December 22, 2023
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BY MIKE HUCKABEE
Blessings on you and your family from all the Huckabee team!
Mike Huckabee
DAILY BIBLE VERSE
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I started this newsletter back in the fall of 2016 just ahead of President Trump's election over Hillary Clinton. Since then, I have chronicled his presidency, a nation grappling with COVID, woke ideology, elections, more elections, Congress and finally Joe Biden's presidency.
My team and I like to say that we read the news, so you don't have to. We spend late nights and early mornings, finding news we think is important for you to read, and then we add our two cents and sometimes three cents to help frame things.
It's hard work and time consuming, but we love to do it, and I hope you like to read it enough to pay for a subscription!
Sincerely,
Mike Huckabee
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Good news
I don’t link to a lot of show business news, but I think this fits the definition of “good news,” and I’m happy to share it.
Good Reads:
Kurt Schlichter on why you should give your kids toy guns for Christmas…
Bonchie at Redstate.com on why Joe Biden and the Democrats are the real “threat to democracy.”
Latest Presidential Words of Wisdom:
President Biden told the Wisconsin Black Chamber of Commerce, "I come from a state that has the eighth-largest Black population in the country, and as they say the saying goes where I come, you brung me to the dance early on!"
https://pjmedia.com/vodkapundit/2023/12/21/bidens-latest-mangle-pander-n4924905
Here’s my question: When Disneyland installs a Joe Biden robot in their Hall of Presidents, how will they tell if it’s malfunctioning?
Heartening News
I told you yesterday that applications to Harvard were down 17% from last year, but there were still more students applying than accepted. Well, that trend might also be reversing. Check out this article in the New York Post about students who were granted early acceptance to Harvard for next year, but are considering applying elsewhere because they don’t want their resumes tainted with the stink of Harvard’s bad PR and tolerance for anti-Semitism. Good for them!
https://nypost.com/2023/12/18/news/students-reject-harvard-places-over-campus-antisemitism/
And more good news: Elite Ivy League universities are quietly lowering the “donor door” level of donations that can secure admission from $20 million to $2 million as wealthy donors have started closing their checkbooks to protest the school’s teaching of anti-Semitism. Too bad they didn’t do this 20 or so years ago when they started teaching communism.
https://nypost.com/2023/12/04/news/ivy-league-slashes-donor-door-to-2m-over-antisemitism/
Here’s a story that I can honestly say makes me very happy:
It appears that the legal persecution of “Walk Away” founder Brandon Straka may finally be at an end.
Straka was present in Washington on January 6th, 2021, and he was targeted for outrageous false charges that would lead the uninformed to believe he was a terrorist, insurrectionist and instigator of anti-police violence. It was all a lie, and he never even entered the Capitol on that day. To make it stop, he was forced to plead guilty to lesser charges because like so many other victims of the Biden “Justice” Department, he was facing a choice of being railroaded into prison for years on trumped-up charges in a DC kangaroo court, or going bankrupt fighting the charges and then being railroaded into prison.
But if you want to hear what really happened, watch this interview with him from “Huckabee” on TBN.
https://youtu.be/ouesaYreJEU?si=KECnRysQjye0i9Bx
Even after the federal dogs were called off, the left still couldn’t leave Straka alone (after all, he was a former liberal who started the movement of “walking away” from the Democrat Party, so he had to be punished and destroyed.) He then found himself facing civil lawsuits by several Capitol Police officers who somehow blamed him for the violence they dealt with inside the Capitol (the one he never entered.) The lawsuits were dismissed, and on Monday, his attorneys announced that the plaintiffs had folded and will not refile their claims.
As Straka pointed out, not only did he do nothing to incite violence against cops, one of the plaintiffs wasn’t even in DC that day, he was in Maryland! He wrote, “This case cost me well into six figures to defend, and hundreds and hundreds of hours of my time — which is, of course, the whole point.”
I congratulate him sincerely on finally being free from the burden of the left’s lawfare, and I hope he can look on the bright side: He has emerged stronger from this trial by fire, and he now has a story that should convince anyone who’s even entertaining the idea of walking away from today’s Democrat Party to hit the road.
House Republicans push to hold Biden administration accountable for Afghanistan debacle
With the elections approaching, the Biden White House and the media would very much like us all to forget about the tragically botched pullout from Afghanistan that cost the lives of 13 US military heroes and countless Afghan allies. But it must never be forgotten or swept under the rug. Someone needs to be held accountable, and House Republicans are still digging to get to the bottom of it.
Here's a report on some findings over the past six months of interviews:
The House Foreign Affairs Committee says the White House is (surprise) stonewalling their requests for interviews, but here’s what they’ve heard so far:
One retired Lt. Colonel said, “This whole thing has been a gutting experience. I never imagined I would witness the kind of gross abandonment, followed by career-preserving silence of senior leaders, military and civilian.”
A survey found that of the approximately 775,000 Afghan war veterans, 73% feel betrayed by the withdrawal and 67% feel humiliated. Many said the horrors they saw inflicted by the Taliban will stay with them for life. The Lt. Colonel said in the first year after the withdrawal, calls to the VA hotline spiked by 81%, and “I think we’re on the front end of a mental health tsunami.”
Meanwhile, the White House continues trying to deny responsibility and shift blame to Trump, claiming they were locked into the deal and deadline he negotiated, even though they changed both, including making inexplicable decisions that led to the collapse of the planned peaceful withdrawal.
Stay tuned, there will be much more to come, and let’s hope that the truth eventually sees daylight and those responsible are finally held to account.
Bill DeBlasio returns to the news
You might have wondered what Bill DeBlasio has been doing since he stopped destroying New York City and ended his failed presidential run. But I’ll bet you never guessed that this was what he’s doing.
https://www.westernjournal.com/man-finds-wife-leaving-bill-de-blasio-receiving-call-press/
Menu Anxiety
We’ve all heard of young people who were raised in bubblewrap by helicopter parents who turned them into those emotionally fragile creatures known as “snowflakes.” But the latest trepidation to afflict Gen Z makes a snowflake look like a cast iron skillet. Brace yourselves: the New York Post reports that a survey by a British restaurant chain found that 86% of Gen Z “adults” suffer some form of “menu anxiety,” or a crippling fear and anxiety over having to look at a menu, select the food they want, and convey that to another human being they don’t know.
https://nypost.com/2023/12/15/lifestyle/gen-z-suffers-from-menu-anxiety-when-dining-out-study/
No wonder so many restaurants are putting in self-ordering kiosks or taking orders online: their young customers are incapable of reading a menu or talking to a waiter. Personally, the only time I feel "menu anxiety" is if I accidentally walk into a vegan restaurant.
This reminds me of the hilarious routine by comedian Maureen Langan on last weekend’s “Huckabee,” about the barista who could only take an order for the item she wanted online, but not from her standing right there in line. Check it out. The laughter will help ease your depression at the thought that these people will someday be in charge of the country.
https://www.huckabee.tv/guests/maureen-langan
I’m so old, I remember when “Is the Pope Catholic?” was just a rhetorical question.
https://www.foxnews.com/faith-values/pope-francis-allows-priests-bless-same-sex-couples
A metaphor for America under Biden
It’s hard to think of a better metaphor for America under the Biden Administration than the news that US Steel, a pillar of American industry that helped the USA defeat Japan in World War II, has now been bought by Japan.
Rejected
The 11th Court of Appeals rejected former White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows’ attempt to get the ridiculous Georgia RICO indictment of him removed to federal court, but he will likely appeal it to the Supreme Court.
The most interesting part of the story was that even while rejecting Meadows’ appeal, the judges urged Congress to rewrite the removal law so that it will apply in the future. They said if Congress doesn't act, it could lead to a dozen states trying to prosecute outgoing Administration officials over policy disagreements, with one judge calling that a “nightmare scenario that keeps me up at night.”
News flash: A lot of people are already living through that nightmare, judge. They were hoping you might wake us up from it.
Now the federal government is...arresting investigative journalists???
It sure was nice of the FBI to let investigative reporter Steve Baker wait and turn himself in after Christmas.
Actually, niceness had nothing to do with it. He was originally supposed to surrender on Tuesday of this week, but Baker’s attorney got a call saying that because a new assistant U.S. attorney had been assigned to the case, he would have a brief reprieve and could celebrate this holiday at home.
Baker learned last week from his attorney that the “Justice” Department was charging him with federal crimes connected to his coverage of the January 6 riot. What crimes, you ask? Well, they didn’t really say; he’ll presumably find that out when they book him.
Coincidentally (?), he was told of this the same day he met with a couple of Capitol Police whistleblowers to examine hours of J6 video.
In October, after being under investigation for almost two years, Baker wrote about what he termed his “legal saga” for THE BLAZE. “Like many other reporters and photojournalists --- both independent and those working directly for established media companies --- I followed the story that day where it went. And it happened to be inside the Capitol building.”
He said that between 100 and 200 journalists were inside the building that day, either covering the event from designated areas or following the crowd inside. He didn’t go in, he said, until well after the Senate and House had evacuated. He caused no property damage, he said, and “made no effort to hide” what he was doing. He did two interviews with WUSA, a CBS News affiliate in Washington DC, and later in the evening uploaded two short interviews on YouTube.
After returning home and spending five days working on a frame-by-frame analysis of his own videos, he published a 9,500-word piece on his experience, titled “What I Saw On January 6 in Washington DC.” For when you have time, this is still available to read, on Locals…
The following month, he posted a more widely read follow-up of about 4,000 words called “Who Was ‘Up the Chain’ on January 6?” This is an analysis, his own personal opinion, described as “the who, the how and the why of what took place on Capitol Hill that day.” It’s certainly controversial, but in the America I know, we don’t arrest writers for being controversial. Here is that piece…
https://
Baker “always expected” that the FBI would contact him, as they would want to acquire his videos for their own investigation. In July 2021, he got a call from someone who identified himself as FBI Special Agent Gerritt Doss. Baker’s response: “What took you so long?”
Baker could tell the FBI had been tracking his activities, because Doss said he knew he was scheduled to speak the following night at a Libertarian Party meet-up in Leesburg, Virginia, and wanted to meet. (Yes, I know, unsettling.) Baker said he’d be in Leesburg earlier that day, but, as his attorney would not be with him, they’d need to meet another time. He was finally interviewed in August; you can read the details about the go-rounds with his attorney to set up the meeting and how that went. Baker was absolutely cooperative and agreed to turn over all video. But when his attorney asked if he could have immunity in return, that was refused.
https://www.theblaze.com/
On November 17, 2021, his lawyer called to tell him he would be charged. According to the documents the assistant U.S. attorney had sent him, Baker was facing charges of (brace yourself) interstate racketeering and property damage.
Baffled, Baker could only think that the “racketeering” charge had something to do with news services such as HBO and THE NEW YORK TIMES using clips of his video for their own J6 documentaries. But for it to be racketeering, he would have had to travel from Raleigh, North Carolina, to DC “with the foreknowledge of a criminal event and conspired with others to profit from it.” Huh?
As for property damage, he’d told the feds that he stood on a bench at one point to get a better camera angle. Turns out, federal law says, “A person may not step or climb on, remove, or in any way injure any statue, seat, wall, fountain, or other erection or architectural feature, or any tree, shrub, plant, or turf, in the [Capitol] Grounds.”
According to Baker, the assistant U.S. attorney said she had no objection to Baker continuing to exercise his First Amendment rights, but her concern was “what impact this will have with the judge who gets assigned to the case.” What???
Wisconsin Sen. Ron Johnson, after reading a press release about his experience, called Baker and spoke with him for about 15 minutes. Then the whole thing just went dark. He was NOT “charged within the week,” as he’d been told. Instead, he heard nothing at all for 20 long months, every day of which he awoke at 6AM with his heart pounding, expecting that knock at the door.
https://www.theblaze.com/
Baker had been busy traveling the country, interviewing people for a book he was co-authoring about the impact of COVID lockdowns. But once he knew to expect an indictment, he set the project on hold and, as he said, “threw myself into the ongoing media offensive against my potential prosecution.” He also reviewed hundreds of J6 cases and expressed dismay at some of the exaggerations and obviously false accusations in the charging documents and information that had been withheld from defense attorneys and judges.
In late September 2022, he attended the first of three Oath Keepers trials, and this started his investigative work for BLAZE MEDIA. He developed sources within the U.S. Capitol Police and published a three-part series called “Capitol Police Were Sacrificial Pawns on January 6.” (One can just imagine how much the government was not liking this.) And he worked with Tucker Carlson, offering suggestions that led to Carlson’s interview with former Capitol Police Lt. Tarik Johnson. (Ho boy, one can REALLY imagine how much the government was not liking THIS.)
Here’s an example of his work with BLAZE MEDIA, appearing with Glenn Beck...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?
In March of this year, Baker got a heads-up call from a source inside the DOJ saying some folks there were “not happy...”
Baker continued undeterred. Five months later, his lawyer got “the” call saying he would indeed face charges.
So, why now, after all this time? Is this about standing on a bench, or analyzing tapes and busting myths surrounding January 6? Baker can’t say --- doesn’t even know what the charges will be yet --- but observes that “the renewed interest from the Justice Department coincided perfectly with my discussions with BLAZE MEDIA to become a contributing investigative journalist and columnist.” He said he’d “been poking the bear quite aggressively.”
As writers of an opinion site that has covered many facets of the January 6 riot and its metastatic aftermath, we’ve reported on a number of stories that Baker was involved in bringing to light, so with his indictment, it’s getting personal. If the initial decision to charge him was dropped, only to be picked up when the DOJ noticed he was sniffing around where they didn’t like and decided to silence him, it means this country has about the biggest problem a so-called free republic can have.
We do like the reaction from THE BLAZE, though. When they heard about Baker’s pending indictment, they promoted him from contributor to full-time investigative reporter. That’s in spite of travel restrictions placed on him after he’s charged --- he resides in Raleigh --- that will no doubt hinder his DC reporting. Perhaps by design. But as an attorney for one of the Oath Keepers says, “If the government believes this will silence him, we predict it will be sadly mistaken.”
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