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I can think of nothing better than for Hillary to run again.
She could get Howard Stern to be her VP and pick up the Epstein vote. (See 2 below.)
And:
Nadler's three turkeys laid their eggs after Thanksgiving. (See 2a below.)
Finally:
Some interesting op ed's:
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I am half way through Amity Shlaes' "Great Society." Hope to finish by the end of the week.
She begins her introduction by discussing America's continuing flirtation with Socialism. Her first chapter discusses the TV show entitled Bonanza which sets the stage and its association with the Great Society Section which ends with a discussion of Johnson, the impact of the union movement and Walter Reuther's influence, Johnson's concerns over Fed Chairman's Martin who wanted to raise interest rates at, what Johnson considered, unpropitious periods, the flight of gold which we had pegged at $35/oz and the birth of HUD, the impact of the Vietnam and Johnson's struggles to lift black Americans out of their plight.
I read the most recent biography of Johnson several years ago and I am convinced he was sincere about his desire to keep America Great and, in the process, correct economic, social, employment, health and housing disparities among white and black citizens. He truly believed it could be accomplished through expanded government, significant spending etc.
In everything he tried he was also aligned with labor and Reuther had a tremendous influence. In the end Reuther screwed Johnson by not supporting him for a second term and Johnson made his surprising TV pronouncement he would not run.
Johnson also came to realize, after pouring billions into the new agency he created and dubbed HUD, that too was a failure. Shriver was Johnson's pick to run HUD and most decisions Shriver made also flopped.
In the final analysis Johnson, with the best of intentions and all the dogooders he assembled to help, did more harm than good.
Let me give you one example. An enormous unsuccessful housing project was built and those who could not afford to live there were told housing would not be available even if the husband worked. In other words, a working husband had to leave the family if their combined income did not allow them to meet the subsidized cost. Let that sink in!
Obviously Johnson was undertaking building The Great Society while fighting an expanded Vietnam War - He told America we could afford guns and butter. It turned out we could not even afford margarine and when Cronkite broke with Johnson, over The Tet Offensive, he realized it was time to fold.
The second part of Shlaes' book in entitled Abundant Society.
While reading this book, I am quite cognizant of what is happening in a parallel manner, ie. Trump's desire to "Make America Great Again," while being impeached and, like Johnson, has an antagonistic mass media to contend with on top of all the other hateful attitudes that even extend to the way his beautiful and elegant wife dresses, trees the White House etc.
Johnson benefited from Kennedy's assassination because , legislatively speaking, it put the wind behind his back. In the end, Johnson became obsessed with the belief he could accomplish, through government and enormous spending, his worthy goals.
Johnson also was burdened emotionally by the fact he was never considered an insider by the Kennedy's and feared Bobby was always looking over his shoulder etc. The Johnson's never made the social grade in D.C. Lastly, Johnson was a consummate politician who kept his cards close to his chest
Similarly, in the case of Trump, Melania and their family, have never been accepted by D.C society, and to make matters worse, Trump is hated because he is unorthodox and was never supposed to beat Hillary (bless her heart) and made fools of the mass media who continue to have their long knives drawn.
Unlike Johnson, Trump is actually making significant progress and is keeping his commitments but he never gets credit nor will he as long as he keeps doing so. As Bill Mahr said; 'he wanted Trump to fail even if it meant more unemployed.' Furthermore, the radicals, who have taken over what is left of the left, admittedly hate Trump more than they care about America.
Finally, unlike Johnson, what is on Trump's mind quickly is tweeted and on his tongue.
Yesterday, Pelosi denied she hates Trump and actually gets down on her knees every night and prays for him while authorizing his impeachment because she loss control and has been shoved in a corner by the radicals in her party.
If Democrats are successful in throwing Trump out of office the market will collapse, the office of the presidency will be destroyed and all hell may break loose because the 2020 election is around the corner, the evidence against Trump is shallow and less than flimsy and over 62 million Americans, if not more, could justifiably become enraged.
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DORIS
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++1) Pentagon: Signs suggest Iran may be preparing attack in the region
According to Pentagon official, US military has noticed "indications" of Iranian aggression getting underway, without a specific timeline.
A senior Pentagon official said on Wednesday that there were indications that Iran could potentially carry out aggressive actions in the future, amid simmering tensions between Iran and the United States.
John Rood, the Pentagon’s No. 3 official, told reporters that the United States was concerned about potential Iranian behavior but did not provide details about what information he was basing that concern on or any timeline.
Tensions in the Gulf have risen since attacks on oil tankers this summer, including off the coast of the United Arab Emirates, and a major assault on energy facilities in Saudi Arabia. Washington has blamed Iran, which has denied being behind the attacks on global energy infrastructure.
1a) Netanyahu: US redeployment in Syria places Israel in better position
Netanyahu meets with US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, says the discussions focus on "Iran, Iran and Iran."
LISBON, Portugal –
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met with US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Wednesday in Lisbon to discuss a variety of issues, and chiefly Iran.
Appearing for an impromptu press conference at the start of their meeting, Netanyahu thanked the US administration for its recent decision to change its interpretation of international law so that communities beyond the Green Line were not automatically considered illegal.
"The first subject I will raise with the secretary is Iran, the second subject is Iran, and the third subject is also Iran," Netanyahu said. "As well as many more subjects," he added.
Netanyahu refused to comment on whether Israel was behind a reported airstrike in Syria late Wednesday on a site supposedly affiliated with Iranian proxies. "I don't talk about such things," Netanyahu said, but added that Israel would continue its policy of denying Iran a permanent foothold on its eastern border.
On the flight to Lisbon, the Israeli leader said the recent announcement by President Donald Trump that he would redeploy US troops from northern Syria "puts Israel in a better position" operationally speaking. Upon his arrival in Portugal, he said that it was "incumbent to ratchet up pressure on Iran" in light of its regional aggression.
Earlier in the day, on the tarmac in Israel, Netanyahu praised the Trump administration for exerting pressure on Iran that may ignite regime change in the Islamic Republic.
“We’re seeing the Iranian empire totter. I think that it’s important to increase this pressure against Iranian aggression,” he said.
Netanyahu said the focus of the talks will be on “Iran, and two additional matters: the defense pact with the US that I seek to advance, and also a future American recognition of Israel applying sovereignty over the Jordan Valley. These are very important issues, we are dealing with them all the time."
While in Lisbon, Netanyahu is also scheduled to meet with Portuguese Prime Minister António Costa and Foreign Minister Augusto Santos Silva.
The last time the two met was in October in Jerusalem. According to media reports, the two were originally supposed to meet in London while Pompeo was in the city for a NATO summit, but those plans were shelved for "logistical reasons."
Reuters contributed to this article.
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2) Hillary Clinton drops biggest hint yet that she’s mulling a 2020 presidential run
The strongest indicator yet that Hillary’s mulling a 2020 run? She appeared Wednesday, for the first time ever, on Howard Stern.
There was hardly a pretense she was there to promote the book she co-wrote with daughter Chelsea, long ago a bestseller.
As those who listen to the show know, Stern publicly begged Hillary to appear during the 2016 campaign. After Donald Trump won, Stern said one guest shot could have moved the needle her way.
“If she had come on the show . . .,” Stern mused in May. “The way I helped Donald was I let him come on and be a personality. Whether you liked him or not . . . people related to him as a human being.”
Hillary, it’s clear, was after exactly that — relatability, long her white whale.
One can only ask: Why now, if she has no plans to run yet again?
Sure, it’s possible she just loves being part of the national conversation. But of all the venues such a serious stateswoman could choose, one whose public presentation has been so carefully cultivated over decades, really: Howard Stern?
She hasn’t closed the door on 2020. Just this past weekend, during an appearance on the UK’s “Graham Norton Show,” Hillary said she’d been “deluged” with pleas to run again.
“I’d have to make up my mind really quickly,” she said, “because it’s moving very fast.”
A reference, perhaps, to latecomer Mike Bloomberg?
Stern was an able ally, allowing Hillary to expound on her ability to work across the aisle (despite no signature legislation while serving New York in the US Senate), her support for the Osama bin Laden raid and her role in advising the president, her plans for her first 100 days as president (health care), and her concerns for the future of the country, which felt especially raw during Trump’s inauguration.
“If I had lost to a normal Republican,” Hillary said, “I wouldn’t have a pit in my stomach.”
Given this was Stern — truly one of our best interviewers — we got some gems.
“Contrary to what you may hear, I actually like men,” Hillary said, leading Stern to flat-out ask, “You’ve never had a lesbian affair?”
Amazing. George Stephanopoulos, Chuck Todd, Norah O’Donnell, et al., take notes!
Hillary, laughing, again said no, and went on to discuss everything from her mother’s depression to whether she’s ever been in therapy (no, but marriage counseling post-Lewinsky), to her stiffness in the spotlight (“It’s outside my comfort zone”), to the true charisma that she lacks but that her husband and Obama, she readily admits, have in spades, to her friendship with Mick Jagger (!) and how the deaths of her younger brother and two close friends this year have devastated her.
Even a coughing fit, which became a campaign meme about her ostensibly dire health, didn’t faze Hillary.
“I thought I’d come on and cough some more,” she joked.
Never has Hillary Clinton sounded this relaxed, conversational and, yes, human. She sounded like anyone you may know. None of Howard’s verbiage — “Do you ever just lay in bed and say, ‘F–k this, I’m getting out?’ ” — left her flummoxed.
Hillary proved she could hang.
Howard’s listeners agreed, flooding the airwaves after she left.
“She moved me to tears,” said one female listener. “If she had only come on when she was running, she would have won.”
“I did, three years ago, vote for Trump, but if she had come on during the election, my vote would have swung 150 percent.”
“I’m a conservative. I’ve always hated Hillary. This interview changed my [mind] . . . I had no idea how cool she was.”
“I wanted to tell her I’m sorry we believed the hype and we did not elect a presidential person. I wish we would have known this Hillary three years ago.”
“I just finally saw the human side of Hillary. She’s stellar.”
“Listening to her now . . . I think she should run again.”
For the past three years, Hillary has infamously blamed Russian interference, misogyny, Bernie bros, Wikileaks, the Comey memo, low-information voters, voter suppression, the Electoral College, etc. for her loss. But on Stern, she added a telling regret.
“I think you were right,” she said of his repeated requests that she appear on his show in 2016. “I did not prioritize the media the way I should have. I think that was a miscalculation. I really do.”
And who, Howard asked, will she be supporting in 2020?
“Whoever can win,” she said.
It sounds like she thinks that’s her.
The impeachment hearings are on, with a spotlight on the three anti-Trump law professors who ranted before Rep. Jerry Nadler's House Judiciary committee on Wednesday.
Their testimonies were a disaster for the Democrats. They proved they were anything but constitutionalists. It took the fourth "witness," the eloquent Jonathan Turley, to drive that home. These other three were quite the opposite, fans of abrogating most of our founding document.
What will be remembered forever is the condescending arrogance of the professors -- Pamela Karlan, Noah Feldman and Michael Gerhardt. If there were ever an expose of the kind of people who inhabit the ivory towers of academia, this was it. These three law professors were a flashing neon warning: Do not send your kids to prestigious law schools. People like this are not educating kids, they are numbing their brains with destructive Marxist nonsense. Nadler did us all a favor, actually: He exposed for all to see just how far gone the American left is. Not one of those three extreme partisans has any knowledge of the actual Constitution nor do they have any respect for it. That was made very clear on Wednesday. There are numerous constitutionalist scholars Nadler could have called upon -- John Eastman, Mark Levin, Hugh Hewitt -- for example. That Jonathan Turley was allowed to speak was a Christmas miracle. Like Harvard Professor Alan Dershowitz, Turley is the real deal, a non-partisan legal scholar.
What would be hilarious if it were a SNL skit was the "testimony" of Pamela Karlan, a venomous anti-Trump law prof at Stanford, which does not speak well for Stanford. She was on a short list of Hilllary's picks for SCOTUS so it is a safe bet that she is angry that HRC lost. She has been onboard every anti-Trump campaign from the day he won the election. The same goes for Feldman and Gerhardt; they are each on record in favor of impeachment long before President Trump's conversation with the president of Ukraine. Bottom line? Each of them is a radical leftist plant and Nadler, House Intelligence committee chairman and impeachment master Adam Schiff and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi think the American people are so stupid they will be fooled by what they saw on Wednesday. They are not that stupid. These impeachment junkies have guessed wrong.
Karlan was the most egregiously partisan and thus the most entertaining. Her arguments in favor of impeachment were laughable. She was so annoying she made Elizabeth Warren seem warm and fuzzy. She is on record in favor of impeachment from day one. That Stanford employs this woman is not comforting. That Harvard employs Feldman is distressing. Karlan made what she clearly thought was a clever joke about Barron Trump's name. How low will they go? This low. Gutter low. Karlan's career should be over as of Wednesday for she is not a teacher, she is a propagandist. Her students will not be taught to grasp the wisdom of the Constituion, they will learn to dismiss it as a document written by old white men. Karlan and her fellow travelers are a menace to society.
It calls to light that Nadler's initial impeachment hearings were a disaster so Pelosi handed that off to Schiff's intel committee for the deed, right there an abrogation of the Constituiton. That turned out to be an even bigger disaster. Schiff called up people who don't like President Trump because he did not listen to them, whose feelings were hurt! Trump actually thinks for himself and acts on his best instincts, a no-no in Schiff's world. So far, given all the economic and foreign policy successes, his instincts have served him well. This is very likely what has driven the left to madness, President Trump's success on nearly every issue. No matter how hard Pelosi and her colleagues try to sabotage him, he is making America greater and safer. This enrages the left; they are apoplectic that this outsider is exposing them as the saboteurs they are. They hate all of us who voted for Trump and they mean to punish us for our crime of loving our country as founded.
Nadler may have assumed that bringing Pamela Karlan to speak was a stroke of brilliance but she was the nail in the coffin of impeachment. She, even more than the two men, is the epitome of the contempt the left has for the American people. Her arrogance, her oh-so-planned but unwise and cruel joke about President Trump's son as her punchline should be all anyone needs to hear to understand exactly who these people are. These are not the people who should be entrusted with the education of our young people. They are not teaching them to think; they are teaching them to capitulate unthinkingly to their progressive will. If their students resist, they are pilloried, made outcasts on their campuses. One only had to watch Schiff's show trial to realize they will not allow an opposing witness to speak. Schiff is a Stalinist; what is so frightening is that no one in his own party is standing up and screaming STOP! That pretty much says all we need to know about the Democratic party today. Like Obama promised, they mean to transform America into something it was never meant to be: fascist. Our left is now officially, openly fascist. They mean to control how we live, what we eat, what we drive, how much of our money we can keep, what we can say, write, tweet, and think. Thought crimes are on their agenda.
That Donald Trump was elected was divine intervention. The miracle of his win was a stopgap, an interruption of the left's takeover of our republic. Unless all Americans become enlightened and involved, these enemies will win. They will ruin this once great nation with their toxic progressivism, their stealth fascism. If Schiff, Nadler, and Pelosi think their pet law profs did them proud on Wednesday, they are sadly mistaken. They actually exposed the totalitarian underbelly of our vicious and intolerant anti-Trump left. Karlan, Feldman and Gerhardt willingly exposed the intellectual vacuity of our professorial class. In the end, the "hearing" on Wednesday was a grand failure for the anti-Trump left and an eye-opening education for all Americans who watched the grotesque pompousness of the left. Pamela Karlan is their poster-girl. She must be so proud. In fact, she will be a laughingstock for the rest of her life. Ambrose Bierce, ever a brilliant observer of the human condition wrote: "They say that hens do cackle loudest when there is nothing vital in the eggs they have laid."! Pamela Karlan sure laid an egg today.
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