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I appeared on Silvio Canto Jr's talk show from Dallas.  It's here.

JANUARY 22-23,  2023

ONE HEARTBEAT AWAY:  She surfaces again.  Kamala Harris is not only an embarrassment to the country, I think she's downright dangerous.  A foreign nation assessing her might actually think she represents the true capability of the United States, and decide that it's safe to make a move against us, or even attack.  She is no ornament to our deterrent forces.

You would think by this time she would have learned something about presenting herself to the nation.  But no, Kamala never seems to absorb much, and so she has just made a total fool of herself mangling one of our most sacred national documents.  From Fox: 

Twitter users hit Vice President Kamala Harris for omitting "right to life" while reciting a quote from the Declaration of Independence during a speech marking the 50th anniversary of the landmark Roe v. Wade decision that granted nationwide access to abortion.

"We collectively believe and know, America is a promise … It is a promise of freedom and liberty. Not just some, but for all. We are each endowed with the right to liberty and the pursuit of happiness," Harris said Sunday.

The document's original text reads: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness."

Critics were quick to slam Harris for omitting the right of life from her remarks, slamming her for attempting to rewrite history and conveniently omit the phrase that allegedly contradicted her message.

Some said the omission exposed her argument as weak.

"When you have to omit entirely one of the most integral parts of the Declaration of Independence in attempts to further your argument, said argument is immediately and objectively powerless," the Senate Working Group's Leslie Ann Robertson said.

"This point is obvious but when the ‘right to life’ blows up your message so bad you have to pretend it doesn’t exist, then maybe your message isn’t very good," GOP operative Matt Whitlock said.

Washington Examiner reporter Jerry Dunleavy shared images of Harris's speech transcript with the portion under scrutiny highlighted.

"Here is Vice President Kamala Harris omitting the inalienable right to life when referencing the Declaration of Independence in defense of Roe v. Wade," he captioned.
Nile Gardiner, former aide to British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, sounded off as well, writing, "Kamala Harris clearly does not believe in the ‘right to life’."

Others noted Harris also omitted "creator" from the endowment portion of the quote, including The Daily Beast senior columnist Matt Lewis, who wrote, "Kamala Harris says that, according to the Declaration of Independence, "we are each endowed with the right to liberty and the pursuit of happiness." (***She leaves out the key words "by our Creator" and 'the right to life.')"

Harris also used Sunday's speech as a platform to lambast Republicans calling for a federal abortion ban at 15 weeks of pregnancy, including Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C.

COMMENT:  An unforced error, as they say in baseball.  Didn't any of her staff read the speech before she delivered it?  Or didn't she care?  I don't think I've ever seen a document so basic to the American creed so thoroughly botched.

If Kammy were smart, which she's not, she would offer a public apology.  She won't because it might "offend" her radical base. 

Her office demands a higher standard.

January 23, 2023   Permalink    

SHORT TAKES ON THE DRIFTING WRECKAGE: 

LATEST WOKE NEWS:   From Legal Insurrection:  Thanks to a $1.2 million government grant, Norway’s University of Bergen is looking into how white paint has contributed to white supremacy around the world.  The U. Bergen study, called “NorWhite,” focuses on whether the Norwegian-developed paint pigment titanium dioxide white helped advance white “as a superior color,” Fox News reports.  Although Norway isn’t a colonial power in the tradition of Spain, England or Portugal, NorWhite shows “how the country has played a globally leading role” in making white a preferable hue.  The study examines the titanium white pigment via “historical, aesthetic, and critical lenses. Whiteness, it says, typically “is understood as cultural and visual structures of privilege,” but NorWhite offers “a distinctively different battleground for politics of whiteness in art and architecture.”  It's about time we confronted this ugly part of our past.  Inwardly, we all knew that white paint was sending a message.  I mean, what do you think the White House is all about?  And how about "I'm dreaming of a white Christmas"?  That tells you everything you need to know about your privilege. 

WELCOME TO NEW YORK:  From the New York Post:  A Fox News meteorologist was pummeled by a group of teens when he tried to stop them from harassing another straphanger on a Manhattan subway early Sunday, cops and the Prognosticator said.  Weatherman Adam Klotz, 37, recounted the vicious attack in an Instagram video, appearing bruised and battered as he described how he was coming home on a train after watching the New York Giants NFL playoff game at a bar when he saw “this older gentleman was being hassled by this group of seven or eight teens.  “I was like, ‘Yo, guys, cut that out.’ And they decided, ‘Alright, if he’s not going to get it, you’re going to get it.’ And boy did they give it to me,” Klotz said. “They had me on the ground. My ribs are all bruised up, too. They got their hits in.”  Police sources said the meteorologist was on a No. 1 train around 1:15 a.m. when he confronted the teens, who may have been smoking weed at the time, too. Nothing new on this.  I doubt if they'll ever catch the assailants.  And, if they do, nothing much will happen to them.  We are living through the possible death of a city.

CHILLING:  From Fox:  The FBI said Wednesday that it is "too early" to determine whether gunfire at a substation in Randolph County, North Carolina, this week was connected to December’s attack on the nearby Moore County’s power grid that still hasn’t resulted in any arrests despite causing outages for tens of thousands.  "The FBI is working with the Randolph County Sheriff's Office to investigate after gunfire damaged an EnergyUnited substation on January 17, 2023," a spokesperson for the FBI Charlotte Division said in a statement to Fox News Digital Wednesday. "At this time, it is too early in the investigation to determine whether this case is connected to the ongoing investigation in Moore County."  On Tuesday morning, EnergyUnited officials responded to an alarm that notified personnel of an equipment issue at its Pleasant Hill Substation in Thomasville, N.C.  Crews found the substation transformer was damaged by gunshots and alerted law enforcement. The Randolph County Sheriff’s Office responded to the scene and suspect the attack occurred around 3 a.m. The FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force responded to conduct a parallel investigation. The Bureau had better get this right.  We've been warned for decades that an enemy could launch a devastating attack on our power grid, paralyzing the nation for days or weeks.  Are these recent attacks the opening steps?  I have no idea, but they tell us that the threat is out there.  We cannot afford an electrical Pearl Harbor. 

January 22-23, 2023      Permalink

JANUARY 20-21,  2023

WHAT IS THIS, A GOOD DEMOCRATIC MAYOR?  Amazing, stupendous, possibly the greatest story in political history.  America may have found a big-city Democratic mayor who knows the job.  Tell your friends, please.  From Fox:

Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens rebuked those claiming that the anti-police riots seen overnight were not violent, saying that the charges against the six protesters arrested will include "domestic terrorism."

Dickens, a Democrat, pushed back on CBS host Margaret

during an appearance on "Face The Nation" Sunday morning. During a panel slated to discuss crime and violence plaguing American cities, Brennan asked for an update on the protests in response to the death of 26-year-old environmental activist Manuel Esteban Paez Teran. 

Teran reportedly went by the name Tortuguita, identified as nonbinary, and used they/it pronouns. Authorities said Teran first shot and wounded a state trooper tasked with clearing protesters from the construction site of a new public safety training center. 

Teran was allegedly killed by Georgia State Patrol officers who returned fire, and Brennan noted how the protests in downtown Atlanta Saturday came in response to police saying body-camera footage of the shooting doesn’t exist. Dickens, instead, emphasized how the peaceful protests devolved into violence, noting how individuals "had explosives," "burned down a police car" and "broke windows at businesses." 

"And so our police department, along with our state and federal partners, took swift action within two blocks and brought that situation under control," Dickens said Sunday. "And the violence stopped, and those six individuals were arrested. And it should be noted that these individuals were not Atlanta or Georgia residents. Most of them traveled into our city to wreak havoc. And so, we love to support people when they're doing right, peaceful protest is a part of the American -- our freedoms, but when you are violent, we will make sure that you get held accountable." 

"When you say people from out of town, they're carrying explosives. Is this an organized movement here?" Brennan responded, noting how Atlanta newspapers cite possible links to "environmental activists, radical anarchist and black revolutionaries." Brennan also cited claims from Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., blaming Democrats for condoning Black Lives Matter and Antifa. 

While Dickens declined to respond to Greene’s remarks, he agreed the riots constitute "domestic terrorism."

"The crimes range from violence to domestic terrorism to assault battery and some other things," the mayor said. "But yes, it is violent when someone turns to burn down a police car or breakout windows or have explosives on them. I don't get into the names. I don't know all the organizations. I'll let y'all decide who did it. I just know they're arrested. And if they come into Atlanta, again, to wreak havoc, they will be arrested again."

COMMENT:  Hey, that's what we want to hear.  Maybe this new mayor of Atlanta, elected in November, can turn things around.  That starts with the right words, and he's using the right words.  Compare him please with the mayor of Chicago, Lori Lightfoot, who's now running for re-election on her abysmal record, and appears to be losing. 

Let's watch Mayor Dickens.  We may well have a true leader on our hands.

January 22,  2023     Permalink

TAKING THE STAGE:  Potential Republican candidates for president are making themselves more visible.  Each one faces the daunting prospect of trying to defeat Donald Trump for the nomination, and watching this political dance will be fascinating.   We've heard more from Mike Pompeo recently, and Nikki Haley is resurfacing. 

However...don't forget this guy:  Glenn Youngkin, governor of Virginia.  He flipped Virginia red and has made education his core issue.  He rode a wave of discontented parents into the governor's office.  We're now seeing him again.  And again it's education.  From The Hill:

After seven high schools in Fairfax, Va., acknowledged failing to tell students of their national merit recognition, Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R) sharply criticized the schools, saying their focus on equal outcomes is “hurting” Virginia’s students.

“They have a maniacal focus on equal outcomes for all students at all costs,” Youngkin told 7News reporter Nick Minock. “And at the heart of the American dream is excelling, is advancing, is stretching and recognizing that we have students who have different capabilities.”

“Some students have the ability to perform at one level, others need more help, and we have to allow students to run as fast as they can to dream the biggest dreams they can possibly dream and then go get them,” he added.

Thirteen high schools in Northern Virginia failed to notify students of national merit recognition ahead of significant college scholarship and admissions deadlines, 7News reported.

The National Merit Scholarship program requires applicants to take the PSAT test. About 50,000 students are chosen as commended students or as semifinalists in the program based on their qualified test scores. Although commended students do not have a chance to continue in the competition, those who qualify as semifinalists must submit an application to advance to the next portion of the competition, according to the program’s website.

The semifinal application was due to the program no later than Oct. 5, 2022. Some of the students across the Virginia schools qualified as semifinalists, but the schools’ failure to notify them in September caused them to miss the October deadline, 7News reported.
Youngkin says he will work to increase education standards across the state. He also criticized the superintendent of the Fairfax schools for hiring outside consultants for up to $450,000 to help create equal outcomes for all students.

“This overarching effort for equal outcomes is hurting Virginia’s children, and it’s hurting, even worse, the children that they aspire to help — children in the Black community and children in the Hispanic community and children who are in the socioeconomically challenged community and Virginia’s kids with disabilities,” Youngkin said.

COMMENT:  The excuse given by some of the schools that did not notify the commended students or semifinalists in time to have their honor included in their applications to college was that it would make other students feel bad.  Yup, that's what they said.

Youngkin has now promised a full state investigation of this travesty.  He takes action.  He senses public moods.  Like Ron DeSantis, he's an excellent governor.  He's a bit softer than Ron, and the public may welcome that.  He must be seen as a serious contender.

January 20-21, 2023       Permalink