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Being lost in a strange environment after sundown on a moonless night you quickly grasp that the absence of light is a real problem. Such is the experience of ill-prepared hikers in the mountains or tourists who misplaced their coordinates on a map -- or politicians in Washington who made ridiculous promises during their campaigns and can’t push the proper buttons now that they’re steering the machine. President Joe Biden and his hysteria-spreading team is making the rounds calling for swift “relief” for everyone still trapped under the elusive China virus boulder. Vaccines developed under Donald Trump’s “Operation Warp Speed” are being stuck in as many arms as state and local governments can manage (not always competently, such as here in Virginia) and yet the federal authorities gain no perspective on what is truly needed -- a grand reopening of the economy (with recognition of minimizing the danger to at-risk populations) and leadership that promotes sensibility and rational thinking rather than a “Chicken Little” sky-is-falling mentality. Earlier this week came word that a group of “moderate” Republican senators sought a slice from Biden’s fright pie, trying desperately to avoid the appearance that they’re cold and heartless budget consumed conservatives who favor allowing business owners and the people themselves to constitute a dominant portion of the thought equation. Susan Ferrechio reported at The Washington Examiner: “Senate Republicans left a two-hour meeting with President Biden Monday evening with positive things to say about the exchange but no progress on a bipartisan coronavirus aid deal. “’It was a very good exchange of views,’ Sen. Susan Collins, a Maine Republican and top Senate bipartisan broker, told reporters after the meeting. ‘I wouldn’t say we came together on a package tonight. No one expected that in a two-hour meeting.’ Collins [also] said the two sides agreed ‘to follow up and talk further’ at the staff level, among Senate lawmakers and with the president and vice president, on an aid package… “Collins said Republicans appreciated Biden using his first Oval Office meeting with any lawmakers ‘to spend so much time with us in a frank and useful discussion.’” [Note, the other GOP ‘centrists’ who joined Collins were Mitt Romney of Utah, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, Shelley Moore Capito of West Virginia, Todd Young of Indiana, Jerry Moran of Kansas, Mike Rounds of South Dakota and Thom Tillis of North Carolina.] In other words, if you’re a RINO hunter searching for the most fertile ground to conduct a RINO pursuit, you should’ve hovered outside the White House meeting with Grampa Joe and listened for sounds of groveling and pandering. These brave (not!) Republicans tout the fact their “relief” package counteroffer only includes $600 billion (compared to Biden’s $1.9 trillion all-inclusive boondoggle) and is narrowly tailored to only shower certain recipients with additional federal largesse rather than tossing out money to each outstretched hand like Rich Uncle Pennybags of Monopoly fame. Forget the fact that Congress and President Trump threw together packages that totaled $4 trillion last year, which astute observers recognize is greater than an entire year’s federal budget revenue. If “relief” is targeted for a temporary problem, then spending of that magnitude should’ve provided some tangible improvement. If so, why is everyone so unhappy now? Remember when the COVID-19 issue sprouted last spring and the Washington powers-that-be rushed to fashion emergency provisions for personal protective equipment and other stuff that “only” costed a few billion? Ah, the good ol’ days when politicians (sort of) admitted that they didn’t actually know what they were dealing with and sought to ensure that emergency responders were well outfitted with the means to treat the afflicted because the supplies had run low and, and, and… Then there was “15 Days to Slow the Spread” which grew into 30 days and governors and mayors (in almost exclusively blue states) decided that there was too much freedom and decreed through executive action that more entities had to close up completely to flatten the COVID curve and schools couldn’t dare reopen despite the fact kids weren’t getting sick and teachers could be assured the danger was manageable with reasonable precautions. Here it is, February, 2021 and the kids in many places are still at home -- except those in private schools, which opened their doors months ago and managed to remain in operation without major outbreaks -- and the ruling class clamors for more “relief” to keep the shuttered true-believers content for a little while longer. Many people point out that much of last year’s appropriated “relief” dollars weren’t even used yet. And Joe Biden -- and this collection of ten opportunistic Republicans -- met to talk about shoveling out some more. Isn’t it curious how there are ten Republicans in the group, just the requisite number needed to break a filibuster? Of course, the Democrat leadership wouldn’t bother with such things (like the filibuster) and plans to force through their bloated package along a straight-party vote and then use budget reconciliation to bypass the objections, but that’s a conversation for another time. Democrats also face the possibility of a defector or two (particularly West Virginia’s Joe Manchin) if Biden, Nancy Pelosi, Chuck Schumer and company get too greedy. In essence, the so-called senate “moderates” of both parties are running the show these days since the numbers game can’t be played without remarkable factional discipline. The “centrists” are guided by the false notion that there’s mythical wisdom in dividing the difference between the two parties somewhere down the middle rather than casting the idea out entirely and working outside the box to come up with something that makes sense. Seems to me that concocting and passing half of a bad idea still equals… a bad idea. Who has the courage to stand up and say, “Enough is enough” and insist that Congress should be talking about ways to get people working again instead of papering over the problem with another round of feel-good but useless “relief” checks? Wouldn’t that type of “compromise” provide the light that the clueless politicians seek to illuminate the darkness? Or will another few dollars be enough to keep people afloat until the next round of elections? By now it’s evident no one has the foolproof answer. The eternal lockdown contingent -- led by public school teachers unions -- demand to keep things closed forever. The other side has the better argument but there are always the “what if?” questions that can’t be answered. Politicians just want to use their power to spend and then deflect blame to good intentions when it goes haywire. In essence, we’re doomed to remain in obscurity. It’s dark out there, ain’t it? COVID lockdowns business closures school closures teachers unions Joe Biden COVID relief bill Republican moderates Susan Collins Mitt Romney

The Senate Ethics Committee has launched an official probe into whether Senators Ted Cruz (R-TX) and Josh Hawley (R-MO) had a part in inciting the riot at the U.S. Capitol on January 6. When the letter, signed by seven Democrats, announcing the complaint against Senators Cruz and Hawley was released we thought it was a typical Democrat drive-by media stunt – get a headline for a day and move on – but it now appears Democrats are serious about trying to oust, or at a minimum, use the “ethics process” to hobble two of the most effective conservatives in the Senate. To give you a flavor of the unbiased nature of the Committee enquiry, the Senate Ethics Committee is led by Chair Chris Coons (D-Del.), who already called for Senators Cruz and Hawley to resign, and Vice Chair James Lankford (R-OK). Sen. Lankford is one of the Senate GOP’s inveterate squishes who planned to challenge the election results himself before backing away after the riot at the Capitol. Coons and Lankford speak frequently to each other and have a warm relationship, according to Politico. According to the letter stating their complaint, the investigation will seek to determine, among other things: 1. Whether Senators Cruz and Hawley, and/or their staff or campaigns or fundraisers, were in contact or coordinated with the organizers of the rally; 2. Whether Senators Cruz and Hawley were aware of other Members’ contacts with the organizers; 3. What Senators Cruz and Hawley, and/or their staff knew about the plans for the event, through public or private sources, or are otherwise accountable for the violence or for their failure to warn the Senate and the public about the risk of violence; 4. Whether Senators Cruz and Hawley received funding from organizations or donors that also funded the rally; 5. Whether Senators Hawley or Cruz took any action that encouraged the insurrectionists’ actions, and whether the insurrectionists cited Senators Hawley or Cruz as part of their rationale for storming the Capitol; and 6. Whether Senators Cruz and Hawley and/or their offices, fundraisers, or campaigns otherwise engaged in criminal conduct, or unethical or improper behavior. The disingenuous nature of the complaint is obvious; the media and Capitol Police were well aware of the threats of violence – the massive security failure at the Capitol can hardly be blamed on two Senators who had no control over disposition or rules of engagement of the Capitol or Metropolitan DC Police. But the underlying premise of the complaint should concern every American, because what the Democrat complainants are saying is that Cruz and Hawley, and others, should be punished for fighting for Donald Trump’s constitutional rights. Or as the letter of complaint put it, “By proceeding with their objections to the electors after the violent attack, Senators Cruz and Hawley lent legitimacy to the mob’s cause and made future violence more likely.” Betraying the true political motivation behind the complaint, the Committee is also looking at “The extent, if any, of communication or coordination between Sens. Hawley and Cruz and the organizers of the rally remains to be investigated. Three members of the House of Representatives who coordinated with Senators Hawley and Cruz to object to the electors, Reps. Andy Biggs, Paul Gosar, and Mo Brooks, have been identified as alleged co-architects of the rally. Further investigation is necessary to determine whether and to what extent Senators Cruz and Hawley were also aware of these groups’ activities or coordinated with their efforts.” This is a predicate to hauling in the donors, organizers and supporters of the “Stop the Steal” rally to intimidate and punishing them by forcing upon them legal fees and the vast amount of time required to defend themselves from these specious charges. Let’s imagine for a moment that the Senate was debating and voting on any other matter that affected the constitutional rights of any American other than Donald Trump. Should Senators Cruz and Hawley have stopped advocating for their understanding of the Constitution on the death penalty or the right-to-life because one side or both sides became unruly and rioted? Clearly, not. A Senator who abandoned his or her position because of the unruly actions of third parties would, in our view, show themselves to be completely without principle – exactly like Senate Ethics Committee Vice Chairman James Lankford, who abandoned the challenge to the tainted Electors after the riot. When passions are running high is exactly the time our Republic needs principled advocates on the Floor of the House and Senate to argue the positions held by the citizenry. If Senators advocating for the views of their constituents to the fullest extent the Constitution provides is somehow contrary to the Rules of the Senate, then what means of expression are left for the citizens whose voices are thereby silenced? Call the toll-free Capitol Switchboard (1-866-220-0044), tell Republican Senators that the ethics complaint against Senators Cruz and Hawley is nothing more than a crude political attempt to hobble two of the Senate’s most effective conservatives and that any attempt to sanction Senators Hawley and Cruz must be rejected. Senate Ethics Committee Ted Cruz Josh Hawley January 6 riot Chair Chris Coons Vice Chair James Lankford investigation capitol police threats 2020 Election voter fraud objections Stop the Steal rally

Anyone in the mood for a little humor? It’s safe to say a lot of people woke up this morning not realizing it was Groundhog Day, or if they did, they most likely just hoped the calendar date meant there’s only four more weeks of winter (or six depending on whether the groundhog sees his shadow) left to bear. Groundhog Day is a uniquely North American (established by the Pennsylvania Dutch) tradition made even more endearing by the 1993 film Groundhog Day, starring the always hilarious and inimitable Bill Murray. The premise of the film has the main character, Phil Connors, waking up each morning surprised to discover it’s February 2nd all over again -- complete with its frigid temperatures, silly ceremonies and overly enthusiastic observants. The movie is about as fictitious as it gets, though lately, many of us feel like every day is the same. In our semi-locked down world that is COVID-19 reality, there just isn’t much to do that hasn’t been impacted by the authorities ordering us to distance from each other and cloak ourselves in PPE or possibly face the prospect of a premature death. But what if time actually did warp and Joe Biden and Kamala Harris woke up (not together, obviously) every day and it was Inauguration Day, 2025, and… Donald Trump was set to take the oath of office again? Talk about a Democrat derangement redux! For now, the liberal establishment is living with its own very real version of Trump comeback anxiety. Patrick J. Buchanan wrote at CNS News, “Why … are the Democrats continuing with this exercise in vengeance? They want Trump convicted so that he will be prohibited from ever again holding public office. The establishment fears that Trump could make a comeback, win the Republican primaries in 2024, become the nominee, and return in triumph as president. “They are determined to abort that possibility. Many openly admit it. “What does that say about the liberal establishment's love of democracy when they would disqualify, in advance, the largest vote-getter their opposition party ever had, out of fear he might come back to win the presidency as he did in 2016?” It's a legitimate question, one that needs to be asked. For what it’s worth, Buchanan further wrote that it’s unlikely Trump would or could make the ultimate political regeneration, his age and poor current standing among the ruling class probably precluding any kind of miraculous reappearance. I share his view. But even the possibility of Trump part II sends shivers up the spines of Democrats and Trump’s Republican elitist enemies alike to the point they’re throwing caution to the wind and pursuing another impeachment farce that’s doomed to fail before the first official word is uttered. But since it’s February 2nd today, and anything’s possible, why not speculate? Due to spatial concerns, we can only present one segment in Joe Biden’s personal Groundhog Day-the-movie like sequence. Just imagine every 24-hour period begins and ends the same way for him. --The scene is upstairs in the White House living quarters on January 20, 2025. Joe Biden is enjoying his final few hours of residence, compelled by law and tradition to vacate the historic mansion after his four disastrous years of governance as president. The Democrat chief executive did his darndest to change America into the colorless politically correct utopia of his handlers’ wildest fantasies, but he failed miserably. The previous November, voters turned him out in a fraud-proof landslide rivaling Richard Nixon’s in 1972, a near impossible feat in 21st century America. African-Americans finally got fed up with the Democrat Party’s unkept promises and obnoxious pandering; they cast over fifty percent of their ballots for Joe’s Republican opponent. Without the liberals’ main lock-step support group, Democrat candidates flamed out practically everywhere. It was an epic calamity -- like 2020 but with a genuine presidential race result. Making matters even worse for wimpy Grampa Joe, the electorate chose to return the hated Donald Trump to his former stomping grounds, which he will assume today at 12 of the clock EST, just a few hours hence. It turns out Americans felt Trump’s “Make America Great Again” slogan was a catchier theme than Biden’s “Build Back More Better,” which was just something a highly priced liberal establishment political consultant conjured up anyway. Let the day commence! Just like the previous morning, Biden’s phone alarm was programmed to awaken him at 6 a.m. to his favorite song, “Tomorrow” from the Broadway musical Annie: “The sun will come out tomorrow, Bet your bottom dollar that tomorrow, there'll be sun… So you gotta hang on ‘til tomorrow, come what may! Tomorrow, tomorrow, I love ya, tomorrow. You're always a dayyyy awaaaayyyy!” Grampa Joe lifted his 82-year-old frame out of bed and did as he was instructed to do by the song’s lyrics. Glancing out the window, he noticed the sun was shining brightly, the dawning of a new era in America. ‘It almost looks like the earth is happy again,’ Joe thought to himself, like the gloomy storm clouds of the previous four years had somehow moved east and it was time to be optimistic again. Then it dawned on him that it was DonaldTrump’s second inauguration day and Biden’s cheery mood vanished in an instant. “What am I gonna wear today?” Joe barked at his personal attendant who’d also heard the alarm’s familiar refrain. “The same thing you wore yesterday, and the day before that, and the day before that, and the day before that,” the beaming helper replied in a sing-song-y voice, feeling joy she couldn’t conceal. “Why are you so gleeful. I’m leaving today,” Joe asked, confused as always. Not receiving an answer, Joe hastily threw on his favorite blue suit that he’d warn to his own January 20th ceremony in 2021 and skipped like a child downstairs to the East Room. There he noticed Vice President Kamala Harris seated at a huge table in the big empty space, appearing as though she hadn’t slept in weeks. Big bags dwelled underneath her eyes and they were red as Hunter’s were after one of his crack binges. Kamala obviously had been sobbing uncontrollably. Over what? he wondered. “Oh hello, Joe. Great to see you. Hard to believe this will be our last breakfast snack together. I’d always hoped you wouldn’t decide to run again and I would get the nomination and this would be my inauguration day,” Kamala said candidly, finally suppressing the urge to sugarcoat her real feelings about her longtime political partner’s pathetic decision-making ability. “I’ve always thought you were two jokers short of a full deck, but this is ridiculous.” Biden couldn’t understand why Harris would say such a thing at this emotionally charged moment, but this all seemed weirdly familiar, like he’d heard it before. Was it yesterday? Or last week? Or last month? Déjà vu on steroids? “Gimme a break, Kamala. Here’s the deal. We eat this slop one more time, then get in the limo waiting outside the door and ride down the street to that big white building on the hill. Then they say presto-change-o or something like that, then I get on AMTRAK and head back to Delaware for the last time and you… well, I dunno. Doesn’t matter where they dump you off, does it? Your political career is history like the 1619 Project.” Kamala no longer hid her tears and it was as though someone turned on the spigots in her eye ducts and couldn’t close them again. Wailing as if she were at a funeral, Biden couldn’t take Harris’s screeching liberal feminist rage any longer and made a mad dash for the front door, only to be halted by the sudden sunlight blocking presence of Barack Obama. “Not so fast, Joe,” the Big O mumbled impatiently, his own Secret Service detail hovering in the background. “This occasion is like a reoccurring nightmare for me, one I’ve had for years. In the dream sequence, I have to come over here every day to talk to you about what Trump is going to do to my legacy. You trashed me for four years now and your doddering incompetence couldn’t get anything passed in Congress. ‘Biden-care’? Are you serious? Now when everyone thinks of us, they’ll remember what an idiot you were. I can’t live with it. Me n’ Michelle are goin’ with you in the limo, dang-it. I don’t care if someone’s gonna have to stick their rear out the window to make room. Get used to it, bud.” Ever compliant with the anointed one’s wishes, Biden simply nodded, stared at the ground and handed his former boss the keys to the car. Obama playfully flipped them to the on duty Secret Service driver, then the assembled and waiting group (which included Kamala’s husband, Michelle Obama, Dr. Jill, Dr. Jill’s first husband, Hillary and Bill Clinton, a couple big Democrat donors, presidential brothers Jim and Frank Biden and prodigal son Hunter Biden) piled into the back of the limo like a rugby team groping for a loose ball. True to Obama’s premonition, Hunter volunteered to let his thong-speedo barely covered hindquarters hang out the partially cracked window. What’s there to be ashamed of? He’d just been sprung from prison by a last-minute presidential pardon! Conversation lagged on the way to Trump’s ceremony because the car’s occupants were squished together like shrimps in a tuna can, the group laying practically on top of each other as each person grappled for more open airspace. Joe wondered to himself, ‘What is this, a game of Twister?’ Biden griped that Michelle Obama’s foot was too close to his face, and someone shrieked when Bill Clinton nibbled on their ankle, but what can you do? It’s not like they had to endure this hardship every day -- or did they? After a few torturous minutes, Nancy Pelosi greeted the limo as it drove into the capitol parking turnout. Having failed -- twice -- to impeach Trump, her wrinkled brow looked graver than ever. San Fran Nan managed to hold onto the speakership for ten years total, but now she was reduced to a soon-to-be private citizen facing impeachment herself, the House’s new speaker -- Colorado’s Lauren Boebert -- already having introduced and passed a half dozen articles accusing the 84-year-old Bay Area elitist of inciting a riot, corruption, and downright nastiness. Pelosi prayed that the capitol police wouldn’t know her. Biden waved to the crinkled old crone as the car passed her, the president thinking he recognized the old lady in handcuffs surrounded by a personal protection detail, but he wasn’t certain. Upon exiting the car, Grampa Joe bumbled his way through the building, greeting well-wishers he encountered, the whole ritual seeming like something he’d done many days before -- like a rehearsal. It took 459 times repeating the scenario for him to finally learn everyone’s name. There were a lot fewer Democrat faces than there were at his own inauguration, which felt like a long, long time ago. He spotted Trump -- or someone who looked like him -- out of the corner of his eye. Could this really be happening? His aides had counseled Joe not go at all, figuring if Trump had skipped his big day four years ago, there was no reason to embarrass himself by showing up at his successor’s swearing-in. But some eighth grader had scribbled a handwritten note to him talking about unity or something -- he hadn’t really paid attention to the kid’s words -- so here he was, seated on the dais with lots of people around waiting for the moment when Donald Trump would become America’s 47th president. Kamala Harris was there along with Hillary and Bill Clinton, the Obamas, George W. and Laura Bush and the who’s who of Washington establishment society. Hunter occupied his chair but was constantly peeking around, searching for the nearest escape route. All wore glum faces as Donald Trump stepped forward to receive the oath from still Chief Justice John Roberts. When Roberts wished the new president congratulations, Trump launched into a short speech about restoring America’s greatness by working for every American and putting them first above the privileged class. Like everything else on this day, the themes sounded hauntingly familiar to Joe. Just as he was about to get up and leave, the mentally slipping former president nodded off. Unable to postpone sleep until he was sure that his nightmare was over, Biden practically slipped off his chair leaning forward, his forehead lodged against a plexiglass shield and spittle dripping from one corner of his mouth. No matter, Donald Trump was president again. America rejoiced. And at long last, the nation’s days of wandering in the wilderness were over. The next day, Joe Biden’s alarm rang and the day repeated itself. It was Donald Trump’s Inauguration Day all over again, and would last into Grampa Joe’s mortal eternity. The end. Joe Biden Groundhog Day Kamala Harris Hunter Biden Barack Obama establishment 2020 election Donald Trump Michelle Obama

A group of House Democrats introduced a resolution Monday to remove Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (GA-14) from her two committee assignments. The resolution, according to NBC News, was sponsored by Reps. Debbie Wasserman Schultz and Ted Deutch, both of Florida, and Jahana Hayes of Connecticut, would remove Greene from the House Education & Labor Committee and the House Budget Committee. “Reducing the future harm that she can cause in Congress, and denying her a seat at committee tables where fact-based policies will be drafted, is both a suitable punishment and a proper restraint of her influence,” Wasserman Schultz said during a virtual news conference reported by NBC. “If Republicans won't police their own, the House must step in,” she continued, adding that Greene could resign but noted that’s unlikely and the chances of expulsion are slim because it would require a two-thirds vote in the House. Rep. Taylor Greene has come under attack by Democrats for social media posts predating her election to Congress, however, we all know the real reason Democrats are going after her – she’s an unabashed supporter of Donald Trump and the MAGA Movement. And she had the guts to file Articles of Impeachment against President Joe Biden the day after he was sworn in. In a news release Rep. Taylor Greene outlined the case against Biden, charging the case against President Joe Biden is vast and detailed: Joe Biden abused the power of the Office of the Vice President, enabling bribery and other high crimes and misdemeanors, by allowing his son to influence the domestic policy of a foreign nation and accept various benefits—including financial compensation—from foreign nationals in exchange for certain favors. The evidence of widespread knowledge, corruption, and collusion on behalf of the Biden family with foreign nationals is clear and compelling. As Vice President, Joe Biden was the senior Obama Administration official overseeing anti-corruption efforts in Ukraine. Hence, any illegal activity involving corruption conducted by Hunter Biden within or in relation to Ukraine would fall under the purview of the Office of Vice President Biden and the Obama State Department’s anti-corruption efforts. In fact, many State Department officials within the Obama Administration repeatedly registered reservations about Hunter Biden’s role on the board of a corrupt company. Thus, any instances of corruption on behalf of Hunter Biden via his role as a board member of the Ukrainian-operated Burisma energy firm were intentionally not investigated or covered up. In 2016, Ukraine’s top anti-corruption prosecutor, Viktor Shokin, had an active and ongoing investigation into Burisma and its owner, Mykola Zlochevsky. At the time, Hunter Biden continued to serve on Burisma’s board of directors. According to news reports, then Vice-President Biden “threatened to withhold $1 billion in United States loan guarantees if Ukraine’s leaders did not dismiss [Shokin].” After that, Ukraine’s Parliament fired Shokin. During his father’s vice presidency, Hunter Biden built many business relationships with foreign nationals and received millions of dollars from foreign sources, seemingly in exchange for access to his father. The financial transactions which Hunter engaged in illustrates serious counterintelligence and extortion concerns relating to Hunter Biden and his family. President Biden gravely endangered the security of the United States and its institutions of government. Through blatant nepotism, he enabled his son to influence foreign policy and financially benefit as a result of his role as Vice President. He supported his son engaging in collusion with Chinese Communist party-linked officials. He allowed his son to trade appointments with his father and other high-ranking administration officials in exchange for financial compensation. He permitted his son to take money from Russian oligarchs, including Elena Baturina, the wife of the former mayor of Moscow. "President Joe Biden is unfit to hold the office of the Presidency. His pattern of abuse of power as President Obama's Vice President is lengthy and disturbing. President Biden has demonstrated that he will do whatever it takes to bail out his son, Hunter, and line his family's pockets with cash from corrupt foreign energy companies,” said Rep. Taylor Greene in announcing the filing of the Articles of Impeachment against President Joe Biden. Republicans can like or dislike Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene’s brand of politics and she can decide for herself whether to walk back or apologize (or not) for social media posts, but we are old enough to remember the late Senator Claiborne Pell’s preoccupation with Extra Sensory Perception and Rep. Ilhan Omar’s blatant anti-Semitism and no Democrats demanded they be removed from their committees, because, that’s right – they were Democrats. Call the toll-free Capitol Switchboard (1-866-220-0044), tell Republican Representatives that they must stand against Democrat attempts to strip Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene from her committee posts, otherwise any one of them could be the next one to lose their committee post to vindictive Democrats. Marjorie Taylor Greene House caucus Resolution Debbie Wasserman Schultz Ted Deutch Jahana Hayes committee assignments Trump supporters Joe Biden impeachment

During and after the January 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol the establishment news media and their masters in the Democratic Party started the narrative that the brawl was an “insurgency” and they have used the terms “insurgency” and “insurgent” with remarkable discipline to smear anyone who opposes their plans to remake American government and culture. Having spent some time in the government studying insurgencies – if the January 6 event was an “insurgency” then I’d assess it as the least organized and sustained insurgency that I have studied. It was on the continuum of insurgencies not even a blip – it was a riot, nothing more. However, as an indicator of the potential for an insurgency to develop it was huge, ranking up there with the Boston Tea Party, Russia’s 1905 Bloody Sunday and the various Irish Independence strikes and riots, because it demonstrated the white-hot anger a significant percentage of Americans have toward Congress and the Washington – Wall Street – Silicon Valley-based ruling class. Notice, I did not say the anger Americans have toward their government. The alleged “insurgents” don’t hate the government in the same way that Americans hated British rule or Russians hated the Czarist oligarchy. If one had polled those taking part in the January 6 riot – setting apart those nihilists on the Right and Left who came solely to do violence for violence sake – I’m sure the vast majority would have said they love the Constitution and were there to defend it. What they hate is not the government, as embodied in the Constitution, but the 232-years of slime, special interest favors and oligarchic privilege that have accreted on the Constitution courtesy of Congress. And they hate the feeling of powerlessness that has been imposed upon them by the alliance of Far Left Progressives in Congress and Silicon Valley. Thomas Baranyi of New Jersey, who was interviewed leaving the Capitol with the blood of Ashli Babbitt still fresh on his hands, is the archetype of the participants in the January 6 riot. Here are some key excerpts from his video interview in the aftermath of the Ashli Babbitt killing. If you want to understand what went on January 6 and what is building under the surface across America, Mr. Baranyi’s comments are crucial: …We were trying to get into Congress or whoever we could get into to tell them need some kind of investigation into this [2020 vote fraud] and what ends up happening is someone might have ended up dead and that's not the kind of government we can have… people have to do something about it... just make sure people know this cannot stand, this is wrong, they [Members of Congress] don't represent anyone, not Republican, Democrat, Independent, nobody, and now they'll kill people. …Police, Congressmen and women, they think we're a joke, a $2,000 check was a joke to them. There's people filming us laughing at us as we marched down the street, at the Department of Justice there was a man in the window laughing at us. It was a joke to them until we got inside and then all of a sudden the guns came out, but we're at a point now where it can't be allowed to stand... we have to do something, people have to do something because this [holding up hand with Ashli Babbitt’s blood on it] could be you or your kids... Mr. Baranyi was later arrested by the FBI and charged with disorderly or disruptive conduct, NJ.com reported. More serious charges may be pending, the news website added. The DC Ruling Class won’t admit it, but they are scared witless by Thomas Baranyi and the millions like him who have figured out that they don’t represent anyone but themselves. The answer, so far, of the DC Ruling Class has been to repeat the mistakes of oligarchs and tyrants throughout the ages – dismiss the just grievances of the oppressed, demonize the messengers of the oppressed and tighten the oppression further. Translation: There was no vote fraud and lockdowns work to stop the spread of COVID-19, Senators Josh Hawley and Ted Cruz, and Representatives Mo Brooks, Lauren Boebert and Marjorie Taylor Greene are “the enemy within” and should be expelled from Congress, and anyone who disagrees, such as Donald Trump, Mike Lindell, Gen. Mike Flynn and Sydney Powell will lose their social media and financial services accounts. The January 6 Capitol riot was, in the big scheme of things, nothing remotely resembling an insurgency, what it was, was a warning that an insurgency is brewing. This brewing insurgency is not aimed at the constitutional government of the United States, but at the Washington – Wall Street – Silicon Valley Axis that is usurping the constitutional rights of the citizenry. Thus, the pool of potential insurgents is vast as are the potential targets for the insurgents; anyone who wishes to free themselves of the oppression of Silicon Valley and Wall Street, or watches Thomas Baranyi’s interview and finds themselves in agreement with him is a potential insurgent – a pool of millions who could form an irresistible insurgency should they choose to embark upon a real insurgency. George Rasley is editor of Richard Viguerie's ConservativeHQ.com is a veteran of over 300 political campaigns, he is a member of American MENSA, and served on the staff of Vice President Dan Quayle, as Director of Policy and Communication for former Congressman Adam Putnam (FL-12) then Vice Chairman of the Oversight and Government Reform Committee's Subcommittee on National Security and Foreign Affairs, and as spokesman for retired Rep. Mac Thornberry, formerly a member of the House Intelligence Committee and Chairman of the House Armed Services Committee. House impeachment Donald Trump MAGA movement incitement unconstitutional incitement of insurrection Joe Biden election fraud obstruction ex post facto laws bills of attainder insurgent Thomas Baranyi

Was America meant to be defined? With all the hubbub swirling around the news of late, I hadn’t pondered the question -- or the answer, either. Politicians from both parties wax poetically about what America is supposed to be, but their definitions of country are usually either ideologically self-serving or flat-out nonsensical puffery. Or both. Further, what America means today might not be what it was two hundred years ago and certainly isn’t what it will be a hundred years from now (assuming Joe Biden and friends don’t completely wipe the nation from the face of the earth with their ill-conceived socialistic policies). Judging by last November’s election and the voting history of the past half-century, there’s a deep divide on the meaning of America. Last week, Fox News liberal commentator Juan Williams suggested (at The Hill) that President Joe Biden will “Let America be America.” Williams wrote: “Biden’s inaugural address was very careful to avoid the all-too-common ‘false equivalency’ trap politicians fall into. He did not say ‘both sides’ bear responsibility. He did not pretend blame was evenly distributed. “One side, the American right, is solely responsible for empowering the hateful nonsense of QAnon and the resurgence of white supremacist threats. “In an essay for the Atlantic, Sen. Ben Sasse (R-Neb.), who seldom spoke against Trumpism, wrote ‘the Republican Party faces a separate reckoning’. ‘Until last week, many party leaders and consultants thought they could preach the Constitution while winking at QAnon,’ he wrote. ‘They can’t. The GOP must reject conspiracy theories or be consumed by them. Now is the time to decide what this party is about.’” Liberal Williams penned the column in support of impeaching former president Donald Trump, as though embarking on the constitutional process to remove a president -- who is no longer in office -- will help “America be America again.” Williams’ op-ed was published before Chief Justice John Roberts announced he wouldn’t preside at the upcoming senate show trial because Trump is a private citizen now. And then there was Senator Rand Paul’s move to expose the fallacy of impeachment under these circumstances by forcing senators to put their names on the record as to its constitutionality -- and 45 Republicans responded with a most emphatic “no, it’s not”. Therefore, the possibility of gaining a conviction for Nancy Pelosi’s lone article of impeachment -- compiled as it was in a single day without any witnesses, hearings, or chance for Trump to respond -- is, like Charles Dickens once wrote, dead as a doornail. The concept will live on in the hearts of people like Williams, the entire Democrat caucus, the major establishment media and RINO losers like Sen. Ben Sasse, however, but it’s safe to predict that Donald Trump will not be the first president -- or private citizen -- ever to be fully impeached. America doesn’t do such things, and if we’re to let “America be America” there must be a rational process, adherence to the law (a.k.a., the Constitution) and a sense of decency that we don’t convict someone before he or she has an opportunity to present their side of the story. As of now, Trump is residing in South Florida and keeping a remarkably low profile for someone who seemingly couldn’t resist jabbing at everyone for the five-plus years he was in politics. Trump understands America, and he also understands Democrats. The nation needed a cooling-off period from the once-in-a-lifetime events of 2020, and his reputation could also use calm rehabilitation. Upon departing Washington, Trump indicated he would be back soon in some form. Americans of all political stripes await what “form” it will be. But one can’t help but surmise that “letting America be America” won’t happen under the current administration and ruling class in Congress. That is, unless you consider America a place where people lose their jobs based on the left’s interpretation of “science” (Biden’s cancelling of the Keystone pipeline) or young women being compelled to share locker room facilities with biological males because a political party deems it legitimate to renounce one’s gender and adopt another. America isn’t about rule by dictate. And America isn’t about stifling political opinions or proposing reeducation camps for Trump supporters or insinuating that all people born white are racists and therefore in need of obscure, unproven academic gobbledygook like critical race theory to straighten them out. Does Juan Williams believe this is so? Should a small collection of big tech oligarchs be set loose to censor the president of the United States -- or anyone -- because they consider him dangerous? America isn’t being America by stationing tens of thousands of national guard soldiers to patrol the national capitol because a relative few overzealous yahoos waged a noisy riot that scared hundreds of congressmen and senators into running for their lives. Sen. Sasse may think the Republican Party is steered by fear of QAnon -- but it isn’t. Conservatives aren’t conspiracy theorists and, as demonstration after demonstration and rally after rally proved -- they’re not violent, either. The truth is, America wasn’t destined to be defined. The first words in the Constitution’s preamble -- We the People -- solve the great mystery before the question was even asked. “The people” are sovereign, we’re in charge and the government we created is meant to serve us. Joe Biden won’t restore America to its greatness because he and his cohorts believe citizens crave to be cradled and taken care of. This isn’t close to being reality. Some people want bigger government and others don’t think government should exist at all, but it’s safe to say everyone yearns to live free. That’s the only American definition I know. Freedom to think, freedom to speak, freedom to worship, freedom to travel, freedom to work at one’s vocation and freedom to raise a family the way they desire. Education on the “real” America is sorely lacking in today’s schools. President Trump established the 1776 Commission to weigh-in on how young Americans should be taught about the values and principles in the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution. In one of his first acts as president, Joe Biden disbanded the group. And the left hated the commission’s report. Too traditional. Too fact-based and historical. Too American? They’d no doubt prefer the 1619 Project instead. The founding fathers’ struggle to form a more perfect union continues. America really wasn’t meant to be defined, at least not by politicians like Joe Biden and Nancy Pelosi. And commentators like Juan Williams certainly don’t have a clue either. The division and rancor will continue as long as the left thinks they own the American ideal. It’s up to us to prove them wrong. 1776 Commission Donald Trump 1619 Project slavery Freedom Founding Fathers Declaration of Independence Constitution Joe Biden Nancy Pelosi

The echoes of Joe Biden’s hectoring inaugural address had barely subsided when the new Democrat President sent a convoy of some 40 American trucks and armored vehicles from Iraq in to Northeast Syria. At the same time, Syrian news sources also reported that some 200 US troops arrived in Syria’s Hasakeh province on helicopters. The move to reinsert troops President Donald Trump had withdrawn from Syria appears now to be only the preface to further moves by the Biden administration to undermine the fragile peace in the region and dismantle the framework of the Abraham Accords peace deal between Israel and various Arab states. The Abraham Accords normalized relations between Israel, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain, and later Sudan and Morocco signed a similar agreement. Central to the deals were commitments by the United States to assist the Muslim states with interests including food for Sudan and arms to protect the Gulf States from Iranian aggression. Now, the Biden Administration has decided to walk away from those carefully crafted agreements by imposing a freeze on arms sales to Saudi Arabia and the Gulf States. This will be seen – correctly – as a return to the pro-Iranian policies of the Obama era and a message to the Arab peoples of the Middle East that they are on their own versus their traditional Persian enemy. Our friends at Americans for Limited Government summed-up the situation in a statement issued by the organization’s president, Rick Manning: The Biden administration has imposed a temporary freeze on U.S. arms sales to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates as it reviews billions of dollars in weapons transactions approved by former President Donald Trump. “Joe Biden’s antiquated view of Middle East foreign policy is not only wrong, but it is now dangerous. His decision to freeze arms sales to both the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia shows a profound disrespect for President Trump’s historic peace deals between Israel and four Muslim countries with historic animosity towards the Jewish state. It may even lead to an unraveling of the current peace. “The actions of the current occupant of the Oval Office are evidence that he has zero grasp of the current situation on the ground and longs for the good ole days when the region was on fire and the U.S. government funded terrorism through the pallets of cash his administration sent to Iran in exchange for a deal which guaranteed the Ayatollah a pathway to nuclear weapons. “I pray that someone wakes up to this gigantic mistake and corrects it before the region devolves into the chaos that existed when Biden was last entrusted with power.” Mr. Manning is right of course, and unfortunately after some ill-defined period of review we can’t expect that the “professionals” at the Pentagon or the National Security Council will give Mr. Biden better advice. General Lloyd Austin, the new Secretary of Defense, had what commentators have charitably called “lapses” as the head of Central Command, which handles U.S. military operations in the Middle East and South Asia. During Barack Obama’s second term CentCom was allotted $500 million to organize a rebel army in Syria, under Gen. Austin CentCom recruited only 60 fighters, all but a handful of whom switched sides or were killed in their first engagements. CentCom was also accused, under his command, of slanting intelligence on ISIS to make the militia group seem weaker, and to make it look like the U.S. war against the Caliphate was progressing more rapidly than was actually the case. President Trump had a clear strategy of building-up America’s Arab allies and normalizing relations between Israel and Muslim states. Trump was right to pull Americans out of harm’s way in northern Syria and put the Kurds in charge of mopping up ISIS and protecting their ethnic enclave. Biden’s redeployment of Americans back into Syria, while at the same time abandoning the American commitment to the Abraham Accords, can only reignite the Middle East tinderbox. Joe Biden foreign policy Middle East Israel Iran Syria Iraq Abraham Accords Arms sales freeze Saudi Arabia United Arab Emirates General Lloyd Austin

On the first day of his occupation of the White House Oval Office, it was reported that Joe Biden quickly removed the bust of Winston Churchill and replaced it with one of Cesar Chavez. This move is supposed to demonstrate Biden’s support for the working man. Cesar Chavez has been portrayed to the American public as a hero and champion of poor Hispanic migrant workers who, it was claimed, were paid mere pennies to work in the grape and lettuce fields of California. According to the tale, the farmers got rich off the backs of the migrant labor, selling the lettuce and making expensive wines from the grapes. Meanwhile the poor, misused migrants carried meager belongings on their backs and traveled from farm to farm, hoping to find work, perhaps a meal, and a place to sleep. Even little children were forced to work in the fields – just to keep the family alive. So goes the tale. Into the breach of this John Steinbeck vision of misery steps one of the workers who braved the wrath of the “MAN.” Cesar Chaves, so the tale continues, stood bravely against threats of bodily harm, maybe even death, to help bring the poor migrant workers a decent wage and stable working conditions. To stand as their champion, he created the United Farm Workers Union (UFW), organized protests, set up picket lines, and staged fasts to get the media’s attention. His minions took on the battle cry “Huelga” (strike) and called on all Americans to boycott “non-union” lettuce and wines. In an era of unrest and college protests, students across the nation took up the battle cry and participated in the boycotts. It became fashionable for liberal leaders to stand with Chavez. California Governor Jerry Brown (the first term) joined Chavez and all the usual Hollywood celebrities in protest marches in Sacramento. Bobby Kennedy flew in to embrace him for the cameras during his fasts. And now, Chavez is forced again into the nation’s reconstructed memory through Biden’s dramatic flair, putting Chavez’ image right there behind the Resolute desk of the President of the United States as an American hero. Well, here are facts about Cesar Chavez that you will never read in a school text book or current history book: There is no evidence that Cesar Chavez ever worked in a farm field in his life. He was a pool room thug selected and hand picked by radical communist organizer Saul Alinsky to create unrest among farm workers. Chavez was well trained in the Alinsky propaganda and organizing techniques that are, still today, recognized as the most effective tools to misdirect and force radical ideas into the general population. Cesar Chavez never tried to organize real migrant workers – those who had no real home, who carried their belongings on their backs and were basically nomads on the road. For the most part, the workers which Chavez picked on were not migrants, instead, lived in nice homes, in stable neighborhoods and made a decent wage. The only migration they did was to move from farm to farm in their area to harvest the crops. It provided them steady work with farmers who regularly employed them. At night, they slept in their own beds. Chavez never organized “non-union” workers. Most were already members of the Teamsters Union. What Chavez sold to the nation as a fight against “non-union” lettuce and grapes was really a jurisdictional fight against the Teamsters. Pretty hard to call the Teamsters “non-union.” And so, for more than ten years, Cesar Chavez used the media, politicians, Hollywood, and college students to change the buying habits of the nation and paint a picture of big business oppressing the poor. In 1974, when I served as Ohio Chairman of Young Americans for Freedom (YAF), I was also running for a seat in the Ohio legislature. My district was a small slice of Columbus that included the Ohio State University. My opponent was a dedicated left wing radical. The district contained no farm land other than the agriculture department of the university. Yet, the main issue of our campaign became the debate over Cesar Chavez and the United Farm Workers. In March of that year, Chavez came to the OSU campus. My opponent in the legislative race, Representative Mike Stinziano, was a major supporter of Chavez and, consequently, seated next to Chavez on the stage. Before the program began, I was out front of the auditorium manning a picket line and protest. Eventually, as Chavez prepared to speak, I and my fellow picketers marched inside the auditorium, straight down the aisle and sat on the edge of the stage. Rep. Stinziano and I eyed each other in this strange setting for a political campaign. Chavez began to speak to the wide-eyed college students, teaching them organizing songs and getting them to shout “Huelga.” Then Chavez began to spin a tale of the terrible conditions of the poor non-union workers as they suffered in the fields. Paul Bunyon would have been impressed. He told the students that to get around paying for his unionized workers, the cheapskate farmers had developed a device to mechanically harvest the grapes. He said it was a huge vacuum designed to suck the grapes off the vine. But, said Chavez in a hushed tone, the machine also sucked up spiders, snakes and rabbits, all to be processed into the wine. As the crowd began to stir and make faces at the thought of it, Chavez quickly added, “So, if you won’t boycott Boones Farm wine for our cause, at least do it for your own health.” That was Cesar for you… always concerned about the wellbeing of others! Two months later I was invited to Toledo University by the local YAF chapter there to provide rebuttal to a separate appearance by Delores Huerta, Vice President of the United Farm Workers Union. She taught the students the same organizing songs, peppered with the chants of “Huelga.” Then she proceeded to tell the same story of the great machine. Only this time she described it, not as a great vacuum cleaner, but as a picker with huge mechanical fingers that plucked the grapes along with the snakes, rabbits, and spiders. I pointed out to the audience that if the UFW was going to fan out across the country to tell lies, they should at least be consistent lies. Huerta proceeded to call for a boycott of all “non-union” lettuce and grapes. I again pointed out that many of the farm workers picking the grapes were, in fact, members of the Teamsters Union and had been so for many years. I asked when the Teamsters became non-union and the only response offered was that I was a Teamster lackey! Sigh… Hureta went on with her well-rehearsed tale of the terrible lives of the non-union farm workers, and demonstrating the success and power of the UFW by claiming that 200,000 farm workers had now joined their union. An interesting trick, since there weren’t 200,000 farm workers in the state. What Chavez and Hureta both failed to tell the audience was: How the UFW formed “goon squads” designed to intimidate the workers in the fields by threatening them with physical harm if they continued to work. How the UFW used Catholic priests to intimidate the deeply religious workers by calling them scabs. How the majority of those on the UFW picket lines were actually leftist activist college students bussed in from across the country. How UFW negotiations actually resulted in less pay for farm workers. So, in this age of irrational double-speak and rewritten history, schools, streets, and parks are named after Chavez, holidays are declared, and even a movie was made to enshrine his legacy as a defender of the oppressed poor. Now Biden puts his image in the Oval office, calling him an American hero. Labeling Cesar Chavez an American hero is akin to labeling Lenin, Stalin, and Trotsky as Russian heroes. The farm workers in California, in the 1970s, knew what a threat Chavez was to them and they hated him. They tried to tell America then, but the media, Hollywood, and liberal politicians had their own agenda to promote. And so, puffed up on their own “compassion” and in the name of their version of justice for the poor, they sacrificed the very people they claimed to help… all for the “cause.” Does that sound familiar? A good start to reclaiming American freedom would be to relegate Chavez to the trash heap where he belongs. It’s time to push back. Tom DeWeese, President of the American Policy Center, is one of the nation’s leading advocates of individual liberty, free enterprise, private property rights, personal privacy, back-to-basics education and American sovereignty and independence. Joe Biden Oval Office Cesar Chavez bust migrant workers United Farm Workers Union (UFW) protests Jerry Brown Saul Alinsky Teamsters

“Calling all political cat herders! Report to the Senate Majority Leader’s office immediately!” Admittedly I don’t even know if there’s a public address system in the United States Capitol building, but if there is, “Chucky” Schumer, Speaker Nancy Pelosi and President (still hurts to say it) Joe Biden must be frantically pushing buttons and turning nobs to try and work the thing. Otherwise, their collective dreams of completely transforming American culture and government might disappear right before their narrow, aged eyes. Arizona Democrat Senator Kyrsten Sinema announced earlier this week that she doesn’t favor ditching the senate’s filibuster tradition for legislation, which could put a serious damper on the leadership’s ambitious schemes to blow up the federal statute book in the blink-of-an-eye. It’s often said that individuals who are drowning see their life flash before their eyes; if that’s the case, then practically every Democrat in Washington must now be gasping like it’s their last breath. There are just so many loony leftist fantasies within arm’s reach of realization should the majority party only need fifty senators (plus Vice President Kamala Harris’s tie-breaking assent) to pass stuff! How about permanently altering the way Americans vote (H.R. 1)! The Green New Deal! Medicare for All! Eliminating Free Speech! Criminalizing dissent! Banning gun ownership! Then there’s oppressive taxation of citizens deemed “wealthy”! And Open Borders forever! Amnesty for illegal aliens! Declaring Cinco de Mayo a national holiday?! Well, maybe not that one. Also within the realm of possibility would be two more new liberal states (The District of Columbia and Puerto Rico), and hence, four more government-power-loving Democrat senators)! A packed Supreme Court! Much, much more! Fear not, even with the filibuster in place, Democrats will still push through plenty of damaging, life-destroying policies (see: Executive Orders, Joe Biden), but with the GOP minority still holding some sway over what ultimately gets voted on in Congress, it won’t be as easy for the new rulers to steamroll any and all opposition. Emily Brooks reported at The Washington Examiner: “Arizona Democratic Sen. Kyrsten Sinema’s firm filibuster stance has made her a bete noire of the Democratic Party's vocal Left wing. “Sinema’s office told the Washington Post on Monday that she is ‘against eliminating the filibuster, and she is not open to changing her mind.’ “That stance flies in the face of the growing movement to do away with the legislative tool that effectively prevents the passage of legislation without support from 60 senators. In the 50-50 divided Senate, Democrats have the majority due to Vice President Kamala Harris's tiebreaking vote. But the filibuster rule means 10 Republicans are necessary to join with Democrats to pass legislation.” Oh, the anguish! The weeping and gnashing of teeth (too biblical?)! Democrats will be subject to the agenda stalling rules they’ve hidden behind for years. It’s the same filibuster that the anointed one, Barack Obama, said was a “relic of Jim Crow” at the late Rep. John Lewis’s funeral last year. Tasteful guy, isn’t he? Nevertheless, Sinema’s public spat with the entire Democrat Party is surprising. Perhaps it’s something in the water out in the Grand Canyon State, because the 44-year-old’s leadership -defying stance appears suspiciously similar to the publicity inducing tactics of another media attention-grabbing senator from Arizona who used to (still does???) haunt the halls of the upper chamber. The late John McCain was skilled at angering conservatives and establishmentarians alike by siding with Democrats and a few other RINOs on a number of issues to squelch GOP momentum and snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. McCain’s closing act was three years ago during the Republicans’ push to get something done on Obamacare during President Trump’s first year. At the time, the terminally ill McCain delivered an impassioned floor speech calling for a return to “regular order” to move legislation the old-fashioned way, through the committee process complete with markups and amendments, etc. It was a nice thought, wasn’t it? If only the upper chamber members from both parties could meet collegially and shape simple bills like they do in a high school student council civics simulation session. It doesn’t work that way in reality when you’ve got self-interested parliamentarians like Tom Daschle, Harry Reid and now “Chucky” Schumer calling the shots and setting the calendar. Democrats have leftist donors and activists to satiate and feed. Besides, that compromise stuff is so 20th century, isn’t it? It certainly could be that Sinema is bidding to fill the vacant Democrat “moderate” position in the senate (only partially occupied by West Virginia Senator Joe Manchin, who’s also indicated he wouldn’t agree to ditch the filibuster). Granted it’s been a long time since any true liberal stepped forward to do something “principled” when he or she is staring hundreds of dedicated revolutionaries with fangs exposed in the face. But theoretically, it could happen. If it were a Republican in Sinema’s lonely position, the media would commend the person for his or her willingness to stand on their beliefs above political pressure. It’s highly doubtful Sinema will engender such fleeting and bound-to-be temporary adulation, however. These people recognize that their window for forcing socialism down the country’s throat is remarkably short. While it’s true that little depends on Grampa Joe Biden’s health and mental capacity holding up (with Kamala Harris waiting impatiently in the wings to elbow him out of the picture), the country can only be fooled for so long. Forecasting the future is always challenging but here’s thinking Sinema -- and Manchin if he joins her -- will face relentless pressure from Democrat honchos (such as Biden, Obama, Hillary and Bill Clinton and the entire evening line-up at MSNBC and CNN, among others) to move off her stance. Schumer will threaten to pull her committee assignments. Donors will tear up their checks. The gals on “The View” will rescind an invitation to be on their show. Social media will explode and Black Lives Matter will publish her home address. The politically correct crowd will say her “silence is violence.” Kamala Harris will be interviewed on 60 Minutes and pinpoint Sinema as the reason why Grampa Joe and herself can’t get anything done. If the elites get desperate enough, they might even blame further China virus deaths on the filibuster and certain individuals’ insistence on maintaining it. These are Democrats we’re talking about. Any resistance to their plans is viewed as treason and sedition. Donald Trump is no longer around to flog to the brink of death, so new “enemies” must be identified. And a potential Democrat traitor must be muffled, or someone else might grow a spine. And we can’t have that, can we? filibuster Kyrsten Sinema Chuck Schumer Kamala Harris Joe Biden Democrat agenda Mitch McConnell congressional majority climate change Medicare for All

Anyone remember “Ol’ lunch bucket Joe”? Over the course of decades it’s not surprising that Joe Biden acquired several colorful nicknames. It’s hard to be in Washington, D.C., the political gossip capital of the world, without garnering a reputation. Senator Ted Kennedy, for example, was often referred to as “The Lion of the Senate.” Teddy was called a lot of other things as well, but the major establishment media prefers to focus on the positive and/or momentous -- at least when it comes to Democrats. Most of Biden’s nicknames revolved around his perceived good-guy disposition and the media fostered notion that the longtime swamp dweller pol from Delaware was a regular Joe, the type of man who stereotypically relates well to the average hourly wage earner or union member. In addition to the above-mentioned moniker, according to Wikipedia, Joe is also referred to as, “Amtrak Joe, Diamond Joe (from The Onion), Uncle Joe (now Grampa Joe), Cup of Joe, Sleepy Joe and Creepy Joe.” With the possible exception of the latter two -- coined by Donald Trump and his supporters to portray what Biden’s real persona was like -- all of them give people a warm and fuzzy feeling about the new president. If you listened only to the characterizations of Biden offered by biased liberal journalists and cable TV hosts, he’s the type of dude who straps on boots every morning and wears the same blue jeans for about eighteen straight days without washing them. His duds have streaks of paint and putty all over them, which identify him as blue-collar but not necessarily a slob. When it’s cold in the morning, this kind of man dons a pair of earmuffs and stops by the local 7-11 or Dunkin’ Donuts (armed with a slight Indian accent, of course) to grab coffee and a breakfast sandwich before heading to his first assignment. His truck or van contains tools and parts for every known fix his customers might need. He packs his lunch like a regular schlep and gets upset when his thermos cup develops a crack in it. Hand Joe a pipe wrench and he gets busy fixing the sink. He knows how to do stuff. Always has. Biden isn’t often spotted in overalls and plaid socks, but would anyone be shocked if they caught him like that? At any rate, Biden’s harsh actions as president are already eating away at the friendly imagery, and it’s only been a week since his inauguration. His outright cancellation of the Keystone Pipeline has thrown an awful lot of “regular guys and gals” into the unemployment line. So much for being a man of the people. Valerie Richardson reported at The Washington Times: “President Biden promised during the campaign to create ‘millions of good-paying jobs,’ but his administration already appears to be moving in the wrong direction. “Tens of thousands of oil and gas jobs were thrown into jeopardy by Mr. Biden’s first-day order canceling the Keystone XL pipeline permit and the Interior Department’s 60-day freeze on agency approvals for oil and gas leases on federal lands, fueling an outcry from unions, industry advocates and Republicans… “Indeed, the layoffs already have begun. Calgary-based TC Energy, developer of the KXL pipeline, has let go 1,000 U.S. and Canadian workers as a direct result of Mr. Biden’s decision to cancel the 2017 cross-border permit for the 1,179-mile pipeline extension over environmental and climate concerns…” Serfs! Ignoramuses! Let them eat cake! For all we know, Kamala Harris probably gave Joe the idea to apply the axe. But these are real people, not statistics in a university classroom. With the onset of the all-encompassing federal welfare system, they probably won’t starve, but so much for improving their standard of living, which should be the goal of every president from either party. Instead, ol’ lunch bucket Joe caved to what Rush Limbaugh calls the “environmentalist wacko” fringe, which these days constitutes the mainstream of the Democrat Party. Group members suppress their guilty consciences by offering terrific-sounding “green jobs” as ready alternatives for the petroleum producing folks. The beautiful people condescend and lecture the callous-handed lot, telling them they shouldn’t be working at their harmful jobs anyway. They’re simply unenlightened! Plus, the displaced rubes are now saving the planet from the “existential threat” that is climate change. Like sure, people, you’re in the jobless situation today, but rest assured that your family’s sacrifice will result in a global temperature drop of .006 of a degree in 2043 or something, if the latest models are to be believed. Biden’s orders are so destructive that he should’ve already been gifted with a new nickname -- “Job killer Joe.” And instead of hauling around a lunch bucket, Joe should be viewed as eating off expensive China tableware at a fashionable dining establishment in a swanky well-secured urban neighborhood, the kind lobbyists and leftwing activists frequent. At such a place, the chef invariably has a French name, a title, and takes part in international cuisine competitions. There are several meal courses and you get a fist-bump (from the person next to you) if you can correctly pronounce everything on the menu. They order tofu and arugula and the preferred topic of conversation is Greta Thunberg’s latest voyage to preserve humanity. Oh yeah -- they carry their own paper straws and shoot dirty looks at diners who take off their masks a moment too soon after seating themselves. Ol’ job killer Joe ain’t finished with his nixing of the pipeline or banning new leases for energy exploration, either. Biden also hopes to impose a $15 minimum wage for federal contractors, doubling the current rate in one fell swoop of his executive pen. How many other poor unfortunate souls will find themselves without occupations when employers cut excess benefits, restrict hours and lay people off to absorb the greatly hiked cost of labor? The only happy ones in this assault on America’s productive class is the leadership in countries like China, Russia and Saudi Arabia, all of which must be shaking their heads at the inane reasoning Biden provided for cutting off Uncle Sam’s nose to spite his face. Expect a public relations campaign where Grampa Joe talks about “unity” and “progress on saving the earth.” The mainstream media won’t be interviewing the victims of the updated policy. But then again, ol’ lunch bucket Joe is sure a nicer guy than was that Trump character, isn’t he? Keystone XL pipeline Joe Biden Executive Order Unemployment 2020 campaign Canada energy production fracking environmentalists climate change Paris climate agreement

Back on December 9, 2020 then-Democrat presidential nominee Joe Biden announced that if his apparent victory was confirmed he would impose a nationwide mask mandate on “day one.” And true to Biden’s form of keeping only his most destructive and anti-constitutional promises (e.g. banning fracking) he issued an “Executive Order on Protecting the Federal Workforce and Requiring Mask-Wearing” on January 20, 2021. The Executive Order is full of all the bureaucratic gobbledygook one would expect from an administration trying to make it sound like Americans have to wear a mask, when it has no tools to enforce such an extraconstitutional mandate. Our favorite part is this one: Encouraging Masking Across America. (a) The Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS), including through the Director of CDC, shall engage, as appropriate, with State, local, Tribal, and territorial officials, as well as business, union, academic, and other community leaders, regarding mask-wearing and other public health measures, with the goal of maximizing public compliance with, and addressing any obstacles to, mask-wearing and other public health best practices identified by CDC. The title of that section kind of reminded us of the feelgood Hands Across America Sunday, on May 25, 1986, in which approximately 5 to 6.5 million people held hands for fifteen minutes in an attempt to form a continuous human chain across the contiguous United States and raise money for African food relief. Except Hands Across America was voluntary. The general reaction of the public to Biden’s Masks Across America has been one of complete indifference – the only place the federal government can enforce it is on federal property, where President Trump put on a mask mandate months ago. And those who aren’t indifferent to the Biden mask mandate are downright hostile. KOTA TV reported Rapid City resident Jon Pokras speaking against any mask mandate " These masks are what’s causing the problem, there weakening people’s immune system, these masks are horrible”. Pokras believes masks are not the answer to keeping COVID-19 away. Maryland resident Udayan Mallik told the BBC, “The mask mandate is utterly useless and merely forces people who work in federal facilities to wear a mask.” Our friend Texas Congressman Chip Roy (TX-21) had this classic Texas response to the Biden Day One Mask Mandate via Twitter, “On day one I will tell you to kiss my ass. #StandUpForAmerica.” Rather than defend his Executive Order Biden reacted by calling the congressman's remark "not very American." While Biden loyalists, Democrats and liberals were aghast at Rep. Roy going full Texas on the new President, Twitter’s normal American users seemed to approve, with #Resist46 @Right_NJ tweeting, “Telling a tyrant to kiss your ass is pretty much the most American thing ever.” Given its limited legal scope, Joe Biden’s mask mandate probably would have had more moral authority if he, along with his wife and VP Kamala Harris and her husband, hadn’t very publicly broken it just hours after it was promulgated. Biden’s mask mandate, like much of his week one agenda is more about showing the little people who’s Boss than it is about protecting Americans from the ravages of COVID-19. So, like Chip Roy said… Joe Biden Biden administration Texas Rep. Chip Roy federal mask mandate COVID-19 Anthony Fauci Trump vaccine Biden Executive Order Encouraging Masking Across America Federal Property #StandUpForAmerica

The Senate yesterday voted down a motion brought by principled limited government constitutional conservative Republican Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky, who challenged the constitutionality of an impeachment trial against a former president. (We have argued along similar lines in our articles “Insurrection Against Whom?” “Tell Senators Impeachment of Citizen Donald J. Trump is Unconstitutional” and “A Senate Trial After Trump Leaves Office Would Be Unconstitutional.”) Only five Republicans joined all the Democrats in voting down Senator Paul’s point of order and moving to proceed with the anti-constitutional persecution of former President Trump. The vote was an indication that Democrats will not attract the 17 Republicans that would be needed to convict Mr. Trump at trial. Five Republicans — Susan Collins, Lisa Murkowski, Mitt Romney, Ben Sasse and Pat Toomey — joined all Democrats in voting to table the point of order, brought by Senator Paul. His motion stated that “as of noon last Wednesday, Donald Trump holds none of the positions listed in the Constitution — he is a private citizen” and therefore the trial “violates the Constitution.” Paul’s motion also asserted that Chief Justice John Roberts’s absence from the proceeding “demonstrate[s] that this is not a trial of the President, but of a private citizen.” Paul declared victory after the vote even though 55 senators, including five Republicans, voted to table his argument that the proceeding is unconstitutional. “It shows the impeachment is dead on arrival. If you voted that it was unconstitutional, how in the world would you ever vote to convict somebody for this?” he said. “Forty-five of us, almost the entire caucus ... voted that the whole proceeding was unconstitutional, so this is a big victory for us,” he said. “This vote indicates it’s over.” Paul added he last spoke to Trump about a week ago “but not about this.” Senate Republicans held a lunch meeting immediately before the vote at which they heard a lengthy presentation from George Washington University law professor and constitutional scholar Jonathan Turley about why the impeachment trial is unconstitutional, reported Alexander Bolton of The Hill. In an op-ed for The Hill, Prof. Turley explained: …the Senate is faced with the second prudential question. There are cases which, even if legally brought, contain errors so significant they must be dismissed as unsound — on prudential rather than constitutional grounds. This case raises such a fundamental error. The problem is not what was sent to the Senate but what was not: a record. For the first time, the House sent an article of impeachment to the Senate without any hearing, any testimony, any response from the president — not a word. It simply sent a poorly crafted article, like a conclusion in search of proof. The issue for senators is whether they want to legitimize such a radical departure from the traditions of both chambers. Some of us called for the House to hold at least a day of hearings to allow an opportunity for the president to respond. Yet the House refused to call a single witness or hold a hearing. House leaders said there was not a day to spare — and then did nothing. They impeached Trump on Jan. 13 but waited until Jan. 25 to submit the article to the Senate. Translation: This is a blatantly political impeachment for which no fact record supporting the charges was established. In a lengthy post on his Jonathan Turley blog, Prof. Turley summarized the case against impeaching citizen Donald Trump this way: The problem from my perspective remains the balancing of such values against the countervailing costs. The Trump impeachment only magnified those concerns. For the first time in history, the House used what I have called a “snap impeachment” without the traditional hearing or formal opportunity for a president to respond. The House could have waited a couple days to allow such a hearing to occur. Instead, it used a snap impeachment and then sat on the article of impeachment for many days — similar to what it did in the first Trump impeachment. The Senate would then hold a retroactive trial for someone who is now a private citizen. Under this approach, any new Congress could come into power and set about disqualifying opponents from public office despite their being private citizens. A Republican Congress could have retroactively impeached Barack Obama or retried Bill Clinton. They could insist that there is no escaping impeachment by merely leaving office.That is why, even if the Senate does not view this as extraconstitutional, it should view this trial as constitutionally unsound. House impeachment Donald Trump MAGA movement incitement unconstitutional incitement of insurrection Joe Biden election fraud obstruction ex post facto laws bills of attainder Sen. Rand Paul