Shredding Our Norms

For John, BLUF:  Trust in a process, once lost, may be hard to regain.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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Barr:  "Resisting A Democratically Elected President" Is Destroying Our Norms And Institutions, Not Trump

From Real Clear Politics, by Mr Tim Hains, 31 May 2019.  Based on 31 May Interview of Attorney General William Barr by CBS News legal correspondent Jan Crawford.

Here is a key excerpt:

In an interview aired Friday on “CBS This Morning,” Attorney General William Barr explains why he opened an investigation into the origins of the Russia investigation.  He doesn’t say what the evidence is, but Barr tells CBS News legal correspondent Jan Crawford that there is evidence that makes him believe senior government officials may have acted improperly to authorize surveillance of President Trump’s 2016 campaign.  He says that led to “spying” on the campaign.

He said the hyper-politicized nature of politics today is a danger to longstanding institutions and he took the job of attorney general because he is at the end of his career. . . .

“One of the ironies today is that people are saying it is President Trump who is shredding our institutions.  I really see no evidence of that.  From my perspective, the idea of ‘resisting’ a Democratically elected president and basically throwing everything at him, and really changing the norms on the grounds that we have to stop this president.  That’s where the shredding of our norms and institutions is occurring,” Barr said.

The inability of Democrats to accept the outcome of the 2016 election, resisting in various ways, including talking of Impeachment, trying to subvert the Electoral College, or characterizing the President as a liar, will not end well.  It could cost them the election in 2020.  It could lead to a tit-for-tat retaliation against a Democrat President.  It could lead to the unraveling of the ties that band together this very diverse nation.

Hat tip to the InstaPundit.

Regards  —  Cliff

Ego v Humility

For John, BLUF:  This looks like people who abrogate to themselves the authority to do things for which they would condemn others.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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AG Barr is an Absolute BALLER

From The Ace of Spades, 31 May 2019.

At InstaPundit Mr Ed Driscoll declares this as the Quote of the Day.  This is from Attorney General William Barr being interviewed by CBS’s Jan Crawford:

I’m amused by people who make a living disclosing classified information including the names of intelligence operative wringing their hands about whether I can handle classified information….  Sometimes people can convince themselves that what they’re doing is in the higher interest, the better good.  They don’t realize that what they’re doing is really antithetical to the democratic system that we have.  They start viewing themselves as the guardians of the people that are more informed and insensitive than everybody else.  They can– in their own mind, they can have those kinds of motives.  And sometimes they can look at evidence and facts through a biased prism that they themselves don’t realize.

Would this include former FBI Director James Comey?

Hat tip to the InstaPundit.

Regards  —  Cliff

The Origins of Russiagate

For John, BLUF:  There are hints that people inside the US Intelligence Community, American Citizens, were trying to prevent the election of Candidate Trump, and after the election, the Presidency of Donald Trump.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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William Barr: I've received no 'satisfactory' answers regarding Trump campaign 'spying'

From The Washington Times, by Mr Bailey Vogt, 31 May 2019.

Here are two nteresting paragraphs:

“Like many other people who are familiar with intelligence activities, I had a lot of questions about what was going on.  I assumed when I went in, I would get answers, and I got no answers that are satisfactory and, in fact, probably have more questions and some of the facts I’ve learned don’t hang together with the official explanations of what happened,” he said.

When asked to clarify, Mr. Barr said, “That’s all I really will say.  Things are just not jiving.”

This is of concern to me  I fear that certain Americans were interested in subverting the electoral process and outcome of the United States in 2016.  This would be Un-American.

Hat tip to the InstaPundit.

Regards  —  Cliff

The True University

For John, BLUF:  Camille Paglia is a true intellectual, capable of critical thinking.  Her opponents, the SJWs, not so much.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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Rex Murphy:  Campus social-justice Maoists dared to come for Camille Paglia. Big mistake

Here is the sub-headline:

The answer to this cloddish, arrogant, self-righteous, ideological twaddle — the lexicon of social-justice hollow-heads everywhere — is: 'Just who do you think you are?'

From the Canadian National Post, by Mr Rex Murphy, 3 May 2019.

Here is the lede plus one:

Applying for university enrolment is obligingly confessional and constitutes a noble act of candour and an absence of stifling ego.  It says, in effect, “I recognize that I am ignorant of very much, have a real desire to escape immaturity of thought and to fit my mind as much as I can to expand my sensibility to the appreciation of the works of intellect and imagination.  Above all I want to encounter new ideas, escape the sludge of teenage thought, and expand my range of opinion.”

She is superbly intelligent; she is an excellent cultural scrutineer; and most of all, she is a woman who understands scholarship, rebukes its stand-ins and counterfeits, is never a servant to the fads and fashion of our mediocre present, and is a rare genuine warrior for classic education.  For 30 years she has been on the faculty of the University of the Arts in Philadelphia (UArts); she is tenured; she has written a succession of enlightening and enlightened books.

Recently there was a cabal of students who demanded she be fired, to be replaced by a "queer person of colour".

Fortunately, the University stood up to the mob, something economics is making more rare each semester.

The good news from this petty outrage that UArts actually stood up to these nuisances, refused their ludicrous demands, and — probably to no effect —President David Yager reminded them that universities are not censor-shops, that different ideas are good, and freedom of expression is the very heart of all intellectual exchange.  “Across our nation it is all too common that opinions expressed that differ from one another’s — especially those that are controversial — can spark passion and even outrage, often resulting in calls to suppress that speech. That simply cannot be allowed to happen,” wrote Yager, capturing the point succinctly.

Hat tip to the InstaPundit.

Regards  —  Cliff

Getting It Wrong

For John, BLUF:  When you are locked into using a hammer, every problem is treated like a nail.  Public Education needs to fish around in the tool bag for some alternative tools.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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ASIANS AS BENEFICIARIES OF WHITE PRIVILEGE

From Powerline Blog, by Mr John Hinderaker, 27 May 2019.

This is about New York City public Schools.

Here is the lede plus one:

The success of Asian-Americans is a severe embarrassment to the race industry.  Race hustlers focus on “gaps” between whites and blacks with regard to income and educational attainment, which they attribute to “systemic” racism.  But what about the gaps between Asian-Americans and whites?  Asians, on average, earn considerably more than whites and as a group they do better in school.  Is their superior performance due to “systemic” racism directed against whites?

Presumably not.  But then, what becomes of the assumption that “gaps” between ethnic groups must necessarily be the result of racism?  There is no answer to this question, which is why race hustlers generally ignore Asians.

Explaining institutional failure is hard, especially when it is something like public schools.  And given past US institutional racism it is tempting to pull that out as an excuse, but it is not solving the problem, and may be making it worse.

Hat tip to the InstaPundit.

Regards  —  Cliff

Confronting the FBI

For John, BLUF:  Frankly the Security State has gotten a little out of hand and needs to be reigned in.  Normally we would expect the Democrats to do that, but today it isn't politically expedient for them to do so.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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Don't Click Here, It Is Just Gossip

While the revelations in the article may be important in helping us understand the limits we wish to place on our intelligence agencies, including the FBI, they do dishonor to some who have gone before us, and whom we have, in the past, honored.

From the [salacious] UK Daily Mail, by Reporter Jack Newman, 26 May 2019.

The actions of the FBI in wiretapping folks like Dr Martin Luther King, Charlie Chaplin, Malcolm X, Ernest Hemingway, Muhammad Ali, Jane Fonda, John Lennon, Paul Robeson, while perhaps important in a few cases, became too wide spread to be supportive of the First Amendment.  What we do in private should be allowed to stay private.  If we are doing wrong in private it is not the job of the police to vet each of us for all possible crime, but for the person harmed to stand up and say so, allowing a legitimate investigation  This goes along with that quaint Common Law belief in "innocent until proven guilty".

The story is that President Nixon was afraid to fire FBI Director J Edgar Hoover, for what Secrets Director Hoover might hold.

But, back to the article, we need to confront the assertion of Lord Acton:

Great men are almost always bad men.

Lord Acton, Letter to Bishop Mandell Creighton, 3 April 1887.

We believe President George Washington was a great man and also a good man.  And we think the same of President Abraham Lincoln.  When I was in Grade School, in the late 1940s and early 1950s we thought the same of Presidents Woodrow Wilson and Franklin D Roosevelt.  Today, President Woodrow Wilson not so much.

Hat tip to Ann Althouse.

Hat tip to the InstaPundit.

Regards  —  Cliff

Releasing Federal Government Information

For John, BLUF:  This is about getting out the facts favorable to my side, but not the facts favorable to your side.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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Flynn's case could prompt release of some redacted parts of Mueller report

From CNN, by Reporter Katelyn Polantz, 27 May 2019.

Here is the lede plus two:

Sought-after parts of the Mueller investigation may be made public this week, thanks to a federal judge who's taken an unusual approach in former Trump national security adviser Michael Flynn's case.

Judge Emmet Sullivan of the US District Court in DC set a Friday deadline for the Justice Department to make public unredacted portions of the Mueller report that pertain to Flynn, plus transcripts of Flynn's calls with former Russian ambassador Sergey Kislyak, and of a voicemail during which someone connected to Trump referenced Flynn's cooperation.

Taken together, the judge's orders look like a shortcut to transparency in a moment of executive branch stonewalling.

My question is, why are people, on the one hand, screaming for release of redacted parts of the Mueller Report, and on the other hand, screaming about President Trump giving Attorney General William Barr authority to declassify relevant documents relating to RussiaGate, such as FISA Court subpoena requests?

Hat tip to the Memeorandum.

Regards  —  Cliff

Senator McCain On Trump

For John, BLUF:  A lot of people think that the election of Donald Trump was a major sign of the Apocalypse.  I think that such views are over the top.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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Am I to think that while the new President was delivering his inaugural speech, John McCain was chanting something like "Hitler, Stalin, Mussolini, Mao, Hitler, Stalin, Mussolini, Mao, Hitler, Stalin, Mussolini, Mao" to steady his nerves and contain his rage?

From the Blog of Professor Ann Althouse, 26 May 2019.

Here is the lede plus:

According to HuffPo, Amy Klobuchar, speaking to "a crowd of more than 200" in Des Moines, Iowa, described her experience at Trump's inaugural like this:

I sat on that stage between Bernie and John McCain, and John McCain kept reciting to me names of dictators during that speech because he knew more than any of us what we were facing as a nation.  He understood it.  He knew because he knew this man more than any of us did.

Recited? Seems like some sort of chant.  But he was reciting to her.  If I had to bet what the somewhat less than brilliantly articulate Klobuchar meant, I'm guessing that Trump would say a line and McCain would mutter a name to Amy.

I would like to say about President Trump; worst dictator ever.  Even compared to Presidents Abraham Lincoln and Woodrow Wilson.

Hat tip to Ann Althouse.

Regards  —  Cliff

Some of the News

For John, BLUF:  Is the Intel Community so important it is a law unto itself and subject to no Executive Branch oversight?  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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Trump’s Targeting of Intelligence Agencies Gains a Harder Edge

From The New York Times, via MicroSoft News, by Reporters Michael S. Schmidt and Julian E. Barnes, 26 May 2019.

Here is the lede plus one:

President Trump tried somewhat clumsily last year to revoke the security clearance of the former C.I.A. director who played a role in opening the Russia investigation.  He then wanted to release classified documents to prove he was the target of a “witch hunt.”

Both attempts petered out, hampered by aides who slow-rolled the president and by Justice Department officials who fought Mr. Trump, warning he was jeopardizing national security.

But this week, Attorney General William P. Barr engineered a new approach.  At Mr. Barr’s urging, Mr. Trump granted him new authorities to examine the start of the Russia investigation, demonstrating a new level of sophistication for an old line of attack.  Unlike Mr. Trump’s hollow threats and name-calling, Mr. Barr’s examination of how the intelligence community investigated the Trump campaign could offer a more effective blueprint for the president to take aim at his perceived political enemies.

Then there was this paragraph:

“The president is not known for the precision, judiciousness or thoughtfulness of his attacks, but he is in attack mode here and we seem to be opening a new front,” said David Kris, the head of the Justice Department’s national security division during the Obama administration.

So, we have The Old Gray Lady siding with the intelligence establishment against the Constitution.  This is not reporting, but opinionating.  There is no even-handed presentation of information.  If there was no "spying" on the Trump Campaign, then where did the information come?

Hat tip to the InstaPundit.

Regards  —  Cliff

House Dems Divided

For John, BLUF:  Well, it isn't as bad as when Democrat Jefferson Davis was leading the Confederacy.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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Pelosi, Nadler tangle on impeachment, contempt vote

From The Hill, by Reporters Scott Wong and Olivia Beavers, 25 May 2019.

Here is the lede plus three:

There is growing daylight between Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.) over the best strategy for combating a Trump administration that is flouting a flurry of congressional subpoenas at nearly every turn.

The pair of powerful Democrats clashed in recent days over whether to launch impeachment proceedings against President Trump and how soon to hold a contempt vote against Attorney General William Barr.

Nadler, spurred by frustrated Judiciary Committee members, has been privately pushing leadership for both an impeachment inquiry and a contempt vote immediately after lawmakers return from their weeklong Memorial Day recess.

Pelosi is still urging a go-slow approach, concerned that Democrats have not yet swayed public opinion about why such aggressive tactics are necessary. The Speaker is also pointing to a string of court victories over the Trump administration and business entities, bolstering Democrats’ arguments that the law is on their side as they methodically probe the president.

Hat tip to the InstaPundit.

Regards  —  Cliff

Backlash

For John, BLUF:  I just hope it doesn't turn into a literal Night of the Long Knives amongst the Democrats and Never Trumpets.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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Trump-Russia's Turning, and the Knives Are Out

From Real Clear Investigations, by Reporter Eric Felten, 25 May 2019.

Here is the lede plus one:

Now that the Russia collusion allegations have evaporated, the long knives are out and the president’s antagonists are watching their backs.  They have moved from accusing President Trump of treason to pushing revisionist narratives that try to shift the blame for the debunked probe onto others.

This effort is expected to accelerate following Trump’s decision Thursday to empower Attorney General William Barr to declassify CIA, Pentagon, and Director of National Intelligence documents as necessary to access “information or intelligence that relates to the attorney general’s review” of the Russia probe.

In other words, he’s gaining the authority needed to investigate the investigators.

CIA sources immediately objected in the New York Times that assets’ lives would be at risk, stunting Langley’s ability to recruit. Perhaps.  But the argument is a bit shopworn, raising the question whether intelligence managers are looking to protect their agents and sources, or aiming to protect themselves.

There are a growing number of indicators that the leading players in the 2016 election drama are turning on one another, making a mad dash for the lifeboats to escape being dragged under with the political Titanic that is Christopher Steele and his dossier.  These are many of the same people who had been eager to exploit the dossier, that collection of memos paid for by the Clinton campaign and supposedly sourced from Russia.  Once treated like the Rosetta stone of collusion, the Steele documents now seem even to Trump antagonists more like the Howard Hughes diaries.

I liked this side comment from Law Professor Glenn Reynolds:

Ultimate conspiracy theory:  It was actually Trump who caused the Steele Dossier to be commissioned, as a poison pill that his Deep State adversaries would be unable to resist, ensuring their destruction and his eventual ascendancy.

Hat tip to the InstaPundit.

Regards  —  Cliff

Democrats Slime Cabinet Secretary

For John, BLUF:  I hate it when my fellow Republicans say something stupid, so I can only image how Democrats feel about this.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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Official DNC War Room account calls black neurosurgeon a ‘moron’

From Twitchy, by Greg P, 24 May 2019.

Here is the lede:

The DNC War Room account is an official account of the Democratic National Committee, so this is quite a disgusting take on Ben Carson:

Yes, we laugh at Ben Carson because he’s a moron, but this is important.

I don't think this was actually racist, since they think all Republicans are morons.  On the other hand, the probably have an especially dim view of Blacks who are Republicans.

Hat tip to the InstaPundit.

Regards  —  Cliff

Schooling Options

For John, BLUF:  Competition is good.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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Are Homeschoolers Overqualified?

Here is the sub-headline:

A shocking letter to Mike Rowe suggests they are.

From Intellectual Takeout, Ms Annie Holmquist, 24 May 2016.

Here is the concluding paragraph:

In the last decade, the number of children being homeschooled in the U.S. rose 61.8 percent. In the U.K., homeschooling rose by 65 percent. Unless today’s institutional schools step up their game in regards to teaching children basic academic and practical skills, is it likely that the ranks of homeschoolers will continue to grow as parents look to form their children into well-rounded and well-adjusted adults?

Hat tip to the InstaPundit.

Regards  —  Cliff

Status of New Twenty Dollar Bill

For John, BLUF:  When announced, back in 2016, the redesign project was expected to take a decade.  It is way too early to be looking for new bills.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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Delaying the Harry Tubman $20 Bill

From PJ Media, by Author Sarah Hoyt, 24 May 2019.

No excerpts.  Read the whole short article.

Hat tip to the InstaPundit.

Regards  —  Cliff

2020 White House Watch

For John, BLUF:  I am not convinced Senator Warren would win in November 2020.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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Warren Tops Trump One-on-One

From Rasmussen Reports, 25 May 2019.

Here is the lede plus one:

Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts edges President Trump in the latest White House Watch hypothetical 2020 matchup.

The new Rasmussen Reports national telephone and online survey of Likely U.S. Voters shows Warren with 46% support to Trump’s 44%. Ten percent (10%) are undecided. (To see survey question wording, click here.)

Forty-five percent (45%) share a favorable opinion of Warren, while another 45% view her unfavorably. This includes 17% with a Very Favorable opinion and 32% with a Very Unfavorable one. Just 10% don’t know enough about Warren to venture any kind of opinion of her, making her one of the better-known candidates in the race for next year’s Democratic presidential nomination.

On the other hand, she is behind Candidates Biden and Sanders and even with Candidate Harris.

Remember, if you don't like illegal immigration, vote for a Socialist for President in 2020.  You don't see refugees fleeing to Venezuela or Cuba.

Regards  —  Cliff

California Dream Fading

For John, BLUF:  California had everything, and then squandered it by not investing in the future.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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Open Letter to CA Gov. Newson from a Parent Whose Kids Are Leaving the State

From Politochicks, 20 May 2019.

Here is a letter to the Governor of California, trying to explain what is wrong.

This OpEd in today's New York Times, "America’s Cities Are Unlivable.  Blame Wealthy Liberals." helps explain the problem.

I was a resident of California from 1956 until 1994, and the best years were the 1950s and 1960s.  Proposition 13, in 1978, was a definite problem.

Hat tip to the InstaPundit. Regards  —  Cliff

No Canings, Yet

For John, BLUF:  Things are pretty bad in DC, but not as bad as it has been in he past.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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Caning of Charles Sumner

From The Instapundit, by Professor Gail Heriot, 22 May 2019.

Here is the blurb:

On this day in 1856, Rep. Preston Brooks (D-S.C.) beat Senator Charles Sumner (R-Mass.) nearly to death on the floor of the U.S Senate.  As nasty as things are, they aren’t that nasty.  (Not yet anyway.)

Thank God.

Hat tip to the InstaPundit.

Regards  —  Cliff

Whiteness

For John, BLUF:  From the definitions below one could be forgiven for thinking there are a lot of "white" Backs and Asians, and Hispanics as well.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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Schools Chancellor Richard Carranza accused of demoting admins because they were white

From The New York Post, by Reporter Susan Edelman, 18 May 2019.

Here is the lede plus four:

Whiteness has become “toxic” under schools Chancellor Richard Carranza’s regime, insiders charge.

At least four top Department of Education executives who have been demoted or stripped of duties under Carranza’s sweeping reorganization are poised to sue the city, claiming he has created “an environment which is hostile toward whites,” a source told The Post.

The women — all white, veteran administrators — contend they were pushed aside for less qualified persons of color.

“These decisions are being made because DOE leadership believes that skin color plays a role in how to get equity — that white people can’t convey the message,” said a source familiar with the complaints.

“There’s a toxic whiteness concept going on.”

Now here is an interesting quote from the mentioned course material:

“Whiteness” is defined as: “The component of each and every one of ourselves that expects assimilation to the dominant culture.”

If one doesn't wish to assimilate into the domanent culture, why would one come here; or better why would they wish to become part of the dominant social institutions.  Why would they not, like Nicaraguans or Hondurans, emigrate to a culture they favor.  This sounds like a version of Little Green Men in mufti.  Sort of a "let's subvert the dominant culture".  I am not sure people will like the outcome, although it will probably put paid to illegal immigration.

Here is a definition of "white supremacy":

“White supremacy is characterized by perfectionism, a belief in meritocracy, and the Protestant work ethic,” the exec said, adding that whites who object when accused of deep-rooted bias are called “fragile” and “defensive.”

This issue is like the "left/right" in political discussions.  It just obfuscates what is really happening.  I guess it could be worse.  Then Attorney General Eric Holder, early in his time at Main Justice, called us to a conversation.  Now would be a good time.  Not a lecture, but a real conversation.

This calls to mind the late Antonio Francesco Gramsci, and not for the better.

Hat tip to the InstaPundit.

Regards  —  Cliff

Acting in Bad Faith

For John, BLUF:  This cowering before Social Justice Warriors, before the mob, is terrible.  It could cost the Democrats the Election on 2020.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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RISE OF THE ACADEMIC TOTALITARIANS

From InstaPundit, by Professor Glenn Reynolds, 12 May 2019.

Professor Reynolds was blogging about an article in The College Fix on the imbroglio at Harvard over one of Harvard Law's Professors being on the Harvey Weinstein defense team.

BREAKING: Harvard dean representing Harvey Weinstein is removed from position

Here is the lede plus two:

Harvard’s Winthrop House faculty dean, Ronald Sullivan, will not be returning to his position after his term expires at the end June.

So announced Dean of the College Rakesh Khurana Saturday morning in an email to House affiliates, reports The Harvard Crimson.

Sullivan is the embattled dean representing Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein, who stands accused of multiple instances of sexual assault.  Sullivan’s decision to take on Weinstein as a client has resulted in a tumultuous few months as #MeToo activists and others — including the student paper The Crimson — have trashed the professor and called for his ouster.

Maybe Dean Sullivan is doing a poor job as Dean, but to drop him in apparent response to the #MeToo movement is Unamerican and corrosive to our understanding of the Rights of Englishmen, including the right to a defense in court.

From a tweet by Mr Charles C W Cooke:

The idea that a defense lawyer is "condoning" the alleged crimes committed by his client, as opposed to demanding the state fulfill its role in proving them, is disgusting and dangerous.

From the comments at InstaPundit:  “Fair is fair, now we get to blacklist the lawyers that defend Comey, Strzok, and Hillary.”

Hat tip to the InstaPundit.

Regards  —  Cliff

Spotlight on Our Mass Attorney General

For John, BLUF:  The US works, as a society, because we have a relatively high level of trust, amongst citizens and between citizens and government.  The coddling of illegal immigrants tends to erode that trust, which is bad for our society.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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Lelling just doing his job while Healey isn't doing her job

From The [Lowell] Sun, by Columnist Peter Lucas, 7 May 2019.

Here is the lede plus five:

Attorney General Maura Healey should be happy with U.S. Attorney Andrew Lelling.

He is doing the job she does not want to do, enforcing the law.

And because he is picking up the slack, Healey has more time to spend suing President Donald Trump, something she loves to do.

Healey, a progressive Democrat, has filed more suits against Trump than just about any other attorney general in the country.

Many of the suits have been filed in conjunction with the Democratic Attorneys Generals Association (DAGA), a political organization that opposes just about everything Trump stands for, illegal immigration, to cutting onerous regulations.

Most of the suits go nowhere but they make headlines.

I think Mr Peter Lucas is correct.  We are getting a lot of whinging out of Mass Attorney General Maura Healey, but precious little action over the shameful act of Newton District Court Judge Shelley Joseph in releasing an illegal immigrant who was wanted by ICE and also the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.  Ms healey is a NATO kind of person—"No Action, Talk Only".

Regards  —  Cliff

Megan MeCain Stands Up

For John, BLUF:  It is a terrible thing the way the Democratic Party is turning is back on Jews in its support of Palestinians.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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Taking the fight to them …

Here is the sub-headline:

Bravo …

From Blaze Media, by Mr Rob Eno, 8 May 2019.

Here is the lede:

Meghan McCain has been unafraid in recent months to take the fight to her fellow mainstream media and entertainment personalities.  On Tuesday, she took it right to Seth Meyers over his support of Ilhan Omar despite her anti-Semitic views.  Meyers insinuated that McCain had been putting Omar’s life at risk by criticizing her.  That’s when McCain quipped, “Are you her publicist?”

The Corbynization of the Democratic Party.

And it is nice to see Ms Megan McCain on the side of the angels on this issue.

Regards  —  Cliff

Do The Dems Have A Strategy?

For John, BLUF:  The threat of impeachment seems to go on and on.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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Beto: ‘Yes, I Think There’s Enough Evidence’ for Congress to Impeach Trump

Here is the sub-headline:

O’Rourke voted twice against impeachment proceedings as a member of the House.

From the Blog Legal Insurrection, posted by Ms Mary Chastain, 6 May 2019.

Here is the lede:

2020 presidential candidate Robert O’Rourke became the latest Democrat to call for Congress to begin the process to impeach President Donald Trump after the release of Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s report.

Either the Democrats have a very good strategy, much of it hidden from view, to be revealed at the proper time, or they have no strategy.

My questions:

• What are they going to do about Vice President Biden, who is, unlike President Trump, a real conservative?
• Assuming the Dems make VEEP Pence go away, like they did Spiro Agnew, is Nancy Pelosi the person they want in the Oval Office?
  • Would she run in 2020?
  • Would she have undue influence over the Convention?
  • Who would be the new Speaker?
• Should Ms Pelosi step down as Speaker, allowing Hillary Clinton to be elected to than position and then sliding into the White House, thus "rectifying" the Presidential Election of 2016?
• What will be the view of the Voters?
• Will the Voters stick with the New President?
• Will the Votes demand a new, fresh, face?
• Will the Voters revolt and go Republican, especially if the economy hiccuped?

I think the best Democratic path is to continue to harass the President, but to take no overt action.  And even that carries risks.

Hat tip to the InstaPundit.

Regards  —  Cliff

Gross, Boorish, Behavior

For John, BLUF:  As an American I am embarrassed by this activity by activists in our Nation's Capitol.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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It Gets Worse:  Asians Harassed in D.C. for Wearing MAGA Hats Were North Korean Defectors

From PJ Media, by Ms Debra Heine, 3 May 2019.

Here is the lede plus three:

On Wednesday, PJ Media told you about a group of Asians who were harassed in the street because they were wearing MAGA hats.

An individual who goes by "Bigalow Black" on Twitter proudly posted a short video clip on April 30 showing several street thugs harassing a group of what looked like Asian tourists.

"Not Around Here Pimp...Ain’t None Of That Make America Great Again Sh*t," wrote Black, who hails from Washington D.C., and Miami, according to his Twitter profile.

The video shows a group of black men surrounding the Asians, grabbing the MAGA hats off their heads, and throwing one of them in the air before stomping on it.

This was truly boorish behavior, behavior encouraged by parts of the Democratic Party.

It gets worse. PJ Media has since learned more about the individuals who were attacked.

"The Asians wearing MAGA hats were not just tourists," Wendy Wright, president of Christian Freedom International, told PJ Media. "They are North Korean defectors and South Koreans who get rice, medicine, and Bibles into North Korea and North Korean defectors out."

The attack happened in Washington, D.C, Wright said.

What ever happened to the New Civility?

Hat tip to the InstaPundit.

Regards  —  Cliff

China's Population Gap

For John, BLUF:  China isn't the only nation with a non-sustainable birth rate.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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Beijing’s one-child policy is gone. But many Chinese are still reluctant to have more.

From The Washington Post, by Reporter Anna Fifield, 4 May 2019.

Here is the lede plus four:

NANCHUAN, China — When she started her job nine years ago, Liu Fang’s work involved making sure the women from her village did not have unauthorized babies.

If they had a girl or a disabled child, they were allowed another chance.  If they already had two children or a boy, Liu handed out condoms and urged the women to get an intrauterine device.  If they got pregnant again, she would encourage them to have an abortion.

As the representative of All-China Women’s Federation for Nanchuan — a township of 6,000 people on the outskirts of a small village, on the outskirts of a small city, on the outskirts of a provincial capital in central China — Liu was entrusted with keeping down the population in her little patch of a country with 1.4 billion people.

Her job performance was evaluated by the number of births in her district — the fewer, the better.

Today, her job could hardly be more different.  After the Chinese government abandoned its one-child policy three years ago, Liu’s mandate has changed from making sure local women don’t have too many babies to actively encouraging them to have more.

There are consequences for meddling in how the family operates, and turning it back isn't always easy.  China may find it difficult to reverse the social engineering.  It is one thing to discourage pregnancy, but another to encourage more of it.

The significance of a Chinese population that has started to decline and is rapidly aging cannot be overestimated, said Yi Fuxian, a researcher at the University of Wisconsin at Madison.

“A great nation with thousands of years of history and a brilliant civilization is rapidly degenerating into a small group of the old and the weak thanks to these wrongheaded population-control policies,” he said.

Aside from the sometimes ignored fact that we exist to know, love and obey God, our other reason for existing is procreation.  If we have fallen off the procreation path we are thwarting Mother Nature's path.  Our line will end and we will be replaced by another line, another species, and no one will be left to care, to carry on what we have learned.

Zeng’s husband, who works in the construction business, wants more children, but she told him he doesn’t earn enough.

I like her job oriented attitude, but, in forty-five years it will bite, when the working age population isn't big enough to support those who wish to be retired.

Hat tip to Mr John McDonough.

Regards  —  Cliff

The Russiagate Backstory

For John, BLUF:  It is just possible the Obama Administration didn't have clean skirts WRT Russiagate.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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Rosenstein:  The “Previous Administration” Didn’t Tell Us The Whole Truth, And Don’t Get Me Started On Comey

From Hot Air, by Mr Ed Morrissey, 26 April 2019.

Here is the lede:

Rod Rosenstein won’t stick around much longer at the Department of Justice, but the deputy Attorney General will make his departure memorable.  At a dinner hosted by the Armenian Bar Association, Rosenstein took aim at critics, the media, and especially Russia, whose aims at destabilizing the US remain vastly underappreciated, he warned.  However, when describing his last two years at the center of the Russiagate maelstrom, Rosenstein took veiled shots at the Obama administration, James Comey, and Congress for their roles in stoking those fires:

This makes Rod Rosenstein sound like a stand up guy, which makes him a credit to DOJ and the American System.

I hate this mess (Russiagate) and wish it would go away, before the hidden origins drag our nation further into the muck, but maybe we do need a house cleaning.  I hope Mr Horowitz is a man of integrity.

Hat tip to my Wife.

Regards  —  Cliff

And Paul Robeson?

TRIGGER WARNING:  In which I say we shouldn't pick on the late Kate Smith.

For John, BLUF:  Kate Smith was on the television when I got home from grade school each day, when the Army-McCarthy or the Kefauver Committee hearings weren't.  I recall no racism.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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If We Cancel Kate Smith, We Must Cancel The New York Yankees

Here is the sub-headline:

The Yankees have banished Kate Smith to the dustbin for singing silly songs.  Let's banish the Yankees for their decades of racism.

From The Federalist, by Mr David Marcus, 23 April 2019.

Here is the lede plus five:

It was announced this week that both the New York Yankees and the Philadelphia Flyers would stop using their traditional recorded version of Kate Smith singing “God Bless America” during their games.  This happened after it surfaced that Smith had performed songs now considered racist during her hey day in the 1930s.  The Flyers, with whom Smith is more closely aligned as the good luck charm for their 1974 Stanley Cup run, even removed a statue of her from the Philadelphia sports complex.

In a brilliant monologue, sports commentator Jason Whitlock broke down the absurdity of these moves.  The whole video is worth watching. Among other things, Whitlock points out that the song “That’s Why The Darkies Were Born,” recorded by Smith in the 1930s, was satire that was also performed by black civil rights legend Paul Robeson.  I hope Robeson, one of the most important black figures of the 20th century, won’t have to meet this same fate.

We need to be careful that in creating this new world we don't forget who we are and where we came from.

Just saying.

Hat tip to the InstaPundit.

Regards  —  Cliff

Stephen Colbert is an Ignorant Toad

For John, BLUF:  This "part of the story" attack is despicable.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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LATE NIGHT LIES ARE NO LAUGHING MATTER

Here is the sub-headline:

Stephen Colbert lied to attack President Trump this week.  Again.  It's the new normal for late night "comedians."

From Hollywood in Toto, by Reporter Christian Ford, 30 April 2019.

Here is the lede:

Colbert accepted Biden’s inaccurate video claim that President Donald Trump praised white supremacists nearly two years ago following a Charlottesville, Va. protest which left one woman dead.  If you listen to the president’s full comments he made it clear he did no such thing.

Context is everything.  And not listening to the full statement means lack of context.  Remember, if they will do it to the President, they will do it to you.

Hat tip to the InstaPundit.

Regards  —  Cliff