The Trump-Zelensky Conflict is of History, but not why you might think.

Presidents Trump and Zelensky are approaching Russia’s Ukraine aggression from a different historical perspective. President Trump is looking from an American record of failed military involvements since WWI, resulting in large losses of American soldiers, especially Iraq twice, Vietnam, and Afghanistan. These wars have weakened America. President Trump believes Ukraine cannot win the war with Russia, whose size, population, and resources will ultimately outlast Russia. President trump is essentially adopting FDR’s 1940 campaign promise: “Now, mothers and fathers, I am talking to you. As I have said and will say again, again, and again, I will not send your sons to fight in a foreign war.” FDR was in fact doing everything he could to support England in the fight against Hitler and plan for war. President Trump also in 2016 said “America First” before adopting MAGA. President Trump also wants a U.S. share of Poland’s minerals, many of which are currently in Russian occupied territory. President Zelensky is willing to sign a minerals deal, but only with security that Poland will not be attacked again. President Trump is unwilling to enter into an agreement that might place American soldiers at risk. President Zelensky has the European reality that President Vladimir Putin is emanating Adolph Hitler. Hitler was appointed Chancellor of Germany on January 30, 1933 and soon acquired full power. He began remilitarizing and entered in a series of territorial acquisitions. He first reentered the demilitarized Rhineland in March 1936, which was separated after WWI and placed under French protection. France did nothing. Then Hitler arranged the Anschluss on March 12, 1938 with Austria with the two German speaking countries becoming one. He then demanded the German populated enclave of the Sudetenland in Czechoslovakia. British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain acquiesced at Munich asserting “we have peace for our time.” Hitler seized the rest of Czechoslovakia on March 15, 1939. The West stood by. President Kennedy wrote a senior thesis at Harvard which became a bestselling book, “While England Slept.” World War II officially started on September 1, 1939 when Hitler in cahoots with Stalin invaded Poland. Putin seized part of Georgia and the Crimea in Ukraine with the goal of recreating the greater Russian/Soviet Empire. He stationed troops, naval power, and air forces in Syria in 2015. Poland is especially wary of Russia. Stalin invaded the eastern half of Poland on September 17, 1939, two weeks after Hitler. Then came the Polish Home Army rebelling against the Nazis on August 1, 1944, when the Red Army reached the banks of the Vistula River. Their expectancy was to unite with the Red Army in liberating Warsaw. Stalin instead ordered his Army to stay out of the conflict. Let the Poles and Germans fight each other. The Poles finally capitulated with many of its leaders executed by Stalin and Beria after the war. I’ve been in the Warsaw Uprising Museum in Warsaw. It not only vilifies Germany, but also Russia. School children visiting the museum are taught the perfidy of Russia. Poland, the Baltic Republics, Finland, eastern and western Europe, Hungary and Czechoslovakia have felt the boot of military oppression by Russia. They fear a victorious Putin if Ukraine falls. Putin has a grandiose ambition. Poland is geographically handicapped by being stuck between Germany and Russia. Germany is currently a peaceful friend. Russia is not. President Zelensky and the Ukrainian people remember the end of the Cold War and the breakup of the Soviet empire. Ukraine had a large army and roughly 1900 nuclear weapons upon independence in 1991. They were induced by President Clinton to surrender their nuclear weapons pursuant to the non-proliferation campaign. They received security assurances by the United States, United Kingdom and Russia. How did that work out when Russia invaded Crimea in 2014? President Trump’s challenge is not to secure a short-term peace leaving Ukraine open to further Russian aggression, in short, not to go down in history as the second coming of Chamberlain and Munich. President Trump said President Zelensky is courting WWIII by rejecting his proposals. Europe, especially Poland, fears Putin will start WWIII if he succeeds in Ukraine. Presidents Trump and Zelensky are approaching Russia’s Ukraine aggression from a different historical perspective. President Trump is looking from an American record of failed military involvements since WWI, resulting in large losses of American soldiers, especially Iraq twice, Vietnam, and Afghanistan. These wars have weakened America. President Trump believes Ukraine cannot win the war with Russia, whose size, population, and resources will ultimately outlast Russia. President trump is essentially adopting FDR’s 1940 campaign promise: “Now, mothers and fathers, I am talking to you. As I have said and will say again, again, and again, I will not send your sons to fight in a foreign war.” FDR was in fact doing everything he could to support England in the fight against Hitler and plan for war. President Trump also in 2016 said “America First” before adopting MAGA. President Trump also wants a U.S. share of Poland’s minerals, many of which are currently in Russian occupied territory. President Zelensky is willing to sign a minerals deal, but only with security that Poland will not be attacked again. President Trump is unwilling to enter into an agreement that might place American soldiers at risk. President Zelensky has the European reality that President Vladimir Putin is emanating Adolph Hitler. Hitler was appointed Chancellor of Germany on January 30, 1933 and soon acquired full power. He began remilitarizing and entered in a series of territorial acquisitions. He first reentered the demilitarized Rhineland in March 1936, which was separated after WWI and placed under French protection. France did nothing. Then Hitler arranged the Anschluss on March 12, 1938 with Austria with the two German speaking countries becoming one. He then demanded the German populated enclave of the Sudetenland in Czechoslovakia. British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain acquiesced at Munich asserting “we have peace for our time.” Hitler seized the rest of Czechoslovakia on March 15, 1939. The West stood by. President Kennedy wrote a senior thesis at Harvard which became a bestselling book, “While England Slept.” World War II officially started on September 1, 1939 when Hitler in cahoots with Stalin invaded Poland. Putin seized part of Georgia and the Crimea in Ukraine with the goal of recreating the greater Russian/Soviet Empire. He stationed troops, naval power, and air forces in Syria in 2015. Poland is especially wary of Russia. Stalin invaded the eastern half of Poland on September 17, 1939,two weeks after Hitler. Then came the Polish Home Army rebelling against the Nazis on August 1, 1944, when the Red Army reached the banks of the Vistula River. Their expectancy was to unite with the Red Army in liberating Warsaw. Stalin instead ordered his Army to stay out of the conflict. Let the Poles and Germans fight each other. The Poles finally capitulated with many of its leaders executed by Stalin and Beria after the war. I’ve been in the Warsaw Uprising Museum in Warsaw. It not only vilifies Germany, but also Russia. School children visiting the museum are taught the perfidy of Russia. Poland, the Baltic Republics, Finland, eastern and western Europe, Hungary and Czechoslovakia have felt the boot of military oppression by Russia. They fear a victorious Putin if Ukraine falls. Putin has a grandiose ambition. Poland is geographically handicapped by being stuck between Germany and Russia. Germany is currently a peaceful friend. Russia is not. President Zelensky and the Ukrainian people remember the end of the Cold War and the breakup of the Soviet empire. Ukraine had a large army and roughly 1900 nuclear weapons upon independence in 1991. They were induced by President Clinton to surrender their nuclear weapons pursuant to the non-proliferation campaign. They received security assurances by the United States, United Kingdom and Russia. How did that work out when Russia invaded Crimea in 2014? President Trump’s challenge is not to secure a short-term peace leaving Ukraine open to further Russian aggression, in short, not to go down in history as the second coming of Chamberlain and Munich. President Trump said President Zelensky is courting WWIII by rejecting his proposals. Europe, especially Poland, fears Putin will start WWIII if he succeeds in Ukraine.

Mayor Karen Bass Throws LAFD Chief Kristin Crowley Under the Bus, More Precisely under a Broken Fire Engine

Nero fiddled while Rome was burning. Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass was sipping cocktails at a reception in Ghana while her city was burning on January 7. Instead of really accepting blame she resorted to Plan B, deflect blame on someone else. She apologized for being out of the country, but blamed her absence, and the city’s unpreparedness, on Los Angeles Fire Chief (LAFD) Kristin Crowley, who she claimed had not notified her of the risk of the Santa Ana winds. She did not apologize for her $17 million budget cuts for the LAFD, which crippled its preparedness ability. The Mayor did not mention the warning letter Chief Crowley sent her a few weeks earlier about the extreme risk caused by the budget cuts. She did not mention, explain or apologize for seeking a $70 million cut in the LAFD budget. She did not mention, explain or apologize for gutting the Los Angeles Fire Department and imperiling public safety while giving a $316 million pay raise to unionized public employees in the first year, rising to $1 billion in 2028. Mayor is simply a politician focused on placating her base rather than the public good. Mayor Bass did not mention, explain, or apologize for a $750,000 appointment of Janisse Quinones as Director of the Department of Water and Power (DWP). Director Quinones was focused on bring DWI to DWP rather than fixing a reservoir above the Palisades and the scores of inoperable fire hydrants in the Palisades and neighboring communities. Director Quinones apparently still has her job. Mayor Bass was apparently the only person in the greater Los Angeles area who was unaware a mighty Santa Ana was approaching. The National Weather broadcast days of warnings including an extreme fire risk. It was on the media. She did no mention that over half of LAFD’s fire vehicles are stored fender to fender in a maintenance/storage yard because of a shortage of mechanics and parts. Only five firetrucks were prepositioned in advance of the January 7 Palisades Fire. That’s all that were available thanks to budget cuts and deferred maintenance. Mayor Bass and Possibly Governor Newsom seem to have abandoned climate change as the culprit. Everyone, except perhaps Mayor Bass, is well aware of the ferocity of the Santa Anas. Blaming them on climate change is like blaming climate change for hurricanes in Florida and New Orleans, and tornados in Tornado Alley. Her stoneface response in her return at LAX will an ad against in her future campaigns. She appeared catatonic or in shock. Her perennial smile fell off her face. Many leaders are never tested. They can sail through good times. Leaders can either step up or fail during an existential crisis. Karen Bass failed.

Initial Views on the Palisades and Eaton Los Angeles Wildfire Disaster

By way of background, while I am not well known, I have analyzed, written, published, and presented on disasters and tragedies for decades. We are still in “the fog of war” stage of the disaster, but facts are emerging, which often contradict earlier statements. Every major disaster and tragedy have three stages: 1) Reducing the Risks 2) The Response Effort 3) Recovery Initial thoughts and caveats: Every mass disaster, tragedy, human or natural, has many causes and responsible parties. Natural hazards and poor decision-making resulted in the firestorms blowing past the firefighters in the Palisades and Eaton fires. A worse case natural hazard coupled with a woefully unprepared city resulted in a cataclysmic disaster. Los Angeles is a densely populated area with limited access and egress, especially in the hilly areas. Los Angeles is a city, a county, and a state of mind. Southern California has a historical pattern: heavy precipitation, then mudslides and landslides, and thick vegetation, followed by drought, and then wildfires. California faces catastrophic seismic and wildfire risks. Over-protection against one can amplify the risk against the other. For example, a concrete blockhouse style building will protect against wildfires, but could be deadly in a wildfire. Infrastructure is often under-funded and under-maintained. Only when a disaster, such as the Palisades and Eaton Fires, showcase the inadequacies of existing infrastructure does a belated, expensive response occur. Finally, big fires out of little embers grow. Fire fighters have to contain a fire quickly in a wind-driven event else the fire spread quickly. Risk Reduction Emergencies happen, ranging from catastrophic to minor. The key is to have in place a viable emergency action plan. The Los Angeles Fire Department has contingency plans in place, including for fierce Santa Ana winds. Similar forecasts occurred in 2011. The LAFD pre-positioned equipment and personnel and kept firefighters at work. Not this time. One way to minimize the impact of natural disasters is to limit development, but no livable location in America is risk free from geological or meteorological risks: avalanches, blizzards, earthquakes, flooding, hurricanes, landslides, tornados, tsunamis, volcanic eruptions, wildfires and windstorms. Southern California is especially vulnerable to earthquakes and wildfires. 334 million Americans have to live somewhere. They spread out from the cities into the suburbs, exurbs, the hills and the coastline. The interface between the forest and the urban increases both the risks of a wildfire and the difficulties of fighting wildfires. Leadership The response revealed a failure of leadership. Fire fighters and law enforcement on the line responded as best they could under the circumstances. Fire chiefs, police chiefs, sheriffs and local officials addressed the public from their perspectives, but no overall leader emerged. The public needs a strong leader projecting confidence and strength in a crisis. Mayor Karen Bass was on a junket to Ghana for the inauguration of a new President of Ghana. She remained silent. Mayor Bass is a feelgood politician with a warm smile. She was at a cocktail reception while Palisades burned. A leader under pressure, she is not. She was warned about the wildfire risks, but left for Ghana anyway. She told the New York Times four years ago that she would not travel internationally. She’s been to Ghana, Mexico, and Paris three times so far. Just a typical politician. She had also cut the budget of the Los Angeles Fire Department by $17.3 million. Her reelection campaign is up in smoke. The LA Fire Department has about 100 fire engines, trucks, and ambulances out of service because of inadequate maintenance – mechanics and parts. Governor Gavin Newsom’s first response, a la Newsom, was to cast blame. He pointed fingers at others, explaining he was not fully informed by local officials. He also wanted to find out what happened to the water. Governor Newsom, obsessed with delusions of running for President, said he was reaching out to Washington for support. California spends more on the homeless than fire protection. He supported the protection of the delta smelt and other environmental values, reducing water supply to Southern California and farmers. He’s been tagged with “fish over people.” He now cries out against disinformation. He cut the fire prevention budget by $100 million and bragged about removing a dam. His presidential ambitions are up in smoke. His goal two months ago was to Trump Proof California, a Constitutional delusion. The 2021-22 California state budget contained $988 million for wildfire prevention. The current amount is $200 million. On the other hand, California spends between $6 – 9 billion annually on fighting wildfires and cleanup. Fram Filter had a great add decades ago: ‘Pay me now, or pay me later.” He should have Fire Proofed California. He wanted to Trump Proof California with at least $25 million, but upped the ante to $50 million. He is delusional; he has to go to the Trump Administration to bail out Los Angeles. He’s not going to like the conditions. He should have Fire Proofed California. Governor Newsom and Mayor Bass are looking to Washington for an endless source of funds to rebuild LA. Money will come from Washington, but President Trump and the Republican Congress will limit their largess. President Biden and a Democratic Congress would have opened the spigots, pouring money into Southern California and whatever other pet projects they could attach and large amounts for waste, fraud, and a bonanza for planners. Mayor Bass was allocating more money for the homeless than fighting fire. California spends more on building the bullet train than firefighting and protection. Mayor Bass placed her Deputy Mayor Brian Williams on leave in December. His responsibilities include the Los Angeles Fire Department, Los Angeles Police Department, Port of Los Angeles Police, airport police, and Emergency Management Department. He was accused of making a bomb threat in September. A vacuum in city leadership. Mayor Bass and Governor Newsom are professional politicians. They are very good at raising taxes and then spending it on favorite causes, which does not include infrastructure. The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (DWP) and the Los Angeles Fire Department are prime examples of deferred maintenance. President Biden touched down in Los Angeles. He had these comments: 1) He was proud to be a new great grandfather. 2) It appears the residence of his son Hunter had survived, but he wasn’t sure. No doubt should further exist that President Biden is out of touch with reality. Fire Response Disaster planners, including fire chiefs, know wildfires are a constant problem in California, especially when Santa Ana winds strike. California has a long history with both urban and rural wildfires. California has incurred hundreds of horrific urban and rural wildfires, Oakland Hills in 1991, the Camp Fire (Paradise) in 2018, Woolsey Fire (2018), and the 2017 Tubbs Fire (Santa Rosa) are examples. These urban wildfires show how vulnerability of our metropolitan areas. The preventative and response lessons from earlier fires were not followed. Los Angeles was unprepared. Some measures may not protect in a wildfire with flames shooting horizontally and vertically at 100mph, but they could slow or stop the spread. Little embers can lead to large fires. Replace wood roofs. One shake roof, now banned in California, can ignite an entire neighborhood. Build with metal or clay roofs with no roof lines where embers can land. Other measures include covered chimneys and no open vents. Stucco, often used in building exteriors, is flame resistant, but also a poor insulator. Brush clearance is imperative. Defensive space of at least 5 feet, free of trees and brush, should surround a dwelling. LA knew for years of the need to remove dry brush, aka kindling, from the hilly slopes: “Clear the floor.” They did not do so. A herd of goats is a highly efficient, low-cost way to remove brush. Prescribed burns can reduce brush. Use double layered Tempered glass, which keep the glass windows from bursting open, creating a pathway into the dwelling. The Palisades Fire is a worse case scenario. Santa Ana winds may blow 50mph, but this one was on steroids, up to 100mph. it was foreseeable. The National Weather Service provided specific warnings of the Santa Ana winds. The fire fighters knew the risk of a major conflagration was possible. They said they pre-positioned some equipment and personnel. They arranged assistance from other fire departments. They did a modicum of pre-stationing equipment with none in the Palisades. Only five fire engines were staffed. They had detailed plans in how to prepare for an urban wildfire. They were not followed. They were only able to pre-position five fire engines, none in the Palisades. Shifts were changing. They sent 1,000 fire fighters home, instead of keeping them on duty – reducing overtime expenditures. Conversely the LAFD pre-deployed 40 engines in 2011 after similar dire warnings. Patrick Butler, former LAFD Assistant Chief, said “we could not take any chances on this, because the risk was too great.” Not the same attitude of the current senior management of LAFD. Little embers lead to big fires. DWP has a dysfunctional history coupled with deferred maintenance. The current director, Janisse Quinones, says the systems were working. She did not mention the 117 million galloon Santa Ynez Reservoir which has sat empty in Pacific Palisades since February 2024. It might not have stopped the wildfire, but the waters could have saved some homes or slowed the spread. She stated the fire hydrants were working, but many in fact, including some in Pacific Palisades, were inoperable. She said she took the job “with an equity lens and social justice.” A 1961 wildfire in Bel-Air and Brentwood destroyed almost 500 homes. LA responded. The city built 13 fire stations and the Santa Ynez Reservoir in the Pacific Palisades “to increase fire protection.” The reservoir was emptied because of a tear in its cover because of fear insects could contaminate the drinking water. DWP, and its director, saw no need for urgency in filling the reservoir. The Los Angeles Fire Chief, Kristin Crowley, has made DEI a priority since 2022. Deputy Chief of Diversity Kristine Larson is recorded on tape responding if female firefighters are “strong enough to do this?” She responded to the question if she could carry a husband out of a fire? “He got himself in the wrong place if I have to carry him out of a fire.” Public Health and Safety, not DEI and Equity, are the primary responsibilities of the government. They took their eyes off the ball. Chief Crowley’s DEI campaign was accomplished by an exodus of the senior firefighters, which may explain some of the poor decision-making. None were called back before the fires. Their expertise might have resulted in better decision-making. DEI also distracts from the primary mission of protecting public safety. Current personnel look over their shoulders if they think they might be the “next-to-go” to make room for DEI. Some duty officers made a series of catastrophically poor decisions. One major response effort in emergencies is timely evacuation orders. West Alhambra, a historic African-American middle class neighborhood, was devasted in the Eaton Fire. The fire began at 6:18pm and spread through West Alhambra. The first evacuation order was not sent out until 3:25am, nine hours later, when flames were already consuming much of the community. Seventeen died in West Alhambra. Residents in West Alhambra phoned the emergency center when they saw flames approaching towards them. They were told the need to evacuate was not posted; therefore they were OK. Many were able to get out with only minutes to spare. 17 perished in Alhambra, all in west Alhambra. Alhambra is in the jurisdiction of the sheriff’s office – not the LAPD. The Causes of the Palisades and Eaton Fires. Contemporaneous reports claim the Palisades fire reignited on January 7 from a previous January 1 fire that the LAFD had quickly extinguished, or not. The LAFD does not have a practice of revisiting previous burns. The said it reignited on January 7, but the LAFD did not quickly respond. They were too late. Big fires from little embers burn. One theory is that the Eaton Fire of Altadena/Pasadena may have been caused by equipment of Southern California Edison, the utility. The utility says it might have started in a nearby homeless encampment. The causes will be discovered and learnt from. Many public officials (elected or appointment) will lose their jobs.

Does a leopard change its spots? Does the Media change its spots?

Does a leopard change its spots? Does the Media change its spots? Nope! Neither can the mainstream media. We have the tale of the scorpion and frog. The scorpion needed to cross the river. The scorpion asked the frog to carry it across the river. The frog refused, saying you will sting me, and I will die. The scorpion said “No, if I do that then I will also die.” The frog consented. The scorpion stung the frog halfway across the river. The dying frog asked the scorpion why it stung him. The scorpion responded: “Creature of Habit.” So too is the mainstream media. They can’t control themselves. The daily columnist diatribes against President Trump are underway. The New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Washington Post, Boston Globe, Philadelphia Inquirer, MSNBC and CNN et al continue to revile President Trump, his appointees, and pronouncements. First it was Matt Gaetz, now it’s Pete Hegseth. Next it will be Tulsi Gabbard, and RFK, Jr. They continue to moralize against Republicans and ignore the transgressions of Democrats. The New York Times ran a large on how the Trump Family will economically benefit from his Presidency. The sounds of silence existed with Hunter Biden’s multi-million dollar “pay-to-play” deals with China, Russia, and ??? Vice President Kamala Harris as a young attorney in the San Francisco City Attorneys Office slept with the married, 60 year old Mayor Willie Brown of San Francisco. Her husband, Doug Emhoff, was divorced by his first wife because he impregnated the nanny. He also had the reputation of a misogynist partner of his law firm. Not a peep from the mainstream media as they excoriate the moral failings, actual or alleged, or missteps by Republicans. The columnists are asserting President Trump’s win was not a landslide, similar to the earlier claims that inflation is not a problem. It’s no longer a landslide in their eyes because he polled slightly less than 50%. If you remove California and its ballot harvesting late votes from the vote count, he would have more than 50% of the total votes. They’re worried President Trump will have his hands on the trigger of the nuclear bomb, forgetting he had already been President for four years with his hands on the trigger. They fret that the Justice department will become a department of persecutions, which is what it’s been the past four years. They’re worried he will seek revenge against his political enemies. Did they break the law? Was there a conspiracy between prosecutors in New York State, New York City, Atlanta and the Justice Department to destroy President Trump’s candidacy, such like the earlier Russia conspiracy and Mueller investigation of 8 years ago. They celebrated the demise of Representative Matt Gaetz. That’s like fishing in a barrel with a shotgun. Matt Gaetz’s nomination was DOA, dead on arrival, in the Senate. Representative Gaertz never learnt a fundamental rule of life: Be nice to those you pass on the way up because you might see them again on the way down. He had offended most members of Congress. He led the way in dumping Kevin McCarthy as Speaker of the House. He is known for bloviating and not legislating in the House. The media has little credibility where it needs it the most: President Trump, Republicans, conservatives, and the American people. Their columns, editorials, and op-eds are speaking to each other in an echo chamber. They’re rebuilding the echo chamber as I write. They applaud and bestow awards on each other in the echo chamber. Governor Newsom of California has long suffered from the delusion of becoming President. He called a special session of the California Legislature to solidify California’s values against the Trump administration: “to safeguard California values and fundamental rights in the face of an upcoming Trump Administration.” He wants another $25 million from the state legislature to fund litigation against the Trump Administration. It’s must be great to be the termed out governor of a one-party state. Illinois and New York have echoed Governor’s Newsom’s resistance. The media quotes President Trump’s words out of context. They take his strong words as policy positions, ignoring that President Trump is negotiating. They now cry out against President’s tariff promises, loudly asserting the tariffs will raise the cost of goods to Americans; that they will cause inflation. Where have they been the past four years? They know they screwed up royally in becoming a shill for the Democratic Party. They profess to do better, but they can’t – it’s their character. They have rarely their past mistakes in covering President Trump, much less apologized for them. Russia Gate, the Steele Dossier, the Mueller report, the recent Lawfare, they cheer it all on. They never apologize, or usually acknowledge all their past mistakes. The mainstream media lives in an echo chamber, not understanding their circulation and viewership is sinking, and apparently not caring. They ranks are quickly disappearing. The problem is deep-seated. Conservatives are not welcome in most journalism schools. The journalism students are not taught to be reporters, but as advocates for their beliefs. Los Angeles Times staffers wrote a memo in which they said their duty requires them “to be transparent and act in service of the public.” The owner of a media source has the right to control the policies, coverage, philosophy, and political perspective of the paper, magazine, cable or internet media. Employees, including journalists, who disagree have a choice; they can go along or resign. Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong is the owner and thus publisher of the Los Angeles Times. He has clearly stated he wants the LA Times to be profitable. Circulation is shrinking as an echo chamber of the left, while advertising dollars have migrated to the internet. Jeff Bezos, owner of the Washington Post, is unhappy with last year’s $77 million loss. Both media owners made their fortunes as entrepreneurs in a capitalistic society. The staff of their papers are employees – not owners or publishers. Their echo chamber is fighting a sinking ship, plunging readership and viewership. Creature of Habit.

What If The Biden Administration Were In Power During Pearl Harbor?

Jen Psaki – former Biden Press Secretary I’m going to circle back to that Karine Jean-Pierre – Biden Administration Press Secretary There is nothing here to report Admiral John Kirby – White House National Security Communications Advisor A few presumably Japanese planes lost their way and approached our Navy base at Pearl Harbor. Our air defenses shot most of them down with only slight damage to our ships. Antony Blinken, Secretary of State We don’t want to overreact and cause Japan to escalate National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan I published a report last week that the Pacific had never been more peaceful General Lloyd Austin, Secretary of Defense We’re speaking with our allies Alejandro Mayorkas, Secretary of Homeland Security We know of no foreign involvement President Joe Biden – falling off a bicycle while eating an ice cream somewhere on Rehoboth Beach, cannot be reached

The Hunter Biden Pardon

The grifter President Joseph Robinette Biden pardoned his ne’er-do-well drug addicted, alcoholic felon son Hunter Binder. The Democrat’s mantra for President Trump is that no one is above the law as they practice lawfare against Republicans. Democratic Vice President sons are apparently above the law. So too is President Biden for possessing classified documents next to his Corvette in his garage. President Biden said many times he respected the law and would not pardon his son. That was, of course, a lie, but no one should be surprised by the pardon. The media extolled the virtues of President Biden in stating he would not pardon his son. He justified the pardon by claiming the prosecution of his son was “politically motivated” and a miscarriage of justice. President Biden has been a pathological liar his entire political career, all 48 years. Dementia has not affected his lack of veracity. An old lawyers’ joke is “How do you know a lawyer is lying.” When he opens his mouth and speaks. President Biden’s most common lie was “I give you my word as a Biden.” Hunter Biden engaged his father, the President, in his pay to play deals with China, Ukraine, and Romania. The House of Representatives reported Hunter raked in over $27 million since 2014 from foreign parties. The money flowed to Hunter and the Biden family. The late Rush Limbaugh constantly referred to the Biden Crime Family. The Hunter Biden pardon covers not only the crimes for which he has been convicted or pled guilty to, but also any crimes he may have otherwise committed over the preceding ten years. That broad pardon makes it difficult to follow the money in the Biden family, but it’s not impossible. This pardon is a blanket pardon for crimes that have not resulted in prosecutions, and even as of this date, may not have been investigated. A blanket pardon is for an unspecified crime. It is a get out of jail for free card. We now know why Hunter Biden pled guilty to the felony tax fraud charges on September 5, 2024. He both knew the pardon was coming and that the Biden Family dirty linen would not be publicly aired. The federal prosecutors made it clear they would enter into evidence the saga and sum total of the Hunter Biden pay to play scheme. The President’s pardon does not preclude state prosecutions for violations of state law. Nor would it preclude future federal prosecutions if Hunter Biden falls off the wagon. Hunter claims to have been clean for 5 years. He knows his father can no longer run interference for him. We hope for the remainder of his life he stays clean and earns an honest living. If President Biden believes his statements about the integrity of the law, then he would have simultaneously pardoned Donald J. Trump, but of course he didn’t. He allowed his attorney general to file criminal charges against his political opponent. The media outrage will be somewhat muted on January 20 when President Trump pardons the January defendants. We read George Orwell’s 1984 and Animal Farm in high school: “All animals are created equal, but some animals are more equal than other.” We know Joe Biden ran his presidency like a third world autocrat, governing by executive order, ignoring Supreme Court decisions, and trying to imprison his political opponent, President Trump. The President under the Constitution essentially has unlimited power to issue pardons and commutations. Article 2, Section 2 grants the President the “power to grant Reprieves and Pardons for offenses against the United States, except in cases of impeachment.” The pardoning power is almost absolute, not subject to Congressional review. It is therefore subject to abuse. President Clinton issued many questionable pardons, especially on his last day in office. One of the pardoned was Marc Rich, a fugitive billionaire. Some commentators premise the Hunter Biden pardon may tarnish the legacy of Joseph Robinette Biden. His legacy will not be tarnished; the pardon will add to his legacy of incompetence. President Obama stated Biden’s legacy years ago: “Never underestimate Joe’s ability to fuck up.” President Carter is increasingly looking better. Joe Biden is an American tragedy; the Peter Principle for all to witness. The Democratic Lawfare looks even more perverted and a judicial travesty today, but that may not deter New York District Attorney Alvin Bragg or the New York City judges handling the civil and criminal cases against President Trump. The Democrats campaigned against Donald Trump and the Republicans as threats to Democracy. Blanket, peremptory pardons for Trump’s opponents will be an affront to democracy. I assume Representative Nancy Pelosi will no longer recommend adding Joe Biden to Mount Rushmore.

Why Vice President Harris Lost.

How could Vice President Harris Lose? James Carville: “It’s the economy stupid.” President Reagan: “Are you better off today than four years ago?” It’s the economy, inflation, immigration, ignorance, incompetence, arrogance, crime, DEI, elitism. How could Vice President Harris lose? She outspent President Trump, $1.2 billion, almost 2:1. She had the support of Silicon Valley. She had the rabid support of the mainstream media. The Academic world was a booster. Her campaign focused on identity politics, slicing and dicing the American populace, forgetting that we are all Americans. The elites backed her. She was young, empathetic. She is an avid supporter of abortion rights. Her cheerleaders included the Obamas, Clintons, Taylor Swift, and Hollywood celebrities. The Democratic Party was unified behind her. Her talking points were vetted through focus groups. The Biden Administration buying student votes by cancelling student loans. Climate change is a major concern for young voters, but jobs are a larger concern for college grads. Factcheckers, who often needed their fact checking, facr checked, routinly hammered President Trump. Lawfare would destroy Trump – federal indictments in Florida and D.C., state indictments in Florida and New York, convictions through a New York City who violated basic constitutional rights and rules of law, monster fraud penalty by another New York judge, unsupportable civil defamation verdicts by another judge, and Colorado trying to keep him off the Ballot. All to no avail. Her strategists focused on women, abortionn(reproductive rights) Blacks, especially women, Asian Americans, climate change, Hispanics, and Arab Americans. She insulted half the American populace. She was defying history. Only two vice-presidents have been directly elected president at the end of their president’s term of office: Martin Van Buren in 1836 and George H.W. Bush in 1988. Both lost re-election. The problem for Veeps is that they have to run against the sins of their president. President Biden is currently rated worse than President Carter. Vice President Harris said she couldn’t think of anything she would do different than President Biden. That was doubling down on failure. President Biden’s goal of being a transformative president resulted in an attempt to radically transform America with the program of the radical left wing of the Democratic Party. President Biden is transforming American Politics by shattering the Democratic coalition put together by President Franklin Delano Roosevelt. The American people do not identify with wokeness and DEI, speech codes, pronouns, cancel culture. The majority of Americans are White. Accusing them of White Privilege, male and female, is counter-productive. Favoring Arabs over Jews does not play well in the United States. Donald Trump outpolled Kamala Harris in Dearborn, Michigan. She refused to appear at the Annual Al Smith Memorial Dinner fundraiser for Catholic Charities in New York. The last Democrat who failed to appear was Vice President Hubert Humphrey in 1980. Trump won 54% of the Catholic vote in 2024. Defunding the police is not a winning proposition. Neither is providing funds to rioters. It’s the economy. The rate of inflation may be dropping, but the inflation prices remain in the supermarket. Gas is high. Crime is high. Homelessness is high. Interest rates are high. Vehicle prices are high. The private sector is stagnating while government employment is up. Open borders have spread throughout the country. Trans competing in women’ sports is not popular. Abortion rights were a major flashpoint in 2022, but not so much in 2024. She promised to raise taxes, on the rich. Americans know better. Don’t blame it on President Joe Biden. He made a Faustian Bargain with Senator Bernie Sanders to win the Democratic nomination and the Presidency. The good news for Vice President Harris is that she probably did better than President Biden would have. The poo-bars of the Democratic Party knew he was in rapid decline, but they lied to prop him up. Their plan was to reelect President Biden, and then have him resign or be pushed out in 2025, letting Kamala Harris become President Harris. The Democrats were hoisted on their own petard with President Biden. All she lacked was the American people.