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NATIONAL NEWS & OPINION

50 STATES AND DC, CONGRESS AND THE PRESIDENT

Stranger in Moscow On this date in 1988, Ronald Reagan told Soviet college students about freedom – and the future. by Bruce Bawer

https://www.frontpagemag.com/__trashed-19/

Thirty-five years ago today, on May 31, 1988, Ronald Reagan, who was in the last year of his presidency and was in Moscow for the last of his summits with Mikhail Gorbachev, delivered a landmark speech to an audience of students at Moscow State University, a hub of scientific and technical research. The occasion was unprecedented, and the speech itself a masterstroke: with palpable enthusiasm, Reagan talked up the ongoing technological revolution that heralded a new information age, and urged the young Soviets to embrace freedom and peace so that they could be part of it:

Standing here before a mural of your revolution, I want to talk about a very different revolution that is taking place right now, quietly sweeping the globe without bloodshed or conflict. Its effects are peaceful, but they will fundamentally alter our world, shatter old assumptions, and reshape our lives. It’s easy to underestimate because it’s not accompanied by banners or fanfare. It’s been called the technological or information revolution, and as its emblem, one might take the tiny silicon chip, no bigger than a fingerprint.

Reagan outlined some of the many ways in which our lives were being – or were about to be – transformed, from weather forecasting to instant computer translations to the mapping of the human genome. All of these developments, he underscored, were products not of government planning but of independent experimentation by individuals, some of them very young people – the near-contemporaries of those Moscow students – tinkering in their own garages. And their achievements, he pointed out, would have been impossible without the gift of freedom – a subject on which he proceeded to expound to that audience of Communist vassals with his customary eloquence:

Freedom is the right to question and change the established way of doing things. It is the continuing revolution of the marketplace. It is the understanding that allows us to recognize shortcomings and seek solutions. It is the right to put forth an idea, scoffed at by the experts, and watch it catch fire among the people. It is the right to dream – to follow your dream or stick to your conscience, even if you’re the only one in a sea of doubters. Freedom is the recognition that no single person, no single authority or government has a monopoly on the truth, but that every individual life is infinitely precious, that every one of us put on this world has been put there for a reason and has something to offer….

Cognizant that those students had learned the importance, in scientific and technological development, of ingenuity, innovation, and experiment, Reagan cannily played on this learning in his attempt to hook them on the idea of freedom. But he also mentioned other fruits of Western liberty that he knew would appeal to them: for example, he enticed them with the then unimaginable notion that someday, like their counterparts in the West, they might actually be able to spend a summer backpacking around Europe. “Is this just a dream?” he asked. “Perhaps, but it is a dream that is our responsibility to have come true.” In fact, it would come true in three years. Similarly, he floated the idea of sharing U.S. magazines and TV shows with the USSR by satellite. Of course, the Internet would soon make those items, and a great deal more, available to Russians.

The Biden family is under the protection of the nation’s top lawmen By Michael Goodwin

https://nypost.com/2023/05/30/biden-family-under-the-protection-of-the-nations-top-lawmen/

Here’s a novel concept: The FBI is not above the law. 

In theory, of course, it’s true, as in no American is above the law.

But is it really true in the sense that its leaders can be brought to justice if they break the law? 

That’ll be the day. 

Ever hear of Jim Comey, Andrew McCabe and Peter Strzok?

They were J. Edgar Hoover without the charm, spied on a presidential campaign without sufficient evidence, lied to the courts and never paid a price. 

In fact, each got a lot richer thanks to the big shots who monetize the Hate Donald Trump fan clubs in cable TV and publishing houses. 

Playing hardball 

The unmistakable lesson is that crime, or something very much like crime, paid handsomely in their cases.

If they weren’t above the law, they were certainly beyond its reach. 

So we must believe that House Speaker Kevin McCarthy was speaking hopefully, not literally, when he told Fox Tuesday morning that unless FBI Director Christopher Wray turns over a document alleging Joe Biden sold his office as part of a $5 million bribery scheme when he was vice president, Congress will move to hold him in contempt. 

“I personally called Director Wray and told him he needs to send that document,” McCarthy said.

“We have jurisdiction over this . . . And if he does not follow through with the law, we will move contempt charges against Christopher Wray and the FBI. They are not above the law.” 

To which Wray effectively replied, go ahead, make my day, with the FBI later refusing to give up the document.

Republicans can pass their contempt citation, but it’s up to the Justice Department to turn contempt into a prosecution. 

And anybody who thinks Attorney General Merrick Garland is going to prosecute Wray for shielding the Biden family hasn’t been paying attention.

Will Your Next Auto Be An EV? Most Say No: I&I/TIPP Poll Terry Jones

https://issuesinsights.com/2023/05/31/will-your-next-auto-be-an-ev-most-say-no-ii-tipp-poll/

Policymakers inside the Biden administration have repeatedly assured Americans that electric vehicles (EVs) are an unavoidable and essential part of the “net-zero” carbon emissions world that they’re trying to regulate into existence. But despite hefty subsidies and future bans of gasoline-powered cars, Americans aren’t ready to jump on the EV bandwagon, the latest I&I/TIPP Poll shows.

For our most recent online public opinion poll of 1,412 drivers, taken from May 3-5, we asked a straightforward question of consumer intent: “How likely will you consider buying/leasing an electric vehicle for your next car?”

Among those responding, 53% said they were “not likely” to consider an electric car, while 39% said they were “likely” to. The poll has a margin of error of +/-2.6 percentage points.

But, to spout an inevitable cliche, the devil once again lurks in the details. Just 16% of those answering the poll said they’re “very likely” to consider an EV, versus 23% who said they were “somewhat likely.”

On the other side, more than a third — 36% — said they were “not at all likely” to consider an EV. Another 17% said they’re “not very likely” to do so.

THE DURHAM REPORT AND HISTORY SYDNEY WILLIAMS

http://www.swtotd.blogspot.com

In his 1982 story of a small Irish village, Passing the Time in Ballymenone, American historian Henry Glassie (1941-) wrote: “History is not the past but a map of the past, drawn from a particular point of view…” All histories reflect the author. But good historians account for that, differentiating between actual events and their personal opinions. The Founding Fathers were conscious of history when they selected Washington as the capital of the new United States in 1790. It was a “federal enclave,” separate from both the commercial/industrial north and the agrarian south. It was not beholden to one party or one faction.

However, over time, as its bureaucracy increased and as public sector unions took sway, Washington changed; so that today in the District, according to the Pew Research Center, Democrat registrations, among federal government employees, outnumber Republican registrations two to one. While the leaders of Washington’s agencies reflect whichever party is in power, permanent federal government employees are, on balance, sympathetic to the Democrat Party.

The purpose of the Durham Report was to shine light on nefarious attempts to affect the outcome of the 2016 election – to address the widely accepted view that Donald Trump colluded with Russia to affect the outcome of the Presidential election that year. It also offers an alternative (and more accurate) perspective on subsequent efforts to undermine Mr. Trump’s Presidency. The Report details how the nation’s premier investigatory and intelligence services, in cooperation with the Clinton campaign, falsely implicated Mr. Trump as having colluded with Vladimir Putin to sway the election.  

Foreign Interference? How Non-Citizens Are Voting in American Elections by J. Christian Adams

https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/19679/non-us-citizens-voting

You probably know the [National Voter Registration Act] as “Motor Voter.” It is the federal requirement that requires state motor vehicle offices to offer voter registration and the ability to update your address.

Sounds convenient? Now, we have data showing one of the side effects of Motor Voter is to put non-citizens onto American voter rolls.

[W]e have collected extensive records of non-citizens asking to be removed from the voter rolls. Sometimes those records reveal how the foreign citizen was registered to vote, and the Motor Voter process represents the vast majority of cases.

Chicago officials provided registration records where some foreign nationals even checked “NO” to the question of whether the person is a United States citizen, and were still registered.

The Pennsylvania State Department admitted that due to what election officials referred to as a “glitch” that they had been accidentally registering foreign nationals to vote for two decades. They have been fighting for over five years to conceal details, including the number of foreign nationals the Commonwealth registered to vote by mistake.

The reports from Maricopa County and Chicago are not an inventory of every non-citizen vote, but only those who informed election officials they were not American citizens. So, the catalog of confessed non-citizens is almost certainly just the tip of the iceberg.

What can be done about non-citizens registering to vote?

Congress can solve the problem by allowing states to validate citizenship effectively. This could be as easy as providing a passport, birth certificate or other evidence of being an American at the time of voter registration.

Another easy fix is for Congress to add citizenship to the National Voter Registration Act’s reasonable voter list maintenance requirements for states. Motor Voter does not put the same obligation for states to keep voter rolls free from non-citizens as it does, for example, dead voters.

This month marks the 30th anniversary of President Bill Clinton signing the National Voter Registration Act into law. You probably know the law as “Motor Voter.” It is the federal requirement that requires state motor vehicle offices to offer voter registration and the ability to update your address.

Sounds convenient? Now, we have data showing one of the side effects of Motor Voter is to put non-citizens onto American voter rolls.

Three Years Later, No Justice for BLM Insurrection in D.C. D.C.’s lead prosecutor has turned a blind eye to a six-month campaign of terror in the nation’s capital in 2020 so he could keep his sights on the mostly nonviolent protesters of January 6, 2021. By Julie Kelly

https://amgreatness.com/2023/05/29/three-years-later-no-justice-for-blm-insurrection-in-d-c/

“Our office prosecutes all acts of violence, regardless of political motivation, the same.”

So said U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Matthew Graves—under oath, mind you, and with a straight face—during a hearing of the House Oversight Committee earlier this month. 

Representative Paul Gosar (R-Ariz.) questioned Graves’ disparate treatment of Black Lives Matters rioters who terrorized Washington, D.C., in 2020 versus Trump supporters involved in the events of January 6, 2021.

Although the start of both incidents was a mere seven months apart, they are a world away in terms of accountability. 

In what Graves calls the “Capitol Siege” investigation, more than 1,000 Trump supporters have been criminally charged. Graves, a Biden appointee, has promised to double that caseload before he’s finished. His office announces new arrests every week.

That, however, is not the case for rioters who caused far more violence and inflicted far more damage in the nation’s capital in 2020. The rioting that began on May 29, 2020 at Lafayette Square prompted the lockdown of the White House; Donald Trump, his wife, and teenage son were ushered to an underground bunker for their safety as looters and arsonists repeatedly tried to scale the fence and break through police barricades erected outside the White House.

And what started that night in 2020 didn’t just last a few hours, as was the case with the Capitol protest. On June 1, rioters burned part of St. John’s Church, an historical landmark across from the White House, and set ablaze other areas of the public park.

Chaos continued throughout the summer with the president, his family, and White House staff under constant threat. Police arrested 11 people at Lafayette Square in July 2020 for various offenses including assault of a police officer. “The Tuesday night incidents that stretched over hours are the latest confrontations to transpire near the White House, where protesters have been gathering daily for more than a month to protest for racial justice after the killing of George Floyd in the custody of Minneapolis police,” the Washington Post reported on July 8, 2020.

Defund The IRS

https://issuesinsights.com/2023/05/30/defund-the-irs/

The debt ceiling deal reached by the Republican leadership and the administration is far from perfect in the eyes of anyone who cares about runaway government spending (which is the only government spending we know of). But it appears House Speaker Kevin McCarthy was able to block, at least for a year, the hiring of a field army of IRS soldiers. Like a thousand lawyers at the bottom of the ocean, it’s a good start, though there’s still a long way to go.

Among the hundreds of sections in the 99-page bill, No. 251 is “Rescission of certain balances made available to the Internal Revenue Service.” More specifically, the legislation, if passed and signed as is, cuts almost $1.4 billion “of the unobligated balances of amounts appropriated or otherwise made available for activities of the Internal Revenue Service” through the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022.

Through the Inflation Reduction Act, the Biden administration had obtained an additional $80 billion for the IRS, more than six times its current annual budget. Funding for enforcement was to increase by 69% through fiscal 2031. Such a “generous injection of other people’s money” would mean, according to the Washington Free Beacon, that the IRS will “employ more bureaucrats than the Pentagon, State Department, FBI, and Border Patrol combined.”

The expansion will now be delayed for at least one fiscal year.

The Bigotry That Proudly Speaks Its Name From Dodger Stadium to Washington, indulging anti-Catholic sentiment is an elite pastime. By Gerard Baker

https://www.wsj.com/articles/anti-catholic-bigotry-is-an-elite-american-pastime-la-dodgers-white-house-sisters-of-perpetual-indulgence-joe-biden-jfk-bde742cc?mod=opinion_lead_pos6

When John F. Kennedy ran for president in 1960, he felt compelled, memorably, to make a declaration of political independence from the authorities of his Catholic faith.

His opponents had notoriously exploited anti-Catholic sentiment in key states to suggest that somehow a papist in the Oval Office would owe principal loyalty to the Vatican and would take instruction from the pope on critical questions of the presidency.

The issue had dogged him through Democratic primaries and threatened him in a close general election, so in remarks to the Greater Houston Ministerial Association in September, Mr. Kennedy sought to lay the calumny to rest: “I am not the Catholic candidate for president. I am the Democratic Party’s candidate for president, who happens also to be a Catholic. I do not speak for my church on public matters, and the church does not speak for me.”

Sixty years on, Joe Biden, the second Catholic president, hasn’t had to make a similar declaration. It would be nice to think that is because America is a more tolerant place than it was in 1960. But with each day of his presidency it seems the opposite is true. Anti-Catholic bigotry is entrenched among the left-wing elites who control the Democratic Party, and they have no fear that Mr. Biden in office would lift a finger to restrain it. Far from being a secret agent for the Vatican, the president seems content to be a very public agent for the continuous denigration of those who hold to traditional Catholic doctrine.

IT’S TIME TO DISARM THE IRS! ADAM ANDRZEJEWSKI

Since 2006, the IRS has spent $35.2 million on guns, ammunition and military-style equipment — including 600 shotguns, 500 AR-15 rifles, and 15 submachine guns.

There are more than 2,100 special agents with firearm authority, and they must be willing to use “deadly force.”

Just who are they planning on fighting?

WE NEED TO TELL CONGRESS: IT’S TIME TO DISARM THE IRS

Let’s keep the weaponry for traditional law enforcement authorities, not federal civil and administrative agencies.

FOX News’ Sean Hannity featured our CEO, Adam Andrzejewski, on his radio show last month and agreed… it’s time to disarm the IRS.

On Fox Business earlier this month Larry Kudlow cited our report, and agreed… it’s time to disarm the IRS.

Our momentum is building, but we need your help.

PLEASE SIGN OUR PETITION HERE!

Feminism Overshot the Goal Peachy Keenan

https://www.newsweek.com/feminism-overshot-goal-opinion-1801498

The following essay is an excerpt adapted from Peachy Keenan’s new book, Domestic Extremist: A Practical Guide to Winning the Culture War, out June 6 from Regnery.

Feminists fought for decades to help girls succeed, but they overshot the goal. They crossed the finish line and then hit the gas and drove the car right off the cliff. The early feminists who wanted women to be treated as equals under the law would spin in their graves if they saw where their descendants have gone.

We can all agree that voting and equal rights for all people, including women, are good. However, “equality” and “feminism” are now just weasel words obfuscating nasty outcomes for your innocent daughters. The kindly, maternal figure of the traditional grandmother has been swallowed whole by the wolf—and she/they plans to eat you next. Too many of America’s boomer grandmothers are more likely to teach their granddaughters to make “My Body My Choice” signs than how to bake a pie. Grandmother, what sharp curettes you have!

In every way, the term “women’s rights” has been warped and hollowed out, a total misnomer, like one of those hilariously euphemistic government names for bad laws.

Your “right” to be treated equally quickly turned into your “right” to demand an abortion at nine months, your “right” to brag on social media about your lucrative career in socially acceptable sex work, and your “right” to be one of hundreds of jilted girls ghosted by a single male user on Tinder.