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I appeared on Silvio Canto Jr's talk show from Dallas.  It's here.

AUGUST 15-16,  2023

SOME NEWS IS NEVER OLD:  The 9-11 attacks come back to remind us to stay on guard.  From the New York Post: 

The Pentagon and FBI have notified some of the families of victims of the 9/11 attacks that suspected terrorist mastermind Kalid Sheikh Mohammed and four other defendants could be spared the death penalty under plea agreements being considered by the Biden administration. 

The notice came in the form of a letter, obtained by the Associated Press, that was sent to 9/11 families as the government explores how to resolve the more than decade-long prosecution of the alleged terrorists. 

“The Office of the Chief Prosecutor has been negotiating and is considering entering into pre-trial agreements,” the letter informs families, adding that while no plea agreement “has been finalized, and may never be finalized, it is possible that a [pre-trial agreement] in this case would remove the possibility of the death penalty.”

The Associated Press reports that in the letter, dated Aug. 1, military prosecutors pledge to consider the views of the 9/11 families before accepting any plea deals, and the note asks recipients to respond to the FBI’s victim services division by Monday with any comments or questions about the potential agreements. 

The case involving Mohammed and the four others currently being held in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, has been mired in legal disputes and delays, particularly concerning the “enhanced interrogation techniques” used by CIA operatives after the men were apprehended. 

Some relatives of the 2,977 people killed in the terror attacks expressed outrage over the possibility of plea deals being made. 

“How can you have any faith in it?” Jim Riches, a retired deputy fire chief in New York City who lost his son Jimmy – also a firefighter – on Sept. 11, 2001, told the Associated Press about the government’s update. 

“No matter how many letters they send, until I see it, I won’t believe it,” Riches said about the prospect of justice for his son’s death, lamenting that “those guys are still alive. Our children are dead” nearly 22 years after the attacks. 

COMMENT:  Read the rest.  Oh, and when do the "prosecutors" of Donald Trump want his trials to start?  Did you say "March 4th of next year"?  Why, you're correct. 

I didn't even know the alleged 9-11 collaborators were still alive, and haven't even been tried.  But former President Trump?  Hey, let's get going!  Our side talks about a double standard of justice in America.  It's more like a triple standard.

I have no interest in debating the death penalty.  That is a long and complex discussion.  But I think it's absurd that the accused collaborators have not yet been put before a jury.  Maybe it's just low priority by some influential forces in Washington.

I'd say that the press should investigate the whole matter, but I frankly wouldn't trust American journalism to do the job.

August 16, 2023       Permalink

I GUESS WE ALL LEFT OUR HEARTS IN SAN FRANCISCO:  Why are we allowing this madness to continue?   From Fox: 

Officials in California are facing fierce scrutiny over increasing crime as some federal employees are being told to work from home over fears surrounding public safety. 

Independent journalist Erica Sandberg described what she called utter "mayhem" in San Francisco during "Fox & Friends" as state workers were reportedly told to work remotely. 

"What we're seeing right now is a matter of just mayhem with not enough police officers on the beat... not empowering stores to do what they need to do in order to stop this," she told Ainsley Earhardt Tuesday. "You shouldn't let people into the store who are clearly there to do something like this."

"There are controls that you could put into place and people are very reticent about it, and we have to stop being nervous about stopping crime," she continued. "We can do so much. What we're doing right now is clearly not enough."

An internal memo revealed that federal employees in the city were told, "In light of the conditions at the (Federal Building) we recommend employees… maximize the use of telework for the foreseeable future," according to the San Francisco Chronicle. 

HHS Assistant Secretary for Administration Cheryl R. Campbell sent the memo to workers earlier this month, citing concerns surrounding rising crime, including homicides, robberies and motor vehicle thefts.

Homicides are up a startling 20.7% since the beginning of the year, while robberies and motor vehicle theft are up 14% and 13%, respectively, according to San Francisco police data.

"It's absolutely appalling," Sandberg said. "It's one of the worst things that you have ever seen. If you do come, you'll see what's happening on Seventh and Market, which is around that parameter of the building. It is drug dealing people, passing out, people in various stages of mental illness. It's very, very disturbing to be walking around in that area. It's also dangerous. Certainly, crime does happen."

"I think it's less dangerous than it is more upsetting to see human beings in such horrendous conditions," she continued. "So it's really interesting that they kind of told everyone to go home. They should actually see this. They should see this every day."

COMMENT:  We note that the governor of California, Gavin Newsom, whose policies helped create the mess that California is in, is considered a favorite to replace Joe Biden on the Democratic ticket if Biden ultimately declines to run and Kamala can be made to accept the post of ambassador to Disneyland. 

It would be entirely logical– the Dems nominating the most unsuccessful governor in the United States.  It would symbolize what's happened to their party.

August 16, 2023       Permalink 

AUGUST 13-14,  2023

NOW WE KNOW WHAT "ORWELLIAN" MEANS:  Yeah, George Orwell would have loved that performance by the Atlanta DA, late at night, announcing her grand jury's indictment of the immediate world, including, of course, former President Donald Trump.

Look, I'm not a lawyer, but I'm a citizen who thinks the justice system has to play it straight.  I'm not feelin' that right now.

Consider this:  President Trump has now been hit by his fourth set of indictments.  And ain't it the truth – all four sets have arrived in a small number of months, right before the start of a presidential election campaign.  Just dedicated law-enforcement professionals doing their job.  Stop laughing please.

Alfred Hitchcock, the great suspense director, once said something that is relevant here.  He was asked about the idea of coincidence in a motion picture.  He replied that people will accept a coincidence at the start of a story, but not at the end.  And what are we seeing now?  We are seeing the end of two stories in our political theater – the story of Donald Trump, and the story of Joe Biden.  We will know the fate of both men in not many months.  And as these stories end, the American people are being subjected to that long list of indictments.  I can imagine a guy in Brooklyn looking at his TV – remember Hitchcock's admonition – and asking, "Are you kiddin' me?  Are you tellin' me that this is all a coincidence?  You think I'm a damned fool?"  And you can be sure that millions of voters, probably tens of millions, are already thinking the same thing.  Are you kiddin' me?

That is the paradox here.  As the legal attacks on Trump become more strident, his supporters become more defiant.  This is one of the great political stories of our country's history.  Will Trump survive as a candidate, and even go on to win the presidency again, or will he be forced out of the race?  Will Biden, despite his physical frailty, win another term, with the public knowing that his Justice Department destroyed his main opponent, Donald Trump?

It has never happened before.

In "All About Eve," Bette Davis announced, "Fasten your seat belts, it's going to be a bumpy night."  For America, that describes the next year.

August 14,  2023     Permalink

NO, JOE, THIS ISN'T GOING AWAY:  His disgraceful withdrawal from Afghanistan is coming back to haunt Joe Biden, just as his presidential campaign is starting.  This is not a good look.  And grieving families still want answers.  From Daily Mail:

In the days before a suicide bomber killed 13 service personnel at Kabul airport in 2021, U.S. military commanders were aware of the threat and twice missed chances to take out the deadly terrorist network behind the plot, according to a new book.

The Taliban, who had seized control of Afghanistan, refused a request to raid a hotel that was a known staging post for ISIS-K, who carried out the atrocity. 

And at around the same time, superior officers vetoed a plan for a drone strike elsewhere because of the 'negative response' of the Taliban to such a raid.

Taken together, the shocking conclusion is that the bloodiest moment in President Joe Biden's presidency might have been avoided if American troops had not been reliant on their enemy for protection in the final days of the evacuation. 

A total of 183 people were killed in the blast, including the bomber. 

The details are set out in 'Kabul: The Untold Story of Biden's Fiasco and the American Warriors Who Fought to the End,' which is published by Center Street on Tuesday — the two-year anniversary of the Taliban takeover.

It describes how the effort to bring home American troops from a 20-year-war collapsed into confusion, as Taliban gunmen raced through the country and seized Kabul in a matter of weeks.

Tens of thousands of people descended on Hamid Karzai International Airport trying to flee the country's brutal new rulers.

With the Taliban in control of Kabul, U.S. forces made a deal with their foe of two decades, relying on their enemy to help keep the airport safe.

It ended in bloodshed. A suicide bomber with the Islamic State's local affiliate detonated his deadly payload on August 26 at the airport's Abbey Gate, where U.S. Marines were stationed to handle the crush of people.

'Our findings — tucked away in the Pentagon’s own documents and in the own words of military officers personally involved in the Afghanistan evacuation — provide more damning evidence about the dangerous stupidity of relying upon terrorists like the Taliban to provide security at Kabul airport,' said Jerry Dunleavy, one of the book authors and an investigator. He is helping lead the Afghanistan withdrawal investigation for the House Foreign Affairs Committee, although he wrote the book in a personal capacity.

He and co-author James Hasson, a former Army officer who served in Afghanistan, pieced together the story with interviews and information that in some cases was hiding in plain sight.

COMMENT:  Horrible in every way, although much of the press will either ignore the revelations or protect Biden from blame. Add to this the fact that the Hunter Biden scandal will not go away.  If these stories build, and the GOP will do whatever it takes to keep them before the public, Biden's campaign can be seriously damaged, if not destroyed. 

Our side is always fighting on two fronts – against the political opposition, and against the leftist press.  It is not an easy fight, and with Donald Trump facing a whole regiment of judges, our side is not in great shape.

August 13,  2023     Permalink