Displaying posts published in

August 2022

A Tale Of Two TV Hosts It was the best of ratings, it was the worst of ratings. Derek Hunter

https://www.frontpagemag.com/fpm/2022/08/tale-two-tv-hosts-derek-hunter/

It was the best of ratings, it was the worst of ratings…

That the establishment media is left-wing is beyond debate. Hilariously, every once in a while there is some progressive “journalist” who’ll tweet something about how unfairly Joe Biden is being treated or how the New York Times is secretly a conservative outlet. It’s beyond stupid and likely done just to poke the social media bear. The reality is there is no conservative who gets an honest, fair shake from the left-wing media and we need to stop pretending there is.

This week, Vanity Fair took up residence in Rachel Maddow’s colon, running another in an endless string of profiles about the MSNBC personality (they call her a journalist, which is a testament to just how devoid of meaning that word has become), complete with photos by Annie Leibovitz. She was given such a wet kiss you’d think she were leading Ukraine in a war against Russia. 

Juxtapose that to how any piece is ever written about Tucker Carlson. He is a monster and responsible for anything everyone who can be remotely connected to anything he’s ever said, even if that person confesses to having left-wing authoritarian politics. Meanwhile, miraculously, Maddow isn’t responsible at all when a super fan tries to murder as many Republicans as possible on a baseball field based on left-wing lies about health care. Weird how that works, isn’t it?

Carlson gets a long written series about how dangerous he is to the country, Maddow gets tonsil-hockey every couple of months from the same people. 

Morning Joe Enlists Peter Strzok to Defend the FBI’s Integrity By Isaac Schorr

https://www.nationalreview.com/news/morning-joe-enlists-peter-strzok-to-defend-the-fbis-integrity/

Ex-FBI agent Peter Strzok — who was let go by the bureau after it was revealed that he told a colleague that they would “stop” Donald Trump from becoming president — appeared on MSNBC’s Morning Joe on Monday, where he assured viewers that Americans should “absolutely… trust what the FBI is doing” in regards to its continued investigation of Trump, which led to the execution of a search warrant at Trump’s residence in Florida.

“It’s not that the FBI is targeting any one side or the other, what you see is the FBI going out on the day-in, day-out basis of objectively investigating allegations of law,” said Strzok, who charged the “right-wing ecosphere” with hypocrisy for their “silence” during the investigation into former secretary of state and Democratic nominee for president Hillary Clinton’s mishandling of classified information.

The bureau’s investigation into Clinton found her guilty of being “grossly negligent,” but then-Director James Comey said that she should not be charged by the Department of Justice in an unorthodox public recommendation.

Biden Administration Urges Court to Keep Trump Search Affidavit Sealed By Zachary Stieber

https://www.theepochtimes.com/biden-administration-urges-court-to-keep-trump-search-affidavit-sealed_4666445.html

President Joe Biden’s administration on Aug. 15 urged a federal court to keep the affidavit that led to the approval of a search warrant on former President Donald Trump’s resort shielded from the public.

U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) lawyers said unsealing the affidavit would “irreparably harm the government’s ongoing criminal investigation.”

“Even when the public is already aware of the general nature of the investigation, revealing the specific contents of a search warrant affidavit could alter the investigation’s trajectory, reveal ongoing and future investigative efforts, and undermine agents’ ability to collect evidence or obtain truthful testimony,” they wrote in a 13-page filing to U.S. Magistrate Judge Bruce Reinhart, who is overseeing the case.

“In addition to the implications for the investigation, the release of this type of investigative material could have ‘devastating consequences’ for the reputations and rights of individuals whose actions and statements are described,” they added, citing a previous decision in a different case.

A slew of parties, including Judicial Watch, media outlets, and the Florida Center for Governmental Accountability, have lodged motions after the Aug. 8 raid of Mar-a-Lago, arguing it is in the public interest to unseal the affidavit and other related documents.

The government and Trump’s lawyers agreed on some of the documents, and Reinhart unsealed the search warrant and several attachments on Aug. 12, revealing that the government believes Trump violated multiple laws.

How Western Civilization Was Erased Paul Craig Roberts

https://www.paulcraigroberts.org/2022/08/15/how-western-civilization-was-erased/

When I was a student, school principles and university administrations were very supportive of teachers.  It was understood that once teachers could be accused by students, learning discipline would break down, and  control would be lost over grading, standards, and course content.  

This is what has happened. A teacher’s life has changed from imparting information and challenging ideas  to students into dodging accusations from leftists, feminists, blacks, homosexuals, and transgendered.  Today even use of a gender pronoun can be cause for termination.

The slippery slope began with the sexual revolution. Female students began seducing professors for better grades.  Feminists turned this into sexual harassment by teachers and soon the presence of novels such as  Flaubert’s Madame Bovary on reading lists became sexual harassment.  Next blacks found that they could be offended by almost everything and “I am offended” became a way to control the teacher and the course content.  Facts had to be made to fit with black suppositions.  Homosexuals found that they could find evidence of homophobia in some assignments.  Today gender pronouns are taboo and males have to be permitted to use female facilities and to compete in female sports.  This process has gone so far that mathematics departments in universities are faced with the charge that mathematics is racist and a tool of white oppression.  Areas of science, such as the genetic basis of intelligence, have been closed down. Histories  of the Age of Exploration, of the US “Civil War,” and slavery have been rewritten to fit the desired narratives. Schools and universities teach white students that they are racists.  It has become impossible to acquire a university degree and emerge with a positive attitude toward Western civilization. Indeed, students cannot emerge with a positive attitude toward white people or the founders of the United States. Even the historic homes of the founders are used to denigrate them.  See for example: https://www.unz.com/jtaylor/dragging-the-founders-through-the-mud/ 

Why Proactive Cybersecurity Is a Must in Today’s Sophisticated Threat Environment Prevention and preparedness begin with discovering the knowns and unknowns in the code that is the backbone of the array of applications and operating networks. By Chuck Brooks

https://www.hstoday.us/featured/why-proactive-cybersecurity-is-a-must-in-todays-sophisticated-threat-environment/

In recent years, the cybersecurity focus and activities by both industry and government have been reactive to whatever is the latest threat or breach. As a result, mitigating the threats was difficult because, from the outset, cyber-defenders were always at least one step behind.

The reactive mindset has been changing due to a series of wake-up calls that have included a major series of intrusions by sophisticated threat actors against many high-profile targets (including SolarWinds, Colonial Pipeline, OPM, Anthem, Yahoo, and many others) that exposed a flawed approach to defending data and operating with a passive preparedness.

As our reliance on the interconnectivity of cyber devices, enterprises, and applications on the cyber landscape has grown, so have the cyber intrusions and threats from malware and hackers. The growing and sophisticated cyber threat actors include various criminal enterprises, loosely affiliated hackers, and adversarial nation-states. The firm Cybersecurity Ventures expects global cybercrime costs to grow by 15 percent per year over the next five years, reaching $10.5 trillion USD annually by 2025. Cybercrime To Cost the World $10.5 Trillion Annually By 2025 (cybersecurityventures.com)

Thought of the Day – “Victimhood” by Sydney Williams

“There is a difference between victimization and victimhood. We are all likely to be victimized in someway in the course of our lives. At some point we will suffer some kind of affliction or calamity or abuse, caused by circumstances or people or institutions over which we have little or no control… In contrast, victimhood comes from the inside. No one can make you a victim but you. We become victims not because of what happens to us but when we choose to hold on to our victimization…”Edith Eger (1927-)

                                                                                                                             

Too often, we accept victimhood, which can come in myriad guises: A college student cowers under a torrent of “hurtful” words; a banker worries an employee will be offended by the wrong pronoun; a comedian is booed by those claiming victimhood, for humor deemed racist, sexist, or homophobic. The American people were told by elitist Democrats, and “never-Trumpers,” that we were victims of a “fascist-like” Donald Trump.  Doing so, freed his political opponents to pursue any means to destroy him: false accusations of Russian collusion; a two-year, multi-million-dollar (and futile) Mueller investigation; two impeachments, and the recent FBI raid on his home at the Mar-a-Lago Club in Palm Beach. No matter one’s view of the egotistical Mr. Trump, has not he become a victim?

In this surrealistic world, who is the victim and who the victimizer depends – not on facts – but on political ideology. When Twitter or Facebook censor news reports from conservatives to “protect” readers or viewers from “fake” or “malicious” stories, are not they promoting victimhood? If a corporation does not comply with DEI (diversity, equity, and inclusion) protocols, it is accused of victimizing its employees. Should investment managers seek to maximize portfolio returns, or should they find investments that are ESG (environmental, social, and governance) friendly, regardless of the comparative investment return potential? Have not some pensioners and mutual fund holders become victims to the political aspirations of portfolio managers? The acceptance of victimhood affects the way we value meritocracy and perceive equal opportunity – that past inequities and unequal outcomes make necessary the racial bigotry inherent in affirmative action, which accentuates the divide among people. Is it fair, for example, to lower college admission standards based on race, but not on economic class?

Iran’s Proxy War Against Israel Caused by Biden’s Weakness by Khaled Abu Toameh

https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/18798/iran-proxy-war-israel

“The US has started packing its bags to leave the Middle East. It is no longer able to impose maximum pressure on us.” — Major General Hossein Salami, commander of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, August 4, 2022.

Like their patrons in Tehran, these proxies are all staunchly committed to the destruction of Israel and the killing of as many Jews as possible. PIJ continues to threaten and attack Israel, while Hezbollah and the Houthis are doing their utmost to destabilize security and stability in Lebanon, Yemen, Iraq, Syria and the Gulf states, including Saudi Arabia.

In a clear warning to the Biden administration, the Arabs are stressing that the Americans are mistaken to think that Iran will change its dangerous policies and actions once it reaches a new nuclear deal with the US and the other world powers, including the European Union.

“Today, Lebanon is not suffering from war as much as it is suffering from Iranian occupation through Hezbollah, which threatens the collapse of the country as a whole. We are facing an Iranian political fantasy from which the region has gained nothing but devastation and destruction, whether in Gaza, Lebanon, or Syria, as well as Yemen and Iraq.” — Tareq al-Hamid, former editor-in-chief of the London-based Asharq Al-Awsat; aawast.com, August 7, 2022.

“Western countries continue to bet on Iran’s so-called moderation and demand that it change its behavior, reduce its regional influence, and abandon its ballistic missile program. This is an impossible task, regardless of any deal presented to Tehran. Hostility to America is one of the foundations of the Islamic Revolution. Spreading the Islamic Revolution in the region is the task of the Islamic Republic. Iran’s strength is not only with weapons, the Revolutionary Guards, and the army, but also with influence in the region. Iran’s destabilizing behavior in the region is the highest priority in Iranian policy-making.” — Rafik Khoury, veteran Lebanese journalist, independentarabia.com, July 27, 2022.

“These armed groups are working in Iran’s interests. In return, they are rewarded [with weapons and money] for serving Iranian interests.” — Dr. Jassim Khalfan, Emirati political analyst, posts.com, August 7, 2022.

“The [Palestinian] groups just provide services to those who pay them. Wars by proxy and working for external agendas have destroyed the Arab world and many countries….” — Dr. Talal Al-Sharif, former member of Jordan’s Parliament, amad.ps, August 8, 2022.

At this point, one has to ask if the Biden administration is negotiating with Iran and offering it billions of dollars simply not to attack Israel until President Joe Biden’s term is over in another two-to-six years.

Once again, the Biden administration’s irresolution has only served to embolden the terrorists and their masters in Tehran, as well as the Russians and the Chinese Communist Party.

The recent war between Israel and the Iranian-backed Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) organization in the Gaza Strip should be seen, according to several Arab political analysts and authors, in the context of Tehran’s mullahs’ attempts to force the Biden administration to revive the 2015 Iran nuclear deal. By unleashing Islamic Jihad against Israel, the mullahs are apparently trying to tell the Biden Administration, “You see what we are capable of doing? We have a number of militias and armed groups that could attack Israel and Arab countries. Hurry up and give us (Iran) everything we want before it is too late. Remove the Revolutionary Guard from the list of foreign terrorists. Give us billions of dollars or else we will continue to attack America’s Arab and Israeli friends. Hurry up and sign a new nuclear deal with us or else we will be angry at the US and we will continue to attack Israel and kill Jews.”

August 1945: ‘An Eventful Month in World History’ By Barret Tillman

https://www.americanthinker.com/articles/2022/08/august_1945_an_eventful_month_in_world_history.html

In a 1945 summary, a U.S. Army Air Forces unit on Okinawa described August as “an eventful month in world history.”  That understatement holds up 77 years later.

Events had accelerated in the spring and summer of 1945.  Germany surrendered on May 8 but Russia already was shipping massive amounts of men and materiel eastward.  Moscow and Tokyo had a non-aggression treaty that Soviet premier Joseph Stalin cancelled on August 9.  That night a massive Russian assault into Japanese-held Manchuria opened the Far East end game, briefly overlapping impending Japan’s surrender to the Allies.

American forces began deploying from Europe and the continental United States, anticipating the two-phase Operation Downfall invasion of Japan’s home islands.  The first assault, on the southern island of Kyushu, was slated for November.  The second, on the main island of Honshu, was due in March 1946.

Meanwhile, the atomic age had dawned with a 20-kiloton flash in the New Mexico desert on July 16.  The three-year Manhattan Project yielded awe-inspiring results, and Tokyo’s refusal of the Allies’ Potsdam demand for unconditional surrender ensured that the atoms would be loosed.  B-29 Superfortresses from the Mariana Islands 1,500 miles southeast of Japan were prepared to conduct “special missions” beyond conventional methods.  An A-bomb destroyed Hiroshima on August 6 and, lacking any reply from Tokyo, a second weapon leveled Nagasaki three days later.

Even then, Japan’s war cabinet remained evenly divided between surrender and continued war.  Finally, on August 15, Emperor Hirohito exerted unprecedented personal involvement in government affairs.  His decision “to bear the unbearable” was met with fierce resistance in the palace guard but the plotters were quickly overcome.  In his announcement Hirohito credited the A-bombs with his decision, citing “a most cruel new weapon.”

The Battle for Our Children and Their Minds By Janet Levy

https://www.americanthinker.com/articles/2022/08/the_battle_for_our_children_and_their_minds.html

In late June 2021, a video went viral of a father being tackled and dragged out of a school board meeting in Loudoun County, Virginia by burly cops, his t-shirt torn, his hands cuffed, his mouth apparently bleeding.  Scott Smith, 48, had committed the heinous crime of protesting the board’s woke policy of gender-fluid bathrooms because his daughter was sexually assaulted in one, at Stone Bridge High School, by a boy who “sometimes wears a skirt.”

The sexual assault was later confirmed and the assailant arrested.  He was also charged with one more sex crime at another school and is now at a juvenile detention center.  But during the meeting, woke board members and some parents just wouldn’t let Smith speak.  Board members said they knew of no assaults in trans-friendly bathrooms and that the “predator transgender student or person simply does not exist.”  For losing his cool at this blatant denial, the cops, says Smith, swooped on him like a “SWAT team.”

Smith now stands vindicated and is suing the school district.  The media and reasonable people are hearing him out and criticizing the board’s cover-up in pursuit of a political agenda.  Smith’s story stands out starkly, for it shows how leftist woke ideas are being quietly but relentlessly injected into schools and how those who oppose them risk being silenced, canceled, or treated like terrorists.

The global leftist agenda for the control of young minds runs deeper than patriotic Americans might suspect.  After a virtual takeover of the humanities departments of our universities, the leftists have been targeting schools by implementing gender-fluid bathrooms and woke curricula without consulting parents.  And then that last formidable frontier — the American family, which they hope to destroy by wresting away control of children from parents.  Should that happen, American values and American society as we know it will self-destruct.

MY SAY: THE FBI THEN AND NOW

J.Edgar Hoover was director of the FBI from 1935, where he remained for 37 years until his death in 1972. He built the FBI into a crime-fighting agency and instituted  modern  police technology such as a centralized fingerprint file and forensic laboratories.

Although the FBI is housed in a stately building named for him, evidence of his secretive abuse of power surfaced and tarred his legacy. He routinely violated the very laws the FBI was charged with enforcing; used the FBI to harass political dissidents; amassed secret files for blackmailing high level politicians with illegally obtained evidence.

 More recent FBI directors are purveyors of lies and hoaxes:

 Robert S. Mueller, III, September 4, 2001- September 4, 2013

James B. Comey, September 4, 2013 – May 9, 2017

Andrew McCabe (Acting), May 9, 2017 – August 2, 2017

Christopher Wray, August 2, 2017 – Present

 Like the Hoover vacuum cleaner, they all suck! rsk