A SURPRISINGLY CLEAR-EYED ANALYSIS, FROM AL-JAZEERA, NO LESS: “The US-Israeli strategy against Iran is working. Here is why.”
“When you look at what has actually happened to Iran’s principal instruments of power – its ballistic missile arsenal, its nuclear infrastructure, its air defences, its navy and its proxy command architecture – the picture is not one of US failure. It is one of systematic, phased degradation of a threat that previous administrations allowed to grow for four decades.”
FILE THIS UNDER “NO SH*T, SHERLOCK”: The shift towards socialism similarly mirrors the Democratic party’s leftward shift, but a deeper look reveals that those favoring “socialism” have no understanding of what it actually means. Just The News reported that:
“The shifting sentiment towards socialism may not necessarily reflect fuzzy feelings for its ideals, but rather a lack of understanding of what those ideals are, according to professor of political science, Nicholas Giordano. “Sometimes the simplest explanation is the best explanation. People are gravitating toward socialism because they’ve never really been taught what socialism is,” Giordano told Just The News.
EVERYTHING OLD IS NEW AGAIN: I wrote this about reporting from the Middle East back in 2018, and in trying damndest to be fair to CNN, I revisit it here because once you step out of the “us vs. them” bubble, the reality is (and I can say this as a former combat correspondent) getting “clean” coverage out of hotspots is harder that most folks realize, and it is still invariably true.
“To be sure, as an aggrieved people the Palestinians have been abused en masse by many entities and governments, most particularly by especially their own Palestinian Authority. As in all conflicts, there are legitimate issues that ought to be raised. But as the old saying goes, “truth is the first casualty of war” and intelligent (not to mention peaceful) dialogue and resolution seems impossible. This is so because first, the manufactured and romanticized image of the Palestinians as “brave freedom fighters” does not wholly stand up to scrutiny. Second, the attention-grabbing images overpower an undeniable political fact: as New York Post columnist Frank Fleming wrote: “I think you’re always going to have tension in the Middle East when there’s people who want to kill the Jews and Jews who don’t want to be killed and neither side is willing to compromise.”
Does that excuse the constant anti-American gullibility of CNN in the current situation?
Of course not.
INCOMPETENCE OR CORRUPTION? JustTheNews is reporting that Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz’s administration was made aware of fraud in benefits programs early in his tenure, but failed to take action to stop it, an interim report based on testimony from nine state officials concluded.
“Testimony obtained by the Committee reveals that Gov. Tim Walz and Attorney General Keith Ellison were aware of widespread fraud in social service programs, lied about their knowledge of the fraud, and retaliated against employees who dared to raise concerns,” Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer said in a statement.
“Instead of protecting vulnerable Americans, they handed over billions in taxpayer dollars to fraudsters and threw their own state employees under the bus,” Comer added.
The competence question is a given. The question is when a public official looks the other way at fraud to maintain his or her voter base, is that corruption?
As the Good Professor has said: “embrace the power of and.”
AN INTERESTING INTERVIEW: Richard Miniter chats about the history of “journalism” and the unsurprisingly ancient history of media manipulation. From the comments:
“If liberty means anything at all, it means the right to tell people what they do not want to hear.” – George Orwell
SAY ANYTHING: I thought lawyers were the only ones to operate on the principle of “for enough money, I’ll say anything.” Apparently, Jack Smith and Christopher Wray seem to think this is appropriate. Just The News is reporting that:
“The Biden-era FBI made more than $100,000 in payments to informants who were members of an anonymous group of tech sleuths known as the “Sedition Hunters” to gather and analyze video evidence in the January 6 Capitol riot — echoing the bureau’s reliance on paid FBI informant and British ex-spy Christopher Steele in 2016.”
Did the FBI disclose that their “informants” were often foreign based and paid? That’s one of those “rhetorical” questions I keep hearing about.
BREAKING: Just the News is reporting that “Iran security forces have killed at least 490 people as opposition protests continue.”
“A crackdown on nationwide protests in Iran has killed at least 538 people and even more are feared dead, activists said Sunday, while Tehran warned that the U.S. military and Israel would be “legitimate targets” if America uses force to protect demonstrators.”
Sadly, I fear this will get worse before it gets better.
“UH-OH, THAT’S NOT GOOD”: As a reasonably experienced litigator, I can tell you I’ve researched enough cases where an “informant” or “source” was paid. That tends to be a credibility bomb.
In McCoy v. Hearst Corp., for example, Lowell Bergman (of “60 Minutes” and “The Insider” fame) was sued in libel for relying on a convict-source to whom he allegedly promised free legal help on his own appeal in return for telling him bad things about a local prosecutor.
The lower court was somewhat incredulous, asking what wouldn’t a convicted prisoner say to a reporter to get something. (Duh).
The judgment against Bergman was overturned on other grounds.
So, that brings us to Jack Smith. Just the News published a bombshell this morning: “Jack Smith team approved $20k payment to informant to snitch on Trump team during Arctic Frost probe.”
I can just imagine in my fevered, crazy, right-wing lunatic brain that believes in the rule of law, Biden’s people saying: “So? We paid him. That doesn’t mean he was lying.”
BACKING BARI: Ooops, I said stuff on Jeff Norman’s podcast. Honestly, the whole thing stinks. As I said in the clip:
That’s some cheap-jack sh*t, right there.
I’M NOT HOLDING MY BREATH, BUT: JustTheNews is reporting that John Brennan’s lawyers confirm he is ‘target’ of Florida grand jury probe:
“Former CIA Director John Brennan’s lawyers have taken the extraordinary step of confirming their client is a “target” of a criminal grand jury investigation in Florida and are asking the chief federal judge in Miami to stop the proceedings on the grounds that the Justice Department is “judge shopping.”
I have little doubt this will all be spun by media stenographers as “retribution” or “vindictiveness,” (as did Comey) but at the end of the day, any case — if even brought — will face the most extreme Due Process scrutiny lawyers can muster.
Flounder (from Animal House) put it best:
“Oh boy is this great!”
Just the News reporting that “Justice Department releases first batch of Epstein files.”
BREAKING: The Daily Caller News Foundation is reporting an exclusive that “Jasmine Crockett Once Rented Car With Convicted Robber — It Didn’t End Well”
“Democratic Texas Rep. Jasmine Crockett co-rented a car in 2006 with a previously convicted robber whose car crash caused her to be sued for damages at the start of her law career, records obtained by the Daily Caller News Foundation show.”
I suppose I’m not surprised, perhaps only at the depths of crazy from which this woman springs…
BREAKING: HOLLYWOOD ICON ROB REINER, WIFE FOUND DEAD IN APPARENT HOMICIDE
Wtf?
THERE: I FIXED IT. From Ed Driscoll’s earlier posting, I’m surpised they didn’t catch this.
Oh, wait…no I’m not.
IT’S ALWAYS PROJECTION WITH THESE PEOPLE: Just the News does a deep dive into what Matt Taibbi called “a stunt”, namely, the plea to U.S. military servicemembers to join the “Resistance” against Trump.
It’s one thing to say that POTUS is issuing “illegal orders,” but if you say that, you need to be able to show what you’re talking about. But Just the News pointed out that Democrats had made the allegation, but when asked for an example, whiffed badly:
“When asked to give an example of a current illegal order by Trump, [Rep.] Crow did not give one, saying, “He has a history of doing this, and if we wait until the moment that he gives a manifestly unlawful order to a young soldier, then we have failed them. We have to start that conversation now and get people thinking about the distinction, which is exactly what we did.”
Crow wasn’t the only Democrat to make the baseless allegation and then later admit they had no idea what they were talking about:
“[Rep.] Slotkin said on Sunday on This Week on ABC “to my knowledge, I — I am not aware of things that are illegal” that had been ordered by Trump, “but certainly there are some legal gymnastics that are going on with these Caribbean strikes and everything related to Venezuela.”
The methodology of mendacity seems to have permeated the mindset of Democrats for quite a while. I’m reminded of the episode when then Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid flat-out lied, claiming that Mitt Romney “never paid taxes.”
When caught out, The Washington Post noted that Reid expressed no contrition, and glibly replied: “Romney didn’t win, did he?”
No action is immoral if it obstructs Bad Orange Man.
I KNOW, YOUR “SHOCKED” FACE IS GETTING TIRED: Just the News moved a story this morning that gets to the heart of the sh*tshow that is Obamacare.
“The 42-day federal shutdown forced by Democrats thrust the economics of Obamacare into the limelight, and exposed an uncomfortable truth: An insurance industry whose executives are increasingly liberal donors has seen its earnings soar with the injection of taxpayer-funded subsidies that propped up Barack Obama’s signature health program from collapse.”
The gaslighting and laziness of mainstream media is a stunningly bad combination.
Bad Orange Man wants to starve children!
Since when did the Dems become the Wu-Tang Clan?
PRETTY GOOD HEADLINE, SO I’LL ALLOW IT: “Whoa: 2nd Circuit Issues Stunning Decision on Trump’s NY Criminal Case.”
RedState’s Susie Moore writes a nicely wrapped file about the reversal and remand on the question of removal of NY criminal cases against him to federal court.
I can’t remember having dealt with Judge Hellerstein, and he’s been around for quite a while, and is too old to care about being reversed. That said, if Trump’s papers are well laid-out I’d say 75/25% chance Hellerstein reverses himself. But he doesn’t have to.
A MERE OBSERVATION: As the hooligans and heartthrobs coagulate ever more thickly until that Glorious Day of Election, we shall be bombarded with all manner of b’legs and emails for money.
OK, Fine.
But without doing any research, I’d bet very good money that no politician of any stripe has ever sent out communications saying:
“STOP! We reached our goal. Don’t send us more money!
Ever. Not even Eugene Debs.
When we are “shocked” by someone’s outrageous comments, sometimes a look at their history says it all.
JustTheNews reports on the details of Jay Jones:
“Jones pushed for police reforms which echoed the “Defund the Police” mantra of BLM, and repeatedly claimed that he personally felt the knee on his neck and the bullets in his back when watching videos of Floyd and Blake. Jones frequently spoke of the “systemic racism” and the “remnants” of Jim Crow in Virginia, and pushed to get a Virginia cop fired for donating to the legal defense fund for Kyle Rittenhouse.”
Here’s hoping that “Vote for me because I’m a member of an aggrieved group” has run its course.
BREAKING: YouTube agrees to pay $24 million settlement in Trump lawsuit over suspension.
I’m sure it was just him “bullying” the media. /sarc/
THIS JUST IN — BREAKING: Just the News is reporting that they have a suspect in Charlie’s killing. To be updated.
Authorities detain person of interest in Charlie Kirk killing.
BREAKING NEWS: New York Post reporting “Charlie Kirk shooter is of ‘college age,’ used since-recovered high-powered bolt-action rifle”
More TK.
ANY RED-PILLED YOUNG LAWYERS IN THE NYC AREA?: I get these job alerts from the NYCBar, and I thought this one was hilarious. I’m not tight with O’Keefe or Varitas, but I swear to god that a red-pilled white would have two chances at this: slim and none. If they got to the interview stage, that would be a scream.
Also, (and no, I don’t have the time to do this) if legal, someone should make two applications: one all CRT-based from a Black kid and the other a Crimlaw-based white guy.
Bets on what would happen?
FUN FACT: The screaming woman arrested in Newport (h/t Ed Driscoll) who accompanied that Democratic “AG” who insisted that “police are required to turn off their body cams upon request” while she was being filmed tossed out of a restaurant, is carrying a Chloé Woody Medium Canvas Tote.
It sells for $1,390.00 at Bloomingdale’s.
She apparently claims to be some kind of “Diversity” champion.
“Nice work if you can get it…and you can get it if you try.”
InstaPundit is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com.