Blinken, Biden Bromance?

Secretary of State Blinken Denies Role in Hunter Biden Russian Disinfo Letter: 'Wasn't My Idea' (resistthemainstream.com)  . . ."Last month, former CIA Deputy Director Michael Morrell testified before the House Judiciary and Intelligence Committees and revealed that Blinken was “the impetus” of the public statement signed in October 2020 that implied the laptop belonging to Hunter Biden was disinformation. Republican lawmakers said that based on Morell’s testimony, it is “apparent” that the Biden campaign “played an active role in the origins of the public statement, which had the effect of helping to suppress the Hunter Biden story and preventing American citizens from making a fully informed decision during the 2020 presidential election.' ” . . .

Secretary of State Blinken was embroiled in alleged attempt to influence US officials on Burisma | Daily Mail Online   . . ."Blinken has come under new scrutiny this month over his relationship with the Bidens, after the House Judiciary Committee received testimony that he helped orchestrate a letter by intelligence chiefs claiming Hunter's laptop was a Russian disinformation campaign just weeks before the 2020 election.

"The government and laptop emails obtained by DailyMail.com suggest Blinken, who was Joe's senior campaign advisor, his Vice Presidential National Security Advisor in the Obama administration and now Secretary of State, may have been more aware of Hunter's dealings than he has let on.". . .   Video

Blinken's and Wife's Emails to Hunter Biden Draw Fresh Scrutiny (breitbart.com)

. . ."GOP lawmakers recently revealed that former CIA Deputy Director Mike Morell testified that Blinken had reached out to him after the New York Post broke the story, which “triggered” him to spearhead an effort to cast the story as Russian disinformation.

"Now, Republicans are examining Blinken’s role in the effort, as well as emails that he and his wife, White House Executive Secretary Evan Ryan, sent to Hunter Biden, which were found on the laptop.

"Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI) told Fox News’ Sunday Morning Futures that Blinken had falsely claimed to them that he had “never” emailed Hunter Biden, but that emails from him and his wife show otherwise.

“ 'He said he did not email Hunter Biden, and now we have those emails. We also know that his wife, using her private email address when she was an employee of the State Department, was basically a conduit between her husband and Hunter Biden as well,” Johnson said.". . .

The Very Fabric of This Great Nation will be Torn in Ways That Can Not be Repaired

 Preservation of our First Amendment Rights is Paramount (substack.com)

There was an attempt on Justice Kavanaugh’s life. For which President Biden and the media were mostly silent. The Supreme justices must now travel in armoured cars and have full time security.

"After the leak of Justice’s Alito opinion on the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization case, there has been an organized campaign to attack the Supreme court’s legitimacy, which really began years ago. The Wall Street Journal writes:

But as the court has grown more conservative in recent years, the left has stepped up the attacks on the court’s “legitimacy,” including character assassination of individual justices, with little objection from mainstream Democrats and plenty of help from the media.

Justice Alito says “this type of concerted attack on the court and on individual justices” is “new during my lifetime. . . . We are being hammered daily, and I think quite unfairly in a lot of instances. And nobody, practically nobody, is defending us.

The idea has always been that judges are not supposed to respond to criticisms, but if the courts are being unfairly attacked, the organized bar will come to their defense.” Instead, “if anything, they’ve participated to some degree in these attacks.”

Judges are in a double bind: If they don’t respond, the attacks stand. If they do, they diminish the mystique on which judicial authority depends.

 "Although this article is in the Wall Street Journal, one could argue that for the most part, these attacks have come from almost all of the main stream media sources, not just the “left”. For instance, there are hit pieces calling for more oversight of the Supreme court and highlighted alleged ethics violations in Bloomberg, Yahoo News, as well as just about every legacy corporate media outlet that you can think of. One has to ask, has there been some sort of organizing element to these attacks on the Supreme court?". . .

Media's hate for Tucker Carlson is indescribable

 Media's hate for Tucker Carlson is indescribable (wnd.com)  "For most of us, the firing of Tucker Carlson by Fox News left us with a hole in our heart and our lives – much like the untimely death of Rush Limbaugh. The only difference was one hour a day versus three hours a day to look forward to.

"But for the fake media and Big Tech, the censorious class, they were beside themselves; they got what they wanted. In their eyes, it was like a dream-come-true, what they had been hoping for, longing for, yearning for.

"How else can you characterize the hateful reviews of what he said day after day as the only Big League journalist and commentator walking out of step with the crowd? Honestly, they will soon have nothing else talk about and write about – nothing left about which their spleens could hope to ooze more toxic bile. They're like the walking dead. They got their victim – but there's nothing left to eat.

"Who am I talking about?

"Well, most of you probably didn't have time to keep up with all of Tucker's detractors. They were legion.

"Let's start with Diana Falzone and Asawin Suebsaeng of the distinguished journal Rolling Stone. They recently breathlessly assembled a hit piece on Tucker headlined "Fox Has a Secret 'Oppo File' to Keep Tucker Carlson in Check, Sources Say."

"Fox News executives have in their possession a dossier of alleged dirt on Tucker Carlson should he attack the network in the wake of his departure, eight sources at and close to the network tell Rolling Stone," they wrote. "When Fox announced Carlson's departure on (last) Monday, the network presented the separation as amicable. But according to one former on-air Fox personality, the anchor and some of the channel's top executives are parting ways on 'the worst' and 'messiest possible terms.' Indeed, in private communications released last month as part of the Dominion-Fox lawsuit, the now-fired Fox host gossiped that one such exec 'hates us,' claiming she was covertly working against him and other hosts. But if Carlson attempts to torch the network he's leaving, Fox is prepared, the sources say.". . .

Political Cartoons Daily & Weekly – Townhall

CULTURAL DECLINE: The Writers’ Strikeout; Will anyone even notice if Hollywood’s writers go missing?

The American Spectator | USA News and Politics"  I hear there’s another writers’ strike about to hit Hollywoke. Once upon a time this was a big deal. When the entertainment business actually entertained. When people of different ideologies could share movies and television shows that tilted left but still had crossover appeal. When you could enjoy a late-night comedy talk show like Johnny Carson, Jay Leno, and Conan O’Brien and laugh, even when they made fun of your side, because they were comic purists, who lampooned the other side as well.

"I still remember a classic Carson skit mocking Joe Biden’s first ill-fated run for president in 1987. The then semi-articulate yet empty-suit senator was accused of plagiarizing speeches by genuinely eloquent politicians, like UK Labour Party leader Neil Kinnock and RFK. Carson joked, “And Biden said not to worry. He reassured his staff, he said, ‘We have nothing to fear but fear itself.’”

"A vast portion of young people today — which includes many TV-film writers — wouldn’t get the gag. They weren’t taught actual American history, such as FDR’s 1933 speech uplifting citizens during the Great Depression, when he said, “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.” But they might believe the country began in 1619, with the arrival of the first slave ship. Because Critical Race Theory bunk like Nikole Hannah-Jones’ The 1619 Project is being taught in schools.

"The idea of a TV host ribbing a Democrat — regardless of how big a joke he (the President) or she (the Vice President) may be — would also be unfathomable to today’s youth. They’ve never seen such a thing, only lame “clapter”-inducing shots at conservatives. But one thing’s for sure, any late-night comedy monologue devoid of WGA-level (Writers Guild of America) writing will be just as painfully unfunny as the professional variety. To paraphrase song lyrics from the 1959 Best Picture Oscar winner, Gigi — humor, ah yes — I remember it well.". . .

How do we know who runs America and their quality?

We are being hit from a thousand directions. It's all about weakening and destroying America while giving the advantage to China and the CCP.  Wayne Allyn Root

We All Know Biden Is Not in Charge; So, Who Is Really Running the Country? The Answer Will Shock You (townhall.com)

 After Obama, here is No. 2: But make no mistake, Obama isn't the boss, either. Evil billionaire George Soros is giving Obama his marching orders. In the end, money talks. Soros has all the money in the world, along with a burning passion to destroy America. Obama takes his marching orders from Soros. Obama is Soros' little b---.

Joe Biden's Advisers Come from the Obama White House - The New York Times (nytimes.com)

But in the day-to-day practice of honing his campaign platform and sharpening his economic policy views, Mr. Biden has leaned on a small team of center-left advisers who are largely veterans of past Democratic campaigns, presidential administrations or both.

 Obama boosts Biden’s reelection bid: ‘Let’s get to work’ | The Hill   . . ."An NBC News poll published Sunday found 70 percent of Americans and 51 percent of Democrats don’t think Biden should run for reelection in 2024. The same poll found 60 percent of Americans and roughly one-third of Republicans do not think Trump should run again.

"But Biden currently appears to be facing only marginal opposition for the Democratic nomination, including from self-help author Marianne Williamson and environmental lawyer and anti-vaccine activist Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. 

"Early polling has shown President Biden with massive leads over the two of them.". . .

Who is running for president in 2024 and who might run - ABC News (go.com)

Thoughts on our ruling class monoculture

  And on what to do about it. Plus a request for further ideas.(substack.com)

"Our modern ruling class is peculiar.  One of its many peculiarities is its penchant for fads, and what can only be called mass hysteria.  Repeatedly, we see waves in which something that nobody much cared about suddenly comes to dominate ruling class discourse.  Almost in synchrony, a wide range of institutions begin to talk about it, and to be preoccupied by it, even as every leading figure virtue-signals regarding this subject which, only a month or two previously, hardly any of them even knew about, much less cared about.

"There are several factors behind this, but one of the most important, I think, is that our ruling class is a monoculture.". . .

. . ."Today’s ruling class, from Boston to San Diego, was formed by an educational system that exposed them to the same ideas and gave them remarkably uniform guidance, as well as tastes and habits. These amount to a social canon of judgments about good and evil, complete with secular sacred history, sins (against minorities and the environment), and saints. Using the right words and avoiding the wrong ones when referring to such matters — speaking the “in” language — serves as a badge of identity. . ."

The diversity masquerade

Our ruling class is particularly vulnerable to mind viruses for several reasons.  First, it is a monoculture, so that what is persuasive to one member is likely to be persuasive to many.

The New Criterion

On the conformity behind the mask.

"We have often remarked in this space on the great irony that while the word “diversity” is repeated everywhere, its opposite, a stultifying homogeneity, is the reality that is actually enforced “on the ground.” 

"Our educational institutions offer the classic example. Is there any self-respecting college or university that doesn’t tout its commitment to “diversity” these days? You cannot scan any standard college’s promotional literature, let alone set foot on its campus, without being inundated by assurances that diversity is its most cherished value, the cynosure to which every other pursuit is subordinated.

"But when you look at what the colleges really teach and preach (and how much of their teaching is in fact only a secular preaching, that is, a species of indoctrination), it turns out that rigid conformity is the order of the day. We used to titter that there were people whose title was some variation of “dean of diversity.” “You’re kidding, right?” was the response. “What does a dean of diversity do?”

"No one is laughing now. Last month, we commented on how an associate dean of diversity, equity, and inclusion comported herself at Stanford Law School, joining in with student protestors to upstage and denounce Judge Kyle Duncan. That incident, captured on video, immediately went viral on the internet, embarrassing Stanford authorities and precipitating a certain amount of handwringing from the citadels of wokeness across the country. Will that pushback yield any meaningful change? We doubt it. Despite the browbeating, the woke consensus continues its reign undaunted if not quite unopposed.". . .

American Universities Have Lost Their Prestige | National Review

 Victor Davis Hanson

Today’s universities and colleges bear little if any resemblance to postwar higher education.

A man walks through Georgetown University's campus

"Nothing is stranger than the contemporary American university.

"Not long ago, Americans used to idolize their universities. Indeed, in science, math, engineering, medicine, and business, many of these meritocratic departments and schools remain among the top-ranked in the world.

"Top-notch higher education explains much of the current scientific, technological, and commercial excellence of the United States.

"After World War II — won in part because of superior American scientific research, production, and logistics — a college degree became a prerequisite for a successful career. The GI Bill enabled some 8 million returning vets to go to college. Most graduated to good jobs.

"The university from the late 1940s to 1960 was a rich resource of continuing education. It introduced the world’s great literature, from Homer to Tolstoy, to the American middle classes.

"But today’s universities and colleges bear little if any resemblance to post-war higher education. Even during the tumultuous 1960s, when campuses were plagued by radical protests and periodic violence, there was still institutionalized free speech. An empirical college curriculum mostly survived the chaos of the ’60s.

"But it is gone now." . . .

REPORT: Rupert Murdoch Held Secret Meeting With Zelenskyy Before Tucker Firing

 Trending Politics  "The owner of Fox News and his son, a top deputy, held two previously undisclosed meetings with Ukraine’s president shortly before firing host Tucker Carlson – who is vehemently critical of the U.S. sending aid to the Ukrainians.

"Semafor broke the news that Fox Corporation owner Rupert Murdoch and his son Lachlan allegedly met with Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelenskyy and held two separate calls to discuss the ongoing war and the death of a Fox journalist killed in action. While Carlson, who has vocally opposed efforts to transfer billions of dollars in foreign aid to the country, was not mentioned on the calls by Zelenskyy, he has been criticized by some of the president’s top deputies.

"Speculation has mounted that some of the former host’s opinions had gotten him in trouble with the Murdoch family, especially as it relates to Ukraine and other foreign policy matters such as U.S. business relationships with China, which has provided tacit support to Russia during its attempt to seize neighboring Ukraine.

"Former President Donald Trump, as well as Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, a likely contender for the GOP nomination, have both aligned with the anti-war wing of the GOP where support for Carlson remains high." . . .

Lawrence Jones stepping in for Tucker Carlson at Fox News next week https://t.co/aAgT3Chon0 pic.twitter.com/Oj2e93A93I

— Page Six (@PageSix) April 28, 2023

Democrat apparatchiks try to gaslight voters about Biden -

 

Andrea Widburg  "Since Biden put out a carefully curated video saying he’s going to run again, Democrat operatives have been doing the media rounds trying to gaslight the public into believing that Biden is a resilient, brilliant, energetic, hard-driving leader. They know that true believers and those vulnerable to propaganda, or those cowed into pretending they believe it, make it possible to justify an election outcome even more improbable than that in 2020.

"The movie Gaslight, which debuted 79 years ago, added a new verb to the American vocabulary: “To gaslight.” In the movie, which is set in Victorian London, Gregory Anton (Charles Boyer) tries to convince his wife, Paula Alquist (Ingrid Bergman), that she is crazy so that he can institutionalize her and gain control over her home and fortune. He does this by hiding things and denying events, leaving Paula doubting her grasp on reality. Thus, to gaslight someone doesn’t mean simply lying to them; it means manipulating facts to make the other person doubt reality.

"There’s lots of gaslighting going on in America. The most obvious example, of course, is that we’re being told there is no such thing as biological sex. The facts belie that, but even our children are being told to deny the evidence of their own eyes.". . .

Newt Gingrich warns GOP that Michelle Obama may run for president to avoid ‘kamikaze’ Biden re-election effort - American Thinker

. . ."But getting rid of an incumbent president is difficult, and replacing a black and female running mate is difficult, to say the east. Even worse, the only serious challenger within the party, Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., is unacceptably hostile to the pharma and corporate interests that supply the endless money that buys victory for the Democrats.

"The need a deus ex machina: an outside actor with the kind of force that changes everything; and Newt Gingrich thinks they may have one in Michelle Obama. Despite her well-known aversion to politics, her recent tour with Bruce Springsteen and Steven Spielberg, appearing before thousands onstage playing a tambourine, has convinced Newt that she may be stepping up to save the party and its totalitarian goals for the next presidential cycle. Partial transcript via Gateway Pundit:". . .

CNN Panelist Drops the Hard Truth About Biden's Speech at the White House Correspondents Dinner –

  RedState

"It’s a sad state of affairs because the nation actually could benefit from a journalistic establishment that valued its role in holding power to account. We don’t have that, though. Instead, we have a press establishment that is simply an extension of the Democratic Party."

"Not a joke!"

"Saturday night’s White House Correspondents Dinner was exactly what you’d expect it to be. Namely, it was a partisan cluster filled with journalists cosplaying as celebrities that seal-clapped for Joe Biden even as he mocked them for their slavish devotion. Well, it was that and also yet another example of the president’s ever-diminishing mental capacity.

"The pathetic nature of that scene wasn’t lost on everyone, though. Scott Jennings, who offered his critique on CNN of all places, pointed out how pathetic it was for the press to clap along to a president making fun of the fact that they are completely in the tank.

.@ScottJenningsKY on Biden taunting reporters tonight by joking that he never takes their questio ns: "He wasn't laughing with you, he was laughing at you. I mean, the reality is, I think he's mocking the press. The guy does not take questions, & he's up there joking about it. pic.twitter.com/Bq71ynzzU6

— Kevin Tober (@KevinTober94) April 30, 2023

. . ." Jennings’ commentary was made even more impactful by the fact that the rest of the panelists were drooling over Biden’s speech. They should feel as betrayed and belittled as those who watched the president mock them in person."

WATCH: Biden's Latest Alzheimer's Moment Is Actually Very Sad – PJ Media  . . ."He was ostensibly — as evidenced by the cadets holding the items out apparently in anticipation of handing them off — supposed to take the signed football, the helmet, and the jersey of memorabilia. Instead, he took the jersey, stared into the abyss for a few moments, and wandered away aimlessly while the visibly confused crowd looked on.". . .

Joe Biden hosted the football team today! He was to be presented with a ball signed by the team, a helmet and a football jersey with his name on it. But Biden grabbed only a sweater and began to wander, looking for a way out. pic.twitter.com/z7tJONIp81

— Spriter (@Spriter99880) April 29, 2023

. . ."I dislike Biden passionately — corrupt sellout careerist goon that he has always been — but stuff like this stirs some sort of sympathy for him, and that makes me uncomfortable. I don’t want to feel those sorts of things toward a creature like Biden". . . 

CNN Analyst Breaks Bad News to Press After WHCD: Biden ‘Wasn’t Laughing With You, He Was Laughing AT You’ (msn.com)  Video

Ousted From Fox, Tucker Carlson Still Misleads His Viewers

Nonetheless, he is correct that we lack legitimate debate about crucial issues today. But his rationale is backward.

  The Lid (lidblog.com)   "This discourse occurred mere hours before Carlson, in his first utterance since being dismissed by Fox News, tweeted out a video arguing that he now realizes how “unbelievably stupid most of the debates you see on television are.”

"Did Carlson ever comprehend this during his long career across multiple networks? The disingenuous statement came roughly 48 hours after Fox axed him. His lack of respect for the intelligence of his viewers remains troubling.

"Carlson went on to claim that “the undeniably big topics, the ones that will define our future, get virtually no discussion at all. War, civil liberties, emerging science, demographic change, corporate power, natural resources—when did you hear a legitimate debate about any of those issues? It’s been a long time. Debates like that are not permitted in American media. Both political parties and their donors have reached a consensus on what benefits them, and they actively collude to shut down any conversation about it.”. . .

. . ."We don’t live in a “one-party state,” as Carlson and his acolytes claim. We live in tribal bubbles, and yes, media corporations like the ones Carlson took gobs of money from do cater to the tastes of bubble-dwelling viewers who seek performative politics over substance. Want a substantive debate? Read a Substack, turn on any of the stellar podcasts out there, or visit a think tank event. Don’t visit a college campus or watch primetime cable news.". . .

The Fox host's own actions set his dismissal from the network in motion.

Fox was following best business practices. | @NoahCRothman https://t.co/C2xrya5utQ

— National Review (@NRO) April 27, 2023

 Elites Mock Tucker Carlson at Nerd Prom White House Correspondents' Dinner (breitbart.com)