RUTHFULLY YOURS

https://amgreatness.com/2022/01/18/last-ballot-for-the-brave/

Of the 16 million Americans who served in World War II, some 240,329 remained alive in 2021. Hundreds die every day. This year’s midterm elections could be the last time many of them get to vote. That includes some of the best fighters, who never got the recognition they deserved. 

The First Special Service Force (FSSF) was an elite American-Canadian unit established to handle dangerous missions behind enemy lines. At Fort Harrison in Montana, they trained in stealth combat, parachuting, night missions, and winter warfare in mountainous conditions. Their first major campaign proved a perfect match for the training. 

In the fall of 1943, the Allies had been unable to break through the Germans’ line of fortifications south of Rome. Nazi forces held the high ground on the strategic Monte la Difensa and blocked routes to the summit. The FSSF took the hard way up. 

In the cold, wet conditions in early December 1943, FSSF forces hiked 10 miles to the mountain and the heavily laden troops scaled a 300-foot cliff without alerting German sentries. In a fierce battle, the FSSR swept the entrenched, better-equipped Germans from the summit. 

In the Italian mountains, the FSSF took the fight to the enemy. By the middle of January 1944, the Allied advance could proceed north. The FSSF fought at Anzio, a rehearsal for D-Day, and took part in the liberation of Rome. In southern France, the FSSF conducted daring night raids behind German lines. The FSSF fighters left stickers on enemy gear reading, “the worst is yet to come,” and it was. 

All told, the Force played a major role in taking down Hitler’s National Socialist regime. In 2018, a full 75 years after Monte la Difensa, 72 FSSF soldiers were still alive. Those who remain today would surely find the current scene confusing. 

https://amgreatness.com/2022/01/18/black-republican-mayor-launches-campaign-for-governor-of-illinois-on-martin-luther-king-day/

A black Republican mayor launched his campaign for governor of Illinois on Martin Luther King Day with a powerful video acclaiming the dreams of his great grandfather, who was born a slave.

Aurora Mayor Richard Irvin, 51, is the fifth candidate to compete for the nomination to run against billionaire Democrat Gov. J.B. Pritzker in the 2022 gubernatorial election.

“Richard Baxter Irvin was born a slave, but he dreamed of being free,” Irvin said in his campaign launch video. “I don’t just share the name Richard Irvin,” he said. “I share his dream of what Illinois could be: where a growing economy provides ladders of opportunity for anyone willing to work; where families are safe; where kids are educated, not indoctrinated.”

In his campaign video, Irvin describes his own humble beginnings growing up in Section Eight public housing in Aurora.

“Mom had me at 16, a single mother working two jobs. Didn’t have much of a father, but my granddad, son of Richard Baxter Irvin, taught me to believe in myself, to do the best I could in whatever I did,” he said.

After graduating from high school, Irvin joined the Army and fought in Operation Desert Shield and Operation Desert Storm. He later attended law school at Northern Illinois University, and following graduation became a prosecutor in the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office. He eventually a “community prosecutor” in his hometown.

Irvin ran for mayor of Aurora in 2005 and 2009, and lost both races. He later became a local GOP precinct committeeman. Irvin was elected as the first black mayor of Aurora in 2017, and takes credit for lowering the city’s crime rates. If elected, he would be the first black governor of Illinois.

https://www.frontpagemag.com/fpm/2022/01/voter-id-requirements-make-sense-terence-p-jeffrey/
“It is not unreasonable in the 21st century to require people who want to vote to demonstrate that they are legally eligible to do so by presenting a valid form of identification.”

A young man who looks like a teenager walks into a liquor store and pulls a bottle of cheap whiskey off a shelf.

He puts it down at the checkout counter and pulls out his wallet.

The clerk at the counter looks at him skeptically. “Can I see your ID?” he asks.

“Yes,” says the young man, who instantly takes his driver’s license out of his wallet and hands it to the clerk.

The driver’s license indicates to the clerk that the customer in front of him had turned 21 two months ago. He sells him the cheap whiskey.

Then another young man walks into the store. He grabs a bottle of very expensive champagne and puts it on the counter.

Once again, the clerk asks the young man if he has an ID.

“No,” says the young man.

“Then I can’t sell you this champagne,” says the clerk.

“You have got to be kidding me,” says the young man. “I am 22 years old.”

“Then prove it,” says the clerk.

“I left my driver’s license at home,” says the young man.

“Then go get it,” says the clerk.

“No, I’ll go buy my champagne somewhere else,” says the young man, who leaves the store in disgust.

This second hypothetical young man, however, was only 19, which made him old enough to vote but not old enough to buy champagne.

https://townhall.com/columnists/kurtschlichter/2022/01/19/trump-v-desantis-advantage-desantis-n2601998

Things keep changing. A few months ago I thought Trump would not run. Then I thought he would run. Now, I don’t think so once again. And one of the tells is the subtle shot he took at DeSantis over vaccines. The fact is that Trump, if he runs, is not a shoo-in. And this could be an epic battle for the chance to beat Kamala Harris like a drum in 2024. And, at least according to people like you who took my most recent Twitter poll, Trump is not a shoo-in. He’s dropped to just one-third support from nearly half six months ago. If he wants to win Round Two, he’ll have to fight for it.

But my gut is again telling me that 75-year-old Donald Trump will not run in 2024. Perhaps if the election was next week, but with it three years off, that’s a lot of time and he’s aging out. Does he want to follow President Crusty’s lead and decline on camera over the next seven years (three campaigning, four in office)? Is anyone more sensitive to such things than Trump? Maybe not.

But he still likes being the big dog, and he resents those coming along behind him who neglect to recognize. The purported shot at DeSantis over jabs last week seems significant. Trump is super proud of his vaccines, which is definitely not where the base is at right now. Does he know that? He’s off in his own world and TV does not reflect the depth of the anti-COVID dissension. He did a rally in Arizona and that’s nice, but the more he defends his COVID record – which includes not firing that malignant dwarf Fauci – the less the base is going to dig his rap.

https://pjmedia.com/news-and-politics/athena-thorne/2022/01/16/wisconsin-judge-rules-ballot-drop-boxes-used-in-2020-election-were-illegal-n1549881

A judge in the state of Wisconsin ruled on Thursday that the use of ballot boxes in the 2020 election was, in fact, illegal. Joe Biden was declared the winner over Donald Trump in the state by 20,682 votes.

Waukesha County Circuit Court Judge Michael Bohren issued the decision in a lawsuit that had been filed on behalf of two voters by the Wisconsin Institute of Law & Liberty (WILL). WILL argued that the Wisconsin Elections Commission (WEC) had unilaterally issued guidance to election clerks, authorizing the use of ballot collection boxes, in contradiction of state law.

“The guidance from the Wisconsin Elections Commission on absentee ballot drop boxes was unlawful. There are just two legal methods to cast an absentee ballot in Wisconsin: through the mail or in-person at a clerk’s office. And voters must return their own ballots,” commented WILL Deputy Counsel Luke Berg. “We are pleased the court made this clear, providing Wisconsin voters with certainty for forthcoming elections.”

In a memo issued to state election officials months before the 2020 general election, the WEC gave its blessing to install an unlimited number of drop boxes of numerous descriptions: indoors or outdoors, staffed or unstaffed, in a box or with a fox. Officials could even use COVID-19 as an excuse to repurpose existing local “infrastructure” for ballot collection, such as mail slots set up for taxes, mail and public utilities, book and media drop slots at the local library, even “businesses or locations that have already implemented social distancing practices, such as grocery stores and banks.”

https://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2022/01/15/7_things_weve_learned_about_the_2020_elections_147022.html

The United States Agency for International Development, which monitors foreign elections to ensure fairness and accuracy, asserts that proper elections require “transparency, inclusiveness, and accountability.”

The 2020 election in the United States, however, remains one of the least transparent, inclusive, and accountable contests in our nation’s history.  And unfortunately, due to prevailing political headwinds, it will likely remain so because election officials are refusing to be held accountable and answer basic, reasonable questions.

The United States Agency for International Development, which monitors foreign elections to ensure fairness and accuracy, asserts that proper elections require “transparency, inclusiveness, and accountability.”

The 2020 election in the United States, however, remains one of the least transparent, inclusive, and accountable contests in our nation’s history.  And unfortunately, due to prevailing political headwinds, it will likely remain so because election officials are refusing to be held accountable and answer basic, reasonable questions.

Instead, those responsible for managing our elections, along with their allies, are responding with a narrative that questions are bad and the election system is beyond reproach.

https://www.wsj.com/articles/who-you-calling-dastardly-chuck-schumer-georgia-voting-law-11642172418?mod=opinion_lead_pos3

Sen. Chuck Schumer is the latest politician to cite Georgia’s election laws as a tool of voter suppression. “What motivated the insurrectionists” on Jan. 6, he told MSNBC, “is now motivating these state legislatures to do dastardly things.” But these claims don’t survive cursory inspection.

Changes to voting rules, Mr. Schumer claimed, are “aimed at Democratic constituencies,” including “people of color, young people, urban people.” He specifically cited “only one early voting place in an entire county, that you have to travel 23 miles.” This is an apparent reference to Lincoln County, Ga., which is considering a plan to consolidate seven polling sites into a central hub.

Lincoln County is a rural area where President Trump won 68% of the 4,641 votes. The county’s elections director, Lilvender Bolton, is unlikely to be conspiring to disenfranchise minorities. For one thing, she happens to be black. “The amazing thing about this is that the story is that I’m just after the black people, and I’m not going to let them vote,” Ms. Bolton says. “That’s what they’re actually going out telling the people, and you know, it’s crazy.”

https://townhall.com/tipsheet/mattvespa/2022/01/10/revenge-is-coming-leader-mccarthy-says-these-dems-could-be-purged-from-committee-n2601661

Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) has threatened to purge Reps. Eric Swalwell (D-CA), Ilhan Omar (D-MN), and Adam Schiff (D-CA) from their committee assignments if the GOP retakes the House in 2022. He should do it. These Democrats are some of the most annoying of the bunch—and Democrats set the precedent for this. It’s the ‘we don’t like you’ doctrine. It’s their rule. We didn’t set it. They did it thinking that they would hold onto the House majority forever. If this happens, and I hope it does—it’s entirely their fault. Elections have consequences (via Axios):

 What they’re saying: “He will not be serving there,” McCarthy said of Swalwell’s placement on the House Intelligence Committee in an interview with Breitbart.

“Ilhan Omar should not be serving on” the House Foreign Affairs Committee, McCarthy added. “Adam Schiff, he should not be serving on Intel.”

McCarthy pointed to Swalwell’s association with a Chinese spy, reported by Axios. Swalwell, who cut ties with the spy after being alerted to her activities by federal investigators, has not been accused of wrongdoing.

In the case of Omar, McCarthy quoted her 2019 remark that a pro-Israel lobbying group’s influence in Congress is “all about the Benjamins,” which was blasted by members of both parties at the time as anti-Semitic.

McCarthy also said Schiff “lied to the American public” with his support of the unverified Steele Dossier, which alleged extensive ties between former President Trump and Russia.

Democrats removed Reps. Paul Gosar (R-AZ) and Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) over weak sauce reasons. Again, they didn’t like these people. They didn’t commit any crimes. They didn’t do anything wrong, but they were removed due to a difference of opinion. We have no interest in playing the better party here. We should hit back at them in 2023. Remove the Swally, Schiff, the Squad—get rid of them all. This is your game, liberals. We’re playing too.