Tuesday, March 5, 2024

California Is About to Get Even Worse

 Power Line (powerlineblog.com)   

photos looters in LA stores - Search (bing.com)

"You might think that the leftists who run California would be worried about the rapid decline of that state, but no: they are doing all they can to accelerate it. In the Wall Street Journal, Heather Mac Donald outlines California’s latest descent into racialist madness:

What would happen if lawmakers reinvented the criminal-justice system to target “systemic racism” instead of crime? California is about to find out. Thanks to a 2020 law called the California Racial Justice Act, every felon serving time in the state’s prisons and jails can now retroactively challenge his conviction and sentencing on the ground of systemic bias.

To prevail, the incarcerated prisoner need not show that the police officers, prosecutors, judge or jurors in his case were motivated by racism or that his proceedings were unfair. If he can demonstrate that in the past, criminal suspects of his race were arrested, prosecuted or sentenced more often or more severely than members of other racial groups, he will be entitled to a new trial or sentence.

"We all know what this is about. Blacks are arrested, prosecuted and convicted more often than members of other races because they commit more crimes. Heather has some of the numbers for California:

In Los Angeles, blacks are 21 times as likely as whites to commit a violent crime, 36 times as likely to commit a robbery, and 57 times as likely to commit a homicide, according to police department data. Those data come from reports filed by victims and witnesses, who are themselves disproportionately black.

"Blacks over-offend to an appalling degree in other states, too. But liberals cling to the hoary myth that “disparities” in law enforcement can only be due to racial bias in criminal justice.

"The Racial Justice Act is turning California’ criminal justice system into a farce:

"You might think that the leftists who run California would be worried about the rapid decline of that state, but no: they are doing all they can to accelerate it. In the Wall Street Journal, Heather Mac Donald outlines California’s latest descent into racialist madness:

What would happen if lawmakers reinvented the criminal-justice system to target “systemic racism” instead of crime? California is about to find out. Thanks to a 2020 law called the California Racial Justice Act, every felon serving time in the state’s prisons and jails can now retroactively challenge his conviction and sentencing on the ground of systemic bias.

To prevail, the incarcerated prisoner need not show that the police officers, prosecutors, judge or jurors in his case were motivated by racism or that his proceedings were unfair. If he can demonstrate that in the past, criminal suspects of his race were arrested, prosecuted or sentenced more often or more severely than members of other racial groups, he will be entitled to a new trial or sentence.

"We all know what this is about. Blacks are arrested, prosecuted and convicted more often than members of other races because they commit more crimes. Heather has some of the numbers for California:

In Los Angeles, blacks are 21 times as likely as whites to commit a violent crime, 36 times as likely to commit a robbery, and 57 times as likely to commit a homicide, according to police department data. Those data come from reports filed by victims and witnesses, who are themselves disproportionately black.

"Blacks over-offend to an appalling degree in other states, too. But liberals cling to the hoary myth that “disparities” in law enforcement can only be due to racial bias in criminal justice.

"The Racial Justice Act is turning California’s criminal justice system into a farce:" . .

HALLELUJAH: It Looks Like Another Soros DA in California Will Face a Recall Election – RedState


"It looks like another Soros DA in California will be facing a recall election. As we've been reporting, proponents of an effort to recall Alameda County's District Attorney, Pamela Price, have been gathering signatures for months to place a recall election on the ballot. On Monday those proponents turned in 123,387 signatures - 50,000 more than the 73,195 required."


"Since taking office, Price has implemented a policy that punishing crime is unfair to, um, people who commit crimes. Murder victim 23-month-old Jasper Wu died in November 2021 when crossfire between rival gangs on an Oakland freeway enveloped his parent’s car. Price refused to add special enhancements to the charges against the shooters, thus eliminating the possibility that if convicted the men could face life without parole in prison. Price went on record saying people were attempting to use the case to stir up racial division."

Court document alleges Fani Willis tried to tamper with a witness -

Thomas Lifson; American Thinker   "A fellow Georgia prosecutor has come forward after viewing the televised testimony in the Fani Willis disqualification hearing, alleging what amounts to witness tampering on the part of the DA in Atlanta. If the account is truthful, that would make Fani the dumbest prosecutor ever, apparently blissfully unaware that the rules apply to her, too.


"The New York Post reports:

A new witness could testify Fani Willis warned lover Nathan Wade’s former business partner to stay quiet about their affair, an explosive new court filing claims.

“They are coming after us. You don’t need to talk to them about anything about us,” Willis is alleged to have warned Terrence Bradley in a September 2023 phone call. 

The call was overheard by Cobb County, Georgia, prosecutor Cindi Lee Yeager, according to court papers filed Monday by Trump co-defendant David Schafer.

"The actual court filing can be read in a series of tweets from Town Hall columnist Phil Halloway:" . . .

. . .Hearsay

"Objections will be heard that this proffered testimony would be hearsay. While the chief deputy district attorney from Cobb County Ms. Yaeger did hear the words themselves, the content of those words – the reported effort to shut up a witness -- is indeed hearsay. Such testimony could not be used to try DA Willis for witness tampering.

"However, while hearsay evidence cannot be used in court to convict of crimes, it can be used to impeach testimony. Via Justia Law:

Hearsay evidence is admissible for impeachment, though inadmissible for other purposes. Seaboard Coast Line R.R. v. Smalley, 127 Ga. App. 652, 194 S.E.2d 612 (1972) (decided under former Code 1933, § 38-301).

"Absent other evidence, Fani probably can skate on witness tampering criminal charges, but for the purposes of removing her from the case, the testimony would be devastating."

Michelle Obama FINALLY breaks her silence on whether she will be running for president in 2024 as disgruntled Democrats urge her to run instead of 81-year-old Biden |

  Daily Mail Online   "Michelle Obama has ruled herself out as a presidential candidate, putting to bed speculation that she would jump in at the last minute to give Democrats an alternative to aging Joe Biden

"The former first lady maintains a star power within Democratic politics, despite largely removing herself from the political scene in recent years. 

" 'As former First Lady Michelle Obama has expressed several times over the years, she will not be running for president,' said Crystal Carson, director of communications for her office, told NBC News.

" 'Mrs. Obama supports President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris' re-election campaign.' 

Border Patrol Makes DEVASTATING Case For Trump’s Policy Over Biden’s

  The Lid (lidblog.com)

Two Presidents have dueling border visits, with very different responses from border patrol


"Trump and Biden went to the border with VERY different agendas. Trump went to show what works, and Biden went to point fingers.

"Joe Biden’s gutless Brownsville visit went to a point on the border that hasn’t been in the conversation for a long time, but Trump was right to Eagle Pass. The exact flashpoint where Abbott took the stand against Biden’s border policies changed the national conversation.

"Joe Biden’s presser was precisely what you would expect it to be. I’m fantastic, and everything wrong is a Republican’s fault.

"The problem with Biden’s claim is we all have something objective against which we can compare it. We have Eagle Pass, the place where Joe Biden’s open border policies had thousands streaming into the country a day (including the guy charged with the murder of Laken Riley)

"That’s how Eagle Pass looked in December. Now, they’ve looked for other crossing points. Because this one is closed.

"As Brandon Judd of the Border Patrol Union Chief (who told Joe Biden to keep Border Patrol’s name out of his mouth on this visit) explained, the difference was simple. Governor Abbott applied an adapted form of Trump’s border policies to the Texas border. And they worked." . . .

“Sir, I want you to know your agents, my agents, they’re mad as hell — absolutely mad that President Biden went to Brownsville, Texas, rather than going to Arizona, rather than going to San Diego, California, rather than coming to Eagle Pass, Texas, which has been the epicenter,” Judd said after Trump invited him to the microphone to speak.

Border Patrol union head Brandon Judd: "The reason why Border Patrol agents are so upset about [Biden's] visit is because he's not going to any location where he's going to be able to evaluate what he needs to do!"

Will the Left want to live in the world they are creating?

 Victoria White Berger - American Thinker

The Democratic Party is increasingly being revealed, through lockstep daily events, decisions, and manipulated occasions, to be terribly wrongheaded and wickedly led.


"What does the future look like under the Democrats? Day after day, we hear a lot about who is saying what about the 2024 election.

"It would be better if we heard more about the quality of life for Americans under the current Democrat administration. By any yardstick, it is not only worse; it is far worse. Why would any American who thinks without prejudice want more corruption, more crime, more terrorism, less safety in the air and anywhere on the ground?

"It’s no longer just about ‘the economy, stupid.’ Now, at this time, the moral concerns of the majority voter will be witnessed. Americans know about morals. They know about lying, cheating, racism, elitism, fraud, murder, battery, drug abuse, and pathology. All people know the ill results of these sorts of behavior. These are human issues with human outcomes and always have been.

"Next to the mantras about the evils of Donald Trump, which are quite clearly eclipsed at this point by the evils of his persecutors -- and compared to the many successes of his presidency, Trump is not entirely the point. Of course, he is far more suited to pull us out of the national chasm than any other contender. Yet will the Left ever let him?

"Or does the Left really prefer more of the same from its own ‘party’? Are leftists angling for more wars, more terrorism, more violent crime, more domestic insecurity and federal government coercion in every sort of natural and constitutional personal freedom?

"Where does all the screeching from the Left and its media come from? An inexact ‘historical’ idea?  No political education? For  ‘communism’ or ‘socialism,’ or their own favorite, ‘fascism’ -- are all failed ‘systems,’ never having ever worked remotely well anywhere, at any time.

"The Left talks constantly about ‘MAGA’ hatred but they are far and away the best at it. They lie about hatred because they do not want to admit their guilt in the BLM riots, the many unjust political and religious persecutions, the staggeringly corrupt DoJ and D.C. establishment, and the Democrats’ growing betrayal of fundamental moral justice for Israel." . . .

Shocker: United Nations Finally Admits Hamas Terrorists Sexually Assaulted Israel Women

  RedState   

Nevertheless, the truth is out there and the world can clearly see that Hamas must be eliminated if there is any shred of hope for peace in the region.

Israeli hostage of Hamas; then and now.

"This story might give you the urge to look out your window to see if winged pigs are flying around outside. The United Nations has finally acknowledged that Hamas terrorists raped and sexually abused Israeli women during and after its October 7 surprise attack on Israel.

"When reports first surfaced detailing numerous examples of sexual abuse against female hostages, the United Nations shied away from chiming in on the matter altogether. Its leaders attempted to ignore the revelations, instead choosing to focus on castigating Israel’s government for its effort to eliminate the Hamas threat in Gaza.

"But now, after a lengthy investigation, the international entity has decided to stop pretending these atrocities were not committed. The United Nations Secretary General’s special envoy compiled a report after the investigation detailing what it found after visiting the region and the areas where the sexual assaults occurred. Members of the team interviewed survivors, family members, Israeli government officials, and others to gather information on the matter.

"The report acknowledges that during the October 7 massacre, “people were shot, often at close range; burnt alive in their homes as they tried to hide in their safe rooms; gunned down or killed by grenades in bomb shelters where they sought refuge.”

The document notes that “Other violations included sexual violence, abduction of hostages and corpses, the public display of captives, both dead and alive, the mutilation of corpses, including decapitation, and the looting and destruction of civilian property.”

The authors go on to admit that “reasonable grounds” exist suggesting that sexual violence did occur on that day." . . .
'Squad' angers pro-Israel Dems with stance against Iron Dome funding   . . ."Never forget that @AOC shed more tears after finding out that the US will provide funding for a defensive weapons system that will save thousands of lives than when tens of thousands of Israeli civilians spent their nights running to bomb shelters," Middle East analyst Yoni Michanie said.
Rashida Tlaib

"Why is AOC crying because fewer rockets will fall on Israeli citizens and cities?" The Daily Caller's David Hookstead wrote. "The Iron Dome doesn't have offensive capabilities. It's a defensive weapon used to stop rockets launched by terrorists from killing innocent people. Why does that make her sad? Will anyone ask?"

"Why is @AOC crying? Because Jewish and Christian women and children won’t shake in terror as unguided rockets rain down on their homes and schools," Ohio Senate candidate Josh Mandel wrote." . . .

Why the Trump SCOTUS victory is bigger than it looks

 Why the Trump SCOTUS victory is bigger than it looks - American Thinker

The recent SCOTUS ruling is a victory for law and a loss for a radicalized political organization determined to act outside it and above it.  Unfortunately, that organization has also worked to infiltrate sensitive American institutions, including media; higher education (and our nation’s law schools, which never said a public word about the technical and substantive flaw in the DNC’s Section 3 assertion); the Judiciary; intelligence; all regulatory agencies, and even the military, which continues to exist without an actual functioning, identifiable civilian commander-in-chief.   Matthew G. Andersson


"This morning, the Supreme Court held that a state lacks authority under section 3 of the 14th Amendment to kick a presidential candidate off the state’s ballot. To reach this conclusion, the Court carefully analyzed the history of and purpose behind the 14th Amendment and the Constitution as a whole. Once SCOTUS concluded that Colorado’s Supreme Court erred, it could not and did not look at the substantive issue of an alleged “insurrection.” Leftists, however, are in complete meltdown mode over the fact that SCOTUS did not say, “Trump is an insurrectionist!”

"You can read the decision or, if you’re pressed for time, my summary. The gist is simple: The 14th Amendment was intended to limit state power over the federal government, not expand it." . . .

MSNBC Host Has a Total Meltdown Following SCOTUS' Decision in Trump Ballot Case (townhall.com)     Curtis Houck:  "I can, in fact, report that MSNBC's 'Deadline: White House with Nicolle Wallace' -- aka Rich, White, Liberal, Wine Mom Story Hour -- is hair-on-fire enraged at the Supreme Court over the "5-4" decision in favor of Donald Trump."

White House, Kirby face backlash from military veterans for defense of chaotic Afghan pullout

 Kirby works for a man who looks us in the eye and tells us things that he and we know are blatantly false with not a trace of shame. TD

MSN

"A retired Marine who executed many civilian rescues from Afghanistan offered a blistering rebuttal to National Security Council spokesman John Kirby and his presentation of the Biden administration's after-action report, calling the retired admiral's presentation "a national tragedy." 

"Kirby held an at-times confrontational press conference Thursday where he defended the Biden administration's withdrawal as largely successful and noted the after-action report's purpose was "not accountability." 

 "The purpose of the document that we're putting out today is to sort of collate the chief reviews and findings of the age. 

""For all this talk of chaos. I just didn't see it. Not from my perch," Kirby said later in the presser, adding that at one point in the evacuation, planes were departing Hamid Karzai International Airport every 48 minutes with Afghans and Americans alike aboard."

Well, there was the sudden unannounced bugout and the leaving of vast stores of military equipment; the bodies falling from transport planes and the explosive that killed a dozed US military personnel. Was there nothing about this entire failure that would lead Admiral Kirby to resign on principle father than defend it before the world? TD

Pompeo torches Kirby after White House shifts blame to Trump for deadly Afghanistan withdrawal


Romney Admits Trump Did Many Things ‘A Lot’ Better Than Biden but Still ‘Absolutely’ Won’t Vote for Him

  The Epoch Times 

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) told Reuters that he disagreed with the way President Trump expressed his views on NATO ally spending, but noted: “Russia didn’t invade anybody when he was president, and if he’s president again they won’t.”

"Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) said that former President Donald Trump made many wise decisions as president and can win in 2024 but the Utah Republican insisted he would “absolutely not” vote for him over President Joe Biden due to “character” and differences on foreign policy.

"In an appearance on CNN’s “The Source” program on Wednesday, Mr. Romney said that, if the election were held today, President Trump “would probably win.”

"He said there are “a lot” of things President Trump has done better than President Biden, adding that “Joe Biden has made extraordinary mistakes on the immigration front. It’s embarrassing how bad he’s been.”

"Mr. Romney didn’t elaborate but his remarks come as the country is in the throes of a border crisis of historic proportions. Some estimates indicate that around 10 million illegal immigrants have poured across the border since President Biden took office.

“ 'And Donald Trump did a lot of smart things when he was president,” Mr. Romney continued, adding that he’s “aligned with many of [President Trump’s] domestic policies.” . . .

Monday, March 4, 2024

The Deadly Manipulations of the Anti-Israel Mob

 Seth Mandel – Commentary Magazine 

The claim that Israel is carrying out a genocide of the Palestinians is meritless, but its proponents already know that. This is what is known as Holocaust inversion, whereby some person or persons seek to lessen the historical judgment on Nazi Germany by assigning to its victims an equivalent judgment. It is a rhetorical tactic—one not without consequences, as the death of Aaron Bushnell reminds us.

   "Everyone knows blood libels have consequences for their intended targets, but Aaron Bushnell’s suicide shows how deadly they can be to anyone who believes them.

"Bushnell, a 25-year-old active-duty cyber-defense specialist in the Air Force, self-immolated in front of the Israeli embassy on February 25. His reason for doing so—and for broadcasting it as it happened—is important not for the content but for the evidence of how pro-Hamas activists across the country have manipulated Bushnell and so many others.

“I will no longer be complicit in genocide,” Bushnell said, referring to “what people have been experiencing in Palestine at the hands of their colonizers.”

The claim that Israel is carrying out a genocide of the Palestinians is meritless, but its proponents already know that. This is what is known as Holocaust inversion, whereby some person or persons seek to lessen the historical judgment on Nazi Germany by assigning to its victims an equivalent judgment. It is a rhetorical tactic—one not without consequences, as the death of Aaron Bushnell reminds us.

That Bushnell was in the U.S. military is key to his post-suicide beatification by activists. His friend Levi Pierpont, who served with Bushnell and who left the force last year as a conscientious objector, eulogized Bushnell in the Guardian with this proclamation: “Aaron is by no means the only United States military member who has felt complicit in the military’s violence, powerless to change anything, and stuck waiting until the end of a four- or six-year contract. There are thousands of military members similarly distraught, having thoughts of taking extreme actions to escape something that feels inescapable.”

How Can Biden Stay In Now?—Part 2

  Commentary Magazine

But Joe Biden is not getting younger, and it’s doubtful he’s going to get more skilled—or that he will show a kind of focus and energy that will calm American fears he cannot do the job. Actually, it’s more than doubtful. It’s actually getting to the point where it’s unimaginable. 

. . ."Well, it turns out they just held onto that information until today (Sunday), for a second-day story that is maybe even more devastating than the first. Lisa Lerer and Ruth Igielnik report: “Widespread concerns about President Biden’s age pose a deepening threat to his re-election bid, with a majority of voters who supported him in 2020 now saying he is too old to lead the country effectively.” That’s a majority of Biden’s own voters. I’m not talking about a majority of the country.

"So what does the country say? Fully 45 percent of all voters say flatly that Biden is “not capable of handling the job of president.”

"OK, let’s play this out. You might object, and reasonably, that this question just gives Trump voters a different way of saying they don’t want or like Biden. Reasonable! But wrong. Voters were asked the same question about Trump, and logically that would have given Biden voters a chance to express their dislike of Trump in similar fashion by saying he too, at 78 and mixing up things at rallies and the like, is not capable. But only 19 percent say it, compared to the 45 percent who say it about Biden. Remember, these are the same people being asked the same question about both men." . . .

How Can Biden Stay In Now? Part One

 John Podhoretz; Commentary Magazine   

“In the poll, only 83 percent of voters who say they chose Biden in 2020 plan to vote for him this year, whereas 97 percent who voted for Trump plan to vote for Trump again.

"There’s a scene in the peerless animated comedy Monsters Inc.—a cable-news special report featuring Dr. Frasenberger, who looks like a giant pencil. “It is my professional opinion,” he begins calmly, “that now is the time…TO PANIC!!!!!” If I were a Democrat today, or a Never Trumper, I would be Dr. Frasenberger. Because now is the time TO PANIC!!!! if you don’t want Donald Trump to be president.

"The release early Sunday morning of a New York Times-Siena poll of the presidential race showing Trump up by 5 points nationally not only confirms the undeniable evidence over the past six months that Trump has pulled into a measurable lead in the presidential race outside the margin of error but also that things are getting worse and worse for the president as the year 2024 progresses.

"There is literally no good news for Biden in this poll. Let’s break it down.

"First, the simple practical math. NYT-Sienna confirms results we’ve been seeing for months now. It features Trump winning by 4 nationally—and remember that even in victory in 2016, Trump lost the popular vote by 3 points. Trump has not historically done well in national polling. If you go back and add up the number of days in the 2016 and the 2020 electoral races, you find that Trump led in the poll averages on exactly 5 days out of 600—and never for a single day against Biden.

"Now get this. On October 18, 2023, Biden and Trump were tied in the RCP average of all polling. Since that day, 135 days ago, Trump has led. Every single day. Not by a huge amount, mind you—his largest margin came on January 26, when he led by 4.3 points. As I write, his lead is 2.3 points. Still, the point stands. It may have taken him 8 years in presidential politics to achieve it, but Trump is now a steady polling favorite." . . .