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JULY 8,  2022

SHORT TAKES ON THE DRIFTING WRECKAGE:

DO YOU THINK THESE CREEPS NEED A FINISHING SCHOOL?  The latest in the anti-Supreme Court playbook.  From Daily Mail:   A left-wing activist group is encouraging users on social media to tweet the location of any of the conservative Supreme Court Justices in exchange for money. The justices were the majority who voted to overturn the landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade decision last month.  Since then, pro-abortion activists have repeatedly protested outside the justices' homes and, in some cases, confronted them in public.   ShutDownDC is promising a bounty of $50 for anyone who shares a 'confirmed sighting' and a further $200 if they are still in that location half an hour later.   'DC Service Industry Workers... If you see Kavanaugh, Alito, Thomas, Gorsuch, Coney Barrett or Roberts, DM us with the details!  'We'll Venmo you $50 for a confirmed sighting and $200 if they're still there 30 mins after your message,' the activist group tweeted on Friday.  Twitter has so far been completely silent on whether the 'bounties' may contravene the social media platforms rules and policies.   Twitter forbids users from encouraging others to harass an individual or group of people.  'We prohibit behavior that encourages others to harass or target specific individuals or groups with abusive behavior.  This includes, but is not limited to, calls to target people with abuse or harassment online and behavior that urges offline action such as physical harassment,' reads the platform's policy on abusive behavior.  On Wednesday night Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh was forced to sneak out of a Washington D.C. steakhouse when he was confronted by pro-choice protesters.  Reminds me of bounty hunters.  That's what the hard left  has done to us.  This is disgraceful behavior.  There has to be a law to forbid it.  If not, pass one. 

July 8, 2022       Permalink

WELL DONE, ARIZONA:  The state becomes the first in the nation to have universal school choice.  A momentous day.  From Just the News: 

Arizona Governor Doug Ducey signed a bill expanding access to school choice to all students Thursday.

In signing House Bill 2853 into law, all Arizona's school-age children will be eligible for the Empowerment Scholarship Account. It's a state-funded account that allows parents to spend money on tuition and other education expenses. Previously, the program was limited to disabled students, those in failing schools, and other specific circumstances.

"This is a monumental moment for all of Arizona's students. Our kids will no longer be locked in under-performing schools. Today, we're unlocking a whole new world of opportunity for them and their parents," Ducey said, according to a press release. "With this legislation, Arizona cements itself as the top state for school choice and as the first state in the nation to offer all families the option to choose the school setting that works best for them. Every family in Arizona should have access to a high-quality education with dedicated teachers. This is truly a win for all K-12 students."

The program will now be available to more than 1.1 million students across the state. The average ESA spends $6,400, legislative analysts have previously estimated.

The bill also gives the Arizona Department of Education $2.2 million and allows for the hiring of 26 new workers to aid in administering the expanded program. The report also found that school choice programs nationwide saved taxpayers an average of $7,500 per student that participated.

House Majority Leader Ben Toma, R-Peoria, said education dollars shouldn't be tied to one building.

"It was my privilege to sponsor the most expansive school choice law in the nation, opening Empowerment Scholarship Account eligibility to all school-age children without restriction," Toma said. "In Arizona, we fund students, not systems, because we know one size does not fit all students."

Goldwater Institute President and CEO Victor Riches said the program will benefit children with varying educational needs.

"Families deserve the right to choose the best education option for their children, regardless of zip code. This reform empowers parents weary of a one-size-fits-all approach to public education to customize their children's schooling based on their unique needs," Riches said. "States around the nation should follow Arizona's lead and pass legislation that funds students, not systems."

COMMENT:  The new program is already being fought by defenders of the old system, where the educational establishment decides where your children go to school.  There is genuine fear on the political left that this new approach to education will work.  We see pain.  We see agony.  We will send medical assistance.

July 8, 2022       Permalink

JULY 7, 2022

SHORT TAKES ON THE DRIFTING WRECKAGE:

TAKE IT SERIOUSLY – FROM BBC:   The heads of UK and US security services have made an unprecedented joint appearance to warn of the threat from China.  FBI director Christopher Wray said China was the "biggest long-term threat to our economic and national security" and had interfered in politics, including recent elections.  MI5 head Ken McCallum said his service had more than doubled its work against Chinese activity in the last three years and would be doubling it again.  MI5 is now running seven times as many investigations related to activities of the Chinese Communist Party compared to 2018, he added.

The FBI's Wray warned that if China was to forcibly take Taiwan it would "represent one of the most horrific business disruptions the world has ever seen".  In response, China Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said British intelligence was trying to "hype up the China threat theory" and he advised the head of MI5 to "cast away imagined demons".  He said the FBI director had also been "playing up the China threat to smear and attack China" revealing a "Cold War mentality" and urged him to stop making "irresponsible" remarks.  The first ever joint public appearance by the two directors came at MI5 headquarters in Thames House, London.  McCallum also said the challenge posed by the Chinese Communist Party was "game-changing", while Wray called it "immense" and "breath-taking".  Not to be ignored.  Obviously, these are serious warnings.  But there are powerful forces in the West, driven by dollars or some quaint left-wing ideology, who think China is just fine, and a source of great soup.  Be afraid.

July 7, 2022       Permalink

BORIS, WE HARDLY KNEW YE – Boris Johnson has resigned as Britain's prime minister.  A man of many faces and moods, he was a superb friend of America, a well-read man of letters, and a defender of Western values.  He was also an undisciplined eccentric, consummate partygoer and occasional jerk. 

He was finally brought down because his own Conservative party turned against him following a series of embarrassing scandals.

Some compared him to Churchill, also a flawed man.  But Churchill was a key pivot in the Allied victory in World War II.  Johnson was never handed such a grand canvas.  From Fox: 

Boris Johnson announced plans to resign as prime minister of the United Kingdom on Thursday in a tumultuous end for a government that once enjoyed a strong democratic mandate.

Johnson’s roughly three-year tenure ended in disarray after he threatened a standoff with his party and a possible general election following the resignation of 42 ministers who deemed his position "untenable." He says new leadership is "clearly now the will" of Parliament.
Johnson hopes to remain in a caretaker position as his Conservative Party elects a new prime minister, a process that may take roughly two months.

"I have appointed a new cabinet who will serve, as I will, until a new leader is in place," he said. "When the herd instinct moves, it moves."

Conservative ministers declared that they had lost confidence in the prime minister after news emerged he had elevated Chris Pincher to the powerful role of deputy chief whip despite allegations of sexual misconduct.

But it was not the only scandal that Johnson’s government had to wrangle with. It was merely the final one that ministers could tolerate, bringing an end to his sole ambition and goal in politics. 

"Boris Johnson’s place in history is assured given his stewardship of Brexit, vaccine rollout during the COVID-19 crisis and staunch defense of the free world in Ukraine," Alan Mendoza, co-founder and executive director of the Henry Jackson Society, told Fox News Digital. 

"His personal foibles were known to all before he came to office and have always been part and parcel of his offering. They will not affect the reality that he has got the big calls right and has always confounded his critics in doing so."

The prime minister also had displayed Churchillian support for Ukraine during the Russian invasion, earning him plaudits at a time when he otherwise struggled for positive press. The highs and lows of his run to the leadership — and his eventual fall — will ensure he remains a figure of enduring fascination and interest in both British and global politics. 

Johnson rose to prominence as a political columnist for The Daily Telegraph and later editor of The Spectator before winning the election to Parliament in 2001 as the Member of Parliament (MP) of Henley. He won the election for Mayor of London in 2008 and was re-elected in 2012. During that time, he enjoyed a healthy public image as an affable man of the people. 

COMMENT:   And of course he might be back some day.  Churchill lingered in the political wilderness for decades before being called to the prime ministership in the early days of the Second World War. 

The priority now is for Britain to find a prime minister who will keep the Conservatives in power. 

July 7, 2022       Permalink