The Jan 6 revelations are the latest example of how voters were withheld evidence that, had it been revealed, might have changed voting attitudes and Trump would still be president. Speculative but certainly not outside the realm of reason.
Certainly Trump was a far more forceful president and our adversaries were less aggressive and more inclined to remain passive and less assertive.
Furthermore, Trump took an oath of office and carried out his sworn commitments whereas, Biden has totally disregarded and avoided carrying out anything he pledged.
Americans are basically disheartened. They are being crushed by inflation, killed by drugs and no longer feel in control of their own destiny and/or sure they have the freedoms granted them by God.
Our children are being bombarded with undesirable attacks as to their identity, the linkage between parental control has been challenged if not broken and our right to worship freely has been constitutionally breached. Safety is no longer a right Americans are entitled to expect and even military disciplined has been debased.
Faith in government is at a low as China emerges as a serious threat both to our own dominance as well as world peace.
Yes, there are signs Uncle Sam has finally awoken to the threats we face but the toothpaste may have reached an irreplaceable point of return. The looming 2024 election could be a watershed occurrence and the GOP might have lost the ability to harvest votes on a competitive basis as is now the path to victory.
Until proven otherwise, the enemy remains us.
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How Multiculturalism is Fracturing America
In a recent Gallup poll, two out of the top ten issues troubling Americans are immigration and crime. Reihan Salam is the President of the Manhattan Institute—a think tank that provides research-based information and clarity on public policy. He sits with PragerU CEO Marissa Streit to discuss a sensible solution for America’s immigration debate.
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We are heading there but will we reach it?
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America 2023 Is Not Quite Germany 1930s... Yet
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‘Defund the Police’ Is Over. Now What?
By William A. Galston
On Sunday New York Mayor Eric Adams, a Democrat and police veteran, called Ms. Lightfoot’s defeat a “warning for the country” and defended his tough-on-crime stance. “New Yorkers felt unsafe, and the numbers showed that they were unsafe,” he said. If other Democrats “want to ignore what the everyday public is stating, then that’s up to them. I’m on the subways. I walk the streets. I speak to every day working-class people. And they were concerned about safety.”
These events prove that dealing with the crime surge is back on the national agenda. Democrats must find a way to demonstrate their commitment to public safety while pursuing reasonable reforms of the criminal-justice system.
President Biden has some work to do. In a recent YouGov survey, 62% of respondents said the issue of crime is “very important” to them. But despite Mr. Biden’s steadfast rejection of calls to defund the police, only 32% approved of his handling of the issue.
As veteran Democratic political analyst Stanley B. Greenberg pointed out last fall in a stinging article, Americans—including substantial portions of the Democratic base—trust Republicans more to deal with crime. Unless Mr. Biden can separate himself from the negative perceptions of his party on crime, he will pay a price in 2024. His decision not to veto the sentencing reform bill was a necessary step in this direction.
Some left-leaning Democrats insist that crime is a phony issue that Republicans and centrist Democrats have ginned up for political advantage. My own experience suggests that crime is increasing, as is concern among citizens who have no motive to hype the issue.
About a year ago, my wife, who follows the neighborhood listserv carefully, noticed an alarming uptick of reported crimes in our area. We live in Maryland’s Montgomery County, a prosperous area with good public schools and a wealth of social services. Homicides in the county surged by 88% from 2020 to 2021 while car jackings rose by 72% and identity theft by 62%. (My wife and I have recently been victims of identity theft several times.) In 2022 violent crime rose 13%. At midyear, the county’s police chief reported that while homicide was leveling off, nonfatal shootings had soared by 75% and public shootouts were increasingly common.
Montgomery County isn’t defunding the police, but officials report increasing difficulty finding new recruits to compensate for the accelerating pace of retirements and departures. During 2021, the number of officers fell by more than 4%. In 2022 resignations and retirements surged by 64% while the number of new recruitments continued to fall, leaving 129 positions vacant. The county’s legislative analyst projected that the county could have more than 200 authorized and funded positions—about 18% of the total—unfilled by 2025. Last month the county unveiled a new strategy—a $20,000 signing bonus for new recruits—in an effort to stanch the bleeding.
Montgomery County isn’t exceptional. It’s typical, and that’s the point. Long-overdue efforts to hold men in uniform accountable for abuses have caused the morale of decent veteran officers to fall, even in well-managed departments. Around the country, retirements and resignations are way up and recruiting efforts have struggled. In Louisville, Ky., where Breonna Taylor was killed, 300 positions are vacant, and a recent class for new candidates was only one-third filled. A survey of current members of the Louisville force found that 75% would leave if they could.
A vicious circle impends. As the departure of veteran officers thins police ranks, crime is likely to rise further, especially in communities that are already hard-hit. But as recent events in Memphis, Tenn., show, sending inexperienced and inadequately trained police into hot spots can prove disastrous.
This is a dilemma not only for Mr. Biden and his party, but the whole country. Tolerating police excesses in the name of crime control is no longer an option and never should have been. We must find a way of restoring both public safety and public confidence in law enforcement. It’s time to tone down the rhetoric and get to work.
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Taliban Has $7.2 Billion Worth of U.S. Military Equipment Abandoned in Afghanistan, Report Says
Aircraft, guns, vehicles left behind during Biden's bungled withdrawal
By Adam Kredo
The Taliban is in possession of nearly $7.2 billion in U.S. taxpayer-funded weapons, ammunition, and aircraft as a result of the Biden administration’s bungled 2021 military withdrawal from Afghanistan, according to a government watchdog.
"Nearly $7.2 billion worth of aircraft, guns, vehicles, ammunition, and specialized equipment" was abandoned in Afghanistan when the Biden administration carried out its rushed evacuation, according to a report published in late February by the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR), the federal watchdog group that monitors U.S. expenditures in the country.
"At least 78 aircraft worth $923.3 million, 9,524 air-to-ground munitions valued at $6.54 million, over 40,000 vehicles, more than 300,000 weapons, and nearly all night vision, surveillance, communications, and biometric equipment provided to the [Afghan defense forces] were left behind," according to information disclosed in SIGAR’s report.
The report comes ahead of the first public hearing on the Afghanistan withdrawal in the Republican-controlled House Wednesday and is likely to fuel questions on why the administration failed to prevent the Taliban from stealing U.S. military hardware. House Foreign Affairs Committee chairman Michael McCaul (R., Texas) says the Biden administration has stonewalled his committee's attempts to obtain documents that could provide a window into the administration’s mishandling of the operation.
The Pentagon told SIGAR investigators that there "currently is no realistic way to retrieve the materiel that remains in Afghanistan, given that the United States does not recognize the Taliban as a government," according to the report.
Taliban units now "patrol in pickup trucks and armored vehicles likely procured by the U.S.," according to the report. Taliban-run special operations forces also "wear helmets with night vision mounts likely provided by the United States, and carry U.S.-provided M4 rifles equipped with advanced gunsights."
The terrorist group also is using "more advanced U.S.-provided equipment," such as armored vehicles and Mi-17 helicopters.
Furthermore, the Taliban is recruiting former Afghan military personnel to join its air force and fly the abandoned U.S. planes. "The pilots working for the Taliban reportedly need jobs and say the Taliban are the most reliable employer in Afghanistan," according to the report.
A portion of the most advanced equipment and technology "remains vulnerable to exploitation by adversarial states" who want to analyze how U.S. weapons systems work. This includes "optical and communications equipment, computer software and hardware, and biometrical data."
SIGAR also found evidence the Taliban is "attempting to summon former government employees to provide access to servers belonging to the former government that included
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