Trump surprises troops in Afghanistan on Thanksgiving

Washington Examiner  "President Trump surprised American troops in Afghanistan on Thanksgiving after leaving his Florida residence overnight.

"He visited Bagram Air Base on Thursday, delivering Thanksgiving greetings to U.S. troops deployed there in America’s longest-running war. This is Trump’s second visit to a combat zone. He previously visited troops in Iraq the day after Christmas in 2018.

"In the president's address to the troops, he announced renewed peace talks between the United States and the Taliban, claiming the Taliban wants "to make a deal."

" 'We’ll see if they want to make a deal," he said. "It's got to be a real deal, but we’ll see. But they want to make a deal. And they only want to make a deal because you are doing a great job. That is the only reason they want to make a deal. So I want to thank you and I want to thank the Afghan soldiers for — I’ve spoken to a lot of you today and you say they are really fighting hard. I was impressed with that actually. So I want to thank you."

"Trump has long wanted to withdraw from Afghanistan, and his visit coincides with the Afghan government's engagement in an extended stalemate with the Taliban."

"There is nowhere that I’d rather celebrate this Thanksgiving than right here with the toughest, strongest, best, and bravest warriors on the face of the Earth. You are indeed that," Trump added.

"He continued, "When I took office, if you can believe it almost three years ago, we were very depleted. Our military was depleted in terms of equipment. You see, right? They're all shaking their heads. We have all those brand new planes and brand new helicopters and brand new ships being built now, brand new powerful submarines' ."

From CNN...wait..what? Yes, CNN! In photos: President Trump's holiday visit to US troops in Iraq

Why Newsweek Was All Wrong About a ‘Tweeting, Golfing’ Trump on Thanksgiving

"Too many people in the leftwing media appear to be waiting to pounce on anything they can to try make President Donald Trump look bad or paint him in a negative light, in my view.

"And most times they’re too impatient to wait for actual facts.

"So — they wind up going out with something and then having to correct themselves.

"Case in point: Leftist rag Newsweek printed a story painting President Trump to be some lousy, good-for-nothing, selfish jerk, who only golfs and thinks of himself and how his Florida Thanksgiving would be like some golden, self-indulgent extravaganza.

"The only problem is, the publication put out the story while he and first lady Melania Trump were on their way to Afghanistan to spend Thanksgiving with U.S. troops." . . .

"Here’s what Newsweek printed — and note how its correction was all the way at the bottom of the article:"

HOW IS TRUMP SPENDING THANKSGIVING? TWEETING, GOLFING AND MORE   He spent Thanksgiving Eve, from mid-morning to mid-afternoon, playing golf at his Trump International Golf Club. It was closed to the press, according to his public schedule.Trump’s past Thanksgiving meals have reportedly involved 24 dishes including turkey, stone crab, beef tenderloin, leg of lamb, scallops, ahi tuna martinis, lobster bisque and seven desserts.As with any other day of the year, Trump will probably be tweeting, or expressing his opinions in another way.On Thanksgiving Eve, Trump tweeted an image of his head on the body of Rocky Balboa, the fictional boxer portrayed by actor Sylvester Stallone in numerous movies.Updated 3:27 p.m. EST: Following the publication of this article, the president made a surprise, unannounced visit to U.S. troops in Afghanistan on Thanksgiving. [emphasis added] 

Hong Kong Protesters Thankful for Trump and the U.S. This Thanksgiving

Townhall  "Pro-democracy protesters held a Thanksgiving Day rally to thank the United States and President Trump for signing bills into law on Wednesday that support the demonstrators in their struggle against Beijing.  
"The bipartisan bills signed by the president impose sanctions on officials in Hong Kong and China that are responsible for human rights abuses. The bills also require an annual review of the special autonomous status the U.S. State Department grants to Hong Kong during trade considerations. The revocation of that status is a powerful tool to incentivize support of pro-democracy groups in Hong Kong. The legislation also bans the sale of crowd control munitions to Hong Kong that have been used by police against the protesters. 
“ 'I signed these bills out of respect for President Xi, China and the people of Hong Kong,” the president said in a statement after signing the bills. “They are being enacted in the hope that leaders and representatives of China and Hong Kong will be able to amicably settle their differences leading to long-term peace and prosperity for all.”

"On Thanksgiving Day, a large crowd of several thousand assembled to express gratitude for the show of support from the United States. The crowd sang the Star Bangled Banner as attendees waved American flags." . . .

As the protests have advanced, protesters have settled around five key demands from the Hong Kong government. First, for the controversial bill to be withdrawn. Second, an investigation into allegations of police brutality and misconduct towards the protesters. Third, the release of all arrested protesters. Fourth, the retraction of the characterization of the protests as "riots." And finally, the resignation of the current chief executive as well as universal suffrage for the chief executive and legislative council elections.

Source, Weasel Zippers: Hong Kong Thanks America And Trump For Signing Act To Support Them

If Trump Is 'Racist' for Questioning Waters' IQ, What Is Waters for Questioning the Intelligence of Dr. Carson?

When a white, male, Republican politician, like Trump, questions the intelligence of a white, male, British diplomat politician, that's just hardball. When a white, male, Republican politician, like Trump, questions the intelligence of a white, female Democrat, like Pelosi, that's "sexism." When a white, male, Republican politician like Trump questions the intelligence of a black female politician, that's "racism." When a black politician, like Waters, questions the intelligence of a black male Republican, well, that's just hardball.

Larry Elder

"Among the reasons Democrats and their media sympathizers offer to show President Donald Trump's alleged "racism" is that he called Rep. Maxine Waters, D-Calif., a "low IQ individual."
"At a July 2018 rally in Montana, Trump said: "She is a low I.Q. individual, Maxine Waters. I said it the other day. I mean, honestly, she's somewhere in the mid-60s, I believe that." And in June 2018, Trump tweeted: " 'Congresswoman Maxine Waters, an extraordinarily low IQ person, has become, together with Nancy Pelosi, the Face of the Democrat Party. She has just called for harm to supporters, of which there are many, of the Make America Great Again movement. Be careful what you wish for Max!"
"Trump's tweet was in response to a fiery Water's speech in which she urged a campaign of harassment against members of Trump's cabinet: "Let's make sure we show up wherever we have to show up. And if you see anybody from that Cabinet in a restaurant, in a department store, at a gasoline station, you get out and you create a crowd. And you push back on them. And you tell them they're not welcome anymore, anywhere." . . .
. . . "But questioning Rep. Waters' intelligence, CNN legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin proclaimed, is ... "racist." After all, Waters is black, which to Toobin, places her snugly and safely in a no-fly zone. Toobin said: "How about this Maxine Waters stuff over and over again? Low I.Q. How racist is that? I mean, come on. Let's just be honest about this. How many black people does the President have to attack in these terms? I mean, he's always like whether it's NFL football players or, you know, the UCLA basketball players? I mean, come on. Is it a coincidence that he calls a senior black legislator low I.Q.? I mean, it's revolting and we should just be clear about what's going on here." . . .

But questioning Rep. Waters' intelligence, CNN legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin proclaimed, is ... "racist." After all, Waters is black, which to Toobin, places her snugly and safely in a no-fly zone. 

Are Thought Crimes Impeachable?

Victor Davis Hanson

Alleged bad thoughts are not crimes — at least not outside George Orwell’s dystopian novel “1984.”

"During special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation, his legal “dream team” tried to make a secondary case that Donald Trump also obstructed efforts to prove Trump-Russian “collusion.”
"Trump was said to have advised his lawyers and other subordinates, past and present, not to cooperate fully with the Mueller investigation. Yet the special counsel did not pursue any actionable cases of egregious interference by the White House.
"Indeed, Mueller would never have concluded his $35 million, 22-month investigation had he not enjoyed cooperation from the White House.
"White House employees were questioned freely by the special counsel. Documents were released. When the special counsel’s exhaustive investigation into purported Trump-Russia collusion found no such crime, the fallback claim of obstruction arose. Trump allegedly wanted to curtail Mueller’s parameters of inquiry into something that was proven not to be a crime.
"Mueller found no grounds for a criminal referral on obstruction of justice. But he repeatedly hinted that Trump had thought about obstructing the non-crime of collusion." . . .

CNN’s pre-Thanksgiving civility lesson: Trump defenders ‘Should Be Laughed at, Ridiculed, and Scorned’

Thomas Lifson  "When you consider the vast number of people forced to watch CNN as they waited at their gates for delayed airline flights on the busiest travel day of the year, one marked by weather delays in most of the country, this call for harsh derision could affect a lot of Thanksgiving dinners today. Ridicule and scorn do not fit well with the theme of giving thanks for the  blessings we receive as Americans, but then again, CNN, in the ratings tank and discredited for its repeated fake news incidents, has less to be thankful for than most Americans, enjoying higher incomes and lower taxes.

"Watch as CNN legal analyst Elie Honig responds to anchor Brooke Baldwin saying, that the main defense of “I know nothing” is “dead.” . . .

CNN's boss, Zucker.

Embattled CNN Fails to Attract One Million Viewers During Impeachment Month

. . . "CNN’s highest rated show, Cuomo Prime Time, ranked at #23, not in all of cable, but just among the three cable news outlets. Fourteen Fox News shows filled up those 22 slots behind CNNLOL.

"CNN’s godawful morning show New Day, averaged just 556,000 viewers, compared to Fox & Friends, which more than tripled New Day with 1.7 million viewers. Fox & Friends also walloped MSNBC’s Morning Joe, which averaged just 1.2 million viewers." . . .

Rep. Elise Stefanik: how did this bulldog Republican come from New York?

Ms. Stefanik became an internet sensation with a viral video from a hearing in which Mr. Schiff blocked her from questioning former Ambassador Marie Yovanovitch.

'A New Republican Star is born': Elise Stefanik rises amid impeachment drama

New York Rep. Elise Stefanik stood out with her hard-nosed interrogation of Democrats’ star witnesses during two weeks of public hearings on impeachment of President Trump, emerging as a rising star in the Republican Party but also putting a national target on her back.
"The three-term Republican congresswoman delivered a counter punch to Rep. Adam B. Schiff, the chairman of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence who presided over the hearings, repeatedly challenging him on the dais.
“ 'She came across as a well-prepared person who was skeptical or opposed to the idea of impeachment,” said Michael Malbin, a political science professor at the University of Albany and director of the Campaign Finance Institute. “But she did not come across to me, as the way Devin Nunes did or Jim Jordan, as people who are going to attack the witnesses and defend the president at all costs.” . . .  More on Stefanik here

As Drudge Report falters amid anti-Trump shift, rivals on right gain ground

Washington Times

Data from SimilarWeb shows five conservative upstarts on the rise

"The Drudge Report is still the king of conservative aggregator websites, but its rivals are gaining ground.
"Five right-tilting upstarts — Whatfinger News, Liberty Daily, Rantingly, NewsAmmo and Gab Trends — increased their average monthly traffic and engagement, as measured by average visit duration and average pages per visit, from September-October 2018 to 2019, according to SimilarWeb, which shared its data with The Washington Times.
"Another Drudge competitor, the no-frills Citizen Free Press, is also going gangbusters, drawing 2.5 million views in October after launching two years ago.
"At the same time, the marketing-intelligence company found traffic to the Drudge Report during that period declined by 15%. From July to October, Drudge dropped from 96 million total visits to 77 million, prompting recent headlines such as True Pundit’s “Drudge Bleeds Out as Conservatives Flee.”
"The Drudge Report has stoked alarm on the right for appearing to pivot on its support for President Trump, increasingly linking to stories that are critical of the administration and to media websites that are accused of having an anti-Trump bias such as CNN, The New York Times and The Washington Post.
"The same cannot be said of Whatfinger, the largest of the Drudge rivals, which favors links to conservative news and opinion websites such as Fox News, Breitbart, Daily Signal, Daily Wire, Western Journal and WorldNet Daily.

"Whatfinger grew by 40.8% year-over-year, increasing its traffic from 2.23 million to 3.2 million. The next largest site, the Liberty Daily, grew by 72% as its average monthly visits grew to 1.72 million, according to SimilarWeb." . . .

Trump pardons Thanksgiving turkey, jokes that Schiff has subpoenaed the bird

Washington Times  "Like his predecessors, President Trump had fun with the traditionally tongue-in-cheek ceremony of pardoning of the national Thanksgiving turkey on Tuesday — joking that the bird remained calm even under threat of a subpoena from House Democrats.
"Butter, a 47-pound turkey raised in North Carolina, received the traditional pardon in the White House Rose Garden, where invited guests included some Republican lawmakers whom Mr. Trump called “warriors” in his defense against the ongoing impeachment inquiry.
"The president said Butter and his companion, Bread, were specially raised by farmer Willie Jackson “to remain calm under any condition, which will be very important because they’ve already received subpoenas to appear in Adam Schiff’s basement on Thursday.”
" 'It seems the Democrats are accusing me of being too soft on turkey,” Mr. Trump said, turning to the birds. “But Bread and Butter, I should note that unlike previous witnesses, you and I have actually met. It’s very unusual.” . . .

Updated: Thanksgiving for Dummies...Sorry, I Mean College Professors

Townhall

Ann Coulter

. . . Before the first European stepped off Mayflower, the Iroquois' genocidal wars against their fellow Indians had already depopulated large parts of New England. Their murderous raids had scattered the farming tribes in all directions, often to their demise. "Northern New Hampshire, the whole of Vermont and Western Massachusetts had no human tenants but the roving hunter or prowling warrior," Parkman writes.  . . .

"As every contemporary school child knows, the first Thanksgiving took place in 1621, when our Pilgrim forefathers took a break from slaughtering Indigenous Peoples to invite them to dinner and infect them with smallpox, before embarking on their mission to fry the planet so that the world would end on Jan. 22, 2031. (Copyright: Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez)

"Consider this description of the Pilgrims' treatment of the Indigenous Peoples:" 'They were the worst of conquerors. Inordinate pride, the lust of blood and dominion, were the mainsprings of their warfare; and their victories were strained with every excess of savage passion."

"You've probably guessed -- unless you are an American college student -- that that's not a description of the Pilgrims' treatment of Indigenous Peoples at all. It is a description of some Indigenous Peoples' treatment of other Indigenous Peoples, provided by Francis Parkman, the world's foremost Indian scholar.
"It was Indians, not Pilgrims, who let out the "Mohawk war-cry" that made the blood run cold.
"This is why the Wampanoag had a lot to celebrate that first Thanksgiving. They were delighted to have such excellent (European) allies against the terroristic Iroquois and Narragansett.
"The Pilgrims also had much to be thankful for. Of more than 100 passengers aboard the Mayflower, only 44 survived the first winter, felled by scurvy, malnutrition and the bitter cold. Even the ones who made it did so largely thanks to the friendly Wampanoag, who shared their food with the Europeans and taught them how to till the land."  . . .

The warm relations between Pilgrims and the (mostly) gentle Algonquins doesn't fit the White Man Bad thesis that is the entire point of all history taught in America today. In fact, as any sane, reasonable person can probably surmise: Some white men were kind, and some were cruel. Some Indians were neighborly -- and some were bloodthirsty killers.

                                                        Case in point:  

Democrats illustrated

Tony Branco

Anti-Iranian Demonstrations and Turkey, Iran, Qatar, Muslim Brotherhood

DrRichSwier.com  "The Lebanese have been demonstrating for weeks against Hezbollah’s control of their government, which is just another way of saying that they are demonstrating against Iran’s control of their country by proxy.  They are demanding a new government of technocrats not connected with any political party be appointed to run the government.
"The protestors are made up primarily of Sunnis and Christians.  The Iranians have ordered their proxies in both Lebanon and Iraq to do what ever is necessary to put a stop to these demonstrations.  Though the violence here has not been as severe as in Iraq, there has been some shooting with live rounds, and last night Hizbollah thugs attacked a group of protestors with motorcycles.
"In spite of the Hizbollah violence, the non-terrorist Shi’a Amal party has long ago sold its soul to Hizbollah and has sided against the demonstrators.  Likewise the largely figurehead president, Gen. ‘Aoun, a Christian, has sold his soul to Hizbollah, thus he too has sided against the demonstrators (and against his own ethnic group).
"The Iraqis have also been demonstrating for weeks.  While these demonstrations ostensibly began to protest corruption in the government, lack of services, and a rotten economy that can not provide enough jobs, they quickly morphed also into anti-Iranian protests.  What is most interesting about these protests is that they are taking place mostly in the southern portions of the country which is predominantly Shi’a.  In other words, we have Shi’a Iraqis in huge numbers protesting Shi’a Iran’s hegemony over their country.
"In fact, these Shi’a protestors are burning pictures of Khomeini and Khamenei, burning Iranian flags, and chanting “death to Khamenei.' ” . . .

Media Applauds As Melania Trump Is Booed At Youth Opioid Summit

Hot Air

. . . "The First Lady was also booed and jeered as she left the stage upon the completion of her remarks. To be clear, neither of the outbursts of boos and jeers were greater than the cheers and applause she received. Normal polite behavior is not noteworthy, though, in press reports for anyone in the Trump administration universe. Apparently, the tide is turning for the First Lady.

"After thinking about the response to Melania Trump, I reached a conclusion that it is probably to be expected, given the behavior we so often see on college campuses today. If the adults in their lives behave in disruptive ways or encourage the behavior, then it is to be expected that young people mirror that behavior. Remember that nurses and hospital staff members (adults) first protested publicly, outside of the hospital. College professors and public school teachers are often liberal, anti-Trump members of the left. Occasionally there are news stories of a public school teacher putting an anti-Trump question on a test. None of this is helpful for an already divided nation.

"Melania has shown a love for children and young people from the beginning of her time in the White House. She visits schools and hospitals across the country and the world. One of her goals in her Be Best initiative is centered around helping youth deal with the opioid crisis." . . .