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January 2021

Bye, Bye, Miss American Pie David Solway

https://pjmedia.com/columns/david-solway-2/2021/01/16/bye-bye-miss-american-pie-2-n1389919

We live in troubling times. The American election is over but the popular belief that it was fraudulently engineered shows no sign of abating. The evidence that a vast conspiracy has occurred, particularly in several swing states, is convincing for a significant portion of the electorate, and the complicity of a censoring media apparatus is undoubted. Even reputable conservative thinkers and writers, while deploring the current state of political events, seem to take cover by speaking ill of Trump, or repeating Democratic Party talking points, or doing their best to waffle the issues. Republican congressmen and women justify their pusillanimity and backstabbing, currying favor with their nominal adversaries and, as political commentator Grant Brown says, feeding their allies on the right to the crocodiles on the left. Perfidy seems to have become fashionable. In consequence, the political Left appears to have triumphed across the board.

People have trouble grasping the enormity of what has happened. The idea is almost too big for the mind to contain: a political class that has betrayed its country; a Supreme Court that effectively accepted and thus contributed to an unprecedented catastrophe by refusing to hear a suit filed by Texas and 17 other states alleging election law tampering; an education system that bears a disquieting resemblance to the German academy of the 1930s; a “free press” that is not a free press but a state propaganda network; a dedicated and effective president who has been discredited and attacked, including through incitement of political violence against him and his family; organizations like the Trump Accountability Project and the Lincoln Project compiling a “database of all Republicans who worked for President Donald Trump with the aim of ensuring they never land jobs in the private sector,” a measure associated with Fascist and Communist dictatorships; and a nation demonstrably in the throes of destabilizing turmoil. The historical context has been described by Morris Berman in The Twilight of American Culture as a “growing climate of apathy, cynicism and corruption [which] might be collectively termed ‘internal barbarism.’”

Justice Department knew there was no Russia collusion by spring of 2017 Rowan Scarborough

https://outline.com/vfZq4s

The top Justice Department official in early 2017 overseeing the FBI‘s Russia probe testified he was briefed as many as six times on its status and was told there was no evidence of Trump campaign collusion, a newly released transcript shows.

The testimony of Dana J. Boente is significant because during this time the FBI took major steps to expand the probe.

And President Trump in May ended up firing then-FBI Director James Comey, a stunning move that led to the appointment of Special Counsel Robert Mueller and two years of a White House under constant criminal scrutiny.

“There was no ‘there’ there,” said Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham, South Carolina Republican, who released Mr. Boente‘s June 22 closed testimony. “The investigation was pushed when it should have been stopped and the only logical explanation is that the investigators wanted an outcome because of their bias.”

Mr. Boente‘s unique position in the new Trump administration was this: Newly confirmed Attorney General Jeff Sessions recuse himself from the Russia probe, codenamed “Crossfire Hurricane” by the FBI. He had spoken to the Russian ambassador while a senator from Alabama.

Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein would not win Senate confirmation until late April.

That left Mr. Boente as acting deputy and in charge of Crossfire Hurricane in February, March and April. He asked to be briefed.

“I felt that it was important to know something about it,” said Mr. Boente, according to a transcript. “I don’t know if and when I was told that. I think—I recall being told at some point, maybe not February, between February and April, because thankfully my involvement ended in April, that there was no evidence of collusion with the Trump campaign.”

During this time, the FBI was ramping up the probe.

LINDA CHAVEZ- WHY I WILL LEAVE THE GOP (IT’S TRUMP’S FAULT)

/17/leaving_the_gop_why_im_now_politically_homeless_145049.html

Psst; Don’t let the door hit you on the way out…..rsk

It took a MAGA-draped mob storming the U.S. Capitol and five deaths for a handful of Republicans in Congress finally to have the courage to stand up to Donald Trump. Ten GOP House members joined all their Democratic colleagues to impeach Wednesday, making Trump the only president ever to be twice impeached. Rep. Liz Cheney, the third-ranking Republican leader in the House, explained her vote: “The President of the United States summoned this mob, assembled the mob, and lit the flame of this attack. Everything that followed was his doing. None of this would have happened without the President. The President could have immediately and forcefully intervened to stop the violence. He did not. There has never been a greater betrayal by a President of the United States of his office and his oath to the Constitution.”

But Trump’s actions last week were just the worst in a series of actions that have defiled the office. This man is the most corrupt, dishonest, and anti-democratic politician in our history. But for much of the last four years, the Republican Party leadership remained silent. Most said nothing during the past two months as Trump spewed daily lies about how the 2020 election had been “stolen” from him. Many elected officials stood with him on rally platforms as he whipped up crowds with fabricated tales of hundreds of thousands of votes cast by dead people, illegal immigrants, felons, and out of state voters, and claimed votes for him were magically switched by machine algorithms or simply discarded or shredded by renegade poll workers.   …..BLAH, BLAH, BLAH

‘They Want to Cancel Our Culture, Our History, Our Liberty’: Goya CEO By Gary Du

https://www.theepochtimes.com/they-want-to-cancel-our-culture-our-history-our-liberty-goya-ceo_3659453.html?utm_source=news&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=breaking-2021-01-17-1

Robert Unanue, Goya Foods President and CEO, said on Friday the political left has weaponized the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus to take away God, culture, history, and liberty from the people of the United States.

“The problem is it’s a political year. They weaponized coronavirus. Unfortunately, they shut down this economy. The worst thing we could do is shut down our economy, kill our spirit. We need a reason to get up in the morning: God, family, work. And they are taking away our spirit, they’re taking away our ability to work,” Unanue told Fox News on Jan. 15.

“We’re one nation under God. We’re not one nation under Twitter. We’re not one nation under big media and or under central government. We’re trying to have media, Big Tech control our lives, the government control our lives,” he said.

SYDNEY WILLIAMS: MY LAST THOUGHT OF THE DAY (SAY IT ISN’T SO-PLEASE!)

I have decided to stop writing Thoughts of the Day. To a few that will be a relief, to others a disappointment. My reasons are myriad, but in the end, they boil down to two principal points: First, I do not want my voice to become angry, which persistent political polarization will cause, and second, I like the wisdom of George Bernard Shaw, exemplified in the rubric above. When what was once fun becomes a chore, it is time to move on. Politics, while necessary, has never been “nice.” It has always been a “blood sport,” as anyone familiar with early American history knows. On July 11, 1804, Aaron Burr, Thomas Jefferson’s Vice President, shot and killed his long-time political rival Alexander Hamilton in a duel near Weehawken, New Jersey. Thus far, despite rising levels of vitriol, none of our major politicians have resorted to killing their opponents. Nevertheless, time moves on. I turn eighty in a couple of weeks, and, while I will still read three papers a day and peruse news on the internet, I want time for writing reviews and personal essays and to read more books, and I want more time with family and friends. I would like always to be able to laugh.

Thoughts of the Day began in January 2008 and were, at first, aimed at financial markets. They followed a series of Market Notes begun in March 2000. They morphed into political commentary, as 2008 became 2009. In February 2010, at the sensible suggestion of one of my sons, titles were added. Six years later, in February 2016, rubrics were added as well. Between research, writing, re-writing and editing, each takes twenty and forty hours. In all, I have written over 1000 such essays – more than a million words. My idea, not always successful, was to emphasize reason over emotion – to view the world through a clear lens. The polarization of the electorate, and the meanness that is a consequence, has made the process more difficult and, frankly, less fun. And I have always felt that if one does not enjoy what one is doing, move on. Life is too short. In 1967, I left Eastman Kodak for the Merrill Lynch training program. Then, the future was bigger than the past. In 2015, I retired from Wall Street, with the future smaller than the past. Since, the future has shrunk further.

What I shall miss are the people I have met through these scribblings, people all around the world who care deeply about freedom and liberty, truth and tolerance, civility and equality, free markets and opportunity. At heart, I am an optimist who tends to view the glass as half full. Yet, I worry about smug politicians who spend money without regard to revenues; a media that advocates, rather than reports; schools and universities that promote a “cancel culture,” and that deny conservatives the opportunity to speak; giant, social media companies (not unlike Trusts of late 19th Century), which have become monopolists that control content and speech, while protected from liability under Section 230 of the 1996 Communication Decency Act; and big corporations that have become “woke,” as they bow to shifting political winds. Keep in mind, unless commonsense prevails, censorship, identity politics and political correctness, all enshrouded in a miasma of hypocrisy, are predictors of Orwell’s 1984.

I appreciate your many responses over the years, both positive and negative. You gave me confidence and helped me think through issues more clearly. This decision does not reflect any changes in my opinions – my heart remains with the conservative cause, but I will leave it to others to take up the pen. We all have opinions. You have yours, and I have mine. We must sort through our differences to find common ground. That calls for civil debate and deliberation. Generally, I have found that both sides want the same thing – personal liberty and responsibility, equal opportunity, accountability, rule of law and tolerance for others. Differences most often lie in the means to achieve common goals. Yet our politics – and attitudes toward discussing them – have become over-heated. And I recognize I have been both victimizer and victim. However, I have tried to avoid unfair accusations and/or confrontations. Another quote from Mr. Shaw is applicable: “Never wrestle with pigs. You both get dirty, and the pig likes it.”

What I will continue to do is write short reviews of books I have enjoyed and personal essays. The forty or so personal essays that have been written over the past five years should be published this fall under the title of “Essays from Essex: Nature, Its Miracles and Mysteries.” An exciting aspect of this book-to-be is that my grandson Alex Williams has agreed to provide half a dozen drawings, including, I hope, the cover illustration.

None of us can predict what tomorrow may bring. It may be that the pull of political commentary will yank me back to my computer. But I don’t think so. I look forward to spending more time with my wife and, when this Coronavirus finally disappears, with our children and grandchildren, in their homes.

I pray that reason and civility will return to our national politics – that victors will be humble, and losers gracious, and that meanness and retribution will disappear. Despite our differences, we should never forget the great good luck that is ours to live in this country. And may our government in Washington never lose sight of the fact that it is the people who are sovereign.

Thank you for allowing me into your lives, and I will understand if you choose to be removed from receiving my future reviews and personal essays.

In politics, let reason replace passion; in our lives, let truth be our guiding light. Good luck and best wishes,

MY SAY: JUST YOU WAIT

With apologies to Alan Jay Lerner and Frederick Loewe who wrote “Just You Wait” for the brilliant “My Fair Lady” in 1956. Rsk 

Just you wait all you turncoats just you wait,

You’ll be sorry but your rue will be too late

You will run and you’ll need money

Will we help you? don’t be funny.

 

Just you wait all you turncoats you will see

Chuck and Nancy will make mincemeat out of thee.

With all your virtue signals and your pomp

You’ll all be treading water in the swamp.

Just you wait! RSK

The organized disappearing and banning of Donald J. Trump By Ethel C. Fenig

https://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2021/01/the_organized_disappearing_and_banning_of_donald_j_trump.html

In recent times, most presidents upon leaving office have quietly retired to their home states to pen their memoirs, appear at patriotic or commemorative events, and lend their wisdom to university panels or think-thank sessions.  Former President Bill Clinton (D), by virtue of his wife’s political ambitions, his daughter’s whatever, and of course his own ego, was much more visible, remaining on the world stage with his Clinton Foundation, which keeps the entire family nicely afloat.  And very unlike the others, the Obamas (D) have remained very visible — not leaving Washington, D.C., but instead purchasing a lavish home in the city’s most upscale neighborhood plus another $14,000,000 estate while flitting around the world.

However, Big Tech, Big Media, major entertainment, all populated by many people with small and minor minds, are now waging an all-out campaign to have President Trump disappear.  He and his followers are being purged, censored, fired, silenced, unhosted, destroyed.

Facebook, Twitter, Amazon, etc. not only deplatformed him — for life, by which they apparently mean his, not their companies — but ganged up on alternative site Parler, which hosted Trump and the many newly acquired clients, effectively shutting it down.  And James O’Keefe of Project Veritas, captured Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey’s plots for more censorship, more silencing.

EXCLUSIVE: Twitter Insider Records CEO Jack Dorsey Laying Out Roadmap for Future Political Censorship … ‘We Are Focused on One Account [President Trump] Right Now, But This is Going to be Much Bigger Than Just One Account’

Washington Riot and ‘End of America’ Crowd by Amir Taheri

https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/16952/washington-riot-end-of-america

But, what if all the talk about “end of America and “death of the American dream” is based on partial or even total misreading and mis-description of the mini-riot in Washington?

What happened, however, seems to have been less dramatic than what the hate-America had wished.

However, for reasons not yet known, most of the over 2,200 members of the Capitol Police were told to stay home for the day.

The best way to probe that is for the Capitol Police to demand that the District Attorney in DC opens an inquest, collects evidence, hears witnesses….

In other words, American democracy is alive and well, with robust institutions capable of dealing with any political crisis within a constitutional framework.

This month’s mob assault on the Capitol in Washington DC has injected new vigor in the “end of America” crowd across the globe. In China and Russia, the talk is centered on the claim that American democracy is no longer a model for nations seeking a global profile. For Khomeinists in the Islamic Republic in Iran and Chavista in Venezuela, the event marked “the beginning of the end” for the “Great Satan”. Some chattering circles in Europe relaunched speculation about the end of America as leader in the international arena.

A Global Calamity: 340,000,000 Christians Persecuted by Raymond Ibrahim

https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/16963/a-global-calamity-340000000-christians-persecuted

The “extreme persecution” that Christians experience in 10 of the absolute 12 worst nations comes from “Islamic oppression” or is occurring in Muslim majority nations. These include: Afghanistan (#2), Somalia (#3), Libya (#4), Pakistan (#5), Yemen (#7), Iran (#8), Nigeria (#9), Iraq (#11), and Syria (#12).

Eighty percent of India’s Christians “were passed over for food distribution.” — Open Doors, World Watch List.

Considering that for the first time in over a decade, China has made it among the top 20 persecutors—up to #17 from #23 last year—this does not bode well for Christians, who are already “intensely monitored by the state.” — Open Doors, World Watch List.

Similarly, in Turkey, which rose to #25 from #36 last year, every citizen’s “religious affiliation is recorded on the electronic chip of identity cards, making it easy to discriminate against Christians.” — Open Doors, World Watch List.

“More Christians are murdered for their faith in Nigeria than in any other country.” — Open Doors, World Watch List.

Every day around the world, 13 Christians are killed for their faith; 12 are illegally arrested or imprisoned; 5 are abducted; and 12 churches or other Christian buildings are attacked.

These are among some of the disturbing findings of the recently released Open Doors’ 2021 World Watch List (WWL-2021). This annual report ranks the top 50 nations in which Christians are most persecuted for their religion.

The Desperate Twilight of Donald Trump Peter O’Brien

https://quadrant.org.au/opinion/qed/2021/01/the-desperate-twilight-of-donald-trump/

” Why the US Supreme Court decided Texas lacked standing to challenge voter fraud in other states will never be known beyond the justices’ curt refusal to take up the matter. With hindsight’s benefit it was the moment Donald Trump should have accepted grim reality and conceded defeat — defeat not in a bent election but in his doomed efforts to overturn its tainted result.”

“Well OK, apart from deregulation, fuller employment, cheaper energy, return of industry, the First Step Act, standing up to China, rejection of the Paris agreement, control of illegal immigration and a Covid vaccine in record time, what has Trump ever done for us?”

“Given us peace.”

“Ah, shuddup!”

In the build-up last week to the US Presidential inauguration, Sky News (and probably others) reported that “tonight there are more troops in DC than there are in Iraq and Afghanistan combined.”

I wonder if anyone appreciated the irony of that comparison, only made possible by the fact that President Trump, in line with one of his many electoral commitments, had gradually withdrawn US troops from overseas deployment and, unlike all many of his immediate predecessors, declined to be involved in any new wars.  And he did this at the same time as he defeated ISIS and junked the Iran nuclear deal.

Trump’s record of achievement is considerable but his detractors ignore that and point to his crassness, his misogyny, his stubbornness and many other personal flaws to argue that he should never have been President. He is now accused of dividing the country by trashing sacred public institutions.  It is said he was unsuitable to hold the office because he did not act in a Presidential manner.

It’s often said that newly appointed leaders all make mistakes and have to be given some leeway to ‘grow into the role’. Unfortunately, Trump was never afforded that luxury. It was not his policies that were targeted but his very election.  He suffered unprecedented personal abuse from day one.  One of the sacred institutions of the US is the Presidency itself.  The man has always been treated with respect because of the office he holds.  Not so with Trump.  It was the Democrats who trashed that – the most vivid example of which was Nancy Pelosi standing behind the President and tearing up his State of the Union address.