Fmr Trump Education Secretary DeVos Supports Plan to End DOE

 NewsMax

DeVos did not rule out returning to the Department of Education, Daily Mail reported, but said she would only return if Trump was serious about shuttering the department.

"Betsy DeVos, former secretary of education during Donald Trump's first term as president, praised his efforts to end the Department of Education, the Daily Mail reported.

" 'We're going to end education coming out of Washington, D.C.," Trump said in a message to supporters. "We're going to close it up — all those buildings all over the place — and you have people in many cases who hate our children. We're going to send it all back to the states."

"DeVos, who resigned her Cabinet position following the Jan. 6 incident at the U.S. Capitol, voiced support for Trump and is optimistic he will make education reform a priority.

" 'There are many ways to de-power the Department of Education, and I am very optimistic that President Trump in his second term is going to put the muscle behind seeing that happen," DeVos told the Daily Mail.

"DeVos proposed that Trump first pass federal tax credits to help parents pay for school choice, fueling education freedom across the country. She further suggested the federal government begin offering block funding grants to the states. 

"DeVos, who faced fierce opposition from teachers unions during her time as secretary of education, said the unions will try to fight Trump every step of the way.

" 'The status quo is not going to back down at all, and they're not going to get quieter," DeVos told Daily Mail. "Whomever is there is going to, if they are standing up to the status quo, they're going to get all the protests and all the stuff the same way because they are fighting for power and control." . . .

It Wasn't the Revenge of the Working Class Voter in 2024. It Was Something Much Worse for Dems.

"The evidence of MAGA being the majority is everywhere. Democrats need to understand it to win again. Let’s hope they don’t because these voters are definitionally the swinging type. Liberal America is too awash with snobs, bigots, and all-around morons to turn this around right now."  Matt Vespa

It’s No Mystery

Matt Vespa  "In 2016, it was the revenge of the white working-class voter and the forgotten American. Hillary Clinton also failed to realize she was bleeding with a crucial voter group until it was too late. Yet, Trump lost the popular vote, which gave woke leftists and far-left loons a crutch to make their case that identitarian politics, transanity, and other whacko action items should remain front and center of Democrats’ messaging to voters. The 2022 midterms brought the red mirage, where pollsters oversampled Republicans, leading to an epic underperformance by Republicans in what was supposed to be a tsunami cycle. When polls showed Joe Biden and Kamala Harris in trouble, or at the very least not where they should be against a man liberals view as Satan incarnate, they leaned on the midterms. 

"Any political analyst knows a midterm election and a presidential contest are two different beasts, which led to adding another layer of density to this liberal academic bubble where reality and facts don’t exist. Liberals thought Florida was in play, and Kamala would win it. Yet, it’s the Trump supporter who is ignorant. No, it’s the American liberal who is the true mental invalid, too stupid to differentiate what is a bad idea and too condescending and self-righteous to admit total and complete defeat. For these liberals, they needn’t look far regarding where Trump made his most significant gains. It’s right in their wealthy enclaves." . . .

Catfight: As Biden and Trump smile cordially, Jill Biden cuts Kamala Harris dead

Monica Showalter

By the time the election was over, the press was publishing leaks from Democrats that Joe was responsible for Kamala's loss because he pulled out too late, and all the lionizing they did of him for his 'unselfishness' was pure baloney, given that he was muscled out. Jill didn't take kindly to that, and now she's not even trying to hide it at public events.

"Around the time President Trump and Joe Biden held the most cordial of presidential transition meetings at the White House, something different was going on over at a Veterans Day event between Jill Biden and Kamala Harris.

"According to Fox News:

Social media erupted following what many characterized as first lady Jill Biden’s icy reception for Vice President Kamala Harris as the now-former Democratic presidential nominee took an adjacent seat at Arlington Cemetery on Tuesday.

Harris and second gentleman Douglas Emhoff approached their row of seats from the first lady’s right as the vice president greeted and shook hands with those around her — except Biden.

"It’s safe to say that Jill Biden hates Kamala Harris’ guts," conservative commentator Steve Cortes said while sharing a video snippet of the non-interaction.

As Harris took her seat, Biden appeared to look straight ahead through dark sunglasses.

"They're mean, and Jill doesn't mind if it's right out there for the public to see.

"Now, we've known for years that Jill Biden couldn't stand Kamala Harris, ever since Kamala painted Joe as a racist in the 2019 Democrat primary debate, but it's never been so obvious now that the election's over.

"For Jill Biden there's no longer any need to keep appearances.

"What got out after the 2020 debate, though, was really quite spectacular -- and whole books were written to feature it.

"I noted here in 2022:

According to Fox News:

First lady Jill Biden expressed frustration that Kamala Harris was the top choice for vice president, according to an upcoming book from two New York Times reporters.

An excerpt provided to Fox News from Jonathan Martin and Alexander Burns' forthcoming book, "This Will Not Pass: Trump, Biden, and the Battle for America's Future," describes the vice presidential nomination process during Joe Biden's 2020 campaign.

Jill made this raging comment that ended up in the book:  "'There are millions of people in the United States,' she began. ‘Why,’ she asked, ‘do we have to choose the one who attacked Joe,'" the authors wrote of a conversation Jill Biden had after she learned Harris became a leading candidate to serve as Biden's running mate. . . .

More Democrats fear the party's image isn't just damaged – it's broken

  POLITICO Everyone agrees they lost the working class, but they’re deeply divided on where to place the blame — and what to do about it.

"Other Democrats, too, argue that where Trump has tapped into the frustrations of the working class in a way that feels organic, Democrats have come across as too erudite, to the point that working-class voters feel like they’re being talked down to."

"Democrats are having a full-blown identity crisis.

"Days after Kamala Harris’ defeat, the extent of their party’s failure is becoming increasingly clear. It’s bad enough that Democrats are still losing working-class whites, as they have in recent elections. Now, exit polls show blue-collar Latinos and some Black men, long a core part of the Democratic base, are abandoning the party, too, fueling electoral shellackings. Republicans flipped the Senate and are padding their majority. Democrats’ path to a majority in the House is narrowing. And Donald Trump won in what could only be described as a landslide in the modern era.

“ 'The Democratic Party needs to be rebuilt,” said Pramila Jayapal, chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus. “We have become a party of elites, whether we abandoned working-class people, whether they abandoned us, whether it’s some combination of all of the above.”

"In interviews with 16 elected officials, party leaders and strategists, Democrats from both wings of the party agreed they have stopped knowing how to talk to the working class, once the very core of their identity. But they were deeply divided on where to place the blame — and what to do about it. Just like Donald Trump’s victory did in 2016 — and in 2020, when he lost by a smaller margin than expected — his return to the White House is fueling a raging debate between the party’s progressive and moderate wings about where to go from here." ...

No Trump bump: MSNBC hemorrhaging viewers since Election Day, sheds more than half of primetime audience

 MSN

"MSNBC exhausted every resource at their disposal to stop Donald Trump from achieving victory, eventually stooping to a plot to depict him as the second coming of Adolf Hitler, the most ruthless dictator in modern world history. It didn't work. The lies, the hysteria, and the besmirchment only made Trump more popular," Burack wrote. 

. . .""While MSNBC thought they may have struck gold with the election night ratings, they should have realized by now that Americans only tuned in so they could see the meltdowns, not that they viewed it as consistently and intellectually stimulating television," Houck told Fox News Digital. 

" 'During CNN's tumbles in past years, they were falling behind reruns of ‘Golden Girls’ and ‘Peppa Pig,’ so it's probably best if MSNBC doesn't look at their ratings anytime soon if they want to stay anywhere close to their happy place," Houck added. "Liberal viewers have to be emotionally, psychologically, and metaphorically distraught. They're beyond forlorn."

"Houck doesn’t believe finger pointing and MSNBC hosts continuing to push far-left talking points will bring back progressive viewers anytime soon. 

" 'The somber excuses blaming everyone from working-class women to Hispanic men to conservative media seem to be serving as only temporary balms to the scorching results. Chris Hayes and Alex Wagner have a brand to commit to where the only change the left will have to do is go even further left, so it's a stale product no one will want to listen to going forward," Houck said. 

"MSNBC has seen viewers jump ship on the heels of news they didn’t like in the past. In 2019, Rachel Maddow’s viewership took a dive when Special Counsel Robert Mueller declared there was no collusion between the 2016 Trump campaign and Russia despite the far-left host spending years pushing the Russian collusion narrative." . . . 

MSNBC host Rachel Maddow famously pushed since-debunked theories tying former President Trump to Russia. Fox News

The New Senate Majority Leader Must Muzzle Adam Schiff

"Schiff has disqualified himself from defense-related committee assignments in the U.S. Senate.But California loved him enough to reelect him." TD

 American Greatness 

yle="font-family: arial;">"With the GOP’s regained Senate majority, the freshly-branded Majority Leader John Thune has a mountain of work ahead of him once he takes the gavel. He must confirm President-elect Trump’s cabinet nominees, pass legislation securing the border, and extend the expiring 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act benefiting more than 80% of individual taxpayers.

"But before any legislating can happen, the Senate must choose the membership of its committees. Thune must use his authority as Majority Leader to limit the committee assignments of one newly elected Senator: Democrat Adam Schiff of California.

"Schiff must be denied a position on any of the body’s committees centered around national security, intelligence, or foreign affairs, and any subcommittees that intersect with these areas. Schiff’s conduct on such a committee in the House of Representatives disqualifies him from any significant decision- or policy-making roles related to the defense and global standing of the United States.

"Schiff knowingly peddled lies accusing Donald Trump’s campaign of colluding with Russia to win the 2016 presidential election, using his position on the House Intelligence Committee and access to classified information to affirm its veracity. This includes his time as its chairman. Schiff claimed “more than circumstantial evidence” of the plot even as the committee interviewed numerous Obama Administration officials who admitted there was no direct evidence of Trump or his staff working with Russians. Only weeks before the Mueller report concluded Russian collusion was nonexistent, Schiff continued to insist, “You can see evidence in plain sight on the issue of collusion, pretty compelling evidence.” It was obvious then and even more obvious in hindsight that Schiff’s motive was to discredit and weaken President Trump, all at the expense of the United States’ international standing and an already fractured American public following a contentious election.

"When Republicans reclaimed control of the House two years ago, they took appropriate action against Schiff. Speaker Kevin McCarthy refused to reinstate Schiff’s membership on the Intelligence Committee, citing his “misuse of [the] panel,” undermining its role in national security and related oversight. Furthermore, the House censured Schiff for his lies, although he was anything but chastened.Politics doesn’t stop at the water’s edge for Adam Schiff, and the Senate must respond. It is within the Senate’s authority to reject committee memberships—Rule XXIV of the Rules of the Senate allows any Senator to demand a vote on the appointment of committee members. New Senate Majority Leader Thune must make use of this rule to firmly repudiate Schiff to strengthen the security of the United States.

Whoopi Goldberg claims NYC bakery ‘refused’ to make her a birthday dessert because of her ‘politics’

 NY Post

Staten Island bakery customers batter Whoopi Goldberg for dubious claim that she wasn’t served due to her liberal views: ‘Bulls–t’

 

"New Yorkers aren’t letting Whoopi Goldberg’s sourpuss act spoil their favorite spot for sweet treats, after she put a local bakery on blast on national TV, alleging they refused to serve her because of her lefty political beliefs."  . . .

“I think it’s ridiculous. Why would she come all the way to Staten Island for her cupcake? To make an issue? They’ve been here forever,” Deborah Bernaz, 68, said of the comic’s claims against the beloved 145-year-old Holtermann’s Bakery on Staten Island.

“I don’t think it has anything to do with politics. They’re a little Staten Island bakery. I think it’s bulls–t what she’s saying. Leave politics out of the bakery,”

"The actress and “The View” co-host went into full victim mode on Wednesday’s broadcast, grousing that Holtermann’s wouldn’t sell her the Charlotte Russe desserts she wanted to celebrate her 69th birthday on the show because of her “politics." . . .

Whoopi Goldberg claims NYC bakery refused service over "liberal views", bakery pushes against claims

Parody from the Babylon Bee: While Watching 'The View' In Hell, Hitler Surprised To Learn Holocaust Wasn't About Race   "HELL - Reports are coming out from the fiery underworld that even Adolph Hitler - the fascist dictator who is responsible for starting World War II and killing 6 million Jews - was caught by surprise when he heard Whoopi Goldberg's comments that the holocaust he started was "not about race."

"I was very explicit in my writings and speeches! I compared the Jews to rats and to germs! I appealed to social Darwinism and eugenics on a constant basis to justify everything I did for the master Aryan race! How could this Whoopi Goldberg not pick up what I was laying down!?" the mustachioed psychopath was overheard shouting in a thick German accent." . . .

Hilarity following the Trump-Biden meeting

Rajan Laad    "Just yesterday, Joe Biden welcomed President-elect Donald Trump back to the White House to kick off the transition between the current and the future administrations.

"There were kind words uttered on both sides.

“Well Mr. President-elect and former president, Donald, congratulations, and looking forward to having, like we said, a smooth transition. Welcome, welcome back,” said Biden.

“ 'Thank you very much, and politics is tough, and it’s, many cases, not a very nice world, but it is a nice world today, and I appreciate very much a transition that’s so smooth, it’ll be as smooth as it can get,” Trump responded." . . .

Rich Terrell

. . ."White House spokesperson Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters that the meeting was “very cordial, very gracious, and substantive” and that Biden and Trump “discussed important national security and domestic policy issues facing the nation and the world.”

Few doubted that the meeting was cordial, because Biden seemed unable to restrain his beaming smile when the press covered their interaction.

"This meeting resulted in some hilarity on social media.

"Some pointed out the striking difference between the Trump-Obama and Trump-Biden meetings." . . .

"TRUMP and Biden will meet today. Wouldn’t mind being a fly on the wall for that conversation! Hmmmmm….

Biden > Sorry I called you Hitler Trump > Sorry I called you the worst President ever Biden > You beat Kamala but good Trump > Yes I did. Thanks for foisting her on your party Joe. Biden > I voted for you Trump > I figured you did Joe Biden > Want some ice cream Trump > Salute! To Making America Great Again

Iran's Nuclear Weapons Program Took a Yuge Hit

 PJ Media  

Iran could end this war right now by ordering Hamas to release the hostages, but for some reason, they seem to prefer getting their nuclear weapons research reduced to rubble.

 

" 'Israel's Oct. 26 retaliatory strike on Iran "destroyed an active top secret nuclear weapons research facility," according to an Axios report. The news outlet spoke to various U.S. and Israeli officials about the strikes, including one on Iran's Parchin Military Complex, a nuclear research facility that was "previously reported to be inactive."

" 'One former Israeli official briefed on the strike said it destroyed sophisticated equipment used to design the plastic explosives that surround uranium in a nuclear device and are needed to detonate it."

"Iran claims to have brought its military nuclear program to a halt in 2003, and yet the Taleghan 2 building at Parchin "was used for testing explosives needed to set off a nuclear device, according to the Institute for Science and International Security."

" 'They conducted scientific activity that could lay the ground for the production of a nuclear weapon. It was a top-secret thing. A small part of the Iranian government knew about this, but most of the Iranian government didn't," a U.S. official told Axios.

"What's interesting is that Israel knew about a nuclear weapons research facility that most of the Iranian government did not.

"The Mullah's Regime in Tehran must be fuming, and whatever form their retaliation takes, it likely won't be another missile barrage. Iran already tried two of those, one in mid-April and another on Oct. 1. The first barrage involved around 170 drones, over 30 cruise missiles, and more than 120 ballistic missiles — and almost zero results. Following Israel's assassination of Hezbollah chief thug Hassan Nasrallah, Iran's second missile attack consisted of about 200 ballistic missiles and, again, almost zero results. Israeli/Western antimissile forces are just that good.

"Clearly, the missile barrage approach isn't working — and everyone should give a silent prayer of thanks to President Ronald Reagan for getting the ball rolling on ballistic missile defense 40 years ago." . . .

Does Sonny Hostin Think She Cost Kamala Harris the Election?

PJ Media

 . . ." But honestly, as damaging as it was, I strongly believe the outcome of this election was baked into the cake well before she botched her response to Hostin's question."

Last month, Kamala Harris appeared on “The View” for yet another softball interview. During the show, co-host Sonny Hostin served up a golden opportunity for Harris to distance herself from Biden’s failures.

"Would you have done something differently than President Biden during the past four years?" Hostin asked.

"There is not a thing that comes to mind," Kamala replied.

"The moment was promptly exploited by the Trump campaign, which featured the exchange in campaign ads. 

"This week, in a recent episode of “The View” podcast, Hostin spoke with host Brian Teta about the exchange and the impact it had on the election.

“ 'One of the things that keeps coming up is, did Sonny Hostin personally cost Kamala Harris the election with her question?” he asked.

“ 'Oh wow, I wish I had that much power because I would have flipped it in the other way,” she replied." . . .

One Month In, And The Gov’t Is Already $257 Billion In The Red – DOGE Has A Lot Of Work To Do

Issues and Insights   Issues & Insights is run by seasoned journalists who were behind the Pulitzer Prize-winning IBD Editorials page (before it was summarily shut down). Our goal then and now is to bring our decades of combined journalism experience to help readers understand the top issues of the day. I&I is a completely independent operation, beholden to none, but committed to providing cogent, rational, data-driven, fact-based commentary that the nation so desperately needs. 

"On Tuesday, Donald Trump announced that Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy would head the “Department of Government Efficiency.” That same day, the Treasury Department released a report showing why this effort is so desperately needed.

"In his announcement, Trump said that he’s assigned the two to “dismantle government bureaucracy, slash excess regulations, cut wasteful expenditures, and restructure federal agencies.” It will, he said, “become, potentially, ‘The Manhattan Project’ of our time.”

"At Trump’s Madison Square Garden rally in late October, Musk, when asked how much he thought he could “rip out of this $6.5 trillion Harris-Biden budget,” said: “Well, I think we could do at least $2 trillion.”

"Washington insiders scoffed at the entire idea of a “government efficiency” department or that these two government outsiders could somehow find $2 trillion to cut.

"The truth is a Manhattan Project-level effort will be needed to restore a semblance of fiscal responsibility to the federal government.

"This week, the Treasury Department released its first report of the new fiscal year, which began in October.

"What it found was that in just the first month, the federal government ran a deficit of $257 billion. That compares with a deficit of $66 billion in October 2023.

The massive jump is the result of a $76.6 billion drop in revenues compared with last year and a $114 billion hike in spending.  

Israel is a true American ally by every metric

Col. Lawrence Franklin (Ret.)    "Americans should be grateful that Israel had the courage and resolve to strike hard against the enemies of civilization. All free world democracies must salute Israel’s initiative when erstwhile allied media and politicians cautioned Jewish state leaders to de-escalate operations and refrain from actions that could lead to a wider war. Sunni Arab countries, especially those on the Arabian Peninsula who are targets for destruction by the Shia regime of revolutionary Iran and its allies, also have reason to be thankful.

While Israel acted resolutely in its own interest by launching crippling blows against Hezbollah’s military assets and political leadership, the beneficent results reverberate around the globe. Israel’s government, aware that Hezbollah was planning an imminent Hamas-style attack against northern Israel (like what took place on 7 October last year), struck first in what could be described as a pre-emptive retaliatory attack. 

Americans particularly owe a debt of gratitude to Israel for the targeted killing of the world’s leading terrorist mastermind, Hassan Nasrallah. The theological and political leader of Hezbollah was responsible for decisions that murdered countless innocents. Hezbollah was directly responsible for killing hundreds of American servicemen in Beirut, Lebanon, in 1983 by dispatching a suicide bomber via a truck bomb that destroyed their barracks." . . .

. . ."One additional benefit of the US/Israel alliance for which the American people should express some solidarity is improvement in border surveillance, the security of sensitive installations, and cyber security systems. The US effort to acquire an edge over China in new technologies is partly dependent on Israel’s highly talented human capital.

"Perhaps the most valuable benefit that America derives from its alliance with Israel is Israel’s willingness to serve as the tip of the spear to defend civilization against the axis of barbarism. An America weary from forever wars in Iraq and Afghanistan should praise its good fortune in having an ally that has been collegial enough to support Western values and US interests despite the risks of seizing the initiative, and that is independent enough to ignore those who counsel defeatist caution."