Tuesday, February 7, 2023

Was Balloon Delay A Pay Off? Weak Leadership Set's Up Another Pearl Harbour? Much More.

 Did Biden try to hide Chinese balloon? Why would he not?

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Biden administration tried to hide Chinese spy balloon from American public

By Jon Levine

The US military shot down the Chinese spy balloon that floated through U.S. airspace on Saturday, as Americans learned President Biden and his administration had known about the incursion for a week — but kept it secret, fearing it would derail Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s planned meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing.

A pair of American fighter jets circled the surveillance craft as it neared the coast of South Carolina, then pierced it with a missile once it was safely over the Atlantic Ocean, video showed.

The huge white orb — as large as three school buses, experts said — deflated in a puff of white smoke, its remains trailing behind as the heavy solar panels and surveillance equipment plunged down into the sea below.

President Biden and his administration knew for nearly a week that a Chinese spy balloon was hovering in U.S. airspace — but kept the incursion secret, fearing it would derail Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s planned meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing.

The US military tracked the balloon as it flew into Canadian airspace, then re-entered American skies on Tuesday.Chase Doak via REUTERS

Republicans expressed “outrage” over the president’s earlier refusal to act.

“Communist China’s surveillance balloon violates international law and threatens our homeland,” Rep. Nicole Malliotakis (R-Staten Island) told The Post.

“It’s an outrage that the Biden Administration spotted this balloon days ago as it was flying over the Aleutian Islands and did nothing about … this unacceptable act of aggression by the CCP,” she said.

“It’s an outrage that the Biden Administration spotted this balloon days ago as it was flying over the Aleutian Islands and did nothing about it,” Rep. Nicole Malliotakis told The Post.AP

The politics of the looming 2024 presidential election also played a role in Biden’s actions, sources told Bloomberg, with the fraught US-China relationship expected to be a central foreign policy issue.

Team Biden became aware of the balloon on Jan. 28, Bloomberg reported, when it was spotted over Alaska.

The US military tracked it as it flew into Canadian airspace, then re-entered American skies on Tuesday. The next day, Biden received a detailed briefing on the balloon and its course, attended by Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mark Milley.

Sources told Bloomberg that Milley and Austin argued against shooting the craft down due to the danger its debris could pose to the public. Biden initially wanted it destroyed, but acquiesced, according to the report.

But the president also chose to conceal the crisis from the American public. Instead, his administration sought an explanation from the Chinese embassy in Washington — while making the finishing touches on plans for Blinken’s diplomatic visit to China on Sunday.

The administration finally came clean to the public Thursday, after the Billings Gazette, a local Montana paper, published photos of the floating orb and the story jumped into the national media.

“Not gonna lie,” tweeted witness Chase Doak, whose video of the high-flying spying platform went viral. “First, I thought this was a #ufo. Then, I thought it was @elonmusk in a Wizard of Oz cosplay scenario. But it was just a run-of-the-mill Chinese spy balloon!”

The uproar forced Blinken to postpone his trip indefinitely, while China repeatedly insisted that the “airship” was meant for meteorological research and had been innocently blown off course.

Former president Donald Trump, ex-veep Mike Pence, former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, and former Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley have all demanded that the balloon be shot down, accusing Biden of weakness against Beijing.

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TREASON! Rep. Waltz Says DOD Told Him China Spy Balloons Crossed US During Trump Years But Gen. Mattis DID NOT TELL TRUMP – Thought He Was Too Aggressive (VIDEO)

Rep. Mike Waltz (R-FL) joined Stuart Varney on Monday morning on FOX Business Network.

Rep Waltz says current Pentagon officials briefed him over the weekend and said Chinese spy balloons crossed over Texas and Florida during the Trump years.

Waltz then dropped this bomb. Rep. Waltz said that General Mattis was Secretary of Defense at the time and decided not to inform President Trump because the Pentagon thought Trump was “too provocative and aggressive!”

This is treason if true. Mattis put the US in danger, offered comfort to the enemy, allowed Chinese spying on US installations, and then hid this from his superiors, including the President of the United States.

House Republicans MUST call on General Mattis to immediately testify under oath!

This is also quite a statement if true since President Trump is the first US president in over 40 years NOT to start a war!

Mattis must have been reading the NY Times. Big mistake. Let’s hope this man faces justice.

Rep. Mike Waltz (R-FL): My office has been briefed by the office of the Secretary of Defense of the current Pentagon that it happened over Florida, it happened over Texas, and that it’s happened before. We have more detailed questions but what is unclear, Stuart, at this point is, did the Pentagon under the Trump Administration brief the Trump White House and give them the option to take action or did they decide not to brief them for whatever reason? And there is some speculation, I talked to Trump administration officials over the weekend, that the Pentagon deliberately did it because they thought Trump would be too provocative and too aggressive. So that’s what we need to get to the bottom of and one person that I’m waiting to hear from that we haven’t heard from that list is former Secretary of Defense, General Mattis who was the secretary during this time period. What did he know and what did he decide to pass on and brief to the president.

Either the current Pentagon is lying or the former Pentagon officials were treasonous bastards. Americans deserve the truth

The American voter, because of it's misplaced hatred of Trump, gave the world and ourselves Biden.

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Biggest Gift to Iran's Mullahs, China and Russia: Biden Administration's Weak Leadership

by Majid Rafizadeh

Thanks to the Biden administration's weak and vacillating leadership, Iran, Russia and China have been emboldened to levels never before seen.

First, the US sanctions against Russia are completely being smoothly violated by Iran's mullahs and China. Despite the Biden administration's sanctions, Iran's oil exports have reached a new peak last month.

Bloomberg reported:

"While everyone looks at Russia, another oil-rich country under Western sanctions has quietly increased its production: Iran.... Iran's oil exports are surging... Much of it appears to be finding its way to China. The country's oil exports surged to about 1.3 million barrels a day in November [2022], and last month held near the highest in four years, according to data from Vortexa Ltd. and Kpler, two well-known shipping analytics firms."

Although the US sanctions did have a negative impact on the Iranian economy prior to the Biden administration, as more countries violate them, the US sanctions have become cosmetic.

Meanwhile, the Biden administration has not been taking any action to deter, disincentivize or punish those who breach the sanctions. Ever since the Biden administration assumed office, in fact, Iran's oil exports have been on the rise.

While in 2018 and 2019, Iran's oil exports were significantly reduced to 100,000 to 200,000 barrels a day, Iran is currently exporting more than a million barrels a day -- of which more than 800,000 barrels a day are being exported to China.

The Iranian regime is also assisting Russia in war crimes without facing any consequences, according to The Sunday Guardian:

"Speaking anonymously because of the sensitivity of the matter, [a US] official said that [on August 19] one [Russian] plane carried $150m in cash and a number of captured UK and US weapons to Iran in exchange for a large number of deadly drones for Russia's use in its war against Ukraine.... These had all been shipped to Ukraine for their use against the invaders, but had "fallen into Russian hands....For their part, the Iranians supplied Russia in excess of 200 unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), which included more than 100 ... drones, nicknamed "kamikaze" drones because they are designed to crash into their targets and explode on impact. They are capable of delivering explosive payloads at distances of up to 1,500 miles. The rest of the load was ... able to carry guided missiles or bombs.... [Russia's] use of a combination of cruise missiles and Iranian self-detonating UAVs, packed with explosives, has deprived millions of Ukrainian citizens of electricity and running water, deliberately contravening the Geneva Convention.... The WHO has documented 703 attacks by Russia on Ukrainian health infrastructure since its invasion began."

The White House has acknowledged that it has evidence that Iranian troops were "directly engaged on the ground" in Crimea supporting Russian drone attacks. National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby stated:

"The [drone] systems themselves were suffering failures and not performing to the standards that apparently the customers expected... So the Iranians decided to move in some trainers and some technical support to help the Russians use them with better lethality."

Both Russia and Iran are also strengthening their military links. While Russia is receiving weapons and military personnel from Iran, the mullahs -- in addition to reverse-engineering the state-of-the-art US and British materiel that Russia captured -- are reportedly seeking Moscow's assistance to complete Iran's nuclear weapons program.

Thanks to the Biden administration's abject posture towards China; its dithering over help to Ukraine; its ruining the US economy by shutting down America's energy independence then rushing to buy oil from Saudi Arabia and Venezuela rather than Canada; the unconscionable abandonment of Afghanistan and our allies there; the Biden family's appearance of influence-peddling, and, by closing down the China Initiative, the administration's failure to stop Communist China's runaway espionage, Russia, Iran and China are simply not taking the US seriously.

"Biden is a complete joke with regard to foreign policy," U.S. Senator Rick Scott pointed out.

"Why is Putin doing this? Because he knows Biden is weak. Biden would rather have ice cream with somebody than stand up for Americans... "It's a disaster. I mean, Biden's a clown. Biden's never been a serious person. He's just a talker. Talk, talk, talk, talk, talk, that's all he's ever done."

Scott also cited former President Barack Obama is reported to have warned the US: "Don't underestimate Joe's ability to fuck things up."

Even some of America's European allies, despite the US sanctions, are freely doing business with Iran's theocratic establishment. Mehr News Agency stated:

"Iran and the European Union's 27 member states traded €4.36 billion worth of goods during the first 10 months of 2022, registering a 14.28% rise compared with last year's corresponding period... Germany was the top trading partner of Iran in the EU region during the period, as the two countries exchanged over €1.6 billion worth of goods, 15.44% more than in a similar period of the year before. Italy came next with €555.39 million worth of trade with Iran to register an 11.14% year-on-year rise.... the Netherlands with €351.94 million (down 10.76%) and Spain with €296.06 million (up 13.12%) were Iran's other major European trade partners."

So long as the Biden administration does not demonstrate real leadership, Iran, Russia and China will continue to seize all opportunities to become more empowered and emboldened. The Biden administration's legacy so far appears to be leaving the world a far more dangerous place.

Dr. Majid Rafizadeh is a business strategist and advisor, Harvard-educated scholar, political scientist, board member of Harvard International Review, and president of the International American Council on the Middle East. He has authored several books on Islam and US Foreign Policy. He can be reached at Dr.Rafizadeh@Post.Harvard.Edu

And:

Pentagon Admits 3 Chinese Balloons Flew Over US Under Trump   READ MORE

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Cowering Jews are a disgrace to their race

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ZOA is Disappointed, Offended and Frightened by 211 U.S. House Votes Supporting Jew-Hating, Israel-Hating Rep. Ilhan Omar

The Zionist Organization of America (ZOA) expressed disappointment, deep offense, even fear and a sense of betrayal after the votes of 211 Members of Congress to support Rep. Ilhan Omar, an antisemite and hater of Israel and America. Thanks to 218 Republican members of the House, Omar was removed from the Foreign Affairs committee, but it is outrageous that Democratic members, including many Jews, placed their partisan concerns above the need to remove a clearly bigoted member of the committee, who is promoting and legitimizing antisemitism and Israel-bashing.

Contrary to the talking points being spread by some, this was not a case of retaliation or partisan revenge. The absurd idea that she is being singled out because she is a Black African Muslim woman immigrant is clearly false. No one has tried to remove other Muslims, immigrants, or African American Representatives from their committees. Some media outlets seem to believe race is the cause of everything in America, but the example of Speaker McCarthy removing the ultra-White Rep. Eric Swalwell and White Jewish Rep. Adam Schiff from the Select Committee on Intelligence proves this analysis is absurd.

The comments made by Rep. Omar were recognized by many Democratic members of Congress to be intolerable and completely unacceptable, and she herself made a fake apology for her words following the uproar her comments provoked. ZOA supported her removal for these outrageous comments. This week, though, she proved that her apology was insincere. Omar claimed on CNN that she was unaware that the word “hypnotized” and conspiracy theories about Jews and money are anti-Jewish tropes.

“I might have used words at the time that I didn’t understand were trafficking in antisemitism.”

Melanie Phillips, a British journalist, said:

"Her protestations of ignorance have drawn widespread incredulity and scorn. In fact, they imply something more unpalatable than being disingenuous.

“Omar thought that what others know to be Jew-hating tropes couldn’t be prejudice because they’re true. So, when she says she didn’t think these tropes constituted antisemitism, she reveals just how antisemitic she actually is."

ZOA National President Morton A. Klein said:

"I am outraged, and as the child of Holocaust survivors, actually frightened, by the betrayal of almost half the members of the House of Representatives who so quickly de-prioritize their disapproval of antisemitism in voting to support this Jew-hating member of Congress. It is shocking that partisan concerns are more important than their core American values.

“This is particularly true for the 27 Jewish members of Congress. I am sorry to observe the fact that all the votes for Omar came from the Democratic side of the aisle, making a mockery of the supposed concern for Israel and against antisemitism in the party.

"If Omar had never said a single antisemitic word in her life, she still should have been removed from the Foreign Affairs committee, because she is so anti-American and does not believe Israel should even exist. She opposes all sanctions against Iran, Nicaragua, Venezuela and Cuba, but believes in one exception - Israel should be boycotted and sanctioned. She has asked judges for sympathy for convicted ISIS terrorists. She has condemned Jews for caring more about Israel than America. She speaks at CAIR conferences even though they have sympathies to terrorist groups and hate and condemn America’s greatest ally. Her removal from this committee is earned by her own outrageous conduct."

ZOA Director of Government Relations Dan Pollak said:

"ZOA is non-partisan, and it is painful to observe that all of the votes to support this Jew-hating Congresswoman came from the Democrats in the House. It is sad that pro-Israel members, who will privately express their belief that her comments are completely antisemitic, join with the most extreme members of the so-called 'Squad,' to defend Omar's hateful, bigoted words. As Americans, we take offense that these members of Congress could not place their country before party when it comes to standing against Jew-hatred and hatred against America’s greatest ally, the Jewish State of Israel.”

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Here we go again?
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Rigging the Primaries for Biden 

The Editorial Board 

The Democratic National Committee voted Saturday to revise the party’s nominating calendar to put South Carolina first in line, upending a half century of tradition. The Iowa caucuses, which have been first since 1972, will be relegated to the back of the bus. After South Carolina’s primary on Feb. 3, 2024, the new order will be: New Hampshire and Nevada both on Feb. 6, followed by Georgia on Feb. 13 and Michigan on Feb. 27.

All of this is being done at the request—please don’t say orders—of the Biden White House. South Carolina rescued Mr. Biden’s candidacy in 2020 from defeat by Bernie Sanders, and black voters in that state and Georgia make up a large part of the Democratic electorate and Mr. Biden’s core support. Michigan’s primary was held on March 10 in 2020 and is another state where he won.

Mr. Biden finished fourth in Iowa and fifth in New Hampshire, where retail campaigning in restaurants and school auditoriums counts for as much as TV advertising. The last thing the White House wants is Mr. Biden at age 81 unscripted on the hustings.

This insider political play isn’t going down well in the Granite State, which has a law stating that it must be the first primary. The state’s Democrats aren’t happy, and perhaps GOP Gov. Chris Sununu and the Legislature will respond by moving the primary ahead of Feb. 3, though maybe the DNC will then kill its primary.

The political parties set their own nominating rules, subject to state law. The main benefit of the early New Hampshire and Iowa contests is that they give voters a chance at close-up vetting, and they give long-shot candidates a chance to elevate an issue or emerge from obscurity. The winners don’t always go on to be nominated, much less take the White House, but they are a different kind of candidate test than debates and TV advertising.

The risk for Democrats is that by greasing the wheels for Mr. Biden they will miss such a signal from the electorate. The polls are showing that even most Democrats prefer another nominee in 2024. But the President is plowing ahead, perhaps because he thinks Republicans will be foolish enough to nominate Mr. Trump, who would be the easiest opponent to beat. But what if they don’t?

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Biden’s Border Disaster Isn’t Incompetence. It’s Intentional.

 President Prevaricator! 

I used to hear all the time from my liberal friends about Trump the liar. I no longer hear them saying this.  In fact, they seem to have taken a holiday when it comes to bashing Trump. Is this because their president has proven to be what the lying Trump warned us would happen if they elected Biden?

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https://pjmedia.com/columns/stephen-kruiser/2023/02/06/the-morning-briefing-that-noise-you-hear-is-the-chicoms-laughing-at-pudding-brain-biden-n1668144

Six lies Biden will tell in his State of the Union

By Stephen Moore

President Biden is set to spread "disinformation" about the economy and his domestic policies during his State of the Union address this week. REUTERS/Elizabeth Frantz

When President Joe Biden stands before Congress and issues his State of the Union address Tuesday night, he will proclaim victory on the nation’s economy. Most Americans are going to wonder what country he’s talking about.

Yes, the jobs market is strong, and that’s good news. But sorry, Mr. President: The American economy is not strong. It isn’t even good.

The last two years have been pretty rotten on almost every metric: the squeeze on family finances, inflation, immigration, declining test scores in schools, the budget deficit and debt, out-of-control government.

Here are six fibs you’re very likely to hear the president recite Tuesday night. They should be tagged with the label of the left’s favorite word this year: “disinformation.”

1) Biden has reduced the budget deficit by $1.4 trillion.

Actually, no president in modern times even comes close to Biden in terms of fiscal recklessness. In his first two years, the national debt has risen by more than $4.2 trillion. That’s more than in any two-year period in American history.

The deficit shot into the fiscal stratosphere of $2.8 trillion in his first year in office, and in 2022 it was still at one of history’s highest levels, $1.4 trillion. Last year, our debt as a share of our gross domestic product hit an all-time high of 129%. Biden is like a schoolkid celebrating an improved report card because the first semester he got an F but the second semester a D-.

Biden will likely take credit for falling gas prices — despite prices surging since he took office.Biden will likely take credit for falling gas prices — despite prices surging since he took office.Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images

2) Biden inherited an economy in freefall.

Wrong. When COVID hit these shores in early 2020, the economy was shut down in the face of the once-in-a-half-century pandemic. But by 2020’s second half, the economy soared by more than 20%, and millions of Americans were moving back into their jobs. This was a historic recovery.

One week after the election, thanks to Operation Warp Speed, the COVID vaccine was announced, which set the table for an even stronger recovery. Instead, the economy has been limping forward with a weakling economic growth rate last year of 1.5%.

3) Inflation was high when Biden entered office.

Huh? The average inflation rate during the Trump presidency was 2%, and in January 2021, the month Biden entered office, inflation was 1.4%. Eighteen months later, in summer 2022, inflation rose above 9% — the highest in 40 years. It ended the year at 6.5%. Food prices are still so high that CNBC just reported: “Amid food inflation, more shoppers turn to dollar stores for groceries.”

4) Biden has brought down gas prices.

When President Donald Trump left office, the gas price was $2.59 a gallon nationally. In June 2022, it was nearly double, a modern-day high of $5.004 a gallon. Today gas is $3.48 a gallon — roughly $1 a gallon higher than when Biden entered office. And according to Gas Buddy, which provides real-time prices and projections, gas at the pump is expected to rise back to $4 a gallon this year.

5) Biden is doing all he can to secure the border.

This may be the whopper of them all. Since Biden took office, he’s issued some 90 executive orders undoing Trump’s successful border-enforcement policies — most notably stopping wall construction on the southern border and even suspending the successful “Stay in Mexico” policy (a move so wrongheaded he was recently forced to reverse it). In 2021, there were 1.7 million border encounters, the highest ever until 2022, when that number surged above 2 million.

Biden’s border policies have caused record setting border encounter totals the last two years

6) Biden is increasing domestic oil and gas production.

Wrong. A 2022 Committee to Unleash Prosperity study by the University of Chicago’s Casey Mulligan found that oil production would be 2 to 3 million barrels a day higher if Biden had simply followed the Trump energy plan.

America would have produced nearly $200 billion more oil last year if not for Biden’s war on fossil fuels. We wouldn’t have had to release one teaspoon of oil from our strategic reserve. Trump issued permits for drilling on 100 million acres of federal land. Biden has issued fewer drilling permits than any president since World War II’s end.

We’ll see how many of these fact-free statements Biden repeats in his State of the Union speech. But it’s highly likely the best GOP response by Sarah Huckabee Sanders should be: “Liar, liar, pants on fire.”

Stephen Moore is a senior fellow at the Heritage Foundation. He served as a senior economic adviser to Donald Trump.

Washington Post fact-check blasts Biden with ‘Bottomless Pinocchio’ rating

Caitlin Doornbos

WASHINGTON — The Washington Post crowned President Biden Monday with its Trump-era “bottomless Pinocchio” rating after he told multiple untruths and committed several gaffes ahead of Tuesday’s midterm elections.

It’s the first time the newspaper has “awarded” Biden the not-so-coveted rating, which it defines as a statement repeated at least 20 times that is so false that it has received either “three Pinocchios” or “four Pinocchios” on prior occasions.

The statement in question is Biden’s oft-repeated claim that he has spent “more time with [Chinese President] Xi Jinping than any other head of state,” traveling “17,000 miles with him.” The statement has been proven false, with the White House in February 2021 telling the newspaper it was “a reference to the total travel back and forth — both internally in the US and China, and as well as internationally — for meetings they held together.”

But even that claim proved to be inaccurate.

“There is no evidence Biden traveled that much with Xi, the president of China — and even if we added up the miles Biden flew to see Xi, it still did not total 17,000 miles,” Washington Post fact-checker Glenn Kessler wrote Monday.

Biden made the comment for the 20th and 21st times during political events in California and New Mexico last week.

The newspaper created the “bottomless” rating during the Trump administration to describe “false or misleading statements repeated so often that they became a form of propaganda.” Trump earned 56 such ratings by the time he left office in January 2021.

Kessler also called out the president for claiming that “the most common price of gas in America is $3.39 — down from over $5 when I took office,” which he said Oct. 27.

Biden repeated the claim on Twitter Sunday, noting that the “most common price at gas stations across the country is $3.19.”

The issue is with Biden’s use of the term “most common” — which does not equal the “average.” The average price at the pump when he took office was about $2.48, according to the Energy Information Administration.

While it’s true that the most common price for gas — or the mathematical “mode” of all prices — was about $3.19, according to the GasBuddy App, the average price of gas was about $3.80 per gallon as of Monday, according to AAA.

By referring to the most-often-seen price, Biden sidestepped having to incorporate some of the highest prices seen in the US in his tally.

The Washington Post also criticized the White House for touting both in public remarks and a since-deleted Nov. 1 tweet that seniors were “getting the biggest increase in their Social Security in 10 years through President Biden’s leadership.”

While the remark is technically true, it’s not because of some tremendous feat by the administration. The reason for the hike is soaring inflation: A 1972 law holds that Social Security must be adjusted each year to keep up with inflation rates.

Thus, seniors over 65 and other eligible recipients next year will see about an 8.7% increase in benefits, according to the Social Security Administration, which will cost taxpayers around $100 billion.

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Iran: Enemy of the World and Its Own People

By Dr. Sheila Nazarian

As an Iranian-American and as a Jewish woman, it pains me to see the land where my family lived for thousands of years act as the enemy of everything I believe in: democracy, women’s rights, and the Jewish people. This must be how decent Germans and Russians felt when the wicked Nazi and Soviet regimes terrorized their own populations and attacked innocent nations beyond their borders. There is no denying that Iran remains the top state-sponsor of terrorism, but that it is also brutally repressing its own people, particularly the brave women there.

In September 2022, Iranian morality police detained and allegedly killed a 22-year-old Iranian-Kurdish woman, Mahsa Amini, for failing to wear her hijab “properly.” Her death sparked nationwide protests, marching under the slogan “Zan. Zendegi. Azadi.” This is Persian for “Women. Life. Freedom.”

The young people, especially women, leading these protests in the streets of Iran risk much: mass sexual abuse has been reported against imprisoned protesters, and at least 450 protesters have been killed. One protestor was hanged to death from a construction crane on December 12, in a public execution meant to chill the simmering public. The government has murdered many children protestors as well.

Iranians have a right to be angry, to want to overthrow their government, which is run by fundamentalist, oppressive mullahs. While the poverty level is soaring, Iran uses its funds on terrorism in the Middle East and around the globe. The Iranian-controlled Hezbollah militia has de facto security control over half of Lebanon, while Iran is a critical military and financial backer of Hamas, which controls the Gaza Strip. Together, these forces pledge eternal war on Israel, while Iran positions itself as the head of a jihadi rejectionist front it refers to as the “Axis of Resistance.”

This coalition also includes Iran’s allies in Iraq, which recently passed legislation to execute anyone who contacts Israelis, and Iran’s interference in Yemen, where their allied militias recently attacked Saudi oil fields.

Iran has even brought its malign influence to Europe, giving Russia sophisticated drones that it has used to attack the port of Odessa and other cities in Ukraine. US National Security Council Spokesman John Kirby, recently called Iran “Russia’s top military backer … people in Ukraine today are actually dying as a result of Iran’s actions.”

Israel is one of America’s closest allies not only because of our shared values, but also because of shared interests, including technological cooperation, intelligence sharing, and resisting the forces of autocracy and terrorism in the world.

Iran is the opposite: it’s a malevolent actor known for its ties to vicious terrorist groups, including Hamas and Hezbollah,  both of which have called for Israel’s destruction. Iran itself calls Israel a “cancerous tumor” and has pledged to destroy both Israel and the United States. As Behnam Ben Taleblu recently wrote in The Atlantic, we must assume that when Iran says “Death to Israel,” it means it.

“Death to America” is regularly chanted at government-orchestrated hate rallies in Iran; under the Islamic Republic’s twisted religious ideology, America is the “Great Satan,” while its ally Israel (or sometimes the United Kingdom) is identified as the “Little Satan.”

We must not ignore Iran’s genocidal intent against America and our allies abroad. Iran’s oppression of its own people also mandates our support and assistance. Today, young people face imprisonment and, worse, death if they dare to go against the Ayatollah and his cronies.

Our country owes the Iranian people its full support as they stand against the terror-sponsoring regime. It’s not just a matter of saving the country. It’s a matter of saving the world.

Dr. Sheila Nazarian is a plastic surgeon in Beverly Hills, star of the Emmy-nominated Netflix series “Skin Decision: Before and After,” and a prominent speaker. 

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If you missed the webinar, please visit our YouTube channel to view the recording, here.


The U.S.-Israel Bond: A Deep Look with Caroline Glick

Israel's new government appears at odds with Washington over policies. How serious or novel is this tension? How has the history shaped the present situation? Ultimately, what should the two states’ dynamic be?

Caroline Glick is an American-born Israeli columnist and the author of two books. She has served as an IDF captain, as a member of Israel's Defense Ministry negotiating team with the Palestinians, and as an assistant foreign policy advisor to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. She received her BA from Columbia University and her MA from Harvard University.

The Middle East Forum, an activist think tank, deals with the Middle East, Islamism, U.S. foreign policy, and related topics, urging bold measures to protect Americans and their allies. Pursuing its goals via intellectual, operational, and philanthropic means, the Forum recurrently has policy ideas adopted by the U.S. government.

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10 Most Destructive Americans in the Last 70 Years - one man's views

By Frank Hawkins -  US Army Retired Intelligence Officer.

America has undergone enormous change during the nearly eight decades of my life.  Today, America is a bitterly divided, poorly educated, and morally fragile society with so-called mainstream politicians pushing cynical identity politics, socialism, and open borders.  The past president of the United States was impeached twice and acquitted twice because the other side doesn’t like him.  The once reasonably unbiased American media has evolved into a hysterical left-wing mob. 

How could the stable and reasonably cohesive America of the 1950s have reached this point in just one lifetime?  Who are the main culprits?  Here’s my list of the 10 most destructive Americans of the last 70 years: 

10) Mark Felt – Deputy director of the FBI, aka “Deep Throat” during the Watergate scandal.  This was the first public instance of a senior FBI official directly interfering in America’s political affairs.  He was the forerunner of James Comey, Peter Strzok, Lisa Page, and Andrew McCabe.

9) Bill Ayers – Represents the deep and ongoing leftist ideological damage to our education system.  An unrepentant American terrorist who evaded punishment, he devoted his career to radicalizing American education and pushing leftist causes.  Ghost-wrote Obama’s book, “Dreams From My Father.”

8) Teddy Kennedy – Most folks remember Teddy as the guy who left Mary Joe Kopechne to die in his car at Chappaquiddick.  The real damage came after he avoided punishment for her death and became a major Democrat force in the US Senate, pushing through transformative liberal policies in health care and education.  The real damage was the 1965 Hart-Cellar immigration bill he pushed hard for that changed the quota system to increase the flow of third-world people without skills into the US and essentially ended large-scale immigration from Europe. 

7) Walter Cronkite – Cronkite was a much-beloved network anchor who began the politicization of America’s news media with his infamous broadcast from Vietnam that described the Tet Offensive as a major victory for the Communists and significantly turned the gullible American public against the Vietnam War.  In fact, the Tet offensive was a military disaster for the NVA and Viet Cong, later admitted by North Vietnamese military leaders.  Decades later Cronkite admitted he got the story wrong.  But it was too late.  The damage was done.

6) Bill and Hillary Clinton -- It’s difficult to separate Team Clinton.  Bill’s presidency was largely benign as he was a relative fiscal conservative who rode the remaining benefits of the Reagan era.  But his sexual exploits badly stained the Oval Office and negatively affected America’s perception of the presidency.  In exchange for financial support, he facilitated the transfer of sensitive military technology to the Chinese. Hillary, a Saul Alinsky acolyte, is one of the most vicious politicians of my lifetime, covering up Bill’s sexual assaults by harassing and insulting the exploited women and peddling influence around the globe in exchange for funds for the corrupt Clinton Foundation.  She signed off on the sale of 20% of the US uranium reserve to the Russians after Bill received a $500,000 speaking fee in Moscow and the Foundation (which supported the Clinton’s regal lifestyle) received hundreds of millions of dollars from those who benefited from the deal  Between them, they killed any honor that might have existed in the dark halls of DC. 

5) Valerie Jarrett - The Rasputin of the Obama administration.  A Red Diaper baby, her father, maternal grandfather, and father-in-law (Vernon Jarrett who was a close friend and ally of Obama mentor Frank Marshall Davis) were hardcore Communists under investigation by the U.S. government.  She has been in Obama’s ear for his entire political career pushing a strong anti-American, Islamist, anti-Israeli, socialist/communist, cling-to-power agenda. 

4) Jimmy Carter - Carter ignited modern-day radical Islam by abandoning the Shah and paving the way for Ayatollah Khomeini to take power in Tehran.  Iran subsequently became the main state sponsor and promoter of international Islamic terrorism.  When Islamists took over our embassy in Tehran, Carter was too weak to effectively respond thus strengthening the rule of the radical Islamic mullahs 

3) Lyndon Johnson – Johnson turned the Vietnam conflict into a major war for America.  It could have ended early if he had listened to the generals instead of automaker Robert McNamara.  The ultimate result was this: 

 A) 58,000 American military deaths and collaterally tens of thousands of American lives damaged;  

 B) a war that badly divided America and created left-wing groups that evaded the draft and eventually gained control of our education system 

 C) even worse, his so-called War on Poverty led to the destruction of American black families with a significant escalation of welfare and policies designed to keep poor families dependent on the government (and voting Democrat) for their well-being  He deliberately created a racial holocaust that is still burning today.  A strong case could be made for putting him at the top of this list. 

 2) Barack Hussein Obama - Obama set up America for a final defeat and stealth conversion from a free-market society to socialism/communism.  As we got deeper into the Trump presidency, we learned more and more about how Obama politicized and compromised key government agencies, most prominently the FBI, the CIA, and the IRS, thus thoroughly shaking the public’s confidence in the federal government to be fair and unbiased in its activities.  He significantly set back race relations between Americans by stoking black grievances and pushing radical identity politics.  Obama’s open support for the Iranian mullahs and his apologetic “lead from behind” foreign policy seriously weakened America abroad.  His blatant attempt to interfere in Israel’s election by trying to unseat Netanyahu is one of the most shameful things ever done by an American president.  

The Number 1 Worst American is John Kerry- Some readers will likely say Kerry does not deserve to be number one on this list.  I have him here because I regard him as the most despicable American who ever lived.  After his three faked Purple Hearts during his cowardly service in Vietnam, he was able to leave the US Navy early  As a reserve naval officer and in clear violation of the Uniform Code of Military Justice, he traveled to Paris and met privately with the NVA and the Viet Cong.  He returned to the United States parroting the Soviet party line about the war and testified before Congress comparing American soldiers to the hordes of Genghis Khan.  It was a clear case of TREASON, giving aid and comfort to the enemy in a time of war.  We got a second bite of the bitter Kerry apple when as Obama’s secretary of state, he fell into bed with the Iranian (“Death to America”) mullahs, giving them the ultimate green light to develop nuclear weapons along with giving them billions of dollars that further supported their terrorist activities.  Only the heroic Swift Vets saved us from a Manchurian Candidate Kerry's presidency. Ultimately we got Obama. (if you think this might be in error, read: Unfit For Command: Swift Boat Veterans Speak Out Against John Kerry by John E. O'Neill and Jerome R. Corsi  | Aug 15, 2004)  They tell the real story of Kerry’s Vietnam “service”.

Dishonorable Mentions!   (Just missed the list) 

John Brennan  – Obama’s CIA director who once voted for Communist Gus Hall for president.  A key member of the Deep State who severely politicized the CIA.  Called President Trump treasonous for meeting with the president of Russia

Jane Fonda  – a movie actress who made the infamous trip to Vietnam during the war, in support of the Communists.  She represents hard-left Hollywood that has done so much damage to our culture. 

Robert Johnson   – As head of Black Entertainment Television he helped popularize ho’s, bitches, and pimps while making millions on great hits such as “Jigga my Nigga”, “Big Pimpin’”, “Niggas in Paris” and, “Strictly 4 My N.I.G.G.A.Z.”  Many scholars within the African-American community maintain that BET perpetuates and justifies racism by adopting the stereotypes held about African- Americans, affecting the psyche of young viewers through the bombardment of negative images of African-Americans.  Who can disagree? 

Arthur Ochs Sulzberger, Jr.  – Head of the New York Times.  Once the gold standard of American journalism, the paper always had a liberal tilt and occasionally made bad mistakes.  As the years have gone along, the paper has slid further and further left and today is virtually the primary propaganda arm of the increasingly radical Democrat Party.  Still retains influence in Washington and New York.

Frank Marshall Davis - Anti-white, black Bolshevik, card-carrying Soviet agent.  Probable birth father and admitted primary mentor of young Barack Hussein Obama.   

A special Reward goes to George Soros – An anti-Semitic Jew and former Nazi collaborator in his native Hungary who is a self-made billionaire. George Soros is an evil man!  He has ruined countries with his monetary trading.  He has also poured hundreds of millions of dollars into left-wing groups and causes.  The damage he has caused is difficult to measure, but it’s certainly large.  He funded much of the effort to kill the Trump presidency. 

P.S. Never could figure out why the Nazi Hunters never went after this guy !!

Let’s not forget that recently removed San Francisco DA Chesa Boudine was raised by Bill Ayers & wife because his mother and father were both in prison for the murder of two Brinks guards and were members of the Weather Underground! 

These were all sorry excuses for human beings with wealth, power and/or influence on the entire country at one time or another who have done their best to undermine everything this country was founded on, either by design, blunder, or bad judgement. 

 (Brandon & Company desperately striving to be included on this list)

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Shocking Leaks: Supreme Court Confronts Security Issues


The recent exposure of a leaked draft opinion aimed at overturning the historic Roe v. Wade ruling has raised alarm bells about potential security breaches within the Supreme Court.

It has come to the forefront that certain justices have been resorting to personal email accounts to handle confidential communications, instead of utilizing the secure servers put in place to safeguard sensitive information.

Supreme Court’s Troubling Neglect of Internal Protocols
The information obtained by CNN paints a troubling picture of years-long neglect of internal protocols that could have jeopardized security and facilitated the recent leak of a draft opinion, making it difficult to identify the responsible party.

These newly disclosed details provide a more in-depth look into the extent of the Supreme Court’s internal struggles.

Employees have been known to utilize printers that do not leave a record of their activities, allowing for sensitive documents to be printed and potentially removed from the premises untracked.

Additionally, confidential materials intended for secure disposal in “burn bags” have been left unguarded and unattended in hallways. The severity of this issue was emphasized by a former employee who stated, “This has been going on for years.”

According to sources close to the Supreme Court, the persistent issue with the justices’ email usage can be attributed to both their slow adoption of technology and a reluctance among court employees to address the matter with them.

This lack of action has resulted in the justices not setting a strong example of taking security seriously.

A former court employee candidly told CNN, “The justices were not masters of information security protocol.” This further highlights the need for stricter measures to be put in place to ensure the protection of sensitive information within the highest court in the land.

To address the issue, the Marshal of the Court laid out a comprehensive plan to upgrade the current security protocol.

Deficiencies in the Current Protocol of Handling Sensitive Information
In her recent report, Supreme Court Marshal Gail Curley highlighted the deficiencies in the current protocol for disposing of sensitive court documents, calling for a reevaluation of the system.

The validity of this concern was echoed by former court employees who spoke with CNN about the loose security surrounding the use of “burn bags” – specialized security bags used to hold confidential documents before they are destroyed.

According to a former Supreme Court worker, the lack of proper document tracking caused by the absence of adequate printer logs and the ability to print sensitive information remotely using VPN access has complicated investigations.

The situation was particularly pronounced in the case of the leaked draft opinion, which was distributed internally on February 10, 2022, but was not investigated until May, when it was published by Politico.

The limited 60-document logging capacity of the printers means that crucial records for the investigation may have been lost. When asked for comment on this matter, the Supreme Court declined to provide any statement.
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I have two thoughts I want to express and then I will put this memo to bed.

Politics is a very dirty, self serving and destructive endeavor.  

I read a recent article how those who might seek the GOP spot for President have begun a co-ordinated campaign of attacking DeSantis.  In other words, a highly educated and qualified Governor is going to be attacked even though it might harm the GOP's chances of winning the White House because some others, whose resume and accomplishments do not measure up to his,  are willing to ruin their party's chances as well as the nation's opportunity to possibly elect a qualified and experienced candidate.

This is playing Trump's game. Reminds me of the corny joke about the Greek who walked into to a tailor shop and was asked Uripides?  He replied Umenides?

The second thought pertains to the employment report that was way above expectation.  The employment pertained to those in the service sector and whose pay level is being ravaged by inflation. Granted the number was off the charts but the impact was not that inflationary.

The economy has already begun to decline.  Corporate earnings have already begun to react and firings in the higher paying tech area has already begun to occur. Consequently the high employment figure is somewhat misleading. 

I continue to maintain, the Fed is going to have to settle for a 4% target instead of a 2% target unless they want to induce a recession which may already be baked into the equation even if another 1/4% is the last raise.

The biggest problem remains the debt level. It must be reduced and there are plenty of spending cut opportunities if the GOP is truly serious about acting upon the many areas of wasteful spending.  We could start with eliminating heated concrete walks, funding NPR and Abortion Clinics and their likes.
I daresay, eliminating 250,000 government jobs and mowing unnecessary work rules and restrictive regulations would result in more tax revenue.

We all know government is bloated and hopelessly inefficient.

Andy Stern was able to raise wages for government workers far beyond reasonable boundaries.
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