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Donald Trump knows Boris is the man to get Brexit done and resuscitate the UK-US alliance Nile Gardiner

Posted By on July 11th, 2019

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/2019/07/10/donald-trump-knows-boris-man-get-brexit-done-resuscitate-uk/

It is perhaps unsurprising that the British ambassador to Washington, Sir Kim Darroch, felt the need to resign after Donald Trump’s condemnation of comments he made in leaked diplomatic cables. But the ambassador’s critical views of the White House point to a wider problem.

Despite the success of the president’s state visit to Britain, Trump and Theresa May have long been worlds apart in terms of vision, outlook and approach. There is no chemistry between them, and May has shown little interest in building a partnership with Trump, frequently siding with the EU over the US on foreign policy matters. The special relationship has been left weakened.

This week’s diplomatic spat will not, however, alter the reality that the alliance will be in a far better place once May steps down. Here in Washington, the expectation is that Boris Johnson will be in Downing Street on July 24, and will immediately be America’s most important ally. For the US, a Johnson premiership represents a powerful opportunity to reignite the special relationship.

The US is not taking sides in the Tory leadership contest, but there is an acute understanding in the Oval Office that Johnson represents a distinctly pro-American outlook with a deep-seated affinity for the transatlantic alliance. Johnson, after all, was born in New York, and was until recently a US citizen. He has been a frequent visitor to the US and is well known in political circles here.

This bodes well for Britain. Many Americans admire Johnson’s record as mayor of London, and view him as an exciting personality, with a dash of Churchillian brilliance, who is unafraid to challenge conventional wisdom and get things done.

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Democratic Candidates Are Running a Race of Inauthenticity By Victor Davis Hanson

Posted By on July 11th, 2019

https://amgreatness.com/2019/07/10/democratic-candidates-are-running-a-race-of-inauthenticity/

An epidemic of false identities, massaged resumes and warped ancestries has broken out among the current Democratic presidential primary candidates.

Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) for years claimed Native American ancestry. An embattled Warren ironically took a DNA test that only proved her critics’ contention that she was no more of Native American heritage than the vast majority of Americans.

Another Democratic candidate, Robert Francis O’Rourke, is a rich white male who grew up in affluence. O’Rourke some time ago adopted the name “Beto,” an abbreviation for the Spanish “Roberto.” The Spanish-speaking, Irish-American O’Rourke, with a wink and nod, has assumed a useful near-Latino identity.

That ruse became a caricature in O’Rourke’s 2018 race for the U.S. Senate in Texas. The second-generation Cuban-American incumbent, Senator Rafael Edward “Ted” Cruz, was portrayed by the media as the non-Spanish-speaking “white guy” pitted against the more authentic Irish-American Latino “Beto.”

Few would know that New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio was actually born with the alliterative European name Warren Wilhelm Jr. With today’s politically correct calibrations of avoiding Northern European nomenclature, the Latinate “de Blasio” apparently ranks higher than the overtly German “Wilhelm.”

It has long been a populist tradition that presidential candidates downplay their financial success or even fabricate a “born in a log cabin” myth of early poverty and adversity. But recently, Democratic candidates have taken that trope to identity-politics extremes.

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Street Smarts in the White House Karin McQuillan

Posted By on July 11th, 2019

https://amgreatness.com/2019/07/10/street-smarts-in-the-white-house/

President Trump went to an Ivy League school, but he came out still talking like a New Yorker, with his street smarts intact. What does it mean to have street smarts? It’s knowledge of how to spot trouble coming, how to cope with mean bastards, and thrive. It is knowledge gained from gritty life, which gives you “a bank of courage to depend on when you are tested.” Your knowledge is based in your life experience, not conventional wisdom or academic notions, so it is actually real.

Street smarts combines common sense, self-preservation, and assertiveness. Think President Trump.

The person with street smarts has a great bullshit detector. You know how to deal with bullies and cheats, whether they be elite media or political opponents. As Willie Dixon put it, “You can’t mess with the messer, the messer’s gonna mess with you.”

Trump’s success dominating his dirty-dealing opponents has amazed and dumbfounded Democrats and the old GOP alike. They don’t understand his strengths. Like a martial arts master, Trump doesn’t absorb his enemies’ attacks. He transforms their assaults into his own energy to win.

President Trump’s street smarts go way beyond dealing with enemies. It is the key to how he carved his own successful path in life, and in the White House. The key to street smarts is noticing life as it is and dealing with it. In high falutin’ psychology terms, it is reality testing, the highest order of brain functioning.

Reality testing is essential to good judgment and effectiveness in life. It means dealing with the world as it is, not as you want it to be, nor as you fear it to be. No socialism, no global warming, no free lunch.

Good judgment requires facing things as they are. Democrats lack it almost entirely. President Trump has it in excess. Reality testing is a rare gift. It is called common sense, but it is not common.

This is why President Trump has managed to accomplish so much that was deemed impossible in the two difficult areas of the economy and foreign affairs. He pays no attention to the received truths of other people. He looks simply and without equivocation at what’s in front of him. Like any builder, President Trump has his two feet solidly on the ground at all times.

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Who Really Speaks for Gazans? By Muhammad AlZanati and Muhammad AlBuhaisi

Posted By on July 11th, 2019

https://www.americanthinker.com/articles/2019/07/who_really_speaks_for_gazans_.html

The Hashemite king of Jordan claims to speak for the Gazans. So do Hamas, the Palestinian Authority, and the Muslim Brotherhood (and its backer, Qatar). Now two native Gazans speak out.

……”Why Is nobody listening to the voice of Gazans?

As the prospect of Middle East peace phases in and out, one has to realize that it’s been a long and nasty 13 years since Hamas ruthlessly took over Gaza in a coup disguised as an election.

The ups and down experienced by Gaza’s citizens have netted not just 2 wars, but economic problem after economic problem. As complaints have risen, a variety of spokespeople have stepped forward. They represent 2 specific types of representations. The first comes from the “Government”, and in all cases such as Jordan, Qatar, and others, these are either Kings or Dictators, or both. The second comes from groups like the Muslim Brotherhood (MB), the Palestinian Authority (PA) and Hamas.

What ties these groups together is a series of anomalies, all of which raise two very important questions: “How can they speak for Palestinians?” And, “If not them, then who?”

The Hashemite King of Jordan claims to speak for the Gazans, but how can he when he has a country’s needs to represent? He openly states that he is the sole “moderate” negotiator between the Palestinians and Israel and the West, but under Abdullah’s 20-year reign, what has he negotiated? All he has done is line his pockets at the expense of Palestinians.

The Muslim Brotherhood claims to represent us, but how? As far as we know, this terrorist organization is so destructive that most Islamic countries do not allow them to operate.  They are classified as terrorists.  But apparently their best friend is the King of Jordan because he allows them to operate.

The Palestinian Authority (PA) – the recognized governing body – represents no one except the needs of Abbas and his leaders, who live in luxury both in and out of the country.  They are impudent, and quite frankly, no one pays attention to them. For example, Gaza is being strangled by Hamas, who is supposed to take orders from the PA, yet they don’t.

Hamas is a political party that thrives on dictatorship, crushing the people, and lying to the world.

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The Democrat Who Let Jeffrey Epstein Get Away Why is no one talking about Barry Krischer? Daniel Greenfield

Posted By on July 11th, 2019

https://www.frontpagemag.com/fpm/274269/democrat-who-let-jeffrey-epstein-get-away-daniel-greenfield

The Florida prosecutor who allowed Jeffrey Epstein to get away with the abuse of children is a very popular guy in Palm Beach.

The YWCA of Palm Beach County (“eliminating racism, empowering women”) offers the Barry Krischer Humanitarian Award and the Domestic Violence Council has a Barry Krischer scholarship.

Last year, the ADL honored Krischer with its Jurisprudence Award.

The Florida Bar had honored Kirscher with a lifetime achievement award and he’s still listed as a member in good standing. Even Jeb Bush had bestowed a Peace at Home award on the prosecutor.

Krischer sits on the Criminal Justice Commission and offers training to law enforcement, court personnel and child welfare providers on dealing with crimes of sexual violence. His bio states that he remains active in “child welfare issues” through his work with the Department of Children and Families.

The former Palm Beach County State Attorney had made national news three times during his career. Once when he went after Rush Limbaugh, then after Ann Coulter, two Republicans, and when, after being handed the case of Epstein, a co-founder of the Clinton Global Initiative, he gave him a pass.

Barry Krischer is a Democrat. Jeffrey Epstein is a billionaire donor to Democrats.

As Chief Prosecutor, Krischer had made his reputation with a zero-tolerance policy of prosecuting juveniles as adults. But after Epstein had abused underage girls, Krischer, according to the detective on the case, ignored police efforts to charge him with four counts of unlawful sexual activity with a minor and instead the billionaire abuser was indicted only on a minor charge of solicitation of prostitution.

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Iranian Ships Try to Block U.K. Tanker in Strait of Hormuz U.K. says the Iranian vessels turned away after the HMS Montrose intervened By Rory Jones

Posted By on July 11th, 2019

https://www.wsj.com/articles/three-iranian-vessels-tried-to-block-u-k-ship-from-passing-through-strait-of-hormuz-11562822874?cx_testId=30&cx_testVariant=cx_1&cx_artPos=0#cxrecs_s

DUBAI—Iranian ships attempted to impede the passage of a U.K.-flagged commercial vessel through the Persian Gulf, the British Defense Ministry said, a move that threatens to escalate already high tensions in the region.

Three Iranian vessels tried to block the BP PLC -run tanker British Heritage in the Strait of Hormuz on Wednesday but were turned away by the presence of a U.K. warship, according to the ministry.

The incident is likely to further spook international shipping markets and investors and could accelerate U.S. moves to build a coalition of states to protect commercial vessels near Iranian waters, after a series of attacks on ships in recent months.

Front-month West Texas Intermediate futures recently were up 0.5% to $60.69, while Brent futures were 0.4% higher at $67.26.

The British Royal Navy frigate, HMS Montrose, issued verbal warnings to the Iranian ships before they backed away, the ministry said Thursday.

“We are concerned by this action and continue to urge the Iranian authorities to de-escalate the situation in the region,” it said, adding that the attempt to block the British Heritage’s passage contravened international law.

A spokesman for the ministry added that the British Heritage had since left the Persian Gulf.

BP didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

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Kamala Harris’s Debate Victory Proves Pyrrhic She got the better of Biden, but in a way that wrecks her reputation for decency, character and truthfulness. Dorothy Rabinowitz

Posted By on July 11th, 2019

https://www.wsj.com/articles/kamala-harriss-debate-victory-proves-pyrrhic-11562799747

Memories of the first Democratic debates recede, though echoes remain of one bizarrely magnified event—Sen. Kamala Harris’s sustained assault on front-runner Joe Biden. Over the weekend Mr. Biden issued an apology to those who had been pained when he recalled his amicable relations with archsegregationists early in his Senate days. Ms. Harris’s response made it clear that she had no intention of allowing that night of glory on the debate stage to fade—a moment that changed the world and her place in it, according to a fevered commentariat.

It was good that Mr. Biden recognized the impact of his words, she said. But “we cannot rewrite history.”

Neither can she undo the impact of her own comments during the debate—a histrionic performance likely to cost her more than the donations and improved poll numbers that she gained. She had mounted her offensive against Mr. Biden days after Sen. Cory Booker delivered a lengthy harangue focused on his pain at hearing the former vice president speak of his ability to get on with the likes of Mississippi Sen. James Eastland, who retired in 1978.

No reasonable person could have doubted Mr. Biden’s meaning—that he had in mind a time when politicians understood the value of working with everyone to achieve results. That idea Lyndon B. Johnson understood so well—that had enabled him, as Senate majority leader and president, to flatter, arm-twist and otherwise seduce opponents of civil-rights legislation into allowing it to pass.

No one considering Mr. Booker’s abysmal standing in the polls would have much doubt, either, about the impetus that had driven his operatic display, which became increasingly vague even as the senator added detail. It wasn’t that Mr. Biden was a racist. Mr. Booker hadn’t meant that at all, he insisted. He merely wanted an apology for all the pain Mr. Biden had caused.

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Comrade Ocasio-Cortez enforces party discipline By Monica Showalter

Posted By on July 10th, 2019

https://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2019/07/comrade_ocasiocortez_enforces_party_discipline.html

The most important thing to understand about socialism is not its offers of free stuff, but its coerciveness.  Toe the party line.  Or else.

Enter Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who, up until now, has sugarcoated her socialism in a miasma of lipstick, tweets, dancing in college, fancy fashion choices, and stylish apartments.  We know all about that crap.

Here’s her real story:

The left-wing activist group that spearheaded the political rise of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is now working to take down several incumbent Democrats who have defied the party’s freshman progressive wing, leaving some of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s loyalists on Capitol Hill anxiously wondering if they might soon fall in the crosshairs themselves.

Justice Democrats, which was co-founded by Ocasio-Cortez chief of staff Saikat Chakrabarti, has already announced it is looking to unseat seven-term pro-life Texas Democratic Rep. Henry Cuellar, who represents a conservative district and has boasted about his endorsement from the National Rifle Association. Also on the list: New York Rep. Eliot Engel, the House Foreign Affairs Committee chairman who’s currently in his 16th term.

Really — Eliot Engel?  The House Foreign Affairs Committee chairman who let Ocasio-Cortez’s top ally, Rep. Ilhan Omar, off easy in the House on the anti-Semitism rap?  As thanks for that, he’s now getting primaried.

Some of these moderate Democrats must now realize that they no longer have Republican rivals to worry about; they’ve got the socialist crazies after them, vindictively pushing them left, forcing them to spend money to fight off their challenges, looking to take them down.

Their own side.

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The Left Has Managed To Mainstream Anti-Americanism From the repudiation of the Fourth of July to calls for reparations, anti-Americanism that once was belonged to the far-left is now mainstream. By John Daniel Davidson

Posted By on July 10th, 2019

https://thefederalist.com/2019/07/10/left-managed-mainstream-anti-americanism/

A recent profile of Rep. Illan Omar by the Washington Post made waves because of its revelation that the congresswoman lied to a group of high school students about witnessing racism and injustice in a Minneapolis courtroom. In an anecdote lifted almost verbatim from the plot of “Les Miserables,” Omar claimed she saw a “sweet, old… African American lady,” who had spent the weekend in jail for stealing a $2 loaf of bread to feed her “starving 5-year-old granddaughter,” handed an $80 fine. Omar, unable to control her emotions, blurted out, “Bullsh—t!” in the courtroom.

But Omar’s lies aren’t nearly as revealing as when she tells the truth. In that same speech to the high schoolers, she said “I grew up in an extremely unjust society, and the only thing that made my family excited about coming to the United States was that the United States was supposed to be the country that guaranteed justice to all. So, I feel it necessary for me to speak about that promise that’s not kept.”

The promise that’s not kept. Consider the disconnect between that statement, the seething resentment behind it, and the reality of Omar’s own life story. Indeed, it’s hard to imagine an American success story more demonstrative of America keeping its promise. Omar’s family fled civil war in Somalia when she was a child and spent four poverty-stricken years in a Kenyan refugee camp before the United States, in its generosity, granted them admission to America as refugees.

Here, safe from the violence and chaos of their home country, they flourished. Omar received a college education, started a family, won election to the Minnesota State House at age 34, and two years later, became a member of Congress.

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British Ambassador to U.S. Resigns after Leak of Cables Criticizing Trump Administration By Mairead McArdle

Posted By on July 10th, 2019

https://www.nationalreview.com/news/british-ambassador-to-u-s-resigns-after-leak-of-cables-criticizing-trump-administration/

The British ambassador to the U.S. stepped down Wednesday amid controversy over leaked cables in which he harshly criticized the Trump administration.

Sir Kim Darroch became the object of heavy criticism from the president over the weekend after the leak of private messages to Parliament in which he calls the administration “unpredictable,” “inept,” and “uniquely dysfunctional,” and the president himself “insecure.” The messages also wondered whether the administration would fall in “disgrace” and mused on whether Trump may be indebted to “dodgy Russians.”

“We could be at the beginning of a downward spiral . . . that leads to disgrace and downfall,” the ambassador wrote.

Trump returned fire after the criticisms were leaked, calling the British ambassador a “pompous fool,” “wacky,” and “a very stupid guy.” The president added that his administration would refuse to work with Darroch, which may have forced the ambassador’s hand.

“I do not know the Ambassador, but he is not liked or well thought of within the U.S. We will no longer deal with him,” Trump wrote Monday on Twitter.” The good news for the wonderful United Kingdom is that they will soon have a new Prime Minister.”