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NATIONAL NEWS & OPINION

50 STATES AND DC, CONGRESS AND THE PRESIDENT

Dems’ Next Plot Against Trump If Senate impeachment trial fails. Joseph Klein

https://www.frontpagemag.com/fpm/2021/02/dems-next-plot-against-trump-if-senate-impeachment-joseph-klein/

With the Senate impeachment trial underway that is virtually certain to end in acquittal, the Democrats are already planning their next move against Donald Trump. They are looking to use an obscure clause in the Fourteenth Amendment of the Constitution, written in the aftermath of the Civil War and aimed at disqualifying ex-Confederate rebels from public office, to bar Trump from holding any future public office. Section 3 of the Fourteenth Amendment allows for the disqualification of individuals from holding federal or state office who both previously (1) took an oath to support the U.S. Constitution as a federal or state government legislator or officer, and (2) then “shall have engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same, or given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof.”

The Democrats leading the charge on the Fourteenth Amendment gambit include Senators Tim Kaine of Virginia, Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island, and Dick Durbin of Illinois, along with Representatives Debbie Wasserman Schultz of Florida and Steve Cohen of Tennessee. They are being advised by leftist academics who believe that Congress has the unilateral power to pass a joint resolution invoking the Fourteenth Amendment’s disqualification provision against Trump. As far as the Trump-haters are concerned, it is perfectly all right to put aside due process and fundamental fairness, so long as Trump is barred from holding public office ever again.

Republicans Need to Stop Accepting Progressives’ ‘Facts’ How the self-proclaimed party of “science” is undermining democracy. Bruce Thornton

https://www.frontpagemag.com/fpm/2021/02/republicans-need-stop-accepting-progressives-facts-bruce-thornton/

As the self-proclaimed party of “science,” progressives assert that their interpretations and explanations of people and events comprise “facts” that only the ignorant or evil refuse to believe. But this faith in science more often reflects the nostrums of scientism: contested ideas or beliefs that present themselves with the jargon, formulas, and quantitative data that characterize real scientific research, but that lack the reproducibility and established foundational facts that support authentic scientific research.

As such, these “facts” of scientism reflect ideological and political aims that appropriate the prestige and authority of science to camouflage their partisan prejudices. Unfortunately, too many Republicans in their public discourse and deliberations accept these “facts” as truth, thus empowering technocratic progressives by legitimizing their malign policies.

Climate change, of course, is a prominent example of this phenomenon. But anthropogenic, catastrophic global warming (ACGW)––the actual theory disguised by the banal, self-evident phrase “climate change”––is not a scientific fact, but a theory with some facts that support it, but others that challenge it. Our foundational knowledge of global climate as of now is too incomplete, and so is unable to create a predictive model because we do not yet fully understand or can quantify how all the numerous components that govern global climate over time interrelate. Yet based just on one element, human-created CO2 concentrations, warmists conclude that doomsday for the planet is around the corner.

Despite that uncertainty, too many Republicans accept the “scientific consensus” and “settled science” canards and support carbon taxes or other policies created by Joe Biden’s executive orders, like the ban on fracking. But carbon taxes, even if ACGW is true, will only increase the price of energy, while doing nothing about the true drivers of increased CO2––China and India.

The Strange House Democrat Impeachment Claim of an “Armed” Crowd Daniel Greenfield

https://www.frontpagemag.com/point/2021/02/strange-house-democrat-impeachment-claim-armed-daniel-greenfield/

The House Democrat impeachment arguments are terrible. But there’s one odd thing that stands out in their word salads of innuendo and conjecture. 

“Against this backdrop, President Trump addressed a crowd that he knew was armed and primed for violence,” the House Democrat impeachment managers wrote in their rebuttal. “When he stood at the podium before thousands of his supporters, President Trump knew that they were armed and that they were angry.”

These two references to an “armed crowd” are strange because no one has been accused of opening fire at the Capitol Riot. Even the worst actors seem to have resorted to using the usual rioter tools, sprays, poles, shields, and assorted objects that were weaponized, but were not weapons.

The tactical group that set out to breach the Capitol was well prepared but used no firearms to achieve its goals. And it planned its attack days before the event and started it while President Trump was speaking.

What are House Democrats talking about? As usual, no one seems to know or care.

Don’t Tell Anyone, But Biden Still Has $1.3 Trillion In Trump-Approved COVID Funds To Spend

https://issuesinsights.com/2021/02/11/dont-tell-anyone-but-biden-still-has-1-3-trillion-in-trump-approved-covid-funds-to-spend/

Time is a luxury our country does not have.” That was Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer explaining why Democrats are in such a mad rush to pass a massive $1.9 trillion COVID “relief” bill.  

What Schumer, President Joe Biden and other Democrats, and the mainstream media fail to mention is that the government hasn’t spent $1.3 trillion of the previous COVID relief funds yet. If the public knew that, would a majority be in favor of anything like the new Biden plan?

For those with short memories, there have been five COVID relief bills in less than a year, with total spending of $4.1 trillion – all financed by deficit spending. President Donald Trump signed the most recent bill – valued at $900 billion – just six weeks ago. Also, there have been “administrative actions” that add up to $700 billion.

The Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget has been keeping close track of the spending with its COVID Money Tracker tool, and finds that there are still $1.1 trillion from those five COVID bills that has yet to be “committed or disbursed.”

About 60% of that is from the last bill Trump signed. But there’s $195 billion left over from the CARES Act passed last March; $125 billion from the Families First Act; and $220 billion still to be spent from the Paycheck Protection Program and Health Care Enhancement Act, which passed last April.

Former Capitol Police Chief Blows Hole in Dems Case Against Trump by Reagan Reyes

https://rfangle.com/politics/former-capitol-police-chief-blows-hole-in-dems-case-against-trump/

Former Capitol Police Chief Steven Sund wrote an 8-page letter detailing the events that occurred at the Capitol on January 6. In the letter addressed to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Sund’s timeline of events seems to directly refute the Democrats’ claim that the insurrection on Capitol Hill was incited by a speech given by President Donald Trump on the same day. The Democrats’ entire impeachment case against Trump rests solely on the assumption that his speech caused the disturbing events that unfolded inside the Capitol as a joint session of Congress met to certify the electoral votes of the 2020 Presidential Election.

In the letter, Sund, who stepped down as Chief shortly after the insurrection occurred, states that his department “did not fail,” adding that the Capitol Police acted according to the intelligence available prior to the events. There was never any information showing they would be facing a group of “thousands of well-coordinated, well-equipped violent criminals,” intent upon attacking law enforcement officers as they sought to gain access to the Capitol itself.

Sund asserts that he would like to “set the record straight” on the events that took place: “There has been much conflicting information presented by various officials and the media regarding preparations and actions taken at the Capitol that day, and I would like to set the record straight from my perspective.”

House Democrats Reject Stefanik’s Amendment to Strip Funding from Institutions with Ties to The CCP Reagan McCarthy

https://townhall.com/tipsheet/reaganmccarthy/2021/02/10/stefanik-ccp-amendment-n2584515

“House Democrats ultimately rejected Stefanik’s amendment, in favor of funding institutions with ties to the CCP.”

Congresswoman Elise Stefanik (R-NY-DISTRICT 21) introduced an amendment on Tuesday that takes aim at severing any ties that institutions of higher education hold with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Stefanik argues that the CCP is “one of the biggest adversaries” that we face, adding that the regime is “antithetical to our values.”

“The United States must clearly counter this dangerous regime,” she said of the CCP. “And institutions of higher learning that continue to engage in partnerships affiliated with the Chinese Communist Party are ignoring genocidal acts in favor of monetary gain. This does not represent who we are as Americans, or our American values.”

The amendment would strip funding from institutions associated with the CCP.

“…an institution shall not be eligible to receive an allocation under this section if such institution has a partnership in effect with an entity that is— (A) owned or controlled, directly or indirectly, by the Government of the People’s Republic of China; or (B) organized under the laws of the People’s Republic of China.”

The CDC Has Released a New Study About Double Masking…But There’s a Catch Katie Pavlich

https://townhall.com/tipsheet/katiepavlich/2021/02/10/the-cdc-has-a-new-statement-about-double-maskingand-theres-a-catch-n2584535

The Center’s for Disease Control has released a new study after conducting an experiment in a lab on double-masked mannequins or dummies. (HUH???!!!!)

“New data released from CDC today underscored the importance of wearing  a mask correctly and making sure it fits closely and snuggly over your nose and mouth. In this new study researchers used experiments in the laboratory, not the real world, to access different strategies to improve the different fits of masks impacts a mask’s ability to block aerosolized particles emitted during a simulated cough as well as to reduce exposure to aerosol particles emitted during simulating breathing. The size of the aerosol particles in the experiment were designed to mimic the respiratory droplet particles most important for person-to-person transmission of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19,” CDC Director Rochelle Walensky released in a video statement. 

“I want to be clear that these new scientific data released today do not change the specific recommendations on who should wear a mask and when they should wear one. But they do provide new information on why wearing a well fitting mask is important,” she added. 

Where’s the Outrage? Biden Fires 56 Trump-Appointed U.S. Attorneys By Rick Moran

https://pjmedia.com/news-and-politics/rick-moran/2021/02/10/wheres-the-outrage-biden-fires-56-trump-appointed-u-s-attorneys-n1424466

In what most of the media is characterizing as “a routine” event, Joe Biden has asked 56 U.S. attorneys appointed by Donald Trump to resign.

Indeed, it used to be a routine announcement. It’s part of the transition and shouldn’t draw any scrutiny. In with the new, out with the old, farewell, and good luck.

Except when Trump did it in 2016, you’d think it was the end of democracy. This was the headline story on the MSNBC website after Trump asked for the resignations on March 13, 2017.

Trump sparks new controversy with U.S. Attorney dismissals. Ten years after the last Republican White House had a U.S. Attorney scandal, Donald Trump has one of his own.

What “scandal”? The U.S. attorney for New York, Preet Bharara, threw a tantrum because he says Trump promised he could stay. He refused to resign and was promptly fired. The media blew this tantrum into a clash between the executive branch and the judicial branch.

But when Biden does it, it’s “routine.”

Democratic Impeachment of Trump Puts His 74 Million Voters on Trial . By John Kass

https://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2021/02/10/democratic_impeachment_

In their second impeachment of the man who is now no longer president, the Democrats fixed Donald Trump’s orange political head upon their rattle.

They waved it before a deeply divided nation and pronounced him a demon. On one level, it reminds me of the Native American sorcerer in the movie “Black Robe,” who castigates his rival as a michimindo, a demon.

On another, it fills me with foreboding. Not for Trump. I don’t care about Trump or the posturing of Republicans or Democrats. But I do care about our republic. And I see terrible pain ahead of us.

As Democrats shake the orange rattle, emotions and outrage are re-stoked over the disgusting events of Jan. 6 and the deadly attack on the Capitol by several hundred Trump voters, egged on by Trump himself, filled as he was with his absurd fantasies of a stolen election.

What we need is to take a breath and consider the implications of all this.

Trump is gone. Many Americans want to move on. The people are worried about their jobs, whether they can get the vaccine, whether their children’s schools will open.

The Democrats don’t have the votes to convict him. Chief Justice John Roberts is not even presiding, as required by the Constitution for impeachments of sitting presidents. The job should fall to Vice President Kamala Harris as president of the Senate. But the Biden White House doesn’t want her fingerprints on this, lest it backfire, so she steps back to allow Sen. Patrick Leahy of Vermont to preside.

The Democrats want to keep Trump politically alive for their political reasons. But what are they?

THE NEORACISTS: JOHN McWHORTER *******

https://www.persuasion.community/p/john-mcwhorter-the-neoracists

John McWhorter, contributing writer at The Atlantic and professor of linguistics at Columbia University, is a member of Persuasion’s Board of Advisors. His new book, The Elect: Neoracists Posing as Antiracists and their Threat to a Progressive America, is being published in serial at It Bears Mentioning.

A new religion is preached across America. It’s nonsense posing as wisdom.

One can divide antiracism into three waves. First Wave Antiracism battled slavery and segregation. Second Wave Antiracism, in the 1970s and 1980s, battled racist attitudes and taught America that being racist was a flaw. Third Wave Antiracism, becoming mainstream in the 2010s, teaches that racism is baked into the structure of society, so whites’ “complicity” in living within it constitutes racism itself, while for black people, grappling with the racism surrounding them is the totality of experience and must condition exquisite sensitivity toward them, including a suspension of standards of achievement and conduct.

Third Wave Antiracist tenets, stated clearly and placed in simple oppositions, translate into nothing whatsoever:

When black people say you have insulted them, apologize with profound sincerity and guilt. But don’t put black people in a position where you expect them to forgive you. They have dealt with too much to be expected to.

Black people are a conglomeration of disparate individuals. “Black culture” is code for “pathological, primitive ghetto people.” But don’t expect black people to assimilate to “white” social norms because black people have a culture of their own.

Silence about racism is violence. But elevate the voices of the oppressed over your own.

You must strive eternally to understand the experiences of black people. But you can never understand what it is to be black, and if you think you do you’re a racist.