ISRAEL, WORLD NEWS Comments turned off

Kyiv is still trying to drag Jerusalem into its war Israel’s foreign minister shouldn’t pay Ukraine’s price for a photo op with Zelenskyy. Jonathan Tobin

Posted By on February 9th, 2023

https://www.jns.org/opinion/kyiv-is-still-trying-to-drag-jerusalem-into-its-war/

Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen has a powerful personal reason for wanting to go to Kyiv and meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had to appease disgruntled members of his Likud Party who felt short-changed by the fact that a lot of key cabinet jobs went to their coalition partners from the religious parties.

While Netanyahu wanted to hand the Foreign Ministry to Ron Dermer, his close confidant and former ambassador to the United States, political realities forced him to tap Cohen for the prestigious post. But he then appointed Dermer Minister to head the resurrected Ministry of Strategic Affairs and Public Diplomacy, in order to ensure that he was the one who was really running Israel’s foreign policy.

Aside from that, Cohen wants to make the most of the time he has at the Foreign Ministry before he must hand it over after two years (in accordance with a rotation agreement) to another Likud Party politician, current Energy Minister Yisrael Katz, who previously held the post from 2019 to 2020. A high-profile visit to war-torn Ukraine—where he will re-open the Israeli embassy in Kyiv, capped by a photo op with an international celebrity like Zelenskyy—may not overcome the justified perception that Cohen is foreign minister in name only, but it would bolster his public image.

As such, he and even Netanyahu, who is under pressure from Israel’s American allies to make more of a show of support for Ukraine’s war effort, believe such a visit is in their interests. It’s especially true, given that Cohen took a beating in the international press for his inaugural phone call with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, after which he said that Israel would speak less about the war in public. That was widely, and not unreasonably, viewed as a promise to tone down any condemnations of Moscow for its brutal, illegal invasion and accompanying atrocities.

But after reports about the conditions that Kyiv is placing on an audience with Zelenskyy for Cohen, it’s clear that the price the Israeli government is being asked to pay for a chance to signal its moral support for Ukraine is far too high.

NATIONAL NEWS & OPINION Comments turned off

Did You Catch Biden’s Shocking Admission During His SOTU Address? By Athena Thorne

Posted By on February 9th, 2023

https://pjmedia.com/news-and-politics/athena-thorne/2023/02/08/did-you-catch-bidens-shocking-admission-during-his-sotu-address-n1668972

“President” Biden went off-script several times during his State of the Union address last night, prompting some of the strongest reactions from the politically mixed attendees. But one moment was particularly shocking because it was an incredible admission.

The moment of candor occurred as Biden worked through his prepared remarks on the evil oil industry. According to the official transcript, he was supposed to bash the fossil fuel producers like so: “You may have noticed that Big Oil just reported record profits. Last year, they made $200 billion in the midst of a global energy crisis. It’s outrageous. They invested too little of that profit to increase domestic production and keep gas prices down. Instead, they used those record profits to buy back their own stock, rewarding their CEOs and shareholders.” This was the equivalent of red meat for the vegan Earth-first crowd.

But then, Biden began ad libbing. “We’re still going to need oil and gas for a while,” he allowed, and, “We’re going to need domestic oil for at least another decade.” This elicited boos from Earthist Democrats and cheers and even laughter from reality-based Republicans.

During these off-the-cuff remarks, Biden’s admission came in the form of an anecdote, recounted here by Fox News:

The president then told an anecdote in which an oil executive asked him why his company should invest in fossil fuel projects in light of the negative business atmosphere for oil and gas projects. Biden said he responded that oil and gas would be needed for years to come.

“They said, ‘well, we’re afraid you’re going to shut down all the oil wells and all the oil refineries. So, why should we invest in them?’ I said, ‘we’re going to need oil for at least another decade and beyond,’” Biden added.

Did you get that? Biden admitted that the oil industry — which remains crucial to our entire way of life, no matter what the Earthist fantasizers say — will not invest in domestic production because they don’t trust him.

NATIONAL NEWS & OPINION Comments turned off

Half in U.S. Say They Are Worse Off, Highest Since 2009 by Jeffrey M. Jones

Posted By on February 9th, 2023

https://news.gallup.com/poll/469898/half-say-worse-off-highest-2009.aspx

Reflecting on their personal financial situations, 35% of Americans say they are better off now than they were a year ago, while 50% are worse off. Since Gallup first asked this question in 1976, it has been rare for half or more of Americans to say they are worse off. The only other times this occurred was during the Great Recession era in 2008 and 2009.

On the other hand, today’s “better off” percentage is not unusually low, having descended to 35% or lower during other challenging economic times. This includes the late 1970s and early 1980s, the early 1990s, and from 2008 through 2012. In those periods, a higher percentage than today’s 14% volunteered that their finances were “the same” as last year.

The latest results are based on a Jan. 2-22 Gallup poll. They follow a year of persistent high inflation, with the highest inflation rates since 1982. Stock market values declined and interest rates rose in 2022, but, on average, personal wages increased substantially.

In both 2021 and 2022, Americans were evenly divided between saying they were better off versus worse off, including a 41% to 41% split in last year’s survey.

By contrast, before the pandemic in January 2020, Americans were almost three times as likely to say they were better off (59%) as worse off (20%). The 59% reading is one of the highest in Gallup’s trends, along with a 58% reading in 1999.

NATIONAL NEWS & OPINION Comments turned off

Biden’s State of the Union: Everything is awesome by Joe Concha

Posted By on February 9th, 2023

https://thehill.com/opinion/white-house/3849146-bidens-state-of-the-union-everything-is-awesome/

Let’s get one item out of the way: State of the Union addresses are among the most overhyped events of any presidency. Thousands of words, many designed for easy applause lines from one side of the chamber. Ample sound and fury signifying nothing. 

Think about it for a moment: Outside of former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) sophomorically tearing up President Trump’s 2020 State of the Union address, what memorable line or moment has ever stood out in these speeches? They are little more than a laundry list of policy positions marinated in self-congratulation.

Tuesday night’s address by President Biden was no different. The commander in chief engaged in happy talk that would have one believe that:

— inflation were 1.4 percent (the number Biden inherited) instead of 6.5 percent as it currently stands.

— violent crime weren’t climbing in most cities across the country. (It is.)

—the border were closed and secure. (More than 5 million illegal migrants have entered the country since Biden took office, including more than 100 on the terror watch list.) 

—fentanyl overdoses were minimal. (They’re the leading killer of adults between the ages of 18-49 due to lax border policy that allows the lethal drug, produced in China, to be shipped to Mexico and brought into the country relatively easily.)

EDUCATION Comments turned off

Florida Shows How to Combat Woke Indoctrination on Campus Advocates are kidding themselves if they think free speech is enough to ensure academic freedom. By Joshua Rauh

Posted By on February 9th, 2023

https://www.wsj.com/articles/florida-shows-how-to-combat-woke-indoctrination-on-campus-progressive-ideology-legislation-freedom-academic-college-university-11675883802?mod=opinion_lead_pos6

In the battle for open inquiry on campus, two factions have emerged on the side of free speech. The first camp consists of professors and administrators who consider themselves the true defenders of academic freedom. They seek to create a free-speech consensus in academia across the political spectrum. In the second camp, state legislators seek to restore academic freedom by outlawing advocacy of woke progressivism in schools. This camp views such ideological teaching as discriminatory and outside the bounds of taxpayer-funded education.

A simmering conflict between these two camps has now burst into the open over Florida’s Stop W.O.K.E. Act. In the first camp, the Academic Freedom Alliance, a group of more than 700 university professors from across the U.S., issued a statement against the Florida policy and others of its kind. The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, or FIRE, is also opposed to policies that limit classroom discussion, scholarly inquiry and public debate in state universities.

I joined the AFA in 2021 as a founding member. These pages heralded the group’s formation. I share the organization’s stated mission: to “defend faculty members’ freedom of thought and expression” including “freedom from ideological tests, affirmations, and oaths.” But the idea that supporting academic freedom requires opposing anti-woke legislation is misguided.

ELECTIONS Comments turned off

More Vindication for Voter ID A new study finds no partisan effect, but will Democrats believe it?

Posted By on February 8th, 2023

https://www.wsj.com/articles/voter-id-laws-pnas-study-democrats-republicans-joe-biden-11675811901?mod=opinion_lead_pos4

This ought to be old news, but someone please inform President Biden and the Democratic Party that another academic study has found voter-ID laws don’t have real partisan consequences. How long until this is conventional wisdom? A 2021 study detected “no negative effect on registration or turnout, overall or for any group defined by race, gender, age, or party affiliation.”

The new analysis, posted Monday by the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, comes at the question from a slightly different angle. “Existing research focuses on how voter ID laws affect voter turnout and fraud,” write the two authors, who are political scientists at Notre Dame. “But the extent to which they produce observable electoral benefits for Republican candidates and/or penalize Democrats remains an open question.”

So what’s the answer, after examining state and federal elections from 2003 to 2020? “The first laws implemented produced a Democratic advantage, which weakened to near zero after 2012,” the study says. “We conclude that voter ID requirements motivate and mobilize supporters of both parties, ultimately mitigating their anticipated effects on election results.” The lack of suppressive outcome explains why requiring photo ID to vote is “favored by 77% of people of color and 80% of White adults,” to quote Gallup’s poll last year.

For that matter, have a gander at the University of Georgia’s 2022 postelection survey. Asked to rate their personal experience voting in the Peach State, 72.6% of black residents said excellent, 23.6% said good, 3.3% said fair, and 0% said poor. The figures for whites were 72.7% excellent, 23.3% good, 3% fair and 0.9% poor. Those who had a “self-reported problem with voting” included 0.5% of blacks and 1.3% of whites.

NATIONAL NEWS & OPINION Comments turned off

The State of the Union Contradiction If Biden is such a success, why aren’t Americans pleased?

Posted By on February 8th, 2023

https://www.wsj.com/articles/joe-biden-state-of-the-union-address-america-polling-economy-covid-11675809441?mod=opinion_lead_pos1

President Biden devoted most of his State of the Union address on Tuesday night to celebrating what he says is a long list of legislative and economic achievements—spending on social programs and public works, subsidies for computer chips, even more subsidies for green energy, and a strong labor market. But if he’s done so much for America, why does most of America not seem to appreciate it?

That’s the contradiction stalking his Presidency as he enters his third year and plots a likely re-election campaign. The disconnect is clear enough in the polls. His job approval rating average has climbed to 44.2% in the RealClearPolitics average, which should be better with all of that supposed good news. Gallup has it at 41%. Mr. Biden’s RCP average job approval on the economy is 38%.

The latest Washington Post/ABC poll is even worse for the President. Some 41% of Americans say they’re worse off financially than when Mr. Biden became President, while only 16% say they’re better off. Most people—62%—say Mr. Biden has accomplished either not very much or little or nothing. That includes 22% of Democrats.

And here’s the really bad news for Mr. Biden. Some 58% of Democrats say they’d prefer a different party nominee for President in 2024, and he even loses a head to head matchup with former President Trump 48%-44%.

***

Polls are only snapshots in time, and few voters are focused on the 2024 choices. Mr. Biden could rise if the economy ducks a recession, inflation subsides, and Ukraine pushes Russia out of most or all of its territory.

FOREIGN POLICY Comments turned off

What is America’s Strategic Interest in Ukraine? David Goldman

Posted By on February 8th, 2023

https://www.hoover.org/publications/strategika

As the Ukraine war enters its twelfth month, the military situation remains a stalemate, but a stalemate that gives the political advantage to Russia. If Russia can hold most of the territory in the oblasts of Luhansk, Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson that it annexed on Sept. 30, 2022, it will claim success for its “special military operation.”

In furtherance of what strategic interests has the United States acted in Ukraine? Is Ukraine’s NATO membership an American raison d’état? Did American strategists really believe that sanctions would shut down Russia’s economy? Did they imagine that the trading patterns of the Asian continent would shift to flow around the sanctions? Did they consider the materiel requirements of a long war that is exhausting American stockpiles? Did they consider what tripwires might elicit the use of nuclear weapons? Or did they sleepwalk into the conflict, as the European powers did in 1914?

Why did Russia invade? Would Russia have invaded Ukraine if the West and the Zelensky government had put Minsk II into effect, with autonomous Russophone regions within a sovereign and neutral Ukraine? Contrafactual history is inherently unprovable, but there are good reasons to believe that this is true. Protecting the rights of Russians separated from the motherland by the breakup of the Soviet Union is a Russian raison d’état. After more than 14,000 casualties in fighting between Ukrainian nationalists and pro-Russian separatists in Donbas before the February 24th invasion, it is hard to argue that Russia’s concerns were groundless.

WORLD NEWS Comments turned off

China and Russia Deepen Their Ties by Judith Bergman

Posted By on February 7th, 2023

https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/19372/china-and-russia-deepen-their-ties

Just 20 days before [Russia’s invasion of Ukraine]…, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping signed a statement that said their cooperation had “no limits…no forbidden zones.”

“Russia and China are making common cause to better defend their respective interests and their authoritarian systems from Western pressure,” said Daniel Russel, a former Obama administration official handling Asia issues, at the time.

Shortly after that, Putin announced new Russian oil and gas deals with China worth an estimated $117.5 billion.

Both countries have also increasingly been conducting this trade in their national currencies.

In February, China and Russia will be holding joint military exercises with South Africa off the South African coast, underscoring the growing influence that China has in Africa

Above all, China’s close and increased dealings with Russia have provided a lifeline to Putin, enabling him to continue his war on Ukraine. This is something that the Biden administration has done little about, apart from threatening last March that there would “absolutely be consequences for large-scale sanctions evasion efforts or support to Russia to backfill them. We will not allow that to go forward and allow there to be a lifeline to Russia from these economic sanctions from any country, anywhere in the world.”

“There’s a number of ways that China’s support is just crucial for Putin. I believe the Chinese could stop the war with one phone call to him. It would be like the banker calling you… so far it’s not happening… Probably the only way to get ahead is going to be American sanctions on China… the war will go on because the banker is not going to make that call.” – Michael Pillsbury, author of “The Hundred Year Marathon,” foxbusiness.com, March 9, 2022

So far, the Biden administration’s help to Ukraine has been insufficient and slow in coming; however, protecting the West by saving Ukraine may yet go down as Biden’s legacy and his administration’s greatest achievement.

China and Russia continue to deepen their ties, a pact that has not gone unnoticed by the European public. In a new poll taken by the International Republican Institute (IRI) across 13 Central and Eastern European countries, there was much concern about this deepening partnership.

NATIONAL NEWS & OPINION Comments turned off

Missing Documents and Files in Ongoing J6 Cover-Ups Overclassification ensures the public won’t get a full view into the government’s behind-the-scenes machinations leading up to the events of January 6. By Julie Kelly

Posted By on February 7th, 2023

https://amgreatness.com/2023/02/06/missing-documents-and-files-in-ongoing-j6-cover-ups/

The public is gradually learning how, despite repeated denials and non-answers, top government officials were well aware of the potential for violence on January 6, 2021. 

A chief investigator on the January 6 select committee told NBC News last week that law enforcement was privy to a trove of intelligence indicating problems could arise during the election certification process but, for some unexplained reason, chose to ignore the warning signs. “The Intel in advance was pretty specific, and it was enough in our view for law enforcement to have done a better job operationalizing a secure perimeter.” Tim Heaphy told NBC News reporter Ken Dilanian. “Law enforcement had a very direct role in contributing to surely the failures—the security failures that led to the violence.”

Criticism of law enforcement, as I noted here after the release of the committee’s report, was buried in a relatively brief appendix in the 840-page document. Staffers complained for months that former Representative Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) insisted the final work product singularly blame Donald Trump, not government agencies, for the events of January 6.

Cheney got her way. But now that the committee is dissolved, some are going public to reveal what the committee failed to report—and the omissions are far more consequential than private conversations between Ivanka Trump and her father, another odd fixation of Cheney’s. (Perhaps a bit of projection from Dick Cheney’s daughter?)

The New York Times disclosed last week that the FBI conducted a tabletop exercise of sorts to “game out the worst potential outcomes of a disputed election.” The so-called “red cell” analysis took place on October 27, 2020, and envisioned four post-election outcomes related to a “lone offender” attack. The bureau did not, however, consider the possibility of a mass uprising or coordinated assault by alleged “militia” groups on January 6, the Times reported.