Displaying posts categorized under

NATIONAL NEWS & OPINION

50 STATES AND DC, CONGRESS AND THE PRESIDENT

‘Collusion’ vs. Collusion One can lie about “collusion” with impunity. But to speak the truth about collusion is to be smeared as “xenophobic,” “racist,” and “nativist.” By Victor Davis Hanson *****

https://amgreatness.com/2020/12/13/collusion-vs-collusion/

Historians will dissect the origins and spread of the mass hysteria of Russian “collusion.”

The farce infected the media. It discredited the Democratic Party. And it warped the popular culture between 2015 and 2020.

“Collusion” destroyed what was left of respect for the Washington FBI, the CIA, and the liberal news media. When 50 former “intelligence” officers can attest, right before the election, that the Hunter Biden scandal emails are likely Russian disinformation designed to help Trump, then there is nothing much left of the reputation of our once best and brightest.

There are many theories of the origins of “collusion.” Some believe that Hillary Clinton, and her firewalls of the Democratic National Committee, Perkins Coie, and Fusion GPS that hired Christopher Steele, simply sought a cover counter-narrative to hide her own illegally transmitted and received State Department emails and spin-off scandals.

At the time “collusion” took off, Loretta Lynch and Bill Clinton were on the tarmac in Phoenix, sexual deviate Anthony Weiner’s wife was emailing with Hillary Clinton, and copies ended up on Anthony’s lurid laptop. The hacked DNC computers and all proof of supposed Russian “collusion” culprits had been mysteriously turned over by the FBI to the Clinton-friendly firm, Crowdstrike, for recovery of lost files.

There were other catalysts for the “collusion” mythology. By 2015, Democrats were embarrassed their Russian “reset” love fest had blown up in its face. Finger-wagging about human rights to a thug like Vladimir Putin—while being terrified of selling offensive weapons to beleaguered Ukraine—was a “talk-loudly-while-carrying-a-twig” prescription for disastrous humiliation.

The left-wing architects of reset, in their arrogance, went from “We can push the weak-hand of Putin” to “Putin is an omnipotent monster” in less than a year. In 2012, they acted as if they were Alger Hiss. By 2016 they were in full Joe McCarthy-mode, hunting for a Russian under every bed.

Putin, in his Mafioso-style thinking, had kept his part of the reset bargain. He had stayed inert in 2011, as promised in Seoul, South Korea, to aid Barack Obama’s reelection campaign. And in collusionary return, as also promised, Putin got missile defense in Eastern Europe scrapped and, as a bonus, a free hand in Crimea and eastern Ukraine.

Collusion Delusion

“Collusion” then had allowed befuddled Russian appeasers and naïfs to cover up, and recalibrate themselves as our new version of Cold War hawks. It was as if a supposedly geriatric, and anemic Russia suddenly had transmogrified back into the huge, and global-menacing Soviet Union—or as if the resetters’ own ridiculous placation could be erased by uncovering someone else’s sinister mollification.

But the chief catalyst for the “collusion” hoax was always hatred of the campaign, and then the election, of Donald Trump.

“Collusion” was, as the debased FBI agent Peter Strzok had texted, the “insurance policy” of the administrative state to keep the “smelly,” the “ugly folk,” and “dregs” where they belonged—far, far from power. The cartoonish Steele dossier was reinvented by a corrupt media to be some kind of George Kennan-like policy paper to destroy the Trump campaign, his transition, and his presidency.

Andrew Cuomo receives the Ted Kennedy award By J. Marsolo

https://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2020/12/andrew_cuomo_receives_the_ted_kennedy_award.html

Cuomo is a worthy successor to Teddy the Swimmer.

Governor Andrew Cuomo, the would-be dictator of New York state, who shut down schools, restaurants, churches, and many businesses,  was awarded and accepted the 2020 Edward M. Kennedy award thusly:

“I am honored to receive the 2020 Edward M. Kennedy Institute Award for Inspired Leadership. I learned about humanity, leadership and putting people first from the great Senator Ted Kennedy.”

Cuomo is a worthy successor to Teddy the Swimmer, who left Mary Jo Kopechne to die in submerged car that he drove into a pond. Teddy, who according to Cuomo, put people first, put Mary Joe Kopechne second as he swam away to meet with his handlers to lie and spin about leaving Ms. Kopechne to die.

Cuomo placed approximately 6,300 people infected with the China virus in nursing homes thereby infecting elderly patients. Over 6,400 residents of the nursing homes died from the China virus.  Cuomo, following the leadership and humanity he learned from Teddy, blamed the deaths on infected health care workers at the nursing homes.

Cuomo further showed his leadership and humanity when he denied that he ordered the nursing homes to take the infected patients:

“New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said that nursing homes “never needed” to accept Covid-positive patients from hospitals in the state due to a shortage of hospital beds.”

Communist China’s Far-Reaching Espionage Efforts Threaten U.S. Under A Joe Biden Presidency

https://issuesinsights.com/2020/12/14/communist-chinas-far-reaching-espionage-efforts-threaten-u-s-under-a-joe-biden-presidency/

he Department of Justice has had Joe Biden’s son Hunter under its investigative microscope since 2018. Meanwhile, Democratic Rep. Eric Swalwell of California has come under scrutiny for his coziness, both personal and professional, with a known Chinese spy. China shows an increasingly deft ability to find weak spots in the U.S. government and big business, and exploit them to its advantage.

China’s ease in getting its way, of course, has been enabled by the U.S. media, which because of its rabid hatred of all things Donald Trump, in particular his hard line against China’s communist regime, put a virtual clamp on any bad news about Hunter Biden’s many questionable dealings there.

“Documents relating to Hunter Biden’s exploitation of his father’s name to enrich himself and other relatives through deals with China were among the cache published in the week before the election by The New York Post — revelations censored by Twitter and Facebook and steadfastly ignored by most mainstream news outlets,” wrote Glenn Greenwald at Substack.

“That concerted repression effort by media outlets and Silicon Valley left it to right-wing outlets such as Fox News and The Daily Caller to report, which in turn meant that millions of Americans were kept in the dark before voting,” Greenwald added.

The media’s behavior is bad enough. But the Democratic Party has been the real driver of the denial bus, insisting all along that questions raised about Hunter Biden and Swalwell’s China ties were “Russian disinformation” or “right-wing conspiracy theories.”

Now that the election is over, the media have at last been forced to admit the troubling truth: That Hunter Biden has been a willing asset of China’s communists, enriching himself and likely his family, including Joe Biden, in the process, is now clear.

MORE HEADLINES: DECEMBER 13, 2020

Trump Shows Up Army/Navy Game and the Crowd’s Reaction Says It ALL https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wEoLwE8CnO0
Tens of Thousands Rally in Washington to Demand Election Integrity https://www.theepochtimes.com/crucible-moment-tens-of-thousands-rally-in-washington-to-demand-election-integrity_3615888.html 
Texas GOP Chair Floats Forming Union of ‘Law-Abiding’ States After SCOTUS Election Ruling https://www.theepochtimes.com/texas-gop-chair-floats-forming-union-of-law-abiding-states-after-scotus-election-ruling_3615194.html?
WSJ: Joe Biden’s Deputies Alarmed by Growing Tide of Migrants https://www.breitbart.com/economy/2020/12/11/wsj-joe-bidens-deputies-alarmed-by-growing-tide-of-migrants/
Tucker: Potential criminal activity hidden from Americans https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6a3Doee98SQ

Artist Plans Display Filled with Human Blood to ‘Confront’ Trump Supporters https://www.breitbart.com/entertainment/2020/12/11/artist-plans-display-filled-with-human-blood-to-confront-trump-supporters/

Trumpism Is On the March Whoever is inaugurated on January 20, the spirit of Trumpism, which is the spirit of America, is not vanquished. By Roger Kimball

https://amgreatness.com/2020/12/12/trumpism-is-on-the-march/

I confess that I do not usually read columns by David Axelrod, the former senior advisor and campaign strategist for Barack Obama. But I chanced upon “History will scorn the cowards who fear Trump,” one of his CNN columns that was linked at RealClearPolitics, and I glanced through it. It is the usual partisan anti-Trump stuff, full of animadversions about President Trump’s “appalling attempt to undermine democracy,” etc. No surprise there. And let us acknowledge that there are plenty of columns written from the opposite end of the political spectrum that are equally partisan. 

What interested me about Axelrod’s column was not its partisan nature—that, as I say, comes with the territory—but rather the heat and direction of its rhetoric. Axelrod is a canny writer, and his column is an artfully wrought statement, not so much for its argument—Trump and his supporters are terrible for challenging the election, etc.—but for its cunning deployment of utopian virtue signaling. “History,” he says at the end, will not only scorn Trump and all his works, but it will also honor those who “showed courage and fidelity to the rule of law during this time of trial.”

“History,” you see. I would like to know what History will think myself. I sadly acknowledge that I do not know. I am not privy to her secrets. Only people like David Axelrod (and his former boss, Barack Obama) know them, or pretend they know them, just as they know that they are on the side of the angels and that Donald Trump and his crew are nasty “authoritarian” dispensers of “blatant lies” setting a “chilling precedent” by daring to challenge the 2020 presidential election. 

Some people with a macabre sense of humor will find all this funny. They will chuckle as they juxtapose Axelrod’s talk of “fidelity to the rule of law” with the erupting boils of scandal surrounding what Rudy Giuliani apostrophized as the Biden Crime Family. They will smile when they recall Barack Obama’s refusal to enforce the country’s immigration laws when the state of Arizona attempted to police its Southern border. (“The rule of law? We’re beyond all that. We’re for the rule of virtue.”) And they will be rolling in the aisles with laughter when they contrast Axelrod’s high dudgeon about Trump’s efforts to contest the election with the behavior of Hillary’s supporters in 2016. 

Trump greeted at Army-Navy game with chants of ‘USA! USA!’ Game hosted at West Point due to COVID-19 pandemic

https://justthenews.com/government/white-house/trump-greeted-army-navy-game-chants-usa

President Donald Trump’s arrival at the annual Army-Navy game on Saturday was greeted with sustained cheers and rolling chants of “USA! USA!” 

Trump waved to the crowd amid the cheering that greeted his arrival. The storied Army-Navy matchup began in 1890 and has regularly been attended by sitting presidents. 

The defense-industry swamp is eager to engulf the Biden administration By Peter Schweizer and Jacob McLeod

https://nypost.com/2020/12/11/the-defense-industry-swamp-is-eager-to-engulf-the-biden-administration/

Just days after the presidential election, a new investment firm called Pine Island Acquisition Corporation quietly began trading on the New York Stock Exchange, with the prospect of becoming a notable player in the $2 trillion defense and aerospace industry. The company’s greatest asset was not its relatively modest bankroll goal of $200 million, but its connections — deep ties to policy establishment figures shaping the incoming Biden administration.

In describing itself to potential investors, Pine Island’s prospectus boasted a leadership team with “extensive access, insight, expertise and management skill” in the defense sector.

In the dawning Biden era, that might be an understatement.

Pine Island was established as a “blank-check company” by Pine Island Capital, a small private-equity firm based in Fort Lauderdale. Among that firm’s partners are Michèle Flournoy and Antony Blinken, two of the president-elect’s top foreign-policy advisers. Blinken, who served as Vice President Joe Biden’s national-security adviser and, later, deputy secretary of state, is Biden’s pick to lead the State Department. Gen. Lloyd Austin, Biden’s nominee for defense secretary, is also listed as one of the firm’s “DC Partners.”

Pine Island recently lowered its fundraising goal from an initial target of $300 million, a move that appears to have expedited its listing on the New York Stock Exchange. While that move will reduce its available capital, it appears to position the company’s shareholders to benefit from any positive news stemming from a potential nomination of any of its partners.

The Restaurant Lockdown Massacre New shutdown orders punish minorities and low-income workers.

https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-restaurant-lockdown-massacre-11607730189?mod=hp_opin_pos_1

New York’s Andrew Cuomo on Friday joined the stampede of Democratic governors shutting down restaurants despite scant evidence that they are driving a surge in Covid cases. Their shutdowns are hitting minorities the hardest and increasing economic inequality.

Democratic governors in Michigan, Illinois, Oregon and Washington in recent weeks have closed indoor dining. California Gov. Gavin Newsom has banned outdoor patios in most areas too. Mr. Cuomo said Friday that he’s shutting down indoor dining in New York City as of Monday.

According to state contact tracing data, restaurants and bars account for 1.4% of the virus spread in the state while household gatherings make up nearly 74%. That’s not surprising. In New York City, restaurants were limited to 25% capacity. Who limits capacity in their living rooms during football watch parties or Thanksgiving?

Restaurants and other small businesses have spent heavily to comply with government Covid regulations, including buying personal protective equipment for staff and improved ventilation systems. But now they are being punished because, well, government can’t control the virus and Democratic leaders feel they must appear to be doing something.

As Swalwell Spy Scandal Spirals, Pelosi Won’t Say How Many Other House Intel Dems Had Sexual Relationships With Spies December 11, 2020 By Jordan Davidson

https://thefederalist.com/2020/12/11/as-swalwell-spy-scandal-spirals-pelosi-wont-say-how-many-other-house-intel-dems-had-sexual-relationships-with-spies/

Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi will not say if any other Democrats sitting on the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence have had political or sexual relationships with foreign spies.

This week, reporting by Axios revealed that suspected Chinese spy Christine Fang cultivated deep connections with U.S. Democratic politicians in the Bay Area for years, including with California Rep. Eric Swalwell, to send political intelligence and personal information back to China’s Ministry of State Security (MSS), one of the country’s primary spying agencies.

Fang reportedly developed a relationship with Swalwell, raising millions for Swalwell’s re-election in 2014 and assisting in placing at least one intern in his Washington, D.C. office before abruptly leaving the country in 2015, around the same time a counterintelligence investigation was opened on her.

The Federalist previously reported that in addition to bundling donors for the congressman, officials believe Fang may have been sexually and romantically involved with Swalwell.

The Federalist asked Pelosi if she knew how many other Democrat members of the House Intelligence Committee have had political, sexual, or relationships with spies for hostile foreign countries. Her office did not comment and instead pointed to her statement that House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy’s questions about the influence Fang had on Swalwell, a sitting member on multiple intelligence committees, are simply a distraction from QAnon conspiracy theories.

“You know what he’s trying to do? He’s trying to deflect attention from the fact that he has QAnon in his delegation over there. And that I think is a danger in terms of our debate here about, you know, what the possibilities are for undue influence to Members of Congress,” she said at a Thursday press conference.

Why We Must Restore America’s Industrial Innovation By Henry Kressel & David Goldman

https://www.realclearmarkets.com/articles/2020/12/11/why_we_must_restore_america

Americans take it for granted that they can continue to enjoy one of the highest standards of living in the world. And with the Dow at 30,000, why worry?

When asked to list major economic problems, Americans are most likely to cite income inequality at the top of the list. That issue dominated this year’s debates among Democrat Party presidential hopefuls. The perceived problem is unfairness in sharing the national wealth. It is assumed that somehow the hidden machine that produces national wealth will continue to function on its own. The golden goose will keep laying eggs; thus, we need to spread more around for everyone.

The reality that the incoming Biden administration will confront is that our trajectory is not sustainable. Today’s concerns about redistributing wealth will give way to worries about how to create wealth in the first place.

The most telling piece of data published over the last 12 months appeared last week, without attracting any comment: for the first time on record, the U.S. dollar no longer was the dominant currency in international payments, according to the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication (SWIFT). More transactions were conducted in euros. Eventually, China’s RMB will challenge the dollar as well.

This matters because the dollar’s status as the main global-reserve currency gives the U.S. trillions of dollars of cheap loans from the rest of the world. Central banks held $7 trillion in dollar reserves as of June 30, 2020, mostly invested in U.S. Treasury securities, and private companies hold many trillions more to pay for trade in goods and services.