Commentary

I’m back at the keyboard after taking a little time off.  I followed the vote for Kevin McCarthy, I waded through the volume of Matt Taibbi and Bari Weiss’ findings in the Twitter files, and most recently noted President Biden’s photo op in El Paso.

Speaker Kevin McCarthy

Just a few brief observations.  It’s too early to know what’s going to happen in McCarthy’s House.  He intends to follow through on the party’s commitment to America beginning this week.  We know he will run into opposition in the Democrat-controlled Senate.

Time will tell how much of a role the so-called “Rebels” will play. From columnist Peggy “I know best” Noonan, to letter-writer Mitch Teitelbaum of Tempe, Arizona, a return to Republican normalcy and compromise is what’s needed.  Just how far did we get with reaching across the aisle, compromise and common ground under the Speaker Pelosi dictatorship?

Things aren’t likely to change with Hakeem Jefferies as the Dem’s top dog.  While most of you, no doubt, had long retired for the evening and gone to bed, I heard Jeffries deliver his transformation speech, that was quite telling as to what we might expect from the left.

After graciously opening with, “We extend our hand of partnership … We extend, and intend, to try and find common ground, whenever and wherever possible on behalf of the American people,” he slipped into an alphabetical rant reminiscent of the Jessie Jackson of old.

I gave the thought of publishing his quote serious consideration, deciding that you needed to know what we are up against with Jeffries, even though Newsweek magazine (yes, it still exists) reported that 2.4 million went to the Internet to hear/read Jeffries’ speech, a portion I include here:

“House Democrats will always put American values over autocracy, benevolence over bigotry, the Constitution over the cult, democracy over demagogues, economic opportunity over extremism, freedom over fascism, governing over gaslighting, hopefulness over hatred, inclusion over isolation, justice over judicial overreach, knowledge over kangaroo courts, liberty over limitation, maturity over Mar-a-Lago, normalcy over negativity, opportunity over obstruction, people over politics, quality of life over QAnon, reason over racism, substance over slander, triumph over tyranny, understanding over ugliness, voting rights over voter suppression, working families over the well-connected, xenial over xenophobia, ‘yes we can’ over “you can’t do it’, and zealous representation over zero-sum confrontation.”

Finally, did you hear that McCarthy has reopened the Capitol – the People’s House – that has been closed under Pelosi’s orders since the Covid outbreak and the January 6, breaching?

From the Twitter Files

Although I have tried to read all of the findings of Matt Taibbi and Bari Weiss from the files of Twitter, I appreciated Taibbi’s publishing of a summary, recognizing that his daily reports were becoming hard to follow if you aren’t reading them each day.

Here are a few takeaways that I thought would be of interest to you. 

Twitter executives questioned their decision to block access to the New York Post expose’ on Hunter Biden.  “Can we truthfully claim that this is part of the policy?”

Regarding the blacklisting of several people, including Fox’s Dan Bongino, a Twitter employee wrote: “Think about visibility filtering as being a way for us to suppress what people see to different levels.  It’s a very powerful tool.”

Twitter received so many requests from the FBI that an executive congratulated staffers for completing the “monumental undertaking.”  James Baker, formerly FBI’s legal counsel, who later joined Twitter, noted in the files, “I am happy to report we have collected $3,415,323 since October 2019,” compensation from the FBI for handling “processing requests.”

Twitter’s contact with the FBI was “constant and pervasive.”  The “FBI was adamant no impediment to sharing” classified information exist.

The FBI wasn’t the only government agency in bed with Twitter. Taibbi notes that the CIA and the Department of Homeland Security held regular meetings with Twitter. 

For years, Twitter approved Pentagon covert operations, while explicitly testifying to Congress that it didn’t allow such behavior.

Biden’s El Paso Photo Op

As expected, President Biden’s first visit to the Southern Border was disappointing. He didn’t go down to Eagle Pass or one of the other places along the Rio Grande, where migrants are wading across by the thousands.  Instead, he went to El Paso, where Democrat Mayor Oscar Leester had his city scrubbed clean of any migrants.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott was there to present Biden with a letter charging him with violating his constitutional obligation to defend the States against invasion through faithful execution of federal laws.

Abbot suggested to Biden that his administration wanted to shield him from the El Paso as it was prior to his visit. Overrun with migrants.  Abbott was critical of Biden not visiting the sites where mass illegal immigration occurs, “where the lives and property of Texans have been destroyed because of your border policies.”

In conclusion, “on behalf of all Americans, I implore you: Secure our border by enforcing Congress’s immigration laws,” he wrote, while outlining five clear steps he recommended to secure the border.

Unfinished Business

Regular readers may recall the colossal typographical error the left-leaning Arizona Republic made in recognizing Brittney Griner as its Newsmaker of the Year on January 1, 2023, stating that her arrest was at the time Russia invaded Afghanistan, not Ukraine.

On January 4, 2023, the Republic finally fessed-up to their error I referenced in my January 1, blog, burying it with their Corrections and Clarifications amid celebrity birthdays and today in history.

It simply stated: “The column made an incorrect reference regarding which country Russia invaded. Ukraine was invaded by Russia in 2022.”

Since the paper didn’t support Griner as a hero, only as the top newsmaker, I decided not to comment on her thinking perhaps that she was above the law.

NOT SO for a Jayme Mason of Phoenix, who in a letter to the editor, noted on January 8, 2023, her displeasure with Griner.  “She did it because her playing skills and MVP status caused her ego to inflate enough to make her believe she is above everyone and everything, including the law.”

LAUGH OF THE DAY – For Arizonans, the banner headline in all caps on the front page of the left-leaning Arizona Republic on January 8, 2023, is laughable:

“COUNT ON THE REPUBLIC: WE’RE HERE FOR ARIZONA”

But there’s more.  Inside the first section this banner headline appeared, however not in all caps:

“Journalists at The Republic made a difference in 2022”

May God continue to bless the United States of America.