Reflections on Super Tuesday: Americans Don't Want a Socialist

Lessons From Super Tuesday: America Doesn’t Want A Socialist Maine and Texas are too close to call as I write this blog, but it doesn’t matter. Many lessons emerge from Super Tuesday, Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada, and South Carolina. Democracy can be messy. You just don’t know how voters will vote or predict the upsets.. America doesn’t want a socialist. Progressive does not equal progressive. Massachusetts and Minnesota are progressive, usually solidly blue states. Joe Biden won them, as well as Alabama, Arkansas, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Tennessee, and Virginia. That’s quite a cross section of America. The Vice President led in pre-season polls, but was fourth in Iowa and New Hampshire. He had no money. He gave limited campaign rallies and press conference. His handlers were keeping Joe on a short leash. In short Joe Biden was dead man walking. Senator Sanders was running away with the nomination. Feel the Bern! The Senator had an army of young supporters. He was the authentic candidate. He’s the same socialist, communist loving, USSR honey mooning radical as in the 1960’s. He still loves Fidel Castro. That’s not a winning issue in Florida. Most Americans didn’t like the Berm. More lessons: 1) Senator Sanders won New Hampshire and proceeded to praise Fidel Castro and Cuba, not to mention Hugo Chavez and Venezuela. Polls show a large percent of the voters decided in the past two days. They heard the Senator praising Castro. 2) The Democrats were running on identity politics. The two surviving candidates Biden and Sanders are old white males and career politicians. Sanders is 78 and Biden 77. 3) The Black vote helped Biden in South Carolina and the other Southern states, but so too did the White vote in those states. 4) Once again, money alone can’t win it. Governor Jeb Bush had $100 million entering primary season four years ago. Secretary Hillary Clinton outspent Donald Trump 3:1. Trump won. 5) Tom Steyer dropped between $150-250 million and Michael Bloomberg $500-600 million so far. Steyer’s out and Bloomberg is reconsidering. 6) Likability still counts. Bernie is Bernie and Joe is Good Old Joe. They are who they are. 7) Democrats want to defeat President Trump. The odds are better with Biden than Sanders 8) If Biden wins the nomination, then once again the Democrats will have nominated an ethically challenged candidate 9) Can either Biden or Sanders make it through the next 8 months? 10) I’m sorry Senator Klobuchar didn’t gain traction. Will she be the VP nominee? 11) And then there’s Senator Elizabeth Warren, who came in a resounding third in her state of Massachusetts. As Dandy Don Meredith used to sing on Monday Night Football, “The party’s over” What will Kate McKinnon do next on SNL? 12) If Vice President Biden wins the nomination, he will be the first since seemingly forever to win without winning either Iowa or New Hampshire, or even coming in second in those states 13) Upset winners in the Iowa Caucus get a close look by Americans. Governor Carter and Senator Obama sealed the deal with the American people after Iowa. Mayor Pete Buttigieg failed. 14) After all the hesitation, the Establishment coalesced on Joe Biden as the anti-Sanders 15) All the criticism of Iowa and New Hampshire, especially Iowa, the two states served their purpose of winnowing the field by providing up close scrutiny of the candidates 16) Michael Bloomberg failed the Governor Rick Perry Test. If the public doesn't know who you are, don't blow your first debate. 17) Both Mayor Buttigieg and Representative Beto O'Rourke admitted to White Privilege - not a winning platform in a majority white country.

The Fears of Coronavirus Covid-19: Contagion, Panic, Economics, and President Trump's Reelection

The Fears of Covid-19, the Coronavirus: Contagion, Panic, Economic, Political, and President Trump’s Reelection So much of the Covid-19 risk is still unknown, especially the lethality rate. China is reporting a rate of 3.4%, but the rate is lower outside Wuhan. Iran has a high rate of 5.54% based on 54 deaths out of 978 reported cases . Yet, only 44 fatalities have occurred elsewhere with a death rate of 1.5%. For example, Singapore has 0 fatalities out of 106 cases. 69 made a full recovery and been released from hospitals. China and Iran both have transparency problems. China’s numbers are skewed. The country now reports 87,733 cases with 2,996 deaths. They have changed the method of diagnosing the disease. Their numbers also don’t account for earlier mild cases or all current cases. The Covid-19 virus will go global. It will be labeled a pandemic. It’s impossible to prevent the spread because of its characteristics. The blame lies with China. The party hacks in the city of Wuhan and Hebei Province let it get out of control before taking action. They even muzzled and forced an apology from Dr. Li Wenliang, who first noticed the disease. He has since become a martyr in China, dying from the disease, as have several other health care providers including Dr. Liu Zhiming, director at one of the Wuhan hospitals at the center of the epidemic. China publicly announced the public health problem on December 31, 2019. Here’s what we know about Covid-19. It’s highly contagious, but not nearly as fatal as SARS, MERS, or Ebola. It kills though pneumonia. Most victims get mild cases, which often resemble its cousin, the common cold. Those most at risk are the elderly and those with preexisting conditions. Some people seem to be asymptomatic. 81% of the diagnosed cases in China are mild. The reality is that we do not know with current technology how many victims have caught the disease or are asymptomatic carriers. Singapore announced that it has been able to track the virus through antibodies. The test is accurate for those tested. The virus is dangerous because civilization has developed neither immunity nor vaccines for it. Italy provides a sad example. Diagnosis was delayed in a man who had nether been to China nor been in contact with a known case of the disease. He had transmitted the virus to his pregnant wife and six members of an amateur soccer team before being diagnosed. He was a symptomatic for weeks. He set off an epidemic in Lombardy. Italy as of February 29, 2020 has 1,128 cases with 29 deaths. The virus came to Italy with two Chinese tourists testing positive in Rome on January 31. An Italian repatriated from Wuhan tested positive on February 6. Epidemics, such as in Hubei Province, can exceed the available medical resources. That could also be a problem in the United States. Hubei is the hub of producing of producing masks, bandages, and surgical drapes and gowns. Our medical facilities are currently coping with the flu. The initial screening is for a fever. I was in Singapore February 5-10, connecting through Seoul. The airports and conference center were using thermal scans from a distance. I got stickers that said “I’m cool.” No fever – you’re clear to go. No visible signs, you’re good to fly. The virus has hit 60 countries by today. Iran’s Vice President is in quarantine, having contracted the disease. The only way currently to contain the virus is isolation and quarantine, tracking those exposed. We know that the virus is spreading globally, but the dangers can be minimized. Mask manufacturers are working overtime to supply the demand. However, most of the masks are considered ineffective in fighting the disease, but should be used by those with symptoms. A N95 mask is believed effective if properly used. Knowing that, I still used masks on the airplanes, airports, and subway in Singapore. The masks provide psychological comfort. Panic The public has reacted with panic, similar to the early years of AIDS. However, we know so far that Covid-19 is not the second or third coming of the Plague, or the second coming of the Spanish Flu. Anti-Chinese animus is rising globally. Newport Coast Elementary School in Orange County is rumored to be expecting seven students from China. Dozens of parents are apoplectic, demanding answers and threatening to pull their children out of the school. It has echoes of Ryan White, a 13 year old who contracted AIDS through a blood transfusion. Despite of medical evidence showing he was not a threat to others, many parents and teachers fought his readmission to school. 117 parents and 50 teachers signed a petition seeking to ban him from school. The state ordered him reinstated. He was unwelcome on his return, and subsequently transferred to another community, where he was affirmatively greeted by the superintendent of schools, the principal, and several student who shook his hand. An Asian-American student in the San Fernando Valley coughed. He was attacked by other boys, accusing him of exposing them to the virus. Mindless fear is taking over. People are hoarding products, such as toilet paper, water, rice and ramen, disinfectants, clearing out retailers. Streets are empty in Wuhan and Beijing, but also in Milan and Chinatowns in cities like San Francisco. The Mayor of san Francisco has declared a state of emergency in the city even though no cases have yet appeared in San Francisco. The Louvre is closed. Saudi Arabia has halted pilgrimage to the Holy sites in Mecca and Medina. The schools are closed for a month in Japan. The Olympics may be imperiled. Baseball teams are playing in empty stadiums. It’s serious. Impacts and Economics We are not only in a global economy, but have also exported much of our factories to China. China’s factories went on extended vacations on Chinese New Year. Many have not reopened, while others have trouble ramping up to full production with workers staying home. Apple announced that it will take a financial hit between lost production and closing many of its China stores. Other U.S. companies, including MacDonald’s and Starbucks, have also closed stores in China. Manufacturers are paying the price for their lean and mean, just in time inventory processes designed to minimize inventory costs. Many of the essential parts and chemicals come from China. The supply train has been shattered. Business continuity plans may not work in this situation. The United States is also dependent on China for other products. For example, 80% of America’s antibiotics come from China. The country also supplies 80% of America’s toy market, and a large percent of the nation’s apparel. China’s auto industry is, or was, the largest in the world. 25.8 million vehicles were sold in China in 2019, more than Japan and the United States combined, and more than the EU countries. GM sells more cars in China than in the United States. China is VW’s largest market. Buick and Audi are popular luxury cars in China. Mercedes sells about 700,000 cars annually in China – twice the number in the United States. China’s auto market is closed for business in much of China today. Sales plunged 18% in January. No one’s buying much of anything in China today. The hospitality and tourist industries are in a deep depression in Southeast Asia. Flights have been cancelled. On February 10 the airports in Singapore and Seoul were empty, the luxury stores bereft of customers, the planes full of empty seats and cargo hulls, and hotels slashing rates. The bellies of the planes were no longer carrying cargo. The great airlines of Asia are in economic distress. 250,000 flights have been canceled into, out of, and within China. Airports like Hong Kong, Seoul, and Singapore are empty. One example is Singapore Airlines, which has cut 670 flights in March. Even the Mideast airlines, such as Emirates, have cut flights because of their large business in Asia. One estimate is that the travel industry will incur $100 billion in losses. Singapore estimated a few weeks ago a 25-30% drop in visitor arrivals. That estimate a few weeks ago appears optimistic. The Chinese became the world’s tourists. 3 million Chinese visited America last year, spending an average of $6,500 each. That’s just the United States. They are the big spenders throughout Asia, such as on Singapore’s Orchard Road. Hong Kong’s economy was already in distress because of months of riots. The potential economic impact of the Coronavirus will except business continuity plans. Two pieces of “good news” arise out of the public health and economic disaster in China. First the air quality has substantially improved in China. Second, oil prices are dropping because of a substantial drop in demand from China and in aviation fuel by the airlines. Saudi Arabia has cut production for China by 50,000 barrels daily. Politics President Trump seems headed to reelection 245 days before election day, regardless of who the Democrats nominate. Only an economic collapse can imperil his reelection. An untimely recession can challenge the reelection of President Trump. The Democrats and media will do everything to pin the virus and its impacts on the President. Speaker Pelosi and Senator Schumer issued a joint statement on Thursday: “Lives are at stake – This is not the time for name-calling and playing politics.” They had an opposite approach two days earlier. The Senator used the words “towering and dangerous incompetence” to describe the President. Speaker Pelosi said “The American people need a well-coordinated , whole-of-government, fully-funded response to keep them safe from the coronavirus threat. Unfortunately, the Trump Administration has mounted an opaque and chaotic response to this outbreak.” The Democrats and media damned President George W. Bush by pinning the Katrina debacle on him even though fault lay with New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin and Louisiana Governor Kathleen Blanco. President Bush refused to answer the charges, staying above the fray. His father lost reelection to Governor Bill Clinton, who pinned a mild recession on the President, who failed to counter the charges. President Trump will vociferously defend himself. The Democrats and media are already slamming the President on the Covid-19. They will crucify the President when the virus inevitably spreads and results in a number of fatalities. Mistakes will be made in responding to the virus, as with the Diamond Princess cruise ship off Japan. Lessons will be learned from the mistakes. The Democrats and media will excoriate the President. That’s all they know how to do after three years, three years of crying wolf. The Democratic candidates have not listened to their “leaders.” Senator Warren Called the Administration’s response a “mess.” Senator Sanders, who honey mooned in the Soviet Union, loves Fidel Castro and Cuba, and wants to nationalize healthcare, said “We need a President who does not play politics with out health and national security.” Tom Steyer, who just dropped out, said the President’s management “risks a Katrina-level disaster for our country.” Michael Bloomberg in an ad said “The president fired the pandemic specialist in this country two years ago. There’s nobody here to figure out what the hell we should be doing.” Mayor Bloomberg is on tape saying "We have to deny the elderly care" or go bankrupt. He added: "Go and enjoy. Have a nice one. You've lived a long life." Mayor Buttigeig said the response would be ”based on science’ and “not politics.” President Trump’s restrictions on entry into the United States postponed the inevitable viral entry into the United States, buying time for America to prepare. Vice President Joe Biden, who misspoke about being arrested in trying to visit Nelson Mandela in prison, called President Trump’s remarks “absolutely bizarre.” The United States is prepared, as prepared as any nation, but it is not prepared for a widespread epidemic. It is lacking in respirators and quarantine facilities, especially being constrained by the current flu. By way of comparison 68 homicides and Chicago and 52 in Baltimore have occurred so far this year, inly 1/6 into 2020. By way of comparison, 32 million flu illnesses, 310,000 hospitalizations, and 18,000 deaths, including 125 children, have been diagnosed so far this flu season. The Democrats and media would pin that on President Trump if they could.

The Faux Impeachment is Over - For Now; The Rule of Law Has Prevailed - For Now

This blog has been painfully quiet for a month watching the faux impeachment proceedings initiated by a faux whistleblower. While the impeachment of the President is a grave moment in the history of the country, the faux impeachment of President Trump President initiated by a faux whistleblower is a farce. The House of Representatives on a purely partisan vote impeached President Trump on two counts: 1) Abuse of Office, and 2) Obstruction of Congress. Members of Congress, both, the House and the Senate, swear an oath upon assuming office: “!, ------, so solemnly (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States, against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion, and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of office on which I am about to serve. So help me God.” A strong argument exists that every member of Congress who voted to impeach or convict President Trump violated his or her oath of office, and thereby defiled the Constitution. Article II, Section 4 of the Constitution specifies that the grounds for impeachment of the President are “Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes or Misdemeanors.” That’s it! The language is clear. The grounds for impeachment are treason, bribery, high crimes or misdemeanors. The Constitution is not mere words on parchment to be followed when desirable, but otherwise ignored. The House attempted to circumvent the clear language of the Constitution by having liberal law professors argue the framers of the Constitution intended a more broader interpretation. Let us remember the immortal words of Humpty Dumpty in Lewis Carroll’s Through the Looking Glass: “When I use a word," Humpty Dumpty said, in rather a scornful tone, "it means just what I choose it to mean- neither more nor less." "The question is,’ said Alice, "whether you can make words mean so many different things." "The question is," said Humpty Dumpty, "which is to be master-that's all." The Supreme Court does not follow the Humpty Dumpty rule of linguistics. The Court has repeatedly held that when the language is clear on its face, then the court is to stop there. “Bribery, Treason, or other high Crimes or Misdemeanors”!!!!! The underlying issue for America was not the removal or retention of President Trump, but do you believe in the Rule of Law or the Rule of Man? If the Rule of Man, then the Constitution is meaningless and this Republic is on the road to the Rule of a Ruler, just as ancient Rome. Caesar changed Rome from a republic to the dictatorship of an Emperor. The Democrats were also willing to violate fundamental rules of due process, a concept that dates back to the Magna Carta. The President lawyers were not allowed to be present witnesses or cross-examine the secret witnesses. Representative Nadler, Chair of the House Judiciary Committee, shifted the fundament concept of the presumption of innocence to the accused President. He asserted President Trump could have proved his innocence. The burden was on the House to establish an impeachable offense: Treason, Bribery, High Crime or Misdemeanor. Representative Nadler also referred to the Supreme Court constitutionally protected executive privilege as “executive privilege and other nonsense.” Once again, contempt for the Constitution by the Chair of the House Judiciary Committee. The Senate, as expected, ended its trial on the House of Representatives Impeachment of President Trump by acquitting the President. The House listened to 18 witnesses. The only one with direct evidence said it never happened. They had 17 witnesses in their Star Chamber proceedings in the basement of the Capitol. One transcript has not been released. Representatives Al Green, Maxine Walters, and Jerrold Nadler are on record for calling for the impeachment of President Trump before or shortly after his election. Representative Tlaib called for the President’s impeachment when she was sworn into Congress on January No facts were needed for them. No crime was needed for them. Just removal of the duly elected President of the United States. The end justifies the means. Trample on the Rule of Law. The only question was when. The Senate was initially bogged down in a procedural morass: 2 days, 3 days, or 4 days? Witnesses or no witnesses? Will Secretary of State John Bolton be the latest coming of the as yet to be 3 years later smoking gun that will show high crimes or misdemeanor. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer knew the House Democrats produced a fatally flawed impeachment. He did the best he could by demanding the call of witnesses. Senator Schumer did not really want to call witnesses. He’s smart enough to know the Republicans call forth a horde of witnesses, who will destroy the Democrats. Representatives Nadler and Schiff would be hung out to dry. Vice President Joe Biden, Hunter Biden, Representative Adam Schiff and perhaps Representative Nadler would be subpoenaed to testify by the Republicans. Eric Ciaramella, the faux whistleblower, and his attorney Mark Zaid would be called to testify. The Republicans would try to pierce the attorney client privilege, which would be neither necessary nor proper. Counselor Zaid would be interrogated about his statements: Representative Schiff has immunity in the House of Representatives for his malicious, lying statements, but not the Senate. He would be in a tough spot before the Senate. His options would be to lie, a selective memory loss, the Fifth Amendment, or a refusal to appear. The Constitution provides immunity to members of Congress in their House, but not the other chamber. The Impeachment Imbroglios. The Democrats tried to disqualify Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell for not being “impartial.”. They’re quite happy though with four Democratic Presidential candidates, Senators Bennett, Klobuchar, Sanders, and Warren sitting as jurors along with Senators Booker, Gillibrand, and Harris who dropped out of the race. They tried to disqualify Pat Cippolone, lead counsel for the President, ignoring the attorney- client privilege. Representative Nadler variously called President Trump a dictator. Mayor Bloomberg called the President a “dangerous demagogue.” Representative Schiff echoed several colleagues in saying the President’s alleged misconduct cannot be decided at the ballot box, for we cannot be assured that the vote will be fairly won.” Total contempt for democracy and the American voters! Some of his favorite words for President Trump were “cheat,” “cheat,” and “cheat,” a subconscious exercise of projection! He also joined colleagues in echoing their talking points that the President poses a threat to the national security. The Representative was exercising the fabled Big Lie approach. The faux impeachment initiated by a faux whistleblower is the latest, but not the last, ploy by the Democrats to destroy and oust President Trump. The Never Trumpers and those suffering from Trump Derangement Syndrome are waging a scorched earth policy against President Trump. They tried the last minute bombshell, just like Anita Hill and Justice Thomas, and Deborah Blasey Ford with Justice Kavanaugh. The House came to the Senate with an “irrebuttable presumption of guilt,” but presented no real evidence. Their whole case was a textbook example of the Big Lie. They Democrats said they had to act quickly, circumventing normal procedures (Due Process) because of the threat posed by the President, whereupon Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi sat on it for one month before sending it to the Senate. It was all politics. The Republican Senators had enough of these tactics. The Senate impeachment trial quickly acquitted the President. Representative Nadler et al accused the Senate of a coverup. Senator Warren promised to create a federal taskforce to investigate the Trump Administration if the President were reelected. What’s next for the Trump hating Democrats and the media? They failed with fact checkers, Russia Collusion, Stormy Daniels, the Access Hollywood Tape, Michael Avenatti, the 25th Amendment, the Mueller Report and Mueller, Trump’s tax returns, the Whistleblower and John Bolton, and the President’s illegal igniting a war by killing the arch Iranian terrorist Major General Qasam Soleimani. Charges of racism, sexism, nepotism, homophobia, and anti-Semitism haven’t stuck. The don’t understand that their form of Trump Bashing is making President Trump a martyr for a great America. They don’t see the American people are exhausted relentless wave of accusations. They fail to remember of the child who cried ”wolf” or “fire” too many times. This impeachment against President trump is over. The relentless, scorched earth war against President Trump by the Democrats and the mainstream media continues. Democrats, celebrities, Media – Give It A Rest! What’s next? They can’t give up.

The Vindmans and Sondland are Canned: More heads to Follow

Memo to the Democrats and the media: The Impeachment is over, house cleaning has commenced. Memo to Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman: When you engage in a cabal, conspiracy , or collusion, whatever you want to call it, to take down the leader, be it a president, king, queen, emperor, sultan, prince, shah, emir, prime minister, whomever, you better succeed. If not, you’re toast. You will be figuratively today, but literally in the past, executed for treason. The phrase used in Vietnam was “terminate with extreme prejudice.” Someone forgot to tell you that you work for the President. The President makes the decisions. The NSA makes recommendations. The President answers to the people, not to the NSA, State Department or the rest of the bureaucracy. Yet right after President Thump’s election, you voiced your desire to destroy him. You also became known as a leaker. Loyalty is a valued asset. Disloyalty is a dangerous attitude. The President, any president, has the right to expect loyalty by those who work in his or her administration. President Trump is using his acquittal and vindication to start cleaning house in the deep state, centered on the intelligence agencies. Brennen, Clapper and Comey were in cahoots, probably with Schiff, to destroy President Trump. McCabe had an insurance policy, the phony FusionGPS dossier, to establish Russian collusion by President Trump. All fraudulent! Fraud was used to obtain FISA warrants on Carter Page, but really to spy , directly or indirectly, on the Trumps. What were you thinking? The Lieutenant Colonel was escorted out of the NSA today, the agency previously headed by Clapper. His twin brother, Lt. Colonel Yevgeny Vindman, was also cashiered from the NSA. Lt. Colonel Vindman has two choices: 1) Contact Ukraine. See if that Ukrainian Army offer is still available. The Lieutenant Colonel will never make full bird in the Army. Twice passed over for promotion, you’re out. He will not be promoted as long as Donald Trump remains president, hopefully for 5 more years. 2) Resign and start collecting his pension. Gordon Sondland, Ambassador to the EU, testified that he heard others call it quid pro quo, but did not personally see any of it. He’s gone. Memo to the Democrats and the media: More payback is coming from the Senate and the Justice Department. Judiciary Committee Chair Lindsay Graham will hold hearings to get to the roots of the Russian Conspiracy hoax and the misconduct of the intelligence agencies. The Justice Department may conclude its investigations by bringing indictments. Unlike the Obama Administration whose Justice Department stonewalled the IRS and Fast and Furious scandals, the Trump Justice department is on board.

Qassem Soleimani: Rest in Pieces

Qassem Soleimani: Rest in Pieces The Mideast and Afghanistan have historically been a quagmire for foreign powers. Britain, France, Italy, Russia left against their will. Even the Ottomans lost Egypt before World War I. They are also constantly fighting among themselves. The United States was pulled into the region when President Carter made three mistakes. First he forced the Shah of Iran out in 1979 to be replaced by the fanatical Ayatollah Khomeini. The second was to let the Iranians hold our people hostage for 444 days from November 4, 1979 to January 20, 1980 with no retribution. The third was the botched rescue mission on April 24, 1980. America looked weak. Two suicide bombers blew up the Marine barracks and a French position in Lebanon on November 23, 1983. 241 Marines and 58 French military perished in the terrorist attacks. The Marine guards had unloaded weapons. President Reagan had planes bomb and the battleship U.S.S. Iowa shell a few targets, and then pulled the Marines out early in 1984. America looked weak. President Clinton passed on several opportunities to take out Osama Bin-Laden. The President sent cruise missiles to take out Al Qaeda training facilities in Afghanistan, but gave a heads up to Pakistan. The terrorists were gone before the missiles struck. No wonder Osama Bin-Laden said America was weak. President George W. Bush invaded Afghanistan and then Iraq. Afghanistan was necessary because the Taliban were sheltering Osama Ben-Ladin. Iraq has not worked out well. Saddam Hussein may have been a brutal, psychopathic dictator, but he kept the lid on the pressure cooker that was Iraq with Sunnis, Shia, and Kurds, a combustible mix. Nation building in the Mideast is a losing proposition. The Democrats are saying Soleimani was bad, but President Trump should not have authorized the missile attack without first notifying Congress and without a plan. President Trump has a plan: KEEP AMERICANS SAFE!!!! President Trump has a plan: Be Proactive,. Apparently the Democrats want to return to President Obama’s policy of appeasement. President Obama response to Iranian provocations was appeasement. He sent $1.4 billion in cash in crates on pallets to Iran on midnight unmarked flights for the weak nuclear accord. No conditions were attached to the deal. The deal lifted all sanctions against Iran releasing another $1 billion in frozen assets globally to Iran. President Obama a short time later sent another $400 million to Iran in exchange for 3, but not all, of the American hostages held by Iran. Iran used the proceeds to fund terrorism throughout the Mideast and build up its military. Israel wanted to send planes to destroy the Iranian nuclear facilities. President Obama threatened to have the U.S. shoot down the Israeli planes. He also prevented Israel from killing the terrorist Soleimani. The President never accounted for a few missing hours when terrorists attacked the American consulate in Benghazi, killing Ambassador Stevens. The military received several stand down orders, precluding a timely rescue effort. President Obama said Syria would cross a redline if Syria President Assad used poison gas against his people. Assad did and President Obama did nothing. Iran’s General Qassem Soleimani was the consummate terrorist leader. He was more dangerous than Osama Bin-Laden and Aku Bakr al-Baghadi of ISIS. He was the most dangerous because he proved it over two decades as the terrorist leader of Iran’s state sponsored terrorism. He answered only to the Ayatollah Khamenei, the supreme leader of Iran. Now he answers only to Allah. His hands were bloody with American and Arab, Christian, Jewish, and Muslim blood on his hands. General Soleimani was not killed because he wore an uniform in the Iranian Army. He was killed because he was the terrorist leader Three American Missiles fired from an American Raptor MQ-9 blew Soleimani and six other terrorists to smithereens. His body was identified by his ring. He was blown to pieces. Let him rest in pieces in Hell. One of the other deceased was Abu Mahdi al-Mohandes, a leader of the Iran affiliated Iraqi militant militia. Democrats fear Iran may retaliate. That’s absurd. Iran doesn’t need an excuse to strike against American interests, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, and Saudi Arabia. They sponsor, finance, and train terrorist groups to do their dirty work. They have also acted on their own: seizing two tankers, shooting down an unmanned American drown, and firing missiles into Saudi Arabia’s oil fields. President Reagan had the right idea when the Iranian Navy acted provocatively. The U.S. Navy destroyed it in an absence of publicity. Soleimani was arrogant and careless in flying into Baghdad Airport because he could seemingly travel with impunity because he had for two decades. Several commentators and observers called the action an “Act of War.” N.B. Iran has been in an asymmetrical war with the United States for almost four decades. It has been escalating the war. War is war. The United States will respond with asymmetrical measures. Soleimani has beeb engaged in open and court operations for 20 years President Trump said today: “We took action last night to stop a war. We did not take action to start a war.” The Trump Administration had intelligence of an impending massive terrorist attack. The President also said we are not looking for a regime change in Iran. Maybe, but they’ll cheer if it happened! ______________________________________________________________________________ A Few Side Comments Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez with her usual warped thought process warned President Trump was putting millions of innocent persons at risk. Representative Omar warned against President Trump operating a “distractive war with Iran to escape impeachment. Senator Chris Murphy a few days ago said no one fears the United States after the terrorist assault on the Baghdad embassy a few days ago. He said today on CNN that the President’s actions “seem disproportionate to the threat” posed by Soleimani. He’s also fearful that the President has ignited a “potential massive regional war.” The Washington Post has problems with its headline writers. The writer initially called the embassy attackers “mourners.” Today’s initial headline called the terrorist “Iran’s revered military leader,” but that’s not as bad as last October when the Post called Soleimani an “austere religious scholar.” Josh Rogin’s op-ed in today’s Post reads “U.S. enemies are calling Trump’s bluffs,” a case of bad timing. The editorial starts: “Iran’s tactical victory: Mr. Trump’s blunders hand Tehran an advantage in Iraq.” Here’s the lesson from the targeted killing of General Qassem Soleimani: President Trump sent a message to world leaders: Don’t Mess With the United States

How Not to Use "Boy" in Today's Political Correctness

The Limited Use of “Boy” Today We live in an era of political correctness. Once commonly used words and phrases are now suspect. Let’s look at the word “boy.” Words often have different meanings in different contexts. Merriam-Webster defines ‘boy’ as “a male child birth to adulthood,” but “boy” can mean much more and much less. We still say boys and girls, but further usage is very limited. A prime example is the mostly historic racist use of the word directed at African American males. The Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr. in his great Letter From a Birmingham Jail wrote: “[W]hen your first name becomes ‘nigger’ and your middle name becomes ‘boy”’(however old you are) and your last name becomes ‘John” ….” Thus the 11th Circuit in 2010 found the word "boy" racist when used by a supervisor against black employees. Another phrase from the same era is “Good old boys,” which are Southern gentlemen or a male clique in professions. It’s also a phrase to denote obstacle to women breaking into a profession or field. For example, the Directors Guild is dominated by Good Old Boys when it comes to Oscar nominations for Best Director. A historical usage is a side note of the atomic bombs dropping on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The bombs had different designs. The Hiroshima bomb was nicknamed “Little Boy” and the Nagasaki bomb “Fat Man.” “Little Boy” and its hydrogen successors hopefully will never be used again. Let’s look at other historic uses which either have, or should, fade into the sunset. King Tut, the fabled King Tut made famous on Saturday Night Live by Steve Martin, was known as the “Boy King,” which is hardly funny since King Tut died young. Paper Boy – I was a paper boy for 18 months in high school delivering the San Francisco Chronicle and also the overlapping San Francisco Examiner for four of those months. Both were profitable competing morning newspapers at the time. Who gets home delivery from paper boys anymore? “News Boy” is similarly archaic. I worked nine months as a office boy and two years as a catalog boy in college. Those terms are probably verboten today. Now we have externs and interns. Of course, “Boy Friday” is also a no-no today as well as its cousin “Tea Boy.” We also had messenger boys and errant boys as well as copy boys and servant boys not so long ago. Let us not forget Tarzan had Jane, Cheeta the chimp, and “Boy.” There’s also Boy Wonder – not to be confused with enfant terrible Should we say “boy genius” or child prodigy? We shouldn’t today call some girls “tomboys” Boys in the Band Boyz n in the Hood Nature Boy – a song and the nickname of a male model in Playgirl Magazine If we say “Good Boy” or “Bad Boy,” it sounds like we are training a dog without the bone or treat. Fr. Flanigan’s Boy’s Town tried changing its name to Boys and Girls Town since it started accepting girls but changed back to Boys Town. That’s bad judgment! More so is that fundraisers should learn from Boy’s Town’s success. It had an endowment of $191 million in 1970 and $568 million in 1992. It has over $1 billion in assets today. That boy has grown up! That is not a boy charity!

Mayor Pete Buttigieg and the Millennials Pose the Greatest Threat to President Trump's Reelection

Speaker Pelosi, the iffy impeachment, the media, celebrities, academia, Democrats and Progressives are not President Trump’s problem for reelection. It’s Mayor Pete and the Millennials. I was wrong a few months ago. I thought Beto O’Rourke was The Man. Beto turned out to be a narcissistic goofus. Thank God he didn’t win the Texas Senate seat of Senator Ted Cruz. It’s now the turn of Mayor Pete Buttigieg. Mayor Pete presents a fresh, “moderate’ fresh to the election - a reprieve from the traditional trite, samo samo politicians. He’s like President Emmanuel Macron of France and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau of Canada, a new wave of feel-good, non-confrontational, energetic candidates. Mayor Pete - Harvard, Rhodes Scholar, Navy Intelligence – looks good on paper He’s appealing to the next generation. He wants to be the bridge to a new era in American politics Don’t fall for it. Mayor Pete sublimates his inner radicalism, just like Senator Barack Obama in 2008. He’s “moderate,” soothing, reassuring. He’s not. He calls himself a Democratic socialist He’s as radical as Senators Sanders and Warren, just moderate in tone. Here’s his views: Stack the Supreme Court with 6 new justices, who pass the abortion test. A two-state Palestinian solution, but loathes Israel and wants to cut off support to Saudi Arabia. Medicare for all who want it, with a goal of universal healthcare. DACA. Open borders. Supporter of Big Labor. Supports Paris Accords. Green New Deal, carbon taxes, and clean energy. Will take action on Day One on the climate. Tax increases for people to pay their “fair share.” Ending gerrymandering Social equity Gender equity in administrative and agency appointments Statehood for the District of Columbia H.R.40: reparations to African Americans Elimination of death penalty Presidential elections by popular vote, eliminating the electoral college. When asked about white supremacy, “I try to check myself.” His statements on White Privilege: “Systemic racism, and white supremacy in particular … is the force that is most likely to destroy America.” “Look if you think about it; White supremacy is the thing beneath the surface of American life that has come closest to ending American life.” “It’s why I welcome my obligation as a candidate with the privilege of whiteness to speak about systemic racism in this country.” He’s trying to unite the Obama Coalition with identity politics. The Millennials are his key. A large percent of Millennials are woke, social justice warriors. They abhor President Trump, Republicans and conservatives. For example, the Millennials at Amazon, Google, and Microsoft oppose government projects for the military. Millennials overwhelmingly identify with the Democratic Party. 59% as of 2017 are Democrats or lean Democrat, compared to only 32% Republican. They fail to understand, being illiterate in history, that democratic socialism is an oxymoron. Their big issue is the environment, including climate change. Their second biggest issue is healthcare. Anti-Semitism, in the guise of anti-Zionism, is spreading through our nation’s campuses. The Millennials are convinced there is only one side, their correct side, the progressive side. Differing speech is hate speech. They come out of college indoctrinated with the history of America as an oppressive nation, both domestically and globally. They view themselves as victims of White (Male) Privilege. Thus the new concentration on “White Privilege.” Mayor Pete and Millennials – That’s the hurdle to President Trump’s reelection.