Lloyd Austin needs to resign as Secretary of Defense

Hot Air

"Since the announcement of the decision in Dobbs on Friday, elected officials and media personalities across the board have been weighing in with their own takes as you would expect. But one of the last people I would have expected to dive into the public debate was Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin. And yet he somehow made the decision to wade into the Roe v Wade issue up to his hips. This turned out to be a very poor decision for several reasons, as we’ll see in a moment, but the question here goes far beyond one retired military officer’s personal views. The spectacle Austin created was simply damaging and Lloyd Austin needs to either resign or be fired, not that Joe Biden will make any such move. At Redstate, Mike Miller highlights Austin’s comments and points out how wrong he managed to get the entire affair.

‘It comes as no surprise that Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin has issued a statement all but condemning Friday’s overturn of Roe — by pledging that the United States military “be all that it can be” [sarcasm] and will do all it can in support of “seamless access to reproductive health care [on-demand abortion].”

What is a bit of a surprise — Austin’s apparent ignorance of federal law — is laughable.

In a statement posted on the Department of Defense website, Austin pledged the U.S. military’s (emphasis, mine) “readiness and resilience” to, in effect, “continue to provide access” to abortion.

"Before getting to the question of precisely how far this spectacle went off the beam, allow me to make one thing clear. This has nothing to do with the Dobbs decision on Friday and how Lloyd Austin might personally feel about it. He’s entitled to his personal opinion like anyone else. The error here has to do with Austin’s decision to make an official statement as the Secretary of Defense and, as Miller points out, his almost comical lack of knowledge in terms of the policies he’s discussing.". . .

Macron Buttonholes Biden, Delivers Bad Oil News in Front of International Media

 PJ Media   "In what sure looked like a cunning move, French President Emmanuel Macron waylaid “President” Biden just as he strolled near reporters, deep in conversation with National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan. The men were attending the G7 summit that was being held Monday in the Bavarian Alps of Germany.

"In a video of the incident (below), Macron catches up to Biden, calling, “Joe? Mr. President?” He steps between Biden and Sullivan, takes Biden’s arm, and draws him to a halt, saying “Excuse me, sorry to interrupt.” Reuters reports the momentous news the French president then delivers:

“I had a call with MbZ,” Macron was heard telling U.S. President Joe Biden on the sidelines of the G7 summit, using shorthand for UAE leader Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed al-Nahyan. “He told me two things. I’m at a maximum, maximum (production capacity). This is what he claims.”

“And then he said (the) Saudis can increase by 150 (thousands barrels per day). Maybe a little bit more, but they don’t have huge capacities before six months’ time,” Macron said.

"Biden stood silently as Macron broke the news that there would be no significant help from the two last-hope OPEC+ nations, meaning the fuel crisis and the additional problems it causes would continue. At one point, Macron begins speaking to the other adults present, as people sometimes unconsciously do when the elderly person they are addressing seems too senile to comprehend. Finally, Biden makes a surprised expression, then says, “Yeah, [unintelligible],” and motions towards the waiting meeting.". . .

Embarrassing: Biden's Grand Energy Plan Just Got Blown Up...By the French President 

"Biden was counting on these two nations to bail him out. Now, they can't. As Michael Shellenberger noted on social media, this means the US has to up the ante on domestic oil production. That means doing all the things the environmental left hates. It means nixing any notion that the Green New Deal is a viable policy. It means infuriating Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and her supporters. 

"It's another blow for Biden who has touted that America is back. That its leadership is back, and that the adults are back in the room. Since that declaration, this presidency has been an endless cycle of embarrassment and incompetence. The vice president is a word salad chef with approval ratings that are worse than Joe's—and he's in the mid-30s. No one seems to have a plan on how to curb inflation, generate economic growth, create jobs, and get baby formula back on the shelves. Gas prices will now certainly soar close to $7/gallon by August. I'll wager that given we have weak, stupid, and slow leadership from Mr. Magoo here. ". . .

Well then, I guess it's time for Plan B:  Biden sends team to make nice with Venezuela 

In case the President has forgotten, our government does not recognize Nicolas Maduro as the legitimate president of Venezuela. Nor does most of the civilized world. He stole the last election in 2018 and we recognize opposition leader Juan Guaido as the legitimate leader of that country. But now we’re going back into negotiations with Maduro’s people.

. . ."A good-faith effort by the Biden administration to secure the release of the American hostages is to be applauded. But as to any other negotiations that are likely going on, this may be a good time to remind ourselves of an old diplomatic rule of thumb. When you decide to wrestle with a pig, you inevitably come away muddy. So will the pig, but he doesn’t really care."

Anchors away...or should I say, 'Pronouns away'?

 American Thinker (Preferably  "anchors aweigh")

We face an existential struggle against the Chinese Communist Party and their PLA Navy.  War clouds are gathering in the western Pacific.  And our taxpayer dollars are funding this woke training video. 

"Several weeks ago, the secretary of the Navy identified climate change as an "existential threat" to the U.S. Navy and the nation and proudly proclaimed that climate change is the "focal point" for his tenure.  Now, according to the Daily Signal and other news outlets, the Navy has created a short training video to teach our warriors how to correctly use "'pronouns' and 'inclusive language' to create 'safe spaces' in the service."

"The short video is introduced by "Jony," who says he uses "he/him" pronouns, and "Conchy," who says she uses "she/her" pronouns (both are civilian engineers at the Naval Undersea Warfare Center in Newport, Rhode Island), and instructs naval personnel that "using the right pronoun is ... a signal of acceptance and respect."  The proper use of pronouns, Conchy says, is a way to create "safe spaces" for everyone in the Navy.  And Jony says that "a really good way to do that is to use inclusive language."  "Instead of saying, 'Hey guys' you can say, 'Hey everyone' or 'Hey team.'"  Conchy adds that we can also use our pronouns in our emails and introduce each other by using our pronouns.

"Jony asks, "What would I do if I misgender someone?"  Conchy replies that it's not the end of the world, but just make sure to correct yourself, and don't place the burden on the person you offended to correct you.  If you don't know someone's pronouns, we are told, don't pressure him to give them because some people may be going through the "process of discovery" and don't yet know what their pronouns are.  Just use "gender-neutral" words.". . .

This would have helped at Midway I'm sure.

More Than a Stalinist Show Trial; Beyond the January 6 committee hearings, Stalinism advances on other fronts.

That regime rejected the rule of law, the presumption of innocence, and so forth, as so much “bourgeois” formality. The January 6 proceedings in Washington violate fundamental and longstanding norms of American justice. Witness the summary arrests, detention without trial, solitary confinement, denial of bail, withholding of evidence, and a lot more.  

(Updated) See also: Soviet Show Trials come to American college campuses

 Lloyd Billingsley  "As Thaddeus McCotter contends, the reproduction of a “Stalinist show trial” is now live in Washington. That invites a look at the original production of 1936-1937, from one of the keenest observers at the time. 

"The Moscow trials, and the purges that followed them, were a turning point in the history of American liberalism, for it was irrevocably polarized by the controversies to which the trials gave rise,” explains the late philosopher Sidney Hook in Out of Step: An Unquiet Life in the Twentieth Century, published in 1987. As Hook recalled, “news of the trials burst like a bombshell.”

"The principal defendants were “all old Bolsheviks, Lenin’s comrades in arms, who had been glorified as heroes of the October Revolution until they fell out of favor with Stalin. Chief among the defendants was Trotsky, acknowledged by Stalin as the architect of the Petrograd insurrection that had placed the Bolsheviks in power.” 

"As Hook wondered, “had architects of the great experiment been agents of the Western secret police?” The notion was “inherently incredible,” and the charges against Trotsky, Bukharin, Radek, and others were “mind-boggling.”

"The heroes of the October Revolution, Stalin contended, had assassinated Kirov in 1934, planned the assassination of Stalin under the direction of Trotsky, and “conspired with fascist powers Germany and Japan to dismember the Soviet Union, in exchange for services rendered by the Gestapo.” They were also charged with “sabotaging five-year plans, putting nails and glass in butter, inducing erysipelas in pigs, wrecking trains” and so forth. ". . .

Lloyd Billingsley is the author of Hollywood Party and other books including Bill of Writes and Barack ‘em Up: A Literary Investigation. His journalism has appeared in the Wall Street Journal, the Spectator (London) and many other publications. Billingsley serves as a policy fellow with the Independent Institute.

What the Victory of Mayra Flores Portends for the Democrats

The lesson to be drawn from the shift in Hispanic voting is that the Democrats need to moderate their platform while the Republicans should preserve theirs. . . 

 The American Spectator  "The victory of Republican Mayra Flores in a historic Texas Democratic stronghold on Tuesday punctuates President Joe Biden’s problem with Hispanics. His woke agenda appears to be driving them into the arms of Republicans. Born in Mexico, Flores won the special election for the 34th Congressional District on a staunchly conservative platform of “God, family, and country” — a repudiation of Biden’s fixation on secularism, libertinism, and identity politics.

"Her victory is no doubt setting off alarm bells in Democratic circles, but it can’t come as a complete surprise to the party’s strategists. Some of the shrewder ones have been fretting recently over the party’s alienation of Hispanics.

"Liberals deluded themselves into seeing Hispanics as a permanent Democratic constituency.

"Clearly, this constituency does not harbor particularly radical views on the nature of American society and its supposed intrinsic racism and white supremacy,” wrote Democratic strategist Ruy Teixeria last December. “They are instead a patriotic, upwardly mobile, working class group with quite practical and down to earth concerns. Democrats will either learn to focus on that or they will continue to lose ground among this vital group of voters.”

"That sums up the appeal of Flores. Openly patriotic, she poured scorn on Biden’s plans to transform the country fundamentally. Hispanics, she argued, want a traditional, not woke, America.". . .

In 2020, Joe Biden was the Great White Hope for Democrats

 That was then...

Democrats praise Biden on CBS, ABC and CNN for ‘very good job:’ Doing well ‘by any metric’ except inflation (msn.com)   . . ."Throughout CNN’s “State of the Union,” Brian Deese, director of the president’s Nationwide Financial Council, instructed host Dana Bash, “We really feel superb about the place America is.”

"Bash pressed Deese about the opportunity of a recession.

"He stated that whereas there are a sequence of “international challenges” the nation is going through proper now, “there is no doubt that the US is in a greater place than every other main nation around the globe to deal with inflation with out giving up all of the financial good points we have had.' ”. . .

And our go-to source for Democrat praise:

This is now: Why the Left Will Cut Biden Loose; Victor Davis Hanson

. . .The point is not just the asymmetrical treatment that has shielded Biden’s cognitive decline, his rude outbursts, his outrageous racialist slurs, and bizarre sexual aggressiveness.

Instead, the Left now fears Biden’s terrible polls and a worse record — and the resulting damage he is doing to the Democratic Party.

In such a losing political context, Democrats will soon find no further reason to cover for Biden’s own serial abhorrent personal behavior on matters of financial probity, sex, race, and truthfulness.

No wonder they are growing desperate to find ways to cut him loose — without making Vice President Kamala Harris his successor.

Will The Republic Soon Be Only A Distant Memory?

AND Magazine   "In 27 BC Gaius Julius Caesar Octavianus became Augustus, the first emperor of the Roman Empire. The Roman Republic, plagued by violence and civil war, for years was dead. It would never return. The Romans, who had built the Republic into the dominant Mediterranean power had killed their own creation.

"We may not be far from a similar fate."

"Ultimately, a republic is built on the bedrock of respect for institutions and the rule of law. At the end of a long, bitter political campaign the backers of the losing candidate go home peacefully only because they trust the result of the election and they respect the institutions of government. They do not concede and accept the rule of a party or individual they oppose out of fear. They do this because their belief in the sanctity of the system is more powerful than their belief in a political party or any one man.

"In America, this respect for our institutions and the rule of law is rapidly eroding. We are transitioning at breakneck pace from a democratic system to one based on mob violence and the abuse of the power of the state. If we cannot reverse this trend, we too will soon find that a republic we believed immortal is a thing of the past.

"The Democratic Party, increasingly under the control of oligarchs and ideologues, made a conscious decision years ago to seek political power via a variety of extra-legal mechanisms. Believing the ends justify the means, the Democrats decided that reliance upon free and fair elections was too risky and began to employ a series of measures that would allow them to seize and exercise power without the vagaries of free and fair elections:". . . Full article here...

Dem Rep Ocasio-Cortez Says Pro-Lifers Not Welcome In Today’s Far-Left Democrat Party…

Weasel Zippers

Democrat Reps Jackie Speier, Ayanna Pressley: Pro-Abortion Activists Need To “Armor Up” For “A War”…

Police in Riot Gear Arrive at Supreme Court As Crowd Grows and Is Spurred On by AOC  "Speaking through a public address system to protesters, Ocasio-Cortez called for abortion’s supporters to get “into the streets.”

Watch: AOC Says Govt Should Build Abortion Clinics On Federal Land In Red States…

"Civil war started over something similar to this…"

RealityBites by Broc Smith

Mayra Flores Says Yes, Nancy Pelosi Shoved Her Child During Photo-Op

But as Flores said, good on her daughter for standing in there like a champ. Flores herself shows that she’s not going to take things lying down, that she’s going to be vocal and she’s already not been shy about speaking out. 

 RedState  "When I first saw the video of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) appearing to shove the little daughter of Rep. Mayra Flores (R-TX) with her elbow during a photo-op for her swearing-in, I thought perhaps it was a manipulated video or maybe the angles weren’t clear. But then I saw a video taken from C-Span that seemed to show the same thing.

"As we reported, Nancy looks at her, moves her elbow, and the child moves to her right.

"Now Mayra Flores herself is confirming it. Actor James Woods commented on the incident and Flores responded."

I am so proud of my strong, beautiful daughter for not allowing this to faze her. She continued to smile and pose for the picture like a Queen.

No child should be pushed to the side for a photo op. PERIOD!! https://t.co/TA50EntDoq

— Mayra Flores For Congress 🇺🇸🦅 (@MayraFlores2022) June 27, 2022

 

Media no longer trying to deny hostility toward Republicans

 Eric Utter  "Mainstream media bloviators have increasingly begun to state that Republicans do not deserve equal coverage alongside their Democratic counterparts. These figures often falsely claim that Republicans seek to “end our democracy” and that they routinely traffic in falsehoods. Ergo, there’s no need to be fair and balanced.

"For example, on a recent edition of MSNBC's "The ReidOut,” Joy Reid and her guest, political analyst Mathew Dowd (Bush-Cheney 2004 chief strategist turned Democrat), preposterously asserted that media outlets in general were too neutral in their reporting on the Republican Party and should instead ramp up the hostility. Reid also urged reporters to "tell voters" that the GOP was a "threat" to freedom. 

"Remarkably, Reid queried Dowd on how the media might "get out" of this ill-advised "‘both sides’ trajectory.” Dowd replied that the media should start acting like they were living in a society that wasn't free -- and treat Republicans accordingly. Like state-run mouthpieces in Russia, China, and North Korea? Great idea!

"A week prior to the Reid-Dowd fiasco, CNN primetime host Don Lemon stated that journalists no longer live in a "Walter Cronkite society” and that he should therefore be able to “state [his] truth.”

"During a recent discussion with Los Angeles Times columnist Jackie Calmes (on her piece condemning "both-siderism”), CNN host Brian Stelter also questioned whether Republicans should be given the same coverage as Democrats. ". . .

Democrats; the party that destroyed America as a noble nation

Radical Leftists Attack Crisis Pregnancy Center... Try To Set Police On Fire... Multiple Arrests Made

..."The Los Angeles police department, rather than supporting their own officers who were brutally beaten and hospitalized, released a statement saying that the majority of the rioters were “peaceful” and thanking them for not engaging in violence.  Astounding.

The response comes as Los Angeles’ District Attorney, George Gascon, faces a recall effort for allowing violent crime to skyrocket due to his “soft on crime” policies.  Gascon has unsurprisingly received backing from progressive billionaire George Soros.". . .

The Pentagon Has Stated That Any Abortion Laws Enacted as a Result of the Supreme Court’s Decision Will Not Be Recognized

Two University of Georgia professors have published a map of pro-life clinics for their students to vandalize

Why are Democrats so violent when something doesn't go their way?  . . ."To waste life is inexplicably sad. But that is how the left sees human beings, as resources to forward their agenda. They may claim to want a classless society devoid of discrimination, but they are the biggest believers in a permanent hierarchies structure where they remain on top. The system will need a total overhaul for this madness to end."

Justice Clarence Thomas Had Predicted And Aspired To Achieve This Exact Reaction From Leftists

The Blue State Conservative

"Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, like most of us, is many things. Among others, Thomas is brilliant, prudent, hard-working, and deeply religious. He’s also been a painful thorn in the side of American leftists for over thirty years now. But something else Clarence Thomas is, obviously, is a human being, which means he’s someone who can be affected by traumatic and emotional experiences.

"There are many influences that can motivate us: Financial benefit, security for our families, and self-preservation are just a few. But there’s also the issue paybacks; vengeance. And sometimes revenge can be the strongest of all motivators. Such is the case, apparently, with Justice Thomas.

"What’s different about the vengeance which is driving Clarence Thomas’ is that it isn’t affecting his decision-making and jurisprudence. Quite the contrary. Justice Thomas is a staunch conservative and had been long before he was nominated to SCOTUS by President George H.W. Bush in 1991. Thomas isn’t casting votes with the goal of retaliation against political opponents, he’s conducting himself as he would have even if he hadn’t been brutally attacked during those Senate Confirmation Hearings over three decades ago. But the vengeance in Thomas’ heart isn’t driving him to stick it the left with hate-tinted legal opinions, it’s merely motivating his longevity.

"According to Business Insider:

“Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas told his law clerks he intended to serve on the highest court of the land to make the lives of liberals ‘miserable,’ according to a 1993 report from The New York Times.”

“In a conversation with his law clerks two years following his confirmation, The New York Times reported Thomas expressed his desire to serve on the court until the year 2034. ‘The liberals made my life miserable for 43 years,’ a former clerk remembered Thomas – who was 43 years old when confirmed – saying, according to The New York Times. ‘And I’m going to make their lives miserable for 43 years.’”

"By making leftists’ lives miserable, Thomas was undoubtedly referring to how he would vote on key issues being considered by the court, and using that criteria, Clarence Thomas has been remarkably effective and consistent. For thirty-one years now, Thomas has stuck to his Constitutional constructionist values. On issues ranging from religious freedom, government overreach, Second Amendment rights, and states’ autonomy, Thomas has served as a Justice committed to the true meaning of the Constitution, which is what brings that misery to our friends on the left. And Friday’s landmark ruling in the Dobbs V Jackson case may have been his most painful vote cast yet.". . .