NANCY PELOSI: Trump’s Actions ‘So Much Worse Than Even What Richard Nixon Did.’
ALSO NANCY PELOSI: ‘He’s Just Not Worth It’: Pelosi Explains Why She Won’t Push to Impeach Trump.
EVEN MORE NANCY PELOSI: Nancy Pelosi just signaled Democrats won’t move to impeach Trump if they retake the House.
Past performance, future results, yadda, yadda, yadda.
SHE MEANS IT WILL END WHEN IT IS POLITICALLY EXPEDIENT, NO SOONER AND NO LATER: Nancy Pelosi Has ‘No Idea’ When Impeachment Inquiry Will End.
“WHAT DO YOU MEAN, I’M THE OTHER PEOPLE’S MONEY?”: Not Even Democrats Want to Pay for Medicare for All.
OH: Mayor of Muncie, Indiana arrested by the FBI amid corruption probe. “Dennis Tyler, the Democratic mayor of Muncie, Indiana, was arrested at his home on Monday morning, according to the FBI.”
Credit to CNN for mentioning his party affiliation in the lede.
THEY DON’T CARE MUCH WHAT THE WORLD THINKS: China defends Xinjiang crackdown after massive document leak.
NEW YORK SUN: Nikki Haley on Jerusalem: ‘All Due Respect.’
It is just amazing that in such a context, any secretary of state — in the event it was Secretary Tillerson — would fetch up in the new administration plumping to keep the embassy in Tel Aviv. Yet that is what Ambassador Haley reports was the case. Within six months of becoming ambassador, she writes, Jerusalem emerged as a point of contention within the cabinet, with dissenters asserting that the move would beget violence.
Ms. Haley writes that “one White House official” attempted to “enlist” her “in convincing the president to back off his promise.” Writes she: “I refused, because I wanted the president to go ahead with it.” Resistance continued. “In every meeting of the president’s cabinet and national security advisors, there was a faction that seemed to think they, not the president, should make the final decision when it came to policy.”
“They thought they could team up and spin the president — and they tried. Some, like Secretary of State Tillerson, seemed to be thinking primarily about how the decision would affect their reputations. He declared in the middle of the meeting that he wanted to be on record opposing the move.” He ended up on the same side of the issue as Al-Qaeda and Hamas, as well as President Macron, Prime Minister May, and Chancellor Merkel.
Tillerson was a perfect reflection of most of official Washington: Unimaginative and wrong.
MEANWHILE, OVER AT VODKAPUNDIT: POTUS Health Scare? Walter Reed Visit ‘Not Protocol’ for Routine Appointment. “CNN has already gotten two stories, a column, and a wet Stelter out of a single slow news day report on the president’s doctor’s visit, but it’s safe to assume that they’re just getting started.”
That’s my free daily column for the PJ mothership. But VIP members also get this one: Buttigieg Campaign Rocked by Embarrassing Lie About Black Endorsements.
And here’s another VIP column — New Hurricane Study Uses Inflated Numbers, Sloppy Science to Advance Climate Agenda — which is from Friday, but which I also forgot* to link to.
If you’re interested in the additional VIP content, the promo code VODKAPUNDIT is still good for a nice little discount.
In this case “forgot” actually means: “Was too busy chatting and drinking with Glenn and Helen to get around to it.”
FREEDOM OF THE SEAS FOR ME BUT NOT FOR THEE: China Demands US Stop “Flexing Muscles” After Its New Carrier Sails Across Taiwan Strait.
BILL MAHER: “We Are Going To Have To Learn To Live With Each Other Or There Will Be Blood.”
Wrong in many of the particulars, but correct in his conclusion.
RELIGION OF PEACE UPDATE: ISIS Tells Lone Wolves: Pose As Reporters To Assassinate World Leaders.
RICHARD FERNANDEZ: The Media Are Missing the Biggest Story Since the Fall of the Soviet Union. “Bloomberg editors have noticed that the world is on fire. There are demonstrations and unrest in Lebanon, Chile, Spain, Iraq, Sudan, Russia, Uganda, Peru, Hong Kong, Zimbabwe, Venezuela and others. That ‘other’ is Iran, where the Internet has been shut down and rampaging protesters are burning down the Central Bank. Hong Kong at least deserves a separate mention.”
HEINLEIN’S CRAZY YEARS (CONT’D): Bernie Sanders Goes Full AOC: ‘Time for Us to Become the Party that Fights for Queer Liberation.’
PROCUREMENT: Zumwalt-class stealth destroyer gun dead, vessel mission being redefined.
Even as the second-in-class USS Michael Monsoor departs from Guantanamo Bay for San Diego to receive commissioning and combat testing, the Navy is only starting to figure out what they will do with the troubled multi-billion dollar Zumwalt-class destroyer.
The Zumwalt has been billed as the most advanced destroyer ever built, with stealth capabilities and a gun system that could provide precision fire support deep inland ahead of advancing amphibious forces.
But the Zumwalt’s gun system has been put on the backburner — if it will ever be activated at all — its stealth features may be degrading and out of an originally planned 32, only two have been built, with one more on the way. Of those three, only one is considered active and none are yet deployable despite years of delays.
Keelhauling would be too kind for every- and anyone to blame for this mess.
WE NEED TO GET IN FRONT OF THIS YESTERDAY: US power grid attack points surge with proliferating DERs: A hacker ‘will eventually get in.’ “As the United States’ electric system becomes more distributed, security experts say the growing array of internet-connected sensors and industrial control systems presents a potential vulnerability that is not clearly understood and could be exploited to cause blackouts.”
KRUISER’S MORNING BRIEF: Inevitable-Everyone Hates Kaepernick Now. “One thing that gets lost in all of the noise that Kaepernick deliberately creates around himself is that his quarterback skills had been in a bit of a freefall throughout most of his last season in the NFL. He’d been benched, and that had nothing to do with his kneeling. A few years away from the game certainly haven’t made any of that better, no matter how hard he’s been working out.”
THIRD WORLD MAN: PG&E may shut off power Wednesday to 180,000 homes, businesses.
DECADES OF OFFICIAL CORRUPTION, MISMANAGEMENT, AND PISSING OFF MOST EVERY DECENT TRADING PARTNER IN THE WORLD HAD NOTHING TO DO WITH IT: Khamenei blames counter-revolution, enemies for ‘sabotage’ in Iran gasoline price protests.
IT’S DIFFERENT WHEN THE LIGHTBRINGER DOES IT: Obama Granted Clemency to Terrorists and Traitors, But We’re Supposed to be Angry at Trump’s Pardons.
FLORIDA MAN FRIDAY: The Naked Noodle Bongo Break-In.
PETITION FOR REDRESS OF IMAGINARY GRIEVANCES: Handmaids Protest Kavanaugh FedSoc Event, Play Blasey Ford Speech on Jumbotron.
I can’t imagine even her supporters would want to listen to that speech at any volume.
BECAUSE OF COURSE: SPLC Targets Franklin Graham for ‘Hate Group’ Speech.
TRIGGERING THE LEFT MIGHT BE THE ONE GOOD REASON FOR A ‘FRIENDS’ REUNION: Rumors of a ‘Friends’ Reunion Triggers the Left, Which Demands More Diversity.
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.