Saturday, January 7, 2023
The Coup We Never Knew, by Victor Davis Hanson
And what has corrupted the Democrat Party?
Did someone or something seize control of the United States?
What happened to the U.S. border? Where did it go? Who erased it? Why and how did 5 million people enter our country illegally? Did Congress secretly repeal our immigration laws? Did President Joe Biden issue an executive order allowing foreign nationals to walk across the border and reside in the United States as they pleased?
Since when did money not have to be paid back? Who insisted that the more dollars the federal government printed, the more prosperity would follow? When did America embrace zero interest? Why do we believe $30 trillion in debt is no big deal?
When did clean-burning, cheap, and abundant natural gas become the equivalent of dirty coal? How did prized natural gas that had granted America's wishes of energy self-sufficiency, reduced pollution, and inexpensive electricity become almost overnight a pariah fuel whose extraction was a war against nature? Which lawmakers, which laws, and which votes of the people declared natural gas development and pipelines near criminal?
Was it not against federal law to swarm the homes of Supreme Court justices, to picket and to intimidate their households in efforts to affect their rulings? How then with impunity did bullies surround the homes of Justices Brett Kavanaugh, Samuel Alito, Amy Coney Barrett, Neil Gorsuch, John Roberts, and Clarence Thomas - furious over a court decision on abortion? How could these mobs so easily throng our justices' homes, with placards declaring "Off with their d--s"?
Since when did Americans create a government Ministry of Truth? And on whose orders did the FBI contract private news organizations to censor stories it did not like and writers whom it feared?
How did we wake up one morning to new customs of impeaching a president over a phone call? Of the speaker of the House tearing up the State of the Union address on national television? Of barring congressional members from serving on their assigned congressional committees?
When did we assume the FBI had the right to subvert the campaign of a candidate it disliked? Was it legal suddenly for one presidential candidate to hire a foreign ex-spy to subvert the campaign of her rival?
Was some state or federal law passed that allowed biological males to compete in female sports? Did Congress enact such a law? Did the Supreme Court guarantee that biological male students could shower in gym locker rooms with biological women? Were women ever asked to redefine the very sports they had championed?
When did the government pass a law depriving Americans of their freedom during a pandemic? In America can health officials simply cancel rental contracts or declare loan payments in suspension? How could it become illegal for mom-and-pop stores to sell flowers or shoes during quarantine but not so for Walmart or Target?
When did we assume the FBI had the right to subvert the campaign of a candidate it disliked? Was it legal suddenly for one presidential candidate to hire a foreign ex-spy to subvert the campaign of her rival?
Was some state or federal law passed that allowed biological males to compete in female sports? Did Congress enact such a law? Did the Supreme Court guarantee that biological male students could shower in gym locker rooms with biological women? Were women ever asked to redefine the very sports they had championed?
When did the government pass a law depriving Americans of their freedom during a pandemic? In America can health officials simply cancel rental contracts or declare loan payments in suspension? How could it become illegal for mom-and-pop stores to sell flowers or shoes during quarantine but not so for Walmart or Target?
Since when did the people decide that 70 percent of voters would not cast their ballots on Election Day? Was this revolutionary change the subject of a national debate, a heated congressional session, or the votes of dozens of state legislatures? What happened to Election Night returns? Did the fact that Americans created more electronic ballots and computerized tallies make it take so much longer to tabulate the votes?
When did the nation abruptly decide that theft is not a crime, and assault is not a felony? How can thieves walk out with bags of stolen goods, without the wrath of angry shoppers, much less fear of the law?
Was there ever a national debate about the terrifying flight from Afghanistan? Who planned it and why?
What happened to the once-trusted FBI? Why almost overnight did its directors decide to mislead Congress, to deceive judges with concocted tales from fake dossiers and with doctored writs? Did Congress pass a law that our federal leaders in the FBI or CIA could lie with impunity under oath?
Who redefined our military and with whose consent? Who proclaimed that our chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff could call his Chinese Communist counterpart to warn him that America's president was supposedly unstable? Was it always true that retired generals routinely labeled their commander-in-chief as a near Nazi, a Mussolini, an adherent of the tools of Auschwitz?
Were Americans ever asked whether their universities could discriminate against their sons and daughters based on their race? How did it become physically dangerous to speak the truth on campus? Whose idea was it to reboot racial segregation and bias as "theme houses," "safe spaces," and "diversity"? How did that happen in America?
How did a virus cancel the Constitution? Did the lockdowns rob us of our sanity? Or was it the woke hysteria that ignited our collective madness?
We are beginning to wake up from a nightmare of a country we no longer recognize, and from a coup, we never knew.
Ashli, her mother, and the J-Sixers
T"oday is the 2 year anniversary of January 6th. Over these 2 yrs, the US Government has waged full blown war against Americans based on their political affiliation & has taken political prisoners. J6 reminds us how the US Gov is the biggest modern day terrorist org in the world." Laura Loomer
Ashli Babbitt’s Mother Arrested On Second Anniversary Of January 6th ‘Stop The Steal’ Rally "The mother of Ashli Babbitt, who was killed by a United States Capitol Police (USCP) officer during unrest at the January 6th ‘Stop the Steal’ rally two years ago was arrested on Friday.
"Ashli Babbitt’s mother, Micki Witthoeft, was arrested for jaywalking at a rally where demonstrators were protesting on behalf of people imprisoned in the aftermath of January 6th.
The police gave the following statement after Witthoeft’s arrest:
“ 'Around 1:45 p.m., the woman was arrested for two Capitol Traffic Regulations – §16.3.20 Obey An Order, and §16.3.40 Blocking And Obstructing Roadways. The person was identified as 58-year-old Micki Witthoeft.
"As is typical for this charge, Ms. Witthoeft was processed and released this afternoon after being given a citation to appear in court at a later date.”
Republican Rep. Attempts To Get To The Bottom Of Allegations Of J6 Prisoner Abuse, This Is What He Said... "In acknowledgement of the second anniversary of January 6, Texas Republican Rep. Troy Nehls visited some of the imprisoned protestors. He said they complained about the way they were being treated, alleging abuse from their guards and claiming they were denied basic rights.. . .
Nehls continued saying that the prisoners complained that they were being physically harmed by the officers,
“They also said that they’re not getting adequate medical treatment, which should be, as well as they were concerned about not having access to religious services. And there was one specific individual in there that was concerned about the assaults, the physical assaults that have been taking place against these individuals, by corrections officers. And I’m really looking into that. I want body camera video from the officers to confirm or deny that what these J six detainees are telling me is truthful.”
Ashli Babbitt: The US veteran shot dead breaking into the Capitol - BBC News
McCarthy Drama Highlights the Impotence of the GOP Elite
McCarthy is best understood as an empty suit and a quintessential swamp creature—someone who lives and breathes the D.C. game, who is cozy with K Street, and whose main lodestar is cutting deals and expending political capital in order to boost his own political fortunes.
. . ."But the mere fact that, even if McCarthy does prevail, he will necessarily have had to work harder for it than any new House speaker in over 160 years, comes replete with lessons. There are myriad cautionary lessons to be found here in the malodorous wreckage: for McCarthy himself, for McCarthy-endorsing former President Donald Trump, and for the legacy conservative pundits who have emerged as some of McCarthy’s most impassioned supporters.
"Kevin McCarthy, first elected to Congress in 2006, has been an establishment figure since the day he arrived in Washington, D.C. His political philosophy and guiding principles are to this day largely unknown, to the perhaps-dubious extent they exist at all. True, he is a well-known prolific fundraiser who knows how to work a room full of donors—but what exactly has that accomplished for either the GOP or the conservative cause, of late? McCarthy is best understood as an empty suit and a quintessential swamp creature—someone who lives and breathes the D.C. game, who is cozy with K Street, and whose main lodestar is cutting deals and expending political capital in order to boost his own political fortunes.". . .
"It should be unsurprising, then, that his being proffered as such an inevitable choice for House speaker—”I’ve earned this job,” he hectored reluctant conservative congressmen on the precipice of the first failed ballot—would trigger a backlash. In virtually all facets of American institutional life right now, the Left is winning: from the universities to the media to the corporate boardroom, and everywhere in between. The last remaining redoubts of conservative power are less cultural than they are nakedly political: various state legislatures and governor’s mansions, the U.S. Supreme Court, and the U.S. House. Given that yawning power imbalance, the clear onus for scarce conservative-held political institutions is to efficiently and ruthlessly wield their power to resist the Left’s onslaught and advance a positive alternative agenda. Most conservatives from outside the Acela corridor are (properly) skeptical that when it comes to the U.S. House, K Street’s favorite Republican is the best person to envision and execute that agenda.". . .
House Republicans have plenty of time to elect a speaker. With a Democrat-controlled Senate, the odds of passing meaningful legislation are vanishingly low anyway.
On the plus side:
Kevin McCarthy wins the speakership after 15 rounds of voting
Also from the BB: Elon Musk Named Honorary Congressman After Making $200 Billion Disappear
What comes next won't be pretty.
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| Image courtesy of Richard Terrell at TerrellAfterMath. |
The Incomprehensible Election for House Speaker "It is surprising to see the lineup of people who support Kevin McCarthy for House Speaker, given his poor performance as House Minority Leader. What is far worse is the disingenuousness of some of the unhinged arguments McCarthy supporters are spewing.
"Kevin McCarthy does not have a stellar resume. He served as House Majority Leader, the number two man in the House, during the checkered speakerships of John Boehner and Paul Ryan. I don’t hold him responsible for anything he did during that time, but I do hold him liable for his failures as the House Minority Leader since.". . .
It is one thing to disagree on who should be Speaker. But to trot out smear tactics and panic that define progressive methods of “argument” is a way to truly destroy the Republican Party. Perhaps it should die, and quickly. It seems too feckless to me to stop our nation’s downward spiral.
"My theory about the 50 year seal placed on the J6 material"
This theory explains, not just Democrat vindictiveness and secretiveness, but also Republican silence.
. . ."When COVID came along, our political class fell apart. They ran away, locked the doors, and forced everyone else to do the same. Only a handful of Republicans said no. Everyone else…Democrat or Republican…immediately and with great relief greeted these edicts. Nancy Pelosi and Mitch McConnell had the excuse of advanced age, meaning they were at greater risk, but the others simply showed no courage in front of the American people. I quickly refused to wear a mask, even though I’m not a very courageous person; few of them did the same.
"In the same vein, I suspect that much of the January 6 footage shows politicians, Republicans and Democrats alike, cowering in terror when their own people sought redress. Not one of them had the courage to come out and speak to the crowd. AOC made a virtue of her fear. Things might have gone very differently had someone grabbed a bullhorn and spoken up.
"Those videos, I suspect, reveal their shame. Not just an unwillingness to act or hostility to the crowd (although I bet that Republicans, along with their Democrat colleagues, viewed the crowd with loathing), but a craven unwillingness to stand up for their country. None had the courage to speak out for “the People’s House.”
"Democrats realized immediately that the riot would benefit them politically (so immediately it was almost as if they knew it would happen) but Republicans have no excuse.
"In the old days, cowardice was seen as something shameful, especially among men. Now, AOC, proudly cowering in a locked room, is a role model.". . .
All Hail Hakeem Jeffries, DEM Election Denier
MediaWatch . . ."Then came a parade of happy Democrat quotes. From Pete Aguilar, the new House Minority Whip: "A Latino is nominating for leader of this chamber a Black man for the first time in our history ... We are unified behind a speaker who is an unapologetic advocate for protecting and expanding our freedoms."
. . ."Meanwhile, to represent the view NPR refuses to consider, Kyle Martinsen of the Republican Party's messaging team sent around a memo on how all 212 Democrats voted for Jeffries despite the small problem that his "record of election denialism is well documented — and thoroughly unhinged." Among the claims:
1. Jeffries declared the 2016 election was "rigged," and a "hoax," and a "cloud of illegitimacy" hangs over Trump.
2. Jeffries called to "investigate (Trump's) so-called victory." He insisted "history will never accept" Trump "as a legitimate President."
3. Jeffries said that "the more we learn about 2016 election the more ILLEGITIMATE it becomes."
4. Jeffries claimed Russia succeeded in "artificially placing" Trump in the White House.
5. Jeffries referred to Trump as a "fake president" at least 73 times.
"Martinsen summed up: "In total, Jeffries denied the legitimacy of the 2016 election at least 163 times."
"CNN host Jake Tapper proclaimed in 2021 that he wouldn't book any "election liars" on his shows. That didn't include election-denying Democrats, because this is CNN.". . .
Some notable accomplishments:. . ."In addition to legislation mentioned above, on April 11, 2013, Jeffries introduced the Prison Ship Martyrs' Monument Preservation Act (H.R. 1501; 113th Congress). The bill would direct the Secretary of the Interior to study the suitability and feasibility of designating the Prison Ship Martyrs' Monument in Fort Greene Park in Brooklyn as a unit of the National Park System (NPS).[58] Jeffries said, "as one of America's largest revolutionary war burial sites and in tribute to the patriots that lost their lives fighting for our nation's independence, this monument deserves to be considered as a unit of the National Park Service."[59] On April 28, 2014, the Prison Ship Martyrs's Monument Preservation Act was passed by the House.[60]
On July 15, 2014, Jeffries, who in private practice addressed intellectual property issues, introduced the To establish the Law School Clinic Certification Program of the United States Patent and Trademark Office (H.R. 5108; 113th Congress), which would establish the Law School Clinic Certification Program of the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) to be available to accredited law schools for the ten-year period after enactment of the Act.[61]
In 2015, Jeffries led the effort to pass The Slain Officer Family Support Act,[62] which extended the tax deadline for people making donations to organizations supporting the families of deceased NYPD Detectives Wenjian Liu and Rafael Ramos. The families of the officers, who had been killed in their patrol car on December 20, 2014, in the Bedford-Stuyvesant section of Jeffries's district, had been the recipients of charitable fundraising.[63] Before the law's enactment, people would have had to make those contributions by December 31, 2014, to qualify for a tax deduction in connection with taxes filed in 2015. With the change, contributions made until April 15, 2015, were deductible. President Obama signed the bill into law on April 1, 2015.[64]
Today, McCarthy is the highest-ranking Republican in the nation and third in line for the presidency.
Rep.-Elect Anna Paulina Luna (R-Fla.) revealed what they wanted.
The dissenters in the Freedom Caucus were attacked by colleagues. Rep. Dan Crenshaw (R-Texas) reacted to the Freedom Caucus voting against McCarthy by using Democrat talking points. He called them dimwitted and inarticulate, before branding them as terrorists.
Great photo of the moment Mike Rogers lunged at Matt Gaetz by @andyharnik, feat. Richard Hudson holding Rogers back pic.twitter.com/ewoMxoREfQ
— Morgan Rimmer (@morgan_rimmer) January 7, 2023
https://twitter.com/i/status/1611694656449822720
Friday, January 6, 2023
Adam Kinzinger joins CNN days after leaving Congress, sparking viral mockery: 'Nobody saw this coming'
CNN-Minus The most reputable name in news.
FoxCritics long predicted Adam Kinzinger was aiming for a plum cable news gig following his term in office "Kinzinger, one of the lawmakers on the House Jan. 6 Committee, was a frequent guest on CNN over the past two years, invited on-air to bash former President Trump and the majority of Republicans.Critics have long asserted that Kinzinger's anti-Trump commentary signaled his desire to join a liberal news network at the end of his term.". . .
What happened to the CNN move toward journalistic integrity?
Surprise: Adam Kinzinger is already a senior political commentator for CNN – twitchy.com Worked his way up all through his time in office.
The only thing that wasn’t certain was whether former Rep. Adam Kinzinger would wind up as a contributor for CNN or MSNBC — it had to be one or the other. We certainly didn’t think we’d have the answer this quickly, but CNN is the lucky winner of Kinzinger’s analysis and insight. Know that CNN will consider Kinzinger one of their “conservative” contributors, just like the Washington Post keeps on staff “conservative” columnists Jennifer Rubin and Max Boot.
Critics Torch Adam Kinzinger After He Announces He Is Joining CNN (ijr.com) Kinzinger reacted to a tweet posted by CNN, saying, “Join us in welcoming [Adam Kinzinger] to CNN as a Senior Political Commentator. Welcome to CNN, Adam!” (As always)
"The lawmaker replied, “Happy to join the team [CNN]!”
"One user fired back, “Does this surprise anyone? He was making up fake news while in congress what better place to go than LOLCNN!”
CNN announced on Wednesday that Kinzinger, the other Republican who served on the January 6th Committee alongside former Rep. Liz Cheney (R-WY), would be joining the network as a senior political commentator. Unlike Cheney, who was defeated in a primary by Harriet Hageman, Kinzinger chose not to run for reelection after serving six terms representing his Illinois district.. . .
. . ."Kinzinger has heated up his anti-Trump and anti-Republican rhetoric in recent days, charging that the party will become a hotbed of extremists under former President Donald Trump’s leadership.
"Speaking with CNN on New Year’s Day, Kinzinger said that he fears for the country’s future if the former president does not get indicted.
“ 'If a president can incite an insurrection and not be held accountable, there’s no limit to what a president can or can’t do. Yeah, I do think ultimately, when we get to where we’re going to go, I think the Justice Department will do the right thing. I think he will be charged,” he said.
“ 'I frankly think he should be. Everything we’ve uncovered, from what he did with the Justice Department to everything leading up to January 6 to on January 6, sitting there for 180 minutes and watching this occur in the hope that maybe, just maybe, that last attempt to stay in power will work,” he continued.
"Kinzinger said in the same interview that the Republican Party is not the future of the country unless Americans correct it.". . .
*Centrist? Really? . . ."If you ask the members of the Freedom Caucus, they’ll tell you. They were simply trying to keep their promise to voters to repeal Obamcare. And the AHCA, contrary to Kinzinger’s claims, did not repeal Obamacare.
"It’s a sad day when trying to keep a promise to the people who elected you has become the most vilified act in Washington.
"Aside from improperly characterizing the AHCA as repeal, the rest of Kinzinger’s claims are simply baseless and petty—not to mention thoroughly unhelpful to a party that must work together to repeal Obamacare, or otherwise risk its hard-won majority.
" 'Specifically, Kinzinger takes issue with the negotiating tactics of the Freedom Caucus, comparing it to Lucy in the cartoon “Peanuts”—always holding the football out to be kicked, and at the last minute, yanking it back.
"Unfortunately, the facts don’t bear that out.". . .
Biden Admin: Jews Visiting Holy Site is “Unacceptable”
"That’s the State Department spokesman demanding that Jews be banned from their holy site because their visits are “provocative”. Muslim violence is not provocative." Joe is a better Muslim than he is a Catholic. TD
How do you make apartheid sound good? Just call it the "historic status quo".
"Under Muslim rule, the historic status quo by the invaders was to ban Jews from their own holiest site, the Temple Mount. When Jerusalem was liberated, there was a vocal insistence by the Muslims who had launched a war to destroy the Jewish State and by the “international community” that Jews continue to be barred from their own holy site in the name of the “historic status quo”. And if that sounds too unbelievable, here’s Ned Price, Biden’s State Department spokesman saying that Jews must continue to be banned.
So let me say broadly on the first question that the United States stands firmly for preservation of the historic status quo with respect to the holy sites in Jerusalem. We oppose any unilateral actions that undercut the historic status quo. They are unacceptable. The President has previously underscored the need to preserve that historic status quo at the Haram al-Sharif/Temple Mount, as has the Secretary. We have done so repeatedly with our Israeli partners; we have done so repeatedly with our Jordanian partners, whose special role as custodian of Muslim holy places in Jerusalem we deeply appreciate. That is a message we will continue to reinforce.
"Historic status quo sounds much better than apartheid, doesn’t it?
"Jews visiting the Temple Mount is “unacceptable” to the Biden administration.
"Ned Price then goes on to defend the Muslim terrorist heckler’s veto and to blame Israel for provoking the violence by… visiting a Jewish holy site.". . .
How can the silliest of Democrats seem to outsmart Republicans?
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McCarthy Holdouts Progress Towards Deal: ‘We’re in a Good Position’ "The House of Representatives will attempt to elect a speaker as House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) continues to try to find a deal with conservatives.
"McCarthy and House conservatives have been inching towards a deal that would elect a potential Speaker McCarthy.
"McCarthy offered conservatives more concessions, which include:
- One member motion to vacate, instead of five.*
- More House Freedom Caucus members on the House Rules Committee.
- Promises to hold votes on controversial term limit and border security bills.
"The conservative activist group Club for Growth and the Congressional Leadership Fund (CLF), a super PAC aligned with McCarthy, struck a deal to prevent CLF from weighing in on any open-seat primaries in safe Republican districts.". . .
*Concessions such as this one I fear will leave Republicans powerless and the Speaker afraid to act. TD
See what is happening now? Democrats Push for Pro-Amnesty ‘Moderate’ GOP Speaker
"Democrats are trying to sneak a pro-amnesty GOP legislator into the House Speaker’s seat."
“I would consider the right Republican, someone I could trust,” said Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Ca), a pro-migration Democrat close to California’s Silicon Valley. Khanna continued:
Brian Fitzpatrick, Mike Gallagher, who actually spoke eloquently on the floor. David Joyce. But there need to be two conditions. One, you can’t have debt ceiling — the debt ceiling debate or shutdown as something that takes the country hostage, and two, there would have to be some agreement on subpoena power. But I’m open to a Republican who could work to put the interests of the American people first.
Suggestion from a member of the party with neither affection for our nation nor her Constitution.TD
Gaetz: If Democrats Join Up with GOP to Elect a Moderate Republican House Speaker, I Will Resign That would be a two-fer for Democrats, Matt. Win-win.
House Democrats Float ‘Unity Speaker’ Possibility amid GOP Speaker Debate . . ."On MSNBC Tuesday evening, Ocasio-Cortez tried to drive a wedge between McCarthy and the 20 conservative holdouts.
“ 'I do not believe that Kevin McCarthy has the votes. I believe that a lot of the opposition to him is very personal. I believe his leadership style is incompatible with a lot of Republican members and certainly the Democratic Caucus,” she said.". . .It would seem that the great power behind this teeny bopper prom queen is using her to good effect. TD
Biden Administration Finally Admits How Disastrous Cancelling Keystone XL Was
"Just how bad was Joe Biden’s decision upon taking office to cancel the Keystone XL pipeline? We now have an admission directly from Biden’s own administration.
"According to a newly-released report from the Department of Energy, which cited a variety of studies on the economic impact of the pipeline’s construction, the cancellation of Keystone XL cost somewhere between 16,149 and 59,000 jobs. Lost GDP from the project is also estimated to be between $3.4 billion and $9.6 billion.
"Even when you only consider the SEIS, which is the government’s environmental impact study, the numbers of jobs and money involved aren’t small potatoes.
The 2014 Final SEIS estimated that about 42,100 total jobs, or 21,050 jobs annually, would be created if construction were to take two years (direct, indirect, and induced), as well as $2.05 billion in earnings in the United States. About 3,900 of these jobs would be direct construction jobs in Montana, South Dakota, Nebraska, and Kansas. The project was expected to support 50 jobs during the operation. The SEIS estimated that the construction of the KXL pipeline would contribute $3.4 Billion (or 0.02 percent) to the United States Gross Domestic Product.
"The cop-out here still being pushed by the DOE is the idea that the pipeline would only have created 50 permanent jobs. That’s a farce for several reasons. For starters, I’ve never heard of a pipeline that’s 1200 miles long and only requires 50 people to maintain it, from those on the ground to those flying pipeline patrol from the air.". . .
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