SPEAKING WITH RON DESANTIS The Florida governor unveils an ambitious anti-CRT agenda. Chris Rufo

http://christopherrufo.com

Yesterday, I accompanied Florida governor Ron DeSantis on an early-morning flight from Tallahassee to The Villages retirement community, where he was scheduled to deliver a policy address on critical race theory. During the flight, DeSantis reviewed talking points for his speech, edited communications materials, and, after the plane touched down, selected a red-and-blue sign that would hang on the podium: “STOP WOKE ACT.”

DeSantis warmed up the crowd of approximately 100 people at Ezell Regional Recreation Center and outlined the “Stop the Wrongs to Our Kids and Employees Act,” which would ban critical-race-theory indoctrination in public schools, prohibit racially abusive training programs in the workplace, and provide parents and workers the right to sue institutions that violate these prohibitions.

The governor framed the rise of critical race theory as a mortal threat to the United States. “I think what you see now with the rise of this woke ideology is an attempt to really delegitimize our history and to delegitimize our institutions,” he said. “And they basically want to replace it with a very militant form of leftism that would absolutely destroy this country.”

As illustrations of critical race theory in American institutions, DeSantis cited seven of my reports for City Journal: Arizona claiming that babies are racist; Santa Clara County denouncing the United States as a “parasitic system”; Philadelphia teaching students  to celebrate “Black communism”; San Diego telling teachers “you are racist”; Bank of America teaching that the United States is a “system of white supremacy”; Verizon teaching that America is fundamentally racist; and Google teaching that all Americans are “raised to be racist.”

What’s in it for the US in its “foreign aid” to Israel? Yoram Ettinger

https://bit.ly/3GNyAWQ

1.  The return on the annual US investment in Israel

*On October 2021 and January 2020, Israel’s intelligence alerted the US of Iranian drone and missile attacks on US military installations in Southern Syria and Iraq. 200 US soldiers (in Syria) and 1,500 US soldiers (in Iraq) took effective shelter.

*The scope of Israeli intelligence shared with the US exceeds the intelligence provided by all NATO countries combined. It includes data on Iran’s global terrorism and nuclear and ballistic programs; Islamic terrorism targeting the US and pro-US Arab regimes; battle tactics and military systems of US rivals and enemies; Israeli-developed technologies and battle tactics neutralizing hostile capabilities; Soviet nuclear-equipped intercontinental ballistic missiles; etc.

*According to General George Keegan, former Head of Air Force Intelligence: “I could not have procured the intelligence [received from Israel] with five CIAs.” The annual budget of one CIA is around $15BN.

*Israel is the most cost-effective, battle-tested laboratory of the US defense industries, employing (with much gratitude!) hundreds of US military systems, sharing with the US manufacturers lessons (operation, maintenance, repairs), which are integrated as upgrades. These upgrades enhance US global competitiveness, spare the US billions of dollars and many years of research and development, increase US exports and expand US employment. According to Lockheed-Martin (formerly GD), Israel’s use of the F-16 has yielded over 700 upgrades, netting a mega-billion-dollar bonanza to the manufacturer. A similar bonanza is enjoyed by McDonnell-Douglas, the manufacturer of the F-15. The benefits to the US derived by the more sophisticated and expensive F-35 are substantially higher.

*According to the late Admiral Elmo Zumwalt and General Alexander Haig, “Israel is the largest US aircraft carrier, which does not require American soldiers on board, cannot be sunk, and is deployed in a most critical region, economically and militarily, sparing the US the need to manufacture, deploy and maintain more real aircraft carriers and additional ground divisions, which would cost the US some $15bn annually.”

*The formulation of US battle tactics is largely based on Israel’s battle experience. For instance, Special Operations units (on their way to Iraq and previously to Afghanistan) and urban warfare specialists are trained in Israel. The US Air Force benefits greatly from joint maneuvers with Israel’s Air Force, which possesses much more battle experience, shedding light on the far-reaching capabilities of US-made combat aircraft.

YES, PRIME MINISTER: RUTHIE BLUM

https://www.jpost.com/opinion/yes-prime-minister-opinion-688986

Yes, Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, you were right to tweet about the “settlers in Judea and Samaria [who] have been suffering from violence and terrorism, daily, for decades.”

It was appropriate for you to have called them the “protective wall of us, all [whom] we must strengthen and support in word and deed.”

It was wise of you to stress that though certain kinds of fringe phenomena exist everywhere, “we cannot make a broad generalization about an entire sector.”

Yes, prime minister, it was apt of you to criticize Public Security Minister Omer Bar Lev for his outrageous discussion with US Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Victoria Nuland, during their meeting this week at the David Citadel Hotel in Jerusalem. Too bad you didn’t actually mention his name or tag him in your post. But then, he’s a key member of your cabinet, and you have to be strategically prudent.

Even without your spelling it out, everyone understood that you were referring to Bar Lev, who had boasted on social media about his get-together with Nuland, claiming that she “was interested, among other things, in settler violence and how to reduce tensions in the region and strengthen the Palestinian Authority.”

Your longtime sidekick — or possibly former one, now that you turn to Shimrit Meir for foreign policy and other advice — was more direct. Interior Minister Ayelet Shaked attached her comments to Bar Lev’s tweet, accusing him of being “confused.”

The settlers, she wrote, “are the salt of the earth, descendants of the pioneers from the valley and the mountain.”

She pointed out what is obvious: “The violence that should be causing shock is that of the dozens of cases of throwing rocks and Molotov cocktails at Jews every day — only because they’re Jews — all with the encouragement and support of the PA. I recommend that you talk about that violence with Ms. Nuland.”

HOLIDAY WISHES FROM RUTHFULLY YOURS

TWAS THE NIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS AND ALL THROUGH THE HOUSE,

NOT A CREATURE WAS STIRRING NOT EVEN A MOUSE.

AT THE WHITE HOUSE A GENT FOUND REFUGE IN SLUMBER,

FROM FAILURES AND CRITICS GROWING IN NUMBER.

 

I TRIED TO SLEEP WITH NO SUCCESS,

WITH WORRY ABOUT OUR NATIONAL MESS.

 

INFLATION, CRIME, AND A MILITARY GONE WOKE,

A VICE PRESIDENT WHO’S BECOME A NATIONAL JOKE.

 

NON-CITIZENS WILL VOTE WITH NO BORDER CONTROL,

A DEMOGRAPHIC CALAMITY THAT WILL TAKE ITS TOLL.

 

PRE-K SCHOOLS TEACHERS SHUN EDUCATIONAL TOYS,

PUSHING GENDER CONFUSION ABOUT GIRLS AND BOYS.

 

 IGNORANT FACULTY PROMOTE THE FALSE GLAMOR

AND INFINITE LIES OF THE SICKLE AND HAMMER.

 

CONSTITUTIONAL FREEDOMS ARE MANDATED AWAY,

WITH FOREIGN POLICY IN COMPLETE DISARRAY.

 

I MUSED AND WORRIED WHEN I HEARD A JOYFUL CLATTER.

I RUSHED TO THE WINDOW TO SEE WHAT WAS THE MATTER.

 

MAINSTREAM REPORTERS FELL ON THEIR HEAD,

SLIPPING AND SLIDING ON THE B.S. THEY SPREAD.

DURHAM GALLOPED IN ON A BUCKING STEER

WITH THE STEELE DOSSIER IMPALED ON A SPEAR.

 

SUPERIOR COURTS GAVE BIDEN A SLAP ON THE WRIST

HE REMAINED IMPERVIOUS, IF YOU GET MY GIST.

 

PARENTS AND TEACHERS WERE ON A SPREE

TO STOP INDOCRINATION AND C.R.T.

 

ECO-ELECTRIC CARS WERE STALLED IN THE MIRE

WITH KERRY, CLIMATEERS, AND FAUCI THE LIAR.

 

 

BIPARTISAN DEMOCRATS DESERVE HONORABLE MENTION

GOV. POLIS AND SENATORS TESTER, SINEMA AND MANCHIN.

 

THE OTHERS SLUMPED WITH FEAR OF ELECTION LOSS,

AWARE THAT VOX POPULI IS THEIR ULTIMATE BOSS.

SANTA FAILED TO APPEAR AT THE MERRY CELEBRATION

NEITHER HE NOR THE REINDEER HAD PROOF OF VACCINATION

 

SO, IN A STAB AT PENTAMETER WITH RHYMES AND CHEER.

I WISH YOU ALL JOYFUL HOLIDAYS, GOOD HEALTH, AND A HAPPY NEW YEAR!

 

R.S.K.

Can an Ex-President Claim Privilege for Communications While He Was President? by Alan M. Dershowitz

https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/18033/president-privilege

A former spouse, a lawyer’s former client, and a penitent’s former priest can claim privilege — and so could a former member of Congress and a former judge. The relevant issue is whether the communication was privileged at the time it was made. If so, it should be an enduring privilege that encourages confidential communications during their incumbency.

According to The New York Times, this is what [the House’s lawyer] said: “The Constitution does draw a clear line between a president and an ex-president. An ex-president is somebody who rejoins the great unwashed” — by which he apparently means you and me, who never had any executive privilege.

The issue is an open one that will likely be decided by the Supreme Court. I doubt that justices who are now retired or intend someday to retire — and join the “unwashed” — would be thrilled if Congress were to subpoena their former law clerks to disclose their confidential discussions about decisions they wrote while they were still among the washed.

They [the January 6th Committee] should seek to have the courts rule first on the constitutional issue, and if Meadows then refuses to comply with a judicial order, they can seek criminal penalties. This chronology is especially required because Meadows has said that he would comply with court orders.

Seeking a court order first is also required by the constitutionally mandated separation of powers.

Finally, criminal indictments should never be used to determine what the law is. It should only be used against individuals who know that they are violating existing law that is already clear.

The Constitution provides no clear answer to whether a former president can claim executive privilege over communications that occurred while he was president. Both policy and analogy to other privileges would suggest an affirmative answer. A former spouse, a lawyer’s former client, and a penitent’s former priest can claim privilege — and so could a former member of Congress and a former judge. The relevant issue is whether the communication was privileged at the time it was made. If so, it should be an enduring privilege that encourages confidential communications during their incumbency.

The show trial taking place in D.C. By Andrea Widburg

https://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2021/12/the_show_trial_taking_place_in_dc.html

Tucker Carlson was on fire Tuesday night, for he launched a scathing attack on the grotesque show trial taking place in the House of Representatives, ostensibly to expose the “truth” about the “insurrection” on January 6 but, in reality, to destroy political enemies and preempt Trump’s effort to regain the White House in 2024. To frame the attack, Tucker lit into Liz Cheney, and a more deserving target it’s hard to imagine.

The monologue opens with Tucker pointing out that, for unexplained reasons, Liz Cheney showed up in Manchester, New Hampshire, last month. Well, unexplained only if you don’t know that it’s the place people go when they’re investigating running for president.

To normal people, Liz Cheney’s constituency for a presidential run is a bit of a mystery. Trump supporters despise her and Democrats do too—although they’re perfectly happy to use her to attack Trump.

However, it seems that Cheney is raking in millions of dollars, so someone supports her. Tucker suggests that her supporters are political “dynamos” such as Mitt Romney, Lindsey Graham, and Jeb Bush. To Tucker, these are all neocons who live to get Americans involved in wars that kill and maim our sons and daughters without conferring any benefit on America. Looking back on the last 20 years, I must agree.

The Latest Theories of Criminally Prosecuting Donald Trump Remain Flimsy By Dan McLaughlin

https://www.nationalreview.com/2021/12/the-latest-theories-of-criminally-prosecuting-donald-trump-remain-flimsy/

No, it is still not likely that Donald Trump can be indicted for January 6.

L ike Captain Ahab, the full-time Trump haters have fixated yet again on an idea for criminally prosecuting our 45th president. By “full-time Trump haters” I do not mean those of us who have remained consistently critical of Donald Trump, want him out of our politics, and have called for him to be held properly accountable, but rather the left-leaning Resistance and the former conservatives who have let the Never Trump slogan consume their entire political identity. Neither group can let Trump go, even for a little while, even at the cost of neglecting many of the other serious domestic and foreign issues facing the nation.

The obsessives have yet again been issuing flurries of “the walls are closing in” tweets and cable-news segments eagerly anticipating a criminal indictment of Trump. But tweets are no substitute for reading the law.

In a televised hearing on Monday, the House Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the U.S. Capitol was reviewing a set of text messages produced by White House chief of staff Mark Meadows, mainly detailing his communications on January 6 with people outside the Trump administration. The text messages underline the case for Trump’s political and moral responsibility for the January 6 Capitol riot. But where is the crime?

Liz Cheney, homing in on Trump’s failure during the critical hours to talk down the rioters or take more vigorous action to enforce the law, asked:

These texts leave no doubt: The White House knew exactly what was happening at the Capitol. Members of Congress, the press, and others wrote to Mark Meadows as the attack was under way. . . . Did Donald Trump, through action or inaction, corruptly seek to obstruct or impede Congress’s proceedings?

If it sounds as if Cheney was quoting or paraphrasing a legal standard, it’s because she was. A number of commentators, including Harvard Law professor Lawrence Tribe, CNN legal analyst Elie Honig, and Daily Beast political-investigations reporter Jose Pagiery, have suggested that Cheney was making a case for prosecuting Trump under 18 U.S.C. § 1505.

If so, that’s a very difficult charge to make stick. There are two problems: It’s unclear whether that charge even applies and, if it did, it’s unclear whether Trump did anything that could violate it.

The Logic of California’s Leftists Will Keep Us All Children Forever There’s a word to describe people who believe that unpleasant ideas can be eliminated by banning the “trigger words” that represent them: Such people are called children. By Dan Gelernter

https://amgreatness.com/2021/12/14/the-logic-of-californias-leftists-will-keep-us-all-children-forever/

Los Angeles, Oakland, Sacramento City, and San Diego Unified school districts have found a novel way to improve academic results—they’re getting rid of D and F grades. One imagines this will improve results immediately. On paper.

Reporting from San Francisco, KRON 4 News, writing in semi-literate English, informs us, “If a student fails a test or doesn’t complete their homework, they’ll be able to retake the test and get more time to turn in assignments.” 

The assistant principal at Fremont High School in Oakland, speaking in semi-literate English, told KRON, “Right now, we have a system where we give a million points for a million pieces of paper that students turn in, without much attention to what they’re actually learning.” 

I don’t think anyone will dispute that schools are not paying much attention to what kids are learning. But banning Ds and Fs won’t help students as much as it will help teachers and principals in these districts look less awful by comparison, or else make comparisons with schools that retain a full grading system impossible. The real goal is to rescue teachers’ unions and professional administrators from what they’re doing to the kids. 

To take a random example from the English readers on my desk, a seventh grader of a century ago, learning, no doubt, in a one-room schoolhouse with just enough funding for these text books, would have read Shakespeare, Lord Byron, Keats, Poe, Ruskin, Sir Walter Scott, Longfellow, Kipling, Thoreau, Whitman, Washington, Lincoln and Marcus Aurelius, to cite just a small subsection of the included authors. Selections range from stories and poems to nature study, science, and history. These authors have long since gone the way of the D and F grades: Better to eliminate challenging material than create the impression students are failing. Which really means—better to eliminate material than create the impression that teachers are failing to teach their students.

Can anything good come from a Kennedy? By John Dale Dunn See note please

https://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2021/12/can_anything_good_come_from_a_kennedy.html

This is a terrible title. Senator John Neely Kennedy Republican of Louisiana is witty, charming, a stalwart conservative….Otherwise this review of Robert F. Kennedy. Jr.’s book is excellent…..rsk

The Real Anthony Fauci: Bill Gates, Big Pharma, and the Global War on Democracy and Public Health (Children’s Health Defense)

Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. dissects identifies and exposes the evil influences that produced the COVID response and explains the danger of “regulatory capture” of government alphabet agencies and the globalist strategies that created the inappropriate and unprecedented COVID response.  Kennedy exposes the mendacious nature of Bill Gates and Anthony Fauci in his ambitious and thorough 480-page book with more than two thousand references.

The book is far-ranging and thorough and covers the Faucet’s career and serial malfeasance that goes back to the 1980s.  It also explains the growth of the public health global pharma edifice that has hijacked health care and the Fauci-orchestrated COVID response that was saturated with pernicious noble lies.  Indeed, Fauci’s work was unprecedented and malevolent, and it added to the damage of the worldwide disaster virus the Chicoms let loose.   

Fauci and Gates get Kennedy’s special attention because they were critical in creating the Global Public Health Pharma Machine and also instrumental in what is discussed at the end of the book: the dominance of the bio-health-security bureaucracy.  As C.S. Lewis put it: “The greatest evils in the world will not be carried out by men with guns, but by men in suits sitting behind desks.”

Mr. Kennedy wrote an ambitious book.  He provides the reader with good historical and political grounding on what has happened to produce this COVID debacle and the role of Fauci, Gates, and others who were at the epicenter.  He reveals the development of the Fauci Empire that began with his manipulations during the HIV/AIDS era and continues with Fauci as il capo di tutti capi of medical research funding and public health medical journal influence that continues to this day. 

Kennedy reveals Bill Gates to be a narcissist monopolist megalomaniac who partnered with Fauci, a man with a similar personality disorder, to dominate international health care policy as a health care policy and epidemic-fighter übermensch.  Effectively, Gates turned his penchant for monopoly from computer software to global public health.

Gates owns lots of health care stocks, so his savior image is burnished by his increased wealth.  Prominent in his holdings are vaccine companies like Merck, GSK, Eli Lilly, Pfizer, Novartis, Sanofi, Gilead, Biogen, AstraZeneca, Moderna, Novavax, and Inovio.  Kennedy makes the point that diverting aid from economic development, medical care access, safe clean water, good sewerage, and nutrition and food supply to vaccines is counterproductive — and not good health care policy.  He also points to the aggressive third-world birth control projects of the Gates operations.

Denial is a River That Runs Through the Left Progressives reshape reality to fit their ideology. Don Feder

https://www.frontpagemag.com/fpm/2021/12/denial-river-runs-through-left-don-feder/

What do the following have in common: tornadoes which wreaked havoc in the Midwest, the Smollett and Rittenhouse verdicts, the crime wave inundating our cities, chaos at the border and the highest inflation rate in 39 years? Each is relevant only if it serves the left’s worldview.

Biden says the twisters which devastated parts of four states are further evidence of what he calls the ‘climate crisis.” Tornadoes in the Midwest? What’s next, hurricanes in Louisiana, blizzards in North Dakota and a heat wave in July?

As her Kansas farmhouse was swept up in a dust cloud, Dorothy Gale was heard to remark: “Damn those Republicans for opposing the Green New Deal!”

Jussie Smollett concocted a hate crime story so preposterous that it strained credulity –white men in MAGA hats wandering around Chicago at 2 AM in the dead of winter looking for minorities to victimize.

But Biden, Harris and most of the left swallowed it to the last absurd detail. Last week, Smollett was convicted on five charges related to the hoax, including lying to the police.

When Kyle Rittenhouse was charged with fatally shooting two people and wounding a third in the course of a 2020 riot in Kenosha, Wisconsin, Biden said it was because of Trump’s alleged refusal to “disavow white supremacy.” At trial, Rittenhouse was found not guilty on all charges.

The difference? Rittenhouse was a white man with a gun protecting property and himself during a BLM riot, so he had to be guilty. Smollett is a gay, black actor, (and a friend of Maxine Waters), so his allegations had to be believable, no matter how fantastic.

A few days ago, Larry Krasner, Philadelphia’s radical DA said there’s no crime crisis in the City of Cain and Able — no crisis of “crime,” “lawlessness” or “violence.”