There’s More To Story Than ‘Climate Change’ — The Media Must Keep Pushing And Asking Questions About The Lahaina Fires

 Issues & Insights  

 "The legacy media, quick to attribute every natural disaster to climate change, has actually done some good reporting recently on the tragic wildfires that destroyed the town of Lahaina and killed probably more than 100 people as many are still missing. Media reports were not so honest at first.

In the initial days after Lahaina burned, of course, outlets like The New York Times breathlessly said climate change made Hawaii “a tinderbox.”

This is despite the fact that, regardless of the public perception of Hawaii that the Times authors give, “a far cry from the dry landscape normally associated with fire threats,” the island state is actually one of the most fire-prone in the country. This is due in large part to its unique geography, which allows eastern trade winds to dump water on the eastern volcanic slopes – leading to the familiar verdant rainforest. But the western sides of Maui and the other islands in the chain are a lot drier naturally, and are home to dry grassy hills.

This effect was compounded by a passing hurricane to the south. Because the wind goes from a high-pressure zone to a lower-pressure zone, the low pressures of Hurricane Dora far to the south aided in the accelerated downhill wind speeds on Maui. These high, dry winds knocked around power cables that may have led to the initial sparks, which were then turned into firestorms that swept downhill and through town. 

Hawaiians Let Joe Biden Have It in Brilliant Response to His Take on Maui Fire –

  RedState

"We've seen a lot of reactions from folks in Maui who have not been happy with the response from the local and the federal government, and particularly not with the response of Joe Biden, to the disastrous fire that hit the area and killed at least 115 people, with many more still missing. 

"We saw protesters line the roads to tell Biden he was "late," and with signs saying "no comment" -- reflecting what Biden said when he was asked about the number of dead in the Maui fire while he was onone of his many vacations in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware. They even gave him the finger and yelled, "F**k you!" as Biden rode by. That was after the no comment, laughing, and not even getting the name of the island the fire was on correct. 

"Then, after Biden spoke on the island, he made it even worse. He botched the names of the officials, and he claimed the response had been great when it had all kinds of problems. He looked like he was completely zoning out and made inappropriate jokes. But perhaps worst of all, he then made their disaster all about himself, comparing the situation to the time that he had a small kitchen fire at his house. He falsely claimed he had "almost lost" his wife, his 67 Corvette, and his cat.

"Not surprisingly, it just infuriated a lot of people that, on top of everything else, this guy showed up for a photo-op, made that disgusting statement, and then high-tailed it out of there about five hours later, back to his vacation in Lake Tahoe. Some, like Kristen Goodwin, who is a Democrat, said that there were "no words in response to something like that." She said that she wouldn't be voting for him again, that she'd even vote for Trump rather than him, after this." . . . 

Stilton's Place: Ash Not What Your Country Can Do For You (stiltonsplace.blogspot.com)

"Mainstream media pundits were recently taken aback when it became utterly and finally clear that President Joe Biden has now reached mental depths so low that he can't even respond to the easiest questions imaginable.

"As a case in point, a reporter asked Biden for remarks about the holocaust-style wildfire in Maui that incinerated at least 99 innocent victims with over 1000 people still missing and 75% of the burned-out ruins unsearched.

"Even a brain-injured sloth would have said something like "my heart goes out to the victims and their families" or "As a people, all of America feels this pain and all of us will work to rebuild these homes and lives" or "I will do everything in my power to bring comfort and relief to all who were affected by this tragedy."  Or if he wasn't feeling voluble, how about "it's very sad" or "terrible, just terrible."

"But instead, Joe only fired back "No comment!" and flashed a disturbing grin before wandering off aimlessly. 

"Following this same strategy, condolence card makers like Hallmark are now well-positioned to save rivers of ink when the front of a card says "On the passing of your Mother..." and the inside just says "No Comment." . . .

The ghouls of MSNBC

Watch: MSNBC Obsessively Talks About 'Racism' Every Single Day in April (breitbart.com)

David X. Henry   

Funny that MSNBC still presents Joy Reid as a "racial conscience," considering she was unanimously condemned by both parties for the ugly racism she's hurled at Clarence Thomas. But to MSNBC's president (

@RJonesNews

), that's the "right kind" of racism.

 'Insufferably stupid and malicious': Joy Reid DRAGGED for RACIST take on Trump's mug shot (watch) – Twitchy

"People like Trump persecuted Black and brown people in New York. It's what they did for fun, it's what they did for pleasure," Reid says. "To me, this is justice.@JoyAnnReid recounts how Trump wanted the exonerated Central Park Five dead. pic.twitter.com/KPgCKoSaao

— MSNBC (@MSNBC) August 25, 2023

The Reaction of MSNBC's Nicole Wallace to Trump's GA Booking Shows What Ghouls They Truly Are – RedState    . . ."But you have to hand it to Trump. He flipped the script on them. He came back to Twitter with a big message posting the mugshot and calling out the "election interference." He also said, "Never Surrender."  CNN detailed their fears that he was going to use it for fundraising, and it's hilarious that's exactly what he's doing. He has t-shirts, mugs, and even bumper stickers with it. He's got it up on his website. So the left's desire for the scalp has resulted in a flood of support for his campaign. Talk about karma. "

  . . . "As Bill D'Agostino observed in that tweet, she's a ghoul if she thinks this is funny and that Trump going to a violent jail is something to laugh at. Who thinks that way? Talk about a garbage reaction. She also doesn't seem to get that this doesn't reflect well on the officials who are trying to go after Trump, that they have a facility in such shape. 

"Many called out what a despicable reaction this was, not only because of Trump, but how the deaths were just used as a foil to foster the Trump hate. 

"People like Trump? What exactly does she mean by that? White people? White men? Wealthy white men? Does she realize he was a Democrat in the 80s when the Central Park Five tragedy took place? 

"She's just so bad at all of this. 

"And yet, MSNBC keeps her on."

HOW MANY FREAKS WERE ON FULTON COUNTY GRAND JURY? UPDATED

An ethical prosecutor would have made sure this 30-year-old child did not become a juror. THAT is what the voir dire process is for.  But ethics did not hinder Fulton County DA Fani Willis in her pursuit to “get Trump.”

HOW MANY FREAKS WERE ON FULTON COUNTY GRAND JURY? (substack.com)  "When we watched Jury Foreman Emily Kohrs’ bizarre performances on one hate-Trump “news” show after another in February, my husband turned to me and said: “Out of 23 jurors couldn’t they have chosen a sane person to be the foreman?”  We assumed that members of the jury chose their own foreman, as they do for jury trials in most states.  We later learned that grand jury foremen are chosen at random in Georgia, much like wearing a blindfold while one chooses a rotten apple out of the barrel.  No brains needed.

"An ethical prosecutor would have made sure this 30-year-old child did not become a juror. THAT is what the voir dire process is for.  But ethics did not hinder Fulton County DA Fani Willis in her pursuit to “get Trump.” Raised in Washington DC by an “old style” terrorist, a Black Panther (her father), Willis became a hate-filled “social justice warrior” as a child.  Now that the 98-page indictment has been issued will this yellow-toothed, self-proclaimed witch, Emily Kohrs, make the rounds of TV studios again?  My husband and I are waiting anxiously for her return performances.

"Within days of being sworn in as district attorney in January 2021, Willis started her investigation to “get Trump.” She assembled the grand jury in May 2022. Trump declared his candidacy in November 2022, so the race was on to get the indictment issued so the trial process would take him off the campaign trail.

"In order to obtain an indictment, it only takes 12 out of the 23 jurors to vote “yes, we need to indict the leading 2024 presidential candidate and his attorneys.”  [His attorneys? This has never been done before and will be the topic of a future article.] One wonders how many jurors voted for Trump in 2016 and/or 2020.  When selecting the jury, did the prosecutor ask them?  Did this unethical prosecutor dismiss all Trump voters from the jury pool? . . ."

Update:  House Republicans Turn Tables On Fani Willis - She Is Finished - YouTube

Tucker Carlson asks Trump about his enemies in preview of bombshell interview to run at the same time as the Republican debate: 'Are you worried that they are going to try to kill you?'

Daily Mail Online  "Donald Trump called his critics 'savages' and claimed his opponents will try and 'steal' the election again in the preview of his interview with Tucker Carlson - which will run at the same time as the Republican presidential debate.

"Former Fox News host Carlson asked the former president if the U.S. is heading towards a civil war and if he was worried his enemies want to kill him in the first clip of their conversation that will air at 9pm.

"Trump told Carlson he doesn't think President Joe Biden will 'make it' when asked about his health and also accused Mitch McConnell of trying to whip up support to impeach him. 

"That is a reference to Trump's former vice president, who is on the debate stage, polling in the low single digits, but vigorously denying Trump's claims he had the ability to reject votes certified by the states on January 6.

"Early snippets indicate Trump plans to rail against his usual enemies. He claims Senate Majority leader Mitch McConnell, who voted against his impeachment twice, was whipping votes in favor of it. He said McConnell was 'trying to get senators to impeach me.'

" 'I don’t think he’s going to make it to the gate but you never know,' he says about President Joe Biden, 80, in a remark that appears to indicate he believes his chief rival won't survive." . . .

Who Won the Debate Last Night?

 "Nikki Haley is a shrill, establishment harridan who kept playing the woman card. Speaking as a woman, I was not impressed. When she ridiculed Vivek Ramaswamy’s lack of foreign policy chops, all I could think of was that she’s someone who supports Biden’s foreign policy. What’s that say about her chops?"  Andrea Widberg

Some thoughts, all cynical and sour, about the Republican debate - Andrea Widberg  "So, I sat through all two hours of the debate amongst the Republican primary candidates, although I was very irked by Larry Elder’s absence. Having said that, he didn’t miss much. It was like watching a junior high school debate, complete with the cool kids asking stupid questions and the geeks fighting on the stage. I hated every minute of it, thought it was embarrassing for all involved, and found it insulting to the American voters.

"If you want details about questions and answers, you’ll find them elsewhere. These are just my impressions."

"As is the case every election cycle, the format is appalling. It caters to the media’s assumption that voters cannot hold anything in their brains for more than a minute or two. They think we’re stupid, and the format is set up to cater to that. It’s cruel to legitimate candidates to force them to address complex issues in one-minute soundbites, and it deprives the American people of important information. It’s such a degradation of real political debate." . . .  

Most importantly, every person on that stage other than Vivek believes that you just need to take the government and steer it correctly to fix things. They remind me of American communists who promise we’ll be nothing like the Soviet Union. “Communism,” they insist, “was just never done right.” Every candidate essentially said, “Big government can be done right.” Vivek is the only one who understands that it can’t, that it is fundamentally antithetical to liberty.

Who Won the Debate Last Night? (townhall.com)    . . ."Just left a debate watch event with a few hundred conservative Wisconsin voters. I asked for some show-of-hands responses, then worked the room for more context and color. A few takeaways:

- Notable positive response for Nikki Haley, especially from women

- DeSantis helped himself, particularly by highlighting his record of getting things done. Still lacks a lighter touch, but that’s just him

- Vivek polarizing. Some loved much of what he said, but also thought he was too glib and too cocky at times 

- People like Tim Scott, but thought he was flat 

- Some grudging respect for Pence and Christie on certain things, but no support 

- Burgum/Asa not a factor

- Trump fans in the house were unmoved from supporting him

"My bottom line: DeSantis & Haley may have gained some momentum, but the primary’s overall trajectory wasn’t noticeably altered, which is a win for the status quo…and therefore the far-ahead, no-show frontrunner.". . .

 DeSantis: High stakes, solid performance.  He steered nearly every question to his record, taking command on certain questions (his handling of the climate change raise-your-hand moment was intriguing) and accentuating his strengths.  Multiple good answers, no bad ones.  If I recall correctly, despite some needling and provocations, he never 'punched down' at anyone else, only attacking the Left.  That showed discipline.  

Maui Tragedy Makes a Strong Pro-Second Amendment Point –

  PJ Media

“ 'Trust the government” — at any level — isn’t a wise policy. It’s best to be ready for the worst, especially now. The more that American society breaks down due to the failure of the bureaucracy and our increasingly pro-criminal institutions, the wiser it is for us to do everything we can to protect the ones we love."

. . ."While catching up yesterday and reading about how horribly wrong things have been going in Maui, I immediately found myself back in the throes of being infuriated by the unholy alliance between leftist American politicians and the enemy of the people media.

Hawaii isn’t just run by leftists, it’s under the control of far, far-left ideologues. If there is a bad decision to be made in the service of the Climate Cult, it’ll be made. As Rick pointed out in a post yesterday, that seemed to play a big part in this tragedy:

About 85% of wildfires are human-caused — not by carbon emissions but by failure to take precautions around fire sources, according to the National Parks Service. In the case of the Maui fires, it was a perfect storm of conditions that included severe drought and high winds driven by an offshore hurricane. The spark was apparently supplied by a downed power line that ignited the bone-dry brush, causing the fire to whip across the island at 60 MPH.

The Hawaiian state government had been so busy trying to achieve its renewable goals that it downplayed the risk of wildfires. In the end, it cost them.

Republican debate descends into a SQUABBLE: Chris Christie rips 'amateur' Vivek Ramaswamy as a guy who 'sounds like ChatGPT' as GOP rivals attack each other, DeSantis slams Biden's Maui response and Fox anchors have to stop interruptions |

  Daily Mail Online   

"The first Republican primary debate descended into chaos on Wednesday night with candidates shouting over each other and clashing on issues from climate change to January 6th to Ukraine funding and Donald Trump.

"The stakes were high as the eight candidates searched for a breakout, viral moment that would spark their campaigns and give them some momentum to catch up with Trump, who leads by more than 40 points in polls.

"Vivek Ramaswamy was called an 'amateur' and a 'rookie' and attacked from all his opponents on stage during furious confrontations.

President Joe Biden was targeted with DeSantis tearing into his response to the Maui wildfires during the first Republican primary debate on Wednesday night.

'Biden was on the beach while those people were suffering,' the Florida governor said in a response to question on climate change.

'He was asked about it and said no comment. Are you kidding me? As somebody that has handled disasters in Florida you have to be activated. You have to be there, present and helping people who are doing.'

Biden visited Maui on Monday to see the devastation from the wildfires but was criticized when he tried to relate to the victims by dredging up his own family tragedy and talking about a decades-old kitchen fire in his home. Ahead of his visit he was heavily criticized for not commenting on the disaster while he was on a beach vacation.

But Biden, who is the man the Republicans want to replace in the White House, wasn't the main target of the night. Nor was Donald Trump, who is leading the other Republican contenders by double digits in the polls for the GOP presidential nomination." . . .

California Church Sues Government Over Alleged ‘Spying’ on Worshippers

 California Church Sues Government Over Alleged ‘Spying’ on Worshippers › American Greatness (amgreatness.com)  "On Tuesday, a California church that had previously been ordered to pay over $1.2 million in fines to the state government filed a lawsuit in federal court, claiming that the local government spied on its worshippers.

"Fox News reports that the Calvary Chapel San Jose, led by Pastor Mike McClure, alleges that officials in Santa Clara County utilized the Colorado-based company SafeGraph to engage in “an invasive and warrantless geofencing operation to track residents” without their knowledge. The lawsuit was filed on the church’s behalf by the advocacy group Advocates for Faith & Freedom.

“ 'Geofencing” refers to a location-based tool that is often used by the government to track someone through their cell phone data. In this case, the lawsuit alleges, the local government spied on cell phones located in the vicinity of the church to determine who were regular church-goers.

“ 'This operation took place over a year with seemingly no oversight, boundaries, or limitations – meaning the Defendants could track churchgoers in the sanctuary, prayer room, or bathroom,” the lawsuit states.

“ 'This type of expansive geofencing operation is not only an invasion of privacy, but represents a terrifying precedent if allowed to go unaddressed,” the lawsuit continues. “As it stands, the Defendants are effectively arguing that, as long as they call it research, any level of government can target and spy on any individual or group at any time for any duration, and, if they so choose, they can wield the collected data against said individuals or groups who oppose their orders. This is not just un-American; it is downright Orwellian.” . . .

Why We Won’t Be Watching: Here Are 10 Questions That Won’t Be Asked Tonight at the GOP Debate on FOX News

 The Gateway Pundit | by Jim Hoft  . . ."There are several reasons why you might want to skip the GOP debate and instead tune in to Twitter-X and Tucker Carlson’s interview with President Donald Trump. The most important reason is that the debate will likely be a waste of time and the candidates will not be asked the important questions concerning the future of the United States. Here are 10 questions that will not be asked of the GOP candidates tonight at the Republican presidential debate."

1.) If one NATO country blows up the gas pipeline of a second NATO country is thi s an act of war? Or are you cool with that?

2.) Do you believe mysterious deliveries of thousands of ballots in the middle of the night following a presidential election when the GOP candidate is winning by over 100,000 votes is a quality of free and fair elections?

3.) Do you agree with Chris Wray and Brad Raffensperger that feeding stacks of ballots through voting machines three times a piece in the dead of night and then handing them to a fellow worker to run the same ballots through his machine should be allowed in free and fair elections?

4.) What is your plan to help the January 6 prisoners? Should Trump supporters be forced into prison closet cells in isolation for five months without trial?

5.) Who is Rosanne Boyland and how did she die?

6.) How many Trump supporters were killed on January 6? How many police officers were killed on January 6?

7.) Why have you said nothing about President Trump being indicted on speech crimes? Do you agree with the Democrats and elites that speech should now be criminalized?

8.) Do you agree with legal scholar Fani Willis that she should be allowed to hold a show trial with all 19 Trump associates in a courtroom at once and try them for their unwillingness to accept the results of the 2020 election?

9.) Does it concern you at all that Democrats are running the worst president in history, with severe dementia, who is tearing the country apart for reelection? A man who has no support and is not out campaigning — and they don’t appear to be worried about it at all?

10.) Will you finish building the Trump border wall?

4th Trump Indictment is as Legally Weak and Contrived as the First 3

 ALEXANDER: (thehayride.com)

That is why a legally weak and politically motivated indictment is poisonous to the core of a functioning democracy, not least because the mere bringing of the indictment—the mere casting of the stone alone—does great damage to an individual’s reputation whether the stone hits its target or not.  Harm, almost always irreparably, is done.

"There were others indicted this past week in Georgia—several of them attorneys who have represented Pres. Trump—but because all of this is about politically destroying Trump, his case is the one I’m going to focus on.

"I would preface my analysis by suggesting that by indicting these other individuals, the prosecution is likely “chilling” them … making them very reluctant to be available as witnesses for Pres. Trump in his defense case.  The reason being that a witness who has been indicted themselves would be worrying about being cross-examined by a prosecutor in Trump’s case and possibly damaging the indicted person’s own criminal case.

"Such a move by the prosecution is not unprecedented but it adds to the highly politicized nature of what many are already calling a “show trial.”  (I’ll leave for another day how such a tactic is not “obstruction of justice” and/or “tampering with witnesses” by the prosecution because you could argue that it is).

"The statute being used here is Georgia’s RICO law which generally mirrors the federal RICO (Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act) statute which was originally created to catch Mafia bosses but has often been twisted by prosecutors into a legal “hammer,” and used to charge multiple, often-attenuated criminal offenses.  A RICO case requires a “shared enterprise”—like a business—and the combination of, for example, an attorney and his client has never been legally construed as an “enterprise,” nor is there an easily identifiable group here allegedly participating in one." . . .

Donald Trump arrest: Charges against the former president are weak and dangerous (afr.com)

The upshot is that the timing of the hush-money charges against Trump might be potentially putting US democracy in more danger, not less. No one should be above prosecution. But prosecutorial discretion, properly exercised, might have enabled Trump to be charged with his more serious crimes first, rather than muddying the waters of the criminal process as the hush-money charges may do.

Bruce Springsteen’s hometown loses its last major factory, outsourced to Mexico and Brazil.

These Jobs Are Going, Boys - The American Conservative

"In June 22, after months of negotiation, Nestlé announced its decision to close its last coffee-making plant in the United States. Production will be outsourced to Mexico and Brazil. By the official close date of November 17, almost all 227 employees in Freehold, New Jersey, will have lost their jobs. 

"This year would have marked the plant’s 75th anniversary. Over the course of three-quarters of a century, generations of Americans from Freehold have seen their town’s manufacturing rise and fall. It started with the closing of the Karagheusian Rug Mill in 1964. “Foreman says, ‘These jobs are going, boys / and they ain’t coming back to your hometown,’” goes the 1984 Bruce Springsteen hit “My Hometown.” Springsteen grew up in Freehold and his father worked at the mill.

"In 1986, 3M Company shut down its plant, eliminating 360 jobs. As the town’s last major manufacturing site, the closing of the Nestlé plant will complete Freehold’s transition to a service-dominated economy.

"While Nestlé is heading to Mexico, the workers they currently employ are not. I spoke with them during their shift changes and on their breaks. On thermoplastic picnic tables and flimsy monobloc chairs, these men shared their struggle. “I’ll be 60 in October. Now I gotta go look for another job. It’s depressing,” says Joe. “I can’t say, they always should be here forever. You know, nothing’s forever anymore, I guess, man—the way we live in this country.”

" 'You can’t say that they haven’t been good to you over the years. You earned a living here and you did really well here,” he says. Joe has worked at the plant for 25 years. A lot of the men were frustrated at the lack of regard for their years of sacrifice. “Birthdays, holidays, everything you could think of, we’re here. You missed it all. And now it’s like, all right, now go to the street. Now find a new job.” One worker sent me a picture of the “Nestlé 2020 Hero” shirts given to employees for their work in providing the nation its coffee during that tumultuous first year of Covid. 

"Another long-timer, Arthur, echoed Joe’s feeling of betrayal. “We didn’t know about Covid, that we could catch it and die. We had to work or we lost our job. We were considered essential workers… So this is how we get repaid.” Arthur has worked for Nestlé since 1984. The plant job has helped him care for his sick wife at home. His father, brother-in-law, and uncle all earned a living at the plant. “Stockholders are happy, but we are not.” . . .