Friday, July 28, 2023

The Appendage Within the Confection Container

Both of our national political parties have historically clung to a bunker mentality when one of their prized members has come under public attack.  In my lifetime, the one exception is President Richard Nixon, who seemed to have no allies whatsoever; even the Republicans…in fact, the Republicans literally enabled and encouraged the impeachment proceedings of Nixon. 

 

For all of his obvious flaws and transgressions, the Democrats never abandoned President Bill Clinton.  They stuck loyally with him even when tossing him overboard would have been the easier…and perhaps…wiser choice.  The strange dynamic we are now witnessing between the Republican Party and Donald Trump is quite similar.  A clear majority of Republicans simply refuse to abandon Trump in spite of his obvious flaws and transgressions.  With multiple viable candidates opposing his pursuit of the Republican presidential nomination, they nonetheless stubbornly cling to his coattails with the endgame cry of…Damn the torpedoes, it is Trump in the White House or else!  It is brutally sobering to consider exactly what else might entail.

 

The latest episode of this national party denial of reality played out this week as the Hunter Biden/Department of Justice (DOJ) plea deal fell apart.  And in spite of the party mantra, the man the barricades cries of solidarity,  and the super intense pressure for ALL Democrats to cling to the defense of the Biden Family Enterprises until the last possible moment…the painfully-obvious joke of justice that is the DOJ and Attorney General Merrick Garland was caught with its hand in the cookie jar.  There is no adamant and enthusiastic denial that will suffice to cover up this blatant attempt to subvert the primary law enforcement arm of our American Government in an effort to protect a corrupt president and his cabal of filthy family members.  The facts speak for themselves. 

 

Surely…surely…we have reached a tipping point where that rare and reportedly-extinct creature known as a moderate Democrat will show its head and voice reasonable and sincere concerns over how this President and his crime syndicate relations have turned our government into a prostitution of power and influence for sale to the highest bidder.  Has the moment of truth arrived…or as we have said so many times over the last couple of years… “Is this simply another annoying leak on the Biden ship of state to be staunched?” 

 

This sad tale of the ultimate government jobbery is not complicated and is beginning to be connected by a series of facts and evidential revelations.  Read what it is all about and then decide for yourself if this is the government you want to support in our nation.

 

Here is a great 30-minute summary of the event from a professional, ethical, and outstanding source: The McCarthy Report -- Episode 223: Hunter's Plea Deal Collapses | National Review

 

https://www.wsj.com/articles/hunters-sweetheart-plea-deal-justice-department-lawyer-tax-gun-charge-whistleblower-irs-e271d08f

 

https://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/2023/07/a-devious-plea-deal.php

 

https://www.nationalreview.com/2023/07/protecting-the-bidens/

 

https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/hunter-biden-plea-deal-a-scam-from-the-start

 

https://thefederalist.com/2023/07/27/hunter-bidens-plea-deal-wasnt-supposed-to-protect-him-it-was-supposed-to-protect-joe/

 

https://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/2023/07/judge-noreika-to-hunter-biden-get-a-job-stay-sober.php

 

https://abcnews.go.com/amp/Politics/hunter-bidens-plea-deal-fell-apart-now-dramatic/story?id=101671356

 

https://nypost.com/2023/07/26/the-fix-was-in-for-hunter-biden-until-a-hero-judge-stepped-up/

 

The Biden Family Enterprises is a cesspool of political dealing that is shameful on its face, rotten to its core, and indefensible under any terms.

 

https://nypost.com/2023/07/26/the-real-scoop-on-bidenomics-corruption-tax-evasion-and-hunter/

 

https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/house/hunter-biden-six-takeaways-irs-whistleblower

 

https://jonathanturley.org/2023/07/20/friendly-fire-dan-goldman-demolishes-the-biden-defense-in-whistleblower-hearing/

 

https://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/2023/07/all-roads-lead-to-joe.php

 

https://thefederalist.com/2023/07/21/revelations-about-bidens-10-million-ukraine-bribery-scheme-warrant-impeachment/

 

https://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/2023/07/the-buried-fd-1023-key-quotes.php

 

https://www.nationalreview.com/2023/07/the-jaw-dropping-hunter-biden-investigation-revelations/

 

https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/house/leads-congress-can-follow-after-whistleblower-testimony

 

https://thefederalist.com/2023/07/24/fbi-told-delaware-u-s-attorney-it-had-already-partially-corroborated-biden-bribery-claims-source-says/

 

https://thefederalist.com/2023/07/25/only-an-impeachment-inquiry-can-unravel-biden-family-corruption-and-the-feds-role/

 

https://freebeacon.com/biden-administration/hunter-bidens-art-patron-visited-white-house-over-a-dozen-times/

 

https://www.nationalreview.com/the-morning-jolt/painting-a-portrait-of-corruption-around-the-bidens/

 

https://www.dailywire.com/news/timeline-of-alleged-biden-family-corruption

 

https://thefederalist.com/2023/07/26/biden-family-scandals-are-so-much-bigger-than-hunters-hookers-and-burisma-bribery/

 

https://jewishworldreview.com/0723/graham072623.php3

 

https://amgreatness.com/2023/07/28/bidens-corruption-implicates-the-entire-political-establishment/

 

https://amgreatness.com/2023/07/20/doubts-and-questions-about-biden-will-only-grow/

 

https://nypost.com/2023/07/24/media-beg-republicans-to-move-on-from-hunter-biden-because-they-know-the-scandal-is-serious/

 

As crazy as it may seem, we are now quite possibly at a place where Biden and the Democrats will support the appointment of a special counsel and the Republicans will oppose it.  Why?  Quite simply, the situation has reached a point where it is beyond the ability of the DOJ to keep it completely under wraps.  All of the evidence that we are now seeing has not come from the DOJ…it has come from the Republican investigative committees in the House.  How do you shut down those investigations?  You shut them down by appointing a special counsel and drying up their information sources.  Biden and the DOJ/Garland have a much better chance of controlling a special counsel that they will select than they do of controlling the Republicans in the House.  You cannot make this stuff up!  https://nypost.com/2023/07/20/the-joe-biden-bribe-allegations-need-a-special-counsel-now/

 

Every day brings us closer to the national elections of November 2024.  When you look at it a certain way, it seems ludicrous that the Democrats would want to run Biden for re-election and the Republicans would want to run Trump in an attempt to unseat him.  However, if you turn the prism to a different facet, the contest between Biden and Trump seems inevitable.  Has there ever…ever…been a stranger and more bizarre presidential election?

 

https://www.nationalreview.com/the-morning-jolt/what-keeps-democrats-up-at-night/

 

https://jewishworldreview.com/0723/hanson072823.php

 

https://amgreatness.com/2023/07/22/major-league-inside-politics-nears-the-trade-deadline/

 

The Democrats have a Biden problem:

 

https://jonathanturley.org/2023/07/28/bidens-break-the-glass-option-pardon-hunter-and-withdraw-from-the-2024-election/

 

https://amgreatness.com/2023/07/23/the-undumpable-biden/

 

The Republicans have a Trump problem:

 

https://reason.com/2023/07/21/2-reasons-its-not-clear-that-trump-corruptly-obstructed-an-official-proceeding/

 

https://thefederalist.com/2023/07/28/special-counsel-who-ignored-biden-bribery-slaps-trump-and-his-maintenance-guy-with-more-charges/

 

And the DeSantis alternative is finding it difficult to gain any traction:

 

https://thefederalist.com/2023/07/20/meet-the-self-interested-trio-behind-the-anti-desantis-attacks/

 

https://reason.com/2023/07/21/ron-desantis-bullies-bud-light-like-elizabeth-warren-bullies-amazon/

 

https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/editorials/truth-is-the-first-casualty-of-liberal-medias-war-on-desantis

 

https://www.nationalreview.com/2023/07/floridas-history-curriculum-is-better-than-the-lies-about-it/

 

https://amgreatness.com/2023/07/25/the-times-latest-desantis-smear-job-is-laughably-dishonest/

 

Rebooting a campaign should not include shooting oneself in the foot: https://www.nationalreview.com/corner/ron-desantiss-reckless-embrace-of-rfk-jr/

 

Perhaps the older wisdoms are the best wisdoms…do you remember this one... “It’s the economy, stupid!”

 

https://www.nationalreview.com/the-morning-jolt/the-coming-election-choice-about-bidenomics/

 

https://www.cnn.com/2023/07/20/homes/existing-home-sales-june/index.html

 

https://www.cnn.com/2023/07/25/homes/housing-affordability-home-prices-mortgages/index.html

 

https://www.cnn.com/2023/07/28/business/premarket-stocks-trading-dollar-decline/index.html

 

Here is a fascinating conversation about our national labor force and how it is developed: https://reason.com/podcast/2023/07/19/mike-rowe-the-missing-7-2-million-male-workers/

 

The NEA has lost its way!  America’s teachers and administrators need to regain control of their organizations and institutions…or…they will be lost for a long time to come.

 

You must see this to believe it: https://www.nationalreview.com/corner/our-righteous-fight-for-freedom-teachers-union-president-goes-full-dwight-schrute-in-unhinged-speech/

 

And this piece by Charles C. W. Cooke on Pringle is priceless: https://podcast.charlescwcooke.com/episodes/episode-36-the-becky-pringle-appreciation-hour

 

However…the rest of this is not funny at all…

 

https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/randi-weingarten-compares-herself-to-mlk-in-speech

 

https://amgreatness.com/2023/07/26/the-educational-establishments-radical-new-ploys/

 

https://www.nationalreview.com/corner/chinese-communist-party-linked-to-143-school-districts/

 

The effort by the liberal elements of our country to limit and control free speech is frightening.  Censorship and disinformation is very real, it is gaining strength, and it must be put down.  Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely!  We are all flawed creatures by design and it is a grave mistake to empower people in positions of authority with abilities that can allow them to exceed their ethical and moral boundaries.

 

The Judicial Branch of our government is the check and balance on the Executive and Legislative; we are seeing this clearly demonstrated by recent Supreme Court decisions and the Hunter Biden plea deal in particular.  The integrity, the power, and the influence of the Supreme Court must be preserved in order for our nation to survive.

 

https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/justice/fisa-report-prompts-renewed-calls-for-spy-tool-reforms

 

https://jonathanturley.org/2023/07/24/the-new-authoritarians-how-professors-are-now-calling-for-biden-to-simply-defy-the-supreme-court/

 

https://amgreatness.com/2023/07/24/how-to-create-conspiracy-theories/

 

https://reason.com/video/2023/07/26/matt-taibbi-how-the-left-lost-its-mind/

 

https://www.nationalreview.com/news/internal-facebook-emails-reveal-white-house-pressured-social-media-platform-to-censor-covid-misinformation/

 

The expanding overreach of executive actions by our recent presidents, both Democrat and Republican, must be reined in.  The Judicial branch of our government is the best hope for that balance to be regained and maintained.  But the battle will not cease and must be contested.

 

https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/white-house/biden-keeping-julie-su-acting-labor-secretary-indefinitely

 

https://www.nationalreview.com/2023/07/joe-bidens-attempt-to-bypass-the-senate/

 

https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/policy/courts/biden-asylum-border-policy-rejected-federal-judge

 

Those who control the flow of information have an inordinate influence on our culture and our society.  If those individuals who are in control are unscrupulous, they will seek to impose their ideals on the citizenry and subvert individual liberties and rights.  This battle is well engaged.

 

https://jonathanturley.org/2023/07/21/try-that-in-a-small-town-cmts-tone-deaf-censorship-of-jason-aldean-cannot-stand/#more-207537

 

https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/restoring-america/fairness-justice/kentucky-board-nursing-legal-discipline-structural-racism-training

 

https://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/2023/07/videos-skewering-tolerance-and-leftist-logic.php

 

https://www.nationalreview.com/corner/the-war-against-cars/

 

America’s foreign policy is in the hands of an incompetent and corrupt Administration.  These are very dangerous times in which we live.

 

https://www.nationalreview.com/the-weekend-jolt/the-antisemitism-is-coming-from-inside-the-house/

 

https://amgreatness.com/2023/07/25/why-are-americas-elites-are-dedicated-to-engagement-with-communist-china/

 

https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/19833/china-arctic

 

To close out this post, I will link three articles that should stimulate some deep thinking ….

 

I love sports and I love professional football, but something is simply wrong about paying a man a cool million dollars a week to play quarterback.  Not sure what this says about us as people, but it cannot be good: https://sports.yahoo.com/chargers-qb-justin-herbert-reach-5-year-2625-million-contract-extension-225911286.html

 

Here is an interesting glimpse into the future: https://compactmag.com/article/the-pessimistic-case-for-the-future

 

Consider this development and how it is fraught with moral and ethical dilemmas: https://www.nationalreview.com/corner/scientists-are-close-to-creating-human-embryos-from-stem-cells/

Wednesday, July 19, 2023

The Sunroom Chronicles, Part II

I want to share with you a recent conversation I had with my MAGA-wife over morning coffee.  I presented to her my belief that the stubborn polling spread between Ron DeSantis and Donald Trump lies mainly with those who are convinced the last presidential election was stolen from Trump and the only way to reconcile that is to restore him to the presidency.  Trump clearly feels this way and a large portion of the Republican Party does also; my wife included.  To them, nothing else takes precedence over settling this perceived injustice.  Government be damned; the economy be damned; foreign policy be damned….the Democrats stole the election and the only way to make it right is to put Trump back in!  Things were good while he was president and they will be good again if he is restored.

 

I submit to her that Trump’s shoot from the hip political style and constant badgering of his opponents will do nothing but create four years of turmoil and chaos.  She responds that is acceptable.  It is the price to be paid for what the Democrats did; it is their fault.  I say if that is true, then Trump should debate his Republican opponents for the nomination and lay out his case.  She says that is not necessary because he has already been president and we know what he stands for.  He shouldn’t have to debate.  I reply that yes…I know exactly what Trump stands for and our nation does not need four more years of it.  I submit to her…if he is so great, let him take the stage and defend his policies of the past, present his ideals for the future, and demonstrate that he deserves another four years as president. Do not forget…he ran for president as an incumbent and lost.  Since when does losing your last race make you the unchallenged choice for your next race?  Oh no, she says…he did not lose.  It was stolen. 

 

I think Trump is a chameleon and a bully.  He viciously demonizes those who disagree with him, he refuses to participate in legitimate debates, and he claims ownership of any positive effects associated with him while never assuming blame for any negative effects of a similar connection.  The Republicans run a very real risk if they buy into his scorched earth pursuit of their party’s nomination.  With the media helping him obtain it, they might find themselves with a damaged-goods nominee that the mainstream media then has no use for.  They’ll be forced to helplessly watch as the so-called journalists happily return to their Democrat roots.  Is it not clear that Trump will destroy anyone and anything in order to be president and the mainstream media views him as their useful idiot to keep the Democrats in power?

 

Trump’s only interest in being elected president once again is so that he can settle old scores.  He constantly looks backward and inward…he never looks forward or outward.  Is that what our country needs…a re-litigation of the last election…further cleaving of the polarizing chasm between Republicans and Democrats?  Are we not better served by drawing lessons from past mistakes, reforming government so that mistakes and abuses will not be repeated, and moving on with the future of our citizenry and their children?  We have an angry old man as president today.  Why should we trade him in for a different angry old man as president tomorrow?

 

I close the conversation with my wife by pleading with her to simply consider an alternative to Trump…just listen to his opponents.  I assure her that any Republican, including Trump, will get my vote versus a Democrat and that the essential goal is to put a Republican president back in the White House.  My pleas fall on deaf ears.  In her mind, and the minds of many Republicans, Donald Trump is entitled to a second term as president and nothing short of that will suffice.  I fear this is a bad strategy for the Republican Party and sincerely hope that this attitude withers as the nomination process proceeds.  If a substantial number of Republicans cling to this philosophy, it may very well put a Democrat back in the White House.

 

I readily admit to possessing a crippling case of naiveté; but hope does spring eternal and it is something we must cling to.  We have before us, Republicans and Democrats alike, an opportunity to reset the game board.  Joe Biden and Donald Trump are all about Joe Biden and Donald Trump.  Let us set them aside.  Let us refuse to allow them the use of our country to boost their aged egos and engagement in petty political gamesmanship.  It is our country and our families that are absorbing the collateral damage from their sophomoric spats.  Let us send them both packin’ with the venomous partisan poison they have been promoting since the early days of Obama. 

 

They have both had their chances…their shots at the target.  It is now time to consider new ideas, new policies, new approaches to old problems…and perhaps old approaches (our Constitution?) to new problems.  There is certainly no guarantee that new and fresh candidates from our national political parties will change the wicked political environment that we find ourselves in….but they might.  We need to take that chance.  We need to be bold.  We need to look for new ways and new leaders to solve our chronic problems. 

 

There is no promise that it will lead to a better nation; but there can be little doubt that continuing on our current path, with either Biden or Trump, will not lead to reconciliation of our fundamental political issues.  Albert Einstein advised us that “The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results”.  Are we really crazy enough to elect Biden or Trump a second time?  Bottom line: Hey Republicans…Donald Trump is better than anything the Democrats might offer…but you can do better!  On to the news….

 

America’s education industry continues to circle the drain.  The inmates have taken control of the asylum.  Rank and file teachers must stand up and rid their employee organization of the radicals that have commandeered it for their own personal agenda.

 

https://amgreatness.com/2023/07/14/its-time-to-acknowledge-americas-education-crisis/

 

https://jonathanturley.org/2023/07/15/gallup-public-confidence-in-higher-education-plunges/

 

Biden is determined to serve in office as a King and not as an elected President.  This blatant demonstration of executive overreach is shameful and must be stopped in its tracks:

 

https://reason.com/2023/07/14/biden-forgives-almost-40-billion-in-student-loans/

 

https://reason.com/2023/07/19/bidens-latest-student-loan-scheme-has-a-bigger-price-tag-than-originally-projected/

 

While the education system for our children withers on the vine, THIS is what our teachers are crying about: https://amgreatness.com/2023/07/19/the-latest-in-teacher-union-ugly/

 

Our economy is full of contradictions; competent analysts can cherry-pick current statistics and prove most any point they desire.  But if you take the time to consider the economy as a whole, from all aspects, you have to reach the conclusion that there is something off about the whole deal.  There is too much debt, too much inflation, and there is no sense of value in our economy. Too many help wanted signs are posted while too many able-bodied people are not working while they are living off the government dole.  Something’s gotta give.  I cannot shake the bad feeling that we are headed for a cliff and our driver does not understand the concept of braking.

 

https://reason.com/2023/07/13/bidenomics-is-nothing-new/

 

https://www.nationalreview.com/2023/07/it-isnt-time-for-an-inflation-victory-lap/

 

Our Department of Justice (DOJ) continues to daily disgrace itself.  While ignoring the actions of our President and his corrupt family dealings, they pursue Trump with a vengeance that is abnormal.  Think about it: Donald Trump is Biden’s chief political rival in an election less than a year and a half away and the DOJ, under the command of the President, is doing everything in its power to incarcerate Trump.  There is no place in the civilized world where this type of justice should be accepted by the citizenry. 

 

https://thefederalist.com/2023/07/19/bidens-doj-will-trigger-a-major-crisis-if-trump-is-indicted-for-jan-6/

 

https://www.wsj.com/articles/its-a-shame-about-wray-christopher-fbi-hearing-investigation-agents-washington-d54746d1

 

https://nypost.com/2023/07/16/wray-cant-blame-comey-for-his-own-constitutional-violations-in-russiagate/

 

We could use some more of this from our Congress: https://www.newsmax.com/newsfront/gop-house-subcommittee/2023/07/14/id/1127205/

 

https://nypost.com/2023/07/16/the-secret-services-investigation-on-the-cocaine-found-in-the-white-house-blows/

 

Both parties are earnestly pursuing the selection of their next presidential candidate.  At this point in time, all bets are off for both sides.  This is great opportunity for democracy to shine and allow the system to pick the best leaders available…but will we allow the system to work?

 

https://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/2023/07/the-great-sort-1993-2023.php

 

https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/editorials/congress-established-election-day-courts-need-to-ensure-it-doesnt-become-election-month

 

https://amgreatness.com/2023/07/14/dont-believe-the-leftist-media-narrative-about-the-state-of-the-2024-race/

 

https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/rating-the-gop-candidates-in-iowa

 

https://www.nationalreview.com/corner/fridays-winners/

 

https://www.dailywire.com/news/nikki-haley-reveals-what-shell-do-to-federal-agencies-if-elected

 

I believe Trump might be confused…he is running for President, not King of America: https://www.newsmax.com/newsfront/donald-trump-government-structure/2023/07/17/id/1127372/

 

Here are three stories to close out this post.  All regarding current issues that are demanding immediate and effective actions…and all three are slowly simmering because no action is being taken.

 

A robust and bipartisan debate about our national immigration policy is critical…the clock is ticking: https://nypost.com/2023/07/12/americas-illegal-migrant-crisis-is-far-from-over/

 

The Supreme Court’s recent decision about affirmative action continues to ripple throughout our nation.  It is not legal, nor moral, to discriminate in an effort to combat discrimination: https://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/2023/07/state-ags-say-stop-discriminating.php

 

Have we learned nothing from the shameless abuses of power that occurred during the covid epidemic?  When the next wave of national emergency rolls around, will we as a people lay down our rights…once again…to be trampled upon like we did last time?  Surely not: https://thefederalist.com/2023/07/15/if-you-were-a-sheep-during-covid-admit-you-were-wrong-and-do-better-next-time/

 

Summer Comes with a Serious Look on Its Face

June 21 will be the first day of summer and it is introducing itself in my part of the world with a string of 90 degree-plus days and a dry ...