Kevin McCarthy, Meet Fredo Corleone, Part II –

Issues & Insights   "Back on Jan. 6 (of all dates), in explaining why the then-embattled Kevin McCarthy should be passed over as speaker of the House, your correspondent made a now-vindicated comparison between the Californian and the pathetic literary and film character Fredo (Freddy) Corleone:

(L)ike Fredo, (McCarthy) is not the Wartime Don Republicans need to counter the radical Squad’s scorched-earth transformation of America, abetted by the Uniparty’s Old Bulls.

McCarthy’s very flailing, fumbling attempts to lock down the Speakership belie the cool courage in the line of fire required to lead a raucous caucus with the narrowest of majorities.

"Now, yet another comparison between the two pitiful figures presents itself. Bitter at being shunted aside in favor of younger Michael as Don, dim-witted Fredo entered into a near-deadly conspiracy with family “frenemy” Hyman Roth.

"In the same fashion, Speaker McCarthy betrayed the conservative wing that allowed him to take power by depending on squish Republicans and a unanimous vote of his opposition to pass a 45-day clean continuing resolution keeping federal funding at its outrageously bloated fiscal 2023 levels.

"Moreover, there is virtually no prospect of matters being different 40 days hence. As Freedom Caucus conservatives warned in signaling their opposition to yet another “CR,” the threat of a government shutdown will for the 27th year in a row put budget-cutters’ backs to the wall and raise, to the boiling point, pressures for another 12 months of unaccountable spending.

"McCarthy could have avoided this impasse if he had heeded the advice of this commentator:" . . .

World reacts as Joe Biden betrays military football fans

 MSN

Nothing quite embodies the current state of the Democratic Party on immigration more than evicting veterans who want to watch a football game from hotel rooms in favor of the illegal immigrants you invited to cross the border. 

"The Army-Navy game is one of the most prestigious rivalries in college football. And yet the U.S. Military Academy and the Naval Academy have been declared losers at the hands of the crisis at the southern border.

"Some hotel reservations for those attending the Dec. 9 game in Massachusetts have been canceled due to the migrant crisis. Massachusetts had all but designated itself as a sanctuary state, with eight sanctuary cities calling the state home. Therefore, overwhelmed border communities have sent illegal immigrants to the Bay State.

"Massachusetts’s “right to shelter” law and inability to realize that encouraging illegal immigrants to cross the border by promising to be a sanctuary means you may someday have to follow through has left the state stuck. Now, hotels are having to lease rooms out to the government to accommodate the illegal immigrants arriving in the state. As a result, Army and Navy fans are having their reservations canceled.

"These aren’t just college football fans, though. The teams aren’t Alabama and Florida State. Fans of Army and Navy are typically alumni of Army and Navy, meaning they are veterans and service members. Those who aren’t are typically their families or the families of current players who will go on to become full-fledged service members. That is who Massachusetts’s sanctuary promise is denying hotel rooms for ahead of one of the most storied and most unique rivalry games in the history of college football." . . .

Los Angeles elementary schools with students as young as five will celebrate 'National Coming Out Day' with a week of LGBT lessons including an 'identity map' activity |

  Daily Mail Online

Kindergarteners will be encouraged to 'Take a Pledge to Be An Ally!' on Friday. 

"Los Angeles elementary schools with students as young as five will participate in a weeklong celebration of 'National Coming Out Day' starting Monday.

"Part of the celebrations include an 'Identity Nap' activity that is aimed at teaching 'students to think critically about identity and intersectionality.'

"A 'Week of Action Toolkit – Elementary,' was sent from sent from the Los Angeles Unified School District's Board of Education to elementary teachers in the district.

"The toolkit reportedly outlines lesson plans that the district deems appropriate for elementary-aged students regarding LGBTQ+ topics. 

"The celebration is a stark contrast from LA's bicoastal counterparts in Florida, who have all but banned LGBTQ+ conversations in schools, including some books. 

"According to the City Journal, each day throughout the week has an assigned celebrity who aligns with the LGBTQ+ community. 

"Monday is Jazz Jennings Day, named after the notable transgender activist." . . .    

Gaetz's 'Hail Mary' Ouster of House Speaker Kevin McCarthy Might Backfire for Conservatives -

But if America First conservative Jim Jordan ends up replacing McCarthy it could end up being a huge conservative victory.

David Pyne "On Tuesday, Speaker Kevin McCarthy made history by being the first House Speaker in US history to be removed from office by a Motion to Vacate by a vote of 216-210. Rep. Patrick McHenry was then appointed Speaker Pro-Tempore. No House Speaker has ever been removed mid-term. The successful coup against Speaker McCarthy was led by conservative Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL), who recently resigned or was expelled from the House Freedom Caucus for unknown reasons. Despite his shortcomings, McCarthy governed as the most conservative House Speaker in the last quarter century.

 "Rep. Matt Gaetz (FL) and former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy have long been adversaries though it is not clear exactly what caused his personal animosity for and vendetta against McCarthy. After an embarrassing fifteen votes for House Speaker over the course of five days, McCarthy made many concessions to the 20 or so House Freedom Caucus members who opposed his bid for the Speakership and honored the vast majority of them going so far as to give Gaetz some coveted House Committee assignments in a bid to placate him.

"Followers of my social media postings know that I have long been a fan of Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) as one of the few courageous members of the short-lived House America First Caucus. I strongly supported all attempts to oust former House Speakers John Boehner (R-OH) and Paul Ryan (R-WI) as well as Jim Jordan’s bid against Kevin McCarthy for House Minority Leader in 2018. However, I strongly opposed Gaetz’s Motion to Vacate given that McCarthy’s only failing was to negotiate the budget deal with Biden earlier this year, which was admittedly a colossal mistake due to my belief that the motion would be more likely to damage to the conservative cause in Congress than to advance it." . . .

Rep. Jim Jordan Confirms He Is Running For House Speaker – One America News Network (oann.com)

Ann Coulter Tells Gaetz What Made His Anti-McCarthy Push Inauthentic to Her (townhall.com)   "Reports are that selecting a new House speaker next week won’t go smoothly despite two solid conservative candidates in Reps. Jim Jordan (R-OH) and Steve Scalise (R-LA). The mood of House Republicans is one of anger and frustration, as Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) created a potential disaster for the party. Gaetz filed the motion to vacate, which removed McCarthy, voting with Democrats to remove the now-speaker. McCarthy opted not to run for his former post to quell any further disruption." . . .

 "McCarthy should reflect on why he’s without the gavel, too—years of reported backstabbing and being overall unreliable killed him with most of his members. The votes to keep him showed that Republicans didn’t want to set a nuke off on the House floor, not necessarily because they liked the guy; his trust balance was negative. 

"Everyone shares some blame here, and Democrats can sit back and chuckle as we set up a situation where we cannibalize ourselves."

Laphonza Butler sworn in as replacement for late Sen. Dianne Feinstein

 

Laphonza Butler Wrote Letter Supporting Lenient Sentencing for Corrupt CA Politician Mark Ridley-Thomas – RedState   "In the 24 hours or so since the news broke that California Gov. Gavin Newsom had chosen Laphonza Butler to replace Dianne Feinstein in the United States Senate, the bulk of the news about the appointment has swirled around the fact that Butler has lived in Maryland for at least the last two years and wasn't even registered to vote in California. Since Butler is being appointed she doesn't face the same qualifications those who run for the office face, and simply has to be a registered voter in the state by the time she's sworn in on Wednesday. While the fact that she only lived in California from 2009 through 2020 and left the state to continue her climb up the Democrat grift ladder is maddening and insulting, it's not necessarily the issue conservatives should be focusing on when it comes to future Sen. Butler.

"She'd already remedied the voter registration issue by the time the appointment was officially announced, according to Pete Wilgoren of Los Angeles TV station KTLA." . . .

Evidence exists that shows U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., is a multi-millionaire after spending just over four years in Congress.

 Fact Check: AOC Achieved Multi-Millionaire Status After Serving 4 Years in Congress? (msn.com)    Rating:  False (About this rating?)

"In September 2023, a user on X posted that U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., perhaps best known simply as AOC, had achieved the status of a multi-millionaire after serving in Congress for just over four years.

"I'm more interested in how she became a multimillionaire in 4 years," the user posted (archived).

This post received thousands of likes and appeared as a response under a discussion in which X owner Elon Musk had earlier said (archived) of Ocasio-Cortez, "She's just not that smart."

Many other users repeated the same rumor about her finances in subsequent tweets, not to mention the fact that we've also received reader mail about this subject in the past.

For example, one user replied (archived), "@AOC has become a multi-millionaire since coming to Congress. Can't be too dumb, @elonmusk."

Another person posted (archived) about the congresswoman, "You have done zero good since elected and somehow on a modest politician salary you have become a multi millionaire in 4 years."

Other posts claimed Ocasio-Cortez had around $24 million (archived) or perhaps $29 million (archived) in the bank.

These examples were just a sampling of the numerous other posts (archived) making the same central claim that said Ocasio-Cortez had become a multi-millionaire in just over four years.

However, according to Ocasio-Cortez's own financial disclosures that were posted to the U.S. House website, this rumor was false.

As Reuters previously reported in August 2022, Ocasio-Cortez's financial disclosures showed that she was far from being a millionaire, much less a multi-millionaire. (Her campaign website ocasiocortez.com also mentioned this same article.)

We reviewed Ocasio-Cortez's financial disclosures from 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022 and 2023. (These disclosures on the U.S. House website displayed some data in ranges rather than exact dollar figures.)

According to the most recent disclosure from 2023, Ocasio-Cortez had documented that she had no more than between $1,001 and $15,000 in each of three different bank accounts. The total for these three accounts would land somewhere between $3,003 and $45,000.

She also recorded in the disclosure having between $1,001 and $15,000 in additional funds in a fourth account for a 401k plan.

Further, she noted in the disclosure that she was still paying off student loans, with an "amount of liability" landing somewhere between $15,001 and $50,000.

In other words, Ocasio-Cortez was at least $940,000 short of being a millionaire, with the maximum possible amount of the four accounts totaling $60,000, and that's before even factoring in her student loan debt.

By email, we presented the Reuters article and the financial disclosures to Ocasio-Cortez's press office and asked if they had any further comment or resources. "Nothing to add," they replied.

We previously reported on a similar false rumor that claimed Ocasio-Cortez owned one of the world's most expensive houses.

Guess Who Attended a Dinner to 'Celebrate' Karine Jean-Pierre

 Guess Who Attended a Dinner to 'Celebrate' Karine Jean-Pierre (townhall.com)

"White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre had a dinner in her honor and according to Politico, there were plenty of people within the mainstream media who were happy to attend. 

"Big names from both the media world included: Andrea Mitchell, Joy Reid, Jen O’Malley Dillon, Karen Finney, Tasia Jackson, Kasie Hunt, and Maya Wiley. It was also not just rank-and-file reporters who were in attendance. Both the presidents of ABC News, Kimberly Godwin, and MSNBC, Rashida Jones, were there to toast to President Joe Biden's press secretary.  " . . .       

Just the presidents of ABC News and MSNBC and multiple major journalists all at a dinner party "celebrating" the current White House press secretary pic.twitter.com/9Ll1XYdbrJ

— Philip Letsou (@philipletsou) October 5, 2023

WATCH: Fox Reporters Dismantle KJP's Absurd Answers, Leading Her to Make an Even Bigger Fool of Herself – RedState    . . ."Such was the case on Monday when KJP once again chose to go toe-to-toe with Fox News White House correspondent Peter Doocy — and that was just for starters.

"Doocy began his back-and-forth with Jean-Pierre by asking how Biden felt about the pending healthcare workers' strike:

Since President Biden is so pro-union, is he okay with 75,000 healthcare workers possibly walking off the job this week?

"KJP responded like she always responds — with pre-canned White House talking points.

What I can tell you is that — I’ve said this many times already this morning: The President believes all workers — all workers, including healthcare workers and those that make their work possible — they [sic]deserve a [sic] fair pay and they deserve fair — a fair benefit. 

I’ll have to say, like, the Treasury Department laid out recently a major report that unions and collective bargaining are good for the overall economy and help raise wages at [sic] — for everybody, whether they are a union member or not and I think that matters.

"Doocy then hit KJP with a well-thrown right hook, deftly alluding to Biden's recent 12-minute photo-op picket-line stunt with striking autoworkers in Michigan: "Would he consider joining them [healthcare workers] on the picket line if they strike?"

"That was all it took to knock KJP off her game.

 

Universities Without Freedom of Speech Are Worthless -

  The American Spectator | USA News and Politics

 Students leave university without aspiring at all to freedom; they leave feeling at home in slavery, even seeming delighted with it.

"For years, whenever Europeans wanted to impress guests, they would say, “I studied at Harvard.” These days, however, to impress guests and gain their respect, it is better to say, “And I didn’t study at Harvard!” The “2024 College Free Speech Rankings” by College Pulse and the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE) offers results that should shock us — because there seems to exist almost nothing left of the spirit in which universities were once founded by European Christian monks back in the Middle Ages, and which constituted a restricted community between students and professors to train and to teach how to think, research, and debate, activities that could never be achieved outside of an environment of freedom. It is shocking to read the report and discover that advocating that abortion is not a right or that climate change is not man made, or suggesting that the best treatment for gender transitions is a psychiatric one, is subject to immediate cancellation by both authorities and students. There is no longer any freedom in the institution that one day was born precisely to endow us with it.

"It should surprise no one that the Catholic Church was the main promoter of those primitive universities (not so different from those of today in their organization and purpose), as historian Lowrie Daly points out when he affirms that it was “the only institution in Europe that showed consistent interest in the preservation and cultivation of knowledge.” Today, evil historians have rewritten history to denigrate Christians who sowed that cultural germ in Europe, and, although the myth that the Middle Ages were the Dark Ages has triumphed, the truth is that never did so much light shine on the Old Continent. Without those universities, we would never have had a Western civilization to be proud of.

"Today, on the contrary, an alarming number of universities are competing to renounce the great purpose of the medieval university: to teach how to think, to debate freely, to achieve excellence. Today many of the most important universities in the world teach only to repeat like parrots a few stupid slogans from the Woke Catechism, the basic textbook of any faculty. Biology, philosophy, history, or art — everything is subdued and perverted under the yoke of contemporary extreme-left single thought. " . . .

Speaker Donald Trump? Yep, Trump says he's open to becoming Speaker of the House

President Trump as replacement for ousted House Speaker Kevin McCarthy at a time when the GOP is flat on its back? What could be more dramatic, more Trumpian? 

 Monica Showalter- American Thinker  . . . "He would have rivals -- Rep. Jim Jordan and Rep Steve Scalise are said to want the chair, too, and how Trump's entry would play out against their ambitions is up for grabs. Either would be good at the job, too, and Trump did note in his statement that the GOP does have talent.

"What's more, he might not even have a majority to win, given that all Democrats would vote no, the GOP majority is razor-thin and there are never-Trumps among them.

"And there's the broader picture of whether Trump would be right for this job, which requires a nerd-like focus on legislative details, and an ability to smooth ruffled feathers from various egos of all kinds, as well as get along with ideological foes. He has strengths, but probably not those strengths.

"But oh, the fun of it if it happens.

"Congress is a positive zoo of bad activity and gridlock, passing through gargantuan spending bills and feathering their nests. It's why polls show that voters can't stand Congress. 

"Trump could be quite an antidote to that, not having those kinds of conflicts of interest, let alone greed.

"Better still, he could drive the left bonkers. Imagine the expressions on the faces of the White House staff if they learn that Trump will be their Speaker of the House. It's hard to say whether they hate him or fear him more. Just the talk of Trump becoming Speaker is sure to throw them off balance and have them raving for awhile, even if it doesn't happen.

"It's worth asking whether he might even be shielded from some of the crazed prosecutors who are after him as a private citizen with some kind of immunity -- legal eagles would know.

"If it happens, it could be quite a satisfying retort to all the garbage the left has thrown at Trump and the leftist hate for the voters who voted for him.

"Fingers crossed that we can hope for the best. The cool thing about Trump is that anything can happen." . . .

Destroying Civilization! Without security, there is anarchy. And where there is anarchy, the state can command neither legitimacy nor respect.

American Greatness

"Arguably, the greatest indictment of leftism is its preference for the vagrant and the criminal over the law-abiding citizen and victim. In politics, there are all kinds of disagreements about the role and scope of the state, but the one thing the state must do is protect the innocent.

"Without security, there is anarchy. And where there is anarchy, the state can command neither legitimacy nor respect. Yet racial idolaters on the Left have pushed society to forgo basic expectations of public order and civilized conduct. Demanding anything more than day-to-day chaos would be cruel to “marginalized” people like deranged homeless black men on the subway.

"The Left has a warped infatuation with society’s most entitled, recalcitrant, and destructive elements. Their latest martyr is a lunatic named Jordan Neely, who was killed while threatening commuters in Manhattan on Monday morning. The man, portrayed by sympathetic media as a “Michael Jackson impersonator,” was throwing garbage at people and making vaguely threatening statements about his willingness to go to prison for life. A reasonable person would feel afraid in this situation, as passengers doubtless did. A heroic vigilante intervened and put Neely in a chokehold. Two other men helped restrain Neely, who later died. 

"Seldom is the line between civilization and savagery drawn so clearly as it was in Jordan Neely’s subway car. The Left has demonized the vigilante for his “barbaric” supposed “lynching,” but this gets it precisely backward. Barbarism on the subway is a daily occurrence; it is part of the atmosphere. Barbarism is forcing commuters to fear for their lives and property on a Monday morning. It’s what you call it when vagrants shove people to their deaths in front of moving trains, and all the state can do is shrug.

"In places like New York City, criminals are a protected class. Just days ago, a homeless man stabbed a commuter with an ice pick. Jordan Neely himself had 42 prior arrests and an open warrant for assaulting a 67-year-old woman at the time of his death. He is widely reported to have been a menace to the safety of others, in short, a net negative on society.

"Jordan Neely had no business being on the street. Only a deranged society would treat such a man like an equal.

"But rather than permit the “injustice” of locking up violent blacks, governments in places like New York empower criminals to terrorize innocents. This is called “social justice,” and it’s happening everywhere. 

"Roving caravans of “youths” in Chicago regularly riot and loot with impunity. The city wrings its hands over a lack of “resources” in the hood and stages ineffectual “awareness” campaigns. Civilized society is extorted, literally and morally. Philadelphia recently paid off rioters who were tear-gassed while blocking highways during the George Floyd riots.

"No matter how bad it gets, no matter how many people get hurt, it will never be enough to satisfy the Left. They will always find a way to justify the criminals and blame the real victims, whose cries for justice are drowned out by the endless wailing of black entitlement. We are often told that the politics of “white grievance” is transforming America into some kind of authoritarian state, but the opposite is true. We are racing into the ghetto.

"It is impossible to have civilization when it is a crime to hold members of a protected class accountable for their conduct. In Manhattan on Monday, justice momentarily took the reins away from “social justice.” The normal course of state-sanctioned disorder was disrupted by a brave onlooker, who very well could have ignored the threat, like most commuters have been conditioned to do. Instead, he chose to act at great risk to his safety, reputation, and freedom. It would be surprising if he is not hanged, drawn, and quartered for doing the right thing. He is a fool if he does not expect it."

Senator Kennedy Great Question!

Democrat Congressman Has Three Words After Being Carjacked at Gunpoint

 The Federalist Papers  "Democratic Rep. Henry Cuellar of Texas had three words of advice after being carjacked at gunpoint Monday night in an upscale neighborhood near Capital Hill: Support law enforcement.

"Some would argue the lawmaker’s record in doing so is mixed.

"In 2021, Cuellar issued a news release to brag about voting for the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act.

"Had the bill become law, it would have greatly hampered police officers’ ability to do their jobs. Among other measures, it would have restricted the situations when police can respond with deadly force and greatly expanded the opportunity of civilians to sue individual officers, rather than local governments, when alleging wrongdoing.

"However, Cuellar voted with Republicans in February to override the District of Columbia’s revised criminal code passed by the city council that would have lessened the penalties for carjackings and other violent crimes.