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OCTOBER 11-12, 2022

SHORT TAKES ON THE DRIFTING WRECKAGE:

YOUR TAX DOLLARS AT WORK – FROM COLLEGE FIX:    Prominent antiracist theorist and Boston University Professor Ibram X. Kendi was paid $35,000 by the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign for a 60-minute question and answer session on October 6.  That equates to roughly $583 per minute for the “Keynote Conversation with Dr. Ibram X. Kendi” hosted at the public university.  A copy of the contract, provided to The College Fix upon request by the school’s media affairs division, shows the deal also funded up to $10,000 in travel expenses, including a first-class airline ticket, hotel accommodations, and travel to and from the event.  Kendi’s fee was paid using unrestricted university funds, a campus spokesperson told The Fix.  What a disgrace.  This is a state university.  Those are public funds.  Citizens of Illinois should demand action by their state legislators to prevent this kind of excess.  Kendi is one of the founders of wokeness.  He's done very well for himself by damaging the very people he claims to be helping.

YOU CANNOT MAKE IT UP – FROM PJ MEDIA:   A leftist journalist called Child Protective Services on a Republican state Senate candidate and single mother because she teaches her daughter to celebrate Columbus Day. Apparently, celebrating the man who made it possible for America to exist and for us to live here falls under the leftist definition of “abuse.”  Self-described “Award-Winning Multimedia Journalist” David Leavitt called Child Protective Services (CPS) on Republican Virginia state Senate candidate and single mom Tina Ramirez for being pro-Columbus Day. The drama began when Ramirez referenced PayPal’s recent attempt to fine “misinformation”-spreaders $2,500. Ramirez tweeted, “Only women can be pregnant. Do I owe PayPal $2500 now?” Leavitt replied with the highly rational comment, “Why are you celebrating torture, rape, murder, and enslavement?” Ramirez, apparently realizing that Leavitt was referring to Columbus Day, tweeted, “I teach my daughter real American history. I refuse to join the radical left’s campaign to erase history.”  Vote for her!  Vote for her!

October 11-12, 2022       Permalink

UKRAINE UPDATE:  It is just remarkable how Ukraine has faded away as a major concern for Americans.  We have here the largest ground war in Europe since World War II.  There is serious talk about nuclear weapons being used by the Russians.  A number of countries are involved, supplying Ukraine.  And yet, it is barely mentioned in our political campaigns.  Are we making the same mistakes of indifference we made before Pearl Harbor?  Latest bulletins from Fox: 

The capital region of Ukraine was hit by Iranian-made kamikaze drones on Thursday morning as the Russian military ramps up attacks against the country.

Kyiv Oblast residents woke up to blistering air raid sirens for the fourth day in a row this week. Rescue workers were seen rushing to the sites of Thursday's strikes.

The strikes reportedly hit somewhere along the perimeter of the capital city, according to Kyiv regional governor Oleksiy Kuleba. The amount of casualties is unknown, but deputy head of the presidential office Kyrylo Tymoshenko said on Telegram that "critical infrastructure facilities" in the area were impacted.

The southern city of Mykolaiv was also hit by Russians overnight, with shelling destroying a five-story apartment building in the city. 

Mykolaiv Mayor Oleksandr Sienkovych said the building’s top two floors were completely destroyed in a single strike. The number of casualties from that attack has also not been reported.

Attacks on Kyiv were a rare occurrence before the capital city was hit at least four times during Monday’s destructive strikes, which killed at least 19 people and wounded more than 100 across the country. 

The attacks come as tensions between Ukraine and Russia escalate since Vladimir Putin's annexation of the Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions.

Iranian Shahed-136 drones have been increasingly used by Russia's military to destabilize Ukraine. The Ukrainian military reported that they were able to shoot down dozens of drones and Russian missiles through air defenses this week.

Western leaders have pledged to send air defense systems and weapons to Ukraine as Russia's deadly assault against the country continues. President Biden said earlier this week that Russia miscalculated "significantly" by invading Ukraine.

COMMENT:  This country's reaction to the introduction by Russia of Iranian drones is entirely inadequate.  While Iranian weapons murder Ukrainians, and Iranians themselves are erupting in demonstrations throughout Iran, our policy toward Iran seems to be business as usual.  There is a pro-Iran element in the U.S. government that must be exposed and examined by whatever free press we have left.   Incredibly, we are still working on a nuclear deal with Iran, even as Iran has been caught cheating on the last one.  And the appeasement of Iran has gotten us...?  Very strange, this negligent attitude toward Iran.  Very strange indeed. 

October 11-12, 2022       Permalink 

A CRITICALLY IMPORTANT WARNING:  We learned a bitter lesson in the last century – that the United States must have a strong, effective fighting force to keep the peace, and that weakness almost always leads to war.  I'm afraid that lesson is fading into memory, and that new, catastrophic ideas are taking its place.   We are getting the warning, and we must listen to it.  From Fox:   

While President Biden's Secretary of the Army has defended its diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs this week as "important," several current and former members of the U.S. military, who have put their lives on the line to ensure America's security and defend its freedoms, are sounding the alarm over what they call a culture putting "wokeness" before training and combat effectiveness.

Those service members, some of whom served with Special Operations Forces in Iraq and Afghanistan, are blaming that culture for its recruiting challenges, which have risen to a level unseen since it was transitioned to an all-volunteer force.

"The military is extremely woke," one service member told Fox News Digital recently.

"I do perceive the Army leadership as woke, and probably the lower enlisted (they have been indoctrinated in school)," another service member said. "Equity-diversity is another way to divide and control the masses. It does nothing for the warfighter."

"We get criticized, frankly, sometimes for being ‘woke,'" Army Secretary Christine Wormuth said at a Monday discussion with other military leaders on national security and the branch’s modernization efforts. "I'm not sure what ‘woke’ means. I think ‘woke’ means a lot of different things to different people."

She continued, "But, first of all, if ‘woke’ means we are not focused on warfighting, we are not focused on readiness, that doesn’t reflect what I see at installations all around the country or overseas when I go and visit."

The service members, who remained anonymous so they could speak freely, almost universally shared a similar sentiment, with many noting that senior members who speak out on the issue risk their careers or retirement pensions.

"Merely questioning the goals or methods used to promote ‘Equity & Diversity’ is punished and that punishment is swift, harsh, and public," one service member said.

"I 100% believe the military is woke. I see daily minorities, overweight people and women not adhering to military standards," another said. "Nobody corrects them due to the fear of being fired and labeled a racist or a sexist."

"I do think we do have a wide range of soldiers in our Army, and we've got to make them all feel included," Wormuth said Monday. "And that’s why a lot of our diversity, equity and inclusion programs are important."

Another service member pointed to the military's COVID-19 policies, noting the vaccine mandate has forced many members in good standing into difficult decisions.

"Most of us who serve did so because we came from military families. Patriotism and American values are no longer appreciated or expected," one service member said. "Troops themselves are largely treated as expendable and they don't even pretend otherwise.

Spending 15+ years in the military during wartime with multiple deployments risking their lives only to be tossed out like garbage. Losing the retirement they have worked years to earn because they didn't want to take an experimental vaccine for an illness that was mild for fit and healthy people."

COMMENT:  Read the rest.   How did this happen?  Who is responsible?  Where are the names?  I'm afraid you won't get much information from the woke press.  To a woke journalist, a woke soldier or college professor is a comrade.

October 11-12,  2022      Permalink

FRAUD OF FRAUDS:  Do you see how the usual suspects in the media are going after Herschel Walker, the football great who is now the Republican candidate for the US Senate in Georgia?  Now, I'm not saying Herschel is an angel.  There are things in his background that have come up that are disturbing.  He hasn't always lived a clean life.  The GOP might have been happier with another candidate.

But what gets me is that Walker's opponent, incumbent Democratic Senator Raphael Warnock has an equally troubling background, but is given a pass by our broken free press.  From Fox: 

A downtown Atlanta apartment building mostly owned by the church of Sen. Raphael Warnock, D-Ga., has reportedly been evicting disadvantaged tenants while the church pays the senator a hefty monthly housing stipend.

Ebenezer Baptist Church, which pays Warnock a sizable $7,417 monthly housing allowance as its senior pastor, is 99% owner of the Columbia Tower at MLK Village, where residents have received eviction notices for owing as little as $25.88 in past-due rent, according to documents obtained by The Washington Free Beacon.

Eight tenants at Columbia Tower, which is also run by Columbia Residential and described as a haven for the "chronically homeless" and those afflicted with "mental disabilities," have been issued eviction notices since early 2020 for owing an average of $125 in rent.

Five cases were related to rent less than one month late, and two led to court-ordered evictions carried out by the Fulton County Marshal’s Department. Six of them were dismissed, and four remain open.

As a charitable organization, Columbia Tower has paid $77.77 in property taxes during the past seven years and has received more than $15 million in taxpayer-funded assistance since 2005, according to tax records obtained by the Free Beacon.

"They treat me like xxx, They're not compassionate at all," one 69-year-old Black resident who is a Vietnam veteran told the Free Beacon. He explained how he was issued an eviction notice last month for $192 in past-due rent. He told the outlet he was almost evicted last year over $179, but he was allowed to stay after he paid an additional $325 in fees.

"It’s disheartening. It’s horrible. It’s actually horrifying," another resident told the outlet. "We need the help. I understand churches take care of their pastors, but the excess, it’s not good. Not when you have people that need help here." 

The anonymous resident, who also paid hundreds in fees, said she was threatened with eviction after being one day late on her rent.

"It was devastating and surprising. I know they have the ability to be patient with me and let me pay my rent. And it was paid," the resident said. "I asked for patience, but I was totally ignored."

Warnock was outspoken during his campaign about evicting people who are struggling. 

"Unemployment benefits have expired, rent is due today, and many Georgia families are at risk of eviction in the middle of a pandemic," Warnock wrote in an August 2020 tweet. "My opponents are supposed to be serving the people in Washington, but they're clearly only concerned with serving their own interests."

COMMENT:  What a phony.  And there are also serious accusations against Warnock by his ex-wife.  And his record shows he's a radical leftist, not the moderate he claims to be.  I've rarely seen hypocrisy this great by a pastor.  Yet, the media's firepower appears directed almost entirely at his opponent.  Gee, I wonder why.

October 11-12, 2022       Permalink

OCTOBER 10,  2022

UKRAINE IS BURNING AGAIN.  The Russians are targeting civilians throughout Ukraine.   From the Washington Post: 

In little more than a month, the war in Ukraine has turned abruptly from a grueling, largely static artillery battle expected to last into the winter, to a rapidly escalating, multilevel conflict that has challenged the strategies of the United States, Ukraine and Russia.

Russia’s launch of massive strikes on civilian infrastructure Monday in about a dozen Ukrainian cities far from the front lines brought shock and outrage. The strikes, which Secretary of State Antony Blinken described as “wave after wave of missiles,” struck “children’s playgrounds and public parks,” left at least 14 killed and nearly 100 wounded, and cut electricity and water in much of the country.

“By launching missile attacks on civilians sleeping in their homes or rushing toward children going to schools, Russia has proven once again that it is a terrorist state that must be deterred in the strongest possible ways,” Ukraine’s United Nations Ambassador Sergiy Kyslytsya said at the opening of a General Assembly session scheduled before the assault to promote world condemnation of Moscow.

The attacks were the latest of many head-spinning events — from Ukrainian victories on the ground to Russian President Vladimir Putin’s threat of nuclear weapons use — that have changed the nature and tempo of the war in recent weeks, and raised questions about whether the United States and its partners may have to move beyond the concept of helping Ukraine defend itself, and instead more forcefully facilitate a Ukrainian victory.

COMMENT:  Isn't it remarkable that foreign policy is playing no role in our current political campaigns.  Amazing.  At one time, when our national discussions were more mature, foreign and defense policy was at the top of the agenda.  The experience of World War II assured that.

We still do not have a coherent Ukraine policy.  The American people seem to have lost much of their early interest in the conflict.  It's a big mistake.  The war in Ukraine is the largest ground war in Europe since 1945.  It is our business, whether we want it to be or not.

October 10, 2022       Permalink    

IS THIS MIRACLE POSSIBLE?  IN THE STATE OF WASHINGTON? WHERE LENIN IS CONSIDERED A CONSERVATIVE?  From Fox:

Every two years there seems to be a competitive race for U.S. Senate that emerges out of nowhere, one that wasn’t on anyone’s radar screen when the election cycle began.

This year’s sleeper campaign in Washington state between far-left Democrat Sen. Patty Murray, a five-term career Washington, D.C., politician, and first-time candidate Republican Tiffany Smiley is it.

Recent polling shows the decades-long liberal incumbent Murray polling below 50% despite her high name recognition against Smiley, who until recently was seen as a little known citizen-politician. Shockingly, the ballot test in two of these polls had Murray’s lead shrinking to just two and three points, respectively.

These results have Washington, D.C., buzzing with intrigue about what might be happening on the ground in the reliably Democrat stronghold of Washington in the Pacific Northwest.

To make matters worse for Murray, everyone agrees that Washington state had been turning a deeper shade of blue with each passing year. For example, Joe Biden defeated Donald Trump by a whopping 58% to 39% margin in the 2020 presidential election and Murray prevailed in her last re-election with a very comfortable 59% of the vote in 2016.

So Murray’s alarming slide in the polls could mean that Washington voters are finally poised to vote for a change in direction – and do so at the senior senator’s expense. Let’s face it, there are lots of reasons for Washingtonians to be sick and tired of what’s been happening right before their very eyes.

Over the past two years, America has watched in disbelief as the beautiful city of Seattle was overrun by rioting, violent crime, the defund police movement, and so-called "CHOP" zones. Sadly, 176 people have died of opioid overdoses in Seattle already this year. All the while, entrenched out-of-touch Democrats like Murray have joyfully plowed ahead with their failed socialist agenda in Washington, D.C.

COMMENT:  I'd love to see an upset in Washington.  If our side can flip that state, it would make everything else seem possible.  Imagine – a Republican mayor of Chicago.  Well,  maybe that's going too far.  We must restrain ourselves.

October 10, 2022       Permalink