The Farming Wit and Wisdom of Mike Bloomberg

Victor Davis Hanson  . . . "Moreover, I seriously doubt whether farmers are going to vote against Trump should Bloomberg or anyone else be the Democratic nominee. The latest poll shows a record 83 percent of them approve of Trump’s tenure. Most farmers so far have stuck with the president in his trade stand-off with China in the belief that past asymmetries with Europe and Japan, but especially with China, on matters of food importation and export had to be addressed. And they seem willing to endure short-term hardship for long-term parity, and with it, greater profitability.
"Bloomberg’s candidacy is supposed to appeal to suburbanites, and perhaps moderate Republican women and independents in particular, while drawing minorities to a supposedly seasoned, big-city mayor whose past constituencies were heavily non-white. Most concede that Bloomberg would not steal anyone from Trump’s base, and likely not from the working classes of either party. And we can see why.
"But as the prior wit and wisdom of Bloomberg keep emerging, and as his campaign, fueled by a billion dollars, blankets the airwaves, it is hard to see what advantages he brings, either over his own rivals or over incumbent Trump.
"All that is in addition to the general paradox of a party that rails about racism, toxic masculinity, and white privilege, with anti-rich overtones, looking now at a rich, white, male multibillionaire to buy an election and thus save the party from itself.Bloomberg has only been a candidate for a few days, and already he seems in the past to have insulted, as a group, professional women, minority youth, poor would-be homeowners, and unthinking farmers and factory workers. . . .

Mr. Hanson was a professor of classics at California State University, Fresno, and is currently the Martin and Illie Anderson Senior Fellow at Stanford University’s Hoover Institution. He has been a visiting professor at Hillsdale College since 2004. Hanson was awarded the National Humanities Medal in 2007 by President George W. Bush. Hanson is also a farmer (growing raisin grapes on a family farm in Selma, California) and a critic of social trends related to farming and agrarianism.

Bad News For Bloomberg As Post-Debate Poll Shows Staggering Fall In Favorability

Tony Branco

Daily Wire   . . . "Looking further, the Morning Consult poll asked respondents about candidate favorability. For Bloomberg, the results were a disaster. In every demographic category except for one, his favorability plummeted following Wednesday’s debate performance.
"Overall, Bloomberg’s net favorability change after the debate was -20 points.
"Among men, it was -21 points; among women, it was -18; among liberals, it was -20; among moderates, it was -30; among African Americans, it was -16; and among whites, it was -20 points.
"The only category where Bloomberg actually gained net favorability was among conservative “potential Democratic primary voters,” where he gained +2 points following the debate." . . .

American Thinker has much to say about Bloomberg

American Thinker

Michael Bloomberg, Arrogant Elitist  . . . "In three years, Donald Trump has blown apart Bloomberg’s theory that the working class is composed of useless oafs. Under Trump’s policies, the workers that Bloomberg wrote off have found jobs and it wasn’t necessary for the government to hire them with make-work programs." . . .

Bloomberg: The Democrat Man behind the Curtain  . . . "Bloomberg is in this to affect down-ballot races. Vermont senator and stretch limousine liberal Bread Line Bernard Sanders would likely be disastrous for the Democrats down-ballot, and they know that (more on this in a bit).
"With Bloomberg, the Democrats are hoping for a 2014-type scenario, where they win the House and Senate, while the other party has the presidency — the way the GOP won both the House and Senate in 2014." . . .
Much more here.

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." . . .

Choosing who will lead this nation

Somewhere in this crowd may be the Leader Of The Free World. 

The Democrats' personalities were exposed in Nevada, and it wasn't pretty  "Wednesday night's Democrat debate in Nevada allowed for a sharp focus on the candidates' personalities.  It wasn't pretty.  They were the six unappealing dwarfs — Supercilious, Shrill, Angry, Confused, Smug...and that unpleasant nameless something that is Klobuchar." . . .

At the Debate, Only Losers "Anybody But Trump!' sounds a lot more appealing before you are presented with the menu — or start to think about the bill. To be honest, I’d almost forgotten what they were like." . . .

Nevada Democratic debate was the greatest debate in human history  . . . "Klobuchar wouldn’t do that, of course, because she’s actually disciplined and controlled and rose to the occasion with a second great performance … that may not do anything for her. Biden had his good moments and his bad moments, but just didn’t seem like he was even a serious part of the discussion." . . .

NY Times

Pete Buttigieg Slams 'Socialist' Sanders and 'Billionaire' Bloomberg for Not Being Real Democrats

Don Surber: Debate shrank Mini Mike
. . . "This ticked off Breadline Bernie. Some reporters scored it for Mini Mike, but Bernie getting red-faced angry at a billionaire should please the socialist majority in the party, should it not? 
"Before Biden could give his closing argument, a heckler stopped him. The heckler ranted uninterrupted." . . . 
"It was bizarre. Lester Holt lacked the bunions to shut the heckler down. Biden looked old and defeated.
"When this happens to Donald Trump, his supporters drown the heckler out by shouting USA! USA! USA!
"Democrats were silent."

That one missing word at last night's Democratic debate  . . . "What they didn't bring up at all was the economy.  Not one said a thing about it.  A few tried to claim in a roundabout way that it isn't so hot, which is a preposterous thing, given that President Obama is now trying to claim credit for it.  The incandescent U.S. economy just never came up with this bunch, because they were too busy trying to tell us how they'd take away our money and reorder our lives to perfect virtue." . . .

  RCP: Bloomberg Bombs in Vegas Debut  . . . "Even before the debate, Warren promised it would showcase a “live demonstration of how we each take on an egomaniac billionaire.' ” . . . Bernie Sanders Loses It When Bloomberg Calls Him The ‘Best Known Socialist’ Who ‘Happens To Be A Millionaire With Three Houses’

POLL: Vast majority say ripping up Trump’s speech was mistake

Sharyl Attkison

"Over 95% of the respondents say that Nancy Pelosi made a “big mistake” when she ripped up President Trump’s speech on national TV. That’s according to the latest unscientific poll at SharylAttkisson.com.
"Less than 2% of the respondents said it was brilliant.
Read the full results below. Meantime, be sure and vote in our latest poll at SharylAttkisson.com on the home page. Look for the black box in the right sidebar or scroll way down on the mobile site!

"Should Pelosi have ripped up Trump’s speech?

"2% Yes, brilliant!
"95% No, big mistake!
"3% Don’t know/don’t care

PARODY: Still waiting: Alyssa Milano Confirms FBI Investigators Have Not Reached Out To Her To Get A Celebrity's Opinion On Kavanaugh Yet

Milano's publicity shot in 2018

Babylon Bee  "LOS ANGELES, CA—Charmed actress and all-around knowledgeable person about politics Alyssa Milano confirmed Tuesday that FBI investigators still have not reached out to her to get a celebrity's opinion on Kavanaugh.
" 'This investigation is a sham!" she wrote on her Twitter account. "How can FBI investigators possibly get to the bottom of all this stuff Kavanaugh definitely did if they don't talk to a woman who acts in movies and stuff?"
"Milano further stated she did try to contact a local FBI field office to let them know she was available for an interview, but the agents said they liked Buffy The Vampire Slayer a lot more than Charmed back in the day and so would not be talking to her.
"At the end of the 122-tweet long thread, Milano demanded the FBI talk with the entire cast of Dawson's Creek before coming to any kind of conclusion. "It's only fair that the FBI be thorough and take in a bunch of celebrity opinions to unveil the truth."
"At publishing time, Lena Dunham had also come forward to confirm no FBI investigators had asked for her input." . . .

Biden again threatens physical violence against Trump: Crickets from the Left (Feb 15)

Conservative Firing Line   "Desperate to resuscitate his dying candidacy, former Vice Pres. Joe Biden appeared on ABC’s “The View,” where he once again denied that anyone had claimed his son Hunter had “done anything wrong.” Obviously that isn’t true since, as Biden has famously recounted on the campaign trail, as vice president he threatened to withhold funds earmarked for Ukraine unless the prosecutor investigating his son was fired. "Why would that nation or any other investigate Hunter Biden unless they suspected him of wrongdoing?
"But this time the elder Biden didn’t just stop at claiming his son’s innocence. He went on to add, “This is a guy who has done nothing but good things his whole life, my son.”

Photo added by TD

 . . . "At the dropping of Trump’s name, Biden turned bellicose. “I would like to be able to be back in high school and just have he and I in a room,” he uttered.
"This is not the first time Biden has revealed his “tough guy” side. In 2018, he lashed out at Trump saying, “If we were in high school, I’d take him behind the gym and beat the hell out of him.” He made a similar threat in 2019, telling CNN’s Chris Cuomo in an interview:

"The idea that I’d be intimidated by Donald Trump! He’s the bully that I knew my whole life. He’s the bully that I’ve always stood up to. He’s the bully that used to make fun when I was a kid that I stutter, and I’d smack him in the mouth.

"It makes you wonder why the Left, which invented the ludicrous notion of toxic masculinity has never taken Biden to task for his many public offenses. Maybe if his target was someone other than the president, they’d feel differently."  . . .