Let the Feeding Frenzy Commence!

Friends, this is the sort of story that I love to see, especially in the pages of the New York Times, which as you know I hold in the very highest regard.  It seems Mayor Pete Buttigieg is in hot water because he fired a black police chief.  The rights and wrongs of the situation are naturally irrelevant, because Mayor Pete is white, and the police chief was black, so, from a leftist perspective, it's game over right there.  The point to me is this: no one, absolutely no one, can emerge from the Democratic primary process unscathed, because no one can ever be pure enough in the eyes of fanatical leftists.  You might as well try to reason with a great white shark...  (Don't even think about it!)

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/19/us/politics/buttigieg-black-police-chief-fired.html?action=click&module=Top%20Stories&pgtype=Homepage

And, while you're here, allow me to say: God Bless Vice-President Mike Pence!  What a breath of fresh air he is.  I agree with everything he says in this brilliant op-ed about the border.  Unfortunately, the chances that Congress will follow any of his advice are nil -- or less than nil?

https://www.foxnews.com/opinion/vice-president-mike-pence-congress-must-act-to-end-the-crisis-on-our-border

It's Time to Give Mexico and Central America a Taste of the "Big Stick"

Friends, what we're doing at the border clearly isn't working -- or rather, since the federal courts and the Democrats refuse to allow the Trump administration to deport phony asylum-seekers, our border has become, in effect, one big joke.  This calls for outside-the-box thinking, if we are ever to restore U.S. sovereignty.  My latest article suggests an approach that concentrates on Mexico and Central America, rather than on the enforcement of U.S. immigration laws.  See what you think...

https://townhall.com/columnists/nicholaswaddy/2019/04/19/president-trump-look-to-mexico-city-not-washington-for-a-solution-to-the-border-crisis-n2545053

In other news, the Mueller report is out!  I don't wish to waste any more time than necessary on this charade, which I consider to be the death throes of the collusion delusion, but this article mirrors my thinking pretty well.  Mueller set out to nail Trump -- and he failed.  In the process, Mueller ignored plenty of evidence of wrongdoing by Democrats.  Our task is now to set that right and to bring to justice the would-be framers of Donald Trump.  Personally, I will settle for nothing less.

https://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2019/04/19/mueller_strzok_out_with_his_whitewash_report__140106.html

Slicing and Dicing the American People

Friends, remember when the goal of the civil rights movement was to end discrimination and to create a society in which a person would be judged by his or her merits (we only had two genders in those innocent times), and not by the color of their skin?  Well, the Left has long since moved on from "non-racialism."  Now, race, gender, religion, sexuality, and other "identities" are supposedly integral to who we are, and people demand to be understood based on the groups to which they belong.  Not uncommonly, they demand the "rights" and status to which those groups, specifically, are entitled.  In the process, we are increasingly divided, and "one America" is turning into many Americas, often mutually hostile.  The sad part is that, once people define themselves by their differences, these rifts become self-reinforcing.  As the following article suggests, many people benefit from exploiting these fissures, which are thus likely to deepen and spread:

https://thefederalist.com/2019/04/16/identity-politics-plays-right-hands-big-business/

Also check out this superb take on climate change and energy policy.  Senator DeMint is absolutely right: fossil fuels aren't going away, and they can be, if we let them be, part of the answer to our environmental challenges:

https://thehill.com/opinion/energy-environment/438754-green-new-deal-has-a-dirty-secret

Biden, Bernie, or Buttigieg: The Attack of the "Bs"

Friends, what could be more fun than a good, old-fashioned electoral free-for-all?  That's what the Democratic presidential primaries are shaping up to be.  In Mayor Pete Buttigieg of South Bend, Indiana, we seem to have our first "phenom" of the cycle: he of the unpronounceable last name has rocketed into third place, according to some polls, although Biden and Sanders remain high atop the leader board.  On the latest Newsmaker Show, Brian and I break down the Democratic field and assess each candidate's chances.

In addition, we cover topics as diverse as: Columbus' first voyage to the Americas in 1492, the Bay of Pigs invasion of communist Cuba, the impending release of the Mueller report, the role of WikiLeaks in the Trump-Russia hoax, the merits of our fine Attorney General Bill Barr, AOC's "issues" with Joe Biden and Benjamin Netanyahu, and why so many millennials support the Left.

Listen now (or later)!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z8Cxo8qvdnM&feature=youtu.be

The Eco-Radicals Are At The Gate

Friends, over the weekend I read a fascinating article that argued that climate change and other environmental problems are so potentially catastrophic, and the political response so feeble, that environmental activists and their fellow travelers need to rise up in "rebellion."  The fruits of that loose talk are now playing out on the streets of many cities, especially London, where arrests are skyrocketing.  Now, I do not subscribe to the notion that human beings or the Earth face any "existential" threat, but it does interest me that so many leftists are becoming violent and/or unlawful in response to what they see as the failure of the political class to heed their calls to action.  Mark my words: the more agitated, unhinged, and "rebellious" these left-wing activists become, the more conservatives will win elections...and that's a good thing!

https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-47945397

Also check out this article about the Vietnam War overtones of Bill Barr's interest in whether illegal or improper "spying" occurred against the Trump campaign:

https://www.insidehook.com/daily_brief/news-opinion/in-this-corner-bill-barrs-key-statement-was-overlooked

Will Republicans take back the House in 2020?  I believe it's a real possibility, and Democrats, by their wild and irresponsible actions and rhetoric, are making it easier and easier:

http://www.rollcall.com/news/house-democrats-not-task-leading-country

Finally, check out this fascinating take on illegal immigration.  It's happening on such a vast scale that it can't help but have a severe impact on some communities.  I feel for those on the firing line.  On the other hand, I think Hanson's idea that America will become so dysfunctional that "migrants" won't want to come here anymore is a pipe-dream.  If we don't take action to stop this tidal wave of humanity, we'll be swamped -- pure and simple.

https://amgreatness.com/2019/04/14/are-there-any-limits-to-illegal-immigration/

The Collusion Delusion Isn't Dead Yet

Friends, we now have word that the Mueller Report will hit newsstands (are there still newsstands?) on Thursday.  You better believe everyone in Washington, D.C. will be reading it, and the spin will be dizzying!  Republicans will find exoneration; Democrats will almost certainly find collusion and obstruction of justice.  The facts, of course, do not support either charge, but in politics facts are secondary to wish fulfillment, and so we should expect nothing less than a firestorm.  In the end, I believe that the impetus for impeachment is gone.  Other than hearings and investigations, President Trump has nothing to fear for the next year and a half.  Nonetheless, the last part of this week will be interesting.  As the article below suggests, there is ample reason to suspect that Mueller will have added a few nuggets of cloak-and-dagger innuendo to his report.  The goal would be to land a few punches on our valiant leader, even if Mueller can't deliver a knockout blow.  So...beware the Ides of April, for they portend a brief upsurge in Trump-Russia conspiracy theories.

https://www.realclearinvestigations.com/articles/2019/04/15/gop_muellers_collusion_bias_could_carry_through_to_final_report.html

A.G. Bill Barr is a Stand-up Guy: And He's Standing Up for You and Me

Friends, my latest article is about Attorney General Bill Barr, who seems to have grasped the bull by the horns -- and the "bull" in question is the Trump-Russia hoax and its disseminators.  I believe he should be praised and encouraged, lest he bow to Democratic pressure and scuttle the nascent probe.

Read on:

Bill Barr is Exceeding Expectations

When President Trump nominated Bill Barr to replace Jeff Sessions as Attorney General, like many conservatives I was wary. Barr was formerly George H.W. Bush's Attorney General — and the Bush family is notable for its antipathy to Donald Trump. In addition, there was little in Barr's record that suggested that he would be inclined to take on the political establishment. And it was “the establishment,” lest we forget, that considered it normal, even patriotic, to surveil the Trump campaign in 2016 and presume the Republican candidate for President to be a Russian agent. I therefore thought to myself, when Barr was nominated: there goes any hope of holding the Deep State accountable for what it has done to Trump, and to the American people.

But I may have been wrong. Recently, Barr went before Congress, and he was frank about the fact that the DOJ and FBI “spied” on the Trump campaign. They unquestionably did so. No, the American version of 007 was not planted inside the campaign, but actual spies initiated contacts with Trump campaign officials designed to probe them (or entrap them?) on the issue of possible illegal coordination with the Russian government. The FBI (and the Clinton campaign) retained an actual spy, the Englishman Christopher Steele, to entice other actual spies, Kremlin-linked Russians whose motivations can only be guessed at, to dish out unverified and unverifiable dirt on Donald Trump. Carter Page, who worked for the Trump campaign, was wiretapped with the permission of a (deliberately misled) FISA judge, and his conversations with other Trump campaign staff were therefore intercepted and read by Obama administration officials. Moreover, the CIA and other intelligence agencies, both foreign and domestic, became involved in the vendetta against Donald Trump — and thus what we know today about the secret machinations of these Deep State authorities may be just a small fraction of the truth. In all likelihood, the law enforcement and espionage resources that were deployed against the Republican Party, and eventually against the President-elect and the President, were vast. As Barr said to Congress, this is all a “big deal,” and no one should claim otherwise.

I have called repeatedly for the Attorney General to appoint a second special counsel to investigate how the Trump-Russia hoax, and the related investigations, got started. So far he has not done so. This week he did announce, however, that he intends to assemble a “team” to look into the matter. That may mean the Attorney General intends to lead this inquiry himself. It may mean that he will consider appointing another special counsel in due course. What is doesn't mean is that he intends to sweep this potential abuse of power under the rug. That is heartening, to say the least.

Bill Barr may not be the Trumpian pit bull that many conservatives were hoping for, but he is, by all appearances, a man determined to see that justice prevails and that no one, no matter how well-connected, can assume themselves to be above the law. 

Good for him.

Dr. Nicholas L. Waddy is an Associate Professor of History at SUNY Alfred and blogs at: www.waddyisright.com. He appears weekly on the Newsmaker Show on WLEA 1480.

And here it is in the Olean Times Herald:

http://www.oleantimesherald.com/commentary/barr-exceeds-expectations/article_3f5d3b1c-60b1-11e9-b61a-db4a38242187.html 

How Far and Wide Did the Spy Ring Go?

Friends, in light of Attorney General Bill Barr's recent public admission that the FBI "spied" on the Trump campaign, you may wish to read this article, which sheds light on the nature of that spying.  It seems that the British were instrumental in the effort to pin a charge of "collusion" on Team Trump.  That's hardly a surprise, given the central role played by Christopher Steele, but if the signals in this article are to be believed, a thorough investigation of the origins of the Trump-Russia hoax may embarrass not just Americans, but plenty of foreign intelligence operatives as well.  The $64,000 question, of course, is how much about the plot against Trump is still being concealed from us?

https://www.realclearinvestigations.com/articles/2019/04/11/fbi_mans_testimony_points_to_significant_wrongdoing_beyond_spying.html

In other news, the students of Georgetown University can't wait to pay reparations to the descendants of slaves once owned by their alma mater.  Here's a great analysis of this empty gesture:

https://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2019/04/12/georgetowns_reparations_virtue-signaling_superficiality_140044.html

It boggles the mind that liberals would open the can of worms that is "reparations," but apparently they really are this dumb and out of touch.

The Line Between Love and Hate Gets A Little Thinner Every Day

Friends, it's a tried-and-true tactic on the Left to conflate conservative principles with "hate." In the case of homosexuality, all opposition to gay marriage, for instance, is assumed to derive from blind, searing hatred of all gay people.  Nothing could be further from the truth.  Lately, it's presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg who is targeting our esteemed Vice-President Mike Pence with charges that he is hateful.  Ben Shapiro makes quick work of those charges.

https://www.nationalreview.com/2019/04/pete-buttigieg-attacks-mike-pence-bad-faith/

Speaking of the ongoing culture wars, check out this article about the kinder, gentler form of book burning taking place in Barcelona, Spain.  Children's books that don't conform to leftist ideas about gender are to be eliminated.  Friends, I haven't been a child in quite some time, and I'm thankful for that, because I shudder to think how full most children's books and cartoons must be nowadays of left-wing propaganda.  More's the pity, kiddos!

https://www.foxnews.com/world/barcelona-schools-remove-classic-fairytales-little-red-riding-hood-sleeping-beauty-for-being-sexist

I would also like to express my profound disappointment in the British government and the leadership of the European Union.  Britain has been given yet another extension, so that it can avoid the supposed perils of Brexit for another six months.  If I had voted for the "leave" option in 2016, frankly I would be close to despair right now.

On a brighter note, Attorney General Bill Barr is to be commended for his frankness in admitting that the DOJ and FBI "spied" on the Trump campaign -- and for his decision to create a team to look into the origins of the Trump-Russia hoax.  I just hope it's the A-team!

Take No Prisoners

Friends, this week's Newsmaker Show is a feast for the ears!  Brian and O'Neil and I talk about Bill Barr's grilling by Congress, the need for a new special prosecutor, Joe Biden's Ukraine connection, the declining fortunes of Brexit, and more.

Our historical discussion for the week wanders over the horrors of the Boer War, which presaged much of the beastliness of the 20th century, the rank brutality of the Pacific theater of World War Two, and the means by which "ordinary men" are turned into butchers on the battlefield -- and then back into ordinary men.  We even allude to the legend of John Wayne.  Don't miss it!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dUvEo7Q79pM&feature=youtu.be