Before you look at my archives on this blog!

Although, I really don’t have to write this little posting here, I will write it for the purposes of instruction to those who happen to come to this blog.

I just want to say this, is that you have to understand something about this blog. This Blog has a very large archive, the truth is, I have been writing about politics since 2006.

Much of the stuff that you will see on this Blog has been written a long time ago; except for the stuff written this year, 2019 and 2018.

I was perusing through my archives and I saw some postings that in some eyes would be deemed offensive and possibly even racist.

Continue reading Before you look at my archives on this blog!

John Hinderaker from Powerline Blog’s office was firebombed

John Hindraker, who I believe to be a Neo-Conservative, had his office firebombed. Now, I may not always agree with Neo-Cons. But this is just damned wrong.

Via Powerline:

I wasn’t entirely forthcoming in this post about why I haven’t written much the last few days. It is true that I have been in Washington, mostly to attend the Michael Mann v. Mark Steyn trial. I will write up my thoughts on the trial (or at least, those portions I have seen) when I have time.

But something else has been distracting me: leftists firebombed my office last Saturday night. At around 2 am, they broke into the building that houses Center of the American Experiment and two other conservative organizations with which we often collaborate, along with many other businesses. The arsonists set two fires: one was in the first floor corridor between American Experiment’s office and the space we sublease to Take Charge, Kendall and Sheila Qualls’ organization. A second fire was set on the third floor, immediately outside or perhaps actually inside the office of the Upper Midwest Law Center, on whose board I serve.

[…]

I am working with the FBI to try to identify the perpetrators. As I told them, the list of potential suspects is long, as my organization is active, and unusually effective, across a broad range of issues. I will have more to say about this before long.

This is what is left of his building:

The work of leftists or Maga Republicans, Maybe?

Either way, this is a load of crap and I hope that Biden’s FBI does their damned job and finds out and arrests whoever did this. Because this…. this is domestic terrorism.

Update: John has an update on the fire.

Nikki Haley is losing the support of Republicans of Color

As I wrote yesterday, Nikki Haley stepped on the whole Civil War/Slavery land mine.

Well, it appears that Republicans who are people of color are not too happy about it.

The story via Politico:

Republicans of color said on Thursday they were dismayed by Nikki Haley’s initial refusal to say that slavery was the cause of the Civil War. It wasn’t just an offensive historical omission, they argued, but a tactical blunder too.

“She easily could’ve communicated better in that moment, but chose to use a tired old political stump tactic by tossing the same question back to the guy who asked,” said Rina Shah, a Republican strategist based in Washington, D.C., in a text to POLITICO.

“What I do see is her having left out the word ‘slavery’ because she was scared to talk about anything regarding our nation’s complicated history. I think by acknowledging slavery she felt she might be alienating” Donald Trump and Ron DeSantis voters.

Haley, who is currently running in second among GOP primary voters in both New Hampshire and South Carolina, according to the Real Clear Politics polling average, declined on Wednesday night to say slavery was the cause of America’s deadliest war. The next morning, she attempted to clarify her statement during an interview with The Pulse of NH.

[….]

“She should’ve been able to answer the damn question and move on,” he said.

He added that her comments likely alienated moderate Republicans and swing voters she desperately needed to mount a successful challenge for the nomination.

“She had a chance to be competitive even though she was always likely to lose [the nomination]. However, that’s over now. She’s toast,” Singleton said.

I have to agree, Haley is running as a main-stream Republican and one of those tenants of the neo-conservatives is that the Civil War was about Slavery…only, nothing else. This also speaks to the anti-southern attitude amongst the neo-cons. Much like the Democrats with the blacks; The beltway, neo-cons, do not give a damn about the Republicans in the south, they just want their votes. Donald Trump proved that.

Others: RedState, AFP, NPR, NH Journal, Washington Post, The Messenger, The Hill, The Root, USA Today, Raw Story, The Moderate Voice, Vanity Fair, Al Jazeera, The Daily Beast, abc7NY, Business Insider, Breitbart, Washington Examiner, ABC News, New York Post, Florida Politics, Daily Breeze, Wall Street Journal, PoliticusUSA, Bloomberg, IJR, Fox News, Blaze Media, Newsweek, Associated Press, NBC News, Little Green Footballs and New Republic

Nikki Haley steps into it…badly.

Nikki Haley just stepped into the whole civil war, slavery, north versus south thing and it did not go well, at all.

The story comes via Politico:

Nikki Haley declined to say that slavery was a cause of the Civil War on Wednesday evening, placing the blame, instead, on the role of government

The former UN Ambassador and South Carolina governor, who has seen her star rise in the first-in-the-nation primary state, was appearing at a town hall event in Berlin, New Hampshire, when a voter asked her to identify the cause of the war.

This is what Nikki Haley said:

“I think the cause of the Civil War was basically how government was going to run,” she responded. “The freedoms and what people could and couldn’t do. What do you think the cause of the Civil War was or argument?”

The questioner, who could not be easily heard off camera, was apparently unpersuaded by Haley’s response. When she asked him what he believed the cause of the war was, he replied that he wasn’t running for president.

“I think it always comes down to the role of government and what the rights of the people are,” Haley replied. “And I will always stand by the fact that I think government was intended to secure the rights and freedoms of the people. It was never meant to be all things to all people. Government doesn’t need to tell you how to live your life. They don’t need to tell you what you can and can’t do. They don’t need to be a part of your life. They need to make sure that you have freedom. We need to have capitalism. We need to have economic freedom. We need to make sure that we do all things so that individuals have the liberties so that they can have freedom of speech, freedom of religion, freedom to do or be anything they want to be without government getting in the way.”

Technically, she is right; however, the word she was supposed to say, was slavery. However, instead of saying, “Yes, it was also about slavery”, she decided to act like a typical Trump-like candidate and did this:

When the questioner said it was “astonishing” to hear her respond “without mentioning the word slavery,” Haley replied: “What do you want me to say about slavery?” She then asked for the next question.

Yeah, that did not go over well, at all. The Neo-con bloggers pounced quick.

The truth is that there were many reasons for the south breaking from the union. The biggest one was the fact that President Lincoln wanted to create a centralized banking system and sought to confiscate all of the gold from entire United States. Well, the south did not like that idea at all. Plus, they felt that they did have the right to have slaves. So, it was basically those reasons why the south decided to leave the union of states.

The funny thing is, Nikki Haley is now claiming that the person that asked the question was a Democrat plant. That really does not matter, she knew how to ask the question, and she chose not to. Something tells me that Nikki Haley will not make it out of the primary race.

Related:

Meg Kinnard / Associated Press: Nikki Haley, asked what caused the Civil War, leaves out slavery. It’s not the first time

Washington Post: Nikki Haley acknowledges Civil War ‘about slavery’ after facing backlash

Other Bloggers: (YMMV): The Daily Beast, Business Insider, The Hill, USA Today, RedState, Washington Examiner, Mediaite, New York Times, Wall Street Journal, NPR, Raw Story, The Messenger, Breitbart, TMZ.com, Louder With Crowder, The Daily Caller, New York Post, Blaze Media, IJR, New York Times, The Hill, USA Today, The Messenger, CBS News, National Review, Washington Examiner, Mediaite, NBC News, Breitbart, abc7NY, Democrats, Raw Story, New Republic, Washington Times, Bloomberg, Rolling Stone, Politico, New York Post, Washington Post, New York Daily News, Mock Paper Scissors, Fox News, Florida Politics, The Guardian, The Daily Caller, The Post Millennial, The Gateway Pundit, Axios, PoliticusUSA, IJR, HuffPost, The Daily Beast, Newsweek, The Daily Beast, Mediaite, The Hill, HotAir, Outside the Beltway, Daily Breeze, Talking Points Memo, Instapundit, Raw Story, Washington Examiner, ABC News, The Messenger, USA Today, Althouse, Election Law Blog, Political Wire, ABC News, The Messenger, The Hill, Mediaite, Little Green Footballs, Raw Story, CBS News, Mock Paper Scissors

Michigan Supreme Court rejects lawsuit to take Trump off the ballot

I think this is good idea, I will explain after the quote.

Via CNN:

The Michigan Supreme Court has rejected an attempt to remove former President Donald Trump from the 2024 primary ballot based on the US Constitution’s “insurrectionist ban.”

The outcome, which was generally expected, is a victory for the former president, though an effort to remove him could be renewed for the general election. Wednesday’s decision contrasts with the recent ruling from the Colorado Supreme Court, which kicked Trump off its primary ballot because of his role in the January 6 Capitol riot. That decision has been paused pending an appeal.

[…]

The Michigan Court of Claims judge who first got the case said state law doesn’t give election officials any leeway to police the eligibility of presidential primary candidates. He also said the case raised a political question that shouldn’t be decided in the courts.

His decision was upheld by the Michigan Court of Appeals, which said: “At the moment, the only event about to occur is the presidential primary election. But as explained, whether Trump is disqualified is irrelevant to his placement on that particular ballot.”

The order from the Michigan Supreme Court was unsigned, and the court did not release a vote count.

I know, I said that I would not be writing about Trump. However, this to me, is less about Donald Trump, and more about election law and the constitution.

The reason I believe that this is a good thing, not because I support Trump; I do not hate the man, I just did not like the way he acted, while he was in the White House. However, I feel that the voters should decide who wins the Primary election and not the courts.

I have never believed that the Government should ever decide election. Because that basically is federalized elections. Let the people decide, not the court. This is why I felt that the Supreme Court should have never gotten involved in the 2000 election, with Bush vs Gore.

So, for once, Michigan made a good decision.

Others: Townhall, The Hill, CNBC, Wall Street Journal, HotAir, The Daily Beast, The Messenger, Washington Times, Axios, Vanity Fair, NBC News, NPR, Bloomberg, Fox News, USA Today, Blaze Media, UPI, Breitbart, Reuters, PoliticusUSA, DNyuz, RedState, Raw Story, Twitchy, Detroit Free Press, ABC News, The New Civil Rights Movement, Semafor, Mother Jones, Michigan Advance, National Review, WFLA-TV, CBS News, New York Times, Washington Examiner, The Daily Caller, Denver Post, Talking Points Memo, The National Pulse+, Election Law Blog and The Post Millennial

Israel vows to fight Hamas till the end

I personally hope that Israel does this, because what happened on October 7, 2023 was a Terrorist attack and should be prosecuted until Hamas is totally defeated.

The Story via AP:

RAFAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — Israeli forces on Tuesday expanded their ground offensiveinto urban refugee camps in central Gaza after bombarding the crowded Palestinian communities and ordering residents to evacuate. Gaza’s main telecom provider announced another “complete interruption” of services in the besieged territory.

The military’s announcement of the new battle zone threatens further destruction in a war that Israel says will last for “many months” as it vows to crush the ruling Hamas militant group after its Oct. 7 attack. Israeli forces have been engaged in heavy urban fighting in northern Gaza and the southern city of Khan Younis, driving Palestinians into ever-smaller areas in search of refuge.

The U.S. said Israel’s minister for strategic affairs, Ron Dermer, was meeting with Secretary of State Antony Blinken and national security adviser Jake Sullivan. Despite U.S. calls for Israel to curb civilian casualties and international pressure for a cease-fire, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the military was deepening the fighting.

Benjamin Netanyahu says the war with Hamas will never end, until the following happens: (via WSJ)

Hamas must be destroyed, Gaza must be demilitarized, and Palestinian society must be deradicalized. These are the three prerequisites for peace between Israel and its Palestinian neighbors in Gaza.

First, Hamas, a key Iranian proxy, must be destroyed. The U.S., U.K., France, Germany and many other countries support Israel’s intention to demolish the terror group. To achieve that goal, its military capabilities must be dismantled and its political rule over Gaza must end. Hamas’s leaders have vowed to repeat the Oct. 7 massacre “again and again.” That is why their destruction is the only proportional response to prevent the repeat of such horrific atrocities. Anything less guarantees more war and more bloodshed.

In destroying Hamas, Israel will continue to act in full compliance with international law. This is especially challenging because an integral part of Hamas’s strategy is to use Palestinian civilians as human shields. Hamas places its terrorist infrastructure inside and underneath homes, hospitals, mosques, schools and other civilian sites, deliberately putting the Palestinian population at risk.

Israel does its best to minimize civilian casualties by dropping leaflets, sending text messages and using other means to warn Gazans to get out of harm’s way. Hamas by contrast does its utmost to keep Palestinians in harm’s way—often at gunpoint.

Unjustly blaming Israel for these casualties will only encourage Hamas and other terror organizations around the world to use human shields. To render this cruel and cynical strategy ineffective, the international community must place the blame for these casualties squarely on Hamas. It must recognize that Israel is fighting the bigger battle of the civilized world against barbarism.

Second, Gaza must be demilitarized. Israel must ensure that the territory is never again used as a base to attack it. Among other things, this will require establishing a temporary security zone on the perimeter of Gaza and an inspection mechanism on the border between Gaza and Egypt that meets Israel’s security needs and prevents smuggling of weapons into the territory.

The expectation that the Palestinian Authority will demilitarize Gaza is a pipe dream. It currently funds and glorifies terrorism in Judea and Samaria and educates Palestinian children to seek the destruction of Israel. Not surprisingly it has shown neither the capability nor the will to demilitarize Gaza. It failed to do so before Hamas booted it out of the territory in 2007, and it has failed to do so in the territories under its control today. For the foreseeable future Israel will have to retain overriding security responsibility over Gaza.

Third, Gaza will have to be deradicalized. Schools must teach children to cherish life rather than death, and imams must cease to preach for the murder of Jews. Palestinian civil society needs to be transformed so that its people support fighting terrorism rather than funding it.

That will likely require courageous and moral leadership. Palestinian Authority leader Mahmoud Abbas can’t even bring himself to condemn the Oct. 7 atrocities. Several of his ministers deny that the murders and rapes happened or accuse Israel of perpetrating these horrific crimes against its own people. Another threatened that a similar attack would be carried out in Judea and Samaria.

Successful deradicalization took place in Germany and Japan after the Allied victory in World War II. Today, both nations are great allies of the U.S. and promote peace, stability and prosperity in Europe and Asia.

More recently, since the 9/11 attacks, visionary Arab leaders in the Gulf have led efforts to deradicalize their societies and transform their countries. Israel has since forged the historic Abraham Accords and today enjoys peace agreements with six Arab states. Such a cultural transformation will be possible in Gaza only among Palestinians who don’t seek the destruction of Israel.

Once Hamas is destroyed, Gaza is demilitarized and Palestinian society begins a deradicalization process, Gaza can be rebuilt and the prospects of a broader peace in the Middle East will become a reality

I agree with all of the above. Furthermore, I believe that Israel should send fighter jets into Qatar and bomb the nice hotel that Hamas leadership is staying in; cut the head off the snake. Israel should carpet bomb the south of Lebanon and destroy hezbollah and its leadership. The United States should tell the other middle eastern countries; “ you so much as even think attacking Israel an we will Nuke your Country off the face of the Earth.”

God bless Israel.

Why I am not writing about Trump

For starters, I did withdraw my support of Trump long ago. This was long before January 6 and the things that happened then.

So, if you see headlines like these here. I will not be writing about them.

I believe in Country first, and not Trump or Republican Party first.

California Governor Gavin Newsom Says, “Nope”

Second look at Gavin Newsom? Just kidding! He is an idiot, who just happens to disagree with the people, who want to remove Trump from the ballot in California.

Via Politico:

LOS ANGELES — Gov. Gavin Newsom has a message for California politicians eager to follow Colorado’s lead to block former President Donald Trump from the ballot: Cool your jets.

The Colorado Supreme Court ruled this week that Trump was ineligible to run for president because he fomented the Jan. 6 insurrection. The decision breathed life into efforts across the country, including in California, to disqualify the former president for violating the 14th Amendment.

But in a Friday afternoon statement, Newsom telegraphed to his fellow California Democrats not to get ahead of the U.S. Supreme Court, which will almost certainly be the final arbiter of that decision.

There is no doubt that Donald Trump is a threat to our liberties and even to our democracy,” Newsom said, “but in California, we defeat candidates at the polls. Everything else is a political distraction.”

His remarks threw cold water on numerous attempts by elected officials to seize on the Colorado decision.

I have to give hm credit, he is correct, however, many people in California disagree with him. Including his Lt. Governor and many others.

Others: The Messenger, Washington Examiner, National Review, New York Post, The Hill, NBC News, One America News Network and New York Times

Russia’s Putin is supposedly wanting to end the war.

I say “Supposedly”, because quite frankly, I simply do not believe it at all. Putin’s ego, will not allow him to just stop. Putin wants all of Ukraine.

Via NYT:

President Vladimir V. Putin’s confidence seems to know no bounds.

Buoyed by Ukraine’s failed counteroffensive and flagging Western support, Mr. Putin says that Russia’s war goals have not changed. Addressing his generals on Tuesday, he boasted that Ukraine was so beleaguered that Russia’s invading troops were doing “what we want.”

“We won’t give up what’s ours,” he pledged, adding dismissively, “If they want to negotiate, let them negotiate.”

But in a recent push of back-channel diplomacy, Mr. Putin has been sending a different message: He is ready to make a deal.

Mr. Putin has been signaling through intermediaries since at least September that he is open to a cease-fire that freezes the fighting along the current lines, far short of his ambitions to dominate Ukraine, two former senior Russian officials close to the Kremlin and American and international officials who have received the message from Mr. Putin’s envoys say.

You should go read the rest of that; frankly, I do not believe it one bit. Putin is a nationalist. He believed that the break-up of the Soviet Union was a mistake, he had said as such.

While it might be wishful thinking, I just seriously doubt that there is even a kernel of truth to this story.

Others: The Messenger, USA Today, Lawyers, Guns & Money, Bloomberg and Wall Street Journal

In case you are wondering..

In case you re wondering as to why I am suddenly writing so much again.

I got a new iPad. Yes, you read that right, I got an apple product. It was a Christmas present from my lovely Mother.

Here it is:

It is not the really big one, But it was from my Mom and I love it. It has been a bit of a learning curve. But, I am getting the hang of it.

Thanks Mom. 🥰