A Disruptive Eight Years

For John, BLUF:  Columnist Kimberly Strassel lays out how the Democrats perverted our system of Government in order to keep President Trump out of office.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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The Left’s Mangled Guardrails

Here is the sub-headline:

They’ve spent eight years trying to kill democracy in the name of saving it.

From The Wall Street Journal, by Columnist Kimberley A. Strassel, 16 January 2025, 5:17 pm ET.

Here is the lede plus four:

The modern Democratic Party specializes in projection, and Joe Biden offered a model of the method in his Wednesday night farewell address.  His warnings that a “dangerous” “abuse of power” is coming can only be read as the left’s latest excuse and argument for its own misbehavior.

That model proved gold for Democrats during Donald Trump’s first term as president.  The constant refrain that the “tyrant” was unraveling democracy provided their justification for tearing through standards and norms.  In the name of saving the country from Trump excesses, we were told, holdover acting Attorney General Sally Yates had to defy presidential orders, the Federal Bureau of Investigation needed to lie to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court, a special counsel was required to dog a sitting president, the bureaucracy had a duty to “resist” Trump policy, Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh had to undergo a circus inquisition, and Congress had no choice but to hold Trump officials in contempt, issue unprecedented subpoenas and impeach the president.

None of this was good for norms, though it did serve Democratic partisan interests.  The proof is that these accusations didn’t end with Mr. Trump’s exit.  Mr. Biden was elected on a vow to respect norms, yet of all the many promises he has broken, his and the left’s continued ramming of guardrails may prove the most damaging in the long term.  They deserve a roll call, especially as Mr. Biden continues to bathe in the illusion that his party spent four years “respecting the institutions that govern a free society: the presidency, the Congress, the courts . . . the separation of powers, checks and balances.”

In the name of justice, Mr. Biden’s attorney general, Merrick Garland, became the first in history to train his department on a former president—who also happened to be the biggest political threat to his boss.  This provoked any number of “unprecedented” moments in our country—the first-ever FBI raid on a former president, novel legal theories spun into new definitions of “conspiracy,” legal briefs filed to influence an election.

The left’s broader lawfare campaign—waged in the name of stopping a return of the “criminal” Trump—opened a Pandora’s box of complex cases, forcing courts to break new ground on issues that would have been better left unplumbed:  the contours of a post-Civil War insurrection law, the edges of executive privilege, the boundaries of presidential immunity.  Mr. Biden in his farewell lambasted yet again the high court’s immunity decision in Trump v. U.S. as dangerous.  But which side dragged us into this uncharted territory in the first place?

And on she goes, listing steps that were out of synch with our accepted political practices.  And as to President Biden whinging over the US Supreme Court's decision regarding Presiddential Immunity, I am not sure it should be any other way.  Without that Immunity the President would be handicapped in the execution of his office.

Ms Strassel is correct in her Column and the Democrats and the Biden Team Administration was out of order.

The good news is that it didn't work.

Hat tip to my Friend, Steve Broussard.

Regards  —  Cliff

Massaging the Numbers

For John, BLUF:  This is a takeoff of Lord Wellington's quip to a reporter on statistics.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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Playing With Numbers

From The Instatpundit, by Editor Mark Tapscott.

Here is the lede plus two:

THREE KINDS OF LIES:  There are lies, damned lies and Biden’s statistics.  Exhibit A from his recent State of the Onion, according to Issues & Insights (I&I), is his claim that the richest Americans pay on average a net tax of 8.2 percent.  What???  Biden should have asked his IRS:

“It calculates the actual tax rate that various income groups pay, including the ultra-rich.  Its data show that the 400 people with the biggest incomes in America were paying an average tax rate of more than 23 percent.  Congress’ Joint Committee on Taxation figures that the tax rate on the top 0.4 percent of families is 26 percent,” I&I explains.

“So where does Biden come up with an 8.2 percent tax rate?  He changes the definition of taxable income to include all unrealized gains from investments.  If you have money in the stock market, any gains in the value of those stocks would count as income to Biden, even if you don’t sell the stock.  Presumably so would any gains in the value of your home.  Or the value of any other assets you possess.”

Posted 11 March, at 10:41 am, by Editor Mark Tapscott

This should put us on alert for any time we hear a statistic coming from President Biden or the White House.♠  I saw several exsamples of questionable statistics in President Biden's most recent State of the Union speech.  Then, of course, there is his amorphous "everyone pay their fair share".  But, what is a fair share?  Is it related to a percentsge of your income, or your wealth, or related to the value you are able to withdraw from the economy?  Or is it that since everyone has the benefit of being an American, should everyone pay the same?

The worst part of this Presidential performance is it is causing young people and people in their middle age to think that all of us near the age of President Biden are stumble bums and mentally deficient.  This is the worst sort of ageism.

Hat tip to the InstaPundit.

Regards  —  Cliff

♠  Or is it all Democrafts or is it all Politicians?

Those Terrible Coal Fired Power Plants

For John, BLUF:  In a move that seemed counter-intuitive, President Biden came out a couple of days ago and said coal fired power plants are going away, but withouot an apparent plan.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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Biden says coal plants 'all across America' will be shut down, replaced with wind and solar

Here is the sub-headline:

Biden argued that it's 'cheaper' to generate electricity from wind and solar than it is from coal

From Fox Business, by Reporter Andrew Miller, 4 November 2022, 6:22pm EDT.

Here is the lede plus two:

President Biden said Friday that coal plants are too expensive to operate, and "we're going to be shutting these plants down all across America" in order to shift to wind power in a comment that drew criticism from the Republican National Committee.

"I was in Massachusetts about a month ago on the site of the largest old coal plant in America," Biden said at an event in Carlsbad, California, on Friday.  "Guess what?  It cost them too much money.  They can't count.  No one is building new coal plants because they can’t rely on it.  Even if they have all the coal guaranteed for the rest of the existence of the plant.

"So it's going to become a wind generation.  And all they're doing is it’s going to save them a hell of a lot of money and using the same transmission line that they transmitted the coal-fired electric on, we're going to be shutting these plants down all across America and having wind and solar power, also providing tax credits to help families buy energy efficient appliances, whether it's your refrigerator or your coffee maker, for solar panels on your home, weatherize your home, things that save an average, experts say, a minimum of $500 a year for the average family."

There are a number of views on the cost of wind and solar vs coal.  Here is an example from last year of someone saying coal is actually cheaper.  On the other hand, at about the same time The Guardian told us that solar and wind were coming in cheaper.  Some point to the subsidies provided by Governments to make renewable energy cheaper.

Reoorts show coal fired power plans are being closed, or will become more expensive than nearby renewable efforts, by four-fiths by 2025.  But, what about picking up the slack when thew wind does not blow or the sun does not shine.  Tht will be on hydropower or carbon or nuclear fueled power plants.

From a "Climate Change4" point of view it isn't just about the US and Europe.  China has recently approved 8.63 gigawatts (GW) of coal power just in the first three months of 2022.  China has pronmised to limit climate-warming carbon dioxide emissions by 2030, but that is off in the future.

What is missing from President Biden's untimely proclamation was a time schedule.  When is this going to happen?  Will he still be President.

What is missing is a program to inform the voters of the United States as to the long term plan for providing consistent electric power across the fruited plain, withouot the use of carbon fuel.

Hat tip to the InstaPundit.

Regards  —  Cliff

Free and Fair Elections

For John, BLUF:  President Biden seems to think that the Republican Party, which fought for 100 years for the rights of Black People to vote, has turned into the Democratic Party of the Old South.  He is sadly, and damagingly mistaken.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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Biden Says 2022 Election “Could Easily Be Illegitimate”

Here is the sub-headline:

“Oh, yeah, I think it could easily be illegitimate … The increase in the prospect of being illegitimate is in proportion to not being able to get these reforms passed.”

From Legal Insurrection, by Professor William A. Jacobson, 19 January 2022, 07:00pm.

Here is the lede plus two:

oe Biden is setting the stage for Democrats to claim 2022 wins by Republicans would be illegitimate, based on the false claims of voting suppression that even CNN said were lies, CNN Skewers Biden’s Voter Suppression Lies. Yes, CNN.

Democrats are using fearmongering about “the end of democracy” in order to try to nationalize election controls away from states and local governments to lower election integrity. Unless Democrats can bust the filibuster — and that looks like it’s not going to happen because Manchin and Sinema are holding firm — then the voting bill is dead. (That vote may happen tonight.)

Democrats are expecting to lose bigly in the 2022 elections, so of course, Biden preemptively is suggesting the 2022 elections may not be legitimate. That’s just how Biden framed it at his press conference today:

I admit I am a bit confused.  Is the Presidenet saying that the election two years ago may have been illegitimate?  I know Democrats questioned the 2016 Presidential Election.  At Least Ms Hillary Clinton stated that.

Or is it that certain states have been doing evil things, rolling back COVID Pandemic exceptions to our commonly accepted voting practices.  Since Politics is a negotiation, I would be happy to offer up some options in exchange for Voter ID and signatures on Mail-in Ballots.  Is there a deal to be had?

Hat tip to the InstaPundit.

Regards  —  Cliff

Very Bad, But Not a Trend

For John, BLUF:  The issue is the tornadoes that touched down along a 200 mile corridor in the US Midwest, killing over 100 people overnight between Friday night, the 10th, and Saturday morning, the 11th of December.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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Meteorologist responds with data after Joe Biden seemingly blames climate change for deadly tornados

From The Blaze, by Reporter Chris Enloe, 13 December 2021.

Here is the lede plus nine:

Meteorologist Joe Bastardi fired back at President Joe Biden for seemingly blaming the devastating tornado outbreak that struck multiple states last week on climate change.

What did Biden say?

When a reporter asked Biden on Saturday whether climate change contributed to the deadly tornados, Biden pointed to climate change allegedly increasing the intensity of storms.

"All I know is that the intensity of the weather across the board has some impacts as a consequence of the warming of the planet and climate change," Biden said. "The specific impact on these specific storms, I can't say at this point."

"I'm going to be asking the EPA and others to take a look at that," Biden continued. "But the fact is that we all know everything is more intense when the climate is warming. Everything. And obviously, it has some impact here, but I can't give you a quantitative read on that."

Federal Emergency Management Agency Administrator Deanne Criswell was more direct. During an interview on CNN's "State of the Union," Criswell said the extreme weather "is going to be our new normal."

"The effects we are seeing of climate change are the crisis of our generation," Criswell said.

How did Bastardi respond?

The famed meteorologist accused Biden of weaponizing tornados and shared data showing that severe weather this year has not been as severe compared to previous years.

"Clueless Joe Biden In action again with his weaponization of Tornados. 1) Violent tornadoes not increasing. 2) this year tornados, hail and wind all together near-record low," Bastardi said. "Mindless media should do their dang job and call him on it, I called Trump out on Dorian jibberish." The data Bastardi included, coming from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, directly contradicts claims from Biden and Criswell that severe weather is more intense because of climate change.

Meteoroligist Joe Bastardi?  Yes, Wikipedia has described him as a Climate chsange denier.  That seems a little harsh.  How can anyone, looking back over tens of thousands of years deny climate change?

I do think that President Biden and FEMA Director Criswell took the easy way out, appealing to their base, but the data suggests they were specifically wrong, although there may be some larger climate shift.  If you read the whole article it will suggest this is not a particularly active period for tornados.  Or huriccanes.

Regards  —  Cliff

You and Your Local School Committee

For John, BLUF:  The people involved in public education, from teachers to School Committee Members are becoming an isolated clerisy, not subject to the will of the voters.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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Florida Mom Calls for ‘Mass Exodus’ from Public Schools on Heels of Merrick Garland’s Crusade Against Anti-CRT Parents

Here is the sub-headline:

A Florida mother has called for parents to lead a “mass exodus” from public schools in the wake of Attorney General Merrick Garland’s announcement that the FBI will investigate “intimidation” and “threats of violence” at school board meetings across the country.

From Breitbart, by Reporter Nick Gilbertson, 8 October 2021.

Here is the lede plus four:

Florida Mother Quisha King spoke during the panel “Fighting Indoctrination on a National Scale” at the Family Research Council’s “Pray Vote Stand Summit” in Virginia on October 7.

“You’re at home trying to make peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for your kids, and the FBI could be knocking at your door because you might have said the wrong thing at a school board meeting,” King stated.

“I really think at this point the only thing to do is have a mass exodus from the public school system – that’s it,” King said.  The crowd responded to King’s suggestion with resounding applause as some audience members even stood up to cheer.

King added that a message will truly be sent when school districts lose funding once children are taken out of their schools.

To be clear, I do not favor parents doing a wholesale withdrawal of their students from public schools.  On the other hand, I fully support the right of Parents to pick the best education modality they see fit.

However, the issue isn't how you choose to educate your child.  After all, this isn't Germany.  The issue is the right of Voters (and even resident aliens) to speak before a School Committe, or a City Council.  If the Citizenry feels intimidated, then we face tyranny.  Yes, these presentations can be heated, but the presenters, if voters, have the ability to vote the rascals out.  Yes, physical threats are verboten, as is violence, but forceful argument is part of the process.  Just ask President Joseph Biden.

UPDATE:  As I went to sleep I reviewed this in my mind and decided I needed to point out that I have never thought of our Lowell School Committee as one of those closed mind clerisy types.  Mistakes?  Yes.  But, they have been an open group, by and large, and have listened to some inane questions by me and others and responded in a respectful manner.  Kudos to them.

Hat tip to the InstaPundit.

Regards  —  Cliff

Vaccine Mandates

For John, BLUF:  The President, apparently without consulting with Congress, has assumed dictatorial powers.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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Larry Kudlow calls out 'anti-freedom part' of Biden's vaccine mandates

Here is the sub-headline:

'President Biden caused a firestorm yesterday by announcing his mandate'

From Fox Business News, by Anchor Larry Kudlow, 10 September 2021.

Here is the lede plus two:

"If they'll not help... if these governors won't help us beat the pandemic, I’ll use my power as president to get them out of the way."

Don't take it from me. Take a listen to the president himself who is thumbing his nose at our nation's governors and after he thumbs his nose at them, he's putting his finger in their eye.

Federalism is dead. Don't take it from me, take it from President Biden.

The Constitution?  The Bill of Rights?  Roe v Wade?.  The role of the US Congress?

All gone in a flash because not everyone will do as President Joseph Biden says.

It is almost like Donald Trump won in 2020.  Not the real Donald J Trump, but the one pictured in the minds of Progressives and many Democrats.

But, it wasn't just a Bidenism.  His staff was out backing up his move.  For example, on the CNN Don Lemon Tonight Show we have the Director of the White House Office of Public Engagement, former Congressman Cedric Richmond.

Senior White House adviser:  Biden will 'run over' governors standing in way of vaccine mandates

Here is the sub-headline:

'We won’t let one or two individuals stand in the way,' adviser Cedric Richmond declared

And this article's lede:

Senior White House adviser Cedric Richmond declared Thursday that President Joe Biden would "run over" governors that stood in the way of his efforts to mandate vaccinations against the coronavirus in companies with more than 100 employees.

We are going to run over the Governors?

If I thought the agencies of the Federal Government followed the science, let along understood it, I might have some willingness to concede the President was trying to help us.  As it is, I think he is just swatting wildly at the problem, and breaking things in the process.

Regards  —  Cliff

It Is Never Enough

For John, BLUF:  How much diversity is enough diversity, and when will we begin to explore all the dimensions of diversity?  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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BBC diversity chief says Idris Elba's TV detective Luther 'isn't black enough to be real' because 'he doesn't have any black friends and doesn't eat any Caribbean food'

Here is the sub-headline:

• Miranda Wayland said the hit BBC crime drama was only superficially diverse
• Bosses are now looking to portray minority groups in a more convincing way
• BBC will spend £100m of content budget on diverse programming over 3 years

From The Daily Mail. by Reporter Tom Pyman, 13 April 2021, 20:58 EDT.

Here is the lede plus two:

The BBC's diversity chief has claimed Idris Elba's TV detective Luther 'isn't black enough to be real' because 'he doesn't have any black friends and doesn't eat any Caribbean food'.

Miranda Wayland said the hit crime drama, which won plaudits for having a strong, black lead character, was only superficially diverse and that corporation bosses are now looking to portray minority groups in a more convincing and rounded way.

Elba, who first made his name across the Atlantic starring as Stringer Bell in The Wire, cemented his status as a worldwide star by picking up a Golden Globe, among other gongs, for his depiction of the obsessive John Luther between 2010 and 2019.

From Wikipedia, "Luther is a British psychological crime drama television series starring Idris Elba as DCI John Luther…."

We watched Luther! and we enjoyed it.  Truth be told, I also like Hinterland but may be the only one, except for Senator Joe Biden.

This seems over the top.  I don't eat Irish food.  Does this obviate my heritage?  As Undertaker John McDonough says, "The food is why we left Ireland."

Hat tip to Fox News Commentator Tucker Carlson.

Regards  —  Cliff

Baseball Bloopers

For John, BLUF:  Maybe it is time for Major League baseball to call a "Lid".  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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MLB moving 2021 All-Star Game from Atlanta over Georgia voting law

From ESPN, by Reporter Alden Gonzalez, 2 April 2021, 2:59 PM ET.

Here is the lede plus two:

Major League Baseball announced Friday that it is moving the 2021 All-Star Game out of Atlanta in response to a new Georgia law that has civil rights groups concerned about its potential to restrict voting access for people of color.

The 2021 MLB draft, a new addition to All-Star Game festivities this year, will also be relocated.

In a statement, MLB commissioner Rob Manfred said the league is "finalizing a new host city and details about these events will be announced shortly."  A source told ESPN that the 2022 All-Star Game is still planned for Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles and that that site won't be moved up to fill the void this summer.

Do you think Mre Manfred has even read the bill?  Maybe he is relying on what some staffer told him.♠

And, this might add to the number of people, including Congress Critters, willing to pull Major League Baseball's anti-trust exemption.

My personal position is that Baseball has done wrong, but at least they haven't sold out to China, as has the NBA.

Hat tip to the Daily Maralarkey.

Regards  —  Cliff

♠  Fox News reports "The Washington Post Fact Checker knocked President Biden on Tuesday for falsely claiming a new Georgia law "ends voting hours early," giving him its harshest rating of Four Pinocchios for spreading the misinformation."

Biden on China

For John, BLUF:  This is a coherent exchange, which shows that President Biden isn't just locked away, drooling.  Yes, there will always be Bidenisms and there will always be the danger of unattributed quotes from Baron Neil Kinnock, but a good performance.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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CNN Town Hall:  Biden discusses phone call with Xi Jinping

From Newsweek, by Reporter Soo Kim On, BY SOO KIM ON 2/17/21 AT 9:00 AM EST.

Here is the China Extract:

COOPER: You just talked to China's president, I believe.

BIDEN: Yes, for two hours.

COOPER: What about the Uyghurs?  What about human rights abuses in China?

BIDEN: The Uyghurs.

We must speak up for human rights.  It's who we are.  We can't -- my comment to him was -- and I know him well, and he knows me well.  We're -- a two-hour conversation.

COOPER: You talked about this to him?

BIDEN: I talked about this too.

And that's not so much refugee, but I talked about it.  I said, look -- Chinese leaders, if you know anything about Chinese history, it has always been the time China when has been victimized by the outer world is when they haven't been unified at home.

So, the central -- to vastly overstate it, the central principle of Xi Jinping is that there must be a united, tightly controlled China.  And he uses his rationale for the things he does based on that.  I point out to him, no American president can be sustained as a president if he doesn't reflect the values of the United States.  And so the idea I'm not going to speak out against what he's doing in Hong Kong, what he's doing with the Uyghurs in western mountains of China, and Taiwan, trying to end the One-China policy by making it forceful, I said -- by the way, he said he gets it.

Culturally, there are different norms that each country and their leaders are expected to follow.  But my point was that, when I came back from meeting with him and traveling 17,000 miles with him when I was vice president and he was the vice president -- and that's how I got to know him so well, at the request of President Hu -- not a joke -- his predecessor, President Hu, and President Obama wanted us to get to know one another, because he was going to the president.

And I came back and said, they're going to end their one-child policy, because they're so xenophobic, they won't let anybody else in.  And more people are retired than working.  How can they sustain economic growth when more people are retired?

COOPER: When you talk to him, though, about human rights abuses, is that just -- is that as far as it goes in terms of the U.S.?  Or is there any actual repercussions for China?

BIDEN: Well, there will be repercussions for China.  And he knows that.

What I'm doing is making clear that we, in fact, are going to continue to reassert our role as spokespersons for human rights at the U.N. and other agencies that have an impact on their attitude.  China is trying very hard to become the world leader and to get that moniker.  And to be able to do that, they have to gain the confidence of other countries.

And as long as they're engaged in activity that is contrary to basic human rights, it's going to be hard for them to do that.

But it's more much more complicated than that.  I'm -- I shouldn't try to talk China policy in 10 minutes on television here.

I don't think this was as bad as Television Personality Maria Bartiromo suggested on her "Mornings With Maria" show this morning.  Time will tell.

Hat tip to an unattributed source.

UPDATE:  Thanks to a comment from my Wife, I cleaned up the spelling of Ms Maria Bartiromo's name.

Regards  —  Cliff

Pig in a Poke

For John, BLUF:  The Democrats are all over the map with regard to policy positions..  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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Biden says voters ‘don’t deserve’ his stance on packing Supreme Court

From The New York Post, by Reporter Mary Kay Linge! 10 October 2020.

Here is the lede plus one:

Voters don’t “deserve” to know Joe Biden’s stance on packing the Supreme Court, the Democratic nominee said this week.

In a prickly interview with a Las Vegas news station Friday, the Biden doubled down on his refusal to say whether he supports expanding the highest court in the land to more than nine justices.

“This is the number one thing that I’ve been asked about from viewers in the last couple of days,” began KTNV’s Ross DiMattei.

“Well, you’ve been asked by the viewers who are probably Republicans,” Biden sarcastically responded.

“Don’t the voters deserve to know where you stand on …” DiMattei continued.

“No, they don’t deserve,” Biden snapped. “I’m not going to play his game.”

You are just the Voter, you don't deserve to know the positions of the candidates.

Court Packing is a way of diluting the powers of the US Supreme Court.  It is a way to get around the US Constitution.  When someone says that President Trump is not following the US Constitution, think of his opponent, Vice President Joe Biden, not being willing to take a position on the size of the US Supreme Court.  Is it because he has no position or because he is affraid to offend different constituencies within his own party?

Hat tip to the InstaPundit.

Regards  —  Cliff

Attack on the Governor

For John, BLUF:  I admit that is campaign year is as disappointing as 1964.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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Biden Blames Trump for Gretchen Whitmer Kidnap Attempt, Without Evidence:  ‘Why Can’t the President Just Say Stop?’

Here is the sub-headline:

Former Vice President Joe Biden blamed President Donald Trump on Thursday for a foiled kidnapping plot by a group of extremists who intended to abduct Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer.

From Breitbart, by Joel B Pollak, 8 October 2020.

Here is the lede plus one:

Though it did not name a specific political ideology, the FBI’s criminal complaint alleges that the members of the group “talked about creating a society that followed the U.S. Bill of Rights and where they could be self-sufficient.”  Two apparently met at a Second Amendment rally.

One member of the group, Brandon Caserta, was seen in an online video in front of an anarchist flag.

Not just Vice President Biben, but also Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer is point to the President.  Is this to say the FBI, and DOJ, is in the hands of the Democrats, protecting a Democratic Party Governor from the evil Republicans?  I hope not.

Looking three dimensionally, don’t Far Left and Far Right bend back and touch, sort of like a wrist band or bracelet?

The difference between the Nazi crowd and the Communist crowd wasn’t the number killed, but the number of Jews killed.  The Nazis killed more Jews because they believed Margaret Sanger.  The Communists killed more Ukrainians (and others) because—food.

The inability to distinguish between Anarchists and other political philosopies is not helpful.

Hat tip to the InstaPundit.

Regards  —  Cliff

"Existential Threat"

For John, BLUF:  Things are heating up already for 2020.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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"The president is literally an existential threat to America," said Joe Biden.

From The Althouse Blog, by Professor Ann Althouse, 12 June 2019.

Here is the lede plus one:

uoted in "Biden and Trump exchange fire in Iowa, ignoring others in the field" (WaPo), teased on the front page as "In Iowa, the feud between Trump and Biden gains strength/President Trump and former vice president Joe Biden ridiculed one another in the harshest terms they’ve used so far."

Then Professor Althouse plays the Professor and asks us about what Mr Biden is saying:

What, if anything, do you think Biden is trying to say when he calls Trump an "existential threat"?  Underscored with "literally," it should mean that, with Trump, there's a danger that America will cease to exist.  I think he's trying to say the America we know and love is threatened by Trump.  But to find that meaning, we can't take "literally" literally.

To me a literal existential threat means Impeachment today with Conviction immediately following.

Ms Althouse quotes Ms Susan B. Glasser! From the 26 April 2019 issue of The New Yorker, April 26, 2019:

In his launch video, which is three minutes and thirty seconds of Biden mostly talking into the camera, he calls Trump a “threat to this nation . . . unlike any I had ever seen in my lifetime” and an existential challenge to the very idea of American democracy.  The election of 2020 is “the battle for the soul of the nation,” Biden says, and, if Trump is reëlected, “he will forever and fundamentally alter the character of” the country.  In short, Biden adds, “Everything that has made America America is at stake.”

That is it.  He has rolled his dice.  There is nothing stronger he can say, unless we have an Edwin Edwards moment:  From 1983:  "The only way I can lose this election is if I’m caught in bed with either a dead girl or a live boy." (He won!)

I believe the former Veep peaked too soon.  Plus are are going to have the Princess Bride moment, repeated, where Inigo Montoya says "You Keep Using That Word, I Do Not Think It Means What You Think It Means."

Hat tip to Ann Althouse.

Regards  —  Cliff

Mr Biden on Mr Trump

For John, BLUF:  It is OK if Democrats talk ruff, but not for Republicans.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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Biden blasts Trump:  I wish 'I could take him behind the gym'

The author is Mr Harper Neidig.  Mostly, it is a video.

I guess this is just the Vice President being the Vice President, like Manny being Manny.

Hat tip to the InstaPundit.

Regards  —  Cliff

Joe Biden's CENTAM Project

For John, BLUF:  CENTAM (pronounced CEN TAM) is Central America in military parlance.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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Vice President Joe Biben has "A Plan for Central America".

At last a Foreign Policy Vision for Latin America.

And cheap at $1 Billion only.

On the other hand there is this:

As we were reminded last summer when thousands of unaccompanied children showed up on our southwestern border, the security and prosperity of Central America are inextricably linked with our own.

A low-ball on the number and a total lack of transparency on what was happening.  Wasn't this going to be the most transparent administration in history?

I am hopeful, but I just exchanged EMails with a retired Colonel who did planning for US Southern Command and he thinks this is not a serious piece, but rather shallow buffoonery.  "Vapid" was used.

I greet it with hope, but people who have been there may be more dubious, much more dubious.

Regards  —  Cliff

How Will the White House Respond

For John, BLUF:  What does the White House not understand?  And Congress.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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Do we believe Brietbart?

Do we believe this headline?—"Report:  Exec Amnesty 'No Matter How Big a Shellacking' for Dems."

Reporter Ian Hanchett claims that ABC News Chief White House Correspondent Jon Karl has

… reported that according to WH officials “the president will move forward with an executive order on immigration reform “no matter how big a shellacking Democrats get tonight” during ABC’s Election coverage on Tuesday.

I think the only reason this would even be contemplated is that the Congress has abandoned their time honored traditions of independence and their place in the Constitution.  I am not talking about Impeachment and Conviction.♠  I am talking about the power of the purse.

Regards  —  Cliff

♠  First off, there is Rep Paul Ryan's comment "Have you met Joe Biden."  Then there is the fact that President Obama is perceived as our first Black President and throwing him out of office would be a big lacuna in our historical arc.  Even the stupid can't be that stupid.  Are there issues that could justify Impeachment?  I am sure, but they would be so extreme that near would everyone call for it.  As I say to my Wife, we will know it is time when Senator Harry Reid calls on the Speaker of the House and tells him it is time.

Again?

For John, BLUF:  Could this be a disinformation operation on the part of the Clinton Camp?  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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The Associated Press is reporting that our Vice President, Joe Biden, had to apologize to the leader of another country over remarks he, the Vice President, may have made.  The word used is "clarify", as in "Biden calls UAE prince to clarify remarks on Syria".  The Reporter is Ms Aya Batrawy.

Here is the beginning of the article:

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Vice President Joe Biden on Sunday called the crown prince of the United Arab Emirates to clarify that he did not mean to imply in his remarks last week that the Gulf ally was supporting al-Qaida fighters in Syria.

Biden spoke with Prince Mohamed bin Zayed, the crown prince of Abu Dhabi and a key Emirati leader, the White House said.

What ever happened to Chatham House Rules and Deep Background?  That is to ask if the Vice President, and his aides, are just careless or if the Press is not acting in an ethical manner?

In fairness to Vice President Biden, there are a fair number of folks who think that Saudi Arabia and the Gulf States are, in fact, supporting Sunni insurgents against the Alawi Islam♠ led Government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

Regards  —  Cliff

♠  Followers of Alawi Islam are Twelvers.

He Said What?

For John, BLUF:  When seeking favors from a nation one should be careful not to insult their leaders at the same time.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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MSN says that the Turkish President, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, is unhappy with an interview Vice President Joe Biden gave while he (Biden) was visiting Harvard's Kennedy School.  President Erdogan is demanding an apology from Vice President Biden.♠  Incidentally, Turkish President Erdogan was in the United States for the 69th session of the United Nations General Assembly at U.N. headquarters.  He spoke during the session.

But, to the article:

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Saturday demanded an apology from U.S. Vice President Joe Biden and warned he would become "history for me" over comments in which he said the Turkish leader had admitted that Turkey had made mistakes by allowing foreign fighters to cross into Syria.

Erdogan denied ever saying that and told reporters in Istanbul that Biden "will be history for me if he has indeed used such expressions."

Responding to questions following his speech at the Harvard Kennedy School on Thursday, Biden described Erdogan as "an old friend."  Biden added: "He (Erdogan) said:  'You were right.  We let too many people through.'  Now they're trying to seal their border."

I think the Vice President is just unlucky.  While he described the situation accurately, his remarks were infelicitous.

Regards  —  Cliff

♠  Appears he got it.

The Blind Eye of the MSM

For John, BLUF:  The Press has always been partisan.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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I know I seem to dwell on the Vice President, but more important than his slips of the tongue is the fact that the Main Stream Media just passes over his carelessness, his slopping way of talking, but is happy to make sport of Republicans with even less of a problem.  See this item from The Washington Examiner.

Hat tip to the Instapundit.

Regards  —  Cliff

Vice President Biden at the Microphone

For John, BLUF:  Our Vice President does have a way of saying the wrong thing.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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Our Vice President put his foot in his mouth with his use of the word "Shylock" to refer to bankers.  He did apologize.

Then there is this from the Instapundit Friday.

OKAY, HE’S JUST TROLLING US NOW:  Biden to women’s conference:  I miss Republicans like Bob Packwood.  “Nothing says ‘outreach to women’ more than getting nostalgic for a man bounced out of office for sexual harassment.  Right?”

Which brings to mind the remark by House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy:

“When people ask me” about impeachment, McCarthy said, “I say, ‘Have you met Joe Biden?’

Regards  —  Cliff