Mr Trump's Path

For John, BLUF:  Is Mr Donald Trump's presence in the 2024 Presidential race going to distort the outcome?  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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If Donald Trump Were An Ethical, Responsible Public Servant And Wanted To Do What Was In The Best Interests Of His Nation…

From Ethics Alarms, by John Marshall, 28 July 2023.

Here is the lede plus two:

…he would announce that he was withdrawing from the Presidential race immediately, because the prosecutions he faces, just or unjust, will be a destructive distraction from the election as well as an impediment to him serving as President if he were nominated and elected.

And if I were an aardvark, I could save money on groceries by eating ants and termites.

Trump won’t do this, of course (that is, drop out, not eat ants and termites), but it is the only ethical alternative. A lawyer facing a single serious indictment would step away from his or her law firm. An ethical judge would resign. A doctor facing indictments would take a leave of absence. A general facing such legal jeopardy would retire. The United States cannot have a Presidential candidate laboring under the shadow of multiple criminal prosecutions any more than it can afford to have a mentally declining President who serves as a puppet for aspiring totalitarians. Trump continuing his candidacy increases the likelihood of both.

Mr Marshall makes a good point.  But, Mr Trump is unlikely to step away.

As Mr Marshall points out:  "His entire career has been built on a foundation of stubbornness, resilience and a refusal to admit defeat:  quitting his quest for redemption goes against his core."  This persistence is who Mr Donald J Trump is.

All of that said, I do not believe Mr Trump is acting, in his own mind, in an unpatriotic manner.  His line, "They aren't after me.  They are after you, and I am just in the way."  He sees himself doing his duty, and is being opposed by the Deep State.

Regards  —  Cliff

Golf as an Analysis of President Donald Trump

For John, BLUF:  The Authoor tells us, in excrusiating detail, how Donald J Trump cheats at golf, and at life.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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Commander in Cheat
Author:  Rick Reilly
Kindle Version:  257 Pages
Publisher:  Hachette Books
Language:  English
ASIN:  B07H4Z26T7
Publication Date:  2 April 2019

The Author, Mr Rick Reilly, gives us a solidly packed look at the life of Donald J Trump through the lens of the game of golf.  Mr Reilly sees golf as a game where players are congeniel and open and honest.  The occasional cheater is the odd man out.  Mr Reilly, who writes about golf for a living, has a reverence for the game and sees those who do not follow the norms, as he understands them, as fallen away.  In the eyes of Mr Reilly, Mr Trump is the worse offender regarding the norms of golf, and is thus unfit to be President of the United States.

To Author Reilly Mr Trump is unfit for the high office not just because he violates the norms of golf, but because he carries his attitude toward golf over into his conduct as President.  Rules are for others and win at all cost.  And, if you aren't winning, say you are anyway.  And corrupt the caddy who goes with you, involving him or her in your shenanigans..

The Author does a great job of documenting time after time how Mr Trump has cheated on the links and in developing golf clubs.  He paints Mr Trump as an unsavory character.  At the same time he documents how people enjoy playing with Mr Trump, who makes it a fun time, albeit, a fast round.

The question, of course, is if Mr Trump's egocentric need to always be the winner, the top performer, hinders or helps his performance as President.  The odds are looking good that he will again be the Republican nominee in 2024.  I very much doubt Mr Reilly will be voting for Candidate Trump, even if his opponent is Joseph R Biden, Jr.

I see the author's point and having come across people for whom looking good is more important than an honest appraisal of how good they are I see the problems.  On the other hand, I am not sure about the Author's understanding of the world.  The thing that popped out at me was his denigration of Mr Trump for naming his golf couse in Rancho Palos Verdes.

I have only played a round of golf twice in my life. so I don't have a good basis for judging the book, but one part does make me wonder.  The Author is dismissive of Mr Trump, Golf Course Developer, for naming golf courses not for where they are. but for a near big city.  For example, Trump National Golf Club Washington, D.C. is in Sterling, Virginia.  His second example is Trump National Golf Club Los Angeles, which is in Rancho Palos Verdes.  Mr Reilly says "Trump Los Angeles is in Rancho Palos Verdes, California, 75 minutes south of L.A."  I checked my computer map and used the LA Civic Center and Wayfarers Chapel, a well known landmark.  My map app has it at 42 minutes (31 miles), going straight South, to San Pedro, which is part of Los Angeles, and then due West.  I used to live in LA County and have driven out by Rancho Palos Verdes and think of it as part of Greater Los Angeles.  I think he wiffed.

But, I accept that Donald J Trump is so competitive that he is willing to cheat to be number one.  It is not a good trait.  On the other hand. in 2016 his opponent was Ms Hillary Clinton.  There were several books out there telling me that the Clintons were dishonest.  The FBI investigation of her use of a private email server for official public communications put me off.  I was very unhappy with her leading the Europeans support for Libya rebels.  I thought it was a gift to North Korea's Kim Jong Il and his desire to keep his nuclear weapons.  And the whole Benghazi imbroglio was bad.  I had a choice and I picked Candidate Trump.

In 2020 I again had a choice.  There was President Trump and there was former Vice President Neil KinnockJoe Biden.  I liked what President Trump had done with the economy, including overseeing the Black Labor Participation Rate increasing.  I thought he acted quickly with regard to COVID-19.  I was happy that he reached out to North Korea's Kim Jung il, even stepping into Kim's country.  In contrast. I didn't have faith in Mr Biden's promise to bring us all together.  I saw him as more of a weather-vane.  I voted for Mr Trump.

Regards  —  Cliff

Saving Us From Free Speech

For John, BLUF:  While we hear Democrats decry Trump Republicans (aren't we all, really, in their eyes) as being anti-democratic, we see the Administration and the Zfederal Bureaucracy team up to restrict free speech in the name of protecting us.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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Gov’t Can Continue Colluding With Big Tech, 5th Circuit Grants “Administrative Stay” of Injunction

Here is the sub-headline:

It’s not a decision on the merits, it puts a temporary hold until the court can determine the merits of the District Court injunction that prohibited government collusion with big tech and big social media to silence and censor political opponents.

From Legal Insurrection, by Lawyer William A. Jacobson, 14 July 2023, 03:48pm.

Here is the lede plus five:

After a groundbreaking and momentus District Court injunction against the government colluding with big tech and big social media to silence and censor political opponents, the government sought a stay pending appeal, including an emergency administratrive stay pending briefing, Government Seeks Stay Of Injunction Against Censorship Collusion With Big Tech.

The Fifth Circuit just granted an administrative stay:

IT IS ORDERED that this appeal is EXPEDITED to the next available Oral Argument Calendar.

IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that a temporary administrative stay is GRANTED until further orders of the court.

IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that Appellants’ opposed motion for stay pending appeal is deferred to the oral argument merits panel which receives this case.

An administrative stay is not on the merits, it’s a way of the court putting a temporary hold on an issue of great importance until a panel of the court can consider the motion for a stay on the merits. It’s a way to freeze the situation when one party claims time is of the essence and the matter cannot even wait days or weeks.

I thought it ironic that this was issued on the anniversary of the Alies and Sedition Acts becoming law, back on 14 July 1798. .

We are in a continuous fight for free speech.

Wihout free speech there can be no informed choice.  Without informed choice there can be no democracy.

Hat tip to the InstaPundit.

Regards  —  Cliff

Seeing the Problem

For John, BLUF:  zthe cost of a college education has gone up dramatically since 2970.  Are there alternatives?  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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Curtailing University Graft Can Prevent Student Debt Debacle

From The Lid Blog, by Writer Ari Kaufman, 13 July 2023.

Here is the lede plus two:

Conservatives and common-sense Americans cheered last month when the Supreme Court correctly ruled that Joe Biden’s abominable attempt to “forgive” $430 billion in college debt for over 25 million borrowers was unlawful.

The White House plan was purely unconstitutional and insulting to Americans.  Legislation that Congress designed for a small number of military members in the wake of 9/11 should not be applied to a large portion of the population two decades later.

It was also regressive, robbing blue-collar workers who saved their money and giving to wealthier doctors, lawyers, and teachers. Biden engaged in left-wing class warfare on behalf of the affluent.  Or, as Senate Leader Mitch McConnell said, a way for Biden to “pad the pockets of his high-earning base and make suckers out of working families.”

I have wondered about the debt issue, comparing it to college education costs in California in the 1960s and 1970s.  In those days my Father would complain about the several hundred dollars it would cost for tuition, fees and books each semester.

The writer gets to this point in the article:

What have colleges done with this influx of cash? Start with Harvard and Yale.

In the last 35 years, Harvard’s tuition has seen a 90% increase in adjusted dollars.  Has the school grown its faculty and course offerings to match that increase? No.  It dramatically expanded its population of administrators.  Harvard now employs over 7,000 full-time administrators.  That’s more people than the school’s entire undergraduate population and three times the number of faculty members.

Most administrators take large salaries and benefits while contributing little, especially in the odious DEI realm.

Over at Yale in the last two decades, they went from five vice presidents to an astounding 31, while many administrative units during that same time saw a 150% increase in size, with surging salaries.

If Secretary of the Department of Education, the Honorable Miguel Angel Cardona, wants to reduce the cost of higher education he should move to reduce the Administrative Overhang in colleges.  It requires us to decide if at 18 years of age students are grown up, ready to drive and vote and live away from home, or if they are still fragile children, who need coddling.  And what do we think of those who graduate from High School, but don't go on to college.  Do they need a special collection of social workers to protect them from life?  I hope not.

Here is a chart of Heritage's sense of the situation:

Let us find other work for these added Administrators.

Hat tip to the InstaPundit.

Regards  —  Cliff

Why Bobby Runs

For John, BLUF:  While it appears Mr Kennedy is wasting his time, in fact he is picking up side benifits, from paid speaking engagements to a cabinet position.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s Real Motive

Here is the sub-headline:

He’s not actually trying to become president.

From Politico, by Writer Jack Shafer, 10 July 2023, 02:23 PM EDT.

Here is the lede plus two:

If Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s three-month-old presidential campaign were a newly opened restaurant, it would have already succumbed to its negative reviews and closed its doors. Members of his own family have declined to back him. “Due to a wide range of Bobby’s positions, I’m supporting President Biden,” said his sister, Rory Kennedy. “I support President Biden,” said cousin Patrick Kennedy, a former member of Congress. And, most damning, the bookies say he has next to no chance of winning.

Kennedy — and this comes as a surprise to nobody — is about as likely to win the Democratic Party’s nomination as, say, Donald Trump. A sharp CNN piece last month by the network’s analyst Harry Enten attached an anchor to Kennedy’s chances and sunk it into the depths of the Mariana Trench. According to Enten, the party faithful overwhelmingly approve of Joe Biden’s presidency, while a poll of “strong Democrats” registers as 50 percent unfavorable to Kennedy. Seeing as it is Democrats and not the press or tech billionaires who select the party’s nominee, and the fact that Kennedy shows no sign of exceeding the sub-20 percent level of support among Democratic voters, his candidacy is stillborn.

This inevitable defeat is self-evident to everybody, including Kennedy, one suspects. But RFK Jr. doesn’t care about losing because there’s little evidence he was very interested in becoming president in the first place. Those with genuine presidential ambitions tend to establish foundational political careers, putting in at minimum a term or two in elective office. If they run and get beaten, they get back up and run again and again, as Biden did.

The author would have us believe he is running for the fun of it.  For the side benefits.

That may well be so, but such cynicism is based on the idea that as an incumbent, President Joseph Biden is secure in his position.  I don't think so.

Hat tip to the InstaPundit.

Regards  —  Cliff

Trump Undermined

For John, BLUF:  It isn't a Democracy if the outgoing Administration is undermining the incoming Administration.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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Biden and Other Obama Officials Sought to ‘Torpedo’ Incoming Trump Admin, Docs Show

From PJ Media, by Opinionator Matt Margolis, 10 July 2023, 1:36 PM.

Here is the lede plus one:

According to heavily redacted documents from the National Security Agency obtained by The Daily Signal, there was a coordinated effort by the outgoing Obama administration to “torpedo the incoming presidency of Donald Trump.”

Through a Freedom of Information Act request, The Daily Signal acquired 217 pages of documents.

“The documents reveal that Obama administration officials, from Vice President Joe Biden down to several ambassadors and many officials in the Treasury and Energy departments, gained access to secret information about Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn, President-elect Trump’s choice for national security adviser,” the report says.  “The documents obtained by The Daily Signal include raw information of requests and other messages from these officials to the National Security Agency in late November 2016 through early January 2017, as well as emails among NSA officials explaining why the information was shared.”

I had known about actions within the FBI to fight a Trump Presidency.  That was obvious, with FBI Director Saint James Comey and the likes of Agent Peter Strozk and Lawyer Lisa Page.  This corruption, however, I believe was greater than those three.  More widespread.  To higher reaches.

We need to get back to the President being OUR President.  Regardless of his or her party.  It is what makes the system work.  If you didn't like the November outcome, work harder in the next election.

Hat tip to the InstaPundit.

Regards  —  Cliff

First Amendment Protected

For John, BLUF:  On the 4th of July a Federal Jusge told the Biden Administrstion to stip colluding with social media companies to suppress free speech.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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Poetic Justice for the Biden ‘Ministry of Truth’

From American Greatness, by Opinionator Roger Kimball, 9 July 2023.

Here is the lede plus fourteen:

At some point in this column, I have probably had occasion to quote these famous lines from Walter Scott’s poem “Marmion”:

“Oh, what a tangled web we weave

When first we practice to deceive.”

In another, better world, I like to think, the Bidens and their protectors and puppet masters would ruefully be contemplating Scott’s admonitory observation.

In this world, however, I suspect that—until quite recently, anyway—they had smugly sided with J.R. Pope’s sly amendment to Scott’s moralizing couplet:

“But when we’ve practiced for a while

How vastly we improve our style.”

I note that Pope’s amusing title for his observation is “A Word of Encouragement.”

Many of us feel a great contradiction at the heart of the Biden phenomenon.

On the one hand, he—“Big Guy” Joe—and his entire Snopes-like family—coke-head Hunter, “Dr.” Jill, the litter of grasping, on-the-make siblings—all seem like ciphers, the veritable incarnation of Gertrude Stein’s description of Oakland, CA: “there’s no there there.”

Indeed, from this point of view, Joe’s painful mental and, increasingly, physical vacancy seems to be the objective correlative for the entire Biden enterprise. It’s as if the nasty brother of the scarecrow from The Wizard of Oz suddenly came to life and occupied the White House. “If I only had a brain,” he snarls softly to himself, frightening everyone around him.

And that “as if” brings me to the extraordinary “other hand.” Joe Biden is President of the United States, still, if just barely, the most important political office in the world. Amazing. How could that be? Talk about going from zero to one!

Of course, history is littered with the spectacle of destructive lunatics and incompetents in high office, as such names as Caligula, Nero, Commodus, and Elagabalus remind us. (As an aside, I hereby note that Elagabalus is poised for a rerun, so perfectly does that epicene, “gender fluid” freak epitomize some of the central pathologies of our time).

The Bidens have yet to achieve the notoriety of such grimly illustrious predecessors. Nevertheless, these past months have not been kind to the Biden conglomerate.

And here is a seven page summary of the Court Order:

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
WESTERN DISTRICT OF LOUISIANA
MONROE DIVISION

STATE OF MISSOURI, ET AL.		CASE NO. 3:22-CV-01213
VERSUS		JUDGE TERRY A. DOUGHTY
JOSEPH R BIDEN JR., ET AL.		MAG. JUDGE KAYLA D. MCCLUSKY

This is important work.  Important in terms of our right to free speech and important in terms of having a fair and open debate on things that matter to us as Citizens.  Think of the suppressing of the Great Barrington Declaration,  Wikipedia notwithstanding, the Great Barrington Declaration, shunned by the Bureaucracy, turned out to have important points.

If we can't handle free and open debate then we can't claim to have a democracy.  We will have lost our Republic.

Hat tip to the InstaPundit.

Regards  —  Cliff