessman who destroyed lives to save a dime, of being cruel to the point of assaulting a high school classmate and abusing his own dog.

"Mitt Romney, putative Boy Scout, was turned into a monster by Democrats and the media. And he blames Donald Trump for our divisive politics?

"Romney had a chance to reject Trump when Romney was running for President, but instead he courted his endorsement. Romney had a chance to reject Trump after Trump was elected, but instead he lobbied to be Secretary of State. Romney had yet a third chance to reject Trump when Romney was running for Senate, but instead he embraced the endorsement.

"Is there anything worse than a self-righteous hypocrite?" . . .

Mitt Romney: Hillary Clinton in a Brooks Brothers Suit

Hey Mitt, we’d rather have a gruff Trump than a polite loser like you  "Two-time presidential loser Mitt Romney, the incoming “GOP” senator from the great state of Utah, hasn’t even been sworn in yet and already he’s proven why conservatives loathe the Republican establishment and are so enthusiastic in their support for POTUS Donald Trump."

Ben Garrison

MITT ROMNEY Slammed For Trash Op-Ed Questioning Trump’s Character After Begging For Endorsement  "Even Geraldo Rivera jumped in to respond to Romney’s “rude” op-ed:

Geraldo Rivera

✔@GeraldoRivera

I get that @MittRomney doesn't like @realDonaldTrump But since the elegant new senator from #Utah accepted the president's endorsement & earlier even petitioned @POTUS for a Cabinet-level position, Mr. Romney's op-ed seems rude & has the trappings of political showboating.

Congresswoman Hopes Reparations Bill is Path to ‘Repair Some of the Damage’ Caused by Slavery

PJ Media

Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (D-Texas) 

"Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (D-Texas) told PJM that the federal government should conduct a study of reparations for descendants of slaves to be able to determine the best way to “repair some of the damage" that slavery has caused to the African-American community.

Jackson Lee became the lead sponsor of H.R. 40, the Commission to Study and Develop Reparation Proposals for African-Americans Act, after Rep. John Conyers (D-Mich.) resigned from Congress.

"The legislation seeks to “address the fundamental injustice, cruelty, brutality, and inhumanity of slavery in the United States and the 13 American colonies between 1619 and 1865 and to establish a commission to study and consider a national apology and proposal for reparations for the institution of slavery, its subsequent de jure and de facto racial and economic discrimination against African-Americans, and the impact of these forces on living African-Americans, to make recommendations to the Congress on appropriate remedies, and for other purposes.”

“ 'It’s a commission to study the issue of what was the economic impact of the work of slaves and how does it translate in the 21st century. And what we want to do is to build a narrative, a story of the facts and out of that be able to access how we repair some of the damage,” Jackson Lee said during a recent interview after her speech at the annual Legislative and Policy Conference organized by Rev. Al Sharpton’s National Action Network.

“When you look at urban blight, when you look at schools in inner cities and rural communities that are not at the level of excellence that they should be, when you look at support for [historically black colleges and universities], all of that will be part of understanding that whole journey and that whole economic journey,” she added. “And it is interesting that these magnificent buildings were built by slaves, obviously with no compensation. That is not what we are asking for; this bill is to have a commission to hear from people all over the nation.' ” . . .

Strap In – Romney Didn’t Wake Up This Morning and Haphazardly Write an Op-Ed to Attack The President of His Own Political Party…

Conservative Treehouse  "Don’t get so caught up in a furor over Senator-elect Mitt Romney writing a political hit piece against the President of the United States that we forget to look at the big picture.

"Senator-elect Mitt Romney’s niece is Ronna McDaniel, Chairwoman of the Republican National Committee (RNC). Senator Romney didn’t just wake up on New Year’s Day and haphazardly write a specifically constructed character assassination against the President of the republican party; who is currently the President of the United States.

"No, this attack was done with forethought and specific intent."

"Think rationally and logically.  Why write the op-ed at all?  What is the purpose behind writing the op-ed?  What does the author have to gain by writing the op-ed?…

Cartoon added by TD

"And specifically, given the nature of the familial relationship between republican Senator Romney and RNC Chairwoman McDaniel, not to mention the political profession therein, with the senator writing something highly damaging; well, there’s obviously a larger intended purpose on Romney’s end of the equation.

"Likely many will believe Ms. Ronna McDaniel was generally unaware that her uncle was going to take such a position of expressed opposition.  She didn’t know?  Mitt Romney wouldn’t, given the circumstances, tell his niece of his intention?

"Let’s presume Romney didn’t tell his niece.  What does that tell us about the character of Mitt Romney; his obvious self-interest; and, in the bigger picture, what does that tell us of his relationship to republican party objectives, writ large?" . . .

"What exactly is this ‘republican party‘, Romney’s frame-of-reference (under such a presumption), all about?  Who would Mitt and Ann Romney believe is operating it?

If Mitt Romney felt his current DC entry point, constructed by his specific intent, would leave him entirely isolated from any influence and/or affluence from his position – he wouldn’t do it.  Right?  But he did…. so he doesn’t view this adversarial starting point as damaging to his political objectives." . . .

Timeline: Mitt Romney’s History of Backstabbing Donald Trump

Romney’s op-ed re-ignited speculation that he intends to run for president again, perhaps against Trump himself. An observer at Romney’s speech in March 2016 said: “This is just Act One” for Romney. Clearly, he was right.

I'm sure Harry Reid will endorse Romney.
Breitbart Politics

. . . "Here is a brief summary of Romney’s history of backstabbing Trump — often after seeking, and receiving, his help:

• • February 2012: Romney seeks, and receives, Trump’s endorsement in the Republican presidential primary, beating several other contenders who wanted the billionaire’s backing. The Romney campaign proudly touted Trump’s nod. CBS News reported at the time, “Romney’s campaign formally unveiled the endorsement at an event in Las Vegas.”
  • March 2016: Romney delivers a speech in Utah devoted entirely to trashing Trump: “Donald Trump is a phony, a fraud. His promises are as worthless as a degree from Trump University. He’s playing the members of the American public for suckers. He gets a free ride to the White House and all we get is a lousy hat.” However, with the primary still undecided, Romney declined to support any of Trump’s rivals, meaning the speech amounted to little more than abuse. (Some of those present at the time speculated Romney was laying the foundation for a political comeback.)
  • November 2016: Romney, humbled by Trump’s victory, offers to join President-elect Trump’s cabinet, and seeks the job of Secretary of State. After meetings at Trump Tower, Romney fails to win the job — but issues a statementpraising Trump and thanking him for the opportunity: “It was an honor to have been considered for Secretary of State of our great country. My discussions with President-elect Trump have been both enjoyable and enlightening. I have very high hopes that the new administration will lead the nation to greater strength, prosperity and peace.”
  • February 2018: Romney receives Trump’s endorsement in the GOP primary for U.S. Senate in Utah and accepts it — despite having declared in 2016 he would not have accepted Trump’s endorsement if given the choice again.

Donald J. Trump

✔@realDonaldTrump

.@MittRomney has announced he is running for the Senate from the wonderful State of Utah. He will make a great Senator and worthy successor to @OrrinHatch, and has my full support and endorsement! . . .  

As is often said, if you want a friend in Washington, get a dog. 

Self-Appointed Nemesis Romney Blasts Trump in Washington Post Op-Ed

Next stop for Romney: guest spots on TV talk shows.

MSN

"Two days before he is sworn into the United States Senate, incoming Utah Senator Mitt Romney is blasting President Donald Trump's character. 

"In an op-ed for the Washington Post, Romney criticizes the president, saying that he hoped when Trump was elected in 2016 that he would "rise to the occasion" as leader of the free world. 

" 'On balance, his conduct over the past two years, particularly his actions this month, is evidence that the president has not risen to the mantle of office," Romney wrote. " . . .

Mitt Romney bids to become Trump's Senate nemesis now that Flake and Corker are leaving  . . . All other things being equal, it would be nice to have a president who is an inspiring moral leader.  But in the swamp of D.C., people may praise such a person while slipping the stiletto in the back.  It takes a street fighter to keep one's back safe.  And get things done.

"I fear that the favorable attention Utah's Senator Mitt Romney will receive in the media is only going to encourage him in his disparagement of President Trump.

"I fear that as he joins the Senate, Mitt Romney is going to adopt the role of NeverTrump scold.  I'd ask him to think clearly about what a defeat for President Trump in the 2020 election would mean for the United States.  Whomever the Democrats choose as their nominee, it will be someone who wants a bigger government, higher taxes, limits on the Second Amendment, CO2 regulation and taxes, and more racial favoritism by entities under the sway of the federal government."   Thomas Lifson

Romney arrives in DC. Attacks President Trump  "After allowing Barack Obama to walk all over him in 2012, Mitt Romney finally made it to Washington, and immediately attacked President Trump.
"In a column in the Washington Post Romney could not argue facts -- “it is not that all of the president’s policies have been misguided” -- so he took the low road.
. . . "Never mind the appointments to the judiciary that he made. Never mind that voting for Romney and McCain got me Justices Kagan and Sotomayor, while voting for Trump got me Justices Gorsuch and Kavanaugh.
"No, no, no." . . .

Trump fires back after incoming U.S. Senator Romney blasts president  Romney certainly checked all the liberal boxes here:  "I will speak out against significant statements or actions that are divisive, racist, sexist, anti-immigrant, dishonest or destructive to democratic institutions," he wrote."   

Would Romney have freed our hostages or kicked ISIS out of their conquered territories?

Determined House Democrats put forward bills to re-open government WITHOUT Trump wall funding . . .

UK Daily Mail  "House Democrats unveiled a package of bills Monday that would re-open the federal government without approving funding for President Donald Trump's border wall with Mexico, establishing an early confrontation that will test the new power dynamic in Washington.

"The House is preparing to vote as soon as the new Congress convenes Thursday, as one of the first acts after Democrats take control, according to an aide who was not authorized to discuss the plan and spoke on condition of anonymity.

"Meanwhile, the American Federation of Government Employees, a union which represents federal employees, sued the Trump administration on Monday, according to USA Today.

The union says it is illegal for the government to force workers to work without pay. 

"Democrats under Nancy Pelosi are all but certain to swiftly approve the two bills, making good on their pledge to try to quickly resolve the partial government shutdown that's now in its second week. 

Why was a Muslim doctor who vowed to poison Jewish patients working at the famed Cleveland Clinic?

Monica Showalter  "Is there any profession that merits the esteem that doctors have?  I don't think so.

"What doctors do not only requires significant brains, but requires professionalism, because patient trust is so critical.  Without that trust, how would a doctor be able to get a patient to take his or her clothes off, bend over for an exam, or accept a medical treatment with bad side effects?  Trust is what makes the whole profession work.

"This is why this story out of Cleveland is so chilling.

Medical resident at Cleveland Clinic Lara Kollab, who published antisemitic statements on Twitter regarding her Jewish patients at the hospital, was dismissed from the hospital, the Cleveland Clinic reported on Monday. 

Both Canary Mission and StopAntisemitism.org called attention to Kollab's tweet from 2012, in which she wrote "ill purposely give all the yahood the wrong meds..."

"Here's a screenshot of her vile tweet (Hat tip: GatewayPundit):

" . . . How on Earth did this person get a medical license, and why hasn't it been pulled?  Did no one check her ethics?  She has a long history of vile anti-Semitic tweets, loaded with homicidal ravings and musings, which are there for all to see on Twitter.  This wasn't someone who just whispered her anti-Semitism, she broadcast it.  This person shouldn't just be fired; she should be de-licensed, and maybe jailed for such vile threats, which not only bring great dishonor to the medical profession, but erode the trust that patients must have in doctors.

"After reading a story like this, Jewish patients (and Cleveland has 80,000 Jewish residents) will now have to start wondering if they've got another one like her, and that will extend to other patients, too." . . . 

This did not escape the notice of Pamela Geller over at BareNakedIslam: 

"NEVER use a Muslim doctor…especially if you are Jewish "

"Her many Jew-hating tweets, as you can see below, finally caught up with her and got her fired. But one could conclude that it was this tweet below that put the final nail in her coffin.

"Translations of the Arabic words are in RED on each tweet: ' . . . Info from:

Israellycool  Founded in 2003 by Aussie Dave, Israellycool has become one of the largest English-language blogs in Israel, and probably the best known. We strive to remain original, entertaining and informative.

FBI Rewrites Federal Law to Let Hillary Off the Hook

Andrew C. McCarthy  "There is no way of getting around this: According to Director James Comey (disclosure: a former colleague and longtime friend of mine), Hillary Clinton checked every box required for a felony violation of Section 793(f) of the federal penal code (Title 18): With lawful access to highly classified information she acted with gross negligence in removing and causing it to be removed it from its proper place of custody, and she transmitted it and caused it to be transmitted to others not authorized to have it, in patent violation of her trust. Director Comey even conceded that former Secretary Clinton was “extremely careless” and strongly suggested that her recklessness very likely led to communications (her own and those she corresponded with) being intercepted by foreign intelligence services.

"Yet, Director Comey recommended against prosecution of the law violations he clearly found on the ground that there was no intent to harm the United States.

"In essence, in order to give Mrs. Clinton a pass, the FBI rewrote the statute, inserting an intent element that Congress did not require. The added intent element, moreover, makes no sense: The point of having a statute that criminalizes gross negligence is to underscore that government officials have a special obligation to safeguard national defense secrets; when they fail to carry out that obligation due to gross negligence, they are guilty of serious wrongdoing. The lack of intent to harm our country is irrelevant. People never intend the bad things that happen due to gross negligence." . . .