A Haunting Anniversary
Julie Kelly, American Greatness
The COVID lockdowns were a man-made disaster the likes of which can only be compared to war. On March 16, 2020, President Donald Trump and his Coronavirus Task Force announced the infamous “15 Days to Slow the Spread.” In some ways, it’s hard to understand how this all happened. None of it would have been possible but for the immediate and unskeptical submission of the overwhelming majority of Americans. Could it happen again? Sadly, the answer is yes. Never again? We’ll see.
Ron DeSantis, the Ukraine Migraine, and Our National Interest
Scott McKay, The American Spectator
Ron DeSantis’ statements and actions have been steadfastly opposite of those that the Beltway elite has demanded from him. In that, he’s doing damage to the narrative from the Trump set that he’s a globalist/establishment plant. He isn’t. Which may or may not qualify him to supplant Donald Trump as the GOP nominee. But regardless of the outcome of the presidential race, DeSantis is not for a blank check or an escalation in Ukraine, and that makes him better than the current lot.
Elon Musk says Trump will win in a ‘landslide victory’ if he's indicted
Heather Hunter, Washington Examiner
Twitter CEO Elon Musk predicted that if the Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg indicts former President Donald Trump, he will win "in a landslide" in the 2024 presidential election. “If this happens, Trump will be re-elected in a landslide victory,” Musk said in a tweet Saturday. The tweet from the Twitter executive was in response to a social media user posting a video of a news report detailing a possible arrest of the former president. Trump's Twitter ban was overturned by Musk.
It Looks as if Trump Will Be Arrested Next Week, and That’s Not Even the Worst of It
Robert Spencer, PJ Media
The arrest of Trump, particularly while Hunter Biden, Old Joe, Nancy “Insider Trading” Pelosi, and Hillary Clinton, along with a host of other Leftists, remain uninvestigated, will demonstrate that America is now a place where corrupt governing officials use the full weight of the law to persecute and prosecute opposition leaders and silence dissent. The political and media elites obviously couldn’t wait for Trump to complete his political suicide. They hate and fear him too much.
Rep. Chip Roy Endorses Gov. DeSantis for President 2024
Spencer J. Fairfield, CNS News
Roy endorsed DeSantis even though he's not an official candidate. “It’s time for Ron DeSantis to be President of the United States." “The next President of the United States must be a vibrant and energetic leader with the faith, vision, and courage to chart a new course,” said Roy. “America needs a leader who will truly defend her and empower the people against the destructive force of unrestrained government and corporate excess, profligate spending, and woke cultural indoctrination.”
Did ESG Help Sink SVB?
Kimberley Strassel, Wall Street Journal
The Biden administration immediately swooped in with an SVB bailout, promising to make all those clean-tech companies whole. Some Republicans are blaming the SVB meltdown on distraction—claiming the bank was overly focused on turbofunding climate and social-engineering causes. That’s a bit too convenient. SVB and its clients were doing exactly what Washington invited them to do—chase the money. And one big lesson is that no good ever comes from D.C. attempts to micromanage markets.
DeSantis Is Right About Ukraine
Kurt Schlichter, Townhall
Gov. Ron DeSantis has taken the smart strategic position and the smart political position. He has shown leadership. Ron DeSantis gets it, and that’s why the people who have failed again and again and again are outraged at him. They were hoping they could co-opt him. Instead, when the election comes around the American people are going to be sick of this insanity and he will be right where they are – ready to move on from another endless war that only jerks like David Frum want.
Should Taxpayers Subsidize College Dropouts?
David Catron, The American Spectator
The $400 billion Joe Biden administration program would also “change the lives” of millions of Americans for the worse. How? It will raise the stealth tax known as inflation. As former Clinton Treasury Secretary Lawrence H. Summers put it when Biden announced the scheme: “Student loan debt relief is spending that raises demand and increases inflation. It consumes resources that could be better used helping those who did not, for whatever reason, have the chance to attend college.”
Texas Case Could End Access to ‘Dangerous’ Abortion-Inducing Drug Nationwide
Susan Berry, PhD, The Star News Network
A federal judge heard oral arguments in a lawsuit that could end the availability of the abortion-inducing drug mifepristone throughout the nation. The case was brought against the Food and Drug Administration in November by the Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine, a coalition of pro-life OB/GYNS, pediatricians, and other Christian healthcare providers, who is seeking a preliminary injunction to require the FDA to withdraw or suspend its approval of the drug while the lawsuit continues.
National Sheriffs Association Calls on Congress to Use All 'Means Necessary' to Destroy Drug Cartels
Michael W. Chapman, CNS News
“The nation’s sheriffs strongly support the American people’s continued demand that our federal government [and Congress] use whatever means appropriate to combat these deadly cartels,” said Sheriff Jim Skinner, chairman of the National Sheriffs’ Association Government Affairs Committee, in a statement. “Without clear, determined and strong action against the Mexican cartels and their partners, we are witnessing the destruction of our families and communities," he added.
Are We the Byzantines?
Victor Davis Hanson, PJ Media
Like Byzantines, Americans have become snarky iconoclasts, more eager to tear down art and sculpture that they no longer have the talent to create. Current woke dogma, obscure word fights, and sanctimonious cancel culture are as antithetical to the past generations of World War II as the last generation of Constantinople was to the former great eras of the emperors Constantine, Justinian, Heraclius, and Leo. The Byzantines never woke up in time to understand what they had become.
Oppose Digital Currency—Communism Beyond Marx’s Dreams
Roger L. Simon, The Epoch Times
With its digital, real-time ability to track every dollar spent by every citizen and consequently dictate where they could spend their now-digital money, along with the means to shut off the tap instantly should they disobey, the U.S. (or global) government would have a level of control that would make every totalitarian from Stalin to Xi green with envy. Overstep your allotted carbon footprint? Bye-bye. Donate to a certain proscribed cause or religious institution? Bye-bye. And so it goes.
Florida to revoke Hyatt Regency Miami license after ‘sexually explicit’ show with children
Lydia Nusbaum, Florida's Voice
Ron DeSantis’ administration is revoking the Hyatt Regency Miami’s alcohol license for hosting a “sexually explicit show with children present,” according to governor’s office Tuesday. “A Drag Queen Christmas” performed at the James L. Knight Center, which is reportedly connected to the Hyatt Regency Miami. The complaint said minors younger than 16 years of age were at the show where “performers appeared on stage wearing sexually suggestive clothing and prosthetic female genitalia.”
DeSantis: Further Entanglement in Ukraine Is Not a 'Vital National Interest' of U.S., Our Border Is
Michael W. Chapman, CNS News
The FL governor said, “While the U.S. has many vital national interests – securing our borders, addressing the crisis of readiness within our military, achieving energy security and independence, and checking the economic, cultural, and military power of the Chinese Communist Party – becoming further entangled in a territorial dispute between Ukraine and Russia is not one of them. The Biden administration’s virtual 'blank check' funding ... distracts from our country’s most pressing challenges."
Ron DeSantis, in the mainstream on Ukraine
Byron York, Washington Examiner
Some critics quickly linked DeSantis not just to Trump but to Vladimir Putin, the man who attacked Ukraine. What to make of DeSantis's answers to Tucker Carlson? Has he taken Putin's side against America? Has he moved to the extremes, the crazy fringes, of the Ukraine debate? No, he hasn't. There is a range of opinion on what the U.S. should do in the Ukraine matter, and DeSantis occupies an entirely legitimate position, no matter what his more excitable critics might say.
Death Taxes Are Immoral—Even Worse, They Don’t Work
Stephen Moore, The Epoch Times
The real-world harm of this “wealth tax” is immense. Family businesses get clobbered by this tax because oftentimes, the enterprise's founder, who spent his waking hours building up the business, typically never gave a second thought to “wealth tax planning.” Let’s get rid of envy taxes that punish those who chase their dreams and catch them. Biden wants a $7 trillion government and wants the rich to pay for it all. That doesn’t seem very fair, and it doesn’t seem very democratic.
Bye, Mike
Scott McKay, The American Spectator
Mike Pence fancies himself a dark-horse presidential candidate, and that closes off the kind of introspection and mea culpas that would make him even remotely interesting to the average Republican voter. It seems he and his savant political advisers like that fine. Because after all, Pence has Politico and the New York Times as new constituencies. Bye, Mike. Now you’re just another has-been pol hustling media appearances and checks from rich dunces who don’t know what time it is.
Arizona Christian University Alleges Religious Discrimination After Glendale School District Terminated Teacher Contract
Rachel Alexander, The Star News Network
Washington Elementary School District No. 6 (WESD) in Glendale terminated the contract of Arizona Christian University (ACU) to provide student teachers last month, despite an ongoing teacher shortage, citing the religious tenets of the university as the reason. In response, The Alliance Defending Freedom filed a lawsuit on behalf of the ACU, demanding multiple types of damages, including punitive. The suit alleges a violation of the Free Exercise clause of the First Amendment.
A ‘Spill’ of FBI Secrets
Julie Kelly, American Greatness
The public does not view the dirty secrets accidentally “spilled” by an untrustworthy FBI and Justice Department as “nothing.” Kelly, and the Justice Department, can wave off due process rights, transparency, and the basic tenets of a fair trial. But as the American people come to terms with the phony narrative of January 6, they ultimately will hold shameless judges like Kelly and rogue federal officials, like Ballantine and Miller, responsible for the accelerating degradation.
Vivek Ramaswamy Isn’t Always Right, But He’s Usually Interesting
Scott McKay, The American Spectator
What we need in the 2024 Republican presidential race is interesting candidates with interesting ideas. That’s unfortunately not on offer from all of them — Nikki Haley, for example, has a few items that aren’t terrible, but, for the most part, she seems to want to run on an exotic ethnicity and the fact that she’s a #girlboss, as though anybody ought to care about that given how many horrendously awful female politicians we’ve been subjected to in the past couple of decades.
Biden Administration Spends Tax Dollars on Studies to Train Pigs, Dolphins to Play Video Games: Joni Ernst
Mark Tapscott, The Epoch Times
Federal officials at the Department of Agriculture and the National Science Foundation approved three separate grants to fund experiments. “Call it SwineCraft. Pigs were trained to play video games—with your tax dollars. More money was sunk into creating a giant underwater touchscreen that can be used to play games like Whack-a-Mole—for dolphins! When it comes to spending in Washington, it’s all fun and games,” Sen. Ernst said in a statement on March 13 to The Epoch Times.
Sen. John Kennedy: ‘The Only Way I Know How to Improve the President’s Budget Is with a Shredder’
Melanie Arter, CNS News
“The president's budget took my breath away. His numbers are extraordinary... The president says that his budget will solve our financial problems in Medicare and Social Security. That is not true. Anything seems possible when you don't know what you are talking about. The ‘Wall Street Journal’ just reported that the president's budget will add $11 trillion in a financial shortfall to Social Security and Medicare. The only way I know how to improve the president's budget is with a shredder.”
Minnesota Joins California as Sanctuary State for Child Mutilation
Catherine Salgado, PJ Media
Woke Minnesota has joined California as a “sanctuary state” for child mutilation—ahem, child “sex changes.” Democrat Minnesota Governor Tim Walz signed an executive order on March 8 slamming states that have wisely restricted “sex change” surgeries for minors, and promoting those same “gender affirming” surgeries and “treatments” in his state. Minnesota Secretary of State Steve Simon, another Democrat, also signed the order to confirm it was filed according to the law.
Trump unleashes on DeSantis in Iowa stop
Tom Howell, Jr., The Washington Times
Former President Trump used a stop in Iowa to bash Gov. Ron DeSantis, characterizing his chief rival for the GOP presidential nomination as an enemy of Iowa ethanol and a threat to entitlement programs such as Medicare and Social Security. The ex-president said Mr. DeSantis, who he is calling “DeSanctimonious,” voted to restructure ethanol subsidies during his time in Congress and was too quick to support former Rep. Paul Ryan’s proposed changes to Medicare and Social Security.
Censorship: The Week Democrats Finally Came Out
David Catron, The American Spectator
We now know that much of the official Jan. 6 narrative is fiction, the White House and the administrative state collude with Big Tech and the establishment corporate media to censor inconvenient facts, and the House Democrats are opposed to ending this collusion. They would have us believe that censorship is necessary to preserve “our democracy.” As Goldman puts it, voting against HR 140 is to “stand with free speech and American democracy.” Oh, right, I forgot. Freedom is slavery.
Three More States Dropping Voter Data-Sharing Collective (ERIC) as Trump Rips ‘Fools Game for Republicans’
Just the News (Natalia Mittelstadt), The Star News Network
Three more red states — Florida, Missouri, and West Virginia — followed Louisiana and Alabama in withdrawing from a data-sharing partnership that facilitates voter registration and maintenance of voter rolls, citing unmet concerns over protecting voter information and partisan influence at the nonprofit. The latest withdrawals from the Electronic Registration Information Center (ERIC) came after the nonprofit rejected changes proposed by a bipartisan working group of several member states.
The March Madness of the President
Victor Davis Hanson, American Greatness
We learned that Christopher Wray’s FBI is doing splendidly in its even enforcement of the law. Merrick Garland’s DOJ is disinterested and treats all sides equally. Alejandro Mayorkas has closed the border and we are now “secure.” Pete Buttigieg is building a lasting legacy as a climate change crusader. And Dr. Jill insists dynamic Joe Biden has compiled an impressive legislative record on his way to a great presidency—with the energy, that is more impressive than any 30-year-old’s.
Failed Silicon Valley Bank Touted 'Empathy,' 'Diversity,' 'Transition to a Low-Carbon World'
Susan Jones, CNS News
"Our values guide everything we do," says Silicon Valley Bank's "Environmental, Social and Governance Report" for 2022. "We start with empathy, take responsibility, speak and act with integrity, embrace diverse perspectives, and keep learning and improving," says the introduction written by (former) SVB President and CEO Greg Becker. Federal regulators took over the failed bank on Friday, following a run by depositors. Joe Biden says all of SVB's depositors will get their money back.
House Republicans’ unity, string of wins prove Washington pundits wrong
Kerry Pickett and Stephen Dinan, The Washington Times
Chaos. Dysfunction. Abject disaster. Those were some of the projections of House Republicans as they struggled to elect Speaker Kevin McCarthy in January. Two months on, however, Republicans have maintained a general sense of unity as they work their way through an early slate of crowd-pleasing bills. Although a vocal group of detractors derailed a key immigration bill and efforts to impeach Alejandro Mayorkas have stumbled, Republicans have mostly found areas for agreement.
2024 Candidates: The Good, The Bad, And The Pointless
Kurt Schlichter, Townhall
The Republican race is not the only game in town. There is a lot of action in 2024 besides Trump, DeSantis, and the Asterisks. The Dems have their own nomination race, and there are a bunch of Senate showdowns. Some of the candidates are great. Some are not so great. And others are inexplicable. Here’s the state of play 20 months to election day. Of the Democratic presidential candidates, those who are not Methuselahs are full-blown morons or towering mediocrities, and some are all three.
A Handy January 6 Fact Sheet
Julie Kelly, American Greatness
The White House, Congress, and the Democratic Party propaganda arm that is the corporate media realize their carefully engineered narrative about January 6 is imploding in real time. Which is why they’re accusing Tucker Carlson of “whitewashing” and “rewriting” the events of January 6. Anything less than total fealty to regime-approved talking points about what happened before and after that day now is considered a “threat to democracy.” But facts are facts and won't change.
Black Kids Force White Kids to Their Knees; News Media Snore
Deroy Murdock, The American Spectator
If mega-MAGA white children had inflicted this criminality on black kids, the Rev. Al Sharpton would have jetted to Springfield within minutes of being informed. BLM marchers would have converged from every direction and, en route, crafted slogans to scream in the streets. The Democrats’ Antifa thugs would have donned their masks and girded themselves for “mostly peaceful” riots. If nothing else, this should have ignited a media firestorm or at least a cable news campfire.
No More Chris Wallaces! Republican National Committee Should Upend Nature of Political Debates
Roger L. Simon, The Epoch Times
Journalists of all stripes, but political journalists especially, however they might hide it—some well, others not so much—are among the most biased people around. They came to the occupation because they were obsessed with the subject, and wanted to change the world with their writing. Whether for good or ill doesn’t matter for this discussion. In the end, they’re biased. Without some attempt to reform these debates, what we will be getting is the same old, same old.
Elon Musk Asks Chuck Schumer if He Wants Twitter to Delete Viral J6 Video – by Tweeting Out the Video
Craig Bannister, CNS News
“Do you want us to remove this video?” Musk replied to Schumer, including a video clip tweeted by @StevenVoiceover, in which the narrator pretends to be a tour guide for the “insurrection” inside the Capitol. The selected scenes included in the video clip are those of seemingly peaceful trespassers, not insurrectionists trying to overthrow the government. The video, which has 4.7 million views on the @StevenVoiceover Twitter page, has been viewed 15.7 million times on Musk’s Twitter page.
Biden's budget is a declaration of war on American businesses that will hit you hard
Stephen Moore, Fox News
The budget Biden proposes contains roughly $4 trillion in higher taxes over the next decade. He keeps saying that he just wants millionaires and billionaires to "pay their fair share," but this plan isn’t so much a punch in the nose to the wealthy (who already pay 42% of the income taxes) but to the nation’s small business owners and the shareholders of large and successful companies. The Biden budget would raise the personal income tax rate to its highest level since Jimmy Carter was president.
Ron DeSantis Is Definitely Running
Peggy Noonan, Wall Street Journal
The first GOP presidential debate is five months away, in August. Primaries begin about six months after. This thing is on. Some observations on Ron DeSantis. The Florida governor is definitely running. Every sign is there: donors, a growing and increasingly professional organization, a book that is part memoir, part platform and debuted this week at No. 1 on the New York Times list. A few days ago he gave a big, packed-house speech at the Reagan Library. Two Ron DeSantis question areas.
We knew there was a reason leaders hid the January 6 tapes
Tucker Carlson, Fox News
Do you want to live in a country where this is possible? Neither party cares. We invited Schumer on, McConnell, anybody is always welcome to come on our show. If we got something wrong, tell us how. If you think we altered the tape in some way, tell us how. They won't answer any questions, but we have a question, which is: How, in a free country guided by the Constitution, were these people allowed to withhold evidence from Jacob Chansley's lawyer? How could that happen?
The Jackson Water Mess Is a Case Study in Fighting Local Lefty Evil
Scott McKay, The American Spectator
It’s a moral imperative for Republicans from the suburbs, exurbs, and small towns in the statehouse to do something about the Jacksons and Birminghams and New Orleanses and Atlantas and other failing blue cities in red states. Mississippi’s governor, Tate Reeves, had the right idea, which was to fix the problem while wresting authority for it away from the villains. There has to be a consequence of weaponized governmental failure. And Jackson is a good case study.
White House Reverses Course, Gives Congress Green Light to Pass Bill Banning TikTok
Emel Akan, The Epoch Times
The White House has reversed direction this week, saying it would now support a Senate bill -- RESTRICT Act -- that would outlaw TikTok in the United States. The Biden administration had been at a standstill for two years over how to deal with the threat to national security posed by the Chinese-owned mobile app. U.S. national security adviser Jake Sullivan on Tuesday welcomed a bipartisan bill that would allow the Biden administration to ban the video-sharing app.
Congresswoman’s Resolution Calls on DOJ to Prosecute Antifa Violence as Domestic Terrorism
Craig Bannister, CNS News
A Congresswoman’s resolution says the House designates Antifa a “domestic terrorist organization” and calls on the DOJ to prosecute qualifying violent acts as such. “This has been going on for years and years. Antifa are domestic terrorists and it’s time that we recognize them as domestic terrorists,” Rep. Greene told Hannity, noting that the violence has hit the entire nation, not just Atlanta. The resolution describes Antifa’s agenda as dangerous and anti-American.
The Price of Eliminating Consequences
Victor Davis Hanson, PJ Media
The more the Biden administration and Democrats in Congress ignores those harming us abroad, the more they interpret it as American weakness, if not decadence to be further exploited. The result is the predictably dangerous present. When our state and federal governments allow criminals and foreign nations to injure with impunity their own law-abiding citizens, is it any wonder the civilized world we once knew has vanished — replaced by the Hobbesian rule of the wild?
Punish the FBI By Making Them Stay in Their Current Dump
Kurt Schlichter, Townhall
This is not the FBI of “Silence of the Lambs.” It’s the FBI of “Die Hard.” And it’s time the GOP drew the line. The FBI does not need to be rewarded because it does not deserve to be rewarded. It’s broken, and you do not fix it by giving it a much nicer, bigger, and more expensive place to continue to be broken in. Speaker McCarthy, make a point about fighting political weaponization, not just talk about it. There is no new building for the FBI until it regains the trust.
Tucker Carlson Exposes Jan. 6 Committee as Crude Liars
Daniel J. Flynn, The American Spectator
If Tucker Carlson’s critics believe he distorted the ongoings inside the Capitol, they should push for publicizing more footage, not suppressing or ignoring the footage already in the public domain. It’s likely some of the recorded visual surveillance undermines Carlson’s thesis. Show all of that, too. The Tuesday edition of Tucker Carlson Tonight offered little in the way of unseen video. One hopes we see, from him and his critics, more surveillance recordings.
Dear Mitch McConnell: You Were Not Elected To Do The Bidding Of Chuck Schumer And CNN
Mollie Hemingway, The Federalist
What is McConnell doing? Seriously? The man only rarely speaks on camera to reporters, so his decision to do so is intentional. He brought a prop — the statement from the government official — to wave around for the camera. Even if he didn’t agree with every journalistic decision Carlson made, he could have said any number of things to serve the American people — and Republican voters — instead of serving Chuck Schumer and CNN. Republicans, you have a serious problem.
Schumer: Tucker Carlson Is 'Siding With the Enemies of Democracy'; Carlson: 'In Free Countries, Governments Do Not Lie About Protests'
Susan Jones, CNS News
Those Democrats and Republicans are all "on the same side." "So it's actually not about left and right. It's not about Republican and Democrat. Here you have people with shared interests. ...they're all in agreement with each other," Carlson said. “They kind of outed themselves. They sort of showed their membership cards in whatever club this is to the public. So keep a list. If you want to know who is actually lying despite the illusion of partisanship, we found out today."
'Big Gay Dance Party' at Northwestern Law to Appease Anti-Free Speech Students
J. Christian Adams, PJ Media
Instead of defending free speech and tolerance, Northwestern’s admin has appeared to take the side of the proto-totalitarian law students. The leftist flyers smothering event announcements were on display at Northwestern much of last week despite their clear contravention of a public advertising and communications policy. Northwestern Law School dean, Hari Osofsky, announced this week that the Law School would subsidize a “Big Gay Dance Party” to protest the Federalist Society.
America’s $100 Billion Climate Change Flop
Stephen Moore, The Epoch Times
Is this "climate change" spending the greatest ripoff of U.S. taxpayers in history? I’ve often said that I doubt all the doomsday predictions of global warming are accurate, but if they are, we are goners. Because nothing the Left is doing on climate change is making even the tiniest bit of difference, as the new report shows. What it is doing is giving politicians and activists a chance to virtue-signal. Does it even matter to them that none of their schemes are working?
In Florida County, Felons Vote Illegally, Ballots Cast on Behalf of Long-Dead, Whistleblower Claims
Just the News (Natalia Mittelstadt), The Star News Network
Election issues continue in Orange County, Fla., where, a whistleblower alleges, felons illegally voted, deceased voters requested and received mail-in ballots, voter addresses are changed without the voters requesting it, and multiple ballots are allowed to be dropped off without question. Brian Freid, a whistleblower in the (SOE) office, alleges there have been “no apparent changes implemented … to effectively ensure this does not happen again in the future.”
Secret Surveillance Video Dismantles January 6 Narrative
Julie Kelly, American Greatness
Carlson exposed falsehoods that bolster key aspects of January 6 including the movements of Jacob Chansley; the activity of still-uncharged agitator Ray Epps; the death of Capitol Police officer Brian Sicknick; alleged “reconnaissance tours” conducted by Republicans the day before; the “escape” of Senator Josh Hawley; and the overall deceptiveness of the January 6 Select Committee. “[T]he video record does not support the claim that January 6 was an insurrection."
Civil Rights Commissioner Warns House Judiciary Committee of Biden’s ‘Trojan Horse’ Radical Equity Executive Order
Susan Berry, PhD, The Star News Network
A member of the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights has written to Rep. Jim Jordan, chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, warning Joe Biden’s sweeping executive order embedding radical woke equity ideology in all agencies of the executive branch is a “Trojan Horse” that represents “a major step toward socialism.” Peter Kirsanow highlighted in his letter to Jordan that, while “the key promise of civil rights statutes is equal opportunity, [t]hey do not promise equal outcomes.”
Ramaswamy Rebuffs Alleged Offer To Buy CPAC Straw Poll, Promises Transparency
Philip Wegmann, Real Clear Politics
Ramaswamy wants to abolish some government agencies, rebuild others, and significantly curtail the power of professional bureaucrats. But waging and winning a war against the swamp, he said, would require “a unique confluence of somebody who was educated in constitutional law combined with somebody who has actually built and run enterprises before and who understands that if somebody works for you, but you can't fire them, they don't actually work for you.”
Senators to DNI: China Has Hindered COVID Origin Probe; Americans Expect Better From Our Own Gov’t
Patrick Goodenough, CNS News
Eight Republican senators are pressing Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines to make available detailed information on the individual intelligence agencies’ assessments on the origins of COVID-19, contending that the intelligence community has not been transparent on an issue of enormous public importance. “The COVID-19 origins investigation has been obfuscated by the Chinese Communist government’s lack of cooperation,” the senators wrote to Haines.
It Looks Like AOC Is a Crook! How Shocked Are You?
Scott McKay, The American Spectator
She’ll likely get censured by Congress for this. Let’s hope there’s enough sand in the GOP leadership to do it — either that or she’s irritated enough Republicans and maybe even a few Democrats that they’ll censure her out of pique. But that’s as far as it’ll go. When what ought to happen is that she gets prosecuted for it, and maybe she can solicit a bribe of free services from a criminal defense attorney for her trouble. All of it is a window into the garbage, isn’t it?
The Peter (Buttigieg) Principle
Byron York, Washington Examiner
Democrat Pete Buttigieg was waiting in the wings, ready to step in should Biden decide not to run. The Peter Principle suggests that Peter Buttigieg, at just 41 years of age, has already risen to his level of incompetence. It's fair to say many national Democrats did not expect a rising star to peak so soon, and Buttigieg himself certainly did not. But moving up has its risks, and unfortunately for himself and for the nation, Buttigieg has found a job he cannot do.
Trump’s Good Couple Weeks
Kurt Schlichter, Townhall
Trump can still win the nomination. There’s no doubt about that. DeSantis should show up next year when the primary is in full swing and that should be the ultimate Octagon cage match. By then, the asterisk candidates should be cleared out – for example, Nikki Haley will have suffered her humiliations in Iowa and New Hampshire and ended her extended vice presidency audition. I am looking forward to CPAC 2024 – two men go in, one comes out.
Things Just Keep Getting Dumber, Don’t They?
Scott McKay, The American Spectator
Exxon is screaming bloody murder about this stupid EEOC lawsuit, swearing up and down that there is zero evidence of anybody hanging KKK nooses on its scaffolds. And of course there isn’t. Just like there was no racism at the track at Talladega when Bubba Wallace pulled his clownish Jussie Smollett routine. But we’re in a world so dumb right now that Idiocracy seems like a documentary from the good old days. The EEOC is out to harass every company they can.
Arizona Sheriff: 'You Have to Stop Saying The Border is Secure,' It 'Is Not Secure'
Michael W. Chapman, CNS News
Sheriff Lamb said, "I will tell you, the lines of communication were severed when this [Biden] administration took over. We have zero communication on the federal side, which is disappointing." "[W]e've got to do better on saying -- the messaging, the media, the politicians -- you've got to stop saying it's a manufactured crisis. The statistics I've given you say otherwise. And you have to stop saying that the border is secure, because the border is not secure."
As Easy as Ordering Pizza’: How Fentanyl-Laced Pills Are Killing America’s Youth
Katie Spence, The Epoch Times
Families Against Fentanyl reports that in 2021, fentanyl poisoning was the leading cause of death among Americans aged 18 to 45. And, in 2021, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported that 4,765 children and young adults aged 14–23 died from synthetic opioids/fentanyl use—more than double the 1,984 deaths in 2018. In 2020, there were a reported 91,799 total drug-related deaths, according to the CDC. By 2021, that number had climbed to 106,719.
Lawmakers Demand Biden Declassify COVID Origins Investigations
The Center Square (Casey Harper), The Star News Network
GOP Lawmakers are demanding that President Joe Biden declassify documents related to the origins of COVID-19, in particular federal investigations into the matter. The Senate passed a bill by unanimous consent that would require Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines to declassify documents related to COVID’s origins. Republicans have a majority in the House, giving the legislation a chance, but whether Biden would sign it is in doubt.
Life Among the Ruins
Victor Davis Hanson, American Greatness
Our catastrophe arose from our most highly educated, the wealthiest and most privileged in American history with the greatest sense of self-esteem and sanctimoniousness. Sometime around the millennium, they felt their genius could change human nature and bring an end to history—if only they had enough power to force hoi polloi to follow their abstract and bankrupt theories that they had no intention of abiding by themselves. We reap their whirlwind.
Voters Suspect Federal Involvement in J6, Want Tapes Released
Julie Kelly, American Greatness
According to the results of a Rasmussen poll released [last] Thursday morning, 80 percent of American likely voters believe it’s “very” or “somewhat” important for unseen portions of the massive trove to be viewed y the American people. That figure cuts across party lines: 78 percent of Democrats, 86 percent of Republicans, and 75 percent of independent voters concur with House Republicans’ arguments that the recordings should be made public.
Parents and Children Are the GOP Future
Josh Hammer, The American Spectator
Add in other pressing issues of political economy, such as the disbursement of direct “family policy” payments to working parents and even (a la Hungary and Poland) the structuring of certain tax breaks to reward stable marriages that produce children, and the playbook for the new, parents-and children-first GOP becomes reasonably clear. Whether that playbook is actually adopted by GOP elected officials en masse is a different question entirely.
Trump casts the 2024 election as ‘the final battle’
Seth McLaughlin and Susan Ferrechio, The Washington Times
Former President Trump said the fate of the nation is on the line in the 2024 election, framing the race for the White House as a day of reckoning. Closing out the annual CPAC near Washington, Mr. Trump warned the crowd that they are fighting against “sinister forces” that want to destroy the nation. “This is the final battle, they know it, I know it, everybody knows it, this is it — either they win or we win, and if they win we no longer have a country.”
Alex Murdaugh Found Guilty of Murder, a Huge Win for Rule of Law in Rural S. Carolina
J. Christian Adams, PJ Media
You are left with the impression that very bad people ruled an area of America for a very long time. They had the power of life and death over criminal defendants. Their friends and family enjoyed a different standard. That’s why Alex Murdaugh traveled with a badge on his dashboard. He told the jury it got him “friendlier” treatment. The poor—often black—feared them. Let’s hope the jury ends this multi-generational injustice once and for all.
Common Sense Points to a Lab Leak
Peggy Noonan, Wall Street Journal
We close with our usual advice to governments. They are full of people who don’t necessarily think honesty is the best policy but do think it’s a policy, one of many they might choose. They should always do so, but especially in crises they must play it straight. What you don’t know, admit. No one knew, as the virus was breaking, its exact origin. China wouldn’t help. If you’re honest, the word of the government will not have been corrupted.
Why the WHO Pandemic Treaty Is a Horrible Deal
Roger L. Simon, The Epoch Times
When it comes to who would really profit from an agreement like the one on offer, it’s almost always the pharmaceutical companies along with the Chinese Communist Party that has long had a great friend in WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. Third World countries would get the products of BigPharma shoved down their throats. The worst part of the WHO deal is that it is an obvious backdoor into global communism—and not an inconsequential one.
The Woke Wrecking Machine
Victor Davis Hanson, PJ Media
Almost everything that has followed from the woke mass hysteria gripping the nation since 2020 has proved disastrous. Wokeism has embarrassed itself as never before. Wokeism destroys meritocracy in favor of forced equality of result — history’s prescription for civilizational decline. Someday wokeism will disappear because it is inherently nihilistic and cannibalistic. But in the meantime, Americans should end it now before it ends us first.
Is Secession the Answer to American Disunity?
Doug Bandow, The American Spectator
Secession is impractical and probably could not be achieved without extraordinary difficulty and likely violent conflict. However, that reality requires continuing to search for a means to preserve America as a peaceful and stable home. Federalism, serious and far-reaching, looks to be the best option available. The right time to begin debating this issue is with a divided Congress and the presidency up for grabs — that is, right now in 2023.
The 2024 GOP Primary’s Fredocon Lane
Kurt Schlichter, Townhall
The GOP Fredos are a bunch of dorky white dudes who all suck and who generally suck in the same way. Where is the diversity? Can’t we have just one differently-abled non-binary lesbian Hindu of color who also thinks that as principled conservatives we are morally obligated to submit to serfdom presided over by our feudal cultural and corporate overlords? Because this GOP subset sausage party of mentally defective losers sure thinks we are.
Is Fox News Inadvertently Responsible for the ‘Trump Bump’ in Polls?
Roger L. Simon, The Epoch Times
Fox News and, with it, The New York Post (also, The Wall Street Journal, which was never really with him in the first place) have turned against Trump. This would seem to be a bad thing on its face, but actually may have caused a kind of “reverse English” reaction, alienating much of the network’s base while simultaneously creating sympathy for the former president. Fox is now perceived as being unfair to Trump. Hence, the “reverse English.”
Tuberville bill would defund women's sports programs that allow biological men
Juliegrace Brufke, Washington Examiner (Restoring America)
Sen. Tommy Tuberville is set to introduce the Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act, is slated to be introduced and has more than a dozen GOP co-sponsors. It would ban federal funds from being allocated to entities that permit transgender women to participate in women's sports. The legislation also would codify Title X language stating that “sex shall be recognized based solely on a person’s reproductive biology and genetics at birth.”
Trump Is Heading Back to Iowa on a Mid-March Campaign Stop
M.D. Kittle, The Star News Network
Former President Donald Trump is coming to Iowa. The leading GOP candidate for president will make a campaign stop in the first-in-the-nation caucus state mid-month. Exactly when and where remains unsettled. Trump, who launched his bid for the White House days after November’s midterms, told NewsRadio 1040 WHO talk show host Simon Conway on Tuesday that he would be back in Iowa “very soon." “We’re planning something, but “it’s a little bit cold.”
The Suppression of the ‘Lab Leak Theory’ Has Collapsed
Scott McKay, The American Spectator
The same media who insisted Barack Obama was a racial-healing centrist despite nearly exclusive associations with the worst anti-American haters around, the ones who told us the Russians rigged the 2016 election, the Bidens were honest, and Hillary’s emails were not a scandal, the ones who attribute earthquakes to climate change, the ones who insist women have penises and men can menstruate and get pregnant, can’t and shouldn’t be trusted.
Where Is Our George Kennan?
Claire M. Lopez, American Greatness
We don’t have anyone like George Kennan today. We don’t have a senior diplomatic or national security leadership capable of understanding that while the Soviet Union collapsed geographically in 1991, the Marxist-Leninist ideology that drove it and the KGB that enforced and spread it internationally never did. No Kennan exists toady. There’s no “Long Telegram” or even a Reaganesque policy to stand up to what remains of the “evil empire.”
FBI Assessment: ‘The Origins of the Pandemic Are Most Likely a Potential Lab Incident in Wuhan’
Patrick Goodenough, CNS News
The FBI has for the first time stated publicly its assessment that the COVID-19 pandemic likely originated from a leak from a laboratory in Wuhan, a charge that Beijing vehemently denies and which was ridiculed by many mainstream media. “The FBI has for quite some time now assessed that the origins of the pandemic are most likely a potential lab incident in Wuhan,” FBI Director Christopher Wray told Fox News anchor Bret Baier on Tuesday.
Why I Stood Up to Disney
Governor Ron DeSantis, Wall Street Journal
When corporations use their economic power to advance a woke agenda, they become political, and not merely economic, actors. In such an environment, reflexively deferring to big business surrenders the political battlefield to the militant left. Having private companies wield de facto public power isn’t in the best interests of most Americans. We are making Florida the state where the economy flourishes because it's where woke goes to die.
Conservative Supreme Court Justices Question Legal Authority of Biden Administration to Forgive Student Loans
Matthew Vadum, The Epoch Times
Conservative members of the Supreme Court seemed skeptical of Biden administration statements that the government’s plan to partially forgive student loans is authorized by federal law. Solicitor Gen. Elizabeth Prelogar told the High Court the federal Higher Education Relief Opportunities for Students Act gives the federal sec. of education blanket authority to grant loan forgiveness en masse, a contention several justices found fault with.
East Palestine Area Residents Living Under Cloud of Uncertainty Since Train Derailment
M.D. Kittle, The Star News Network
They’ve been provided all kinds of assurances from Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine, the EPA and other bureaucrats that all is well with the water supply and air quality. That’s a tough sell for residents of a community at ground zero of the 50-car train derailment. Ten carriages were carrying hazardous materials. Hundreds of residents were forced to evacuate ahead of the Feb. 6 “controlled release” of poisonous gasses that Norfolk Southern carried out.
A Partisan Judge’s Parting Rampage
Julie Kelly, American Greatness
Howell’s stint ends soon. Which is one reason the Justice Department is accelerating the pace of its investigation, including subpoenaing former Vice President Mike Pence a few weeks ago. Prosecutors undoubtedly will miss Howell’s machinations on behalf of the government. As her rulings in Perry’s case once again show, Howell is a shameless partisan willing to twist the law, and the U.S. Constitution, to advance her own political agenda.
Is America Ready for the Next War?
Robert Stacy McCain, The American Spectator
The best way to prevent war is by deterrence — “Peace through strength” — and deterrence requires preparedness. The American people have proven in the past that they will support such measures, if their leaders will speak plainly to them about the threats we face. Yet many of our leaders seem more focused on trying to gain partisan political advantage than on sounding the alarm about the need to prepare for our next war -- against China.
Now that Tucker has it, Corporate Media are suddenly interested in full January 6 Video
John Nolte, Breitbart
We all know what’s going on here… The fake media are terrified the full context might prove what some people have been saying is true: that the Capitol Police did indeed open the doors to some of the same protestors facing legal action for trespassing. Who knows what else the video could show? Considering how corrupt the fascist F.B.I. has become, nothing would surprise me anymore. The fake media also know Tucker will tell the truth, so…
State Department Report on Terrorism: 'The U.S. Southern Border Remains Vulnerable to Terrorist Transit'
Susan Jones, CNS News
The U.S. State Dept released its congressionally mandated report on worldwide terrorism in 2021, noting that 21 years after 9/11, "the terrorist threats we face are more ideologically diverse and geographically diffuse than ever before." One of those threats is located at our own southwest border, the State Dept said in its country report on Mexico: "Counterterrorism cooperation between Mexico and the United States remained strong in 2021."
Almost 80 Percent of Americans Aged 17–24 Unfit for Military Service
Autumn Spredemann, The Epoch Times
A Department of Defense report cited during a Feb. 16 Congressional hearing offered a hard pill to swallow: 77 percent of Americans between 17–24 are now physically unqualified to enter the armed forces. This represents a 6 percent increase from 2017. Accentuating this was last year’s battle to find new recruits in every branch of the military. One of the major hurdles recruiters face is obesity, which has become a dominant health challenge.
DeSantis Signs Bill Ending Disney’s Special Self-Governing Status
The Center Square (Madeleine Hubbard), The Star News Network
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a bill ending the Walt Disney Co’s special self-governing status. “Allowing a corporation to control its own government is bad policy, especially when the corporation makes decisions that impact an entire region,” DeSantis said in an announcement about the new law, which came largely in response to Disney’s advocacy against Florida’s Parental Rights in Education bill, called the “Don’t say gay bill” by critics.
Why J6 Transparency Frightens the Democrats
David Catron, The American Spectator
What is actually at risk is the carefully crafted Democratic narrative about what really happened at the Capitol on the fateful afternoon of Jan. 6, 2021. Their real fear, of course, is that the public will see video footage that renders the Democratic insurrection narrative literally unbelievable. The Democrats are not unlike vampires. For them, daylight is deadly. They badly need to prevent it from shining on the facts of Jan. 6, 2021.
As Trump Attacks, DeSantis Touts ‘Courage’ To Buck ‘Lockdowners’ in New Book
Philip Wegmann, Real Clear Politics
DeSantis writes (in “The Courage to Be Free”) that Florida became “a citadel of freedom” during the pandemic by “cutting against the grain of elite and media opinion” and “bucking the experts,” including those who led the COVID task force in the Trump White House. As he explores his own bid for the presidency, a contest that would necessarily pit him against the former president, the book brings that implicit contrast into sharp relief.
Why Are the Red State Republicans So Soft?
Kurt Schlichter, Townhall
No wonder the red state parties are soft. They can be. But not forever. You know what other state was deep red? The one that gave us Ronald Reagan. California was ultra-mega GOP right up until it wasn’t. Our GOP got soft. It took its dominance for granted. And it nearly got exterminated. Never, ever, take your red for granted, or the next thing you know you’ll have a socialist human hairstyle (Gavin Newsom) for a Democrat governor too.
Presidential Candidate Vivek Ramaswamy Calls for China to Pay Reparations for COVID Lab Leak
M.D. Kittle, The Star News Network
In the wake of revelations the U.S. Energy Department now believes the COVID-19 pandemic likely originated from an accidental lab leak in China, Republicans are calling for investigations and accountability. “Now we know what we should have known all along: COVID-19 began in a lab in China,” Ramaswamy said in a statement. “As President I will extract reparations from the Communist Chinese Party, using every financial lever available to us.”
Biden: Only the 'MAGA Crowd' Is Questioning the Billions Spent on War in Ukraine
Susan Jones, CNS News
President Biden told ABC News on Friday, it's up to Ukraine to decide how the war ends; only the "MAGA crowd" is questioning the billions of dollars Biden is spending on the war; Ukraine "doesn't need F-16s now"; and if Russian President Vladimir Putin likes the Chinese peace proposal, "how could it be any good?" Biden would not predict how the war ends. "The right-wing Republicans are, you know, talking about, we can't do this," he said.
Refighting the Vietnam War
Victor Davis Hanson, American Greatness
The American military leadership that the media mocked as inept, and the soldiers who were caricatured as near insurrectionary were never seen as such by “Charlie” who had to fight them. No wonder then, by late 1968, the Soviets were finally preferring an end to the war, while their Chinese rivals eventually gave up on their North Vietnamese clients. Both feared the likelihood of an independent and pro-Western Vietnam in Southeast Asia.
Media Demands Darkness, Not Sunlight, on January 6 Tapes
Julie Kelly, American Greatness
Darkness, it appears, is not a threat to democracy if it pertains to a blackout of taxpayer-paid recordings that might bare the biggest political scandal in U.S. history. What we are hearing from the media industrial complex is fear, not concern. Either ignorant about the underlying facts of January 6 or fully aware of the dirty side until now shielded from the majority of the public, the news media is afraid of what Carlson will reveal.
Snowflake Rebellion at Project Veritas Leads to James O'Keefe Departure
J. Christian Adams, PJ Media
The Project Veritas snowflakes need to understand James built what he built for free. He did it without being paid, without worrying about team support, workplace wellness, or affirmation. In the end, the reason Project Veritas exists is because of the dreams, work, and risk taking of James O’Keefe. He will rise again because he is an innovator, a pioneer, a patriot. The organization, and all the snowflakes, will eventually melt away.
How Ron DeSantis is leveraging ‘Biden’s border crisis’ ahead of likely 2024 White House bid
Susan Ferrechio, The Washington Times
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, on the verge of a 2024 presidential campaign, announced last week the state’s most ambitious proposal yet to combat illegal immigration. The proposal, if passed by the state Legislature, would boost Mr. DeSantis’ credentials on border security ahead of a potential presidential campaign, strengthening his position against both President Joe Biden and top GOP primary opponent, former President Donald Trump.
Kohrs Light: Spellbinding Grand Juror Interviews Cast Hex on Trump Prosecution
Daniel J. Flynn, The American Spectator
One could imagine Kohrs as kind, sweet, childlike, and imbuing a room with positive energy. Conceiving a pool of people so benighted that a judge or fellow jurors decided to select her as the foreman requires imagination. It also indicts the indictments should they come. Kohrs explained, “There are no major plot twists waiting for you.” For those expecting prosecution of the former president unencumbered by Kohrs’ 15 Minutes, twists await.
Vivek Ramaswamy Could Get Traction, Thinks WHO Deal ‘Bad’
Roger L. Simon, The Epoch Times
Vivek Ramaswamy’s new candidacy will be an interesting test of America's true beliefs. Coming more or less out of nowhere, it’s a bold move to run for the presidency. But judging from the media interest, including the predictably snide responses from The New York Times, Politico, and others as if their reporters were anywhere near as accomplished, something, as they say, is happening here. And as they also say, “it ain’t exactly clear.”
Rep. Jordan: ‘We Have to Be Willing to Fight’ to Secure Border, Because ‘Biden Is Not Going to Just Suddenly See the Light’
Craig Millward, CNS News
“It’s a shame that not one Democrat member of Congress would join us on this trip, despite having weeks of advanced notice. It’s disappointing but not surprising. In fact, Democrats have called this a stunt. I would argue it’s not a stunt…my guess is our witnesses would not call it a stunt. What we’ve learned today from them, what we’ve seen last night on the border, but it’s disappointing they’re not here,” Rep. Jim Jordan said on Fox.
In a Country That Would Elect Fetterman, Biden Doesn’t Seem All That Implausible
Scott McKay, The American Spectator
How a president like Biden, failing miserably in every possible metric, could be polling so well despite strong majorities of Americans showing concern that he’s too old and too frail to function in his job is mystifying. This can’t go on. Ordinary Americans can’t just sit by and accept the piece-by-piece ruin of the country. There will be a backlash and a revival. But it had better come soon, or the damage will take forever to repair.
DeSantis Has a Target List of ‘Woke’ School Board Members to Unseat in 2024
Ryan Morgan, The Epoch Times
Republican Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and education activists have zeroed in on a list of “woke” school board officials to replace in the 2024 elections. On Tuesday, DeSantis met with the state’s Republican House Speaker Paul Renner, Florida Education Commissioner Manny Diaz, and Moms for Liberty co-founders Tina Descovich and Tiffany Justice to discuss a list of school board officials they would try to unseat in the next election.
Pro-lifers debate moving annual D.C. march to June in celebration of Dobbs decision
Sean Salai, The Washington Times
Pro-lifers want to keep marching against abortion annually in Washington, but some are pushing to move events to June to celebrate the end of Roe v. Wade. Leaders of 40 Days for Life, Students for Life of America and Healing the Culture say it’s time to redirect national efforts to the June 24 anniversary of the high court’s ruling in Dobbs v. Jackson last year. Dobbs overturned Roe and returned jurisdiction over abortion to the states.
The Ukraine War's Prelude to What?
Victor Davis Hanson, PJ Media
The Biden Administration sees America’s interest as largely defined by a proxy war to defang Russia. To paraphrase Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, America will pour limitless arms into Ukraine to so weaken Russia that it will have to stay within its current borders. Biden now sees saving Ukraine and punishing Russia as his one shot at a redeeming accomplishment for an otherwise failed administration. Does this lead to a bigger war?
Ukraine’s Friends May Doom It – And Us
Kurt Schlichter, Townhall
What we need now is a debate about exactly what our strategic objective is and how best to achieve it. The current course of attacking dissenters and bulldozing billions through as the DC establishment ignores crying needs here at home is unsustainable. And faster than our lame establishment expects, these voices will earn support of a majority of Americans sick of stalemate and silencing. Demand we debate right now, before it is too late.
Trump Visits East Palestine to Donate Aid, Speak at Site of Toxic Train Derailment
Craig Bannister, CNS News
Former President Trump visited East Palestine, Ohio to meet with members of the community and local officials. Trump is reportedly donating thousands of gallons of cleaning supplies and 13 pallets of water, each of which holds the equivalent of a couple of thousands of water bottles, to the ravaged community. Meanwhile, the Biden Administration has been facing heavy criticism for its delayed, inadequate response to the February 3 tragedy.
Anatomy of a Cover-up: The January 6 Tapes
Julie Kelly, American Greatness
It’s possible the never-before-seen footage will show the elements of a preplanned attack engineered by the same political and government forces that attempted to destroy Donald Trump for the better part of six years. Will the tapes finally answer the questions that top law enforcement officials such as FBI Director Christopher Wray refuse to answer and the January 6 select committee buried—not the least of which was the role of the FBI?
