https://www.msn.com/en-us/tv/recaps/26-rules-that-backfired-in-hilarious-ways/ss-AA1lPEki?ocid=msedgntp&cvid=7734c8a4692a4ab289ba980d7e275ea5&ei=17#image=1

You just know these had to be dreamed up and implemented by college-educated l*****t liberals because it takes an education/indoctrination to be this stupid to come up with such ridiculous rules.

Never underestimate the Law of Unintended Consequences. For every problem, there is a solution that creates new problems.

You can't trust anything you see or hear. AI to Deep F**es.

https://dailypresser.com/doug-g/allegations-of-procedural-missteps-surface-against-special-counsel-jack-smith/

Allegations of Procedural Missteps Surface Against Special Counsel Jack Smith
Doug Goldsmith
6 min read


Recent allegations have been raised concerning the appointment process of John Lumen Smith, also known as “Jack Smith,” for his role as Special Counsel.

As per Order No. 5559-2022 issued by Attorney General Merrick B. Garland on November 18, 2022, Smith’s appointment was made in response to the need for an independent investigation into possible criminal activities related to former President Donald Trump’s 2024 p**********l campaign.

Critics have questioned the validity of this appointment, observing that unlike other department heads with the power to appoint inferior officers, the Attorney General may not have been vested with such authority in this case since Smith was not Senate-confirmed for his office.

Furthermore, doubts have been cast over the timing of his affidavit compliance and oath of office taking upon his appointment.

Edwin Meese, former Attorney General under President Ronald Reagan, alongside Professors Gary Lawson and Steven Calabresi, filed a petition to the Supreme Court last week requesting a writ of certiorari in response to Jack Smith’s (John Lumen) petition for expedited appeal of his ruling on immunity.

In their petition, they argued that since Smith was hired directly by current Attorney General Merrick Garland, the constitutional process involving p**********l nomination and Senate confirmation was circumvented.

As such, they maintained that any legal actions taken by Smith while acting as Special Counsel are invalid.

They further asserted that only individuals appointed to legitimately established federal offices can carry out such actions with validity.

The petition reads in part:

The illegality addressed in this brief started on November 18, 2022, when Attorney General Merrick Garland exceeded his statutory and constitutional authority by purporting to appoint Smith to serve as Special Counsel for the Department of Justice.


…

But none of those statutes, nor any other statutory or constitutional provisions, remotely authorized the appointment by the Attorney General of a private citizen to receive extraordinary criminal law enforcement power under the title of Special Counsel.


What federal statutes and the Constitution do not allow, however, is for the Attorney General to appoint a private citizen, who has never been confirmed by the Senate, as a substitute United States Attorney under the title “Special Counsel.”

Now, concerns regarding the appointment of Special Counsel John L. Smith (Jack Smith) have come up.

Under 5 U.S. Code § 3332, “An officer, within 30 days after the effective date of his appointment, shall file with the oath of office required by section 3331 of this title an affidavit that neither he nor anyone acting in his behalf has given, t***sferred, promised, or paid any consideration for or in the expectation or hope of receiving assistance in securing the appointment.”

The initial SF 61 was signed by Smith on November 20, 2022; however, due to the lack of a witness signature, corrective action was taken and a new SF 61 was executed 298 days after the appointment, on September 14, 2023.

This meets the requirement for any federal position appointee to file an appointment affidavit within 30 days of assuming office.

From: U.S. Department of Justice/ Justice Management Division/ Human Resources:

MEMORANDUM FOR THE RECORD

SUBJECT: Oath of Office, John L. Smith

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: This memorandum serves as record that an appointment affidavit (SF 61) has been signed and executed for the appointment of John L. Smith, Special Counsel. On November 18, 2022, John L. Smith was appointed by Attorney General Merrick B. Garland to serve as the Special Counsel by Order No. 5559-2022.

DISCUSSION: Mr. Smith signed an SF 61 on November 20, 2022. Upon reviewing documentation, it was discovered that a witness signature was missing (more than likely as Mr. Smith was on boarded while overseas). JMD/Human Resources consulted with the JMD/Office of General Counsel (OGC) to ensure proper corrective action. OGC’s recommendation and advice was to readminister the oath of office and execute a new SF 61 to ensure procedural compliance.

Attachments
A. Attorney General Order 5559-2022
B. SF 61, signed and executed on 9/14/2023
C. SF 61, signed on 11/20/2022


Source: U.S. Department of JusticeOn June 8, 2023, Jack Smith issued a grand jury indictment against former President Trump on federal criminal charges related to his handling of classified documents.
Subsequently, on August 1, 2023, Trump was indicted on additional felony counts relating to attempts to overturn the 2020 p**********l e******n and his conduct during the Capitol event.

However, it appears that Smith did not complete signing the “Oath of Office” as mandated by 5 U.S. Code § 3332 until September 14, 2023 – 298 days after assuming office – due to a missing witness signature.

This procedural misstep raises questions about the validity of Mr. Smith’s official actions prior to this date and opens up the possibility for jurisdictional challenges questioning whether he acted under lawful authority between his appointment and the signing of a corrected appointment affidavit in September 2023.

Generally speaking, failure to take an oath is considered a failure to properly complete an appointment process which could render any actions taken by Mr. Smith invalid.


Jack Smith’s SF 61
The complexity of the situation is heightened by the fact that Mr. Smith may have filed the indictment under the name “Jack Smith” instead of his legal name, “John Luman Smith,” which was acknowledged by him.

According to New York Law, it is not permissible to practice law using a name different from that under which one was licensed without receiving formal approval for a name change from the Appellate Division.



From TGP:

The Gateway Pundit has sought insight from legal experts on both the discrepancy in names and the delayed oath.

Regarding the name discrepancy, one lawyer opined, “Since John/Jack are related names I’d expect them to punt on this. Or allow him to remedy/cure quickly… The court will interpret Jack as a form of John and say where’s the harm? He’s signing for himself.”

However, on the oath of office matter, the same legal expert posited, “A court should take it seriously. They might dismiss it as ceremonial. But it’s a solid argument.”

https://dailypresser.com/doug-g/elite-client-list-of-high-end-asian-brothel-to-be-released-28-us-politicians-military-officers-to-be-charged/

CORRUPTION, CRIME
Elite Client List of High-End Asian Brothel To Be Released, 28 US Politicians, Military Officers To Be Charged
Doug Goldsmith
3 min read


Prosecutors are making progress in identifying the politicians, military officers, and government contractors who visited high-end brothels in eastern Virginia and Boston as they move to charge 28 “Johns.”

Acting US Attorney Joshua Levy said in a statement on Monday:

“Our office made it clear when we announced charges of a commercial sex ring case on Nov. 8, 2023, that the investigation was ongoing and that there would be accountability for the buyers who fuel the commercial sex industry.”

“Today, a Homeland Security Investigations Task Force Officer with the Cambridge Police Department submitted applications for complaints against 28 sex buyers with the Cambridge District Court. Until probable cause has been found, no names will be released.”

“If probable cause is established and criminal charges are issued by the Court, referrals will then be made to the Middlesex District Attorney’s Office. In addition, we are working closely with Virginia authorities to begin the referral process of sex buyers from the Virginia locations in this case.”

“The referral processes will remain ongoing.”

Last month, the Justice Department announced arrests in a high-end brothel network that was utilized by elected officials, military officers with security clearances, lawyers, doctors and other government contractors.

It is reported that the ringleaders operated two websites to disguise their activities as photography services for Asian “models”.

“Three individuals have been arrested in connection with operating sophisticated high-end brothels in greater Boston and eastern Virginia. Commercial sex buyers allegedly included elected officials, high tech and pharmaceutical executives, doctors, military officers, government contractors that possess security clearances, professors, attorneys, scientists and accountants, among others,” the US Attorney’s Office of the District of Massachusetts said.

According to the DOJ, the following defendants have been charged with conspiracy to coerce and entice to travel to engage in illegal sexual activity:


Han Lee, a/k/a “Hana,” 41, of Cambridge, Mass.;
James Lee, 68, of Torrance, Calif.; and
Junmyung Lee, 30, of Dedham, Mass.

According to the charging documents, the defendants have been operating an interstate prostitution network with multiple brothels since July 2020 in Cambridge and Watertown, Massachusetts, as well as in Fairfax and Tysons, Virginia. Evidence of this includes a text message containing a menu that was sent to one of the “Johns”.

The brothel owners kept “impeccable records” according to the affidavit released last month as feds prepare to go public with the list of “Johns.”

According to investigative reporter Paul Sperry, “Investigators suspect prostitution ring may have been part of Chinese espionage plot targeting high-tech government contracting centers like Cambridge and Tysons Corner”

DEVELOPING: Investigators suspect prostitution ring may have been part of Chinese espionage plot targeting high-tech government contracting centers like Cambridge and Tysons Corner

— Paul Sperry (@paulsperry_) November 9, 2023

https://betterreport.com/reliable-cars-200000-miles/

These Are the Cars You Can Trust to Last 200,000 Miles

Buying a car is a major investment. Not only does it need to get you safely from point A to point B, but the vehicle should also be reliable for many years. However, rather than determining if a car is “good” by how long it lasts, experts recommend going by how many miles you can accrue on it without encountering any major issues. For example, a car with 100,000 miles in five years that only needed maintenance (oil change, tire rotation, for example) would be considered “better” than a car with 100,000 miles in seven years but needed major repairs.

Here is a list of 12 cars you can trust to last 200,000 miles with just routine maintenance, according to Consumer Reports.

1. Toyota Camry

2. Honda Accord

3. Honda CR-V

4. Toyota Prius

5. Toyota Sienna

6. Ford F-150

7. Toyota Corolla

8. Toyota Highlander

9. Toyota 4Runner

10. Toyota Tacoma

11. Honda Civic

12. Honda Pilot

https://wallethub.com/edu/most-sinful-cities-in-america/29846?utm_source=recommendedreads.com

Adam McCann, WalletHub Financial WriterNov 28, 2023
Las Vegas isn’t the only “Sin City” in America. In other cities, bad things happen and stay there, too. From beer-loving Milwaukee to decadent New Orleans, the U.S. is filled with people behaving illicitly. No place is innocent - we all have flaws, and at some point, we all have to pay for our vices. Gambling addiction, for instance, leads to over $100 billion in losses for U.S. consumers every year, while smoking burns an over $600 billion hole in Uncle Sam’s wallet annually.

Luckily for the saints among us, all American sins are not created or distributed equally. To identify the darkest corners of America, WalletHub compared more than 180 U.S. cities across 37 key indicators of vices and illicit behavior. Our data set ranges from violent crimes per capita to excessive drinking and adult entertainment establishments per capita.

“Every city struggles with one flaw or another, from high bullying rates and frequent h**e crimes to a prevalence of binge eating and excessive drinking among residents. While it is a personal choice to indulge in one vice or another, these choices can have a financial impact on others in the community, especially when more and more residents partake in these activities.”
CASSANDRA HAPPE, WALLETHUB ANALYST


City Rank
Las Vegas, NV 1
Houston, TX 2
Philadelphia, PA 3
Los Angeles, CA 4
Atlanta, GA 5
Denver, CO 6
Dallas, TX 7
Phoenix, AZ 8
Miami, FL 9
Cleveland, OH 10
St. Louis, MO 11
Orlando, FL 12
Baton Rouge, LA13
New York, NY 14
North Las Vegas, NV 15
Chicago, IL 16
Memphis, TN 17
Baltimore, MD 18
New Orleans, LA 19
Birmingham, AL 20
Washington, DC 21
Detroit, MI 22
Pittsburgh, PA 23
Henderson, NV 24
Portland, OR 25
Tampa, FL 26
Reno, NV 27
Richmond, VA 28
San Antonio, TX 29
Austin, TX 30
Fort Lauderdale, FL 31
Sacramento, CA 32
Wichita, KS 33
Seattle, WA 34
Cincinnati, OH 35
Columbia, SC 36
Nashville, TN 37
Charlotte, NC 38
Columbus, OH 39
Mobile, AL 40
San Diego, CA 41
Jacksonville, FL 42
Akron, OH 43
Toledo, OH 44
Knoxville, TN 45
Billings, MT 46
Montgomery, AL 47
Minneapolis, MN 48
Little Rock, AR 49
Kansas City, MO 50
San Francisco, CA 51
Wilmington, DE 52
Indianapolis, IN 53
Shreveport, LA 54
Scottsdale, AZ 55
Charleston, WV 56
Tempe, AZ 57
San Bernardino, CA 58
Rapid City, SD 59
Dover, DE 60
Springfield, MO 61
Tucson, AZ 62
Gulfport, MS 63
Jackson, MS 64
Fayetteville, NC 65
Fort Smith, AR 66
Oklahoma City, OK 67
Charleston, SC 68
Buffalo, NY 69
Fort Worth, TX 70
Milwaukee, WI 71
Aurora, CO 72
Louisville, KY 73
Salt Lake City, UT 74
Tacoma, WA 75
Salem, OR 76
Riverside, CA 77
Vancouver, WA 78
Glendale, AZ 79
Albuquerque, NM 80
Huntington, WV 81
Colorado Springs, CO 82
Chattanooga, TN 82
Long Beach, CA 84
Norfolk, VA 85
Fresno, CA 86
Tulsa, OK 87
Bakersfield, CA 88
Rochester, NY 89
Augusta, GA 90
Huntington Beach, CA 91
Missoula, MT 92
Corpus Christi, TX 93
Stockton, CA 94
Boston, MA 95
Hialeah, FL 96
Newark, NJ 97
Anaheim, CA 98
Mesa, AZ 99
Anchorage, AK 100
Modesto, CA 101
Columbus, GA 102
St. Petersburg, FL 103
Arlington, TX 104
Omaha, NE 105
Spokane, WA 106
Tallahassee, FL 107
Newport News, VA 108
St. Paul, MN 109
Greensboro, NC 110
Sioux Falls, SD 111
Santa Clarita, CA 112
Garland, TX 113
Juneau, AK 114
Ontario, CA 115
Oakland, CA 116
Grand Prairie, TX 117
Manchester, NH 118
Raleigh, NC 119
El Paso, TX 120
Santa Ana, CA 120
Cheyenne, WY 122
Gilbert, AZ 123
Lewiston, ME 124
Des Moines, IA 125
Huntsville, AL 126
Providence, RI 127
Irving, TX 128
Lubbock, TX 129
Rancho Cucamonga, CA 130
Pembroke Pines, FL 131
Chandler, AZ 132
Fontana, CA 133
Fort Wayne, IN 134
Amarillo, TX 135
Oceanside, CA 136
Grand Rapids, MI 137
Jersey City, NJ 138
Nampa, ID 139
Winston-Salem, NC 140
Bismarck, ND 141
Lexington-Fayette, KY 142
Las Cruces, NM 143
New Haven, CT 144
Overland Park, KS 145
Glendale, CA 146
Fargo, ND 147
Warwick, RI 148
Chesapeake, VA 149
Plano, TX 150
Moreno Valley, CA 151
Casper, WY 152
Burlington, VT 153
Peoria, AZ 154
Santa Rosa, CA 155
Garden Grove, CA 156
Irvine, CA 157
Lincoln, NE 158
Virginia Beach, VA 159
Durham, NC 160
Honolulu, HI 161
Aurora, IL 162
Brownsville, TX 163
Chula Vista, CA 164
Oxnard, CA 165
Cedar Rapids, IA 166
San Jose, CA 167
Boise, ID 168
Nashua, NH 169
Worcester, MA 170
Portland, ME 171
Yonkers, NY 172
Laredo, TX 173
West Valley City, UT 174
Cape Coral, FL 175
South Burlington, VT 176
Columbia, MD 177
Port St. Lucie, FL 178
Madison, WI 179
Bridgeport, CT 180
Fremont, CA 181
Pearl City, HI 182

Most Sinful Cities in America
Overall Rank* City WalletHub Vice Index Anger & Hatred Rank Jealousy Rank Excesses & Vices Rank Greed Rank Lust Rank Vanity Rank Laziness Rank
1 Las Vegas, NV 63.03 31 12 84 1 4 5 5
2 Houston, TX 57.21 35 8 115 63 1 6 101
3 Philadelphia, PA 56.83 2 2 44 57 11 23 37
4 Los Angeles, CA 55.12 14 51 168 98 3 1 85
5 Atlanta, GA 55.11 17 4 111 170 2 10 58
6 Denver, CO 53.86 8 29 47 58 8 15 74
7 Dallas, TX 53.12 29 16 88 120 5 9 102
8 Phoenix, AZ 53.01 56 74 66 87 6 3 59
9 Miami, FL 53.01 114 10 157 78 7 8 13
10 Cleveland, OH 52.05 3 24 5 139 23 29 19
11 St. Louis, MO 51.56 5 14 3 79 38 54 26
12 Orlando, FL 51.24 7 7 104 162 17 14 86
13 Baton Rouge, LA 50.51 11 5 6 140 116 41 14
14 New York, NY 50.19 33 89 178 116 9 4 18
15 North Las Vegas, NV 49.71 140 25 57 1 99 21 2
16 Chicago, IL 49.67 47 52 133 99 15 7 56
17 Memphis, TN 49.15 6 1 23 149 32 125 57
18 Baltimore, MD 48.45 9 30 21 100 14 76 53
19 New Orleans, LA 48.20 19 11 11 73 29 101 55
20 Birmingham, AL 47.79 1 19 9 143 81 82 39
21 Washington, DC 47.47 4 33 74 5 25 57 161
22 Detroit, MI 46.69 10 38 7 150 20 146 9
23 Pittsburgh, PA 46.58 13 79 31 84 119 11 160
24 Henderson, NV 46.26 158 23 114 1 70 59 15
25 Portland, OR 45.73 53 50 98 27 12 33 176
26 Tampa, FL 45.62 99 62 69 117 10 20 71
27 Reno, NV 45.55 52 139 63 11 37 46 29
28 Richmond, VA 45.54 30 32 34 101 57 44 45
29 San Antonio, TX 45.53 84 46 83 68 19 25 65
30 Austin, TX 45.31 64 64 135 72 16 13 169
31 Fort Lauderdale, FL 44.96 54 3 116 93 102 52 44
32 Sacramento, CA 44.52 18 80 94 42 91 32 92
33 Wichita, KS 44.32 71 117 29 16 47 34 52
34 Seattle, WA 44.27 26 48 164 67 24 19 178
35 Cincinnati, OH 44.26 62 107 1 118 90 26 40
36 Columbia, SC 44.02 68 18 24 86 122 79 8
37 Nashville, TN 43.99 51 58 14 112 34 37 131
38 Charlotte, NC 43.95 113 22 92 121 28 22 80
39 Columbus, OH 43.89 36 59 22 155 50 28 72
40 Mobile, AL 43.56 38 71 40 82 74 63 11
41 San Diego, CA 43.52 141 136 165 77 26 2 146
42 Jacksonville, FL 43.32 92 39 15 167 30 35 47
43 Akron, OH 43.29 24 91 8 161 54 64 20
44 Toledo, OH 43.23 40 126 2 146 39 102 6
45 Knoxville, TN 43.08 69 114 4 102 127 17 141
46 Billings, MT 42.94 57 115 49 8 43 78 181
47 Montgomery, AL 42.92 73 6 78 178 31 133 21
48 Minneapolis, MN 42.83 93 73 134 26 41 24 165
49 Little Rock, AR 42.76 21 31 30 168 82 85 33
50 Kansas City, MO 42.65 12 70 51 97 48 73 150
51 San Francisco, CA 42.33 63 40 156 107 33 18 170
52 Wilmington, DE 42.21 67 9 50 61 178 137 50
53 Indianapolis, IN 42.02 37 84 13 180 22 40 120
54 Shreveport, LA 42.01 60 49 19 142 82 92 24
55 Scottsdale, AZ 41.93 112 105 163 35 89 12 157
56 Charleston, WV 41.90 16 118 43 74 72 99 25
57 Tempe, AZ 41.77 46 42 108 138 115 31 49
58 San Bernardino, CA 41.58 23 90 42 38 130 140 23
59 Rapid City, SD 41.53 25 157 131 25 13 136 73
60 Dover, DE 41.34 79 20 80 106 170 111 17
61 Springfield, MO 41.20 49 97 39 95 78 47 91
62 Tucson, AZ 40.97 75 103 38 137 53 51 27
63 Gulfport, MS 40.74 125 87 72 14 27 143 100
64 Jackson, MS 40.74 64 34 61 20 140 160 32
65 Fayetteville, NC 40.72 58 28 27 122 71 118 138
66 Fort Smith, AR 40.71 66 129 32 69 21 116 34
67 Oklahoma City, OK 40.68 44 133 81 157 36 43 22
68 Charleston, SC 40.60 59 88 56 88 112 30 140
69 Buffalo, NY 40.57 27 127 46 128 106 98 10
70 Fort Worth, TX 40.55 123 37 89 145 65 27 95
71 Milwaukee, WI 40.36 20 92 20 158 61 94 135
72 Aurora, CO 40.19 77 66 60 12 145 128 70
73 Louisville, KY 40.15 83 113 16 174 60 38 48
74 Salt Lake City, UT 39.88 39 53 151 159 51 36 134
75 Tacoma, WA 39.85 15 47 77 129 134 105 139
76 Salem, OR 39.79 32 150 103 22 147 68 46
77 Riverside, CA 39.74 105 85 55 125 52 50 69
78 Vancouver, WA 39.71 41 57 123 83 114 48 172
79 Glendale, AZ 39.45 97 69 18 124 94 109 51
80 Albuquerque, NM 39.39 78 76 36 153 85 75 42
81 Huntington, WV 39.34 76 169 26 55 103 87 3
82 Colorado Springs, CO 39.23 61 93 87 110 84 65 87
82 Chattanooga, TN 39.23 28 72 33 156 126 93 147
84 Long Beach, CA 39.23 127 56 149 28 93 77 89
85 Norfolk, VA 38.89 98 21 41 47 95 141 174
86 Fresno, CA 38.60 74 98 76 103 68 70 128
87 Tulsa, OK 38.51 94 106 45 151 63 66 35
88 Bakersfield, CA 38.18 110 110 58 132 58 39 145
89 Rochester, NY 38.07 86 104 12 160 148 42 88
90 Augusta, GA 37.97 119 36 28 175 64 127 31
91 Huntington Beach, CA 37.89 160 65 177 28 151 16 164
92 Missoula, MT 37.66 85 146 68 4 156 126 179
93 Corpus Christi, TX 37.62 48 155 48 96 42 145 79
94 Stockton, CA 37.56 43 123 102 23 105 149 68
95 Boston, MA 37.49 55 154 120 45 88 49 162
96 Hialeah, FL 37.43 176 13 138 123 96 142 4
97 Newark, NJ 37.37 142 100 90 6 146 176 7
98 Anaheim, CA 37.31 104 55 148 28 104 134 114
99 Mesa, AZ 37.30 121 109 70 54 110 86 64
100 Anchorage, AK 37.22 34 151 93 90 98 96 113
101 Modesto, CA 37.22 42 160 97 43 62 106 144
102 Columbus, GA 37.02 90 27 62 182 46 130 81
103 St. Petersburg, FL 36.97 132 35 65 169 113 84 67
104 Arlington, TX 36.91 134 45 100 52 136 129 110
105 Omaha, NE 36.84 103 145 71 126 73 55 96
106 Spokane, WA 36.73 111 63 73 130 100 95 152
107 Tallahassee, FL 36.53 124 17 54 164 168 83 118
108 Newport News, VA 36.52 80 78 82 47 107 159 155
109 St. Paul, MN 36.50 137 95 140 36 132 80 159
110 Greensboro, NC 36.48 95 54 67 154 138 91 129
111 Sioux Falls, SD 36.40 82 167 117 21 128 107 122
112 Santa Clarita, CA 36.29 138 96 160 28 117 67 127
113 Garland, TX 36.26 107 43 121 134 67 169 82
114 Juneau, AK 36.26 70 181 124 34 45 123 83
115 Ontario, CA 36.20 106 119 53 38 120 167 43
116 Oakland, CA 36.17 22 40 170 109 175 147 109
117 Grand Prairie, TX 36.16 165 61 110 52 56 165 75
118 Manchester, NH 35.96 72 152 85 59 167 108 84
119 Raleigh, NC 35.77 96 81 145 113 141 53 158
120 El Paso, TX 35.65 100 173 118 85 18 121 117
120 Santa Ana, CA 35.65 115 68 105 28 166 152 77
122 Cheyenne, WY 35.61 45 140 129 141 86 110 93
123 Gilbert, AZ 35.57 117 132 125 144 69 56 112
124 Lewiston, ME 35.47 130 177 91 19 165 163 1
125 Des Moines, IA 35.40 101 144 35 91 97 104 143
126 Huntsville, AL 35.39 102 112 86 104 111 119 76
127 Providence, RI 35.22 178 141 106 9 77 166 16
128 Irving, TX 34.97 166 44 137 135 80 150 62
129 Lubbock, TX 34.84 109 125 17 152 79 122 171
130 Rancho Cucamonga, CA 34.75 139 124 158 38 76 115 105
131 Pembroke Pines, FL 34.57 179 15 166 93 131 161 38
132 Chandler, AZ 34.45 155 108 126 105 129 69 116
133 Fontana, CA 34.44 154 149 59 38 135 144 54
134 Fort Wayne, IN 34.39 131 147 37 179 75 60 106
135 Amarillo, TX 34.37 107 148 25 165 40 138 154
136 Oceanside, CA 34.04 136 130 147 92 123 88 126
137 Grand Rapids, MI 33.90 50 158 64 181 101 58 60
138 Jersey City, NJ 33.82 129 116 172 6 150 162 61
139 Nampa, ID 33.70 89 178 141 62 108 114 63
140 Winston-Salem, NC 33.50 87 83 79 163 143 157 115
141 Bismarck, ND 33.36 91 166 162 147 44 90 108
142 Lexington-Fayette, KY 33.35 144 159 10 173 87 97 136
143 Las Cruces, NM 33.33 133 77 132 127 54 177 90
144 New Haven, CT 33.23 145 102 75 65 173 171 30
145 Overland Park, KS 32.99 88 143 167 15 169 103 180
146 Glendale, CA 32.97 168 75 179 89 124 113 103
147 Fargo, ND 32.97 150 142 139 44 153 124 148
148 Warwick, RI 32.74 182 164 112 9 180 89 99
149 Chesapeake, VA 32.74 161 86 107 47 157 135 151
150 Plano, TX 32.63 116 60 176 136 163 117 156
151 Moreno Valley, CA 32.63 157 121 52 119 109 179 78
152 Casper, WY 32.58 81 180 95 111 59 148 97
153 Burlington, VT 32.36 120 101 159 50 155 173 125
154 Peoria, AZ 32.29 151 120 96 114 137 153 119
155 Santa Rosa, CA 32.22 126 176 154 18 171 62 142
156 Garden Grove, CA 32.05 162 67 152 108 159 175 94
157 Irvine, CA 32.01 167 82 182 28 144 81 166
158 Lincoln, NE 31.94 118 168 109 76 133 100 133
159 Virginia Beach, VA 31.91 177 99 119 133 142 61 168
160 Durham, NC 31.79 147 94 143 46 172 154 130
161 Honolulu, HI 31.75 171 163 169 56 66 120 153
162 Aurora, IL 31.72 163 137 142 75 160 180 36
163 Brownsville, TX 31.57 169 174 144 60 49 178 12
164 Chula Vista, CA 31.57 153 153 161 80 125 156 107
165 Oxnard, CA 31.53 156 156 122 81 152 131 123
166 Cedar Rapids, IA 31.38 146 165 113 66 139 72 173
167 San Jose, CA 31.22 122 134 174 171 118 45 167
168 Boise, ID 31.15 128 179 136 148 121 74 132
169 Nashua, NH 30.95 152 175 128 24 179 151 98
170 Worcester, MA 30.77 164 172 99 17 161 132 149
171 Portland, ME 30.69 149 170 153 71 149 139 111
172 Yonkers, NY 30.50 175 128 175 131 177 71 28
173 Laredo, TX 29.87 173 182 127 70 35 174 66
174 West Valley City, UT 29.30 135 131 150 172 162 168 121
175 Cape Coral, FL 29.21 172 135 130 176 91 155 104
176 South Burlington, VT 28.78 143 138 171 50 158 182 182
177 Columbia, MD 28.73 180 26 181 37 182 158 177
178 Port St. Lucie, FL 28.57 174 111 101 177 154 164 124
179 Madison, WI 28.41 148 161 146 166 164 112 163
180 Bridgeport, CT 27.67 170 162 155 64 181 172 41
181 Fremont, CA 27.32 159 122 180 115 176 170 137
182 Pearl City, HI 26.05 181 171 173 13 174 181 175

2024—the Year of our Reckoning
December 25, 2023
Victor Davis Hanson
American Greatness

We should remember the now modern proverb of Nixon-era economic advisor Herb Stein to the effect that what cannot go on (without destroying the nation), simply will not go on.

In some sense, the country for recent years has been cruising on the fumes from prior and likely better wiser generations and institutions. In 2024, the tab for our current apathy, toxic politics, and incompetence will come due.

So next year we will likely see the climax to a number of current dangerous ideas, events, and forces, which finally will either overwhelm us or be addressed and remedied. We live in a Neronian age but can recover if we first understand how we got here and the nature of the suicide we are committing.

In 2023, it became clear, to even the most loyal supporters of the Biden administration, that the U.S. has simply lost or indeed forfeited American deterrence abroad. Our enemies do not fear us; our friends do not trust us; and neutrals do not care either way.

After the 2021 Kabul debacle, the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, the 2023 brazen Chinese spy balloon’s uncontested trajectory over the United States, the recent Hamas invasion of Israel, the serial Iranian-fueled terrorist attacks on U.S. installations in the Middle East, and the terrorist Houthis’ veritable absorption of the Red Sea, many of America’s opportunistic enemies drew conclusions and adopted strategies that would have been previously unthinkable.

Either adversaries will be so emboldened to start regional wars—an impotent Iran now brags it will block the entire Mediterranean—or a United States will be shocked into action and have to deter Iran, the Houthis, and Islamic terrorism, while dealing with an opportunistic China eager to annex Taiwan, and Russia determined to finish off Ukraine.

Those challenges will force the military to staunch its recruitment hemorrhaging, rectify low morale, and rearm. Such rebooting in turn will require discarding the woke agenda, stopping the DEI proselytizing and virtue signaling, and returning to a meritocracy focused on military preparedness and battlefield efficacy.

Since January 2021, the Biden administration has f**grantly and unapologetically dismantled federal i*********n l*w. It destroyed the border as we once knew it. It has already greenlighted more than 8 million illegal entrants—with another quarter-million entering each month.

No one in government has offered any projected costs to states and federal agencies of offering health, food, housing, legal, and education subsidies to millions—who broke the law by entering the U.S. and continue to do violate it while residing unlawfully here. Is that the sign of a promising American citizen—that the first thing he does upon entering America is to break his host’s law?

Incredibly, no one has even explained to Americans why millions of i*****l a***ns are exempt from the v*****e mandates, background checks, and adherence to the law that is demanded of U.S. citizens and legal immigrants. We will soon demand “real” IDs of American citizen airline travelers, while we fly i*****l a***ns all over the states without any identification?

In fact, those who blew up the border can’t honestly even explain to the American people why they did so. Was it to ensure future (or even present) political constituents? Cheap labor? To ensure higher taxes to pay for more government services and to “spread the wealth?” Obeyance to the diversity/equity/inclusion lobbies? To make up for fleeing blue-state population?

The United States has now exceeded, both in real numbers and in percentages, all past numbers of non-native born American residents—at a time when civic education, the idea of the melting pot, and adherence to assimilation have never been more under assault.

In 2024, either the border will close, or the United States will suffer radical political realignments, sheer chaos in our major cities, protests from Americans furious over the complete flaunting of federal law by their own elected officials, and a likely impeachment of Joe Biden for deliberately forsaking his oath to “faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States.”

The October 7 Hamas invasion of Israel and premodern massacring of nearly 1,200 Jews—and the virulent anti-Semitism that swept our elite campuses and big cities even before the October 27 Israeli Defense Forces’ retaliatory invasion of Gaza—was a wakeup call about the racialized hatred and anti-Semitism now endemic on the Left.

Campus protestors dropped the prior protestations that they were not anti-Semitic in their hatred of Israel. Instead, they now call out Jews by name. They disrupt their homes and businesses, regardless of their views on Z*****m. Pro-Hamas protestors feel free to harass Jews, and with impunity and arrogance chant genocidal chants promising the destruction of Israel and its Jewish population.

The main campus culprits for these sudden unabashed hatreds are tripartite. First, wealthy, mostly white l*****t students—increasingly as ignorant of history as they are arrogant in their zealotry—feel it pays psychological and careerist dividends on campus to mouth orthodoxies of hating Israel and de facto siding with the Hamas k**lers.

Most have no idea of the Hamas charter, where flows the Jordan River, or what the British Mandate for Palestine or the Balfour Declaration were. Few of the loudest could never even find Jordan, Israel, the West Bank, or Gaza on a map. No matter: being heard and seen on campus hating Israel is considered a necessary fad like 1970s bellbottoms or pet rocks.

Second, huge numbers of full-tuition-paying Middle-Eastern visiting students and green-card holders, along with Gulf-fueled and endowed faculty, assume that they are exempt from any legal consequences. So they often deface the federal monuments of their hosts, shut down traffic, swarm Jews on campus and in the street, break the law, and battle with police—with absolute impunity.

Third, just as startling are the undisguised hatreds emanating from radical diversity/equity/inclusion students and faculty. As the declared oppressed, they too feel exempt from any charge that they are mouthing r****t and anti-Semitic venom, as they conflate Israel with the now maligned stereotyped “white” people.

The apogee of such extremism was evident in the congressional testimony of three ethically challenged Ivy-League presidents. They reminded the nation that no campus president would unequivocally condemn, much less punish, any anti-Semites on a campus, who openly called for the destruction of Israel and its Jewish population. And they lied about “free speech” constraints on their punishment of mainstreaming anti-Semitic and genocidal threats—given they routinely expel, censure, and variously punish all sorts of “h**e speech,” but only if it is directed against their own DEI constituencies.

All this is not tenable.

Our top universities are facing a perfect storm. Declining pools of students, crushing student loan debt, spiraling tuition and room and board costs, administrative bloat, defecting donors, and the public’s distrust of such people being entrusted with their children’s higher education, will all soon lead to a general reexamination of the very need of these universities in the first place, at least as they are presently constituted.

Their racialist admissions, hiring, retention, and promotion protocols are destroying meritocracy. Their mediocre curricula, grade inflation, and campus polarization have convinced the public that they are no longer deserving of the many taxpayer indulgences that shield campuses from market realities—such as massive federal research grants and subsidies, tax-free billions of dollars in private donations, tax-free endowment income in the tens of billions of dollars, and taxpayer subsidized $2 trillion in student loans.

So insulated are these atolls of privilege that they cannot recognize growing public anger over the damage they are doing to the country. Iconic Harvard University cannot even fire its DEI president Claudine Gay, despite serial instances in her own past of plagiarism (which prompted Harvard’s sycophantic board to defend her by embracing a new euphemism— “duplicative language” as if to signify the tiny clerical lapse of stealing the ideas and prose of others).

In 2024, radical changes in university administration and values will begin to be made, or higher education will face a reckoning from the public and a newly elected government.

Currently, Colorado has tentatively removed Donald Trump from its 2024 b****t on the specious grounds that he is an “i**********nist.” Thus, the state insists that he is subject to the 14th Amendment, Section 3 clause of 1868, that calls for the disbarment from future government employment or service those former federal officials and employees who had joined the Confederacy.

Aside from the misapplication of the spirt and letter of that post-Civil War legislation, those responsible for erasing Trump know that he has never been charged with, much less convicted of “i**********n. And he never will be.

They understand that half the country knows the J****** 6 “r**t” was the work of unarmed, overzealous, and buffoonish protestors, who broke the law by entering the Capitol, but otherwise had no master i**********nary plan. And the majority surrounding the Capitol did in fact obey the president’s call to protest “peacefully” and “patriotically.”

The left privately understands that their latest weaponization of government follows their “Russian collusion h**x,” their “laptop disinformation” farce, their two politicized impeachments, their performance-art Mar-a-Lago documents raid, and thus are all part of a systematic degradation of our campaigns, e******ns, and political customs, tradition, and discourse.

A jaded public knows too well that such punitive measures never applied to the 2016 Hillary Clinton crimes of destroying subpoenaed emails and devices, or the FBI’s illegal alteration of FISA documents or its contracting out social media to suppress news stories, or its hiring of a foreign national Christopher Steele, who compiled a f**e “dossier” to destroy the candidacy of Donald Trump.

A majority of Americans further know that had Donald Trump not chosen to run for office in 2024, state and federal prosecutors such as the publicity-seeking and partisan Alvin Bragg, Letitia James, Jack Smith, and Fani Willis would never have indicted him.

All privately know that the entire Biden family, including the President, could just as easily be indicted on state and local felonies, but the Biden consortium finds itself exempt both for its l*****t ideology and its current control of the Department of Justice.

What then do the campaign and e******n of 2024 foreordain?

We will be in entirely new and completely dangerous territory. The likely Republican nominee who currently leads incumbent president Joe Biden will be for most of 2024 the constant target of a coordinated state and local Soviet-like effort to destroy his candidacy before the v**ers can even v**e for or against him in the November e******n.

The United States 2023 annual budget deficit is about $1.7 trillion; the nation is burdened by a $34 trillion national debt—even though the federal government since 2021 has raised all sorts of new income and excise taxes.

The era of printing money, zero interest rates, “modern monetary theory,” and spending wildly is drawing to a close. The mounting interest on the national debt is now crowding out optional but soon essential annual federal spending. At some point soon, one generation of Americans is going to have to exercise spending restraint or accept a continuing decline in its living standards.

In sum, in 2024, we will either see the destruction of p**********l e*******l politics as we have known them or a complete repudiation of lawfare. The current new normal that the party in power indicts the leading candidate of the opposition is not sustainable or compatible with the idea of America.

Either the military will have to deter dramatically our growing number of opportunistic enemies, or it will descend into something like the French army between the world wars—plagued by ideology, ossified brass, corruption, mediocrity, misplaced investments, and bankrupt strategies.

If there are not radical changes in higher education, our Ivy League and self-identified elite campuses will go the way of Bud-Light, Disney, and Target—once premier brands reduced to red ink and laughing-stock caricatures.

The United States is cracking under 8 million illegal entries; it cannot sustain another year and 2 million more illegal entrants—or a total of 55-60 million foreign-born residents, with no idea of how many are U.S. citizens, i*****l a***ns, or green card holders–or how many are employable, or free of criminal records or in need of massive federal and state subsidies.

In 2024, the U.S. will begin to see that to meet its spiraling debt, it will either keep inflating its currency, or slash spending, or raise even further taxes to the degree that even the lower middle class will have to pay 50 percent of their income in state and federal taxes, or renounce its debt, and thus go full-Third World.

Will we meet these challenges or ensure the ongoing decline?

If what we saw after October 7, or the wild and out-of-control reign of weaponized local and state prosecutors, or what we watch nightly on television at the border, or the paralyses we witness abroad of our military, or the breezy way in which our officials promise groups here and abroad billions of dollars in easy money, continues into 2024, then the country as we knew it will become unrecognizable.

https://gellerreport.com/2023/12/obama-pressured-harvard-to-keep-dei-misanthrope-claudine-gay.html/?lctg=26369133

Obama Pressured Harvard to Keep DEI Misanthrope Claudine Gay
By Pamela Geller - on December 23, 2023

A new report has revealed that former President Barack Obama has privately lobbied for support of Harvard President Claudine Gay, who came under fire for statements made during a congressional hearing on antisemitism, and then for allegations of plagiarism. Like Claudine Gay, Obama was a mediocre student with no scholarly work or accomplishment of any kind, who rose to unimaginable heights because of affirmative action and woke promotion.

“According to a source familiar with the matter,” The Jewish Insider wrote, “Obama, a Harvard graduate, had privately lobbied on Gay’s behalf as she faced pressure to resign in the wake of her disastrous appearance before the congressional hearing on antisemitism.”

Anyone who thought affirmative action was merely some benign feel-good (though thoroughly unfair and insidious) scheme surely must now see how destructive and wicked its effects. The cataclysm of affirmative action policies was the Obama’s presidency, the most ruinous period in American history.

Obama is a Harvard graduate, militant Marxist, and funded Hamas as POTUS

The Chairman of the Harvard Board is an Obama insider & former admin official

Is Obama working behind the scenes to prop up Claudine Gay despite her anti-semitism & plagiarism?

We all know the answer

— DC_Draino (@DC_Draino) December 22, 2023

Obama himself “t***sferred” into the Ivy League with mediocre grades, and his Columbia college thesis has mysteriously disappeared. So this “constitutional law professor” who has never published a single scholarly article is an even bigger academic fraud than Claudine Gay.

— Dinesh D'Souza (@DineshDSouza) December 22, 2023

Obama privately lobbied on Harvard President Claudine Gay’s behalf amid antisemitism controversy: Report

‘It sounded like people were being asked to close ranks,’ a source said of Obama’s involvement

By Nikolas Lanum Fox News, December 22, 2023 12:56pm EST

A confidential source familiar with the matter told Jewish Insider on Tuesday that Obama, a Harvard graduate, had privately lobbied on Gay’s behalf following her congressional appearance about antisemitism and threats against Jewish students on the Ivy League campus.

“It sounded like people were being asked to close ranks to keep the broader administration stable—including its composition,” the source said of Obama’s involvement.

In early December, Gay sat before the House Committee on Education and the Workforce, where she was asked whether calling for the genocide of Jews on campus violates the university’s codes of conduct related to bullying and harassment.

Her claim that the alleged conduct would only warrant a response from the school based on the “context” drew criticism across social media and even prompted a response from the White House.

Gay issued an apology after the hearing and the fellows of the Harvard Corporation, the university’s highest government body, released a Dec. 12 statement backing the Harvard president despite widespread calls for her resignation. The board also addressed allegations of plagiarism regarding Gay’s academic writing first f**gged in October.

On Tuesday, Harvard’s research integrity officer, Stacey Springs, reportedly received a complaint detailing more than 40 allegations of plagiarism — ranging from missing quotation marks around a few phrases or sentences to entire paragraphs lifted verbatim — regarding Gay’s academic works, according to a document obtained by the Washington Free Beacon.

The Harvard Corporation also released a summary of a review Wednesday evening, saying Gay will request three corrections from Harvard’s Office of the Provost regarding her 1997 Ph.D. dissertation, The Harvard Crimson reported.

Through additional review, Harvard said it found two additional instances of “duplicative language without appropriate attribution.” (In other words, plagiarism. But the left loves their euphemism.)
[…]
That same day, House Education and the Workforce Committee Chairwoman Virginia Foxx, R-N.C., sent a letter to Harvard Corporation Senior Fellow Penny Pritzker demanding more information about the university’s handling of plagiarism allegations against Gay and “the unequal application of Harvard’s Honor Code.”

The controversy has put a spotlight on Pritzker, a former Obama administration official and Chicago hotel billionaire who donated $100 million to Harvard last month.

Last December, Pritzker personally led the search committee that named Gay president, calling her a “remarkable leader who is profoundly dev**ed to sustaining and enhancing Harvard’s academic excellence” at the time.

It's coming, whether we like it or not. It is not the technology that is bad. It is what we do with it—for example, Artificial Intelligence.

Based on the lectures at Pepperdine University. Roots in American Leadership through Peace and War.

Episode 1. Sherman
Episode 2. Themistocles
Episode 3. Korean War / Matthew Ridgway
Episode 4. Patton (and the IDF in Gaza in the final few minutes)

https://victorhanson.com/podcasts/

Will Partisan Lawfare Destroy Trump?
December 21, 2023
Trump Derangement Syndrome became Orwellian with the recent ruling of the Colorado Supreme Court.

It approved the erasure of Trump from the Republican primary b****t in Colorado, by invoking Section 3 of the 14th Amendment.

That ossified clause was intended to bar any ante-bellum federal officials who joined the Confederacy from again holding federal offices after 1865.

In no way is Trump’s conduct on J****** 6 comparable to calling for secession, much less prompting a Civil War that cost the country 700,000 lives.

An “i**********nist” president does not address unarmed protestors with qualifiers like, “I know that everyone here will soon be marching over to the Capitol building to peacefully and patriotically make your voices heard.”

How also can one be guilty of i**********n without ever being indicted for such a supposed crime, much less convicted of it?

And the more we learn about J****** 6, all the more it appears to have been a spontaneous r**t, more buffoonish in nature than conspiratorial.

No one has explained the mysterious, politicized J****** 6 refusal of the Speaker of the House to order a reinforcement of the C*****l p****e.

Or the FBI stonewalling about its informants in the crowd.

Or the revealing admissions of New York Times reporter Matthew Rosenberg (“a ton of FBI informants among the people who attacked the Capitol”).

Or the warped composition and conduct of the J****** 6 congressional committee.

Or the months-long official disinformation surrounding the number and circumstances of those who died that day.

That day’s illegality in terms of violence and death paled in comparison to the largely excused and exempted 120 days of summer violence in 2020, when A****a and B*M engineered r**ts, arson, and death.

Their planned violence accounted for 35 or so k**led, and more than 1,500 injured police officers.

Some $1-2 billion in property was destroyed.

A police precinct, federal courthouse, and iconic Washington, D.C. church were torched.

Mobs attempted to storm the White House grounds and sent the president into a secure underground bunker.

But if one really wishes to imagine genuine “i**********nary “and actionable language, then recall current Vice President Kamala Harris’s 2020 de facto encouragement to the r****rs,

But they’re not gonna stop. They’re not gonna stop, and this is a movement, I’m telling you. They’re not gonna stop, and everyone beware, because they’re not gonna stop. They’re not gonna stop before E******n Day in November, and they’re not gonna stop after E******n Day. Everyone should take note of that, on both levels, that they’re not going to let up — and they should not. And we should not.

Or remember this 2020 i**********nary warning to two sitting Supreme Court Justices by then Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer.

At the very doors of the court, Schumer revved up an angry crowd with undisguised threats:

I want to tell you Gorsuch. I want to tell you Kavanaugh. You have released the whirlwind and you will pay the price. You won’t know what hit you if you go forward with these awful decisions.

The Colorado court ruling is sadly only the most recent in a long series of disastrous firsts that are slowly unwinding the republic and making a mockery of the rule of law.

Remember the Russian collusion h**x and the 2016 Clinton/Fusion GPS effort to destroy a p**********l candidate?

Recall the 2020 Russian disinformation farcical claim concerning the genuine H****r B***n laptop?

Do not forget the precedent of impeaching a president twice and then trying an ex-president and private citizen in the Senate.

Then there was another first of raiding an ex-president’s private home over disputes about the removal of p**********l papers that are typically solved bureaucratically and as a civil matter.

We are also witnessing ongoing lawfare waged by state and local partisan prosecutors to destroy the current leading p**********l candidate.

Their indictments either have no merit or would never have applied to liberal politicians or both.

What will be Colorado’s precedent?

Will red-state courts now respond by erasing Joe Biden from their b****ts on grounds that he is “guilty” of i**********nary activity—by deliberately destroying the southern border, undermining U.S. security, sabotaging federal i*********n l*w, and violating his oath of office?

Will some states remove Vice President Kamala Harris from their 2024 b****ts on grounds that in 2020 she deliberately incited i**********nary protestors who had been engaged in r**t, arson, l**ting, violent assaults on police, and attacks on federal properties?

So does the Left see where it is taking the country?

It is destroying all the old parameters of accepted politics in using any means necessary to deny millions of citizens the right to elect their own highest official.

We have never seen anything like this before in American history. But it is only the latest chapter of an ongoing travesty that will not end well.

We Are Well Beyond Hypocrisy
December 18, 2023
Victor Davis Hanson
American Greatness

The abject narcissism of the insular Left is startling. They apparently believe the American public is amnesiac enough to forget what l*****ts once did, now that they’re doing the utter opposite. And they assume we are to discount their hypocrisy and self-absorption simply because they self-identify as erudite and moral and assume their opponents are irredeemable and deplorable.

Impeachment

The Left is saturating the airwaves with outrage over the current House Republicans’ impeachment inquiry. They allege that formally investigating Joe Biden’s role in the family grifting operation is somehow a poor constitutional precedent, if not out-of-bounds entirely.

So we hear further arguments that it will be unwise to impeach a first-term president when he loses his House majority, that there is no reason to “waste” congressional time and effort when Biden will be automatically acquitted in the Democratically controlled Senate, and that the impeachment is cynically timed to synchronize with president’s ree******n efforts.

All of these are the precise arguments many of us cited when Donald Trump was impeached in December 2019 (as his ree******n campaign began, and immediately after being cleared of the 22-month, $40-million-special-counsel Russian-collusion h**x).

The Democrats tried to remove an elected president over a phone call without a special counsel’s report. So Trump was impeached only after the 2018 e******n led to a Democratic House majority, which went from eating up nearly two years of his administration in the Russian-collusion h**x straight into the impeachment farce. There was no concern about the cost to the nation of putting an elected government into a continual state of siege.

There is one difference, though, between the Trump impeachment and the Biden impeachment inquiry. Donald Trump was impeached because he accurately accused the members of the Ukrainian government of paying H****r B***n, with his zero f****l f**l expertise, an astronomical sum to serve on the Burisma board—as the costly quid that earned the lucrative quo from his dad Vice President Joe Biden.

No one now denies that Joe Biden got prosecutor Viktor Shokin fired by threatening to cancel legislatively-approved U.S. aid. Shokin knew about the skullduggery through which the Biden family eventually received $6.5 million from Ukraine—and so Biden ensured his firing, and publicly bragged about it in performance-art fashion.

In sum, Trump had a perfect right as commander in chief to delay (he did not cancel) aid to Ukraine, to ensure that its government was not still paying off the Bidens for their lobbying efforts on its behalf.

It is also now clear that Biden serially lied about his ignorance of H****r’s shake-down operation. In fact, he was, as Devon Archer emphasized, “the brand” central to H****r’s scheme to coerce money from foreign governments. Joe was proverbially, in H****r’s words “the man sitting next to me” and thus able to either punish or reward foreign interests, depending on the size of the checks they wrote to his various fronting family members.

Offspring subpoenas

The left is now furious that H****r has been subpoenaed by the House to testify in private about how he earned his multimillion-dollar income, whether he fully paid taxes on it, and to whom he distributed his winnings.

H****r has refused to testify. He is now being held in contempt of the U.S. Congress—to the silence of the usually self-righteous former senator Joe “pay your fair share” Biden.

We hear sanctimonious harangues that Joe is guilty of loving “his only son” H****r too much, or that it is way out of bounds for a Department of Justice prosecutor to hound Joe Biden by going “after his family,” or that Republican congressional subpoenas and contempt findings should be summarily ignored.

Ask Peter Navarro or Steve Bannon whether one can simply ignore a House subpoena. Ask Ivanka Trump whether she was, or was not, subpoenaed to appear before the J****** 6 c*******e. Ask the Trump sons whether they could breezily say “no” to Letitia James’s subpoenas in her farcical real-estate-valuation suit against Trump.

Whistleblowers

Do we remember when, not long ago, whistleblowers were noble?

The alleged whistleblower Eric Ciaramella, an Obama holdover who had burrowed inside the Trump administration, had zero firsthand knowledge of the Trump phone call to Ukrainian president Zelensky. Ukrainian expatriate Lt. Col Alexander Vindman was on the call, as a member of the Trump national security team. He broke the law and apparently disclosed the classified call—in outrage that Trump was apparently too hard on his native Ukraine— to Ciaramella, and then hid the latter’s identity. Both met privately with Rep. Adam Schiff (D—CA) to engineer an impeachment writ.

This impeachment gambit was well-known to the media and the Democratic House. Both Vindman and Ciaramella were canonized as invaluable tools in wearing down Trump in a way that the failed Mueller prosecution had never done.

And whistleblowers now?

IRS Supervisory Special Agent Gary Shapley and 13-year Special IRS Agent Joe Ziegler never violated any statute or disclosed classified information. They did not leak a p**********l phone call to a foreign leader.

Instead, both came forward as whistleblowers to testify before Congress about how the Biden Justice Department deliberately and carefully ensured that the mountain of evidence for the prosecution of H****r B***n that they had presented had simply been ignored—at least long enough for the statute of limitations to run out on his most egregious crimes.

When they both made their case that facts proved the Biden family received huge sums for selling access to or action from Joe Biden, they were roundly trashed by Democrats in congress and pilloried as disgruntled politicos by a toady press.

Dictators

Never-Trumpers and l*****ts vie to predict the most nightmarish consequence of a 2024 Trump e******n win. Supposedly, he will commit every imaginable sin, from ending habeas corpus to jailing his enemies.

This fearmongering has no basis in fact, especially given that the nation has already experienced a Trump administration for four years. And it saw none of the weaponization of the CIA, FBI, DOJ, and IRS that we have seen under the Biden and earlier Obama administrations. There was no concerted effort to destroy the 2020 Biden campaign in the manner of the 2016 Russian-collusion caper, no FBI suppression of evidence as we saw in the case of the H****r laptop, no warping of a FISA court, no paying social media corporations FBI money to suppress news unfavorable to Trump. And so on.

The Burden of Familial Indictments?

Suddenly yet another new narrative emerges: Joe Biden is unduly preoccupied, bearing the enormous burden of H****r’s indictments. Apparently, we have never appreciated the supposedly unnecessary and cruel encumbrance on a president when his son is indicted.

So, we are told that a son’s legal exposure is an unfair weight on a president.

Have we again forgotten the subpoenaed Trump children, much less the four weaponized indictments of Trump himself? Does anyone wish to compare the drug-addicted, prostitute-hiring, gun-losing, pornographic-photo-taking, shake-down grifting of H****r with the conduct of the five Trump children?

What would Biden think if the next Republican Secretary of State had once tried to ruin him by rounding up “51 intelligence authorities” to blatantly lie that a Trump son’s incriminating laptop was not his own, in order to affect the 2024 e******n —all in the manner of the Antony Blinken 2020 ruse? Or imagine a future National Security advisor who had once tried, in Jake Sullivan’s 2016 way, to concoct a malicious yarn that H****r was engineering a computer ping correspondence from Biden headquarters to Moscow. Would those be burdens on Biden? Were they on Trump?

It may well be unwise to impeach a president in his first term when he loses his House majority. It may certainly set a bad precedent to subpoena the children of presidents. It may be regrettable that whistleblowers are either unduly demonized or sanctified. And it is of course wrong to smear a president as a veritable Hitlerian dictator.

But the left does not see such absolutes. Instead, once a supposedly morally-superior agenda is enunciated, then any means necessary are justified to obtain it.

And that alternate reality ensures that impeaching a president, indicting him, subpoenaing his kids, praising or libeling whistleblowers, or smearing a president as a dictator become good or bad things only by determining whether they prove useful to the progressive project.