Posts on Sunday, February 26, 2023

The injection of private money into public election administration--or "Zuckerbucks"--is continuing in a new form, as left-leaning candidates are being recruited to run for local elections offices by an organization that receives funds from Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg. The U.S. Alliance for Election Excellence, a project of the Center for Tech and Civic Life (CTCL), is awarding funds to counties and municipalities under the Centers for Election Excellence program. The alliance will provide $80 million over five years "to envision, support, and celebrate excellence in U.S. election administration," according to CTCL.(Snip)The alliance is not the only left-leaning, Zuckerberg-linked organization seeking to influence elections.

Former President Trump and his ex-United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley are set to give dueling addresses at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) next week, putting a sharp focus on the ongoing tug-of-war within the GOP. It’ll be the first time since Haley launched her presidential bid last week that the two declared major Republican 2024 contenders will pitch their candidacies at the same event. And while few Republicans expect Trump and Haley to go after each other directly, they say that it could offer one of the clearest examples yet of the simmering tensions within the party.

Now, this is how a nation takes care of a violent crime problem. Rather than coddling violent thugs like Soros-supported prosecutors are in major American cities, El Salvador is throwing all of theirs behind bars. On Friday, a 40,000 person prison facility, known as the Center for the Confinement of Terrorism (CECOT) officially opened, and 2,000 gang members became new residents. These include members of the most violent gangs in the world, including MS-13. El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele made the announcement via Twitter, accompanied by a video.

Once again displaying her total obliviousness, Republican National Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel announced Sunday that 2024 presidential candidates will likely have to pledge to support the winner in the general election, or they’ll be kept out of the primary debates. Who cares? This is nothing but a lame attempt to paper over the party’s stark divisions over ex-President Donald Trump, one of three declared candidates so far. The simple fact is that many GOP voters won’t support him if he’s the nominee, and some of his voters likely won’t show for any other Republican.

Iran’s Islamic Guard (IRGC) is working on plans to assassinate former U.S. President Donald Trump and his Secretary of State Mike Pompeo for the killing of top Iranian terror operative Qassem Soleimani in early 2020, a senior Iranian general told the state TV on Friday.(Snip)After Soleimani’s killing, the Iranian regime threatened to assassinate President Trump and Secretary Pompeo invoking Islamic law. “Trump must face ‘God’s ruling’ and suffer ‘qisas’, which is the Islamic term for retaliation in kind,”(Snip)“If Trump and Pompeo are not tried in a fair court for the criminal act of assassinating General Soleimani, Muslims will take our martyr’s revenge,” Raisi declared.

Only willful blindness would prevent anybody from at least suspecting that the COVID virus originated in the Wuhan Institute of Virology. And by suspecting, I mean believing that the virus’ emergence into the human population likely resulted from a lab leak. Unless the Chinese admit that this is the case we may never have definitive proof, but other scenarios strain credulity. So it is no surprise that yet another government agency has concluded that COVID likely originated in a lab. This time it is the Department of Energy, which has surprising resources directly related to making such a judgment. WASHINGTON—The U.S. Energy Department has concluded that the Covid pandemic most likely arose

Washington - Republican National Committee Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel said Sunday that she expects 2024 GOP presidential contenders will have to sign a pledge to back the party's ultimate nominee in order to participate in primary debates. "We haven't put the criteria out, but I expect a pledge will be part of it. It was part of 2016. I think it's kind of a no-brainer, right? If you're going to be on the Republican National Committee debate stage asking voters to support you, you should say, 'I'm going to support the voters and who they choose as the nominee,'" McDaniel told CNN's Dana Bash on "State of the Union"

White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan downplayed the bombshell report by the Wall Street Journal that found the Department of Energy has concluded the COVID-19 pandemic most likely developed from a lab leak. There is "no definitive answer," Sullivan said when questioned on the matter during an appearance on CNN's "State of the Union." (snip) President Biden specifically requested that the National Labs, which are part of the Department of Energy, be brought into this assessment because he wants to put every tool at use to be able to figure out what happened here," Sullivan said.

Democrats in Minnesota have advanced a plan to give driver’s licenses to potentially 77,000 eligible illegal aliens. This week, the Democrat-controlled Minnesota state senate passed a bill in a 34-31 vote that will eliminate the legal residency requirement for obtaining a driver’s license in the state. Instead, illegal aliens would be able to secure licenses to legally drive vehicles. The bill will now head back to the Minnesota state house for approval. Gov. Tim Walz (D) has said he will sign the bill if it reaches his desk. The bill overturns a prior law signed by former Gov. Tim Pawlenty (R). In California, one of the first states to pass such a law,

A Seattle family made a 1,300-mile trip down to San Diego, California to pick up their new four-legged friend, Harvey, after falling in love with his 'silly grin' caused by a facial deformity. Sherry Lankston and her two sons began their trek to the Golden State last week after they saw a post from the San Diego County Department of Animal Services about an animal up for adoption whose face has an endearing lopsided smile. Harvey, a year and a half old husky, was posted by the Southern California animal services department on February 10, stating that the pup was looking for a good home and family.

Republican National Committee Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel said Sunday on CNN’s “State of the Union” that she would support any Republican nominee for 2o24 that the voters picked. McDaniel said, “I will support the voters and who they choose as the nominee. As RNC chair, if I said I wouldn’t support the Republican nominee, I would be removed from office. I would be rightly removed. It would be part of our bylaws, and I would be checked out as RNC chair. Anyone getting on the Republican National Committee debate stage should be able to say, I will support the will of the voters and the eventually nominee of our party.”

Accused Idaho murderer Bryan Kohberger could face a firing squad if he is found guilty for the quadruple homicide of four college students last year. Lawyers are believed to be gearing up for the possibility of a death penalty trial for the 28-year-old criminal justice major - who remains the only suspect in the November 13 slayings of University of Idaho students Kaylee Goncalves, 21, Madison Mogen, 21, Ethan Chapin, 20 and Xana Kernodle, 20. Prosecutors haven't yet indicated whether they intend to pursue the death penalty for Kohberger, although it seems likely they will, given the gravity of his alleged crimes.

Tennessee lawmakers passed a bill that would prevent drag shows from taking place on public property or in front of children. The bill classifies “male and female impersonators” as adult cabaret performers, while also banning “adult-oriented performances that are harmful to minors.” The legislation, SB3, now makes its way to Republican Gov. Bill Lee’s office. (photo)State Rep. Chris Todd, R-Madison County, filed the bill, saying “this is a common sense child-safety bill.” The bill, which passed by a vote of 79 to 19, makes it illegal to host an “adult cabaret performance” in a location where children are present.

Three weeks after the toxic train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio created an environmental disaster for the working-class residents in town, the leftists on ABC's This Week are finally getting around to second-guessing whether their ally President Joe Biden made a mistake in not visiting and touring the damage and comforting the people who are suffering with the aftermath of the disaster. Of course, the focus of the debate is not on the well-being of the people in East Palestine who are overwhelmingly white working-class Trump supporters. Instead, their only concern is Biden's reputation.  During the panel discussion, a worried Martha Raddatz who was Sunday's co-moderator of This Week asked

The Wall Street Journal reports that the Energy Department has concluded that the COVID pandemic most likely arose from a laboratory leak. The conclusion is reportedly based on a classified intelligence report recently provided to the White House and key members of Congress. Many will be exploring why the scientific evidence of a lab leak was so slow to emerge from intelligence agencies. However, for my part, the most alarming aspect was the censorship, not the science. There will continue to be a debate over the origins of COVID-19, but now there will be a debate.

The left is looking to oust Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand in next year’s Democratic primary — which gives Republicans a chance to take the seat if they can nominate a heavy-hitter for the general. The Post reported weeks ago on progressives’ ambitions for the seat, and now the left-leaning Daily Beast confirms the “emerging sense among New York insiders” that she’s “vulnerable enough.” Ironically, she’s so vulnerable to the left for the same reason she’s failed to face a major GOP challenge in the past: She’s had so little impact that most voters barely know who she is.

A Harlem fishmonger left battered during a fatal melee over shrimp at a Manhattan fish market, said the ugly episode could have been avoided. “I saw what he was doing. He was stealing. If he wasn’t stealing, nothing would have happened,” injured worker Francisco Morales told The Post of the man accused of trying to rob the store. Morales, 38, was hurt during Tuesday’s chaos at the Fish Express Fish Mart, when Robert “Bobby” Burrell, and his brother, Malik, allegedly entered the store to steal shrimp and began assaulting him. Another worker, Junior Hernandez, intervened and ultimately stabbed the Burrell brothers, killing the 25-year-old Malik, authorities said.

Californians plagued by the extraordinary snow, rains and flooding that have recently lashed the Golden State are girding for another storm that promises to bring more foul weather Sunday evening. But the next round — which could bring several more feet of snow to the mountains, 50 mph wind gusts to the Sacramento Valley and about a half inch of rain to already-sodden Southern California — will pale in comparison to the high-powered storm that’s clobbered the West Coast over the past few days, according to ABC7 That weather system, which according to the National Weather Service was one of the strongest to ever sweep across southwest California

A member of the same Virginia school board that came under fire for withholding information about students' scholarships has raised eyebrows by saying the Battle of Iwo Jima, a major US victory against the Japan in World War II, was 'evil' and should not have happened. The comments were made Thursday by Fairfax County board member Abrar Omeish, 28, in reference to the Day of Remembrance, a day of observance for the internment of Japanese Americans during World War II.  The holiday occurs on the same calendar day as the first US landings on the island of Iwo Jima on February 19, 1945.

I guess all that “culture” (human feces and heroin needles) and “excitement” (rampant crime) of life in a big city is getting a little old for Michael Moritz, a partner at Sequoia Capital. But, don’t you smug conservatives get any ideas, these blights aren’t a byproduct of Democrat ideas — San Francisco is merely “held hostage” by “political classes.” In an essay published by The New York Times today, Moritz acknowledged the city was indeed “crippled” by “homeless encampments” and “drug addicts” before he blamed conservatives for rubbing Democrat noses in the mess. Moritz opened his piece with this: "Few subjects please Tucker Carlson more than sticking a shiv

We know that the left is always looking for an opportunity to silence those who challenge their groupthink. Their target isn't only conservatives, but anybody who disagrees with their worldview even in the slightest possible way. They left lives in the hope that contrarians to their groupthink will either misspeak or express a nuanced and detailed idea that can be extracted, stripped of context, and made to appear bigoted. This gives them reason to mount a social media campaign and initiate cancelation.

I was reminded of the flap over Jill Biden’s doctorate while watching NFL football some weeks ago as a commentator pointed out that “Dr. Jill Biden”(snip) was in attendance. It must be at her own insistence that she is given the public designation, and anyone who fails to applaud risks angry censure by the bien pensants. The subject of “Dr. Jill” originally erupted even before her husband took office, when an opinion piece by the essayist Joseph Epstein called on her in December, 2020 to “drop the doc.” Epstein’s “Is There a Doctor in the White House? Not if you Need an M.D,” appearing in the Wall Street Journal,

Ian Fleming’s original James Bond novels have been “rewritten” to remove racist remarks ahead of a coming re-release, The Telegraph has reported. Ahead of a coming re-release to mark the 70th anniversary since the release of Ian Fleming’s Casino Royale novel, the first in the James Bond series, the publication reports that the works have been “rewritten” to appease woke sensibilities. The revelation comes after a week of controversy surrounding recent reprints of Roald Dahl’s books, with it being revealed that the works of fiction have been edited in order to change or remove language deemed problematic.

The Covid-19 pandemic most likely originated from a laboratory leak, according to a classified intelligence report from the U.S. Energy Department. The report, which was included in an update to a 2021 document by Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines’s office, was recently provided to the White House and other lawmakers. Sources told the Wall Street Journal that the updated assessment from the Energy Department is the result of new intelligence. The Energy Department, which oversees a network of U.S. national laboratories, made its judgment with “low confidence,” the Wall Street Journal reported. The assessment marks a change from 2021, when the department was undecided on how the virus originated.

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy ’s decision to hand over security footage from the Jan. 6 Capitol riot to Fox News host Tucker Carlson has Democrats up in arms. For two years, Democrats, citing “security concerns,” have managed to withhold this critical footage from the public, likely fearing it would contradict their carefully constructed narrative that the riot had been “an insurrection” and “terrorist attack.” Democrats are especially peeved with whom McCarthy chose to provide the material to.

Joe and Jill went up the hill, and who knows when they’ll come tumbling down. The nation may careen well before they do. Much has already been said about the devastating policies and tenure of Joe Biden. Simply put, he is unarguably the worst president the U.S. has ever suffered, Jimmy Carter and Barack Obama notwithstanding. Here I will focus on the other half of the Biden tandem, a woman of scholarly pretensions without foundation, the ineffable Dr. Jill. The adulation Jill Biden has received for so flimsy a dubious accomplishment as a paper doctorate in a derelict field like Education Studies is utterly misplaced, whether it is the mentally impregnable

Woody Harrelson’s opening monologue during "Saturday Night Live," where he referenced the COVID-19 pandemic and collaboration between the medical industry and the government to push vaccines, has sparked backlash online. And Twitter CEO Elon Musk chimed in on the discussion. Closing out the segment, Harrelson talks about a film pitch that included one of the "craziest script" he’s read, which included the "biggest drug cartels" forcing people to remain in their homes unless they agreed to take and keep taking their drugs.

It takes a satire site, apparently, to tell the truth and spare us some of the craziness being promoted every day. I’m talking about South Park, though others like the Babylon Bee daily skewer the imbecilic nonsense found in the mainstream press and televised news. For some time now the duke and duchess of Sussex have been playing the victims from a background of great luxury, demanding privacy as they seek maximum publicity. Like me, South Park had enough of this and ran a fabulous parody of the couple doing a Worldwide Privacy Tour. (Snip) At last, these odious grifters were called on their game.

It’s been a long time since former House Speaker Paul Ryan had any relevance to the base of the Republican Party. He’s long since been dismissed. But that hasn’t stopped him from thinking that, somehow, what he says holds some sway. Ryan sat down with WITI Milwaukee’s Jason Calvi, and he said that he would not be attending the upcoming 2024 Republican National Convention if President Donald Trump was the nominee. “It depends on who the nominee is. I’ll be here [in Milwaukee at the convention] if it’s someone not named Trump.” (Tweet/Video)

During a recent appearance on the Jesse Watters show, former Democrat Tulsi Gabbard said that Biden and Democrats now share the same core principles as Hitler and the Nazis. Gabbard was referring to the Biden administration’s obsession with identity politics, and the fact that they are now celebrating the fact that they hire certain people based on race and genetics. She suggested that this should sicken every American and pointed out that this is the opposite of what MLK envisioned. The Washington Examiner has details:

A family in Portland is being terrorized by squatters who have set up camp next door and even set their property on fire.  Jacob and Beth Adams live next door to an abandoned home that has been taken over by several homeless people.  The couple has caught the homeless people overdosing and stealing from their backyard - but said the final straw was when the group set their property on fire.  'There are fires that have been happening off and on. Major ones. This recent one actually came and set our property on fire,' Jacob told Fox12. 

Former President Donald Trump maintains a double-digit lead in a hypothetical 2024 Republican primary field, a recent McLaughlin & Associates survey revealed. The survey asked Republican primary voters, “Thinking ahead to the 2024 Republican primary election for President, if that election were held today among the following candidates, for whom would you vote?” Several potential candidates were listed, including Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, Sen. Mitt Romney (R-UT), Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, former Vice President Mike Pence, and more. 

Nearly half of all New York City public school graduates who head to local community colleges are forced into remedial classes to survive their first semester, troubling new data obtained by The Post reveal.  Amid chronic absenteeism, widespread grade inflation, and a failure to prepare students for higher education, city school kids are being shoved through an educational revolving door without truly learning, experts told The Post. “Most of the kids we get from New York City schools are underprepared for college,” said Mohammad Alam, assistant dean of enrollment at Borough of Manhattan Community College.

EAST PALESTINE, OHIO – Wade Lovett’s been having trouble breathing since the Feb. 3 Norfolk South train derailment and toxic explosion here. In fact, his voice sounds as if he’s been inhaling helium. “Doctors say I definitely have the chemicals in me but there’s no one in town who can run the toxicological tests to find out which ones they are,” Lovett, 40, an auto detailer, said in an extremely high-pitched voice. “My voice sounds like Mickey Mouse. My normal voice is low. It’s hard to breathe, especially at night. My chest hurts so much at night I feel like I’m drowning. I cough up phlegm a lot.

Hundreds of thousands of migrant teenagers are working “brutal jobs” to pay off their smuggling debts amid President Joe Biden’s loose border rules, the New York Times admitted in a February 25 article. “Cristian works a construction job instead of going to school. He is 14 … Carolina packages Cheerios at night in a factory. She is 15 … Wander starts looking for day-labor jobs before sunrise. He is 13,” are the newspaper’s captions of photographs showing young teenagers admitted via the “Unaccompanied Alien Child” border loophole. The children usually work for staffing companies at low-wage subsidiaries of Fortune 500 companies, such as PepsiCo., General Mills, Walmart, Target, and

When Bernie Sanders’ supporters took over the Nevada Democratic Party two years ago, progressives across the country were thrilled. Socialists had managed to bring down one of the most powerful establishment forces in the nation, the famed Democratic machine built by former Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid. They saw it as a blueprint for the progressive transformation of state parties. Two years after the experiment began, there are regrets. Judith Whitmer, the insurgent party chair who wrested control of the party from mainstream Democrats, is facing a challenge in her reelection campaign next month amid doubts from her own former supporters and accusations that she abandoned her progressive principles.