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BY MIKE HUCKABEE

Blessings on you and your family from all the Huckabee team! 

Mike Huckabee


DAILY BIBLE VERSE

A man's heart deviseth his way: but the Lord directeth his steps.

Proverbs 16:9 KJV


PROGRAMMING NOTE!

I hope you all have a safe and happy Christmas and New Year’s holiday with your family and friends, and don't get stuck at the airport. To allow my staff to spend the holidays with their families, we’ll be taking a break next week from the news which (I hope!) will slow down between Christmas and New Year’s.

But keep checking your email box and the Internet because we’ve prepared plenty of material in advance, including our holiday tradition: sharing some of the amazing, moving, hilarious and inspirational family Christmas stories sent to me by my radio listeners and inspired by my book, “A Simple Christmas.” Rest assured that if anything does happen in the news that cries out for comment and reportage, we’ll put down our candy canes and pumpkin pie and rush to our keyboards to cover it.  

From me, Pat, Laura, David, Chris and everyone at the Huckabee Newsletter, and all my crew from "Huckabee" on TBN, have a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

 


“Huckabee” Preview

I hope you had a great Christmas-New Year’s week! We’ll be back on Monday with a recap of this week’s news and all the latest headlines.

In the meantime, be sure to join me tonight for a very special New Year’s Eve edition of “Huckabee” on TBN! We’ll see out the old year with a couple of my all-time favorite guests, Dr. Phil McGraw and the king of celebrity impressionists, Rich Little. I’ll take a look back at the best of 2023 (yes, there were some “bests," on our show, at least), and laugh with the final “In Case You Missed It” of the holiday season. The First Lady of Southern Cooking, Miss Daisy King, will share a black-eyed pea recipe to get your 2024 off to a lucky start. And we’ll welcome in the new year with a fantastic musical performance by Tre Corley and the Music City Connection.

The celebration gets started tonight at 8 and 11 EST, 7 and 10 CST, and Sunday at 9 EST/8 CST on TBN. To find out how to watch TBN, from local cable and broadcast channels to streaming, visit https://www.huckabee.tv and click on “Channel Finder” on the top menu. You can stream previous episodes, highlights and online-only “Digital Exclusives,” including extended interviews, “In Case You Missed It” and “Facts of the Matter” segments, plus extra performances by our great musical and comedy guests and links to all their sites, at https://www.huckabee.tv. You can also find past shows, highlights and digital exclusives on YouTube and my Facebook page.


How a small gesture can grow over time into a cherished family Christmas tradition

Angie from Wyoming shared a wonderful story of how a small gesture can grow over time into a cherished family Christmas tradition:

“My mother began a Christmas tradition over 60 years ago when she was a young mother. At times I think she wishes she would not have started it, but there is no stopping it.

Years ago, she found a pattern in what she believes was Better Homes and Gardens magazine for knitted Christmas stockings. She had three small children at the time and knitted each one a stocking which was personalized with their names knit into the pattern...the tradition began.

Not only has she hand-knitted Christmas stockings for several of her friends’ children as well as nieces and nephews, she has knitted stockings for all of her eight children and their spouses, 24 grandchildren and their spouses, and over 30 great-grandchildren. The Christmas stockings are such a big deal, I had to change the spelling of my oldest daughter’s name so it would fit within the parameters of the stocking pattern.

Each stocking takes weeks to complete and as the years have gone by, they are getting larger as her crippled hands knit more loosely than when she knitted her very first one. To date, the last stocking was finished days ago for my granddaughter…Someday as she grows older, hopefully she will cherish the hands and heart that created such a masterpiece.

I am grateful for my mother's selfless determination to carry on this tradition and know it hasn't been easy. I love her so much for that and am convinced I am going to have to learn to knit, not because my future grandchildren need matching stockings, but because I want her legacy of love to continue.”

PS - Angie sent me this story in 2011, so I assume she’s learned to knit by now!


A time when playing Santa Claus should have come with hazardous duty pay

Recently, police officers have become targets of hatred, assaults and even deadly violence.  Right now is a perfect time to stop and reflect on the many ways in which police officers and other first responders such as firefighters and EMTs give up their holidays so that we can enjoy ours in safety.  Many officers also go above and beyond the call of duty by performing incredible volunteer work.  One of those was a listener of mine named Randy, a retired police sergeant from Wyoming.  He shared a memory of a time when playing Santa Claus should have come with hazardous duty pay. 

Randy wrote:

"For many years, it was my distinct pleasure to assume the role of 'real Santa' at Christmas time. Though my sleigh was still a black and white sedan, my uniform changed from dark blues to a genuine Santa suit. I appeared on Christmas Eve, right at bedtime, delivering toys to needy children as well as my fellow officers…who had small children. What made this all work was the 'understanding' of the parents to make sure the kids were close to the front window upon my arrival, that they were not allowed out on the porch (where I left their gifts) until I was out of sight, and under NO circumstances were any pets to be loose.

All the parents were following Santa's instructions to the letter...until I got to my Chief's house. I gently placed (his sons') gifts on the porch (and) began to shake the bells, anticipating three squashed, tiny faces peering into the frosty night, trying to catch a glimpse of Santa. To my surprise...No faces. I shook the bells harder and added a hearty ‘HO, HO, HO!’ Still, no faces.

Now in mid-‘HO,’ I heard the front door open and a small dog barking. 'For cryin' out loud,' I muttered, as I jumped toward the driveway. If only I'd remembered the small wire fence surrounding his wife's flower bed. There was no time to pick myself up, as I heard high-pitched giggles floating on the cold night air.  A quick double combat roll placed me out of innocent eyes' way, underneath my boss's pickup truck."

Then Randy heard a noise that seemed to be very close: "I smelled the dog food on his breath a scant millisecond before he yapped out the alarm. The 'WHOA!' that jumped from my lips was cut painfully short as I rammed my head into the pickup's driveline... The thought crossed my mind to reach out and pinch off his little windpipe, but that seemed a bit ugly for Christmas Eve."

A pair of cowboy boots suddenly replaced the dog: "I recognized my boss's voice as the words, 'Merry Christmas, heh, heh, heh," settled onto the cold concrete... 'Merry Christmas, Chief,' I replied as a solitary drop of black engine oil struck me dead center in the forehead. 'THANKS FOR NOT TURNING ON THE PORCH LIGHT!'

I continued on my rounds, a black greasy racing stripe running from my white curly beard to my belt, a well-lubricated lump on my forehead. I finished just as a soft snow began to fall, covering everything in a glistening blanket of white. It seemed the perfect punctuation mark to end another Christmas on Patrol."

Thanks again for that great story, Randy.  And thanks to all the police officers and other first responders and military members who go above and beyond, and sometimes even roll underneath, to keep us all safe during the holidays and all year ‘round.


A beautiful story

One thing we all learned from “A Charlie Brown Christmas” is that it’s not how fancy your tree is that matters, it’s the love it represents.  A radio listener of mine named Vicky from California sent me a beautiful story that illustrated that as well as Charles M. Schulz did.

Vicky recalled a time years before, when her young family was desperately poor and struggling to provide Christmas for their three small children.  Her husband brought home a tree, but was so exhausted after working 14 hours, he hadn't noticed it was dead and brown on one side. 

A neighbor tried to help by giving them a little 18-inch, lighted tabletop tree.  Vickie thought it was so small and ugly, she began to cry at the thought that this shrunken thing would be their family's tree.  Just then, her little daughter began to cry, too, and hugged her. But she was crying for a very different reason.

The little girl said in awe, “That is the most beautiful tree I have ever seen. Do we really get to have that as our tree this year?" 

Vicki wrote, “I had a permanent attitude change.  That night, I couldn't stop thanking our Heavenly Father enough for His blessings.”  

Thank you, Vicki. That story puts a new spin on “a little child shall lead them.” 


Anything can become a cherished memory

Beth from Texas offered a story whose moral is that anything can become a cherished memory if it’s associated with the joy of Christmas, and I do mean ANYTHING!...

“For many years, my sister (who teaches Kindergarten) and I would deliver any gifts from the Angel tree at K-Mart that had not been picked up by Christmas Eve. Many of the names were ones familiar to my sister, and we loaded up the car and put on our Santa hats and went delivering in everything from snow to rain...this to us was the true meaning of Christmas.

One place we would always stop about half-way through our deliveries was the Beasley Memorial Funeral Home - it had a drive-up viewing window in front!

The first Christmas after K-Mart closed, my sister and I were both at loose ends on Christmas Eve. I drove us over to sit in the driveway of the funeral home so it felt more like Christmas Eve. Happy to say some of our best Christmas Eves were spent sitting in that driveway! Merry Christmas to you!”


Bill Maher’s insight

From 2 weeks ago, but Bill Maher has more insight than the entire UN & most people pretending to be experts about realities of the world. Comedic brilliance!

https://x.com/billmaher/status/1735886698360586367?s=20


100% accurate statement by @AriFleischer:

Make no mistake: Attempts to throw Trump off the ballot are white-collar insurrections, carried out by Democrats in powerful positions, who falsely use the "law" as a weapon. They fear a vote of the people, so they resort to this. This is an insurrection.


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For more news, visit my website.


"Huckabee" Preview

December 30, 2023

I hope you had a great Christmas-New Year’s week! We’ll be back on Monday with a recap of this week’s news and all the latest headlines.

In the meantime, be sure to join me tonight for a very special New Year’s Eve edition of “Huckabee” on TBN! We’ll see out the old year with a couple of my all-time favorite guests, Dr. Phil McGraw and the king of celebrity impressionists, Rich Little. I’ll take a look back at the best of 2023 (yes, there were some “bests," on our show, at least), and laugh with the final “In Case You Missed It” of the holiday season. The First Lady of Southern Cooking, Miss Daisy King, will share a black-eyed pea recipe to get your 2024 off to a lucky start. And we’ll welcome in the new year with a fantastic musical performance by Tre Corley and the Music City Connection.

The celebration gets started tonight at 8 and 11 EST, 7 and 10 CST, and Sunday at 9 EST/8 CST on TBN. To find out how to watch TBN, from local cable and broadcast channels to streaming, visit https://www.huckabee.tv and click on “Channel Finder” on the top menu. You can stream previous episodes, highlights and online-only “Digital Exclusives,” including extended interviews, “In Case You Missed It” and “Facts of the Matter” segments, plus extra performances by our great musical and comedy guests and links to all their sites, at https://www.huckabee.tv. You can also find past shows, highlights and digital exclusives on YouTube and my Facebook page.

 


BY MIKE HUCKABEE

Blessings on you and your family from all the Huckabee team! 

Mike Huckabee


DAILY BIBLE VERSE

And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.

John 1:14


PROGRAMMING NOTE!

I hope you all have a safe and happy Christmas and New Year’s holiday with your family and friends, and don't get stuck at the airport. To allow my staff to spend the holidays with their families, we’ll be taking a break next week from the news which (I hope!) will slow down between Christmas and New Year’s.

But keep checking your email box and the Internet because we’ve prepared plenty of material in advance, including our holiday tradition: sharing some of the amazing, moving, hilarious and inspirational family Christmas stories sent to me by my radio listeners and inspired by my book, “A Simple Christmas.” Rest assured that if anything does happen in the news that cries out for comment and reportage, we’ll put down our candy canes and pumpkin pie and rush to our keyboards to cover it.  

From me, Pat, Laura, David, Chris and everyone at the Huckabee Newsletter, and all my crew from "Huckabee" on TBN, have a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

 


Never forget what it is like to be a kid at Christmas

Melvin from Oregon wrote to share memories of a couple of Christmases that were made very special, thanks to a grandfather who never forgot what it was like to be a kid at Christmas.

“Christmas 1944: I am four years old and my dad is still overseas, so mom and I are staying with my grandparents. Christmas eve, it's time for me to hang up my sock. I'm just getting ready to hang it on the mantle when grandpa comes in. He has a giant sock and a big metal wash tub. I ask him what he is doing, and this is what he tells me:

‘I'm going to hang this big old sock up.’ He hangs his sock up then he puts the wash tub under the sock. He shows me that there is a hole in the toe of the sock, and it has a tennis ball in the hole. He then tells me that ‘when Santa comes tonight, he will start putting good stuff in his big old sock, and the tennis ball will fall out.’ Santa will keep stuffing his sock and the presents will fall into the wash tub, and he will get way more stuff than I will in my little old sock.

Well, I'm only four years old, but I know this ain't right. I go running to grandma and tell her that grandpa is going to cheat Santa. Grandma says, ‘Don't worry, because I know that Santa is much smarter than your grandpa is.’ So I go off to bed, but I am not happy.

Christmas morning comes. I run downstairs and see that my grandpa has a sour look on his face. I see my sock has all kinds of good stuff in it. I look at grandpa’s sock, and the wash tub is full. It has an old rubber boot with a big hole in it, a big half-rotten squash, some chunks of coal, an old broken shovel etc., etc. I guess grandma was right after all. Santa is smarter than grandpa.”

The next year, Melvin’s grandpa was still putting creativity into Christmas…

“Christmas 1945.  I am five years old, and we are still staying with my grandparents…My father was in Japan in the Second World War, his two brothers were in the European theater.  All three came home OK. I thank God for that and for all of the men that have gone before.

We are trimming the Christmas tree. Grandpa comes in, and he has all of these walnuts that he has painted silver and put a yarn loop on to hang them with. I think they’re neat, but that’s about it.

Christmas morning, I come down and start opening my presents. Grandpa says, ‘Why don't you open one of those walnuts?’ I say ‘Naw, I got to open my presents’… Well grandpa keeps after me. Finally, I say, ‘Okay!’  So I crack a walnut open, and a penny falls out. Well, NOW I'm opening walnuts!  There's dimes, nickels, and pennies.  When I get done, I have about a dollar fifty, and that’s big money in 1945.

…My grandfather thought enough of me to take the time to cut the walnuts open and take out the meat for grandma to cook with. Then he put a coin in and glued each one back together, just to make a little five-year-old boy happy on Christmas morning.

Sixty-five years later, I don't remember anything else I got that Christmas.  But I remember the walnuts and the love that went into making them. That might be something for young parents to think about... It really is the little things that count the most.” 

Thanks, Melvin, for giving us all something important to remember before we go frantically hunting for whatever the latest “hot” gift is. It’s not so much the gift that we remember years later, but the person who loved us enough to give it to us that matters.    


Christmas inspiration

Nobody is more excited about Christmas Day than children, and sometimes, it inspires them to come out with some real gems.  For instance, Mona from Kentucky wrote:

“When I was a child, we had a coal stove. One of those potbellied stoves. Of course, with those stoves, there was a small pipe that went out the ceiling so the smoke would not get in the house. I remember wondering how Santa got down that skinny pipe.  So one day I asked Mom how he got down that pipe.  I guess I really put her on the spot because she replied, “He has a house key!”  And that satisfied me.” 

Thank you, Mona, and Merry Christmas to your mom, who I bet had to answer a lot of tough questions before you grew up! 

Here’s another story of a Christmas miracle that started with the words of a child.  Tom from Louisiana wrote that he used to volunteer for the park district in Calumet City, Illinois, in a low-income area.  One year, the man playing Santa was ill, so Tom filled in.  It was a hard job, listening to the Christmas wishes of hundreds of children, knowing most of their parents were too poor to make them come true. 

One day, a little 5-year-old girl, as beautiful as a china doll, hopped up in his lap and didn’t say a word.  He asked her if she’d been good and obeyed her parents.  She said yes.  So he asked what she wanted for Christmas.  She replied, “Nothing.” 

Tom was dumbfounded.  He asked if she was sure she didn’t want anything.  She said not for herself.  But could Santa give her daddy a job?  He needed a job.  Well, Tom didn’t know how to answer that.  So he just said he’d try his best, but that was one wish Santa might not be able to fill.

But, Tom wrote:

“God works in great ways.  At the time the young girl was sitting on my lap, (a local reporter) was there taking pictures and…overheard the child’s conversation with Santa. The next day, the paper (ran a photo) of the little girl sitting on Santa’s lap with the caption ‘All she wants for Christmas is a job for her daddy’…The next day, the little girl’s father received a call and was offered a job. A day or so later, the little girl came back to see me with my favorite chocolate chip cookies and a thank you for Santa…

Till this day, and it’s been at least twenty-five years, I still tear up thinking about that little girl and her unselfish wish. Christmas is truly about miracles.” 

Thank you, Tom.  I bet that little girl was the best gift her daddy ever received. 


Deborah from Austin reminds us that Christmas can touch our souls in unexpected and lasting ways:

“It was Christmas Eve, and the man I was dating and I were out all day finishing his shopping. When it got to be evening, I said I was going to Christmas Eve service and invited him to go with me. He said he wasn't ready to go back to church because he hadn't changed his life.

I asked him again and told him, ‘You're not going to change your life until you go back to church.’ I left him and headed off to attend the service by myself. 

As I took my seat, I'd never felt so alone. I was looking down and someone sat beside me. I looked at his shoes and then up. It was him. He told me he just couldn't let me be by myself on Christmas Eve. The next year, on Christmas Eve, we were married…It has always been, and now even more so, my favorite day of the year.”


Dale from Illinois shared a memory of when his family asked for no gifts, but got the best gift ever:

“My most memorable Christmas was the one that I asked for no gifts. We didn't decorate or even put up a tree. Seven weeks earlier, we had a new grandson. He was born with heart problems and was airlifted to a hospital in Peoria, Illinois, where they did heart surgery on newborns. He spent the first five weeks of his life in Intensive Care after two open heart surgeries.

My wife and I were so grateful to God for our grandson that we accepted him as our gift. There was nothing that could compete with God's gift of healing. Our grandson made a wonderful Christmas.”


A happy memory

You’ve heard the term, a “hard candy Christmas”? Well, Kathy from Kentucky recalled a Christmas when hard candy would’ve seemed like a luxury. And “not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse” was more than could be hoped for. But somehow, it can end up as a happy memory if you can just keep your sense of humor:

“To start with, it was a Christmas I will never forget. I had married at age fourteen, partly to escape the hand of life I was dealt, with parents neither of (whom) seemed to want me or my siblings. We were shuffled from here to there, staying with family or staying alone many nights by ourselves by the time I was 11 years old.

I had married so young trying to escape and have some kind of normal family. At least that’s what I felt at the time. I was much more mature at age 14 than most 25-year-olds today. It was our second Christmas together and we didn't have very much money, but I was 16 by this time and was expecting our first of four children I would eventually have. I so much wanted to have a Christmas tree and decorate it.

Well, with my meager budget, I felt the old-fashioned way might be my best bet. My tree had a few hand-me-down ornaments that were scratched and tattered. I also managed to buy a pack of the old-fashioned icicles that looked like shredded aluminum foil shavings. In 1973, we didn't have all the new shimmering decorations.

I also took a bag of cranberries and some popcorn and strung it to make a stream of garland. I thought our little hand-cut cedar tree was beautiful. It had taken me all day to string the cranberries and popcorn. I strung them around the tree trying to cut corners so they would cover more area. Finally, the tree was decorated.

That night, I went to bed with a few little presents and a beautiful tree. At the time, we lived in an old house we rented, and there were cracks big enough that you could throw a cat through around the windows. I was used to cold houses and not-so-fine furnishings. At 16, I was doing pretty good, I thought. I just couldn't wait to show my Christmas tree and what a fine job I had done.

I woke up the next morning and walked into our simple little living room to see my tree. My heart sank, I just couldn't believe it. The mice had eaten all my popcorn and several of the cranberries! I was devastated, but after the shock wore off, my husband and I just laughed and laughed.

Even after that, I still put popcorn strings on our tree. Later, my four kids would help. The happiest Christmases I remember were ones when we had very little materially but had generosity in our hearts.

I have since gone to college with those four kids and am now a retired teacher. The one thing I always tried to teach my kids as well as my students is that it's not how much money you spend, it is about how much love and generosity is in your heart. Money does not make you happy, love does.”


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Melvin from Oregon wrote to share memories of a couple of Christmases that were made very special, thanks to a grandfather who never forgot what it was like to be a kid at Christmas.

“Christmas 1944: I am four years old and my dad is still overseas, so mom and I are staying with my grandparents. Christmas eve, it's time for me to hang up my sock. I'm just getting ready to hang it on the mantle when grandpa comes in. He has a giant sock and a big metal wash tub. I ask him what he is doing, and this is what he tells me:

‘I'm going to hang this big old sock up.’ He hangs his sock up then he puts the wash tub under the sock. He shows me that there is a hole in the toe of the sock, and it has a tennis ball in the hole. He then tells me that ‘when Santa comes tonight, he will start putting good stuff in his big old sock, and the tennis ball will fall out.’ Santa will keep stuffing his sock and the presents will fall into the wash tub, and he will get way more stuff than I will in my little old sock.

Well, I'm only four years old, but I know this ain't right. I go running to grandma and tell her that grandpa is going to cheat Santa. Grandma says, ‘Don't worry, because I know that Santa is much smarter than your grandpa is.’ So I go off to bed, but I am not happy.

Christmas morning comes. I run downstairs and see that my grandpa has a sour look on his face. I see my sock has all kinds of good stuff in it. I look at grandpa’s sock, and the wash tub is full. It has an old rubber boot with a big hole in it, a big half-rotten squash, some chunks of coal, an old broken shovel etc., etc. I guess grandma was right after all. Santa is smarter than grandpa.”

The next year, Melvin’s grandpa was still putting creativity into Christmas…

“Christmas 1945.  I am five years old, and we are still staying with my grandparents…My father was in Japan in the Second World War, his two brothers were in the European theater.  All three came home OK. I thank God for that and for all of the men that have gone before.

We are trimming the Christmas tree. Grandpa comes in, and he has all of these walnuts that he has painted silver and put a yarn loop on to hang them with. I think they’re neat, but that’s about it.

Christmas morning, I come down and start opening my presents. Grandpa says, ‘Why don't you open one of those walnuts?’ I say ‘Naw, I got to open my presents’… Well grandpa keeps after me. Finally, I say, ‘Okay!’  So I crack a walnut open, and a penny falls out. Well, NOW I'm opening walnuts!  There's dimes, nickels, and pennies.  When I get done, I have about a dollar fifty, and that’s big money in 1945.

…My grandfather thought enough of me to take the time to cut the walnuts open and take out the meat for grandma to cook with. Then he put a coin in and glued each one back together, just to make a little five-year-old boy happy on Christmas morning.

Sixty-five years later, I don't remember anything else I got that Christmas.  But I remember the walnuts and the love that went into making them. That might be something for young parents to think about... It really is the little things that count the most.” 

Thanks, Melvin, for giving us all something important to remember before we go frantically hunting for whatever the latest “hot” gift is. It’s not so much the gift that we remember years later, but the person who loved us enough to give it to us that matters.    

 


BY MIKE HUCKABEE

Blessings on you and your family from all the Huckabee team! 

Mike Huckabee


DAILY BIBLE VERSE

But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.

Isaiah 40:31


PROGRAMMING NOTE!

I hope you all have a safe and happy Christmas and New Year’s holiday with your family and friends, and don't get stuck at the airport. To allow my staff to spend the holidays with their families, we’ll be taking a break next week from the news which (I hope!) will slow down between Christmas and New Year’s.

But keep checking your email box and the Internet because we’ve prepared plenty of material in advance, including our holiday tradition: sharing some of the amazing, moving, hilarious and inspirational family Christmas stories sent to me by my radio listeners and inspired by my book, “A Simple Christmas.” Rest assured that if anything does happen in the news that cries out for comment and reportage, we’ll put down our candy canes and pumpkin pie and rush to our keyboards to cover it.  

From me, Pat, Laura, David, Chris and everyone at the Huckabee Newsletter, and all my crew from "Huckabee" on TBN, have a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

 


Angels are watching over us

Molly from Washington has a story about how the angels are watching over us…and sometimes, they’re not too happy with what they see!

“I remember our Christmases at home. They were magical. Although we didn't have much the rest of the year, my mother would somehow transform our house and our lives into a magical wonderland once a year. There was always snow in Virginia, and there was always Christmas all around the town. Christmas meant that we would be getting our stockings filled with goodies that we rarely, if ever, got throughout the year. We would always have a small handful of nuts, a small handful of hard candies (green and white ribbons were my favorite!) and an orange. What more could you want?

The house was decorated with all of our treasures that we had collected over the years. Mama had a village that lit up and it twinkled on a bed of white snowy cotton. The tree had beautiful lights and all of the ornaments we had made and collected. At the very top of the tree was an angel. She had golden blonde hair and there were clear strands of thin plastic that shot out all around her. When we lit her up every Christmas, it was my favorite moment! She just shimmered and seemed to have an ethereal glow. I always felt like I had just found my long-lost friend, and I knew that she would be watching over me. We always had a fresh tree, and the smell would fill the house. It was such a happy time!

It was almost Christmas of 1958. I was 11, and my brother, Jimmy, was 13. It was the first Christmas that I remember us being so excited. We didn't get a lot of presents or toys throughout the year so we always looked forward to getting our one present. This year, I was surprised to see that my brother and I had the exact same box under the tree. It was the same size, same weight, and was wrapped the same. When we shook them, they sounded the same too. There was no sound at all! We were hoping for a rattle or jingle that would give us a clue as to what was inside. Half of the fun was trying to figure out what it could be. We were truly puzzled this year. How could they buy us the same thing? He was a boy and I was a girl. The presents felt like they could have a book inside. I did not want a book for Christmas! I was always an avid reader and I did love books, but I could get them at the library or from a friend. I did not want to find a book under the tree. I decided I would just have to wait and find out.

It was two days before Christmas and my mother and stepfather went into town to do some shopping. That left Jimmy and me there alone. We were sitting there not long after they had driven out of the driveway when Jimmy suddenly had a brainstorm. Why not open the presents and see what we were getting? He was sure he could do it so nobody would know. I told him that I didn't think that was a good idea. We would surely be caught and then it would ruin our holiday. He said he was going to do it anyway. He went to the tree and began to slowly and very gently pull the tape off of one end of the present. I was watching from a distance and when he said he had it nearly open, I couldn't stand it anymore and I ran over to see what was inside. As he pulled back the paper from the end of the package, we both let out a squeal! It was a transistor radio! We were thrilled! We carefully put the tape back and put the present right where it had been.

I looked up and there was the angel staring right at me! I had just committed a great sin and all in her presence. It felt like her eyes were burning into my soul! Oh, if only I could redo the last few minutes! But it was too late. I had sinned and there was no way to change it!

Christmas morning came and everyone went downstairs to begin the celebration. I opened my sock first and popped a piece of candy in my mouth. It was so good. I was so thrilled to get some treats and I always made them last as long as I could. Then it was time to open our present. I ripped mine open and tried to look very surprised and excited. I felt so bad! I felt like a thief and liar. I was feeling so guilty and it felt like I had a 50-pound weight hanging on my back and I could not get rid of it. As I sat there, I looked up at my beautiful angel and I felt her eyes upon me once again. There seemed to be sadness in her eyes. I asked her to please forgive me. I never enjoyed the radio as much as I would have if I had waited until Christmas morning to open it! It was like a constant reminder that I was a liar! As we all gathered around the table to eat our wonderful dinner, I felt my stomach drop and I couldn't eat very much at all. I loved Christmas dinner almost as much as I enjoyed getting a present, but this year, I just couldn't get an appetite.

The following year, I waited until Christmas morning, and I got a nice coat with a fur collar. I was thrilled! My brother suggested peeking again, but I told him that I was never going to do that again! I had learned my lesson, and it was one that would last me a lifetime! I looked up at my angel, and she seemed to be glowing brighter than ever! And she seemed to have a much more peaceful look on her face. I knew then that I was forgiven, and I promised her that I would never peek at presents again!”

Thank you, Molly, for that reminder that it’s not just Santa Claus who’s watching over us to see if we’re naughty or nice.


This Christmas Story Will Touch Your Digestive System

One thing everyone loves about the holidays is all the great foods we indulge in only once a year. Every family has its special dishes that simply must be on the table, from oyster dressing to yams with tiny marshmallows. But sometimes, they don’t make for a great combination, on the plate or in your stomach.

Kevin from Maryland wrote me that he grew up in a Norwegian family that always served the notorious fish dish, lutefisk, which he jokingly called, “the piece of Cod that passes all understanding." (The recipe involves soaking a piece of cod fish in lye for three days. Seriously.)

Kevin recalled:

“My mother, a fine teetotaling Christian who prided herself on never having alcohol in the house, was appalled the day my uncle brought a six-pack of beer as his contribution to the Christmas meal. To my mother’s horror, my father graciously accepted the libation. And so, in sullen silence, the family dinner was served...the traditional lutefisk and Godless beer.

I remember the smirk on my uncle's face as he began to eat the fish dish and wash it down with beer. My father, at the other end of the table shared in the merriment, while my poor grim-faced mother tried to remain polite...though sitting next to her, I was certain that she was asking God to strike her kin with righteous retribution.”

Now, at this point, Kevin went into some clinical details about the chemical reactions of the digestive system that I won’t relay here. Suffice to say that about half an hour into the meal, his dad and uncle suddenly excused themselves and bolted from the table. They both spent a miserable night of gastric distress, much to his mom’s quiet satisfaction.

Kevin said that was the Christmas he learned that mixing fish cured in lye with beer creates a volcanic reaction in the stomach similar to mixing vinegar and baking soda. He said it was also the year he learned that God answers prayers (his mother’s, at least.) And He's not above using science in working His will.

I want to thank Kevin for that unique story. While most of my listeners’ stories touched the heart or the funny bone, his was the only one that touched the digestive system.


Christmas is about what we give, not what we get

This story reminds us that no matter how bad off we think we are, there are others in greater need. And nothing reflects the spirit of Christmas more than someone who gives to others even when they have very little themselves. Dorothy from North Carolina wrote:

“It's been a few years ago now that through an unusual set of circumstances I met a dear Christian lady named Hilda N-----. Hilda had endured many hardships in life…Now, in her later years… she lived in abject poverty with…crippling arthritis. It was Christmas and I had a gift for Hilda. Mark and I were dating at the time and I asked him to go with me to Hilda's humble home… But it wasn't my gift that I've remembered all these years...it was HER gift, given liberally out of her poverty, that I will never forget.

She and I had exchanged gifts, her gift to me a small ceramic bell with a cross at the top from the dollar store. And then came the moment I cherish yet today. She looked at Mark apologetically and reached down into the cushion of the chair…fumbling until she finally retrieved a small, zippered change purse. Her gnarled, misshapen fingers (terribly twisted from the arthritis) moving slowly and with painful effort, she managed to open the purse… Finally, she turned to Mark and, pulling out a folded, crumpled $1.00 bill, she held it out to him.

Her soft, quiet voice and loving manner gave eloquence to the gesture. ‘I didn't know YOU were coming so I didn't have a gift for you. Here’, she handed him the dollar bill, ‘Merry Christmas.’

Tears sprang to my eyes as I knew what a sacrifice was represented in the giving of the dollar bill. Her heart of love and her desire to share the little she had gave her gift more meaning than a purse full of gold.”

Thank you, Dorothy, and Hilda, for reminding us that Christmas isn’t about what we get, it’s about what we give.


We Have Survived Hard Times

These last few years have been tough for many people, but Anita in New Mexico reminds us that we have survived hard times before:

“In the 1950's, my stepfather suffered a severe illness. Christmas had always been ‘light weight,’ although we didn't know it; there was love to go around and a great dinner.

On Christmas Eve, the doorbell rang and there stood a group of church people, not from our church, with gifts, some wrapped, others were secondhand, but they were new to us!!!! There were more gifts than we had ever seen before, and my mother made sure some went to other homes.

I hadn't experienced such a love of giving before, and it always makes my memories of Christmas special to the point that I enjoy helping where I can and just enjoying the day with my husband with food and remembering exactly what the day is all about.”

Jerry from Florida also shared a memory of a hard time Christmas that was made wonderful by the generosity of others:

“My greatest Christmas was when I was five years old. My mother had taken my brother, sister and myself away from an abusive father, and we were on our own. To say we were poor would be an understatement. My mom rented an old house, and she supported us on a waitress’s wages. She refused to accept welfare and told us that as long as we had each other and love that we would make it. We had our own garden and even as small kids worked to help. We had so very little. Quite often, we had to drink powdered milk and eat bread and gravy three times a day. A hot dog was considered a luxury.

Christmas that year looked bleak. We had no money, but it was the happiest time of my life because we had love. Love of family and neighbors. There was one present for each of us kids that Christmas Eve as we went to bed.

On Christmas morning, we all came down to open our present. An unbelievable sight awaited us. We got to the door of the living room and our eyes widened. There were so many toys and presents that you couldn’t even hardly get in the room. Toy trucks!! Bicycles!!! Our joy and surprise were great.

We lived in a small town…Williamsfield, Illinois. Our neighbors knew we had so little. After us kids had gone to bed on Christmas Eve, the knocks on the door started. People from all over town brought things. That is the type of people I had the honor to grow up with. No government. No welfare. Just neighbors helping neighbors by living the Christian values we were all taught.

I think of that Christmas morning so long ago today and still get a smile and a tear. It was the greatest Christmas I ever had.

My mom went on to remarry to a great guy who adopted us. They worked hard to provide us a better life and live the American Dream. Mom went back to college after we were older and at the age of 38 graduated Summa Cum Laude and taught school for years. Today they live comfortably in retirement.

I think of those days and how poor we were, but I also think of the values instilled in me by a loving mother and a great community. Values that taught us about self-reliance and helping your neighbor. These were the greatest lessons learned from my greatest Christmas.”

Thank you, Anita and Jerry, for that reminder of what a difference it makes to have churches and communities that gather together to help those who are in need. We need that more than ever now, if our politicians would just stop waging war on our churches and communities.

 I JUST WANTED TO SAY: 

Thank you for reading my newsletter. 

For more news, visit my website.


Angels are watching over us

December 28, 2023

 

Molly from Washington has a story about how the angels are watching over us…and sometimes, they’re not too happy with what they see!

“I remember our Christmases at home. They were magical. Although we didn't have much the rest of the year, my mother would somehow transform our house and our lives into a magical wonderland once a year. There was always snow in Virginia, and there was always Christmas all around the town. Christmas meant that we would be getting our stockings filled with goodies that we rarely, if ever, got throughout the year. We would always have a small handful of nuts, a small handful of hard candies (green and white ribbons were my favorite!) and an orange. What more could you want?

The house was decorated with all of our treasures that we had collected over the years. Mama had a village that lit up and it twinkled on a bed of white snowy cotton. The tree had beautiful lights and all of the ornaments we had made and collected. At the very top of the tree was an angel. She had golden blonde hair and there were clear strands of thin plastic that shot out all around her. When we lit her up every Christmas, it was my favorite moment! She just shimmered and seemed to have an ethereal glow. I always felt like I had just found my long-lost friend, and I knew that she would be watching over me. We always had a fresh tree, and the smell would fill the house. It was such a happy time!

It was almost Christmas of 1958. I was 11, and my brother, Jimmy, was 13. It was the first Christmas that I remember us being so excited. We didn't get a lot of presents or toys throughout the year so we always looked forward to getting our one present. This year, I was surprised to see that my brother and I had the exact same box under the tree. It was the same size, same weight, and was wrapped the same. When we shook them, they sounded the same too. There was no sound at all! We were hoping for a rattle or jingle that would give us a clue as to what was inside. Half of the fun was trying to figure out what it could be. We were truly puzzled this year. How could they buy us the same thing? He was a boy and I was a girl. The presents felt like they could have a book inside. I did not want a book for Christmas! I was always an avid reader and I did love books, but I could get them at the library or from a friend. I did not want to find a book under the tree. I decided I would just have to wait and find out.

It was two days before Christmas and my mother and stepfather went into town to do some shopping. That left Jimmy and me there alone. We were sitting there not long after they had driven out of the driveway when Jimmy suddenly had a brainstorm. Why not open the presents and see what we were getting? He was sure he could do it so nobody would know. I told him that I didn't think that was a good idea. We would surely be caught and then it would ruin our holiday. He said he was going to do it anyway. He went to the tree and began to slowly and very gently pull the tape off of one end of the present. I was watching from a distance and when he said he had it nearly open, I couldn't stand it anymore and I ran over to see what was inside. As he pulled back the paper from the end of the package, we both let out a squeal! It was a transistor radio! We were thrilled! We carefully put the tape back and put the present right where it had been.

I looked up and there was the angel staring right at me! I had just committed a great sin and all in her presence. It felt like her eyes were burning into my soul! Oh, if only I could redo the last few minutes! But it was too late. I had sinned and there was no way to change it!

Christmas morning came and everyone went downstairs to begin the celebration. I opened my sock first and popped a piece of candy in my mouth. It was so good. I was so thrilled to get some treats and I always made them last as long as I could. Then it was time to open our present. I ripped mine open and tried to look very surprised and excited. I felt so bad! I felt like a thief and liar. I was feeling so guilty and it felt like I had a 50-pound weight hanging on my back and I could not get rid of it. As I sat there, I looked up at my beautiful angel and I felt her eyes upon me once again. There seemed to be sadness in her eyes. I asked her to please forgive me. I never enjoyed the radio as much as I would have if I had waited until Christmas morning to open it! It was like a constant reminder that I was a liar! As we all gathered around the table to eat our wonderful dinner, I felt my stomach drop and I couldn't eat very much at all. I loved Christmas dinner almost as much as I enjoyed getting a present, but this year, I just couldn't get an appetite.

The following year, I waited until Christmas morning, and I got a nice coat with a fur collar. I was thrilled! My brother suggested peeking again, but I told him that I was never going to do that again! I had learned my lesson, and it was one that would last me a lifetime! I looked up at my angel, and she seemed to be glowing brighter than ever! And she seemed to have a much more peaceful look on her face. I knew then that I was forgiven, and I promised her that I would never peek at presents again!”

Thank you, Molly, for that reminder that it’s not just Santa Claus who’s watching over us to see if we’re naughty or nice.

 

This time of year, one of the many great holiday songs we always hear is the late, great Glen Campbell’s “Christmas Is For Children.” That sentiment was also on the minds of many of my radio listeners whose most treasured memories of Christmas were tied to childhood – either their kids’ childhoods or their own.

Some were of the “Kids Say The Darnedest Things” variety. For instance, Joe from Georgia recalled when his son was 7, their church had a pancake breakfast with a “Happy Birthday Jesus” cake for the kids, and the Lord’s Supper for adults during the Christmas Eve service. His son tugged his sleeve and asked, “Dad, why am I allowed to eat the Lord’s Breakfast but not His supper?”

An eternal theological question, my son!

There's something about the excitement of Christmas that makes children even more hilariously discombobulated. Cleve from New Mexico wrote, "At our house, we always opened our presents on Christmas morning. I remember the first year my daughters were really, really, really looking forward to Christmas. On Christmas Eve morning, they jumped out of bed, ran into the kitchen, and hollered, 'Today's the night we get up in the morning!!'"

Well, they were right: it was!

Dolores from Texas recalled that during the Depression, her parents gave her and her sister Betsy Wetsy dolls, and made a little suitcase and a whole wardrobe for them. Dolores said it was the “best Christmas ever!” The girls were so excited, they didn’t even realize until years later that those were actually their old dolls, all cleaned up. The moral: To a child, a gift doesn’t have to be new…just new to THEM.

Claudine from North Dakota shared this:

“When my kids were little, the church was getting together some toys, gifts and food items for a poor family who had just moved to our area at Christmas time. While looking in the pantry to see what we might have extras of, I asked my children what they would like to give. My daughter - then six years old - went to her room and brought down her Barbie doll complete with Barbie outfits, that she loved to play with. It was her only one. When I said, ‘Oh, honey, you don't have to give your favorite doll’, she said to me, ‘Mommy, if you just give what you don't want, it's not really giving, is it?’”

When you “give till it hurts,” as some people put it, it can actually feel pretty good. Thank you, Claudine, for reminding us that sometimes, parents can learn from children.

BettyJean from California had a favorite childhood Christmas memory that reminds us not to look a gift horse in the mouth. She wrote:

"I was born in 1928 in a small town in Montana. My mother died in 1929... (and) we were very poor...One Christmas my friend, Rex, whose parents had a restaurant in town, gave me a beautifully wrapped present. I was SOOOO EXCITED! Christmas Eve, my brother and I unwrapped our two presents. My brother watched me unwrap mine: a box of candy. And I can still hear him, 70 years later...yelling out, "DAAAAAD! THERE'S A PIECE GONE!!!!!"

I guess that proves little boys haven't really changed much in all these years!

Of course, Christmas is also a time when many of us former children experience the sadness of memories of parents who are no longer with us. I received many stories from people who were rocked by a flood of emotions at something as simple as coming across an old family decoration that their dad made, or the smell of a favorite family dish that mama used to cook. You never know what unlikely things might trigger overwhelming emotions.

For example, Linda from Texas recalled that her grandfather’s last Christmas gift to her dad just before he died was a shirt. He never wore that shirt. But he kept it hanging in his closet for the rest of his life, carefully preserved as a reminder of his dad.

Ellen from Oregon would understand that feeling. Her mother died of a brain tumor that had scrambled her thinking and sometimes made her a little exasperating. Just before Christmas, she made a big production of being driven to the post office to buy Christmas ornament postage stamps. She debated at great length before settling on the design, which she insisted on calling the “Jingle Bell stamps.” The postal clerk put three sheets of stamps in an onionskin envelope for her. Her mom proudly took them home, wrote “Christmas stamps” on the envelope, and displayed them on the windowsill for all to see. It seemed a little silly to Ellen at the time.

One month later, as she and her sisters were cleaning out their late mother’s house, Ellen came across her mom’s beloved Jingle Bells stamps in the onionskin envelope with her handwriting on it. She wrote, “I took them into the bathroom and cried.” She took the envelope with the remaining stamps home with her. Long afterward, when her husband needed a stamp, she opened the stamp drawer, saw them again, and cried again.

She began calling them the “Jingle Bell stamps,” too. There are only three stamps left, and there always will be. Ellen said she could never use them. She wrote:

“It’s almost as if when those stamps are gone, one more thread will be cut…But somehow, I know I will never give up that little onion skin envelope. Whenever I buy stamps, it will always be in sheets, and I will always tuck them into that little onion skin envelope.”

Thank you for sharing that, Ellen. And please know that you are not alone. Many of us treasure things that might seem silly to others, but they hold value beyond gold to us. There’s no reason to be embarrassed about having a reminder of your mom in the stamp drawer. But it’s even better to know that we’ll always have memories of our loved ones who’ve left us tucked safely away in our hearts.

 


BY MIKE HUCKABEE

Blessings on you and your family from all the Huckabee team! 

Mike Huckabee


DAILY BIBLE VERSE


PROGRAMMING NOTE!

I hope you all have a safe and happy Christmas and New Year’s holiday with your family and friends, and don't get stuck at the airport. To allow my staff to spend the holidays with their families, we’ll be taking a break next week from the news which (I hope!) will slow down between Christmas and New Year’s.

But keep checking your email box and the Internet because we’ve prepared plenty of material in advance, including our holiday tradition: sharing some of the amazing, moving, hilarious and inspirational family Christmas stories sent to me by my radio listeners and inspired by my book, “A Simple Christmas.” Rest assured that if anything does happen in the news that cries out for comment and reportage, we’ll put down our candy canes and pumpkin pie and rush to our keyboards to cover it.  

From me, Pat, Laura, David, Chris and everyone at the Huckabee Newsletter, and all my crew from "Huckabee" on TBN, have a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

 


A Christmas miracle

It’s become a tradition for me to share this story every year during Christmas because it proves that Christmas is a time for miracles.  Not just the miracles that happened 2,000 years ago, but those that God is showing us every day if we just open our eyes and our hearts to see them. 

Back in 2011, one of my radio listeners named Sheila from Oklahoma wrote to me: 

"I was diagnosed with Hodgkins' Disease lymphoma and felt I had been given a death sentence. I believed it was the last time I would celebrate my young son's birthday, my last Thanksgiving and my last Christmas.  So everything about Christmas was vital to me. I hand-wrote personal messages to everyone on my card list, carefully selected and wrapped gifts and insisted on decorating my home alone with my son, in spite of chemotherapy.

The tree was a full-day endeavor because I was fatigued, and, of course, I had to cherish the memories of each special ornament. The two of us struggled with the lights but were almost finished with the entire tree.  I had sat down to rest (when) my son announced, 'Mom! The lights went out!'...

I know it is trivial, but it just knocked the wind out of me. I bowed my head and cried because changing the lights meant undecorating the whole tree, and I just didn't have the energy. 

'Lord,' I prayed. 'I can't do this. I need this Christmas, but I can't do this.' 

Then I heard my son gasp, and I looked up to see all the lights were on again.  And they stayed lit throughout Advent to Epiphany.  For this and many reasons, my first Christmas with cancer was my best ever."  

That terrific story contained two miracles: A simple one reminiscent of Hanukkah, in which the lights stayed on as a message that you were not alone. 

The second miracle: that story was about the Christmas of 1995.  Sheila wrote to me to share it in 2011 -- 16 years after she thought she'd seen her final Christmas! 

But wait: there’s now a third miracle. Over the years, I have often thought about Sheila and prayed that she is still alive and well. A couple of years ago, nearly a decade after she shared that story that has inspired so many, she contacted me again to tell me this:

“…I am so thankful that you have continued to share my miracles. The lymphoma relapsed in 2001 and I underwent an autologous bone marrow transplant and have been cancer-free since. I am a 25-year cancer survivor and I thank God for every day.”

Sheila, I hope that wherever you are, you are still in good health. I pray for you and thank you for sharing that inspiring story that has meant so much to me and my readers and listeners over the years.


A time for prayers and miracles

Christmas is a time for prayers and miracles, and one often follows the other. Rosalin from Virginia shared a story that proves God sometimes shows a very personal interest in us, if we’ll just ask Him into our lives. She wrote:

"Years ago, when our children were younger, we ran into hard times. It was a Wednesday morning, and Christmas was on Saturday. We had no money for Christmas gifts and no savings in the bank. My husband was home without work as a carpenter. He suggested we join hands and pray, which we did.

Three hours later, friends of ours called from New York to tell us that they'd received a large Christmas bonus from work, and God put our family on their hearts. They told us they'd sent us $350 through Western Union...not knowing of our situation. We picked up the check and went Christmas shopping. It was a GREAT lesson my children will NEVER forget!"

Thank you, Rosalin. That's a great story that none of us will ever forget!


The best gift this Christmas is giving to others

On Christmas, we celebrate the birth of the One who told us, “Love thy neighbor as thyself.” But on holidays like this that emphasize parties and socializing, many people feel lonely, isolated or abandoned. This became even more acute during the pandemic lockdowns. They may not realize how many people really do care about them. Let this story from Linda in North Carolina be a reminder:

"Several years ago, we had a family up the hill who were having a very rough time. They had broken glass in their windows, no heat and no prospects for a nice Christmas.

We got neighbors together and one day when they were gone, the men went up and put in new glass, bought heaters and warmed up their trailer and went to get them a Christmas tree. The ladies and kids made ornaments, went to stores and got donations of toys and clothing, food and electric blankets. We all met at the trailer, cooked, decorated, put up the tree, wrapped packages, and made beds with the new blankets then went to our home to wait for them to return.

A while later, the family came running down the hill in the snow and flew into our house, trying to tell us through tears what someone had done. The mother couldn't believe that so many people cared about them. She didn't realize it, but being able to do that for them made Christmas very special for all of us.”

Thank you, Linda, for that perfect story to remind us that the gifts that give us the most satisfaction aren’t those we get, but the ones we give to others.


Treasured Memories Of Christmas

This time of year, one of the many great holiday songs we always hear is the late, great Glen Campbell’s “Christmas Is For Children.” That sentiment was also on the minds of many of my radio listeners whose most treasured memories of Christmas were tied to childhood – either their kids’ childhoods or their own.

Some were of the “Kids Say The Darnedest Things” variety. For instance, Joe from Georgia recalled when his son was 7, their church had a pancake breakfast with a “Happy Birthday Jesus” cake for the kids, and the Lord’s Supper for adults during the Christmas Eve service. His son tugged his sleeve and asked, “Dad, why am I allowed to eat the Lord’s Breakfast but not His supper?”

An eternal theological question, my son!

There's something about the excitement of Christmas that makes children even more hilariously discombobulated. Cleve from New Mexico wrote, "At our house, we always opened our presents on Christmas morning. I remember the first year my daughters were really, really, really looking forward to Christmas. On Christmas Eve morning, they jumped out of bed, ran into the kitchen, and hollered, 'Today's the night we get up in the morning!!'"

Well, they were right: it was!

Dolores from Texas recalled that during the Depression, her parents gave her and her sister Betsy Wetsy dolls, and made a little suitcase and a whole wardrobe for them. Dolores said it was the “best Christmas ever!” The girls were so excited, they didn’t even realize until years later that those were actually their old dolls, all cleaned up. The moral: To a child, a gift doesn’t have to be new…just new to THEM.

Claudine from North Dakota shared this:

“When my kids were little, the church was getting together some toys, gifts and food items for a poor family who had just moved to our area at Christmas time. While looking in the pantry to see what we might have extras of, I asked my children what they would like to give. My daughter - then six years old - went to her room and brought down her Barbie doll complete with Barbie outfits, that she loved to play with. It was her only one. When I said, ‘Oh, honey, you don't have to give your favorite doll’, she said to me, ‘Mommy, if you just give what you don't want, it's not really giving, is it?’”

When you “give till it hurts,” as some people put it, it can actually feel pretty good. Thank you, Claudine, for reminding us that sometimes, parents can learn from children.

BettyJean from California had a favorite childhood Christmas memory that reminds us not to look a gift horse in the mouth. She wrote:

"I was born in 1928 in a small town in Montana. My mother died in 1929... (and) we were very poor...One Christmas my friend, Rex, whose parents had a restaurant in town, gave me a beautifully wrapped present. I was SOOOO EXCITED! Christmas Eve, my brother and I unwrapped our two presents. My brother watched me unwrap mine: a box of candy. And I can still hear him, 70 years later...yelling out, "DAAAAAD! THERE'S A PIECE GONE!!!!!"

I guess that proves little boys haven't really changed much in all these years!

Of course, Christmas is also a time when many of us former children experience the sadness of memories of parents who are no longer with us. I received many stories from people who were rocked by a flood of emotions at something as simple as coming across an old family decoration that their dad made, or the smell of a favorite family dish that mama used to cook. You never know what unlikely things might trigger overwhelming emotions.

For example, Linda from Texas recalled that her grandfather’s last Christmas gift to her dad just before he died was a shirt. He never wore that shirt. But he kept it hanging in his closet for the rest of his life, carefully preserved as a reminder of his dad.

Ellen from Oregon would understand that feeling. Her mother died of a brain tumor that had scrambled her thinking and sometimes made her a little exasperating. Just before Christmas, she made a big production of being driven to the post office to buy Christmas ornament postage stamps. She debated at great length before settling on the design, which she insisted on calling the “Jingle Bell stamps.” The postal clerk put three sheets of stamps in an onionskin envelope for her. Her mom proudly took them home, wrote “Christmas stamps” on the envelope, and displayed them on the windowsill for all to see. It seemed a little silly to Ellen at the time.

One month later, as she and her sisters were cleaning out their late mother’s house, Ellen came across her mom’s beloved Jingle Bells stamps in the onionskin envelope with her handwriting on it. She wrote, “I took them into the bathroom and cried.” She took the envelope with the remaining stamps home with her. Long afterward, when her husband needed a stamp, she opened the stamp drawer, saw them again, and cried again.

She began calling them the “Jingle Bell stamps,” too. There are only three stamps left, and there always will be. Ellen said she could never use them. She wrote:

“It’s almost as if when those stamps are gone, one more thread will be cut…But somehow, I know I will never give up that little onion skin envelope. Whenever I buy stamps, it will always be in sheets, and I will always tuck them into that little onion skin envelope.”

Thank you for sharing that, Ellen. And please know that you are not alone. Many of us treasure things that might seem silly to others, but they hold value beyond gold to us. There’s no reason to be embarrassed about having a reminder of your mom in the stamp drawer. But it’s even better to know that we’ll always have memories of our loved ones who’ve left us tucked safely away in our hearts.


Anything can become a cherished memory

Beth from Texas offered a story whose moral is that anything can become a cherished memory if it’s associated with the joy of Christmas, and I do mean ANYTHING!...

“For many years, my sister (who teaches Kindergarten) and I would deliver any gifts from the Angel tree at K-Mart that had not been picked up by Christmas Eve. Many of the names were ones familiar to my sister, and we loaded up the car and put on our Santa hats and went delivering in everything from snow to rain...this to us was the true meaning of Christmas.

One place we would always stop about half-way through our deliveries was the Beasley Memorial Funeral Home - it had a drive-up viewing window in front!

The first Christmas after K-Mart closed, my sister and I were both at loose ends on Christmas Eve. I drove us over to sit in the driveway of the funeral home so it felt more like Christmas Eve. Happy to say some of our best Christmas Eves were spent sitting in that driveway! Merry Christmas to you!”


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 I JUST WANTED TO SAY: 

Thank you for reading my newsletter. 

For more news, visit my website.


 


BY MIKE HUCKABEE

Blessings on you and your family from all the Huckabee team! 

Mike Huckabee


DAILY BIBLE VERSE


PROGRAMMING NOTE!

I hope you all have a safe and happy Christmas and New Year’s holiday with your family and friends, and don't get stuck at the airport. To allow my staff to spend the holidays with their families, we’ll be taking a break next week from the news which (I hope!) will slow down between Christmas and New Year’s.

But keep checking your email box and the Internet because we’ve prepared plenty of material in advance, including our holiday tradition: sharing some of the amazing, moving, hilarious and inspirational family Christmas stories sent to me by my radio listeners and inspired by my book, “A Simple Christmas.” Rest assured that if anything does happen in the news that cries out for comment and reportage, we’ll put down our candy canes and pumpkin pie and rush to our keyboards to cover it.  

From me, Pat, Laura, David, Chris and everyone at the Huckabee Newsletter, and all my crew from "Huckabee" on TBN, have a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

 


'The Hungry Times'

These days, too many people are trying to take religion out of the Christmas season. It sometimes makes me think, “Forgive them, Lord, for they know not what they do…or what they’re missing.” Maybe this letter will make it clear.

A Reverend wrote to me from Malawi:

“After having been raised up in urban North American culture, it was refreshing, but also a bit disorientating, to spend my first Christmas in Africa in 2009. There was a Baptist Church of course, but no Christmas Trees and no caroling in the streets, and no mad dash to the Mall to buy presents. The mixed congregation of ex-pats and nationals who attended the Christmas Sunday service sang the carols we were accustomed to, but there appeared to be far less excitement…

This is the ‘Hungry Times’ when most folks, aside from us ex-pats, are living off of the stored-up remnants of last year’s harvest, with an eye to how little there is left and how long until the next harvest comes in. Nevertheless, on the morning after Christmas, we were all called to return to the Church and bring food and clothing and the Word of God and prepare to visit Zomba Central Prison to distribute some hope and good cheer.

This Prison is a daunting facility built by Colonialists in the 1930's that, today, houses twice as many inmates as it was designed for. We shared the goods and the Gospel with inmates, in both men's wing and women's wing. And so, for me, began a ministry of Prison Chaplaincy in the Prisons of southern Malawi.

…It’s ‘Hungry Time" again, but I thank God that the inmates are hungry for the Gospel. In the six Prisons and Prison Farms where we work, we have seen over 240 decisions to accept Christ (including many from Muslim backgrounds) and 160 inmates Baptized and inmates are being transformed by the power of God. Some of those counseled before release are eager to return to their villages and tell others of the one who came as our Savior that first Christmas morning. And for that, I'll forever enjoy a different kind of Christmas.”

Thank you, Reverend, for sharing your unique Christmas experience with us. If you’d like to learn more about the fine work done by Emmanuel International Mission in Malawi and elsewhere, you can read about it online at www.EIM-US.org


A card or a phone call could mean the world to someone

Even if you aren’t hosting a big gathering for distant friends and relatives, don’t forget to let them know you’re thinking of them and that “family” doesn’t just mean close blood relations, as Mario from Indiana reminded us:

"I grew up in Mexico in an orphanage with 40 brothers and sisters. My mom and dad, as we called them, were missionaries for 28 years. When we celebrated Christmas, we had toys and clothing, but the best gift was that mom cooked breakfast for each child according to what we wanted to eat on Christmas day.

When I asked mom why she did that, she said, "This is my gift for you guys.... Something I can do with my own hands for you." I love my mom and dad for giving us love when our real parents didn't."

Thanks, Mario, for that great reminder that it's important at the holidays also to remember and include the people who are like family to us. Even if you can’t invite them to your home, a card or a phone call could mean the world to someone who’s feeling lonely and forgotten.


Christmas memories that last forever

Joe from Oklahoma shared a special Christmas memory that sounds like something the dad in “A Christmas Story” might have pulled. Joe still vividly recalled when he was seven, and he and his two siblings rushed downstairs expecting to find stockings and gifts. Instead, they found mayhem. A toppled glass of milk, chairs thrown around, and the tree on its side.

They rushed to wake their parents, who came downstairs with crafty smiles. Joe’s dad was a police officer. He told them Santa had spilled the milk, refused to clean up after himself, and was rude to him. This had sparked a tussle that spilled out into the back yard. Then he pointed out a pile of dirt in the back yard the size of a fresh grave. Joe assured the kids that Santa escaped alive…but he said, “Rudolph will never (relieve himself) on our roof again.”

Well, I must admit, that’s one original way to create a lifelong Christmas memory for your kids! Or maybe just to scar them for life. Either way, it was unforgettable!

Annette from Texas also shared a funny Christmas memory that’s taken on serious meaning over the years.

Around the time she and her twin sister were teenagers in Pascagoula, Mississippi, in the late ‘50s, a tradition started in their small Baptist church to create a living Nativity scene. Members would dress up as all the characters of the Nativity, so that cars could drive by in reverence and awe and see the Christmas story in 3D. It took months of work, part of which was coaching teenagers on how to “be still and know God.”

However, they never could teach the live animals to be still and know God, so it could be pretty nerve-wracking, trying to stand motionless next to a live camel or goat with some less-than-reverent ideas of its own.

Luckily, Annette was given a very special role that didn’t require any animal wrangling, but it had its own unique hazards. She wrote:

“I was the angel on high – 20 feet high to be exact…When the angel climbed rickety, dark stairs at the back of the makeshift manger stall, the act itself took such fortitude and perseverance that the spotlight on her was snuffed every 15 minutes and a new angel would appear as fast as she could safely make that climb.

I prayed for all I was worth: not to fall, not to faint, and not to freeze to death…a few blocks from the Gulf, we never knew if we would have freezing cold or temps so hot at Christmas we could have worn bikinis under our angel attire – IF that would not have been a sin…But I digress. We were told that angels could not move a muscle. Even if the nose itched (or some other place), or if we felt a sneeze coming on, we HAD to remain perfectly still...Being 20 feet off the ground with arms outstretched for 15 minutes and a thin wooden support-cross hidden behind me in my white robe, I couldn't help but know—or pray for—God's presence.”

Annette said she didn’t remember having any epiphanies back then. But time and again over the years, when she needed guidance or to trust that things would work out, or to know that stillness can bring a peace that passes all understanding, she’s thought back to what she learned from her scary job, dangling over the Nativity Scene. As she put it:

“God reveals Himself to us in His son through His Holy Spirit. And I don’t need angel wings or a halo to fly to His presence. Just that hidden cross of support.”


Coming home this Christmas

A listener named Phyllis wrote that it was Christmas Eve, 1942. A young woman was waiting, pregnant and alone, for her husband of 4 months, who'd been drafted into the Army and was training to be a pilot somewhere in the Arizona desert. He had written to her that he couldn't get leave, so they would not be together on their first Christmas as husband and wife. Refusing to let herself get discouraged, she kept a light on in the window as she wrapped a few gifts.

Meanwhile, he was way off in Arizona, quietly reading letters from her, when his sergeant came into the barracks and asked what he was doing there on Christmas Eve. When he heard about the soldier’s pregnant wife, the sarge gave him permission to go home. But that was just the first obstacle down.

The young private grabbed a few belongings and raced to find any way to get back to California. But there were no more trains or buses that night. So he walked to the nearest highway and stuck out his thumb.

Somehow, he hitchhiked 450 miles home. His last ride dropped him off several miles from the cottage where his pregnant wife was. He walked the last few miles in pitch darkness, assuming that at that late hour, his wife would have long since gone to bed. But as he neared the little house, he saw the light shining in the bedroom window.

When he opened the door, he found his darling, still awake and thrilled to be in his arms again. She'd waited up for him, never giving up hope that her dearest would find some way to be home for Christmas. Phyllis wrote, "This true story was told to me by my dad before he passed away in 2000. The young couple were my parents…And I was the baby they were expecting."

I'm glad that Phyllis’ parents' faith in the power of love to overcome all obstacles was passed down to her, and I thank her for passing their family’s cherished story on to us.


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A Christmas Miracle

December 26, 2023

It’s become a tradition for me to share this story every year during Christmas because it proves that Christmas is a time for miracles.  Not just the miracles that happened 2,000 years ago, but those that God is showing us every day if we just open our eyes and our hearts to see them. 

Back in 2011, one of my radio listeners named Sheila from Oklahoma wrote to me: 

"I was diagnosed with Hodgkins' Disease lymphoma and felt I had been given a death sentence. I believed it was the last time I would celebrate my young son's birthday, my last Thanksgiving and my last Christmas.  So everything about Christmas was vital to me. I hand-wrote personal messages to everyone on my card list, carefully selected and wrapped gifts and insisted on decorating my home alone with my son, in spite of chemotherapy.

The tree was a full-day endeavor because I was fatigued, and, of course, I had to cherish the memories of each special ornament. The two of us struggled with the lights but were almost finished with the entire tree.  I had sat down to rest (when) my son announced, 'Mom! The lights went out!'...

I know it is trivial, but it just knocked the wind out of me. I bowed my head and cried because changing the lights meant undecorating the whole tree, and I just didn't have the energy. 

'Lord,' I prayed. 'I can't do this. I need this Christmas, but I can't do this.' 

Then I heard my son gasp, and I looked up to see all the lights were on again.  And they stayed lit throughout Advent to Epiphany.  For this and many reasons, my first Christmas with cancer was my best ever."  

That terrific story contained two miracles: A simple one reminiscent of Hanukkah, in which the lights stayed on as a message that you were not alone. 

The second miracle: that story was about the Christmas of 1995.  Sheila wrote to me to share it in 2011 -- 16 years after she thought she'd seen her final Christmas! 

But wait: there’s now a third miracle. Over the years, I have often thought about Sheila and prayed that she is still alive and well. A couple of years ago, nearly a decade after she shared that story that has inspired so many, she contacted me again to tell me this:

“…I am so thankful that you have continued to share my miracles. The lymphoma relapsed in 2001 and I underwent an autologous bone marrow transplant and have been cancer-free since. I am a 25-year cancer survivor and I thank God for every day.”

Sheila, I hope that wherever you are, you are still in good health. I pray for you and thank you for sharing that inspiring story that has meant so much to me and my readers and listeners over the years.

Trip to Israel

December 23, 2023

I’m just returning home from a very intense trip to Israel where I joined some other evangelical leaders in 3 days of meetings with Israeli officials, families of those who were kidnapped and taken hostage by Hamas terrorists, and survivors of the savage and barbaric attacks on innocent civilians, including babies, young mothers, elderly people, and teenagers. 

We visited Kfar Aza, one of the first communities that was overrun by Hamas where people were murdered on the morning of October 7 which should have been a quiet and peaceful Shabbat.  75 days had passed since the quiet community had been the site of some of the most uncivilized and indescribable atrocities since the Holocaust, and yet the stench of death still lingered in the air and despite attempts to clean up blood and body parts of the innocent victims, there were many reminders of how the last moments of life for these vulnerable Jewish residents of Kfar Aza were moments of pain, humiliation, and the most depraved violence that the world has ever seen.

We were escorted by military personnel from the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF), and we were required to wear bulletproof vests and arrive via an armored bus due to the fact of it still being an active war zone.  We were less than 400 meters from Gaza and throughout our time there, the loud sounds of artillery shattered what would have otherwise been a quiet day.  Some of the shelling seemed closer than was comfortable.  After a few minutes we had gotten used to it. 

One of the first IDF soldiers I saw was a Major who I had just met and gotten to know in August of this year while visiting the military base that is used to train the dogs that the Israeli Army uses effectively for search and rescue, forward operation of attacks, and for direct defense.  He recognized me from my previous visit and we immediately struck up our conversation about the value of the dogs for such missions.   In August, we discussed the way the dogs were trained.  This time, he told me in graphic terms how the dogs were being used to save the lives of soldiers and hostages and how some had given their lives in the service of their country.

 I had the opportunity to meet with Prime Minister Netanyahu, a long-time friend who I’ve known for decades and visit with during most of my trips to Israel.  I’m not sure anyone else would be so uniquely prepared to lead the State of Israel as effectively as Benjamin Netanyahu.  I told him that I thought he was like Esther of whom it was said was raised up “for such a time as this.”  I assured him that Americans overall strongly support Israel and the evangelical community most certainly does for the simple reason is that we are “people of the Book,” and understand that our Christian faith is based on the foundation of the Jewish law and prophets. 

 

I had lunch on Thursday in Tel Aviv with Yael Eckstein, the CEO of the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews.  IFCJ is an extraordinary charity that provides more direct assistance to people than even the Israeli government.  In addition to providing food and assistance to families displaced by the terror activities of both Hamas and Hezbollah, they purchased over 5500 bullet proof vests for ambulance drivers, first responders, and the community defense teams charged with defending a community against future terrorist attacks.  I’ve traveled throughout Israel with Yael and have witnessed their assistance to people in poverty.  As we were having lunch with a few influential evangelical leaders, the sirens went off and we had to hurry to the bomb shelter.  Even as we were on our way we heard the blast above us of the Iron Dome intercepting Hamas rockets directly over our heads.  Israelis have to get to used to such things.  Once was enough for me!

The short but very intense trip was sobering and left a deep emotional imprint on me.  But it was the comment of a young mother that touched me with a reality I hadn’t processed before.  She’s trying to take care of 4 children while her husband is serving in the midst of the hostilities in Gaza.  It’s hard enough to corral 4 children when her husband is there to help.  But now she is doing it alone and several times a day having to rush with her children to shelters when the sirens go off signaling another attempt by Hamas to murder Jewish civilians.  She simply said, “I’m tired.  I stay tired all day and through sleepless nights.  I wonder if I’ll ever NOT be tired.”

What Hamas has done and continues to do is EVIL.  They have not launched a military action, but an attempted genocide.  More than ever, I stand with Israel and the Jewish people in Israel and around the world so they will know they will NOT be abandoned and feel alone. 

The establishment of Israel in 1948 as the restoration of the land God gave them 3500 years ago was to insure that never again would there be a time when they couldn’t defend themselves and suffer another Holocaust.  With the insane leftist lunatics screaming “from the river to the sea!” we can no longer assume they will be safe or secure even in their own homes.  And it’s why I hope you join me in praying for the peace of Jerusalem and the resolve of the Jewish people and the government of Israel and for those of us who truly believe the Bible will give support to Israel and our Jewish friends.

 

 


BY MIKE HUCKABEE

Blessings on you and your family from all the Huckabee team! 

Mike Huckabee


DAILY BIBLE VERSE


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Israel News

Here is today’s link to the latest news on Israel’s war on Hamas…

https://www.foxnews.com/live-news/december-22-israel-hamas-war

You can read all about my trip to Israel this week on my website here:

Trip to Israel - Read Mike's News Analysis - Mike Huckabee

It was announced this morning that 73-year-old Gadi Haggai has become the first American hostage to die in the conflict. He and his wife Judi held dual US-Israeli citizenship. They were shot and kidnapped by Hamas while taking a walk on October 7th. Judi is still being held hostage. Gadi was described as a man of humor who loved to make those around him laugh, and a gifted flautist who played with the IDF Orchestra. 

Allow me to point out to President Biden that he was also AN AMERICAN. An American who was shot, taken hostage, and is now dead at the hands of Hamas. Something to remember before you pressure Israel to stop doing the job that we would normally be doing if someone attacked Americans.

Over 20 nations have signed on to “Operation Prosperity Garden” to protect ships in the Red Sea from attack by Houthi militants in Yemen. Although I don’t know why ending that requires 20 nations when we apparently know who’s doing it and where they are.

PM Netanyahu reportedly asked President Biden to pressure Egypt to take in Palestinian refugees from Gaza, but the Washington Post reports that Biden told him Egypt refused. Matt Vespa at Townhall.com explains why Arab nations refuse to accept them in this article about some violent pro-Palestinian protesters attacking a Christmas party by black Democrats in Detroit.

https://townhall.com/tipsheet/mattvespa/2023/12/22/pro-palestinian-lunatics-crash-michigan-dem-christmas-party-and-assault-attendees-n2632745


SCOTUS needs to get involved

The Supreme Court might want to take a break from whatever they’re doing to order political activists and lower courts to stop trying to undermine “our democracy” and let the people vote for whomever they want. Thanks to four out of seven appointed Democrat judges in Colorado (not coincidentally, famous for legalized marijuana), we now have Democrats in 16 states trying to remove Trump from the ballot.

https://www.westernjournal.com/16-states-efforts-remove-trump-ballot-underway/

And because radical leftists never imagine that the damage they do to our institutions could ever come back to bite them, there are already three red states with movements afoot to boot Biden off the ballot.

https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2023/12/22/exclusive-republicans-drafting-bills-to-remove-joe-biden-from-ballots-in-georgia-arizona-pennsylvania/

That first story linked above quotes law professor Jonathan Turley as saying, “This is the way things are in places like Iran, where they have ‘ballot cleansing,’ where you have people in government tell you who’s just not appropriate for you to vote for. And we’re looking down that road.”

(For the record, Trump stated on Thursday that he is NOT an “insurrectionist,” reminding us that he urged his supporters to protest “peacefully and patriotically,” but he added that “Crooked Joe Biden is!!!”)

https://justthenews.com/politics-policy/all-things-trump/trump-after-colorado-ruling-im-not-insurrectionist

Granted, there are certainly examples, like the current Administration, of where letting the people choose their leaders doesn’t work out well. But it’s still better than any government-driven alternative. And you know the Colorado Supreme Court is on shakier ground than the San Andreas Fault when even Jonathan Chiat and the Washington Post editorial board are warning that this ruling stinks like three-day-old halibut.

https://pjmedia.com/stephen-kruiser/2023/12/22/the-morning-briefing-n4924923

Finally, the lawfare against Trump is even giving China an opportunity to bash the US political and judicial systems as rotten and corrupt for attempting to deny Trump’s political rights.

https://www.breitbart.com/asia/2023/12/21/china-gloats-chaotic-trump-colorado-ruling-using-law-political-weapon/

It’s ironic, since in China, the Communist Party routinely persecutes political dissidents and weaponizes the legal system against attorneys that challenge them, so you’d think they’d approve of how Biden is running the government.


Sad to see

I was very saddened to see that New York City’s last great Mayor, Rudy Giuliani, has had to declare bankruptcy in the wake of the outrageous $150 million defamation ruling against him. He’s also facing other debts and further lawfare cases. Details are at the link.

https://nypost.com/2023/12/21/news/rudy-giuliani-files-for-bankruptcy-in-ny/

His attorneys said the bankruptcy filing “will afford Mayor Giuliani the opportunity and time to pursue an appeal under the supervision of the bankruptcy court to ensure all creditors are treated equally and fairly throughout the process.” Let’s hope that it does buy him some time and space until an appeals court overturns this ridiculous verdict.


Our crowded skies

A story went viral on Twitter (X) after a woman complained that illegal aliens with bags right out of the processing center were put onto her Delta Airlines flight from Phoenix to New York City.

https://ace.mu.nu/archives/407549.php

Delta has yet to confirm or deny the story, but it’s raised questions about whether the Biden Administration is paying Delta to fly illegal border crossers to blue cities that are already struggling to deal with the huge influx of them. It would be interesting to learn if Democrats who blasted the Governor of Texas as inhumane for busing illegal immigrants north were arranging for them to fly there instead.

Another aspect of this that shouldn’t be overlooked is that these migrants are given only minimal health screenings. As the Ace of Spades blog asks, is the government hectoring us to get our 13th vaccination booster while cramming people with TB onto airplanes with us? Enquiring minds want to know.


Unconscionable, irresponsible political rhetoric

We talked about this long ago, but a New York Times report from 2022 has resurfaced on social media about how President Biden pressured Attorney General Merrick Garland to prosecute his political opponent, Donald Trump.

https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2023/12/21/joe-biden-pressured-merrick-garland-prosecute-donald-trump-resurfaced-nyt-report-says/

You can tell that the Dems must be panicking over the fact that Biden is pretty much the worst President ever and even their voters are starting to wake up to it. First, they censored and silenced Trump while their friendly media outlets slandered him. Then they started throwing a lot of ridiculous indictments at him to try to put him in prison. Now, they’re trying to block him from the ballot on spurious grounds. And they're now up to the true last refuge of the demagogue: they’re claiming he’s another Hitler, circulating a graphic that takes quotes out of context to try to compare them to things Hitler said. And this isn’t from some irresponsible wacko PAC, but from the actual Biden reelection campaign.

https://redstate.com/bonchie/2023/12/21/biden-campaign-makes-deranged-comparison-between-trump-and-hitler-n2167837

At the link, Bonchie at Redstate.com examines this latest disgusting tactic that doesn’t just slander Trump and his supporters but diminishes the reality of Hitler’s crimes and the suffering of the Jews he victimized. As Bonchie points out, these hysterical attacks are “like claiming that because Hitler drank water, everyone who drinks water is a genocidal maniac bent on world domination. It's dumb, pre-school-level logic.” But then, that’s the kind of logic they’ve got.

You know the Trump Derangement Syndrome has gone terminal when even Mike Godwin, the creator of Godwin’s Law (“The longer a political argument goes on online, the greater the odds one person will compare the other to Hitler”) claims that it doesn’t apply here because Trump really is like Hitler.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/godwins-law-creator-justifies-trump-hitler-comparisons-in-searing-column-the-parallels-seem-inescapable/ar-AA1lQVYy

Sorry, but nobody needed to take Hitler’s quotes wildly out of context to make him seem like Hitler. But this is the kind of unconscionable, irresponsible political rhetoric you get when, as Stephen Kruiser of PJ Media put it, the Democrats are “rolling into an election year with an incumbent president who is less popular than chronic diarrhea.”

And yes, I think it's perfectly justifiable to compare this Administration to chronic diarrhea.


Biden is the best at this:

Well, you can’t say that Joe Biden’s Administration isn’t setting records. After letting about 8 million illegal entrants swarm into the US on the premise that they’ll be released inside our borders with an order to appear for a hearing, the immigration court backlog has now topped three million cases, and the waiting time for a court date is up to nearly a decade.

https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2023/12/21/bidens-border-migrants-given-asylum-hearings-nearly-a-decade-out-as-court-backlog-tops-three-million/

On Thursday, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre claimed that “what we’re seeing on the border is not unusual.” I’d say it’s unusual to have 121,000 apprehensions and 11,000 “got-aways” during the first 15 days of the month, and to have 12,600 apprehensions within 24 hours on Monday, which is a new record. Maybe she just meant it’s not unusual for Biden.

https://www.breitbart.com/immigration/2023/12/22/jean-pierre-joe-bidens-record-breaking-illegal-migration-is-not-unusual/

Let’s just pray none of those people are here to commit crimes or terrorism. Maybe we’ll find out when their hearings roll around in 10 years or so, providing America is still here.


Don’t Remain Silent:

Last month, St. Mary’s College, a Catholic women’s college in Indiana, announced that it would start accepting males who “identify” as female. They claimed they “viewed it as a reflection of our college’s commitment to live our Catholic values as a loving and just community. We believed it affirmed our identity as an inclusive, Catholic, women’s college."

https://townhall.com/tipsheet/leahbarkoukis/2023/12/22/catholic-womens-college-reverses-course-on-allowing-transgenders-n2632738

Well, after one month of getting an earful of what their alumni, donors and students thought of it, they’ve reversed course. The women’s college will now remain open only to women.

The moral: If you want to affirm your identity as a Catholic women’s college, then only accept Catholic women. And if you want to reflect Catholic values, don't let naked men walk around in the girls' locker rooms.


One of those stories nobody seems to be talking about, but should:

Why are foreign entities buying up so much of America’s forest and farm land?

https://justthenews.com/government/federal-agencies/no-editforeign-investors-bought-34-million-acres-us-land-last-year


You can keep it, California

Democrats always like to hold up California as the cutting edge of society, where things happen first, then spread to the east. But as for drinking processed sewage water, why don’t you just keep that in California?

https://townhall.com/tipsheet/leahbarkoukis/2023/12/22/californias-toilet-to-tap-approved-n2632743


Divine Intervention:

Thursday, the Maine Board of Environmental Protection was forced to indefinitely postpone a vote on a California-style mandate forcing residents to buy electric cars after a storm knocked out electricity to a third of the state.

https://www.westernjournal.com/state-forced-cancel-electric-vehicle-mandate-vote-widespread-power-outages/

It’s an excellent reminder to these overreaching, power-mad bureaucrats that in a natural disaster, electric power is the first thing to go out. And if you’re relying on electric vehicles to get the power back on, then you’re going to be dealing with it for a very looooooooooong time.

Related: Hundreds of Buick, Cadillac and Ford dealers are taking buyouts or simply refusing to carry EVs, rather than go along with the Biden Administration’s efforts to force Americans into electric cars.

https://www.westernjournal.com/hundreds-dealerships-accepted-voluntary-buyout-rather-bow-woke-policy-changes/

https://www.businessinsider.com/ford-dealers-dont-want-to-sell-electric-cars-trucks-2023-12?op=1

The dealers don’t want to have to pay up to a million dollars to install chargers and train mechanics to work on EVs that nobody wants to buy. And maybe nobody wants to buy them because stories like this come rolling across my desk every day…

https://news.yahoo.com/tech/tesla-owner-says-got-14-164758526.html


Just for laughs

This sounds like a Babylon Bee story, but since it’s from Not The Bee, I have to assume it’s real. It’s about a video that went viral of a young woman who’d been misled and confused by modern feminist/multi-gender propaganda until she did something she’d normally never do: she went on a date with an old-fashioned masculine male who insisted on paying for everything. She was so shocked that she found him really attractive that she’s suddenly rethinking all that feminist dogma she was indoctrinated with.

https://notthebee.com/article/this-la-girl-went-on-a-date-with-a-masculine-guy-who-took-charge-and-felt-the-feminism-leave-her-body-

Related, Just For Laughs: A brother decided to use Twitter to find husbands for his two sisters. It’s snowballed to over 2.6 million views. I guess there are a lot of guys out there who don’t mind if a woman has “hippie tendencies” or a dog that’s annoying.

https://notthebee.com/article/this-guy-posted-about-finding-his-sisters-husbands-for-christmas-and-theres-been-so-much-interest-theyve-created-a-google-doc-for-applications-


 I JUST WANTED TO SAY: 

Thank you for reading my newsletter. 

For more news, visit my website.


 


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


Subscribe to The Morning Edition (substack.com)


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.

https://www.breitbart.com/entertainment/2023/12/20/hulk-hogan-declares-his-total-surrender-and-dedication-to-jesus-greatest-day-of-my-life/


Good Reads:

Kurt Schlichter on why you should give your kids toy guns for Christmas…

https://townhall.com/columnists/kurtschlichter/2023/12/21/buy-your-kids-toy-guns-this-christmas-n2632640


Bonchie at Redstate.com on why Joe Biden and the Democrats are the real “threat to democracy.”

https://redstate.com/bonchie/2023/12/20/joe-biden-delivers-tyrannical-response-to-trump-being-removed-from-the-ballot-n2167795


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:

https://redstate.com/jeffc/2023/12/18/house-investigation-into-afghanistan-withdrawal-already-exposing-biden-administrations-incompetence-n2167703

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.

https://www.breitbart.com/economy/2023/12/18/u-s-steel-which-helped-americas-arsenal-democracy-defeat-japan-wwii-sold-japanese-company/


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.

https://redstate.com/smoosieq/2023/12/19/appeals-court-denies-mark-meadows-bid-to-remove-ga-election-case-to-federal-court-n2167718

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…

https://thepragmaticconstitutionalist.locals.com/post/3897816/what-i-saw-on-january-6th-in-washington-dc

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://thepragmaticconstitutionalist.locals.com/post/3842175/who-was-up-the-chain-on-january-6

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/columns/opinion/commentary-my-january-6-legal-saga

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/columns/opinion/commentary-my-january-6-legal-saga

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?v=mIcPXkeEr7w&t=47s

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.”

https://www.theblaze.com/columns/opinion/commentary-my-january-6-legal-saga-continued-but-not-concluded

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.”

https://www.theblaze.com/news/blaze-media-investigative-journalist-steve-baker-says-justice-department-will-be-charging-him-for-his-jan-6-reporting


 I JUST WANTED TO SAY: 

Thank you for reading my newsletter. 

For more news, visit my website.


 


BY MIKE HUCKABEE

Blessings on you and your family from all the Huckabee team! 

Mike Huckabee


DAILY BIBLE VERSE


180 to go

We'd like to keep the newsletter going but can't if we don't reach our monthly paid subscriber goal: we have to find 180 paying subscribers by the end of this month to keep the lights on.

As a free subscriber, I hope you will consider upgrading today.

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Get 25% off forever

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


Subscribe to The Morning Edition (substack.com)


News from Israel

I am still in Israel, meeting with officials and the people of Israel to express my support. I just met with PM Netanyahu and plan to leave tonight. Here’s a report on my friend Yael Epstein’s Facebook page from a bomb shelter where we had to take refuge after a rocket attack struck Tel Aviv during our lunch. This is what the Israelis have to deal with every day, as fatuous bureaucrats, activists and celebrities lecture them about not fighting back.

https://www.facebook.com/YaelEckstein/videos/875362111038972/

You’ll find a report on the rockets fired at Tel Aviv at todays’ link to the latest news on the war from Fox News…

https://www.foxnews.com/live-news/december-21-israel-hamas-war

More new developments: Hamas continues to reject Israeli offers of a seven-day ceasefire in exchange for the release of hostages. According to the Wall Street Journal, Gazans are increasingly blaming Hamas for the destruction in Gaza. No word on when that obvious truth will penetrate the skulls of the pro-Hamas idiots blocking traffic and gluing themselves to things all over the West.

The leader of Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi militants who’ve been attacking ships in the Red Sea is blustering that "any American targeting of our country will be targeted by us.” In a televised statement, he declared, "We will not stand idly by if the Americans are tempted to escalate further and commit foolishness by targeting our country or waging war against it." Here’s an interesting thought experiment: try to imagine him saying that if Trump were still President.


Attention, Democrats:

This is why you shouldn’t go around flinging open Pandora’s boxes just because it feels soooooo good to stick it to Trump. Thanks to the Colorado Supreme Court deciding that four out of seven Democrat-appointed judges can deny someone access to office without due process of law, other states are now pondering which candidate, Trump or Biden, has actually done more to violate his presidential oath and render himself unfit for office.

California and Maine are talking about thwarting “our democracy” by banning Trump from the ballot. But to the Lt. Governor of Texas, the one most unfit for office would definitely be the guy who willfully refuses to do his sworn duty of enforcing border security and immigration laws and who has subjected Texas to tremendous harm due to a mass invasion of illegal aliens, drugs and violent criminals. So he’s asking why Joe Biden should be allowed to be on the ballot in Texas. Darn good question.

https://www.westernjournal.com/following-colorado-ruling-texas-lt-gov-suggests-biden-taken-off-states-ballot/

And if anyone answers, “That’s different, Trump is accused of insurrection!,” thanks to the Colorado Supreme Court, all red state leaders have to do is say, “Fine, then I accuse Joe Biden of insurrection.”

This is why the morons celebrating that Colorado ruling had better start hoping the Supreme Court squashes it fast and slams the lid shut on their latest Pandora’s box.

Related: The Democratic Lt. Governor of California is already calling for banning Trump from the California ballot (as if he’d have any chance of winning there anyway; by the time next November rolls around, California might be entirely populated by homeless people, criminals, illegal aliens and Stockholm Syndrome sufferers.)

https://www.westernjournal.com/total-fail-lt-gov-calls-trumps-removal-california-ballot-gets-presidential-age-requirement-wrong/

Bonus points to her for calling for this in a way that conveyed more shocking ignorance of the Constitutional requirements for the presidency than even I expected of her.

It’s politicians like her who make it hard for the Babylon Bee to think up satirical news stories that are goofier than reality. But to their credit, they still manage to do it!

https://babylonbee.com/news/colorado-saves-democracy-by-not-allowing-people-to-vote-for-preferred-candidate

https://babylonbee.com/news/trump-cant-like-run-in-the-election-man-says-colorado-judge-munching-on-funyuns-enveloped-in-cloud-of-smoke

https://babylonbee.com/news/colorado-supreme-court-demands-jack-phillips-bake-cake-to-celebrate-trump-ruling

And this is about an entirely different subject, but still a must-see.

https://babylonbee.com/news/new-minnesota-flag-just-a-muslim-star-with-the-words-from-the-river-to-the-sea-dontcha-know


The standard for wrongdoing just keeps moving

It’s been very instructive to watch how Democrats keep moving the goalposts in opposite directions for themselves and their opponents. When it comes to Trump and the Republicans, an unsupported accusation of insurrection is enough to trigger the 14th Amendment, with no pesky indictments, trials or convictions even needed.

On the other hand, as mountains of evidence of Biden family corruption pile up, the standard for wrongdoing just keeps moving. It’s gone from “Joe never discussed Hunter’s business” to “Joe never benefited from Hunter’s business” to “Joe never benefited financially from Hunter’s business.” Next it will be, “You don’t have photos of Hunter handing Joe a bag of Chinese cash with a big dollar sign on it.”

John Hinderaker at the Powerline blog has had enough of this ever-shifting standard, so here, he quotes 18 U.S. Code § 201 to remind us that “Joe Biden needn’t have benefited personally to be guilty of bribery under federal law… It is bribery if a public official (Joe Biden) is influenced in the performance of any official act by a payment to ‘any other person or entity,’” and that includes his relatives.

https://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/2023/12/stop-moving-the-goalposts.php

Anyone who still wants to argue that none of this applies to Joe Biden should check out Dick Morris’ new book “Corrupt.” Here’s my interview with him from last week’s “Huckabee” (he says he considered calling it “Treason.”) He’s also offering a regularly updated e-book edition because a print edition can’t keep up with all the new corruption that’s constantly being revealed.

https://www.huckabee.tv/guests/dick-morris


History Repeats Itself:

A reminder that the last time the Democrats removed a Republican from the presidential ballot in Democrat-run states, it was in Confederate states to prevent Abe Lincoln from getting elected and freeing their slaves. It didn’t work then, either.

https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2023/12/last-time-democrats-took-gop-candidate-ballot-was/


Interesting:

In a “friend of the court” brief on Wednesday, former Attorney General Ed Meese and other constitutional scholars argued to the Supreme Court that Jack Smith’s appointment as Trump-targeting special counsel was unconstitutional. They say it violates the “Appointments clause” of the Constitution, which requires that his office be created by Congress.

Instead, Smith was improperly appointed to an office that doesn’t exist by Attorney General Merrick Garland, using powers he does not have. As such, his cases against Trump should be thrown out because he doesn’t have the authority to represent the United States. This will be a good test as to whether the Supreme Court cares anymore about the separation of powers and what the Constitution actually says. More details at the link.

https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2023/12/20/jack-smiths-special-counsel-appointment-is-unconstitutional-former-attorney-general-tells-supreme-court/


An Initiative worth supporting

When discussing a story related to law or the Constitution, I’ll sometimes link to Cornell law professor William Jacobson’s excellent site, Legal Insurrection. If you have kids who plan to attend business school, you’ll want to know about his foundation’s latest project. It’s a database that details the CRT (Critical Race Theory) and ESG (Environmental, Social, Governance) initiatives at America’s top 10 business schools.

https://www.thecollegefix.com/top-business-schools-push-crt-and-other-progressive-ideas-report-finds/

Figuring that kids already get enough of that one-sided leftist garbage in their schooling, Jacobson feels there’s no point in getting more of it from business schools. He told the College Fix, “CRT and ESG are failed ideologies which politicize and racialize education. While the study of such subjects should not be banned, there is no reason to put university resources behind promoting those topics. Almost any university purpose would be a better allocation of resources.”

Of course, the reason the left targets business schools for this brainwashing is because they want students to carry the infection to their future workplaces. And there’s no question it’s working: look at “woke Disney,” whose stock price has plummeted to less than half of what it was just a few years ago as their "woke" propaganda alienates their customer base. They’re now facing a potential stockholder revolt.

It’s bad enough that this poison is in liberal arts and law schools, but it really needs to be rooted out of business schools, and Heaven help us, medical schools. If there’s anyone you don’t want fixated on nothing but the surface color of your skin, it’s your surgeon.

Related: Here’s a great example of someone who probably got indoctrinated into leftist politics in journalism school. Fortunately. Sen. J.D. Vance was kind enough to give her a free schooling on how to do her job correctly.

https://www.westernjournal.com/gop-sen-vance-destroys-dishonest-reporter-tries-liken-trump-hitler/


The Miracle of Bidenomics:

According to a survey by LendingClub, 62% of American adults were living paycheck-to-paycheck in December, up from 58% in March.

https://www.breitbart.com/economy/2023/12/19/bidenomics-62-of-americans-living-paycheck-to-paycheck-during-holiday-season/

That might explain why Walmart is introducing a new feature at its self-service checkouts. It’s the option to “buy now, pay later” in installment payments over three to 24 months on basic items other than groceries.

https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/self-checkout-kiosks-4500-walmarts-now-offer-buy-now-pay-later-loans-basic-items

You know people are hurting financially when they have to finance basic purchases at Walmart. My question is, how much longer before they’re doing it with groceries, too, and people are still trying to pay off a corn dog they ate two years ago?


Distasteful

I find stories like this distasteful and wish I didn’t have to report on them, but ever since Biden “brought decency back,” there’s been a torrent of them. So just to let you know: it was revealed that there was an accusation of another Capitol sex tape, this one involving a staffer of a House Republican. But it was from a while back, the staffer denied it and has since left for another job, and an investigation turned up no evidence. Unless he’s Trump, an accusation with no evidence should be meaningless.

https://www.westernjournal.com/second-capitol-sex-tape-scandal-revealed-report/

Anyway, now you know, and I’m going to move on to a topic I hope will be a little less salacious: children’s cartoons. How could that possibly be sexually suggestive?...


A sad critique

The latest blowup to hit the pop culture front involves Netflix’s popular cartoon show for preschool children, “CoComelon Lane.” The controversial scene involves a small boy putting on a tutu and tiara and dancing for his two gay dads. One of the dads encourages the cross-dressing by singing, “If you’re not sure what to choose, think about all the things you like to do. Just be you.”

https://www.breitbart.com/entertainment/2023/12/21/netflix-faces-backlash-over-cocomelon-lane-episode-with-crossdressing-boy-dancing-for-his-dads-theyre-just-evil/

Criticism of it online has been swift and harsh. But at least it’s not as shocking as the Daily Wire’s cartoon show “Chip Chilla.” That triggered a New York Times pop culture critic who accused it of promoting “the fantasy of the fun dad.” She sniped that it shows a “weirdly present” father having fun with his kids, homeschooling them, and teaching them about Moby Dick, the Roman Empire and “dead white males” like George Washington and Neil Armstrong.

https://www.newsbusters.org/blogs/culture/stephanie-hamill/2023/12/20/nyt-critic-takes-aim-kids-shows-bluey-and-chip-chilla

I guess she found it impossible to believe that a father could care about his kids, be present in their lives, and have fun teaching them about things that are actually worth knowing. I don’t want to criticize her too much because I think maybe she doesn’t realize that she’s unintentionally revealing something very sad about her own upbringing. Maybe this is how someone ends up being a pop culture critic at the New York Times.


Trump removal from ballot in Colorado just shows us what we’re dealing with

President Biden is apparently just fine with the Colorado Supreme Court’s appallingly un-democratic and unconstitutional 4-3 decision to kick President Trump off the ballot for ‘24 and not even to allow the counting of write-in votes for him.  Why, after all, Trump is an insurrectionist, pure and simple, no doubt about it.  That’s the World According to Biden.

It was harder even than usual to make out the exact verbiage of his garbled speech at the airport in Milwaukee, but in answering a reporter’s question, he said that Trump’s insurrection was “self-evident,” “you saw it all,” and we should “let the court make that decision” about whether the 14th Amendment applies.  Trump “certainly supported an insurrection,” Biden said with a slight smile.  “No question about it.  None, zero.  And, uh, he seems to be doubling down…”

Never mind that Biden is using his presidential podium to flap his gums about an ongoing case involving his political opponent.  (At the risk of sounding like deranged climate activist Greta Thunberg, “How dare you???”)  This would’ve been our follow-up question:  Mr. President, if Trump as you say is an insurrectionist beyond any doubt --- which takes his case beyond even the “reasonable doubt” standard in a criminal trial to find someone guilty of a crime -- why hasn’t the special counsel charged him with that?

And if Biden would like to see Trump taken off the ballot in this way, before he’s been convicted or even charged with insurrection, he’d better be careful what he wishes for.  If someone’s going to be disqualified to run for office for allegedly doing something he hasn’t even been charged with, we could much more easily make the case that Biden himself is unfit.  Let’s see, would he like to hear the argument that he and his family are guilty of accepting bribes from America’s adversaries, or the one that he is cognitively unable to do his job?  Either of these accusations is incredibly serious and both are 100 percent “self-evident” to us.

This move in Colorado did open a “Pandora’s Box,” just as Trump said it would.  Since the definition of “insurrection” used in this case is so expansive and their decision has no “limiting principle,” Republicans are already talking about taking Biden off the ballot, in Colorado and other states, over his failure to secure the border against an invasion, which could be seen as supporting an insurrection.  (Biden’s utter failure at the border is another easy case to make.)  “Challenge this nonsense,” said former Trump attorney Jenna Ellis.

https://www.newsmax.com/newsfront/republicans-joe-biden-colorado-supreme-court/2023/12/20/id

As for Trump, he made the point on Tuesday in Waterloo, Iowa, that he’s made throughout all of this lawfare: “They want to silence me because I will never let them silence you, and in the end, they’re not after me; they’re after you.  I just happen to be standing in their way.”

It was difficult to watch the many TV pundits justifying and even praising this “historic ruling,” as we could feel our own treasured brain cells screaming in protest.  So we’ll spare you; don’t look for those links here.  (And don’t watch THE VIEW.)  We’ll link to them when they correct themselves after the Supreme Court reverses this ruling.

Oh, wait, who are we kidding?  They’ll never correct themselves!  They’ll just express disgust with “Trump’s conservative Supreme Court” and redouble their efforts to “pack” it.  (And, yes, they’ll do this even if it’s a 9-0 decision.)

Attorney Emily Compagno, appearing on THE FIVE Wednesday afternoon, had some great thoughts, finishing with the point that “at the end of the day, all you are doing is having partisan state election boards and activist judges take away the power from the people.  Let the people decide.  All this is going to do is make everyone mad and remind everyone why activist judges hold no place in our democracy.  And for some reason, they are continuing to flourish under this administration.”

See the group’s full comments here.  (Sorry, the lead-in has a few brief clips of some of those Trump-hating TV pundits.)

https://www.foxnews.com/video/6343623879112

Well, we all know the reason activist judges are flourishing now.  This administration thinks that taking power away from the voters is the only way they can win.  And winning is everything; it doesn’t matter how they damage the legal system as long as they control it.  But the harder they try, the more obvious and disturbing their tactics are to voters.  Trump just comes back stronger.

Alan Dershowitz could hardly believe his eyes.  “In the 60 years I’ve been practicing and teaching law, I’ve never seen a decision that’s so anti-democratic and unconstitutional, it’s absurd,” he said on NEWSMAX Wednesday.  The idea that the 14th Amendment was supposed to substitute for the impeachment provision, carefully crafted by the framers, is wrong.”

Dershowitz said the 14th Amendment clearly designates Congress as having the power to determine if someone can’t run for office. "If you want to impeach a president, if you want to make him not be able to run in the future, there's a provision. It requires a two-thirds vote of the Senate," he said. "But the idea that the framers of the 14th Amendment intended to circumvent that carefully drawn provision and simply allow any state to make up grounds for denying him the right to be on the ballot undercuts democracy."

“This is an extreme, extreme stretch,” he said.  “...Even the text of the Constitution doesn't make it applicable to the President. But the amendment itself was designed simply to prevent people who fought in the Civil War from running for certain offices."

https://www.newsmax.com/newsmax-tv/alan-dershowitz-colorado-supreme-court/2023/12/20/id

The scariest thing about this is not that it might be upheld, as it almost certainly will not, but that some people have gone so crazy that they’re actually trying it.  When this doesn’t work, they’re going to get even crazier.  We have a situation in which some people (including in the media) have been so brainwashed, they truly believe Trump is the reincarnation of Hitler, the destroyer of democracy (when THEY’RE the ones destroying democracy).  One thing we can do about this is speak out and just tell them when they’re being absurd, as Ohio Sen. J. D. Vance did on Tuesday.  This was epic...

https://www.theblaze.com/news/jd-vance-reporter-trump-immigration?utm_source=theblaze-breaking

Jonathan Turley was back on FOX NEWS yesterday, reiterating his initial opinion that the Colorado justices weren’t just in “uncharted territory,” as they had put it, but “had sailed off the Constitutional map.”  He pointed out that three of the seven appointed justices --- ALL of them Democrats; how does this happen in a state with almost a million registered Republicans? --- wrote scathing dissents.

“I think that reaction is going to be shared by many on the Supreme Court,” he said on “Special Report,” adding that this will be a “critical challenge” for Chief Justice John Roberts.  The task of a chief justice, Turley explained, is to try for agreement; the goal is a unanimous decision.  “That would go a long way for this country,” he said, “if these justices could show that as divided as we are sometimes, that we’re still joined by a sort of common covenant of faith, as a democratic, free nation.  And what Colorado did was wrong --- it was wrong legally, but it was wrong in terms of our values.”

Did I hear that right?  Values?  Freedom?  A common covenant of faith?  Well, if three Democrat judges in Colorado could offer opinions in support of that, there’s hope that even the three most liberal U.S. Supreme Court justices will.  Maybe this time, the far-left crazies got the lighted match just a little too close to the Constitution.

IMPORTANT READING:  By the way, did you know how and by whom that Colorado lawsuit originated?  As reported by the DAILY CALLER, the legal organization behind it “has a direct link to the Biden administration.”

According to the Department of Homeland Security website, Noah Bookbinder, president and CEO of the organization Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (try not to laugh), or CREW, is also a member of the DHS Advisory Council, “tasked with giving real-time advice to DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas.”  Bookbinder also is a former trial attorney for the “Justice” Department’s public integrity section (again, try not to laugh).  More details here…

https://dailycaller.com/2023/12/20/joe-biden-dhs-trump-removed-colorado-ballot

It was CREW that brought the lawsuit to have Trump removed from the ballot in Colorado.  Here’s their website; have a look around and see that (sarcasm alert) there’s nothing political about this crew at all…

https://www.citizensforethics.org

AND ONE MORE POINT:  As longtime readers know, we’ve always said that the January 6 riot played into the Democrats’ strategy so well that if it hadn’t happened, they would’ve had to MAKE it happen.  Gradually, evidence --- not “conspiracy theory” -- has been emerging --- that they indeed “helped” a lot, particularly with their deliberate lack of security that day.  And now, this Colorado decision shows us why even their insistence on the inappropriate word “insurrection” at that time was deliberate.  The seeds were planted then.  Laura Ingraham mentioned this last night in an outstanding opening segment…

https://www.foxnews.com/video/6343627261112


 I JUST WANTED TO SAY: 

Thank you for reading my newsletter. 

For more news, visit my website.


 


BY MIKE HUCKABEE

Blessings on you and your family from all the Huckabee team! 

Mike Huckabee


DAILY BIBLE VERSE


 


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News from Israel

Here’s today’s link to continually-updated news on the war on Hamas in Israel (Note: I am currently in Israel to show my support and to visit with Israeli officials and victims of the October 7th attack.)

https://www.foxnews.com/live-news/december-20-israel-hamas-war

Today’s biggest news: While Israel is facing condemnation around the world for “targeting hospitals” in Gaza, the IDF released a shocking interrogation video of the head of a Gaza hospital admitting that it was used as a “safe place” for Hamas terrorists.

Kamal Adwan Hospital director Ahmad Kahlot is shown admitting that the hospital was used to hide up to 100 senior military and civilian Hamas officials at a time for up to 10 days because they knew they wouldn’t be targeted by Israel while they were in the hospital. He went on to say that he knew of 16 hospital staff members, including doctors, nurses and paramedics, who were also members of Hamas’ military wing.

Will this thermonuclear truth bomb have any effect on the dimwitted protesters accusing Israel of genocide because it’s searching hospitals for Hamas terrorists? If you believe that, you might need a mental hospital.

Israel’s representative to the UN Gilad Erdan reported that UN Secretary-General António Guterres (who has made a lot of accusatory statements about Israel) “finally” watched the graphic footage of the October 7th attack by Hamas. Erdon tweeted, "After he watched it, the Secretary-General himself said that it was humanity at its worst. Now we will see if his public statements change and if he truly understands Israel’s mission to eradicate this evil from the face of the earth and bring home the hostages."

I certainly hope so, although I still question why the leader of the UN criticized Israel for two months before he ever even watched the video of what started it.


The Epstein list

No matter how cold Christmas is this year, some powerful people are going to be sweating through it. A Republican-nominated federal judge ordered that the list of more than 170 people associated with the late sex criminal and accused sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein be made public.

https://www.westernjournal.com/republican-nominated-judge-drops-massive-epstein-ruling-170-names-must-unsealed/

These names have been under seal since 2019, with journalists trying hard to obtain them because the list is rumored to include some prominent names in government and business who were Epstein’s powerful friends. The sealed list has become a symbol of how the system protects the powerful. It will be made public 14 days from Monday’s ruling, barring appeals, of which I’m sure there will be many, also with the identities of the people behind them carefully hidden.

Like the continually-renewed classified status of JFK assassination documents that are now 60 years old, I can’t help wondering what there is about this list that’s so vital to national security that it must be kept hidden from the public until the end of time.


A conflict of interest revealed

Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson is facing ethics violation accusations for allegedly failing to disclose income her husband received from medical malpractice consulting, which could have impacted her need to recuse herself from certain cases.

https://www.westernjournal.com/ethics-complaint-filed-supreme-court-justice-ketanji-brown-jackson-two-potential-violations/

When Democrats started targeting conservative SCOTUS Justices for ethics accusations to take them off of cases, they never imagined that they would be held to the same strict standards they applied to others. This is one of many examples of how having the ability to engage in longterm thinking helps.


“This is the most election of our lifetime…”

With Joe Biden’s approval rating reaching Jack The Ripper levels and even Democrats suspecting that he’s better equipped to sit in a rocking chair than the Oval Office, his one insurance policy against being replaced is that waiting in the wings to replace him is Vice President and Czar-Of-All-Self-Created-Problems Kamala Harris. The Democrats don’t want her, either, but replacing her would mean jettisoning a black woman and angering two of their biggest identity groups.

So to remind everyone that it could (maybe) be worse if Biden doesn’t run, they sent Kamala out for a media appearance. She did not disappoint, from backstabbing Israel to dishing up a buffet of word salad worthy of Golden Corral:

https://redstate.com/nick-arama/2023/12/20/kamala-descends-into-a-festival-of-word-salads-throws-israel-under-the-bus-n2167761

Remember, in the words of Vice President Harris, “This is the most election of our lifetime,” and we “need to focus on what is happening now toward what is possible and should be possible the day after as we call it.”

Oh yes, there’s more. Take an Excedrin, then click the link above.


Our shrinking US military

There have been a lot of headlines recently about the US military’s recruitment crisis. With Biden’s weakness and incompetence upping the threat of military aggression around the world, the Pentagon is having trouble convincing young people to join. Our military is about to reach its lowest levels in 80 years. They’ve even started running recruitment ads that have a throwback, patriotic, “Top Gun” vibe designed to appeal to the sort of MAGA Americans that they’ve spent the past few years vilifying and trying to drive out of the military.

As always with the left, they have endless bogus excuses but will never admit the real problem: the effort that started with Obama and has continued under Biden to turn the US military from a patriotic, lethal fighting force into a woke social experiment has turned off young people from families with a tradition of military service, and those are the ones most needed and formerly most likely to join up. They’re actively working to destroy the military’s proud tradition of colorblind meritocracy and replace it with DEI, reverse racism and appeals to fringe identity groups, like offering taxpayer-paid transgender surgery. And their incompetent desk-jockey leaders seem to treat the troops as cannon fodder for whatever foreign misadventure they want to pursue.

Milt Harris at PJ Media has a must-read article on this subject that quotes some military veterans who tell them exactly what the problem is. Whether the top leaders will listen is an open question.

https://pjmedia.com/miltharris/2023/12/18/woke-ways-shrink-us-military-to-smallest-fighting-force-in-8-decades-n4924846

Personally, I would start by requiring that all Pentagon leaders have combat experience. I’d then bust most of the current leaders back to privates and put them in charge of peeling potatoes to give them the chance to master at least one military-related skill.


Hypocrite

When “Squad”-associated “progressive” Democrat Rep. Greg Cesar was on the Austin, Texas, city council, he spearheaded the “defund the police” movement. He celebrated slashing the police budget by $100 million, which was (surprise!) followed by a huge crime wave. He also accused the Austin police of being a racist institution that targeted black and brown people, a charge he repeated just last week.

So imagine the cops' surprise when Cesar put in a request for enhanced police patrols around his own home last week for unknown reasons.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/progressive-dem-who-defunded-austin-police-ripped-for-requesting-police-patrols-at-home-height-of-hypocrisy/ar-AA1lMx20

While the police say they protect everyone regardless of politics, Cesar is being deservedly blasted as a fraud and a hypocrite. Critics say he should pay for private security instead of denying police protection to others while requesting it for himself.

The president of the Austin Police Retired Officers Association told Fox News that their issue is “the whole, 'We hate the cops, we hate the cops, we hate the cops. Oh, please, come help us now'...He is the architect of defund the cops in Austin. He started this whole mess."

Say, maybe that’s why he thinks he needs enhanced protection!


Bye-bye reparations

The great thing about leftist policies is how well they work out…in Fantasyland. Put them into effect anywhere else, and they’re complete disasters.

Latest example: San Francisco, which thanks to decades of leftist rule has nearly apocalyptic problems to deal with, created an African American Reparations Advisory Committee. The members’ “job” was to figure out how much they thought the city owed every black person for slavery, which California never had. It must’ve been fun, sitting around on the taxpayers’ dime, dreaming up that simply by virtue of their skin color, every black person deserved a $5 million lump sum payment, all their debts erased, $97,000 a year for 250 years, and a house for $1. The cost of the $5 million payments alone was estimated at $175 billion, more than the annual budgets of 47 of the 50 states. Still, they claimed this wasn’t nearly enough.

https://www.westernjournal.com/san-francisco-reparations-office-brutal-encounter-reality-entire-department-defunded/

Sadly, as always, reality eventually intruded. The committee requested a $50 million budget, reduced that to $10 million, and finally got $2 million. Now, due to cuts forced by a budget deficit caused by years of profligate spending and incompetent leftist leadership, the Reparations Committee has been eliminated. That’s right: San Francisco can’t even afford the Reparations Committee, much less the reparations!

Don’t worry, though: California’s leftist state government also thinks there should be lavish payouts for slavery reparations…oh, wait: never mind:

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/newsom-enacts-spending-freeze-to-tackle-california-s-68-billion-budget-deficit/ar-AA1lw5qY

I hope this will serve as what Obama called a “teachable moment” about voting for politicians who promise lots of free stuff when that promise is in exchange for putting people in power who can’t even balance their own checkbooks.


Horrific

A prominent LGBT activist who “identifies” as a woman, and whom the Governor of Pennsylvania sought out to endorse and campaign for him, has been charged with a litany of horrific crimes against two boys under 13, including rape.

https://www.westernjournal.com/prominent-transgender-lgbt-activist-charged-horrifying-crimes-children/

RELATED: Breitbart lists the Top Nine Degenerate Democrat Scandals under Joe Biden, the President who was going to “bring back decency.” Kudos to Breitbart for whittling it down to only nine.

https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2023/12/18/adults-charge-top-nine-degenerate-democrat-scandals-under-joe-biden/


Remember Celine in your prayers

The many fans of the great singer Celine Dion will want to remember her in their prayers after reading this update from her sister about her battle with a very rare neurological disorder that’s forced her to stop performing.

https://www.westernjournal.com/celine-dions-sister-gives-sad-update-singers-condition-doesnt-control-muscles/


A Message for John

My friend, musician and “Dukes of Hazzard” star John Schneider, talked to Fox News about how hard it will be facing his first Christmas without his wife Alicia, whom he lost this year to breast cancer.

https://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/the-dukes-of-hazzard-star-john-schneider-first-christmas-since-death-wife

I just wanted to share this with you, and send a message to John that those of us who know him personally and the millions who love him for the years of great entertainment he’s given us are all thinking of him and praying for him and his family to feel the joy of the Christmas season the way I'm sure Alicia would have wanted them to.


Turley: Colorado court decision to take Trump off ballot is “DEAD WRONG.”

Melissa Hart.  Monica M. Marquez.  Richard L. Gabriel.  William W. Hood III.

These four unelected Colorado Supreme Court justices, in a 4-3 ruling, are guilty of one of the most preposterous cases of judicial overreach in the history of “our democracy.”  Until this travesty can be reversed on appeal before the United States Supreme Court, our Republic is LESS democratic because of them.  Democratic principles and the Constitution founded on them have been tossed out the window.

They ruled that Trump is ineligible to be on the Colorado ballot for President under Section 3 of the 14th Amendment, which disqualifies sworn officials who “engaged in insurrection.” This is the dream of Trump-haters who were willing to do anything, sacrifice any principle, to strike him from the ballot and nullify the choice of Americans who support him.

Oh, and if you think those voters can just write in his name, you’re in for a shock.  They thought of that, ruling that “the Secretary [of State] may not list President Trump’s name on the 2024 Presidential primary ballot, nor may she count any write-in votes cast for him.”

If anyone is a threat to democracy and unfit for public office, it’s these judges whose brains have been so eaten away by the TDS virus that they can’t be trusted to honor the Constitution and uphold the most basic rights.

https://dailycaller.com/2023/12/19/donald-trump-disqualified-colorado-ballot-supreme-court/

This is election interference right out in the open.  To accomplish this, they had to contort history and the law so much that these can hardly be recognized any longer.

Let’s look at history.  As you probably know, the 14th Amendment was ratified soon after the Civil War, in 1868, for the purpose of disqualifying members of the Confederacy from holding U.S. office.  The people who wrote it had just just been through a REAL insurrection that killed hundreds of thousands of people.  I wonder if those Colorado judges have the slightest idea what that was, or if they even care.  They were just grasping at whatever they could use.

Now, as to Trump himself engaging in “insurrection.”  The barracuda currently masquerading as Trump’s special counsel would eagerly have prosecuted him for that if he thought for a minute he’d be able to make that stick, but he didn’t.  Trump not only hasn’t been convicted of insurrection, he hasn’t even been charged with it, not by the most Trump-deranged prosecutor on the planet.

Dissenting Colorado Chief Justice Brian Boatright recognized this, arguing that Colorado’s election law “was not enacted to decide whether a candidate engaged in insurrection.  In the absence of an insurrection-related conviction, I would hold that a request to disqualify a candidate under Section Three of the Fourteenth Amendment is not a proper cause of action under Colorado’s election code.”

Another dissenter, Justice Carlos Samour, said in a lengthy opinion that this suit is not a “fair mechanism” for determining Trump’s eligibility for the ballot because it deprives him of his right to due process, as he has not been convicted.  “Even if we are convinced that a candidate committed horrible acts in the past --- dare I say, engaged in insurrection --- there must be procedural due process before we can declare that individual disqualified from holding public office,” he wrote.

Hard to believe we’re linking to NEWSWEEK on this, but they actually have good coverage on what the dissenters (all Democrats, incidentally) said.

https://www.newsweek.com/colorado-supreme-court-justices-defend-trump-there-was-no-fair-trial

In Colorado alone, there are 3.8 million voters, including close to a million registered Republicans (that ratio, by the way, gives you a clue as to what’s wrong with their Supreme Court.) And this outrage is going on all over the country.  As Kayleigh McEnany pointed out on FOX NEWS last night, there have been 31 cases seeking Trump’s’ removal from the ballot.  More than a dozen cases remain pending, some in “red” states such as Texas and South Carolina.  (One was dismissed in Florida.  Thank you, Florida.)

Well, so much for the will of the people.  In McEnany’s words, “If you can’t beat them, disqualify them.”

Former acting Attorney General Matt Whitaker made a great point: “This was a close call for them.  It was a 4-3 decision.  And when you take someone off the ballot and disqualify a candidate, it should be with unbelievable evidence…”  The facts are “very thin” here, he said, based on the findings of the ultra-partisan January 6 committee “from Nancy Pelosi, Adam Schiff and others.”  Trump, he noted, told his supporters to go “peacefully and patriotically” to the Capitol building to make their voices heard.

“This court just ignores anything that is evidence that helps President Trump.”  He pointed out that other state Supreme Courts have looked at this issue and “nobody’s been willing to go out as far” as this one.  It’s a completely partisan attempt that the left is celebrating right now.

Of course, the U.S. Supreme Court will have the final say.  Colorado only has till January 5 (!) to have this settled, so law professor Jonathan Turley says it’ll be put on the “rocket docket.”  The U.S. Supreme Court absolutely must get involved, he says, because the Colorado Supreme Court is “dead wrong.”  To get to their opinion on this, the Colorado court had to have a “sweeping interpretation on every single issue in order to get where they wanted to go” --- except on one particular issue, that of free speech.  “Then they adopt a narrow interpretation.  They suggest that Trump DOESN’T have free speech protection.”  They even hearken back to speeches Trump made in 2016!

This opinion truly is a product of Trump-deranged minds.  As Turley says, “The factual and legal basis of this opinion is really so porous that the Supreme Court will make fast work of it.” And they'll get their chance quickly: Trump wrote to his followers, "The Colorado Supreme Court issued a completely flawed decision tonight and we will swiftly file an appeal to the United States Supreme Court and a concurrent request for a stay of this deeply undemocratic decision. We have full confidence that the U.S. Supreme Court will quickly rule in our favor and finally put an end to these un-American lawsuits.”

https://www.realclearpolitics.com/video/2023/12/19/turley_colorado_had_to_have_a_sweeping_interpretation_on_every_single_issue_to_get_to_their_opinion_on_trump

“The path that this court has put us on could not be more dangerous,” according to Turley.  “...You know this country needs some healing. And what the Colorado Supreme Court did is they basically took a blow at democracy in the name of democracy...We never needed the democratic process more. We need voters to be able to make a decision. Because at some point we have to come back together.”

If this sort of thing were ever to be allowed to stand, we would no longer be recognizable as America.  As Turley has written, “Such ballot-cleansing is common in countries like Iran, where citizens await to learn which opposition candidates will be allowed to run.”  That’s why, we would add, this abomination has to be a shocking wake-up call for American voters, as it reveals just how far the left is willing to push the boundaries.  They HAVE no boundaries.  They say they care about “democracy”?  Give me a break.

Here’s what Turley wrote about the lower-court judge’s opinion in November, before the case went to the State Supreme Court.  Judge Sarah Wallace was right, he said, in rejecting the 14th Amendment argument but very wrong in her analysis when she said Trump’s speech was inciteful and unprotected.

https://jonathanturley.org/2023/11/18/colorado-judge-rejects-14th-amendment-disqualification-effort-to-bar-trump-from-ballot/comment-page-3/

As for legal analyst Gregg Jarrett, he had no problem calling this election rigging.  Again, an “insurrection” means taking up arms against the United States, as the South did during the Civil War.  “To remove Donald Trump from the ballot for an offense that he hasn’t even been tried or convicted of --- what is that?  It’s violating his right to due process, which happens to be guaranteed by [that] very amendment, the 14th, and elsewhere in the Constitution.”

Importantly, Jarrett also pointed out that the language in the amendment doesn’t even apply to the office of President.  Colorado officials have “brazenly manipulated the clause for purely political reasons, another example of election interference by Trump opponents.  This is an effort --- make no mistake --- to deprive Americana voters of THEIR right to make the decision as to who should be President.  It is ANTI-democratic.  It’s the equivalent of rigging the ballot box.”  Jarrett sees it as inflaming voters and further boosting Trump’s support (as it should).

 

RELATED:  Republican presidential primary candidate Vivek Ramaswamy has said he’s removing his name from the Colorado ballot, on the principle that Republicans --- not the courts --- should be able to pick their own nominee.  He’s calling on the other GOP candidates to remove their names as well.  He sees failure to do so as “tacitly endorsing this illegal maneuver which will have disastrous consequences for our country.”  Good for him!

https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/campaigns/vivek-ramaswamy-withdraw-colorado-primary-trump-ballot

 

Here, Vivek is included in a round-up of explosive social media reaction…

https://dailycallernewsfoundation.org/2023/12/19/outrageous-form-of-lawfare-social-media-explodes-after-colorado-supreme-court-tosses-trump-off-ballot/

Ron DeSantis and even Trump’s staunchest Republican critic Chris Christie also slammed the decision, as did Robert Kennedy Jr., who tweeted, “Let the voters choose, not the courts!”

This outrageous ruling not only is a body blow to the rule of law and our democratic process, it also has done serious damage to America’s international standing, giving other nation’s the perfect response when we criticize their rigged elections. El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele warned that "The United States has lost its ability to lecture any other country about ‘democracy.’”

 

COMPARE AND CONTRAST:  This isn’t the only courtroom travesty going on.  The six alternate Trump electors from 2020 in Nevada were indicted earlier this month.

https://dailycaller.com/2023/12/06/nevada-jury-indicts-six-republican-alternate-electors-trump-won-2020-election/

And here’s some potentially good news for several January 6 defendants, including Trump.  Watch this 7-1/2-minute video and see how the Supreme Court is getting involved...

https://www.theepochtimes.com/epochtv/supreme-court-drops-jan-6-surprise-after-2-years-3-appeals-get-accepted-facts-matter

For when you have time, here’s Julie Kelly with more on that…

https://www.declassified.live/p/a-red-flag-is-scotus-poised-to-overturn?

 

FINAL WORD:  We’ll give that to President Trump, who posted on Truth Social: “‘Justice’ weaponization is a very dirty game to play, and it can have repercussions far greater than anything that Biden or his Thugs could understand. They ought to withdraw all of their Fake, Political Indictments against their Republican Opponent, me, immediately. This is a Pandora’s box, that works two ways, and it should be closed and tightly sealed RIGHT NOW.”

 


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Melissa Hart.  Monica M. Marquez.  Richard L. Gabriel.  William W. Hood III.

These four unelected Colorado Supreme Court justices, in a 4-3 ruling, are guilty of one of the most preposterous cases of judicial overreach in the history of “our democracy.”  Until this travesty can be reversed on appeal before the United States Supreme Court, our Republic is LESS democratic because of them.  Democratic principles and the Constitution founded on them have been tossed out the window.

They ruled that Trump is ineligible to be on the Colorado ballot for President under Section 3 of the 14th Amendment, which disqualifies sworn officials who “engaged in insurrection.” This is the dream of Trump-haters who were willing to do anything, sacrifice any principle, to strike him from the ballot and nullify the choice of Americans who support him.

Oh, and if you think those voters can just write in his name, you’re in for a shock.  They thought of that, ruling that “the Secretary [of State] may not list President Trump’s name on the 2024 Presidential primary ballot, nor may she count any write-in votes cast for him.”

If anyone is a threat to democracy and unfit for public office, it’s these judges whose brains have been so eaten away by the TDS virus that they can’t be trusted to honor the Constitution and uphold the most basic rights.

https://dailycaller.com/2023/12/19/donald-trump-disqualified-colorado-ballot-supreme-court/

This is election interference right out in the open.  To accomplish this, they had to contort history and the law so much that these can hardly be recognized any longer.

Let’s look at history.  As you probably know, the 14th Amendment was ratified soon after the Civil War, in 1868, for the purpose of disqualifying members of the Confederacy from holding U.S. office.  The people who wrote it had just just been through a REAL insurrection that killed hundreds of thousands of people.  I wonder if those Colorado judges have the slightest idea what that was, or if they even care.  They were just grasping at whatever they could use.

Now, as to Trump himself engaging in “insurrection.”  The barracuda currently masquerading as Trump’s special counsel would eagerly have prosecuted him for that if he thought for a minute he’d be able to make that stick, but he didn’t.  Trump not only hasn’t been convicted of insurrection, he hasn’t even been charged with it, not by the most Trump-deranged prosecutor on the planet.

Dissenting Colorado Chief Justice Brian Boatright recognized this, arguing that Colorado’s election law “was not enacted to decide whether a candidate engaged in insurrection.  In the absence of an insurrection-related conviction, I would hold that a request to disqualify a candidate under Section Three of the Fourteenth Amendment is not a proper cause of action under Colorado’s election code.”

Another dissenter, Justice Carlos Samour, said in a lengthy opinion that this suit is not a “fair mechanism” for determining Trump’s eligibility for the ballot because it deprives him of his right to due process, as he has not been convicted.  “Even if we are convinced that a candidate committed horrible acts in the past --- dare I say, engaged in insurrection --- there must be procedural due process before we can declare that individual disqualified from holding public office,” he wrote.

Hard to believe we’re linking to NEWSWEEK on this, but they actually have good coverage on what the dissenters (all Democrats, incidentally) said.

https://www.newsweek.com/colorado-supreme-court-justices-defend-trump-there-was-no-fair-trial

In Colorado alone, there are 3.8 million voters, including close to a million registered Republicans (that ratio, by the way, gives you a clue as to what’s wrong with their Supreme Court.) And this outrage is going on all over the country.  As Kayleigh McEnany pointed out on FOX NEWS last night, there have been 31 cases seeking Trump’s’ removal from the ballot.  More than a dozen cases remain pending, some in “red” states such as Texas and South Carolina.  (One was dismissed in Florida.  Thank you, Florida.)

Well, so much for the will of the people.  In McEnany’s words, “If you can’t beat them, disqualify them.”

Former acting Attorney General Matt Whitaker made a great point: “This was a close call for them.  It was a 4-3 decision.  And when you take someone off the ballot and disqualify a candidate, it should be with unbelievable evidence…”  The facts are “very thin” here, he said, based on the findings of the ultra-partisan January 6 committee “from Nancy Pelosi, Adam Schiff and others.”  Trump, he noted, told his supporters to go “peacefully and patriotically” to the Capitol building to make their voices heard.

“This court just ignores anything that is evidence that helps President Trump.”  He pointed out that other state Supreme Courts have looked at this issue and “nobody’s been willing to go out as far” as this one.  It’s a completely partisan attempt that the left is celebrating right now.

Of course, the U.S. Supreme Court will have the final say.  Colorado only has till January 5 (!) to have this settled, so law professor Jonathan Turley says it’ll be put on the “rocket docket.”  The U.S. Supreme Court absolutely must get involved, he says, because the Colorado Supreme Court is “dead wrong.”  To get to their opinion on this, the Colorado court had to have a “sweeping interpretation on every single issue in order to get where they wanted to go” --- except on one particular issue, that of free speech.  “Then they adopt a narrow interpretation.  They suggest that Trump DOESN’T have free speech protection.”  They even hearken back to speeches Trump made in 2016!

This opinion truly is a product of Trump-deranged minds.  As Turley says, “The factual and legal basis of this opinion is really so porous that the Supreme Court will make fast work of it.” And they'll get their chance quickly: Trump wrote to his followers, "The Colorado Supreme Court issued a completely flawed decision tonight and we will swiftly file an appeal to the United States Supreme Court and a concurrent request for a stay of this deeply undemocratic decision. We have full confidence that the U.S. Supreme Court will quickly rule in our favor and finally put an end to these un-American lawsuits.”

https://www.realclearpolitics.com/video/2023/12/19/turley_colorado_had_to_have_a_sweeping_interpretation_on_every_single_issue_to_get_to_their_opinion_on_trump

“The path that this court has put us on could not be more dangerous,” according to Turley.  “...You know this country needs some healing. And what the Colorado Supreme Court did is they basically took a blow at democracy in the name of democracy...We never needed the democratic process more. We need voters to be able to make a decision. Because at some point we have to come back together.”

If this sort of thing were ever to be allowed to stand, we would no longer be recognizable as America.  As Turley has written, “Such ballot-cleansing is common in countries like Iran, where citizens await to learn which opposition candidates will be allowed to run.”  That’s why, we would add, this abomination has to be a shocking wake-up call for American voters, as it reveals just how far the left is willing to push the boundaries.  They HAVE no boundaries.  They say they care about “democracy”?  Give me a break.

Here’s what Turley wrote about the lower-court judge’s opinion in November, before the case went to the State Supreme Court.  Judge Sarah Wallace was right, he said, in rejecting the 14th Amendment argument but very wrong in her analysis when she said Trump’s speech was inciteful and unprotected.

https://jonathanturley.org/2023/11/18/colorado-judge-rejects-14th-amendment-disqualification-effort-to-bar-trump-from-ballot/comment-page-3/

As for legal analyst Gregg Jarrett, he had no problem calling this election rigging.  Again, an “insurrection” means taking up arms against the United States, as the South did during the Civil War.  “To remove Donald Trump from the ballot for an offense that he hasn’t even been tried or convicted of --- what is that?  It’s violating his right to due process, which happens to be guaranteed by [that] very amendment, the 14th, and elsewhere in the Constitution.”

Importantly, Jarrett also pointed out that the language in the amendment doesn’t even apply to the office of President.  Colorado officials have “brazenly manipulated the clause for purely political reasons, another example of election interference by Trump opponents.  This is an effort --- make no mistake --- to deprive Americana voters of THEIR right to make the decision as to who should be President.  It is ANTI-democratic.  It’s the equivalent of rigging the ballot box.”  Jarrett sees it as inflaming voters and further boosting Trump’s support (as it should).

 

RELATED:  Republican presidential primary candidate Vivek Ramaswamy has said he’s removing his name from the Colorado ballot, on the principle that Republicans --- not the courts --- should be able to pick their own nominee.  He’s calling on the other GOP candidates to remove their names as well.  He sees failure to do so as “tacitly endorsing this illegal maneuver which will have disastrous consequences for our country.”  Good for him!

https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/campaigns/vivek-ramaswamy-withdraw-colorado-primary-trump-ballot

 

Here, Vivek is included in a round-up of explosive social media reaction…

https://dailycallernewsfoundation.org/2023/12/19/outrageous-form-of-lawfare-social-media-explodes-after-colorado-supreme-court-tosses-trump-off-ballot/

Ron DeSantis and even Trump’s staunchest Republican critic Chris Christie also slammed the decision, as did Robert Kennedy Jr., who tweeted, “Let the voters choose, not the courts!”

This outrageous ruling not only is a body blow to the rule of law and our democratic process, it also has done serious damage to America’s international standing, giving other nation’s the perfect response when we criticize their rigged elections. El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele warned that "The United States has lost its ability to lecture any other country about ‘democracy.’”

 

COMPARE AND CONTRAST:  This isn’t the only courtroom travesty going on.  The six alternate Trump electors from 2020 in Nevada were indicted earlier this month.

https://dailycaller.com/2023/12/06/nevada-jury-indicts-six-republican-alternate-electors-trump-won-2020-election/

And here’s some potentially good news for several January 6 defendants, including Trump.  Watch this 7-1/2-minute video and see how the Supreme Court is getting involved...

https://www.theepochtimes.com/epochtv/supreme-court-drops-jan-6-surprise-after-2-years-3-appeals-get-accepted-facts-matter

For when you have time, here’s Julie Kelly with more on that…

https://www.declassified.live/p/a-red-flag-is-scotus-poised-to-overturn?

 

FINAL WORD:  We’ll give that to President Trump, who posted on Truth Social: “‘Justice’ weaponization is a very dirty game to play, and it can have repercussions far greater than anything that Biden or his Thugs could understand. They ought to withdraw all of their Fake, Political Indictments against their Republican Opponent, me, immediately. This is a Pandora’s box, that works two ways, and it should be closed and tightly sealed RIGHT NOW.”

 


BY MIKE HUCKABEE

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Mike Huckabee


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Here’s today’s link to continually-updated news on the war in Israel from Fox News…

https://www.foxnews.com/live-news/december-19-israel-hamas-war

Among today’s top stories:

Israel reports that a strike in Gaza has killed Subhi Ferwana, a prominent financier who funneled tens of millions of dollars through his business to Hamas to support its terrorist activities.

Israel is being pressured by the UN to stop its raids of hospitals, but the IDF says Hamas is using hospitals as hiding places and ammo storage facilities and has tunnels underneath them to use them as shields.

U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin met with Israeli officials Monday and reaffirmed U.S. support for Israel, saying he was "not here to dictate timelines of terms."

The US has begun an operation with a number of other nations to secure shipping in the Red Sea against attacks by Houthi militants in Yemen.

While Israel is facing demands for an immediate ceasefire, an IDF paratrooper named Shahar appeared on Fox News’ "America's Newsroom" Monday to explain why that is "not an option." He said:

"If we cease fire, it means that Israel ceases fire. Hamas is just going to regroup and do October 7 again and again and again until someone in the world or Israel can ensure that this never happens again and ensures that the education system, the radical jihadist education system that keeps growing up more and more terrorists, is eradicated."

If you haven’t seen it, Bill Maher made some leftist heads explode over the weekend with a segment on his TV show explaining why the students chanting “From the river to the sea” are “useful idiots,” and why many previous attempts to negotiate a peaceful two-state solution failed. It was because the Palestinian leaders refused. Maher explained in blunt terms that you can’t negotiate with someone whose unshakeable position is “You all die and disappear.”

https://www.westernjournal.com/bill-maher-uses-bethlehem-powerful-example-opening-monologue-palestine/

I just arrived in Israel for a quick trip to visit with Israeli officials and survivors of the Oct 7 massacre and families of the hostages.  It’s hard to describe the savage brutality inflicted by Hamas terrorists.  We will let these dear friends in Israel know that they do not stand alone!


Message to the GOP: Turn out every vote

I always warn people not to listen to polls, especially polls taken a year in advance of an election. Right now, polls show Trump pulling ahead of Biden in key swing states, but there are two factors they don’t take into account:

1. Biden may not be the nominee, particularly not if his approval ratings keep sinking to new record lows, with 53% of Americans now saying his policies have harmed them personally. Of course, the media will not tell voters that any replacement of Biden will just double down on the same failed leftist policies…

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/poll-shows-biden-hitting-record-low-approvals-falling-behind-against-trump-in-2024-matchup/ar-AA1lfJSE

2. In certain swing states controlled by Democrats, there has been a long process of institutionalizing vote fraud and destroying any attorneys who dare bring cases challenging elections. Here’s a story about a key swing state that Trump may already have lost, and it’s still 11 months until anyone even votes.

https://townhall.com/columnists/rachelalexander/2023/12/18/has-biden-already-won-arizona-in-2024-thanks-to-lawfare-n2632537

I don’t tell you these things to bum you out, just to warn you not to let polls make you complacent. There is no way Democrats are going to give up power, especially to Trump, without fighting like rabid badgers and pulling out every dirty trick imaginable. Republicans had better be working like mad to turn out every vote and be prepared for any contingency.


Hunter pledges to leave the country if Trump is elected

The latest semi-celebrity to claim he will leave the country if Donald Trump is elected is Hunter Biden. Problem: When you’re under indictment, fleeing the country is a felony. Authorities might want to take that “flight risk” aspect into account when deciding whether he should be running around loose.

https://www.westernjournal.com/hunter-biden-may-commit-crime-trump-gets-re-elected-2024-report/

On the other hand, if he’s like most famous Democrats, his threats to leave the country if Trump is elected are likely meaningless. Cher claimed she was going to move to Jupiter if Trump became President, but she’s still in California, which admittedly is as close to another planet as you can get.


There are some hopeful signs that the Bill of Rights is at least still clinging to life support in the court system:

After a six-year court battle, the liberal city of East Lansing, Michigan, has been ordered by a federal judge to pay $1.1 million in damages and legal fees for violating the First Amendment rights of Christian farmer Stephen Tennes by banning him from the city farmers’ market because he declined to host same-sex weddings on his family farm, Country Mill Farms.

https://www.westernjournal.com/1a-win-liberal-city-pay-6-figure-settlement-farmer-refused-host-gay-weddings/

Former US Navy Chief Gary Formhals was a volunteer and part-time employee with the Washington State Park system for over 10 years until one park visitor complained that she was outraged that his car had two Trump bumper stickers, which she described as “insurrectionalist.” The American Center for Law and Justice sued to protect his First Amendment rights. The parks department folded and agreed to rewrite its policies to protect volunteers’ free speech rights.

https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2023/12/victory-park-volunteer-fired-trump-bumper-stickers/

And the 2nd US Circuit Court of Appeals unanimously reinstated a lawsuit thrown out by a lower court in which four Connecticut female high school athletes sued the Connecticut Interscholastic Athletic Conference for letting males who “identify” as females compete against them. The Court found that the female athletes did plausibly state “an injury in fact” by having their records, trophies and scholarships taken away by physically superior males.

https://www.wnd.com/2023/12/scarred-court-restores-girls-claims-injury-boys-athletics/

The Court also ruled "that the alleged injury is plausibly redressable by monetary and injunctive relief."  I hope it’s big monetary relief, enough to shock the CIAC and related organizations into waking up out of their woke coma and recognizing biological reality.


Fleeing DC

The latest businesses to flee the disastrous governance of Democrats are the Washington Wizards basketball team and the Washington Capitals hockey team, both of which announced plans to move from downtown DC to a new sports venue in Virginia as soon as 2028. As this story makes clear, it wasn’t just due to financial inducements. Nobody wants to come to downtown DC anymore because thanks to leftwing city leaders, it’s like a crime-ridden war zone.

https://www.breitbart.com/crime/2023/12/16/soaring-crime-pushes-wizards-capitals-out-dc-potential-revenue-loss-25m/

The move is expected to cost surrounding businesses $25 million a year in lost revenue, but I’d bet they’re already losing far more than that just to shoplifting.


Connecticut reverses course

The Democrat Governor of Connecticut is abandoning his plan to follow California’s lead in mandating that all passenger vehicles sold be electric by 2035. Aside from the fact that “following California’s lead” is right up there with “If Billy jumped off the Empire State Building, would YOU jump off the Empire State Building?” in sheer stupidity, there’s also this inherent logic problem:

You can mandate all day long that only electric cars will be sold, but you can’t mandate that people buy them. California already tried that years ago and had to back off when they realized the public wasn’t buying, but now they’re trying it again. It’s the foundational principle of leftist politics: “If at first a policy doesn’t succeed, try and fail and try and fail and try and fail again.”

https://townhall.com/tipsheet/katiepavlich/2023/11/29/bidens-electric-car-push-takes-hit-with-another-blow-n2631717


The Decline of American Strength:

From “Don’t Tread On Me” to the Biden White House warning North Korea that nuking America would be “unacceptable.”

https://www.frontpagemag.com/biden-warns-north-korea-that-nuking-america-is-unacceptable/


Not going away anytime soon

The UN Climate Conference in Dubai is over. And despite all the high-flown rhetoric about ending fossil fuels and flying on battery-powered airplanes charged by windmills and unicorn flatulence, activists who keep gluing themselves to things will be disappointed to learn that even the attendees at this conference eventually had to bow to the reality that fossil fuels are not going away anytime soon.

https://legalinsurrection.com/2023/12/loopholes-in-cop28-agreement-suggest-the-iron-law-of-electricity-triumphed-in-dubai/


Must-Read Column:

To nobody’s surprise, Harvard’s (Should-be-fired-but-won’t-be) President Claudine Gay and her defenders have resorted to blaming racism for criticism of her being a blatant plagiarist and public apologist for violent anti-Semites. Never mind that the white Presidents of UPenn and MIT faced the same calls for their firings after their joint House testimony, and the only one that’s already gone is the president of UPenn. And she's not even a plagiarist (that we know of.)

Derek Hunter at Townhall.com has noticed, as have millions of Americans, the way elitist minority Democrats have learned to blame racism for any criticism and to tell other minority members that they can’t get ahead because America is irredeemably, fundamentally, systemically racist – even as they personally amass huge amounts of power, money and prestige in a system allegedly designed to “keep them down.”

https://townhall.com/columnists/derekhunter/2023/12/17/democrats-love-racists-because-they-are-racists-n2632511

Gay is hardly the only example of this staggering hypocrisy he cites, and not even the only one who has prospered hugely by denouncing all white people as oppressors while also being married to a white spouse. Let’s hope that Hunter is correct when he suggests that the number of people who fall for rich racist hypocrites claiming to be victims of racism “is getting smaller and smaller every year.”

Related: Excellent article by Andrew Sullivan on his hopes that the shocking House testimony by the three elite university presidents who couldn’t bring themselves to condemn violent anti-Semitism could finally be “the day the empress’ clothes fall off” and everyone finally sees clearly what these elite schools have become.

https://andrewsullivan.substack.com/p/the-day-the-empress-clothes-fell-ffa?publication_id=61371&post_id=139417661&isFreemail=true&r=9bg2k

For all those who are shocked by these liberal schools where “words are violence” if they’re words leftists disagree with, but violence is free speech if it’s aimed at conservatives or Jews, Sullivan explains that it’s not a double standard. Thanks to the mind virus of “DEI,” he says, “There is a single standard: It is fine to malign, abuse and denigrate ‘oppressors’ and forbidden to do so against the ‘oppressed.’” By declaring the Jews to be oppressors and Palestinians to be the oppressed, they’ve just cut-and-pasted their anti-white template to use it against Israel.


Biden’s decency

The Senate staffer who videotaped himself having sex with his gay partner in a Senate hearing room has lost his job, and of course, blames it on homophobes condemning him for “who he loves,” rather than where he loves him. Like Hunter Biden blaming all his alleged crimes on Republicans, he’s just the latest Democrat to play the victim card and act as if laws don’t apply to him. But here are some laws that just might apply to him.

https://www.foxnews.com/politics/senate-sex-tape-congressional-staffer-allegedly-seen-leaked-video-could-face-charges-lawyer-says

A salute to Kevin Downey Jr. at PJ Media for reminding us that Joe Biden, whose Administration and Party have brought us homemade gay porn in the Senate, professional gay porn in schools, drag queens twerking in small children’s faces, “trans” women flashing their fake breasts at a White House event and biological males parading around naked in high school girls’ locker rooms, ran for President in 2020 on a promise to “bring back decency.” If this is “decency,” I’d hate to see indecency.

https://pjmedia.com/kevindowneyjr/2023/12/16/senate-sodomite-fired-for-who-he-loves-in-capitol-sex-tape-n4924800


Tear down is temporarily blocked

UPDATE: Yesterday, I reported that the Biden Defense Department was about to start tearing down the Reconciliation Memorial at Arlington National Cemetery because it honored Confederate soldiers. But at the last minute, Trump-appointed Judge Rossie Alston Jr. issued a temporary stay and ordered the demolition halted at least until Wednesday so that historic organizations that are suing to protect it can make their case.

https://pjmedia.com/graysonbakich/2023/12/18/irony-within-irony-as-reconcilation-monuments-removal-halted-n4924848

Grayson Bakich at PJ Media not only has more details but some great, must-read observations, including the fact that this isn’t a monument to the Confederacy. It was erected by Woodrow Wilson in 1914 to commemorate national reconciliation and the healing of divisions after the Civil War (you can see why the Biden people would want to destroy that; stoking divisions is how they attain political power.)

He also notes that to show how far America really has progressed since the Civil War (despite Democrats’ claims to the contrary), Judge Alston is black, and he preserved the monument. Meanwhile, it was the Democrats who started the Confederacy and the Civil War and fought Abe Lincoln and the Republicans to maintain slavery, yet they now pretend that it was the Republicans who not only backed the Confederacy but still support slavery.  And one commenter makes the great point that for the Democrats, attempting to erase all traces of the Confederacy isn’t so much historical revisionism as an attempt to destroy the evidence.


HUGE: “missing binder” may expose underlying reason for Mar-A-Lago raid

Longtime newsletter readers will recall that when the Mar-A-Lago raid took place --- August 8, 2022, a date which shall live in infamy --- we speculated about what the FBI might REALLY have been looking for with their armed invasion of the former President’s home over air, land and sea.  After all, if a President has the power to declassify documents (and he does), what’s the big deal about having them in a secure location while details are being worked out with the National Archives regarding their ultimate location?  The raid seemed like an outrageous overreaction.  Could it have been, at least in part, a cover operation to try to retrieve something in particular?

Some observers suggested at the time that Trump, for his own protection, might have taken documents that showed in greater detail what the deep state --- yes, we use that term without hesitation --- had been up to with “Crossfire Hurricane” to frame him as a Russian agent.  After all, if this had been done to you and you were on your way out the White House door, wouldn’t you want to leave with whatever documentation you could get your hands on?

On Friday, CNN ran a story that certainly brought back less-than-fond memories of the Mar-A-Lago raid and our speculations at the time.  Dan Bongino brought up the story on his Monday podcast and radio show, saying it tells him that the White House, by leaking this to some of the intel community’s most cooperative scribes such as Natasha Bertrand, is “really trying to get out ahead of something” that’s about to break.  Their piece is called “The Mystery of the Missing Binder.”

The subhead:  “How a collection of raw intelligence disappeared under Trump.”

As CNN reported, “A binder containing highly classified information related to Russian election interference went missing at the end of Donald Trump’s presidency, raising alarms among intelligence officials that some of the most closely guarded national security secrets from the US and its allies could be exposed, sources familiar with the matter told CNN.”

They went on to say that the loss of this top secret binder was so concerning that intel officials briefed Senate Intelligence Committee leaders about it last year.  These members of Congress and their aides with top-secret clearance were able to review copies of its contents only at CIA headquarters at Langley, Virginia.

So what on earth was supposed to be inside this 10-inch-thick binder?  According to CNN, “The binder contained raw intelligence the U.S. and its NATO allies collected on Russians and Russian agents, including sources and methods that informed the US government’s assessment that Russian President Vladimir Putin sought to help Trump win the 2016 election, sources tell CNN.”

Ah-ha.  Here we go with Trump/Russia, all over again!  Dictated by an “official source” to one of their most dependable media outlets.

CNN reported that the binder was last seen at the White House “during Trump’s final days in office,” under the care of White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows.  Trump had wanted to declassify a number of documents “related to the FBI’s Russia investigation.”  But Trump administration officials, they said, had repeatedly tried to block him from doing it, due to the ultra-sensitive nature of the raw intelligence on Russia.

As CNN tells it, things got contentious about this declassification on Trump’s chaotic last day in office.  Trump issued an order (editorial aside:  as was his right as President), and instructed that multiple copies be made and distributed to DC Republicans and right-wing journalists, but White House attorneys scrambled to have them gathered up again for additional redactions (!). Just before Biden was inaugurated, Meadows took a redacted version to the “Justice” Department for one last review, but that copy has still not seen the light of day.  “Additional copies with varying levels of redactions ended up at the National Archives,” according to CNN.

BUT...there’s reportedly an unredacted version, supposedly containing all that super-sensitive raw intelligence on Russia, that went missing that day.  “The circumstances regarding its disappearance remain shrouded in mystery,” CNN said.

Their anonymous source --- “a U.S. official familiar with the matter” --- told them the binder was not found at Mar-A-Lago when the FBI raided it.  And for what it’s worth (exactly nothing), this person also said that when they applied for the search warrant, the FBI was not specifically looking for information regarding Russia.

Of course, we know the FBI would never lie in a warrant application.

“Despite fierce opposition from his own national security officials,” CNN reported, “Trump spent years trying to declassify material that he said would prove his claims the FBI’s Russia probe into his campaign was a hoax.”  What CNN fails to mention is that we now have plenty of evidence proving just that.

In June, the “Justice” Department sought to dismiss a lawsuit by John Solomon by saying they’d already posted “most of the binder” on the FBI’s FOIA website.  But Solomon claimed the FBI had released only a small and highly-redacted portion of the binder’s contents.  In July, Meadows said in an interview with Solomon that he had turned over the documents he had --- which he made clear had been DECLASSIFIED BY TRUMP --- to the DOJ with the expectation that they would be disseminated.  They still haven’t been.

https://www.cnn.com/interactive/2023/12/politics/missing-russia-intelligence-trump-dg/

Other news (“news”) outlets such as THE NEW YORK TIMES have run with this story, with NEWSWEEK even reporting that estranged niece Mary Trump says President Trump may have “sold” the binder to Russia.  This is how low “journalism” has sunk, folks.  “There’s no evidence showing Trump sold anything to Russia,” the NEWSWEEK STORY does finally get around to saying.  Apparently, the headline writer didn’t read down that far.

https://www.newsweek.com/donald-trump-may-have-sold-classified-binder-russiamary-trump-1853058

Bongino says he’s got some insider information, which we personally would trust much more than an allegation from Mary Trump.  Some say that portions of the binder are “largely just some regurgitated kind of stuff you could’ve found in press releases,” but other sources have hinted to him that the binder may contain “damning information.”  Not about Russian interference to help Trump, though.

His sources tell him it was Russian interference to help HILLARY.  To help the FBI GET Trump.  Just the opposite of what we were told for years.

Bongino says he can almost guarantee that part of that binder is “fake Russian intelligence that the FBI fell for.”  The FBI was then tasked with “getting Hillary clean” before the election so then-Attorney General Loretta Lynch could let the case against her go.

This would help explain the unexplainable --- then-FBI Director James Comey’s bizarre press conference on July 5, 2016, in which he got out in front of Hillary’s various wrongdoings (mishandling thousands of classified emails, destroying evidence, etc.) and then short-circuited the case against her by saying “no reasonable prosecutor” would take the case.  She was no longer blackmail-able, and her campaign was good to go.

“The FBI does not want you to see this,” Bongino said, “and someone on the Trump team may have it.”

Why did they leak this story to CNN?  They’re seeing the polls and realizing with desperation that Trump may actually get back to the White House.  So even though he declassified the binder, they now want to accuse him of “stealing” it.  Plus, with Jack Smith and all the lawfare, they’re doing all they can to keep him off the ticket.

We’ve included the link to Bongino’s podcast; he starts talking about this at 37:00.  There’s just one question it would be great for him to answer:  If Trump has the binder, why hasn’t he gone ahead and released it?  He’s had it three years.  Is it his ace?  Why does he need to be back in the White House to play that card?

https://bongino.com/ep-2152-they-just-said-the-quiet-part-out-loud

Still, our theory at the time of the Mar-A-Lago raid --- that the FBI was trying to get back some exculpatory “Russia” material that Trump had declassified and kept for his own protection --- is very likely the case.  More to come.

 


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Thank you for reading my newsletter. 

For more news, visit my website.


One of the biggest mysteries surrounding the Biden family’s alleged financial improprieties has to do with Hunter’s “sugar brother,” wealthy Hollywood attorney/producer Kevin Morris.

Early reports about Morris’ huge outlays to Hunter made it seem as though the two were longtime best friends.  We simply assumed this was the case; after all, who else but a best buddy would step in and pay millions of dollars to Hunter to resolve the back taxes from his “Burisma” years, foot the $20,000/month bill for a Malibu beach rental and who-knows-what other lavish expenses, and even continue to pay his top-drawer DC attorneys, who in general are known for charging rates upwards of $1,000 an hour?

It was Morris who even paid to fly Hunter by private jet to his daughter’s child-support hearing in Arkansas, where he pleaded lack of funds in an effort to get the monthly payments to his daughter reduced!  (Just a thought:  maybe Hunter’s sugar daddy would like this responsibility, too --- perhaps even visit her from time to time, as the little girl’s own daddy will have nothing to do with her, not to mention her grandparents.)

But Kevin Morris was no longtime friend of Hunter’s.  News reports have consistently said they met at a Democrat fundraiser for Biden’s 2020 campaign.  Allowing that some people just “click” and become friends quickly, the two still hardly knew each other.

They had been acquainted for about TWO MONTHS when Morris paid about $2 million to settle Hunter’s overdue taxes.  It’s like something out of the movies:  a fantasy about some mysterious stranger coming forward with a suitcase full of thousand-dollar bills.  If anybody needs a rich friend/benefactor/enabler, it’s Hunter.  He can spend it faster than even he can get it.

And, of course, that was just the start of the money flow.  Morris also bought Hunter’s artwork --- that’s a story unto itself --- and was put in control of Hunter’s 10 percent share of Chinese company BHR.  That appears to have been so the Bidens could technically declare that Hunter had divested himself of ownership in Chinese companies.

So, two whole months after meeting Hunter, Kevin Morris was there to prop up all things related to his life.  That’s what Missouri Rep. Jason Smith, who chairs the House Ways and Means Committee noted to Maria Bartiromo on FOX NEWS SUNDAY yesterday.  Until Morris met Hunter, he was known mainly as a very successful Hollywood attorney who was also a big Democrat donor, two things that typically go hand in hand in Hollywood.  Then suddenly he was paying for all the outrageous expenses of someone he barely knew.

“The question is,” Smith said, “why would Kevin Morris pay almost $5 million for tax filings and also to subsidize Hunter Biden’s lifestyle?  What is Kevin Morris getting from Hunter Biden or from Joe Biden?  These are things that we need to look into,” Smith said.

And his committee has been trying to do that.  (Ways and Means is the only committee that can take a first-look into an individual’s confidential tax information.)  In October, they issued a press release saying that according to the handwritten notes of an IRS whistleblower in 2022, Delaware Assistant U.S. Attorney Lesley Wolf (David Weiss’ assistant) told them she was not “personally interested” in looking into a potential campaign finance violation centering on Morris paying Hunter’s tax bill in 2020.

And James Biden, Hunter’s uncle and Joe’s brother, told FBI investigators he “didn’t know why” Morris had paid Hunter’s taxes.

You’d think both Wolf and James Biden would’ve been interested in the answer to this fascinating question.

As Jason Smith said in the press release, “One of the biggest benefits to the Joe Biden presidential campaign in 2020 was Kevin Morris trying to cover the tracks of Hunter’s mounting legal troubles.  Moreover, the American people deserve to know why, when IRS investigators smelled a potential campaign finance violation and wanted to investigate the matter further, the Justice Department moved to shut down the investigation.”

https://gop-waysandmeans.house.gov/icymi-new-evidence-reveals-justice-department-blocked-investigation-into-potential-biden-campaign-finance-violations/

(Lesley Wolf avoided answering most of the questions put to her in a congressional interview last week.  It was also revealed that weeks ago, she had very, very quietly left the “Justice” Department.)

But just when you think this administration has gone as far as it can to show it considers itself immune from scrutiny, it goes a little farther.  And this time, the story concerns Kevin Morris.  The Ways and Means Committee asked to interview him under oath, but as Chairman Smith told Maria, his committee was advised that Morris would be out of the country from Thanksgiving through the end of the year and therefore unavailable for interviews.

Here’s the November 15 press release from the House Oversight Committee about calling for Morris’ testimony.  It includes a link to their letter to Morris.

https://oversight.house.gov/release/comer-jordan-smith-call-on-kevin-morris-to-appear-for-a-transcribed-interview/

The statement that Morris would be out of the country turned out to be a lie.  A picture has turned up of Hunter Biden’s press statement at the Capitol, taken from the side, and can you guess who is standing right there, next to fellow Hunter-enabler California Rep. Eric Swalwell, the orchestrator of the event?  That’s right, it’s Kevin Morris!  He was right there on Capitol Hill while the committee waited in vain to hear Hunter’s testimony.

“That’s Kevin Morris’ picture, alongside Hunter Biden,” Smith said.  “He...came up repeatedly among the IRS whistleblowers that came before our committee.  [He’s] an individual that we need to bring forward and ask questions to.  We’ve been working with Kevin Morris’ attorney to bring him in, but they told us that he is out of the country on vacation between Thanksgiving and New Year’s.”

So Smith must have been quite surprised to see this picture of Morris.  Smith simply commented that “it sure doesn’t look like he’s out of the country.”

Smith reminded Maria that according to an email released by the IRS whistleblowers, Morris wrote to Hunter’s tax preparer three weeks before the 2020 Super Tuesday primaries, saying that they must pay off these returns “or there will be great political risk.”  And we know that the only political risk at that time was for candidate Joe Biden.  This is what caused the IRS whistleblowers to suspect campaign finance crimes, the area which Lesley Wolf refused to let them investigate.

Maria said, “That’s amazing that Hunter Biden could go defy a congressional subpoena, set up shop right in front of the steps of the Capitol, to a press conference with the guy who’s helped pay all this stuff out, and then...walk away.”  And she’s right:  it doesn’t get much more in-your-face than this.  Smith rightly pointed that if “you or I or any other American” did this, we’d be prosecuted.  This is the reason the IRS investigators blew the whistle on it.

“The fact that Hunter Biden was supposed to be in the halls of that building, going through a congressional subpoena, through depositions, and he defied that, by standing on the steps of the Capitol and doing a press conference, the fact that he’s the President’s son and he’s doing that is creating a very severe Constitutional crisis.”

Of Kevin Morris’ whereabouts, he absolutely has been dishonest, Smith said.  “This is just a pattern that we’ve been seeing for this entire investigation.”  As for the latest bit of hairsplitting in the defense of President Biden, saying that Joe wasn’t FINANCIALLY involved in his son’s business, Smith said, “Well, let me tell you, the emails and documentation we’ve been getting from the IRS whistleblowers prove otherwise.”

The IRS whistleblowers testified that “in their ten-plus years of investigations, they’ve never seen this kind of obstruction.”  So what now?  Smith says the fact that every single Republican voted in favor of the impeachment inquiry “shows that the evidence that’s been coming forward...highlights the need for continued investigation.  And that’s in fact what we’re going to do…[through] additional tools.”  They’re still waiting, not just for key testimony, but documents and tax records that are still being withheld.

Whatever these “additional tools” are that the House vote gives the committees, they had better pack some punch.  Congress should’ve acted fast and served Morris a subpoena right there in front of the Capitol.  And Hunter already was defying a subpoena; isn’t that when you bring out the handcuffs?

https://www.foxnews.com/video/6343400042112

https://www.foxnews.com/media/house-gop-absolutely-push-meet-hunter-biden-sugar-brother-paid-millions-back-taxes

 


BY MIKE HUCKABEE

Blessings on you and your family from all the Huckabee team! 

Mike Huckabee


DAILY BIBLE VERSE

22 All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: 23 “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel”[a] (which means “God with us”).

Matthew 1:22-23


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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!

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1) Here’s today’s link to continually-updated news on the war in Israel from Fox News…

https://www.foxnews.com/live-news/december-18-israel-hamas-war

Among the latest headlines: Israel has been ramping up its attacks on Hezbollah sites in Lebanon due to increasing rocket attacks from there. The IDF accused Iran-backed Hezbollah terrorists of endangering Lebanese civilians by dragging them into an unnecessary war they don’t want. I guess Hezbollah doesn’t care because they assume useful idiots in the West will blame any deaths of Lebanese civilians on Israel.

Speaking of a mob of pro-Palestinian protesters at a mall in Ottawa tried to win friends and influence people by terrorizing a line of children waiting to see Santa Claus. Chanting anti-Israel slogans rife with f-words, they at one point yelled that “Jesus was a Palestinian.” No, Jesus was Jewish. The useful idiots are getting even less useful and more idiotic with each passing day.

https://redstate.com/nick-arama/2023/12/17/anti-israel-activists-surround-and-terrorize-line-of-kids-going-to-see-santa-at-mall-n2167663

The IDF released images of what they say is the largest “terror tunnel” yet discovered in Gaza. They also discovered “many weapons” and suitcases filled with nearly $1.4 million in cash hidden in the home of a senior Hamas member. I wonder if it came from aid that was supposed to go to the suffering Palestinian people, or oil money that Iran raked in after the sanctions were lifted.

Here’s a bit of good news: Harvard revealed that student applications to attend have dropped by 17% since last year. Of course, there are still far more applicants than are accepted, but maybe once word gets around that to employers, having “Harvard” on your resume is becoming tantamount to having “Hamas” on your resume, that may change, too.


2) Car crashes into President Biden’s motorcade

Sunday night in Wilmington, Delaware, a car crashed into President Biden’s motorcade. The President and First Lady were uninjured; the car ran into a Secret Service SUV. The driver was immediately surrounded by Secret Service agents with guns drawn, ordering him to put his hands up. The driver was later reported to be drunk, but it wasn’t clear at first whether this was politically motivated or just bad driving.

https://townhall.com/tipsheet/saraharnold/2023/12/17/bidens-motorcar-smashed-into-n2632533

If it had been in DC, I would have suggested a third possibility: the world’s stupidest carjacking attempt.


3) Stop me if this sounds familiar:

The Washington Post reports that the FBI secretly taped President Biden’s brother James Biden in a bribery investigation that went all the way back to when Joe was a Senator. It involved an attorney paying James’ consulting firm $100,000 for “advice on passing a bill” to get a huge payout from tobacco companies, with the implication being that that meant getting Joe to vote for it. Joe had been leaning against the bill, but he eventually did vote for it, although it failed to pass Congress.  Details at the link.

https://townhall.com/tipsheet/mattvespa/2023/12/18/james-biden-dealmaking-n2632520

This is long past the statute of limitations, but it does offer more evidence that the alleged “Biden family business” has been in operation longer than most people knew.


4) The Reconciliation Monument

Today, the Biden Defense Department will tear down the Confederate Memorial at Arlington National Cemetery, which marks the resting place of 400 Confederate veterans and their wives. While the left is celebrating grave desecration, critics are pointing out that it was not a monument to slavery. It was known as the Reconciliation Monument, and it was dedicated by Democrat President Woodrow Wilson in 1914 to commemorate national unity and the reconciliation of the two sides into one nation after the Civil War.

https://redstate.com/mccabe/2023/12/18/last-civil-war-battle-ends-army-tears-down-arlingtons-confederate-memorial-today-n2167669

As that article from Redstate.com makes clear, the destruction of the Reconciliation Monument is less about erasing history (although it is doing just that) than it is about destroying national unity and reigniting long-settled divisions because keeping Americans divided against each other is how Democrats keep their political power.


5) The Decline of American Strength:

From “Don’t Tread on Me” to the Biden White House warning North Korea that nuking America would be “unacceptable.”

https://www.frontpagemag.com/biden-warns-north-korea-that-nuking-america-is-unacceptable/


6) A Christmas classic

The Babylon Bee updates a Christmas classic...

https://babylonbee.com/news/clarence-the-angel-takes-gavin-newsom-to-florida-to-show-him-what-california-could-look-like-if-hed-never-been-born


7) A bucket of cold reality

Kurt Schlichter dumps a bucket of cold reality over the makers of a new Hollywood fantasy about evil MAGA Republicans destroying “our democracy.”

https://townhall.com/columnists/kurtschlichter/2023/12/18/leftists-civil-war-fantasies-are-not-going-to-work-out-the-way-they-think-n2632522


8) Amazing update in Hunter Biden/Kevin Morris story

One of the biggest mysteries surrounding the Biden family’s alleged financial improprieties has to do with Hunter’s “sugar brother,” wealthy Hollywood attorney/producer Kevin Morris.

Early reports about Morris’ huge outlays to Hunter made it seem as though the two were longtime best friends.  We simply assumed this was the case; after all, who else but a best buddy would step in and pay millions of dollars to Hunter to resolve the back taxes from his “Burisma” years, foot the $20,000/month bill for a Malibu beach rental and who-knows-what other lavish expenses, and even continue to pay his top-drawer DC attorneys, who in general are known for charging rates upwards of $1,000 an hour?

It was Morris who even paid to fly Hunter by private jet to his daughter’s child-support hearing in Arkansas, where he pleaded lack of funds in an effort to get the monthly payments to his daughter reduced!  (Just a thought:  maybe Hunter’s sugar daddy would like this responsibility, too --- perhaps even visit her from time to time, as the little girl’s own daddy will have nothing to do with her, not to mention her grandparents.)

But Kevin Morris was no longtime friend of Hunter’s.  News reports have consistently said they met at a Democrat fundraiser for Biden’s 2020 campaign.  Allowing that some people just “click” and become friends quickly, the two still hardly knew each other.

They had been acquainted for about TWO MONTHS when Morris paid about $2 million to settle Hunter’s overdue taxes.  It’s like something out of the movies:  a fantasy about some mysterious stranger coming forward with a suitcase full of thousand-dollar bills.  If anybody needs a rich friend/benefactor/enabler, it’s Hunter.  He can spend it faster than even he can get it.

And, of course, that was just the start of the money flow.  Morris also bought Hunter’s artwork --- that’s a story unto itself --- and was put in control of Hunter’s 10 percent share of Chinese company BHR.  That appears to have been so the Bidens could technically declare that Hunter had divested himself of ownership in Chinese companies.

So, two whole months after meeting Hunter, Kevin Morris was there to prop up all things related to his life.  That’s what Missouri Rep. Jason Smith, who chairs the House Ways and Means Committee noted to Maria Bartiromo on FOX NEWS SUNDAY yesterday.  Until Morris met Hunter, he was known mainly as a very successful Hollywood attorney who was also a big Democrat donor, two things that typically go hand in hand in Hollywood.  Then suddenly he was paying for all the outrageous expenses of someone he barely knew.

“The question is,” Smith said, “why would Kevin Morris pay almost $5 million for tax filings and also to subsidize Hunter Biden’s lifestyle?  What is Kevin Morris getting from Hunter Biden or from Joe Biden?  These are things that we need to look into,” Smith said.

And his committee has been trying to do that.  (Ways and Means is the only committee that can take a first look into an individual’s confidential tax information.)  In October, they issued a press release saying that according to the handwritten notes of an IRS whistleblower in 2022, Delaware Assistant U.S. Attorney Lesley Wolf (David Weiss’ assistant) told them she was not “personally interested” in looking into a potential campaign finance violation centering on Morris paying Hunter’s tax bill in 2020.

And James Biden, Hunter’s uncle and Joe’s brother, told FBI investigators he “didn’t know why” Morris had paid Hunter’s taxes.

You’d think both Wolf and James Biden would’ve been interested in the answer to this fascinating question.

As Jason Smith said in the press release, “One of the biggest benefits to the Joe Biden presidential campaign in 2020 was Kevin Morris trying to cover the tracks of Hunter’s mounting legal troubles.  Moreover, the American people deserve to know why, when IRS investigators smelled a potential campaign finance violation and wanted to investigate the matter further, the Justice Department moved to shut down the investigation.”

https://gop-waysandmeans.house.gov/icymi-new-evidence-reveals-justice-department-blocked-investigation-into-potential-biden-campaign-finance-violations/

(Lesley Wolf avoided answering most of the questions put to her in a congressional interview last week.  It was also revealed that weeks ago, she had very, very quietly left the “Justice” Department.)

But just when you think this administration has gone as far as it can to show it considers itself immune from scrutiny, it goes a little farther.  And this time, the story concerns Kevin Morris.  The Ways and Means Committee asked to interview him under oath, but as Chairman Smith told Maria, his committee was advised that Morris would be out of the country from Thanksgiving through the end of the year and therefore unavailable for interviews.

Here’s the November 15 press release from the House Oversight Committee about calling for Morris’ testimony.  It includes a link to their letter to Morris.

https://oversight.house.gov/release/comer-jordan-smith-call-on-kevin-morris-to-appear-for-a-transcribed-interview/

The statement that Morris would be out of the country turned out to be a lie.  A picture has turned up of Hunter Biden’s press statement at the Capitol, taken from the side, and can you guess who is standing right there, next to fellow Hunter-enabler California Rep. Eric Swalwell, the orchestrator of the event?  That’s right, it’s Kevin Morris!  He was right there on Capitol Hill while the committee waited in vain to hear Hunter’s testimony.

“That’s Kevin Morris’ picture, alongside Hunter Biden,” Smith said.  “He...came up repeatedly among the IRS whistleblowers that came before our committee.  [He’s] an individual that we need to bring forward and ask questions to.  We’ve been working with Kevin Morris’ attorney to bring him in, but they told us that he is out of the country on vacation between Thanksgiving and New Year’s.”

So Smith must have been quite surprised to see this picture of Morris.  Smith simply commented that “it sure doesn’t look like he’s out of the country.”

Smith reminded Maria that according to an email released by the IRS whistleblowers, Morris wrote to Hunter’s tax preparer three weeks before the 2020 Super Tuesday primaries, saying that they must pay off these returns “or there will be great political risk.”  And we know that the only political risk at that time was for candidate Joe Biden.  This is what caused the IRS whistleblowers to suspect campaign finance crimes, the area which Lesley Wolf refused to let them investigate.

Maria said, “That’s amazing that Hunter Biden could go defy a congressional subpoena, set up shop right in front of the steps of the Capitol, to a press conference with the guy who’s helped pay all this stuff out, and then...walk away.”  And she’s right:  it doesn’t get much more in-your-face than this.  Smith rightly pointed that if “you or I or any other American” did this, we’d be prosecuted.  This is the reason the IRS investigators blew the whistle on it.

“The fact that Hunter Biden was supposed to be in the halls of that building, going through a congressional subpoena, through depositions, and he defied that, by standing on the steps of the Capitol and doing a press conference, the fact that he’s the President’s son and he’s doing that is creating a very severe Constitutional crisis.”

Of Kevin Morris’ whereabouts, he absolutely has been dishonest, Smith said.  “This is just a pattern that we’ve been seeing for this entire investigation.”  As for the latest bit of hairsplitting in the defense of President Biden, saying that Joe wasn’t FINANCIALLY involved in his son’s business, Smith said, “Well, let me tell you, the emails and documentation we’ve been getting from the IRS whistleblowers prove otherwise.”

The IRS whistleblowers testified that “in their ten-plus years of investigations, they’ve never seen this kind of obstruction.”  So what now?  Smith says the fact that every single Republican voted in favor of the impeachment inquiry “shows that the evidence that’s been coming forward...highlights the need for continued investigation.  And that’s in fact what we’re going to do…[through] additional tools.”  They’re still waiting, not just for key testimony, but documents and tax records that are still being withheld.

Whatever these “additional tools” are that the House vote gives the committees, they had better pack some punch.  Congress should’ve acted fast and served Morris a subpoena right there in front of the Capitol.  And Hunter already was defying a subpoena; isn’t that when you bring out the handcuffs?

https://www.foxnews.com/video/6343400042112

https://www.foxnews.com/media/house-gop-absolutely-push-meet-hunter-biden-sugar-brother-paid-millions-back-taxes

 


 I JUST WANTED TO SAY: 

Thank you for reading my newsletter. 

For more news, visit my website.


 


BY MIKE HUCKABEE

Blessings on you and your family from all the Huckabee team! 

Mike Huckabee


DAILY BIBLE VERSE

For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.

Isaiah 9:6


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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


Subscribe to The Morning Edition (substack.com)


“Huckabee” Preview

Join me tonight for a news-making episode of “Huckabee” on TBN! I’ll welcome political strategist Dick Morris to talk about his extremely timely new book on Biden family corruption. Former Lockheed president and Navy SEAL Tom Burbage will share the incredible story of the development of the F-35, the most advanced military jet of all time. You’ll laugh with comedian Maureen Langan and be moved by a gorgeous Christmas carol from gospel/R&B sensation, Victory. I’ll also have an update on the tornado damage in Tennessee, including to our theater. 

Incidentally, I tell you every week how I support Samaritans Purse for being first on the scene in times of disaster, but I never thought they’d need to show up to help our own community. But they were right there! It makes me very proud to support them, and I hope you will, too (https://www.samaritanspurse.org.)

Be there tonight at 8 and 11 EST, 7 and 10 CST, and Sunday at 9 EST/8 CST on TBN. To find out how to watch TBN, from local cable and broadcast channels to streaming, visit https://www.huckabee.tv and click on “Channel Finder” on the top menu. You can stream previous episodes, highlights and online-only “Digital Exclusives,” including extended interviews, “In Case You Missed It” and “Facts of the Matter” segments, plus extra performances by our great musical and comedy guests and links to all their sites, at https://www.huckabee.tv. You can also find past shows, highlights and digital exclusives on YouTube and my Facebook page.


Worse than you think

We are assured that Hunter Biden has overcome his drug problems, but it’s hard to believe he wasn’t tripping on something when he thought that it was a good idea to make a big, grandstanding speech at the Senate and insult House investigators while defying their subpoena. Commentators are buzzing about how this could be yet another anchor on his father’s reelection bid.

In this must-read article, legal scholar Jonathan Turley explains how it’s actually worse than it’s being painted.

https://www.westernjournal.com/kjp-may-just-put-biden-grave-legal-danger-breathtaking-mistake-legal-expert-says/

Not only has Hunter opened himself up to arrest and prosecution, but White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre had a typical bout of verbal diarrhea and let slip that Joe knew what Hunter was going to say. So not only was Hunter illegally defying a Congressional subpoena, but the President discussed it with him in advance? As Democrats would say if Trump did that, it sounds like a conspiracy to obstruct justice.

Read it to get the full story from a legal expert’s standpoint. Me, I’m just amazed that of all the staggering incompetents Biden has appointed to important posts and who have done incalculable damage to the nation, the one that might ultimately bring down his presidency could be the one whose only job was just to talk.


Jaw-dropping

A DC jury ordered Rudy Giuliani to pay the jaw-dropping amount of nearly $150 million in damages for allegedly defaming mother-and-daughter Georgia election workers by saying they counted ballots multiple times.

https://redstate.com/jenvanlaar/2023/12/15/breaking-rudy-giuliani-ordered-to-pay-more-than-148-million-to-election-workers-n2167602

The stacked nature of the trial was obvious. Guiliani was found liable for failing to respond to the lawsuit for not turning over documents that he says he had no access to because prosecutors in another case wouldn’t release them. The plaintiffs gave emotional testimony about how they’d suffered threats from Internet wackos that they blamed on Guiliani's words. And the jury awarded damages multiple times the amount the plaintiffs requested.

Of course, there will be an appeal. After the verdict, Guiliani said, “I don’t regret a damn thing,” adding, “The absurdity of the number underscores the absurdity of the entire proceedings. I am quite confident when this case gets before a fair tribunal, it'll be reversed so quickly, it'll make your head spin.”


Graphic story

It seems that reporting on what’s happening in places run by Democrats is requiring me, more and more often, to attach warnings and disclaimers of offensive adult content, whether I’m reporting on gay porn in elementary schools or human feces on sidewalks. Well, here’s one that requires a great, big content WARNING:

https://redstate.com/nick-arama/2023/12/16/staffer-named-in-sex-in-senate-hearing-room-story-responds-senators-office-also-weighs-in-n2167615

A staffer for Democrat Sen. Ben Cardin is under scrutiny after a video surfaced of an alleged homemade porn tape of him having sex with his gay partner in a Senate hearing room. While Republicans are probably calling on the cleaning staff to disinfect the meeting table, the staffer in question played the Hunter Biden victim card, claiming he’s being “attacked for whom I love” (no, for WHERE you’re loving him), and insisting he would never disrespect his workplace and any attempts to characterize his actions otherwise are “fabricated.” If he’s saying the tape is a deep fake, then I’m willing to listen, because that’s a curse we’re going to have to learn to deal with, but let’s see some proof.

Interestingly, Sen. Cardin, who condemned January 6th rioters by describing the Capitol as a “sacred space,” brushed this incident off as a “personnel matter” and refused to comment. Frankly, given the choice, I think I’d rather have someone riot on my desk.

On the subject of unrepeatable stories involving Democrats, Bill Clinton made news with an accurate but unprintable quote about the incompetence of his wife's 2016 presidential campaign. Sorry, but I'm not even going to link to that one. Just search for it if you want to know; I guarantee it'll pop up. 


“Least Surprising News of the Day”

Yesterday’s “Least Surprising News of the Day” was a study finding that the college students who are most passionate about supporting the Palestinians against Israel are the ones who know the least about the situation. Today’s is another study, this time finding that practicing, church-going Christians are significantly more likely (95%) to donate to charity than non-practicing Christians (68%) or non-Christians (51%.)

https://www.westernjournal.com/christians-significantly-likely-donate-charities-non-christians-study/

The study also contained the sad news that only about one-in-five Americans these days are practicing, church-going Christians. That’s unfortunate news both for charities and for four-out-of-five Americans.


Arizona Governor does a 180 on immigration

Ever since her controversial election as Governor of Arizona, Democrat Katie Hobbs has been under a cloud of suspicion with Republicans. But it turns out they have something in common. Even she’s so fed up with President Biden’s refusal to do his job and stop the invasion of illegal entrants, she announced that she’s sending the National Guard to the border to secure it herself.

https://www.westernjournal.com/bizarre-180-degree-turnaround-dem-gov-sends-national-guard-border-biden-snub/


UPDATE:

The L.A. Medical Examiner finally released a report on the cause of death for “Friends” star Matthew Perry. It wasn’t drowning in a hot tub, although that was a contributing factor. The root cause was found to be “acute effects of ketamine,” a prescription drug he was given for depression and anxiety that likely caused him to lapse into unconsciousness in the tub. The death was ruled an accident. It’s a very sad story on every level.

https://redstate.com/beccalower/2023/12/15/la-county-medical-examiner-report-reveals-matthew-perrys-cause-of-death-acute-effects-of-ketamine-n2167610


 I JUST WANTED TO SAY: 

Thank you for reading my newsletter. 

For more news, visit my website.


Election outrage

December 14, 2023

For three years now, questions about the legitimacy of the 2020 election have been like the villain Voldemort in “Harry Potter,” something that must not be spoken of out loud. Suggest that that wasn’t the most secure, trustworthy election in history, and you risk being canceled, silenced online, losing your job and being branded a rightwing kook, conspiracy monger, enemy of “our democracy” and “election denier.” And yet, somehow…

Polls show that more than a third of Americans still don’t accept that that election was fully honest, even if they don’t believe the chicanery was enough to have determined the outcome. And after three years of being bullied into silence, they’re finally starting to speak up. This week, during a gubernatorial debate, West Virginia Secretary of State and chief elections officer Mac Warner made national news by becoming the first major state official to state unequivocally that the CIA, with help from the FBI, stole the election for Biden.

https://pjmedia.com/kevindowneyjr/2023/12/13/wv-pol-drops-the-moab-of-2020-election-fraud-the-cia-did-it-n4924722

Despite the firestorm of fake outrage (Democrats have claimed for decades that every election they’ve lost was stolen, and it makes them celebrities, like Stacey Abrams), what Warner said is, frankly, backed up by indisputable evidence.

Put aside all the questions about stuffed ballot boxes or rigged voting machines. We now know that (1.) The FBI knew for months before the election that Hunter Biden’s laptop was real, but kept it secret…(2.) Over 51 alleged “intelligence experts,” including top CIA officials, put out a letter suggesting it was Russian disinformation, giving Biden cover to deny it…and (3.) A poll found that if Biden voters had known it was real, more than enough of them would have switched their votes to change the results of the election.

So to all the people going ballistic over Warner’s statement, I have a question: If that isn’t the CIA and the FBI rigging the election, what is it?

Harvard’s Day of Infamy

December 14, 2023

One of my most useful lessons as a Texas rookie was never admitting that I held a graduate degree from Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government. From church fellowships to the Texas schools where I now taught, understating your achievements was the only way to go. Even in San Antonio, Military City, USA, my story was strange: a Vietnam-era draftee improbably accepted at Harvard en route to teaching on the West Point faculty?  While teaching cadets, I also completed my doctoral dissertation. Published in 1990 as a book by Yale University Press, it won a national award and even led to my selection as Dean of the National War College. But to avoid all that yadda-yadda, I deflected most casual questions, simply becoming “The Colonel.”

Privately, however, I understood that much of my success reflected Harvard’s uncompromising standards of excellence. Meeting those standards, both in the classroom or in grunt-level research across far-flung archives - was just how you paid the high price of excellence. Or so I thought until Harvard’s current president, Claudine Gay, began demolishing every known standard of leadership through sequential actions that have now dragged on for over two months. When the Harvard campus exploded with violent demonstrations favoring Hamas, she defended the 31 student groups who noisily pledged their support for a new intifada. Just last week, called to Capitol Hill to defend her leadership, she offered only well-coached non-answers before settling down to a tedious defense of “context” that immediately went viral. Even afterwards, she never conceded the short fuse between hate-speech and mob violence; nor did she acknowledge that Jewish students entitled to her protection had good reason to fear for their lives.

At the same time, nagging new questions arose about Ms. Gay’s fitness to serve as Harvard’s president. Although the University finished dead last in a recent survey rating free speech, new allegations were raised about controversial racial policies, like diversity, equity and inclusion. (DEI). In an interview with the  Washington Examiner , Heritage Foundation senior education fellow Jay Greene charged that DEI had helped Gay’s rise at Harvard. "DEI is something that Harvard has institutionally committed to, and that's part of why she was selected as its president…(But) Claudine Gay personally has used DEI as a tool for eliminating potential critics and clearing the path for her rise to the top…So DEI is not just an ideological worldview — it is also a tool, a club that is used to defeat one's enemies."  Jeremiah Poff, https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/policy/education/harvard-president-claudine-gay-academic-record-faces-scrutiny/Dec 13, 2023

Most alarming was Aaron Sibarium’s report in the December 11 th  editions of the  Washington Free Beacon . “Harvard University president Claudine Gay plagiarized numerous academics over the course of her academic career, at times airlifting entire paragraphs and claiming them as her own work, according to reviews by several scholars.” In compiling its report, the  Free Beacon  claimed to have “worked with nearly a dozen scholars to analyze 29 potential cases of plagiarism. Most of them said that Gay had violated a core principle of academic integrity as well as Harvard’s own  anti-plagiarism policies ..” Another academic expert observed, "The question here is whether the president of an elite institution such as Harvard can feasibly have an academic record this marred by obvious plagiarism," said Alexander Riley, a sociologist at Bucknell University. "I do not see how Harvard could possibly justify keeping her in that position in light of this evidence."  https://freebeacon.com/campus/this-is-definitely-plagiarism-harvard-university-president-claudine-gay-copied-entire-paragraphs-from-others-academic-work-and-claimed-them-as-her-own/

Yeah, but what do the experts really know? On Tuesday. December 12, the Harvard Board issued a momentous decision. "Our extensive deliberations affirm our confidence that President Gay is the right leader to help our community heal and to address the very serious societal issues we are facing…In this tumultuous and difficult time, we unanimously stand in support of President Gay," the 13-member board added. Madeline Halpert , BBC News, https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-67694492

In place of Harvard’s formerly uncompromising standards, its Board has sounded a new and most uncertain trumpet, ironically just yards from where George Washington once took command of the fledgling Continental Army. Harvard’s decision effectively erases those memories as well as its motto of Veritas, (Truth). By ignoring Ms. Gay’s appalling leadership performance and substituting the neo-orthodoxies of political correctness and DEI, Harvard betrayed its own history in a saddening Day of Infamy; its explosive impact will be remembered as long as there is a college bearing that formerly august name. 

Colonel (Ret.) Ken Allard is a former West Point professor, Dean of the National War College and NBC News military analyst .

 


BY MIKE HUCKABEE

Blessings on you and your family from all the Huckabee team! 

Mike Huckabee


DAILY BIBLE VERSE

21 She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.”

Matthew 1:21


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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.

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Here’s today’s link to continually-updated news on the war in Israel from Fox News…

https://www.foxnews.com/live-news/december-14-israel-hamas-war


Latest updates:

The increasingly useless UN General Assembly voted overwhelmingly for a resolution demanding an immediate ceasefire in Gaza. 153 nations voted in favor of Israel ceasing its campaign to get rid of the genocidal terrorists who attacked on October 7th, murdering approximately 1200 innocent Israelis, as well as committing beatings, torture and brutal rapes. Only 10 nations, including Israel and the US (which doesn’t have veto power in the General Assembly) opposed the resolution, while 23 brave nations abstained, leaving an ab-stain on their souls.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/united-nations-general-assembly-calls-for-immediate-cease-fire-in-gaza/ar-AA1lpqHY

Fortunately, PM Benjamin Netanyahu is not a typical reed-in-the-wind UN hack, and his response was this: “We are continuing until the end, there is no question. I say this even given the great pain and the international pressure. Nothing will stop us.”

Meanwhile, a recently-released hostage has a hard shot of truth for all the reality-averse Hamas sympathizers who are downplaying or denying the reports of vicious sexual assaults of Israeli women by these Hamas monsters.

https://redstate.com/jeffc/2023/12/13/hamas-survivor-blows-the-lid-off-terrorist-apologists-claiming-israeli-women-were-not-sexually-assaulted-n2167531


Senate passage

Last night, the Senate passed the National Defense Authorization Act, the $886 billion defense funding bill. That would ordinarily be a good thing, but this bill is loaded with poison pills, including funds for abortions and trans medical treatment for military personnel and a reauthorization of FISA (Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act) 702, the warrantless surveillance of American citizens.

https://thepoliticsbrief.com/the-ndaas-warrantless-backdoor-surveillance-of-americans-gets-approved-by-the-senate/

A point of order to remove that would have taken just 41 votes, but only 35 Republicans voted for it. The bill now moves to the House, where Republicans have one chance to put some starch in their spines and stop it. Former NSA subcontractor Edward Snowden, who has been both praised and condemned for revealing secret government surveillance programs, tweeted, “By 6 votes, the Senate just forced through a violation of your constitutional rights. Now all eyes turn to the House. They will put it to a vote TOMORROW (that's today, Thursday.) Call your representative, because this is your last chance. Tell them ‘#StopTheNDAA.’”


Election outrage

For three years now, questions about the legitimacy of the 2020 election have been like the villain Voldemort in “Harry Potter,” something that must not be spoken of out loud. Suggest that that wasn’t the most secure, trustworthy election in history, and you risk being canceled, silenced online, losing your job and being branded a rightwing kook, conspiracy monger, enemy of “our democracy” and “election denier.” And yet, somehow…

Polls show that more than a third of Americans still don’t accept that that election was fully honest, even if they don’t believe the chicanery was enough to have determined the outcome. And after three years of being bullied into silence, they’re finally starting to speak up. This week, during a gubernatorial debate, West Virginia Secretary of State and chief elections officer Mac Warner made national news by becoming the first major state official to state unequivocally that the CIA, with help from the FBI, stole the election for Biden.

https://pjmedia.com/kevindowneyjr/2023/12/13/wv-pol-drops-the-moab-of-2020-election-fraud-the-cia-did-it-n4924722

Despite the firestorm of fake outrage (Democrats have claimed for decades that every election they’ve lost was stolen, and it makes them celebrities, like Stacey Abrams), what Warner said is, frankly, backed up by indisputable evidence.

Put aside all the questions about stuffed ballot boxes or rigged voting machines. We now know that (1.) The FBI knew for months before the election that Hunter Biden’s laptop was real, but kept it secret…(2.) Over 51 alleged “intelligence experts,” including top CIA officials, put out a letter suggesting it was Russian disinformation, giving Biden cover to deny it…and (3.) A poll found that if Biden voters had known it was real, more than enough of them would have switched their votes to change the results of the election.

So to all the people going ballistic over Warner’s statement, I have a question: If that isn’t the CIA and the FBI rigging the election, what is it?


Family News:

This is a press release about our writer Laura Ainsworth and her new recording of “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” with the composers’ original lyrics. Cool background story, and links to listen on YouTube.

https://www.texanculturetoday.com/article/673603781-retro-jazz-singer-laura-ainsworth-shares-rare-and-unusual-merry-little-christmas


Harvard’s Day of Infamy

By Kenneth Allard

One of my most useful lessons as a Texas rookie was never admitting that I held a graduate degree from Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government. From church fellowships to the Texas schools where I now taught, understating your achievements was the only way to go. Even in San Antonio, Military City, USA, my story was strange: a Vietnam-era draftee improbably accepted at Harvard en route to teaching on the West Point faculty?  While teaching cadets, I also completed my doctoral dissertation. Published in 1990 as a book by Yale University Press, it won a national award and even led to my selection as Dean of the National War College. But to avoid all that yadda-yadda, I deflected most casual questions, simply becoming “The Colonel.”

Privately, however, I understood that much of my success reflected Harvard’s uncompromising standards of excellence. Meeting those standards, both in the classroom or in grunt-level research across far-flung archives - was just how you paid the high price of excellence. Or so I thought until Harvard’s current president, Claudine Gay, began demolishing every known standard of leadership through sequential actions that have now dragged on for over two months. When the Harvard campus exploded with violent demonstrations favoring Hamas, she defended the 31 student groups who noisily pledged their support for a new intifada. Just last week, called to Capitol Hill to defend her leadership, she offered only well-coached non-answers before settling down to a tedious defense of “context” that immediately went viral. Even afterwards, she never conceded the short fuse between hate-speech and mob violence; nor did she acknowledge that Jewish students entitled to her protection had good reason to fear for their lives.

At the same time, nagging new questions arose about Ms. Gay’s fitness to serve as Harvard’s president. Although the University finished dead last in a recent survey rating free speech, new allegations were raised about controversial racial policies, like diversity, equity and inclusion. (DEI). In an interview with the Washington Examiner, Heritage Foundation senior education fellow Jay Greene charged that DEI had helped Gay’s rise at Harvard. "DEI is something that Harvard has institutionally committed to, and that's part of why she was selected as its president…(But) Claudine Gay personally has used DEI as a tool for eliminating potential critics and clearing the path for her rise to the top…So DEI is not just an ideological worldview — it is also a tool, a club that is used to defeat one's enemies." Jeremiah Poff, https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/policy/education/harvard-president-claudine-gay-academic-record-faces-scrutiny/Dec 13, 2023

Most alarming was Aaron Sibarium’s report in the December 11th editions of the Washington Free Beacon. “Harvard University president Claudine Gay plagiarized numerous academics over the course of her academic career, at times airlifting entire paragraphs and claiming them as her own work, according to reviews by several scholars.” In compiling its report, the Free Beacon claimed to have “worked with nearly a dozen scholars to analyze 29 potential cases of plagiarism. Most of them said that Gay had violated a core principle of academic integrity as well as Harvard’s own anti-plagiarism policies..” Another academic expert observed, "The question here is whether the president of an elite institution such as Harvard can feasibly have an academic record this marred by obvious plagiarism," said Alexander Riley, a sociologist at Bucknell University. "I do not see how Harvard could possibly justify keeping her in that position in light of this evidence." https://freebeacon.com/campus/this-is-definitely-plagiarism-harvard-university-president-claudine-gay-copied-entire-paragraphs-from-others-academic-work-and-claimed-them-as-her-own/

Yeah, but what do the experts really know? On Tuesday. December 12, the Harvard Board issued a momentous decision. "Our extensive deliberations affirm our confidence that President Gay is the right leader to help our community heal and to address the very serious societal issues we are facing…In this tumultuous and difficult time, we unanimously stand in support of President Gay," the 13-member board added. Madeline Halpert , BBC News, https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-67694492

In place of Harvard’s formerly uncompromising standards, its Board has sounded a new and most uncertain trumpet, ironically just yards from where George Washington once took command of the fledgling Continental Army. Harvard’s decision effectively erases those memories as well as its motto of Veritas, (Truth). By ignoring Ms. Gay’s appalling leadership performance and substituting the neo-orthodoxies of political correctness and DEI, Harvard betrayed its own history in a saddening Day of Infamy; its explosive impact will be remembered as long as there is a college bearing that formerly august name. 

Colonel (Ret.) Ken Allard is a former West Point professor, Dean of the National War College and NBC News military analyst.


Hunter blows off House Oversight subpoena; full Congress launches formal impeachment inquiry

“I’ve never seen such a display of arrogance and entitlement as I saw today, when you had over a dozen members of Congress in a committee room waiting for Hunter Biden to appear, because he was lawfully subpoenaed, while we were there with staff who had spent countless hours preparing questions, substantive questions, at the same time Hunter Biden goes out and has a press conference and plays the victim card, defies a congressional subpoena, says he wants to tell his story, and then gets in the car and drives off.”

That was House Oversight and Accountability Chairman James Comer of Kentucky, speaking on Wednesday’s HANNITY about Hunter’s latest move to thwart oversight and accountability in the Biden financial scandal.  We’d say Hunter’s statement has all the “classic earmarks” of something conjured up by his attorney Abbe Lowell.  And Hunter’s appearance was apparently orchestrated by none other than similarly-Chinese-compromised California Rep. Eric Swalwell.

https://redstate.com/nick-arama/2023/12/13/what-was-eric-swalwell-doing-standing-with-hunter-biden-as-he-defied-subpoena-n2167502

Since Swalwell was arguably helping Hunter defy a subpoena, the GOP leadership may file an ethics complaint against him.  Come on GOP, “may” is too wishy-washy.  Do it!

https://twitter.com/paulsperry_/status/1735135791272050824

Comer called Hunter’s press event “a publicity stunt that went bust.”  He said that “today, Hunter got into more trouble if that’s even possible, by defying our lawful subpoena.”  He’s sure Americans want to know what the Bidens were doing to generate “tens of millions from our enemies around the world.”

(SIDE NOTE:  I’ll be hosting Dick Morris on my TBN show this weekend, specifically to talk about this.  It’s the focus of his new book, “CORRUPT:  The Inside Story of Biden’s Dark Money.”)

https://www.dickmorris.com/dicks-new-book-corrupt-the-inside-story-of-bidens-dark-money/

Congress lamentably did not vote Wednesday to hold Hunter in contempt.  THEY SHOULD HAVE, if only to show us which Republicans wouldn’t vote to support it.  Recall that when Peter Navarro chose not to honor a congressional subpoena (Navarro’s strong argument, which doesn’t apply in Hunter’s case:  executive privilege), he was charged with contempt by Democrats, arrested and cuffed at the airport by FBI agents and put in leg irons.

We’ll never forget this, because it happened while he was boarding a plane to Nashville to appear on my TV show!  If Democrats are going to play rough, our choice to take the high road means they’ll just run us over.  Hunter should have been charged.

Here are must-see comments from the committee chairmen after Hunter failed to show…

https://twitter.com/amuse/status/1734969473998745687?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp

Bonchie at REDSTATE was fed up with the GOP for not voting immediately to hold him in contempt of Congress…

https://redstate.com/bonchie/2023/12/13/new-gop-caves-will-not-vote-to-hold-hunter-biden-in-contempt-n2167510

By the way, did you know that in October 2021, President Biden said that people who defied subpoenas should be prosecuted by the DOJ?  Well, of course he did, because back then they were talking about people who were subpoenaed by Pelosi’s January 6 Kangaroo Kommittee.

https://redstate.com/nick-arama/2023/12/13/whoops-biden-gets-trapped-by-his-words-from-2021-about-what-should-happen-to-those-who-defy-subpoenas-n2167522

But that was then; this is now.  And, wow, this time, Biden also has AOC in his corner…

https://rumble.com/v4149j5-can-someone-please-tell-ocrazio-cortex-about-tony-bobulinski-devon-archer-a.html

Anyway, Ohio Rep. Jim Jordan, chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, said they’ll “do a report” and pass it through the committee and on to the full House.  (Might a vote still be held later on contempt charges for Hunter?  That wasn’t made clear.)  Jordan also noted that on Wednesday, every single Republican did vote to move ahead with the impeachment inquiry against President Biden.  The reason: “Anyone can see what’s going on here.”  Well, of course!  But that doesn’t necessarily translate into action, as we also saw that day.

https://nypost.com/2023/12/13/news/house-approves-impeachment-inquiry-into-biden-after-hunter-cameo/

A report from NEWSMAX noted “lingering concerns among some in the party [GOP] that the investigation has yet to produce evidence of misconduct by the President.”  I would like to know which members of the party still believe this and into what hole they have been sticking their heads.

Jordan pointed out that in his press statement, Hunter narrowed the claim of his father’s lack of involvement even further, saying there’s no evidence his father had FINANCIAL involvement.  (Actually, there is.)  He expounded on this on the floor of Congress after Hunter’s bit of theater…

https://rumble.com/v41435k-jim-jordan-on-why-impeachment-inquiry-is-necessary-and-how-doj-is-covering-.html

(Incidentally, the New York Times was caught misquoting Hunter, apparently to try to cover for Joe. Their motto used to be “All the news that’s fit to print;” now, it’s “All the news that fits the Democrat narrative we print.”)

https://redstate.com/bonchie/2023/12/13/the-new-york-times-alters-hunter-biden-presser-quote-to-cover-for-joe-biden-n2167521

Here’s Hunter’s full statement, if you’d really like to see it.  If you’re a regular reader, you’re no doubt able to spot the distortions and catch the manipulation tactics.  Hunter’s theme is that he’s a victim of “the MAGA right.” Funny, I don’t recall forcing him to peddle influence to hostile nations, spend millions on drugs and prostitutes, and refuse to pay his taxes or child support.

https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2023/12/13/hunter-biden-says-he-wont-testify-behind-closed-doors-resisting-subpoena/

Wednesday evening, speaking with Laura Ingraham, law professor Jonathan Turley picked up on the “shifting rhetoric.”  When Biden was campaigning for President, he stated flat-out that he had “no knowledge” of Hunter’s business dealings, which has been proven demonstrably false.  But now, Hunter says only that his father wasn’t “financially involved.”  What does that mean, exactly, especially when the payments made to his father from Jim and Sara Biden suggest otherwise?

“It’s really otherworldly to see these denials,” Turley said.  “But I gotta tell you, even though Washington is known as the ‘theatre of the absurd,’ I’ve never seen anything like what we saw with Hunter and his lawyers today.  I can’t come up with a legal rationale for what they did.  I mean, he effectively engaged in legal self-immolation.”  Hunter had two choices:  to go in and testify, or go in and not testify.  To put it in terms even Joe Biden would understand, Turley said, “There is no third flavor on this ice cream stand.”

Turley said it’s “nonsense” to say that Joe Biden didn’t benefit from this money.  He told Laura Ingraham, “There are federal cases on bribery and other crimes where the courts have said that payments to family members DO constitute benefits legally for those actual criminal charges.  And it also applies to impeachment…”

There are even Democrats in media, he said, who now accept that “this was a massive influence-peddling operation.  They’re just arguing that the President really didn’t know about it.”  (We can answer that in two words:  Viktor Shokin.)

Importantly, Turley pointed out that there was already a formal impeachment inquiry going on in the House committees, and because the subpoena to Hunter came from the Oversight Committee, which has “independent subpoena authority,” he believes that Hunter is “in flagrant contempt of Congress.”  In fact, Turley has “rarely seen such open contempt for Congress.”

Jordan wishes they’d had Hunter under oath, just to ask, “Who’s the Big Guy?”  Followed by, “When you were in Dubai on that call to the White House, what did you ask your father to do regarding the prosecution of Burisma?”

The committees have found over $24 million that went into the Bidens’ shell companies.  “We have no idea what the Bidens did to receive the money,” Comer said.  (Actually, I think we have a pretty good idea at this point, even without a single record of any product or service ever being provided.)  “[Hunter] can explain,” he added. “If I’m misunderstanding this, he can tell us exactly what these different companies did.”

Gee, why wouldn’t Hunter have wanted to take the opportunity to do that??  If his dad did nothing wrong, just clear it all up to pave the way for the election!

……….

RELATED:  HANNITY guest Mark Levin had a strong response to the earlier segment with Comer, Jordan and Jason Smith.  “I think you really need to focus in,” he said.  “I have no opposition to focusing on the financial fraud and the selling of public office by the Biden family.”  But that’s not the primary impeachable offense for President Biden, he said.  His main transgression is violating the oath that both President and VP take: “I will faithfully execute the office of the President of the United States and will to the best of my ability preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States.”  By failing to enforce the laws, he has made himself impeachable.

As Levin says, “We don’t need hearings, we don’t need depositions, we don’t need testimony, we don’t need text messages, we don’t need anything.  Joe Biden has violated every single federal immigration law that’s on the books...He is defying and undermining the law.”  In doing so, he has committed “multiple high crimes.”  (Note:  we would add that this is why Alejandro Mayorkas needed to be impeached as well.)

A second article of impeachment would be the student loan issue, in which Biden seized the power of the purse from the House after the Supreme Court had already ruled that he didn’t have it.  At any rate, Levin says Congress could just go for it.

https://www.foxnews.com/video/6343034526112

 


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“I’ve never seen such a display of arrogance and entitlement as I saw today, when you had over a dozen members of Congress in a committee room waiting for Hunter Biden to appear, because he was lawfully subpoenaed, while we were there with staff who had spent countless hours preparing questions, substantive questions, at the same time Hunter Biden goes out and has a press conference and plays the victim card, defies a congressional subpoena, says he wants to tell his story, and then gets in the car and drives off.”

That was House Oversight and Accountability Chairman James Comer of Kentucky, speaking on Wednesday’s HANNITY about Hunter’s latest move to thwart oversight and accountability in the Biden financial scandal.  We’d say Hunter’s statement has all the “classic earmarks” of something conjured up by his attorney Abbe Lowell.  And Hunter’s appearance was apparently orchestrated by none other than similarly-Chinese-compromised California Rep. Eric Swalwell.

https://redstate.com/nick-arama/2023/12/13/what-was-eric-swalwell-doing-standing-with-hunter-biden-as-he-defied-subpoena-n2167502

Since Swalwell was arguably helping Hunter defy a subpoena, the GOP leadership may file an ethics complaint against him.  Come on GOP, “may” is too wishy-washy.  Do it!

https://twitter.com/paulsperry_/status/1735135791272050824

Comer called Hunter’s press event “a publicity stunt that went bust.”  He said that “today, Hunter got into more trouble if that’s even possible, by defying our lawful subpoena.”  He’s sure Americans want to know what the Bidens were doing to generate “tens of millions from our enemies around the world.”

(SIDE NOTE:  I’ll be hosting Dick Morris on my TBN show this weekend, specifically to talk about this.  It’s the focus of his new book, “CORRUPT:  The Inside Story of Biden’s Dark Money.”)

https://www.dickmorris.com/dicks-new-book-corrupt-the-inside-story-of-bidens-dark-money/

Congress lamentably did not vote Wednesday to hold Hunter in contempt.  THEY SHOULD HAVE, if only to show us which Republicans wouldn’t vote to support it.  Recall that when Peter Navarro chose not to honor a congressional subpoena (Navarro’s strong argument, which doesn’t apply in Hunter’s case:  executive privilege), he was charged with contempt by Democrats, arrested and cuffed at the airport by FBI agents and put in leg irons.

We’ll never forget this, because it happened while he was boarding a plane to Nashville to appear on my TV show!  If Democrats are going to play rough, our choice to take the high road means they’ll just run us over.  Hunter should have been charged.

Here are must-see comments from the committee chairmen after Hunter failed to show…

https://twitter.com/amuse/status/1734969473998745687?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp

Bonchie at REDSTATE was fed up with the GOP for not voting immediately to hold him in contempt of Congress…

https://redstate.com/bonchie/2023/12/13/new-gop-caves-will-not-vote-to-hold-hunter-biden-in-contempt-n2167510

By the way, did you know that in October 2021, President Biden said that people who defied subpoenas should be prosecuted by the DOJ?  Well, of course he did, because back then they were talking about people who were subpoenaed by Pelosi’s January 6 Kangaroo Kommittee.

https://redstate.com/nick-arama/2023/12/13/whoops-biden-gets-trapped-by-his-words-from-2021-about-what-should-happen-to-those-who-defy-subpoenas-n2167522

But that was then; this is now.  And, wow, this time, Biden also has AOC in his corner…

https://rumble.com/v4149j5-can-someone-please-tell-ocrazio-cortex-about-tony-bobulinski-devon-archer-a.html

Anyway, Ohio Rep. Jim Jordan, chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, said they’ll “do a report” and pass it through the committee and on to the full House.  (Might a vote still be held later on contempt charges for Hunter?  That wasn’t made clear.)  Jordan also noted that on Wednesday, every single Republican did vote to move ahead with the impeachment inquiry against President Biden.  The reason: “Anyone can see what’s going on here.”  Well, of course!  But that doesn’t necessarily translate into action, as we also saw that day.

https://nypost.com/2023/12/13/news/house-approves-impeachment-inquiry-into-biden-after-hunter-cameo/

A report from NEWSMAX noted “lingering concerns among some in the party [GOP] that the investigation has yet to produce evidence of misconduct by the President.”  I would like to know which members of the party still believe this and into what hole they have been sticking their heads.

Jordan pointed out that in his press statement, Hunter narrowed the claim of his father’s lack of involvement even further, saying there’s no evidence his father had FINANCIAL involvement.  (Actually, there is.)  He expounded on this on the floor of Congress after Hunter’s bit of theater…

https://rumble.com/v41435k-jim-jordan-on-why-impeachment-inquiry-is-necessary-and-how-doj-is-covering-.html

(Incidentally, the New York Times was caught misquoting Hunter, apparently to try to cover for Joe. Their motto used to be “All the news that’s fit to print;” now, it’s “All the news that fits the Democrat narrative we print.”)

https://redstate.com/bonchie/2023/12/13/the-new-york-times-alters-hunter-biden-presser-quote-to-cover-for-joe-biden-n2167521

Here’s Hunter’s full statement, if you’d really like to see it.  If you’re a regular reader, you’re no doubt able to spot the distortions and catch the manipulation tactics.  Hunter’s theme is that he’s a victim of “the MAGA right.” Funny, I don’t recall forcing him to peddle influence to hostile nations, spend millions on drugs and prostitutes, and refuse to pay his taxes or child support.

https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2023/12/13/hunter-biden-says-he-wont-testify-behind-closed-doors-resisting-subpoena/

Wednesday evening, speaking with Laura Ingraham, law professor Jonathan Turley picked up on the “shifting rhetoric.”  When Biden was campaigning for President, he stated flat-out that he had “no knowledge” of Hunter’s business dealings, which has been proven demonstrably false.  But now, Hunter says only that his father wasn’t “financially involved.”  What does that mean, exactly, especially when the payments made to his father from Jim and Sara Biden suggest otherwise?

“It’s really otherworldly to see these denials,” Turley said.  “But I gotta tell you, even though Washington is known as the ‘theatre of the absurd,’ I’ve never seen anything like what we saw with Hunter and his lawyers today.  I can’t come up with a legal rationale for what they did.  I mean, he effectively engaged in legal self-immolation.”  Hunter had two choices:  to go in and testify, or go in and not testify.  To put it in terms even Joe Biden would understand, Turley said, “There is no third flavor on this ice cream stand.”

Turley said it’s “nonsense” to say that Joe Biden didn’t benefit from this money.  He told Laura Ingraham, “There are federal cases on bribery and other crimes where the courts have said that payments to family members DO constitute benefits legally for those actual criminal charges.  And it also applies to impeachment…”

There are even Democrats in media, he said, who now accept that “this was a massive influence-peddling operation.  They’re just arguing that the President really didn’t know about it.”  (We can answer that in two words:  Viktor Shokin.)

Importantly, Turley pointed out that there was already a formal impeachment inquiry going on in the House committees, and because the subpoena to Hunter came from the Oversight Committee, which has “independent subpoena authority,” he believes that Hunter is “in flagrant contempt of Congress.”  In fact, Turley has “rarely seen such open contempt for Congress.”

Jordan wishes they’d had Hunter under oath, just to ask, “Who’s the Big Guy?”  Followed by, “When you were in Dubai on that call to the White House, what did you ask your father to do regarding the prosecution of Burisma?”

The committees have found over $24 million that went into the Bidens’ shell companies.  “We have no idea what the Bidens did to receive the money,” Comer said.  (Actually, I think we have a pretty good idea at this point, even without a single record of any product or service ever being provided.)  “[Hunter] can explain,” he added. “If I’m misunderstanding this, he can tell us exactly what these different companies did.”

Gee, why wouldn’t Hunter have wanted to take the opportunity to do that??  If his dad did nothing wrong, just clear it all up to pave the way for the election!

……….

RELATED:  HANNITY guest Mark Levin had a strong response to the earlier segment with Comer, Jordan and Jason Smith.  “I think you really need to focus in,” he said.  “I have no opposition to focusing on the financial fraud and the selling of public office by the Biden family.”  But that’s not the primary impeachable offense for President Biden, he said.  His main transgression is violating the oath that both President and VP take: “I will faithfully execute the office of the President of the United States and will to the best of my ability preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States.”  By failing to enforce the laws, he has made himself impeachable.

As Levin says, “We don’t need hearings, we don’t need depositions, we don’t need testimony, we don’t need text messages, we don’t need anything.  Joe Biden has violated every single federal immigration law that’s on the books...He is defying and undermining the law.”  In doing so, he has committed “multiple high crimes.”  (Note:  we would add that this is why Alejandro Mayorkas needed to be impeached as well.)

A second article of impeachment would be the student loan issue, in which Biden seized the power of the purse from the House after the Supreme Court had already ruled that he didn’t have it.  At any rate, Levin says Congress could just go for it.

https://www.foxnews.com/video/6343034526112

 


BY MIKE HUCKABEE

Blessings on you and your family from all the Huckabee team! 

Mike Huckabee


DAILY BIBLE VERSE

30 But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favor with God. 31 You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus.

Luke 1:30-31


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Here’s today’s link to continually-updated news on the war in Israel from Fox News…

https://www.foxnews.com/live-news/december-12-israel-hamas-war


Tucker Carlson is back full time:

He announced the launch of a new streaming service to be available not through Twitter (X) as many expected but via his website.

https://redstate.com/bobhoge/2023/12/11/hes-back-tucker-carlson-announces-launch-of-new-streaming-service-n2167408


Latest Israel recap:

The Israeli military is continuing to hunt Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, who is believed to be hiding out in their terrorist tunnels, like a rat. Israel also shot down a suspicious aerial target that crossed into Israel from Lebanon and released video of a rocket launch site in the Gaza Strip being destroyed.

Iran-backed Houthi militants took credit for a rocket attack on a Norwegian oil and chemical tanker in the Red Sea in protest of Israel. It caused a fire and some damage but no casualties. They’re threatening to block more ships headed for Israel. PM Netanyahu has warned President Biden that if he takes no action against these Houthi attacks, Israel will.

https://www.foxnews.com/world/yemens-houthis-claim-responsibility-striking-norwegian-tanker-strinda-latest-attack


Titles you don’t have for long

There are two titles that nobody wants because once you get them, you know you won’t have them for very long. Those titles are “World’s Oldest Person” and “New Commander of Hamas.”

https://www.westernjournal.com/hamas-militant-assumes-top-post-predecessor-killed-idf-tenure-violently-cut-short-just-days-later/


She has more to give…

Having been defeated 2-1 in her bid to become Mayor of Houston, Sheila Jackson Lee (Democrat-Unhinged) has filed papers to run again for the Congressional seat she’s held since 1994. She tweeted, “I thought about the many more gifts I have to give to my constituents…”

https://www.westernjournal.com/sheila-jackson-lee-files-re-election-wake-crushing-electoral-defeat/

I had no idea that over 50% of her constituents were comedy writers, but that would explain why she keeps getting reelected. She's the gift that keeps on giving to them. And she probably will be until we really do put a man on Mars, the way she thinks we already have.


Defending Women’s Rights

Any women who are wondering why feminist groups aren’t speaking up about “trans” men taking over women’s sports should hear what Fatima Goss Graves, President of the National Women’s Law Center, had to say. If this is how today’s liberal feminists defend women’s rights, then you’ll be relieved that most of them are keeping their mouths shut.

https://www.foxnews.com/media/female-athletes-witness-testimony-suggesting-women-lose-gracefully-trans-competitors

Related: A video has gone viral of a woman blasting feminism for misleading and “unbelievably betraying” her into thinking pursuing a career, shallow relationships and her own selfish interests was more important than having a family, and that she could “do it all” and didn’t need a man. She ended up 38, childless, divorced and terrified that she’d never have a family.

https://www.foxnews.com/media/woman-30s-cries-describing-finally-wanting-kids-after-swearing-off-marriage-betrayed-feminism

Fortunately, her story has a happy ending: after making the video, she realized that a longtime male friend was the guy that “God’s been preparing for me,” and they’re talking about marriage.

She said, "I feel like I'm in such a different place now. And I'm so ready for that now. I understand what the sacrifice of marriage is and what the beauty of marriage is now, and I don't think I appreciated what family means for a long time. I don't think I truly understood. I don't care if I ever put on heels and go to a fancy dinner again. That stuff does not matter. I promise you, young women, it will never make you happy."


The debate curtain falls

The RNC has finally recognized the obvious diminishing returns and announced that there will be no more GOP primary “debates.” They say it’s time now for voters to decide who will be our next President. And it’s hard to think with all that shouting going on.

https://www.westernjournal.com/rnc-given-gop-debates-org-makes-decision-future/

As previously noted here, the one candidate who declined to participate, Trump, is far ahead in the polls and seemed to gain support after every debate he skipped. Maybe because skipping them made him seem that much smarter in retrospect.

https://www.foxnews.com/politics/trump-holds-massive-lead-iowa-five-weeks-caucuses-kick-off-gop-race-poll


Attention Insurrection Police:

Monday, pro-Palestinian activists chained themselves to a White House fence and laid down on the floor of the Senate Hart Office Building in an attempt to disrupt government business to demand an immediate ceasefire in Israel.

https://redstate.com/nick-arama/2023/12/12/ceasefire-activists-occupy-hart-senate-office-building-n2167449

I’ll be sure to let you know when they go on trial for 20-year prison sentences for committing insurrection by disrupting government business. But I wouldn’t hold my breath waiting if I were you.


Argentina’s new leader makes good on campaign promise to cut government

Sunday, the decades-long socialist rule of Argentina ended with the swearing-in of Libertarian-leaning President Javier Milei. Despite being demonized as dangerous, a rightwing fanatic, and of course, “Trump-like,” he won a landslide victory. That's thanks to voters hoping he will fix the gigantic mess created by the socialists, including a $43 billion trade deficit and 143% annual inflation. And he didn’t just run on empty promises to cut government power and spending: on his first day in office, he signed an executive order reducing the number of government ministries from 21 to nine.

https://redstate.com/bonchie/2023/12/11/javier-milei-takes-office-in-argentina-and-his-first-move-immediately-triggers-the-press-n2167410

Or as Democrats and the media here would call that, “authoritarian dictator tendencies.” We know because in this article, Bonchie at Redstate.com reports that PBS News called it “radical” and “outlandish” to cut the departments of culture and education in a time when the government is so drowning in debt that the people have been impoverished. Bonchie asks a good question: did PBS ever call any of the socialist policies that created this crisis “radical” or “outlandish?” I seriously doubt it. It’s the same principle by which, according to our media, there’s no such thing as a “far-left Democrat,” but all Republicans are “far-right.”


Biden derails

President Biden wants to blow $3 billion of our money on a bullet train from Rancho Cucamonga to Las Vegas, and he can’t even keep his own train of thought from derailing.

https://redstate.com/bonchie/2023/12/08/hes-getting-worse-joe-bidens-brain-breakage-reaches-a-new-low-in-las-vegas-n2167350


New investigation exposes how James and Sara Biden cashed in

You probably hadn’t seen the name “Sara Biden” attached to the Biden family financial scandal until it appeared on a couple of sizable personal checks made out to her brother-in-law, Joe Biden, and marked “loan repayment” for what seem to have been nonexistent loans.  But she and husband James Biden (Hunter’s uncle) have been huge players in the Biden cash game.  Thanks to Paul Sperry of REALCLEAR INVESTIGATIONS, and Stephen Miller’s organization America First Legal, it’s all coming out.

Documents turned up in AFL’s FISA requests show that Sara and Jim’s primary business, Lion’s Hall Group, appears in 3,735 emails from former VP Biden’s office.  As Sperry writes, “The sheer volume of communications concerning his brother and sister-in-law’s business appears to contradict Biden’s repeated claims over the years that he was never involved in, or even aware of, his family’s business dealings.”

The many documented allegations of financial improprieties --- yes, the word “grift” is appropriate --- of Jim and Sara Biden started early in their marriage almost thirty years ago.  Sara, a newly-minted attorney, married Jim in 1995; Sperry has the actual wedding announcement that describes his job as “director of a New York-based firm” called “Improved Funding Techniques.”

I love unintended humor, don’t you?  If you were looking for creative “funding techniques,” Jim Biden was your man!

Anyway, in addition to being marriage partners, they were business partners as well, and their business seemed to be sniffing out cash from anyone who would give it to them under any pretense.  She had met Jim on her first job after graduating from Duke University, on a committee for a close friend of Joe’s, Kentucky Democrat Sen. Wendell Ford.  In 1997 she and James started their own “consulting” firm and immediately started living way beyond their means.  Not kidding --- by 1998, they already had their first IRS lien against their house.  When they struggled to pay their mortgage and other bills, they reached out to big Biden donors who lent them hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Here’s an example of someone who really got taken to the cleaners: Philadelphia attorney Leon Barrack, who hired Sara at Jim’s urging for $300,000 a year.  (This is all from court documents and other records.)  In 2000, Jim and Sara borrowed another $353,000 from him.  But four years later, Barrack was suing them, saying Jim had made assurances that he’d be able to generate business for the Barrack Law Firm through the family name “Biden” and even Jim’s physical resemblance to his U.S. Senator brother (!!!)

Barrack contended that Sara used her position not to benefit his law firm at all but to generate opportunities for Lion’s Hall.  She even used her large travel budget for international trips for herself and Jim, bringing along their son and a nanny.

By the time Sara left the firm in 2003, she and Jim had received a total of $500,000 in loans (or, as they apparently saw them, “loans”).  These had been called “salary advancements,” and they were never repaid.  As Sperry reports, Sara and Jim were charged in the suit with “fraud,” “unjust enrichment,” and “breach of contract.”  It was eventually settled, with the terms sealed.

Another piece of cronyism involved a $2 million partnership started in 2000 by Al Gore and Andrew Cuomo with NorthPoint Communications to help provide broadband internet to more than 800 low-income urban neighborhoods.  NorthPoint needed political capital to win FCC licenses, so they hired Sara, along with nephew Hunter, to join their board --- again, just on the strength of the Biden name.  But NorthPoint filed for bankruptcy just a year later.  (Not sure how much money they pocketed or if they did any work.  Sara was not registered as a lobbyist.)

Hunter, Jim and Sara seem to suffer from the same unfortunate medical condition, the one in which the patient can’t stop bleeding money.  It appears to be genetic but can spread to in-laws.  They spend and spend, like…well, Democrats!  By 2013 (while Joe was Vice President), Jim and Sara had garnered another IRS lien on their house for nonpayment of taxes.  That was for $589,000, and there were state and local tax liens as well.  And this was right after they had purchased a $2.5 million luxury vacation home in Naples, Florida, they called the “Biden Bungalow.”  Of course, then they had to spend more money renovating it.

So they found another sucker --- I mean, Biden donor --- to “loan” them $900,000 over the next few years.  This was millionaire car magnate John Hynansky of Delaware.  Maybe “sucker” is too strong a word, though, because Hynansky did get something from Joe, who was then Obama’s “point man” for Ukraine.  Hynansky got approval from a federal loan agency to build a 7,300-square-foot Porche dealership along the highway connecting Kyiv to the international airport.  (Hynansky’s name was kept off Jim and Sara’s loan documents.)  Quid pro quo?  We don’t know, but it might be one reason why Joe reportedly gets to use the “Biden Bungalow” whenever he wants…

Anyway, this is the pattern.  Time after time, members of the Biden family spend like mad, get into a financial hole and play on the Biden name to get rescued by Joe’s political donors and Democrat friends of friends.  That’s how Jim and Sara got involved with Americore, that chain of rural hospitals that needed money.  One plaintiff (yes, there’s a lawsuit for this, too) said Jim Biden had conned him into believing he could use the Biden name to get funding for them.  While facing bankruptcy themselves, they gave Jim and Sara $650,000, but the funding never happened.  Supposedly an FBI criminal fraud investigation is ongoing.

It was around the time of what Sperry bluntly calls “the crooked hospital deal” that Hunter started sending hundreds of thousands of dollars to Jim and Sara from Chinese energy conglomerate CEFC.  That’s the part you already know about.

When Wells Fargo started flagging questionable transactions and asking about them, Sara said the huge payments were for “international consulting” but provided no documentation, and neither she nor Joe is registered as a foreign agent.  Wells Fargo closed the Lion’s Hall account.  As for the checks that ended up in Joe’s personal bank account, the White House still refuses to provide any documentation that they actually were for “loan repayment.”  And this is, pardon the expression, rich:  a White House spokesman said that the release of the bank records is “part of a smear campaign against the President” by Republican investigators.

Note: it’s not a “smear campaign” if it’s TRUE.  Let’s talk about the Democrats’ campaign to smear Donald Trump as a Russian agent, which wasn’t even remotely true.  Moving on...

House investigators are still trying to get Sara in for closed-door questioning.  As you know, they’re planning a full floor vote this week on moving ahead with the impeachment inquiry, which in theory is supposed to add heft to subpoenas.  But in the meantime, Sperry’s investigation gives us a much fuller picture of the way the Bidens have been operating for years, with bailout after bailout just on the “value” of the Biden name.  There’s much more in Sperry’s report; I hope you’ll read it.  It’s quite detailed, but I promise you won’t be tested later.

https://www.realclearinvestigations.com/articles/2023/12/11/who_is_sara_biden_joes_in-law_emerges_as_central_figure_in_foreign_cash_deals_996942.html

 


 I JUST WANTED TO SAY: 

Thank you for reading my newsletter. 

For more news, visit my website.


Siding with evil

December 11, 2023

When you thought that Ivy League University Presidents were incapable of demonstrating a complete lack of common sense, decency, and moral character, the Presidents of Harvard, Penn, and MIT went before Congress and pretty much said, “Hold muh Bud Light and watch this!”

Congresswoman Elise Stefanik of New York repeatedly asked each of them if having their students publicly advocate for the genocide of Jews was harassment and if it violated their university rules.  Should have been an easy answer.  They all should have emphatically declared that “yes, of course it’s harassment to publicly call for the murder of Jews and it not only violates the rules of our university, but the basic rules of civilized people!”  Except NONE of those university presidents said such a thing.  They instead mumbled through carefully worded and prepared responses that said that it depended on the “context.” 

Well, here’s some context for you highly educated but obviously not so brilliant scholars—when you are so morally bankrupt that you can’t simply say that a call for killing Jews is a repulsive act of antisemitic hate and beyond the bounds of free speech and even sanity, then you should in fact resign and sell hot dogs on the street corners from a little cart.  And I mean that as no disrespect to the people selling hot dogs on the street from a little cart.

Bill Ackman, a billionaire hedge fund executive who has given millions to Harvard, but says he won’t anymore, called on all 3 to resign in disgrace and urged big-dollar donors like himself to turn off the money spigots once and for all.

Not since the rise of the Nazis in the 1930s have academicians so blatantly sided with evil.  Keep in mind these are the same type of University Presidents who have not allowed conservatives, pro-life advocates, or evangelical Christians to speak on campus and have labeled them homophobes, transphobes, misogynists, and climate deniers but have no problem with allowing people on their campus to ignore the massacre of innocent babies, elderly people, and families.  They have led the so-called “me too” movement and demanded that a woman should be believed if she alleges sexual assault even if the incident happened 40 years earlier and has no witnesses.  Careers were ended, and even members of Congress were forced to resign due to alleged, but unproved accusations.  These same university leaders created “safe spaces” for students who were triggered by anything from a Halloween costume to the mere mention of the Bible and had to escorted to a “safe space” where they were treated with puppies, Play-Dough, and popsicles.  No one threatened THEM with murder.  They were just frightened by the sight of a conservative student, a Bible, or a pro-life banner.  College students have parents who are paying north of $70 thousand a year to supposedly get an education, but who instead are paying for their weird and wussy darlings to get an indoctrination into the finer art of Marxism, self-centeredness, and godless socialism.  If these are the future leaders of America, then we are surely toast--without butter or jelly!

No parent should entrust their money or more importantly their offspring to a school whose leader refuses to boldly speak out against antisemitic calls for the murder of a minority who comprise 0.2% of the world’s population and yet who have disproportionately suffered the most from hate crimes and now are threatened with genocide. 

What was done systematically to Jews in the 1930’s is looking all too familiar with what is happening now.  In the lead-up to the Holocaust, most of the world’s population thought that talk of annihilating Jews was just over-the-top political hyperbole.  It seemed so preposterous that the highly educated elites in Europe and the US dismissed it as not possible.  Eleven million murders later, with 6 million of the victims being Jews, the world decided “Never Again!” There was a profound sense of guilt and regret that the threat to Jews, the infirm, the elderly, and those who spoke up in support of Jews was not taken seriously until it was too late.  We can’t sit by silently and let this evil happen again.  And if university presidents are just too plain dumb or cowardly to lead the battle to protect all human beings, but including the Jews from genocide, then we at least need to send our children and our money to institutions who haven’t lost their minds and their decency.

Trump update

December 11, 2023

Former President Donald Trump announced Sunday on Truth Social that he will not take the stand again today in his real estate fraud trial in New York. He was expected to be the final defense witness, but he wrote, “I have already testified to everything & have nothing more to say other than this is a complete & total election interference (Biden campaign!) witch hunt” so “I will not be testifying on Monday.”

https://www.breitbart.com/news/trump-changes-course-says-he-wont-testify-monday-at-civil-fraud-trial/

The Biden White House won’t be happy to hear that most Americans agree with Trump’s assessment of all the legal charges against him, and that includes half of their own party.

https://issuesinsights.com/2023/12/11/nearly-half-of-dems-say-charges-against-trump-are-politically-motivated-ii-tipp-poll/

A new Issues & Insights/TIPP poll asked if respondents agreed or disagreed that “The Democratic Party is using the law to try to prevent Trump from running in the 2024 election.” Overall, 60 percent agreed, while only 31% disagreed. Even more interesting, those who agreed that the charges are politically motivated included 81% of Republicans, 53% of Independents and even 49% of Democrats.

Maybe they heard that last week in New York, two expert witnesses testified that they couldn’t find a single instance of fraud in any of the loan documents for the case where the judge already found Trump guilty before even seeing the evidence. To me, that’s kind of a dead giveaway.

After Republicans’ initial feeling of, “Hey, sometimes the ‘justice’ system really DOES work,” the realization is quickly dawning that justice is not what the Hunter Biden indictment was about at all.

Recall our original comment that the timing of the announcement last week was “interesting,” given that Hunter had been subpoenaed to appear before the House Ways and Means Committee this coming week.  And it was surprising that the charges were to be brought after all in...(drum roll, please!)...the Central District of California, when it was the same Biden-appointed U.S. attorney there, Martin Estrada, who wouldn’t cooperate with Delaware U.S. Attorney David Weiss to bring charges against Hunter in his district.  (Note:  neither would Biden-appointed U.S. Attorney Matthew Graves in DC.)  Why would Estrada change his mind and start wanting to see justice done?  And Estrada’s name reportedly does not appear on the charging documents; we’re not sure what to make of that.

Some legal analysts were quick to point out Hunter’s indictment would effectively prevent him from having to testify before Congress in a lengthy closed-door session, just when they had gotten serious about holding him in contempt for failure to appear.  In fact, the committee chairmen had just sent a letter to Hunter attorney Abbe Lowell promising to do just that.  Hunter’s other option would simply be to appear and take the Fifth Amendment.  Given that he’s under indictment, he would unquestionably be entitled to do that.

The other giveaway that this indictment is not about justice is the narrow focus of the charges.  As you know, the “Justice” Department allowed the statute of limitations to run out for the tax years during which Hunter was raking in money from Ukrainian energy company Burisma Holdings --- 2014 and 2015, while his father was Vice President.  And when they finally did draw up an indictment against Hunter, they left out certain crimes, most notably his failure to register as a foreign agent under the FARA law, which seems to apply only to Trump associates such as Paul Manafort and Mike Flynn.

By the way, to show just how worthless “fact”-checkers are, this weekend we happened across a 2020 USA TODAY check that perpetuated the lie that Biden was NOT helping his son with his role in firing Ukrainian prosecutor Viktor Shokin, doing it only because Shokin hadn’t been going after corruption.  The “fact”-checkers had simply accepted an explanation from one of then-VP Biden’s foreign policy advisers that has since been proven false.  In truth, Shokin had actually been cited for good job performance but was fired anyway after Biden threatened to withdraw a $1 billion loan.  Yet this incorrect “fact”-check is still online; you can read it here…

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/factcheck/2020/10/21/fact-check-joe-biden-leveraged-ukraine-aid-oust-corrupt-prosecutor/5991434002/

While the commentators at MSNBC continue covering for the President --- making one wonder how they can look at themselves in the mirror (which, ironically, they probably do a LOT) --- the level of corruption involved in this scandal is staggering, as is the mountain of evidence that implicates the President.  If you have friends and family who still don’t get it, this piece by Bill O’Reilly will sum it up quite well for them, particularly the corruption within the DOJ that amazingly allowed the Bidens to get away with their crimes for years.

https://www.billoreilly.com/b/Corruption-Beyond-a-Reasonable-Doubt/-129906898403206580.html?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=staff_column

Abbe Lowell had the nerve to say this: “Based on the facts and the law, if Hunter’s last name was anything other than Biden, the charges in Delaware, and now California, would not have been brought.”  (Cue laugh track.)  But as Florida Rep. Byron Donalds told Maria Bartiromo on FOX NEWS Sunday morning, “No, Abbe, the only reason why it took so LONG for him to be indicted is because his last name is Biden.”  Great interview, especially on violations of FARA law...

https://www.foxnews.com/video/6342730072112

All right, Mr. Lowell, you want to talk about last names?  Let’s consider for five seconds that the last name being implicated here weren’t Biden but TRUMP.  It’s impossible to look at this case without thinking of how laws have been tortured and stretched to be able to bring a deluge of charges against President Trump ahead of the election next year.

After all, the “justice” system is working very differently when it comes to Trump; recall that New York Attorney General Letitia James actually ran on a wildly unconstitutional promise to hound him and prosecute him for...something.  In Stalin-esque fashion, she was going to “get Trump.”  The coordinated, all-out effort to get Trump was so obvious, Alan Dershowitz even wrote a book about it with that title: “GET TRUMP:  The Threat to Civil Liberties, Due Process and Our Constitutional Rule of Law.”

This is even more obvious now, as that trial takes place in Manhattan.  Defense witness Eli Bartov, an expert in financial reporting misconduct, testified last week (Trump was in court for this one) that James’ case has “no merit” and that Trump’s company had “violated no generally accepted accounting principles [GAAPs].”  Out of the thousands of such principles, he testified, he hadn’t been able to find ONE that the Trump Organization had violated.  Some of the charges “really bordered on absurd,” he said.  Yet before the trial even started, presiding Judge Engoron, certainly no financial expert but truly studied in Trump-hate, had ruled on his own that Trump committed fraud!

Details of Bartov’s testimony here…

https://www.theepochtimes.com/us/expert-says-he-couldnt-find-a-single-accounting-provision-violated-in-trump-fraud-trial-5543003

Larry Kudlow at FOX BUSINESS NEWS gets the picture, too.  On Friday, he said Hunter’s indictment makes him “untouchable” to House investigators.  “Hunter is going to use this as an excuse to avoid any private deposition under oath before any of the congressional oversight or judicial or ways and means committees,” he said, “or, worst case, he’ll take the Fifth if he has to go up there.”  Also, because he’s being charged only with tax-related crimes, he won’t be forced to reveal all the details that would come up in a discussion of his failure to register as a foreign agent.

As Kudlow said, “My nonlegal suspicion is that this whole series of events actually brings GOP oversight investigators further away from Joe Biden because Hunter’s going to be untouchable for quite some time,” Kudlow said. “And if I were really a cynic, I would say the special counsel, David Weiss – who has zero credibility – decided to put Hunter on ice for exactly this reason.”

We’re non-attorneys here, too, and, sadly, ARE that cynical when it comes to this administration and the “Justice” Department.  That’s exactly why Hunter was indicted.

https://dailycaller.com/2023/12/08/untouchable-former-trump-official-says-indictment-will-keep-hunter-out-of-reach-of-house-investigators

Dick Morris had an interesting allegation this weekend about Joe Biden being, in effect, on the Chinese payroll.  And this was in another way besides those monthly payments to Hunter.

“Biden was essentially not just seeking bribes, but on the payroll of the Chinese Communist Party,” Morris said on NEWSMAX’s “Saturday Report.”  (Morris has a new book out that dives deep into this: “CORRUPT:  The Inside Story of Biden’s Dark Money.”)  “They gave the University of Pennsylvania $58 million as a grant at the start of Biden’s term and set up the Institute for Global Engagement and hired Joe Biden as a professor.  [‘Professor.’]  At the end of his term as Vice President when he was unemployed, China basically gave him a job.”

According to Morris, they also paid “hefty salaries” to future Secretary of State Antony Blinken, and “nine others, high-level national security people.”  It just keeps getting worse.

https://www.newsmax.com/newsmax-tv/dick-morris-hunter-biden-donald-trump/2023/12/09

(Dick Morris will be my guest next weekend on “Huckabee” on TBN, and I suspect this topic will come up.)

We’ll leave the Biden scandal with a comment from author and persuasion expert Scott Adams, who said Sunday that in light of the polls showing “the country truly doesn’t want Biden,” he senses that “something really illegal might be brewing,” stemming from “a sense of desperation” on the part of Democrats and the number of hoaxes they’ve already perpetrated, through activities that are either illegal or should be.  In other words, be ready for anything.

“Short of a huge crime,” Adams said, “the Democrats are going to lose power.”

…………

RELATED READING:  Why would it take this long to bring those 2016-2019 tax charges against Hunter?  For Margot Cleveland at THE FEDERALIST, there’s only one explanation:  2020 election interference.

https://thefederalist.com/2023/12/08/theres-only-one-explanation-for-hunter-bidens-simple-indictment-taking-so-long-2020-election-interference/

Jonathan Turley says that Biden’s continuing “absurd denial” in the face of such a huge mountain of evidence shows that he’s “now trapped in the amber of this corruption scandal --- unable to acknowledge the obvious falsity of his past statements.”  The Democrat Party does not come off well...

https://jonathanturley.org/2023/12/10/i-did-not-have-interactions-with-those-people-bidens-clintonesque-defense/#more-212931

 


BY MIKE HUCKABEE

Blessings on you and your family from all the Huckabee team! 

Mike Huckabee


DAILY BIBLE VERSE

Then the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people.”

Luke 2:10


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Prayers for Tennessee

Saturday, half a dozen powerful tornadoes tore into central Tennessee in the Nashville area, leaving at least six people dead and close to two dozen injured. Thousands were left without power, so the widespread damage is still being assessed. One of the towns hit hard was Hendersonville, where we shoot “Huckabee” for TBN. Thankfully, all my staffers are safe and accounted for, although our theater suffered some damage, and the TV studio and office next door were nearly destroyed.

https://www.tennessean.com/story/news/local/2023/12/09/tennessee-tornadoes-clarksville-springfield-nashville-madison-hendersonville-fatalities-severe-storm/71866438007/

Please pray for those who have lost everything to these violent storms, and here are some ways that you can help.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/tennessee-tornadoes-recovery-heres-how-you-can-help/ar-AA1lhIHY


Just what we needed:

One more deadly thing coming across Biden’s open border into America.

https://www.foxnews.com/health/deadly-rocky-mountain-spotted-fever-outbreak-california-likely-came-mexico-cdc


Protecting democracy

Update on the Democrats’ desperate efforts to protect “our democracy” by preventing Americans from voting for the candidate of their choice.

https://www.westernjournal.com/democrats-double-hopes-55-year-old-ruling-will-remove-trump-ballot/


UPDATE:

After last week’s disgraceful House testimony in which the presidents of Harvard, MIT and UPenn twisted the language like pretzels to avoid saying that calling for the genocide of Jews was unacceptable campus conduct, reaction from decent people has been swift and furious. Following the revocation of a $100 million donation amid other outraged reactions, UPenn president Liz McGill resigned on Saturday.

If the other two had any honor or shame, they would resign as well. But oh, look: 511 members of the Harvard faculty signed a letter supporting Harvard president Claudine Gay.

https://www.foxnews.com/politics/500-harvard-faculty-members-support-university-president-letter-board-antisemitism-hearing

Hilariously, the letter reads that "we urge you in the strongest possible terms to defend the independence of the university and to resist political pressures that are at odds with Harvard’s commitment to academic freedom, including calls for the removal of President Claudine Gay...The critical work of defending a culture of free inquiry in our diverse community cannot proceed if we let its shape be dictated by outside forces."

That’s rich. Elite schools like Harvard are notorious for their hostility to independent thought, freedom of speech and any ideas that diverge from woke leftist orthodoxy. The same “academics” who can’t say whether threatening to murder Jews is unacceptable were gleefully censoring, cancelling, firing and expelling people who dared to express basic common sense, like saying that men can’t become women. But censoring calls for genocide of Jews? Why, that’s a bridge too far. 

That’s hardly surprising, considering that the Harvard faculty is one of the primary reasons why so many students have been deluded into thinking that it’s trendy radical chic to hate Israel, even if it means siding with brutal terrorists who rape, torture and murder innocent men, women and children, not to mention terrorizing their fellow Jewish students. Come to think of it, we should thank them for signing that letter because it gives us a list of other staffers beyond the president who should be examined for possible firing.

RELATED: Turns out they might be supporting the retention of someone who is not only accused of being a DEI hire lacking intellectual credentials, but who, like Joe Biden, got her job as president at least partially thanks to plagiarism.

https://townhall.com/tipsheet/mattvespa/2023/12/11/harvards-president-might-be-involved-in-a-plagiarism-scandal-n2632243

Dr. Phil McGraw, who was recently my guest on “Huckabee” to talk about how we’re going wrong in raising our kids, watched that House testimony last week and released a video accusing the university presidents of “sickening smugness” and of turning their schools into “woke hotbeds fostering anti-Semitism.” His message to all three: “I saw the Hamas footage. Resign.”

https://www.breitbart.com/entertainment/2023/12/11/dr-phil-condemns-american-universities-for-fostering-antisemitism/


The bad news for Houston, Texas:

Voters just elected another Democrat mayor. The extremely good news: it’s not Sheila Jackson Lee. In Saturday’s officially nonpartisan mayoral election, moderate Democrat John Whitmire, who ran on a tough-on-crime platform, buried Lee in a 2-1 landslide.

https://www.westernjournal.com/man-beat-sheila-jackson-lee-adds-insult-injury-post-victory-statement-defeated-opponent/

Lee was already infamous for her angry radical-left politics, profanely berating her staffers, thinking the US put a man on Mars, and believing there are two Vietnams, North and South, that peacefully coexist. She’ll now also be known for running an ad for mayor that urged people to vote for her on the wrong day. I’m pretty sure that’s not what cost her the race, but don’t be surprised if she claims it is, and blames Trump for it.


Here’s today’s link to continually-updated news on the war in Israel from Fox News…

https://www.foxnews.com/live-news/december-11-israel-hamas-war

The latest: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says the war on Hamas has entered “the beginning of the end” as Hamas militants have started laying down their weapons and surrendering by the dozens. Please note, elite university students, that they are being arrested alive, and not being shot to death while unarmed , which is what people who really do support genocide, like your heroes Hamas, would do.

https://www.westernjournal.com/leftists-turn-joe-biden-show-droves-protest-fundraiser-deep-blue-stronghold/

Unfortunately, some diehard radicals are refusing to surrender and threatening to kill their hostages (again, nice group of “freedom fighters” you’re backing, Harvard brainiacs.)

https://www.breitbart.com/middle-east/2023/12/10/hamas-warns-it-could-kill-all-hostages-unless-israel-meets-demands/

Israel is responding by intensifying its search for top Hamas leaders like Yahya Sinwar. Netanyahu said his message to Hamas soldiers is that it’s “over. Don't die for Sinwar. Surrender − now."

And since these hammerheads in the West seem to need to have the truth force-fed to them before they grasp it, here’s what former Hamas communications minister Yousef al-Mansi, who is being held in Israeli captivity, said that he and the Palestinian people think about Hamas:

“They destroyed the Gaza Strip. Set it back 200 years. There is no opportunity to live.” He called Hamas a bunch of “crazy people,” led by Yahya Sinwar, “a walking dead man” with “delusions of grandeur.” He added, “I have not seen anyone in the Gaza Strip who supports Sinwar; nobody likes Sinwar. There are people who, day and night, pray that God will free us from him.” 


Trump update

Former President Donald Trump announced Sunday on Truth Social that he will not take the stand again today in his real estate fraud trial in New York. He was expected to be the final defense witness, but he wrote, “I have already testified to everything & have nothing more to say other than this is a complete & total election interference (Biden campaign!) witch hunt” so “I will not be testifying on Monday.”

https://www.breitbart.com/news/trump-changes-course-says-he-wont-testify-monday-at-civil-fraud-trial/

The Biden White House won’t be happy to hear that most Americans agree with Trump’s assessment of all the legal charges against him, and that includes half of their own party.

https://issuesinsights.com/2023/12/11/nearly-half-of-dems-say-charges-against-trump-are-politically-motivated-ii-tipp-poll/

A new Issues & Insights/TIPP poll asked if respondents agreed or disagreed that “The Democratic Party is using the law to try to prevent Trump from running in the 2024 election.” Overall, 60 percent agreed, while only 31% disagreed. Even more interesting, those who agreed that the charges are politically motivated included 81% of Republicans, 53% of Independents and even 49% of Democrats.

Maybe they heard that last week in New York, two expert witnesses testified that they couldn’t find a single instance of fraud in any of the loan documents for the case where the judge already found Trump guilty before even seeing the evidence. To me, that’s kind of a dead giveaway.


Siding with evil

When you thought that Ivy League University Presidents were incapable of demonstrating a complete lack of common sense, decency, and moral character, the Presidents of Harvard, Penn, and MIT went before Congress and pretty much said, “Hold muh Bud Light and watch this!”

Congresswoman Elise Stefanik of New York repeatedly asked each of them if having their students publicly advocate for the genocide of Jews was harassment and if it violated their university rules.  Should have been an easy answer.  They all should have emphatically declared that “yes, of course it’s harassment to publicly call for the murder of Jews and it not only violates the rules of our university, but the basic rules of civilized people!”  Except NONE of those university presidents said such a thing.  They instead mumbled through carefully worded and prepared responses that said that it depended on the “context.” 

Well, here’s some context for you highly educated but obviously not so brilliant scholars—when you are so morally bankrupt that you can’t simply say that a call for killing Jews is a repulsive act of antisemitic hate and beyond the bounds of free speech and even sanity, then you should in fact resign and sell hot dogs on the street corners from a little cart.  And I mean that as no disrespect to the people selling hot dogs on the street from a little cart.

Bill Ackman, a billionaire hedge fund executive who has given millions to Harvard, but says he won’t anymore, called on all 3 to resign in disgrace and urged big-dollar donors like himself to turn off the money spigots once and for all.

Not since the rise of the Nazis in the 1930s have academicians so blatantly sided with evil.  Keep in mind these are the same type of University Presidents who have not allowed conservatives, pro-life advocates, or evangelical Christians to speak on campus and have labeled them homophobes, transphobes, misogynists, and climate deniers but have no problem with allowing people on their campus to ignore the massacre of innocent babies, elderly people, and families.  They have led the so-called “me too” movement and demanded that a woman should be believed if she alleges sexual assault even if the incident happened 40 years earlier and has no witnesses.  Careers were ended, and even members of Congress were forced to resign due to alleged, but unproved accusations.  These same university leaders created “safe spaces” for students who were triggered by anything from a Halloween costume to the mere mention of the Bible and had to escorted to a “safe space” where they were treated with puppies, Play-Dough, and popsicles.  No one threatened THEM with murder.  They were just frightened by the sight of a conservative student, a Bible, or a pro-life banner.  College students have parents who are paying north of $70 thousand a year to supposedly get an education, but who instead are paying for their weird and wussy darlings to get an indoctrination into the finer art of Marxism, self-centeredness, and godless socialism.  If these are the future leaders of America, then we are surely toast--without butter or jelly!

No parent should entrust their money or more importantly their offspring to a school whose leader refuses to boldly speak out against antisemitic calls for the murder of a minority who comprise 0.2% of the world’s population and yet who have disproportionately suffered the most from hate crimes and now are threatened with genocide. 

What was done systematically to Jews in the 1930’s is looking all too familiar with what is happening now.  In the lead-up to the Holocaust, most of the world’s population thought that talk of annihilating Jews was just over-the-top political hyperbole.  It seemed so preposterous that the highly educated elites in Europe and the US dismissed it as not possible.  Eleven million murders later, with 6 million of the victims being Jews, the world decided “Never Again!” There was a profound sense of guilt and regret that the threat to Jews, the infirm, the elderly, and those who spoke up in support of Jews was not taken seriously until it was too late.  We can’t sit by silently and let this evil happen again.  And if university presidents are just too plain dumb or cowardly to lead the battle to protect all human beings, but including the Jews from genocide, then we at least need to send our children and our money to institutions who haven’t lost their minds and their decency.


Okay, we all know it:  why Hunter is REALLY being indicted now

After Republicans’ initial feeling of, “Hey, sometimes the ‘justice’ system really DOES work,” the realization is quickly dawning that justice is not what the Hunter Biden indictment was about at all.

Recall our original comment that the timing of the announcement last week was “interesting,” given that Hunter had been subpoenaed to appear before the House Ways and Means Committee this coming week.  And it was surprising that the charges were to be brought after all in...(drum roll, please!)...the Central District of California, when it was the same Biden-appointed U.S. attorney there, Martin Estrada, who wouldn’t cooperate with Delaware U.S. Attorney David Weiss to bring charges against Hunter in his district.  (Note:  neither would Biden-appointed U.S. Attorney Matthew Graves in DC.)  Why would Estrada change his mind and start wanting to see justice done?  And Estrada’s name reportedly does not appear on the charging documents; we’re not sure what to make of that.

Some legal analysts were quick to point out Hunter’s indictment would effectively prevent him from having to testify before Congress in a lengthy closed-door session, just when they had gotten serious about holding him in contempt for failure to appear.  In fact, the committee chairmen had just sent a letter to Hunter attorney Abbe Lowell promising to do just that.  Hunter’s other option would simply be to appear and take the Fifth Amendment.  Given that he’s under indictment, he would unquestionably be entitled to do that.

The other giveaway that this indictment is not about justice is the narrow focus of the charges.  As you know, the “Justice” Department allowed the statute of limitations to run out for the tax years during which Hunter was raking in money from Ukrainian energy company Burisma Holdings --- 2014 and 2015, while his father was Vice President.  And when they finally did draw up an indictment against Hunter, they left out certain crimes, most notably his failure to register as a foreign agent under the FARA law, which seems to apply only to Trump associates such as Paul Manafort and Mike Flynn.

By the way, to show just how worthless “fact”-checkers are, this weekend we happened across a 2020 USA TODAY check that perpetuated the lie that Biden was NOT helping his son with his role in firing Ukrainian prosecutor Viktor Shokin, doing it only because Shokin hadn’t been going after corruption.  The “fact”-checkers had simply accepted an explanation from one of then-VP Biden’s foreign policy advisers that has since been proven false.  In truth, Shokin had actually been cited for good job performance but was fired anyway after Biden threatened to withdraw a $1 billion loan.  Yet this incorrect “fact”-check is still online; you can read it here…

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/factcheck/2020/10/21/fact-check-joe-biden-leveraged-ukraine-aid-oust-corrupt-prosecutor/5991434002/

While the commentators at MSNBC continue covering for the President --- making one wonder how they can look at themselves in the mirror (which, ironically, they probably do a LOT) --- the level of corruption involved in this scandal is staggering, as is the mountain of evidence that implicates the President.  If you have friends and family who still don’t get it, this piece by Bill O’Reilly will sum it up quite well for them, particularly the corruption within the DOJ that amazingly allowed the Bidens to get away with their crimes for years.

https://www.billoreilly.com/b/Corruption-Beyond-a-Reasonable-Doubt/-129906898403206580.html?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=staff_column

Abbe Lowell had the nerve to say this: “Based on the facts and the law, if Hunter’s last name was anything other than Biden, the charges in Delaware, and now California, would not have been brought.”  (Cue laugh track.)  But as Florida Rep. Byron Donalds told Maria Bartiromo on FOX NEWS Sunday morning, “No, Abbe, the only reason why it took so LONG for him to be indicted is because his last name is Biden.”  Great interview, especially on violations of FARA law...

https://www.foxnews.com/video/6342730072112

All right, Mr. Lowell, you want to talk about last names?  Let’s consider for five seconds that the last name being implicated here weren’t Biden but TRUMP.  It’s impossible to look at this case without thinking of how laws have been tortured and stretched to be able to bring a deluge of charges against President Trump ahead of the election next year.

After all, the “justice” system is working very differently when it comes to Trump; recall that New York Attorney General Letitia James actually ran on a wildly unconstitutional promise to hound him and prosecute him for...something.  In Stalin-esque fashion, she was going to “get Trump.”  The coordinated, all-out effort to get Trump was so obvious, Alan Dershowitz even wrote a book about it with that title: “GET TRUMP:  The Threat to Civil Liberties, Due Process and Our Constitutional Rule of Law.”

This is even more obvious now, as that trial takes place in Manhattan.  Defense witness Eli Bartov, an expert in financial reporting misconduct, testified last week (Trump was in court for this one) that James’ case has “no merit” and that Trump’s company had “violated no generally accepted accounting principles [GAAPs].”  Out of the thousands of such principles, he testified, he hadn’t been able to find ONE that the Trump Organization had violated.  Some of the charges “really bordered on absurd,” he said.  Yet before the trial even started, presiding Judge Engoron, certainly no financial expert but truly studied in Trump-hate, had ruled on his own that Trump committed fraud!

Details of Bartov’s testimony here…

https://www.theepochtimes.com/us/expert-says-he-couldnt-find-a-single-accounting-provision-violated-in-trump-fraud-trial-5543003

Larry Kudlow at FOX BUSINESS NEWS gets the picture, too.  On Friday, he said Hunter’s indictment makes him “untouchable” to House investigators.  “Hunter is going to use this as an excuse to avoid any private deposition under oath before any of the congressional oversight or judicial or ways and means committees,” he said, “or, worst case, he’ll take the Fifth if he has to go up there.”  Also, because he’s being charged only with tax-related crimes, he won’t be forced to reveal all the details that would come up in a discussion of his failure to register as a foreign agent.

As Kudlow said, “My nonlegal suspicion is that this whole series of events actually brings GOP oversight investigators further away from Joe Biden because Hunter’s going to be untouchable for quite some time,” Kudlow said. “And if I were really a cynic, I would say the special counsel, David Weiss – who has zero credibility – decided to put Hunter on ice for exactly this reason.”

We’re non-attorneys here, too, and, sadly, ARE that cynical when it comes to this administration and the “Justice” Department.  That’s exactly why Hunter was indicted.

https://dailycaller.com/2023/12/08/untouchable-former-trump-official-says-indictment-will-keep-hunter-out-of-reach-of-house-investigators

Dick Morris had an interesting allegation this weekend about Joe Biden being, in effect, on the Chinese payroll.  And this was in another way besides those monthly payments to Hunter.

“Biden was essentially not just seeking bribes, but on the payroll of the Chinese Communist Party,” Morris said on NEWSMAX’s “Saturday Report.”  (Morris has a new book out that dives deep into this: “CORRUPT:  The Inside Story of Biden’s Dark Money.”)  “They gave the University of Pennsylvania $58 million as a grant at the start of Biden’s term and set up the Institute for Global Engagement and hired Joe Biden as a professor.  [‘Professor.’]  At the end of his term as Vice President when he was unemployed, China basically gave him a job.”

According to Morris, they also paid “hefty salaries” to future Secretary of State Antony Blinken, and “nine others, high-level national security people.”  It just keeps getting worse.

https://www.newsmax.com/newsmax-tv/dick-morris-hunter-biden-donald-trump/2023/12/09

(Dick Morris will be my guest next weekend on “Huckabee” on TBN, and I suspect this topic will come up.)

We’ll leave the Biden scandal with a comment from author and persuasion expert Scott Adams, who said Sunday that in light of the polls showing “the country truly doesn’t want Biden,” he senses that “something really illegal might be brewing,” stemming from “a sense of desperation” on the part of Democrats and the number of hoaxes they’ve already perpetrated, through activities that are either illegal or should be.  In other words, be ready for anything.

“Short of a huge crime,” Adams said, “the Democrats are going to lose power.”

…………

RELATED READING:  Why would it take this long to bring those 2016-2019 tax charges against Hunter?  For Margot Cleveland at THE FEDERALIST, there’s only one explanation:  2020 election interference.

https://thefederalist.com/2023/12/08/theres-only-one-explanation-for-hunter-bidens-simple-indictment-taking-so-long-2020-election-interference/

Jonathan Turley says that Biden’s continuing “absurd denial” in the face of such a huge mountain of evidence shows that he’s “now trapped in the amber of this corruption scandal --- unable to acknowledge the obvious falsity of his past statements.”  The Democrat Party does not come off well...

https://jonathanturley.org/2023/12/10/i-did-not-have-interactions-with-those-people-bidens-clintonesque-defense/#more-212931


Alex Jones is back

Elon Musk announced Sunday that controversial (to say the least) Infowars host Alex Jones would be allowed to return to Twitter (X), making good on Musk’s promise to return free speech to the platform. He cited a poll that found that 70.1% of the platform’s users supported letting Jones return.

https://www.breitbart.com/tech/2023/12/10/the-people-have-spoken-elon-musk-restores-account-belonging-alex-jones/

I’m not a fan or defender of Jones, but in America, that’s not reason enough to deny someone free speech. One Twitter user posted that “permanent account bans are antithetical to free speech,” and Musk responded, “I find it hard to disagree with this point.”

This is already causing the expected foam-flecked outrage from leftists, who never seem bothered by leftwing loudmouths, hatemongers and conspiracy theorists on social media. But they can take solace in knowing that they still have the weapons that the Founders intended for countering speech they disagree with: they can respond and refute it, or they can go read something else.

 


 I JUST WANTED TO SAY: 

Thank you for reading my newsletter. 

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BY MIKE HUCKABEE

Blessings on you and your family from all the Huckabee team! 

Mike Huckabee


DAILY BIBLE VERSE

Then the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people.”

Luke 2:10


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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.

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“Huckabee” Preview

Join me tonight for a brand-new episode of “Huckabee” on TBN, on our set that’s all done up for Christmas! I’ll talk to Tennessee Rep. David Kustoff about the situation in Israel and more. You’ll learn about an amazing charity called Mercy Ships that’s saving lives all over the world. Coach Joe Kennedy will give us an update since winning his landmark Supreme Court victory for religious freedom rights. We’ll also visit an especially Christmasy “Our Kind of Town,” and laugh with comedian and cartoonist Earl Musick. Then we’ll top it all off with a country Christmas song from two of my favorite guests, Kelly Lang and T.G. Sheppard.

So brighten up your bleak midwinter tonight at 9 EST/8 CST on TBN. To find out how to watch TBN, from local cable and broadcast channels to streaming, visit https://www.huckabee.tv and click on “Channel Finder” on the top menu. You can stream previous episodes, highlights and online-only “Digital Exclusives,” including extended interviews, “In Case You Missed It” and “Facts of the Matter” segments, plus extra performances by our great musical and comedy guests and links to all their sites, at https://www.huckabee.tv. You can also find past shows, highlights and digital exclusives on YouTube and my Facebook page.

 


Here’s today’s link to continually-updated news on the war in Israel from Fox News…

https://www.foxnews.com/live-news/december-9-israel-hamas-war

The latest: The US used its veto power to block a UN resolution calling for an immediate ceasefire, which would give Hamas terrorists time to regroup, rearm and attack again. To give you an idea of the kind of honorable humans Hamas members are, the IDF reported finding weapons and ammunition hidden in school classrooms in Gaza, including in bags marked “UNRWA” (the UN organization for Palestinian refugees) and a sniper rifle and bullets hidden inside a teddy bear.  

You’ll also find a report at that link about how the surge of violent anti-Semitic rhetoric online has “renewed debate over what role, if any, the government should have in policing online speech.” Which is interesting considering the governments wanted to censor conservative speech, and now we find the real violent, bigoted speech is coming from the left.

There seemed to be a problem yesterday with the link to this story about an old Palestinian woman telling a reporter about Hamas stealing humanitarian aid, so let's try again:

https://pjmedia.com/vodkapundit/2023/12/07/watch-this-old-gaza-woman-fact-check-a-biased-reporter-n4924557

Former Miss Israel and Miss World Linor Abargil, who is a rape survivor, expressed outrage over international women's groups refusing to outright condemn Hamas' brutal sexual violence against Israeli women. Why, it’s almost as if they care more about advancing leftist political agendas than protecting women’s rights or safety. I wonder if some other recent issue might have given us a clue as to their true priorities are (keep scrolling down...)


Chicago cyclist defends Trans finishers

The female cyclist who came in third against two men who “identify” as women in a Chicago bike race fired back at those who say the top two finishers are cheaters. In an open letter, she said she and the Chicago female racing community are “steadfast in their support” of the two, adding, “We refuse to be falsely presented as victims in a manufactured controversy driven to further alienate and marginalize those most vulnerable within our community, in service of rampant and harmful anti-LGBTQ+ legislation. We speak for ourselves: inclusion makes our sport and community stronger. Everyone is welcome here. Trans women are women.”

https://www.breitbart.com/sports/2023/12/08/female-cyclist-who-lost-men-claims-trans-competitors-make-sports-stronger/

And women’s sports are on their way to extinction, thanks to female athletes like her prioritizing woke political virtue signaling over defending women’s safety and their right to their own sports. Oh well, I guess she figures that what does not kill them makes them stronger. Let’s just hope all the men going into women’s contact sports don’t kill them. For the record, when you’re six-foot-four and weigh 250 pounds and you’re fighting five-foot-two, 120-pound women, THEY are the “vulnerable” ones.

And in related news, here’s the least surprising story of the day:

https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2023


Food for thought

I think it’s foolish to depend too much on history repeating itself. But if nothing else, this article is an interesting history lesson and food for thought about how 2024 is similar enough to 1944 that it could result in the Democrats booting Kamala Harris off their presidential ticket.

https://www.westernjournal.com/james-carter-jim-ellis-presidential-elections-1944-2024-staggeringly-similar/


Bidenflation

According to Empower’s 2023 holiday spending report, a survey found that 74% of Americans say Bidenflation is causing them serious problems this Christmas. Thirty-one percent say they’re having to work overtime or take on extra jobs to afford holiday purchases; 34% are cutting back on buying gifts or other holiday traditions (that won’t be easy; Christmas tree prices alone are 10% higher than last year); 46% are skipping travel over the holidays to save money; and 37% say they plan to spend no more than $250 on gifts this year.

https://www.westernjournal.com/bidenomics-forcing-third-americans-punch-overtime-clock-fund-holidays-survey-shows/

I’d also venture to guess that heating bills are so high that at least half of Americans are begging Santa to leave coal in their stockings this year.


Timely Reminder:

With Hunter Biden reportedly facing felony charges over not paying his taxes, critics of his dad’s Administration are pointing out how many of his speeches centered on scolding the wealthy for not paying their “fair share.”

https://www.foxnews.com/politics/biden-demanded-wealthy-pay-hunter-evaded-1m-taxes

In Hunter’s defense, he was allegedly supporting an awful lot of working girls.


Congratulations

Big congratulations to Brenda Lee, who at 78 just became the oldest artist ever to hit #1 on Billboard’s Hot 100 chart with her 65-year-old holiday classic, “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree.” She broke the record set by Louis Armstrong with “Hello, Dolly!” when he was 62 in 1964, as well as several other records.

https://www.westernjournal.com/mariah-carey-dethroned-billboard-charts-top-spot-sends-flowers-new-queen-christmas/

And kudos to Mariah Carey for being so gracious about passing her Christmas hit queen crown on to the inspiring Brenda Lee.


Ryan O’Neal RIP

By “Huckabee” pop culture guru Pat Reeder (http://www.hollywoodhifi.com)

We’re sad to have to report that actor Ryan O’Neal has died at 82, following long battles with chronic leukemia and prostate cancer.

https://variety.com/2023/film/news/ryan-oneal-dead-love-story-paper-moon-1235831519/

O’Neal first came to fame on TV’s “Peyton Place,” then rose to become one of the top leading men of the 1970s in such films as “Love Story” (not the Al Gore story), “What’s Up, Doc” (so good, I actually like Barbra Steisand), “Paper Moon” (with his daughter Tatum and Madeline Kahn stealing the show), “The Main Event,” “Barry Lyndon” and more. At one time in the mid-‘70s, he was the second biggest box office draw, behind only Clint Eastwood. Paramount even wanted him to play the unlikely role of Michael Corleone in “The Godfather,” but Francis Ford Coppola insisted on Al Pacino. In retrospect, he was probably right.

As O’Neal’s career cooled, he became known for his personal family life, including problems with his kids and his three-decade relationship with Farah Fawcett (they later got back together and he stayed by her side until her death from cancer.) But he remained active on TV, appearing regularly on such shows as “Bones” and “Desperate Housewives.” He apparently didn’t need to act, as he once said he’d made “a tremendous amount of money on real estate.”

If you’d like to watch a movie in his memory, I think the best are “Paper Moon” and “What’s Up, Doc.” But as a huge silent movie buff, I’ve always had a soft spot for “Nickelodeon,” with Ryan and Tatum O’Neal and Burt Reynolds as early movie pioneers. It’s considered one of his worst films, but if you love that era as I do, you’ll get it better than most people. Director Peter Bogdanovich released a director’s cut DVD in 2009 that turned it to black and white. He believed that color, like O’Neal’s famous blue eyes, distracted viewers from the comedy, which was better when it looked like the silent movie comics it was meant to celebrate.

 


Border update: A secret camp

The Daily Mail reported Thursday that for more than six months, the city of San Antonio has been operating a “top secret migrant camp,” housing up to 400 illegal immigrants every day at taxpayer expense in an empty hangar at the airport. Some stay less than 24 hours, some stay longer. They’re there to wait for their planes to take them wherever they’re going next. City officials who had been kept in the dark about it were furious.

Of course, the Biden Administration has been quietly reimbursing the costs out of our pockets to keep the flow of illegal aliens coming, all while claiming the border is secure. There’s more at the link, but take your blood pressure medicine first.

https://www.westernjournal.com/top-secret-migrant-camp-caught-operating-empty-aircraft-hanger-texas/

Related: The Biden White House is attacking Congressional Republicans for demanding that Biden secure our own border before giving more money to defend Ukraine’s border. Biden declared that history will “judge them harshly.”

https://www.westernjournal.com/biden-admin-furious-gop-wants-put-america-first-secure-border-history-will-remember-harshly/

Well, at least none of them will ever be known as the worst President in history. I think Joe’s got that title nailed down.


Hunter blames GOP’s “Nazi”-“Putin” tactics for his woes, says they want to kill him

As investigative journalist John Solomon promised on Thursday, he’s broken news that even more closely ties President Biden to his son’s influence-peddling scheme.

After investigating the First Family’s finances and uncovering “dozens and dozens and dozens” of suspicious banking transactions (SARS, or Suspicious Activity Reports) over several years totaling $12 million, Wisconsin Sen. Ron Johnson took his findings to Solomon.  As Solomon now reports in JUST THE NEWS, “banks filed at least six reports concerning Hunter Biden's foreign business dealings that flagged President Joe Biden's home address in [Wilmington,] Delaware and raised concerns about possible criminal activity involving money laundering or human trafficking, according to a U.S. Senator [Johnson] who investigated the first family's finances for years.”

Recall that we’d already learned about a couple of these transactions specifying Joe’s address.  In September, news broke that two wire transfers from 2019 originating from China, one for $250,000 and the other for $10,000, listed then-presidential candidate Joe Biden’s home address as the beneficiary.

Could records of these transactions have been coming to Biden’s home without his knowing it?  It occurs to us that even though he was running for President at the time, he was doing it mostly from his basement at home.  He wasn’t doing much traveling at all, especially when the pandemic set in.  According to Sen. Johnson, “There’d be so much activity coming into his address, in this case, Hunter Biden’s businesses, that he obviously would have been aware.  So, again, I would use the word ‘obvious.’  It has been obvious for so long that Biden Inc. is a corrupt enterprise.  And that this President is corrupt, that he is compromised.”  Joe Biden and his family “fully benefited” from this, Johnson said.  Apparently, Hunter was living in California, not Delaware, during this time.

As Solomon reports, Johnson spent two years working with Iowa Sen. Chuck Grassley investigating the Biden family and concluded in 2020 that “Joe Biden's family collected millions in foreign monies from countries adversarial to the United States that left the first family compromised from a national security perspective.”

The reports from the Treasury Department on Hunter were intended to “raise awareness to prompt further investigation,” Johnson said, adding that he didn’t think they’d done an honest job of that.

So, how did the IRS even come to investigate Hunter Biden?  We’ve learned from IRS witnesses that their probe started with concerns about a foreign human trafficking operation.  Hunter was paying big money for prostitutes and was allegedly taking them across state lines, which violates the Mann Act, which prohibits transporting across state lines “any woman or girl for the purpose of prostitution or debauchery, or for any sexual activity for which any person can be charged with a criminal offense.”    According to the U.K. DAILY MAIL, Wells Fargo identified 25 individuals linked to a foreign prostitution ring and about $7 million in suspicious transactions, including checks from Hunter Biden that “may have been falsified to hide his payments to hookers from his business account.”

Here’s Solomon’s full update and video interview with Sen. Johnson.

https://justthenews.com/accountability/political-ethics/least-6-suspicious-activity-reports-linked-joe-bidens-address-ron

If you’ve thought of Hunter Biden, now in his 50s, as a sort-of sympathetic figure, the victim of a greedy and manipulative father, your opinion might change after seeing his response to the indictment.  Friday, he went on left-wing musician Moby’s podcast to say he’s been investigated for five years for “these conspiracy theories and things.”   Moby is a friend he made while both were in an addiction recovery program.

Hunter claimed Republicans are trying to “kill” him (!!) to destroy his father’s presidency --- as if his father weren’t doing a good enough job of that all by himself --- and that the corruption allegations against him “may not, in every aspect, be a Russian disinformation campaign, but [they] literally have every earmark of what the Russians did.”

Note:  Hunter might want to avoid use of the word “earmark,” especially in combination with a reference to Russian disinformation, as we can’t help but associate both of these with that bogus letter about his laptop signed by 51 former intel officials.

And never mind that Hunter’s lucky to be facing only the charges relating to tax fraud.  As reported in AMERICAN GREATNESS, “Weiss has thus far steered clear of charging Hunter with anything related to the Biden family’s influence-peddling operation that could implicate Joe Biden, including bribery, money laundering and registered foreign agent (FARA) violations.”

“None of this is necessarily about me,” Hunter said to Moby.  “They are trying to destroy a presidency...So, in their base way, what they’re trying to do is, they’re trying to kill me, knowing it will be a pain far greater than my father could be able to handle.”  Now, that’s a new one --- perhaps planted in Hunter’s mind by attorney Abbe Lowell.

Of those political enemies, he said he realized that “these people are just sad, very sick people that have most likely just faced traumas in their lives that they’ve decided that they are going to turn into an evil that they decide that they’re going to inflict on the rest of the world.”

That’s right, we’re the ones with the problem.  He also accused Republicans of using “eliminationist” rhetoric against him.  “Eliminationist” rhetoric was something that the Nazis came up with as a tool to undermine their political rivals, and then Putin fine-tuned it, Hunter said, explaining that because Putin couldn’t win arguments about “economic policy, democracy and the freedom to vote,” he labeled his political rivals “pedophiles and planted child pornography on their laptops.”  That would help make the populace believe other bad things about them.  

So, Hunter managed not only to deflect blame from himself but to link Republicans with the Nazis AND Putin.  He attacked Elon Musk, too, calling him a “very damaged human being” who “doesn’t care about anybody but himself.”  As long as we’re going to play armchair psychiatrist, might I introduce the term “projection”?

https://amgreatness.com/2023/12/08/hunter-biden-says-hes-a-victim-of-conspiracy-theories-russian-disinfo-gop-trying-to-kill-him

Hunter might want to try getting a little more realistic about this situation and his own responsibility.  Law professor Jonathan Turley says his indictment “shatters years of denials” about the Biden family’s business dealings that the media helped maintain.

We said yesterday that the timing of this indictment was interesting, as it came just as Hunter was trying to fight a congressional subpoena.  Turley agrees:  Now that Hunter’s under indictment, his behind-closed-doors appearance before Congress “may be effectively scuttled.”  Turley says that “Hunter might be able to use this to plead the Fifth, to refuse to answer questions.”  On the other hand, “This indictment might make it easier for Hunter not to speak, but it may make it more difficult for President Biden to avoid [the impeachment] inquiry.”

https://dailycaller.com/2023/12/07/jonathan-turley-hunter-indictment-shatters-years-of-denials-biden-business-dealings

Former U.S. Attorney Brett Tolman told FOX NEWS host Jesse Watters on Thursday that Hunter would plead the Fifth.  He also said the prosecution has “complete control over what will happen to Hunter Biden.”  Even If they draw a judge who doesn’t fall into line, his father will pardon him.  But Hunter now “has every reason not to appear before Congress” for that long deposition.  So it’s as we thought:  the timing of this indictment was not to impart justice but to help hide misconduct that might involve the President.

https://dailycaller.com/2023/12/07/hes-going-to-plead-the-fifth-ex-us-attorney-says-hunter-biden-indictment-could-sink-deposition-protect-joe-biden

Miranda Devine called it “too late and, really, too little.”  See her interview with FOX NEWS’ Will Cain here…

https://www.foxnews.com/video/6342625679112

Finally, the media are still lying about the “lack of evidence” implicating Joe.  Here’s Tulsi Gabbard’s response to that…

https://www.foxnews.com/video/6342634218112

 


 I JUST WANTED TO SAY: 

Thank you for reading my newsletter. 

For more news, visit my website.


Positive News for Trump

December 8, 2023

Donald Trump is celebrating a positive ruling by a New York appeals court, pausing the judge’s order to dissolve his businesses in New York state.

https://www.westernjournal.com/trump-celebrates-appellate-courts-good-ruling-inside-nyc-courthouse/

It’s a corporate death penalty that would affect thousands of employees, ordered by a blatantly partisan judge before he heard a single word of arguments or testimony. And over the past week, the testimony has pretty well blown apart Attorney General Letitia James’ real estate fraud narrative.

First, a Deutsche Bank executive testified that there was nothing unusual after the loans they made to Trump or their disagreement with him over property values. Then, Trump’s attorneys called New York University accounting professor Eli Bartov, who looked over the loan documents and testified that he found “no evidence whatsoever of any accounting fraud,” and that Trump’s financial statements “were not materially misstated.”

The prosecutor attacked the witness' character, calling his testimony “pure speculation from someone they hired to say what they want.” An angry Bartov fired back, “You should be ashamed of yourself, talking to me like that. I’m here to tell the truth.” Unfortunately for all these Trump prosecutors, the truth is very harmful to their narratives.

The appeals court, however, refused to halt the trial, which is what the judges in all these bogus cases should have done on day one. They’re all transparent selective prosecution and election interference on an unprecedented scale, and we shouldn’t have to put the defendants and the taxpayers through all the time, agony and expense of appealing all the way to the Supreme Court before finding a judge who has the integrity to say, “How dare you bring this garbage into my courtroom?”

If anyone needed another reason not to go into hock to send their kids to an “elite” university, they certainly got one this week when the three female presidents of Harvard, MIT and the University of Pennsylvania appeared before the House Committee on Education and Workforce. Pressed to explain the widespread pro-Hamas protests by leftist students, with their anti-Semitic and anti-Israel chants that have terrorized Jewish students, the three stooges of the left dodged and dissembled, refusing to condemn this vile and violent hate speech as bullying or harassment, or to say that it violated their codes of conduct. They suggested it was “free expression” and had to be considered “in context.”

This from the same people who have spent the past few years firing, expelling and censoring any professors, students or guest speakers who dared to express a moderately conservative thought or even an unassailable fact, like that men can’t wish themselves into being women. But when their leftist students start holding the equivalent of Nuremberg Rallies on their campuses and chanting for a Jewish genocide, suddenly, they become defenders of free speech – even though open threats of violence are among the few legal exceptions to free speech protections.

The public backlash against these noodle-spined enablers of Hitler’s Harvard fan club was swift and furious. Barstool Sports’ Dave Portnoy declared that his company will no longer hire Harvard, Penn or MIT grads, and I think he’s probably one of many business owners thinking that, he just said it out loud.

One of them is hedge fund billionaire Bill Ackman, who previously called on Harvard to release a list of all the student groups that signed that statement blaming Israel for Hamas’ attack so that he and other CEOs will know not to hire them. He’s given millions to Harvard in the past, but he says he’ll never donate again. He called on all three school presidents to “resign in disgrace” for their “utter moral bankruptcy.”

https://redstate.com/smoosieq/2023/12/06/resign-in-disgrace-bill-ackman-excoriates-the-failed-leadership-of-harvard-mit-and-u-penn-n2167235

These academics seem to be notoriously slow learners, but even they quickly realized how badly they’d botched it because within 24 hours, they were already releasing video statements backtracking. NOW, they’re condemning threats of genocide against the Jews as “vile,” and claiming they just weren’t “focused” when they answered the question.

https://redstate.com/terichristoph/2023/12/06/harvard-president-under-intense-pressure-to-resign-now-says-threats-to-jewish-students-are-vile-n2167247

https://redstate.com/terichristoph/2023/12/06/watch-here-comes-the-groveling-apology-video-from-penns-president-n2167265

I am as close to a free speech absolutist as any conservative Christian is likely to be, and I certainly didn’t attend Hah-vahd, but I don’t need 24 hours to think it over when asked if calling for a second Holocaust is acceptable on-campus speech.  

What’s happening in our streets and on Ivy League campuses is looking all too familiar to anyone who knows the history of the 1930s.  In the lead-up to the Holocaust, most of the world’s population thought that talk of annihilating Jews was just over-the-top political hyperbole.  It seemed so preposterous that the highly-educated elites in Europe and the US dismissed it as impossible.  Only after eleven million murders, with six million of the victims being Jews, did the world declare, “Never Again!” There was a profound sense of guilt and regret that the threat to Jews, the infirm, the elderly and those who spoke up in support of Jews was not taken seriously until it was too late. 

“Never again” means we can’t sit by silently and let this cycle of evil repeat itself.  If university presidents are just too plain dumb or cowardly to lead the battle to protect all human beings, especially including the Jews from genocide, then we at least need to send our children and our money to institutions run by people who haven’t lost their minds and their decency.

By now, you’re no doubt aware that late Thursday, news broke of first son Hunter Biden facing indictment in the Central District of California on nine counts of tax-related criminal activity, including three felonies.  As ABC NEWS reports, Hunter allegedly spent millions of dollars on an extravagant lifestyle rather than paying his tax bills, engaging “in a four-year scheme to not pay at least $1.4 million in self-assessed federal taxes he owed for tax years 2016 through 2019, from in or about January 2017 through in or about October 15, 2020, and to evade the assessment of taxes for tax year 2018, when he filed false returns in or about February 2020.”

Note that charges stemming from the years 2014 and 2015, when Hunter was raking in huge monthly income --- a reported $83,000 a month --- for being on the board of corrupt Ukrainian energy company Burisma Holdings, are not included in the indictment, as Attorney General Merrick Garland’s “Justice” Department let the statute of limitations run out on those years.

The charges against Hunter claim that rather than fulfill his tax obligations, he spent oodles of cash --- well, they don’t use the word “oodles” --- on an “extravagant lifestyle” including memberships in sex clubs and over $188,000 for “adult entertainment.”  (This sort of thing is ironically known as cheap sex.)  In just the year 2018, Hunter hemorrhaged money, spending $1.8 million on lavish personal expenses instead of paying Uncle Sam.  That more than qualifies as oodles.

Weirdly, Special Counsel David Weiss reportedly said he “didn’t want” to bring charges against Hunter because “the average American would not be prosecuted for them.”  I beg to differ.  These are serious charges, carrying a maximum sentence of 17 years.  If you or I had handled our tax liabilities as Hunter did --- and didn’t have a powerful father and a wealthy Hollywood “sugar daddy” to pay off our back taxes --- we would no doubt be sitting in prison right now, wondering if today’s baloney sandwich would be on white or wheat bread.

https://nypost.com/2023/12/07/news/new-criminal-case-filed-against-hunter-biden-report

If you read the newsletter, you know the background of the Hunter case from this summer.  He was supposed to be all set to plead guilty in Delaware to a gun charge and two misdemeanor tax charges in what has accurately been described as a “sweetheart deal” that would have given him immunity from future charges (!) stemming from the investigation, but that deal collapsed after presiding Judge Maryellen Noreika read the fine print and called attention to it.  Prosecutors had to admit they’d never before seen anything like this very special deal.  Weiss, who as U.S. Attorney for Delaware had been tasked in 2018 with investigating the financial allegations against Hunter, refiled the tax charges in the California court. 

https://discernreport.com/hunter-biden-faces-nine-new-charges-including-three-more-felonies/

We weren’t sure anything would come of this, as the U.S. attorney for that district, Martin Estrada, was one of two Biden-appointed prosecutors (DC U.S. Attorney Matthew Graves was the other) who refused to work with Weiss on bringing charges against Hunter.  But apparently Weiss has been working quite diligently with a grand jury in Los Angeles to gather the evidence for potential tax charges.

As the NEW YORK POST reported in August, Weiss was not planning to bring charges against Hunter at all until two IRS investigators assigned to the case, Gary Shapley and Joseph Ziegler, came forward and blew the whistle, citing political interference and claiming they had faced unique roadblocks in investigating Hunter, particularly when the trail would have led them to Joe Biden.  Shapley testified that Weiss had said his hands were tied regarding whether or not to bring charges in other districts; Weiss denied this but the story was not consistent.

https://nypost.com/2023/08/20/weiss-wasnt-going-to-charge-hunter-biden-until-whistleblowers-came-forward-report/

The timing is intriguing.  This comes just as the GOP-led House Committees were cracking down on his lawyers’ efforts to thwart a subpoena to Hunter demanding he appear to testify in closed-door hearings.  Lead attorney Abbe Lowell had told them his client would appear for a public hearing but not in a deposition behind closed doors, a more detailed and down-to-business examination which is typically done first.  Hunter was being threatened with contempt of Congress charges if he didn’t appear for questioning on the scheduled date of December 13.

And this coming week, the full Congress (as opposed to the GOP-led committees, which were already investigating) was expected to hold a floor vote on initiating a formal impeachment inquiry into President Biden’s involvement into his son’s foreign business dealings.  House Oversight and Accountability Committee Chair James Comer of Kentucky announced that subpoenaed bank records showed Joe Biden had received $1,390-a-month payments from a business entity of Hunter’s that received money directly from a Chinese company.  Hunter’s attorneys tried to pass this off as Hunter repaying his father for the use of a truck, but that doesn’t really matter; for whatever reason, Joe Biden was being paid through Hunter’s Chinese source of income.

As Sean Hannity said Thursday night, “This is not about Hunter Biden.  Instead, this has always been and continues to be an effort to protect ‘the Big Guy,’ the brand, Joe Biden.  Remember, without Joe Biden, there is no Biden brand,” the one we heard about from Hunter’s former business partners Devon Archer and Tony Bobulinski.  There was no product for sale other than the connection with then-VP Joe Biden; access to him was the reason for the multimillion-dollar payments from China, Ukraine, Romania, Russia and Kazakhstan.

Even as the House committees are putting together bank records that show the family’s many shell companies and the flow of money, President Biden is still lying about his knowledge and involvement.  

“And now,” Hannity said, “in order to save Joe and keep his campaign afloat, Hunter is likely being offered up as the ‘sacrificial lamb.’  They will prosecute Hunter, they will distance him and his crimes from his father, and then declare, ‘Oh, justice has been served.’  That’s what the new plan is.”

We thought it was especially interesting that this went down just as Hunter was being pressured to come in for hours of testimony next week.  That is precisely what Hunter’s attorneys and the Biden campaign DO NOT want.  And the announcement just happened (ha) to come on the same day House Republicans released the 14-page text of their upcoming resolution on an impeachment inquiry against President Biden.  It’s expected to be brought to the floor next Wednesday.

https://dailycaller.com/2023/12/07/house-republicans-impeachment-inquiry-text-resolution-joe-biden

FOX NEWS’ David Spunt explained more about the charges against Hunter last night, saying they were brought in California’s Central District because that encompasses Los Angeles, where Hunter has lived since April of 2018.  Weiss is alleging that Hunter willfully chose not to pay his taxes and used a “scheme” to avoid paying them.  Spunt also mentioned that Hunter has not been charged with a FARA violation, meaning failure to register as a foreign agent.  Weiss is, however, planning to bring federal gun charges against Hunter in Delaware and says the investigation is still “ongoing.”  Abbe Lowell, as Hunter’s attorney, had made no statement as of this writing early Friday morning.

But on Thursday night, investigative journalist John Solomon of JUST THE NEWS joined Hannity to offer more details, saying that this indictment “affirms every fact that the whistleblowers...gave.  They’ve been tormented by some in the media, and certainly by Hunter Biden’s defenders.  Their truthfulness is 100 percent confirmed in this indictment tonight.”  (So is Solomon’s, by the way.)

He gives these whistleblowers credit for changing the course of history by refusing to stay silent.  And right now, Joe Biden has “a very bad mark on his record.”  As for son Hunter, he’s been shown in the indictment to be “a quintessential tax cheat.”  Solomon says that in 2019, the Ukrainians tried to tell the U.S. government that Hunter hadn’t paid his taxes on the Burisma income, but “they were turned away.”

Let’s see...2019.  Wasn’t that also the year Joe Biden started running for President?  The year the FBI confiscated and hid Hunter’s abandoned laptop?  (Gosh, 51 intelligence experts later said the laptop had all the “classic earmarks” of Russian disinformation, but WE were right about it in this newsletter --- yet we’re the ones who got flagged by Google, with help from them!)

So, with Hunter’s indictment, what happens to his testimony before Congress?  He’s been threatened with contempt of Congress if he doesn’t appear December 13, so now his attorneys may tell him to just show up and take the Fifth.

https://dailycaller.com/2023/12/06/james-comer-jim-jordan-threaten-hunter-biden-with-contempt-of-congress

Solomon says he and Wisconsin Sen. Ron Johnson have more evidence, to be revealed Friday, showing “Joe Biden is right in the middle of this scheme.”  His home address appears to have been a sort of command center for the receipt of $12 million in laundered money.  Of course, keep in mind:  if the Democrats want to run someone else in Joe’s place next year --- and you know they DO --- this might be just the pretext for “retiring” him.

 https://www.foxnews.com/video/6342559649112

If the Democrats are planning to use Hunter Biden’s indictments as their excuse for ditching Joe Biden and his plummeting approval rating (notice they haven’t done that to Bob Menendez, whom they need to keep in the Senate – remember, with them, it’s always about staying in power), they’ll need someone to take his place. And despite his insincere denials, California Gov. Gavin Newsom has obviously been running a shadow campaign for months while waiting in the wings for Joe to trip over a bag of Hunter’s Chinese money.

So if Gavin is going to be the nominee and promise to do for America what he’s done to…sorry, “for”…California, voters should take a good look at his record. Warning: you might need a hazmat suit to examine San Francisco.

So, how’s Gavin doing? This should give you a good idea: Fox Business News reports that due to a severe tax revenue decline caused by productive citizens fleeing California for red states like Texas and Florida, the state is having to slash spending to deal with a projected record $68 billion budget deficit.

https://www.foxnews.com/politics/california-faces-severe-revenue-decline-record-billion-budget-deficit-mass-exodus-continues

Sounds like Gavin has done for California what the Democrats have already done to America, so who needs him in Washington?

 


BY MIKE HUCKABEE

Blessings on you and your family from all the Huckabee team! 

Mike Huckabee


DAILY BIBLE VERSE

11 And when they had come into the house, they saw the young Child with Mary His mother, and fell down and worshiped Him. And when they had opened their treasures, they presented gifts to Him: gold, frankincense, and myrrh.

Matthew 2:11


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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.

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Mike Huckabee


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Here’s today’s link to continually-updated news on the war in Israel from Fox News…

https://www.foxnews.com/live-news/december-8-israel-hamas-war

Hamas, that benevolent humanitarian organization so beloved on America’s college campuses, has reportedly murdered one of their hostages, Israeli taxi driver Eitan Levi. He was described as "a warm, loving family man who always cared for others over himself.” He loved to go hiking and eat at steakhouses with his son, and he loved animals, especially dogs. I tell you all this because he deserves to be remembered, and so you know that the people who kidnapped and murdered him deserve everything that the IDF is about to deliver to them.

Related: Some ignorant Western tools are having a hissy fit over photos of Hamas terrorists surrendering to the IDF en masse. Apparently, they think peaceful capture is a violation of their human rights now. Perhaps they'd prefer to be treated as they treat others.

https://redstate.com/bonchie/2023/12/08/meltdown-libs-freak-out-over-viral-photos-of-hamas-surrendering-en-masse-to-israel-n2167319


Big Salute

A big salute to the newly-formed Jewish student group Harvard With Hamas, which took credit for hiring a plane to fly over Harvard University dragging a banner reading, “Harvard Hates Jews.”

https://townhall.com/tipsheet/mattvespa/2023/12/07/someone-chartered-an-airplane-to-fly-this-banner-around-harvard-n2632151

I’m also very pleased to report that thanks to University of Pennsylvania president Liz McGill’s inability to tell Congress that she thinks threatening genocide against Jews is unacceptable, a donation of $100 million has been withdrawn.

https://townhall.com/tipsheet/mattvespa/2023/12/07/upenn-just-lost-a-100-million-donation-n2632153

Here's some more good commentary on the university presidents story, including the Babylon Bee's take...

https://instapundit.com/620860/

Appropriately enough, the IDF discovered that Hamas was operating out of the campus of a university in Gaza, using its buildings to store a huge stockpile of weaponry, including paint buckets filled with grenades.

Finally, for any deluded liberals who still think Hamas cares about the Palestinian people, listen to this elderly Palestinian lady say what really happens to the humanitarian aid that is sent to Gaza. Most of it is stolen and goes down the hole into the cowardly terrorists' tunnels, leaving little to nothing for the people.

https://pjmedia.com/vodkapundit/2023/12/07/watch-this-old-gaza-woman-fact-check-a-biased-reporter-n4924557


Positive news for Trump

Donald Trump is celebrating a positive ruling by a New York appeals court, pausing the judge’s order to dissolve his businesses in New York state.

https://www.westernjournal.com/trump-celebrates-appellate-courts-good-ruling-inside-nyc-courthouse/

It’s a corporate death penalty that would affect thousands of employees, ordered by a blatantly partisan judge before he heard a single word of arguments or testimony. And over the past week, the testimony has pretty well blown apart Attorney General Letitia James’ real estate fraud narrative.

First, a Deutsche Bank executive testified that there was nothing unusual after the loans they made to Trump or their disagreement with him over property values. Then, Trump’s attorneys called New York University accounting professor Eli Bartov, who looked over the loan documents and testified that he found “no evidence whatsoever of any accounting fraud,” and that Trump’s financial statements “were not materially misstated.”

The prosecutor attacked the witness' character, calling his testimony “pure speculation from someone they hired to say what they want.” An angry Bartov fired back, “You should be ashamed of yourself, talking to me like that. I’m here to tell the truth.” Unfortunately for all these Trump prosecutors, the truth is very harmful to their narratives.

The appeals court, however, refused to halt the trial, which is what the judges in all these bogus cases should have done on day one. They’re all transparent selective prosecution and election interference on an unprecedented scale, and we shouldn’t have to put the defendants and the taxpayers through all the time, agony and expense of appealing all the way to the Supreme Court before finding a judge who has the integrity to say, “How dare you bring this garbage into my courtroom?”


How is Gavin/California doing these days?

If the Democrats are planning to use Hunter Biden’s indictments as their excuse for ditching Joe Biden and his plummeting approval rating (notice they haven’t done that to Bob Menendez, whom they need to keep in the Senate – remember, with them, it’s always about staying in power), they’ll need someone to take his place. And despite his insincere denials, California Gov. Gavin Newsom has obviously been running a shadow campaign for months while waiting in the wings for Joe to trip over a bag of Hunter’s Chinese money.

So if Gavin is going to be the nominee and promise to do for America what he’s done to…sorry, “for”…California, voters should take a good look at his record. Warning: you might need a hazmat suit to examine San Francisco.

So, how’s Gavin doing? This should give you a good idea: Fox Business News reports that due to a severe tax revenue decline caused by productive citizens fleeing California for red states like Texas and Florida, the state is having to slash spending to deal with a projected record $68 billion budget deficit.

https://www.foxnews.com/politics/california-faces-severe-revenue-decline-record-billion-budget-deficit-mass-exodus-continues

Sounds like Gavin has done for California what the Democrats have already done to America, so who needs him in Washington?


Compromise

House Republican leaders agreed to a compromise $900 billion defense spending bill that does not restrict spending for abortions for military members or transsexual sex change procedures, but it does extend the FISA surveillance of American citizens. If you want to see the concessions that the Republicans actually got, click the link and see if you think it's worth it.

https://pjmedia.com/rick-moran/2023/12/07/compromise-defense-bill-removes-restriction-on-military-travel-for-abortion-n4924563


More bad EV news

It's been two whole days since I reported any negative electric vehicle news, so before it piles up any higher, I’ll clear out a couple of stories:

Ford is backing off its attempt to force dealers to spend up to $1 million each on expenses such as installing EV charging stations and training mechanics to work on EVs. The dealers are already dealing with lots full of EVs that nobody wants to buy, and they refuse to take on all those maintenance costs for their nonexistent EV customers. The dealers filed legal challenges against Ford in Arkansas, Florida, Illinois, New York, North Carolina, and South Dakota. While Ford won in South Dakota, New York courts granted the dealers a stay on the requirements, and Ford was just found in violation of the Illinois Motor Vehicle Franchise Act that bars car makers from forcing dealers to “purchase unnecessary equipment and adhere to unreasonable requirements.” “Unnecessary” and “unreasonable” are good adjectives to describe a lot of the pressure to force Americans into EVs.

https://www.jdsupra.com/legalnews/ford-eases-ev-requirements-after-latest-5467112/

And this is an interesting video from Australia about the disastrous implementation of electric buses.

https://youtu.be/6zdSDnLSYEM?si=vxi6uxO13i401iJi

He describes how the “green” leaders of several communities wasted millions of taxpayer dollars on electric buses, only to find that they can’t get parts for them and they can run for only a few hours at most before having to sit idle as they charge for hours.

It’s also well worth watching for his comments on the ludicrous leftist fantasy of attaining “net zero” carbon emissions, and how it will devastate Western economies and harm working people while China and India continue building coal-fired power plants. As he observes, before we inevitably admit it's impossible, we will have wasted a staggering amount of money for very little benefit.

Here’s an inconvenient truth: if you really want a vehicle that creates the least pollution, buy a late model used gas-powered car, preferably a hybrid. You’ll get reliable transportation and high mileage from a high-efficiency, low-pollution engine with none of the pollution that comes from making a new car, especially the highly-polluting mineral mining necessary to make EV batteries. And you won’t be contributing to Third World child and slave labor, which I think of as a net positive.


The Three Stooges of the Left

If anyone needed another reason not to go into hock to send their kids to an “elite” university, they certainly got one this week when the three female presidents of Harvard, MIT and the University of Pennsylvania appeared before the House Committee on Education and Workforce. Pressed to explain the widespread pro-Hamas protests by leftist students, with their anti-Semitic and anti-Israel chants that have terrorized Jewish students, the three stooges of the left dodged and dissembled, refusing to condemn this vile and violent hate speech as bullying or harassment, or to say that it violated their codes of conduct. They suggested it was “free expression” and had to be considered “in context.”

This from the same people who have spent the past few years firing, expelling and censoring any professors, students or guest speakers who dared to express a moderately conservative thought or even an unassailable fact, like that men can’t wish themselves into being women. But when their leftist students start holding the equivalent of Nuremberg Rallies on their campuses and chanting for a Jewish genocide, suddenly, they become defenders of free speech – even though open threats of violence are among the few legal exceptions to free speech protections.

The public backlash against these noodle-spined enablers of Hitler’s Harvard fan club was swift and furious. Barstool Sports’ Dave Portnoy declared that his company will no longer hire Harvard, Penn or MIT grads, and I think he’s probably one of many business owners thinking that, he just said it out loud.

One of them is hedge fund billionaire Bill Ackman, who previously called on Harvard to release a list of all the student groups that signed that statement blaming Israel for Hamas’ attack so that he and other CEOs will know not to hire them. He’s given millions to Harvard in the past, but he says he’ll never donate again. He called on all three school presidents to “resign in disgrace” for their “utter moral bankruptcy.”

https://redstate.com/smoosieq/2023/12/06/resign-in-disgrace-bill-ackman-excoriates-the-failed-leadership-of-harvard-mit-and-u-penn-n2167235

These academics seem to be notoriously slow learners, but even they quickly realized how badly they’d botched it because within 24 hours, they were already releasing video statements backtracking. NOW, they’re condemning threats of genocide against the Jews as “vile,” and claiming they just weren’t “focused” when they answered the question.

https://redstate.com/terichristoph/2023/12/06/harvard-president-under-intense-pressure-to-resign-now-says-threats-to-jewish-students-are-vile-n2167247

https://redstate.com/terichristoph/2023/12/06/watch-here-comes-the-groveling-apology-video-from-penns-president-n2167265

I am as close to a free speech absolutist as any conservative Christian is likely to be, and I certainly didn’t attend Hah-vahd, but I don’t need 24 hours to think it over when asked if calling for a second Holocaust is acceptable on-campus speech.  

What’s happening in our streets and on Ivy League campuses is looking all too familiar to anyone who knows the history of the 1930s.  In the lead-up to the Holocaust, most of the world’s population thought that talk of annihilating Jews was just over-the-top political hyperbole.  It seemed so preposterous that the highly-educated elites in Europe and the US dismissed it as impossible.  Only after eleven million murders, with six million of the victims being Jews, did the world declare, “Never Again!” There was a profound sense of guilt and regret that the threat to Jews, the infirm, the elderly and those who spoke up in support of Jews was not taken seriously until it was too late. 

“Never again” means we can’t sit by silently and let this cycle of evil repeat itself.  If university presidents are just too plain dumb or cowardly to lead the battle to protect all human beings, especially including the Jews from genocide, then we at least need to send our children and our money to institutions run by people who haven’t lost their minds and their decency.

 

 

 


The Fire Next Time

By Kenneth Allard

It was as if they had called The Stupids to Washington and invited them to perform for the TV cameras, delighting those idle kibitzers who love such spectacles.

On the one hand, here were three Ivy League presidents, none of whom seemed to have brought their neurons to the witness table. With all their smirking, sneering and condescending answers, viewers must have wondered if they had mistakenly tuned into The View: Which one was Joy Behar anyway? The core question: Do your respective codes of conduct prohibit the kinds of antisemitic rants we keep seeing on our TV screens? Their core answers seemed like oatmeal. Outraged, New York Congresswoman Elise Stefanik repeatedly pressed the witnesses to define when antisemitic speech became indistinguishable from action. As Penn trustee Bill Ackman summarized their response: “It ‘depends on the context’ and ‘whether the speech turns into conduct,’ that is, actually killing Jews.” He then added, “This could be the most extraordinary testimony ever elicited in the Congress, certainly on the topic of genocide…”https://twitter.com/BillAckman/status/1732179418787783089

Writing in the New York Post, Rikki Schlott aptly summarized the proceedings as demonstrating the “institutional stupidity” of the Ivies, made even worse because Harvard was already notorious for suppressing free speech, particularly from conservatives. “Today’s professors are no longer predominantly stodgy, bow-tie wearing classical liberals. They’re critical theorists with nose piercings and a distaste for Western values…Desperate transgressors need to dig deeper in search of an edgy cause — and they’ve found one in the Israel-Palestine conflict.” https://nypost-com.cdn.ampproject.org/c/s/nypost.com/2023/12/05/news/institutional-stupidity-replaced-free-speech-in-ivy-league/amp/

My letter to Senator Ted Cruz demanding that Harvard be de-funded had barely begun when TV coverage suddenly shifted to Exhibit B of the Congressional follies. Today’s controversy: women’s athletics and resolving the ever-popular issue of What Is A Woman? Although Supreme Court justices have been baffled by the latter, today’s congressional hearing asked: Should transgender athletes only be permitted to compete on teams “consistent with their gender identity?”

As Newsmax later summarized the hearing: “Former NCAA swimmer Riley Gaines called progressive Rep. Summer Lee, D-Pa., a "misogynist" after the lawmaker condemned the activist's testimony as "transphobic" and asked that it be stricken from the record during a House hearing.” Ms Lee, a member of “the Squad,” apparently denies those pesky safety and privacy issues when biological men are introduced to women’s sports and locker rooms. Fortunately, the committee’s chair, Congresswoman Lisa McClain, brought the debate (if not the controversy) to a merciful conclusion: “Quite simply, men do not belong in women’s sports. That this needs to be said out loud is really kind of a sad reflection of where the other side is on this issue. There should be no debate about this." https://www.newsmax.com/newsfront/riley-gaines-summer-lee-misogynist/2023/12/06/id/1144986/

No wonder we have a problem on our campuses when even athletics are so controversial! But wanting to complete my trifecta of argumentative hearings, I tuned in to see FBI Director Christopher Wray on the hot seat. For months, the back-and-forth between Wray and the House Judiciary Committee has been about the Bureau’s weaponization, specifically the lengths to which FBI agents went while investigating ‘traditional Catholics.” Was this investigative activity another example of government over-reach?  https://judiciary.house.gov/media/press-releases/new-report-details-extent-fbis-weaponization-law-enforcement-against

On Tuesday before the Senate Judiciary Committee, Wray was again a smooth performer, never losing his cool even when challenged sharply. “No sir, I was aghast when I learned of this problem and took immediate action to correct it. Well, no sir, no one’s been fired.” I was actually starting to nod off before Wray unexpectedly made headlines, saying that he sees “blinking red lights everywhere” since the Hamas terror attacks of October 7th. Although some threats varied more than others, “I’ve never seen a time where all the threats or so many of the threats are all elevated, all at exactly the same time.” https://americanmilitarynews.com/2023/12/video-terror-threats-are-blinking-red-lights-everywhere-fbi-director-says/

Because I now reside just over a hundred miles north of our wide-open southern border, Wray’s assessment got my undivided attention. What better time and place could a terrorist want for a cathartic attack designed to break American morale, already at its weakest point? Why not strike hard and see if the American polity shatters in a thousand pieces?

For most of 2001, I worked as military-technical advisor on an MSNBC documentary premised on a terrorist attack in the heart of Manhattan. Yet I was as shocked as anyone by sight of that deadly 767 closing in on the Twin Towers like a marauding shark: and on this December 7th I still wonder what our enemies have planned for us.

 

COL (Ret.) Kenneth Allard is a former West Point professor, Dean of the National War College and NBC News military analyst.


Another reminder

I wrote recently that much of today’s news reminds me of the Firesign Theater album, “Everything You Know Is Wrong.” All the ”best and brightest” assured us that Hillary couldn’t lose, Trump was a Russian agent, Hunter’s laptop was Russian disinformation, the vaccines stopped both the infection and spread of COVID, January 6th was an “insurrection,” etc. etc. etc. With each passing day, another bogus narrative is debunked, only to be replaced by another one offered up with equal unquestionable certitude.

Well, add to that the mantra that our elections are completely on the up-and-up and vote fraud doesn’t exist. Here’s a story about four elections that have been overturned in the past few years due to vote chicanery. The latest came on Tuesday, when a Louisiana judge voided a local sheriff’s election that the Democrat won by a single vote and ordered a run-off after some illegal votes were discovered. I wonder if there would be more than four overturned elections if we had more judges who would actually agree to look at the evidence?

https://justthenews.com/politics-policy/elections/election-irregularities-and-fraud-led-courts-overturning-ordering-new

 


Interesting timing for Hunter Biden indictment; Joe Biden is further implicated

By now, you’re no doubt aware that late Thursday, news broke of first son Hunter Biden facing indictment in the Central District of California on nine counts of tax-related criminal activity, including three felonies.  As ABC NEWS reports, Hunter allegedly spent millions of dollars on an extravagant lifestyle rather than paying his tax bills, engaging “in a four-year scheme to not pay at least $1.4 million in self-assessed federal taxes he owed for tax years 2016 through 2019, from in or about January 2017 through in or about October 15, 2020, and to evade the assessment of taxes for tax year 2018, when he filed false returns in or about February 2020.”

Note that charges stemming from the years 2014 and 2015, when Hunter was raking in huge monthly income --- a reported $83,000 a month --- for being on the board of corrupt Ukrainian energy company Burisma Holdings, are not included in the indictment, as Attorney General Merrick Garland’s “Justice” Department let the statute of limitations run out on those years.

The charges against Hunter claim that rather than fulfill his tax obligations, he spent oodles of cash --- well, they don’t use the word “oodles” --- on an “extravagant lifestyle” including memberships in sex clubs and over $188,000 for “adult entertainment.”  (This sort of thing is ironically known as cheap sex.)  In just the year 2018, Hunter hemorrhaged money, spending $1.8 million on lavish personal expenses instead of paying Uncle Sam.  That more than qualifies as oodles.

Weirdly, Special Counsel David Weiss reportedly said he “didn’t want” to bring charges against Hunter because “the average American would not be prosecuted for them.”  I beg to differ.  These are serious charges, carrying a maximum sentence of 17 years.  If you or I had handled our tax liabilities as Hunter did --- and didn’t have a powerful father and a wealthy Hollywood “sugar daddy” to pay off our back taxes --- we would no doubt be sitting in prison right now, wondering if today’s baloney sandwich would be on white or wheat bread.

https://nypost.com/2023/12/07/news/new-criminal-case-filed-against-hunter-biden-report

If you read the newsletter, you know the background of the Hunter case from this summer.  He was supposed to be all set to plead guilty in Delaware to a gun charge and two misdemeanor tax charges in what has accurately been described as a “sweetheart deal” that would have given him immunity from future charges (!) stemming from the investigation, but that deal collapsed after presiding Judge Maryellen Noreika read the fine print and called attention to it.  Prosecutors had to admit they’d never before seen anything like this very special deal.  Weiss, who as U.S. Attorney for Delaware had been tasked in 2018 with investigating the financial allegations against Hunter, refiled the tax charges in the California court. 

https://discernreport.com/hunter-biden-faces-nine-new-charges-including-three-more-felonies/

We weren’t sure anything would come of this, as the U.S. attorney for that district, Martin Estrada, was one of two Biden-appointed prosecutors (DC U.S. Attorney Matthew Graves was the other) who refused to work with Weiss on bringing charges against Hunter.  But apparently Weiss has been working quite diligently with a grand jury in Los Angeles to gather the evidence for potential tax charges.

As the NEW YORK POST reported in August, Weiss was not planning to bring charges against Hunter at all until two IRS investigators assigned to the case, Gary Shapley and Joseph Ziegler, came forward and blew the whistle, citing political interference and claiming they had faced unique roadblocks in investigating Hunter, particularly when the trail would have led them to Joe Biden.  Shapley testified that Weiss had said his hands were tied regarding whether or not to bring charges in other districts; Weiss denied this but the story was not consistent.

https://nypost.com/2023/08/20/weiss-wasnt-going-to-charge-hunter-biden-until-whistleblowers-came-forward-report/

The timing is intriguing.  This comes just as the GOP-led House Committees were cracking down on his lawyers’ efforts to thwart a subpoena to Hunter demanding he appear to testify in closed-door hearings.  Lead attorney Abbe Lowell had told them his client would appear for a public hearing but not in a deposition behind closed doors, a more detailed and down-to-business examination which is typically done first.  Hunter was being threatened with contempt of Congress charges if he didn’t appear for questioning on the scheduled date of December 13.

And this coming week, the full Congress (as opposed to the GOP-led committees, which were already investigating) was expected to hold a floor vote on initiating a formal impeachment inquiry into President Biden’s involvement into his son’s foreign business dealings.  House Oversight and Accountability Committee Chair James Comer of Kentucky announced that subpoenaed bank records showed Joe Biden had received $1,390-a-month payments from a business entity of Hunter’s that received money directly from a Chinese company.  Hunter’s attorneys tried to pass this off as Hunter repaying his father for the use of a truck, but that doesn’t really matter; for whatever reason, Joe Biden was being paid through Hunter’s Chinese source of income.

As Sean Hannity said Thursday night, “This is not about Hunter Biden.  Instead, this has always been and continues to be an effort to protect ‘the Big Guy,’ the brand, Joe Biden.  Remember, without Joe Biden, there is no Biden brand,” the one we heard about from Hunter’s former business partners Devon Archer and Tony Bobulinski.  There was no product for sale other than the connection with then-VP Joe Biden; access to him was the reason for the multimillion-dollar payments from China, Ukraine, Romania, Russia and Kazakhstan.

Even as the House committees are putting together bank records that show the family’s many shell companies and the flow of money, President Biden is still lying about his knowledge and involvement.  

“And now,” Hannity said, “in order to save Joe and keep his campaign afloat, Hunter is likely being offered up as the ‘sacrificial lamb.’  They will prosecute Hunter, they will distance him and his crimes from his father, and then declare, ‘Oh, justice has been served.’  That’s what the new plan is.”

We thought it was especially interesting that this went down just as Hunter was being pressured to come in for hours of testimony next week.  That is precisely what Hunter’s attorneys and the Biden campaign DO NOT want.  And the announcement just happened (ha) to come on the same day House Republicans released the 14-page text of their upcoming resolution on an impeachment inquiry against President Biden.  It’s expected to be brought to the floor next Wednesday.

https://dailycaller.com/2023/12/07/house-republicans-impeachment-inquiry-text-resolution-joe-biden

FOX NEWS’ David Spunt explained more about the charges against Hunter last night, saying they were brought in California’s Central District because that encompasses Los Angeles, where Hunter has lived since April of 2018.  Weiss is alleging that Hunter willfully chose not to pay his taxes and used a “scheme” to avoid paying them.  Spunt also mentioned that Hunter has not been charged with a FARA violation, meaning failure to register as a foreign agent.  Weiss is, however, planning to bring federal gun charges against Hunter in Delaware and says the investigation is still “ongoing.”  Abbe Lowell, as Hunter’s attorney, had made no statement as of this writing early Friday morning.

But on Thursday night, investigative journalist John Solomon of JUST THE NEWS joined Hannity to offer more details, saying that this indictment “affirms every fact that the whistleblowers...gave.  They’ve been tormented by some in the media, and certainly by Hunter Biden’s defenders.  Their truthfulness is 100 percent confirmed in this indictment tonight.”  (So is Solomon’s, by the way.)

He gives these whistleblowers credit for changing the course of history by refusing to stay silent.  And right now, Joe Biden has “a very bad mark on his record.”  As for son Hunter, he’s been shown in the indictment to be “a quintessential tax cheat.”  Solomon says that in 2019, the Ukrainians tried to tell the U.S. government that Hunter hadn’t paid his taxes on the Burisma income, but “they were turned away.”

Let’s see...2019.  Wasn’t that also the year Joe Biden started running for President?  The year the FBI confiscated and hid Hunter’s abandoned laptop?  (Gosh, 51 intelligence experts later said the laptop had all the “classic earmarks” of Russian disinformation, but WE were right about it in this newsletter --- yet we’re the ones who got flagged by Google, with help from them!)

So, with Hunter’s indictment, what happens to his testimony before Congress?  He’s been threatened with contempt of Congress if he doesn’t appear December 13, so now his attorneys may tell him to just show up and take the Fifth.

https://dailycaller.com/2023/12/06/james-comer-jim-jordan-threaten-hunter-biden-with-contempt-of-congress

Solomon says he and Wisconsin Sen. Ron Johnson have more evidence, to be revealed Friday, showing “Joe Biden is right in the middle of this scheme.”  His home address appears to have been a sort of command center for the receipt of $12 million in laundered money.  Of course, keep in mind:  if the Democrats want to run someone else in Joe’s place next year --- and you know they DO --- this might be just the pretext for “retiring” him.

 https://www.foxnews.com/video/6342559649112

 


 I JUST WANTED TO SAY: 

Thank you for reading my newsletter. 

For more news, visit my website.


More bad EV news

December 8, 2023

It's been two whole days since I reported any negative electric vehicle news, so before it piles up any higher, I’ll clear out a couple of stories:

Ford is backing off its attempt to force dealers to spend up to $1 million each on expenses such as installing EV charging stations and training mechanics to work on EVs. The dealers are already dealing with lots full of EVs that nobody wants to buy, and they refuse to take on all those maintenance costs for their nonexistent EV customers. The dealers filed legal challenges against Ford in Arkansas, Florida, Illinois, New York, North Carolina, and South Dakota. While Ford won in South Dakota, New York courts granted the dealers a stay on the requirements, and Ford was just found in violation of the Illinois Motor Vehicle Franchise Act that bars car makers from forcing dealers to “purchase unnecessary equipment and adhere to unreasonable requirements.” “Unnecessary” and “unreasonable” are good adjectives to describe a lot of the pressure to force Americans into EVs.

https://www.jdsupra.com/legalnews/ford-eases-ev-requirements-after-latest-5467112/

And this is an interesting video from Australia about the disastrous implementation of electric buses.

https://youtu.be/6zdSDnLSYEM?si=vxi6uxO13i401iJi

He describes how the “green” leaders of several communities wasted millions of taxpayer dollars on electric buses, only to find that they can’t get parts for them and they can run for only a few hours at most before having to sit idle as they charge for hours.

It’s also well worth watching for his comments on the ludicrous leftist fantasy of attaining “net zero” carbon emissions, and how it will devastate Western economies and harm working people while China and India continue building coal-fired power plants. As he observes, before we inevitably admit it's impossible, we will have wasted a staggering amount of money for very little benefit.

Here’s an inconvenient truth: if you really want a vehicle that creates the least pollution, buy a late model used gas-powered car, preferably a hybrid. You’ll get reliable transportation and high mileage from a high-efficiency, low-pollution engine with none of the pollution that comes from making a new car, especially the highly-polluting mineral mining necessary to make EV batteries. And you won’t be contributing to Third World child and slave labor, which I think of as a net positive.

 


BY MIKE HUCKABEE

Blessings on you and your family from all the Huckabee team! 

Mike Huckabee


DAILY BIBLE VERSE

Joseph also went from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to the city of David called Bethlehem, because he was descended from the house and family of David. He went to be registered with Mary, to whom he was engaged and who was expecting a child.

Luke 2:4-5


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Pearl Harbor Day

Today is Pearl Harbor Day. On December 7, 1941, prescienty declared by President Franklin Roosevelt to be a “date which will live in infamy,” Japan launched a sneak attack on the US Naval base in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. The surprised Americans fought back valiantly, but by the time it was over, 2,403 people were dead and America’s Naval fleet had suffered a devastating blow. It was the deadliest attack on the US until September 11, 2001, and it brought America into World War II.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/on-this-day-in-history-december-7-1941-pearl-harbor-attack-kills-2403-americans-launches-us-into-wwii/ar-AA14ZKKq

So when you hear Democrats compare January 6th to Pearl Harbor and 9/11, remember not only how ridiculous that is, but how incredibly offensive it is to the memories of over 5,000 victims.  

Here’s a great story about two survivors of the attack who recall what it was like and who returned for the 82nd anniversary because they wanted to honor their fallen comrades. As should we all on this day.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/centenarian-survivors-of-pearl-harbor-attack-are-returning-to-honor-those-who-perished-82-years-ago/ar-AA1l957h

I hope that someday, you will all be able to visit the Pearl Harbor Memorial. Until then, please take this opportunity to teach your kids some real American history by telling them about Pearl Harbor Day. You can learn more at the National Parks Services’ webpage for the Pearl Harbor Memorial.

https://www.nps.gov/perl/index.htm


Here’s today’s feed of real-time headlines on the war in Israel from Fox News…

https://www.foxnews.com/live-news/december-7-israel-hamas-war

Today marks the two-month anniversary of the barbaric and deadly attack on Israel by Hamas terrorists. Israel is continuing to press its offensive in Gaza. IDF troops have the house of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar surrounded. They say they don’t know if he’s holed up there or has an underground bunker. But PM Netanyahu said that even if Sinwar managed to escape, “He can run, but we will get him.”

https://www.thedailybeast.com/israel-says-it-has-home-of-palestinian-leader-of-hamas-in-the-gaza-strip-yahya-sinwar-surrounded

A 28-year-old farm worker from Thailand who was taken hostage said he and fellow hostages were held for 50 days in two underground rooms. They were given bread and two bottles of water a day, and taken at gunpoint to use the bathroom in a hole in the ground. He was punched and kicked while the Israeli hostages were whipped with electrical wires. He said, “I thought I would die.”

And yet, on Wednesday, Columbia University students held a protest defending the Hamas slaughter of Jewish civilians as a “Palestinian counteroffensive,” in defiance of the school’s efforts to shut the event down. I assume that anyone who is an administrator at Columbia University must have a fairly wide vocabulary, so have they ever heard the word, “expulsion”?

Here’s a narrative-buster for those Columbia students: While woefully ignorant young Americans blame Israel for the deaths of Palestinians that the Hamas terrorists are using as human shields, maybe they should ask some Palestinian refugees who they blame for their plight. It’s not the Jews.

https://www.breitbart.com/middle-east/2023/12/06/report-furious-palestinians-curse-hamas-leader-yahya-sinwar-in-gaza-explosion-possible/

They blame the Hamas government and Hamas leader, Yahya Sinwar, for launching the attack on Israel and starting this. It couldn’t get clearer than in these words from one Palestinian man at a UN shelter in Rafah:

“I want to convey a message to the Hamas government: May Allah take revenge on you…May Allah curse you and curse your father’s father and curse the one who brought you into the world. May Allah curse Yahya Sinwar. You son of a dog…You destroyed us.”


“The Incredible Shrinking GOP Debates”

Last night brought the fourth in what I’ve started thinking of as “The Incredible Shrinking GOP Debates.” It’s not just because the crowd of candidates was down to only four, but both the audience and the public interest are falling away like the leaves in autumn, which admittedly makes for a much better show.

Last night’s debate aired on the relatively obscure News Nation channel, which meant most people had to watch a livestream on Rumble, which kept cutting out. I can’t imagine that it drew more viewers than the “Hogan’s Heroes” reruns on MeTV. Most people have realized by now that, for better or worse, Trump is going to be the nominee and these debaters are just prepping for a future run or else auditioning for either a Trump cabinet post or, in Chris Christie’s case, a gig as a token Republican on CNN or MSNBC.

I won’t bother recapping it in detail, but Breitbart did a good job of liveblog commentary you can read through it all:

https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2023/12/06/gop-debate-livewire-only-four-challengers-remain-as-trump-looks-to-lock-in-nomination/

Matt Vespa of Townhall.com has some good observations on what he called “Fight Club on stage.”

https://townhall.com/tipsheet/mattvespa/2023/12/06/fourth-gop-debate-could-summed-up-with-these-three-words-n2632111

And here’s some commentary on Megyn Kelly’s very confrontational moderating…

https://www.westernjournal.com/megyn-kelly-comes-swinging-final-gop-debate-takes-no-prisoners/

Otherwise, there was a lot of sniping and name-calling, like Christie attacking Trump by repeating bogus leftwing narratives (He’ll be a DICTATOR! He’ll be a convicted FELON!) and attacking the others for not attacking Trump enough. I started to suspect he’d shown up at the wrong party’s debate.

https://www.westernjournal.com/debate-christie-just-ended-campaign-used-ludicrous-liberal-media-talking-point-ever/

The most media attention went to Vivek Ramaswamy for making a veiled dig at Christie’s weight and for holding up a notepad while Nikki Haley was speaking, on which he’d written “NIKKI = CORRUPT." I couldn’t help thinking of Bugs Bunny standing next to Elmer Fudd and holding up a sign with pictures of a screw and a ball on it. Come to think of it, Vivek is sort of becoming the Bugs Bunny of the primary campaign.

https://www.westernjournal.com/crowd-goes-wild-ramaswamy-holds-notepad-anti-nikki-haley-message/

I think the best summation of the debate came from a racially diverse group of Republican voters who watched it in Atlanta and held their own straw poll.  Ramaswamy got five votes, DeSantis got two, Haley and Christie got one each, and Trump got 18 votes. Once again, Trump won the debate by refusing to show up. The others can call it cowardice if they want, but the longer these debates stumble on, the more it makes him look like a good decision maker.


Pray for the victims and their families

Please join me in offering prayers for the victims of a shooter yesterday on the University of Nevada-Las Vegas campus. The man opened fire inside the business school building, killing three people and critically wounding a fourth before being killed by police. He was later identified as a professor who had been rejected for a job by UNLV.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/unlv-shooting-suspect-was-professor-who-had-applied-for-job-ap-source/ar-AA1l97uW

Before we even knew who he was or the circumstances of the shooting, Democrats were already calling for more gun control laws and background checks, and President Biden renewed his call for an assault weapons ban. None of which would have made any difference since a professor would have passed a background check, the campus was already a “gun-free zone,” and the shooter used a handgun, not an assault weapon.

But when you refuse to consider the real root causes of gun violence – societal breakdown, rejection of morality and God, mental illness, undermining of the traditional family, refusal to enforce existing laws – then you have nothing left but to keep stumping for your political agenda.


The latest from Washington

Yesterday, I gave kudos to House Speaker Mike Johnson for blocking an attempt to slip an extension of FISA’s government surveillance of Americans into the National Defense Authorization Act. I should have known that Republican resolve to stand up to the Deep State wouldn’t last even 24 hours. Johnson cut a deal with Chuck Schumer to put it back in. It was described by Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene as “a total sell-out of conservative principles and a huge win for the Democrats.”

https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2023/12/06/mike-johnson-backtracks-caves-to-deep-state-democrats-on-slipping-fbi-spy-power-reauthorization-into-defense-bill/

And people still wonder why I support Trump?

Speaking of that, Republicans who thought that replacing Kevin McCarthy as Speaker would make a huge difference just got a shot of reality in the kisser. And now, they can celebrate not having McCarthy to kick around anymore, as he announced that he will resign at the end of December.

https://www.westernjournal.com/kevin-mccarthy-will-resign-congress-serve-america-new-ways/

This means that until there’s a special election to fill his seat, the GOP’s already razor-thin majority will be reduced even further by one seat for McCarthy and one seat for George Santos, whom they voted to expel despite the fact that he has yet to be convicted of anything. If the Republicans keep this up, they’re likely to principle themselves right back into the minority before the next election even rolls around.  

Unfortunately for them, the Democrats don’t have such suicidally high principles. They’ll even stand by Rashida Tlaib, Ilhan Omar, Cori Bush, Jamaal Bowman, and Bob Menendez if it keeps them in power. And the entire time they’re doing it, they’ll be accusing the Republicans of not sharing their high standards of integrity.

https://redstate.com/nick-arama/2023/12/07/aoc-goes-over-the-edge-in-laughable-defense-against-censuring-jamaal-bowman-for-pulling-fire-alarm-n2167276

 


Wray once again maintains fiction while testifying under oath

With the avalanche of news that’s come in over the past few days, another frustrating testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee by FBI Director Christopher Wray almost slipped by without notice.  Did you even bother to watch it on Tuesday?

All of Wray’s appearances are so predictable, they’re a bit reminiscent of the movie GROUNDHOG DAY.  Every time, Wray goes into chambers to face well-deserved diatribes about his dismal performance in office --- almost as if he were a fellow member enduring the traditional but toothless ritual of censure --- and manages to squeak through by preposterously denying every confirmed allegation of abuse of power and praising the fine work of the good people under his command.  Never mind what really has been going on under his command.  And afterwards, things continue day-to-day exactly as before.

(We figure it’s Obama operative Lisa Monaco, the deputy director, who’s really in charge of the operation, anyway.  Why don’t they ever get HER in there?)

But leave it to Sen. John Kennedy of Louisiana to at least throw a big bucket of cold water on Wray.  Kennedy pressed him on the issue of the Hunter Biden laptop, asking why the FBI refused to acknowledge that it was real.  As you’re aware, they’d known this since acquiring it in late 2019 and yet kept it hidden away, arguably altering the course of history and not for the better.  Throughout 2020, with the Trump impeachment involving Ukraine and continuing through the Trump-Biden election and beyond, they kept this knowledge to themselves.

During Wray's testimony, Kennedy asked him, "Why didn't the FBI just say, hey, the laptop's real? Why didn't you just tell everybody, 'The laptop's real. We're not vouching for what's on it, but it's real. This isn't a fiction.'"

Wray answered in his usual way --- so formulaic now that it has become a joke --- that the FBI has to be “careful” and can never comment on an ongoing investigation.  He also denied that the FBI had worked with Twitter to suppress information about it, even though, thanks to the “Twitter Files,” we all have seen internal Twitter email evidence to the contrary and even have a good idea of how they went about their business skirting the Constitution.

“You’re the FBI,” Kennedy said to Wray.  “You’re not part of the White House and part of Homeland Security.  You’re not supposed to be political.  You see all this controversy going on?  Why didn’t the FBI say, ‘Time out, folks.  We’re not getting to the middle of this, but the laptop’s real’”?

Wray answered:  “Again, we have to be very careful about what we can say, especially in the middle of an election season, because that's precisely some of the problems that led to my predecessor's [James Comey’s] negative findings from the Inspector General.”

Ah, so the FBI kept quiet about the laptop because he didn’t want the Bureau to be accused of election interference.

But they did much more than keep quiet, which would have been bad enough.  The intelligence committee took action.  We would like to echo the opinion of Jim Hoft at the GATEWAY PUNDIT, who said back in July, after the House Ways and Means Committee issued a report on it, that the FBI had LIED to the American people about the laptop.  If you’d like a memory refresher, here it is…

https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2023/06/lock-them-up-fbi-verified-authenticity-hunter-biden/

The FBI knew in November 2019 that not only was the laptop real, but it contained evidence of hundreds of crimes.  A few months later, during a presidential debate between Biden and Trump, Biden used that sham letter signed by 51 ex-intelligence officials to continue the lie about the laptop, saying it was “Russian propaganda.”

The letter was organized by Antony Blinken, who later was appointed by Biden to be Secretary of State, and the Biden campaign, with the cooperation of 60 ex-intel officials.  (Nine others gave their support anonymously.)

Now, THAT is election interference, my friends.  Everyone involved in producing and signing the letter is guilty of it.  And Wray still has the nerve to say the FBI was trying to AVOID interfering with the election.  Current employees of the FBI did not sign, as that ironically might have been construed as electioneering (!), but they certainly knew that it was a lie and let that lie be told, no doubt to help ensure a particular election outcome.

Six months later, Hoft watched as Wray was sworn in and gave his testimony Wednesday.  In Hoft’s words, “Wray just admitted under oath that the FBI deliberately allowed the ‘laptop is fake’ hoax to perpetuate during the first Trump impeachment on a Ukrainian phone call that mentioned Hunter Biden and then in the 2020 election cycle by remaining silent!

“Chris Wray and the FBI said NOTHING! How is that not interfering in an election?

“Yet, it appears that there was no objection from these officials when 50 intelligence experts labeled the situation as Russian propaganda and failed to correct that.”

Hoft includes video of the exchange between Sen. Kennedy and Wray, here…

https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2023/12/election-interference-fbi-director-chris-wray-admits-withholding/

So, there you have it.  Wray, under oath, manages to twist a vivid example of election interference into an attempt NOT to commit election interference.  Does he really think anyone’s going to buy this?

But it doesn’t matter.  He lies, we know he lies, and he knows we know he lies.  In the end, Wray goes back to his office, and once again, things continue day-to-day exactly as before.  With the scope of officially-sanctioned election interference that took place in 2016 and 2020, can we even contemplate what’s in the works for 2024?  It’s already started, with the apparently coordinated lawfare against candidate Trump during the upcoming election year.  What else have they got up their sleeves?  If that sounds paranoid, remember the words of science fiction writer Philip K. Dick:  “Strange how paranoia can link up with reality now and then.”

 

RELATED:  Speaking of coordinated lawfare against Trump, on Tuesday House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan and Rep. Barry Loudermilk of Georgia launched an investigation into Fulton County, Georgia, District Attorney Fani Willis’ alleged collusion with Nancy Pelosi’s “select” J6 Kangaroo Kommittee.  Their letter to Willis starts out this way:

"The Committee on the Judiciary continues to conduct oversight of politically motivated prosecutions by state and local officials. Although we were aware that your office had coordinated its politically motivated prosecutions with the Office of Special Counsel Jack Smith, we recently learned that your office also coordinated its investigative actions with the partisan Select Committee to Investigate the January 6 Attack on the United States Capitol ('January 6 Select Committee'). Accordingly, we write to request documents relating to the investigative coordination between your office and the partisan January 6 Select Committee.”

These legislators decided to investigate after acquiring a letter from Willis dated December 17, 2021, to Committee Chairman Bennie Thompson, making an “official request” for “congressional records that might be relevant to our criminal investigation,” including but “not limited to recordings and transcripts of witness interviews and depositions, electronic and print records of communications, and records of travel.'” It even offered that Willis and her staff “were eager to travel to Washington, D.C, to 'meet with investigators in person' and to receive these records 'any time' between January 31, 2022, and February 25, 2022.”

Recall that the J6 committee’s “investigation” was a totally one-sided partisan presentation full of cherry-picked, professionally edited and even fabricated evidence and rife with procedural abuses and due process violations, as the Judiciary Committee notes.  Accordingly, the committee wrote to Chairman Thompson as well, seeking information pertaining to what he supplied DA Willis to aid her in what we all know this is, a blatantly partisan abuse of the legal system to take out Trump before the 2024 election.

The Judiciary Committee’s press release on this is recommended reading; it contains links to the full letters to both Willis and Thompson.  This is just one more effort by the GOP-led committees to get us a better look behind the curtain, although I think by now, we all have a pretty good idea of what’s back there.

https://judiciary.house.gov/media/press-releases/chairman-jordan-and-rep-loudermilk-launch-inquiry-fani-willis-colluding

 

ALSO RELATED:  Looks as though Judge Arthur Engoron, who’s presiding over the ridiculous real estate “fraud” case against Trump in Manhattan, has also allegedly committed misconduct.  For when you have time to dig in, the details are here…

https://loomered.com/2023/12/04/exclusive-judge-engoron-has-had-unethical-ex-parte-communications-with-michael-cohen-in-trumps-civil-fraud-case/


Gold bars from a "friend"

Gold bars found during a search of the home of New Jersey Democrat Sen. Bob Menendez have been confirmed as the property of a co-defendant accused of bribing Menendez with them. Authorities used records identifying the gold bars from when they were stolen during an armed robbery and later recovered.

https://www.westernjournal.com/gold-bars-discovered-house-democratic-senator-connected-armed-robbery-records-show/

But again, to repeat Sen. John Fetterman’s point: This guy is still in the Senate, but George Santos had to be expelled?

The Babylon Bee also noticed that Fetterman seems to be the only Democrat in DC who sees the hypocrisy...

https://babylonbee.com/news/weird-man-becomes-more-conservative-as-he-regains-brain-function

 


A "slimy" lie

California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s father-in-law Kenneth Siebel is accusing Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis of telling a “slimy” lie during their debate, when he recounted their conversation about Siebel moving to Florida from California to escape the crime, high taxes and all the other things so many people are moving out of California to escape. Siebel said he lived in California for decades, but then he moved to Montana, and he’d actually moved to Florida from Montana.

Siebel said, “I don’t tolerate liars, and he lied. I found it despicable that he knew he was lying to make a point.”

https://www.westernjournal.com/newsoms-father-law-claims-desantis-lied-debate-slimeball-move/

I don’t know if he was lying or just got bad information. It is unfortunate if he got it wrong, but that still doesn’t answer two key questions:

1. Why did Siebel move out of California for Montana?

2. If he can’t tolerate liars, particularly people who lie to score a point during a debate, did he not listen to ANYTHING his son-in-law said?


Funding "misinformation" research

Sen. Ted Cruz is demanding information from the State Department, FBI, CISA and the National Science Foundation about a reported $66 million they funneled to “nonprofits” and academic institutions for “misinformation research.” Or as the rest of us know that, a backhanded attempt to get around the First Amendment by farming out censorship of Americans’ free speech to non-governmental entities.

https://www.foxnews.com/politics/cruz-biden-admin-funneled-taxpayer-cash-universities-misinformation-research-censor-americans

Related good news: House Speaker Mike Johnson blocked an attempt to slip an extension of FISA’s government surveillance law into the National Defense Authorization Act. It’s bad enough that taxpayers unknowingly funded deep state spying on citizens, we don’t need to keep doing it and call it “defense spending.”

https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2023/12/05/speaker-mike-johnson-tables-move-slip-deep-state-reauthorization-defense-bill/

 


A Bad News for EVs Round-up

I haven’t run a round-up of bad news about electric vehicles since Monday, and it’s Wednesday, so the stories are already backing up like traffic behind an EV with a dead (or flaming) battery. Just to clear it out, here are a couple of them…

China’s GWM (Great Wall Motors) is recalling its Ora EVs due to what they call a “programming issue.” If the user disconnects the charging cable before shutting down the charging system, it could create a powerful electrical arc that could fry him like a shrimp. Yeah, I’d say that’s an “issue.”

https://www.skynews.com.au/australia-news/serious-injury-or-death-more-than-1500-gwm-ora-electric-hatchbacks-recalled-over-programming-defect-in-charging-cable/news-story/f30106e76515cfb8a6284e5f20f1ab41

Hertz is scaling back its inventory of Tesla EVs and the European rental giant Sixt SE is getting rid of them entirely. They cite high repair costs and lower resale values.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/other/tesla-less-appealing-to-car-rentals-europe-s-sixt-to-phase-out-tesla-cars-after-hertz/ar-AA1kXMYP

I suspect the real problem is lack of customer interest in renting an EV. Think about it: most car rentals are because you’re traveling. You’re in an unfamiliar city and don’t know where any charging stations are. Then you have to return it fully charged or be charged yourself. You have two hours before your plane’s departure, and you’re going to use it searching for a charging station and maybe finding there’s an hour’s wait to get to a charger and another hour to charge it up? You don’t have time to sit around for hours, reading the profound thoughts of Greta Thunberg; you’ve got a plane to catch!

I don’t think EV advocates who are baffled by consumer resistance take into account just how bad long charging times are. Most Americans rely on their cars because they need to be places as soon as possible (the same reason there’s also little demand for passenger trains.) We have jobs and commitments, and we need to fill up the tank in five minutes and get to them. That’s easy to miss if you’re a leftist politician or eco-activist, because, trust me: nobody’s hoping you’ll hurry up and arrive.  

 

 


 I JUST WANTED TO SAY: 

Thank you for reading my newsletter. 

For more news, visit my website.


The Democrats’ latest lie

December 7, 2023

You almost have to feel sorry for the Democrats these days (BIG “almost.”) After three years of them being in charge of the nation with results akin to trusting the Three Stooges to housesit, the public is finally wising up to all their false narratives that are being debunked (Russia collusion, the “very fine people” lie that even got dismantled again last week on Bill Maher’s show)…

https://redstate.com/nick-arama/2023/12/02/pigs-are-flying-bill-maher-says-trump-is-right-on-education-point-then-helps-blow-up-fine-people-lie-n2167079

…And of course, the January 6th Kangaroo Kommittee show trial…

https://www.westernjournal.com/american-confronts-adam-schiff-airport-tells-democrat-ashamed/

They now seem almost punchy as they scramble for any desperate, transparent falsehood to cling onto power. We’ve seen the hysteria ramped up to 11 over the past couple of weeks, as they screech that Donald Trump is a fascist and Hitler, an existential threat to America, and he’ll end democracy and weaponize the government to throw his political opponents in prison (Uh, guys?…That’s you.)

But this latest lie really takes the cake. They lifted a line out of a Trump speech and claimed he was “admitting” that he’s waging war on democracy. Problem: If you listen to the sentences before and after it, it’s clear that he was saying it's the Biden Administration that's waging a war on democracy.

How clear? So clear that even the notoriously left-leaning “fact-check” site Snopes.com ruled that it was clear he was talking about his opponents.

https://www.westernjournal.com/snopes-sides-trump-biden-campaigns-false-smear-rare-move-enraging-leftists/

And how is the left reacting? If you guessed that they’re attacking Snopes for telling the truth and whining that they’ll never read it again, then give yourself a cookie. But not a very big one because that reaction was pretty easy to predict.

On Tuesday, IRS whistleblowers Gary Shapley and Joseph Ziegler gave closed-door testimony once again to the House Ways and Means Committee, the only committee that can deal with confidential tax info and vote to make it public.

After hearing the testimony, the committee voted to release “56 new pages of evidence showing that then-Vice President Joe Biden used multiple email aliases and private email addresses to communicate with his son’s business associate and main financial architect.”  According to their press release, “The President appears now to not only have had knowledge but also been intimately involved in Hunter Biden’s business dealings.  The material released today further corroborates the previous testimony of IRS agents Joseph Ziegler and Gary Shapley highlighting the incredible level of access Hunter Biden and his business partners had in Joe Biden’s public office while working for foreign businesses.”

These pages “directly refute previous public statements the President has made that he had no knowledge of his son’s business dealings.”  I’d venture to say that, regardless of whether they’d admit it publicly or not, at this point EVERYONE knows he’s a liar.  That might apply especially to his lying allies in Congress and the “Justice” Department.

Committee Chairman Jason Smith gave the two whistleblowers well-deserved credit for their work through “months of testifying for hours [14 hours] and producing hundreds of pages [1100] of documentation.”  And then it wasn’t over, as they testified publicly before the House Oversight Committee.  The two have been attacked mercilessly --- Ziegler, who is a Democrat and gay, remained anonymous as long as he could --- but their story has never changed and their credibility is intact.  “The same cannot be said for President Biden,” Smith said.

According to Smith, VP Biden “appears to have treated Air Force 2 like a corporate jet, traveling to Ukraine and Mexico, to advance Hunter Biden’s business interests.”  And the documents they saw in Tuesday’s hearing show that “right around the time of the international trips like those to Ukraine, Joe Biden was emailing his son and his son’s business partner from private email accounts and using aliases while Vice President.”

The IRS investigators had put together a document with data on 327 emails showing the VP’s correspondence --- via email aliases --- with “a key Biden business associate,” identified as Eric Schwerin, whom Chairman Smith describes as “the architect of the Biden family shell companies.”  The frequency of “alias” correspondence between Schwerin and Joe Biden “increased dramatically,” Smith said, “during times when Vice President Biden traveled to Ukraine.”  This was during the time Hunter was on the Burisma board.

Materials presented at the hearing show that Kevin Morris’ $2 million “fix” of Hunter’s delinquent tax bill came in February 2020, just weeks before the Super Tuesday Democrat primary election, “in an attempt to clear up one of the single biggest political liabilities of the Biden campaign.”  One email from Morris to a Biden family accountant expresses the need to reconcile Hunter’s tax bill because it posed a “considerable risk both personally and politically.”  So, what would the Federal Election Commission say about this?

The Ways and Means Committee also looked at Joe Biden’s relationship with Hunter’s Chinese associates, specifically CEFC’s Patrick Ho, whose documented role at the company “was to bribe world leaders to advance the company’s interests.”  His conviction in 2018 was for doing that very thing in Uganda and Chad.  The IRS whistleblowers provided documents that showed Mr. Ho gave Hunter $1 million “for legal services that were never provided.”  And when Ho was arrested in 2017 for the aforementioned bribery of African officials, his first call was to the President’s brother, James.

The press release goes into more detail and even has some handy charts with revealing timelines.

https://waysandmeans.house.gov/newly-released-evidence-underscores-joe-bidens-excessive-use-of-a-secret-email-address-to-communicate-with-his-sons-business-associates/

Ziegler testified about the mysterious financial relationship between Hunter Biden and Democrat donor Kevin Morris, who paid Hunter $4.9 million for “personal expenses” starting when Joe Biden was running for President.

It was supposedly in the form of a “loan and gift.”  Well, which?

Ziegler said that starting in 2014 with his Burisma income, Hunter “appeared to follow a pattern” of avoiding taxes by falsely claiming his income was a loan to him.  (Recall that the DOJ conveniently let the statute of limitations run out on the 2014-2015 tax years that covered his lucrative time on the Burisma board.)

Later, he tried to claim millions in income from Hudson West III was a loan to him, but his own tax accountants drew the line.  He was following the same pattern in 2020, 2021 and 2022 with the money paid by Morris, a wealthy Hollywood lawyer/producer who has been described as Hunter’s “sugar daddy.”

Morris also paid Hunter’s delinquent tax bill, reportedly approximately $2 million.

As reported by JUST THE NEWS, Ziegler and Shapely “have alleged that the U.S. Justice Department interfered with the investigation and thwarted some of the action they were ready to take based on several leads.”

Morris stepped in at one point to pay $160,000 of Hunter’s delinquent taxes from 2015 because it was “a point of contention” between Hunter and his ex-wife.  Ziegler testified that “Hunter may have been in breach of his marital separation agreement and Hunter’s ex-wife at the time was having an issue renewing her passport due to the delinquent tax debt.”

Here’s the full report from JUST THE NEWS…

https://justthenews.com/government/congress/irs-whistleblower-confirms-hunter-biden-received-nearly-5-million-donor

The House Oversight Committee has been busy, too, releasing bank records that tell more of the tale.  JUST THE NEWS reports that these offer more evidence, both direct and circumstantial, that Joe and Hunter Biden co-mingled their finances, during Joe’s time “in and out of the White House.”

On Monday, Hunter’s attorney Abbe Lowell pushed back on the story of Joe Biden receiving monthly payments of $1380 a month from Owasco PC, an entity that was receiving Chinese funds paid to Hunter.  Lowell said it was to pay his father back for the use of a Ford Raptor truck that Hunter had been using during a period of financial struggle.  But Lowell, in classic slick-attorney fashion, is sidestepping the issue.  As JUST THE NEWS explains, “Lowell’s explanation for the payments does not address the origin of the funds or about the possible flow of foreign funds between son and father.”

The first payment to Joe was made September 17, 2018, which is also the date of one of the final payments made to Hunter by Hudson West III, a joint financial venture between Hunter and Chinese energy tycoon Ye Jianming.  It was shortly before this payment that Wells Fargo started asking questions about Hunter’s accounts.  “The accounts for Owasco PC and Owasco appear to fund primarily personal expenses --- what is the purpose of the accounts?”

“Payments from Hunter’s business entity to Joe Biden are now part of a pattern revealing Joe Biden knew about, participated in, and benefited from his family’s influence peddling schemes,” Oversight Committee Chair James Comer said in a statement on Monday…

https://oversight.house.gov/release/comer-releases-direct-monthly-payments-to-joe-biden-from-hunter-bidens-business-entity?/

Marjorie Taylor-Greene put it more bluntly on Tuesday, saying of the monthly payments, “Joe Biden claims this was a loan repayment.  Everybody knows what this is.  It is literally the most simple form of money laundering.”

JUST THE NEWS has much more detail about the various transactions and examples of the Bidens’ financial co-mingling, even including the expenses on upkeep of Joe Biden’s lakefront home, which Hunter was paying.

https://justthenews.com/accountability/political-ethics/joe-and-hunter-bidens-commingling-finances-show-no-absolute-wall

Comer’s report about the monthly payments to Joe Biden was predictably trashed in the media.  MOTHER JONES writer (I won’t call him journalist) and MSNBC “analyst” David Corn swallowed Abbe Lowell’s comment hook, line and sucker and dismissed the payments as “a loan for a truck.”  The WASHINGTON POST also went with the story that Comer had mischaracterized a car loan payment.  CNN, too.  NEW REPUBLIC claimed it was a “huge, hilarious mistake.”

We get the impression that the banks and IRS investigators see this quite differently.

https://www.independentsentinel.com/latest-evidence-of-bidens-corruption-draws-press-mockery/

The Fire Next Time

December 7, 2023

It was as if they had called The Stupids to Washington and invited them to perform for the TV cameras, delighting those idle kibitzers who love such spectacles.

On the one hand, here were three Ivy League presidents, none of whom seemed to have brought their neurons to the witness table. With all their smirking, sneering and condescending answers, viewers must have wondered if they had mistakenly tuned into The View: Which one was Joy Behar anyway? The core question: Do your respective codes of conduct prohibit the kinds of antisemitic rants we keep seeing on our TV screens? Their core answers seemed like oatmeal. Outraged, New York Congresswoman Elise Stefanik repeatedly pressed the witnesses to define when antisemitic speech became indistinguishable from action. As Penn trustee Bill Ackman summarized their response: “It ‘depends on the context’ and ‘whether the speech turns into conduct,’ that is, actually killing Jews.” He then added, “This could be the most extraordinary testimony ever elicited in the Congress, certainly on the topic of genocide…”https://twitter.com/BillAckman/status/1732179418787783089

Writing in the New York Post, Rikki Schlott aptly summarized the proceedings as demonstrating the “institutional stupidity” of the Ivies, made even worse because Harvard was already notorious for suppressing free speech, particularly from conservatives. “Today’s professors are no longer predominantly stodgy, bow-tie wearing classical liberals. They’re critical theorists with nose piercings and a distaste for Western values…Desperate transgressors need to dig deeper in search of an edgy cause — and they’ve found one in the Israel-Palestine conflict.” https://nypost-com.cdn.ampproject.org/c/s/nypost.com/2023/12/05/news/institutional-stupidity-replaced-free-speech-in-ivy-league/amp/

My letter to Senator Ted Cruz demanding that Harvard be de-funded had barely begun when TV coverage suddenly shifted to Exhibit B of the Congressional follies. Today’s controversy: women’s athletics and resolving the ever-popular issue of What Is A Woman? Although Supreme Court justices have been baffled by the latter, today’s congressional hearing asked: Should transgender athletes only be permitted to compete on teams “consistent with their gender identity?”

As Newsmax later summarized the hearing: “Former NCAA swimmer Riley Gaines called progressive Rep. Summer Lee, D-Pa., a "misogynist" after the lawmaker condemned the activist's testimony as "transphobic" and asked that it be stricken from the record during a House hearing.” Ms Lee, a member of “the Squad,” apparently denies those pesky safety and privacy issues when biological men are introduced to women’s sports and locker rooms. Fortunately, the committee’s chair, Congresswoman Lisa McClain, brought the debate (if not the controversy) to a merciful conclusion: “Quite simply, men do not belong in women’s sports. That this needs to be said out loud is really kind of a sad reflection of where the other side is on this issue. There should be no debate about this." https://www.newsmax.com/newsfront/riley-gaines-summer-lee-misogynist/2023/12/06/id/1144986/

No wonder we have a problem on our campuses when even athletics are so controversial! But wanting to complete my trifecta of argumentative hearings, I tuned in to see FBI Director Christopher Wray on the hot seat. For months, the back-and-forth between Wray and the House Judiciary Committee has been about the Bureau’s weaponization, specifically the lengths to which FBI agents went while investigating ‘traditional Catholics.” Was this investigative activity another example of government over-reach?  https://judiciary.house.gov/media/press-releases/new-report-details-extent-fbis-weaponization-law-enforcement-against

On Tuesday before the Senate Judiciary Committee, Wray was again a smooth performer, never losing his cool even when challenged sharply. “No sir, I was aghast when I learned of this problem and took immediate action to correct it. Well, no sir, no one’s been fired.” I was actually starting to nod off before Wray unexpectedly made headlines, saying that he sees “blinking red lights everywhere” since the Hamas terror attacks of October 7th. Although some threats varied more than others, “I’ve never seen a time where all the threats or so many of the threats are all elevated, all at exactly the same time.” https://americanmilitarynews.com/2023/12/video-terror-threats-are-blinking-red-lights-everywhere-fbi-director-says/

Because I now reside just over a hundred miles north of our wide-open southern border, Wray’s assessment got my undivided attention. What better time and place could a terrorist want for a cathartic attack designed to break American morale, already at its weakest point? Why not strike hard and see if the American polity shatters in a thousand pieces?

For most of 2001, I worked as military-technical advisor on an MSNBC documentary premised on a terrorist attack in the heart of Manhattan. Yet I was as shocked as anyone by sight of that deadly 767 closing in on the Twin Towers like a marauding shark: and on this December 7th I still wonder what our enemies have planned for us.

 

 

COL (Ret.) Kenneth Allard is a former West Point professor, Dean of the National War College and NBC News military analyst.

 

We’ve discovered yet another reason why Disney fought tooth and nail to keep control of the Reedy Creek district in Florida where its theme parks are, and not to have it taken over by a state oversight board. According to an audit conducted by the Central Tourism Oversight District, for years, Disney has been proving the truism that “absolute power corrupts absolutely.”

https://redstate.com/jeffc/2023/12/04/exposed-disney-audit-reveals-how-much-control-the-company-had-over-florida-n2167174

The report found that Disney was operating essentially as an “experimental absolute monarchy,” a private corporate kingdom that had accrued so much power that they could have built a nuclear power plant if they’d wanted (that would explain the six-foot mice.) 

The company dominated the Board of Supervisors, using employee benefits like free passes to buy loyalty and ensure board decisions favorable to Disney (aka “corruption.”) They exempted themselves from paying hundreds of millions of dollars in fees normally used to build and maintain infrastructure. Despite bringing in more and more workers, they used their influence to prevent the board from spending money on essential civic projects such as affordable housing, schools or public transportation.

You can read more about the Corporate Kingdom at the link. As you do, remember all the “progressives” who claim to oppose corporations and capitalism and champion workers’ rights, public schools, public housing, mass transit and all the rest of the things Disney quashed – but who sided with Disney in its fight to maintain its ironfisted grip on power just because the person trying to loosen it was Ron DeSantis. Politics uber alles!

Related: The Babylon Bee had some fun with the notion of Disney boycotting Twitter (X) because it allegedly doesn’t live up to Disney’s high moral standards.

https://babylonbee.com/news/worlds-most-evil-corporations-worried-x-might-tarnish-their-images

Former U.S. Capitol Police Lieutenant Tarik Johnson, who was present at the January 6 riot but for some reason shrouded in mystery was never called to testify before Nancy Pelosi’s J6 Kangaroo Kommittee, has announced on “X” (the platform formerly known as Twitter) that he’s releasing police scanner audio recordings from that day suggesting a “set-up” and cover-up of what really happened.  He has always maintained that all the officers “should have been more prepared that day.”

Johnson’s announcement comes on the heels of House Speaker Mike Johnson’s release of all the security cam video from the Capitol building.  Out of concern for his own safety, Tarik Johnson has already entrusted the recordings to Tom Fitton of Judicial Watch and has indicated that he’s given a journalist working with THE BLAZE “permission to receive the info and do whatever he believes is best with that info in the unlikely event I disappear.”

He said on X that he had wanted to check with his attorney before releasing the audio to make sure of all the legal ramifications of doing so.  “[My lawyer] stated he didn’t see any and if something arose we would deal with it together,” Johnson said.  “So it’s a go!!!!!!!!!!”

He asked for patience, as he is not a tech person and was having to figure out how to load 12 hours of audio on his page in addition to working his regular job and dealing with “family stuff.”  He thinks he’ll have it all uploaded by Wednesday, though.  (One question:  how did Lt. Johnson happen to come into possession of this much recorded material?  The story doesn’t tell us.)

The first release of audio has already taken place, on Sunday, and it does call into question the actions taken (or not) by then-Assistant Chief Yogananda Pittman, who was sitting in a command center that gave her access to radio traffic and a 360-degree view of the outside of the Capitol, plus additional views inside.  Chief Steven Sund, he said, was on the phone trying to obtain assistance from the National Guard and other law enforcement agencies.  Johnson was specifically asking Pittman for help, and not getting it, as the audio makes clear.  Johnson has spoken publicly about this before, but finally now we can hear the audio that backs him up.

https://pjmedia.com/matt-margolis/2023/12/04/ex-capitol-police-officer-releases-audio-proving-j6-cover-up-n4924455

Matt Margolis reports for PJ MEDIA that “the J6 police scanner audio indicates that Pittman appeared unavailable or uncooperative in aiding Sund's efforts to deploy the National Guard. The recording supports the criticism of Capitol Police for its failure to take decisive action to safeguard the Capitol and members of Congress, especially in light of prior warnings of potential violence. The audio corroborates Sund's claims after the riot when he revealed that multiple requests for the National Guard before and during the riot were denied.”

As reported by REDSTATE, Johnson also “called out Capitol Police Chief J. Thomas Manger for opposing the release of the J6 footage and using non-disclosure forms to keep officers silent.”

Though we would say there’s blame to go around (Nancy Pelosi, for one), Tarek Johnson blames Pittman for the disaster that unfolded:  “We now know Pittman was the one that caused what occurred on J6 but [Manger] is fighting Speaker [Mike] Johnson from releasing all the video footage, ensuring all the NDAs [non-disclosure agreements] USCP [U.S. Capitol Police] employees were forced to sign remain in place and declining to allow anyone to see the LWOP deal negotiated with Pittman so she could get her retirement and take a job gifted to her in California making over a quarter million dollars annually.  And, I almost forgot, ensuring USCP whistleblowers don’t get proper protections when they want to report corruption or malfeasance within the Department.”

Johnson is referring to the job Pittman got as UC Berkeley’s chief of police.  Prior to this, she had become the interim chief of the Capitol Police when Steven Sund resigned two days after the J6 debacle.  In her case, this appears to be yet another example of someone in DC failing upwards.  Or had she simply been doing a superb job of following orders?

https://news.berkeley.edu/2023/02/01/its-official-uc-berkeleys-new-police-chief-is-sworn-in

Reading this glowing press release, one would certainly never know of the controversy surrounding Pittman’s response (or lack thereof) on January 6.  She said on the day she was sworn in, “The events at the U.S. Capitol on January 6 --- I certainly don’t want to talk about that today...but it’s part of my journey and something I will build on.”  Let’s just say that she had plenty of reason not to want to talk about what appeared to be a spectacular failure on her part.

On the other hand, according to a Berkeley Police Department write-up on her selection, she has “demonstrated commitment to the values of diversity, equity, inclusion, belonging and justice, and she has developed expertise in modern policing principles.”  Well, that’s the important thing.

……………

RELATED J6 NEWS:  Almost three years after the protest and riot of January 6, 2021, the “Justice” Department is still busy targeting J6 protesters.  Actor Siaka Massaquoi had his home raided in 2021, and now, almost three years after the protest, he has been arrested and charged with four misdemeanors.  Numerous celebrities and commentators have spoken out in support of him, including Elon Musk, who said that “this has gone too far.”

Video from the Capitol building that day shows Massaquoi just inside the threshold of a door for about a minute, apparently trying to help the police direct foot traffic out the door.

Massaquoi is a conservative and a Trump supporter, and one has to wonder if the FBI was making a peripheral point by arresting him the day he attended the DAILY WIRE’s new movie LADYBALLERS, which dares to make fun of biological men competing in women’s sports.  Whether that’s a coincidence or not, his arrest also comes a couple of months after he joined with a group to sue the FBI, Director Christopher Wray, the DOJ, and Attorney General Merrick Garland.

This class action lawsuit was filed on behalf of people “who were peacefully protesting in Washington DC on January 6, 2021, but who did not commit any felonies or engage in any violence, but have been subjected to unconstitutional, illegal surveillance by Defendant Wray and his agents in the aftermath.”  They allege that Wray and Garland have turned the FBI into their personal “Gestapo” to “target, arrest, and wrongfully prosecute” those who protested on January 6.

And now Massaquoi finds himself to be Exhibit A.  Must-read details here...

https://www.theepochtimes.com/us/fbi-arrests-conservative-actor-for-taking-part-in-jan-6-protests-5540219

 


BY MIKE HUCKABEE

Blessings on you and your family from all the Huckabee team! 

Mike Huckabee


DAILY BIBLE VERSE

For to us a child is born,

to us a son is given,

and the government will be on his shoulders.

And he will be called

Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,

Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

- Isaiah 9:6


Apparently only American liberals like Hamas

Shortly after the October 7th attack on Israel, we linked to an article by an expert on the region, explaining why no Arab nations wanted to let the Palestinians establish a homeland within their borders, despite having far more land than Israel. It was because their leaders have a history of spreading violence and instability wherever they go, and on more than one occasion, they became such a threat that host nations had to use military force to drive them out of their countries. This is why Egypt had its military on its border, not because they thought there was a danger of Israel invading, but to keep the Palestinians out.

Now, here’s more confirmation of that from Matt Vespa at Townhall, recounting what was allegedly said at a recent joint summit of the Arab League and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation. While they publicly criticized Israel and threatened sanctions, it was reported that privately, many Arab leaders made it known that they want Israel to keep going and annihilate Hamas because they don’t want to have to deal with them, either.

https://townhall.com/tipsheet/mattvespa/2023/12/02/what-arab-nations-are-telling-israel-privately-is-quite-interesting-n2631920


Senator Durbin keeps his idiotic idea streak alive

Democrat Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin had a drizzle of a brainstorm this week, proposing that we solve our military recruiting crisis by letting some of the millions of illegal immigrants in the US earn citizenship by serving in our military.

https://www.westernjournal.com/senator-proposes-arming-illegal-immigrants-providing-military-training/

I suppose you could argue that they’ve already proven their ability to invade a foreign nation successfully. On the other hand, it’s not a fair test because any nations we’d be at war with would actually defend their borders.

As noted in that article, Durbin is a huge proponent of laws that deny guns to American citizens, but he’s all in on letting illegal aliens have access to high-powered weapons and sensitive US military info. I’m sure we’d be able to find some who would be more than happy to take us up on that deal.

https://nypost.com/2023/11/02/news/chinese-nationals-crossing-into-us-reaches-new-high/

By the way, to prove we’re even-handed, here’s the liberal “fact-checking” site Politifact’s attempt to debunk this story by admitting that while there has been a surge in Chinese nationals coming across our Southern border, there’s no hard evidence that it’s anything to be worried about. Other than if you’re one of those rightwing nuts who’s worried in general about having a wide-open border that lets anybody come into the US, including military-aged males from China.

https://www.politifact.com/factchecks/2023/may/19/tiktok-posts/no-evidence-that-chinese-immigrants-at-us-southern/

Related: Nick Arama at Redstate.com picked up on the fact that Dick Durbin tacitly admitted that this Administration has made such a woke mess of our military that they can’t get enough young Americans to join and have been reduced to trying to bribe illegal aliens to defend America.

https://redstate.com/nick-arama/2023/12/04/watch-dick-durbin-calls-for-illegal-aliens-to-be-let-into-the-military-n2167176


And Another One Bites The Dust:

North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum ended his longshot campaign for the GOP Presidential nomination Monday. He helped bring a businessman’s perspective to the race. Let’s hope the next President is someone who understands and appreciates that perspective and will make good use of Burgum’s talents in Washington if he decides not to run for a third term in North Dakota.

https://www.westernjournal.com/2024-gop-candidate-ends-presidential-bid-days-final-debate/


The Democrats’ latest lie

You almost have to feel sorry for the Democrats these days (BIG “almost.”) After three years of them being in charge of the nation with results akin to trusting the Three Stooges to housesit, the public is finally wising up to all their false narratives that are being debunked (Russia collusion, the “very fine people” lie that even got dismantled again last week on Bill Maher’s show)…

https://redstate.com/nick-arama/2023/12/02/pigs-are-flying-bill-maher-says-trump-is-right-on-education-point-then-helps-blow-up-fine-people-lie-n2167079

…And of course, the January 6th Kangaroo Kommittee show trial…

https://www.westernjournal.com/american-confronts-adam-schiff-airport-tells-democrat-ashamed/

They now seem almost punchy as they scramble for any desperate, transparent falsehood to cling onto power. We’ve seen the hysteria ramped up to 11 over the past couple of weeks, as they screech that Donald Trump is a fascist and Hitler, an existential threat to America, and he’ll end democracy and weaponize the government to throw his political opponents in prison (Uh, guys?…That’s you.)

But this latest lie really takes the cake. They lifted a line out of a Trump speech and claimed he was “admitting” that he’s waging war on democracy. Problem: If you listen to the sentences before and after it, it’s clear that he was saying it's the Biden Administration that's waging a war on democracy.

How clear? So clear that even the notoriously left-leaning “fact-check” site Snopes.com ruled that it was clear he was talking about his opponents.

https://www.westernjournal.com/snopes-sides-trump-biden-campaigns-false-smear-rare-move-enraging-leftists/

And how is the left reacting? If you guessed that they’re attacking Snopes for telling the truth and whining that they’ll never read it again, then give yourself a cookie. But not a very big one because that reaction was pretty easy to predict.


Another reason why Disney fought Florida for control

We’ve discovered yet another reason why Disney fought tooth and nail to keep control of the Reedy Creek district in Florida where its theme parks are, and not to have it taken over by a state oversight board. According to an audit conducted by the Central Tourism Oversight District, for years, Disney has been proving the truism that “absolute power corrupts absolutely.”

https://redstate.com/jeffc/2023/12/04/exposed-disney-audit-reveals-how-much-control-the-company-had-over-florida-n2167174

The report found that Disney was operating essentially as an “experimental absolute monarchy,” a private corporate kingdom that had accrued so much power that they could have built a nuclear power plant if they’d wanted (that would explain the six-foot mice.) 

The company dominated the Board of Supervisors, using employee benefits like free passes to buy loyalty and ensure board decisions favorable to Disney (aka “corruption.”) They exempted themselves from paying hundreds of millions of dollars in fees normally used to build and maintain infrastructure. Despite bringing in more and more workers, they used their influence to prevent the board from spending money on essential civic projects such as affordable housing, schools or public transportation.

You can read more about the Corporate Kingdom at the link. As you do, remember all the “progressives” who claim to oppose corporations and capitalism and champion workers’ rights, public schools, public housing, mass transit and all the rest of the things Disney quashed – but who sided with Disney in its fight to maintain its ironfisted grip on power just because the person trying to loosen it was Ron DeSantis. Politics uber alles!

Related: The Babylon Bee had some fun with the notion of Disney boycotting Twitter (X) because it allegedly doesn’t live up to Disney’s high moral standards.

https://babylonbee.com/news/worlds-most-evil-corporations-worried-x-might-tarnish-their-images


Juvenile but irresistible

John Kerry is accused of gas emissions that for once have nothing to do with taking private jets to climate conferences.

https://pjmedia.com/matt-margolis/2023/12/05/john-kerry-speech-at-climate-conference-ironically-interrupted-by-fart-sound-n4924477

PS – A reminder that Kerry is always emitting gas, just usually from the other end.

https://www.breitbart.com/environment/2023/12/05/wat-john-kerry-on-climate-change-democracy-is-like-sex/


J6 audio:  assistant Capitol Hill police chief failed to give ASSISTANCE

Former U.S. Capitol Police Lieutenant Tarik Johnson, who was present at the January 6 riot but for some reason shrouded in mystery was never called to testify before Nancy Pelosi’s J6 Kangaroo Kommittee, has announced on “X” (the platform formerly known as Twitter) that he’s releasing police scanner audio recordings from that day suggesting a “set-up” and cover-up of what really happened.  He has always maintained that all the officers “should have been more prepared that day.”

Johnson’s announcement comes on the heels of House Speaker Mike Johnson’s release of all the security cam video from the Capitol building.  Out of concern for his own safety, Tarik Johnson has already entrusted the recordings to Tom Fitton of Judicial Watch and has indicated that he’s given a journalist working with THE BLAZE “permission to receive the info and do whatever he believes is best with that info in the unlikely event I disappear.”

He said on X that he had wanted to check with his attorney before releasing the audio to make sure of all the legal ramifications of doing so.  “[My lawyer] stated he didn’t see any and if something arose we would deal with it together,” Johnson said.  “So it’s a go!!!!!!!!!!”

He asked for patience, as he is not a tech person and was having to figure out how to load 12 hours of audio on his page in addition to working his regular job and dealing with “family stuff.”  He thinks he’ll have it all uploaded by Wednesday, though.  (One question:  how did Lt. Johnson happen to come into possession of this much recorded material?  The story doesn’t tell us.)

The first release of audio has already taken place, on Sunday, and it does call into question the actions taken (or not) by then-Assistant Chief Yogananda Pittman, who was sitting in a command center that gave her access to radio traffic and a 360-degree view of the outside of the Capitol, plus additional views inside.  Chief Steven Sund, he said, was on the phone trying to obtain assistance from the National Guard and other law enforcement agencies.  Johnson was specifically asking Pittman for help, and not getting it, as the audio makes clear.  Johnson has spoken publicly about this before, but finally now we can hear the audio that backs him up.

https://pjmedia.com/matt-margolis/2023/12/04/ex-capitol-police-officer-releases-audio-proving-j6-cover-up-n4924455

Matt Margolis reports for PJ MEDIA that “the J6 police scanner audio indicates that Pittman appeared unavailable or uncooperative in aiding Sund's efforts to deploy the National Guard. The recording supports the criticism of Capitol Police for its failure to take decisive action to safeguard the Capitol and members of Congress, especially in light of prior warnings of potential violence. The audio corroborates Sund's claims after the riot when he revealed that multiple requests for the National Guard before and during the riot were denied.”

As reported by REDSTATE, Johnson also “called out Capitol Police Chief J. Thomas Manger for opposing the release of the J6 footage and using non-disclosure forms to keep officers silent.”

Though we would say there’s blame to go around (Nancy Pelosi, for one), Tarek Johnson blames Pittman for the disaster that unfolded:  “We now know Pittman was the one that caused what occurred on J6 but [Manger] is fighting Speaker [Mike] Johnson from releasing all the video footage, ensuring all the NDAs [non-disclosure agreements] USCP [U.S. Capitol Police] employees were forced to sign remain in place and declining to allow anyone to see the LWOP deal negotiated with Pittman so she could get her retirement and take a job gifted to her in California making over a quarter million dollars annually.  And, I almost forgot, ensuring USCP whistleblowers don’t get proper protections when they want to report corruption or malfeasance within the Department.”

Johnson is referring to the job Pittman got as UC Berkeley’s chief of police.  Prior to this, she had become the interim chief of the Capitol Police when Steven Sund resigned two days after the J6 debacle.  In her case, this appears to be yet another example of someone in DC failing upwards.  Or had she simply been doing a superb job of following orders?

https://news.berkeley.edu/2023/02/01/its-official-uc-berkeleys-new-police-chief-is-sworn-in

Reading this glowing press release, one would certainly never know of the controversy surrounding Pittman’s response (or lack thereof) on January 6.  She said on the day she was sworn in, “The events at the U.S. Capitol on January 6 --- I certainly don’t want to talk about that today...but it’s part of my journey and something I will build on.”  Let’s just say that she had plenty of reason not to want to talk about what appeared to be a spectacular failure on her part.

On the other hand, according to a Berkeley Police Department write-up on her selection, she has “demonstrated commitment to the values of diversity, equity, inclusion, belonging and justice, and she has developed expertise in modern policing principles.”  Well, that’s the important thing.

……………

RELATED J6 NEWS:  Almost three years after the protest and riot of January 6, 2021, the “Justice” Department is still busy targeting J6 protesters.  Actor Siaka Massaquoi had his home raided in 2021, and now, almost three years after the protest, he has been arrested and charged with four misdemeanors.  Numerous celebrities and commentators have spoken out in support of him, including Elon Musk, who said that “this has gone too far.”

Video from the Capitol building that day shows Massaquoi just inside the threshold of a door for about a minute, apparently trying to help the police direct foot traffic out the door.

Massaquoi is a conservative and a Trump supporter, and one has to wonder if the FBI was making a peripheral point by arresting him the day he attended the DAILY WIRE’s new movie LADYBALLERS, which dares to make fun of biological men competing in women’s sports.  Whether that’s a coincidence or not, his arrest also comes a couple of months after he joined with a group to sue the FBI, Director Christopher Wray, the DOJ, and Attorney General Merrick Garland.

This class action lawsuit was filed on behalf of people “who were peacefully protesting in Washington DC on January 6, 2021, but who did not commit any felonies or engage in any violence, but have been subjected to unconstitutional, illegal surveillance by Defendant Wray and his agents in the aftermath.”  They allege that Wray and Garland have turned the FBI into their personal “Gestapo” to “target, arrest, and wrongfully prosecute” those who protested on January 6.

And now Massaquoi finds himself to be Exhibit A.  Must-read details here...

https://www.theepochtimes.com/us/fbi-arrests-conservative-actor-for-taking-part-in-jan-6-protests-5540219


Here’s today’s link to continually-updated bulletins on the war in Israel from Fox News…

https://www.foxnews.com/live-news/december-6-israel-hamas-war

The latest: The Israeli military says they’ve killed about 5,000 Hamas troops and roughly half their mid-level battalion commanders, but the terrorist group’s top leaders, Yahya Sinwar and Mohammed Deif, remain alive (but if I were them, I wouldn’t sign any long-term leases.) The IDF has disrupted Hamas’ ability to act cohesively in Gaza. Their final stronghold is Khan Younis, the second most populated city in Gaza, and the IDF is pressing its advance there.

In a story that will surprise nobody other than those with blinders on and fingers in their ears, IDF forces showed off a huge stockpile of weapons, including large rockets. RPGs, grenades, small arms and other equipment that Hamas had stashed next to a medical clinic. An IDF spokesman said, “All of the terrorist infrastructures were found near civilian buildings in the heart of a civilian population." That is deliberately endangering civilians by using them as human shields, and, to enlighten the President of Turkey, it’s what we call a REAL “war crime.”


Sean Hannity’s Townhall with President Trump

Last night, former President Trump sat down for a townhall in Iowa hosted by Sean Hannity. It’s a shame that so many Trump Derangement Syndrome sufferers refused to watch it, since they get all their impressions of what Trump is like from deeply twisted secondhand reports.

When you see him speak yourself, you start to realize how much of what he says is sarcastic, often hilarious, humor that’s reported by the media as if he’s deadly serious. Like his response to claims he would be a “dictator”: he said he would be for one day when he ordered the border secured and oil producers to “drill, baby, drill.” It’s already being “reported” by leftist outlets that Trump “made serious threats” and admitted he'll be a DICTATOR!!!!

He also said he thinks Biden is in such physical and mental decline that he won’t be the nominee, hinting it would likely be Gavin Newsom. He joked that if he ever took Biden up on his threats to “take him out back of the barn and beat him up,” he would just blow on him and knock him over.

Here are five key moments from the townhall…

https://www.foxnews.com/politics/top-moments-trumps-hannity-town-hall

And the full show, if you have a cable subscription.

https://www.foxnews.com/video/6342449613112


GOP Primary Debate News

Meanwhile, the next GOP primary “debate” airs tonight at 8 EST on NewsNation (https://www.newsnationnow.com.) We’re down to four candidates (Haley, DeSantis, Ramaswamy and Christie, who barely qualified at the last minute.) The moderators will be Megyn Kelly, NewsNation anchor Elizabeth Vargas and Washington Free Beacon editor-in-chief Eliana Johnson.

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/elections/2023/12/06/how-to-watch-fourth-republican-debate/71807921007/


IRS whistleblowers provide more Biden evidence to Ways and Means Committee

On Tuesday, IRS whistleblowers Gary Shapley and Joseph Ziegler gave closed-door testimony once again to the House Ways and Means Committee, the only committee that can deal with confidential tax info and vote to make it public.

After hearing the testimony, the committee voted to release “56 new pages of evidence showing that then-Vice President Joe Biden used multiple email aliases and private email addresses to communicate with his son’s business associate and main financial architect.”  According to their press release, “The President appears now to not only have had knowledge but also been intimately involved in Hunter Biden’s business dealings.  The material released today further corroborates the previous testimony of IRS agents Joseph Ziegler and Gary Shapley highlighting the incredible level of access Hunter Biden and his business partners had in Joe Biden’s public office while working for foreign businesses.”

These pages “directly refute previous public statements the President has made that he had no knowledge of his son’s business dealings.”  I’d venture to say that, regardless of whether they’d admit it publicly or not, at this point EVERYONE knows he’s a liar.  That might apply especially to his lying allies in Congress and the “Justice” Department.

Committee Chairman Jason Smith gave the two whistleblowers well-deserved credit for their work through “months of testifying for hours [14 hours] and producing hundreds of pages [1100] of documentation.”  And then it wasn’t over, as they testified publicly before the House Oversight Committee.  The two have been attacked mercilessly --- Ziegler, who is a Democrat and gay, remained anonymous as long as he could --- but their story has never changed and their credibility is intact.  “The same cannot be said for President Biden,” Smith said.

According to Smith, VP Biden “appears to have treated Air Force 2 like a corporate jet, traveling to Ukraine and Mexico, to advance Hunter Biden’s business interests.”  And the documents they saw in Tuesday’s hearing show that “right around the time of the international trips like those to Ukraine, Joe Biden was emailing his son and his son’s business partner from private email accounts and using aliases while Vice President.”

The IRS investigators had put together a document with data on 327 emails showing the VP’s correspondence --- via email aliases --- with “a key Biden business associate,” identified as Eric Schwerin, whom Chairman Smith describes as “the architect of the Biden family shell companies.”  The frequency of “alias” correspondence between Schwerin and Joe Biden “increased dramatically,” Smith said, “during times when Vice President Biden traveled to Ukraine.”  This was during the time Hunter was on the Burisma board.

Materials presented at the hearing show that Kevin Morris’ $2 million “fix” of Hunter’s delinquent tax bill came in February 2020, just weeks before the Super Tuesday Democrat primary election, “in an attempt to clear up one of the single biggest political liabilities of the Biden campaign.”  One email from Morris to a Biden family accountant expresses the need to reconcile Hunter’s tax bill because it posed a “considerable risk both personally and politically.”  So, what would the Federal Election Commission say about this?

The Ways and Means Committee also looked at Joe Biden’s relationship with Hunter’s Chinese associates, specifically CEFC’s Patrick Ho, whose documented role at the company “was to bribe world leaders to advance the company’s interests.”  His conviction in 2018 was for doing that very thing in Uganda and Chad.  The IRS whistleblowers provided documents that showed Mr. Ho gave Hunter $1 million “for legal services that were never provided.”  And when Ho was arrested in 2017 for the aforementioned bribery of African officials, his first call was to the President’s brother, James.

The press release goes into more detail and even has some handy charts with revealing timelines.

https://waysandmeans.house.gov/newly-released-evidence-underscores-joe-bidens-excessive-use-of-a-secret-email-address-to-communicate-with-his-sons-business-associates/

Ziegler testified about the mysterious financial relationship between Hunter Biden and Democrat donor Kevin Morris, who paid Hunter $4.9 million for “personal expenses” starting when Joe Biden was running for President.

It was supposedly in the form of a “loan and gift.”  Well, which?

Ziegler said that starting in 2014 with his Burisma income, Hunter “appeared to follow a pattern” of avoiding taxes by falsely claiming his income was a loan to him.  (Recall that the DOJ conveniently let the statute of limitations run out on the 2014-2015 tax years that covered his lucrative time on the Burisma board.)

Later, he tried to claim millions in income from Hudson West III was a loan to him, but his own tax accountants drew the line.  He was following the same pattern in 2020, 2021 and 2022 with the money paid by Morris, a wealthy Hollywood lawyer/producer who has been described as Hunter’s “sugar daddy.”

Morris also paid Hunter’s delinquent tax bill, reportedly approximately $2 million.

As reported by JUST THE NEWS, Ziegler and Shapely “have alleged that the U.S. Justice Department interfered with the investigation and thwarted some of the action they were ready to take based on several leads.”

Morris stepped in at one point to pay $160,000 of Hunter’s delinquent taxes from 2015 because it was “a point of contention” between Hunter and his ex-wife.  Ziegler testified that “Hunter may have been in breach of his marital separation agreement and Hunter’s ex-wife at the time was having an issue renewing her passport due to the delinquent tax debt.”

Here’s the full report from JUST THE NEWS…

https://justthenews.com/government/congress/irs-whistleblower-confirms-hunter-biden-received-nearly-5-million-donor

The House Oversight Committee has been busy, too, releasing bank records that tell more of the tale.  JUST THE NEWS reports that these offer more evidence, both direct and circumstantial, that Joe and Hunter Biden co-mingled their finances, during Joe’s time “in and out of the White House.”

On Monday, Hunter’s attorney Abbe Lowell pushed back on the story of Joe Biden receiving monthly payments of $1380 a month from Owasco PC, an entity that was receiving Chinese funds paid to Hunter.  Lowell said it was to pay his father back for the use of a Ford Raptor truck that Hunter had been using during a period of financial struggle.  But Lowell, in classic slick-attorney fashion, is sidestepping the issue.  As JUST THE NEWS explains, “Lowell’s explanation for the payments does not address the origin of the funds or about the possible flow of foreign funds between son and father.”

The first payment to Joe was made September 17, 2018, which is also the date of one of the final payments made to Hunter by Hudson West III, a joint financial venture between Hunter and Chinese energy tycoon Ye Jianming.  It was shortly before this payment that Wells Fargo started asking questions about Hunter’s accounts.  “The accounts for Owasco PC and Owasco appear to fund primarily personal expenses --- what is the purpose of the accounts?”

“Payments from Hunter’s business entity to Joe Biden are now part of a pattern revealing Joe Biden knew about, participated in, and benefited from his family’s influence peddling schemes,” Oversight Committee Chair James Comer said in a statement on Monday…

https://oversight.house.gov/release/comer-releases-direct-monthly-payments-to-joe-biden-from-hunter-bidens-business-entity?/

Marjorie Taylor-Greene put it more bluntly on Tuesday, saying of the monthly payments, “Joe Biden claims this was a loan repayment.  Everybody knows what this is.  It is literally the most simple form of money laundering.”

JUST THE NEWS has much more detail about the various transactions and examples of the Bidens’ financial co-mingling, even including the expenses on upkeep of Joe Biden’s lakefront home, which Hunter was paying.

https://justthenews.com/accountability/political-ethics/joe-and-hunter-bidens-commingling-finances-show-no-absolute-wall

Comer’s report about the monthly payments to Joe Biden was predictably trashed in the media.  MOTHER JONES writer (I won’t call him journalist) and MSNBC “analyst” David Corn swallowed Abbe Lowell’s comment hook, line and sucker and dismissed the payments as “a loan for a truck.”  The WASHINGTON POST also went with the story that Comer had mischaracterized a car loan payment.  CNN, too.  NEW REPUBLIC claimed it was a “huge, hilarious mistake.”

We get the impression that the banks and IRS investigators see this quite differently.

https://www.independentsentinel.com/latest-evidence-of-bidens-corruption-draws-press-mockery/


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For more news, visit my website.


Democrat Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin had a drizzle of a brainstorm this week, proposing that we solve our military recruiting crisis by letting some of the millions of illegal immigrants in the US earn citizenship by serving in our military.

https://www.westernjournal.com/senator-proposes-arming-illegal-immigrants-providing-military-training/

I suppose you could argue that they’ve already proven their ability to invade a foreign nation successfully. On the other hand, it’s not a fair test because any nations we’d be at war with would actually defend their borders.

As noted in that article, Durbin is a huge proponent of laws that deny guns to American citizens, but he’s all in on letting illegal aliens have access to high-powered weapons and sensitive US military info. I’m sure we’d be able to find some who would be more than happy to take us up on that deal.

https://nypost.com/2023/11/02/news/chinese-nationals-crossing-into-us-reaches-new-high/

By the way, to prove we’re even-handed, here’s the liberal “fact-checking” site Politifact’s attempt to debunk this story by admitting that while there has been a surge in Chinese nationals coming across our Southern border, there’s no hard evidence that it’s anything to be worried about. Other than if you’re one of those rightwing nuts who’s worried in general about having a wide-open border that lets anybody come into the US, including military-aged males from China.

https://www.politifact.com/factchecks/2023/may/19/tiktok-posts/no-evidence-that-chinese-immigrants-at-us-southern/

Related: Nick Arama at Redstate.com picked up on the fact that Dick Durbin tacitly admitted that this Administration has made such a woke mess of our military that they can’t get enough young Americans to join and have been reduced to trying to bribe illegal aliens to defend America.

https://redstate.com/nick-arama/2023/12/04/watch-dick-durbin-calls-for-illegal-aliens-to-be-let-into-the-military-n2167176

 


BY MIKE HUCKABEE

Blessings on you and your family from all the Huckabee team! 

Mike Huckabee


DAILY BIBLE VERSE

22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.

Galatians 5:22-23


Here’s today’s link to continually-updated bulletins on the war in Israel from Fox News…

https://www.foxnews.com/live-news/december-5-israel-hamas-war

The latest: Israel is reportedly considering flooding Hamas’ terrorist tunnels with sea water to flush out the terrorists and their hostages, a proposal that we first mentioned here several weeks ago.

Israel estimates that 137 hostages are still being held in Gaza. A doctor from Israel’s Ministry of Health says it appears Hamas was drugging hostages before releasing them to make them appear on camera to be happy and calm. It seems idiotic that anyone would believe these hostages would be legitimately happy, but that’s actually one of the arguments cited by people dumb enough to support Hamas in the first place.

On that subject, the State Department suspects that the reason Hamas failed to release all the women hostages as they promised is that they’re afraid of what they will say about their time in captivity. This is based on the previously documented cases of unimaginably brutal rape and sexual assault against women by Hamas, and on the condition of the just-released hostages.

A doctor treating them said Hamas hostages were held under barbaric conditions, including being kept for days in solitary confinement and total darkness until they began hallucinating. They were separated from their families, beaten, starved, sexually assaulted, forced to take drugs and children were forced to watch horrific videos of the slaughter. She said, “The mental states we encountered have no precedent in medical literature. We feel that we have to rewrite the textbooks of post-trauma.”

https://redstate.com/bobhoge/2023/12/04/doc-treating-freed-hostages-describes-extremely-severe-psychological-abuse-starvation-sex-assault-n2167175

When you see American “progressives” protesting in the streets against Israel and for Hamas, remember that this is what they’re supporting.

Since I was just speaking above about useful idiots (useful to Hamas, useless to the rest of the world), alleged “progressive” Rep. Pramila Jayapal of Washington is being lambasted even by some fellow Democrats for downplaying the brutal sexual violence against Israeli women and girls, and trying to turn the conversation back to moral equivalencies and condemning Israel. Some commentators also wondered why many liberal feminist organizations are being so uncharacteristically quiet about this barbaric sexual violence aimed at women.

https://www.foxnews.com/media/jayapals-controversial-remarks-hamas-rape-hit-fellow-democat-indecent-downplay-atrocities

But it’s good to see that at least some prominent liberal women are speaking out against Hamas’ atrocities against women.

https://redstate.com/smoosieq/2023/12/04/sanity-at-the-un-hillary-clinton-kirsten-gillibrand-and-sheryl-sandberg-slam-hamas-sexual-violence-n2167168


This needs to be investigated

I’ll reserve judgement on this story about a UN-employed teacher in Gaza allegedly holding an Israeli hostage for Hamas, keeping him locked in an attic for 50 days and barely giving him food or medical attention. It’s still unsubstantiated, but I join Sen. Marsha Blackburn in demanding an investigation into it, and other claims that Gaza civilians helped the terrorists by keeping hostages in their homes.

https://www.foxnews.com/world/exclusive-sen-blackburn-calls-investigation-allegation-un-agency-employee-detained-israeli-hostage

If it is substantiated, it will accomplish the impossible by giving me an even lower opinion of the UN than I already have.


“We’re From the Government, And We’re Here to Help”

First, the government ran up the national debt passing trillion-dollar spending bills. That reckless deficit spending supercharged inflation, making your paycheck worth far less. To bring down inflation, the Fed kept jacking up interest rates, making the credit cards you had to live on even more expensive to use. And now, with many Americans barely scraping by, the IRS announced that if gig workers and independent contractors underestimate the tax they owe, the interest penalty they’ll be charged is rising from 3% to 8%.

https://www.foxbusiness.com/economy/irs-move-could-carry-hefty-cost-some-taxpayers

They have to do this, you see, because of the high interest rates. So if you don’t have enough money to pay all your taxes and are charged high interest for not sending enough of the money you don’t have to the IRS, don’t blame the IRS. After all, it’s not as if the government had any control over any of this…


Jaw-dropping

Friday, a Trump-appointed federal judge struck down the Biden Administration’s attempt to ban handgun sales to adults age 18 to 20 as “facially unconstitutional.”

https://www.westernjournal.com/2a-victory-judge-rules-federal-ban-handgun-sales-18-20-year-olds-unconstitutional/

You’d think it would be clear to anyone with a functioning brain that if the Second Amendment protects the right of all law-abiding adult citizens to own firearms, that would apply to anyone over 18. That’s generally considered the age of legal adulthood, when you can get married, sign contracts and even join the military and shoot people. 

Even more jaw-dropping was the government’s argument in support of the ban: It claimed that the two plaintiffs weren’t really injured because they are only banned from “purchasing” guns, not “possessing” them; and with the infantilization of adults that the left has made a trademark, they claimed that the defendants could just get their parents to buy guns for them.

Or they could do like so many 15-year-olds do in Democrat-run cities with strict gun control laws, and just buy illegal guns.


Biden continues to push, despite the facts

President Biden continues his push to force car makers to convert to electric vehicles, as they panic and frantically cut production due to consumers refusing to buy them, costing the makers billions. And it seems as if each new day brings another news story to confirm that buyer reluctance. Since we took Sunday off, here are two more…

Biden’s White House just added a new rule ostensibly designed to encourage buying American-made EVs but that will make already overpriced EVs even less affordable. It may be harder to find one that qualifies for the $7500 tax credit (and you know what they say about products that the government has to pay you to buy)…

https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/news/new-us-rules-aimed-at-curbing-china-could-make-it-harder-for-ev-buyers-to-claim-a-full-tax-credit/ar-AA1kQk3q

Also, a new Consumer Reports survey of owners of 330,000 cars found that EVs have almost 80% more problems than gas-powered cars. And these aren’t older tech but 2021-2023 models.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/autos/other/consumer-reports-says-electric-vehicles-are-not-reliable-here-s-why/ar-AA1kWspe

Interestingly, the least reliable vehicles are plug-in hybrids, which have 146% more problems than gas-powered cars, while the most reliable are non-plug-in hybrids, which have 26% fewer problems than traditional ICE cars. Coincidentally, these seem to be the cars that consumers want most. Why, it’s almost as if the market (millions of individual car shoppers who have done due diligence before spending their money) knows more about what car makers should be building than a bunch of eco-fanatics in Washington do. Go figure.


Kudos to Texas Gov. Greg Abbott for continuing to do the job that Joe Biden ran for but apparently has no interest in actually doing.

https://redstate.com/bonchie/2023/12/03/greg-abbott-escalates-authorizes-the-arrest-of-illegal-immigrants-n2167128


Sit down before you read this:

Todd Starnes on how even in a small Texas town, politicians are siding with LGBTQ activists and drag queens over local churches when it comes to what’s allowed in the Christmas parade. Yes, I said “Christmas.” And “Texas.”

https://www.toddstarnes.com/faith/texas-town-sides-with-drag-queens-over-churches-in-christmas-parade-fight/


Good work

Amid all the rampant, unfettered theft that’s driving small business owners into bankruptcy in criminal-coddling blue cities, it’s nice to see a feel-good story like this…

https://pjmedia.com/miltharris/2023/12/02/enough-business-manager-tracks-thief-and-sends-police-to-his-home-n4924425


Musical Christmas Gift For You

Our writer Laura Ainsworth moonlights as an award-winning retro jazz singer who loves to breathe new life into forgotten old songs. Last year, she recorded “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” with the original lyric sung by Judy Garland in “Meet Me In St. Louis.” This year, Laura offers us something even more obscure: an alternate take of the same song, only with the very first lyrics that Judy rejected because she thought they were too sad. The composers argued for them to no avail. See what you think of these rarely-heard lyrics to this great holiday standard. Please like, share and comment…

https://youtu.be/xKaErkbwpXU?si=R9aflQM2-AjfFgMh

…And compare it to her take on the lyrics used in the movie…

https://youtu.be/lFTz3QG7EBs?si=OclqOCDJTU38kS2f

The latter is also available at all streaming and download sites, and you can find links to all of Laura’s albums, social media and more at

http://www.lauraainsworth.com


Stay tuned:  Judge orders FBI to turn over Seth Rich’s laptops

Getting results from a Freedom Of Information Act (FOIA) request can feel as futile as trying to watch paint dry in a rainstorm, but for attorney Ty Clevenger and his client Brian Huddleston, their patience seems finally to be paying off.

U.S. District Judge Amos Mazzant of the Eastern District of Texas ruled Tuesday that the FBI had 14 days to turn over a timeline for the disclosure of information on murdered DNC staffer Seth Rich’s personal laptop, Rich’s work laptop, the DVD and tape drive.  As you know, Rich was shot twice on a DC street in the summer of 2016, ostensibly the casualty of a botched robbery in the wee hours of the morning, during which nothing belonging to Rich was taken.

The judge himself might be running out of patience.  He ordered the FBI and DOJ in September 2022 to hand over all the information they had that was related to Rich’s death, rejecting the argument that withholding it was in the interest of the parents’ privacy.

Recall that when Huddleston first filed his FOIA request in 2017 (!), the FBI quickly responded that they were “unable to locate any responsive main files” in connection to Rich.  But later it was determined that they had over 20,000 pages of such materials.  According to one report, there were 1,596 pages that related directly to the murder of Seth Rich.

Let’s see what the FBI and DOJ do next.  How much longer can they continue to ignore the order?  Can they appeal?  And the big question:  Why have they resisted divulging the details of this particular unsolved murder for so long, in an increasingly violent city where deadly robberies take place all the time?  Unless, of course, there was more to it than that…

https://www.westernjournal.com/bombshell-ruling-texas-judge-fbi-ordered-turn-seth-rich-laptop/


Hunter Biden was sending his dad monthly payments from “Chinese money” accounts

Good grief, how bad does it have to get?  By now, you’ve probably heard about the update from House Oversight and Accountability Chairman James Comer of Kentucky, who has taken the incriminating findings against Joe Biden and his family even further.  This information comes straight from subpoenaed bank records, which as we’ve said form the backbone of the Biden impeachment inquiry.  They really are indisputable.

Bank records show that Joe Biden received $1,380 each month from Owasco PC, one of Hunter’s entities associated with his Chinese business activities.  The easiest way for you to familiarize yourself with this new development is to watch Comer’s video, here.  It’s as clear as it can be...

https://dailycaller.com/2023/12/04/hunter-biden-monthly-payments-joe-bank-account-chinese-money-james-comer        

Comer also appeared on HANNITY Monday night to explain at greater length why this money was not just a “loan repayment” as the White House maintains (while refusing to provide documentation).  The White House does not dispute that the money came from China.  A must-watch.

https://www.foxnews.com/video/6342366169112

On Friday, several GOP members of Congress told the DAILY CALLER that they were planning to hold a floor vote on whether or not to go ahead with an impeachment of President Biden.  But Comer indicated that day that he was not currently “whipping” a floor vote on that.  The impeachment INQUIRY, he explained, is an investigation being handled by his committee.  Actual impeachment would be handled by the Judiciary Committee, chaired by Jim Jordan.

Some view a Biden impeachment as a colossal waste of time, as conviction and removal by the Democrat-controlled Senate is a major long-shot.  (And NOBODY wants a President Harris.)  But the corruption being exposed is so bad, and President Biden has lied about it for so long, that Congress is almost duty-bound to impeach him.  Not doing it just seems...wrong.  And impeachment would at least get the story out there, whether Biden is convicted or not.

Democrats probably see the writing on the wall and are preparing themselves.  The DAILY CALLER “found” a memo from House Oversight Committee Democrats in a Capitol building hallway that warns, “House Republicans have collected an extraordinary amount of evidence in their investigation of Hunter Biden’s business activities.  And this evidence comes on top of evidence collected by Senate Republicans who conducted their own investigation of Hunter Biden in 2020.”

https://dailycaller.com/2023/12/01/shady-business-games-house-republicans-say-plan-bring-biden-impeachment-inquiry-house-vote/

RELATED:  More is percolating.  As Jim Jordan mentioned on Monday, IRS whistleblowers Gary Shapley and Joseph Ziegler testify again today before the House Ways and Means Committee.  We assume that’s behind closed doors, as it apparently deals with confidential tax matters.


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For more news, visit my website.


Good grief, how bad does it have to get?  By now, you’ve probably heard about the update from House Oversight and Accountability Chairman James Comer of Kentucky, who has taken the incriminating findings against Joe Biden and his family even further.  This information comes straight from subpoenaed bank records, which as we’ve said form the backbone of the Biden impeachment inquiry.  They really are indisputable.

Bank records show that Joe Biden received $1,380 each month from Owasco PC, one of Hunter’s entities associated with his Chinese business activities.  The easiest way for you to familiarize yourself with this new development is to watch Comer’s video, here.  It’s as clear as it can be...

https://dailycaller.com/2023/12/04/hunter-biden-monthly-payments-joe-bank-account-chinese-money-james-comer        

Comer also appeared on HANNITY Monday night to explain at greater length why this money was not just a “loan repayment” as the White House maintains (while refusing to provide documentation).  The White House does not dispute that the money came from China.  A must-watch.

https://www.foxnews.com/video/6342366169112

On Friday, several GOP members of Congress told the DAILY CALLER that they were planning to hold a floor vote on whether or not to go ahead with an impeachment of President Biden.  But Comer indicated that day that he was not currently “whipping” a floor vote on that.  The impeachment INQUIRY, he explained, is an investigation being handled by his committee.  Actual impeachment would be handled by the Judiciary Committee, chaired by Jim Jordan.

Some view a Biden impeachment as a colossal waste of time, as conviction and removal by the Democrat-controlled Senate is a major long-shot.  (And NOBODY wants a President Harris.)  But the corruption being exposed is so bad, and President Biden has lied about it for so long, that Congress is almost duty-bound to impeach him.  Not doing it just seems...wrong.  And impeachment would at least get the story out there, whether Biden is convicted or not.

Democrats probably see the writing on the wall and are preparing themselves.  The DAILY CALLER “found” a memo from House Oversight Committee Democrats in a Capitol building hallway that warns, “House Republicans have collected an extraordinary amount of evidence in their investigation of Hunter Biden’s business activities.  And this evidence comes on top of evidence collected by Senate Republicans who conducted their own investigation of Hunter Biden in 2020.”

https://dailycaller.com/2023/12/01/shady-business-games-house-republicans-say-plan-bring-biden-impeachment-inquiry-house-vote/

RELATED:  More is percolating.  As Jim Jordan mentioned on Monday, IRS whistleblowers Gary Shapley and Joseph Ziegler testify again today before the House Ways and Means Committee.  We assume that’s behind closed doors, as it apparently deals with confidential tax matters.

President Biden continues his push to force car makers to convert to electric vehicles, as they panic and frantically cut production due to consumers refusing to buy them, costing the makers billions. And it seems as if each new day brings another news story to confirm that buyer reluctance. Since we took Sunday off, here are two more…

Biden’s White House just added a new rule ostensibly designed to encourage buying American-made EVs but that will make already overpriced EVs even less affordable. It may be harder to find one that qualifies for the $7500 tax credit (and you know what they say about products that the government has to pay you to buy)…

https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/news/new-us-rules-aimed-at-curbing-china-could-make-it-harder-for-ev-buyers-to-claim-a-full-tax-credit/ar-AA1kQk3q

Also, a new Consumer Reports survey of owners of 330,000 cars found that EVs have almost 80% more problems than gas-powered cars. And these aren’t older tech but 2021-2023 models.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/autos/other/consumer-reports-says-electric-vehicles-are-not-reliable-here-s-why/ar-AA1kWspe

Interestingly, the least reliable vehicles are plug-in hybrids, which have 146% more problems than gas-powered cars, while the most reliable are non-plug-in hybrids, which have 26% fewer problems than traditional ICE cars. Coincidentally, these seem to be the cars that consumers want most. Why, it’s almost as if the market (millions of individual car shoppers who have done due diligence before spending their money) knows more about what car makers should be building than a bunch of eco-fanatics in Washington do. Go figure.

Santos Expelled

December 4, 2023

Friday, the House once again proved that Republicans are held to a far higher standard than Democrats, when New York Republican Rep. George Santos was expelled by a 311-114 vote, despite having not been convicted of any crimes and pleading not guilty to the charges he’s facing. This sets a worrisome new precedent because nobody has ever before been expelled from Congress even before facing trial.

https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2023/12/01/congress-expels-george-santos-first-member-expelled-in-over-two-decades/

As usual, the Republicans also managed to shoot themselves in the foot politically, removing one vote from their tiny majority margin and setting up a special election for a seat that will be very hard for them to hold with outside Democrat groups pouring in millions for advertising while the RNC is still trying to find the district on a map.

To be clear: Other than his right to the presumption of innocence pending trial, which I defend for everyone, I have no interest in defending Santos, who appears to be at best a wildly creative liar. But his expulsion over charges of misrepresenting his background, violating ethics rules and allegedly misusing campaign funds has sparked cries of “What about the rest of them who are no better and still in Congress?”

Are Santos’ alleged crimes really worse than charges of having hundreds of thousands of dollars of bribery cash and gold bars in your pockets and closet? That’s what Democrat Sen. Bob Menendez is accused of, and he’s still in office. He was previously charged with crimes, got off and was never forced out, certainly not before being tried. Even Sen. John Fetterman (who has proved to be a surprise thorn in the side to fellow Democrats with his staunch support of Israel and blasting of Hamas apologists) called the charges against Menendez “much more serious and sinister,” and said “if you are going to expel Santos, how can you allow somebody like Menendez to remain in the Senate?”

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/sen-bob-menendez-much-more-sinister-than-george-santos-fetterman/ar-AA1kRJ0T

Or how about Rep. Jamaal Bowman, caught on video “committing insurrection” by pulling a fire alarm to disrupt a budget vote, then lying about it to police until video disproved his story? He got off with a slap-on-the-wrist misdemeanor, a move to expel him went nowhere, and the House Ethics Committee wouldn’t even look at him.

In terms of pure fabulism, even Santos can’t compete with the breathtaking lies of Adam Schiff, and Schiff spews his slanderous falsehoods straight into the Congressional Record. Then there’s Ilhan Omar and her alleged “interesting” stories about her background and her uses of campaign funds, not to mention the anti-Semitism. Speaking of which, how about national embarrassment Rashida Tlaib, who still draws a taxpayer-funded House paycheck even as she continues to slander Israel and offer support to terrorists who mass-murder Jews?

What do all of them (and more I could list) have in common? They’re Democrats, so don’t hold your breath waiting for anyone to hold them to any standards – not even the Republicans who voted to throw out George Santos.

Three House Republicans went out on a limb Friday and alleged partisan motivations on the part of Special Counsel Jack Smith.  Kidding; we all know that Smith is dripping with partisan motivation.  (Note the resistance with which Smith has met attempts by Judicial Watch even to learn the identities of his team members.  https://www.judicialwatch.org/jack-smiths-staff/)

In a letter to Smith, House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer of Kentucky, House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan of Ohio, and Rep. Anna Paulina Luna of Florida said, “The Committee is concerned that your unprecedented investigation and fevered prosecution of President Trump is not about any true commitment to equal justice under the law, but an (increasingly contrived) attempt to use the criminal justice system to defame the former President before the 2024 election.”

And, yes, it’s called the House OVERSIGHT Committee in part because it does have OVERSIGHT of the “Justice” Department, with the responsibility to pass legislation pertaining to the agency’s actions.  Accordingly, their letter called for Smith to turn over documents relating to his criminal prosecution of Trump.

As reported in the EPOCH TIMES, they demanded he hand over documents related to “Mr. Smith’s authority to grant immunity to witnesses and impanel a grand jury, as well as any communications that could speak to any oversight from the Department of Justice concerning Mr. Smith’s decision to indict President Trump.”

We assume they’re talking about both indictments Smith is prosecuting:  the J6 case and the classified documents case.

Committee chairs have tried twice before to get similar information, but Smith’s office didn’t respond either time.  Why would they think this letter will be different?  Other House Republicans are trying uselessly to invoke the power of the purse to to restrict Smith’s funding or salary, but that’s destined to fail as well, as Democrats control both the Senate and White House.

Still, somebody must have had fun coming up with the acronym.  It’s called the “YOU’RE FIRED” Act, short for “Yanking Outlays for an Unethical, Ruthless Enterprise that Fraudulently Impedes Robust Electoral Debate.”  Wow, that could apply to a lot of governmental activities these days, but it can’t pass and so is really just more of a statement, an example of Congress fiddling with acronyms while Rome burns.  It’s going to take a lot more than strongly-worded letters and bills to stop unethical, ruthless enterprises such as Jack Smith’s rabid prosecution.

https://www.ntd.com/house-oversight-gop-demands-trump-indictment-documents-threatens-subpoena_958073.html

The bill was introduced by freshman Tennessee Rep. Andy Ogles and says, “The Biden Administration’s weaponization of the DOJ for personal political gain through the appointment of Jack Smith is nothing short of appalling.  In November 2022, he was tasked with taking down Biden’s biggest threat, President Donald J. Trump.  From falsified indictments to non-existent supporting ‘evidence,’ everything about the proceedings by Smith have screamed desperate.  America cannot and will not stand for that, and it’s well past time that Congress uses its power of the purse to tell Jack Smith:  you’re fired.”

All true, but nothing will come of it.

https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/house/ogles-bill-defund-jack-smiths-salary

…………

Did you see on Friday that not only has Judge Tanya Chutkan, the presiding judge in Trump’s J6 case, ruled against Trump on his “immunity” and “First Amendment” arguments, but also that a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for DC ruled unanimously that CIVIL CASES against Trump over damages relating to January 6 may proceed?  I am not kidding.  They said he was acting not in his official capacity as President but “in his personal capacity as a presidential candidate.”

As the Supreme Court has ruled (Nixon v. Fitzgerald), a President has absolute immunity from civil liability over actions taken in an official capacity, and, of course, that was the argument Trump’s legal team made before these judges.  As reported in NEWSMAX, “They assert that the actions detailed in the indictment --- including pressing state officials on the administration of elections --- cut to the core of Trump’s responsibilities as commander-in-chief.”  As reasonable as that argument seems, the judges turned it away.  They offered only that when these cases do go forward, Trump can still “try to prove” that he was acting officially.

Chief Judge Sri Srinivasan wrote: “The district court largely rejected his claim of immunity, and President Trump now appeals.  (Editorial aside:  You better believe he appeals!)  The sole issue before us is whether President Trump has demonstrated an entitlement to official-act immunity for his actions leading up to and on January 6 as alleged in the complaints.  We answer no, at least at this state of the proceedings.”

A Trump spokesperson described the ruling as “limited, narrow and procedural” and said Trump was “acting on behalf of the American people” on January 6.

https://www.newsmax.com/newsfront/trump-jan-6-chutkan/2023/12/01

Recall that three decades ago, the Supreme Court ruled that Paula Jones’ civil lawsuit against President Bill Clinton could proceed, even though he was still in office.  (Clinton was later impeached on a process crime, lying under oath, in connection with that suit.)  Their decision was quite controversial at the time, as the prospect was raised of a President being deluged with litigation while in office.

Now, the nightmare is coming true, only it’s with a former President running for re-election, with the prospect of BEING President when the lawsuits finally reach courtrooms.  If Trump is held ultimately responsible for the events of January 6 and his actions are treated the same as those of a private citizen, can you even IMAGINE the endless, crushing deluge of lawfare that will result?

At least with Paula Jones, she was suing President Clinton for something she’d alleged he personally did to HER.  With J6, litigants are trying to hold Trump responsible for everything they claim he indirectly “caused” --- violence, vandalism and psychological trauma that was actually caused by some of his “supporters.”  (I use quotation marks because we don’t know for sure that they were all supporters.)  There will be no limit to the lawfare.  This is the Democrats’ dream come true.

Already, a suit has been filed by Capitol Police officers James Blassingame and Sidney Hemby, who seek damages for physical and emotional injuries they suffered as a result of the Capitol attack.  That’s right, they’re suing TRUMP for this.  Trump, and only Trump.  A lawyer for one of the officers said, “Today’s ruling makes clear that those who endanger our democracy and the lives of those sworn to defend it will be held to account.”  On the contrary, “our democracy” is much poorer for this.

House Democrats have also filed a couple of suits against Trump (!!) One of them comes from ten House Democrats, including Reps. Jerry Nadler and Maxine Waters.  The other comes courtesy of Rep. Eric Swalwell.

https://www.reuters.com/legal/us-appeals-court-says-trump-must-face-lawsuits-over-us-capitol-attack-2023-12-01/

These judges failed to see that President Trump’s actions leading up to and on January 6 WERE in an official capacity.  For example, he was acting in an official capacity when he offered House Speaker Nancy Pelosi thousands of National Guard troops to help keep the peace that day.  And she was acting in an official capacity when she refused them.

When will we see the lawsuits against her?

 


BY MIKE HUCKABEE

Blessings on you and your family from all the Huckabee team! 

Mike Huckabee


DAILY BIBLE VERSE

3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, 4 who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God.

2 Corinthians 1:3-4 NIV


Santos expelled

Friday, the House once again proved that Republicans are held to a far higher standard than Democrats, when New York Republican Rep. George Santos was expelled by a 311-114 vote, despite having not been convicted of any crimes and pleading not guilty to the charges he’s facing. This sets a worrisome new precedent because nobody has ever before been expelled from Congress even before facing trial.

https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2023/12/01/congress-expels-george-santos-first-member-expelled-in-over-two-decades/

As usual, the Republicans also managed to shoot themselves in the foot politically, removing one vote from their tiny majority margin and setting up a special election for a seat that will be very hard for them to hold with outside Democrat groups pouring in millions for advertising while the RNC is still trying to find the district on a map.

To be clear: Other than his right to the presumption of innocence pending trial, which I defend for everyone, I have no interest in defending Santos, who appears to be at best a wildly creative liar. But his expulsion over charges of misrepresenting his background, violating ethics rules and allegedly misusing campaign funds has sparked cries of “What about the rest of them who are no better and still in Congress?”

Are Santos’ alleged crimes really worse than charges of having hundreds of thousands of dollars of bribery cash and gold bars in your pockets and closet? That’s what Democrat Sen. Bob Menendez is accused of, and he’s still in office. He was previously charged with crimes, got off and was never forced out, certainly not before being tried. Even Sen. John Fetterman (who has proved to be a surprise thorn in the side to fellow Democrats with his staunch support of Israel and blasting of Hamas apologists) called the charges against Menendez “much more serious and sinister,” and said “if you are going to expel Santos, how can you allow somebody like Menendez to remain in the Senate?”

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/sen-bob-menendez-much-more-sinister-than-george-santos-fetterman/ar-AA1kRJ0T

Or how about Rep. Jamaal Bowman, caught on video “committing insurrection” by pulling a fire alarm to disrupt a budget vote, then lying about it to police until video disproved his story? He got off with a slap-on-the-wrist misdemeanor, a move to expel him went nowhere, and the House Ethics Committee wouldn’t even look at him.

In terms of pure fabulism, even Santos can’t compete with the breathtaking lies of Adam Schiff, and Schiff spews his slanderous falsehoods straight into the Congressional Record. Then there’s Ilhan Omar and her alleged “interesting” stories about her background and her uses of campaign funds, not to mention the anti-Semitism. Speaking of which, how about national embarrassment Rashida Tlaib, who still draws a taxpayer-funded House paycheck even as she continues to slander Israel and offer support to terrorists who mass-murder Jews?

What do all of them (and more I could list) have in common? They’re Democrats, so don’t hold your breath waiting for anyone to hold them to any standards – not even the Republicans who voted to throw out George Santos.


Well, this explains an awful lot:

While walking past a church with a BBC interviewer, Dr. Anthony Fauci revealed that he no longer practices religion. He said, “It seems almost like a pro forma thing that I don’t really need to do.” Instead, he’s guided by a higher authority: “my own personal ethics.”

https://instapundit.com/619865/

I don’t know if I’d describe secretly funding gain of function research to develop more contagious, deadly diseases, lying about it under oath, and imposing totalitarian measures to deal with the consequences a “code of ethics,” but why don’t we let the court system decide that? In the meantime, I guess he figures he doesn’t need God because he has a graven image of himself to worship, and it even has a bobblehead. Just like the real thing.


The “existential threat” of Donald Trump

A lot of Democrat politicians, leftist pundits and hysterical Hollywood liberals are hyperventilating over the EXISTENTIAL THREAT of Donald Trump being elected President in 2024. (And of course, “Republican” Liz Cheney, too.)

https://redstate.com/bonchie/2023/12/02/liz-cheney-delivers-dire-warning-about-the-coming-doom-of-the-united-states-n2167077

Seems to me if Trump were an “existential threat,” we’d all be dead because, just to remind them, he was President before for four whole years, and we’re all still here. Most notably, they’re still here, despite their vows to leave the US if he were elected – unfulfilled promises that some of them are making again, but this time, they really mean it!

They used to claim Trump would be “worse than Hitler,” but it turned out he was Israel’s best friend and (unlike Biden) didn’t start any world wars. Besides, it turns out a lot of their base admires certain of Hitler’s policies. So now, they’re screaming that Trump will impose “fascism.”

This is rich. Not only did Trump try to reduce government power and reinstate Constitutional rights, but for the past few years, fascist tactics have been the go-to strategy of leftists, from college campuses to courtrooms to January 6th hearings to the Biden DOJ. And let’s not forget Antifa, who call themselves “anti-fascists” while acting exactly like Nazi Brownshirts, in the perfect illustration of the old rule, “If you want to know what the left is really doing, just look at what they’re accusing the right of doing.”

Here's a recommended article by Steve Levy about the absurdity of crying “fascist” over Trump while ignoring the “clinic on fascist tactics” that the Biden White House has been giving us since 2021.

https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/restoring-america/fairness-justice/lefts-fear-fascism-under-trump-ultimate-example-projection


A Malibu landfall

Speaking of showbiz TDS sufferers, two of the most unhinged Trump haters are Cher and Barbra Streisand. Both railed against Trump’s border wall, and Barbra even “threatened” to move to England if Biden is defeated by Trump. I guess that means they both think Biden’s border policies are just peachy. So I’d love to have seen their reaction to the news that around 1 a.m. Thursday, a boat arrived on Malibu beach and about 25 illegal immigrants piled out and ran toward land, which is where Barbra, Cher, Leo DeCaprio and other leftist celebrity pontificators have their ritzy mansions and security walls.

https://www.foxnews.com/us/illegal-migrants-land-beach-near-homes-hollywood-stars

I assume they’re fine with Biden’s illegal immigrant invasion spilling beyond our open border up to their own beach, considering they not only voted for it, but they’ve spent a lot of money and time trying to convince us to vote for it, too. It seems odd, considering Barbra is so paranoid that she once unsuccessfully sued a photographer for invasion of privacy just for taking a photo of the entire beach that her mansion appeared in. It birthed the term “Streisand effect,” which is when efforts to censor something just draw more attention to it.

The good news for her is that her mansion has 19 bedrooms, so she can put up all of those newly-arrived illegal immigrants, plus a couple more next year after Trump wins and she moves to England.

(BTW: Just out of curiosity, since the #1 issue of the guy she backs is "climate change," how big a carbon footprint is created by a 19-bedroom mansion?)


Who could have seen this coming?!?

John Kerry scolded other nations for not making enough sacrifices to fight “climate change.” He complained, “Not everybody is doing what they promised to do.”

https://www.breitbart.com/environment/2023/12/01/john-kerry-scolds-world-climate-not-everybody-doing-what-they-promised/

Wait, you mean we can’t rely on nations like China to keep their promises to destroy their own economies just because we stupidly agreed to do it first? Wow, you can’t trust ANYONE these days! I’ll bet those lying communists aren’t even giving up their private jets!

And here are some more laughs to start the week, this time of the intentional variety, courtesy of the Babylon Bee…

https://babylonbee.com/news/santos-expelled-by-congress-for-doing-terrible-job-covering-up-his-ethics-violations

https://babylonbee.com/news/child-grooming-content-on-x-reduced-by-83-after-disney-pulls-ads

https://babylonbee.com/news/protesters-shouting-down-children-singing-christmas-carols-briefly-wonder-if-theyre-the-bad-guys

https://babylonbee.com/news/nation-in-shock-after-gavin-newsom-murdered-on-live-tv

https://babylonbee.com/news/ireland-declares-asking-an-immigrant-to-stop-stabbing-you-a-hate-crime


President Trump to be deluged with CIVIL SUITS holding him responsible for January 6

Three House Republicans went out on a limb Friday and alleged partisan motivations on the part of Special Counsel Jack Smith.  Kidding; we all know that Smith is dripping with partisan motivation.  (Note the resistance with which Smith has met attempts by Judicial Watch even to learn the identities of his team members.  https://www.judicialwatch.org/jack-smiths-staff/)

In a letter to Smith, House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer of Kentucky, House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan of Ohio, and Rep. Anna Paulina Luna of Florida said, “The Committee is concerned that your unprecedented investigation and fevered prosecution of President Trump is not about any true commitment to equal justice under the law, but an (increasingly contrived) attempt to use the criminal justice system to defame the former President before the 2024 election.”

And, yes, it’s called the House OVERSIGHT Committee in part because it does have OVERSIGHT of the “Justice” Department, with the responsibility to pass legislation pertaining to the agency’s actions.  Accordingly, their letter called for Smith to turn over documents relating to his criminal prosecution of Trump.

As reported in the EPOCH TIMES, they demanded he hand over documents related to “Mr. Smith’s authority to grant immunity to witnesses and impanel a grand jury, as well as any communications that could speak to any oversight from the Department of Justice concerning Mr. Smith’s decision to indict President Trump.”

We assume they’re talking about both indictments Smith is prosecuting:  the J6 case and the classified documents case.

Committee chairs have tried twice before to get similar information, but Smith’s office didn’t respond either time.  Why would they think this letter will be different?  Other House Republicans are trying uselessly to invoke the power of the purse to to restrict Smith’s funding or salary, but that’s destined to fail as well, as Democrats control both the Senate and White House.

Still, somebody must have had fun coming up with the acronym.  It’s called the “YOU’RE FIRED” Act, short for “Yanking Outlays for an Unethical, Ruthless Enterprise that Fraudulently Impedes Robust Electoral Debate.”  Wow, that could apply to a lot of governmental activities these days, but it can’t pass and so is really just more of a statement, an example of Congress fiddling with acronyms while Rome burns.  It’s going to take a lot more than strongly-worded letters and bills to stop unethical, ruthless enterprises such as Jack Smith’s rabid prosecution.

https://www.ntd.com/house-oversight-gop-demands-trump-indictment-documents-threatens-subpoena_958073.html

The bill was introduced by freshman Tennessee Rep. Andy Ogles and says, “The Biden Administration’s weaponization of the DOJ for personal political gain through the appointment of Jack Smith is nothing short of appalling.  In November 2022, he was tasked with taking down Biden’s biggest threat, President Donald J. Trump.  From falsified indictments to non-existent supporting ‘evidence,’ everything about the proceedings by Smith have screamed desperate.  America cannot and will not stand for that, and it’s well past time that Congress uses its power of the purse to tell Jack Smith:  you’re fired.”

All true, but nothing will come of it.

https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/house/ogles-bill-defund-jack-smiths-salary

…………

Did you see on Friday that not only has Judge Tanya Chutkan, the presiding judge in Trump’s J6 case, ruled against Trump on his “immunity” and “First Amendment” arguments, but also that a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for DC ruled unanimously that CIVIL CASES against Trump over damages relating to January 6 may proceed?  I am not kidding.  They said he was acting not in his official capacity as President but “in his personal capacity as a presidential candidate.”

As the Supreme Court has ruled (Nixon v. Fitzgerald), a President has absolute immunity from civil liability over actions taken in an official capacity, and, of course, that was the argument Trump’s legal team made before these judges.  As reported in NEWSMAX, “They assert that the actions detailed in the indictment --- including pressing state officials on the administration of elections --- cut to the core of Trump’s responsibilities as commander-in-chief.”  As reasonable as that argument seems, the judges turned it away.  They offered only that when these cases do go forward, Trump can still “try to prove” that he was acting officially.

Chief Judge Sri Srinivasan wrote: “The district court largely rejected his claim of immunity, and President Trump now appeals.  (Editorial aside:  You better believe he appeals!)  The sole issue before us is whether President Trump has demonstrated an entitlement to official-act immunity for his actions leading up to and on January 6 as alleged in the complaints.  We answer no, at least at this state of the proceedings.”

A Trump spokesperson described the ruling as “limited, narrow and procedural” and said Trump was “acting on behalf of the American people” on January 6.

https://www.newsmax.com/newsfront/trump-jan-6-chutkan/2023/12/01

Recall that three decades ago, the Supreme Court ruled that Paula Jones’ civil lawsuit against President Bill Clinton could proceed, even though he was still in office.  (Clinton was later impeached on a process crime, lying under oath, in connection with that suit.)  Their decision was quite controversial at the time, as the prospect was raised of a President being deluged with litigation while in office.

Now, the nightmare is coming true, only it’s with a former President running for re-election, with the prospect of BEING President when the lawsuits finally reach courtrooms.  If Trump is held ultimately responsible for the events of January 6 and his actions are treated the same as those of a private citizen, can you even IMAGINE the endless, crushing deluge of lawfare that will result?

At least with Paula Jones, she was suing President Clinton for something she’d alleged he personally did to HER.  With J6, litigants are trying to hold Trump responsible for everything they claim he indirectly “caused” --- violence, vandalism and psychological trauma that was actually caused by some of his “supporters.”  (I use quotation marks because we don’t know for sure that they were all supporters.)  There will be no limit to the lawfare.  This is the Democrats’ dream come true.

Already, a suit has been filed by Capitol Police officers James Blassingame and Sidney Hemby, who seek damages for physical and emotional injuries they suffered as a result of the Capitol attack.  That’s right, they’re suing TRUMP for this.  Trump, and only Trump.  A lawyer for one of the officers said, “Today’s ruling makes clear that those who endanger our democracy and the lives of those sworn to defend it will be held to account.”  On the contrary, “our democracy” is much poorer for this.

House Democrats have also filed a couple of suits against Trump (!!) One of them comes from ten House Democrats, including Reps. Jerry Nadler and Maxine Waters.  The other comes courtesy of Rep. Eric Swalwell.

https://www.reuters.com/legal/us-appeals-court-says-trump-must-face-lawsuits-over-us-capitol-attack-2023-12-01/

These judges failed to see that President Trump’s actions leading up to and on January 6 WERE in an official capacity.  For example, he was acting in an official capacity when he offered House Speaker Nancy Pelosi thousands of National Guard troops to help keep the peace that day.  And she was acting in an official capacity when she refused them.

When will we see the lawsuits against her?


Here’s today’s link to real-time updates on the war in Israel from Fox News…

https://www.foxnews.com/live-news/december-4-israel-hamas-war

Since the ceasefire ended Friday, Israel has stuck 200 more Hamas terrorist targets in Gaza. They also reported killing Haitham Khojari, commander of Hamas’ Shati Battalion, who was involved in the execution of the Oct. 7 terrorist attack in Israel. 

Around the world and even here in America, many on the left are making it clear that they side with the mass-murdering terrorists as they threaten and attack Jews on US soil. They accuse Israel of genocide, having redefined “genocide” as “When Israel fights back against monsters who try to commit genocide against Jews.”

Our rapidly-expanding Hall of Shame today inducts the anti-Semitic mob of morons in Philadelphia who vandalized a local falafel restaurant because it’s owned by a Jewish Israeli chef and accused him or the restaurant of “genocide.” Violent, hateful and stupid is no way to go through life, guys.

https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2023/12/03/antisemitic-mob-descends-israeli-owned-restaurant-philadelphia/

We’ll also make room in the Hall of Shame for the ironically-named “LoveLight Placemaking,” organizers of an art and music festival in Williamsburg, Virginia.  They canceled the December 7th Hannukah menorah-lighting ceremony by the United Jewish Community of the Virginia Peninsula, claiming it might look like they were choosing sides in the conflict. They said they would consider rescheduling it if another ceasefire was called.

Wow, that’s a lot of anti-Semitism to unpack! First, they're holding all Jews responsible for the policies of Israel. Then, there’s canceling a Jewish religious ceremony because you disagree with the politics of Israel. And who gives them the power to "reschedule" Hanukkah? Finally, what kind of moral degenerate worries about appearing to be “choosing sides” in a conflict between a mob of murdering, torturing, raping, Jew-hating terrorists and their victims?

Maybe someone needs to clue them in that many of the victims were peacefully attending an art and music festival themselves when Hamas attacked it and murdered, tortured, raped and kidnapped them.


Our “Babe in the Woods” award winner

Our “Babe in the Woods” award goes to Biden Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, who felt it necessary to warn Israel that if they go after Hamas too long and hard, they risk driving the Palestinians to side with Hamas. News flash: The Palestinians in Gaza elected Hamas as their leaders, and a poll just last month showed that about 75% of them still  support Hamas and the same number approve of the brutal slaughter of Jews on October 7th.

https://www.breitbart.com/middle-east/2023/12/03/secdef-austin-warns-of-strategic-defeat-if-israel-isnt-careful-palestinians-might-support-hamas/

As a proportion of the populations of the US and Israel, October 7th was a deadlier attack than 9/11, but did we call a ceasefire a month after 9/11, or did we keep fighting for nearly 10 years until we finally put an end to Osama Bin Laden? Austin also tried to give the Israelis advice on how to handle urban warfare in the Middle East, apparently unaware that the Israelis taught us how to do that.

Instead of lecturing Israel on how to deal with attacks by terrorists, maybe the Biden White House should pay more attention to responding to attacks by terrorists on Americans, like the multiple attacks Sunday on a US Navy destroyer and several commercial ships in the Red Sea. It’s not yet confirmed but likely that the drone and missile attacks were launched by Houthi militants in Yemen. Let’s see what, if anything, our military does about it, and decide if that’s a good example for Israel to follow if they want to continue to exist.

https://redstate.com/streiff/2023/12/03/breaking-us-destroyer-and-several-other-ships-attacked-in-red-sea-biden-prepares-to-do-nothing-n2167113


Filed under, “I bet she got really mad about this…”

Democrat Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee is running for mayor of Houston, and she put out a TV ad reminding people to vote on December 7th. Problem: early voting ends on Dec. 5th and election day is December 9th, so nobody can possibly vote on December 7th.

https://redstate.com/nick-arama/2023/12/04/sheila-jackson-lee-mad-a-big-mistake-about-election-day-and-i-have-questions-n2167136

Let this be a warning, Houstonians, of how well your city would be run by a Mayor Lee. Also, isn’t there a meme maker who was sentenced to PRISON for tweeting joke memes that urged Hillary supporters to vote on the wrong day? Or like so many other things these days, is that only a crime when Republicans do it?


“Justice” Democrat-style:

While January 6th protesters are sent to federal prison for years, some just for taking selfies in the Capitol, a Fulton County, Georgia, judge has sentenced two far-left BLM protesters for burning down a Wendy’s while rioting in Atlanta. Under a generous plea deal, they were given five years’ probation, a $500 fine and 150 hours of community service. Oh, please! Haven't they done enough service for the community already?!

https://trendingpoliticsnews.com/blm-rioters-who-torched-an-atlanta-wendys-in-2020-get-probation-500-cmc/


 I JUST WANTED TO SAY: 

Thank you for reading my newsletter. 

For more news, visit my website.


Good morning, everyone! Blessings on you and your family from all the Huckabee team! Today, if you have a moment, leave me a comment about something you read. Comments help me fine tune what I am writing, and they show that we have an active community of readers.

Sincerely,

Mike Huckabee


Daily Bible Verse

If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.

Romans 10:9 NIV


1) MUST-READ:

Rabbi Michael Barclay on the real insidious reasons why Hamas is releasing hostages, and why thousands of allegedly innocent Palestinian civilians are returning to Gaza despite the danger. He says they’re not unwilling human shields, they’re unarmed soldiers, “willing and active cogs in the Hamas war effort, willing to die for their cause of destroying Israel” by helping Hamas win its PR campaign in the Western media to paint Israel as the aggressors.

https://pjmedia.com/rabbi-michael-barclay/2023/11/24/the-insidious-reason-why-hamas-is-releasing-hostages-n4924202

Fortunately, Prime Minister Netanyahu and other top Israeli officials are resisting the worldwide pressure from anti-Semites and terrorist appeasers to have an indefinite ceasefire, lay down their arms and go back to letting their people be slaughtered by these vicious maniacs. Knesset member and former Israeli ambassador to the UN Dany Danon said, "We are focused on the return of our hostages now, but we will resume our military campaign. We are not in a position to risk our future. We say the same to European leaders, and to President Biden. We appreciate your support, but this time we have no choice. We have to go all the way and eradicate Hamas at all costs."


2) Something to consider

Interesting story about movie actress Natalie Portman, who first came to fame at age 12 in the movie, “Leon: The Professional.”

https://nypost.com/2023/11/25/entertainment/natalie-portman-says-children-should-not-be-working-in-hollywood-after-she-was-sexualized-in-first-movie-at-age-12/

Now a mother of two, her advice to parents whose kids want to work in Hollywood is DON’T. Portman said she was talked about in sexual terms when she was still a young teen; it made her feel afraid and disrespected; and “it was almost an accident of luck that I was not harmed, also combined with very overprotective, wonderful parents.” She said it’s fine if you want to be in movies as an adult, but “I think kids should play and go to school.”

Yet another thing to think about the next time a Hollywood liberal gives Americans a moral lecture on how we’re not raising our kids right and should have more sexually-explicit books in elementary schools.


3) Public trust in elections continues to fall

If you don’t believe that the 2020 election was the most honest, scrupulous, unquestionably accurate election in history, then you’d better not say so or you’ll be silenced, slandered, demonetized and possibly prosecuted for a RICO violation. Ironically, the more some people keep insisting that there’s no such thing as voter fraud, the more the level of public trust in elections has fallen.

So if the people who want us to trust our elections are ever going to accomplish that goal, they need to come up with better responses to stories like these than “Shut up or else!”

https://www.westernjournal.com/key-swing-county-sounding-alarm-bells-voting-machines-ahead-2024-election/

https://joehoft.com/breaking-exclusive-the-errors-the-lie-and-the-cover-up-in-georgias-2020-election-part-i/

https://www.westernjournal.com/gop-candidates-loss-1-vote-prompts-calls-whole-new-election-issue-shady-count-raised/

And people who care about our elections actually being trustworthy, rather than just stumping for blind trust, need to get more adamant about cleaning up the voting process to ensure not only that there’s no provable cheating but that there's no opportunity for cheating.


4) HIGHLY RECOMMENDED READING: 

As if we didn’t have enough to worry about from our own government, there’s also propaganda from the United Front Work Department of the People’s Republic of China.  As reported by the U.K. DAILY MAIL, “the goal of [the UFWD] is to help China take over Taiwan and establish a new global order that revolves around CCP values and interests.”

Don’t expect our State Department and Department of Defense to stay on top of this, as they’ll be much too busy targeting Trump supporters at home.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-12797557/Chinas-growing-espionage-propaganda-threat-U-S-Congress-warns-America-little-grasp-deep-Communist-Partys-influence-infiltrated-communities-nation.html


5) Comic Relief:

A group of protesters gathered outside the White House, blaming President Biden for Gazans starving, and announced that they’re going on a hunger strike until there’s a permanent ceasefire. They included “Sex & The City” actress and failed leftist New York gubernatorial candidate, Cynthia Nixon. I congratulate them on coming up with an ingenious way to avoid gaining weight over the holidays.

https://twitchy.com/brettt/2023/11/27/author-of-palestine-a-socialist-introduction-announces-hunger-strike-in-front-of-white-house-n2390224


6) News you probably won’t hear elsewhere:

In Donald Trump’s trial in New York on real estate fraud charges (the one where the judge who refuses to admit he’s biased found Trump guilty before hearing any arguments), Deutsche Bank executive David Williams took the stand and pretty much destroyed Attorney General Letitia James’ entire case.

He testified that it was “atypical, but not entirely unusual” for the bank to slash a loan applicant’s estimate of the value of his property by as much as 50% and still make the loan anyway. He said the bank does due diligence to assess the property’s value, and in this case, thanks to Trump’s history of successful developments and other criteria, they expected the project to make a profit, so they approved the loan. He also said the differing assessments of the property’s valuation wasn’t a disqualifying factor but “just a difference of opinion.”

https://www.zerohedge.com/political/did-deutsche-bank-just-destroy-new-york-ags-case-against-trump

So where exactly is the “fraud”? Ooh, I know, I know! She’s in the New York State Attorney General’s office!


7) More finger-pointing from the Left

In Chicago, which has been run by Democrats since the early 1930s, the far-left Mayor has finally figured out why black people there have so many problems like crime, gangs and poverty. It’s the fault of (drumroll, please)…”rightwing extremists!” I guess like those Chicago MAGA guys who attacked Jussie Smolett.

https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2023/11/28/chicago-mayor-brandon-johnson-blames-right-wing-extremists-city-problems/

When he’s voted out after one term, he could get a job writing for the New York Times.


8) And Another One Bites The Dust…

A Rhode Island judge threw out a lawsuit attempting to keep Donald Trump off the 2024 ballot. How can these heroic Democrats protect our democracy if these lousy judges keep letting the American people vote for whoever they want?!

https://www.westernjournal.com/rhode-island-judge-deals-blow-democrat-agenda-trump-cheering/


9) Economic News

Wednesday morning, the government estimated that the US economy grew at an annual rate of 5.2% in the third quarter of 2023, higher than the 4.9% economists predicted. Also, disposable personal income grew 2.9 percent after an upward revision of 1.1 percent. But before you start celebrating the red hot Biden economy, here are some caveats:

https://www.breitbart.com/economy/2023/11/29/gdp-revised-2/

"Disposable personal income grew 2.9 percent after an upward revision. Adjusted for inflation, real after-tax income rose 0.1 percent after a big upward revision of 1.1 percentage points." 

“The upward revision (in GDP) reflects an increase in government spending and business investment. Consumer spending was revised down as were exports.” 

Also, “Spending by the federal government grew at an annual rate of seven percent, revised up from the earlier estimate of 6.2 percent. Overall government spending, including state and local expenditures, rose at a 5.5 percent rate, up from the earlier estimate of 4.6 percent.”

So while I’m glad to hear any economic good news, pardon me for being skeptical that so much of it is based on the theory that Washington can spend us into prosperity.


10) A Gift Guide from Dave Barry

Now that the Christmas shopping season has officially begun (I may be a relic of a bygone age, but I still don’t believe in starting Christmas festivities until after Thanksgiving), here’s that annual Christmas tradition: humorist Dave Barry’s gift guide for 2023:

https://www.miamiherald.com/living/liv-columns-blogs/dave-barry/gift-guide/article281011198.html

And to get you into a Christmas mood for real, here’s our writer Laura Ainsworth in her other job as an award-winning retro jazz singer, performing the original lyric of “Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas.” Give it a listen, a like and a share, I know you’ll love it. You can also find it on all your favorite streaming and download services, to add to your holiday music lists.

https://youtu.be/lFTz3QG7EBs?si=MJtCN1AMVx1-0nna


I Just Wanted to Say

Thank you for reading my newsletter.

Huckabee Post: Rumor Mill

December 2, 2023

 


BY MIKE HUCKABEE

Blessings on you and your family from all the Huckabee team! Here are news stories from the past week, you won't want to miss.

Mike Huckabee


DAILY BIBLE VERSE

One Lord, one faith, one baptism,

One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.

Ephesians 4:5-6 KJV


Rest in Peace Justice O’Connor

As we were going to press yesterday morning, it was announced that retired Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor has died at 93 of complications related to advanced dementia and a respiratory disease.

https://www.foxnews.com/politics/sandra-day-oconnor-former-supreme-court-justice-dead-93

She was appointed by President Reagan in 1981 and served until 2006, earning a reputation as a moderate conservative and often swing vote. Her writings were noted for their deep legal knowledge and attention to detail, and she was often described as one of the most powerful women in the world, due to some of the landmark decisions in which she was involved, including Bush v. Gore and Planned Parenthood v. Casey. President Obama awarded her the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2009. She was also the first woman on the Supreme Court, in an era when Supreme Court nominees were expected to be able to define what a “woman” is.

Our condolences and prayers to her family. I’m sure more will be coming on this story soon.


Reinstated

A New York Appeal Court reinstated the gag order on former President Trump in the real estate fraud case that would have been thrown out of court after this week’s testimony if the judge weren’t a rank partisan. Trump’s attorneys called the ruling “a tragic day for the rule of law.”

https://www.westernjournal.com/tragic-day-rule-law-appeals-court-clamps-trump-reinstating-gag-order/

Pending another appeal, Trump is barred from publicly criticizing the court’s staff. But he is still allowed to tell us what he thinks of the judge and New York Attorney General Letitia James, who brought this nuisance case. As you can see at the link, he did so, and in no uncertain terms.


A Huck’s Hero

A big salute to today’s Huck’s Hero, Senator (and doctor) Rand Paul. He was attending a Senate lunch when Iowa Sen. Joni Ernst began choking on some food. Paul stepped up, administered the Heimlich Maneuver and saved her life.

https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2023/11/30/rand-paul-saves-joni-ernsts-life-with-heimlich-maneuver/

It’s hardly the first time a Senator has grabbed a woman from behind, but it might be the first time that it was for a legitimate reason.

Related: In case you missed here, here’s a great interview I had last weekend with Sen. Paul on my TBN TV show.


Democrat Priorities Part 1: 

A 95-year-old Korean War veteran and lifelong New Yorker blasted New York officials for kicking him and about 50 other seniors out of a senior living center so they could use it to house illegal aliens who swarmed in over Biden’s open border.

https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2023/11/29/veteran-blasts-nyc-officials-for-kicking-him-out-of-senior-home-to-make-room-for-migrants-it-isnt-fair/


Democrat Priorities Part 2: 

Washington, DC, officials spent $270,000 of taxpayer money repainting and refurbishing “Black Lives Matter Plaza,” where the mayor ordered “BLM” to be painted on the street as a figurative upraised finger to President Trump during the BLM riots.

https://www.breitbart.com/crime/2023/11/29/d-c-spends-270k-on-repainting-blm-plaza-after-defunding-police/

Reminder: This is the same city that slashed funding for the police, creating a “war zone” where even members of Congress are being assaulted by criminals. So far in 2023, homicides in DC are up 34%, violent crime is up 40%, and carjackings are up 93%. But the paint on BLM Plaza never looked so fresh.


Rumor Mill

There’s a rumor that Donald Trump is considering a Republican he ran against in 2016 as his running mate. Here’s a hint: it’s not me!

https://www.westernjournal.com/trump-reportedly-considering-republican-ran-2016-vp/


Fun Read:

Kurt Schlichter on why one of the left’s favorite weapons – “shocking” polite society – no longer works.

https://townhall.com/columnists/kurtschlichter/2023/11/30/shock-and-awe-becomes-shrug-and-yawn-n2631750


Non-Babylon Bee Headline of the Day!

“UN Chief Guterres Backs Complete Fossil Fuel Phaseout Before Flying to Climate Meeting.”

https://www.breitbart.com/europe/2023/11/30/u-n-chief-guterres-backs-complete-fossil-fuel-phaseout-before-flying-to-climate-meeting/

Is it too much to hope he’s flying in a battery-powered airplane?


“Huckabee” Preview

Join me tonight for a brand new holiday episode of “Huckabee” on TBN! We've decked the hall for Christmas, and I’ll welcome some amazing guests. Dr. Yftach Gepner will tell the harrowing story of how he led his Israeli village’s security force in repelling the Hamas attackers on October 7th, saving many lives. Kristen Day of Democrats For Life Of America will talk about standing up for life in the Party of abortion. You’ll learn how America’s truckers are helping fight human trafficking. I’ll also have plenty of great entertainment for you, like the amazing illusions of award-winning magician Jordan Winton. And we’ll top it off with a visit and a special Christmas song from my friends Larry, Steve and Rudy, the Gatlin Brothers.

So curl up by the fire (or the gas heater, while you’re still allowed to have one) and join me tonight at 8 and 11 EST, 7 and 10 CST, and Sunday at 9 EST/8 CST on TBN. To find out how to watch TBN, from local cable and broadcast channels to streaming, visit https://www.huckabee.tv and click on “Channel Finder” on the top menu. You can stream previous episodes, highlights and online-only “Digital Exclusives,” including extended interviews, “In Case You Missed It” and “Facts of the Matter” segments, plus extra performances by our great musical and comedy guests and links to all their sites, at https://www.huckabee.tv. You can also find past shows, highlights and digital exclusives on YouTube and my Facebook page.


Here’s today’s link to continuously-updated news on the war in Israel from Fox News…

https://www.foxnews.com/live-news/december-2-israel-hamas-war

The latest: With the ceasefire ending Friday, Israeli airstrikes are continuing in southern Gaza. PM Netanyahu has recalled a Mossad team sent to Qatar to negotiate another ceasefire with Hamas. In a statement, he said the talks were at an impasse and "the terrorist organization Hamas did not fulfill its part of the (first ceasefire) agreement, which included the release of all children and women according to a list that was forwarded to Hamas and approved by it."

Again, I’ll point out to all the braindead protesters accusing Israel of genocide that all that has to happen to prevent the harming of even one more Palestinian is for their terrorist heroes in Hamas to release their hostages, come out from hiding behind human shields, and surrender.


Trump’s J6 defense denied access to video depositions, which are...”gone”

To set the stage for this story, recall that in July, Rep. Barry Loudermilk, chairman of the House Oversight Subcommittee for the House Administration committee, was informed by Rep. Bennie Thompson, who chaired the mercifully-defunct J6 “Select” Kangaroo Kommittee, that they hadn’t bothered to archive the video of all those interviews and depositions they’d conducted behind closed doors.  “The Select Committee was not obligated to archive all video records of transcribed interviews or depositions,” Thompson wrote, “Based on guidance from House authorities, the Select Committee determined that the written transcripts provided by nonpartisan, official court reporters, which the witnesses and Select Committee staff had the opportunity to review for errata, were the official, permanent records of transcribed interviews and depositions.”

In short, Thompson was giving notice to Loudermilk that the J6 Committee didn’t have to keep all those videos, which in any normal court proceeding would be considered evidence.  But in truth, destruction of those records would be in violation of House rules and also of the resolution that created that committee, which stated that “the records of the Select Committee shall become the records of such committee or committees designated by the Speaker” --- that would be Loudermilk’s committee now that the GOP runs the House.

We’d sure like to know which of those unspecified “House authorities” advised Thompson he didn’t have to keep those particular records.  What do you bet “they” were just Nancy Pelosi and Adam Schiff?

On Thursday evening, Loudermilk confirmed to JUST THE NEWS that he was told all the recordings --- videos of the testimony of roughly 1,000 witnesses --- are “gone.”  Loudermilk told John Solomon that he thinks “they exist somewhere,” but his committee needs to find out where.

Before the J6 Committee wrapped up their work in December 2022, they were asked by Special Counsel Jack Smith, who is running the J6 investigation into President Trump, to turn over all their investigative material, which is being treated as evidence in that case.  It’s obvious, looking at the language of Smith’s 45-page indictment of Trump, that he took much of the language straight out of J6 Committee member Liz Cheney’s opening statement.  So, is Smith bothered by this destruction of evidence by the J6 Committee?  Is he hollering about obstruction of justice?  Not a bit.  In fact, he’s fine with it and doesn’t consider Trump entitled to see that evidence.

When Trump’s legal counsel filed a motion requesting the videos and other missing materials from the J6 Committee, Smith answered in October that this was just “an aimless fishing expedition.”  Those tapes would be “superfluous,” Smith wrote, as the J6 Committee had “determined that the written transcripts provided by nonpartisan, official reporters, which the witnesses and the Select [J6} Committee staff had the opportunity to review for errata, were the official, permanent records of transcribed interviews and depositions.”  Note that Smith was simply repeating the language the J6 Committee had used in denying Rep. Loudermilk.

In a totally unsurprising show of unity with the special counsel, DC District Court Judge Tanya Chutkan, who’s presiding in the case against Trump, said virtually the same thing.  As we reported yesterday but without this larger context, she ruled that Trump’s request for more materials amounted to a “fishing expedition” and agreed with Smith that “the video recordings are categorically irrelevant at this time.”

Neither the judge nor the special counsel seems at all concerned that Trump’s defense has been denied access to this material.  (Somehow Trump always seems uniquely positioned to have his rights denied.)  Do you get the impression there just MIGHT have been something in that video testimony that Trump’s persecutors --- er, prosecutors --- don’t want him to have?

Practically speaking, Chutkan’s ruling means that it’s up to Trump’s attorneys to go through all the written transcripts and glean what they can about the original tone, body language and believability of the testimony of each witness.  It’s ridiculous to put that responsibility on the defense.  And what if there are mistakes or omissions in the transcript?  There would be no way for the defense to know.

Also, as Julie Kelly reports, “it remains unclear whether all of the written depositions were turned over to Congress or Smith’s team...Of the nearly 1,000 witnesses who spoke on the record to investigators and committee members, [fewer] than 300 are available [publicly].”

Kelly says that Judge Chutkan should reverse her order and force Thompson to produce the videos.  But Thompson has told Loudermilk that they are GONE.  In a normal investigation --- as in, one that WASN’T focused on throwing President Trump in jail --- the special counsel would be looking into obstruction of justice on the part of the J6 Committee, for alleged destruction of evidence in the form of approximately 1,000 videos.  But Trump doesn’t have the same rights that, say, Hunter Biden has, so unless something changes, his attorneys will just have to muddle through with whatever crumbs the committee deems to give them.

https://www.declassified.live/p/capital-crime-and-cover-up

And in an update, the story of these “lost” videos has taken a troubling turn.  Do you recall “star” J6 witness Cassidy Hutchinson’s public testimony about Trump’s alleged volatile behavior in the presidential limo (“the Beast”)?  This had been preceded by some closed-door testimony that Hutchinson has since been allowed to change in a 15-page “errata” sheet.  As John Solomon reports, these changes range “from the mundane to significant revisions that add new information or clarification.”

Hutchinson’s public testimony about the “limo” incident was roundly disputed by Trump and other witnesses, including Secret Service personnel (I’ve been in that limo myself and found her claims ludicrous.) And did you know it was not in her original closed-door testimony?  About three months after her public testimony, she submitted the errata pages to ADD the wild story she had originally not told.  She put in other details as well.  Changes were submitted over a period of time between February and September of 2022.

Hutchinson became a media sensation when she testified publicly about this.  As Solomon reports, her story produced headlines such as “Trump ‘Lunged’ at Secret Service Agent Who Refused to Take Him to Capitol:  Jan. 6 Hearing.”  JUST THE NEWS found a number of important details that Hutchinson has changed, outlined in this must-read piece...

https://justthenews.com/accountability/political-ethics/democrats-star-j6-witness-made-signficant-changes-testimony

Legal experts such as Alan Dershowitz, Glenn Reynolds and Robert Charles (Clinton era) have looked at the pages of this very extensive “errata” sheet and found it highly unusual, as these are normally just to correct typos and technical errors.  Dershowitz said, “These aren’t ‘corrections.’  They constitute entirely new testimony that should be subject to cross-examination.”  We would add that essentially NONE of the testimony given to the J6 committee was properly cross-examined, considering the make-up of that committee.   

So, with Hutchinson giving quite different accounts depending on when she was providing the information, is Trump’s defense team to be limited to just the transcripts of her testimony?  As for Rep. Loudermilk, he wants to see the video: “I want to see what her body language is when she gave her original testimony.  I want to see what her voice inflection is.  Was she very confident in what she was saying at the time, but then later decided to change it?  This is why it’s so important that we have those videotapes, and I believe that’s probably why we DON’T have them.”


 I JUST WANTED TO SAY: 

Thank you for reading my newsletter. 

For more news, visit my website.


Tweet of the Day

December 2, 2023

Ohio Rep. Jim Jordan commenting on Sen. Elizabeth “Buttinski” Warren’s latest campaign to control every aspect of our lives:

“First, they came for your guns. Then, they came for your gas cars. Then, they came for you gas stoves. Then, they came for your heaters. Then, they came for your pizza. Now, they’re coming for your sandwiches. Today’s Left is out of control.”

https://www.westernjournal.com/elizabeth-warren-now-coming-sandwiches-todays-left-control/

What sparked this is that the private equity firm Roark Capital is purchasing Subway. They already own some other sandwich chains, including Jimmy John’s, Schlotzsky's and Arby’s. So Warren is backing an FTC investigation, claiming this will lead to higher prices for consumers due to a “sandwich shop monopoly.”

In an article in the Wall Street Journal, James Freeman pointed out what a meatball Warren is. It’s more needless intrusion by federal regulators into things that don’t require regulation. As he notes, there’s no such thing as a “sandwich monopoly.” Thousands of restaurants, both local and chains, sell sandwiches; and everyone knows how to make a sandwich and can open a sandwich shop.

I’d point out that if anything is going to harm consumers, it’s Warren and her love of taxes and expensive, heavy-handed government regulations. If the price of sandwiches goes up, it will more likely be because of that than because someone somehow cornered the market on hoagies.

This is just Warren's latest counterproductive attempt at micromanagement of industries she doesn't understand. It’s of a piece with her crusade to stop the merger of JetBlue and Spirit Airlines. She also pushed the Biden DOJ to block that, claiming that allowing two relatively small budget airlines to merge would somehow create a monopoly of budget airline tickets and harm consumers. What it’s done has cost both companies a fortune, forcing Spirit to cut costs by offering early buyouts to reduce its workforce, while tanking Spirit’s stock price.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/companies/doj-trial-to-block-spiritjetblue-set-to-close-on-tuesday-as-remaining-days-canceled/ar-AA1kKiLm

My writer Pat Reeder has a comment on that:

“At the height of the pandemic, when Spirit stock was way down, I bought some with my little day trading account. I figured it had to bounce back at some point, right? Wrong! COVID is long over, but I didn’t count on the Liz Warren pandemic of uninformed government meddling. The stock has come up a little recently, due to optimism that JetBlue will win its court case, finally get the DOJ out of the way and pay the agreed-up rate of $30 a share, but as of this moment, it’s stuck at $15 and my investment of $8501.33 is worth $5212.45.

As a small investor for whom that represents a big, fat loss (at least on paper; I’m still hoping sanity will prevail), I’d like to thank Big Chief Liz for looking out for my interests. Truly, you are the perfect embodiment of Reagan’s dictum that the nine most terrifying words in the English language are ‘I’m from the government, and I’m here to help.’”

You probably heard some of the media hysteria over last month’s Fifth National Climate Assessment, the Biden Administration’s report on “climate change” and the apocalyptic weather catastrophe that awaits us if we don’t scale down our lives and turn all our money and freedom over to the government to “save the planet.” But the Daily Caller has the part that the other media outlets didn’t report:

https://dailycaller.com/2023/11/29/biden-landmark-climate-report-activists/

Nearly two dozen of the listed authors are not objective climate scientists but eco-activists with ties to environmentalist and/or leftwing advocacy groups like the Environmental Defense Fund. That might explain not only the hysterical predictions but also the fact that the media didn’t tell us the report is filled with leftwing buzzwords like “equity” and “climate justice,” which have no place in a legitimate scientific paper. Or that there are accusations that some of its methods were misleading, and that in some cases, it relied on something called “indigenous knowledge,” defined as “experiential knowledges gained over time by Indigenous Peoples,” rather than, you know, research and evidence and stuff like that.

And speaking of the solid decisions about the environment for which the Biden cabal are now famous, it was revealed that they entered a (intended-to-be) secret mediation with environmentalist groups in Washington State that are trying to shut down four hydroelectric dams to protect the declining salmon population in the Snake River.

https://www.foxnews.com/politics/court-filings-reveal-secret-agreement-between-biden-admin-eco-groups-seeking-tear-down-key-power-source

While I like salmon as much as any red meat eater, it should be noted that these dams supply fully 8 percent of all the power to the state. But don’t worry: the Democrat Governor and Sen. Patty Murray want that to be replaced with “green energy sources.” And what might those be? They’re going to save the salmon by blighting the landscape with a million windmills that will Cuisinart a few billion birds? Oh well, I guess if you’re going to poach a salmon, you have to break a few eggs.

The House Judiciary Select Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government reconvened Thursday after four long months (full of weaponization) for more testimony from two of the authors recruited by Elon Musk to compile the “Twitter Files,” Matt Taibbi and Michael Shellenberger.  We’re already coming up on a year since the first of those blockbuster reports was released.

As you know from reports this week in the newsletter, the government has not let up one bit on efforts to work with “private” entities to monitor and control our messaging.  Hang the Constitution.

The hearing was called to focus on the government’s role in social media censorship, specifically concerning the response to the January 6 riot and the subsequent banning of President Trump, and to examine “recent attacks on independent journalism and free expression,” according to the Judiciary Committee press release.

https://judiciary.house.gov/committee-activity/hearings/hearing-weaponization-federal-government-4

FOX NEWS’ Kevin Corke had a wrap-up on the hearing late Thursday night, including a clip from Shellenberger offering an ominous warning: “The scope, power and law-breaking of the ‘censorship industrial complex’ are even worse than we had realized back in March.”

And to those who would call conservative folks like us “deep-staters” and “conspiracy theorists” for being alarmed about this, Matt Taibbi (not a conservative) said, “This isn’t crazy conspiracy theory.  We’ve already had four federal judges rule that they believe this activity violates the First Amendment.  This is quite serious…”

These journalists testified to the committee about a group called the “Cyber Threat Intelligence League,” which partnered with government agencies (here we go again) such as the FBI to censor American citizens.  Whistleblowers have alleged that members of this group have made up fake personas and even used burner phones as a way to counter certain voices on social media.

Democrats, predictably, slammed this hearing as a political stunt, and that surely will be the talking point on all the copycat media today.

….

But here’s something at least one Democrat, Oregon Sen. Ron Wyden, is concerned about:  something called the Hemisphere Project, a White House-backed program in partnership with AT&T to collect phone call records of Americans and provide law enforcement access to the databases.  Sen. Wyden calls this “a long-running dragnet surveillance program in which the White House pays AT&T to provide all federal, state, local and Tribal law enforcement agencies the ability to request often-warrantless searches of trillions of domestic phone records.”

A letter from the senator to Attorney General Merrick Garland describes how Hemisphere’s funding it set up to skirt the usually-mandatory federal privacy review, which makes findings public.  This system has been metastasizing since its origin in 2013.  THE EPOCH TIMES has details...

https://www.ntd.com/white-house-surveillance-program-collecting-trillions-of-domestic-phone-records

Also, the House Judiciary Committee is accusing the Biden administration of collaborating with social media workers at Google and YouTube (owned by Google) in 2021, specifically to suppress “unapproved” information about COVID and vaccines.

As reported by FOX BUSINESS NEWS, “...documents...reveal a level of correspondence previously unknown to the American public, as President Biden and his aides sought to promote coronavirus vaccinations...”

Sample communication, from April ‘21: “Unfortunately, the role of tech in addressing vaccine hesitancy is about to come under a massive spotlight particularly as the supply of the vaccine is soon to outpace demand.”  Well, we can’t have THAT.

Never mind that so much of the “information” approved by the government (and, thus, by YouTube) was actually MIS-information.  And they suppressed information that turned out to be accurate.  They were not “following ‘the science.’”  They were not allowing Americans to make informed decisions.  Instead, they wanted us to believe that there was research showing the vaccines prevented infection and transmission, which was a lie.  Heck, they apparently wanted us to believe whatever we needed to believe in order to get that “jab.”  And then the next.

https://www.foxbusiness.com/politics/white-house-worked-youtube-censor-covid-19-vaccine-misinformation-house-judiciary-committee

Laura Ingraham featured excellent must-see coverage of the government’s assault on the First Amendment on her Thursday INGRAHAM ANGLE.  Watch in fascination as Democrat Rep. Dan Goldman shows (again) how stupid he is, and Debbie Wasserman Schultz suggests that Taibbi would be fine with live-streaming rape and murder online.

https://www.foxnews.com/video/6342124610112

The Newsom-DeSantis debate

December 2, 2023

Before I say anything about the Gavin Newsom-Ron DeSantis debate last night on Fox News, I’d like to talk about an episode of “The Andy Griffith Show,” one of the later, color ones from season 7. Stay with me.

In this episode called “Politics Begin at Home,” there’s an open seat on the Mayberry City Council. Aunt Bee’s garden club ladies convince her to run because she’s so likable and charismatic and full of ideas. She doesn’t know that Andy has already convinced county clerk Howard Sprague to run. When he refuses to back her because he thinks Howard is more qualified, she accuses him of being a male chauvinist (hey, it was the ‘60s.) People see Howard as a nerd and a stiff, and his chances look bleak until the debate.

When asked about important issues like building a new bridge or replacing the sewers under Main Street, Aunt Bee’s answers are all the same empty rhetoric designed to get applause (“If it is the will of the people that a bridge be built, then it SHALL be built! The will of the people will always be my guiding star!”) But Howard responds, “Well, that would be a waste of the taxpayers’ money,” and offers detailed alternative solutions that are cheaper and more effective. When there’s time for one more question, Aunt Bee asks it: Why would anyone vote for her when her opponent is obviously far more qualified?

And that was the Newsom-DeSantis debate in a nutshell, minus the fantasy part at the end where the charismatic but terrible candidate had enough integrity and civic mindedness to admit to being obviously unqualified and endorsed the other guy. Again, this was Mayberry in 1966, not the real world in 2023.

I’m not going to recap all the points of the debate, but it mostly amounted to Newsom telling the kind of whoppers that are so at odds with everything you know and everything you’ve seen with your own eyes that you might need help picking your jaw up off the floor. He had the unenviable job (which he voluntarily took on; this debate debacle was his idea) of trying to convince us that Florida is a failing prison state while California is a shining beacon of success and freedom. DeSantis remained more of a stolid Howard Sprague type than a fiery debater, but he batted most of the lies out of the park with the seldom-used debate weapon known as “facts.”

Here are five particularly interesting moments from the debate.

https://www.foxnews.com/politics/red-vs-blue-state-debate-highlights-top-5-moments-desantis-newsom-slugfest

But for many observers, the moment when if it had been a fight, the refs would’ve stopped it came when DeSantis said this:

“I was talking to a fella who had made the move from California to Florida. He was telling me that Florida’s much better governed, safer, better budget, lower taxes. Then he paused and said ‘by the way, I’m Gavin Newsom’s father-in-law.’”

https://redstate.com/bonchie/2023/11/30/watch-the-astonishing-moment-ron-desantis-ended-gavin-newsom-n2167034

As Bonchie at Redstate observed, “I'm pretty sure Christmas dinner is going to be awkward this year.”

Another highlight was when DeSantis countered Newsom’s claim that California is “the Freedom State” (recall that’s the state where someone was arrested during the pandemic for walking alone on a windy beach without a face mask) by listing all the things you’re free to do there, including defecating in the street. Which he illustrated by taking out a “poop map” that warns people where human feces has been spotted in San Francisco (Spoiler alert: everywhere!)

https://redstate.com/bonchie/2023/12/01/desantis-threw-caution-to-the-wind-in-destruction-of-newsom-including-using-the-poop-map-n2167041

Newsom was so bereft of actual talking points that at one point, he went off on a diatribe at DeSantis for supposedly mispronouncing Kamala Harris’ name (Is it KAH-ma-la or “Ka-MAH-la”?), which has to rank in the mid-nine digits on anyone’s list of things to give a darn about, and I can’t help suspecting that includes Kamala Harris.

These issues are worth bringing up to illustrate the stark difference between how well red states and blue states are run. But I think all you really need to know is the U-Haul Index, which I believe we invented on my radio show over a decade ago, and now I see it everywhere. As of last night, renting a 20-foot U-Haul moving truck from Los Angeles to Miami for nine days costs $5,139.00. Renting the same truck from Miami to Los Angeles is only $3898.00. U-Haul is so desperate to get anyone to drive one of their trucks back to California that they’ll give you a $1241 discount just to return it for them so they can rent it to the next escapee.

Finally, why should anyone care about a debate between DeSantis, whom, as Newsom taunted, will not be the GOP nominee, and Newsom, who insisted he wasn’t running and backs Joe Biden fully? Because there’s always a chance that due to legal issues or voter second thoughts, Trump might not be the nominee, and this debate gave DeSantis his first real chance to shine instead of being one of a crowd of people shouting at each other.

And there’s a much greater chance that Biden will be pushed – sorry, “convinced” – to drop out at the last minute, and the Dems will need a replacement (that won’t be Kamala, no matter how she pronounces it.) Newsom claims to be uninterested, but like everything else he said last night, that’s a transparent lie. If he didn’t have national ambitions, he’d be trying to fix his own state instead of running around the country badmouthing better-run red states. He wanted to make it known that he’s tanned, hair-gelled and ready to step in the second Joe breaks a hip.

But if this debate was his big chance to show that we should let him do to America what he’s done to California, it was a blunder of epic proportions.

Related: Good analysis of the debate by a Californian who knows Gavin Newsom only too well:

https://www.theblaze.com/columns/opinion/who-really-lost-the-newsom-vs-desantis-debate

UPDATE: Political Rule of Thumb: If you spend the day after a debate whining that you were offended by your opponent, feel insulted by him, and suspect he cheated…That’s just a longer way of saying, “I lost. Badly.”

Gavin Newsom says he is insulted (foxnews.com)

The take-no-prisoners approach of Hunter Biden’s legal team now extends even to a former business partner once counted among Biden “family.”  In a letter to the House Oversight Committee on Tuesday, Abbe Lowell dismissed Hunter’s former close friend Devon Archer as an “inmate convicted for his involvement in a tribal bond scheme that never involved Hunter.”

It’s true that Hunter was not implicated in that particular enterprise, which appears to have been a separate deal.  As reported in the NEW YORK SUN, “Archer was sentenced last year to one year and a day in prison for defrauding a Native American tribe in a scheme involving $60 million in bonds.”  This case has been winding through the courts for a long time, as his conviction was overturned on appeal and then reinstated after a challenge by prosecutors.  Archer maintains that he lost money on the deal and was guilty only of making “foolish mistakes.”  Make of that what you will, but contrary to what the letter states, Archer is not an “inmate,” as he has not reported to prison yet.  His case is still under appeal, this time to the Supreme Court.

You’d think a lawyer of Abbe Lowell’s caliber would understand what “inmate” means.  And he does.

This past summer, Devon Archer was subpoenaed by the House Oversight Committee and ended up providing some damning testimony during a closed-door hearing, specifically about get-togethers Joe Biden had with Hunter’s shady business associates (and later falsely denied having), and a phone call involving Burisma executives that led to Biden’s involvement with prosecutor Viktor Shokin’s firing in Ukraine.

This testimony is consistent with an email found on Hunter’s laptop from one of the Burisma executives at that phone call, Vadym Pozarsky, saying that the “ultimate purpose” of having Hunter on the board was to shut down “any cases/pursuits against Nicolay [Zlochevsky] in Ukrainae.”

Here’s a memory refresher from the WESTERN JOURNAL…

https://www.westernjournal.com/house-oversight-committee-releases-full-devon-archer-transcript-page-45-looks-bad-biden/

“The request is like, ‘Can DC help?” Archer testified.  Instead of specifically asking Hunter to get his father involved, “it was always this amorphous, ‘Can we get help in DC?”  Archer did not testify to the contents of the phone call because he was not on it.  “I was left out of these, you know, black box DC types of conversations,” he testified.

But then-Vice President Joe Biden hopped a flight on Air Force Two to Ukraine.  It was just five days after that phone call that he gave a speech in Ukraine saying, “The office of the general prosecutor [led by Shokin] desperately needs reform.”

And you know the story --- Joe Biden once very publicly bragged about it himself --- about the Vice President threatening to withhold $1 billion in loan guarantees for Ukraine unless Shokin was fired.  And, lo and behold, Shokin WAS fired.  This was while Hunter was still sitting on Burisma’s board, so they got their money’s worth, even though it amounted to $1 million a year.

In trashing Archer the way he did, Hunter’s attorney might have forgotten that this former business partner offered a useful (to Hunter) alternate narrative, testifing that “various [members] of the DC team” had told him the firing of Shokin was actually BAD for Burisma because Shokin was “under control.”  (If they did tell him that, it’s certainly not consistent with all the other communications about Shokin’s firing.)  And when asked about Zlochevky’s alleged comment regarding “$5 million to one Biden and $5 million to another Biden,” he told the committee he wasn’t aware of any $5 million payments and that Zlochevsky might have just been bragging.

So Archer was trying to at least include some benefit of the doubt for the Bidens in his testimony.  But as part of their attorneys’ scorched-earth legal strategy, the Biden family has thrown him under the bus anyway.  As reported in WJ, Archer communicated with Hunter via text in 2019 --- preserved on Hunter’s laptop --- to ask why Joe Biden hadn’t done more to protect him from prosecution.  He’d been indicted in May 2016, while Joe was still Vice President.

The tone is frantic: “Why did your dad’s administration appointees arrest me and try to put me in jail?  Why would they try and ruin my family and destroy my kids and no one from your family’s side step in and at least try to help me?”

The irony of Hunter’s answer will knock you to the floor: “It’s democracy...every presidents family is held to a higher standard...it’s the price of being the most powerful group.”

Really?  Lately, it seems as though being in the most powerful group gets you excused from standards altogether.

Hunter wrote to Archer that his father had no control over such prosecutions, that there are three co-equal branches of government.  (Are you laughing yet?)  And he went on to speak of Archer as part of the Biden family: “Every great family is persecuted…you are part of a great family --- not a side show, not deserted by them even in your darkest moments.  That’s the way Bidens are different, and you are a Biden.”

Well, now he’s been demoted from family member to “inmate.”  It does make one wonder if there are circumstances under which even Hunter might be sacrificed by the legal team ostensibly representing him.

https://www.westernjournal.com/hunter-biden-throws-past-friend-bus-demotes-family-member-inmate/

 


BY MIKE HUCKABEE

Blessings on you and your family from all the Huckabee team! Here are news stories from the past week, you won't want to miss.

Mike Huckabee


DAILY BIBLE VERSE

Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.

Matthew 5:16


What the media won’t tell you about the Fifth National Climate Assessment

You probably heard some of the media hysteria over last month’s Fifth National Climate Assessment, the Biden Administration’s report on “climate change” and the apocalyptic weather catastrophe that awaits us if we don’t scale down our lives and turn all our money and freedom over to the government to “save the planet.” But the Daily Caller has the part that the other media outlets didn’t report:

https://dailycaller.com/2023/11/29/biden-landmark-climate-report-activists/

Nearly two dozen of the listed authors are not objective climate scientists but eco-activists with ties to environmentalist and/or leftwing advocacy groups like the Environmental Defense Fund. That might explain not only the hysterical predictions but also the fact that the media didn’t tell us the report is filled with leftwing buzzwords like “equity” and “climate justice,” which have no place in a legitimate scientific paper. Or that there are accusations that some of its methods were misleading, and that in some cases, it relied on something called “indigenous knowledge,” defined as “experiential knowledges gained over time by Indigenous Peoples,” rather than, you know, research and evidence and stuff like that.

And speaking of the solid decisions about the environment for which the Biden cabal are now famous, it was revealed that they entered a (intended-to-be) secret mediation with environmentalist groups in Washington State that are trying to shut down four hydroelectric dams to protect the declining salmon population in the Snake River.

https://www.foxnews.com/politics/court-filings-reveal-secret-agreement-between-biden-admin-eco-groups-seeking-tear-down-key-power-source

While I like salmon as much as any red meat eater, it should be noted that these dams supply fully 8 percent of all the power to the state. But don’t worry: the Democrat Governor and Sen. Patty Murray want that to be replaced with “green energy sources.” And what might those be? They’re going to save the salmon by blighting the landscape with a million windmills that will Cuisinart a few billion birds? Oh well, I guess if you’re going to poach a salmon, you have to break a few eggs.


Tweet of the Day:

Ohio Rep. Jim Jordan commenting on Sen. Elizabeth “Buttinski” Warren’s latest campaign to control every aspect of our lives:

“First, they came for your guns. Then, they came for your gas cars. Then, they came for you gas stoves. Then, they came for your heaters. Then, they came for your pizza. Now, they’re coming for your sandwiches. Today’s Left is out of control.”

https://www.westernjournal.com/elizabeth-warren-now-coming-sandwiches-todays-left-control/

What sparked this is that the private equity firm Roark Capital is purchasing Subway. They already own some other sandwich chains, including Jimmy John’s, Schlotzsky's and Arby’s. So Warren is backing an FTC investigation, claiming this will lead to higher prices for consumers due to a “sandwich shop monopoly.”

In an article in the Wall Street Journal, James Freeman pointed out what a meatball Warren is. It’s more needless intrusion by federal regulators into things that don’t require regulation. As he notes, there’s no such thing as a “sandwich monopoly.” Thousands of restaurants, both local and chains, sell sandwiches; and everyone knows how to make a sandwich and can open a sandwich shop.

I’d point out that if anything is going to harm consumers, it’s Warren and her love of taxes and expensive, heavy-handed government regulations. If the price of sandwiches goes up, it will more likely be because of that than because someone somehow cornered the market on hoagies.

This is just Warren's latest counterproductive attempt at micromanagement of industries she doesn't understand. It’s of a piece with her crusade to stop the merger of JetBlue and Spirit Airlines. She also pushed the Biden DOJ to block that, claiming that allowing two relatively small budget airlines to merge would somehow create a monopoly of budget airline tickets and harm consumers. What it’s done has cost both companies a fortune, forcing Spirit to cut costs by offering early buyouts to reduce its workforce, while tanking Spirit’s stock price.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/companies/doj-trial-to-block-spiritjetblue-set-to-close-on-tuesday-as-remaining-days-canceled/ar-AA1kKiLm

My writer Pat Reeder has a comment on that:

“At the height of the pandemic, when Spirit stock was way down, I bought some with my little day trading account. I figured it had to bounce back at some point, right? Wrong! COVID is long over, but I didn’t count on the Liz Warren pandemic of uninformed government meddling. The stock has come up a little recently, due to optimism that JetBlue will win its court case, finally get the DOJ out of the way and pay the agreed-up rate of $30 a share, but as of this moment, it’s stuck at $15 and my investment of $8501.33 is worth $5212.45.

As a small investor for whom that represents a big, fat loss (at least on paper; I’m still hoping sanity will prevail), I’d like to thank Big Chief Liz for looking out for my interests. Truly, you are the perfect embodiment of Reagan’s dictum that the nine most terrifying words in the English language are ‘I’m from the government, and I’m here to help.’”


Who Could’ve Predicted This?

DC Judge Tanya Chutkan denied yet another Trump defense team motion, this time seeking materials on January 6th that the Pelosi Kangaroo Kommittee didn’t turn over to the National Archives. Chutkan accused Trump’s attorneys of “going on a fishing expedition,” which I would argue is better than shooting fish in a barrel, which is what she’s letting biased prosecutor Jack Smith get away with.

https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2023/11/29/judge-chutkan-denies-trump-motion-to-subpoena-for-missing-j6-records/

Reporter Julie Kelly accused Chutkan of acting as Smith’s “rubber stamp,” adding that her denial of Trump’s right to see all the evidence is ironic considering that “Chutkan, a shameless partisan appointed by Obama, wrote the 2021 order piercing Trump’s [executive privilege] claims to force him to produce presidential records to J6 committee.”

To be fair, that was based on the established DC precedent that Donald Trump has no legal rights.


Former US Marine attacked in Russian prison labor camp

Former US Marine Paul Whelan was reportedly attacked by another prisoner in a Russian prison labor camp where he’s serving 16 years on bogus “espionage” charges. He’s the American prisoner that the Biden Administration just couldn't get Russia to agree to throw in when they were trading one of the world’s most notorious arms dealers for the return of unpatriotic WNBA player and cannabis user Britney Griner. But they assured us they would keep working diligently on his release. Yeah, sure...

https://thepostmillennial.com/us-ex-marine-in-russian-prison-attacked-by-inmate-after-being-left-behind-in-bidens-brittney-griner-prisoner-swap


Very predictable

There’s a very predictable through-line for all bad leftist ideas. First, they come up with some staggeringly stupid idea. Then they claim it’s unquestionably true and shove it down everyone’s throats. When it results in the inevitable disaster, they back away from it, claiming they never advocated for that, it was all a rightwing conspiracy theory, and it’s the Republicans’ fault, really (“TRUUUUMP!!!!”) We saw it with "defunding the police," and again this week, when the Mayor of Chicago claimed that “rightwing extremists” are to blame for his city being overrun with drugs, crime and illegal aliens who entered through Biden’s open border.

Another great example is “wokeness.” The left invented the term and forced it on us, then after everyone realized what it was (a bunch of grifters expanding their own power and money by claiming to be victims of oppressors) and turned against it, they feigned ignorance: “’Woke?’ I don’t even know what that means!” They’re also claiming to be baffled by what “Get woke, go broke” means. As I mentioned yesterday, they always have some other feeble excuse for why woke movies bomb (Disney now has four of the five biggest bombs of all time, two in the past year, and they still refuse to admit the reason.)

Okay, maybe this will open their eyes. Welcome to the wonderful money-losing world of woke books!

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-12801837/Woke-books-flop-inexperienced-editors-Eliot-page.html

The Daily Mail reports that in the wake of the George Floyd riots, publishers did to books what Disney did to movies: they hired a bunch of leftwing activist “editors” who don’t know or care how to identify a book that would sell. These “ideological fanatics” blackballed (sorry for the racist term) white authors, especially white males, even if they’d written good books and had a record of success, and instead paid huge advances to “marginalized” voices to turn out pages of whiny, self-serving propaganda that nobody wanted to read.

Here are a few examples of how that’s worked out for their bosses. They paid a $500,000 advance for a “queer feminist Western” called “Lucky Red” that has unluckily sold about 3500 copies. The rule of thumb is that it’s a good deal for the publisher to pay $7 for each book sold. In “Lucky Red’s” case, they paid the author $142.85 a book. That sounds like the kind of book deal only Hunter Biden could get.

They also paid $250,000 for a novel about three black and biracial girls that’s sold 3,163 copies in two years, and paid a $3 million advance to actor Eliot (formerly Ellen) Page for a memoir about his gender transition. They claim it sold 68,000 copies, which I find dubious, but even so, at $7 a copy sold, they’d have to move over 428,000 just to make the advance back. There are more examples of expensive flops at the link, and I think you’ll really enjoy seeing what some of them are.

I would hope this would teach the publishers a lesson, and that they’ll fire the political parasites and start putting out books people want to read. But I have little hope of that, so to look on the bright side, at least during the cold winter, we’ll all be able to buy lots of cheap fireplace starter paper off our local book store’s clearance shelf.


Fact: Sports reporters are not political reporters

Here’s why sports reporters need to stop trying to act like political reporters. If I want Ray Barone spouting off on institutionalized racism, I’ll ask for it.

https://www.westernjournal.com/mom-young-chiefs-fan-crushes-racism-narrative-big-revelation/

I was glad to see that Chiefs fans are backing up this boy who was unjustly attacked by this moron reporter, and they all plan to paint their faces with the team colors for the next game in solidarity with him. I’m also glad to see that at least one other sports reporter had the decency to admit he jumped to false conclusions and declared, “I am an idiot.” Good for him, but when will the idiot who started this admit he’s an idiot?

https://www.westernjournal.com/sports-journalist-admits-falling-smear-young-nfl-fan-apologizes-idiot/

Related: The Babylon Bee weighs in on the story…

https://babylonbee.com/news/taylor-swift-dumps-travis-kelce-for-face-paint-boy

And just for laughs, here are a few more great Babylon Bee stories…

https://babylonbee.com/news/squirrel-wearing-maga-hat-seen-scampering-away-from-falling-christmas-tree

https://babylonbee.com/news/democrats-nominate-national-christmas-tree-for-presidential-run

https://babylonbee.com/news/chick-fil-a-buc-ees-hobby-lobby-merge-to-form-most-popular-store-of-all-time

https://babylonbee.com/news/israeli-hostage-posters-now-featuring-pictures-of-wnba-players-so-biden-will-rescue-them


Biden attorneys throw “family member” Devon Archer under the bus

The take-no-prisoners approach of Hunter Biden’s legal team now extends even to a former business partner once counted among Biden “family.”  In a letter to the House Oversight Committee on Tuesday, Abbe Lowell dismissed Hunter’s former close friend Devon Archer as an “inmate convicted for his involvement in a tribal bond scheme that never involved Hunter.”

It’s true that Hunter was not implicated in that particular enterprise, which appears to have been a separate deal.  As reported in the NEW YORK SUN, “Archer was sentenced last year to one year and a day in prison for defrauding a Native American tribe in a scheme involving $60 million in bonds.”  This case has been winding through the courts for a long time, as his conviction was overturned on appeal and then reinstated after a challenge by prosecutors.  Archer maintains that he lost money on the deal and was guilty only of making “foolish mistakes.”  Make of that what you will, but contrary to what the letter states, Archer is not an “inmate,” as he has not reported to prison yet.  His case is still under appeal, this time to the Supreme Court.

You’d think a lawyer of Abbe Lowell’s caliber would understand what “inmate” means.  And he does.

This past summer, Devon Archer was subpoenaed by the House Oversight Committee and ended up providing some damning testimony during a closed-door hearing, specifically about get-togethers Joe Biden had with Hunter’s shady business associates (and later falsely denied having), and a phone call involving Burisma executives that led to Biden’s involvement with prosecutor Viktor Shokin’s firing in Ukraine.

This testimony is consistent with an email found on Hunter’s laptop from one of the Burisma executives at that phone call, Vadym Pozarsky, saying that the “ultimate purpose” of having Hunter on the board was to shut down “any cases/pursuits against Nicolay [Zlochevsky] in Ukrainae.”

Here’s a memory refresher from the WESTERN JOURNAL…

https://www.westernjournal.com/house-oversight-committee-releases-full-devon-archer-transcript-page-45-looks-bad-biden/

“The request is like, ‘Can DC help?” Archer testified.  Instead of specifically asking Hunter to get his father involved, “it was always this amorphous, ‘Can we get help in DC?”  Archer did not testify to the contents of the phone call because he was not on it.  “I was left out of these, you know, black box DC types of conversations,” he testified.

But then-Vice President Joe Biden hopped a flight on Air Force Two to Ukraine.  It was just five days after that phone call that he gave a speech in Ukraine saying, “The office of the general prosecutor [led by Shokin] desperately needs reform.”

And you know the story --- Joe Biden once very publicly bragged about it himself --- about the Vice President threatening to withhold $1 billion in loan guarantees for Ukraine unless Shokin was fired.  And, lo and behold, Shokin WAS fired.  This was while Hunter was still sitting on Burisma’s board, so they got their money’s worth, even though it amounted to $1 million a year.

In trashing Archer the way he did, Hunter’s attorney might have forgotten that this former business partner offered a useful (to Hunter) alternate narrative, testifing that “various [members] of the DC team” had told him the firing of Shokin was actually BAD for Burisma because Shokin was “under control.”  (If they did tell him that, it’s certainly not consistent with all the other communications about Shokin’s firing.)  And when asked about Zlochevky’s alleged comment regarding “$5 million to one Biden and $5 million to another Biden,” he told the committee he wasn’t aware of any $5 million payments and that Zlochevsky might have just been bragging.

So Archer was trying to at least include some benefit of the doubt for the Bidens in his testimony.  But as part of their attorneys’ scorched-earth legal strategy, the Biden family has thrown him under the bus anyway.  As reported in WJ, Archer communicated with Hunter via text in 2019 --- preserved on Hunter’s laptop --- to ask why Joe Biden hadn’t done more to protect him from prosecution.  He’d been indicted in May 2016, while Joe was still Vice President.

The tone is frantic: “Why did your dad’s administration appointees arrest me and try to put me in jail?  Why would they try and ruin my family and destroy my kids and no one from your family’s side step in and at least try to help me?”

The irony of Hunter’s answer will knock you to the floor: “It’s democracy...every presidents family is held to a higher standard...it’s the price of being the most powerful group.”

Really?  Lately, it seems as though being in the most powerful group gets you excused from standards altogether.

Hunter wrote to Archer that his father had no control over such prosecutions, that there are three co-equal branches of government.  (Are you laughing yet?)  And he went on to speak of Archer as part of the Biden family: “Every great family is persecuted…you are part of a great family --- not a side show, not deserted by them even in your darkest moments.  That’s the way Bidens are different, and you are a Biden.”

Well, now he’s been demoted from family member to “inmate.”  It does make one wonder if there are circumstances under which even Hunter might be sacrificed by the legal team ostensibly representing him.

https://www.westernjournal.com/hunter-biden-throws-past-friend-bus-demotes-family-member-inmate/


“Twitter Files” journalists back before Weaponization subcommittee

The House Judiciary Select Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government reconvened Thursday after four long months (full of weaponization) for more testimony from two of the authors recruited by Elon Musk to compile the “Twitter Files,” Matt Taibbi and Michael Shellenberger.  We’re already coming up on a year since the first of those blockbuster reports was released.

As you know from reports this week in the newsletter, the government has not let up one bit on efforts to work with “private” entities to monitor and control our messaging.  Hang the Constitution.

The hearing was called to focus on the government’s role in social media censorship, specifically concerning the response to the January 6 riot and the subsequent banning of President Trump, and to examine “recent attacks on independent journalism and free expression,” according to the Judiciary Committee press release.

https://judiciary.house.gov/committee-activity/hearings/hearing-weaponization-federal-government-4

FOX NEWS’ Kevin Corke had a wrap-up on the hearing late Thursday night, including a clip from Shellenberger offering an ominous warning: “The scope, power and law-breaking of the ‘censorship industrial complex’ are even worse than we had realized back in March.”

And to those who would call conservative folks like us “deep-staters” and “conspiracy theorists” for being alarmed about this, Matt Taibbi (not a conservative) said, “This isn’t crazy conspiracy theory.  We’ve already had four federal judges rule that they believe this activity violates the First Amendment.  This is quite serious…”

These journalists testified to the committee about a group called the “Cyber Threat Intelligence League,” which partnered with government agencies (here we go again) such as the FBI to censor American citizens.  Whistleblowers have alleged that members of this group have made up fake personas and even used burner phones as a way to counter certain voices on social media.

Democrats, predictably, slammed this hearing as a political stunt, and that surely will be the talking point on all the copycat media today.

….

But here’s something at least one Democrat, Oregon Sen. Ron Wyden, is concerned about:  something called the Hemisphere Project, a White House-backed program in partnership with AT&T to collect phone call records of Americans and provide law enforcement access to the databases.  Sen. Wyden calls this “a long-running dragnet surveillance program in which the White House pays AT&T to provide all federal, state, local and Tribal law enforcement agencies the ability to request often-warrantless searches of trillions of domestic phone records.”

A letter from the senator to Attorney General Merrick Garland describes how Hemisphere’s funding it set up to skirt the usually-mandatory federal privacy review, which makes findings public.  This system has been metastasizing since its origin in 2013.  THE EPOCH TIMES has details...

https://www.ntd.com/white-house-surveillance-program-collecting-trillions-of-domestic-phone-records

Also, the House Judiciary Committee is accusing the Biden administration of collaborating with social media workers at Google and YouTube (owned by Google) in 2021, specifically to suppress “unapproved” information about COVID and vaccines.

As reported by FOX BUSINESS NEWS, “...documents...reveal a level of correspondence previously unknown to the American public, as President Biden and his aides sought to promote coronavirus vaccinations...”

Sample communication, from April ‘21: “Unfortunately, the role of tech in addressing vaccine hesitancy is about to come under a massive spotlight particularly as the supply of the vaccine is soon to outpace demand.”  Well, we can’t have THAT.

Never mind that so much of the “information” approved by the government (and, thus, by YouTube) was actually MIS-information.  And they suppressed information that turned out to be accurate.  They were not “following ‘the science.’”  They were not allowing Americans to make informed decisions.  Instead, they wanted us to believe that there was research showing the vaccines prevented infection and transmission, which was a lie.  Heck, they apparently wanted us to believe whatever we needed to believe in order to get that “jab.”  And then the next.

https://www.foxbusiness.com/politics/white-house-worked-youtube-censor-covid-19-vaccine-misinformation-house-judiciary-committee

Laura Ingraham featured excellent must-see coverage of the government’s assault on the First Amendment on her Thursday INGRAHAM ANGLE.  Watch in fascination as Democrat Rep. Dan Goldman shows (again) how stupid he is, and Debbie Wasserman Schultz suggests that Taibbi would be fine with live-streaming rape and murder online.

https://www.foxnews.com/video/6342124610112


Here’s Fox New’s link to continuously-updated news on the war in Israel…

https://www.foxnews.com/live-news/december-1-israel-hamas-war

The weeklong ceasefire ended this morning, and minutes later, Israel resumed jet strikes against Hamas targets in the Gaza Strip. Prime Minister Netanyahu said Hamas had "not met its obligation to release all of the women hostages today and has launched rockets at Israeli citizens." Two Hamas-linked terrorists also launched a deadly shooting attack this week at a bus stop in Jerusalem, violating the ceasefire.

Israel also confirmed the deaths of three more hostages, all kidnapped by Hamas from the Kibbutz Nir-Oz. They were the oldest hostage, Aria Zalmanowicz, 85; kindergarten teacher and mother of four May Goren, 56; and photographer and father of three Ronen Engel, 54. Our prayers and deepest sympathies to their families.

The relatives of two Israeli boys aged 12 and 16 who were released this week by Hamas say that the terrorists drugged them, beat them and branded them like cattle with a hot exhaust pipe so they could be identified if they escaped. But please, American leftists, tell me some more about how Hamas are the good guys.

https://www.foxnews.com/politics/sandra-day-oconnor-former-supreme-court-justice-dead-93


A “rehearsal”

Since there still seem to be a number of deluded Westerners who really believe that most Palestinians just want to live in peace (despite a recent poll showing about 75% of Gaza residents support both Hamas and the slaughter of Jews on October 7th), here’s a punch of reality in your clueless faces. Hamas' leader in Gaza, Yahya Sinwar, made his first public statement since the initial atrocities, and it was to declare that October 7th was “just a rehearsal.”

https://redstate.com/bonchie/2023/11/30/hamas-leadership-just-pulled-the-rug-out-fron-under-the-ceasefire-now-clowns-n2167003

I’d explain what this means, but I couldn’t say it better than Bonchie at Redstate.com:

“Hamas, which is the governing authority in Gaza, has no interest in the two-state solution being bandied about by clownish Western politicians. They are not going to suddenly disengage and act like human beings if Israel takes down the border fencing and extends a hand of peace. Instead, they would simply use that as an opportunity to kill more Jews because, and stick with me here, they just want to kill Jews. 

American college campuses and newsrooms, among other places, are filled with naive imbeciles who believe that all cultures are the same and ultimately want the same things. They simply can't fathom anyone could think differently than they do. No matter how much evidence emerges, they refuse to believe that Gazans don't want a secular state, living in peace with their Jewish neighbors. Rather than living in reality, they project their own desires onto a group of people who do not share them…

This isn't complicated. Hamas just wants to kill Jews and wipe Israel off the map. There isn't a more complicated geopolitical explanation for their barbarism.”

I think that should make it clear enough for even The Squad to understand it.


The Newsom-DeSantis debate

Before I say anything about the Gavin Newsom-Ron DeSantis debate last night on Fox News, I’d like to talk about an episode of “The Andy Griffith Show,” one of the later, color ones from season 7. Stay with me.

In this episode called “Politics Begin at Home,” there’s an open seat on the Mayberry City Council. Aunt Bee’s garden club ladies convince her to run because she’s so likable and charismatic and full of ideas. She doesn’t know that Andy has already convinced county clerk Howard Sprague to run. When he refuses to back her because he thinks Howard is more qualified, she accuses him of being a male chauvinist (hey, it was the ‘60s.) People see Howard as a nerd and a stiff, and his chances look bleak until the debate.

When asked about important issues like building a new bridge or replacing the sewers under Main Street, Aunt Bee’s answers are all the same empty rhetoric designed to get applause (“If it is the will of the people that a bridge be built, then it SHALL be built! The will of the people will always be my guiding star!”) But Howard responds, “Well, that would be a waste of the taxpayers’ money,” and offers detailed alternative solutions that are cheaper and more effective. When there’s time for one more question, Aunt Bee asks it: Why would anyone vote for her when her opponent is obviously far more qualified?

And that was the Newsom-DeSantis debate in a nutshell, minus the fantasy part at the end where the charismatic but terrible candidate had enough integrity and civic mindedness to admit to being obviously unqualified and endorsed the other guy. Again, this was Mayberry in 1966, not the real world in 2023.

I’m not going to recap all the points of the debate, but it mostly amounted to Newsom telling the kind of whoppers that are so at odds with everything you know and everything you’ve seen with your own eyes that you might need help picking your jaw up off the floor. He had the unenviable job (which he voluntarily took on; this debate debacle was his idea) of trying to convince us that Florida is a failing prison state while California is a shining beacon of success and freedom. DeSantis remained more of a stolid Howard Sprague type than a fiery debater, but he batted most of the lies out of the park with the seldom-used debate weapon known as “facts.”

Here are five particularly interesting moments from the debate.

https://www.foxnews.com/politics/red-vs-blue-state-debate-highlights-top-5-moments-desantis-newsom-slugfest

But for many observers, the moment when if it had been a fight, the refs would’ve stopped it came when DeSantis said this:

“I was talking to a fella who had made the move from California to Florida. He was telling me that Florida’s much better governed, safer, better budget, lower taxes. Then he paused and said ‘by the way, I’m Gavin Newsom’s father-in-law.’”

https://redstate.com/bonchie/2023/11/30/watch-the-astonishing-moment-ron-desantis-ended-gavin-newsom-n2167034

As Bonchie at Redstate observed, “I'm pretty sure Christmas dinner is going to be awkward this year.”

Another highlight was when DeSantis countered Newsom’s claim that California is “the Freedom State” (recall that’s the state where someone was arrested during the pandemic for walking alone on a windy beach without a face mask) by listing all the things you’re free to do there, including defecating in the street. Which he illustrated by taking out a “poop map” that warns people where human feces has been spotted in San Francisco (Spoiler alert: everywhere!)

https://redstate.com/bonchie/2023/12/01/desantis-threw-caution-to-the-wind-in-destruction-of-newsom-including-using-the-poop-map-n2167041

Newsom was so bereft of actual talking points that at one point, he went off on a diatribe at DeSantis for supposedly mispronouncing Kamala Harris’ name (Is it KAH-ma-la or “Ka-MAH-la”?), which has to rank in the mid-nine digits on anyone’s list of things to give a darn about, and I can’t help suspecting that includes Kamala Harris.

These issues are worth bringing up to illustrate the stark difference between how well red states and blue states are run. But I think all you really need to know is the U-Haul Index, which I believe we invented on my radio show over a decade ago, and now I see it everywhere. As of last night, renting a 20-foot U-Haul moving truck from Los Angeles to Miami for nine days costs $5,139.00. Renting the same truck from Miami to Los Angeles is only $3898.00. U-Haul is so desperate to get anyone to drive one of their trucks back to California that they’ll give you a $1241 discount just to return it for them so they can rent it to the next escapee.

Finally, why should anyone care about a debate between DeSantis, whom, as Newsom taunted, will not be the GOP nominee, and Newsom, who insisted he wasn’t running and backs Joe Biden fully? Because there’s always a chance that due to legal issues or voter second thoughts, Trump might not be the nominee, and this debate gave DeSantis his first real chance to shine instead of being one of a crowd of people shouting at each other.

And there’s a much greater chance that Biden will be pushed – sorry, “convinced” – to drop out at the last minute, and the Dems will need a replacement (that won’t be Kamala, no matter how she pronounces it.) Newsom claims to be uninterested, but like everything else he said last night, that’s a transparent lie. If he didn’t have national ambitions, he’d be trying to fix his own state instead of running around the country badmouthing better-run red states. He wanted to make it known that he’s tanned, hair-gelled and ready to step in the second Joe breaks a hip.

But if this debate was his big chance to show that we should let him do to America what he’s done to California, it was a blunder of epic proportions.

Related: Good analysis of the debate by a Californian who knows Gavin Newsom only too well:

https://www.theblaze.com/columns/opinion/who-really-lost-the-newsom-vs-desantis-debate


 I JUST WANTED TO SAY: 

Thank you for reading my newsletter. 

For more news, visit my website.


Are we in trouble? The US now has the smallest Army since World War II, a force of 452,000 troops that is currently “losing the existential fight to recruit new soldiers.” While strained by the wars in Gaza and Ukraine, the Army is also challenged by new technologies: cyber, counter-drone warfare and extended-range battlefield artillery. While these new disciplines require smart, well-trained and highly adaptive soldiers, “the bottom…has fallen out of the high school graduate recruiting market.”

https://www.realcleardefense.com/articles/2023/11/28/missing_the_forest_for_the_trees_manpower_shortfalls_threaten_us_security_995275.html

Retired generals and admirals frequently grouse about the need for better messaging, increased pay and better benefits. But today, some raise more basic issues: “Only 9% of those who are 16 to 21 years old are willing to serve.” https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2023/nov/15/veterans-all-hands-on-deck-to-remedy-dire-military/

And just in time for Veterans Day, Newsweek reported even more disturbing news: “A majority of American adults would not be willing to serve in the military were the U.S. to enter into a major war…while public confidence in the armed forces appears to be waning.” In the succinct summation of one Marine recruiter, "We have strike groups, aircraft carriers with a Marine Expeditionary Unit outside Israel now…We're funding two wars, but we're actually boots on the ground, drones above Gaza. So we're already involved in there—and we're not sure what's happening in Taiwan.” https://www.newsweek.com/american-military-recruitment-problems-public-apathy-1842449

As a retired Army officer, most of the usual explanations for our continuing manpower difficulties leave me cold. As a Vietnam-era draftee, I well remember our transition from a conscript to a volunteer force, including my first responsibilities as a newly commissioned officer. But few of us ever imagined that the contemporaneous passage of Roe versus Wade would inaugurate an era of scarce, expensive manpower resources, made even worse by a steadily declining percentage of Americans volunteering to wear the uniform. Today, that percentage is less than half of one percent, a military establishment largely segregated from the society it defends. Does such a divided nation truly deserve its freedom?

Having spent most of my adult life as either a military or civilian educator, I have also seen the dumbing-down of all forms of history – and the virtual extinction of military history. I directly experienced that dichotomy as an NBC News military analyst before and after 911. One of our continuing challenges was to explain this new form of warfare to a national audience that often lacked even a basic familiarity with the grim calculus of combat. The residual question: How could a nation of military illiterates select the right civilian leaders to ensure our national survival?

My cynicism reached new heights over the Thanksgiving weekend when an old friend sent me an interesting communication from Lycoming College, our common alma mater.  Lycoming has a solid reputation as a competent liberal arts college, often praised by national publications for its cost-effective tuition. Even those who know little about Lycoming may recall its location in Williamsport, Pennsylvania, home of the Little League World Series and an enduring symbol of Middle America.

Unhappily however, Lycoming students were sent home for Thanksgiving with a memo urging their reflection “on the misrepresented history of Thanksgiving,” including video references from YouTube, NPR and PBS. The videographers slanted their lenses to reflect a panoply of native activism, bemoaning “European colonialism,” the taking of “our land” and “teaching the appropriator’s version” of the “harvest feast.” Worst of all, “The (neighboring) Wampanoags weren’t invited.” Without any apparent irony, the student memo concluded, “President Abraham Lincoln established this holiday to improve the relationships between northern and southern states (Really, amidst the Civil War?) and between the US and tribal nations.” (Email memo Lycoming College Office of Student Involvement, “The Truth Behind Thanksgiving,” November 23, 2023.)  

It would be difficult to assemble a more blatant collection of errors in history and logic in any memo not prepared by the Biden White House. One can certainly rejoice that at least Lycoming students aren’t brandishing hatchets and demonstrating for Hamas. However, a number of older alums, perhaps reflecting on that recent unpleasantness, have vowed to review their collegiate bequests, maybe even requiring more in-depth oversight of Lycoming’s leadership.

As an old professor, however, I wonder why no one recalled that the primary mission of college teaching is neither indoctrination nor presentations slanted to one side or the other: But rather the more refined arts of debate and critical thinking

 

 

Colonel (Ret.) Kenneth Allard is a former West Point professor, Dean of the National War College and NBC News on-air military analyst.

Hunter Biden’s legal team, led by powerhouse DC attorney Abbe Lowell and paid for through “loans” from Hollywood sugar-daddy Kevin Morris, is continuing its aggressive response to those who would dare question the first son.  It’s got to be done their way.  Here’s Lowell’s reply to the House Oversight and Accountability Committee…

https://jonathanturley.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/2023.11.28-A.-Lowell-Letter-to-Chairman-Comer-1-1.pdf

It would be fun to shoot this blustery letter full of great big holes, but is that even needed?  Just about anyone reading this newsletter can probably do it with ease, even though it was written by attorneys being paid approximately $1,000 an hour.  (Maybe we’re in the wrong line of work!)

Yes, Hunter will cooperate with the subpoena, they say, but only if the hearing takes place on their terms.  They do NOT want a closed-door transcribed deposition, as is normally done at this stage of an investigation prior to a public hearing.  Their boy is special; they want to go straight to the public hearing and that’s the end of the discussion.  Well, the discussion is not over and the committee has rejected this demand.  The committee still expects Hunter to come in on December 13.

Democrats on the committee are assured to get equal time for questions, committee chair James Comer told Sean Hannity on FOX NEWS Tuesday night, and the full transcript of the behind-closed-doors interview will be released.  He went into detail about the lack of cooperation from the White House.

https://www.foxnews.com/video/6341940540112

Comer also sent a letter (not a subpoena at this point) to Kevin Morris on November 15 and said he expects to hear from him, although the deadline of November 22 for Morris to contact their staff has passed.  The letter makes interesting reading...

https://justthenews.com/sites/default/files/2023-11/2023-11-15%20GOP%20Letter%20to%20Kevin%20Morris.pdf

As Comer explained on Tuesday (the 28th), “You have to request through a letter first.  We’re doing this the right way; we’re making sure every ‘i’ is dotted and every ‘t’ crossed.  If he doesn’t respond to our letter to come in voluntarily, then we will issue a subpoena.”  So, looks as though that’s next.

Morris has reportedly “loaned” (?) Hunter over $5 million, and these two are not longtime friends but, as fas as we know, just two guys who met at a fundraiser for Joe Biden’s presidential campaign.  This raises questions about campaign finance, ethics and tax fraud.

https://justthenews.com/politics-policy/comer-doubles-down-demand-hunter-biden-testimony-vows-release-transcript

As former acting Attorney General Matt Whitaker said on the show, “...Remember, Abbe Lowell knows exactly what he’s doing.  He knows that the weakest part of this case is if his client has to sit down for directed questioning from a counsel of the majority that can ask a line of questions and not be interrupted every five minutes by the rules of the committee [as would happen] if it was public.”

One can just imagine how the hearing would go if it were on TV.  Democrats on the Oversight Committee would have equal time, and they’d use it to gnash their teeth and rend their garments before the cameras about Hunter being a victim of partisan politics, a fragile recovering addict who should be applauded for this and allowed to remain outside the glare of the spotlight.  (This, after he demanded a public hearing as opposed to a quiet deposition.)

As legal analyst Gregg Jarrett said, Hunter knows that in public hearings, “probing questions are rare.  Members grandstand with their speeches.  But he also wants the usual Biden sycophants like Jamie Raskin and Dan Goldman to portray him as this poor victim of drug addiction who should be forgiven of his crimes.”  (We’re reminded of Hunter’s sad-sack op-ed in the WASHINGTON POST, playing up his status as addict.)  Addiction, though, is not an excuse under the law.

Another key point, made by Comer:  this committee is conducting an impeachment inquiry into President Biden, not Hunter.  The deposition is primarily intended to get information about potentially impeachable offenses by the President.

Whitaker was reminded by this stalemate of Trump associates Steve Bannon and Peter Navarro, who WERE held in contempt and prosecuted by the DOJ for refusing to testify, and said Hunter should be treated in exactly the same way.  Think that’ll happen with this “Justice Department”?  Me, neither, but at least by pressing the point, the Oversight Committee will show the DOJ for what it is.

Here’s the full interview segment from Tuesday…

https://www.foxnews.com/video/6341945351112

Legal analyst Jonathan Turley also lacks patience with Hunter Biden.  After he got the subpoena, his response was that he might testify “when the time is right.”  Really??  As Turley has pointed out, “That is not quite how subpoenas work.”  When he puts conditions on his compliance, “Hunter fundamentally misses the point of a congressional subpoena.”

“This is a bad start for Hunter, who is a lawyer,” Turley said in a new column.  “For years, he has been able to manipulate the media and create ever-changing rationales for his role in the alleged corruption scheme, from expert to addict to victim.”

According to Turley, Hunter won’t get away with trying to dictate the terms.  “He can choose his answers, but not his forum.  Putting the bravado of the letter aside, he now has a date with Congress and he will no longer be able to orchestrate how he appears in public.”

Or, we would add, behind closed doors.

https://jonathanturley.org/2023/11/28/hunter-has-a-hearing-date-but-he-has-demands/#more-212489

John Solomon and Steven Richards at JUST THE NEWS have a breaking story about how Hunter paid his debts with “loans” from Democrat donors to his father’s presidential campaign --- Kevin Morris and others as well --- and also from the sale of his art (“art”).

Federal and congressional investigators have amassed evidence that shows Hunter has taken in over $6 million since his father ran for President in 2020.

After reviewing hundreds of documents, JUST THE NEWS got in touch with Morris’ attorney Bryan Sullivan, who told them he had reason to believe their source was not credible.  But he failed to contradict any factual information in their story.  And Abbe Lowell didn’t respond at all.

Interviews and documents also show that Hunter has made more than $1 million from selling his paintings “under a deal with an art gallery that was first brokered by one of his father’s fundraisers in California.”  JUST THE NEWS has details…

https://justthenews.com/accountability/political-ethics/hldhunter-kept-afloat-millions-fathers-democrat-donors-after

On September 29, 2022, Joe’s brother James Biden told IRS agents and federal prosecutors that he didn’t know why Kevin Morris had been so helpful to nephew Hunter.  In the notes, it simply says, “Morris was helping RHB [Hunter] a lot, but James B didn’t know why.”  He speculated that it might be because of his giant ego.  He wasn’t aware that Morris had asked for “anything but a thank-you.”  But “RHB was very closed lip about Morris.”

Here’s the pdf of those interview notes; there’s a lot of interest for when you have the time.  The part about Morris is on the last two pages.

https://justthenews.com/sites/default/files/2023-11/T19-Exhibit-401-Memo-FINAL-Memo-of-Interview-w-James-B-SPORTSMAN-09.29.2022_KPM-Unredacted_Redacted.pdf

In yesterday’s newsletter, we reported on the government’s relentless push to control “journalism” and social media messaging going into Election Year ‘24, despite the exposure of their unconstitutional efforts leading into Election Year ‘20.  Margot Cleveland had written a column about a private entity called NewsGuard that had received $750,000 in federal money (our taxes) to continue developing its censorship tool called “Misinformation Fingerprints.”  The company says their invention enables users to “verify the content of their posts before publishing them.”  Danger, danger, Will Robinson!!

Coincidentally, only a few hours after yesterday’s newsletter reached you, we found perhaps the most valuable and accessible source of information we’ve seen on this subject, an interview with Mike Benz of the organization Foundation for Freedom Online.  We’ve discussed this group before and encourage you to dig into their website...

https://foundationforfreedomonline.com

The video, brought to us by AMERICAN GREATNESS and hosted by Dan Proft, is remarkable for its rare combination of information-density and ease of understanding, coming in with a running time of just under an hour.  Watch Benz’s explanation of how the “deep state” --- let’s just go ahead and call it what it is --- is crafting a diabolical way to skirt the First Amendment and control the messages Americans can send or receive, particularly on certain topics such as election integrity and the pandemic, and you’ll come away with a solid grasp of just how sophisticated and dangerous it is.

I could summarize it here, but there’s so much of value that I’d much rather you watch the whole thing.  Some of the entities Benz talks about, like the Election Integrity Project and CISA, will be familiar, as we’ve discussed them often.  Benz ties them all together and emphasizes their global nature.  In other words, it’s not just our country doing this to us.

The program doesn’t really begin until the one-minute mark, where you’ll see a brief foreword by Proft and his introduction of Benz, and then we’re off to the races.

At 37 minutes in, Benz specifically addresses NewsGuard, whose goal, he says, is “to kill the revenue of alternative news.”  (That’s us, folks.)  They plan to do this “so people are forced, CLOCKWORK ORANGE-style, to read only mainstream media, which is intermediated by the Pentagon and the CIA.”  You’ll think you have a choice, because there will be different outlets to choose from, but “choice” will be an illusion, because everything will have been either “verified” or flagged as misinformation, if you can see it at all.

In the coming weeks, Benz says, his organization will be coming out with a three-part series on “exactly how this has been concocted.”  It can’t come too soon.

RELATED: I’m thrilled to see that the efforts to expose NewsGuard are not going unnoticed. A group called the FSA (Free Speech Alliance) has launched a campaign to pressure House Republicans to cut the $750,000 in funds that the Defense Department is paying NewsGuard. That’s right: as a conservative taxpayer, your hard-earned taxes are being used to fund an organization dedicated to taking away your right to free speech.

https://redstate.com/brandon_morse/2023/11/28/free-speech-groups-launch-offensive-against-newsguard-n2166925

It’s no longer a secret that the U.S. government has collaborated with private entities such as social media companies to control what it labels “mis-, dis-, and mal-information.”  (In fact, those very words should tip you off that not only opinions but facts are being suppressed.)  And the Supreme Court has already held that this strategy for censorship is unconstitutional.  But what might not be sufficiently recognized is that the left is so wedded to this strategy that it has chosen to double-down as we head into the election year of 2024.  That’s right: even exposure by the “Twitter Files” and the lawsuit Missouri v. Biden didn’t make a dent in their effort.  The left is just getting warmed up, and as far as they’re concerned, if they have to shred the Constitution to silence opposing viewpoints ahead of what might be the most consequential election in our lifetimes, so be it.  Everything is on the line.

That document is just an inconvenience for them, anyway.

The subject came up around here a couple of days ago when a reader sent a link to an article on an unrelated topic that happened to have been written by one of the creators of “The Democracy Toolkit.”  We’ve written about the “Toolkit” before, in the context of how well-organized the left is, particularly when it comes to shaping the so-called narrative (also raising money, but that’s a topic for another day).  The Democracy Toolkit was created as a resource for journalists --- or, might we say, “journalists,” with quotation marks, as it works overtime to blur the line between actual journalism and advocacy “journalism.”  There is hardly any actual journalism left today, and that’s the way the Democracy Toolkit likes it.

I say this as someone who presents opinion but who never professes to be doing otherwise.  The problem we have today is that factual stories --- the ones that neutrally offer both sides --- are practically extinct, and they’re mixed up indiscriminately with opinion pieces, often all on the front page.  Sometimes the very people yelling the loudest about “FACTS!!!” are the ones guilty of misrepresenting the truth or leaving out the most pertinent facts.  (Case in point:  Alexandra Pelosi, from yesterday’s newsletter story about second-generation propagandists.)  We try even with “opinion” pieces to include the important facts that they leave out.

The Democracy Toolkit isn’t training people to be journalists.  It’s training them to be advocates for the Democrat Party.  Here’s their homepage…

https://democracytoolkit.press

Of course, these groups profess to be “non-partisan,” which is a real hoot when you look at their affiliations.  The Democracy Toolkit is affiliated with the Center for Journalism and Democracy…

https://cfjd.howard.edu

...and Election SOS, which is “supporting journalists in responding to critical election information needs”…

https://electionsos.com

Scroll down the Election SOS homepage, and in the lower right you’ll find a video called “Reaching Republicans.”  It features experts in such fields as psychometrics who break down the spectrum of those on the right --- yes, there’s even a handy visual aid --- the better to communicate with you, their implied intellectual inferiors.  They’ll even listen to you, but it’s just to see how they can position you on their spectrum and perhaps be more persuasive.  It’s not as if you might have something of value to impart to THEM.

If you’ve wondered why so many newsrooms come out with the same takes on stories, and why they leave out the same information, and why they so very often lean left, organizations such as these probably have a lot to do with that.  I’d encourage you to check out more of the videos and see what those on the left are doing to make sure it’s their narrative that prevails in newsrooms, such as concerns about “new restrictive voting laws.”  (We assume any law that makes it harder to cheat, such as requiring signature matching or regulating vote harvesting, is considered restrictive.)

Legal analyst Margot Cleveland at THE FEDERALIST has been keeping up with the left’s efforts to unconstitutionally censor speech, and her latest column is about for-profit “censorship giant” (her description) NewsGuard, which has received a grant for $750,000 in taxpayer funding.  You might have seen that name in the news lately because of their effort to take down Elon Musk’s “X” platform, but Cleveland believes that government funding of the censorship-industrial complex --- with NewsGuard as a prime example --- is the bigger story.

NewsGuard was already developing what it calls the Misinformation Fingerprints tool, to detect “state-sponsored disinformation campaigns” (editorial aside:  like Hunter Biden’s laptop?)  In September 2021, they were awarded $750,000 from the Department of Defense (!!!) under the Small Business Innovation and Research program for further development and testing.  

Already, Misinformation Fingerprints has been used by a new platform popular with Gen X-ers called the Ethos Network, which has integrated their “debunks” into their user interface.  NewsGuard brags that its technology enables users to “verify the content of their posts before publishing them.”

Are you getting the picture?

As Cleveland writes, “NewsGuard currently markets its Misinformation Fingerprints technology to a variety of entities, including tech giants and organizations with AI and social-listening tools. That technology, NewsGuard promises, allows false claims to be intercepted, while facilitating the sharing of accurate information.”

I can hardly find the words to tell you how dangerous this is.  Whoever controls it, controls what is considered “verified” information.  You and I are helping develop it with our tax dollars, just so it can turn around and control what information gets to us.  Given the state of the technology now, if we don’t win the next election and completely dismantle this, we’ll almost certainly be at the mercy of the information gatekeepers forevermore.

As Cleveland reports, “...because NewsGuard worked with the Department of Defense, ‘to test the effectiveness of the Fingerprints in detecting state-sponsored disinformation campaigns,’ it seems likely the government had some input in determining what qualified as ‘disinformation.’”

NewsGuard has started calling this $750,000 grant a “licensing fee.”  But it makes no difference.  Our government is financing the development of censorship technology that can and will be used to silence American speech.

According to Cleveland, NewsGuard is just one example, “with the federal government awarding more than 500 contracts or grants related to so-called mis- or dis-information since 2020.”  Yes, that’s shocking, and it doesn’t even count the “collusion” the government was already doing with social media platforms such as Twitter and Facebook.  The people involved, both inside and outside of the administration, are technological Winston Smiths who know, deep down, that if people were permitted to know the truth, they’d have every reason to move right.

As Cleveland says, it’s not enough to fight NewGuard’s attack on free speech.  The left will not stop.  If we don’t stop the federal government from their compulsion to “verify” information, our freedom of speech will be only a memory.

https://thefederalist.com/2023/11/27/newsguard-is-selling-its-government-funded-censorship-tool-to-private-companies/

NOTE:  Cleveland also refers to NewsGuard’s attempt to “destroy the financial survival of disfavored outlets…”  Ah, that would be this newsletter!  As you know, the Huckabee Post has been singled out in reports to advertisers as purveyors of “flagged” information, though we are an opinion site and have made no statement that is factually incorrect.  We simply disagree.  But we dare to tell you what the left doesn’t want you to know.

That’s why part of the left’s political strategy is to put conservative outlets like this one out of business.  It’s why I continue to ask those who read the advertiser-supported version of my newsletter to please help us stay independent --- support us by subscribing to our Substack edition:

 (4) Subscribe to The Morning Edition (substack.com)

A New Documentary

November 30, 2023

I wrote recently about a pile of new evidence (actually not “new,” but previously suppressed) that George Floyd was not killed by asphyxiation but by a combination of drugs, COVID and long-standing major health problems; and that the trial of the police officers was set up to prevent more rioting in Minneapolis. Now, there’s a new documentary out that makes that case. Greg Gutfeld talked about it in his monologue Monday night, and it’s a must-watch:

https://www.foxnews.com/video/6341873795112

He takes pains to stress that documentaries have points of view, and you shouldn’t accept their conclusions just because they’re what you want to hear. But as one of his guests, who knows the filmmaker, pointed out, much of it is police bodycam footage that seems to counter the “racist police killers” narrative, and that the jurors and public weren’t allowed to see. If there’s an argument against it, then why were we never allowed to see it?

As so often is the case with the left (see the January 6th kangaroo committee), they want us to believe that they are the unquestionable source of truth while at the same time refusing to let us see the evidence or question the witnesses. If what they’re saying is true, why are they so afraid to let us see all the evidence

The Supreme Court already rejected an appeal by convicted police officer Derek Chavin, but it was on another issue. This story might not be over yet. Meanwhile, you might have heard that Chavin was stabbed in prison, that his injuries could have been life-threatening but he's expected to survive, and his family has been kept in the dark. But the prison promises to keep him safe FROM NOW ON. Glad to hear you'll finally be doing your job now, guys.

https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/other/derek-chauvin-s-prison-committed-to-protecting-him-after-stabbing/ar-AA1kDcpX

One of the most disgusting aspects of this is the way liberals celebrated Chavin's stabbing online. If you don't know that it's wrong to celebrate or mock the deaths and illnesses of people just because you don't like them for political reasons, then you are fundamentally lacking in basic human decency. Here, let me show you how this works:

Stephen Colbert's show is on hiatus because he suffered a ruptured appendix. That can be a very serious, even fatal, issue, so I'm sincerely relieved to hear he's recovering after emergency surgery. I hope you'll join me in praying for his complete recovery.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/health/other/late-show-canceled-as-stephen-colbert-recovers-from-surgery/ar-AA1kCx8D

See, leftists, is that so hard?

 


BY MIKE HUCKABEE

Blessings on you and your family from all the Huckabee team! Here are news stories from the past week, you won't want to miss.

Mike Huckabee


DAILY BIBLE VERSE

Let all your things be done with charity.

1 Corinthians 16:14


99 to go

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To become a paid subscriber of my politics newsletter it is $5 monthly or $36 annually. I email daily and my politics newsletters usually take 10-15 minutes to read. I cover the news of the day and the liberal media. I write about the upcoming elections and dive deep on the Biden scandals. I will also share my opinion of the Trump indictment. I don’t think you will regret reading my newsletter regularly as a paid subscriber, so please consider subscribing today.

With gratitude,

Mike Huckabee


News you probably won’t hear elsewhere:

In Donald Trump’s trial in New York on real estate fraud charges (the one where the judge who refuses to admit he’s biased found Trump guilty before hearing any arguments), Deutsche Bank executive David Williams took the stand and pretty much destroyed Attorney General Letitia James’ entire case.

He testified that it was “atypical, but not entirely unusual” for the bank to slash a loan applicant’s estimate of the value of his property by as much as 50% and still make the loan anyway. He said the bank does due diligence to assess the property’s value, and in this case, thanks to Trump’s history of successful developments and other criteria, they expected the project to make a profit, so they approved the loan. He also said the differing assessments of the property’s valuation wasn’t a disqualifying factor but “just a difference of opinion.”

https://www.zerohedge.com/political/did-deutsche-bank-just-destroy-new-york-ags-case-against-trump

So where exactly is the “fraud”? Ooh, I know, I know! She’s in the New York State Attorney General’s office!


2024: Must-read column

Kurt Schlichter has a must-read column on how the 2024 election is impossible to predict because it’s likely to be between the candidate who allegedly can’t win (Trump) and the one who is certain to lose (Biden.)

https://townhall.com/columnists/kurtschlichter/2023/11/27/the-guy-who-cant-win-v-the-guy-who-will-lose-n2631622

It also contains this observation for you to share with liberals who think indictments are the same as convictions (and Kurt is both a non-Trump supporter – Kurt backs DeSantis – and a very successful trial attorney):

“Another fact is this lawfare garbage. The legal outrages against Trump are the most despicable and disgusting abuse of power in American political history and will cause huge damage to our political culture. Every charge and accusation is legal nonsense, a total lie, and the entire thing is an attempt to frame a political opponent to prevent him from returning to power and to punish him for daring to have won it in the first place. None of that is debatable. Nor is it debatable that a significant number of voters are stupid and care about this nonsense.”


Proof that famous Trump meme is true

Here's proof that the famous Trump meme is true, that “They’re really coming for you, I’m just in their way.”

https://trendingpoliticsnews.com/doj-ordered-sweep-of-trumps-twitter-data-for-everyone-who-liked-followed-or-retweeted-trump-knab/

In a story that should chill every American to the bone, attorneys for the Biden “Justice” Department were forced by a judge’s order to release documents connected to special counsel Jack Smith’s search warrant for Donald Trump’s Twitter account. If you thought he was just looking for insurrection-y tweets, guess again.

Smith demanded information on “all users Trump followed, unfollowed, muted, unmuted, blocked, or unblocked, as well as all users who followed, unfollowed, muted, unmuted, blocked, or unblocked Trump. Smith also requested that Twitter provide information on ‘all lists of Twitter users who have favorited or retweeted tweets posted by [Trump], as well as all tweets that include the username associated with the account (i.e., ‘mentions’ or ‘replies’).’”

In a nutshell: If you followed the President of the United States on Twitter, Jack Smith wanted your personal information to see if there was something he could frame you for.

But wait! It gets worse! Even under the pre-Elon regime, Twitter balked at turning over so much information on its users. But Obama-appointed, outspokenly anti-Trump Judge Beryl Powell fined Twitter $350,000 for not turning it all over by Smith’s deadline, and (even worse) an appeals court upheld that ruling!

So if you need any more reasons why we need to return Trump to power to dismantle the out-of-control Deep State, here are millions, and you're likely one of them.


Disney Update: Bob Iger whistles past the graveyard

In a “Great Moment in Willful Cluelessness,” Disney CEO Bob Iger spoke to a townhall of Disney employees Tuesday, where he whistled past the graveyard louder than a foghorn. Iger denied rumors that Disney was planning to sell off properties like ABC and ESPN, claiming that he didn’t think anyone would run with that story when it was just him running “things up flagpoles to see how they will fly” and thinking out loud. He also denied that Disney was in serious trouble, claiming they’d been through the “fixing” stage and were now back to “building.”

They might want to build a coffin, judging by the fact that Iger refused to take any questions, and after his reassuring speech, Disney’s stock fell by 2.8%.

https://www.westernjournal.com/disney-ceo-admits-truth-return-company-employee-town-hall/

Among the issues not addressed was how Disney’s embrace of DEI/LGBTQ/woke propaganda and leftwing political issues has driven away their core family audience. Leftists live in a bubble of reality denial, and one of their current tropes is poo-pooing the idea of “Get woke, go broke.” They always have some feeble excuse that doesn’t involve their repulsive politics, like claiming that a woke Disney movie bombed because people are still too afraid of COVID to return to theaters (funny, they’re packing theaters for other movies. I guess those movies are like BLM rallies or Gavin Newsom’s favorite French restaurant or Nancy Pelosi’s hair salon: COVID agreed not to spread there.)

For a hard slap of reality, here's just how broke that going woke can make you. Former box office king Disney has now claimed the title of creator of four of the five biggest money-losing box office bombs of all time, with two coming out just this year, “The Marvels” and “Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny.” (The sole non-Disney flop in the top 5 is “The Flash.”)

https://www.msn.com/en-us/movies/news/disney-on-track-to-have-four-of-the-five-biggest-box-office-flops-ever/ar-AA1kBgRV

But those are just the record holders. Only one Disney movie in the past year (“Guardians of the Galaxy III”) made a profit, and their big, 100th anniversary animated movie “Wish” has already tanked spectacularly (hey, records are made to be broken.) I mentioned recently that “Wish” was touted as a return to the classic fairy tale princess movies, but that was apparently just the PR campaign. The creators reportedly saw it as being about yet another perfect young “activist” female of color and her diverse group of friends overthrowing an evil white male villain and his patriarchy. Audiences noticed that, too.

If you really want to know why Disney is failing so hard, read this fascinating article in which some disgruntled people who worked on the film revealed why it was doomed from the start, and why the same thing is happening to every movie Disney puts out.

https://thatparkplace.com/disney-animators-reportedly-reveal-wish-was-a-disaster-behind-the-scenes/

Short version: Disney has hired a lot of leftwing “activists” based on their gender identities and ethnicities rather than their talent or creativity. They’ve caused such a hostile work environment with their aggressive politics that they’ve driven out many of the older animators and writers who actually know how to do their jobs. This is why a release that allegedly celebrates 100 years of Disney animation shows the villain on horseback in closeup: because there was nobody left at Disney who knew how to animate a horse galloping!

Bob Iger might know that the real reason they’re going broke is that they went woke, but he’s still refusing to admit it. Or, obviously, to change directions. Here’s an article about what awaits your kids’ innocent eyes in Disney Plus’s new Christmas movie, “The Naughty Nine.”

https://thefederalist.com/2023/11/28/disneys-new-christmas-movie-sexualizes-kids/

If I had to sum up Bob Iger’s speech, I couldn’t do better than quoting a movie from a time when Hollywood remembered how to make great films. As Boss Gettys says to Charles Foster Kane in “Citizen Kane,” “You're the greatest fool I've ever known, Kane. If it was anybody else, I'd say what's going to happen to you would be a lesson to you. Only you're going to need more than one lesson. And you're going to get more than one lesson.”


More finger-pointing from the Left

In Chicago, which has been run by Democrats since the early 1930s, the far-left Mayor has finally figured out why black people there have so many problems like crime, gangs and poverty. It’s the fault of (drumroll, please)…”rightwing extremists!” I guess like those Chicago MAGA guys who attacked Jussie Smolett.

https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2023/11/28/chicago-mayor-brandon-johnson-blames-right-wing-extremists-city-problems/

When he’s voted out after one term, he could get a job writing for the New York Times.


A Post-Thanksgiving Perspective

By Col. (Ret) Kenneth Allard

Are we in trouble? The US now has the smallest Army since World War II, a force of 452,000 troops that is currently “losing the existential fight to recruit new soldiers.” While strained by the wars in Gaza and Ukraine, the Army is also challenged by new technologies: cyber, counter-drone warfare and extended-range battlefield artillery. While these new disciplines require smart, well-trained and highly adaptive soldiers, “the bottom…has fallen out of the high school graduate recruiting market.”

https://www.realcleardefense.com/articles/2023/11/28/missing_the_forest_for_the_trees_manpower_shortfalls_threaten_us_security_995275.html

Retired generals and admirals frequently grouse about the need for better messaging, increased pay and better benefits. But today, some raise more basic issues: “Only 9% of those who are 16 to 21 years old are willing to serve.” https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2023/nov/15/veterans-all-hands-on-deck-to-remedy-dire-military/

And just in time for Veterans Day, Newsweek reported even more disturbing news: “A majority of American adults would not be willing to serve in the military were the U.S. to enter into a major war…while public confidence in the armed forces appears to be waning.” In the succinct summation of one Marine recruiter, "We have strike groups, aircraft carriers with a Marine Expeditionary Unit outside Israel now…We're funding two wars, but we're actually boots on the ground, drones above Gaza. So we're already involved in there—and we're not sure what's happening in Taiwan.” https://www.newsweek.com/american-military-recruitment-problems-public-apathy-1842449

As a retired Army officer, most of the usual explanations for our continuing manpower difficulties leave me cold. As a Vietnam-era draftee, I well remember our transition from a conscript to a volunteer force, including my first responsibilities as a newly commissioned officer. But few of us ever imagined that the contemporaneous passage of Roe versus Wade would inaugurate an era of scarce, expensive manpower resources, made even worse by a steadily declining percentage of Americans volunteering to wear the uniform. Today, that percentage is less than half of one percent, a military establishment largely segregated from the society it defends. Does such a divided nation truly deserve its freedom?

Having spent most of my adult life as either a military or civilian educator, I have also seen the dumbing-down of all forms of history – and the virtual extinction of military history. I directly experienced that dichotomy as an NBC News military analyst before and after 911. One of our continuing challenges was to explain this new form of warfare to a national audience that often lacked even a basic familiarity with the grim calculus of combat. The residual question: How could a nation of military illiterates select the right civilian leaders to ensure our national survival?

My cynicism reached new heights over the Thanksgiving weekend when an old friend sent me an interesting communication from Lycoming College, our common alma mater.  Lycoming has a solid reputation as a competent liberal arts college, often praised by national publications for its cost-effective tuition. Even those who know little about Lycoming may recall its location in Williamsport, Pennsylvania, home of the Little League World Series and an enduring symbol of Middle America.

Unhappily however, Lycoming students were sent home for Thanksgiving with a memo urging their reflection “on the misrepresented history of Thanksgiving,” including video references from YouTube, NPR and PBS. The videographers slanted their lenses to reflect a panoply of native activism, bemoaning “European colonialism,” the taking of “our land” and “teaching the appropriator’s version” of the “harvest feast.” Worst of all, “The (neighboring) Wampanoags weren’t invited.” Without any apparent irony, the student memo concluded, “President Abraham Lincoln established this holiday to improve the relationships between northern and southern states (Really, amidst the Civil War?) and between the US and tribal nations.” (Email memo Lycoming College Office of Student Involvement, “The Truth Behind Thanksgiving,” November 23, 2023.)  

It would be difficult to assemble a more blatant collection of errors in history and logic in any memo not prepared by the Biden White House. One can certainly rejoice that at least Lycoming students aren’t brandishing hatchets and demonstrating for Hamas. However, a number of older alums, perhaps reflecting on that recent unpleasantness, have vowed to review their collegiate bequests, maybe even requiring more in-depth oversight of Lycoming’s leadership.

As an old professor, however, I wonder why no one recalled that the primary mission of college teaching is neither indoctrination nor presentations slanted to one side or the other: But rather the more refined arts of debate and critical thinking.

Colonel (Ret.) Kenneth Allard is a former West Point professor, Dean of the National War College and NBC News on-air military analyst.


Hunter was flagged by bank in 2017 as possible money launderer

Did you read the blustery letter sent by Hunter Biden’s attorney Abbe Lowell to the House Oversight and Accountability Committee, or at least our comments about it on Wednesday?  That letter didn’t make much of an impression on the House Committee chairmen.

Kentucky Rep. James Comer (Oversight), Ohio Rep. Jim Jordan (Judiciary), and Missouri Rep. Jason Smith (Ways and Means) have all issued statements demanding that Hunter comply with the subpoena to appear for a behind-closed-doors hearing on December 13.

In demanding a public hearing only, Lowell had written, “We have seen you use closed door sessions to manipulate, even distort the facts and mislead the public...A public proceeding would prevent selective leaks, manipulated transcripts, doctored exhibits, or one-sided press statements.”  But he offered no examples, and we can’t think of any, either.

Lowell was using the Democrats’ well-worn strategy of accusing your adversaries of doing what you yourself are doing.  Why, we can think of plenty of examples of the Democrats’ January 6 committee doing exactly the things Lowell accused the GOP-led committees of doing; more about that later when the discussion turns to a master of the technique, Maryland Rep. Jamie Raskin.

Anyway, Comer explained at a House leadership press conference that the way it works is, their committees will first interview and depose witnesses, and then they “would welcome Hunter Biden to testify at a public hearing at a future date.” Jordan said that having Hunter participate in both will “be great.”  But the deposition must come first.

That’s the way it was done with IRS whistleblowers Gary Shapley and Joseph Ziegler, who testified behind closed doors in July about “special handling” of the Hunter case they before appeared publicly.  (Recall that Ziegler, a gay Democrat who risked retribution for coming forward, remained anonymous until it was time for the public hearing.)  And legally, their testimony before the House Ways and Means Committee HAD to be behind closed doors, because it involved confidential financial records.  Ways and Means had to see that before allowing it to be released outside their committee.

At the press conference, Rep. Smith sounded a lot like legal expert Jonathan Turley when he said, “The congressional subpoena [Hunter] received was not a suggestion…”  Since Smith chairs Ways and Means and Hunter’s testimony might also involve confidential financial information, his words carry additional force.

Others involved with the Hunter case have already testified behind closed doors, including various DOJ and IRS officials and former Hunter business partner Devon Archer.  As reported by the DAILY CALLER, the committees are still seeking depositions from Hunter’s uncle, James Biden, and other former business partners Eric Schwerin and Rob Walker.  They also have yet to depose Hunter’s “art” dealer, Georges Berges, and “art” patron Elizabeth Naftali.  All have been subpoenaed.

https://dailycaller.com/2023/11/09/comer-subpoena-hunter-biden-art-buyer-key-business-associates/

Here’s video of Rep. Comer at the press conference, outlining what they’ve found so far about the Biden family’s very concerning financial activities.

https://dailycaller.com/2023/11/29/house-republicans-hunter-biden-answer-questions-closed-doors-before-public-hearing/

John Solomon and Steven Richards at JUST THE NEWS have an update on those activities, reporting that, according to congressional investigators, money ending up in Joe Biden’s account was part of a 2017 Chinese “loan” flagged by a bank investigator for potential money laundering and political influence.  (Solomon reported in September that banks had started raising alarms about some of the Biden transactions as early as spring 2015 --- even a Morgan Stanley report to the SEC --- when Joe was still Vice President.)

This 2017 loan was the $5 million transfer from a CEFC-associated company we’ve seen in Comer’s handy chart, which showed that $400,000 went to Hunter, Hunter sent $150,000 to Jim and Sara Biden, and $40,000 of that (10 percent of what Hunter had held for the Big Guy?) was written out in a personal check to Joe.  The “breaking” part of this story is that the original transaction had been flagged by a bank investigator as “high risk” for money laundering “or other illicit financial activity” and was possibly tied to efforts by the communist government of China to gain influence through Hunter Biden.

The bank investigator had identified Hunter Biden as what they call a “Potentially Exposed Person (PEP),” which is a term used in the finance industry to classify a person who is “either entrusted with a prominent public function” or an immediate family member of one who is.

Financial institutions like to see paper trails, and this “loan” had no paperwork at all, at any stage.  Also, the recipient firm (a law firm) belonging to the Biden family “did not appear to have any investments in need of a loan,” according to the bank investigator.

Read through this explanation of the factors that tend to label someone a “PEP,” and it’s easy to see why a bank might choose to identify Hunter as one, considering the large amount of money involved, Hunter’s close familial relationship to someone of very high political status, the particular countries with whom he and his family did business, and the lack of anything tangible given in exchange.  No wonder this transaction raised eyebrows...

https://www.ffiec.gov/press/PDF/Politically-Exposed-Persons.pdf

According to the bank investigator’s memo, they’d even looked into Hunter’s personal life, citing “financial concerns about his extravagant spending on his own interests (drugs, strip clubs, prostitutes, etc.) which may have put his family in a deep financial hole.”  More generally, it even mentions “China targeting children of politicians and [the] purchase of political influence through ‘sweetheart deals.’”

And there’s this, which really spells out the problem: “Specifically, Hunter Biden’s $1.5 billion deal with the Chinese-State [is] to establish a private equity firm in which they manage the funds over time and make huge fees.  The management company’s purpose is to invest in companies that benefit [the] Chinese government.  Thus, the activity on the account appears unusual with no current business purpose and along with the recent negative news (...regarding Dr. Patrick Ho Chi Ping’s trial…) may require re-evaluation of [redacted] relationship with customer.”  Here’s the full memo.

https://justthenews.com/sites/default/files/2023-11/Bank%20Email.pdf

Here’s the full report at JUST THE NEWS, including video of Rep. Andy Biggs from the House Judiciary Committee, briefly explaining what’s important about this finding.  The bank records are going to be the backbone of this case.

https://justthenews.com/accountability/political-ethics/bank-raised-red-flags-about-5-million-loan-chinese-firm-hunter

Finally, we promised examples of Democrats pointing fingers at Republicans for doing what they themselves had done, with emphasis on Jamie Raskin.  In a new column about Hunter’s attorneys essentially flipping-off congressional investigators, Jonathan Turley mentions Raskin’s over-the-top reaction to the Oversight Committee’s rejection of Hunter’s demand for a public hearing only.

Raskin declared that their position on this was an “epic humiliation” and “a frank confession that they are simply not interested in the facts and have no confidence in their own case or the ability of their own Members to pursue it.”

The humorous part of this otherwise pathetic tirade is that Raskin and his colleagues on the left insisted on the exact same practice when they controlled the House and exercised it to a remarkable degree.  Recall that Raskin sat on Pelosi’s January 6 “select” kangaroo kommittee that conducted extensive closed-door hearings with witnesses before trotting out a few “select” ones to testify at the Democrats’ tightly scripted and professionally produced public hearings.  And they specifically refused an offer from key witness Stewart Rhodes (who now sits in jail) to testify in public.  So anything Raskin or any of the Democrats have to say on this subject should be met only with giant eye rolls.

Here’s the rest of Turley’s column, highly recommended, on Hunter’s upcoming testimony.  The kid-glove treatment is over for Hunter and, indeed, the Biden family.  As Turley says, the alarm Democrats feel right now at the prospect of Hunter testifying is justified.  His lawyers’ objections are not.

https://jonathanturley.org/2023/11/29/raskin-denounces-closed-door-depositions-despite-conducting-closed-door-depositions/#more-212516


And Another One Bites The Dust…

A Rhode Island judge threw out a lawsuit attempting to keep Donald Trump off the 2024 ballot. How can these heroic Democrats protect our democracy if these lousy judges keep letting the American people vote for whoever they want?!

https://www.westernjournal.com/rhode-island-judge-deals-blow-democrat-agenda-trump-cheering/


Economic News

Wednesday morning, the government estimated that the US economy grew at an annual rate of 5.2% in the third quarter of 2023, higher than the 4.9% economists predicted. Also, disposable personal income grew 2.9 percent after an upward revision of 1.1 percent. But before you start celebrating the red hot Biden economy, here are some caveats:

https://www.breitbart.com/economy/2023/11/29/gdp-revised-2/

"Disposable personal income grew 2.9 percent after an upward revision. Adjusted for inflation, real after-tax income rose 0.1 percent after a big upward revision of 1.1 percentage points." 

“The upward revision (in GDP) reflects an increase in government spending and business investment. Consumer spending was revised down as were exports.” 

Also, “Spending by the federal government grew at an annual rate of seven percent, revised up from the earlier estimate of 6.2 percent. Overall government spending, including state and local expenditures, rose at a 5.5 percent rate, up from the earlier estimate of 4.6 percent.”

So while I’m glad to hear any economic good news, pardon me for being skeptical that so much of it is based on the theory that Washington can spend us into prosperity.


Israel’s right to exist

Tuesday, the House of Representatives overwhelmingly passed a resolution affirming Israel’s right to exist. Even more shocking than the fact that such a thing seemed necessary in 2023 was that several members refused to support it. Among them were (surprise!) “Squad” members Rashida Tlaib and Cori Bush.

https://www.foxnews.com/politics/squad-votes-israel-right-exist-condemning-hamas-reveal-division-far-left-group

Tlaib voted “present” while Bush didn’t vote at all. Tlaib justified her vote with the predictable diatribe about Israeli “occupation” and “apartheid” and complaints that it didn’t include affirming the Palestinians’ “right to coexist with Israelis in their historic homeland.” Actually, they do have a right to peacefully coexist with the Israelis, but they’ve repeatedly chosen not to exercise it.

Bush also failed to vote for another resolution condemning Hamas' brutal October 7 attack on Israel and demanding the immediate release of its remaining hostages. Even her fellow “Squad” members including Tlaib (!) voted for that.

The sole “no” vote on affirming Israel’s right to exist came from Republican Rep. Thomas Massie. He claimed that he agreed with much of the language, but he voted no “because it equates anti-Zionism with antisemitism. Antisemitism is deplorable, but expanding it to include criticism of Israel is not helpful."

There were also members of both parties who failed to vote for either resolution, and I think we should all demand to hear their reasons why. Here are links to the vote tallies so you can see how your Representative voted.

https://clerk.house.gov/Votes/2023677

https://clerk.house.gov/Votes/2023676


UPDATE:

Following yesterday’s story that special counsel Jack Smith not only tried to force Twitter to hand over Donald Trump’s account records but also information on every user who followed, liked, reposted or commented on Trump’s tweets, here’s more from the Gateway Pundit. It reminds us that Smith admitted last summer to lying to the court to get Obama-appointed Judge Beryl Howell to declare Trump a flight risk so Smith could get a nondisclosure order to prevent Twitter from informing Trump about the subpoena for all his private Twitter records.

Latest development: Smith and Howell are now apparently redacting court documents in an attempt to cover up their efforts to falsely brand Trump as a flight risk.

https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2023/11/dirty-jack-smith-obama-judge-beryl-howell-attempt/

I must admit one thing: If Smith wanted to convince me that there was a huge liar in a powerful position in Washington who would stop at nothing to abuse his power, he’s certainly succeeded at that.


Here’s today’s link to continuously-updated news on the war in Israel…

https://www.foxnews.com/live-news/november-30-israel-hamas-war

Israel announced that the ceasefire that was set to expire early Thursday morning had been extended for one more day. They also announced that 16 more hostages had been released, including an American citizen with dual citizenship. Tragically, however, they said that Ofir Tzarfati, an Israeli man who was celebrating his 27th birthday at the music festival when Hamas terrorists attacked and who was believed to be a hostage, had been found dead.

Ten more hostages are expected to be released today, but they are among about 145 victims that Hamas is still holding, long after the initial ceasefire would have ended.

To further illustrate their sincere yearning for peace, just minutes after the ceasefire was extended, Hamas terrorist gunmen killed three people and injured six more near a bus stop in Jerusalem before two off-duty IDF soldiers and an armed citizen shot and killed them.

https://www.breitbart.com/middle-east/2023/11/30/hamas-gunmen-kill-three-injure-six-in-jerusalem-terror-shooting/

If you scroll down through the stories, you will read about various officials in places that are NOT under threat of attack by bloodthirsty, anti-Semitic mass murderers, lecturing Israel about being humane and holding their fire. I’m too disgusted with them to quote their blather, but I’ll be sure to run a bulletin if any of them say anything equally critical of the Hamas terrorists or the many Palestinians who openly support them.

How to Win Friends and Influence People: Pro-Hamas protesters in New York City, one carrying a sign with a swastika on it, clashed with police as they tried to prevent the lighting of the giant Christmas tree at Rockefeller Center.

https://redstate.com/nick-arama/2023/11/29/pro-hamas-activists-crash-rockefeller-center-christmas-tree-lighting-n2166991


RIP Henry Kissinger

Former Secretary of State and Nobel Peace Prize winner Henry Kissinger died Wednesday at the age of 100. Active almost until the very end, he was still giving foreign policy advice and commentary in his 90s and touring to promote his latest book at 99.

https://www.westernjournal.com/former-secretary-state-henry-kissinger-dies-age-100/

Kissinger was one of the most towering figures in foreign policy for decades, with a controversial legacy that created both ardent admirers and fierce detractors. Some lauded him for helping end the Vietnam War, others called him a war criminal for not ending it faster or for crafting an agreement that allowed Vietnam to fall to the communists. Some celebrated his efforts to open diplomacy with Russia and China, others criticized him as one of the fathers of globalism. Some thought his realpolitik policies, which put America’s interests ahead of promoting reform inside other nations, were amoral and Machiavellian. Others saw them as dealing pragmatically with other nations and leaders as they really were, not as we wished they were.

However you view Kissinger, there’s no question that he played a major role in shaping the state of the world and relationships between America and other nations, for better or worse, from the 1960s up to today. When asked about those who accuse him of criminality in foreign policy, or who second-guess policies he crafted years ago, he dismissed them, saying, “That’s a reflection of their ignorance. It wasn’t conceived that way. It wasn’t conducted that way.” And he summed up what many of us might say if asked to defend the decisions we made in our lives: “The recommendations I made were the best of which I was then capable.”

Here's what a number of US and world leaders had to say on the passing of Henry Kissinger.

https://www.foxnews.com/politics/henry-kissinger-world-leaders-comment-diplomatic-giants-life-legacy-global-impact


 I JUST WANTED TO SAY: 

Thank you for reading my newsletter. 

For more news, visit my website.


Did you read the blustery letter sent by Hunter Biden’s attorney Abbe Lowell to the House Oversight and Accountability Committee, or at least our comments about it on Wednesday?  That letter didn’t make much of an impression on the House Committee chairmen.

Kentucky Rep. James Comer (Oversight), Ohio Rep. Jim Jordan (Judiciary), and Missouri Rep. Jason Smith (Ways and Means) have all issued statements demanding that Hunter comply with the subpoena to appear for a behind-closed-doors hearing on December 13.

In demanding a public hearing only, Lowell had written, “We have seen you use closed door sessions to manipulate, even distort the facts and mislead the public...A public proceeding would prevent selective leaks, manipulated transcripts, doctored exhibits, or one-sided press statements.”  But he offered no examples, and we can’t think of any, either.

Lowell was using the Democrats’ well-worn strategy of accusing your adversaries of doing what you yourself are doing.  Why, we can think of plenty of examples of the Democrats’ January 6 committee doing exactly the things Lowell accused the GOP-led committees of doing; more about that later when the discussion turns to a master of the technique, Maryland Rep. Jamie Raskin.

Anyway, Comer explained at a House leadership press conference that the way it works is, their committees will first interview and depose witnesses, and then they “would welcome Hunter Biden to testify at a public hearing at a future date.” Jordan said that having Hunter participate in both will “be great.”  But the deposition must come first.

That’s the way it was done with IRS whistleblowers Gary Shapley and Joseph Ziegler, who testified behind closed doors in July about “special handling” of the Hunter case they before appeared publicly.  (Recall that Ziegler, a gay Democrat who risked retribution for coming forward, remained anonymous until it was time for the public hearing.)  And legally, their testimony before the House Ways and Means Committee HAD to be behind closed doors, because it involved confidential financial records.  Ways and Means had to see that before allowing it to be released outside their committee.

At the press conference, Rep. Smith sounded a lot like legal expert Jonathan Turley when he said, “The congressional subpoena [Hunter] received was not a suggestion…”  Since Smith chairs Ways and Means and Hunter’s testimony might also involve confidential financial information, his words carry additional force.

Others involved with the Hunter case have already testified behind closed doors, including various DOJ and IRS officials and former Hunter business partner Devon Archer.  As reported by the DAILY CALLER, the committees are still seeking depositions from Hunter’s uncle, James Biden, and other former business partners Eric Schwerin and Rob Walker.  They also have yet to depose Hunter’s “art” dealer, Georges Berges, and “art” patron Elizabeth Naftali.  All have been subpoenaed.

https://dailycaller.com/2023/11/09/comer-subpoena-hunter-biden-art-buyer-key-business-associates/

Here’s video of Rep. Comer at the press conference, outlining what they’ve found so far about the Biden family’s very concerning financial activities.

https://dailycaller.com/2023/11/29/house-republicans-hunter-biden-answer-questions-closed-doors-before-public-hearing/

John Solomon and Steven Richards at JUST THE NEWS have an update on those activities, reporting that, according to congressional investigators, money ending up in Joe Biden’s account was part of a 2017 Chinese “loan” flagged by a bank investigator for potential money laundering and political influence.  (Solomon reported in September that banks had started raising alarms about some of the Biden transactions as early as spring 2015 --- even a Morgan Stanley report to the SEC --- when Joe was still Vice President.)

This 2017 loan was the $5 million transfer from a CEFC-associated company we’ve seen in Comer’s handy chart, which showed that $400,000 went to Hunter, Hunter sent $150,000 to Jim and Sara Biden, and $40,000 of that (10 percent of what Hunter had held for the Big Guy?) was written out in a personal check to Joe.  The “breaking” part of this story is that the original transaction had been flagged by a bank investigator as “high risk” for money laundering “or other illicit financial activity” and was possibly tied to efforts by the communist government of China to gain influence through Hunter Biden.

The bank investigator had identified Hunter Biden as what they call a “Potentially Exposed Person (PEP),” which is a term used in the finance industry to classify a person who is “either entrusted with a prominent public function” or an immediate family member of one who is.

Financial institutions like to see paper trails, and this “loan” had no paperwork at all, at any stage.  Also, the recipient firm (a law firm) belonging to the Biden family “did not appear to have any investments in need of a loan,” according to the bank investigator.

Read through this explanation of the factors that tend to label someone a “PEP,” and it’s easy to see why a bank might choose to identify Hunter as one, considering the large amount of money involved, Hunter’s close familial relationship to someone of very high political status, the particular countries with whom he and his family did business, and the lack of anything tangible given in exchange.  No wonder this transaction raised eyebrows...

https://www.ffiec.gov/press/PDF/Politically-Exposed-Persons.pdf

According to the bank investigator’s memo, they’d even looked into Hunter’s personal life, citing “financial concerns about his extravagant spending on his own interests (drugs, strip clubs, prostitutes, etc.) which may have put his family in a deep financial hole.”  More generally, it even mentions “China targeting children of politicians and [the] purchase of political influence through ‘sweetheart deals.’”

And there’s this, which really spells out the problem: “Specifically, Hunter Biden’s $1.5 billion deal with the Chinese-State [is] to establish a private equity firm in which they manage the funds over time and make huge fees.  The management company’s purpose is to invest in companies that benefit [the] Chinese government.  Thus, the activity on the account appears unusual with no current business purpose and along with the recent negative news (...regarding Dr. Patrick Ho Chi Ping’s trial…) may require re-evaluation of [redacted] relationship with customer.”  Here’s the full memo.

https://justthenews.com/sites/default/files/2023-11/Bank%20Email.pdf

Here’s the full report at JUST THE NEWS, including video of Rep. Andy Biggs from the House Judiciary Committee, briefly explaining what’s important about this finding.  The bank records are going to be the backbone of this case.

https://justthenews.com/accountability/political-ethics/bank-raised-red-flags-about-5-million-loan-chinese-firm-hunter

Finally, we promised examples of Democrats pointing fingers at Republicans for doing what they themselves had done, with emphasis on Jamie Raskin.  In a new column about Hunter’s attorneys essentially flipping-off congressional investigators, Jonathan Turley mentions Raskin’s over-the-top reaction to the Oversight Committee’s rejection of Hunter’s demand for a public hearing only.

Raskin declared that their position on this was an “epic humiliation” and “a frank confession that they are simply not interested in the facts and have no confidence in their own case or the ability of their own Members to pursue it.”

The humorous part of this otherwise pathetic tirade is that Raskin and his colleagues on the left insisted on the exact same practice when they controlled the House and exercised it to a remarkable degree.  Recall that Raskin sat on Pelosi’s January 6 “select” kangaroo kommittee that conducted extensive closed-door hearings with witnesses before trotting out a few “select” ones to testify at the Democrats’ tightly scripted and professionally produced public hearings.  And they specifically refused an offer from key witness Stewart Rhodes (who now sits in jail) to testify in public.  So anything Raskin or any of the Democrats have to say on this subject should be met only with giant eye rolls.

Here’s the rest of Turley’s column, highly recommended, on Hunter’s upcoming testimony.  The kid-glove treatment is over for Hunter and, indeed, the Biden family.  As Turley says, the alarm Democrats feel right now at the prospect of Hunter testifying is justified.  His lawyers’ objections are not.

https://jonathanturley.org/2023/11/29/raskin-denounces-closed-door-depositions-despite-conducting-closed-door-depositions/#more-212516

Here’s why it’s so important for the RNC to up its game in turning out voters in 2024, and for the pro-life movement to keep fighting the “anti-women’s rights” canard that the left uses to fool women into voting against their own interests. NBC News pollsters asked registered voters if there’s any one issue so important to them that they would base their vote just on that. Twenty-four percent of Democrats said they would base their vote solely on a candidate’s position on abortion.

https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2023/11/27/poll-1-in-4-democrats-single-issue-voters-abortion/

That’s right: with Biden’s wide-open borders letting the US be flooded with illegal immigrants, drugs, criminals and terrorists; with inflation making it necessary to charge groceries on your credit card; and with the world teetering on the brink of World War III, nearly a quarter of Democrats care about only one issue: the “right” to kill babies in the womb up to the moment of birth.

That’s why I won’t even suggest that the solution is to reason with them. They’ve gone beyond the point of rational thinking. Yes, by all means, continue to pray for them and reach out and try to make them understand why abortion is so wrong, how their party leaders are exploiting their fears and lying about the opposition’s positions, and how even the European nations they think we should emulate have restrictions on abortion that are tighter than some red states’. But we’d also better put a lot of effort into voter turnout because if that obsessive, sick mindset is the determining factor in the 2024 election, Heaven help us all.

 


BY MIKE HUCKABEE

Blessings on you and your family from all the Huckabee team! Here are news stories from the past week, you won't want to miss.

Mike Huckabee


DAILY BIBLE VERSE

6 Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.

7 And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

Philippians 4:6-4:7



 


162 to go

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To become a paid subscriber of my politics newsletter it is $5 monthly or $36 annually. I email daily and my politics newsletters usually take 10-15 minutes to read. I cover the news of the day and the liberal media. I write about the upcoming elections and dive deep on the Biden scandals. I will also share my opinion of the Trump indictment. I don’t think you will regret reading my newsletter regularly as a paid subscriber, so please consider subscribing today.

With gratitude,

Mike Huckabee


Seems right

The National Christmas Tree that was set to be lighted by President Biden in 48 hours proved to be the perfect reflection of the President: it fell over and may not be salvageable.

https://instapundit.com/619330/


The Babylon Bee sums up the current state of Disney Corp much better than CEO Bob Iger did:

https://babylonbee.com/news/disney-awarded-dod-contract-after-making-more-bombs-than-lockheed-martin



Comic Relief:

A group of protesters gathered outside the White House, blaming President Biden for Gazans starving, and announced that they’re going on a hunger strike until there’s a permanent ceasefire. They included “Sex & The City” actress and failed leftist New York gubernatorial candidate, Cynthia Nixon. I congratulate them on coming up with an ingenious way to avoid gaining weight over the holidays.

https://twitchy.com/brettt/2023/11/27/author-of-palestine-a-socialist-introduction-announces-hunger-strike-in-front-of-white-house-n2390224


19 AGs send Biden administration a letter protesting new foster care rule

Nineteen Republican state Attorneys General sent a letter to the Biden Health and Human Services Department, protesting that a proposed new rule for foster care families would violate the Constitution, cripple the foster care system by driving Christian families out, increase states’ child care costs, and harm children by limiting the number of foster homes available.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/gop-ags-blast-biden-admin-for-foster-care-plan-they-say-would-effectively-ban-christians/ar-AA1kEoXJ

The rule would force foster parents to “affirm” the child’s “gender-identity” by using their preferred pronouns, calling them by their chosen names and letting them dress like the sex they identify as, even if it violates their religious beliefs. Many foster care systems depend heavily on individuals and faith-based groups whose religion does not accept this. The AGs say this rule not only directly violates a 2021 Supreme Court ruling that such policies violate religious freedom rights, it fails to solve an alleged problem that the HHS hasn’t even proved exists.

To be fair, based on the evidence so far, this Administration isn’t capable of solving any problems that really do exist.


A jaw-dropping article

This morning’s New York Times has a jaw-dropping article that seeks to convince us that concerns about shoplifting are just overblown conservative misinformation. Why, nationwide, shoplifting is down on average. Americans just have the silly belief that it’s high because it’s spiking in a few places, plus there are those rare, but alarming, videos of mobs cleaning out stores and stores with bare shelves having to put up photos of merchandise that they can’t put out or it will be stolen.

News flash to the Times propagandists: Nobody believes that shoplifting is out of control in red states that weren’t idiotic enough to fire all their cops and let all the criminals out of jail. We know exactly where the shoplifting and other crime is out of control: in cities run by the Party that your paper works every day to help keep in power, including the city where you live.

I’m not going to give clicks to the New York Times, but I will link to this much more informative story from their superior rival, which tells you a lot more about why crime is spiking.

https://nypost.com/2023/11/25/metro/2516-nypd-cops-head-for-exits-so-far-in-2023-pension-data/


THIS, is the only issue that matters to 24% of Democrats…

Here’s why it’s so important for the RNC to up its game in turning out voters in 2024, and for the pro-life movement to keep fighting the “anti-women’s rights” canard that the left uses to fool women into voting against their own interests. NBC News pollsters asked registered voters if there’s any one issue so important to them that they would base their vote just on that. Twenty-four percent of Democrats said they would base their vote solely on a candidate’s position on abortion.

https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2023/11/27/poll-1-in-4-democrats-single-issue-voters-abortion/

That’s right: with Biden’s wide-open borders letting the US be flooded with illegal immigrants, drugs, criminals and terrorists; with inflation making it necessary to charge groceries on your credit card; and with the world teetering on the brink of World War III, nearly a quarter of Democrats care about only one issue: the “right” to kill babies in the womb up to the moment of birth.

That’s why I won’t even suggest that the solution is to reason with them. They’ve gone beyond the point of rational thinking. Yes, by all means, continue to pray for them and reach out and try to make them understand why abortion is so wrong, how their party leaders are exploiting their fears and lying about the opposition’s positions, and how even the European nations they think we should emulate have restrictions on abortion that are tighter than some red states’. But we’d also better put a lot of effort into voter turnout because if that obsessive, sick mindset is the determining factor in the 2024 election, Heaven help us all.


A New Documentary

I wrote recently about a pile of new evidence (actually not “new,” but previously suppressed) that George Floyd was not killed by asphyxiation but by a combination of drugs, COVID and long-standing major health problems; and that the trial of the police officers was set up to prevent more rioting in Minneapolis. Now, there’s a new documentary out that makes that case. Greg Gutfeld talked about it in his monologue Monday night, and it’s a must-watch:

https://www.foxnews.com/video/6341873795112

He takes pains to stress that documentaries have points of view, and you shouldn’t accept their conclusions just because they’re what you want to hear. But as one of his guests, who knows the filmmaker, pointed out, much of it is police bodycam footage that seems to counter the “racist police killers” narrative, and that the jurors and public weren’t allowed to see. If there’s an argument against it, then why were we never allowed to see it?

As so often is the case with the left (see the January 6th kangaroo committee), they want us to believe that they are the unquestionable source of truth while at the same time refusing to let us see the evidence or question the witnesses. If what they’re saying is true, why are they so afraid to let us see all the evidence

The Supreme Court already rejected an appeal by convicted police officer Derek Chavin, but it was on another issue. This story might not be over yet. Meanwhile, you might have heard that Chavin was stabbed in prison, that his injuries could have been life-threatening but he's expected to survive, and his family has been kept in the dark. But the prison promises to keep him safe FROM NOW ON. Glad to hear you'll finally be doing your job now, guys.

https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/other/derek-chauvin-s-prison-committed-to-protecting-him-after-stabbing/ar-AA1kDcpX

One of the most disgusting aspects of this is the way liberals celebrated Chavin's stabbing online. If you don't know that it's wrong to celebrate or mock the deaths and illnesses of people just because you don't like them for political reasons, then you are fundamentally lacking in basic human decency. Here, let me show you how this works:

Stephen Colbert's show is on hiatus because he suffered a ruptured appendix. That can be a very serious, even fatal, issue, so I'm sincerely relieved to hear he's recovering after emergency surgery. I hope you'll join me in praying for his complete recovery.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/health/other/late-show-canceled-as-stephen-colbert-recovers-from-surgery/ar-AA1kCx8D

See, leftists, is that so hard?

 


Well, what do you know…

One of the greatest hits of leftwing “fact-checkers” is their assertion that there was no such thing as censorship of conservative voices online. That’s just a paranoid, rightwing conspiracy theory. Yeah, about that…

Two researchers from the Media Research Center report that interference in the 2024 election via social media censorship has already started. Methods range from “censoring candidates’ campaign websites, to fact checks, to removing content and accounts altogether,” all “silencing the voices of those who seek to represent and lead the United States.”

And who is the target of all this censorship by Google, YouTube, Facebook, X, Instagram, TikTok and LinkedIn? They identified 169 instances of it: 162 against Biden’s opponents, and a whopping seven against Biden. All the candidates had their messages manipulated at least once, while the champion of being censored was Vivek Ramaswamy, with 18 incidents, followed by Robert Kennedy Jr. with 17.

https://www.foxnews.com/media/big-tech-censored-2024-presidential-candidates-169-times-with-biden-accounting-only-seven-study

I know what you’re thinking: Where’s Trump? Well, he’s a special case: having been totally censored by all social media platforms, he started his own, Truth Social. Even though he hardly maintains a presence anywhere else, he was still censored often enough by those platforms the few times he appeared on them to come in fifth.  

One caveat: Biden was listed as the “most censored” candidate on X (Twitter), but that’s because so many of his posts were corrected by the platform’s “Community Notes” feature. A Twitter spokesperson said that’s not censorship, and it doesn’t come from Twitter, which allows free speech; it comes from users exercising their free speech to provide context and corrections. No wonder liberals hate Elon Musk so much!


A wonderful world…

In the latest dispatches from the wonderful world of “progressive” education, a Jewish professor was banned from USC's campus due to outrage by anti-Israel protesters over a doctored video that falsely depicted him as saying all Palestinians should be killed (at USC, the anger of anti-Semitic mobs apparently outweighs objective truth, something to remember before you pay to send your kids there.)

https://www.breitbart.com/education/2023/11/26/jewish-usc-professor-barred-from-campus-targeted-by-anti-israel-activists-with-doctored-video/

Hundreds of students at Hillcrest High School in Queens, New York, ran through the halls waving Palestinian flags and chanting “Free Palestine” and screaming, “The teacher needs to go!” after a female teacher was seen on Facebook holding a sign reading “I stand with Israel” at a pro-Israel rally. They reportedly tried to get into her classroom but were blocked by other faculty members. New York City Councilwoman Vickie Paladino told Fox News Digital that she was “sickened, but not surprised”:

"Our education system is fundamentally broken, and antisemitic riots like this are sadly the natural result of years of woke leftist indoctrination replacing real education. Allowing progressives to gain total control over our institutions was always going to lead to tragic outcomes; they’ve been working to instigate a cultural revolution here for decades, and now those efforts appear to be bearing fruit."  Fruit and nuts.

https://www.foxnews.com/us/nyc-councilwoman-blasts-failure-modern-progressivism-anti-israel-high-school-riot


Hunter’s legal team wants to comply with subpoena on THEIR terms

Hunter Biden’s legal team, led by powerhouse DC attorney Abbe Lowell and paid for through “loans” from Hollywood sugar-daddy Kevin Morris, is continuing its aggressive response to those who would dare question the first son.  It’s got to be done their way.  Here’s Lowell’s reply to the House Oversight and Accountability Committee…

https://jonathanturley.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/2023.11.28-A.-Lowell-Letter-to-Chairman-Comer-1-1.pdf

It would be fun to shoot this blustery letter full of great big holes, but is that even needed?  Just about anyone reading this newsletter can probably do it with ease, even though it was written by attorneys being paid approximately $1,000 an hour.  (Maybe we’re in the wrong line of work!)

Yes, Hunter will cooperate with the subpoena, they say, but only if the hearing takes place on their terms.  They do NOT want a closed-door transcribed deposition, as is normally done at this stage of an investigation prior to a public hearing.  Their boy is special; they want to go straight to the public hearing and that’s the end of the discussion.  Well, the discussion is not over and the committee has rejected this demand.  The committee still expects Hunter to come in on December 13.

Democrats on the committee are assured to get equal time for questions, committee chair James Comer told Sean Hannity on FOX NEWS Tuesday night, and the full transcript of the behind-closed-doors interview will be released.  He went into detail about the lack of cooperation from the White House.

https://www.foxnews.com/video/6341940540112

Comer also sent a letter (not a subpoena at this point) to Kevin Morris on November 15 and said he expects to hear from him, although the deadline of November 22 for Morris to contact their staff has passed.  The letter makes interesting reading...

https://justthenews.com/sites/default/files/2023-11/2023-11-15%20GOP%20Letter%20to%20Kevin%20Morris.pdf

As Comer explained on Tuesday (the 28th), “You have to request through a letter first.  We’re doing this the right way; we’re making sure every ‘i’ is dotted and every ‘t’ crossed.  If he doesn’t respond to our letter to come in voluntarily, then we will issue a subpoena.”  So, looks as though that’s next.

Morris has reportedly “loaned” (?) Hunter over $5 million, and these two are not longtime friends but, as fas as we know, just two guys who met at a fundraiser for Joe Biden’s presidential campaign.  This raises questions about campaign finance, ethics and tax fraud.

https://justthenews.com/politics-policy/comer-doubles-down-demand-hunter-biden-testimony-vows-release-transcript

As former acting Attorney General Matt Whitaker said on the show, “...Remember, Abbe Lowell knows exactly what he’s doing.  He knows that the weakest part of this case is if his client has to sit down for directed questioning from a counsel of the majority that can ask a line of questions and not be interrupted every five minutes by the rules of the committee [as would happen] if it was public.”

One can just imagine how the hearing would go if it were on TV.  Democrats on the Oversight Committee would have equal time, and they’d use it to gnash their teeth and rend their garments before the cameras about Hunter being a victim of partisan politics, a fragile recovering addict who should be applauded for this and allowed to remain outside the glare of the spotlight.  (This, after he demanded a public hearing as opposed to a quiet deposition.)

As legal analyst Gregg Jarrett said, Hunter knows that in public hearings, “probing questions are rare.  Members grandstand with their speeches.  But he also wants the usual Biden sycophants like Jamie Raskin and Dan Goldman to portray him as this poor victim of drug addiction who should be forgiven of his crimes.”  (We’re reminded of Hunter’s sad-sack op-ed in the WASHINGTON POST, playing up his status as addict.)  Addiction, though, is not an excuse under the law.

Another key point, made by Comer:  this committee is conducting an impeachment inquiry into President Biden, not Hunter.  The deposition is primarily intended to get information about potentially impeachable offenses by the President.

Whitaker was reminded by this stalemate of Trump associates Steve Bannon and Peter Navarro, who WERE held in contempt and prosecuted by the DOJ for refusing to testify, and said Hunter should be treated in exactly the same way.  Think that’ll happen with this “Justice Department”?  Me, neither, but at least by pressing the point, the Oversight Committee will show the DOJ for what it is.

Here’s the full interview segment from Tuesday…

https://www.foxnews.com/video/6341945351112

Legal analyst Jonathan Turley also lacks patience with Hunter Biden.  After he got the subpoena, his response was that he might testify “when the time is right.”  Really??  As Turley has pointed out, “That is not quite how subpoenas work.”  When he puts conditions on his compliance, “Hunter fundamentally misses the point of a congressional subpoena.”

“This is a bad start for Hunter, who is a lawyer,” Turley said in a new column.  “For years, he has been able to manipulate the media and create ever-changing rationales for his role in the alleged corruption scheme, from expert to addict to victim.”

According to Turley, Hunter won’t get away with trying to dictate the terms.  “He can choose his answers, but not his forum.  Putting the bravado of the letter aside, he now has a date with Congress and he will no longer be able to orchestrate how he appears in public.”

Or, we would add, behind closed doors.

https://jonathanturley.org/2023/11/28/hunter-has-a-hearing-date-but-he-has-demands/#more-212489

John Solomon and Steven Richards at JUST THE NEWS have a breaking story about how Hunter paid his debts with “loans” from Democrat donors to his father’s presidential campaign --- Kevin Morris and others as well --- and also from the sale of his art (“art”).

Federal and congressional investigators have amassed evidence that shows Hunter has taken in over $6 million since his father ran for President in 2020.

After reviewing hundreds of documents, JUST THE NEWS got in touch with Morris’ attorney Bryan Sullivan, who told them he had reason to believe their source was not credible.  But he failed to contradict any factual information in their story.  And Abbe Lowell didn’t respond at all.

Interviews and documents also show that Hunter has made more than $1 million from selling his paintings “under a deal with an art gallery that was first brokered by one of his father’s fundraisers in California.”  JUST THE NEWS has details…

https://justthenews.com/accountability/political-ethics/hldhunter-kept-afloat-millions-fathers-democrat-donors-after

On September 29, 2022, Joe’s brother James Biden told IRS agents and federal prosecutors that he didn’t know why Kevin Morris had been so helpful to nephew Hunter.  In the notes, it simply says, “Morris was helping RHB [Hunter] a lot, but James B didn’t know why.”  He speculated that it might be because of his giant ego.  He wasn’t aware that Morris had asked for “anything but a thank-you.”  But “RHB was very closed lip about Morris.”

Here’s the pdf of those interview notes; there’s a lot of interest for when you have the time.  The part about Morris is on the last two pages.

https://justthenews.com/sites/default/files/2023-11/T19-Exhibit-401-Memo-FINAL-Memo-of-Interview-w-James-B-SPORTSMAN-09.29.2022_KPM-Unredacted_Redacted.pdf


Message control by the left; an important follow-up

In yesterday’s newsletter, we reported on the government’s relentless push to control “journalism” and social media messaging going into Election Year ‘24, despite the exposure of their unconstitutional efforts leading into Election Year ‘20.  Margot Cleveland had written a column about a private entity called NewsGuard that had received $750,000 in federal money (our taxes) to continue developing its censorship tool called “Misinformation Fingerprints.”  The company says their invention enables users to “verify the content of their posts before publishing them.”  Danger, danger, Will Robinson!!

Coincidentally, only a few hours after yesterday’s newsletter reached you, we found perhaps the most valuable and accessible source of information we’ve seen on this subject, an interview with Mike Benz of the organization Foundation for Freedom Online.  We’ve discussed this group before and encourage you to dig into their website...

https://foundationforfreedomonline.com

The video, brought to us by AMERICAN GREATNESS and hosted by Dan Proft, is remarkable for its rare combination of information-density and ease of understanding, coming in with a running time of just under an hour.  Watch Benz’s explanation of how the “deep state” --- let’s just go ahead and call it what it is --- is crafting a diabolical way to skirt the First Amendment and control the messages Americans can send or receive, particularly on certain topics such as election integrity and the pandemic, and you’ll come away with a solid grasp of just how sophisticated and dangerous it is.

I could summarize it here, but there’s so much of value that I’d much rather you watch the whole thing.  Some of the entities Benz talks about, like the Election Integrity Project and CISA, will be familiar, as we’ve discussed them often.  Benz ties them all together and emphasizes their global nature.  In other words, it’s not just our country doing this to us.

The program doesn’t really begin until the one-minute mark, where you’ll see a brief foreword by Proft and his introduction of Benz, and then we’re off to the races.

At 37 minutes in, Benz specifically addresses NewsGuard, whose goal, he says, is “to kill the revenue of alternative news.”  (That’s us, folks.)  They plan to do this “so people are forced, CLOCKWORK ORANGE-style, to read only mainstream media, which is intermediated by the Pentagon and the CIA.”  You’ll think you have a choice, because there will be different outlets to choose from, but “choice” will be an illusion, because everything will have been either “verified” or flagged as misinformation, if you can see it at all.

In the coming weeks, Benz says, his organization will be coming out with a three-part series on “exactly how this has been concocted.”  It can’t come too soon.

RELATED: I’m thrilled to see that the efforts to expose NewsGuard are not going unnoticed. A group called the FSA (Free Speech Alliance) has launched a campaign to pressure House Republicans to cut the $750,000 in funds that the Defense Department is paying NewsGuard. That’s right: as a conservative taxpayer, your hard-earned taxes are being used to fund an organization dedicated to taking away your right to free speech.

https://redstate.com/brandon_morse/2023/11/28/free-speech-groups-launch-offensive-against-newsguard-n2166925


Finally, here’s today’s link to the latest stories from Fox News on the Israel-Hamas war.

https://www.foxnews.com/live-news/november-29-israel-hamas-war

The ceasefire that was already extended by two days expires today at 5pm EST, but it’s possible it could be extended another four days.  As of Wednesday, Hamas had released 60 Israeli women and children and 21 people of other nationalities, but there are still believed to be 159 hostages either being held by Hamas or passed off to other terrorist groups.

Meanwhile, Israel continues to be vilified by the morally bankrupt, and they’re facing pressure to extend the ceasefire (we know that means indefinitely, giving up on crushing Hamas and letting them go back to rearming and murdering more Israelis) by a range of halfwits, from UN officials to the Palestinian president to our own Secretary of State. Antony Blinken claims the continuation of the ceasefire “by definition means that more hostages would be coming home, more assistance would be getting in.”

Actually, it means that Hamas will be chalking it up as a victory. They were supposed to release the hostages during the initial agreed-upon period, but they’ve repeatedly broken the deal and not released hostages while trying to drag it out indefinitely. Giving them more time won't lead to more hostages released but to the ones they have being released more slowly and incentivizing them to take even more. 

Here’s just one example of the “good faith” Hamas has shown: small children who were held hostage are not only being treated for injuries from beatings and torture, but for psychological trauma from being so terrorized that they’re afraid even to speak in the pediatric wards.

https://www.foxnews.com/world/stories-torture-torment-revealed-israeli-children-kidnapped-hamas-terrorists

So no, I don’t want to see a “negotiated truce” that turns these rabid animals loose to do this again and again.

Related: Even for Rep. Rashida Tlaib, trying to equate innocent children and babies being kidnapped, tortured and terrorized by Hamas barbarians to Palestinian minors arrested by Israel for real crimes like stabbing police and attempted bombings is a new subterranean low.

https://redstate.com/nick-arama/2023/11/29/rashida-tlaib-doubles-down-with-a-train-wreck-of-statement-about-israeli-political-prisoners-n2166946


 I JUST WANTED TO SAY: 

Thank you for reading my newsletter. 

For more news, visit my website.


 


BY MIKE HUCKABEE

Blessings on you and your family from all the Huckabee team! Here are news stories from the past week, you won't want to miss.

Mike Huckabee


DAILY BIBLE VERSE

And as ye would that men should do to you, do ye also to them likewise.

Luke 6:31


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With gratitude,

Mike Huckabee


Least Surprising “News” of the Day

Mitt Romney would be “happy” voting for a Democrat for President instead of Trump or Vivek Ramaswamy, who also wants to put America’s interests first.

https://www.westernjournal.com/video-mitt-romney-finally-admits-real-allegiance-whole-time/


Something to consider

Interesting story about movie actress Natalie Portman, who first came to fame at age 12 in the movie, “Leon: The Professional.”

https://nypost.com/2023/11/25/entertainment/natalie-portman-says-children-should-not-be-working-in-hollywood-after-she-was-sexualized-in-first-movie-at-age-12/

Now a mother of two, her advice to parents whose kids want to work in Hollywood is DON’T. Portman said she was talked about in sexual terms when she was still a young teen; it made her feel afraid and disrespected; and “it was almost an accident of luck that I was not harmed, also combined with very overprotective, wonderful parents.” She said it’s fine if you want to be in movies as an adult, but “I think kids should play and go to school.”

Yet another thing to think about the next time a Hollywood liberal gives Americans a moral lecture on how we’re not raising our kids right and should have more sexually-explicit books in elementary schools.


Israeli company office vandalized in New Hampshire by Hollywood actress and friends

You probably haven’t heard of actress Bridget Shergalis. She was on the Disney Channel sketch series “So Random!” in 2011 and on several TV shows, including appropriately enough, “Criminal Minds.” But this might get her some publicity: she and two other “activists” from the group Palestine Action US (which claims it’s devoted to “dismantling the Zionist war machine”) were arrested in New Hampshire for allegedly vandalizing the office of Israeli defense contractor Elbit Systems. They threw red paint on the building and wrote pro-Palestian slogans on it, took over the roof and lit flares, and shut down their business for a day.

https://www.breitbart.com/entertainment/2023/11/25/disney-channel-actress-bridget-shergalis-arrested-for-vandalizing-israeli-companys-offices/

The group melodramatically tweeted that their “3 comrades have been handed a slew of trumped-up charges, & are being held on preventative detention without bail or a hearing. Even with the phony charges, there is no precedent for this in the ‘Free State of New Hampshire.’  This is political targeting…They should not be locked up for this; they should be celebrated.”

Celebrated for vandalizing and shutting down a business that’s owned by Jews because it manufactures jet vision technology that enables Jews to target terrorists who kill Jews? I wonder if they might have some ulterior motive? And yes, there's actually precedent for arresting people for committing crimes, as out of style as it is in blue cities.

In fact, despite their very real crimes, they were quickly released on bail (proving they aren’t Republicans.) And Ms Shergalis might get more gigs in Hollywood, now that she’s proven she’s got the same attitude toward Israel as some of our leftist celebrities.

https://www.breitbart.com/entertainment/2023/11/27/model-gigi-hadid-blasted-for-latest-israel-conspiracy-theory-vile-antisemitic-blood-libel/


Disney update

Speaking of Disney, the once-king-of-family-entertainment continued its losing streak as its latest animated film “Wish” tanked at the box office. “Wish” was touted as a return to Disney’s non-political fairy tale movies, but families have apparently lost their trust in the brand. “Wish” was expected to top the box office, but it came in third, making just $31.7 million over the five-day Thanksgiving weekend and just $17.3 million internationally, only slightly better than last Thanksgiving’s woke Disney turkey, “Strange World.”

https://www.breitbart.com/entertainment/2023/11/26/disneys-wish-was-expected-to-debut-at-1-but-loses-to-hunger-games-napoleon-at-box-office/

Well, they say the first step to making change is recognizing that there’s a problem, and maybe after all the billions in losses, the cratering stock price, the alienation of its customer base, the threat of a hostile takeover and the well-deserved mocking by "South Park," Disney is finally ready to admit that trying to turn innocent kids’ entertainment into a leftist propaganda delivery medium was not a good idea.

Last week, Disney filed its annual financial report with the SEC, and they actually admitted, "We face risks relating to misalignment with public and consumer tastes and preferences for entertainment, travel and consumer products,” and "Our businesses create entertainment, travel and consumer products whose success depends substantially on consumer tastes and preferences that change in often unpredictable ways." They reiterated their dedication to “diversity” and inclusion in their workplace, but confessed that their environmental and social goals present "risks." And in an epic bit of excuse-making, they said their products are sometimes "introduced into a significantly different market or economic or social climate from the one we anticipated at the time of the investment decisions."

https://www.theblaze.com/news/walt-disney-company-wokeness-culture-wars

Like a blindfolded bumblebee, they’re buzzing around the target but can’t quite find it. So I’ll help them by giving them a basic primer in how not to go out of business.

First of all, you claim to know that your business is to “create entertainment, travel and consumer products whose success depends substantially on consumer tastes.” Yet you admit you’re filling these products with environmental and social messages that risk angering and repulsing those very consumers. That’s pretty Goofy. Your goal is to make money for your stockholders by entertaining your customers, not to lecture them on social issues.

There’s also nothing wrong with having a diverse workforce. But your employees don't seem to grasp that their job is to create consumer-pleasing entertainment products, not shove their personal political agendas down people’s throats, like their "no-so-secret gay agenda."

Finally, consumer tastes haven’t changed in unpredictable ways. People loved classic Disney family movies 50 years ago, and they still love those movies. They just hate the groomer garbage you’re pumping out now. I could’ve predicted that before you ever greenlit any of this hooey.

In fact, if you really want to stop losing billions by trashing Disney’s reputation with leftist propaganda, get rid of CEO Bob Iger and offer me the job. I could turn around that Mickey Mouse outfit in two weeks.


Public trust in elections continues to fall

If you don’t believe that the 2020 election was the most honest, scrupulous, unquestionably accurate election in history, then you’d better not say so or you’ll be silenced, slandered, demonetized and possibly prosecuted for a RICO violation. Ironically, the more some people keep insisting that there’s no such thing as voter fraud, the more the level of public trust in elections has fallen.

So if the people who want us to trust our elections are ever going to accomplish that goal, they need to come up with better responses to stories like these than “Shut up or else!”

https://www.westernjournal.com/key-swing-county-sounding-alarm-bells-voting-machines-ahead-2024-election/

https://joehoft.com/breaking-exclusive-the-errors-the-lie-and-the-cover-up-in-georgias-2020-election-part-i/

https://www.westernjournal.com/gop-candidates-loss-1-vote-prompts-calls-whole-new-election-issue-shady-count-raised/

And people who care about our elections actually being trustworthy, rather than just stumping for blind trust, need to get more adamant about cleaning up the voting process to ensure not only that there’s no provable cheating but that there's no opportunity for cheating.


Headed into Election Year ‘24, it’s all about message control by the left

It’s no longer a secret that the U.S. government has collaborated with private entities such as social media companies to control what it labels “mis-, dis-, and mal-information.”  (In fact, those very words should tip you off that not only opinions but facts are being suppressed.)  And the Supreme Court has already held that this strategy for censorship is unconstitutional.  But what might not be sufficiently recognized is that the left is so wedded to this strategy that it has chosen to double-down as we head into the election year of 2024.  That’s right: even exposure by the “Twitter Files” and the lawsuit Missouri v. Biden didn’t make a dent in their effort.  The left is just getting warmed up, and as far as they’re concerned, if they have to shred the Constitution to silence opposing viewpoints ahead of what might be the most consequential election in our lifetimes, so be it.  Everything is on the line.

That document is just an inconvenience for them, anyway.

The subject came up around here a couple of days ago when a reader sent a link to an article on an unrelated topic that happened to have been written by one of the creators of “The Democracy Toolkit.”  We’ve written about the “Toolkit” before, in the context of how well-organized the left is, particularly when it comes to shaping the so-called narrative (also raising money, but that’s a topic for another day).  The Democracy Toolkit was created as a resource for journalists --- or, might we say, “journalists,” with quotation marks, as it works overtime to blur the line between actual journalism and advocacy “journalism.”  There is hardly any actual journalism left today, and that’s the way the Democracy Toolkit likes it.

I say this as someone who presents opinion but who never professes to be doing otherwise.  The problem we have today is that factual stories --- the ones that neutrally offer both sides --- are practically extinct, and they’re mixed up indiscriminately with opinion pieces, often all on the front page.  Sometimes the very people yelling the loudest about “FACTS!!!” are the ones guilty of misrepresenting the truth or leaving out the most pertinent facts.  (Case in point:  Alexandra Pelosi, from yesterday’s newsletter story about second-generation propagandists.)  We try even with “opinion” pieces to include the important facts that they leave out.

The Democracy Toolkit isn’t training people to be journalists.  It’s training them to be advocates for the Democrat Party.  Here’s their homepage…

https://democracytoolkit.press

Of course, these groups profess to be “non-partisan,” which is a real hoot when you look at their affiliations.  The Democracy Toolkit is affiliated with the Center for Journalism and Democracy…

https://cfjd.howard.edu

...and Election SOS, which is “supporting journalists in responding to critical election information needs”…

https://electionsos.com

Scroll down the Election SOS homepage, and in the lower right you’ll find a video called “Reaching Republicans.”  It features experts in such fields as psychometrics who break down the spectrum of those on the right --- yes, there’s even a handy visual aid --- the better to communicate with you, their implied intellectual inferiors.  They’ll even listen to you, but it’s just to see how they can position you on their spectrum and perhaps be more persuasive.  It’s not as if you might have something of value to impart to THEM.

If you’ve wondered why so many newsrooms come out with the same takes on stories, and why they leave out the same information, and why they so very often lean left, organizations such as these probably have a lot to do with that.  I’d encourage you to check out more of the videos and see what those on the left are doing to make sure it’s their narrative that prevails in newsrooms, such as concerns about “new restrictive voting laws.”  (We assume any law that makes it harder to cheat, such as requiring signature matching or regulating vote harvesting, is considered restrictive.)

Legal analyst Margot Cleveland at THE FEDERALIST has been keeping up with the left’s efforts to unconstitutionally censor speech, and her latest column is about for-profit “censorship giant” (her description) NewsGuard, which has received a grant for $750,000 in taxpayer funding.  You might have seen that name in the news lately because of their effort to take down Elon Musk’s “X” platform, but Cleveland believes that government funding of the censorship-industrial complex --- with NewsGuard as a prime example --- is the bigger story.

NewsGuard was already developing what it calls the Misinformation Fingerprints tool, to detect “state-sponsored disinformation campaigns” (editorial aside:  like Hunter Biden’s laptop?)  In September 2021, they were awarded $750,000 from the Department of Defense (!!!) under the Small Business Innovation and Research program for further development and testing.  

Already, Misinformation Fingerprints has been used by a new platform popular with Gen X-ers called the Ethos Network, which has integrated their “debunks” into their user interface.  NewsGuard brags that its technology enables users to “verify the content of their posts before publishing them.”

Are you getting the picture?

As Cleveland writes, “NewsGuard currently markets its Misinformation Fingerprints technology to a variety of entities, including tech giants and organizations with AI and social-listening tools. That technology, NewsGuard promises, allows false claims to be intercepted, while facilitating the sharing of accurate information.”

I can hardly find the words to tell you how dangerous this is.  Whoever controls it, controls what is considered “verified” information.  You and I are helping develop it with our tax dollars, just so it can turn around and control what information gets to us.  Given the state of the technology now, if we don’t win the next election and completely dismantle this, we’ll almost certainly be at the mercy of the information gatekeepers forevermore.

As Cleveland reports, “...because NewsGuard worked with the Department of Defense, ‘to test the effectiveness of the Fingerprints in detecting state-sponsored disinformation campaigns,’ it seems likely the government had some input in determining what qualified as ‘disinformation.’”

NewsGuard has started calling this $750,000 grant a “licensing fee.”  But it makes no difference.  Our government is financing the development of censorship technology that can and will be used to silence American speech.

According to Cleveland, NewsGuard is just one example, “with the federal government awarding more than 500 contracts or grants related to so-called mis- or dis-information since 2020.”  Yes, that’s shocking, and it doesn’t even count the “collusion” the government was already doing with social media platforms such as Twitter and Facebook.  The people involved, both inside and outside of the administration, are technological Winston Smiths who know, deep down, that if people were permitted to know the truth, they’d have every reason to move right.

As Cleveland says, it’s not enough to fight NewGuard’s attack on free speech.  The left will not stop.  If we don’t stop the federal government from their compulsion to “verify” information, our freedom of speech will be only a memory.

https://thefederalist.com/2023/11/27/newsguard-is-selling-its-government-funded-censorship-tool-to-private-companies/

NOTE:  Cleveland also refers to NewsGuard’s attempt to “destroy the financial survival of disfavored outlets…”  Ah, that would be this newsletter!  As you know, the Huckabee Post has been singled out in reports to advertisers as purveyors of “flagged” information, though we are an opinion site and have made no statement that is factually incorrect.  We simply disagree.  But we dare to tell you what the left doesn’t want you to know.

That’s why part of the left’s political strategy is to put conservative outlets like this one out of business.  It’s why I continue to ask those who read the advertiser-supported version of my newsletter to please help us stay independent --- support us by subscribing to our Substack edition:

 (4) Subscribe to The Morning Edition (substack.com)


HIGHLY RECOMMENDED READING: 

As if we didn’t have enough to worry about from our own government, there’s also propaganda from the United Front Work Department of the People’s Republic of China.  As reported by the U.K. DAILY MAIL, “the goal of [the UFWD] is to help China take over Taiwan and establish a new global order that revolves around CCP values and interests.”

Don’t expect our State Department and Department of Defense to stay on top of this, as they’ll be much too busy targeting Trump supporters at home.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-12797557/Chinas-growing-espionage-propaganda-threat-U-S-Congress-warns-America-little-grasp-deep-Communist-Partys-influence-infiltrated-communities-nation.html


Here’s today’s link to Fox News’ continually-updated news on the Israel-Hamas war…

https://www.foxnews.com/live-news/november-28-israel-hamas-war

The latest: Israel agreed to a two-day extension of the ceasefire to keep getting hostages released. While the media, leftist politicians and other cloth-heads continue painting this as “progress,” what it actually means is that Hamas is getting three legitimate prisoners released for every innocent hostage they release, they’re buying more time for their propaganda campaign and to regroup and rearm, they’re still hiding behind human shields and refusing to release about 150 hostages, and they keep violating the ceasefire agreement even as they beg to extend it.

https://hotair.com/david-strom/2023/11/28/hamas-keeps-violating-ceasefire-agreement-n594994

At that link, David Strom points out the stunning intellectual vacuity of Western leftists who turned on a dime from denying that Hamas took hostages to praising them for releasing the hostages and taking such good care of them (despite the evidence against that), all without a second thought, or even a first one.

And just to make it clear what disgusting, amoral monsters Hamas are, among the hostages they took were a 10-month-old baby, Kfir Bibas, his four-year-old brother Ariel and their mother and dad. As of this writing, none of them have been released, and the IDF believes Hamas no longer even has the two children, but has passed them on to some other organization, possibly the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), another terrorist group.

They aren’t the only ones: it’s believed that Hamas has lost track of as many as 40 “missing” hostages.

https://www.breitbart.com/middle-east/2023/11/27/report-hamas-lost-track-some-israeli-hostages-abducted-terror-attack/

And the aunt of one 12-year-old hostage who was released revealed that he told her the children were beaten, forced to watch videos of atrocities and threatened with guns if they cried. Great bunch of “freedom fighters” these leftist idiots are supporting.

https://www.breitbart.com/middle-east/2023/11/28/aunt-says-hamas-tortured-israeli-child-hostages-threatened-at-gunpoint/

I hope you will join me in praying that these two precious children be found safe and returned along with their parents, as well as all the hostages being held by these sick, terrorist murderers.


Vermont shooting

We should also offer prayers for the recuperation of three Palestinian-American students, two of them US citizens, who were walking down the street in Burlington, Vermont, when a man shot them and fled. Police arrested a suspect, but it’s not clear whether this was a hate crime or related to the Israel-Hamas war (if so, it should be as strongly condemned as the crimes of Hamas), or if the alleged shooter was just a nutcase, which his social media posts suggest. Disturbingly, he has multiple degrees and spent time as a 5th and 6th grade teacher and scoutmaster.

https://redstate.com/jeffc/2023/11/27/heres-what-we-know-about-the-man-suspected-of-shooting-palestinian-american-students-n2166890


Elon Musk visits Israel

Elon Musk visited Israel Monday, where Prime Minister Netanyahu gave him a tour of a kibbutz where babies were slaughtered by Hamas and let him watch a video of the atrocities. Afterwards, he talked about ways that he might be able to help in Gaza and ways to help “stop the hate,” but he said, “Obviously…there's no choice but to kill those who insist on murdering civilians. There's no choice. They’re not going to change their mind."

https://redstate.com/bobhoge/2023/11/28/musk-tours-terror-sites-with-netanyahu-in-israel-says-those-intent-on-murder-must-be-neutralized-n2166899

For visiting Israel, Musk was blasted by the leftist outlets that accused him of being an anti-Semite for agreeing with a post that criticized the ADL. But he denied the charge and was defended even by Ben Shapiro. For clarification to our friends on the left: Criticizing the political views of a group that happens to be Jewish doesn’t make you an anti-Semite. Cheering groups that kill, torture, rape and kidnap Jews does make you an anti-Semite.

https://redstate.com/bonchie/2023/11/27/elon-musk-makes-surprise-visit-to-israel-sets-the-record-straight-n2166854


Just So You Know Who We're Dealing With…

China, which is Iran’s biggest trading partner, has removed Israel from the nation’s Internet maps.

https://www.foxnews.com/world/israel-omitted-online-maps-china-war-hamas-gaza


It's always tough to choose, but I believe we can safely call this the dumbest headline of the day:

https://www.breitbart.com/faith/2023/11/26/chris-christie-excuses-antisemitism-as-reaction-to-trump/


 I JUST WANTED TO SAY: 

Thank you for reading my newsletter. 

For more news, visit my website.

 


BY MIKE HUCKABEE

Blessings on you and your family from all the Huckabee team! Here are news stories from the past week, you won't want to miss.

Mike Huckabee


DAILY BIBLE VERSE

Wherefore say, Behold, I give unto him my covenant of peace:

Numbers 25:12


300 to go

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To become a paid subscriber of my politics newsletter it is $5 monthly or $36 annually. I email daily and my politics newsletters usually take 10-15 minutes to read. I cover the news of the day and the liberal media. I write about the upcoming elections and dive deep on the Biden scandals. I will also share my opinion of the Trump indictment. I don’t think you will regret reading my newsletter regularly as a paid subscriber, so please consider subscribing today.

With gratitude,

Mike Huckabee


Huckabee Video Roundup  

I was on Fox & Friends over the weekend, talking about Trump vs. Biden II:

https://youtu.be/n9LG9SwDpvE?si=qjIi6bbX__DIRjDf

This monologue from Saturday’s “Huckabee” on TBN seems to be getting a lot of attention and reposts, so in case you missed it…

https://youtu.be/gAcUe2CfPvw?si=-9xZnXQK6ubpajm-


Here’s today’s link to Fox News’ continually-updated news on the Israel-Hamas war…

https://www.foxnews.com/live-news/november-27-israel-hamas-war


Catching up:

Today is the last official day of the ceasefire. At this writing, Israel has secured the release of 58 hostages since the ceasefire began on Friday, exchanging them for 150 Palestinian criminals held in Israeli prisons, which to my understanding of math suggests that the terrorists are coming out ahead on the deal. And before anyone falls for the “oppressed Palestinian political prisoners” tommyrot, here’s an example of what’s being turned loose on the world thanks to Hamas. A female terrorist who was in prison for stabbing an Israeli was released and immediately went on Palestinian TV to call for more killing of Jews.

https://redstate.com/bonchie/2023/11/26/released-female-hamas-terrorist-shows-exactly-why-israel-cant-stop-n2166824

Thanks to the wonderful “success” of the ceasefire, NATO officials, President Biden and others are pressuring Israel to extend it. So is Hamas, which tells you who’s really benefiting from it. If they were sincere about wanting to stop Palestinians from being collateral damage, they would have released all their hostages, surrendered and stopped hiding behind human shields. But instead, they want to drag out the ceasefire as long as possible so they can regroup and rearm while the media depict them as victims and weak-kneed, amoral politicians bow before their deranged, anti-Semitic constituents.

Here's an example of what these pro-Hamas protesters are defending: 84-year-old Israeli Elma Avraham was rushed to an ICU where her life is at risk due to weeks of “significant medical neglect” while she was being held hostage by these barbarians. And the release of children is being trumpeted in the media because, of course, it’s a huge joy and relief that they are safe. But they never should have been taken in the first place, and many have no parents to go home to because Hamas murdered them. Yet the images of their release are being used to “humanize” Hamas. A senior researcher for strategic studies at Israel’s Bar Ilhan University told Fox News Digital, "This is psychological terrorism, that is the only way to describe it." 


MUST-READ:

Rabbi Michael Barclay on the real insidious reasons why Hamas is releasing hostages, and why thousands of allegedly innocent Palestinian civilians are returning to Gaza despite the danger. He says they’re not unwilling human shields, they’re unarmed soldiers, “willing and active cogs in the Hamas war effort, willing to die for their cause of destroying Israel” by helping Hamas win its PR campaign in the Western media to paint Israel as the aggressors.

https://pjmedia.com/rabbi-michael-barclay/2023/11/24/the-insidious-reason-why-hamas-is-releasing-hostages-n4924202

Fortunately, Prime Minister Netanyahu and other top Israeli officials are resisting the worldwide pressure from anti-Semites and terrorist appeasers to have an indefinite ceasefire, lay down their arms and go back to letting their people be slaughtered by these vicious maniacs. Knesset member and former Israeli ambassador to the UN Dany Danon said, "We are focused on the return of our hostages now, but we will resume our military campaign. We are not in a position to risk our future. We say the same to European leaders, and to President Biden. We appreciate your support, but this time we have no choice. We have to go all the way and eradicate Hamas at all costs."


President Biden’s Thanksgiving Address

I hope you all had a safe and joyful Thanksgiving with your families, and that you remembered that the entire reason for the holiday is to give thanks to God for all our blessings. I hope you remembered that because President Biden didn’t.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/biden-officially-attempts-to-remove-god-from-thanksgiving-with-2023-proclamation/ar-AA1knMGj

This is his message. Try finding any reference to God in it. It’s like trying to find Waldo, except Waldo is actually in the picture somewhere.

https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/presidential-actions/2023/11/22/a-proclamation-on-thanksgiving-day-2023/

That MSN article notes that Biden is the first President in history to make a Thanksgiving proclamation that didn’t mention God or faith. But to be fair, Obama came close in 2016. He did mention the Pilgrims coming to America to practice their faith, but God didn’t get a mention. In his telling, you’d assume the Pilgrims thanked the Native Americans for saving them, and that Thanksgiving is a holiday to celebrate diversity and inclusion. Unless you’re someone who includes God when you’re giving thanks for your blessings.

https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/the-press-office/2016/11/23/presidential-proclamation-thanksgiving-day-2016


Bringing divisiveness to the table

At least Biden’s Thanksgiving message didn’t veer off into his favorite subject, which is demonizing Trump and half the nation as threats to democracy for not supporting his failed policies. But don’t worry: his campaign brought the divisiveness to the table, tweeting out a series of laughably inaccurate talking points that they suggested you use to ruin your family’s Thanksgiving by trying to convince your “crazy MAGA” relatives how wrong they are about things they see with their own eyes and feel with their wallets every day.

https://redstate.com/nick-arama/2023/11/24/kamala-harris-posts-her-thanksgiving-pic-and-it-has-everyone-talking-n2166757

I could spend the rest of this newsletter shooting down those bogus claims like skeet, but if you’re a regular reader, you can spot those well-worn lies on sight. Besides, it’s more fun to read what Bonchie had to say about them at Redstate.com.

Meanwhile, if you have a relative with Trump Derangement Syndrome and you'd like to repay them for ruining Thanksgiving with their political diatribes, then you can remind them of their biggest strategic misfire this year with a gift wrapped in Trump Mugshot wrapping paper. That mugshot they all dreamed of getting has become a rallying image for his supporters and a fundraising goldmine. His campaign is now selling gift wrap with a pattern of the mugshot with a Santa hat on Trump’s head.

https://www.bizpacreview.com/2023/11/27/trump-campaign-offering-new-mugshot-themed-christmas-wrapping-paper-1415410/

If you really want to ruin your liberal relative’s Christmas, send them a MAGA cap wrapped in Trump mugshot wallpaper with a card letting them know you got the paper for free by donating $47 to his campaign to become the 47th President.


Happy Thanksgiving from Kamala Harris, the “Gas Stoves For Me, But Not For Thee” Vice President!

https://redstate.com/nick-arama/2023/11/24/kamala-harris-posts-her-thanksgiving-pic-and-it-has-everyone-talking-n2166757

 


Message to Congress: Balance the Budget

I hope you and your family are recovering from the caloric overload you experienced on Thanksgiving Day.  Now you have piles of leftovers and lots of uneaten turkey but be creative!

Turkey gumbo is one of our favorites, and my Louisiana-born wife did get the know-how from her mother.  And turkey salad is great as is turkey chili, turkey tacos, or grilled turkey and cheese sandwiches.  It’s a simple matter of taking what you have and making something good from it.

I believe we ought to run the government somewhat like what we do in dealing with Thanksgiving Day leftovers.  Instead of whining about the government we wish we had, use the one we have but be creative in making it work. 

Instead of continuing to borrow ridiculous sums of money and boosting the national debt higher than the Sears Tower, take the money we actually have collected and limit our budget and spending to that amount.  It’s what American families do every month.  It’s what small business owners do to stay in business.  And it’s what 49 of the 50 governors do with their state budgets that law requires them to balance each year.  It’s not easy, but neither is it impossible.  It’s why I’m on the board of the Balanced Budget Amendment Committee, comprised of several former and current governors and senators, and business leaders who are fed up with debts piling up with no responsible plan whatsoever to pay them back.  I have little to no hope that Congress will ever impose a balance budget amendment upon themselves, but it doesn’t leave the American people powerless to make a change.

There is a provision in our Constitution that allows for the people to propose and pass an amendment to the Constitution.  Doing it to force Congress to do what every individual and business has to do is not too much to ask.  It’s not an easy process and it shouldn’t be, but it’s become a necessary one. 

The Balanced Budget Committee has already cleared over 30 state legislatures and is very close to the number of states required to pass it in order to then get it ratified and voted on by the citizens to make it the law of the land.

This is not a Democrat or a Republican issue.  No citizen regardless of party affiliation should want to see our nation slide into bankruptcy because of reckless spending often done in order to buy votes by a showy and extravagant spending bill.  Spending money we don’t have and borrowing money we can’t afford to pay back hurts every American, but especially younger Americans who are the recipients of the burdensome debt long after there will be any benefit to their generation.

I hope you’ll be vocal in supporting the Balanced Budget Amendment and equally vocal to your Congressmen and Senators in asking them to support a federal mandate to balance the budget just like it currently exists in 49 of the 50 states.  As a Governor, I would have been breaking the law if I led the state in spending money beyond the budget and the revenues we had.  It was sometimes unpopular to have to make cuts to budget items when the economy was in a recession, but the law forced us to be responsible and not obligate future generations for spending money for which there would be no benefit to those future generations.

In the meantime, I would propose that Congress pass a law that withholds Congressional paychecks until Congress passes a budget and certifies it’s a budget balanced to actual revenues.  It’s the way the real world works.  And it’s time Congress is forced to live and work in the REAL world like the rest of us!


Another electoral win

Public opposition to the left’s economic destruction, hostility to individual rights, and wide-open borders has been growing for some time. Now, the worldwide explosion of violent, pro-Hamas protests in such once-unlikely places as Ireland seems to have awakened voters to the dangers they’ve allowed into their homes, and we may be seeing a worldwide blowback of epic proportions, accompanied by ever more hysterical reactions from the left.

Last week, it happened in Argentina. Now, leftists are foaming at the mouth over last week’s election in The Netherlands, where the typical Euro-greenie leftist they expected to win was crushed by longtime foe of unfettered Islamic immigration, Geert Wilders, and his Party For Freedom. We’re hearing from the left that the public’s rejection of their insane and suicidal policies in favor of a political outsider who promises to secure the borders and enforce the laws means that “democracy, human rights, and the rule of law are under siege!” Gee, where have I heard something like this before?...

https://www.breitbart.com/europe/2023/11/23/dark-dawn-a-threat-to-society-our-9-11-left-mourns-as-populist-veteran-geert-wilders-wins-landslide-election/

For those wanting some background, Mark Steyn has plenty, including a column he wrote in 2010 about how Wilders was getting death threats (he’s also under 24-hour police protection due to a fatwa being placed on him for opposing Islamic immigration) while the Dutch government was trying to imprison him with a kangaroo trial for “incitement” for opposing their leftist policies. Again, where have I heard something like this before?

https://www.steynonline.com/13943/is-there-non-far-right

And despite all that demonization and political prosecution, Wilders just won a landslide election. I hope I hear something like that again…


Pelosi and Kerry: Beware the second-generation propagandists on the left

Did you know that Nancy Pelosi has a daughter who produced a documentary on January 6 while her mother’s “select” committee was presenting one carefully-edited side of that event?

And did you know that environmentalist jet-setter and major CO2-emitter John Kerry has a daughter who rivals him at presenting outrageously misleading statistics as an excuse to meddle in every aspect of life?

Before the release of Alexandra Pelosi’s documentary, THE INSURRECTIONIST NEXT DOOR, on HBO October 15, she appeared on (where else?) THE VIEW to promote it among her like-minded friends.  Here is that segment, though I warn the weak-of-stomach who choose to watch it that you might want to take something ahead of time to ward off nausea.

https://youtu.be/Ln4wruy-6NE?si=Rbic3yGuoIna_vu3

Pelosi II equates Trump supporters with religious cult members. Trump has the “cult of personality,” she says, and they have “this religious attachment --- that’s still not broken --- to HIM, personally.”  When Joy Behar asks her why it’s religious, Pelosi II refers to a crass remark Trump was recorded saying years ago and says, baffled, “But he’s still their savior, that’s what I mean!”  Their lack of repentance in court is, to her, evidence of this religious fervor.  (Never mind that they honestly don’t think they did wrong and have policy-related reasons to think he was a great President.)

Since Pelosi II brought it up, we have to ask if she’s ever wondered what it meant when Oprah and others of similar inclination called Barack Obama “The One” and “The Light Bringer.”  Sounds pretty worshipful.  And I’d hesitate to characterize the many Christian Trump-supporters as believing in Trump as Savior.  As I’ve explained repeatedly, I can support Trump on policy alone precisely because, unlike Democrats, I DON’T look to any politician to be my Savior. Moving on…

Pelosi II insists that a small core group was serious about getting the “normies” to “burn the city to ash today” because that was in a tweet.  (Never mind that crowds of leftists have for the past few years actually been burning cities, not just gotten excited and tweeted about it.)  The core Trumpies were getting them “all fired up,” she said.  (Never mind the allegations and emerging evidence that the FBI was playing a role as well in getting them fired up, not to mention the proof that Pelosi II’s own mom refused Trump’s offer of National Guard troops.)

“We need to agree to a set of FACTS,” she concluded, “and when Republicans say, ‘Oh, they were all just tourists,’ no.  This is one of the darkest days in American democracy.  They weren’t tourists, because I saw --- one of the people in my film --- people were accused of literally pooping in the United States Capitol.  Okay?  That actually happened; I saw it with my own two eyes.”     

Now, if we’re all going to agree on a set of facts, Pelosi II needs to speak more precisely.  Did she mean she saw a protester accuse someone else of defecating in the Capitol, or that she personally saw it happening?  If she saw it happening, would she be able to identify that person?   If someone did it, what does that have to do with the “tourists” who wanted to take selfies in the Capitol?  Was the person who allegedly did it an actual Trump supporter (as Pelosi II is assuming) or an Antifa plant?  Or perhaps it was some other plant?  How are we going to agree on the facts when they are this sketchy?

And by the way, is Pelosi II seriously going on record to say that public defecation is wrong, when her mom represents San Francisco?  (Somebody has to ask these things.)

Anyway, since we’re quite devoted to facts ourselves, we looked into the story about the, um, soiling of the Capitol building and traced the allegations to Chuck Schumer’s office.  A “Schumer insider” told it to the NEW YORK POST, who duly reported it on January 8, 2021.  They also said Hakeem Jeffries had asserted there was “urine...clear desecration.”  But consider the sources, known for distributing plenty of figurative poop themselves.

And ask: With all the security cameras inside the Capitol --- approximately 44,000 hours of video --- would there not have been be any video evidence?  Was anyone charged with such vile vandalism?  (If they did this, they certainly should have been!)  No one can prove it didn’t happen, as that is not possible, but why did this story essentially go away for years until Pelosi II brought it up again, unchallenged, last month on THE VIEW?

https://nypost.com/2021/01/08/rioters-left-feces-urine-in-hallways-and-offices-during-mobbing-of-us-capitol/

Speaking of facts, it’s the GOP-led committees that are trying to get all the facts, after Nancy Pelosi’s “select” committee selected the ones they wanted and sliced-and-diced them for public consumption.  It’s taken this long to get all the security camera video released.  How can we ever agree about what happened unless absolutely none of it is withheld?  Thanks, Republicans!

If Pelosi II truly thinks of January 6 as “one of the darkest days in American democracy,” as she said on THE VIEW, she certainly was being disingenuous with those to whom she spoke while courting them to get some good stuff for her movie.  In some surreptitiously-recorded video, she’s seen animatedly telling one January 6 defendant, “After the Democrats lose the House [in 2022], and then they get rid of the committee, people may lose interest.”

“The first trials are going to get a lot of attention”… “It’s like [an] anniversary, the first one is no big deal”… “No one’s gonna care after the Democrats are out of power… “And then take Biden out of office --- then who cares?”… “I know you’re not the bad guys…” “If it was an insurrection, you were supposed to have a plan…” “You’re going to be able to laugh about this one day.”

Yes, she actually said this to a January 6 defendant.

https://twitter.com/CarlosSimancas/status/1728395876777807993?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctw

Sounds like she doesn’t really believe January 6 was “worse than Pearl Harbor and 9/11 put together,” or even that it was an actual insurrection. Like her mom (I suspect), she just plays someone who believes that on TV.

….

Now let’s talk about our other second-generation propagandist, John Kerry’s daughter Vanessa, or, as we’ll call her, Kerry II:

“We’ve learned, with great, great understanding in the most recent years, that the climate crisis is a health crisis,” says Kerry II.  “And already, we see 7 million a year dying from air pollution, for example.  That’s more than we saw in the entire COVID pandemic over three years, and that’s one person every five seconds, so that by the time I complete my next sentence, someone else will have died.  And we see this in every aspect of health, the way climate change is impacting our lived experience.  So there’s a very real opportunity for us to have a health-centered approach to climate change and to be able to ensure that we’re protecting how we live, how we breathe, how we walk, and what we can do in our lives…”

Yes, “climate” activists would like nothing more than to link climate change to a health emergency, because that would give them the ticket to CONTROL what we can do in our lives.  But let’s have a show of hands: does anyone see a problem with the statistics cited by Kerry II?

That’s right, class!  With all the variables involved, there is absolutely no way realistically to determine that 7 million people died from air pollution, let alone that their deaths had anything to do with “climate change.”  This is a spurious argument.  Kerry II makes vague reference to the number of deaths from COVID over three years, another statistic that’s impossible to state with accuracy but that is, according to her, apparently smaller than the number dying from air pollution.  But is lung damage from air pollution a risk factor for COVID?   If so, are people dying from air pollution or COVID?  A combination of both?  Would COVID have killed them anyway?  Or are increased deaths (if there are indeed increased deaths) caused by something else?  All we have are alleged correlations.

You see the problem.  Kerry II seems to know about as much about how “the science” works as her father does, which is to say not much.  But she sure knows how to make emotional appeals.  On the bright side, if she and dad can share private-jet rides to their various conferences, they’ll put out half as much air pollution as they would have otherwise.

https://rumble.com/v3y04le-climate-change-will-be-the-w.h.o.s-skeleton-key-for-total-control.html

A discussion of our third second-generation threat will have to wait for another time. That’s Alex Soros.


12) A Gift Guide from Dave Barry

Now that Cyber Monday is here and Christmas shopping season has officially begun (I may be a relic of a bygone age, but I still don’t believe in starting Christmas festivities until after Thanksgiving), here’s that annual Christmas tradition: humorist Dave Barry’s gift guide for 2023:

https://www.miamiherald.com/living/liv-columns-blogs/dave-barry/gift-guide/article281011198.html

And to get you into a Christmas mood for real, here’s our writer Laura Ainsworth in her other job as an award-winning retro jazz singer, performing the original lyric of “Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas.” Give it a listen, a like and a share, I know you’ll love it. You can also find it on all your favorite streaming and download services, to add to your holiday music lists.

https://youtu.be/lFTz3QG7EBs?si=qk25VeldXV8sp48i


 I JUST WANTED TO SAY: 

Thank you for reading my newsletter. 

For more news, visit my website.


I hope you and your family are recovering from the caloric overload you experienced on Thanksgiving Day.  Now you have piles of leftovers and lots of uneaten turkey but be creative!

Turkey gumbo is one of our favorites, and my Louisiana-born wife did get the know-how from her mother.  And turkey salad is great as is turkey chili, turkey tacos, or grilled turkey and cheese sandwiches.  It’s a simple matter of taking what you have and making something good from it.

I believe we ought to run the government somewhat like what we do in dealing with Thanksgiving Day leftovers.  Instead of whining about the government we wish we had, use the one we have but be creative in making it work. 

Instead of continuing to borrow ridiculous sums of money and boosting the national debt higher than the Sears Tower, take the money we actually have collected and limit our budget and spending to that amount.  It’s what American families do every month.  It’s what small business owners do to stay in business.  And it’s what 49 of the 50 governors do with their state budgets that law requires them to balance each year.  It’s not easy, but neither is it impossible.  It’s why I’m on the board of the Balanced Budget Amendment Committee, comprised of several former and current governors and senators, and business leaders who are fed up with debts piling up with no responsible plan whatsoever to pay them back.  I have little to no hope that Congress will ever impose a balance budget amendment upon themselves, but it doesn’t leave the American people powerless to make a change.

There is a provision in our Constitution that allows for the people to propose and pass an amendment to the Constitution.  Doing it to force Congress to do what every individual and business has to do is not too much to ask.  It’s not an easy process and it shouldn’t be, but it’s become a necessary one. 

The Balanced Budget Committee has already cleared over 30 state legislatures and is very close to the number of states required to pass it in order to then get it ratified and voted on by the citizens to make it the law of the land.

This is not a Democrat or a Republican issue.  No citizen regardless of party affiliation should want to see our nation slide into bankruptcy because of reckless spending often done in order to buy votes by a showy and extravagant spending bill.  Spending money we don’t have and borrowing money we can’t afford to pay back hurts every American, but especially younger Americans who are the recipients of the burdensome debt long after there will be any benefit to their generation.

I hope you’ll be vocal in supporting the Balanced Budget Amendment and equally vocal to your Congressmen and Senators in asking them to support a federal mandate to balance the budget just like it currently exists in 49 of the 50 states.  As a Governor, I would have been breaking the law if I led the state in spending money beyond the budget and the revenues we had.  It was sometimes unpopular to have to make cuts to budget items when the economy was in a recession, but the law forced us to be responsible and not obligate future generations for spending money for which there would be no benefit to those future generations.

In the meantime, I would propose that Congress pass a law that withholds Congressional paychecks until Congress passes a budget and certifies it’s a budget balanced to actual revenues.  It’s the way the real world works.  And it’s time Congress is forced to live and work in the REAL world like the rest of us!

 

Did you know that Nancy Pelosi has a daughter who produced a documentary on January 6 while her mother’s “select” committee was presenting one carefully-edited side of that event?

And did you know that environmentalist jet-setter and major CO2-emitter John Kerry has a daughter who rivals him at presenting outrageously misleading statistics as an excuse to meddle in every aspect of life?

Before the release of Alexandra Pelosi’s documentary, THE INSURRECTIONIST NEXT DOOR, on HBO October 15, she appeared on (where else?) THE VIEW to promote it among her like-minded friends.  Here is that segment, though I warn the weak-of-stomach who choose to watch it that you might want to take something ahead of time to ward off nausea.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ln4wruy-6NE&t=313s

Pelosi II equates Trump supporters with religious cult members. Trump has the “cult of personality,” she says, and they have “this religious attachment --- that’s still not broken --- to HIM, personally.”  When Joy Behar asks her why it’s religious, Pelosi II refers to a crass remark Trump was recorded saying years ago and says, baffled, “But he’s still their savior, that’s what I mean!”  Their lack of repentance in court is, to her, evidence of this religious fervor.  (Never mind that they honestly don’t think they did wrong and have policy-related reasons to think he was a great President.)

Since Pelosi II brought it up, we have to ask if she’s ever wondered what it meant when Oprah and others of similar inclination called Barack Obama “The One” and “The Light Bringer.”  Sounds pretty worshipful.  And I’d hesitate to characterize the many Christian Trump-supporters as believing in Trump as Savior.  As I’ve explained repeatedly, I can support Trump on policy alone precisely because, unlike Democrats, I DON’T look to any politician to be my Savior. Moving on…

Pelosi II insists that a small core group was serious about getting the “normies” to “burn the city to ash today” because that was in a tweet.  (Never mind that crowds of leftists have for the past few years actually been burning cities, not just gotten excited and tweeted about it.)  The core Trumpies were getting them “all fired up,” she said.  (Never mind the allegations and emerging evidence that the FBI was playing a role as well in getting them fired up, not to mention the proof that Pelosi II’s own mom refused Trump’s offer of National Guard troops.)

“We need to agree to a set of FACTS,” she concluded, “and when Republicans say, ‘Oh, they were all just tourists,’ no.  This is one of the darkest days in American democracy.  They weren’t tourists, because I saw --- one of the people in my film --- people were accused of literally pooping in the United States Capitol.  Okay?  That actually happened; I saw it with my own two eyes.”     

Now, if we’re all going to agree on a set of facts, Pelosi II needs to speak more precisely.  Did she mean she saw a protester accuse someone else of defecating in the Capitol, or that she personally saw it happening?  If she saw it happening, would she be able to identify that person?   If someone did it, what does that have to do with the “tourists” who wanted to take selfies in the Capitol?  Was the person who allegedly did it an actual Trump supporter (as Pelosi II is assuming) or an Antifa plant?  Or perhaps it was some other plant?  How are we going to agree on the facts when they are this sketchy?

And by the way, is Pelosi II seriously going on record to say that public defecation is wrong, when her mom represents San Francisco?  (Somebody has to ask these things.)

Anyway, since we’re quite devoted to facts ourselves, we looked into the story about the, um, soiling of the Capitol building and traced the allegations to Chuck Schumer’s office.  A “Schumer insider” told it to the NEW YORK POST, who duly reported it on January 8, 2021.  They also said Hakeem Jeffries had asserted there was “urine...clear desecration.”  But consider the sources, known for distributing plenty of figurative poop themselves.

And ask: With all the security cameras inside the Capitol --- approximately 44,000 hours of video --- would there not have been be any video evidence?  Was anyone charged with such vile vandalism?  (If they did this, they certainly should have been!)  No one can prove it didn’t happen, as that is not possible, but why did this story essentially go away for years until Pelosi II brought it up again, unchallenged, last month on THE VIEW?

https://nypost.com/2021/01/08/rioters-left-feces-urine-in-hallways-and-offices-during-mobbing-of-us-capitol/

Speaking of facts, it’s the GOP-led committees that are trying to get all the facts, after Nancy Pelosi’s “select” committee selected the ones they wanted and sliced-and-diced them for public consumption.  It’s taken this long to get all the security camera video released.  How can we ever agree about what happened unless absolutely none of it is withheld?  Thanks, Republicans!

If Pelosi II truly thinks of January 6 as “one of the darkest days in American democracy,” as she said on THE VIEW, she certainly was being disingenuous with those to whom she spoke while courting them to get some good stuff for her movie.  In some surreptitiously-recorded video, she’s seen animatedly telling one January 6 defendant, “After the Democrats lose the House [in 2022], and then they get rid of the committee, people may lose interest.”

“The first trials are going to get a lot of attention”… “It’s like [an] anniversary, the first one is no big deal”… “No one’s gonna care after the Democrats are out of power… “And then take Biden out of office --- then who cares?”… “I know you’re not the bad guys…” “If it was an insurrection, you were supposed to have a plan…” “You’re going to be able to laugh about this one day.”

Yes, she actually said this to a January 6 defendant.

https://twitter.com/CarlosSimancas/status/1728395876777807993?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctw

Sounds like she doesn’t really believe January 6 was “worse than Pearl Harbor and 9/11 put together,” or even that it was an actual insurrection. Like her mom (I suspect), she just plays someone who believes that on TV.

 

….

 

Now let’s talk about our other second-generation propagandist, John Kerry’s daughter Vanessa, or, as we’ll call her, Kerry II:

“We’ve learned, with great, great understanding in the most recent years, that the climate crisis is a health crisis,” says Kerry II.  “And already, we see 7 million a year dying from air pollution, for example.  That’s more than we saw in the entire COVID pandemic over three years, and that’s one person every five seconds, so that by the time I complete my next sentence, someone else will have died.  And we see this in every aspect of health, the way climate change is impacting our lived experience.  So there’s a very real opportunity for us to have a health-centered approach to climate change and to be able to ensure that we’re protecting how we live, how we breathe, how we walk, and what we can do in our lives…”

Yes, “climate” activists would like nothing more than to link climate change to a health emergency, because that would give them the ticket to CONTROL what we can do in our lives.  But let’s have a show of hands: does anyone see a problem with the statistics cited by Kerry II?

That’s right, class!  With all the variables involved, there is absolutely no way realistically to determine that 7 million people died from air pollution, let alone that their deaths had anything to do with “climate change.”  This is a spurious argument.  Kerry II makes vague reference to the number of deaths from COVID over three years, another statistic that’s impossible to state with accuracy but that is, according to her, apparently smaller than the number dying from air pollution.  But is lung damage from air pollution a risk factor for COVID?   If so, are people dying from air pollution or COVID?  A combination of both?  Would COVID have killed them anyway?  Or are increased deaths (if there are indeed increased deaths) caused by something else?  All we have are alleged correlations.

You see the problem.  Kerry II seems to know about as much about how “the science” works as her father does, which is to say not much.  But she sure knows how to make emotional appeals.  On the bright side, if she and dad can share private-jet rides to their various conferences, they’ll put out half as much air pollution as they would have otherwise.

https://rumble.com/v3y04le-climate-change-will-be-the-w.h.o.s-skeleton-key-for-total-control.html

A discussion of our third second-generation threat will have to wait for another time. That’s Alex Soros.

 


BY MIKE HUCKABEE

Blessings on you and your family from all the Huckabee team! Here are news stories from the past week, you won't want to miss.

Mike Huckabee


DAILY BIBLE VERSE

And when ye stand praying, forgive, if ye have ought against any: that your Father also which is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses.

Mark 11:25


Chugging along, but we still have miles to go

Let me be clear: Government and Big Tech are working together to censor conservative views, and because they are I moved my newsletter to Substack.

Because you are a free subscriber to my newsletter, I would like you to consider subscribing to the paid version on Substack.

A Substack subscription-based newsletter allows my team and I to focus on what matters: the writing and the research we do to back up the writing, instead of worrying about censorship, or what Google is saying about me, how they are handling advertising on our website or whether or not my work shows up when you search for it.

To keep the newsletter going, we have setup a monthly goal of identifying 336 new paying subscribers for the month of NOVEMBER.

If you can afford to do so, please subscribe here:

Subscribe to The Morning Edition (substack.com)

To become a paid subscriber of my politics newsletter it is $5 monthly or $36 annually. I email daily and my politics newsletters usually take 10-15 minutes to read. I cover the news of the day and the liberal media. I write about the upcoming elections and dive deep on the Biden scandals. I will also share my opinion of the Trump indictment. I don’t think you will regret reading my newsletter regularly as a paid subscriber, so please consider subscribing today.

With gratitude,

Mike Huckabee


Programming Note:

We’ll be mostly taking a break from the news for the next few days so that my staff and I can enjoy Thanksgiving with our families. But keep watching your mailbox: we’ve prepared some material in advance for you, so you’ll still get the daily newsletter. And if anything truly major happens, we’ll come back and report/comment on it. BTW, consider yourself warned in advance that the Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade organizers apparently looked at Bud Light and said, “Hold muh appletini!”

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/thousands-sign-petition-against-macys-non-binary-trans-extravaganza-planned-for-thanksgiving-day-parade/ar-AA1jVoYi


Remember When

I’m so old, I remember when liberals used to condemn what they called “eliminationist rhetoric,” and not actually call for their political opponents to be “eliminated” in a public forum.

https://townhall.com/tipsheet/leahbarkoukis/2023/11/21/dan-goldman-trump-must-be-eliminated-n2631479

By the way, if Trump can be prosecuted because someone who allegedly listened to him rioted at the Capitol, why wasn’t Sen. Bernie Sanders charged with conspiracy to commit murder because someone who followed him was inspired to try to kill Rep. Steve Scalise and other Republican House members so that Democrats would get a majority? That seemed like a pretty serious assault on “our democracy” to me.

(Note for the deliberately obtuse: I’m not seriously calling for Bernie Sanders to be indicted for making speeches. I’m just pointing out how ludicrous it is that Trump was indicted for making a speech. Are we clear? Good.)


Not making this up

Apparently, opening up the border to Mexican drug gangsters and terrorists wasn’t a big enough danger to rural communities, so the Biden Administration would like to release grizzly bears on them, too. No, I’m not making this up.

https://www.foxnews.com/politics/biden-admin-plan-release-predator-near-rural-communities-faces-widespread-opposition


Lee Greenwood’s final tour

Lee Greenwood is one of my favorite musical guests on the “Huckabee” TV show, so I’m sad to see that he plans to make his 2024 tour his final tour, even though I respect his reasons for retiring. See him while you can, I know you’ll enjoy it.

https://www.westernjournal.com/lee-greenwood-makes-big-decision-career-dont-think-can-much-longer/

Note from our pop culture guru Pat Reeder: 

This story mentions that Lee’s Grammy Award wasn’t for “God Bless the USA,” which has become almost a second National Anthem. It was nominated for Best Country Song of 1984 and Lee for Best Male Vocalist, but lost in both categories. To save you having to look it up, the winners were “City of New Orleans” and Merle Haggard for “That’s the Way Love Goes.” I’ll bet that makes you miss the country music of the ‘80s. “City of New Orleans” was written by Steve Goodman, who recorded it in 1971, and Arlo Guthrie had a hit with it in 1972, then Willie Nelson covered it in 1984. As to how it qualifies for “Best Country Song of 1984,” I have no idea.



A Threat to Vote Republican

A group of black Chicago residents held a rally outside of Alderman Desmon Yancy to protest the city spending $150 million on taking care of illegal aliens and ignoring the needs of citizens. For instance, homeless Chicagoans are sleeping on the streets while illegals get free hotel rooms.

One protester read this statement: “We’re here to say to black aldermen who were elected by the black citizens of Chicago that we are fed up with your not hearing our stress and our demands but rather do what you want to do to please the Democratic Party.” And in an almost-unheard of, and I’m sure terrifying to Democrats, turn, they even threatened to vote Republican!

https://www.westernjournal.com/fed-black-residents-rally-end-millions-spent-illegals-major-sanctuary-city-threaten-vote-republican/

I wouldn’t get my hopes up, considering the last Republican mayor of Chicago left office in 1931. But at some point, maybe it will get so bad that blue city voters will "stop the insanity" and quit doing the same thing over and over while expecting a different result. New Yorkers had to hit rock bottom before they finally elected Rudy Giuliani to save them. He did, they forgot how bad things could get, they voted the Democrats back in, and now they’re at rock bottom again. But miracles can happen. At least, one happened in New York, once…


Suing

Former US military members who lost their pay and benefits due to the Biden Administration’s COVID vaccine mandates are suing the US government. It’s currently three lawsuits that they plan to turn into a class action suit, they plan to sue for damages in the billions.

https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2023/11/20/former-troops-punished-over-bidens-vaccine-mandate-sue-for-billions-in-lost-wages/

Their attorney says that while over 8,000 active duty troops were kicked out of the service, the number of troops and reservists who were negatively affected could be as high as 100,000. If you are among them, read the story and see if you might want to join a class action suit over that outrageous injustice against America’s heroes.


Trump's gag order

Politico reports that a panel of judges from the DC Court of Appeals heard arguments on former President Trump’s request to significantly narrow the gag order put on him in the criminal trial by special counsel Javert -- oops, sorry, Jack Smith – for challenging the 2020 election and allegedly inciting that “worse than 9/11 and Pearl Harbor combined insurrection” on January 6th. They haven’t ruled yet, but in a hopeful sign for Trump, the judges appeared extremely dubious about severely curtailing the free speech of a leading presidential candidate during an election campaign.

https://www.westernjournal.com/federal-appeals-court-appears-indicate-will-take-ax-trump-gag-order/

One judge asked incredulously, “He has to speak ‘Miss Manners’ while everyone else is throwing targets at him?” She added, “It would be really hard in a debate, when everyone else is going at you full bore. Your attorneys would have to have scripted little things you can say.”

Precisely! And considering that judge is an Obama appointee (!), it’s becoming obvious just how far out over his skis Smith is with his creatively unconstitutional legal warfare.


Let's hope 2024 ends this sort of insanity

At Ramapo College of New Jersey, yet another male claiming to “identify” as female switched from the men’s to the women’s swim team and miraculously won first place and set a new record in the 100-yard butterfly. See if you can guess which one “she” is from the team photo. Hint: look for the one who towers over the others.

https://www.breitbart.com/sports/2023/11/20/transgender-swimmer-at-new-jersey-college-breaks-records-after-switching-to-womens-team/

As usual, the school responded to criticism by ladling out a dollop of pablum about how the school “supports all our student athletes.” Which is a load of manure because if they supported the female athletes, they wouldn’t let male athletes take over their sports and steal their trophies, records and scholarships.

This will only go on as long as the female athletes keep going along with it. Let’s hope that 2024 will bring an end to this insane denial of biological reality, as female athletes finally stand up for themselves and their sports and “Just Say No” to men cheating them out of their rights.

 


“Huckabee” Preview

I hope you’re having a safe, fun-filled, blessed and not too fattening Thanksgiving break, and you can extend the fun tonight by joining me for a brand new episode of “Huckabee” on TBN. I’ll talk about the latest news with Sen. Rand Paul and Morton Klein, president of the Zionist Organization of America. You’ll be amazed and inspired by Alex Nsengimana, who survived the Rwandan genocide and is now bringing hope and faith to other orphans through Samaritan’s Purse’s Operation Christmas Child shoebox gift program (now is a perfect time to help: https://www.samaritanspurse.org/operation-christmas-child/buildonline/) I’ll also welcome one of our favorite comedians, Mickey Bell. And to help us kick off the Christmas season in style, Barry and Dari Anne Amato are back with another festive number from their hit holiday stage show, “We Need A LOT of Christmas!”

So make a turkey sandwich and join us in front of the TV tonight at 9 EST/8 CST on TBN. To find out how to watch TBN, from local cable and broadcast channels to streaming, visit https://www.huckabee.tv and click on “Channel Finder” on the top menu. You can stream previous episodes, highlights and online-only “Digital Exclusives,” including extended interviews, “In Case You Missed It” and “Facts of the Matter” segments, plus extra performances by our great musical and comedy guests and links to all their sites, at https://www.huckabee.tv. You can also find past shows, highlights and digital exclusives on YouTube and my Facebook page.


A “Warm War”

This past Friday, President Biden outrageously invoked a Cold War era law (he’s waging war on the climate now, so apparently this is a “Warm War”) to dump taxpayer money into the domestic manufacture of electric heat pumps to replace gas heaters. To be fair, I’ve heard that those can actually work very well. That is, until we’re having a blizzard and the power grid powered by solar panels and windmills shuts down.

https://www.foxnews.com/politics/biden-invokes-wartime-powers-fund-electric-heaters-cracks-down-gas-appliances


Wrong again, Gavin

California Gov. Gavin Newsom seems incapable of making his state livable, so he’s been spending a lot of time slamming states to which his former residents are moving. In his latest self-own, he took to Twitter (X) to claim that Murfreesboro, Tennessee, had “banned being gay in public.”

https://www.westernjournal.com/gavin-newsom-slapped-community-note-pushing-false-gay-ban-narrative/

Actually, the city council already unanimously repealed a 70-year-old ordinance banning homosexuality. The new ordinance bans "indecent exposure, public indecency, lewd behavior, nudity or sexual conduct." But thanks, Gavin, for telling us all how you define what it means to be gay in public. I think he might be spending too much time in San Francisco.


Welcome to LA

Welcome to late-stage Los Angeles, where criminals are repeatedly released to prey on the public, but where a law-abiding citizen has his concealed carry permit revoked because he used his firearm to defend his home and family from would-be robbers. I guess liberals really do believe the Second Amendment only exists to protect duck hunting.

https://www.foxnews.com/us/armed-homeowner-who-defended-family-in-driveway-shoot-out-says-hes-been-stripped-of-gun-permit


Britney Spears

I wouldn’t normally be writing about a topic like a memoir by pop star Britney Spears, but her new book contains a news-making revelation that not only shocked fans, it should also be shared with all young women who are lied to by the abortion lobby in so many ways.

Maybe if they read Britney’s own tragic story of what she went through when she was pressured into an unwanted abortion – both the never-ending feeling of loss and guilt from aborting her baby and the horrific physical pain and terror caused by the abortion pill (something abortion proponents don’t like to warn women about) – they’ll listen with a more open mind than when the message comes from politicians or activists.

https://www.nationalreview.com/2023/11/britney-spears-gives-courageous-voice-to-the-pain-of-coerced-abortion/

 


 I JUST WANTED TO SAY: 

Thank you for reading my newsletter. 

For more news, visit my website.


Do You Remember?

November 26, 2023

Remember how even questioning an election became an act of insurrection, and we were all supposed to believe that voter fraud was a “big lie”? Here’s how that’s working out…

https://www.battleswarmblog.com/?p=56485

https://rumble.com/v3x3t2g-fulton-county-georgia-reveals-3600-ballots-were-duplicated-president-trump-.html

https://thepostmillennial.com/mike-lindell-celebrates-judges-historical-ruling-against-georgias-electronic-voting-machines

Note that the judge in that last story who ruled that Georgia’s voting machines could have compromised integrity and not be counting votes accurately pointed out that the evidence "does not suggest that the Plaintiffs are conspiracy theorists of any variety," and that, ‘Indeed, some of the nation's leading cybersecurity experts and computer scientists have provided testimony and affidavits on behalf of Plaintiffs' case in the long course of this litigation." Also note that she’s an Obama appointee.

Remember how “green energy” was going to be the future, and we were going to ban fossil fuels and run a 21st century economy on windmills and sunbeams? Well, the makers of those technologies are losing their shirts and trying desperately to get out of their contracts. Here’s the latest…

https://www.foxnews.com/opinion/slow-demise-green-energy

Perhaps the people most panicked at having been deceived are the auto industry CEOs who actually thought that Joe Biden – a man best known for having been wrong on every foreign policy issue of the past half century – had suddenly developed, at age 78, the ability to predict the future of automotive technology. So they spent billions of dollars building electric cars, only to discover that they’re selling like arsenic sundaes. Turns out car buyers aren’t as easily fooled as car makers.

One after another, CEOs of top automakers are frantically slashing plans to build more EVs and scurrying back to internal combustion engines and hybrids, as EVs pile up on car lots and cost the makers as much as $60,000 for every one sold, while the former CEO of Toyota chuckles, “I told you so.” Meanwhile, with makers slashing prices, experts are warning of a likely crash in EV resale values. I wouldn’t be surprised if by this time next year, they were giving them away with every box of Crackjacks.

I find it hilarious that this is being reported as a surprise “sudden shift” in the EV market. It’s not a shift. I’ve been saying for years that the market for EVs is trendy green liberals who don’t drive very much and like to virtue signal to their neighbors and people with a lot of disposable income who have to buy every new tech gadget. Sales are falling because that IS the EV market, and they’ve all bought EVs already. Even a lot of them are starting to get rid of them, often at a steep loss over what they paid only a year or two ago.

Nobody who needs reliable transportation that can haul and tow heavy loads and travel long distances without hunting for working chargers and waiting hours for a recharge is going to buy an EV. And the market for large electric trunks is predictably turning out to be mostly nonexistent. An EV is a terrible choice for everything you’d actually need a large truck for.

Here are a few of many YouTube videos about the EV implosion, but this one is from our favorite mechanic Scotty Kilmer, so it’s honest, blunt and hilarious.

https://youtu.be/SwjGoX6yH4A?si=ZbW-Zzev-cF114Xo

And from Australia, here’s fellow hilarious auto expert John Cadogan warning of two hybrids with a hidden defect that can kill you two ways. Worth watching just for the video of the explosion that almost puts the roof of one of them into orbit. 

I remember when Democrats mocked Richard Nixon by asking, “Would you buy a used car from this man?” We should start saying of Joe Biden, “Would you buy an electric car from this man?”

 


BY MIKE HUCKABEE

Blessings on you and your family from all the Huckabee team! 

Mike Huckabee


DAILY BIBLE VERSE

Honour thy father and thy mother: and, Thou shalt love they neighbour as thyself.

Matthew 19:19


Chugging along to our goal, but we still have a long way to go

Let me be clear: Government and Big Tech are working together to censor conservative views, and because they are I moved my newsletter to Substack.

Because you are a free subscriber to my newsletter, I would like you to consider subscribing to the paid version on Substack.

A Substack subscription-based newsletter allows my team and I to focus on what matters: the writing and the research we do to back up the writing, instead of worrying about censorship, or what Google is saying about me, how they are handling advertising on our website or whether or not my work shows up when you search for it.

To keep the newsletter going, we have setup a monthly goal of identifying 382 new paying subscribers for the month of NOVEMBER.

If you can afford to do so, please subscribe here:

Subscribe to The Morning Edition (substack.com)

To become a paid subscriber of my politics newsletter it is $5 monthly or $36 annually. I email daily and my politics newsletters usually take 10-15 minutes to read. I cover the news of the day and the liberal media. I write about the upcoming elections and dive deep on the Biden scandals. I will also share my opinion of the Trump indictment. I don’t think you will regret reading my newsletter regularly as a paid subscriber, so please consider subscribing today.

With gratitude,

Mike Huckabee


Programming Note:

We’ll be mostly taking a break from the news for the next few days so that my staff and I can enjoy Thanksgiving with our families. But keep watching your mailbox: we’ve prepared some material in advance for you, so you’ll still get the daily newsletter. And if anything truly major happens, we’ll come back and report/comment on it. BTW, consider yourself warned in advance that the Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade organizers apparently looked at Bud Light and said, “Hold muh appletini!”

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/thousands-sign-petition-against-macys-non-binary-trans-extravaganza-planned-for-thanksgiving-day-parade/ar-AA1jVoYi


Do you remember?

Remember how even questioning an election became an act of insurrection, and we were all supposed to believe that voter fraud was a “big lie”? Here’s how that’s working out…

https://www.battleswarmblog.com/?p=56485

https://rumble.com/v3x3t2g-fulton-county-georgia-reveals-3600-ballots-were-duplicated-president-trump-.html

https://thepostmillennial.com/mike-lindell-celebrates-judges-historical-ruling-against-georgias-electronic-voting-machines

Note that the judge in that last story who ruled that Georgia’s voting machines could have compromised integrity and not be counting votes accurately pointed out that the evidence "does not suggest that the Plaintiffs are conspiracy theorists of any variety," and that, ‘Indeed, some of the nation's leading cybersecurity experts and computer scientists have provided testimony and affidavits on behalf of Plaintiffs' case in the long course of this litigation." Also note that she’s an Obama appointee.

Remember how “green energy” was going to be the future, and we were going to ban fossil fuels and run a 21st century economy on windmills and sunbeams? Well, the makers of those technologies are losing their shirts and trying desperately to get out of their contracts. Here’s the latest…

https://www.foxnews.com/opinion/slow-demise-green-energy

Perhaps the people most panicked at having been deceived are the auto industry CEOs who actually thought that Joe Biden – a man best known for having been wrong on every foreign policy issue of the past half century – had suddenly developed, at age 78, the ability to predict the future of automotive technology. So they spent billions of dollars building electric cars, only to discover that they’re selling like arsenic sundaes. Turns out car buyers aren’t as easily fooled as car makers.

One after another, CEOs of top automakers are frantically slashing plans to build more EVs and scurrying back to internal combustion engines and hybrids, as EVs pile up on car lots and cost the makers as much as $60,000 for every one sold, while the former CEO of Toyota chuckles, “I told you so.” Meanwhile, with makers slashing prices, experts are warning of a likely crash in EV resale values. I wouldn’t be surprised if by this time next year, they were giving them away with every box of Crackjacks.

I find it hilarious that this is being reported as a surprise “sudden shift” in the EV market. It’s not a shift. I’ve been saying for years that the market for EVs is trendy green liberals who don’t drive very much and like to virtue signal to their neighbors and people with a lot of disposable income who have to buy every new tech gadget. Sales are falling because that IS the EV market, and they’ve all bought EVs already. Even a lot of them are starting to get rid of them, often at a steep loss over what they paid only a year or two ago.

Nobody who needs reliable transportation that can haul and tow heavy loads and travel long distances without hunting for working chargers and waiting hours for a recharge is going to buy an EV. And the market for large electric trunks is predictably turning out to be mostly nonexistent. An EV is a terrible choice for everything you’d actually need a large truck for.

Here are a few of many YouTube videos about the EV implosion, but this one is from our favorite mechanic Scotty Kilmer, so it’s honest, blunt and hilarious.

https://youtu.be/SwjGoX6yH4A?si=ZbW-Zzev-cF114Xo

And from Australia, here’s fellow hilarious auto expert John Cadogan warning of two hybrids with a hidden defect that can kill you two ways. Worth watching just for the video of the explosion that almost puts the roof of one of them into orbit. 

I remember when Democrats mocked Richard Nixon by asking, “Would you buy a used car from this man?” We should start saying of Joe Biden, “Would you buy an electric car from this man?”


Interesting Turn:

The Colorado Democrats who are trying to save democracy by keeping Trump off the 2024 ballot so nobody can vote for him lost their 14th Amendment case, but they’re appealing it to a higher court. That’s hardly news, but the interesting part is that Trump’s attorneys, who won the case, are also appealing it.

https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2023/11/21/trump-plaintiffs-appeal-colorado-fourteenth-amendment-court-ruling-that-favored-trump/

When I reported on this, I criticized the judge because while she ruled correctly on the lack of merits of the case, she said on the record that Trump did incite insurrection, but the Amendment doesn’t apply to Presidents. As I pointed out, Trump hasn’t been accused nor convicted of inciting insurrection, and an impeachment attempt based on that claim failed, so she had no right to make such a statement. Trump’s attorneys want that stricken from the court record, and rightly so. If the judge wants to make unsupported accusations against Trump, she can do it where everyone else does: on MSNBC.


Lawsuit time

Donald Trump’s Truth Social platform has filed a $1.5 billion lawsuit against a number of major media corporations for allegedly repeating a false story that they were losing millions of dollars, which harmed their reputation and undermined a deal for a planned merger.

https://www.theblaze.com/news/truth-social-lawsuit-billion-media

I don’t know anything about this particular story, but I would love to see someone set a precedent that running false and defamatory stories about Donald Trump isn’t an acceptable media business model.

 


Tweet of the Day! From Laura Loomer:

“I’m watching the Pentagon press briefing right now and one of the reporters asked Sabrina Singh, the Pentagon’s Deputy Press Secretary, about how the Pentagon plans on letting members of the Army who left because they didn’t take the COVID vaccine come back after the Army said they could in a recently released letter…and she said “I don’t know. You should ask someone at the Army.” The reporter then shot back and said, “You are the Army.”  These Biden officials at the Pentagon, John Kirby included, are some of the dumbest people I have ever seen in my life. It’s shocking how these people have jobs.”

https://twitter.com/LauraLoomer/status/1727048853004636296

I'm shocked that a lot of them have jobs, too, but I can't talk about it too much or they'll call me an election denier. 


No plans to retire

I mentioned yesterday that the problem with Joe Biden running for reelection isn’t his age, it’s his physical and mental condition. I compared him to Mel Brooks, who just wrote and produced a new Hulu series at 97. To cite another example, here’s a story about Clint Eastwood, 93, who is in Savannah directing his next movie, a legal thriller called “Juror No. 2.”

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-12776431/Clint-Eastwood-Nicholas-Hoult-Toni-Collette-Georgia-Juror-No-2.html

While the media is calling it his “final film,” Clint himself has announced no plans to retire. Maybe he’s just going to stop making movies and run for President.

 


Actual News Story

The Rolling Stones announced that they will be touring to support their new album. The tour is sponsored by AARP.

No, that’s not a Jay Leno joke. It’s an actual news story.

https://pjmedia.com/stephen-kruiser/2023/11/21/start-me-up-please-rolling-stones-tour-to-be-sponsored-by-aarp-n4924119

As that story notes, the organization has started calling itself AARP instead of “The American Association of Retired Persons" because you can join at 50, and people are waiting longer and longer to retire because they can’t afford to in this economy. I wouldn’t be surprised if they had more members who aren’t retired than who are. And since members can get first crack at Stones tickets, that ratio might grow even bigger.


Consequences

Nice to know that even in the world of Hollywood leftist celebrities, there are consequences for making uninformed, anti-Semitic statements.

https://redstate.com/mike_miller/2023/11/21/susan-sarandon-kicked-to-the-curb-by-hollywood-agent-after-disgusting-anti-jewish-rant-n2166645

 


 I JUST WANTED TO SAY: 

Thank you for reading my newsletter. 

For more news, visit my website.



BY MIKE HUCKABEE

Blessings on you and your family from all the Huckabee team! 

Read my newsletter online here: 

Mike Huckabee


DAILY BIBLE VERSE

But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be intreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy.

James 3:17


Chugging along to our goal, but we still have a long way to go

Let me be clear: Government and Big Tech are working together to censor conservative views, and because they are I moved my newsletter to Substack.

Because you are a free subscriber to my newsletter, I would like you to consider subscribing to the paid version on Substack.

A Substack subscription-based newsletter allows my team and I to focus on what matters: the writing and the research we do to back up the writing, instead of worrying about censorship, or what Google is saying about me, how they are handling advertising on our website or whether or not my work shows up when you search for it.

To keep the newsletter going, we have setup a monthly goal of identifying 546 new paying subscribers for the month of NOVEMBER.

If you can afford to do so, please subscribe here:

Subscribe to The Morning Edition (substack.com)

To become a paid subscriber of my politics newsletter it is $5 monthly or $36 annually. I email daily and my politics newsletters usually take 10-15 minutes to read. I cover the news of the day and the liberal media. I write about the upcoming elections and dive deep on the Biden scandals. I will also share my opinion of the Trump indictment. I don’t think you will regret reading my newsletter regularly as a paid subscriber, so please consider subscribing today.

With gratitude,

Mike Huckabee


Programming Note:

We’ll be mostly taking a break from the news for the next few days so that my staff and I can enjoy Thanksgiving with our families. But keep watching your mailbox: we’ve prepared some material in advance for you, so you’ll still get the daily newsletter. And if anything truly major happens, we’ll come back and report/comment on it. BTW, consider yourself warned in advance that the Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade organizers apparently looked at Bud Light and said, “Hold muh appletini!”

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/thousands-sign-petition-against-macys-non-binary-trans-extravaganza-planned-for-thanksgiving-day-parade/ar-AA1jVoYi


Happy Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving, America! This is a uniquely American holiday that dates back to the earliest American settlements. It was first declared by President George Washington in 1789, "as a day of public thanksgiving and prayer, to be observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many and signal favours of Almighty God." It was set on the last Thursday in November by Abraham Lincoln.

I hope you’re enjoying this Thanksgiving as best you can. Thanks to inflation (and not the Macy's parade balloon kind), it’s the second-most expensive Thanksgiving dinner on record, down by about $3 from last year, but still 25% higher than in 2019. And thanks to the Biden Administration’s war on gas appliances and reliable energy, I hope you’re able to heat your oven – and your house. But we still have much to be thankful for, like that we no longer have Dr. Fauci hectoring us not to spend Thanksgiving with our families or to try to eat stuffing through a facemask. Remember how the COVID-19 virus was a registered Democrat, so it would spread at traditional family Thanksgiving dinners, but not at BLM protests, Obama’s birthday soirees or fancy French restaurants frequented by liberal politicians?  

Lately, Thanksgiving has been under assault on numerous fronts. As if high prices and shortages weren’t hitting us hard enough, we were told to cancel Thanksgiving due to the coronavirus, then lectured by wokescolds that the Pilgrims were genocidal racists (these tunnel-visioned nags make me very thankful for the “Off” button on my TV remote.) Last year, we had the Washington Post nagging us about how much each dish in the traditional meal allegedly contributes to “climate change.” These people are more efficient than a Dyson vacuum at sucking the joy out of every aspect of life.

But all these things are, in the long view of history, passing annoyances. The greatest danger to Thanksgiving is the government’s constant push to take away the God-given rights we give thanks for, especially our First Amendment rights to assemble, speak freely and express our religious faith, which are the foundation of Thanksgiving. Our Pilgrim ancestors took a dangerous ocean journey to an unknown and unsettled land seeking those very freedoms and were willing to risk their lives to attain them. So this is a great time to reflect on those days and take inspiration from them that things really can get better, if we all get together and do something about it, even if it means taking some risks. And I assure you the Pilgrims faced much worse risks than being badmouthed on Twitter.

This is also the time to reflect on the deeper meaning of Thanksgiving. It’s not just about turkey and stuffing, football on TV and early Christmas shopping. It even means more than a big family get-together, although that’s a very important part of it that we’re especially grateful for after all the lockdowns and quarantines.

Thanksgiving is about giving thanks to God for our blessings, many of which we only enjoy because we are fortunate enough to be Americans - a fact lost on many of today’s young Americans, who slander America using the very rights they wouldn’t have if they weren’t Americans.  We inherited hard-won rights and liberties that were revolutionary in the early days of this nation. Many of them had their genesis in the arrival of the Pilgrims.  

Four-centuries-and-three-years ago, the Pilgrims landed at Plymouth Rock. They had set out on a dangerous journey across the Atlantic in a small ship, the Mayflower, to a hostile wilderness where survival was far from certain. Indeed, half the settlers died during that first harsh winter. If not for the help of the indigenous people who joined them at the first Thanksgiving, they all might have died. But they were willing to risk everything for the right to be free to worship God in their own way, without the government telling them what they were and weren’t allowed to say, do or believe (is this starting to sound surprisingly relevant to today?)

Arkansas Sen. Tom Cotton wrote an excellent rebuttal to the negative revisionist historians on the 400th anniversary of the Pilgrims’ arrival, and I think it should be read every year by every American as a new Thanksgiving tradition:

https://www.foxnews.com/opinion/thanksgiving-pilgrims-tom-cotton

Sen. Cotton talks about not just the history and importance of the Pilgrims’ arrival and the first Thanksgiving, but an even more important legacy they bequeathed to us. It was the way they organized their settlement, codified in the Mayflower Compact, the first example of the principle of “government by the consent of the governed.” Its ideas would still reverberate more than a century-and-a-half later when it became a huge influence on the writing of the US Constitution (although today’s leaders definitely need a sharp reminder that they are in power only thanks to the “consent of the governed.” Let’s pray the 2024 elections provide it.)

Sen. Cotton writes, “In this covenant, the ship’s passengers agreed to form a ‘civil body politic’ of ‘just and equal laws’ based on the consent of the governed and dedicated to the ‘Glory of God’ and the ‘general good of the colony.’ Immediately after signing the compact, the signatories conducted a democratic election to choose their first governor.”

As he notes, it’s no wonder John Adams called the Pilgrims’ arrival “the birth-day of your nation.” These are the principles America was founded upon, and they arrived 403 years ago, in 1620. America was not founded upon slavery, which supposedly arrived in 1619 (even though some Native American tribes had long practiced forms of it, a fact I doubt is taught in current “history” classes), and which Christian abolitionists, Republicans and many of the Founders strongly opposed and we fought a bloody Civil War to end. (Another shocker for today’s “history” students: The Republican Party was specifically founded to end slavery, and it was the Democrats who fought to preserve it.)

To counter the left’s assault on America and its history, The Federalist launched “The 1620 Project.” At this link is an excerpt about the Pilgrims’ and the Puritans’ experiences and what they contributed that helped make America such an exceptional nation and a “shining city on the hill.” It’s another piece that should become a Thanksgiving tradition.  

https://thefederalist.com/2020/11/25/how-the-pilgrims-planted-the-seeds-for-americas-constitutional-rights-and-liberties/

This year, while we’re thanking God for all our blessings, let’s ignore the America-hating historical revisionists and give even bigger thanks than usual for the brave men and women who ventured to the New World, seeking religious freedom. Let’s also give thanks for the blessings of liberty and self-government that they secured for themselves and their posterity (that’s us.) Let’s honor their legacy by making sure that we protect and defend those rights and liberties for all so that we can hand them down intact to future generations. 

And let us also get to work right now on cleaning out the infection from our “education” system to ensure that our schools and universities teach real history and civics and stop brainwashing future generations into hating their own nation, admiring monsters like Hamas and Bin Laden, demonizing those who sacrificed so much to give them the rights and freedoms they take for granted, and giving away those rights for a mess of pottage (no, that's not a Thanksgiving dinner side dish) or a phony promise of absolution for the alleged sins of their great-great-great-great-grandparents.


Thanksgiving: A time For Family

Thanksgiving is not only a time when we give thanks for our many blessings as Americans, it’s also a time when we gather together as families and get reacquainted with relatives we don’t see any other time of year. One of the things I’m most thankful for is that once again, Americans’ older relatives will be welcomed into their families’ homes and not seen only on Zoom. 

Every Thanksgiving, I find myself thinking back on beloved family members who are no longer with us. There’s one who meant so much to me that sharing my memories of him has become a holiday tradition here. So I hope you’ll indulge me as I again share the story of a very special relative from my childhood. I usually saw him only once a year, but he taught me a lesson that helped make me what I am today and for which I still give thanks. 

When I was a boy in Hope, Arkansas, one thing about the holidays I most looked forward to was the annual visit from my Uncle Garvin. Garvin Elder was my mother’s half-brother from her dad’s first marriage, and so much older than her, he was like a grandpa to my sister and me. He was an accountant and a lifelong bachelor from Houston, and he cut quite an impressive figure whenever he arrived by bus in Hope. 

He owned stocks (I could hardly imagine such a thing!) and carried a real leather suitcase with travel tags, not like the cardboard suitcase we owned but never used.  And he wore a suit, tie and starched white shirt -- every day! In our town, if you saw a man in a suit, it could mean only one of two things: either it was Sunday, or he was going to or coming from a funeral.

Over the holidays, while my parents were at work, Uncle Garvin was the only adult in the house.  So when he wasn’t taking his daily unbreakable appointment with the “Perry Mason” rerun, I would constantly pester him to play checkers with me.  Now you must understand, this was in the days before self-esteem classes and helicopter parents.  Uncle Garvin didn’t realize how impolite, damaging, even psychologically traumatic and triggering it was to beat the daylights out of a sensitive young boy at checkers.  No, he played to win.  And he relished beating me…which he did, over and over and over. 

Of course, I hated losing to him.  But that just made me want to challenge him again.  Over time, I gradually got better until I actually beat him occasionally.

Looking back now, I realize what a huge favor Uncle Garvin did for me by developing my competitive spirit.  These days, we’ve built a society of hand-wringers so afraid of hurting a child’s self-esteem that everyone gets a trophy just for showing up, no matter how poorly they perform.  We’ve taken away their incentive to work hard and get better. 

This is the same mindset that’s given us incompetent CEOs who crash companies, then run to the government for a bailout because they’re “too big to fail.”  And idiots in government who bail them out with money they confiscate from hardworking taxpayers, because it’s “not fair” that some succeed when others don’t.  And who also think that "fairness" means taking money away from people who earn it and giving it to people who don't work but do vote. 

Call me crazy, but I believe there’s something to be said for competition and for rewarding hard work, talent and intelligence. And there’s a lot to be said for the lessons learned and the character built through trying your best, failing and trying again.

So every Thanksgiving, when I’m giving thanks to God for my countless blessings, I include a little prayer of thanks for my Uncle Garvin…and for all those long-ago checker games that were so painful to lose at the time.

And of course, I’m thankful for all the folks who help me create my newsletters and website and my show on TBN, and all of you who read and watch.  I hope to be giving thanks for that for many Thanksgivings to come!


IF you aren’t in the mood for politics today, stop reading here. If you don’t mind, continue on…

 


Here is today’s link to Fox News’ continually-updated news on the war in Israel…

https://www.foxnews.com/live-news/november-22-israel-hamas-war

The big story is that Israel has agreed to a temporary ceasefire in Gaza that involves the release of 50 Hamas hostages, three of them Americans. It will officially begin at 3 p.m. Eastern Time today. While this is certainly news worth giving thanks for, it must be remembered and repeated often that Hamas is still holding many hostages (they released only women and children), and this act of desperation to make Israel stop killing them and smashing their terrorist infrastructure doesn’t in any way mean that they are acting in good faith or are victims of some sort.

They are still terrorist murderers who are still holding hostages, and who still deserve to be hunted down. The ceasefire is to get some humanitarian aid to the Palestinians whom they are still using as human shields. In short, for those with serious comprehension problems:

Israel is NOT the villain here. And for the umpteenth time, if these pro-Palestinian anti-Israel protesters really cared about preventing civilian casualties, they wouldn’t be celebrating Hamas, they’d be demanding Hamas release all hostages, stop hiding behind civilians, and surrender.


Huckabee Video:

Here’s my appearance this week on Eric Bolling’s show on Newsmax, where we talked about Vivek Ramaswamy, what makes him such an intriguing candidate, and the frankly racist attack on him by DNC chair Donna Brazile.

https://www.newsmax.com/newsmax-tv/newsmax-mike-huckabee-ramaswamy/2023/11/21/id/1143195/

 


Happy Thanksgiving with the Bidens, discussing the latest news

It sure would be interesting to be a fly on the wall in the White House residence as the whole Biden family sits down to their lavish Thanksgiving dinner.

This must be the weirdest time ever for the Bidens --- and, boy, that family has been through some weird times.  The next Thanksgiving they spend at the White House, assuming this President can even stay in office that long, will take place soon after the ‘24 election.  Who knows if Joe will have even been on the ballot, let alone re-elected?  Both those possibilities seem increasingly remote, as Joe’s poll numbers are so dismal that we may safely assume most Democrats hope he won’t be their candidate. Some of them would probably rather run the turkey he pardoned.

In fact, Biden is such a poor candidate that the Democrats’ strategy of choice, at least for as long as he IS the candidate, is to keep him under wraps as much as possible and voice ridiculous, over-the-top accusations against Trump, such as the shameless New York Rep. Daniel Goldman saying, “It is just unquestionable at this point that that...man...cannot seek public office again.  He is not only unfit, he is destructive to our democracy, and he has to be, uh, he has to be eliminated.”

ELIMINATED.  What did he mean?  (And where’s the Secret Service??)  I guess that after seeing the polls, Democrats figure “eliminating” Trump is the only way Biden CAN beat him.  Who’s being destructive to our democracy here?

Or how about this wacko diatribe from Illinois Democrat Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi, who blames the recent spike in anti-Semitism (almost exclusively among leftists, I might add) on – you guessed it! – Donald Trump. You know, the President who finally kept the promise of moving our Embassy to Jerusalem, gave us the Abraham Accords, and who has Jewish grandchildren.

https://www.breitbart.com/clips/2023/11/15/dem-rep-krishnamoorthi-uptick-in-antisemitism-is-due-to-trump/

MSNBC had this from Joe Scarborough: “If you’re going to be fair, then you will frame this as Joe Biden being the candidate that supports American democracy, and Donald Trump a candidate who supports a new form of government here that’s authoritarian.  He will get away with, he will imprison, he will execute whoever he’s allowed to imprison, execute, uh-uh-uh drive from the country.  Just look at his past…”

Sure, we all can look back and remember all the people Donald Trump...executed??  These people are insane.  Are they just spouting this out of desperation, or do they actually believe it?  It’s probably a combination, like the “doublethink” of Orwell’s 1984.  And who’s been doing the rampant “imprisoning”?

From the time of Biden’s 2020 campaign and arguably before, Obama holdovers at the DOJ and FBI have had his back, but this year the GOP-led Congress took up their deliberate slack and is piecing together the full story of the Biden Family Business.

And now, just as Joe’s birthday cake was overwhelmed by the bonfire of 81 candles, the whole country (and maybe the world) seems to be in flames.  Crime and unrest are heating up.  The government burns through money without bothering to count it first, and the Constitution is being torched as well, especially when it comes to the Bill of Rights and equal justice for political opponents.

Yes, Biden just celebrated his 81st birthday as the oldest sitting President in history.  (Emphasis on “sitting,” as opposed to climbing stairs.)  Most Americans have caught on to the outrageously partisan character of the DOJ, to the point where the “Justice” Department is increasingly seen as justice-free.  The release of all the previously-withheld January 6 video supports that view.

Congressional committee chairs Jim Jordan of Ohio (Judiciary), James Comer of Kentucky (Oversight), and Jason Smith of Missouri (Ways and Means) have been doing a masterful job of exposing the Biden Family Business.  Sunlight is the best disinfectant, and if you think elections don’t matter, remember that if the Democrats controlled Congress, all of this would still be hidden away, likely forever.

In the most recent development, Rep. Jordan issued a subpoena on Tuesday to Delaware Assistant U.S. Attorney Lesley Wolf, who works under David Weiss, the U.S. attorney whom Attorney General Merrick Garland recently upgraded to special counsel for the Hunter Biden case.  Recall that IRS whistleblowers Gary Shapley and Joseph Ziegler both testified that Wolf put up roadblocks to their investigation into first son Hunter’s taxes.  These agents testified that they were forbidden to pursue certain lines of inquiry, such as anything that might lead to Joe Biden.  And, as you know, Hunter’s defense team was tipped off to agents’ attempts to interview Hunter and to search a storage unit.

Fellow committee chair Comer thinks Jordan is on the right track.  “All roads lead to Lesley Wolf,” he said later on Tuesday.

https://www.newsmax.com/newsmax-tv/james-comer-joe-biden-lesley-wolf/2023/11/21/id/1143184/

Subpoenaing Wolf was necessary because the DOJ had refused to make her available for a voluntary interview.  Their predictable excuse:  they don’t comment on “an ongoing investigation.”  According to Jordan, that argument “rests on no constitutional privilege or case law authority.”  His cover letter to Wolf makes great reading...

https://justthenews.com/sites/default/files/2023-11/2023-11-21-jdj-to-wolf-subpoena-cover-letter.pdf

"Based on the Committee’s investigation to date, it is clear that you possess specialized and unique information that is unavailable to the Committee through other sources and without which the Committee’s inquiry would be incomplete,” Jordan wrote to Wolf.  “Witness testimony and public reporting indicates that as an Assistant U.S. Attorney for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Delaware, you were directly involved in that office’s investigation of Hunter Biden, which deviated from standard investigative procedures."

“Deviated from standard investigative procedures”?  To put it mildly.

Wolf was present at nearly all the prosecution team meetings, according to the whistleblowers, and the committee has information suggesting that she, either directly or by giving instructions, is “responsible for many of the decisions to deviate from standard investigative protocol.”  She’s also “uniquely situated to shed light on whether President Biden played any role in the Department’s investigation and whether he attempted, in any way, to directly or indirectly obstruct either that investigation or our investigation.”  Wolf is to report for her deposition at 10 a.m. on December 7 with authorized committee members and staff.

https://nypost.com/2023/11/21/news/house-subpoenas-hunter-biden-prosecutor-who-passed-on-joe-leads/

So, the Bidens might not be talking much about THAT around the Thanksgiving table this year.  But, as Jill carves the turkey --- no sharp implements for Joe --- we can just see them laughing at the silly story Hunter could tell about his crazy dinner in Mexico with a Mexican business magnate.

It happened while his dad was VP, after Hunter had set up several meetings with him as a favor to the magnate, Miguel Aleman Magnani, former CEO of Mexican airline Interjet and grandson of a Mexican presidente.  (We found that as of July 2021, Magnani was residing in France while fighting an arrest warrant for tax fraud in his native country.)  After receiving this favor, Magnani had apparently been ignoring Hunter, as Hunter had emailed him to complain about this.  (“I haven’t heard from you since I got a mtg for Carlos and your Dad...I have brought every single person you have ever asked me to bring to the [bleep]-ing White House...I’ve delivered on every single thing you’ve ever asked.”)  Soon after Hunter’s email rant, they dined at a restaurant in Mexico, perhaps to mend fences, but Hunter continued berating Magnani, who had failed to pick up Hunter and business partner Jeff Cooper at the airport, where they had arrived on Air Force Two.  Hunter berated him so severely at the restaurant that Magnani excused himself, went to the little caballeros’ room and...never came back!  Did he climb out through the window?  That part we don’t know!

Gosh, you’d think Magnani would’ve shown more gratitude after he and his father got to meet for lunch with then-VP Biden at the White House, as Hunter and Cooper had arranged.

Hunter’s business prospects with Magnani fell apart, apparently because of Hunter’s erratic behavior.  Ah, but even so, those must have been heady times for the Bidens, as they were raking in money from around the world.  That’s something they can muse about as they sit around the holiday table at the White House for what is almost certainly their next-to-last, or possibly even last, Thanksgiving there.

https://dailycaller.com/2023/11/20/hunter-biden-lashed-out-mexican-business-magnate-ignoring-meetings/


Remembering President Kennedy

Published on November 22, 2023

There are certain events that are seared into the memories of those who lived through them in our youth, and they will always seem as if they happened just yesterday. In addition to joyous occasions like the astronauts walking on the moon, there were also the sudden tragedies that left us reeling in shock. For an earlier generation, there was Pearl Harbor. For baby boomers like me, it was the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, which happened 60 years ago, on November 22, 1963.

It's been said many times that everyone alive that day remembers where he was when it happened. A US President hadn’t been assassinated since William McKinley in 1901, and this was the first time it had happened in the age of mass media and instant, nationwide television coverage. Many people couldn’t believe that a lowly, communist schlub like Lee Harvey Oswald could have done something that so monumentally affected the entire world and changed the course of history. That, plus the various discrepancies and unanswered questions, gave rise to a JFK conspiracy industry that’s generated many films and TV shows and over 1500 books. Lately, there’s been even more suspicion, thanks not only to the 60th anniversary but to the fact that we’ve recently learned just how much perfidy the DC Deep State is capable of.

I hope this solemn day won’t be completely taken over by conjecture and conspiracy theories, as interesting as they may be. Instead, let’s remember the tragic loss of a President and the way all Americans came together in a shared feeling of shock and grief, regardless of political affiliations. Let’s remember what this tragedy was like and react with the proper disgust when some chowderhead on social media calls for assassinating someone whose politics he/she disagrees with.

For those who were not alive then, rather than listening to wild theories and secondhand revisionism, read what those who were actually there at the time have to say…

https://www.newsmax.com/us/jfk-assassination-lee-harvey-oswald/2023/11/22/id/1143214/

And here’s something you might never have heard: a firsthand account by someone who knew Lee and Marina Oswald and was questioned by the Warren Commission. He personally saw some very disturbing things in their home and describes the Lee Harvey Oswald he knew as “persistent, scheming and manipulative;” an “avowed communist” who thought he was destined to be in the history books; and a “convincing liar” who had attempted another assassination before this, but barely missed. He can’t say whether we know the full true story of the JFK assassination. But when he asks himself if Oswald could have committed such a horrific act by himself, his honest answer is…yes.

https://www.foxnews.com/opinion/jfk-assassination-60-years-later-we-know-truth-about-real-killer

 

 


 I JUST WANTED TO SAY: 

Thank you for reading my newsletter. 

For more news, visit my website.


Happy Thanksgiving

November 23, 2023

Happy Thanksgiving, America! This is a uniquely American holiday that dates back to the earliest American settlements. It was first declared by President George Washington in 1789, "as a day of public thanksgiving and prayer, to be observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many and signal favours of Almighty God." It was set on the last Thursday in November by Abraham Lincoln.

I hope you’re enjoying this Thanksgiving as best you can. Thanks to inflation (and not the Macy's parade balloon kind), it’s the second-most expensive Thanksgiving dinner on record, down by about $3 from last year, but still 25% higher than in 2019. And thanks to the Biden Administration’s war on gas appliances and reliable energy, I hope you’re able to heat your oven – and your house. But we still have much to be thankful for, like that we no longer have Dr. Fauci hectoring us not to spend Thanksgiving with our families or to try to eat stuffing through a facemask. Remember how the COVID-19 virus was a registered Democrat, so it would spread at traditional family Thanksgiving dinners, but not at BLM protests, Obama’s birthday soirees or fancy French restaurants frequented by liberal politicians?  

Lately, Thanksgiving has been under assault on numerous fronts. As if high prices and shortages weren’t hitting us hard enough, we were told to cancel Thanksgiving due to the coronavirus, then lectured by wokescolds that the Pilgrims were genocidal racists (these tunnel-visioned nags make me very thankful for the “Off” button on my TV remote.) Last year, we had the Washington Post nagging us about how much each dish in the traditional meal allegedly contributes to “climate change.” These people are more efficient than a Dyson vacuum at sucking the joy out of every aspect of life.

But all these things are, in the long view of history, passing annoyances. The greatest danger to Thanksgiving is the government’s constant push to take away the God-given rights we give thanks for, especially our First Amendment rights to assemble, speak freely and express our religious faith, which are the foundation of Thanksgiving. Our Pilgrim ancestors took a dangerous ocean journey to an unknown and unsettled land seeking those very freedoms and were willing to risk their lives to attain them. So this is a great time to reflect on those days and take inspiration from them that things really can get better, if we all get together and do something about it, even if it means taking some risks. And I assure you the Pilgrims faced much worse risks than being badmouthed on Twitter.

This is also the time to reflect on the deeper meaning of Thanksgiving. It’s not just about turkey and stuffing, football on TV and early Christmas shopping. It even means more than a big family get-together, although that’s a very important part of it that we’re especially grateful for after all the lockdowns and quarantines.

Thanksgiving is about giving thanks to God for our blessings, many of which we only enjoy because we are fortunate enough to be Americans - a fact lost on many of today’s young Americans, who slander America using the very rights they wouldn’t have if they weren’t Americans.  We inherited hard-won rights and liberties that were revolutionary in the early days of this nation. Many of them had their genesis in the arrival of the Pilgrims.  

Four-centuries-and-three-years ago, the Pilgrims landed at Plymouth Rock. They had set out on a dangerous journey across the Atlantic in a small ship, the Mayflower, to a hostile wilderness where survival was far from certain. Indeed, half the settlers died during that first harsh winter. If not for the help of the indigenous people who joined them at the first Thanksgiving, they all might have died. But they were willing to risk everything for the right to be free to worship God in their own way, without the government telling them what they were and weren’t allowed to say, do or believe (is this starting to sound surprisingly relevant to today?)

Arkansas Sen. Tom Cotton wrote an excellent rebuttal to the negative revisionist historians on the 400 th  anniversary of the Pilgrims’ arrival, and I think it should be read every year by every American as a new Thanksgiving tradition:

https://www.foxnews.com/opinion/thanksgiving-pilgrims-tom-cotton

Sen. Cotton talks about not just the history and importance of the Pilgrims’ arrival and the first Thanksgiving, but an even more important legacy they bequeathed to us. It was the way they organized their settlement, codified in the Mayflower Compact, the first example of the principle of “government by the consent of the governed.” Its ideas would still reverberate more than a century-and-a-half later when it became a huge influence on the writing of the US Constitution (although today’s leaders definitely need a sharp reminder that they are in power only thanks to the “consent of the governed.” Let’s pray the 2024 elections provide it.)

Sen. Cotton writes, “In this covenant, the ship’s passengers agreed to form a ‘civil body politic’ of ‘just and equal laws’ based on the consent of the governed and dedicated to the ‘Glory of God’ and the ‘general good of the colony.’ Immediately after signing the compact, the signatories conducted a democratic election to choose their first governor.”

As he notes, it’s no wonder John Adams called the Pilgrims’ arrival “the birth-day of your nation.” These are the principles America was founded upon, and they arrived 403 years ago, in 1620. America was not founded upon slavery, which supposedly arrived in 1619 (even though some Native American tribes had long practiced forms of it, a fact I doubt is taught in current “history” classes), and which Christian abolitionists, Republicans and many of the Founders strongly opposed and we fought a bloody Civil War to end. (Another shocker for today’s “history” students: The Republican Party was specifically founded to end slavery, and it was the Democrats who fought to preserve it.)

To counter the left’s assault on America and its history, The Federalist launched “The 1620 Project.” At this link is an excerpt about the Pilgrims’ and the Puritans’ experiences and what they contributed that helped make America such an exceptional nation and a “shining city on the hill.” It’s another piece that should become a Thanksgiving tradition.  

https://thefederalist.com/2020/11/25/how-the-pilgrims-planted-the-seeds-for-americas-constitutional-rights-and-liberties/

This year, while we’re thanking God for all our blessings, let’s ignore the America-hating historical revisionists and give even bigger thanks than usual for the brave men and women who ventured to the New World, seeking religious freedom. Let’s also give thanks for the blessings of liberty and self-government that they secured for themselves and their posterity (that’s us.) Let’s honor their legacy by making sure that we protect and defend those rights and liberties for all so that we can hand them down intact to future generations. 

And let us also get to work right now on cleaning out the infection from our “education” system to ensure that our schools and universities teach real history and civics and stop brainwashing future generations into hating their own nation, admiring monsters like Hamas and Bin Laden, demonizing those who sacrificed so much to give them the rights and freedoms they take for granted, and giving away those rights for a mess of pottage (no, that's not a Thanksgiving dinner side dish) or a phony promise of absolution for the alleged sins of their great-great-great-great-grandparents.

Thanksgiving is not only a time when we give thanks for our many blessings as Americans, it’s also a time when we gather together as families and get reacquainted with relatives we don’t see any other time of year. One of the things I’m most thankful for is that once again, Americans’ older relatives will be welcomed into their families’ homes and not seen only on Zoom. 

Every Thanksgiving, I find myself thinking back on beloved family members who are no longer with us. There’s one who meant so much to me that sharing my memories of him has become a holiday tradition here. So I hope you’ll indulge me as I again share the story of a very special relative from my childhood. I usually saw him only once a year, but he taught me a lesson that helped make me what I am today and for which I still give thanks. 

When I was a boy in Hope, Arkansas, one thing about the holidays I most looked forward to was the annual visit from my Uncle Garvin. Garvin Elder was my mother’s half-brother from her dad’s first marriage, and so much older than her, he was like a grandpa to my sister and me. He was an accountant and a lifelong bachelor from Houston, and he cut quite an impressive figure whenever he arrived by bus in Hope. 

He owned stocks (I could hardly imagine such a thing!) and carried a real leather suitcase with travel tags, not like the cardboard suitcase we owned but never used.  And he wore a suit, tie and starched white shirt -- every day! In our town, if you saw a man in a suit, it could mean only one of two things: either it was Sunday, or he was going to or coming from a funeral.

Over the holidays, while my parents were at work, Uncle Garvin was the only adult in the house.  So when he wasn’t taking his daily unbreakable appointment with the “Perry Mason” rerun, I would constantly pester him to play checkers with me.  Now you must understand, this was in the days before self-esteem classes and helicopter parents.  Uncle Garvin didn’t realize how impolite, damaging, even psychologically traumatic and triggering it was to beat the daylights out of a sensitive young boy at checkers.  No, he played to win.  And he relished beating me…which he did, over and over and over. 

Of course, I hated losing to him.  But that just made me want to challenge him again.  Over time, I gradually got better until I actually beat him occasionally.

Looking back now, I realize what a huge favor Uncle Garvin did for me by developing my competitive spirit.  These days, we’ve built a society of hand-wringers so afraid of hurting a child’s self-esteem that everyone gets a trophy just for showing up, no matter how poorly they perform.  We’ve taken away their incentive to work hard and get better. 

This is the same mindset that’s given us incompetent CEOs who crash companies, then run to the government for a bailout because they’re “too big to fail.”  And idiots in government who bail them out with money they confiscate from hardworking taxpayers, because it’s “not fair” that some succeed when others don’t.  And who also think that "fairness" means taking money away from people who earn it and giving it to people who don't work but do vote. 

Call me crazy, but I believe there’s something to be said for competition and for rewarding hard work, talent and intelligence. And there’s a lot to be said for the lessons learned and the character built through trying your best, failing and trying again.

So every Thanksgiving, when I’m giving thanks to God for my countless blessings, I include a little prayer of thanks for my Uncle Garvin…and for all those long-ago checker games that were so painful to lose at the time.

And of course, I’m thankful for all the folks who help me create my newsletters and website and my show on TBN, and all of you who read and watch.  I hope to be giving thanks for that for many Thanksgivings to come!

I hope President Biden had a happy 81st birthday on Monday. If he read any of the press about his birthday, I doubt that he did, so I’ll just wish it for him. Usually, a President’s birthday is one of those feel-good, human-interest stories to fill space. But Biden’s entry into the second year of his eighth decade was covered with the kind of stories that make you think of sharks or vultures circling someone who’s doomed. And as this story from Western Journal notes, it’s not just from conservative critics. The negative chatter is coming from Democrat voters, friendly media and even his own inner circle.

https://www.westernjournal.com/biden-not-happy-81st-birthday-even-family-members-worried/

Voters are making their concerns known via dreadful poll numbers, including his lowest approval ever in a new NBC News poll, with large numbers expressing doubts that he has the physical and mental stamina to serve a second term. Even a Washington Post reporter noted that “some argue that neither Biden nor his team have effectively communicated a reelection plan, a second-term governing vision or a clear argument against Trump.”

Some of us would argue that he didn’t have what it took to serve a first term, or a first-term governing vision, or a clear argument against Trump other than that he wasn’t Trump; and that was three years ago when he was a spring chicken of 78, but I digress.

This isn’t to say that age is the deciding factor on whether someone can handle the job, but age affects people differently. Mel Brooks is 97, and he just finished co-writing and producing a new series for Hulu. But even those closest to Biden are worried that his age-related difficulties are becoming impossible to deny (not that they don’t keep trying.) 

As that story reports, their method of dealing with it is denial, blaming others for bringing it up, and rather than urging him to retire from the most stressful job in the world, to put him in sturdier shoes and not let him walk very far on camera. Thanks for thinking of what’s best for America, guys.

 


To put the icing on Biden’s petrified birthday cake, that very same day brought this news:

Trump released a letter from his doctor reporting that his latest physical found that Trump has lost weight, is in “excellent overall health,” and “his cognitive exams were exceptional.” Although to be fair, Biden’s cognitive exams might look okay, too, if he’d ever take any.

https://www.westernjournal.com/trump-releases-letter-doctor-detailing-physical-mental-health/

However, it might be tough to convince young voters that Biden’s mind is sharp after he made a baffling joke at the Thanksgiving turkey pardoning ceremony in which he seemed to mix up Beyonce, Taylor Swift and Britney Spears. Well, at least he didn’t drop Judy Garland into the mix. And then accuse the turkey of being an insurrectionist.

https://www.westernjournal.com/bidens-attempted-joke-thanksgiving-turkey-pardon-real-head-scratcher/

 


Bad Birthday Optics for Biden:

If President Biden’s handlers didn’t want people to think about how old he is, they probably shouldn’t have released a photo of him with his birthday cake topped by 81 flaming candles. It lit up the Internet and inspired meme makers with its resemblance to the Chicago fire.

 

https://twitchy.com/laura-w/2023/11/21/biden-birthday-cake-photo-n2390024

Elon Musk sues Media Matters

November 22, 2023

You’ve probably heard of the “thermonuclear lawsuit” Elon Musk has filed against Media Matters, a Soros-backed group that claims to be a media watchdog but has actually long been a Democrat Party attack dog. They recently launched an intimidation campaign telling companies that if they advertise on Musk’s platform Twitter (X), their ads will run next to Nazi and white nationalist posts. This has caused IBM, Disney, Apple, Paramount and others to yank their ads.

Musk’s lawsuit says that Media Matters “knowingly and maliciously” manufactured images showing ads next to racist fringe content when “not a single authentic user” saw ads from IBM, Comcast or Oracle next to such content.

https://www.breitbart.com/tech/2023/11/21/elon-musks-x-twitter-files-lawsuit-against-far-left-media-matters/

Not only is Musk suing but the attorneys general of Texas and Missouri announced that they’re investigating Media Matters for possible fraud for allegedly deceiving the public in an attempt to limit participation in the public square.

https://www.theblaze.com/news/media-matters-musk-paxton-lawsuit

But what you might not know is what exactly IS Media Matters? Issues & Insights published a good explanation for how this started, what it’s all about, who Media Matters are and what their true motive is, and it’s not fighting anti-Semitism or Nazism. Their twofold goals are (1.) harming Musk for taking away the left’s Twitter monopoly and bringing back free speech online; and (2.) drawing attention away from all the very real anti-Semites who’ve suddenly made themselves known in the Democrat Party.

https://issuesinsights.com/2023/11/21/what-the-latest-attacks-on-musk-are-really-all-about/

 

The Big Story

November 22, 2023

The big story is that Israel and Hamas are reportedly in the final stages of a deal for Hamas to release dozens of hostages (but only women and children) and to call a five-day temporary ceasefire to deliver humanitarian aid into Gaza. May I point out to all the Hamas defenders accusing Israel of genocide that all it took to end the bombing of Gaza was for the bloody terrorists you support to release their hostages. Of course, they still aren’t releasing all of them, which is why the fighting will eventually continue. You want an end to the siege of Gaza? Tell Hamas to release all hostages and surrender. Abracadabra, it’s done.

Whoever put together Maryland’s task force on hate crimes should look for another line of work, after it was revealed that one member, Zainab Chaudry, is an anti-Israel activist and director of the state office of CAIR, and she’s written numerous anti-Semitic social media posts, such as comparing Israel to Nazi Germany and claiming the babies slaughtered by Hamas on October 7th were “fake.”

https://www.foxnews.com/politics/maryland-hate-crime-task-force-member-claimed-babies-murdered-hamas-fake-compared-israel-nazis

Speaking of Holocaust deniers, it won’t come as a surprise to anyone familiar with the Palestinian culture in Gaza and the West Bank that the IDF reported finding an “extremist anti-Semitic” book being used as part of school curriculums. The book is called “The Big Lie: The burning of 6 million Jews in the gas chambers.” The IDF said, “Under Hamas’ rule, school curriculums promote extremist antisemitic practices -- calling for genocide against the Jewish people. This is another example (of) Hamas’ true ideology -- and another reason for us to dismantle it.” 

Related MUST-READ: Derek Hunter at Townhall.com on the shock among Jewish progressives and reasonable Democrats upon suddenly discovering that they’ve been sharing a Party with some of the most hateful anti-Semites on Earth, and didn’t notice what they really were because up until now, their violent, intolerant tactics weren't criticized because they were aimed at conservatives.

https://townhall.com/columnists/derekhunter/2023/11/21/the-great-awakening-of-some-on-the-american-left-n2631440

I especially appreciate Hunter's observation that Joe Biden refers incessantly to the evil Nazis at Charlottesville, but when “the Democratic Party’s Jew-hating Brown Shirts have held rallies 100 times larger than Charlottesville in every major American city and college campus,” instead of unequivocally condemning them, “the White House set up a task force to fight Islamophobia, just in case someone develops an attitude against paragliding assassins.” 

Sinking like a stone

November 22, 2023

The latest NBC News poll shows President Biden’s approval rating has been falling since January, when it was 46%, to its lowest level ever now at 40%. Nearly two-thirds of Independents disapprove.

https://www.breitbart.com/2024-election/2023/11/19/nbc-news-poll-joe-bidens-popularity-slips-lowest-level-presidency/

The biggest driver of the drop came with young voters aged 18 to 34. Their approval of Biden has plummeted from 46% in September to 31%.

Of course, as we’ve seen recently, that could be because so many of the Democrats’ young radical base are Hamas-supporting anti-Semites, and Biden is supporting Israel. He’s caught in an electoral Catch-22, because he needs their votes to win, but if he does what they want, he won’t get any votes from the non-crazy wing of his Party. I believe it was Kurt Schlichter who pointed out that the Democrats are in trouble because a large part of their base suddenly wants to kill another large part of their base. That’s rather hard for even the nimblest politician to straddle.

Related op-ed from Wayne Allyn Root: What if the Democrats get so panicked by Biden’s subterranean approval ratings that they replace him with their dream ticket of Gavin Newsom/Michelle Obama (or vice versa) – then discover that Americans blame all of them, not just Biden, for destroying border security and the economy and encouraging our enemies to launch World War III, and they see through all the indictments of Trump as the dirty abuse of power that they are, and elect Trump anyway?

https://www.westernjournal.com/root-trump-crushing-new-poll-dems-will-bring-not-1-2-ringers-replace-biden/

The column actually ends a little too soon. I think it’s worth considering also how the Democrats would immediately revert to “election deniers” and do everything in their power to block Trump from taking office, and to ask if the Republicans are making any plans to deal with that possibility.

 


BY MIKE HUCKABEE

Blessings on you and your family from all the Huckabee team! 

Mike Huckabee


DAILY BIBLE VERSE

Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:

Matthew 28:19


Help Please: Before the end of the month

Let me be clear: Government and Big Tech are working together to censor conservative views, and because they are I moved my newsletter to Substack.

Because you are a free subscriber to my newsletter, I would like you to consider subscribing to the paid version on Substack.

A Substack subscription-based newsletter allows my team and I to focus on what matters: the writing and the research we do to back up the writing, instead of worrying about censorship, or what Google is saying about me, how they are handling advertising on our website or whether or not my work shows up when you search for it.

To keep the newsletter going, we have setup a monthly goal of identifying 565 new paying subscribers for the month of NOVEMBER.

If you can afford to do so, please subscribe here:

Subscribe to The Morning Edition (substack.com)

To become a paid subscriber of my politics newsletter it is $5 monthly or $36 annually. I email daily and my politics newsletters usually take 10-15 minutes to read. I cover the news of the day and the liberal media. I write about the upcoming elections and dive deep on the Biden scandals. I will also share my opinion of the Trump indictment. I don’t think you will regret reading my newsletter regularly as a paid subscriber, so please consider subscribing today.

With gratitude,

Mike Huckabee


Here is today’s link to Fox News’ continually-updated news on the war in Israel…

https://www.foxnews.com/live-news/november-20-israel-hamas-war 

The big story is that Israel and Hamas are reportedly in the final stages of a deal for Hamas to release dozens of hostages (but only women and children) and to call a five-day temporary ceasefire to deliver humanitarian aid into Gaza. May I point out to all the Hamas defenders accusing Israel of genocide that all it took to end the bombing of Gaza was for the bloody terrorists you support to release their hostages. Of course, they still aren’t releasing all of them, which is why the fighting will eventually continue. You want an end to the siege of Gaza? Tell Hamas to release all hostages and surrender. Abracadabra, it’s done.

Whoever put together Maryland’s task force on hate crimes should look for another line of work, after it was revealed that one member, Zainab Chaudry, is an anti-Israel activist and director of the state office of CAIR, and she’s written numerous anti-Semitic social media posts, such as comparing Israel to Nazi Germany and claiming the babies slaughtered by Hamas on October 7th were “fake.”

https://www.foxnews.com/politics/maryland-hate-crime-task-force-member-claimed-babies-murdered-hamas-fake-compared-israel-nazis

Speaking of Holocaust deniers, it won’t come as a surprise to anyone familiar with the Palestinian culture in Gaza and the West Bank that the IDF reported finding an “extremist anti-Semitic” book being used as part of school curriculums. The book is called “The Big Lie: The burning of 6 million Jews in the gas chambers.” The IDF said, “Under Hamas’ rule, school curriculums promote extremist antisemitic practices -- calling for genocide against the Jewish people. This is another example (of) Hamas’ true ideology -- and another reason for us to dismantle it.” 

Related MUST-READ: Derek Hunter at Townhall.com on the shock among Jewish progressives and reasonable Democrats upon suddenly discovering that they’ve been sharing a Party with some of the most hateful anti-Semites on Earth, and didn’t notice what they really were because up until now, their violent, intolerant tactics weren't criticized because they were aimed at conservatives.

https://townhall.com/columnists/derekhunter/2023/11/21/the-great-awakening-of-some-on-the-american-left-n2631440

I especially appreciate Hunter's observation that Joe Biden refers incessantly to the evil Nazis at Charlottesville, but when “the Democratic Party’s Jew-hating Brown Shirts have held rallies 100 times larger than Charlottesville in every major American city and college campus,” instead of unequivocally condemning them, “the White House set up a task force to fight Islamophobia, just in case someone develops an attitude against paragliding assassins.”  


Happy Birthday, President Biden

I hope President Biden had a happy 81st birthday on Monday. If he read any of the press about his birthday, I doubt that he did, so I’ll just wish it for him. Usually, a President’s birthday is one of those feel-good, human-interest stories to fill space. But Biden’s entry into the second year of his eighth decade was covered with the kind of stories that make you think of sharks or vultures circling someone who’s doomed. And as this story from Western Journal notes, it’s not just from conservative critics. The negative chatter is coming from Democrat voters, friendly media and even his own inner circle.

https://www.westernjournal.com/biden-not-happy-81st-birthday-even-family-members-worried/

Voters are making their concerns known via dreadful poll numbers, including his lowest approval ever in a new NBC News poll, with large numbers expressing doubts that he has the physical and mental stamina to serve a second term. Even a Washington Post reporter noted that “some argue that neither Biden nor his team have effectively communicated a reelection plan, a second-term governing vision or a clear argument against Trump.”

Some of us would argue that he didn’t have what it took to serve a first term, or a first-term governing vision, or a clear argument against Trump other than that he wasn’t Trump; and that was three years ago when he was a spring chicken of 78, but I digress.

This isn’t to say that age is the deciding factor on whether someone can handle the job, but age affects people differently. Mel Brooks is 97, and he just finished co-writing and producing a new series for Hulu. But even those closest to Biden are worried that his age-related difficulties are becoming impossible to deny (not that they don’t keep trying.) 

As that story reports, their method of dealing with it is denial, blaming others for bringing it up, and rather than urging him to retire from the most stressful job in the world, to put him in sturdier shoes and not let him walk very far on camera. Thanks for thinking of what’s best for America, guys.

 


To put the icing on Biden’s petrified birthday cake, that very same day brought this news:

Trump released a letter from his doctor reporting that his latest physical found that Trump has lost weight, is in “excellent overall health,” and “his cognitive exams were exceptional.” Although to be fair, Biden’s cognitive exams might look okay, too, if he’d ever take any.

https://www.westernjournal.com/trump-releases-letter-doctor-detailing-physical-mental-health/

However, it might be tough to convince young voters that Biden’s mind is sharp after he made a baffling joke at the Thanksgiving turkey pardoning ceremony in which he seemed to mix up Beyonce, Taylor Swift and Britney Spears. Well, at least he didn’t drop Judy Garland into the mix. And then accuse the turkey of being an insurrectionist.

https://www.westernjournal.com/bidens-attempted-joke-thanksgiving-turkey-pardon-real-head-scratcher/

 


Bad Birthday Optics for Biden:

If President Biden’s handlers didn’t want people to think about how old he is, they probably shouldn’t have released a photo of him with his birthday cake topped by 81 flaming candles. It lit up the Internet and inspired meme makers with its resemblance to the Chicago fire.

 

https://twitchy.com/laura-w/2023/11/21/biden-birthday-cake-photo-n2390024

 


A Threat to Vote Republican

A group of black Chicago residents held a rally outside of Alderman Desmon Yancy to protest the city spending $150 million on taking care of illegal aliens and ignoring the needs of citizens. For instance, homeless Chicagoans are sleeping on the streets while illegals get free hotel rooms.

One protester read this statement: “We’re here to say to black aldermen who were elected by the black citizens of Chicago that we are fed up with your not hearing our stress and our demands but rather do what you want to do to please the Democratic Party.” And in an almost-unheard of, and I’m sure terrifying to Democrats, turn, they even threatened to vote Republican!

https://www.westernjournal.com/fed-black-residents-rally-end-millions-spent-illegals-major-sanctuary-city-threaten-vote-republican/

I wouldn’t get my hopes up, considering the last Republican mayor of Chicago left office in 1931. But at some point, maybe it will get so bad that blue city voters will "stop the insanity" and quit doing the same thing over and over while expecting a different result. New Yorkers had to hit rock bottom before they finally elected Rudy Giuliani to save them. He did, they forgot how bad things could get, they voted the Democrats back in, and now they’re at rock bottom again. But miracles can happen. At least, one happened in New York, once…

 


Trump's gag order

Politico reports that a panel of judges from the DC Court of Appeals heard arguments on former President Trump’s request to significantly narrow the gag order put on him in the criminal trial by special counsel Javert -- oops, sorry, Jack Smith – for challenging the 2020 election and allegedly inciting that “worse than 9/11 and Pearl Harbor combined insurrection” on January 6th. They haven’t ruled yet, but in a hopeful sign for Trump, the judges appeared extremely dubious about severely curtailing the free speech of a leading presidential candidate during an election campaign.

https://www.westernjournal.com/federal-appeals-court-appears-indicate-will-take-ax-trump-gag-order/

One judge asked incredulously, “He has to speak ‘Miss Manners’ while everyone else is throwing targets at him?” She added, “It would be really hard in a debate, when everyone else is going at you full bore. Your attorneys would have to have scripted little things you can say.”

Precisely! And considering that judge is an Obama appointee (!), it’s becoming obvious just how far out over his skis Smith is with his creatively unconstitutional legal warfare.

 


Helping at Thanksgiving

I know these are very difficult times economically for a lot of people, but with the holidays coming and inflation making food so expensive, food banks are facing high demand and very strained resources. Here’s more info, and you’re able to help, God bless you.

https://www.breitbart.com/economy/2023/11/21/food-bank-demand-surges-after-americans-hit-with-inflation/

However, if you are in a blue city, you might want to look for a food bank that polices who gets the food. Poor Americans in New York City are being left with no Thanksgiving turkeys, thanks to illegal aliens lining up early at the food banks and snapping them all up. I wonder how many New Yorkers will be giving thanks this year that Joe "Open Borders" Biden is President?

https://www.westernjournal.com/illegals-aliens-taking-thanksgiving-turkeys-low-income-nyc-residents/

 


Suing

Former US military members who lost their pay and benefits due to the Biden Administration’s COVID vaccine mandates are suing the US government. It’s currently three lawsuits that they plan to turn into a class action suit, they plan to sue for damages in the billions.

https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2023/11/20/former-troops-punished-over-bidens-vaccine-mandate-sue-for-billions-in-lost-wages/

Their attorney says that while over 8,000 active duty troops were kicked out of the service, the number of troops and reservists who were negatively affected could be as high as 100,000. If you are among them, read the story and see if you might want to join a class action suit over that outrageous injustice against America’s heroes.


Elon Musk sues Media Matters

You’ve probably heard of the “thermonuclear lawsuit” Elon Musk has filed against Media Matters, a Soros-backed group that claims to be a media watchdog but has actually long been a Democrat Party attack dog. They recently launched an intimidation campaign telling companies that if they advertise on Musk’s platform Twitter (X), their ads will run next to Nazi and white nationalist posts. This has caused IBM, Disney, Apple, Paramount and others to yank their ads.

Musk’s lawsuit says that Media Matters “knowingly and maliciously” manufactured images showing ads next to racist fringe content when “not a single authentic user” saw ads from IBM, Comcast or Oracle next to such content.

https://www.breitbart.com/tech/2023/11/21/elon-musks-x-twitter-files-lawsuit-against-far-left-media-matters/

Not only is Musk suing but the attorneys general of Texas and Missouri announced that they’re investigating Media Matters for possible fraud for allegedly deceiving the public in an attempt to limit participation in the public square.

https://www.theblaze.com/news/media-matters-musk-paxton-lawsuit

But what you might not know is what exactly IS Media Matters? Issues & Insights published a good explanation for how this started, what it’s all about, who Media Matters are and what their true motive is, and it’s not fighting anti-Semitism or Nazism. Their twofold goals are (1.) harming Musk for taking away the left’s Twitter monopoly and bringing back free speech online; and (2.) drawing attention away from all the very real anti-Semites who’ve suddenly made themselves known in the Democrat Party.

https://issuesinsights.com/2023/11/21/what-the-latest-attacks-on-musk-are-really-all-about/

 


Remember When

I’m so old, I remember when liberals used to condemn what they called “eliminationist rhetoric,” and not actually call for their political opponents to be “eliminated” in a public forum.

https://townhall.com/tipsheet/leahbarkoukis/2023/11/21/dan-goldman-trump-must-be-eliminated-n2631479

By the way, if Trump can be prosecuted because someone who allegedly listened to him rioted at the Capitol, why wasn’t Sen. Bernie Sanders charged with conspiracy to commit murder because someone who followed him was inspired to try to kill Rep. Steve Scalise and other Republican House members so that Democrats would get a majority? That seemed like a pretty serious assault on “our democracy” to me.

(Note for the deliberately obtuse: I’m not seriously calling for Bernie Sanders to be indicted for making speeches. I’m just pointing out how ludicrous it is that Trump was indicted for making a speech. Are we clear? Good.)

 


In Case You Missed It

You likely missed it because it wasn’t so newsworthy then, but last month, Javier Milei gave an interview to Tucker Carlson. That interview just became a lot more newsworthy following Milei’s stunning landslide election as the new President of Argentina. In light of that, everyone should read the advice he had for Americans about the need to fight every day to resist the “siren song of social justice” and to stop the socialist “long term agenda that will destroy everything it touches.” Anyone running a business that doesn’t want to follow the “Get woke, go broke” formula down the toilet should especially read this.

https://townhall.com/tipsheet/leahbarkoukis/2023/11/21/tucker-carlson-asks-javier-milei-what-advice-he-gives-to-americans-about-socialism-n2631480


Let's hope 2024 ends this sort of insanity

At Ramapo College of New Jersey, yet another male claiming to “identify” as female switched from the men’s to the women’s swim team and miraculously won first place and set a new record in the 100-yard butterfly. See if you can guess which one “she” is from the team photo. Hint: look for the one who towers over the others.

https://www.breitbart.com/sports/2023/11/20/transgender-swimmer-at-new-jersey-college-breaks-records-after-switching-to-womens-team/

As usual, the school responded to criticism by ladling out a dollop of pablum about how the school “supports all our student athletes.” Which is a load of manure because if they supported the female athletes, they wouldn’t let male athletes take over their sports and steal their trophies, records and scholarships.

This will only go on as long as the female athletes keep going along with it. Let’s hope that 2024 will bring an end to this insane denial of biological reality, as female athletes finally stand up for themselves and their sports and “Just Say No” to men cheating them out of their rights.

 

 


 I JUST WANTED TO SAY: 

Thank you for reading my newsletter. 

For more news, visit my website.


The CATO Institute released its annual Freedom Rankings of the 50 states. Based on how each state’s policies impact economic, social and personal freedom, New Hampshire came in #1 as the most free state, followed by Florida. At the opposite end, the good news for California is that it did not rank as the least free state. It was at #48, just ahead of Hawaii (#49) and the least free state in America, New York at #50.

https://www.foxnews.com/us/rotten-apple-new-york-dubbed-least-free-state-country-new-study

Obviously, this doesn’t mean you can't get free stuff in New York, because illegal immigrants are getting tons of it. It does mean that New Yorkers are burdened by high public debt, high state and local taxes, voracious government consumption of resources and oppressive land use and labor policies. Wealthy residents of New York City pay among the highest combined state and local taxes in the country, and I’ve long said that if they ever realize they can do the same job over the Internet from a beachfront mansion in safe, sunny, income tax-free Florida, New York City will be done for. I suspect that day is drawing very close.

Incidentally, I don’t think I have to point out the prevailing political views in the least free and most free states, and how those have created the current situation, with residents of the former fleeing to the latter in droves. But just to show you that Democrat policies can always make a bad situation terrible, the rampant crime in New York City created by woke DAs and defunded police is about to get even worse, thanks to the Biden open borders policy.

New York Mayor Eric Adams announced that because of the high cost of dealing with all the illegal immigrants, the already strained-to-the-limit budgets for police, sanitation and other public necessities will be cut by 5%. They’ll also be slashing the budgets for education and museums and cultural institutions, and freezing hiring in such departments as education, health, aging and parks.

https://nypost.com/2023/11/19/metro/cardi-b-slams-eric-adams-over-nyc-budget-cuts-crimes-are-gonna-go-through-the-roof/

It’s gotten so bad that even rapper Cardi B went on a foul-mouthed social media tirade, complaining that the dirty city is going to get even dirtier, “crimes are gonna go through the roof” and “we’re gonna be drowning in rats!”

Yep. And just remember: you voted for it. And if I were a betting man, I’d bet the farm that next November, a lot of New Yorkers who are complaining about the crime, illegal immigration, budget cuts and more will vote for more of it. That includes some who aren’t even dead yet.

This weekend brought some election results that suggest that from the US to Argentina, voters are fed up to the gills with leftist misrule.

On Saturday, there were three statewide elections in Louisiana, and let’s hope they’re a harbinger of what’s coming in 2024. Republican Jeff Landry previously won the primary by a wide enough margin that there won't even be a runoff/gubernatorial election. And on Saturday, all three Trump-backed Republican candidates for Attorney General, Secretary of State, and State Treasurer won their races by 2-1 margins of around 66%-33%.

https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2023/11/19/trump-backed-republicans-sweep-statewide-elections-louisiana/

And in a resounding rebuke to creeping South American socialism, voters in Argentina elected Libertarian outsider congressman and economist Javier Milei of the Liberty Advances party as their new President, in a 55-45% landslide. Voters were sick of the ruling Peronist party’s corruption, poverty, job insecurity and runaway inflation (Sound familiar?)

https://www.foxnews.com/world/javier-milei-crushes-argentine-left-becomes-worlds-first-libertarian-head-state

Milei is a right-wing Libertarian populist who is adamantly anti-socialist and anti-communist and pro-small government. He’s a defender of western values and a staunch ally of Israel. He’s promised to end the central bank, adopt the US dollar as an official currency and distance Argentina from rogue communist nations like China. In his victory speech, he called for the ouster of all current politicians and for Argentina to “once again embrace the ideas of liberty.” You can see why he’s been compared to Trump, and not just because of his interesting hair style.

https://www.breitbart.com/latin-america/2023/11/19/javier-milei-speaks-after-winning-argentina-presidency-today-we-embrace-the-ideas-of-liberty/

Here’s more on Milei from blogger/journalist Jordan Schachtel. I’m cautiously optimistic that I’m going to like this guy.

Javier Milei, who has all of the right friends (and the right enemies), becomes president of Argentina (dossier.today)

Rest in Peace

November 21, 2023

I’d like to extend our deepest sympathies and prayers today to former President Jimmy Carter and his family, on the news that his wife of 77 years, Rosalynn Carter, died Sunday at 96. She passed away peacefully at home, surrounded by family, after a battle with dementia and months of declining health. She is now the second longest-lived First Lady, behind only Bess Truman, who died at 97.

https://www.westernjournal.com/ap-rosalynn-carter-outspoken-former-first-lady-dead-96/

Former President Carter issued a moving statement reading, “Rosalynn was my equal partner in everything I ever accomplished. She gave me wise guidance and encouragement when I needed it. As long as Rosalynn was in the world, I always knew somebody loved and supported me.”

Click the link to learn more about her extraordinary life as a devoted wife, mother, Christian and servant to others, from growing up poor in Plains, Georgia, working after school in a beauty parlor, to being First Lady and so active in her husband’s Administration that she was sometimes called the “co-President” 20 years before Hillary Clinton arrived; and on through decades of working with her husband for charities like Habitat for Humanity.

I’d also like to take a moment to join other conservative defenders of the First Amendment in observing the passing of Chester Darling. You might not know his name, but he played a major role in protecting freedom of religion. He was a liberal Boston civil rights attorney, but he had a fierce devotion to protecting First Amendment rights.

He won the 1995 landmark case, "Hurley v. Irish-American Gay, Lesbian, and Bisexual Group of Boston," in which the SCOTUS ruled unanimously that demonstrations organizers don’t have to accept every group that wants to join, especially those that don’t represent their values (in this case, the Catholic organizers of the St. Patrick’s Day Parade didn’t have to allow an LGBT organization to participate.) That case has been cited many times in protecting Americans of faith from being forced to participate in events that violate their beliefs, like providing services to same-sex weddings.

https://redstate.com/mccabe/2023/11/19/lawyer-in-st-patricks-day-parade-scotus-ruling-chester-darling-passes-94-n2166541

 


BY MIKE HUCKABEE

Blessings on you and your family from all the Huckabee team! 

Mike Huckabee


DAILY BIBLE VERSE

Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:

Matthew 28:19


Before the end of the month

Let me be clear: Government and Big Tech are working together to censor conservative views, and because they are I moved my newsletter to Substack.

Because you are a free subscriber to my newsletter, I would like you to consider subscribing to the paid version on Substack.

A Substack subscription-based newsletter allows my team and I to focus on what matters: the writing and the research we do to back up the writing, instead of worrying about censorship, or what Google is saying about me, how they are handling advertising on our website or whether or not my work shows up when you search for it.

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To become a paid subscriber of my politics newsletter it is $5 monthly or $36 annually. I email daily and my politics newsletters usually take 10-15 minutes to read. I cover the news of the day and the liberal media. I write about the upcoming elections and dive deep on the Biden scandals. I will also share my opinion of the Trump indictment. I don’t think you will regret reading my newsletter regularly as a paid subscriber, so please consider subscribing today.

With gratitude,

Mike Huckabee


Released: Freedom Rankings Report

The CATO Institute released its annual Freedom Rankings of the 50 states. Based on how each state’s policies impact economic, social and personal freedom, New Hampshire came in #1 as the most free state, followed by Florida. At the opposite end, the good news for California is that it did not rank as the least free state. It was at #48, just ahead of Hawaii (#49) and the least free state in America, New York at #50.

https://www.foxnews.com/us/rotten-apple-new-york-dubbed-least-free-state-country-new-study

Obviously, this doesn’t mean you can't get free stuff in New York, because illegal immigrants are getting tons of it. It does mean that New Yorkers are burdened by high public debt, high state and local taxes, voracious government consumption of resources and oppressive land use and labor policies. Wealthy residents of New York City pay among the highest combined state and local taxes in the country, and I’ve long said that if they ever realize they can do the same job over the Internet from a beachfront mansion in safe, sunny, income tax-free Florida, New York City will be done for. I suspect that day is drawing very close.

Incidentally, I don’t think I have to point out the prevailing political views in the least free and most free states, and how those have created the current situation, with residents of the former fleeing to the latter in droves. But just to show you that Democrat policies can always make a bad situation terrible, the rampant crime in New York City created by woke DAs and defunded police is about to get even worse, thanks to the Biden open borders policy.

New York Mayor Eric Adams announced that because of the high cost of dealing with all the illegal immigrants, the already strained-to-the-limit budgets for police, sanitation and other public necessities will be cut by 5%. They’ll also be slashing the budgets for education and museums and cultural institutions, and freezing hiring in such departments as education, health, aging and parks.

https://nypost.com/2023/11/19/metro/cardi-b-slams-eric-adams-over-nyc-budget-cuts-crimes-are-gonna-go-through-the-roof/

It’s gotten so bad that even rapper Cardi B went on a foul-mouthed social media tirade, complaining that the dirty city is going to get even dirtier, “crimes are gonna go through the roof” and “we’re gonna be drowning in rats!”

Yep. And just remember: you voted for it. And if I were a betting man, I’d bet the farm that next November, a lot of New Yorkers who are complaining about the crime, illegal immigration, budget cuts and more will vote for more of it. That includes some who aren’t even dead yet.


Mind-blowing

Here’s a truckload of cognitive dissonance that I’d like to dump on all those leftist college students in the streets and on TikTok who are railing against America and Israel and suddenly discovering the mind-blowing wisdom of Osama Bin Laden:

Last week, the rock band Coldplay played their first-ever gig in Muslim-majority Indonesia at a stadium in Jakarta. While the 70,000 seats sold out within hours, outside the stadium, about 300 members of a conservative Muslim group called the "anti-LGBT movement" protested and clashed with police. They shouted at concertgoers, calling them “LGBTQ supporters” and accused Coldplay of damaging the nation’s faith and morals by supporting gay rights.

https://news.yahoo.com/muslim-anti-lgbtq-groups-protest-130208839.html

News flash: These sound like exactly the sort of extreme views espoused by Osama Bin Laden, who also wanted to impose strict Sharia law worldwide. That not only calls for executing gay people, but forcing women to cover themselves from head to toe and never leave the home unless accompanied by an adult male.

While that would definitely cut down the size of the pro-Hamas campus demonstrations, I can’t help wondering if Osama’s new fan club members were aware that by supporting him, they’re endorsing killing gays and treating women like chattel. Or maybe they’re just being really loud and insistent about something they actually know less than nothing about. Wouldn’t be the first time.

 



Hey, Joe

Someone needs to alert President Biden to the growing threat of imagined Islamophobia.

https://redstate.com/bobhoge/2023/11/19/smollett-redux-ohio-man-for-faking-anti-palestinian-hate-crime-n2166568


Turmoil at X

There’s more turmoil at Twitter (now “X”), that I’m not going to try to explain because it would take so much space and time. But you can find out more at this link, and to pique your interest, it involves accusations of anti-Semitism and Elon Musk promising to file a “thermonuclear lawsuit” over those accusations against the leftist cancel culture purveyors, Media Matters.

https://www.breitbart.com/entertainment/2023/11/18/hollywood-boycotts-elon-musk-disney-other-major-studios-pull-ads-from-x-following-antisemitism-controversy/


Necessary

Yes, in 2023, it’s actually necessary to stipulate in the headline that the winner of the Miss Universe Pageant was a biological woman.

https://www.breitbart.com/health/2023/11/19/watch-biological-woman-wins-2023-miss-universe-pageant/


Sinking like a stone

The latest NBC News poll shows President Biden’s approval rating has been falling since January, when it was 46%, to its lowest level ever now at 40%. Nearly two-thirds of Independents disapprove.

https://www.breitbart.com/2024-election/2023/11/19/nbc-news-poll-joe-bidens-popularity-slips-lowest-level-presidency/

The biggest driver of the drop came with young voters aged 18 to 34. Their approval of Biden has plummeted from 46% in September to 31%.

Of course, as we’ve seen recently, that could be because so many of the Democrats’ young radical base are Hamas-supporting anti-Semites, and Biden is supporting Israel. He’s caught in an electoral Catch-22, because he needs their votes to win, but if he does what they want, he won’t get any votes from the non-crazy wing of his Party. I believe it was Kurt Schlichter who pointed out that the Democrats are in trouble because a large part of their base suddenly wants to kill another large part of their base. That’s rather hard for even the nimblest politician to straddle.

Related op-ed from Wayne Allyn Root: What if the Democrats get so panicked by Biden’s subterranean approval ratings that they replace him with their dream ticket of Gavin Newsom/Michelle Obama (or vice versa) – then discover that Americans blame all of them, not just Biden, for destroying border security and the economy and encouraging our enemies to launch World War III, and they see through all the indictments of Trump as the dirty abuse of power that they are, and elect Trump anyway?

https://www.westernjournal.com/root-trump-crushing-new-poll-dems-will-bring-not-1-2-ringers-replace-biden/

The column actually ends a little too soon. I think it’s worth considering also how the Democrats would immediately revert to “election deniers” and do everything in their power to block Trump from taking office, and to ask if the Republicans are making any plans to deal with that possibility.


Inconvenient truth

Some “progressive” rabbis joined Rep. Rashida Tlaib’s rally demanding Israel call a ceasefire against Hamas, but things went hilariously off the rails when they started reading from the Torah and realized they had to skip over a lot of inconvenient parts about God giving that land to the Jews.

https://redstate.com/bonchie/2023/11/20/rabbis-join-rashida-tlaib-to-promote-a-ceasefire-and-things-go-hilariously-wrong-n2166576


Britney Spears

I wouldn’t normally be writing about a topic like a memoir by pop star Britney Spears, but her new book contains a news-making revelation that not only shocked fans, it should also be shared with all young women who are lied to by the abortion lobby in so many ways.

Maybe if they read Britney’s own tragic story of what she went through when she was pressured into an unwanted abortion – both the never-ending feeling of loss and guilt from aborting her baby and the horrific physical pain and terror caused by the abortion pill (something abortion proponents don’t like to warn women about) – they’ll listen with a more open mind than when the message comes from politicians or activists.

https://www.nationalreview.com/2023/11/britney-spears-gives-courageous-voice-to-the-pain-of-coerced-abortion/


A little relief

Since this is a short holiday week, I thought it might be fun to give you a little relief from your Monday blues with some satirical stories from the Babylon Bee. You’ll find more truth about the news from them than you will from MSNBC, and it’s a lot funnier.

https://babylonbee.com/news/san-francisco-mayor-reminds-everyone-to-get-their-christmas-shoplifting-done-early

https://babylonbee.com/news/osama-bin-laden-given-honorary-posthumous-doctorate-from-columbia

https://babylonbee.com/news/target-releases-trans-muslim-chinese-quadruple-amputee-santa

https://babylonbee.com/news/satan-announces-early-retirement-thanks-to-tiktok

https://babylonbee.com/news/im-on-the-right-side-of-history-thinks-college-student-in-front-of-dorm-posters-of-stalin-hitler-osama-bin-laden

https://babylonbee.com/news/the-bee-has-obtained-the-biden-controlled-fbis-top-10-most-wanted-list

Extra Laughs: Eighteen reasons why you really need an electric car:

https://freedomfirstnetwork.com/2023/11/18-reasons-why-you-really-need-an-electric-car


We’re over the target: the left goes insane at release of all J6 video

On Greg Gutfeld’s FOX NEWS show Monday night, Greg showed some examples of headlines reacting with hysteria to House Speaker Mike Johnson’s release of all the Capitol video from January 6...

At FORBES:  NEW JAN. 6 VIDEOS RELEASED – LAUNCHING WILD CONSPIRACIES FROM THE FAR RIGHT

At HUFFINGTON POST:  GOP SENATOR [they mean Mike Lee of Utah] GOES ALL IN ON ‘NUTBALL’ JAN. 6 CONSPIRACY THEORIES

At MEDIAITE:  TRUMP SUPPORTERS CHEER RELEASE OF JAN. 6 FOOTAGE SHOWING TRUMP SUPPORTERS STORMING THE CAPITOL

Recurring themes leap out: “far-right,” “conspiracy theories,” etc.  As Greg said, “Now, one of the ways you know you’re onto something is when the legacy media starts to sing in unison like the Beach Boys on AutoTune.”  They’ve flipped the script:  conservative Trump supporters are the terrorists and Hamas is the legitimate political party.

As we have done, he stressed that conservatives had long condemned the violence that Nancy Pelosi’s J6 committee showed us over and over, in video that’s “cut together so well it was up for an Oscar in the category of Best Editing.”  (For the record, it wasn’t, but its airing on TV should qualify it with that crowd for an Emmy.)

Be sure and see Greg’s monologue and opening panel discussion if you haven’t; the link is below.  It strikes so many right notes that, if my writers had the ethics of Joe Biden, they would’ve just stolen it and run as our own without attribution.  But Greg deserves credit here.

Gutfeld made it clear “to even the half-wits on THE VIEW” that no one is defending the violence that broke out.  (We certainly never did.)  “I may not support riots, but I do support the truth,” he said, “and we have the right to hear the whole story.”

That’s true “especially when many of the protesters were veterans and average citizens who just wanted their voices heard and have been prosecuted like they were Hamas --- actually worse than if they were Hamas, because no one was defending the Jan. 6-ers on campus.”

He noted that the video shows “the Capitol doors [were] more open than Hunter’s nose on a Saturday night” (which is saying something).  We see now that Capitol Police stood by and let protesters in and in some cases even escorted them.  How were these House-guests to have any clue they were doing something wrong?

As for the J6 “select” committee, Greg said, “Usually to get that kind of kangaroo court, you’d have to hop on a flight on Qantas.”  (Cut to:  airliner with kangaroo graphic on tail.)

“What’s now clear is that any video that didn’t fit the committee’s narrative was ditched like one of Joe Biden’s grandkids.”  (Wish we’d come up with that line, but at least we’re not plagiarists.)

Maryland Rep. Jamie Raskin has already complained about the “partisan nature” (!!) of the released video.  He complained on CNN that releasing it was “like giving a diagram [of the Capitol building] to future insurrectionists and terrorists and anybody who wants to invade our body.”  We won’t say what Greg said he was full of, but you know.

“I wonder if he knows you can take a tour and see most of the Capitol if you want to,” Greg offered, “and most committee hearings are open to the public.”  Of course, Raskin knows this, but he doesn’t expect you to think of it.

https://www.foxnews.com/opinion/greg-gutfeld-any-video-that-didnt-fit-committees-narrative-ditched-like-one-bidens-grandkids

“The committee claimed to be ‘bipartisan,’” he said, “because they included ‘Republicans’ Liz Cheney and Adam Kinzinger...[who] cried more times during those hearings than a Kardashian at an onion-eating contest.  The puddles below Adam’s desk were so large, the hearings should’ve had a lifeguard on duty.”

On Monday, Bonchie at REDSTATE reported in an opinion piece that Kinzinger had “an hours-long mental breakdown over Mike Lee and the January 6 tapes.”  That’s no exaggeration; you can see how it unfolded in almost a dozen posts on “X.”  Isn’t it nice to know we had a member of Congress so smart and articulate that he resorts to insults like “dough face”?

Kinzinger is a ridiculous, juvenile person.  Just look at this…

https://redstate.com/bonchie/2023/11/19/adam-kinzinger-has-a-multi-post-mental-breakdown-over-mike-lee-and-the-january-6th-tapes-n2166549

We’ll give Kinzinger this:  he’s to be commended for having an Israeli flag in his posts.  But he deserves scorn for joining with Democrats to show just one aspect of the J6 story, which is, in effect, the same as lying to us.  As Bonchie commented, “What they didn't show us is [that] the vast majority of people who were present did what crowds often do, which is to wander around aimlessly with no actual intent to break the law. There's a reason the vast majority of people present at protests that get violent aren't even arrested, much less hunted down and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. That's because the DOJ doesn't typically go after people for being adjacent to riotous behavior.”

Gutfeld’s monologue wasn’t all funny --- one part of it would tear your heart out.  He brought up the case of Matthew Perna, showing the video of him ambling peacefully down a hallway inside the Capitol.  “...Clearly, the police are not concerned or even directing the protesters to leave.”

Note that Perna was the perfect example of someone whom Bonchie described as “adjacent to riotous behavior.”

Perna was interviewed five days after the rally and charged a couple of days later with trespass, and he accepted that because he had walked into the building, but the legal fallout mounted as charges were piled on and he lost his business and the support of his community.  He lost weight and became more and more depressed.  When the “Justice” Department finally up-charged him with terrorism (!) and he faced a nine-year prison sentence, he cracked.  As you’ll hear in his sister’s story below, he hanged himself before his court date.

Gutfeld pointed out that while peaceful people such as Matt Perna were destroyed and President Trump is condemned for “mean tweeting,” Antifa and pro-Hamas thugs who committed huge acts of violence --- the destruction of a police station in Seattle, the attack on a federal courthouse, even the riot at DNC headquarters --- weren’t investigated.

Dan Bongino delivered some powerful must-see commentary as well, starting about 16 minutes into his Monday podcast, linked to below.  He showed the video of Matthew Perna and told his heartbreaking story.

“The left didn’t want you to see this,” Bongino said, “because now they know you know we do not have two systems of justice; we have one.  It is a communist system of justice with a hierarchy.  If you are a Trump supporter and you...walk in the Capitol --- some through an open door --- you don’t get charged [just] with trespass.  You get a terrorism enhancement, potentially nine years in jail…”

But nothing happens to you, he said, if you’re a leftist who marches into the Capitol and occupies Kevin McCarthy’s office during a vote on a continuing resolution.  “You understand why they wanted to hide these tapes from you?”  The reason is, they don’t want you to be able to compare and contrast this to what the left gets away with.  More than anything, tyrants fear exposure.

“I want you to know, folks,” he said, “they will burn this freaking place to the ground, the left.  They will censor you, they will destroy your career, your finances, destroy the economy, they will put you in jail” so they can remain in power.

Bongino featured Geri Perna, the aunt of Matt Perna, on his radio show Monday to talk about how the government destroyed her nephew.

The wounds are obviously still fresh.  Here’s what Geri had to say in the aftermath of his death…

https://americangulag.org/matthew-pernas-family-speaks-out-his-legacy-continues/

Here’s Tucker Carlson’s interview with her from around that time.  She said the local newspaper had censored a couple of lines from the obituary she had written, one being that “a lot of people were responsible for his death.”  At that time, she also spoke bitterly about the lack of support from Republicans on Capitol Hill.

https://www.foxnews.com/video/6302479848001

RELATED READING:  Now that the thousands of hours of video have bene released and picked through, there seems to be no evidence whatsoever that Capitol Police officer Harry Dunn’s sworn testimony about being repeatedly being called the “n-word” by J6 protesters is true.

https://www.theblaze.com/shows/the-glenn-beck-program/did-blaze-media-just-catch-a-j6-hero-cop-in-a-web-of-lies?

Also, here’s a provocative essay that will probably get us demonetized (That’s why we hope you’ll subscribe to the newsletter on Substack if you don’t already!)  Time has been on the side of those who expressed doubts about election integrity on January 6.  Here’s Rob Natelson with his eminently reasonable “Why I Still Doubt the 2020 Election,” which uses history to make a strong case that “changing the rules would be perfectly in character for leftists in charge of election machinery.”  It’s a must-read!

https://www.theepochtimes.com/opinion/why-i-still-doubt-the-2020-election-5532586?utm_source=opinionnoe&src_src=opinionnoe&utm_campaign=opinion-2023-11-20&src_cmp=opinion-2023-11-20&utm_medium=email&est=xqRKJkngLDuiUu0dJOZu6a9yez97%2F5XEQHqSmeV8yKy2tLRZxkHxr2FWLVg30teU6BrSOw%3D%3D


 I JUST WANTED TO SAY: 

Thank you for reading my newsletter. 

For more news, visit my website.


A liberal Colorado judge rejected a lawsuit seeking to keep Trump off the 2024 ballot under the 14th Amendment ban on “insurrectionists.” The judge found that under the Constitution, a President is not an “officer of the United States” who can be disqualified by the Amendment. However, she went on to say that he "engaged in insurrection" by sparking the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol by his supporters. And of course, that’s the big headline in most of the news stories.

https://www.reuters.com/legal/colorado-judges-allows-trump-primary-ballot-delays-decision-general-election-2023-11-18/

Granted, I’m not a judge – not even an attorney – but in what world does a judge have the right to publicly brand someone guilty on the court record of a crime for which he was never indicted, much less convicted? The finding that the Constitution does not apply was not only all she needed to say, it was all that she had the power to say, not having presided over any trial of those charges. That gives a strained new meaning to the term, “judicial opinion.”

In a related story, the judge in Trump’s election interference case in DC, Judge Tanya Chutkan, rejected a request from Trump’s attorneys to remove language from the indictments referring to "actions of independent actors at the Capitol on January 6,” which Trump did not commit and for which he was not charged. They argued that “allegations related to these actions are not relevant and are prejudicial and inflammatory.” Chutkan ruled that, "Regardless of whether the allegations at issue are relevant, Defendant has not satisfied his burden to clearly show that they are prejudicial,"

Yeah, why would it be prejudicial to fill an indictment with a list of crimes other people committed and that the defendant isn’t even accused of?

https://justthenews.com/government/courts-law/dc-judge-rejects-trump-bid-remove-prejudicial-language-election-indictments

In Michigan, where a judge threw out a lawsuit trying to keep Trump off the ballot on 14th Amendment grounds, the democracy-hating Democrats who brought it are appealing to the state Supreme Court. Let’s hope they use their gavels appropriately on it.

https://justthenews.com/government/courts-law/michigan-group-appeals-trump-14th-amendment-case-state-supreme-court

Finally, as Gomer Pyle would say, “Sur-prize! Sur-prize!” The judge in Trump’s New York real estate fraud case rejected his attorneys’ filing for a mistrial based on his demonstrated and possibly illegal bias (such as commenting on a case in front of him on a collegiate social media page), finding that it was “utterly without merit.” Funny, that phrase also occurred to me, but not in relation to the mistrial filing.

https://justthenews.com/government/courts-law/judge-rejects-trump-bid-mistrial-ny-fraud-case-utterly-without-merit

In response, New York Rep. Elise Stefanik filed her second ethics complaint against this judge.

https://justthenews.com/politics-policy/stefanik-files-second-ethics-complaint-against-judge-engoron-after-he-rejects-trump

RELATED: Special Counsel Jack Smith likened himself to a saint, giving everyone a much-needed laugh.

https://www.westernjournal.com/jack-smith-compares-saint-court-brief-trump/

We will be celebrating Thanksgiving this coming week, and even with Joe Biden in the White House wandering around like last year’s turkey and Kamala Harris cackling like this year’s turkey, there’s a lot to be thankful for, even though almost none of it originates in Washington, DC!

I’m grateful it’s already deer season in Arkansas and many parts of the country, and before it’s over, I hope to fill my freezer again this year with delicious, healthy, lean, and organic venison.  I have friends and even a few grafted-in family members who aren’t all that pumped about eating Bambi’s Daddy, but I just sing the lyrics to “Circle of Life” and remind them that if they really are into healthy protein that is as organic as the acorns off the oak trees, then venison is the meat of choice.  I use it in my world famous deer meat chili for example.  World famous, you ask?  Well, they probably don’t know about it in Beijing, Teheran, or North Korea, but why would I share my chili recipe with the Communist Chinese who have done little to share with us other than the Wuhan Virus?  And I sure wouldn’t give it to the Ayatollah in Iran.  Heck, Joe’s giving them billions already and they are turning around and making Christmas rockets for Hamas and Hezbollah.  And sadly, folks in North Korea are reduced to eating grass clippings and tree bark and wouldn’t know a good bowl of deer chili from a bowl of cow droppings.  So maybe my deer meat chili isn’t famous everywhere, but in MY world, it’s famous, and that makes it “world famous chili.”  And good venison can make wonderful tacos, spaghetti, meat loaf, summer sausage, and of course chicken-fried deer steak which cooked in my big black-iron skillet will make you jump up and break-dance on the kitchen table. 

And I’m grateful that duck season will start this weekend in Arkansas.  Did I mention that Arkansas is the duck hunting capital of the world.  And yes, I actually do mean the entire world as people fly from as far away as Europe to experience the sacred sight of thousands of mallards coming in for a landing across the Arkansas prairie and throughout the Delta in an area that is comprised of the White, Arkansas and Mississippi rivers along the food source of the most productive rice fields in the United States located in east Arkansas.  I often say that the first day in heaven will be a flooded timber duck hunt.  Not sure what we do after that, but God wants us to get off to a great start and it’s obvious we’ll kick things off with our heavenly versions of a 12-gauge Benelli semi-automatic shotgun and busting ducks for the first night’s dinner in glory!

Of course there are other things to be thankful for.  Like “Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness,” although if we don’t do better in the coming elections, we might not have any of those things left.  And then we’ll be hunting just to feed the family and not just to supplement our groceries and to just enjoy the outdoors. 

I’m obviously thankful for my family—a wife of almost 50 years, 3 grown children who all turned out pretty good, and 7 absolutely adorable grandchildren.  I’m thankful for good health, except for the aches and pains that my doctor dismisses as an issue of “age.”  And I’m thankful for a wonderful church family where I hear strong Biblical messages, enjoy edifying relationships with fellow pilgrims in the process of life, and who fellowship with those who genuinely bear one another’s burdens.

So as we prepare for Thanksgiving, and I start preparing not one but two turkeys for the masses who will descend on my house Thanksgiving Day, I will not be focusing on the odorous politics of Washington, but the magnificent aroma of both smoked and fried turkey, cornbread dressing, pecan pie, and gallons of iced tea.  And I’m still glad to be an American!

Huckabee Post: Trump in Texas

November 20, 2023

 


BY MIKE HUCKABEE

Blessings on you and your family from all the Huckabee team! 

Mike Huckabee


DAILY BIBLE VERSE

For the which cause I also suffer these things: nevertheless I am not ashamed: for I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day.

2 Timothy 1:12


Help needed before the end of the month

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To become a paid subscriber of my politics newsletter it is $5 monthly or $36 annually. I email daily and my politics newsletters usually take 10-15 minutes to read. I cover the news of the day and the liberal media. I write about the upcoming elections and dive deep on the Biden scandals. I will also share my opinion of the Trump indictment. I don’t think you will regret reading my newsletter regularly as a paid subscriber, so please consider subscribing today.

With gratitude,

Mike Huckabee


Rest In Peace

I’d like to extend our deepest sympathies and prayers today to former President Jimmy Carter and his family, on the news that his wife of 77 years, Rosalynn Carter, died Sunday at 96. She passed away peacefully at home, surrounded by family, after a battle with dementia and months of declining health. She is now the second longest-lived First Lady, behind only Bess Truman, who died at 97.

https://www.westernjournal.com/ap-rosalynn-carter-outspoken-former-first-lady-dead-96/

Former President Carter issued a moving statement reading, “Rosalynn was my equal partner in everything I ever accomplished. She gave me wise guidance and encouragement when I needed it. As long as Rosalynn was in the world, I always knew somebody loved and supported me.”

Click the link to learn more about her extraordinary life as a devoted wife, mother, Christian and servant to others, from growing up poor in Plains, Georgia, working after school in a beauty parlor, to being First Lady and so active in her husband’s Administration that she was sometimes called the “co-President” 20 years before Hillary Clinton arrived; and on through decades of working with her husband for charities like Habitat for Humanity.

I’d also like to take a moment to join other conservative defenders of the First Amendment in observing the passing of Chester Darling. You might not know his name, but he played a major role in protecting freedom of religion. He was a liberal Boston civil rights attorney, but he had a fierce devotion to protecting First Amendment rights.

He won the 1995 landmark case, "Hurley v. Irish-American Gay, Lesbian, and Bisexual Group of Boston," in which the SCOTUS ruled unanimously that demonstrations organizers don’t have to accept every group that wants to join, especially those that don’t represent their values (in this case, the Catholic organizers of the St. Patrick’s Day Parade didn’t have to allow an LGBT organization to participate.) That case has been cited many times in protecting Americans of faith from being forced to participate in events that violate their beliefs, like providing services to same-sex weddings.

https://redstate.com/mccabe/2023/11/19/lawyer-in-st-patricks-day-parade-scotus-ruling-chester-darling-passes-94-n2166541


Here is today’s link to continually-updated news on the war in Israel from Fox News…

https://www.foxnews.com/live-news/november-20-israel-hamas-war

The latest developments: In a dangerous escalation, Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen seized a ship in the Red Sea and took 25 crew members hostage. They’re threatening to destroy Israel’s economy by attacking all Israeli-linked ships. This ship is supposedly tied to a carrier company owned by Israeli billionaire Abraham "Rami" Ungar, but it’s registered in the Bahamas, is owned by a British company, operated by a Japanese company, and the crew members include Ukrainians, Bulgarians, Filipinos and Mexicans, with no Israelis aboard. The Houthis are apparently trying to start World War III all by themselves.

https://www.westernjournal.com/ap-israeli-linked-ship-seized-iranian-backed-militants-grave-incident-global-consequence/

To the surprise of nobody who really knows anything about Hamas, the IDF announced that Hamas had been using the Al-Shifa Hospital to conceal a base of terrorist operations, and they took hostages there. The IDF also reported that 19-year-old female IDF servicemember Noa Marciano, who was taken hostage by Hamas, was taken to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, but instead of treating her, they murdered her.

Prime Minister Netanyahu blasted the Palestinian Authority for claiming that Hamas wasn’t responsible for the hundreds of deaths at the massacre they launched against Israeli music festival attendees on October 7th, but that they were killed by an IDF helicopter firing at the terrorists. Whom I assume were only there to vibe on the music. That’s a story so offensively ridiculous that only the Palestinian Authority or the Harvard faculty could believe it.

Related Reading: Mark Levin on why Secretary of State Antony Blinken has got to go.

https://www.theblaze.com/columns/opinion/antony-blinkens-plot-to-destroy-israel-exposed

 


More evidence of Leftist misrule

This weekend brought some election results that suggest that from the US to Argentina, voters are fed up to the gills with leftist misrule.

On Saturday, there were three statewide elections in Louisiana, and let’s hope they’re a harbinger of what’s coming in 2024. Republican Jeff Landry previously won the primary by a wide enough margin that there won't even be a runoff/gubernatorial election. And on Saturday, all three Trump-backed Republican candidates for Attorney General, Secretary of State, and State Treasurer won their races by 2-1 margins of around 66%-33%.

https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2023/11/19/trump-backed-republicans-sweep-statewide-elections-louisiana/

And in a resounding rebuke to creeping South American socialism, voters in Argentina elected Libertarian outsider congressman and economist Javier Milei of the Liberty Advances party as their new President, in a 55-45% landslide. Voters were sick of the ruling Peronist party’s corruption, poverty, job insecurity and runaway inflation (Sound familiar?)

https://www.foxnews.com/world/javier-milei-crushes-argentine-left-becomes-worlds-first-libertarian-head-state

Milei is a right-wing Libertarian populist who is adamantly anti-socialist and anti-communist and pro-small government. He’s a defender of western values and a staunch ally of Israel. He’s promised to end the central bank, adopt the US dollar as an official currency and distance Argentina from rogue communist nations like China. In his victory speech, he called for the ouster of all current politicians and for Argentina to “once again embrace the ideas of liberty.” You can see why he’s been compared to Trump, and not just because of his interesting hair style.

https://www.breitbart.com/latin-america/2023/11/19/javier-milei-speaks-after-winning-argentina-presidency-today-we-embrace-the-ideas-of-liberty/

Here’s more on Milei from blogger/journalist Jordan Schachtel. I’m cautiously optimistic that I’m going to like this guy.

Javier Milei, who has all of the right friends (and the right enemies), becomes president of Argentina (dossier.today)


Trump in Texas

Former President Trump was in Edinburg, Texas, Sunday to join Gov. Greg Abbott in his Thanksgiving tradition of serving tamales to Texas state troopers and National Guard members who are deployed along the border. Coincidentally, Abbott also officially endorsed Trump for President, saying, "Now more than ever, America needs a President who will secure the border and prioritize national security. President Trump is the clear choice to get the job done."

https://www.foxnews.com/politics/texas-gov-abbott-endorses-trump-gop-presidential-bid


With release of all the video, Dems’ J6 narrative is crumbling

“The new video that’s being released is as misleading as all the other video released,” said bestselling author and persuasion expert Scott Adams on his podcast Sunday, speaking of the video just released by House Speaker Mike Johnson.  “The initial video from the January 6 committee focused on all the violent stuff that was happening, mostly outside the doorways --- and they were truly violent, and we should know about that.  The new video being released shows the opposite narrative...people being let in by the security guards; there’s fist-bumps...[we hear] people saying they’re undercover agents.  Like, basically 100 percent supporting the Republican version of events.”

“But just assume those are out of context,” he said, “just like the other side’s is out of context.”

He wasn’t through:  “However, just their very existence is making people think that they were lied to about January 6.  Which, of course, they were...It was obvious there were intelligence people, FBI.  It’s very obvious that everything from the courts to the Democrats to the news, it was just an op.  None of that was legitimate.  So now that’s obvious, but of course it’s only obvious to the right.  Will the left come to understand that January 6 was always an op?  I doubt it.”

Adams believes the Democrats’ J6 narrative is falling apart, along with the other narratives that form what he calls the “architecture” of the Democrats’ anti-conservative message.  Whether or not the facts surrounding J6 have changed, he says, our interpretation of them is changing.

“I would watch Bill Maher to see if he changes,” Adams said, “’cause he’s sort of the canary in the coal mine.”  Adams doubts Maher can change his mind, because’s he’s in a “full-on TDS sort of situation,” and unless he does, he says, the left won’t move.  “But still,” he said, “you can see the architecture of that story has changed immensely since Day 1.”

In the beginning, Adams said, it looked as though Trump had “done some bad stuff,” but “the longer you go, the more it looks like that was just bull-(bleep).  So, time is helping Trump there.”

Of course, we don’t (yet) know the full extent of the involvement of our own intelligence people, but there’s no question they were there, so the left should just stipulate that.  Now that we have the rest of the video, we’ll take it from here.

Kash Patel has said essentially the same thing in different words.  Thanks to the release of these videos, he said, “the January 6 truth finally has entered the American bloodstream.”

He also noted that in the trial of President Trump on J6-related charges, “selective inclusion of evidence is unconstitutional,” accusing DC District Judge Tanya Chutkan of “setting up a disinformation campaign on the narrative that Donald Trump committed an ‘insurrection,’ even though Special Counsel Jack Smith has refused to charge Donald Trump with the crime of insurrection.”  In that, this blatantly anti-Trump judge has gone even further than Smith dared to go.  No wonder they’re trying to hurry the trial through; if they could’ve stalled the release of this J6 video until afterwards, they would have.

https://rumble.com/v3wpp0r-kash-patel-the-january-6th-truth-has-entered-the-american-bloodstream.html

It’s painstaking work to go through thousands of hours of security video, but interesting tidbits are dropping in the meantime.  For example, remember that for Nancy Pelosi’s J6 committee hearings, video “evidence” was creatively edited for emotional impact by an ABC network news producer?  Apparently, the Democrats took even more artistic license with their video for public consumption, because we can now hear the same audio clip being played behind TWO different visuals.  One --- the version that CNN showed on-air --- has Iowa Sen. Chuck Grassley in it; the other does not.  We have no idea what the intention was in making Sen. Grassley a non-person (pardon the Orwell reference), but it does show that for whatever reason, they took some shall-we-say creative liberties.  What the hey?

https://rumble.com/v3wpbsx-why-did-pelosi-stage-two-video-shoots-with-the-same-audio-on-january-6.html

After Pelosi tried to deflect attention from the newly-released “peaceful” video with an edited montage of “violent” video, Nick Arama at REDSTATE commented that “no one is saying that there wasn’t violence.  What they are saying is that the whole picture was kept from people, and that the Committee didn’t release the video because it showed something other than the narrative they promoted to attack Republicans before the 2022 election.”  Their narrative, as you know, was that Republican Trump supporters --- all who dared question the election outcome --- were “violent insurrectionists.”

https://redstate.com/nick-arama/2023/11/19/mike-lee-isnt-done-with-liz-cheney-yet-he-has-a-great-question-for-her-about-those-fbi-agents-and-j6-n2166539

Sen. Mike Lee accused the committee of hiding the more peaceful scenes to make sure all people saw was violence.  When Sen. Lee asked on “X” how many people involved on January 6 were “feds,” Liz Cheney responded by calling him a “nutball conspiracy theorist.”

Lee wrote back, linking to a story that the FBI had “lost count” of how many informants they had at the Capitol that day and would have to do an audit to figure that out.  “Shouldn’t the J6 committee have been demanding answers to this question?” he asked.

https://apnews.com/article/israel-houthi-rebels-hijacked-ship-red-sea-dc9b6448690bcf5c70a0baf7c7c34b09

Lee also commented on a fascinating video clip in which a “protester” is un-handcuffed in a side hallway and then fist-bumps security police, as an undercover agent might do.  Lee is no conspiracy theorist for bringing attention to this.  If there’s a reasonable explanation for such odd behavior, we want to know it.  If there isn’t, we want and deserve to know that, too.

J. D. Rucker at LIBERTY DAILY wrote about this bizarre image as well, after former J6 detainee (let’s just call him a political prisoner) Derrick Evans posted a still frame, saying, “This was sent to me.  Is this person flashing a badge?  If so, this would prove there were undercover agents disguised as MAGA.  I was thrown in solitary for peacefully protesting.  I just want the truth to be known.  Please [re-tweet] so we can get the truth either way.”

Sen. Lee responded that he would ask FBI Director Chris Wray but expected his answer to be “97% information-free.”

NBC NEWS posted a response to add “context”:  “The person in the photo is Kevin Lyons.  He has been sentenced to 51 months in prison for his illegal activities inside the Capitol on J6.  He is not a police officer and is not holding a badge.  He is carrying a vape and a photograph and wallet stolen from Pelosi’s office.”

Even with “context,” we still have questions, because under the circumstances it’s hard to imagine handcuffs being removed, let alone fist-bumping.  But here’s the story from July of this year about Lyons’ sentencing.  Lyons did lift a photo and wallet from Pelosi’s office, was interviewed by the FBI five days later and arrested two days after that.

https://thehill.com/regulation/court-battles/4098328-jan-6-rioter-accused-of-stealing-from-pelosis-office-sentenced-to-more-than-4-years-in-prison/

To those who criticize Sen. Lee and all who raise questions now:  this is exactly what NEEDS to happen.  You kept the full picture of the protest from us in an attempt to paint everyone at that rally --- indeed, everyone who supported Trump and dared to question the election in any way --- as an “insurrectionist.”  That’s a lie, and your lie is crumbling.

Jeff Charles at REDSTATE elaborated in a VIP column; we’ll include the link in case you’re signed up and summarize in case you aren’t.  “Now that the rest of the J6 footage is being released,” he wrote, “the American people can see what we already knew:  The so-called ‘insurrection’ was anything but.”

We don’t want to gloss over the violence and have never excused it, but many who were there that day still face charges and convictions, some for just sauntering peacefully around the building as Capitol Police stood by quietly or even encouraged them.

The Democrats showed only images of violence, trying their best to tie Trump and his supporters to what was mislabeled an insurrection.  So Charles suggests a turn-about.  “If anything,” he wrote, “a Republican select committee could break the Democrats’ J6 narrative by focusing on the footage the Democrats left out during their political circus.”

“The fact that there are currently people in cages for walking through a building is an egregious display of tyranny that should be exposed,” Charles wrote.  “If another select committee is the way to bring this to light, then so be it.”  Then maybe the voters will actually do something about that abuse of power.

https://redstate.com/jeffc/2023/11/19/sure-lets-have-a-new-republican-j6-select-committee-n2166564

RELATED READING:  Jonathan Turley has an excellent update on the lawfare against Trump, noting that “none of these cases are truly slam dunks.”

https://jonathanturley.org/2023/11/19/it-aint-over-till-its-over-christies-prediction-of-a-trump-conviction-by-spring-may-have-just-hit-a-snag/#more-212001

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“The new video that’s being released is as misleading as all the other video released,” said bestselling author and persuasion expert Scott Adams on his podcast Sunday, speaking of the video just released by House Speaker Mike Johnson.  “The initial video from the January 6 committee focused on all the violent stuff that was happening, mostly outside the doorways --- and they were truly violent, and we should know about that.  The new video being released shows the opposite narrative...people being let in by the security guards; there’s fist-bumps...[we hear] people saying they’re undercover agents.  Like, basically 100 percent supporting the Republican version of events.”

“But just assume those are out of context,” he said, “just like the other side’s is out of context.”

He wasn’t through:  “However, just their very existence is making people think that they were lied to about January 6.  Which, of course, they were...It was obvious there were intelligence people, FBI.  It’s very obvious that everything from the courts to the Democrats to the news, it was just an op.  None of that was legitimate.  So now that’s obvious, but of course it’s only obvious to the right.  Will the left come to understand that January 6 was always an op?  I doubt it.”

Adams believes the Democrats’ J6 narrative is falling apart, along with the other narratives that form what he calls the “architecture” of the Democrats’ anti-conservative message.  Whether or not the facts surrounding J6 have changed, he says, our interpretation of them is changing.

“I would watch Bill Maher to see if he changes,” Adams said, “’cause he’s sort of the canary in the coal mine.”  Adams doubts Maher can change his mind, because’s he’s in a “full-on TDS sort of situation,” and unless he does, he says, the left won’t move.  “But still,” he said, “you can see the architecture of that story has changed immensely since Day 1.”

In the beginning, Adams said, it looked as though Trump had “done some bad stuff,” but “the longer you go, the more it looks like that was just bull-(bleep).  So, time is helping Trump there.”

Of course, we don’t (yet) know the full extent of the involvement of our own intelligence people, but there’s no question they were there, so the left should just stipulate that.  Now that we have the rest of the video, we’ll take it from here.

Kash Patel has said essentially the same thing in different words.  Thanks to the release of these videos, he said, “the January 6 truth finally has entered the American bloodstream.”

He also noted that in the trial of President Trump on J6-related charges, “selective inclusion of evidence is unconstitutional,” accusing DC District Judge Tanya Chutkan of “setting up a disinformation campaign on the narrative that Donald Trump committed an ‘insurrection,’ even though Special Counsel Jack Smith has refused to charge Donald Trump with the crime of insurrection.”  In that, this blatantly anti-Trump judge has gone even further than Smith dared to go.  No wonder they’re trying to hurry the trial through; if they could’ve stalled the release of this J6 video until afterwards, they would have.

https://rumble.com/v3wpp0r-kash-patel-the-january-6th-truth-has-entered-the-american-bloodstream.html

It’s painstaking work to go through thousands of hours of security video, but interesting tidbits are dropping in the meantime.  For example, remember that for Nancy Pelosi’s J6 committee hearings, video “evidence” was creatively edited for emotional impact by an ABC network news producer?  Apparently, the Democrats took even more artistic license with their video for public consumption, because we can now hear the same audio clip being played behind TWO different visuals.  One --- the version that CNN showed on-air --- has Iowa Sen. Chuck Grassley in it; the other does not.  We have no idea what the intention was in making Sen. Grassley a non-person (pardon the Orwell reference), but it does show that for whatever reason, they took some shall-we-say creative liberties.  What the hey?

https://rumble.com/v3wpbsx-why-did-pelosi-stage-two-video-shoots-with-the-same-audio-on-january-6.html

After Pelosi tried to deflect attention from the newly-released “peaceful” video with an edited montage of “violent” video, Nick Arama at REDSTATE commented that “no one is saying that there wasn’t violence.  What they are saying is that the whole picture was kept from people, and that the Committee didn’t release the video because it showed something other than the narrative they promoted to attack Republicans before the 2022 election.”  Their narrative, as you know, was that Republican Trump supporters --- all who dared question the election outcome --- were “violent insurrectionists.”

https://redstate.com/nick-arama/2023/11/19/mike-lee-isnt-done-with-liz-cheney-yet-he-has-a-great-question-for-her-about-those-fbi-agents-and-j6-n2166539

Sen. Mike Lee accused the committee of hiding the more peaceful scenes to make sure all people saw was violence.  When Sen. Lee asked on “X” how many people involved on January 6 were “feds,” Liz Cheney responded by calling him a “nutball conspiracy theorist.”

Lee wrote back, linking to a story that the FBI had “lost count” of how many informants they had at the Capitol that day and would have to do an audit to figure that out.  “Shouldn’t the J6 committee have been demanding answers to this question?” he asked.

https://apnews.com/article/israel-houthi-rebels-hijacked-ship-red-sea-dc9b6448690bcf5c70a0baf7c7c34b09

Lee also commented on a fascinating video clip in which a “protester” is un-handcuffed in a side hallway and then fist-bumps security police, as an undercover agent might do.  Lee is no conspiracy theorist for bringing attention to this.  If there’s a reasonable explanation for such odd behavior, we want to know it.  If there isn’t, we want and deserve to know that, too.

J. D. Rucker at LIBERTY DAILY wrote about this bizarre image as well, after former J6 detainee (let’s just call him a political prisoner) Derrick Evans posted a still frame, saying, “This was sent to me.  Is this person flashing a badge?  If so, this would prove there were undercover agents disguised as MAGA.  I was thrown in solitary for peacefully protesting.  I just want the truth to be known.  Please [re-tweet] so we can get the truth either way.”

Sen. Lee responded that he would ask FBI Director Chris Wray but expected his answer to be “97% information-free.”

NBC NEWS posted a response to add “context”:  “The person in the photo is Kevin Lyons.  He has been sentenced to 51 months in prison for his illegal activities inside the Capitol on J6.  He is not a police officer and is not holding a badge.  He is carrying a vape and a photograph and wallet stolen from Pelosi’s office.”

Even with “context,” we still have questions, because under the circumstances it’s hard to imagine handcuffs being removed, let alone fist-bumping.  But here’s the story from July of this year about Lyons’ sentencing.  Lyons did lift a photo and wallet from Pelosi’s office, was interviewed by the FBI five days later and arrested two days after that.

https://thehill.com/regulation/court-battles/4098328-jan-6-rioter-accused-of-stealing-from-pelosis-office-sentenced-to-more-than-4-years-in-prison/

To those who criticize Sen. Lee and all who raise questions now:  this is exactly what NEEDS to happen.  You kept the full picture of the protest from us in an attempt to paint everyone at that rally --- indeed, everyone who supported Trump and dared to question the election in any way --- as an “insurrectionist.”  That’s a lie, and your lie is crumbling.

Jeff Charles at REDSTATE elaborated in a VIP column; we’ll include the link in case you’re signed up and summarize in case you aren’t.  “Now that the rest of the J6 footage is being released,” he wrote, “the American people can see what we already knew:  The so-called ‘insurrection’ was anything but.”

We don’t want to gloss over the violence and have never excused it, but many who were there that day still face charges and convictions, some for just sauntering peacefully around the building as Capitol Police stood by quietly or even encouraged them.

The Democrats showed only images of violence, trying their best to tie Trump and his supporters to what was mislabeled an insurrection.  So Charles suggests a turn-about.  “If anything,” he wrote, “a Republican select committee could break the Democrats’ J6 narrative by focusing on the footage the Democrats left out during their political circus.”

“The fact that there are currently people in cages for walking through a building is an egregious display of tyranny that should be exposed,” Charles wrote.  “If another select committee is the way to bring this to light, then so be it.”  Then maybe the voters will actually do something about that abuse of power.

https://redstate.com/jeffc/2023/11/19/sure-lets-have-a-new-republican-j6-select-committee-n2166564

 

 

RELATED READING:  Jonathan Turley has an excellent update on the lawfare against Trump, noting that “none of these cases are truly slam dunks.”

https://jonathanturley.org/2023/11/19/it-aint-over-till-its-over-christies-prediction-of-a-trump-conviction-by-spring-may-have-just-hit-a-snag/#more-212001

 

Biden should write a book

November 20, 2023

Remember how Trump ran for office on a platform of negotiating better deals with other nations? He argued that for years, officials in Washington agreed to deals that were far more advantageous to other nations than to America. He vowed to reverse that, and he did. He put Americans' interests first, while leftists twisted “America first” into a pejorative that in their minds meant something evil, jingoistic, fascist, imperialist, xenophobic, and probably racist and transphobic, too. All it really meant was that we stopped giving away the farm to other nations and made sure American businesses and workers got some profits and jobs and that we didn’t sell out America’s security.

Tragically, Trump was replaced with Biden, whose idea of a great international deal was giving our enemies anything they wanted in exchange for empty promises they had no intention of keeping. For instance, giving billions to Iran and allowing them to build nuclear reactors in exchange for pinky-swear promises that they wouldn’t use the money to fund terrorism or enrich uranium to build nuclear bombs. We know how well the first promise worked out, and here’s how we’re doing on the second: Reuters reports that Iran already has enough enriched uranium to build three nuclear bombs.

https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/irans-nuclear-enrichment-advances-it-stonewalls-un-iaea-reports-show-2023-11-15/

Flush with his success at selling out to Iran, Biden has now agreed with China to shut down America’s fossil fuel industry. In pursuit of his “climate change” agenda, the State Department announced that it has struck a deal with Chila to "accelerate the substitution for coal, oil and gas generation" with green energy sources like wind and solar power.

https://www.foxnews.com/politics/experts-raise-alarm-biden-strikes-agreement-china-shut-down-fossil-fuels

Here are just a few of the drawbacks to that deal that the media don’t want to discuss:

1. If you think China has any intention whatsoever of abiding by it themselves, you are as crazy as a TikTokker fangirling on Osama Bin Laden. I’ve seen this movie before, and I know how it ends. In 2021, Xi Jinping pledged to “strictly control coal-fired power generation plants” in China. In the two years prior, Beijing had approved building 127 such plants. In the two years since pledging to limit them, they’ve approved 182.

https://wattsupwiththat.com/2023/11/17/peak-cognitive-dissonance-for-the-climate-scare/

2. This deal will destroy American jobs; empower and enrich oil producers like OPEC, Russia and Iran; and make energy costs for working Americans skyrocket while resulting in widespread power outages, made worse by Biden’s insane insistence on forcing everyone to drive unreliable, unwanted electric cars that will put a massive drain on the power grid.

3. Wind and solar are completely inadequate to provide reliable power for a 21st century advanced nation. They also are NOT “green,” as they create vast amounts of pollution to build the towers, turbines and solar panels; they blight the landscape; they don’t last nearly as long or produce nearly as much power as advertised; they are decimating bird populations and are likely responsible for killing whales.

Like the frantic pullback from EVs by automakers who are losing billions, we’re already seeing these “green energy” companies begging to get out of contracts to build off-shore wind farms (a crazy idea when you consider the effects of salt water on metal) or else begging for even more government subsidies. We would have been better off generating power from steam engines heated by burning taxpayer money.

https://justthenews.com/politics-policy/energy/wind-companies-losing-billions-experts-say-federal-bailout-could-be-coming

There is a reliable source of adequate power with zero emissions, one that some European nations like France are already exploiting. But we can’t use nuclear power because a lot of liberals are terrified of it due to Chernobyl and Fukushima – incidents that could be avoided by not building nuclear power plants in an earthquake zone using Soviet technology from 1986. So instead, we’ll shut down our oil and gas resources and hope the wind blows today while China keeps right on building coal-fired power plants.

Trump wrote “The Art of the Deal.” Biden should write a book called “The Art of the Abject Surrender.”

 


BY MIKE HUCKABEE

Blessings on you and your family from all the Huckabee team! 

Mike Huckabee


DAILY BIBLE VERSE

But if serving the Lord seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.”

Joshua 24:15 NIV


Blocked for my views on President Trump, the COVID-19 response, Joe Biden, etc.

Let me be clear: Government and Big Tech are working together to censor conservative views, and because they are I moved my newsletter to Substack.

Because you are a free subscriber to my newsletter, I would like you to consider subscribing to the paid version on Substack.

A Substack subscription-based newsletter allows my team and I to focus on what matters: the writing and the research we do to back up the writing, instead of worrying about censorship, or what Google is saying about me, how they are handling advertising on our website or whether or not my work shows up when you search for it.

To keep the newsletter going, we have setup a monthly goal of identifying 671 new paying subscribers for the month of NOVEMBER.

If you can afford to do so, please subscribe here:

Subscribe to The Morning Edition (substack.com)

To become a paid subscriber of my politics newsletter it is $5 monthly or $36 annually. I email daily and my politics newsletters usually take 10-15 minutes to read. I cover the news of the day and the liberal media. I write about the upcoming elections and dive deep on the Biden scandals. I will also share my opinion of the Trump indictment. I don’t think you will regret reading my newsletter regularly as a paid subscriber, so please consider subscribing today.

With gratitude,

Mike Huckabee


Friday was an eventful day for former President Trump on his many legal fronts.

A liberal Colorado judge rejected a lawsuit seeking to keep Trump off the 2024 ballot under the 14th Amendment ban on “insurrectionists.” The judge found that under the Constitution, a President is not an “officer of the United States” who can be disqualified by the Amendment. However, she went on to say that he "engaged in insurrection" by sparking the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol by his supporters. And of course, that’s the big headline in most of the news stories.

https://www.reuters.com/legal/colorado-judges-allows-trump-primary-ballot-delays-decision-general-election-2023-11-18/

Granted, I’m not a judge – not even an attorney – but in what world does a judge have the right to publicly brand someone guilty on the court record of a crime for which he was never indicted, much less convicted? The finding that the Constitution does not apply was not only all she needed to say, it was all that she had the power to say, not having presided over any trial of those charges. That gives a strained new meaning to the term, “judicial opinion.”

In a related story, the judge in Trump’s election interference case in DC, Judge Tanya Chutkan, rejected a request from Trump’s attorneys to remove language from the indictments referring to "actions of independent actors at the Capitol on January 6,” which Trump did not commit and for which he was not charged. They argued that “allegations related to these actions are not relevant and are prejudicial and inflammatory.” Chutkan ruled that, "Regardless of whether the allegations at issue are relevant, Defendant has not satisfied his burden to clearly show that they are prejudicial,"

Yeah, why would it be prejudicial to fill an indictment with a list of crimes other people committed and that the defendant isn’t even accused of?

https://justthenews.com/government/courts-law/dc-judge-rejects-trump-bid-remove-prejudicial-language-election-indictments

In Michigan, where a judge threw out a lawsuit trying to keep Trump off the ballot on 14th Amendment grounds, the democracy-hating Democrats who brought it are appealing to the state Supreme Court. Let’s hope they use their gavels appropriately on it.

https://justthenews.com/government/courts-law/michigan-group-appeals-trump-14th-amendment-case-state-supreme-court

Finally, as Gomer Pyle would say, “Sur-prize! Sur-prize!” The judge in Trump’s New York real estate fraud case rejected his attorneys’ filing for a mistrial based on his demonstrated and possibly illegal bias (such as commenting on a case in front of him on a collegiate social media page), finding that it was “utterly without merit.” Funny, that phrase also occurred to me, but not in relation to the mistrial filing.

https://justthenews.com/government/courts-law/judge-rejects-trump-bid-mistrial-ny-fraud-case-utterly-without-merit

In response, New York Rep. Elise Stefanik filed her second ethics complaint against this judge.

https://justthenews.com/politics-policy/stefanik-files-second-ethics-complaint-against-judge-engoron-after-he-rejects-trump

RELATED: Special Counsel Jack Smith likened himself to a saint, giving everyone a much-needed laugh.

https://www.westernjournal.com/jack-smith-compares-saint-court-brief-trump/


Biden should write a book

Remember how Trump ran for office on a platform of negotiating better deals with other nations? He argued that for years, officials in Washington agreed to deals that were far more advantageous to other nations than to America. He vowed to reverse that, and he did. He put Americans' interests first, while leftists twisted “America first” into a pejorative that in their minds meant something evil, jingoistic, fascist, imperialist, xenophobic, and probably racist and transphobic, too. All it really meant was that we stopped giving away the farm to other nations and made sure American businesses and workers got some profits and jobs and that we didn’t sell out America’s security.

Tragically, Trump was replaced with Biden, whose idea of a great international deal was giving our enemies anything they wanted in exchange for empty promises they had no intention of keeping. For instance, giving billions to Iran and allowing them to build nuclear reactors in exchange for pinky-swear promises that they wouldn’t use the money to fund terrorism or enrich uranium to build nuclear bombs. We know how well the first promise worked out, and here’s how we’re doing on the second: Reuters reports that Iran already has enough enriched uranium to build three nuclear bombs.

https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/irans-nuclear-enrichment-advances-it-stonewalls-un-iaea-reports-show-2023-11-15/

Flush with his success at selling out to Iran, Biden has now agreed with China to shut down America’s fossil fuel industry. In pursuit of his “climate change” agenda, the State Department announced that it has struck a deal with Chila to "accelerate the substitution for coal, oil and gas generation" with green energy sources like wind and solar power.

https://www.foxnews.com/politics/experts-raise-alarm-biden-strikes-agreement-china-shut-down-fossil-fuels

Here are just a few of the drawbacks to that deal that the media don’t want to discuss:

1. If you think China has any intention whatsoever of abiding by it themselves, you are as crazy as a TikTokker fangirling on Osama Bin Laden. I’ve seen this movie before, and I know how it ends. In 2021, Xi Jinping pledged to “strictly control coal-fired power generation plants” in China. In the two years prior, Beijing had approved building 127 such plants. In the two years since pledging to limit them, they’ve approved 182.

https://wattsupwiththat.com/2023/11/17/peak-cognitive-dissonance-for-the-climate-scare/

2. This deal will destroy American jobs; empower and enrich oil producers like OPEC, Russia and Iran; and make energy costs for working Americans skyrocket while resulting in widespread power outages, made worse by Biden’s insane insistence on forcing everyone to drive unreliable, unwanted electric cars that will put a massive drain on the power grid.

3. Wind and solar are completely inadequate to provide reliable power for a 21st century advanced nation. They also are NOT “green,” as they create vast amounts of pollution to build the towers, turbines and solar panels; they blight the landscape; they don’t last nearly as long or produce nearly as much power as advertised; they are decimating bird populations and are likely responsible for killing whales.

Like the frantic pullback from EVs by automakers who are losing billions, we’re already seeing these “green energy” companies begging to get out of contracts to build off-shore wind farms (a crazy idea when you consider the effects of salt water on metal) or else begging for even more government subsidies. We would have been better off generating power from steam engines heated by burning taxpayer money.

https://justthenews.com/politics-policy/energy/wind-companies-losing-billions-experts-say-federal-bailout-could-be-coming

There is a reliable source of adequate power with zero emissions, one that some European nations like France are already exploiting. But we can’t use nuclear power because a lot of liberals are terrified of it due to Chernobyl and Fukushima – incidents that could be avoided by not building nuclear power plants in an earthquake zone using Soviet technology from 1986. So instead, we’ll shut down our oil and gas resources and hope the wind blows today while China keeps right on building coal-fired power plants.

Trump wrote “The Art of the Deal.” Biden should write a book called “The Art of the Abject Surrender.”

 



A “Warm War”

Friday, President Biden outrageously invoked a Cold War era law (he’s waging war on the climate now, so apparently this is a “Warm War”) to dump taxpayer money into the domestic manufacture of electric heat pumps to replace gas heaters. To be fair, I’ve heard that those can actually work very well. That is, until we’re having a blizzard and the power grid powered by solar panels and windmills shuts down.

https://www.foxnews.com/politics/biden-invokes-wartime-powers-fund-electric-heaters-cracks-down-gas-appliances


Wrong again, Gavin

California Gov. Gavin Newsom seems incapable of making his state livable, so he’s been spending a lot of time slamming states to which his former residents are moving. In his latest self-own, he took to Twitter (X) to claim that Murfreesboro, Tennessee, had “banned being gay in public.”

https://www.westernjournal.com/gavin-newsom-slapped-community-note-pushing-false-gay-ban-narrative/

Actually, the city council already unanimously repealed a 70-year-old ordinance banning homosexuality. The new ordinance bans "indecent exposure, public indecency, lewd behavior, nudity or sexual conduct." But thanks, Gavin, for telling us all how you define what it means to be gay in public. I think he might be spending too much time in San Francisco.


Welcome to LA

Welcome to late-stage Los Angeles, where criminals are repeatedly released to prey on the public, but where a law-abiding citizen has his concealed carry permit revoked because he used his firearm to defend his home and family from would-be robbers. I guess liberals really do believe the Second Amendment only exists to protect duck hunting.

https://www.foxnews.com/us/armed-homeowner-who-defended-family-in-driveway-shoot-out-says-hes-been-stripped-of-gun-permit

 


“Huckabee” Preview

Tonight’s episode of “Huckabee” on TBN has something for everyone! I’ll talk about both history and the latest news with Fox News’ Brian Kilmeade. The founder of the beloved Auntie Anne’s Pretzels chain, Anne Beiler, will show us how to make a delicious Thanksgiving recipe from her new cookbook about her childhood in Pennsylvania’s Amish country. You’ll be amused and amazed by the return of comic magician Dana Daniels, this time with his psychic parrot, Luigi. And we’ll have music and conversation with show business legend Pat Boone.

All this and more starts tonight at 9 EST/8 CST on TBN. To find out how to watch TBN, from local cable and broadcast channels to streaming, visit https://www.huckabee.tv and click on “Channel Finder” on the top menu. You can stream previous episodes, highlights and online-only “Digital Exclusives,” including extended interviews, “In Case You Missed It” and “Facts of the Matter” segments, plus extra performances by our great musical and comedy guests and links to all their sites, at https://www.huckabee.tv. You can also find past shows, highlights and digital exclusives on YouTube and my Facebook page.


Thankful for life, and glad to be an American

We will be celebrating Thanksgiving this coming week, and even with Joe Biden in the White House wandering around like last year’s turkey and Kamala Harris cackling like this year’s turkey, there’s a lot to be thankful for, even though almost none of it originates in Washington, DC!

I’m grateful it’s already deer season in Arkansas and many parts of the country, and before it’s over, I hope to fill my freezer again this year with delicious, healthy, lean, and organic venison.  I have friends and even a few grafted-in family members who aren’t all that pumped about eating Bambi’s Daddy, but I just sing the lyrics to “Circle of Life” and remind them that if they really are into healthy protein that is as organic as the acorns off the oak trees, then venison is the meat of choice.  I use it in my world famous deer meat chili for example.  World famous, you ask?  Well, they probably don’t know about it in Beijing, Teheran, or North Korea, but why would I share my chili recipe with the Communist Chinese who have done little to share with us other than the Wuhan Virus?  And I sure wouldn’t give it to the Ayatollah in Iran.  Heck, Joe’s giving them billions already and they are turning around and making Christmas rockets for Hamas and Hezbollah.  And sadly, folks in North Korea are reduced to eating grass clippings and tree bark and wouldn’t know a good bowl of deer chili from a bowl of cow droppings.  So maybe my deer meat chili isn’t famous everywhere, but in MY world, it’s famous, and that makes it “world famous chili.”  And good venison can make wonderful tacos, spaghetti, meat loaf, summer sausage, and of course chicken-fried deer steak which cooked in my big black-iron skillet will make you jump up and break-dance on the kitchen table. 

And I’m grateful that duck season will start this weekend in Arkansas.  Did I mention that Arkansas is the duck hunting capital of the world.  And yes, I actually do mean the entire world as people fly from as far away as Europe to experience the sacred sight of thousands of mallards coming in for a landing across the Arkansas prairie and throughout the Delta in an area that is comprised of the White, Arkansas and Mississippi rivers along the food source of the most productive rice fields in the United States located in east Arkansas.  I often say that the first day in heaven will be a flooded timber duck hunt.  Not sure what we do after that, but God wants us to get off to a great start and it’s obvious we’ll kick things off with our heavenly versions of a 12-gauge Benelli semi-automatic shotgun and busting ducks for the first night’s dinner in glory!

Of course there are other things to be thankful for.  Like “Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness,” although if we don’t do better in the coming elections, we might not have any of those things left.  And then we’ll be hunting just to feed the family and not just to supplement our groceries and to just enjoy the outdoors. 

I’m obviously thankful for my family—a wife of almost 50 years, 3 grown children who all turned out pretty good, and 7 absolutely adorable grandchildren.  I’m thankful for good health, except for the aches and pains that my doctor dismisses as an issue of “age.”  And I’m thankful for a wonderful church family where I hear strong Biblical messages, enjoy edifying relationships with fellow pilgrims in the process of life, and who fellowship with those who genuinely bear one another’s burdens.

So as we prepare for Thanksgiving, and I start preparing not one but two turkeys for the masses who will descend on my house Thanksgiving Day, I will not be focusing on the odorous politics of Washington, but the magnificent aroma of both smoked and fried turkey, cornbread dressing, pecan pie, and gallons of iced tea.  And I’m still glad to be an American!

Miss my TV show?  Watch it here: https://youtu.be/OcTe6ZSY4w8?si=5oPQfyimQYtQvWbV


 I JUST WANTED TO SAY: 

Thank you for reading my newsletter. 

For more news, visit my website.


 


BY MIKE HUCKABEE

Blessings on you and your family from all the Huckabee team! 

Mike Huckabee


DAILY BIBLE VERSE

So do not fear, for I am with you;    do not be dismayed, for I am your God.I will strengthen you and help you;    I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.

Isaiah 41:10 NIV


Blocked for my views on President Trump, the COVID-19 response, Joe Biden, etc.

Let me be clear: Government and Big Tech are working together to censor conservative views, and because they are I moved my newsletter to Substack.

Because you are a free subscriber to my newsletter, I would like you to consider subscribing to the paid version on Substack.

A Substack subscription-based newsletter allows my team and I to focus on what matters: the writing and the research we do to back up the writing, instead of worrying about censorship, or what Google is saying about me, how they are handling advertising on our website or whether or not my work shows up when you search for it.

To keep the newsletter going, we have setup a monthly goal of identifying 680 new paying subscribers for the month of NOVEMBER and we have 680 to go.

If you can afford to do so, please subscribe here:

Subscribe to The Morning Edition (substack.com)

To become a paid subscriber of my politics newsletter it is $5 monthly or $36 annually. I email daily and my politics newsletters usually take 10-15 minutes to read. I cover the news of the day and the liberal media. I write about the upcoming elections and dive deep on the Biden scandals. I will also share my opinion of the Trump indictment. I don’t think you will regret reading my newsletter regularly as a paid subscriber, so please consider subscribing today.

With gratitude,

Mike Huckabee


Tragic News:

The body of Yehudt Weiss, a woman taken hostage by Hamas on October 7th, has been found near the Shifa hospital by IDF troops. She was there to get breast cancer treatments. The Hamas barbarians shot her husband in front of her.

https://legalinsurrection.com/2023/11/idf-finds-body-of-hamas-hostage-near-shifa-hospital-in-gaza/


Note to the pro-Palestinian protesters who insist that the Palestinians don’t support the murderous terrorists of Hamas:

A new poll of Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank has been released, and this article explains why it could be considered reliable:

https://redstate.com/bonchie/2023/11/17/new-polling-out-of-gaza-and-the-west-bank-is-shocking-and-disturbing-n2166463

The findings: 98.2% of Palestinians have a negative view of America, 76% have a positive view of Hamas, and 75% support the October 7th massacre of Israeli civilians. And yet, Israel continues to do everything it can to keep from harming them and to get aid to them while Hamas uses them as human shields.

 

 



“There Once Was A Moron Named Anne…”

Anne Boyer, the New York Times Magazine’s poetry editor, dramatically resigned Thursday in protest of what she calls Israel's "US-backed war against the people of Gaza." Heavens, I don’t know how I’m going to survive without the New York Times poetry section! She added, "If this resignation leaves a hole in the news the size of poetry, then that is the true shape of the present." Never mind, if that’s her idea of poetic expression, I think I’ll survive just fine without her.


A Court Win

President Trump scored a court win yesterday when a New York Appeals Court issued a stay, suspending the gag order placed on him in his real estate fraud trial. The ruling also applies to Trump’s lawyers and others involved in the case.

https://www.westernjournal.com/ap-new-york-judge-lifts-gag-order-barred-donald-trump-maligning-court-staff-fraud-trial/

Between all the gag orders and special counsel Jack Smith desperately trying to keep cameras out of the courtroom in DC, you’d think that the prosecutors were either using unprecedented partisan lawfare to silence Biden’s political opponent during a presidential election or trying to prevent the public from finding out just how flimsy and one-sided their prosecutions are. But being an inclusive kind of guy, I don’t see why we can’t believe that it’s both.

 


Horrifying trend

The most disturbing story of the day is that young TikTok influencers are spreading Osama Bin Laden’s “Letter to America” and praising it.

https://www.breitbart.com/tech/2023/11/16/young-americans-go-viral-on-chinas-tiktok-spreading-ideas-of-osama-bin-laden/

No wonder: They’re too young to remember 9/11, the media have worked hard to bury those images because they might be “too upsetting,” and in its repulsive justification of the murder of innocents in retaliation for the alleged sins of America and Israel, Osama’s screed is virtually indistinguishable from the hatred of America and Israel that’s been spoon-fed into their empty noggins by their leftist teachers. One young woman who shared it declared, “We’ve been lied to our entire lives.” She’s right, she’s just gravely mistaken as to who's been lying and what she was lied to about.

Try this quote from one of these ignoramuses, which is so stupid on so many levels, it might give you a migraine: “Put yourself in their shoes, 3,000 people died on 9/11, compared to the millions that Americans have killed in Palestine.” What?!

Ed Driscoll at Instapundit has a good round-up of comments on this horrifying trend.

https://instapundit.com/617420/

Follow the links and you’ll find some of the best responses. Robert O’Neill, the Navy SEAL who killed Bin Laden, tweeted, “Deceit is a mask the Devil puts over the eyes of useful idiots.”

Journalist Megan Kelly wrote, “To the parents of all of these losers suddenly persuaded by the deranged musings of the man who murdered 3k American innocents: you failed. You were likely boozing, marching for some L-wing cause and/or simply ignoring your kids. You failed to teach wrong from right, a proper moral code, a love of country and perspective on America’s role in the world. [Because] you failed, my kids and others are going to have to grow up battling these a**holes for the future of the United States. I have every confidence they can do it, but I resent and judge you for making it necessary…”

And satirist Iowahawk (David Birge) put it succinctly: “If you kids think Bin Laden made some good points, wait’ll I tell you about a vegetarian former art student with an ironic mustache whose impassioned manifesto about the Zionist oppression of his people sparked a worldwide movement.”


 

Congratulations are in order

For all the young, miseducated boneheads who keep railing about “colonization” and demanding that Jews leave Israel and Americans give America back to the Native Americans, I have a question: Where are all these people going to go? I assume you think Africa is the cradle of civilization. Name me any African nation that will accept a few million nose-ringed, entitled, spoiled rotten white radicals with gender studies degrees.

I realize you have zero knowledge of actual American history, but let me inform you that once upon a time, when someone declared that some ethnic group “should be sent back where they came from,” liberals assumed they were dealing with a bigoted, reactionary redneck. Congratulations: that’s you, now.


Welcome to LA

Welcome to late-stage Los Angeles, where criminals are repeatedly released to prey on the public, but where a law-abiding citizen has his concealed carry permit revoked because he used his firearm to defend his home and family from would-be robbers. I guess liberals really do believe the Second Amendment only exists to protect duck hunting.

https://www.foxnews.com/us/armed-homeowner-who-defended-family-in-driveway-shoot-out-says-hes-been-stripped-of-gun-permit

 


“Huckabee” Preview

Tonight’s episode of “Huckabee” on TBN has something for everyone! I’ll talk about both history and the latest news with Fox News’ Brian Kilmeade. The founder of the beloved Auntie Anne’s Pretzels chain, Anne Beiler, will show us how to make a delicious Thanksgiving recipe from her new cookbook about her childhood in Pennsylvania’s Amish country. You’ll be amused and amazed by the return of comic magician Dana Daniels, this time with his psychic parrot, Luigi. And we’ll have music and conversation with show business legend Pat Boone.

All this and more starts tonight at 8 and 11 EST, 7 and 10 CST, and Sunday at 9 EST/8 CST on TBN. To find out how to watch TBN, from local cable and broadcast channels to streaming, visit https://www.huckabee.tv and click on “Channel Finder” on the top menu. You can stream previous episodes, highlights and online-only “Digital Exclusives,” including extended interviews, “In Case You Missed It” and “Facts of the Matter” segments, plus extra performances by our great musical and comedy guests and links to all their sites, at https://www.huckabee.tv. You can also find past shows, highlights and digital exclusives on YouTube and my Facebook page.


Here's today’s link to Fox News’ feed of the latest news on the war in Israel…

https://www.foxnews.com/live-news/november-18-israel-hamas-war

The IDF announced that humanitarian pauses in fighting against Hamas would continue today to allow more evacuations of civilians. They are also continuing fuel deliveries, and limited phone and Internet service was restored on Friday. It appears that if Israel really wanted to commit genocide, they’re going about it all wrong.

The McAllen, Texas, office of Republican Rep. Monica De La Cruz was vandalized with anti-Israel graffiti. That’s not the only red state that isn’t immune. Matthew Giffin, editor-in-chief of the Middle Tennessee State University student newspaper Sidelines resigned in protest after getting unprecedented blowback from students over an article he wrote about a Jewish student’s concerns for his friends in Tel Aviv on October 7th. The student asked that it be taken down due to fears for his safety. Then, Giffin said, “The editorial board, against my expressed wishes, published a statement: ‘In retrospect, Sidelines failed to report on the casualties the Palestinian people have suffered and focused only on damage done to the Israeli population.’"

Since the school newspaper doesn’t seem interested in printing the truth, I’ll repost what Giffin said, and hope he finds a good position at a more prominent news outlet, which can certainly use someone like him:

"I don’t think they are bad people or antisemitic — I do think antisemitism played a disproportionate role in how the events at the paper unfolded. I still plan to write and speak out about things that are important, whatever the consequences may be. Telling the truth is a lost practice, and I’d like to bring it back. Morality is important for the order and survival of our society. Our way of life will fail if we cave to the influence of those who stand behind terrorists like Hamas."

Excellent Video (although, WARNING, there are two F-bombs toward the end.) This is a response to all the young morons on TikTok claiming that they’re having an “existential crisis” after reading Osama Bin Laden’s “Letter to America” and realizing how he was right, America and Israel are evil, and we had 9/11 coming to us. This commenter read that dreck so you won’t have to and summarizes what Osama said that apparently impressed these braindead slackers so much. You won’t believe it.

https://twitter.com/askdani__real/status/1725185727451873719


At last!  All January 6 video to be released by new Speaker Johnson

New House Speaker Mike Johnson announced on Friday that he would release all the January 6 video from U.S. Capitol Police security cameras that has previously been unavailable, as he said he would, and so he has posted it all here, with a link to the website for the Committee on House Administration’s Subcommittee on Oversight.  Additional video will continue to be uploaded as they review it and blur the faces of private citizens.  Public access will begin on November 20...

https://cha.house.gov/cha-subcommittee-reading-room-fe781e74-d577-4f64-93cc-fc3a8dd8df18

“To restore America’s trust and faith in their Government we must have transparency,” Johnson said on X.  “This is another step towards keeping the promises I made when I was elected to be your Speaker.”

Better settle in if you want to watch it all.  Video from that day from all the security cameras runs 44,000 hours.  I am not kidding.

Much of what you will see looks like this...

https://rumble.com/v3wdtqo-newly-release-j6-footage-shows-carnage-of-the-insurrection.html

Here we have Trump supporters quietly and repectfully walking down a corridor inside the Capitol building, with security guards calmly standing by as if it’s any other day.  Since the building is so massive, people walking through one area had no idea that violence had broken out somewhere else.  They just wanted to use their presence to make the statement that with big questions looming over the election, it was too soon to certify it.  They also wanted to experience the inside of the Capitol building and to take selfies.  Also, one assumes, they wanted to avoid hypothermia, as they’d been outdoors since early morning in Washington DC in January.

Of course, little did they know that just for stepping inside the building --- and sometimes not even for that --- many of them would be tagged as domestic terrorists and ruthlessly investigated.  They would be bankrupted by legal fees while facing outrageously biased judges (as Julie Kelly has documented).  Some would face “stacked” charges and lengthy detainment.  Some would experience home invasion at gunpoint.  One, a petite, unarmed woman, would be shot and killed that day in cold blood.

Of course, this video will include not just the peaceful walk-in but also what was captured of the riot.  Recall that former Speaker Kevin McCarthy had turned over some of the January 6 video to Tucker Carlson, who did one episode of his FOX NEWS show about what was on it before abruptly parting ways with the channel.

Johnson also posted this: “This decision will provide millions of Americans, criminal defendants, public interest organizations, and the media an ability to see for themselves what happened that day, rather than having to rely upon the interpretation of a small group of government officials.  Processing will involve blurring the faces of private citizens on the yet unreleased tapes to avoid any persons from being targeted for retaliation of any kind and segregating an estimated 5% of the videos that may involve sensitive security information related to the building architecture.”

Barry Loudermilk, who chairs this subcommittee, said, “The goal of our investigation has been to provide the American people with transparency on what happened at the Capitol on January 6, 2021, and this includes all official video of that day.”  He said that Americans “deserve transparency, accountability and real answers supported by facts instead [of] a predetermined political narrative.”

Well, maybe after all this time, we’ll see some transparency and get some real answers.  Don’t know about accountability, though.  As the DAILY CALLER reports, the “Justice” Department has prosecuted more than 1,200 individuals from nearly all 50 states in connection with the J6 riot, as of November 6, 2023.  They’ve devoted countless man-hours to targeting so-called “MAGA extremist domestic terrorists,” most of whom truly believed they were exercising their constitutional rights and standing up for the democratic system.  We still have major unanswered questions:  about Nancy Pelosi’s grotesque Capitol Hill security failure, the identity and goal of the RNC/DNC pipe bomber, the role of FBI agents in the crowd that day and the day before, and more.  That’s some accountability we might never see.

https://dailycaller.com/2023/11/17/speaker-johnson-january-6th-tapes

After writing yesterday about Louisiana Rep. Clay Higgins’ questioning of FBI Director Chris Wray on the matter of “ghost buses,” we looked to see how the media were reporting that.  SALON called it “a wild rant.”  The HUFFINGTON POST called it a “new conspiracy theory.”  Higgins was predictably dismissed as a crackpot.

“The ghost buses are the latest distraction from and excuse for the attack on the Capitol by supporters of President Donald Trump,” HUFFPO wrote.  Actually, no, the presence of those buses is something that was noted with curiosity at the time of the event --- something that “just didn’t look right” --- and there has never been an explanation for what they were doing there.

HUFFPO said that “even among people steeped in conspiracy theories about January 6, the ghost buses are new.”  Well, the term “ghost buses” might be --- we’d never heard it until Rep. Higgins used it --- but the observation that white buses dropped some so-called “Trump supporters” near the Capitol before the main crowd arrived was made at the time.  But the publication quoted Democrat Rep. Bennie Thompson of Mississippi, who chaired Pelosi’s sham J6 Committee, as saying he’d never heard of any white buses, period, for what that’s worth.

HUFFPO described the notion that “FBI provocateurs tricked the legion of Trump supporters into ransacking the Capitol” as “an alternate reality.”  Actually, we’ve never claimed that Trump supporters were “tricked,” but the suspicion that some of them were whipped-up and encouraged to remove barriers and respond to aggressive crowd-control actions by Capitol Hill police has never been allayed.  (Let’s hope this newly-available video will give us a better picture.)  While strongly condemning the violence from the outset, we also suspected that the January 6 “Trump” riot fit the Democrats’ comprehensive political strategy SO WELL that if it hadn’t happened spontaneously, they would’ve had to “help” it along in one way or another.  Hindsight has only strengthened that suspicion.

Rep. Loudermilk offered some valued words of reflection: “If you seek to prove a theory true, you will, 100 percent of the time, because you will discredit any evidence contrary to your political theory.”  (Irony alert:  When HUFFPO included this quote, I wonder if they realized how well it applies to Pelosi’s J6 committee.)  Loudermilk is correct; the way to get to the truth is to TRY to disprove claims.  So let’s see if we can disprove the claim of these white buses.  Let’s NOT discredit them as “conspiracy theory” as the Democrats are doing.

We’ll never know exactly how the day would have gone if Pelosi had simply accepted Trump’s offer of thousands of National Guard troops, but it likely would have changed history --- and not to the Democrats’ liking, as they would’ve lost their pretext for targeting Trump and his supporters.

https://news.yahoo.com/clay-higgins-claims-ghost-buses-202706409.html?fr=sycsrp_catchall

RELATED: Houuse Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan has subpoenaed Bank of America for information related to its voluntary sharing of customer data with the FBI, to help them track down citizens who made credit or debit transactions in Washington, DC, are between January 5th and 7th, 2021. Sounds like a blatant violation of privacy without customer consent to help authorities secretly investigate American citizens without any allegations of misconduct. Remember the good old days, when you had to show a judge some sort of reason before getting a search warrant?

https://justthenews.com/government/congress/jim-jordan-subpoenas-bank-america-over-sharing-customer-data-fbi

And here’s another example of a guns-drawn FBI raid on a January 6th suspect who had been cooperating, along with charges against him that seem to be contradicted by video of that day. Are you starting to get some suspicions about why Democrats are so hysterical about all that January 6th video being released to the public?

(18) Video Contradicts DOJ Allegations Against NJ Man Subjected to Armed FBI Raid, Manhunt (declassified.live)


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