Here are my observations and opinions from my select news of the day.

I WAS REMINDED of the many times anti-Trumpers have falsely claimed that President Trump is destroying or dismantling our institutions, when I read Jonathan Turley’s op-ed in The Hill, “Nancy Pelosi should resign,” in which he cited the “the conduct of Speaker Nancy Pelosi at the State of the Union address this week will go down as a day of infamy for the chamber as an institution.”

“Pelosi has demolished decades of tradition with this poorly considered moment.  Of course, many will celebrate her conduct and be thrilled by the insult to Trump.  However, even those of us who disagree with his policies should consider what Pelosi destroyed in her moment of rage.

“She shredded the pretense of governing with civility and dignity in the House. Notably, she did not wait to rip of her copy of the speech until after she left the House floor.  Pelosi wanted to do it at the end of the speech, in front of the camera, with the president still in the chamber.

“The act was more important to Pelosi than preserving the tradition of her office. In doing so, she forfeited the right to occupy that office.  If Pelosi cannot maintain the dignity and neutrality of her office at the State of the Union, she should resign as the speaker of the House of Representatives.”

It was Turley, a Democrat who voted for Hillary Clinton, who said during his testimony before the House Judiciary Committee in December, that if the House proceeds with the impeachment of President Trump, it would be the House that would be abusing its power.

EVEN PEGGY NOONAN couldn’t ignore Nancy Pelosi’s behavior, commenting in her Wall Street Journal column that “the classy lady was not classy.  She forgot she has a higher responsibility than to her base, but – yes, how corny – to her country, the institution, the young who were watching and just getting a sense of how to behave in the world.

“(Pelosi) shattered tradition,“ wrote Noonan, “making faces, muttering, shaking her head as the president delivered his State of the Union address.”

Noonan remarked about the progressives who refused to attend or walked out during the speech, noting that those who came sat slouched angrily in their seats, looking down, refusing to rise for all of the heroes in the balcony.

CNBC DREW THE WRATH of Pelosi’s office because of what appeared to be a bit of deceptive video editing in its report of the State of the Union.  When aired, it looked as if Pelosi’s ripping of the script took place during the president’s salute to the Tuskegee airman in the gallery.

THE STATE OF THE UNION ADDRESS was not your usual boring event.  The media referred to it as another Trump rally speech, a reality TV show.  When are they going to recognize that “we’ve always done it this way,” isn’t part of Trump’s DNA?  It’s like his impromptu meetings with the press on the White House lawn before boarding his helicopter have replaced the press conferences with the press secretary.

“The speech itself was shrewd and its political targeting astute,” wrote Peggy Noonan, noting the “usual boasts,” but calling particular attention to individual Americans. She felt “manipulated” by the address, but was “moved,” too.

I WAS STRUCK BY THE RESTRAINED post-acquittal analysis of Susan Page of the leftist USA Today, who often provides the view of “the other side” as a panel member on Bret Baier’s Fox News Channel nightly report.

“Loved, hated and feared, Donald Trump has proved once again that he is the most resilient politician in modern American history.

“Neither the ridicule of the political establishment toward the idea that he could win the White House nor the two-year investigation by a special counsel nor impeachment by the House of Representatives has bowed Trump or even prompted him to temper the brash, blunderbuss style that has brought him this far.

“The capacity to weather a storm, to rebound after a blow that might have crushed others, may be the single most essential trait of a successful political leader.

IT DIDN’T COME AS A SURPRISE when the Vindman brothers Alexander and Yevgeny, were escorted from the White House, relieved of their positions on the National Security Council and escorted off the White House grounds on Friday. Both hold Army ranks of lieutenant colonel and will probably be reassigned to the Pentagon, presumably in insignificant roles.

While their lawyer contends that the “firing” was done out of revenge for testimony before the impeachment hearing, clearly the president has the right to have advisors in the NSC who will carry out his foreign policy and not work as a mole of the Deep State.

BIDEN’S OPINION DIDN’T SURPRISE EITHER – On the New Hampshire debate stage Friday the failing Democrat presidential candidate attacked President Trump’s awarding of the Medal of Freedom to Rush Limbaugh and said. “he should be pinning a medal on (Lt. col. Alexander)Vindman,” adding “that’s who we are.”  This, from the man who stood at President Obama’s side with the parents of Army traitor Bowe Bergdahl, who, according to the  GAO, was illegally part of a trade with five Muslim prisoners.  And, does Biden honestly believe that Obama would stand for the disloyalty of someone on his NSC?

THE SOCIALIST LEFT – While all of the Democrat presidential candidates on the debate stage Friday night hesitated to raise their hands when asked if they were concerned about having a democratic socialist on the top of the ticket, pushing government solutions to nearly every problem, Amy Klobuchar slowly put up her hand.

Incidentally, did you notice the absence of an American flag on the debate stage? I didn’t watch the debate, but a friend called it to my attention.  It didn’t surprise me because the Democrat Party and the media, ABC included, mock President Trump’s allegiance to the flag.  Notably missing was an American flag pin on the lapel of Pete Buttigieg, who frequently boasts of his military service while criticizing the president’s avoidance of service.

I WONDERED WHAT EVER HAPPENED to John Huber, the U.S. attorney in Utah, who was tasked in March 2018 by former Attorney General Jeff Sessions to look into Republican claims of FBI misconduct.

Sessions said he was a special prosecutor in all but name; in effect “he will be using all of his prosecutorial powers” to conduct a wide-ranging investigation into alleged abuses that extend well beyond suspected FISA court impropriates.

Expectations of testimony by Huber by the House Oversight and Government Reform Subcommittee on Government Operations never materialized.

Republicans Jim Jordan and Mark Meadows wrote Huber a letter stating that “Your investigation has been ongoing for more than nine months,” and pointed out to him that during their committee’s extensive investigation that none of the dozens of former DOJ and FBI personnel testified to speaking with him.

As it turns out, when Attorney General Bill Barr took office, he put Huber’s role on standby while DOJ IG Michael Horowitz did his investigation.  Upon Barr’s selection of U.S. Attorney John Durham to look into DOJ and FBI abuses, Huber’s role ceased to exist.

FORMER BILL CLINTON ADVISOR James Carville, in an interview with Vox, commenting on the move to Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren, said, “It’s like we’re losing our damn minds.

“They’ve tacked off the damn radar screen,” he said when he was asked if the party moved too far left.

LAUGH-OF-THE-DAY – I already thought Joy Behar of The View was crazy, but in a weird outburst on Friday, noted in a piece by Fox’s Sam Dorman, she appeared to violently try to pull out her earpiece, provoking a gasp from the audience.

“I’m crazy today, he’s made me crazy this week,” Behar said.  “He’s winning because I’m getting nuttier and nuttier. This weekend, I’m not watching the news, I’m turning it off.  “I’m going to get a massage and I’m going to drink.”

Prior to his address, Behar said that she hoped that Trump would go “completely nuts” during the address, “freak out, go off script,’ adding “that’s what I’m praying for.”  I wonder, does she go to the same church as Nancy Pelosi?

                         May God continue to bless the United States of America.