Blessings on you and your family, and from all the Huckabee staff!
Today's newsletter includes:
- Bible Verse of the Day - Luke 6:31
- Report: On Americans held by Taliban, Biden tells "boldfaced lie."
- Afghanistan updates
- Good news
- America The Beautiful
- RIP Willard Scott
- Interesting Memoir
Sincerely,
Mike Huckabee
DAILY BIBLE VERSE
31 And as ye would that men should do to you, do ye also to them likewise.
Luke 6:31
Report: On Americans held by Taliban, Biden tells "boldfaced lie."
By Mike Huckabee
It’s been challenging, to say the least, to find out what’s really going on in Afghanistan concerning the evacuation of Americans and our friends.
Unlike President Trump, who used to enjoy hanging out on the White House lawn and speaking off the cuff to answer reporters’ questions --- not that he got the credit he deserved for that --- President Biden’s White House prefers to “put a lid” on their commentary. If Biden doesn’t have it on a teleprompter to read, he simply shuffles off, stage left, if he can remember which way is left.
When that happens, it’s up to the Pentagon and the State Department to speak for him. But they’ve abdicated their responsibility as well. As Kyle Becker reported on Sunday, the White House has implemented a virtual news blackout. Good luck finding out anything from them.
“There is zero chatter in the White House about getting American citizens out of Afghanistan,” tweeted Jack Posobiec, senior editor at HUMAN EVENTS. A White House official told him that “they’re acting like they’re not even there.”
Why would that be? Multiple Pentagon sources independently confirm that “the White House counsel (through the National Security Council’s legal department) told multiple federal agencies and departments NOT to respond to Afghanistan correspondence, with more guidance to follow.” In other words, “ghost” any media outlet seeking information.
Of course, the mainstream media are showing no curiosity. When White House Chief of Staff Ron Klain appeared Sunday on CNN, he was never asked one question about the planes on the ground, not even if Americans were among those being held on airplanes at Mazar-i-Sharif International Airport. He did say that “about 100” Americans remain in Afghanistan and the administration is working on getting them out.
On FOX NEWS SUNDAY, Texas Rep. Michael McCaul surprised host Chris Wallace by revealing that six planes, loaded with Americans and Afghan interpreters and other helpers, had been sitting for at least a couple of days on the tarmac at that airport, prevented by the Taliban from taking off. He said the Taliban wanted “something in exchange.”
Here’s the story from THE DAILY CALLER.
https://dailycaller.com/2021/09/05/michael-mccaul-taliban-hostage-mazar-i-sharif/
And here's the full interview with Rep. McCaul.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kqiXgaZnuKg
“The airplanes are there,” Texas Rep. Ronny Jackson had said Friday on NEWSMAX. “Everything is ready to go, They can’t get out...because the Taliban won’t release the flight until September 9 because they want to be recognized as an official government.” McCaul said it was guaranteed these hostages would be held until the U.S. recognized the Taliban as a government.
As for Ron Klain’s assertion that “about 100” Americans are being held, California Rep. Darrell Issa says it’s a vast understatement. He told the AP it’s likely that “about 500 Americans” remain stranded (yes, Jen Psaki, STRANDED) in Afghanistan. That’s not including their family members, which would bring the number up to as high as 1,000. By not including the families, Nebraska Rep. Don Bacon said, “they’re lowballing the numbers.”
Jack Phillips of THE EPOCH TIMES reports that according to Mike Jason, who runs a rescue operation called Allied Airlift 21, the figure quoted could be far higher.
Alex Plitsas, an Iraq War veteran and former intel officer who is part of a rescue mission called Digital Dunkirk, said that in just one day, he’d received six calls from Americans who weren’t registered with the U.S.Embassy (which is abandoned now, I might add). “Those names are starting to trickle out now,” he said. “I expect that number to rise significantly.”
Be sure and read Rebecca Downs’ account in TOWNHALL of Oklahoma Rep. Markwayne Mullin’s attempt to help Americans who were still trapped there, as told to FOX NEWS’ Bret Baier on Friday.
“A congressman can sponsor a flight going in,” Mullin explained, “and it gives one of these other departments cover because it’s kind of, no one wants to touch it because I personally believe it was because they knew it was a hot mess.”
Even though they had obtained a humanitarian flight plan from the FAA, he said, they had to keep circling the Kabul airport because requests to land were repeatedly denied. Mullin believes this was “100 percent directed from the State Department.”
As he would be coming in with a large amount of money, Mullin had sought help from the U.S. ambassador, who told him he’d have to go through 16 Afghan checkpoints and at each one “would be charged to get through.” (Good thinking to bring cash!) Tellingly, the ambassador also told him that he’d been instructed not to help.
Mullin said that when President Biden, the State Department and others said they’d get everyone out of there who wanted out, it was “a boldfaced, 100 percent lie.”
“...We’re not handling our mess,” he said. “...It’s our mess. The United States created this vacuum to allow the Taliban to come in. President Biden and his horrific withdrawal has caused this to happen.” He said that even if we got more Americans out, others would die “because of the failure of President Biden.” He said Biden would have blood on his hands.
Indeed, this so bad that some are speculating it was done on purpose to divert attention from something even worse. “What could be worse than this?” one might wonder. Tucker Carlson, on his show TUCKER CARLSON TONIGHT, and guest Glenn Greenwald speculated about that on Friday.
https://royalpatriot.com/tucker-carlson-says-afghanistan-screwup-may-have-been-planned/
Carlson said he didn’t want to enter “the realm of conspiracy” but thought it was “at least worth wondering.” Could it be that someone wants to maintain future engagement in Afghanistan, or might someone have some other reason? I have to say, that idea DOES sound a little out-there, but it tells us HOW BAD the situation in Afghanistan really is: bad enough to take our minds to some crazy possible explanations.
Even though Greenwald has seen no evidence of such a conspiracy, he said, it is “fully within the character of the deep state operatives” to deliberately engineer something like this. Sadly, he is correct. Certainly I’m not saying they did this, but who can trust them not to?
Another question: did the Taliban necessarily have to overrun Afghanistan at all? According to retired U.S. Army Brigadier Gen. Anthony Tata, the answer is NO. Details here.
https://conservativebrief.com/just-shameful-50608/
“We have utterly abandoned this country,” he said. “We have abandoned Americans within this country. It is just shameful what has happened...They chose to let it happen, they facilitated it happening, and now what you’ve got is a terror superstore there in Afghanistan.”
Finally, Piers Morgan wrote searingly about the “bitter shame and humiliation” America is experiencing as we near the 20th anniversary of 9/11 “thanks to Biden’s appalling mishandling of the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan and abject surrender to the very people who helped commit the attacks by harbouring the terrorists who carried them out.”
“America’s defeat to just 75,000 murderous medieval thugs is thus complete,” he wrote. He went on to talk about what is most certainly a hostage situation. Read it all, and get angry. Angry enough to reject whatever this government tells you. The turn we've taken is so bad --- and so unnecessary --- that it’s easy to speculate along with Glenn Greenwald that something even larger is afoot.
Afghanistan updates
By Mike Huckabee
The Taliban claims to have taken control of Panjshir province, the nation’s last holdout. But the leader of the resistance (note to anti-Trumpers: this is what a REAL resistance looks like) vowed to continue fighting. Meanwhile, the Biden Administration said it will continue pursuing diplomatic approaches and working with the Taliban to get charter flights of evacuees out. This while the newly moderate, diplomatic Taliban was breaking up a protest rally in Kabul and arresting journalists covering it...
https://www.foxnews.com/live-news/taliban-kabul-afghanistan-us-biden
…And reportedly killing an eight-months pregnant police officer, although they officially deny that they did it.
https://nypost.com/2021/09/05/taliban-kill-pregnant-police-officer-in-front-of-her-family-report/
The Biden State Department is under fire for taking credit for rescuing a mother named Miriam and her three children, all US citizens, from Afghanistan. They were visiting her parents when the Taliban swarmed in and took over. They were actually taken out of the country by a private group of veterans from an organization led by Cory Mills, who says the State Department did nothing but leave this family stranded and in danger for two weeks until the private mission got the family safely across the border, and now they’re trying to take bows for it.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/state-department-steal-credit-rescue-4-americans-organizer
One of the many bitter ironies of President Biden allowing the Taliban to completely take over Afghanistan again is that by some accounts, he wanted to pull out by September 11th because he thought it would be a PR victory for him to “end the war” by the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks. But the way he completely botched it and reinvigorated and greatly empowered the Taliban has given the PR victory to our terrorist-sponsoring enemies.
If Biden was planning to take any bows at the Ground Zero memorials, the son of one of the 9/11 victims has a very harsh message for him: don’t dare show your face there.
Good news
By Mike Huckabee
Good news from conservative entertainment reporter Christian Toto: it appears that the counter-revolution against wokeness, cancel culture and one-sided, unfunny leftist “comedy” is finally getting rolling. And it’s not just the fact that Greg Gutfeld passed Stephen Colbert as the most-watched late-night host. There are other people out there daring to make fun of our self-appointed censors. And about time, it was getting lonely around here the last few years.
https://www.hollywoodintoto.com/counter-culture-revolution-rogan-macdonald-dillon-bee/
Read it and see if you find some new comics you’ll enjoy. I’m sure with all the attempts to silence and demonetize them, they’d be grateful for your support.
Of course, one of the leaders in the backlash against woke anti-humor is the Babylon Bee. Here's one of their latest stories I think you'll enjoy.
https://babylonbee.com/news/young-communist-unsettled-to-find-hammer-sickle-represent-physical-labor
America The Beautiful
God's creation is all around us. To learn more about Yellowstone National Park, visit its website here.
RIP Willard Scott
By Pat Reeder, "Huckabee" Pop Guru
We’re saddened to report that longtime NBC “Today Show” weatherman and parade host Willard Scott died Saturday at 87. While he didn’t live long enough to wish himself a 100th birthday, he did pass away peacefully at home, surrounded by his family.
https://www.today.com/news/willard-scott-dead-t152927?cid=sm_npd_td_tw_ma
Scott got his start in radio in the 1950s, and his early TV work included entertaining kids as Bozo the Clown. He was also the first person ever to play Ronald McDonald in local commercials in Washington (the character looked very different than he does now.)
Scott brought his love of clowning and entertaining people to his weatherman gig at NBC, for instance, dressing up as a groundhog on Groundhog Day, or famously, as Carmen Miranda to earn a $1000 donation to the USO (warning: there’s a photo of that at the link.) He took flak for it, but he told the New York Times, “People said I was a buffoon to do it. Well, all my life I’ve been a buffoon. That’s my act.”
Scott was deeply hurt when in 1989, Bryant Gumbel, the poster child for arrogant elitist anchormen, wrote a memo to NBC blaming Scott for a slip in ratings, and claiming he was holding “the show hostage to his assortment of whims, wishes, birthdays and bad taste. This guy is killing us and no one’s even trying to rein him in.” But a USA Today call-in poll found that 27,300 people liked Scott’s weather segments and only 854 sided with Gumbel.
I like to think of that as one of the first examples of the divide between the media elites and normal Americans that Gov. Huckabee wrote about in “God, Guns, Grits and Gravy” and that eventually led to the rise of Trump (and the demonization of him and his voters by the pompous Bryant Gumbel types.) Scott once told Time, “If you watch, you’ll see that I am trying to weave a web of love. I want to make the whole country feel as if we are one. I may be a cornball, but I am me – not a sophisticated, slick New York wazoo act.” I wonder who he was referring to?
It reminds me of John Candy’s speech to the pompous Steve Martin character in “Planes, Trains and Automobiles”: “You wanna hurt me? Go right ahead if it makes you feel any better. I'm an easy target. Yeah, you're right, I talk too much. I also listen too much. I could be a cold-hearted cynic like you...but I don't like to hurt people's feelings. Well, you think what you want about me; I'm not changing...I like me. My wife likes me. My customers like me. 'Cause I'm the real article. What you see is what you get.”
That was Willard Scott: the real article in a business of self-important, image-obsessed phonies. I don’t think “Today” viewers miss Bryant Gumbel any more than they miss Matt Lauer, but it’s definitely a duller show without Willard Scott, one of the last true American everymen allowed on network TV. Or as Instapundit quoted him from his 1982 autobiography:
“If you were to look at my resume, you’d see that I’m bald, I’m overweight, I don’t make all the smooth moves, and I dress like a slob. I take tremendous pride in the fact that I beat the system.”
Interesting Memoir
By Mike Huckabee
The popular former child actress of the 1960s, Hayley Mills (“The Parent Trap,” “Pollyanna”) has written an autobiography, and she gave an interesting interview to promote it. In a time when so many child actors tell horror stories about Hollywood, it’s nice to hear her talk about what a genuinely sweet man Walt Disney was, and how much he loved children and wanted to make movies with positive messages that showed the best in people. This sounds like a book that fans of Mills and Disney will enjoy, and that the current leadership of the Disney Corporation should be tied down and forced to read a couple of hundred times.
https://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/hayley-mills-memoir-disney-forever-young
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