Helping Others While Ignoring Our Own

For John, BLUF:  The US Veterans Administration already has a mixed review, based on what Veterans I know have to say.  This will only make it worse.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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Mayorkas looks to divert VA funding to illegal immigrants

From Hot Air, by Reporter JAZZ SHAW, 29 April 2022 9:36 AM ET.

Here is the lede plus three:

When Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas recently unveiled his “six pillar plan” for dealing with the crisis on our southern border, he certainly didn’t mention this truly awful idea.  During his recent testimony before Congress, Mayorkas slipped in one option that Joe Biden is reportedly considering.  In order to provide better care for the tens of thousands of illegal aliens streaming across the border, the White House is looking at the possibility of diverting funding from the Veterans Administration for that situation.  Additionally, some of the doctors and nurses tasked with caring for our veterans could be reassigned to providing care for the illegals.  Our colleague Spencer Brown at Townhall has the details.

During his recent testimony before Congress, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas informed lawmakers that the Biden administration was considering diverting resources from the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to deal with Biden’s border debacle.  This includes not just funding but also VA nurses and doctors who are tasked with caring for America’s veterans, and who may now be sent to care for illegal immigrants.

It’s a ludicrous idea and a terrible decision that Biden seems ready to make. Veterans’ health care has struggled in the past — notably during the last time Biden was in the White House as Vice President in the Obama administration.

America’s veterans deserve the best possible care as a small benefit in return for their service to our country and defense of our freedom.  But Biden thinks those who care for veterans can just be shuffled around as his administration flails about trying to handle the border crisis his policies created.

To be clear, any Cartel summgled human being who falls off our Southern Border Wall and breaks a leg, pelvis or skull, deserves medical care.  As does any other Illegal Immigrant.  They are our fellow human beings, found on the road to Jericho, or anywhere else.  But so are our Veterans, who should not be abandoned in the rush to help others.

Perhaps, if Congress can not stop this action, the solution will be for those Veterans denied service by the VA to gather on our Southern Border and create a human shield, preventing illegal immigrants from entering our nation without the proper paperwork in hand.

It would appear we need more creative ways of helping those who flee their own homes, hoping to reach a land flowing with milk and honey.

Hat tip to the InstaPundit.

Regards  —  Cliff

Good News Story

For John, BLUF:  A Senior comes out as Conservative at Harvard and the world does not end for Harvard or for her.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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She came out as conservative at Harvard. It went better than expected.

Here is the sub-headline:

Carine Hajjar said after she respectfully raised her conservative views at the liberal university, most people thanked her for it

From The College Fix, by Reporter Allie Simon (UC San Diego), 29 April 2022.

Here is the lede plus four:

Carine Hajjar dealt with ideological homogeneity at Harvard University for three-and-a-half years mostly in silence, but in the spring semester of her senior year, she finally came out as conservative. She said she has no regrets.

“A common stance among Harvard liberals was that conservative viewpoints don’t matter because they’re just wrong,” she said in an interview with The College Fix.

Yet Hajjar said what she experienced after coming out as conservative by becoming a columnist for the Harvard Crimson in her final months as a student at the Ivy League school in the spring of 2021 was camaraderie.

She received a lot of quiet agreement from peers, friends, teaching assistants and professors, including private emails, texts, and even people coming up to her in person expressing their approval and concurrence.

She also said some of her very liberal friends thanked her for writing her column, as they felt like they “couldn’t say anything anymore” due to today’s stigma and intense analysis of everything people say.  Others told her to make sure she continued to write it, saying a contrarian point of view was sorely needed.

Maybe this story is to remind me to bite my tongue the next time I thoughtlessly dispariage that Down County School.  There are some good, thinking, people there.

Hat tip to the InstaPundit.

Regards  —  Cliff

Canada Fears Mass Migration from South of the Border

For John, BLUF:  Keep in mind that this is a humor piece.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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Canada to build border wall, demand Twitter pay for it

From Sense of Events Blog, by Writer Donald Sensing, 25 April 2022.

Here is the lede plus two:

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced this morning that he will work closely with the Canadian parliament to rush building a wall along the country's border with the United States to halt the mass immigration to Canada of American leftists, journalists, and celebrities fleeing after today's sale of Twitter to Elon Musk.

The prime minister, noting that Canada's immigration web site had crashed in 2016 as American liberals panicked, said that action to stop the Americans' looming, illegal border crossings was urgently needed.

"We cannot accept large numbers of American, left-wing sore losers coming to Canada just because the world's wealthiest man bought their favorite 'free speech for me but not for thee' platform," Prime Minister Trudeau told a chapter meeting of retired Royal Canadian Mounted Police.  "Anyone caught crossing into Canada without authority will be deported."

Yes, a sarcastic piece, but I can see parts of it happening.

Mr Elon Musk buying out Twitter is a real thing and has caused many people to say absolutely stupid things.  For example, people saying they are worried about news reports being suppressed.  Heavens to Betsey, even The Old Gray Lady has acknowledged that the Twitter suppressed Hunter Biden Laptop story was in fact real enough.

Hat tip to the InstaPundit.

Regards  —  Cliff

Twitter has a New CEO

For John, BLUF:  If one really believes in Democracy, one must believe in Free Speech, which means listening to all sides, or at least allowing space for all sides.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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MID-WEEK IN PICTURES: MUSKAGEDDON EDITION

From Power Line Blog, by Mr Steven Hayward, 25 April 2022.

Here is the lede:

I have no idea whether Elon Musk is fundamentally sound or not, but one of Churchill’s remarks comes to mind as the sensible way of thinking about the wider scene:  “If Hitler invaded Hell, I would at least make a favorable mention of the devil in the House of Commons.”  The wailing and gnashing of teeth on the left today makes it all worth it, even if we’re disappointed with the results down the road.  It is another demonstration of how insecure liberals are at their core.  Meanwhile, I expect the next Tesla models will be equipped with voice-activated Twitter posting.

And beyond is photos and cartoons.

The outcry from some at Twitter, and some Twitter users, about Freedom of Speech is tone-death.  The rest show their lack of belief in Free Speech on the part of the prt of the Twitter Using left.  My favorite is those who fear their candidate could be banned by Twitter.♠  Equally lame are those who think speech has to be curated, because the folks out cross the fruited planes may not bre smzrt enough to sort through free information.  This would be unlike the period around the American Revolution.

Remember, if they can censor you now, at some point someone else will be censoring them.

I recommend (at the link) the screen capture of the Tweet by Mr Hillel Neuer, showing how political contributions are mde by various high tech workers.

Hat tip to the InstaPundit.

Regards  —  Cliff

♠  Like President Trump?

Chosing Freedom

For John, BLUF:  It is always interesting to review old Bible stories, as they are eternal and instructive.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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The Jews Who Didn’t Leave Egypt

Here is the sub-headline:

A lesson from the past about choosing freedom over servitude

From The Tablet, by Ms Alana Newhouse, 14 April 2022.

Here is the lede plus two:

This [past] weekend, millions of people will sit around Seder tables and memorialize the exodus of the Jews from Egypt.

Guided by the Haggadah, or Passover text—one of the most popular Jewish books ever written—Seder participants are led along in a series of prayers, texts, and activities. We talk and talk and talk about the miracle of liberation; we parse the details of its unfolding, enumerating the many miracles involved; we go over whether we are supposed to commemorate the blessing of freedom only in this life or also in the next one; we assert in words and song the gratitude we feel for being the lucky descendants of those who escaped from slavery.

One thing we do not generally discuss, however, are the Jews who didn’t leave.

Yes, an interesting question.  And today?  Who would trade comfort for freedom?

Hat tip to the InstaPundit.

Regards  —  Cliff

The Internet and Freedom

For John, BLUF:  When I first cmer scross the Internet the watchword was "Informstion Wants to be free."  Todaay the industry leaders, and their academic supporters, are dvocztes for "Information needs to be curated."  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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Elon Musk’s vision for the internet is dangerous nonsense

Here is the sub-headline:

Musk now faces no limit on how much of Twitter’s stock he can buy. He’ll buy as much as he needs to gain total control

From The Guardian (UK), Professor Robert Reich, 12 April 2022, 06.31 EDT.

Here is the lede plus three:

The Russian people know little about Putin’s war on Ukraine because Putin has blocked their access to the truth, substituting propaganda and lies.

Years ago, pundits assumed the internet would open a new era of democracy, giving everyone access to the truth.  But dictators like Putin and demagogues like Trump have demonstrated how naive that assumption was.

At least the US responded to Trump’s lies.  Trump had 88 million Twitter followers before Twitter took him off its platform – just two days after the attack on the Capitol, which he provoked, in part, with his tweets. (Trump’s social media accounts were also suspended on Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, Snapchat, Twitch and TikTok.)

These moves were necessary to protect American democracy.  But Elon Musk – the richest man in the world, with 80 million Twitter followers – wasn’t pleased.  Musk tweeted that US tech companies shouldn’t be acting “as the de facto arbiter of free speech”.

Reviewing the fourth pargraph, Mr Musk is correct. "US tech companies shouldn’t be acting 'as the de facto arbiter of free speech.'"  Isn't that how dictatorships work?  As Citizens, we get to decide who is telling the truth.  For example, every four years, when we vote for President.  We don't need tech compnies telling us how to vote.

This is from Mr Ed Driscoll, blogging at the InstaPundit:

ROBERT REICH IN THE GRAUNIAD:  Elon Musk’s vision for the internet is dangerous nonsense. “Musk has long advocated a libertarian vision of an ‘uncontrolled’ internet.  That’s also the dream of every dictator, strongman and demagogue.”

Because if there is one thing that Iran, CCP China, North Korea, and Putin’s wartime Russia are all famous for, it’s the sweet, unfettered, free flow of information.

Sadly, Professor Reich sounds like a member of the elite who is now affraid that the masses are about to turn out the politicians he favors.

In his book Guns, Germs and Steel, author Jared Diamond says that early on in writing language the way of writing was complicated and restricted to a small group of scribes and was a system for keeping the mjority down.  However, when writing came back with Guttenburg's printing press it turned into a tool for democracy for the maasses.  People like Professor Reich and their Lordships in high tech want to go back to the scribe mode, to control the masses.  As a member of the masses I oppose and resent this way of doing business.

And this assault on the Internet, and on free speech, will impact how I vote.

Hat tip to the InstaPundit.

Regards  —  Cliff

Transition Closets

For John, BLUF:  The idea is you go off to school the way your parents dress you, and then, once at school, you chaange into those cloths that best represent who you think you are (gendere wise).  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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California School Creates ‘Transition Closet’; Allows Students To ‘Swap Out’ Of Clothes ‘Parents Approve Of’

From The Daily Wire, by reporter Ben Zeisloft, 23 February 2022.

Here is the lede:

A high school in Oakland, California, is creating a “transition closet” that will allow students to come to school in clothes that their “parents approve of” and change into the clothing of their selected gender identities.

It really does seem like the public schools against the parents.

My nagging questiion is under what circumstnces can the Parents say "Enough!" and release their child to the school for housing, feeding, clothing and general supervision?  If the path the parents are on for raising their child is no longer satisfctory to their Lordships at the school, is it not time to transition the child to the school, full time.

I expect, a hundred years on, if the United States is still around, this will be seen as child abuse.

That said, adults should be free to identify as they wish.  And to have surgury and drugs as they see fit.  As with, from my childhood, Ms Christine Jorgensen.  But, Ms Jorganson was in her twenties when she sought surgury.  An adult.

Hat tip to the InstaPundit.

Regards  —  Cliff

Corruption in 2020 Election

For John, BLUF:  Two key points.  The Electoral College elected Joseph Biden President and there is no changing that fact.  Further, no matter how many pundits disgrace themselves by denying it, there were pockets of corruption in the 2020 elections.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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Explosive Pennsylvania Testimony Explains How Leftist Money Infiltrated Election Offices In 2020

Here is the sub-headline:

This evidence should be enough for the Pennsylvania legislature to recognize there is a real problem when private money and private actors collaborate with election officials.

From The Federalist, by Columnist Msrgot Cleveland, 8 pril 2022.

Here is the lede plus two:

The Democrat governor’s office in Pennsylvania colluded with left-wing activists to secure millions of dollars in private money to run get-out-the-vote efforts in blue counties in the swing state in 2020, new, explosive testimony revealed.  The Pennsylvania legislature heard this testimony, backed up by email evidence, on Tuesday during the first public hearing on two new bills seeking to block private grants.

Tuesday’s public hearing began with statements by the respective primary sponsors of the bills that seek to ban dark money from elections, with Sen. Lisa Baker speaking in support of Senate Bill 982 and Rep. Eric Nelson encouraging passage of House Bill 2044.  Pennsylvania investigative journalist Todd Shepherd then testified at length on the results of his extensive probe into the insertion of private funds into the 2020 election.

With a series of PowerPoint slides, Shepherd revealed to lawmakers that beginning in July 2020, consultants working for leftist organizations coordinated with local election officials and Democrat Gov.Tom Wolf’s office to lobby five blue counties to apply for these private grants.  While the grants originated with the nominally non-partisan Center for Tech and Civic Life—an organization that Mark Zuckerberg and Priscilla Chan’s private foundation later infused with some $350 million in cash—emails reveal that a main consultant involved in targeting select counties, Marc Solomon, worked for the Center for Secure and Modern Elections, or the CSME.

Get out the vote efforts are good.  but they have to be fairly done.  To use state level governmental [political] power to steer money to benefit one or another party is ethically, and per the article, legally wrong.

Thus, what was done in Pennsylvania was wrong.  Learning about it doesn't change the outcome of 2020.  It is what it is.  That said, what we know today should influence what is done at the local, state and Federal levels in 2024.  To deny this is to show oneself to be, at best, corrupt, and at worse fascist in conduct.

Hat tip to the InstaPundit.

Regards  —  Cliff

Weapons of Mass Destruction

For John, BLUF:  They aren't guilty until the Jury says so, and the Jury represents the Common Man—us.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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No convictions for defendants in Michigan Gov. Whitmer kidnapping trial

Here is the sub-headline:

Anti-government militia members were charged with hatching a plot against the state's Democratic leader, angry over restrictions she ordered in the early days of the pandemic.

from NBC Newa, by Reporters David K. Li and Mohammed Syed, 8 April 2022, 2:32 PM EDT.

Here is the lede plus †hree

A federal jury failed to convict four men accused of plotting to kidnap Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, whom they despised for the restrictions she ordered early in the pandemic.

The panel in Grand Rapids considered charges against Daniel Harris, 24, Adam Fox, 38, Barry Croft Jr., 46, and Brandon Caserta, 33, all charged with conspiracy.

All but Caserta are also charged with knowingly conspiring to use weapons of mass destruction against persons or property, in an alleged plot to slow responding police.

Croft and Harris were also charged with possession of an unregistered destructive device.  Harris was charged with possession of a semi-automatic assault rifle that wasn't registered to him.

I want to first deal with the term "weapons of mass destruction".  In my mind the use or the term in this court case, while conforming to current US Law, erases an important line; a line that is between normal ways of killing people and destroying property and the use of nuclear, radiological, chemical and biological weapons, which are expected to create thousand of casualities, and, iin the case of nuclear weapons, blocks of destruction.  See, for example, this Wikipediaa article.

As for the jury, I expect they did their duty in sorting through the facts,  It appears to me that the involvement of the FBI was too heavy in the plotting, thus giving plausability to a defense argument that the defendents were trapped.  Further, this seems to be an action at a time when emotions were high and this "conspiracy" may have just been blown out of proportion.

Hat tip to the InstaPundit.

Regards  —  Cliff

George Anthes Has Moved On

For John, BLUF:  It is sad when anyone passes away.&nbp; It is more so when it is a friend.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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George Anthes Passed Awy on Wednesday

George, like myself, was a "blow in", having been born in Springfield, Massachusetts.  AA graduate of Holy Cross Univeristy and then earning a JD, he worked in private practice and in Government.  He was also an adjunct University Professor.  Some of us know George from his excellent work as a Lector at Immaculate Conception Parish. Others, with some overlap, know him from his radio and TV careers as Commentator,  In al he excelled.

Farewell George Anthes, and God's Speed to Paradise.

Regards  —  Cliff

Is A Food Shortage Coming?

For John, BLUF:  Even the Chinese Agriculture Minister is concerned and has said so publically.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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20 Facts About the Emerging Global Food Shortage That Should Chill You to the Core

From Uncanceled, by Author Michael Snyder, 3 April 2022.

Here is the lede:

A very alarming global food shortage has already begun, and it is only going to get worse in the months ahead.  I realize that this is not good news, but I would encourage you to share the information in this article with everyone that you can.  People deserve to understand what is happening, and they deserve an opportunity to get prepared.  The pace at which things are changing around the globe right now is absolutely breathtaking, but most people assume that life will just continue to carry on as it normally does.  Unfortunately, the truth is that a very real planetary emergency is developing right in front of our eyes.  The following are 20 facts about the emerging global food shortage that should chill you to the core…

Then follows 20 examples of problems noted in various nations.

It isn't just the loss of wheat production due to Putin's War (e.g,, half of Africa's wheat comes from Russia and Ukraine), but includes other issues, like bird flu infecting chicken production in Iowa.

I hope Joaephy has taalked to President Biden about this issue of years of famine.

Regards  —  Cliff

Hope Over Reality

For John, BLUF:  Not every good idea works out when it meets reality.  The groceery store plastic bag ban is an exaample.♠  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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Research suggests plastic bag bans may be backfiring in a way that makes complete sense once you think about it

Here is the sub-headline:

From Not the Bee, by the NTB Staff, 30 Mrch 2022 4:30 pm.

Here is the lede plus one:

Plastic bag bans are fairly irritating—they're paternalistic, preachy, and they deprive countless homes of the endless usefulness of the all-purpose plastic bag—but more than that, it appears that they might not actually, you know, work:

Researchers at the University of Georgia suggest that banning the sale of plastic bags may come with a side-dish of unintended consequences.

The new analysis suggests that plastic bag ban policies — while well-intentioned — may end up having the opposite effect.  The issue that comes up is that grocery bags are viewed as single-use items, but they often get a (brief) second lease on life as liners for small trash cans.  Without the shopping bags available, people look for alternatives — which the researchers suggest means they buy small plastic garbage bags.

And there you are.  Do state legislatures not have research organizations?  People who look at the long term conseuences.  I would give a pass to local elected bodies, but if it is a city the size of Lowell, Mass, don't they have a Department of Planning and Development, with people capable of asking questions?.

The plastic bag ban is another triumph of hope over reality.

Hat tip to the InstaPundit.

Regards  —  Cliff

♠  From our time living in the Naples, Italy, area, in the mid 1970s, the NATO Allied Community (US, British, French, Greek and Turk) referred to the small plastic bag as an "Italian Attache Case," in that they were (re)used on the local economy to carry just about anything.

Telling the Truth

For John, BLUF:  Sometimes Government begin to think things are all about them, when, in fact, it should be about the People.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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Not just Russia:  America has a problem speaking truth to power, too

From The New york Post, by Professor Glenn H. Reynolds, 31 March 2022, 8:02pm.

Here is the lede plus three:

Russian President Vladimir Putin is in trouble in Ukraine, and it’s because people lie to him.

That’s the story put out by US intelligence officials, and it has the ring of truth.  Apparently, Putin wasn’t told of the miserable state of readiness of Russian troops, the unavailability of spare parts and repair facilities, the shortage of transport, the inefficiency of the Russian air force, the lack of trucks needed to haul ammunition, food and fuel to the front or the surprising effectiveness of the Ukrainian military.

Putin’s “senior advisers are too afraid to tell him the truth” about “how badly the Russian military is performing and how the Russian economy is being crippled by sanctions,” according to the White House’s Kate Bedingfield.

. . .

Thing is, the hide-the-bad-news dynamic is growing by leaps and bounds right here in America.

And there is the problem.  We, as Americans, are facing the same problem as President Putin.  As he is Sovereign in Russia, we, the People, are sovereign here in the United States, and we are not getting the truth.  And while some might point to this President or that President, I believe the problem is in the permanent Bureaucracy.

The permanent Bureaucracy has institutional interests and will act to defend those interests.  It is the job of Congress, and the president, to fight those institutional interests and substitute the interests of the People.

Hat tip to the InstaPundit.

Regards  —  Cliff