UPDATED: The New Normal In Light Of Gamestop

Yesterday evening/night and much of today I've spent digging out from a massive snowstorm, and I'm still not done. In between bouts of shoveling I've also been spending time tweaking new privacy measures--just because. Not that I don't trust Uncle but, well, just because, as I say. In fact, the measures, so far, are really directed at my ISP.

Along those lines, by the way, I've seen commenters discussing various supposedly more private browsers. During the last couple of weeks I've experimented with several additional browsers--additional to the several that I already use (at any given time I always have at least two different browsers open). Those additional browsers have included Brave and Iridium. While I like them well enough I'll probably be sticking with my two default browsers, the main one being Slimjet. Slimjet has, for quite a long time, simply worked for me--it doesn't call back to Google and it's builtin adblocker is very efficient (more so than most extensions). Slimjet is cross platform and based on Chromium, so it uses the Blink rendering engine. There's also a Slimbrowser, which is a Windows only product and is based on Firefox (Gecko rendering engine). I assume it's every bit as good as Slimjet. If you're looking for an excellent browser, one of those two may well fit the bill for you.

With that said, I've seen virtually no news today, but I did just read what I thought was an excellent article by Edward Ring:

Robinhood, Reddit, and the Cram Down of Economic Populism

This is what we can expect from Biden’s financialized economy, ascendant now over Trump’s productivity economy.

Ring first provides what I thought was a very lucid overview of short selling and what happened this past week with regard to GameSpot. He then moves on to what it means in the overall Big Picture. In particular, he punctures the narratival balloon that tells us what noble things the short sellers do for us all, but preventing over valuation of stocks. Here's how he concludes--I really like the way he wraps it all up and ties it in to things like the Green New Deal, the Great Reset, Big Tech, etc.

Recovering The Other Half Of The American Founding.

I'd like to recommend two articles that appeared today at American Greatness. The first article is easily summarized--a very short passage will suffice:

Why We Must Unmask

With a perpetual state of emergency for a virus with a 98 percent survival rate, the country is essentially a giant TSA checkpoint.

Over 80 percent of Americans covering their faces when leaving the home is a sign of submission to the one-party oligarchy that has replaced our constitutional republic. Masks are a symbol of fear, and a scared populace is more likely to obey mandates for the sake of safety. Masks are a sign that the American people will comply with a government violation of their personal liberty without proof of any personal or societal benefit. That last sentence is crucial. Throwing the masks away is not just an issue of political liberty, it needs to be done because masks don’t stop an airborne respiratory virus. 

It’s flat-out wrong to agree to Team Apocalypse’s premise that “masks work” or that they are a little thing we can do with no downside. There is no evidence for such assertions. 

The second article is longer and more complex. It identifies an ambiguity inherent in the American founding that has, unfortunately, worked itself out in a onesided way that is demonstrably counter to the outcome the Founding Fathers had envisioned. It also points the way forward--the way that I tried to articulate just the other day. It's the way of theory, in the original Greek sense of "seeing"--seeing the truth that will make us free citizens of a republic, rather than slaves to the ideology of rights inhering in atomistic individuals:

Civic Virtues as Moral Facts

Recovering the other half of the American Founding.

The article is clearly written and its argument, while not simple, is relatively easy to follow. I recommend the entire article to your consideration. Here I'll offer snippets to whet your appetite:

Until a half-century ago or so, there was a moral consensus, however fraying, that informed and shaped the exercise of freedom in the Western world. ... Few would have suggested that liberty and human dignity could long flourish without a sense of moral obligation and civic spirit on the part of proud, rights-bearing individuals.

...

The American Founders, for example, were in no way moral relativists, let alone moral nihilists. ..., they nonetheless appealed to honor, civic virtue, and the “honorable determination” of a free people to govern themselves. Facile relativism or easygoing nihilism, where all “values” are created equal, would have appalled them.

...

We now live in a different moral universe, and by no means a better one.

Is It Time For A Drone Strike On Mar-a-Lago?

That's the interesting question that lefty loon has been talking up this week--two days in a row. Her concept seems to be, Hey, we won the election so why not? 

You think I'm exaggerating? Not really. Read on.

First of all, a hat tip to Newsbusters for these transcripts of former Bushie Wallace on MSNBC on Thursday and Friday.

On Thursday Wallace brought on ex-FBI wack job Clint Watts.  "According to Watts's bio, he's 'a national security contributor for NBC News and MSNBC.'" Get a load of this:

Macron Disses the AstraZeneca 'Vaccine'

French President Macron is dissing the Oxford AstraZeneca vaccine: "It Just Doesn't Work As Expected".

Specifically:

The French president added that "everything suggests that it is almost ineffective for those over 65, and some say over 60."

For the record--How the Oxford-AstraZeneca Vaccine Works:

The Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine is based on the virus’ genetic instructions for building the spike protein. But unlike the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines, which store the instructions in single-stranded RNA, the Oxford vaccine uses double-stranded DNA.

 

This simply calls to mind the warnings of non-compromised experts that vaccines aren't easy--which is why there's never been a coronavirus vaccine before. Further, it was always a good idea to get effective treatments--like the HCQ based regime or Ivermectin--out to as many as possible.

Reminder: ALL of these 'vaccines' are experimental and are being used on an "emergency" basis. How real is that "emergency"? Is it more real than a bad flu season? We need transparency. Let's hear some political voices demanding that, since the medical voices have largely been canceled.

Matt Taibbi's Amusing And Cynical Take On GameStop

Cynical, as in, telling it like it is. Taibbi, of course, writes LONG articles, so there's lots more at the link:

Suck It, Wall Street

In a blowout comedy for the ages, finance pirates take it up the clacker

 

The episode prompted calls to regulate Reddit and, finally, halt action on the disputed stocks. As I write this, word has come out that platforms like Robinhood and TD Ameritrade are curbing trading in GameStop and several other companies, including Nokia and AMC Entertainment holdings.

Meaning: just like 2008, trading was shut down to save the hides of erstwhile high priests of “creative destruction.” Also just like 2008, there are calls for the government to investigate the people deemed responsible for unapproved market losses.

...

Even Nancy Pelosi, when asked about “manipulation” and “what’s going on on Wall Street right now,” said “we’ll all be reviewing it,” as if it were the business of congress to worry about a bunch of day traders cashing in for once.

The only thing “dangerous” about a gang of Reddit investors blowing up hedge funds is that some of us reading about it might die of laughter. That bit about investigating this as a “pump and dump scheme” to push prices away from their “fundamental value” is particularly hilarious. What does the Washington Post think the entire stock market is, in the bailout age?

Good Read On the Mitch - Trump Feud

I'm always cautious with Michael Snyder, but this is an interesting read on an important topic. My working assumption is that, whatever personal animus and political convictions Mitch may have brought to his feud with Trump, there were moneyed interests behind him pushing him. See what you think. One thing is for sure, by now Trump knows who his enemies are. This is a small part of a considerably longer article, so check it out:

Why Mitch McConnell Backed Away From Trying To Convict Trump

Mitch McConnell really wanted to convict Donald Trump and ban him from ever running for office again, but he was forced to back off.  In fact, he just voted for a motion that declared that convicting Trump at this point would be unconstitutional.  That represents a stunning reversal by McConnell, because earlier this month he was telling other Republicans that he wanted Trump gone.  Putting the pieces together, it appears that McConnell really did try to get to 67 votes so that Trump would be convicted, but political reality forced him to back down in a major way.  Now a weakened McConnell will try to move forward as the minority leader in the Senate, and the future of his political career is very much in doubt.

Home Run Davis!

Sean Davis, that is. This six tweet thread says it all about GameStop and what the Big Picture meaning of it all is:

Wall Street’s war on reddit and Robinhood isn’t about free markets or price transparency or longs vs. shorts or anything like that.

Wall Street institutions have crushed retail shorts with impunity for decades, even and especially when the shorts were right. (1/x) 

What’s happening right now is Wall Street realizing that retail investors, whom Wall Street mocks as nothing more than dumb commission factories for big brokerages, actually have some power that Wall Street believes it has a divine right to wield. That cannot be allowed. (2/x) 

The war on reddit and Robinhood is about putting retail investors in their place. Retail investors are not allowed to move markets. Only Wall Street institutions move markets. Retailers are not allowed to squeeze shorts. Only Wall Streeters are allowed to crush shorts. (3/x) 

Wall Street, you see, is allowed to make money no matter what. That was the lesson of 2008. Who cares that it’s Wall Street who destroyed the housing market/economy by lying about the risk of their garbage mortgage derivatives? They were entitled to bailouts. (4/x) 

Sure, millions lost their jobs and countless people lost their homes. The bankers got paid--with your money. They got bailed out--with your money. Sure, you lost your savings and home. But that’s what you get for being a dumb rube instead of a New York City banker. (5/x) 

So don’t get conned by those claiming hedge funds are just trying to protect the markets and price transparency and efficiency and blah blah blah. This is a war between corrupt institutions and normal people, and the institutions simply will not allow the normals to win. (6/6) 

Which is why the proposed security around the enablers of the corrupt institutions--in the People's House. And the National Guard transformed into the Army of the Potomac--the Imperial Guard for the Imperial City. Haha! Joke's on you! "People's House"? Guard for the Nation? Not your house, not your nation. At least that's what we're being told.

But what kind of con are they trying out on us? You're not gonna believe this. I mean, you will but you won't:

So I see the Ruling Class has moved to the “Redditors are domestic terrorists” phase https://t.co/qsDSWX0DnJ

— Benjamin Weingarten (@bhweingarten) January 29, 2021

Pretty soon they'll have to fence in Wall St., where our masters make their money, and have the "National" Guard patrolling the Financial District.

 

It's Hard To Be Free

That's what the Silver Fox said to me this morning. We were discussing the calls for a permanent security fence around the US Capitol--the "People's House" as Pelosi likes to call it, except she doesn't want the people inside. Nor does she want members exercising constitutional rights inside. No word yet on whether Trump--a real expert on building security walls to keep people out--will be called in to help. And then there's the matter of what the Silver Fox calls the Standing Army of the Potomac--the same people who want We The People fenced out of the "People's House" also want a permanent presence of this new Army of the Potomac inside the Imperial City.

Nothing quite says "Unfree" like these types of very visual measures. As we discussed yesterday, it seems clear that the Globalist Left is gearing up to impose the Great Reset in America by Executive Order so far as possible, and efforts to ram other measures through Congress are only a matter of time. The bailout of bankrupt Blue jurisdictions--school districts, cities, possibly even some states--is certainly being contemplated. 'Plotted' may be the better word, since to ram this through Congress may well involve measures--as with Obamacare--that will shred what little remains of our constitutional order.

But of course there's more. The brazen censorship--for practical purposes--and increasingly the spectacle of people being fired for their ideas. Or even for their suspected ideas--did you read about the woman who was fired by a literary agency because ... she had accounts on Parler and Gab? Of course examples of this sort--going back years (think Brendan Eich, for starters)--could be multiplied. Many normals in America live underground existences, living in fear of retribution for their beliefs during their public time on the job or even just associating with anyone except their nearest and dearest. There's more than just a whiff of burning witches in the air.

Enabling this is Big Tech--most of us live in what amounts to a total surveillance state. Most Americans are spied--actually or at the least potentially--by the technology they have freely chosen to surround themselves. If you have a device with a microphone and/or camera and can be connected to the internet--it can be used against you. Your movements, of course, can be tracked--even ex-bartender AOC warned her followers not to bring phones to protests. But tracking your movements is, in many ways, the least of the surveillance. As we know so well. And yet this surveillance is largely self imposed. We've been lulled into it because it's just so convenient and, after all, isn't there a Constitution to protect us from any abuses of this Brave New Digital World? Haha! Joke's on you!

MULTIPLE UPDATES: The Deep State Is Laughing At America

Kevin Clinesmith got 12 months probation and 400 hours of "community service"--I think that means he has to work for Dem political campaigns for 400 hours. Or maybe donate the time to the Southern Poverty Law Center. If you want a laugh--at your own expense and that of our country--read about it here.

The Dem who performed the ritual wrist-slap on Clinesmith--some guy called James Boasberg--teared up during the circus proceedings:

James Boasberg on Friday during Clinesmith's sentencing hearing said Clinesmith had suffered by losing his job and standing in the eye of a media hurricane. 

Boasberg gave him 12 months probation, 400 hours of community service, and no fine. 

Government prosecutors had been asking for Clinesmith to spend several months in jail. 

No word yet on whether Bluto Barr or Bullsh*t Durham think Boasberg "betrayed his office." Nor any word on whether Boasberg shed a tear for another guy who suffered real financial hardship and found himself in the eye of a true media hurricane--the like of which Clinesmith certainly never experienced but to which Clinesmith contributed by his felonious conduct--Carter Page.

Really--it's almost as if Boasberg wants us to believe that Clinesmith found himself out of his cushy federal job and in the eye of a "media hurricane" by some sort of weird accident or coincidence. He pled guilty to a felony, for goodness sake! And not just any felony, but a felony that strikes at the very heart of our rule of law, our electoral system, our constitutional right to be free of unwarranted surveillance. He did this, committed this felony, in an underhanded, dishonest way--forgery--as an officer of the court. 

Here's an alternative take on this travesty, reported by Paul Sperry--DC Fails To Disbar Anti-Trump FBI Lawyer Despite Guilty Plea:

As the U.S. government seeks prison time for a former FBI lawyer who admitted falsifying evidence to spy on a former Trump aide, the District of Columbia Bar association hasn’t begun an investigation to strip him of his law license, records show.

The defendant, Kevin Eugene Clinesmith, is still listed as an “active” attorney in “good standing” with the Democrat-controlled D.C. Bar, despite his having pleaded guilty more than five months ago to illegally altering a document used for authorization to electronically eavesdrop on former Trump campaign adviser Carter Page as part of the FBI’s Russiagate probe.

A search of the D.C. Bar’s Office of Disciplinary Counsel database of "disciplinary proceedings" turns up no such proceedings against Clinesmith, even though his guilty plea was reported to the bar and the bar's board has received at least one formal complaint demanding his disbarment.

“The only appropriate sanction for committing a serious felony that also interfered with the proper administration of justice and constituted misrepresentation, fraud and moral turpitude is disbarment,” the National Legal and Policy Center said in a complaint it filed with the bar on Sept. 10. “Anything less would minimize the seriousness of the misconduct.”

The 38-year-old Clinesmith, a registered Democrat who sent anti-Trump rants to FBI colleagues after the Republican was elected in 2016, awaits sentencing on Friday.

I'm just shaking my head. But Bluto Barr should be hanging his.

UPDATE 1: Perfect:

why doesn’t anyone trust our institutions? it’s a mystery. pic.twitter.com/daW7QBoDVD

— Logan Hall (@loganclarkhall) January 29, 2021

UPDATE 2: From the belly of the beastly Estabishment:

FISA vs. Liberty

A surveillance judge clarifies that the FBI can falsify evidence without much fear of punishment.

The government employees of the “resistance” who never accepted Donald Trump as our president have finally performed a useful public service. Together with the judges of the U.S. Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court, they have demonstrated for all Americans how easy it is to turn the spying tools of the federal government against domestic political opponents.

Even after the Obama-appointed inspector general of the Department of Justice found “at least 17 significant errors or omissions” in a series of approved surveillance warrant applications to spy on Trump associate Carter Page—and even after a criminal conviction of an FBI attorney for doctoring an email to make it appear that the patriotic Mr. Page had never assisted U.S. intelligence—the FISA judges are still refusing to apply any significant punishment to the government officials who misled them.

UPDATE 3: I goofed up somehow (!). I thought that I had quoted Shipwreckedcrew's brief--so far--comment. I guess I was distracted juggling several things. Here's what he says that I found pertinent--Clinesmith never accepted responsibility for his criminal act, and Boasberg only gave him the wet noodle treatment anyway:

Prosecutors from Special Counsel John Durham’s office asked for a sentence of incarceration due to Clinesmith’s position of authority and responsibility as an FBI attorney who was obligated to provide accurate information, and the act of altering the email was inconsistent with that responsibility.  They argued further that by clinging to the excuse that he thought his alterations were consistent with the facts as he understood them, Clinesmith was not “accepting responsibility” for his criminal conduct as required by law to receive any leniency in his sentencing.

 There is simply no question but that Clinesmith committed a criminal act. And yet he continued with a totally BS claim that he "didn't mean to mislead". Nonsense. No sentient person accepts that.

UPDATE 4: From a WSJ editorial--what's not behind the paywall. Everyone is focused on the CIA email--understandably--but as I've been saying for lo these many months, it's just as big or bigger a deal that the FBI failed to disclose to the court that Page was a highly reliable FBI source until Spring 2016. Still, they're right--why should we take the FISC seriously? Or the FBI? Or DoJ? Or the Federal judiciary?

How can the American people take the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court seriously when it doesn’t do so itself? That’s our view of Friday’s sentencing of former FBI lawyer Kevin Clinesmith, who admitted to falsifying evidence submitted to the court for a warrant to spy on onetime Trump foreign-policy adviser Carter Page.

Federal Judge James Boasberg spared Mr. Clinesmith prison in favor of 12 months probation and 400 hours of community service. The judge said the evidence persuaded him that “Mr. Clinesmith likely believed that what he said about Mr. Page was true.”

In their brief, prosecutors made clear how unlikely this is. The evidence of Mr. Clinesmith’s animus toward Donald Trump is considerable. As for being an honest mistake, remember that Mr. Clinesmith changed an email confirming Mr. Page had been a CIA source to one that said the exact opposite, explicitly adding the words “not a source” before he forwarded it.

In their brief arguing for prison time, prosecutors contended that Mr. Clinesmith’s behavior “struck at the very core” of the candor the FISA court “fundamentally relies on” and “allowed the FBI to conduct surveillance on a U.S. citizen based on a FISA application that the Department of Justice later acknowledged lacked probable cause.” Prison time for Mr. Clinesmith, they said, was also necessary to “deter others from committing similar crimes.”

Friday’s sentencing will fuel cynicism about two-tiered justice. While George Papadopoulos served time in prison for making false statements to the FBI, and a federal judge refused to drop charges against former national security adviser Michael Flynn after the Justice Department said they had no basis, a top law enforcement official who abused his police powers while operating in secrecy escapes with probation.

Who Rules? Free Speech And Vaxxing

There's a very important article at The Federalist this afternoon. It details the censoring by Youtube of testimony before a Senate Committee. Obviously Google feels it has such a stranglehold on video content that it is able to censor a US Senator--in effect, put him in his place and let him know who really rules.

The senator in question is Ron Johnson, and the subject of his hearing was early treatment of Covid. Johnson understands the implications of this action by Google--it's an escalation of the Oligarchy's suppression of free expression:

“Social media censorship just ratcheted up to a new level. Google’s YouTube removed two videos of doctors testifying under oath at my US Senate hearing on early treatment of COVID. Another body blow to freedom of speech and expression. Very sad and scary. Where does this end?”

The article explains what was going on at the hearing. Six medical professionals were testifying about the early treatment of Covid. One doctor, Dr. Pierre Kory from Milwaukee, testified about the effectiveness of early treatment with Ivermectin--a topic that is gaining increasing attention around the world. The video of Kory's testimony was one of two that was deleted by Youtube for "“inappropriate content”:

Update On China And Our National Power Grid

On Tuesday Newsmax's Emerald Robinson stepped up and won the Stump The Chump Home Run Derby:

Wow... stump the chump!@EmeraldRobinson asks a completely cogent, pertinent question regarding @JoeBiden's actions regarding China and @presssec is completely unable to answer...why?
Should we call for a special counsel regarding the Biden's relationship with China? https://t.co/QSoFcGsY2w

— Tony Shaffer (@T_S_P_O_O_K_Y) January 26, 2021

So here we are--it's Friday and nobody associated with the Zhou regime has "circled back" to Emerald with an answer. Or ... anything:

It's Thursday and nobody from the Biden Administration has "circled back" to me about China & our national power grid.

— Emerald Robinson ✝️ (@EmeraldRobinson) January 28, 2021

I'm willing to go way, way out on a limb and posit a developing pattern.

UPDATE: Back To The Future: Climate Change

Yesterday I noted in passing that Zhou Baiden stated recently that "climate change" would be the centerpiece of what he termed "his" foreign policy.

Why should that be the case? Why not Covid, after all?

Well, Stephen McIntyre offers an answer:

transfer of wealth from private sector working class to elites and public sector during COVID is merely a pilot project for transfer contemplated in climate policy. https://t.co/Y9bgR0S1Lg

— Stephen McIntyre (@ClimateAudit) January 28, 2021

As I understand McIntyre's argument, despite the vast wealth transfer from normals to the Oligarchs that has been effected by the Covid Hoax, "climate" policy still offers a yet more effective means for the Oligarchs to strip mine wealth and power from the rest of us.

It's pretty hard to argue against McIntyre--even if I were inclined to do so--based on what we've seen so far from the Zhou regime. It all seems designed to enrich and protect the Oligarchy.

ADDENDUM: What the heck, since we're talking about wealth transfer ...

Don Jr gets it. (I don't think he'll run though) pic.twitter.com/NpOXtRDEH9

— Hans Mahncke (@HansMahncke) January 28, 2021

UPDATE: Oh My! The Bee Explains: What The Heck Is Going On With GameStop?

Babylon Bee explains it in terms even I can understand. Bottom line?

Is what's going on here legal?

It depends on how much money you have.

 

Should Big Tech, Social Media, Be Worried?

Short answer: No. Long answer: The fix is in. That's what all those troops in DC are there for: to protect the fixers from the rest of the country. As the Silver Fox says, It's the New Army of the Potomac, but now settled in defensive positions in the Imperial City, rather than seeking to preserve the Union. And the Zhou Baiden regime is putting key shills in place to raise the legal ramparts to protect the Oligarchic puppet masters:

here they come....all the Big Tech wokesters that have targeted conservatives are coming into the government

Merrick Garland Wants Former Facebook Lawyer To Top Antitrust Divisionhttps://t.co/uoD5poaPyL

— Sean Spicer (@seanspicer) January 28, 2021

And, of course, if that isn't enough to show the kind of rigging the ruling Oligarchy is now empowered to engage in, the Gamestop escapade totally gives the game away.

Go Figure

What could possibly have happened in about the third week of January? Do you believe in ... coincidences? H/T Zerohedge:

It must be the Zhou Baiden regime. Magic.

It's Great To Be Lucky

OTOH, it helps to make your own luck--per Red State:

​Last month:

Nancy Pelosi and/or her husband purchased 25 call options of Tesla Inc. stake price of $500 with an expiration of March 18,​ ​2022, paying between $500,000 and $1,000,000 for the options.

They’ve gone up from $640.34 over this time to $890 as of today, which means they’re worth $1.12 million, according to Money Control.​

​Today:

​President Biden on Monday pledged to transition the U.S. Government vehicle fleet with electric vehicles as part of his “Buy American” executive order aimed at refocusing federal procurement on domestic-made products.

“The federal government also owns an enormous fleet of vehicles, which we’re going to replace with clean, electric vehicles made right here in America by American workers, creating millions of jobs — a million autoworker jobs in clean energy — and vehicles that are net-zero emissions,” Biden said during a speech announcing the initiative.

 

Shares of electric-vehicle makers Workhorse and Lordstown were up as much as 10 percent in early pre-market trading Tuesday, Tesla was also higher.

​Think she knew something was coming?​

UPDATED: McCarthy Heading To Mar A Lago?

Sundance is citing a report in The Hill:

McCarthy to meet with Trump in Florida

Former President Trump is expected to meet this week with House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) in Florida, a source familiar with the meeting confirmed to The Hill.

The rendezvous, which was first reported by Punchbowl News, comes as McCarthy attempts to manage simmering tensions within the House GOP caucus amid the fallout from the Jan. 6 riots at the Capitol and Trump's ensuing impeachment for his role in the mayhem.

McCarthy's office did not respond to a request for comment.

There's a bit more at the link, but not too much of substance--except, of course, that Trump has bruited the idea of supporting primary challenges of his GOP opponents.

It's anyone's idea how the GOPe thought helping to install Zhou Baiden would somehow magically eliminate Trump from the national--or, indeed, the world--stage. I have to agree with sundance that there's been a rude awakening for GOPe leaders like McConnell, and would be fence straddlers like McCarthy. After a short lived period of euphoria and boldness, they find themselves, as sundance says, essentially without leverage. Trump holds all the cards for now, and for the foreseeable future:

When Will There Be A Covid Reckoning?

I've maintained that sooner, probably, than later there will be a reckoning for what the ruling oligarchy has done to America and Americans with the Covid Hoax. The hoax, which was ginned up to oust Trump, is ultimately unsustainable. With a new regime having been installed in the militarily occupied Imperial City on the Potomac, our rulers are cautiously exploring ways to bring the hoax either to an end or at least to bring it under control. We've seen that with the backing away from lockdown policies in Blue cities. But it's not so easy. The title of Angelo Codevilla's article today expresses the dilemma facing our rulers:

Dismounting the COVID Tiger

The oligarchy’s chosen method of “reopening” after the pandemic shows that it intends to attempt to validate the harm it did over the previous year. Will it work?

The trick in "dismounting the Covid tiger is: How to prevent the subject population from realizing that they've been hand--tricked into an orgy of self destruction? The first and last paragraphs sum it up:

What A Concept--Faith Based Adherence To Civic Virtue!

Who would have guessed that Election 2020 would amount to a Come To Jesus moment for the godless Left? But it turns out they're all about faith, of a sudden:

Wonder if these Tech Clerics have ever considered that if the virtues of our hallowed "civic processes" need to be defended with increasingly extreme censorship action, there might be something a little more fundamental at issue

— Michael Tracey (@mtracey) January 26, 2021

Cue the pearl clutching!

What would we do without Twitter to protect We The People from ourselves?

About The Declass

Wondering about the slow pace? What happened to that foot and a half tall stack?

According to Kash Patel, the declassified docs are being withheld by DOJ. Huge failure by Trump's people to let that happen. I suppose we need to be grateful that someone got them to Solomon, even if that someone might now face problems from Horowitz.

— Hans Mahncke (@HansMahncke) January 26, 2021

 

Fake Impeachment Redux: Wow, This Is Perfect!

What a great, concise, way to explain what's going on:

The post-presidency impeachment of Donald Trump isn’t a political stunt. It’s a serious effort to subvert democracy, and it’s rooted in the left’s belief that the American people are the greatest threat to America.

— Phillip Kline (@PhillDKline) January 26, 2021

Shipwreckedcrew makes what I believe is a sound point about impeachment after a president has left the office of the presidency. I'd been wondering about this, having read short comments by Glenn Reynolds and Ann Althouse, but wasn't totally satisfied. I found the notion of Leahy presiding at an impeachment trial offensive, yet I know that impeachments of judges have been handled by Senate committees, so there seemed to be a precedent. Here is the point that SWC makes, that the impeachment trial of a president is different because the head of one branch of government is at issue with the combined expressed judgments of the two houses of a second branch:

The Constitution says when it is the President being tried, the CJ shall preside. Joe Biden is President and he is not being tried. The reason for having the CJ is because one branch of Govt is seeking to remove the elected head of another branch. https://t.co/puuOEqq9Z9

— shipwreckedcrew (@shipwreckedcrew) January 26, 2021

While neither the Constitution nor the Federalist Papers actually go into this reasoning, Federalist Nos. 65-66 seem to me to be in accord with SWC's view. If you read these numbers, it seems clear that Hamilton envisions only a sitting president as subject to impeachment and does not envision anyone other than the Chief Judge of the SCOTUS presiding at a trial. The idea of the Senate holding a trial for the purpose of preventing We The People from electing to office someone of whom the Senate disapproves is repulsive. It also illustrates exactly what Phil Kline is talking about.

The Carter Page Lawsuit--Clarification And Speculation

I spent part of today reading the complaint in the Carter Page lawsuit, which I discussed in passing yesterday (Paul Sperry: Whither John Durham?). Overall, as I expected, the complaint is a fine piece of legal writing. However, I want to discuss some important points regarding FISA--which, of course, is the heart of the lawsuit. I'm spending some time on this because I'm more optimistic that Page's suit will be successful than I am that Durham will forge ahead with additional important criminal prosecutions after the Clinesmith sentencing on Friday.

While the complaint is, as I said, well written and presents the case clearly, even to readers not familiar with FISA's technical legal requirements, it's not perfect, from my standpoit. What I'll do is draw attention to a certain laxness in paragraph 8 of the complaint. I'll then explain why the matters discussed in that paragraph have always fascinated me and raised suspicions that I think are significant. Unfortunately, I've seen no evidence that those suspicions have attracted any investigative attention.

So, paragraph 8 of the complaint is key to the whole lawsuit--it sets out the legal requirements for obtaining a FISA surveillance warrant:

8. In accordance with core principles of the U.S. Constitution, reinforced by the nation’s legal and cultural aversion to spying on its citizens, Congress and the executive branch have enacted rigorous requirements that must be met before electronic surveillance of a U.S. citizen is legally permitted. To surveil an American citizen, the FISA requires that there be probable cause that the target is an “agent of a foreign power” who is “knowingly engag[ing]…in clandestine intelligence activities.” In short, to legitimately obtain a FISA warrant against Dr. Page, the FBI had to demonstrate that he was a Russian agent who was knowingly engaging in intelligence activities on behalf of Russia.

Here's the 'laxness' that I object to in this paragraph. The requirements for obtaining a FISA warrant are incompletely stated in the first bolded portion.

Progress

Per the Daily Caller:

Virginia Rule Allowing Late Ballots Missing Postmark Was Illegal, Court Rules

The rule was proposed for the 2020 election, but blocked by the judge. Now it has been permanently excluded:

Virginia Circuit Court Judge William Eldridge ruled the state’s late mail-in ballot law violated state statute and permanently banned the law in future Virginia elections, ...

More accurately, the judge didn't "ban the law." What he did was, he ruled that the law must be followed and banned the rule that violated the clear provisions of the law. 

The board of elections proposed the rule during an Aug. 4 meeting and related guidance was sent to election officials statewide on Aug. 13 informing them of the change. ...

On Oct. 28, one week before the Nov. 3 federal elections, Eldridge blocked the law due to the PILF lawsuit. Virginia was therefore prevented from counting late ballots without postmarks, ...

...

The court ruling will affect the upcoming November 2021 Virginia gubernatorial and house of delegates elections.

This is what needs to be done across the country to block election fraud by state officials. It's pathetic that it should be necessary, but that's American exceptionalism for you. 

What Was Biden Thinking About With That China EO?

I'm glad you asked. It's like this. It's complicated. I'll circle back ...

Good on WH @PressSec @JRPsaki for calling on @Newsmax's @EmeraldRobinson during today's briefing, who then asked about an executive order as it relates to China and the U.S. power grid.

Watch for Psaki's fellow lefties to demand she never call on Emerald again in 3, 2, 1.... pic.twitter.com/DSVyWmapKy

— Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) January 25, 2021

 On a more serious note ...

In Hard-Hitting Press Conference, Press Demands To Know Biden's Favorite Disney Princess https://t.co/vLKqM47s0R

— The Babylon Bee (@TheBabylonBee) January 25, 2021

Paul Sperry: Whither John Durham?

Paul Sperry today has a very thorough review of where the John Durham investigation stands and where it may be headed. The article naturally focuses on Kevin Clinesmith, the disgraced former FBI lawyer who has pled guilty to making false statements to the FISA court (FISC) with regard to the final application for FISA coverage of Carter Page. Clinesmith is due to be sentenced later this week:

New Evidence Implicates FBI Higher-Ups in Dishonesty of Anti-Trump Lawyer

Sperry begins by noting that "defenders of the FBI" [sic] claim that Clinesmith's false statement--he altered a CIA document that was submitted to the FISC, causing the document to say the opposite of what it originally said--was a "lapse of judgment" or some such thing. Clinesmith himself has maintained that he never intended to mislead anyone. He'd also like to offer you a deal on a famous bridge in New York. 

However, says Sperry, there is new information that may portend a reinvigorated Durham investigation:

Democracy For Me But Not For Thee

That's the Dem's new coordinated ploy--Trump supporters are "endangering our Democracy." Of course, it's just another hoax--as several commenters here pointed out in the wake of the January 6 event at the Capitol. The same mantra of concern for the sacred space of the people and their reps only applied to non-Dem protestors. Among various incidents of excused Dem rioting in capitol buildings, the 2011 storming of the Wisconsin state capitol was particularly violent, but was widely and openly embraced by the Left. Why?Because at that time Scott Walker was the Republican governor of Wisconsin. Walker was a lightening rod for Dem hatred, especially because he was gaining a national following. That meant that anything would go.

Today at Fox News Yael Halon recalls the storming of the Wisconsin capitol. After noting the universal, mandatory condemnation of the January 6 event--the actual nature of which is, upon examination, becoming increasingly murky--Halon notes:

Ten years earlier, unionists stormed the Wisconsin State Capitol in an attempt to block a vote on collective bargaining reform. Thousands of demonstrators managed to enter the building by violently breaking down doors and shattering windows -- but the attack garnered much praise from Pelosi and other prominent Democrats at the time.

The occupiers were praised publically by Pelosi for their "impressive show of democracy in action." The House Speaker took to Twitter to express her "solidarity" with the activists as they attacked the Capitol, and sent senators into hiding until police managed to remove them from the building.  

Just to be sure that her views would be recorded unambiguously for posterity, Pelosi put them in writing, tweeting out:

Unforgivable

I got this from Clarice Feldman this morning, who got it from Glenn Reynolds, who got it from an email he received. It's so good I wanted it here just because:

Trump showed that the annihilation of the American middle class was not the result of inevitable forces. 

Technological change and globalization are not weather or the movement of tectonic plates. 

The economy, and who gets what from whom, is embedded in political choices. 

Who pays the costs and who reaps the benefits are political choices. 

Who is crushed by the legal system and who benefits from it, and who is insulated from it, are also political choices. 

Trump will never be forgiven for showing normal people that their destruction, and the enrichment of other people, who despise everything that they love, believe in, and care about, is a policy decision. 

Trump showed other choices are possible.

Having seen once how it actually works, we can never unsee it.

That is Trump’s greatest achievement.

Biden Inc. Payback To China?

Yesterday, along with many others, we took a look at the new regime's anti-union initiatives--or, more exactly, its anti unionized workers initiatives. These initiatives were part of Biden Inc.'s executive orders targeting the energy industry. Another executive order that will have a significant negative impact on unionized workers also came to light, but it will also have an impact on the security of our nation's critical infrastructure:

Biden Rescinds Trump Order Banning Chinese Communist Involvement In US Power Grid

Far be it from me to be cynical, but this almost looks like payback. Ask yourself: If you were Chairman Xi, what type of favor would you be asking Biden Inc. for, while hoping to keep it under the radar? To me, this would fit the bill.

An emailer sent me this analysis of the national security implications behind this EO. I will preface his analysis by adding that, in national security circles, it has long been known that China has been targeting our critical infrastructure, so it's not as if no one could have warned the new regime about this

More Chaos Coming

It was bound to happen. Big Blue politicians shut the schools down as part of the war against the Orange Man. Now they're trying to reopen things. Reopening bars and restaurants isn't too hard--the owners and employees are on the same page. On the other hand reopening government schools, well ...

The government teachers are all unionized, and the unions recognized a good thing very quickly. Zooming it in is a lot easier than dealing with kids in person, and the pay is just as good. Now the unions have the school districts over a barrel. You want us to return to in-person teaching? What's it worth to us?

This afternoon it was reported that the Chicago Teachers Union voted overwhelmingly to strike rather than return to in-person teaching, as ordered by the school board. The teachers don't "feel safe" yet, and don't want to return until they do. So what's the school board going to do? They can bluster about illegal strikes and so forth, but this is a mess for them. They better not look to the new DC regime for help, nor to the State. The teachers unions are the backbone of Blue reelection campaigns.

To one degree or another this will be happening around the country, as major Blue cities spiral downward into insolvency and ungovernability.

Here's the Wikipedia entry for the head of the Chicago Teachers Union, Jesse Sharkey. What parent with an ounce of sense would allow their child's education to be held hostage by this character?

C'mon Man, This Is Perfect!

The Executive Orders have been coming so fast and furious(ly) that it's hard to keep track of them all. I missed this one yesterday:

WASHINGTON, D.C.—Joe Biden signed an executive order this morning granting citizenship to everyone who voted for him.

Some ten million people are expected to receive citizenship through the executive order, making it the largest instance of amnesty in our nation's history.

"If you voted for me, darn it, man, you deserve to be an American," Biden said at a press conference this morning. "Thank you for your service, and welcome to America. You're all Americans in my book -- clean, articulate ones."

"Now let's build back better!" Biden pulled out his phone and played "Despacito" in honor of the votes he received.

There was some confusion as he then appeared to hear a voice in his ear and said, "Breathe in, breathe out." The statement was praised by all media outlets as being "a powerful reminder that we need to just calm down and breathe."

One guess. 

People Are Noticing ...

And it's still early days. More signs of a rocky road--because people learn about this stuff. They don't trust the 'traditional' media and they know where to look for real news. Three very complementary views:

Irony so rich that you could serve it as dessert. https://t.co/R8eq3n9MtO

— Emerald Robinson ✝️ (@EmeraldRobinson) January 23, 2021

I guess mail-in voting is no longer “safe and secure” now that it might be used to gore the ox of a left-wing Big Tech oligarch. https://t.co/dWtLREWhjk

— Sean Davis (@seanmdav) January 23, 2021

But good enough to elect a president, because everyone knows at this point political power is subservient to Big Tech power. Also loooooooool. https://t.co/GEKuEsi4Tl

— Inez Stepman ⚪️🔴⚪️ (@InezFeltscher) January 23, 2021

Stepman says it well. We know now who Rules America, and it isn't the people who are making believe. It's our Big Brother--Big Tech, with a little help from their friends in the Deep State. Problem is, the Rulers--being business guys looking to maximize their bucks no matter what their ideology--can't really hide what's going on. Wiping the WH web page and maintaining a military occupation of the Imperial City on the Potomac won't stop the subjects from figuring it all out. It's just not that complicated.

How Bumpy Will The Regime's Road Ahead Be?

One of the questions that has preoccupied conservatives for some years--and now more than ever--is: How many people are fooled by the Dem media? How successful is the full court propaganda press of fake news and disinformation?

Shipwreckedcrew has an enlightening and, from my perspective, optimistic article up that addresses that question:

A Majority of Americans Believe the Media Is Dishonest in the Way It Covers Politics

Note something. SWC frames this as a matter of politics, and no doubt most respondents to the poll in question viewed it in the light. But the actual question that SWC cites isn't framed just as a matter of politics--at least not in the sense of the usual partisan back and forth. As you'll see, the respondents view the issue as a broader one of ideology that affects all aspects of reporting.

Before we get to SWC's analysis, let's look at Axios' reporting on the poll that they sponsored: Media trust hits new low. Here's part of the summary that really hits the core issues:

UPDATED: 'Moderate' Left Already Alarmed

You've probably noticed. Just a few days into the new regime and voices on the 'moderate' Left are already sounding alarmed. They think the regime should be making more of an effort to fool more of the people, rather than openly making a hard left turn. They're afraid We The People are noticing, and I think they're right about that. How long they could fool people in the current climate was always a dubious proposition.

Among the other signs of alarm and unrest, I noticed this seemingly minor indicator--except, of course, that it's really not:

Moratorium order shocks NM oil industry

 

Shocks--as in, We didn't think they'd really do it:

The federal government’s 60-day suspension of new oil and gas leasing and drilling permits on public lands sent shockwaves through the industry in New Mexico and divided industry experts over potential impacts.

The article is long and provides various viewpoints, all the ins and outs, but here's the short version. New Mexico ranks among the very poorest states in the country. The revenue and jobs that the oil industry provides is one of the view bright spots in the state's economy. By some estimates, according to one view cited in the article, if the suspension is made permanent as promised, it could cost the state 62,000 jobs and billions in revenue.

People associated with the energy industry all around the country have sat up and taken notice--not just the executives, but the 'little people' too. They know this is a harbinger of things to come.

UPDATE: Importantly, the jobs that will be lost--not just in the energy sector but across the economy as the new regime's Executive Orders start to bite--will be overwhelmingly union jobs. And that will probably portend a worsening split between leftist union management and the rank and file. Read about this here: “Insulting”- Labor Unions That Endorsed Biden Now Lashing Out At Him. 

I'd Say This Is Up To Babylon Bee Standards

The Jacobin is not an outfit I follow, but they have a rather brilliant cover, via an article at RT (h/t Zerohedge):

'Government becomes God': Jacobin's satirical cover literally idolizing Biden strikes nerve

 

RT explains the, um, iconography:

Biden's larger-than-life, bare-chested figure is shown surrounded by 'holy spirits' of Twitter and 'saints'. The latter include kneeling Democrat leaders in the US Congress, Dr. Anthony Fauci, fawning journalists and manager-class devotees eagerly consuming the 'holy scripture' from what is probably the latest Barack Obama memoir. The former president himself is shown as a six-winged seraphim bracketed by the likewise angelic Hillary and Bill Clinton, with the trio gazing benignly from the heavens. A crowd of mask-wearing suburban laymen on Earth celebrate Biden's ascension. A pair of Reaper drones complete the picture, providing a clear hint for the doubtful that the image should be taken with a grain of salt.

No doubt this a bit of gentle Leftist self mockery, but who can doubt that this amounts to the Administrative Deep State's vision of our future--America in the Great Reset? I take it that the 'holy spirits' of Twitter are merely meant to represent our Big Tech Overlords more generally.

This Is All Very Disturbing

Banana USA:

National Guard Plans to Ask Thousands of Troops to Remain in DC Until Mid-March

The National Guard Bureau is working on a plan to call for thousands of volunteers from the 25,600 Guard members in Washington, D.C., to remain on duty in the city until as late as mid-March.

... 

As of Friday, the plan is to have up to 7,000 troops remain in D.C. through March 12, but those details are still in the planning stages, a National Guard official told Military.com.

Wow! Sounds like they know that we know, and they're scared. Everything in DC is poll driven, right? I'd like to know what their polls are telling them. And the continual reports that McConnell really wants Trump convicted in this Fake Impeachment Redux--that's very creepy too. It really is Banana Republic stuff. McConnell should be out in front of a microphone denying it all and saying how insane this is. It all tells the American people that there really was a Big Steal--not that we doubted that, but it's pretty solid confirmation when the gaslighting that's going on is so in your face.

And this says the same thing:

More Confirmation Of The Greatest Hoax Ever

The supposed pandemic has been well described as, in actuality, a "casedemic". In other words the constant drumbeat of "case" statistics based on the inappropriate use of PCR testing was always ever designed to instill fear of death in the populace by creating a false impression of rapid and wide spread of actual disease--with the real goal of driving Trump from office. We've all known that for a long time, and I have to admit I've grown a bit weary of pointing out the hoax nature of this pandemic--preaching to the choir. It's been a long time since the actual epidemiological profile of this disease was any mystery, but the "casedemic" hoax was perpetrated to reinforce the false narrative.

Wednesday, under cover of the military protected installation of a new DC regime, the WHO came out with new guidance for use of the PCR test--guidance that essentially completely deconstructs everything that the Global establishment has been propagating in the face of scientific knowledge. I actually did take note of this development and initially passed on it, but for those who missed it, LifeSite has an excellent account:

The Chaos To Come?

Many regulars will know that commenter Ray So-Cal is into lists. Below is his list of expectations from the new regime. Ray presents these strictly as Wild Ass Guesses. See what you think. I've edited only lightly by have added comments in brackets.

As is usually the case, some of these events or developments--if they come to pass--will interact with others. The result may be that political and socio-economic conditions will become more chaotic than previously. IMO, it's hardly surprising that the Left is acting up already--and targeting the Dem establishment this time. Tougher tactics against Antifa/BLM would undoubtedly win widespread public support, but ...

1. Such tactics would drain Dem support from its base of support, and

2. would win little additional support from Middle America.

As a result, any crackdown will be a touch act to pull off--and likely won't happen. 

Further, the pretense of a Biden regime will quickly collapse. It starting out as threadbare, and signs with press interaction are already bad. Biden/Harris may be a front for Obama/Jarrett, but they're not ready for prime time and the fact is that Obama/Jarrett are constitutionally unable to step back in. Neither Pelosi nor Schumer--nor any other Congressional Dems--are up to the task. State Dems? Cuomo won't play outside NY, Pritzker won't play outside Chicago, and Newsom is on the hotseat in CA. Expect a rough ride.

Now, Ray So-Cal:

Two Important Reads Re The Administrative State

"Administrative State" is the term that political scientists use to describe the bureaucratized government that we have, in which the unelected permanent bureaucracy--lodged in the Executive Branch--increasingly takes over the functions of the Legislative Branch, which in the constitutional scheme of things was supposed to represent We The People. The result of the empowerment of supposed "experts" in the permanent bureaucracy is that neither Congress nor even presidents or cabinets secretaries are able to exercise true authority over the government. Never, perhaps, in the last hundred and more odd years of the Administrative State's development in America has the full power of the Administrative State--in opposition to all three constitutional branches of government--been more apparent than during the four years of the Trump administration.

The two scholars most associated with the critique of the Administrative State are John Marini, a political science professor, and Philip Hamburger, a law professor.

Marini's best known book on the subject is Unmasking the Administrative State: The Crisis of American Politics in the Twenty-First Century. Writing from a more strictly legal standpoint, Hamburger's major work is Is Administrative Law Unlawful?

However, if you're short of time, I'm linking two articles--actually, an interview with Marini and a review of his book--that will give you a very clear idea of what's at stake in all this.

The review of Marini's book can be found here:

Have the American People Irrevocably Ceded Control of Their Government to the Modern Administrative State?

I'll only excerpt a few paragraphs from the review. I chose these paragraphs because they discuss what I've regularly referenced--the influence of Hegelian philosophy over the American Progressive Movement, which includes (among names most will recognize) John Dewey and Woodrow Wilson:

But Can They Rule?

Yesterday, after discussing Angelo Codevilla's NeverTrump rant, I acknowledged that Codevilla makes some good points--albeit points that many others have been making. The American republic basically died back in November. It's death became official yesterday. We still have the forms of a republic, but what has finally been revealed for all to see is that the real rulers of America are not the people's representatives but an oligarchy controlled by large corporate interests. In other words, a type of Fascism in the proper sense--the Corporate State.

The problem now for the Rulers--a problem brought on by Donald Trump--is that the subject classes now largely see this reality for what it is. That fact was brought home on January 6 when something very much in the neighborhood of half a million Americans came to the Imperial City on the Potomac to voice their support for Trump--but also their anger at the Oligarchy that devoted four or even five years to hoaxes meant to undermine the people's choice and the policies that the people overwhelmingly supported. And still support.

January 6 was a wake up call to the Oligarchy and the rulers in the Imperial City. They had seen large crowds before. The annual Pro-Life March is a reminder that huge numbers of Americans disagree with the elite vision of America. But January 6 was different, in that it told the Oligarchy that We The People now challenge their claim to legitimate rule.

The reaction was telling: A huge display of military might and open calls for new government agencies to establish a National Security State that would expressly target half the population of the country--the 'deplorables' or, in John Brennan's remarkable words: 

“I know, looking forward, that the members of the Biden team who have been nominated or have been appointed are now moving in laser-like fashion, to try to uncover as much as they can about what looks very similar to insurgency movements that we’ve seen overseas, where they germinate in different parts of the country and they gain strength, and it brings together an unholy alliance frequently of religious extremists — so authoritarians, fascists, bigots, racists, nativists, and even libertarians,” Brennan said on MSNBC.

And John Brennan was far from alone. The Left's media outlets are humming with talk of 'insurrection', white supremacists, and other fantasies that are being marshaled in a desperate attempt to gin up popular support. But the installation of the new regime yesterday was a visible sign of the lack of legitimacy. The lack of any popular turnout gave the game away. Yes, this was said to have been a deliberate choice, because Covid. But the reality is obvious. Those nearly half million people who turned out on January 6 couldn't have been kept away. By contrast, nobody showed for the supposedly--and supposedly overwhelmingly--most popular president in US history. The reality couldn't be hidden.

And so I asked yesterday: Can they rule? Going forward?

Flynn Leak Case Closed

Because nobody did anything wrong. Yes, you read that right. It's not that they've given up trying to find out who showed David Ignatius Top Secret information (a tech cut)--they know that. Believe me, they do. No, it's that it's OK to do that when the person targeted is President Trump's National Security Adviser:

In one inquiry, code-named Operation Echo, investigators opened a leak case into a Washington Post column about phone calls in late 2016 between Sergey I. Kislyak, the former Russian ambassador to the United States, and Michael T. Flynn, then Mr. Trump’s incoming national security adviser. The leak was one of several matters under scrutiny by John H. Durham, the special counsel investigating the officials who opened the Russia investigation.

Prosecutors in the U.S. attorney’s office in Washington investigated whether the disclosures came from former Obama administration officials who had access to sensitive information about the phone calls, according to two people familiar with the investigation. The investigators ultimately found no wrongdoing, one of the people said.

Prosecutors in Washington also recommended that the office close its investigation into Walid Phares, a former Trump campaign adviser suspected of secretly working on behalf of the Egyptian government in the months before Mr. Trump took office to influence the incoming administration.

Michael R. Sherwin, the acting U.S. attorney in Washington, signed off on closing both of the cases on prosecutors’ recommendations, according to a person familiar with the investigations. A Justice Department spokesman declined to comment.

 

I can't wait for the coming Durham indictments. But don't kid yourself--I'm no longer kidding myself. This is about Bluto Barr's DoJ. The hypocrisy in all this is enough to take your breath away.

UPDATE: You wanna see hypocrisy? Actually, the depravity that Tucker reveals in his monologue goes far beyond mere hypocrisy:

Codevilla's Deeply Dishonest Anti-Trump Screed

Angelo Codevilla has written a long--too long--and frustrating critique of where We The People stand at this moment in American history:

Clarity in Trump’s Wake

The United States of America is now a classic oligarchy. The clarity that it has brought to our situation by recognizing this fact is its only virtue.

That Codevilla must have been foaming at the mouth as he typed seems clear from the second sentence of the sub-title: Could someone please tell me what the antecedent for the pronouns "it" and "its" is? I can only conclude that the antecedent must be "Trump's Wake", poorly as that fits. The idea seems to be something like this: 

The clarity that [the Trump presidency] has brought to our situation by [revealing that the United States of America is now a classic oligarchy] is [the Trump presidency's] only virtue.

Having plowed through the overlong article, it seems that Codevilla's basic beef--beyond his repeatedly expressed disdain for Trump as a person--is that Trump didn't single handedly reverse the downward trajectory of the American republic into a squalid, kleptocratic and amoral oligarchy. Every disappointment, every failure to achieve a total transformation life, is attributed by Codevilla to Trump and to Trump alone.

Two examples will have to suffice.

Proof That Trump Buckled To Turtle And Bluto?

Today we hear that Lindsey! is calling on Turtle to renounce impeachment:  

“What we need right now is Sen. McConnell to unequivocally say the second impeachment of Donald Trump after he leaves office is not only unconstitutional, it is bad for the country,” Graham, the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, said during a virtual appearance on Fox News’ “Hannity.”

My interpretation of that goes thusly: OK, Trump kept his side of the bargain--he didn't pardon Julian Assange. So now you, Turtle, need to try to pull the wool over the eyes of Republican voters one more time by saying bygones are more or less bygones, especially with Trump bygone--for the time being. I further understand this as a pretty clear indication that Bluto's recent attacks on Trump--he "betrayed" an "office" and yada, yada, yada--were a shot across Trump's pardon bow: If you pardon Assange, I, Bluto, disgraced former AG, will testify against you at Turtle's impeachment trial of you, thus giving prestige cover to RINO senators to vote for conviction.

No, I can't prove that, but that's what I think pretty much happened. Trump blinked and didn't do something that he clearly should have done.

On the House side, OTOH, some goodish news. Something in the neighborhood of 115 GOPers in the House have committed to voting for a special GOP conference to consider booting Liz Cheney from her leadership position. That would be based on her vote to impeach Trump. That 115 is something like double the number of votes needed. It looks like this is a pretty clear warning to Kevin McCarthy that he's got some major problems ahead. Snubbing Trump--McCarthy didn't attend Trump's departure--will not have helped McCarthy with those 115 Reps. No conference leader can afford to snub that many members. By the same token, by taking this step these members probably understand that this cannot be an isolated move--they'll need to stick together in the future, as well.

Tucker Re Assange And McConnell

As Tucker says, he doesn't know whether this is true, but this is what he's hearing:

Video: pic.twitter.com/kRYD58nAEn

— Daniel Chaitin (@danielchaitin7) January 20, 2021

John Solomon: Oathkeepers Charges, Declass

First the easy part, which takes up the major part of the Lou Dobbs interview with John Solomon: Solomon confirms that the FBI docs on the Russia Hoax have been declassified, and he's just waiting for them to be distributed. That's most of what we have for now. However, in a brief article, Solomon states that there will still be some "modest" redactions. Those redaction issues were raised by the FBI on January 17, which looks like a last ditch effort to derail the declass:

Trump revealed in a statement issued by the White House that the materials were not previously shared with Congress or the public and he received them on Dec. 30 in a binder, determining they ought to be made public. The binder is about a foot tall, according to officials who have seen it.

"I determined that the materials in that binder should be declassified to the maximum extent possible," the president said.

The effort to release the materials, however, hit a bump when the FBI objected on Sunday to a complete release of the information. The president nonetheless ordered them released but allowed for some modest redactions to be made.

"As part of the iterative process of the declassification review, under a cover letter dated January 17, 2021, the Federal Bureau of Investigation noted its continuing objection to any further declassification of the materials in the binder and also, on the basis of a review that included Intelligence Community equities, identified the passages that it believed it was most crucial to keep from public disclosure. I have determined to accept the redactions proposed for continued classification by the FBI in that January 17 submission."

 

The first few minutes of the interview are, if anything, more important. The FBI has built a conspiracy case against several--at least three, perhaps more--individuals who belong to the Oath Keepers. and who appear to have acted as provocateurs in the events of January 6 at the US Capitol. As Solomon explains, it is now known that--contrary to claims by Mitch McConnell and Bluto Barr, the plans by the Oath Keepers to enter the Capitol were developed well before Trump's address to the protesters--at least as early as January 1, but possibly earlier. The significance of these facts that the FBI has uncovered is that the illegal activities that took place on January 6 had nothing to do with Trump's actual address to the crowd--the entry to the Capitol was long planned. Now, Bluto Barr will maintain that Trump's claims of election fraud for the preceding two months served as incitement. But those claims are too remote from the events in terms of causation to be used as evidence of "high crimes" or "misdemeanors." Moreover, they are protected by the First Amendment.

UPDATED: Rand Paul On The Bluto - McConnell Strategy

Disgraced former AG Bluto Barr and Cocaine Mitch McConnell appear to be coordinating attacks on President Trump, claiming that Trump incited a mob to attack Congress while it was engaged in "sacred" constitutional duties--putting the finishing touches on The Big Steal. Exactly what the end game is, is anyone's guess. They clearly seem to be egging the Dems on to push for an impeachment trial in the Senate and to convict Trump of ... something. Apparently McConnell believes that Barr's backing will give this push credibility with, well, the GOPe? It surely won't help get Republicans elected come 2022, not if the Georgia runoffs were any indication and not if Trump's approval polling means anything.

To me, all this is mind bogglingly wacky, but each of Barr and McConnell have shown real tone deafness and serious lack of perspective during the past two years. Commenter Ray So-Cal has linked a Zerohedge blog that features Senator Rand Paul being interviewed by Laura Ingraham. Paul speaks lucid good sense:

“I don’t understand how they can be moving forward with this,” he said, before adding

“The thing they’re doing now is an overreaction, and if they think they’re going to have a positive feeling from the public, when they’re going to go through a partisan impeachment again, I think that’s absolutely insane and wrong headed.”

"Absolutely insane and wrong?" Sounds like Trump derangement syndrome on steroids.

Briefly Noted: Will Trump Let Us Down? Fear Porn, New Abnormal

Trump let us down? Huh?

Well, what happened to that foot to foot-and-a-half stack of original FBI documents that John Solomon assured us would be declassed within 2-3 days? That was last week. The Senate interviews are little more than light comedy--the internal documents are what we want.

And then there's the pardons. I would be personally disappointed if Julian Assange were not pardoned. There are those who claim that Trump will back off from this pardon lest he PO the senators who will/may be conducting a show trial of Trump. 

Please, Mr. President--just pull the trigger on both these measures. We need to get to the bottom of the Russia Hoax and the definitive deconstruction of the American Republic.

Something To Keep The Deep State Awake At Night

Good Morning!

This finding yesterday by Mr. @NolteNC below is confirmed by our competitor @Gallup - https://t.co/UBK1bXrKqB https://t.co/NAnwq7h4jp pic.twitter.com/Q80BMPrVBW

— Rasmussen Reports (@Rasmussen_Poll) January 16, 2021

Now here's what they SHOULD be staying awake over. Except, of course, the Deep State knows who's REALLY in charge:

The leader of the free world, President of the most powerful country in history.

I'm feel ok about the next four years....

If only I knew who was really in charge. https://t.co/pE21l3YmXH

— shipwreckedcrew (@shipwreckedcrew) January 17, 2021

And just because it's so great:

Most Popular President In History To Be Inaugurated In Secret Behind Giant Wall Guarded By Thousands Of Soldiers https://t.co/zczBzvjJP8

— The Babylon Bee (@TheBabylonBee) January 18, 2021

Very Briefly Noted: Fight the impeachment, Donald

Don Surber has a fascinating blog, uncharacteristically lengthy:

Fight the impeachment, Donald

Teaser:

... the fix is in again. This time Republicans will vote against him and give Democrats the 67 votes they need to find the president guilty.

Official Washington wants to erase his presidency from history, and strip away his citizenship by blocking him from ever seeking office again. They want his head on a pike as a warning to others.

...

The plan is to hold the impeachment show trial concurrent with confirming Cabinet members and rubber-stamping his agenda.

Byron York asked, "But why should Republicans help Democrats with a kooky plan that would require voting to remove a president who is already gone?"

Answer: Because they hate Donald Trump and every one of the 75 million people who voted for him.

While I might try arguing against this scenario, I've now learned to be cautious about disagreeing with Surber. And it's true: Hatred is a deranging emotion that often blinds those in its grip to their true interests and to dangers ahead. That notion seems so far not to have crossed the mind of our Rulers, except to the extent that they think they can protect themselves by flooding DC with troops.

We shall see.

Our New Normal: The Vaccine Regime

Earlier today commenter Bebe pointed out a specific example of the increasingly common stories we're seeing, in which "unexpected" consequences to the experimental "vaccines" (these aren't really 'vaccines' in the scientific definition) that are being pushed on one and all:

California Calls for Pause in Use of Huge Batch of Moderna Vaccines

California officials late Sunday directed COVID-19 vaccine providers to not administer any doses from a batch of over 330,000 that was circulated across the state.

The reason was a “higher-than-usual number of possible allergic reactions,” California State Epidemiologist Dr. Erica Pan said in a statement. The doses were produced by Moderna.

That reminded me of an article that I was saving for later. Even as public health officials raised questions about the Moderna 'vaccine', Moderna's CEO seems confident of the future new normal--everyone will be vaxxed, and that regularly:

Politics And The Family

Yesterday I came across a review of a book that critiques--at least partially--the ideology that lies behind most of what's wrong in American life. You'll quickly recognize that the ideology as described is the same ideology that is described by political philosophers like Patrick Deneen. This is the ideology that grew out of the late medieval nominalism that maintained that there is no such thing as common natures, such as human nature--instead, only atomistic individuals exist. This has in the ensuing centuries become the default ideology of the modern world, and underlies the politics and policies of both Right and Left--whether most persons living under the sway of the this ideology recognize it or not. 

This fact explains the phenomenon that we call the "Uniparty" and the result that the difference between liberal and "conservative" administrations is largely a matter of how quickly we descend the slippery slope. The solution, of course, is to escape from that slippery slope by adopting a true philosophy and rejecting this anti-human ideology. The difficulty in this is that, in the course of centuries, it has become almost impossible for us in the West to think outside the box of this ideology. Even the institutions, such as the Church, that should be most strongly resisting it have largely succumbed--gradually but, at this point, virtually completely.

The book in question is by Scott Yenor, a professor of political science at Boise State University. Yennor's focus is on the harm this ideology has done and continues to do to the family as the key societal institution. His contention is that this harm is in no way coincidental. For our purposes, the difference between Right and Left in this regard is largely in the intent. "Conservatives" adopt the harmful policies mostly without the intent to harm the family as such--they do it because they cannot conceive of a different way of understanding human reality and so are putty in the hands of ideologues. Their goal is simply to continue "moderately", gradually. Not so with the Left.