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JUNE 18, 2022

SOMETHING ELSE TO WORRY ABOUT – OVERNIGHT:  The challenges for the United States are coming thick and fast.  I can't recall a time since the fall of the Soviet Union when we've faced as many crises at the same time.  And these red flashes come at a time when Americans have low confidence in their government.   We can use a bit of luck.  Consider this, from Fox:   

Nicaragua approved Russian forces to train within its borders and conduct military drills with the Nicaraguan army just after the U.S. imposed fresh sanctions on officials from the Central American nation.

Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega renewed the order, which the National Assembly approved. The decree applies to troops and military equipment from Russia as well as the U.S. and seven Latin American countries to enter the country and participate in "an exchange of experience, training exercises and humanitarian aid operations."

The U.S. objected to the renewal in light of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, but officials expected that to do little to deter Ortega’s decision.

"We consider this a provocation by the Nicaraguan regime," Brian Nichols, the head of western hemisphere affairs at the State Department, was quoted by DW-TV at last week's Summit of the Americas in Los Angeles.

The assembly approved the measure on Tuesday after the U.S. sanctioned 93 Nicaraguan officials, including judges, prosecutors, lawmakers and interior ministry officials over the holding of 180 alleged political prisoners.

The measure will allow 230 Russian troops to enter Nicaragua beginning in July and lasting through the end of the year to patrol the Pacific along with the Nicaraguan Army, according to a report by Reuters.

"First things first—the emperor has no clothes, and anyone concerned about the future of open societies and liberal democracy should denounce Ortega’s regime as a brutal dictatorship," Roberto Salinas Leon, Director for the Center for Latin America at the Atlas Network, told Fox News Digital. "More sanctions may lead to a ‘double-down’ show of a false sense of ‘national sovereignty.’"

"The people of Nicaragua will be the ones that most suffer from this new impasse," he added. "Surely, not inviting Ortega to the Summit for the Americas turned out to be the right call."

COMMENT:  One can see a possible buildup to a new Cuban Missile Crisis.  As soon as a nation allows Russia to put troops on its soil, the Russians will insist on expanding their presence.  They would like nothing more than to have nuclear missiles close to the United States – the same goal they had in 1962 when Moscow inserted nuclear-equipped missiles into Cuba.

History doesn't repeat itself, but the temptations of history sometimes do.  We will watch closely.

June 18, 2022       Permalink

JUNE 17, 2022

IT'S ABOUT TIME:  The FBI has started to investigate attacks on and threats to pregnancy counseling centers, which are part of the pro-life movement.  This should have happened much earlier.  From the New York Post: 

The FBI is investigating attacks on pregnancy resource centers across the country as acts of domestic violent extremism, the bureau announced on Friday.

“The FBI is investigating a series of attacks and threats targeting pregnancy resource centers and faith-based organizations across the country,” the FBI said in a statement first reported by Fox News. “The FBI takes all threats seriously and we continue to work closely with our law enforcement partners and will remain vigilant to protect our communities.”

The investigations come after violent pro-abortion groups have targeted these organizations following the leak of the Supreme Court’s draft decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health, which purported to overturn Roe v. Wade. These groups counsel women on alternatives to abortion and, often, provide shelter and other resources for new and expectant mothers. Many of them are religiously affiliated with Christian organizations and churches.

The attacks have, so far, involved assaults on physical property where graffiti, paint, fecal matter, are strewn on the exterior walls and where windows and doors are broken.

However, a recent assassination attempt on Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh at his home in Maryland stemmed from the publication of his home address by ‘Ruth Sent Us,’ one of the groups involved in virulent pro-abortion protests outside such centers.

The pro-abortion group Jane’s Revenge had recently taken credit for an attack on Wisconsin Family Action in Madison, Wis., in May, where two Molotov cocktails were thrown into its offices after windows were broken.

Pro-abortion group Jane’s Revenge had recently taken credit for an attack on Wisconsin Family Action in Madison, Wis., in May, where two Molotov cocktails were thrown into its offices after windows were broken. Extremists also threw red paint on a similar location in Washington, D.C. Similar arson attacks were also reported at such centers in Gersham, Oregon, Buffalo, N.Y., and New York City.

The investigation comes after 124 Republican Members of Congress wrote to U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland asking for an investigation. In its statement, the Bureau said that “the FBI takes all threats seriously and we continue to work closely with our law enforcement partners and will remain vigilant to protect our communities.”

COMMENT:  Speaker of the House and second in line for the presidency Nancy Pelosi has already announced that she has no intention of speaking about attacks on pro-life centers.  Good old Nancy, true to the American spirit in every way.

I'm only guessing, but I'd imagine that the FBI is moving now to avoid looking flat-footed if there are riots after the Supreme Court hands down its decision on whether to overturn Roe v. Wade.  I'd love to know if the Bureau is moving on its own, or was ordered to by our less-than-awake attorney-general, Merrick ("I never heard of it") Garland. 

June 17, 2022     Permalink

THE SLOW FADEAWAY OF CNN:  CNN's "numbers" are pathetically bad.  The network's new owners say they want to shake up CNN and turn it into a balanced news reporting operation.  The question is whether it's too late.  CNN's viewers will have a booster meeting in a phone booth next week.  From Fox: 

CNN had its smallest weekday audience since the Obama administration on Tuesday as ratings woes continue to plague the struggling network. 

CNN, which was purchased by Warner Bros. Discovery earlier this year following the closing of a $43 billion merger, averaged only 393,000 total viewers on June 14. The dismal turnout was CNN’s smallest weekday audience since Nov. 2, 2015 if you exclude Thanksgiving Day. 

The network also had its least-viewed, non-Thanksgiving weekday during the hours of 9 a.m. through 5 p.m. when CNN’s daytime lineup managed only 489,000 average viewers. It was CNN’s worst performance in that category since Nov. 3, 2015. 

CNN developed a reputation for relying on critical coverage of former-President Trump to attract liberal viewers under former boss Jeff Zucker, but Tuesday’s gloomy turnout came one day after the Jan. 6 committee spent Monday focused heavily on Trump’s attempts to overturn the 2020 election results through litigation. CNN shed a staggering 43% of the 694,000 total viewers who tuned in on Monday when there was no hearing on Tuesday. 

The rock-bottom viewership came as recently appointed CNN chairman and CEO Chris Licht – who replaced Zucker – is expected to address staffers during an internal staff meeting on Thursday. He previously informed staffers he would "double down on what's working well and quickly eliminate what's not," and there have since been lingering questions about what programs or personalities were scrapped by the new regime.  

Long-struggling morning show "New Day" will be re-imagined later this year, Licht announced at the Warner Bros. Discovery upfront event last month. Other changes have not yet been announced, but Licht has stated he wants to put an emphasis on news, as opposed to liberal opinion programming. 

COMMENT:  My own sense is that CNN's problems are well past the point where some adjustments will do the trick.  What is needed is a total overhaul, which may, sadly, mean major personnel changes.

The network's coverage of Ukraine has been the one bright spot in its recent legacy.  But its domestic coverage continues to beat the anti-Trump gun.  It's as if nothing has changed.  And the ship is still sinking.  What kind of viewer base will CNN have when changes are finally made?  Will anyone come back? 

June 17, 2022       Permalink