Each day at just after midnight Eastern, a post like this one is created for contributors and readers of this site to upload news links and video links on the issues that concern this site. Most notably, Islam and its effects on Classical Civilization, and various forms of leftism from Soviet era communism, to postmodernism and all the flavours of galloping statism and totalitarianism such as Nazism and Fascism which are increasingly snuffing out the classical liberalism which created our near, miraculous civilization the West has been building since the time of Socrates.
This document was written around the time this site was created, for those who wish to understand what this site is about. And while our understanding of the world and events has grown since then, the basic ideas remain sound and true to the purpose.
So please post all links, thoughts and ideas that you feel will benefit the readers of this site to the comments under this post each day. And thank you all for your contributions.
This is the new Samizdat. We must use it while we can.
As this site has pointed out, Vivek Ramaswami may not, in fact, be the man he presents himself to be. A while back, I had posted here a link to an hour-ish long interview of Vivek by John Stossel, saying that if you are going to watch just one Vivek interview, this ought to be it.
Well into the interview, Vivek explains that he had made his millions by starting, running and then selling his own Pharma company.
I admit that all I know about it is from that interview, but, it seems to me that Vivem just might have some very strong ties to ‘Big Pharma’.
For anyone interested, the link to the interview is below:
INTERVIEW – Under the Wire – A very special interview with Dr William Makis, Truth Warrior: Vaccine injuries, Turbo Cancers & Spike Protein Detox
Dr. William Makis MD – August 19, 2023
https://makismd.substack.com/p/interview-under-the-wire-a-very-special
Under the Wire: A very special interview with Dr William Makis, Truth Warrior
Under The Wire – August 16, 2023
https://rumble.com/v37rph0-under-the-wire-a-very-special-interview-with-dr-william-makis-truth-warrior.html
REPORT: Three Pilots ‘Die Suddenly’ In One Week
by Danielle – August 20, 2023
https://100percentfedup.com/report-three-pilots-die-suddenly-in-one-week/
TEST TEST
Test
oh, why not? #MeTooT E S T
LOL
HEALTH NEWS
Maryland reports first locally acquired malaria case in 40 years
The latest case was reported in the Washington, D.C. area by a patient who had not traveled outside the United States.
Another case of rare “locally acquired” malaria, this one in the Washington, D.C. area, has been reported amid a string of such infections since May, officials said Friday.
The unidentified patient had not traveled recently outside the United States, the Maryland Department of Health said in a statement. The person was hospitalized and is recovering, it said.
https://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/maryland-reports-first-locally-acquired-malaria-case-40-years-rcna100813
A string, eh?
Accident, coincidence, enemy action.
Authorities See Nearly 800% Surge In Chinese Migrants Crossing Southern Border Illegally
Border Patrol agents recorded a roughly 800% increase in Chinese migrants crossing the U.S.-Mexico border illegally, according to federal data updated Friday.
There were roughly 17,678 illegal migrant encounters of Chinese nationals between October 2022 and July, compared to 1,970 in all of fiscal year 2022, according to the data. In March, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) sent a memo exclusively obtained by the Daily Caller News Foundation to agency officials warning of a surge in Chinese migrants
https://dailycaller.com/2023/08/18/authorities-see-nearly-800-surge-in-chinese-migrants-crossing-southern-border-illegally/
Pinky Ford promised to finish the twinning of highway 69 in Ontario. He has started 2 bypasses in Southern Ontario – – Toronto area – – and highway improvements on 400 highway, but there is still a 40 mile stretch of highway 69 not completed.
The Liberals promised to complete 69 highway and failed, Pinky seems to have forgotten his promise to complete this dangerous stretch of highway.
A promise made…………….
Bartiromo: Biden Regime Sold $300 Million Worth of Border Wall Parts for $2 Million (Video)
By Jim Hoft Aug. 20, 2023 9:20 am92 Comments
They really, really hate this country.
On day one – The Biden regime opened the US southern border on day one of the administration. They also ended all construction of the Trump border wall on the US Southern Border.
For years the excess parts and segments of border wall lay in the desert collecting dust.
During that same time period over 7 million illegal aliens have walked across our open US southern border.
As The Gateway Pundit reported in June – The total number of ILLEGAL aliens who entered the US under Joe Biden and Mayorkas’s watch is over 7 million individuals.
On Saturday the Daily Caller reported that the Biden regime was selling off Trump border wall materials. The left hates walls – unless they are protecting their own property.
As previously reported, the Biden administration has literally given permission for illegal border crossings by ignoring a makeshift bridge.
Last month Ben Bergquam, host of Law and Border on Real America’s Voice was at the southern border in Yuma, Arizona to report on the invasion by illegals and drugs supplied by the cartel.
On Sunday Maria Bartiromo announced that the Biden regime sold the Trump border wall parts worth $300 million for $2 million.
It will be interesting to find out what lucky Democrat-connected group won that government deal!
This is pure corruption that will be ignored by the mainstream lapdogs.
Via FOX and Friends Weekend.
https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2023/08/bartiromo-biden-regime-sold-300-million-worth-border/
Bolsonaro’s Mounting Legal Troubles Raise Prospect of His Arrest
Andrew Rosati and Daniel Carvalho
Fri, August 18, 2023 at 12:53 PM CDT·5 min read
Police have raided his home. He has testified to authorities on four separate occasions. Some of his closest allies have been arrested. And late Thursday, local news outlets reported that a top judge granted investigators access to his bank and tax records.
Brazil’s electoral authority barred the right-wing former leader from seeking public office for eight years in June. Now Bolsonaro’s growing legal problems have raised the prospect that he may ultimately face arrest and jail time.
The 68-year-old former army captain, who spread conspiracies about vote fraud throughout last year’s election, is facing investigations over whether he played a role in Jan. 8 riots in Brasilia, when supporters stormed major government buildings in an apparent effort to overturn his defeat to President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.
Since returning from self-imposed, post-election exile in Florida, he has also become the subject of probes into accusations of falsified Covid-19 vaccine records, allegations of a plot to bug the judge spearheading investigations against him, and whether he attempted to sell expensive jewelry and other gifts he received as president.
https://news.yahoo.com/bolsonaro-mounting-legal-troubles-raise-175349644.html
EXCLUSIVE: Maui wildfires death toll climbs to 480 locals claim, as Hawaii morgue workers run out of body bags and survivors are left to recover the charred remains of their loved ones
Maui authorities are dramatically underplaying the number of people known to have died in the inferno that ripped through Lahaina last week – with locals telling DailyMail.com that the actual death toll is at least 480 and that morgues had run out of body bags.
The figure is quadruple that of the official number of 111 – and some of the relatives of the victims have been left to uncover the remains of their loved ones themselves due to the glacial progress of the search and recovery operation.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-12420893/Maui-wildfires-death-toll-update.html
Andrew McCarthy Reveals the “Giant Hole” in Fani Willis’s Case Against President Trump Which Proves His Innocence
By Cullen Linebarger Aug. 20, 2023 11:20 am114 Comments
Prominent conservative attorney Andrew McCarthy, a typical Trump-basher, wrote an article last week completely blowing up corrupt Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis’ garbage indictment of President Trump. It turns out there is a “giant hole” in the indictment that should be grounds for immediate dismissal.
As Cristina Laila and Jim Hoft previously reported, Trump and 18 other Republicans were indicted by corrupt Fulton Country District attorney Fani Willis late Monday night on 41 total charges. These include RICO and Conspiracy.
Mark Meadows, Jenna Ellis, John Eastman, Rudy Giuliani, and Sidney Powell, Jeffrey Clark, Mike Roman were some of the other notable names indicted by Willis.
Andy McCarthy wrote an explosive article in the Messenger Thursday which provides the clearest case yet for Trump’s total exoneration from these garbage charges. He focuses precisely on the key part of Willis’s indictment: the RICO conspiracy.
Why has DA Willis invoked Georgia’s version of the federal Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act, which is typically applied to mobsters engaged in the familiar rackets of murder, extortion, trafficking in narcotics and stolen goods, gambling, prostitution and so on? Because there’s a giant hole in her case: the lack of a clear crime to which Trump and his co-defendants can plausibly be said to have agreed.
McCarthy briefly puts aside RICO and explains in full detail what a conspiracy means. A conspiracy, McCarthy notes, is an agreement to violate a criminal statute. This takes at least two people.
Moreover, McCarthy explains that “there must be a meeting of the minds about the crime that is the objective of the conspiracy.” If there does not exist an agreement regarding the crime, a conspiracy does not exist.
The constitutional process dictates that Americans cannot be charged with a crime and forced to stand trial unless probable cause exists that a crime has been committed.
McCarthy in his article next emphasizes the importance of Americans understanding why defendants have been charged in a particular case. He then points out that Willis is charging Trump with a crime for engaging in a completely legal action (trying to reverse the 2020 election results). McCarthy calls this “strange.”
Even though prosecutors bear the burden of proving the case beyond a reasonable doubt before there can be a conviction, we can easily understand why the defendants have been charged. If they are charged with conspiracy, the indictment will clearly state the crime they allegedly agreed to commit — e.g., drug trafficking, bank robbery, murder, extortion.
That is what’s so strange about DA Willis’s indictment. She alleges that the 19 people named in her indictment are guilty of conspiracy because they agreed to try to keep Donald Trump in power as president — specifically, to “change the outcome of the election in favor of Trump.”
Trying to change an election outcome is legal; the end doesn’t become illegal if pursued by illegal means — instead, those illegal means can be charged as crimes. But there is no conspiracy unless the objective itself is clearly a crime. You don’t see prosecutors alleging, say, that defendants were in a “conspiracy to unlawfully” commit murder or robbery. Murder and robbery are crimes.
If two or more people agree to commit murder or robbery, that is an agreement to commit a crime — a conspiracy. To the contrary, an agreement to try to reverse the result of an election is not an agreement to commit a crime.
McCarthy goes back to the RICO conspiracy charges which Willis laid out against Trump and the 18 other defendants. As he notes, a RICO conspiracy is an agreement to participate in such an enterprise — to belong to the group and sustain the group so that it continues to generate power and profits.
There was no organized effort and no crime. The fact is that Trump is getting charged by a partisan prosecutor for exercising his constitutional rights.
https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2023/08/andrew-mccarthy-reveals-giant-hole-fani-williss-case/
Biden Family Attorneys Lobbied Justice Department to Prosecute IRS Whistleblowers Instead of Hunter
By Cristina Laila Aug. 20, 2023 2:03 pm0 Comments
Hunter Biden’s lawyers leaked the entire case file related to the DOJ’s 5-year investigation and it’s a sight to behold.
More shocking news about Hunter Biden’s backroom wheeling and dealing on the sweetheart plea deal has been revealed by The New York Times.
The New York Times and Politico both published leaked documents revealing new information about Hunter Biden’s case and the inner workings at the Justice Department.
According to The New York Times, Hunter Biden’s lawyers lobbied the Justice Department to prosecute the IRS whistleblowers instead of Joe Biden’s criminal son Hunter!
Hunter’s original sweetheart plea deal was derailed by news of the IRS whistleblowers, according to the leaked documents.
“Now, the IRS agents and their Republican allies say they believe the evidence they brought forward, at the precise time they did, played a role in influencing the outcome, a claim senior law enforcement officials dispute,” The Time reported.
Weiss demanded guilty pleas from Hunter on two misdemeanor tax charges just days after explosive insider information about political bias was revealed by IRS whistleblower Gary Shapley.
The Times also revealed Hunter’s lawyers lobbied to have the DOJ prosecute the IRS whistleblowers instead of Hunter.
“While Mr. Biden’s legal team agrees that the IRS agents affected the deal, his lawyers have contended to the Justice Department that by disclosing details about the investigation to Congress, they broke the law and should be prosecuted,” according to The Times.
https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2023/08/biden-family-attorneys-lobbied-justice-department-prosecute-irs/
================================
Report: Biden ‘Obsessed’ and Irritated, Aides Refusing to Even Address Key Issue
By Joshua Johnson, The Western Journal Aug. 20, 2023 1:30 pm132 Comments
Most people know not to bring up a sore subject.
We teach our children this point of etiquette so that they will respect the sensitivities of others and recognize that stirring up bad feelings has no place in casual conversation.
Of course, there are exceptions to the rule, such as when someone is professionally obligated to address an unpleasant subject. For aides to President Joe Biden, discussing a threat to his re-election chances qualifies as just such an exception.
However, according to CNN, aides are steering clear of a topic that creates “a level of personal angst unlike any other challenge for the president”: his son Hunter and his various scandals.
Biden is reportedly very irritated by the negative coverage of his son, to the point where staffers are refusing to discuss it with him in the midst of his re-election campaign.
“Hunter Biden is not a topic of discussion in campaign meetings,” an anonymous senior aide told CNN. “It’s just not addressed.”
“There’s deep reluctance … to raise this with President Biden,” CNN’s John Avlon said, according to Fox News.
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“I’ve heard reports that he’s very obsessed with the negative coverage of Hunter. He’s concerned about it. It’s an irritant, and that’s understandable, but not one that allies around him are going to want to raise because it will derail a conversation.”
It seems that the Biden team has a major blind spot in the midst of a battle in which the odds are not necessarily in Biden’s favor.
One can only speculate as to the reason for this, but there are a couple of plausible options.
It is completely possible that they are arrogant enough to think they have the election in the bag (maybe because they believe Donald Trump will not be on the ballot in 2024), and therefore don’t want to bother getting into the weeds of such a fraught subject.
There is also the possibility (which, in my opinion, is the more likely) that those in Biden’s orbit know he is too senile to retain self-control when sensitive topics are brought up.
It is commonly known that a person who is mentally not all there is more likely to have irrational fits of anger. And it’s been reported that Biden’s short fuse is already a source of dread for aides.
In all honesty, both of these factors could be at play in the campaign’s decision to avoid conversations about Hunter Biden’s legal woes. What’s clear is that is not good news, optically speaking, for Joe Biden.
If someone has to avoid a subject because he is unable to deal with it, he is not viewed as stable and level-headed. A person who cannot handle bad news, criticism or (most importantly) the truth is, as some would say, a snowflake.
Americans have had enough of snowflakes.
Americans want a leader who doesn’t melt when the heat is on and who can handle tough questions, harsh criticisms and inconvenient truths.
In a word, Americans want a president.
If the Biden campaign keeps ignoring important topics to avoid angering the boss, the American people might just get what they want, and his last name won’t be Biden.
https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2023/08/report-biden-obsessed-irritated-aides-refusing-even-address/
Hawaii Democrat Governor Josh Green Says Climate Change Amplified the Cost of Human Error with Maui Wildfire Response (VIDEO)
By Cristina Laila Aug. 20, 2023 12:20 pm492 Comments
Hawaii’s Democrat governor Josh Green appeared on CBS’s “Face the Nation” to discuss the Maui wildfires that ravaged Lahaina.
Governor Green told “Face the Nation” host Margaret Brennan that climate change amplified the cost of human error with the wildfire response.
“Are you saying that climate change amplified the cost of human error?” Margaret Brennan asked governor Green.
“Yes, it did,” Green said.
https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2023/08/hawaii-democrat-governor-josh-green-says-climate-change/
May as well throw in LONG COVID.
Biden quietly sells off border wall parts to thwart GOP push to use them
By Mary Kay Linge, Matthew Sedacca and Jon Levine
August 19, 2023 10:53am Updated
The Biden administration is quietly auctioning off millions of dollars’ worth of unused parts from former President Trump’s border wall for peanuts – in an apparent end-run around pending legislation in Congress.
Since April, GovPlanet, an online auction house specializing in military surplus, has sold 81 lots of steel “square structural tubes” — intended for use as vertical bollards in the border barrier’s 30-foot-tall panels — hauling in about $2 million.
On Tuesday, GovPlanet netted $154,200 for 729 of the 28-foot-tall hollow beams, sold in five separate lots for an average $212 apiece.
Thirteen more lots are set to be auctioned on Aug. 23 and Aug. 30.
But just last month, as part of its annual defense appropriations package, the Democrat-led Senate passed a Republican-sponsored bill aimed at forcing Biden to stem the worsening migrant crisis at the US-Mexico border by extending the wall.
https://nypost.com/2023/08/19/biden-sells-border-wall-parts-to-thwart-gop-push-to-use-them/
Leaked Docs: Hunter Biden Was Involved in Trump Impeachment Over Ukraine
By Cristina Laila Aug. 20, 2023 4:13 pm197 Comments
Hunter Biden was involved in Trump’s impeachment over Ukraine, according to documents leaked to Politico.
Hunter Biden’s lawyers leaked the entire case file related to the DOJ’s 5-year investigation and it’s a sight to behold.
The New York Times and Politico both published leaked documents revealing new information about Hunter Biden’s case and the inner workings at the Justice Department.
According to emails leaked to Politico, Hunter Biden met with impeachment lawyers in January 2020.
Recall, in September 2019 then-Speaker Pelosi and House Democrats launched an impeachment inquiry into President Trump over his phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
President Trump’s phone call with Zelensky was cordial and there were no threats, no pressure and no quid pro quo as Adam Schiff and the Democrats liked the public to believe.
Hunter Biden met with impeachment lawyers as Pelosi and Schiff were on the House floor lying about Trump’s phone call with Zelensky.
It is important to note that the FBI was in possession of Hunter Biden’s laptop from hell which documented numerous crimes related to the Bidens’ work in Ukraine while Democrats were persecuting Trump with an impeachment investigation.
Trump asked Zelensky to ‘look into’ Joe Biden’s threats to withhold money from Ukraine as well as Hunter Biden’s shady business with Burisma.
President Trump wanted Zelensky to look into the firing of Viktor Shokin, the prosecutor general who was investigating Ukrainian oligarch Mykola Zlochevsky, Hunter Biden and Burisma Holdings.
On January 26, 2020, Hunter Biden’s advisors said they would need Biden to set aside several hours to go through documents to settle his tax bill.
Hunter replied, “I have a meeting tomorrow with impeachment lawyers for the day. It will have to wait until Tuesday I’m afraid.”
https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2023/08/leaked-docs-hunter-biden-was-involved-trump-impeachment/
Xi Jinping has disappeared after Chinese floods
https://youtu.be/6VNXbBAZzsQ
Taiwan has a Sampson option for China
https://youtu.be/icSfjyIm_5w
you betcha~
Every time I see the ChiCom “Wolf Warriors”[*] strut and curse us, that Dam always lurks in the back of my mind.
[*]Not that I’m impressed by an army whose only real life experience has been to bully their countrymen.
Look at what happens when they have the unarmed fights with the Indian forces, they loose even when they outnumber the Indian forces.
The first nine minutes or so:
Summer Operations | Ukraine Will Get 61 F-16 | Mass Evacuation In Harkov.
F-16s? Maybe 43, several months from now. Poles and Romanians as pilots and grease monkeys.
If they choose to take off from Nato territory, it’s WW-3. That’s unlikely, chalk up another Wunderwaffe
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wunderwaffe
…………..
At about 4:00: the drone attack on one (or two?) Tu22m3 deep inside Russia. Cheap drone kills $40M bomber.
Figure the saboteurs entered from the Baltics, target data from the USA. There will be decades of this sort of thing – no matter what.
Or till Cold War-2 obliterates us all.…………..
Joke making the rounds: When Prez Z logs into his bank account= 0:35:
Douglas Macgregor latest on Ukraine:
https://youtu.be/IN4j-HY-JSo
“Retail Politics and Trump Indictments – As The Kimono Is Opened, We See The Ugliness” Jovan Hutton Pulitzer – August 20, 2023
The program begins @ 4:30…
Final words @ 51:25… … 56:26 … yes you were getting censored from social media… get off twitter… all you did was jump in a kettle…. They took you out of the battle by the millions… We have a duty to save our fellow Americans… If you not sharing the message…
https://rumble.com/v39s4tn-retail-politics-and-trump-indictments-as-the-kimono-is-opened-we-see-the-ug.html
Sharing the message 🙂
BIDEN ADMIN SELLS OFF BORDER WALL COMPONENTS WORTH $300 MILLION FOR $2 MILLION
By Erica Carlin – August 20, 2023
https://libertyonenews.com/biden-admin-sells-off-border-wall-components-worth-300-million-for-2-million/
Mel K w/ Ann Vandersteel & Carlos Arellano | The Ongoing Border Crisis & Operation Burning Edge
The Mel K Show – August 19, 2023
https://rumble.com/v39g4ax-mel-k-w-ann-vandersteel-and-carlos-arellano-the-ongoing-border-crisis-and-o.html
Operation Burning Edge
Right Now with Ann Vandersteel
https://rumble.com/c/AnnVandersteel
How the US and France created a Niger mess for themselves
The military coup in Niger is over three weeks old. The military government is cementing its rule, having gained the upper hand in the shadow play with the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) backed by ex-colonial powers ravaging that desperately poor West African state rich in mineral wealth – France, Germany, and Italy – and the United States.
The prospects of Niger’s pro-Western President Mohamed Bazoum being reinstated look dim. He is an ethnic Arab with a small power base in a predominantly African country, hailing from the migrant Ouled Slimane tribe, which has a history of being France’s fifth column in the Sahel region locked in a struggle with the ancient Tuareg people, the large Berber group that principally inhabits the Sahara in a vast area stretching from Libya to Algeria, Niger, Mali, Burkina Faso, and northern Nigeria.
ECOWAS lost the initiative once the coup leaders defied its August 6 deadline to release Bazoum and reinstate him on pain of military action. In fact, the coup leaders have since audaciously threatened the visiting US Deputy Secretary of State Victoria Nuland (who famously choreographed and navigated the transition following the coup in Ukraine in 2014) that they would physically eliminate Bazoum if she pushed the envelope.
The coup in Niger has been a humiliating setback for France too, and a terrible drama for President Emmanuel Macron, who has been striding the global stage as a passionate advocate of Ukraine’s national sovereignty espousing the ‘this-is-not-an-era-of-wars’ thesis to speak and act in a contrarian direction over Niger…
General Abdourahmane Tchiani, the titular head of the coup, refused to meet Nuland. She and other US officials asked to see Bazoum in person when they visited Niger on Monday, but the answer was no. Even with a hefty $200 million of annual US aid at stake, the Nigerien generals weren’t interested in Nuland’s offer.
Instead, she had to sit across the table and negotiate with the commander of Niger’s Special Operations Forces and one of the leaders of the coup, Brig. Gen. Moussa Salaou Barmou, who serves as chief of defense. Barmou attended the US National Defense University and was trained at Fort Benning in Georgia.
Yet, he was handpicked to threaten Nuland that the deposed president would be executed if neighboring countries attempted a military intervention to restore his rule…
https://www.azerbaycan24.com/en/how-the-us-and-france-created-a-niger-mess-for-themselves/
J.E. Dyer says this author, M.K. Bhadrakumar, makes her roll her eyes and gag, but she still reads him regularly.
Gotta do what ya gotta do.
“Book Attempting to Link Maui Tragedy to Climate Change Published Before Fires Extinguished” by Danielle – August 15, 2023
https://100percentfedup.com/book-attempting-to-link-maui-tragedy-to-climate-change-published-before-fires-extinguished/
George Takei Bites Off More Than He Can Chew After Targeting Majority of Americans
By Bryan Chai, The Western Journal Aug. 20, 2023 4:40 pm393 Comments
For a group that loves to describe itself as “tolerant,” the far left sure does have a curious way of exemplifying it.
As an example, you’d think “tolerant” ideologues would at least entertain the various intricacies of something as complex as geopolitical war.
Remember, even something that seems like such a no-brainer in 2023, like defeating Hitler and the Nazis, wasn’t such a slam dunk back when the Third Reich was rising. America didn’t get involved until it was directly provoked.
Now, while America may not be directly involved in a war at the moment, the country is certainly investing in one, despite dire need of said investment within the country itself.
That’s a complicated topic worthy of debate! But not if you ask one of the pagan saints of the far left, former Star Trek star George Takei.
No, in his never-ending tolerance and openness, Takei took to X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, to dismiss anyone with any questions about America’s never-ending investment into Ukraine as a stupid Russian shill:
“Pro tip: Whenever you see someone saying, ‘We could be spending that money on X instead of sending it to Ukraine’ it probably originated from and was amplified by the Russians,” Takei posted to X.
As if that wasn’t condescending enough, Takei couldn’t help himself and told Americans to “Be smarter out there. I know for some of you it’s hard.”
Look, this writer isn’t nearly as smug as Takei and will readily admit that he has no clue on whether or not America’s continued investment into this Ukraine-Russia war is worth it.
Maybe it is. Maybe it isn’t.
At the very least, it’s certainly worth questioning whether or not the volume and rate of said investment is sustainable — particularly given imminently American issues like the devastating Maui wildfires and Tropical Storm Hilary.
And that’s all worth talking about. It should not be summarily dismissed as Russian propaganda (Remember when the left opposed the Vietnam War? Ah, simpler times.)
Given all of that, it shouldn’t come as a major surprise that Takei’s post was promptly eviscerated by people who had all manner of issues with his sycophantic rhetoric.
Author Max Abrahms blasted Takei’s post for being “heartless.”
“What a heartless thing to say,” Abrahms said. “Tell that to Americans starving and freezing to death over the winter.”
When you’ve lost the Libertarians, you know you’ve really lost the plot — so here’s the Libertarian Party of Connecticut pointing and laughing at the Star Trek alum:
Author Bethany Mandel noted that even a fraction of what’s being sent to Ukraine would move mountains for the Americans suffering in Maui right now.
And because dad jokes will always be in vogue, there were a number of responses to Takei riffing on his use of “X,” which is both a common placeholder variable and the ubiquitous social media platform. Some of the biting responses even said that money sent to X and Elon Musk would be better spent than money sent to Ukraine.
There is a delicious bit of irony to Takei becoming an instant punching bag: He could’ve avoided it all if he had even listened to his fellow leftists at CNN.
A July poll from the network often derided as the “Clinton News Network” found that the majority of Americans both oppose more funding being authorized to Ukraine (55 percent against it) and think America has done enough in the Ukraine-Russia war (51 percent think the country’s done enough.)
So no, Mr. Takei.
Most Americans are not stupid Russian shills.
Instead, they simply appear to be human beings with working eyes and a functioning sense of math — though it doesn’t take much to see that all the money being sent to Ukraine could, at the very least, be helpful in the U.S. too.
https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2023/08/george-takei-bites-can-chew-targeting-majority-americans/
You know, with the state of AI as it is today and certainly in a few months, we can recreate all the original Star Trek episodes and replace Sulu with Jason Aldean.
Or anyone else we choose.
Hawaii Governor Josh Green Announces Over 1,050 Lahaina, Maui Citizens Remain Unaccounted for Including Children (VIDEO)
By Jim Hoft Aug. 20, 2023 7:00 pm0 Comments
Maui Mayor Richard Bissen was peppered with questions during a visit to Lahaina this week. Bissen had no idea how many children are missing.
It’s been nearly two weeks since the inferno swept through the town on Tuesday August 8th. The mayor has NO IDEA how many kids are missing!
They have already found over 110 bodies in the fire.
Hawaii Governor Josh Green announced on Sunday that over 1,000 people in Lahaina, Maui remain missing including children.
Hawaii Governor Josh Green:
“More than a thousand are unaccounted for, about 1,050… Do I wish those sirens went off? Of course, I do. And I think that the answer that the Emergency Administrator from Maui who resigned was, of course, unsatisfactory to the world, but it is the case that we have historically not used those kinds of warnings for fires.”
https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2023/08/hawaii-governor-josh-green-announces-1050-lahaina-maui/
Lock Him Up! The Excitement over Trump in Prison is Tellingly Premature
Below is my column in USA Today on the growing excitement among pundits on the prospect that former President Donald Trump could be going to jail. The celebration is a tad premature. Indeed, Trump could be convicted before the election and not be sent to prison for years, if ever. The prospect of prison depends on the specific conviction, long appellate challenges, and pardons.
Here is the column:
With the indictment of Donald Trump, there is a palpable sense among many on the left that surely these indictments will bring about the long-desired incarceration of the former president. For some pundits and politicians, it is an anticipation that borders on obsession.
The Georgia indictment is a serious threat for Trump as is the Florida case. However, multiplying the indictments does not necessarily increase the chances of imprisonment before the election, or even during a second Trump term. However, the Georgia case does present a clear context for considering the prospect of prison for Trump.
The sense of anticipation was captured Monday on MSNBC, where Rachel Maddow and Hillary Clinton were shown laughing joyfully on the night of the Georgia indictment. The left is experiencing their own version of chanting “Lock him up,” with a boom business for merchandise celebrating the expected incarceration.
Yet, there is still a great deal of runway between the arraignments and any incarceration.
Let’s quickly review the four cases against Trump. The New York indictment, led by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, is the weakest. It is based on a thin legal theory pushed by a prosecutor determined to charge Trump for something … anything.
The first federal indictment is the strongest of the four. The charges over the mishandling of classified documents are based on established law and firm evidence.
The second federal indictment is similar to the Georgia case in terms of the underlying acts. Both the Georgia case and the federal indictment surrounding the Jan. 6, 2021 riot at the U.S. Capitol are based on the view that Trump and his associates knew that there was no reasonable basis to challenge the 2020 election.
However, Georgia adds state charges that could not only be difficult to challenge before trial but also are not subject to a federal pardon. The 98-page indictment contains 13 counts against Trump. The state charges include mandatory minimum sentences of five years in prison, with no leeway for the sentencing judge. Even five years in prison for a man who is 77 years old (and who never has been previously incarcerated) could be a terminal sentence.
As a threshold matter, a quick resolution of the Georgia case or the others is unlikely. Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis’ demand to try all 19 defendants together in six months is wildly unrealistic.
Given the competing criminal and civil proceedings previously scheduled around the country, the Georgia trial may have to wait until after next year’s election. There are also likely to be motions to remove the entire case to federal court.
Even if it were held in the midst of the election, a conviction would not bar Trump from appearing on the ballot or taking the oath of office on Jan. 20, 2025.
During the pendency of these prosecutions, Trump can continue to run for office. Indeed, even a conviction would not prevent him from running for president or serving if elected.
There is even precedent for running for the presidency from prison. That distinction belongs to socialist Eugene Debs, who was on the ballot in 1920 while he served time in federal prison.
If Trump is convicted, most courts would allow him to remain free pending appeals on the weighty constitutional and evidentiary issues raised by the Georgia case. That process could easily take a couple of years.
And if Trump were to win in 2024 and a judge were to order his incarceration during his presidency, there would be an immediate challenge. While state offenses are not subject to the federal pardon authority, Trump’s counsel (and likely the Justice Department) would argue that incarcerating a sitting president conflicts with carrying out his federal duties.
Even if Trump were to be sent to prison, he would not likely be thrown into general pop with a bar of soap and a weekly call. He currently has a federal security detail and, if elected, he would have presidential duties to perform. The state may have to yield to federal authority in how Trump is held to allow him to carry out his duties and to accommodate his security detail.
That challenge would take time, and the federal courts could balance the state and federal interests by delaying any incarceration until after the term. The courts also could effectively achieve that same result by extending the appellate process past the end of a second term.
During this time, there may also be a move to change the Georgia pardon law. Under the Georgia constitution, a five-member board (not the governor) grants pardons. Trump would have to wait five years to be eligible under the current provisions. Georgia is only one of nine states with such a system, and there could be a push to give the governor more traditional clemency power. However, that constitutional amendment process is very demanding and Trump has hardly ingratiated himself with the current governor.
None of this is likely to quash the anticipation of Trump going to prison. Indeed, memes of a jailed Trump continue to be the rage online.
However, a review of the legal proceedings ahead is a buzz kill for the lock–him–up crowd. Despite the proliferation of charges against Trump, there is nothing that guarantees that he will be sent to the big house instead of the White House, if elected.
Jonathan Turley, a member of USA TODAY’s Board of Contributors, is the Shapiro professor of Public Interest Law at George Washington University. Follow him on Twitter @JonathanTurley
https://jonathanturley.org/2023/08/20/lock-him-up-the-excitement-over-trump-in-prison-is-tellingly-premature/
Russki disinfo, maybe, but not disinformational enough. From 3 years ago:
https://youtu.be/-GXGVqVlM_E
Love the poncey-pommy voice!
Rather than trying to restrict the ownership of firearms, we should encourage it.
Sven R. Larson
— August 20, 2023
There is a gun store not too far from my house, where in addition to selling firearms, ammunition, and accessories, they also have an indoor shooting range. For a small fee, you bring your guns and spend a whole hour target practicing.
The only thing they ask in return is that you mop up the shell casings when you are done.
In the state where I live, you do not need a license to carry a concealed firearm. The laws are not the same everywhere, but in 27 states—mine included—legal, law-abiding residents are allowed to carry a concealed firearm without a permit. These are so-called “constitutional carry” states that interpret the Second Amendment of the U.S. Constitution literally (as it should be).
Some of the remaining 23 are “shall issue” states, which means that government must give you a permit to carry a firearm if you apply for one. The only condition is that you have no criminal record.
A few states have stricter laws, and some places go even further by making it practically impossible to obtain a concealed carry permit. New York City, e.g., does not even recognize the permits issued anywhere else in the state of New York, despite the fact that those permits are given out on terms that are draconian compared to “shall issue” states.
As an American, I take my right to own and carry firearms for granted. For me, it is not a matter of some bold declaration of liberty from government oppression, as gun critics often try to claim. It is entirely about my personal freedom and my right to responsibly protect myself and my loved ones, should the need to do so occur. It is no more controversial than someone carrying currently legal items for self-defense, or a homeowner who uses a makeshift weapon like a hammer to fight off an intruder in his own home.
Even though I grew up in Europe, after more than 20 years in America I find it impossible to accept the rationale behind the arguments that my gun-critical European friends often make. I am told that if there were no guns, there would be no gun crimes. This is true from a strictly logical perspective, in the same sense as if there were no cars, there would be no drunk driving.
If there were no children, there would be no pedophilia.
The reductio ad absurdum notwithstanding, one need only visit a major European city to see how moot this point really is. London has earned a reputation for high crimes, yet Britain has some of the strictest gun laws in the world. Apparently, criminals find other ways to do harm to innocent people.
For many years now, Sweden has been plagued by a high rate of gun violence, despite it being practically impossible for law-abiding citizens to buy a firearm.
American states and cities with strict gun laws are also the ones with the highest rate of gun-related crimes. New York is a notorious example, but so is Baltimore in Maryland. California, which boasts some of the toughest gun laws in America, is home to endemic urban decay, including out-of-control crime.
The city of Washington, D.C., forces you to meet 23 different criteria in order to obtain a concealed carry permit, presumably to keep guns out of the hands of criminals. Yet that very same city is a cesspool of armed robberies, carjackings, and other gun violence.
In short, the problems in America are primarily concentrated to the cities with several million people where laws restrict guns and law enforcement more than they restrict criminals.
Generally, living in one of the constitutional-carry or other shall-issue states is safe and peaceful. Larger urban areas have their fair share of crime problems, but they are no more intrusive on daily life than in similarly sized cities in Europe.
That said, when crime happens, having access to a gun can make a world of difference. There was an incident when someone tried to get into our house in broad daylight. I was the only one home, and when I realized what was happening I retrieved my gun and waited on the other side of the door.
Fortunately for the intruder, he realized that someone was home and took off.
Only once have I been targeted by a robber. It was in the parking lot outside a grocery store. All I had to do was let the prospective robber know that I was armed and ready to draw my gun, and he backed off.
When I tell my European friends about these incidents, they sometimes remark that it would have been better to surrender to the intruder or the robber and let them take whatever they demanded, instead of putting yourself in a situation where you could end up killing someone. This is a strange argument: it relies entirely on two absurd premises, the first of which is that the home invader was actually just going to steal something and be on his merry way. For all I knew, he could have been a mentally unstable drug addict with his own gun or knife in his pocket. He could have chosen to kill me to leave no witnesses to his crime, or to kill me simply because he was mentally unstable.
The same is true of the robber in the parking lot. How could I know that he was not going to force me to drive off, and then leave me for dead on the outskirts of town while he absconds with my car?
The second absurd premise against full-force self-defense is that criminals in some way or another have rights. But why should a man who assaults a woman have the right to live through the experience, when he may or may not end the rape by killing her?
Why should a robber have the right to take another person’s money, driver’s license, car, credit cards, and other personal belongings, without risking being killed in the process? What gives someone who invades another person’s home the right to do so without risking lethal resistance?
A criminal only has one right: to a fair trial (if he makes it that far). Any attempt to mitigate the right of law-abiding citizens to defend themselves against criminals opens a slippery slope of compromises between the rule of law—a cornerstone of civilization—and savagery. The more room we grant criminals to obtain what they want through coercion against law-abiding citizens, the weaker we make the fabric of civilized society.
But is it really reasonable that criminals should die for crimes that do not end in the death of the victim?
This question is, again, based on adverse moral reasoning, namely that we have to await the consequences before we can defend ourselves. But the defense against a criminal does not take place after the fact:, after the fact, it may be too late. The moment the home invader breaks through the door or the window, the homeowner has the right to act. The second a woman realizes that the approaching man is about to assault her is the moment when she has the right to defend herself. At that point, she does not know if he is going to steal her purse or if she is going to die.
There is one more issue downstream from the question about reasonable defense: can law-abiding citizens exercise the same discernment as the police would, or that would be applied in a court of law? Or, to be more blunt: if I kill a man who is trying to invade the home where my grandchildren live, is not his death an excessive punishment?
Again, this kind of moderating question is based on the premise that the criminal somehow has rights attached to his actions. Anyone who believes that this is the case should immediately propose to the appropriate legislature that criminals’ rights be codified into law. Maybe it could state that “a home invader has the unalienable right to steal as he pleases, abscond without getting killed by the homeowner, and face the consequences only if he is apprehended.”
To put some perspective on this point, consider a case from Connecticut many years ago. Two escaped fugitives broke into a home and took the father, the mother, and their teenage daughter captive. For many hours, they tortured the man while sexually abusing the mother and the daughter. When the father managed to escape and ran to get help, the fugitives tied up the women and set fire to the house.
Connecticut has strict gun laws, but it is also one of those states that restrict the conditions under which people can defend themselves in their own homes. Even if you have obtained the permit to have a firearm in your own home, you cannot just use it to stop an invader as he tries to get into your house. You have to take measures to show that you tried to put distance between yourself and the intruder.
In short: the criminal has rights that restrict the freedom and safety of law-abiding citizens.
My state has no such laws. If I am over at my son’s house watching my grandchildren, and someone tries to break in, I can kill that person on the spot with legal impunity. The truth is that I would do it anyway, even if the law was not on my side; there is nothing more important than the safety of my grandchildren.
Which, again, brings us back to the key point here: what is really the fundamental value we are trying to preserve when we restrict—or do not restrict—the right of law-abiding citizens to own and carry firearms? If the law would prohibit me from having a gun on my hip while watching my grandchildren, and if someone invades the house, then what value is protected by stripping me of the opportunity to defend my grandkids? How is that value more important than the safety of children?
But if individual citizens are allowed to carry firearms and use them for personal safety, are we not opening a can of worms that would lead to vigilante justice? In fact, is that not an example of vigilante justice?
Anyone who makes this argument should stop and ask himself how they would act if they had access to a gun and were attacked by a robber, a home invader, or just a maniac out to assault someone at random. Would you consider it an overreaction to defend yourself and potentially save your own life? Would you misuse your firearm and exact justice beyond protecting yourself?
I asked these questions to a proponent of strict gun laws. I was told that “I would act responsibly, but I don’t trust other people to do the same.” Not only is this an arrogant attitude toward others—one that other people reciprocate—but it is also an argument for the total prohibition of motor vehicles in private ownership. If law-abiding, responsible citizens cannot be trusted with firearms because some people use (often illegal) firearms to commit crimes, then law-abiding, responsible drivers cannot be trusted with cars because others drive drunk.
Rather than trying to restrict the ownership of firearms, we should encourage it. We should train kids in school, e.g., from the age of 16, in how to safely handle handguns, shotguns, and hunting rifles. We should make it mandatory that all citizens regularly participate in firearms practices, under the supervision of expert instructors.
And, most important of all: whenever we make laws, we should always do so in order to protect the fundamental values of civilization, not to erode them. The crime chaos in many big cities in both America and Europe is evidence as good as any of what happens when we take our eyes off the cornerstones that build freedom, peace, and prosperity.
Sven R. Larson is a political economist and author. He received a Ph.D. in Economics from Roskilde University, Denmark. Originally from Sweden, he lives in America where for the past 16 years he has worked in politics and public policy. He has written several books, including Democracy or Socialism: The Fateful Question for America in 2024.
Tags: criminals, firearms ownership, freedom, guns, rights, self-defense, Sven R. Larson, The America Report, violent crime
https://europeanconservative.com/articles/commentary/firearms-and-freedom/