Opinion
By Jeff Childers
06-14-23
Good morning, C&C, itβs Wednesday! Your action-packed roundup today includes: Tuckerβs third twitter monologue defends Trump and goes after the military-industrial complex; new California rep roasts HHS secretary over child masking; CNN pulls plug on Trumpβs post-arraignment coverage; Senator Hawley presses FBI on Biden Bribery document; the real story that will soon eclipse the Biden Bribery story; TimCast may have just cracked a rhetorical riddle; other Trump lawsuits βput on holdβ until South Florida lawsuit plays out; Ukraine propaganda example; Ukraine war news, and it isnβt good for the deep stateβs crack house; Putin and Zelensky gives updates on the war; Twitter reverses on Pride policy; and our quiet hero of the month, from Down Under.
ππ¬ *WORLD NEWS AND COMMENTARY* π¬π
π₯ In Tuckerβs third new free Twitter monologue, which uploaded yesterday evening, the commenter defended President Trump and went after the military-industrial complex. It was titled, βAmericaβs Principles Are At Stake.β Itβs not a good idea to criticize the military-industrial complex; now Tuckerβs days are numbered shorter than King Belshazzarβs.
Haha, just kidding. I hope. Anyway youβll enjoy it; Tucker forcefully argues the reason the federal government was weaponized against Trump was because during the 2016 primary debates, Trump said there were no weapons of mass destruction in Iraq.
Tucker explained that was the precise moment when candidate Trump, and later President Trump, became a mortal threat to the deep stateβs finely-tuned machinery of perpetual war. Trump threatened the military industrial complexβs most prized possessions: its power, profits, and prestige. Trump became a threat that must be eliminated at all cost.
As I was watching Tucker, suddenly a window opened in my mind, revealing this shocking thought: we did it to ourselves.
For decades, weβve empowered the deep state to subvert and dismantle unpopular foreign leaders using weapons of engineered protests, color revolutions, blackmail, character assassination, and currency manipulation. So that politicians could keep their hands clean and enjoy plausible political deniability, we created impenetrable legal and political silos safeguarding the blackest of black ops, secreting the covert operations within deep underground bunkers of utmost secrecy and byzantine legal complexity, buried so deeply under mountains of red tape that those who watch the watchers can truthfully deny it ever happened, and so that the operations and the operators remain completely unsupervised, absolutely unaccountable, and ultimately unjusticiable.
Quis custodiet ipsos custodes? No one, thatβs who.
Here we are, at long last, at the inevitable point of self destruction. Having devised and perfected an arsenal of covert tools for personal, political, and social destruction, originally meant to be used against our enemies, at the end of the long day, it was a trivial effort, really no effort at all, for the bad actors in the deep state to turn the sighting wheels and re-aim those very same secret weapons inwards, becoming a circular firing squad of Americans surrounding America, all believing theyβre aiming at President Trump, but who are actually about to kill each other and the entire nation.
In his final address to the country on January 17, 1961, outgoing President Dwight Eisenhower saw this day coming. He famously warned Americans about the military-industrial deep state:
β[W]e must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military-industrial complex. The potential for the disastrous rise of misplaced power exists and will persist.β
Well, the general-turned-President from Abilene, Kansas TRIED to tell us. So weβve known for a long time what the problem is. The question now becomes: Can we solve it before itβs too late?
Anyway, when you have about 13 minutes watch Tuckerβs whole clip. He was excellent, as usual, and youβll enjoy how he roasted a rogueβs gallery of Trump traitors including that revolting human blood sausage, Mike Pompeo.
In the clip, Tucker gives a remarkably robust defense of President Trump. It has been a fascinating evolution for the commenter, since we know from liberal leaks that Tucker was not always a member of the Trump fan club:
(Note: Interpreting othersβ emails is part of what I do for a living, so believe me that drawing any firm conclusions from a single out-of-context text message or email is pure fiction. Lawyers and reporters love to do it, of course, and can cherry-pick just about any desired narrative. For example, when Tucker texted βI hate himβ, it might have just been a momentary annoyance at Trump over a missed political opportunity or something, and Tucker was just venting. Or maybe he actually did hate Trump. The point is, I donβt know, neither do you; nobody except Tucker does.)
Either way, if the persecution of President Trump can turn around a professional opinion-maker like Tucker, how many other Americans will it convert?
Remember, Americans love an underdog. The government propagandists use that against us all the time. But right now theyβre turning Trump into the greatest underdog in American history.
π₯ Hereβs a highly-entertaining clip: Yesterday, Californiaβs newest Republican Representative Kevin Kiley roasted lackluster Health Secretary Xavier Becerra, shutting down the mentally-underweight appointee while he was trying to escape using his usual bureaucratic mumbo-jumbo. During their lively exchange over whether mandated masking of small children saved a single life, Becerra shamelessly tried to hide behind the odious argument that βwe never FORCED anyone, we just issued guidance.β
NAZI PRISON GUARD: We never forced anybody into ze chambers! We just strongly recommended they go inside.
Arguing with Secretary Becerra is like wrestling with greased jello. But Kileyβs witty responses will help make your day. Enjoy!
π₯ Yesterday, CNN anchors, including Jake Tapper, were shocked, appalled and depressed by President Trumpβs reception, after he stopped for a bite at a packed Cuban restaurant after his arraignment. Among other things, the giant mob of fans sang the President an early βHappy Birthday.β
As youβll see in the clip, the CNN anchors were vexed by what was appearing on their own network, what must to them have seemed more like a love fest and much less like what they were expecting: a chagrined politician just disgraced by his criminal arraignment.
So Tapper panicked, and told the control room to pull the plug.
ANCHOR: Whatever this spectacle is, that is unfolding before us, let us remember what this case is really aboutβ¦
TAPPER: Folks in the control room: I donβt need to see any more of that. Heβs trying to turn this, heβs trying to turn it into a spectacle, into a campaign ad. Thatβs enough of that. Weβve seen it already. Letβs go over the 37 chargesβ¦
Poor Jake. He was clearly in excruciating pain watching how Trumpβs persecution is making the former President more popular than ever. Enjoy!
π₯ In another terrific clip yesterday, Senator Josh Hawley interrogated an FBI official during a Senate hearing about the Biden Bribery document, and steam-pressed the FBI official into a figurative Cuban sandwich over why the document had not been publicly released, especially considering it is UNCLASSIFIED.
Laughably, the FBI official claimed the reason the agency refused to release the document is because βwe are serious about protecting people.β
Oh. Sure, the FBI is VERY serious about protecting people. How serious are they?
π₯ Here is the single most important point, an explosive truth that I believe will soon overtake the entire story: when the democrats impeached President Trump in 2017 for a single phone call to Ukraine requesting an investigation, they claimed Trump was lying, inventing an awful story to smear poor, impeccable Joe Biden and injure the candidateβs electoral chances. That was the democratsβ charge, and even some Republicans went along with it.
They impeached the President over this allegation.
But, at the time, the FBI had this Biden Bribery document in its vault. They knew all about it. In other words, the agency had credible information from a reliable informant establishing that what Trump was asking the Ukrainians for was not made up but was likely correct; Trump was properly following up on the very same information that the FBI was busily NOT following up on.
At the time, during months of impeachment trial dragging on, the FBI never ever said ANYTHING TO ANYBODY. The agency that βtakes protecting people seriouslyβ let the PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA be impeached β even though they could have immediately ended the entire farce with a single statement, by confirming that Trumpβs phone call was founded on evidence and was not, as Democrats falsely argued, completely made up.
The FBI did not protect the President. They could have ended the impeachment show trial even without disclosing their source or any details about the document; all they wouldβve had to do is admit the report existed.
But β for some reason β the FBI did not do that. It kept its mouth shut. And thatβs what Senator Hawley should ask the FBI about next, because that question will unravel this whole, sordid, criminal conspiracy.
π₯ Yesterday, social media influencer Tim Pool used his main TimCast IRL channel to explore the Biden Bribery document story, the FBIβs obvious coverup, and their many implications. The dialogue between the host and his co-hosts was interesting, informative, and ultimately surprising. Itβs worth noting that Pool is not exactly a hardened conservative, heβs usually labeled center-right or independent, but he finds the Biden Bribery document story to be extremely troubling.
Toward the end of the three-minute clip, Tim made this comment, which is remarkable in several ways:
βThere is a criminal syndicate in the government. I donβt know how many, I donβt knowβ¦ you knowβ¦ But we do know that the FBI is purposefully NOT prosecuting certain individuals, and so whoever is instructing these people to do this is part of some kind of criminal syndicate. Iβm not trying to make it seem like thereβs a network of thousands of people with initiation or anything like that. Iβm saying certain elements of the FBI, the executive branch, and the democratic party are absolutely subverting the law in this country, in collusion with each other.β
The way Pool described it is probably a much better and more accurate way to describe whatβs been going on than the overused phrase, βdeep state.β First, it is more legally precise to refer to the bad actors as co-conspirators in a βcriminal syndicateβ within the government. Second, that additional precision can avoid triggering independents and people who believe the phrase βdeep stateβ is just a dog whistle for MAGA conservatives.
A gripping rhetorical adjustment can often turn the debate.
Iβll try using the term criminal syndicate for a while, and see how it feels. What do YOU think?
π₯ In an surprising development, MediaIte ran a story yesterday headlined, βNY Attorney General Letitia James Says Manhattan Case Against Trump βWill Unfortunately Have to Be Adjournedβ Pending Federal Case.β
New York Attorney General James told MSNBC yesterday that Alvin Braggβs case and the many others currently pending against the former President βwill unfortunately have to be adjourned pending the outcome of the federal caseβ against Trump under the controversial Espionage Act.
I donβt really have a good theory yet for why they made this move. Maybe somebody told her to stand down. Maybe James realized how weak Braggβs case against Trump is and needs to save face. Itβs not clear yet, but it is a fascinating development in the Trump persecution story.
Weβll figure it out though.
π Hereβs how the Ukraine propaganda works. When the Russians threatened to use depleted uranium shells last year, this βwarbloggerβ decried Putin as a war criminal for even thinking about it:
But yesterday, the same warblogger used the very same photo to inform his mindless followers that, since Ukraine will be using them, depleted uranium shells are perfectly safe, nor are the Americans war criminals for giving Ukraine the harmless shells, which are now magically β by the power of politics β no longer dangerous to civilian populations in Ukraine:
You get the idea. All I have to say is the Bible promises liars (and cowards) will be thrown into the Lake of Fire. So.
π Despite a gaping black hole of reliable corporate media war news on the Spring Counteroffensiveβ’, the established independent reporters all suggest the Russians have been capturing scores of abandoned, high-tech U.S-made Bradley fighting vehicles and advanced German Leopard tanks, sometimes even with the engines still running.
In a statement yesterday, Russian President Putin called Ukrainian losses βcatastrophic.β He said that Ukraine was not successful in any sector of the battlefield, that 50% of the Ukrainian forces were destroyed, killed or wounded, and that Ukrainian losses were running ten times more than Russian casualties. Putin confidently claimed that over the last ten days, Russia has destroyed over 160 tanks and over 360 armored fighting vehicles of various types.
Thatβs where our billions of dollars just went. Up in smoke, because a bunch of incompetent kleptocrats are trying to play war against real soldiers.
Ukraine President Zelenskyy first issued a formal statement via the state web site yesterday, which was subsequently quietly removed. Here is a portion of his now-deleted, somewhat gloomy statement, which I found quoted on other sites. I think he was shooting for something Lincolnesque, but wound up sounding more like Eyor:
βThe war is entering a new, long phase. It will be a hard test for us all. But we must be ready for it.
The enemy is regrouping and preparing for new attacks. They are trying to wear us down, to break our will. But we will not give up. We will not surrender. We will defend our country to the last man.
We are still waiting for Western countries to provide us with more weapons and ammunition. We need them to help us end this war as soon as possible.
I want to thank all of our partners who have already provided us with assistance. Your help is invaluable.
I also want to thank all of our citizens who are defending our country. You are the heroes of this war.
Together, we will win. Glory to Ukraine!β
That statement was quickly replaced with a completely different one that does not discuss the war status at all, but rather describes various aspirational future programs like persuading the West to stop Russia from acquiring missile components, holding future war trials for Russian military members, and building an impenetrable βsky shieldβ to protect Ukrainians from missile attacks.
If I had a better update from Zelenskyy on how the war was going, I would report it. Donβt get mad at ME because Zelenksyy isnβt talking.
π₯ Yesterday, Politico angrily reported that coffee giant Starbucks, responding to customer demand, is removing so-called βPrideβ decor from its national chain of coffee shops.
The article, which is an insane rant disguised as a news piece, complained among other things that Starbucks management didnβt ask employees how THEY felt about the reverse in Pride policy. Which just proves that Politico reporters cannot understand basic economics or corporate structures.
Managementβs job is to make a profit for shareholders. Employeesβ jobs are to carry out the policies that management comes up with to achieve the first goal. Itβs pretty simple.
I think part of Politicoβs problem is that many employees, especially younger ones, got used to an affluent economy that was highly competitive for labor. So companies competed for employees by offering cushy work conditions and perks and benefits, like Twitterβs infamous in-office wine bar. But economic conditions are rapidly deteriorating now, and the coddling of employees is probably going to be one of the first unaffordable luxuries to be jettisoned out the airlock.
π₯ Today let us celebrate the quiet heroism. Enjoy this clip of Australian 2nd Liberal (i.e. conservative) Senator Alex Antic, who was formerly a commercial litigator like me, delivering a mild but devastating critique of so-called βPrideβ month.
In part, Alex said:
βPride month is a four week campaign from the corporate sector where weβre all told to celebrate the sexual preferences of a small minority of the population at the risk of excommunication from polite society should we refuse.β
Indeed. I couldnβt have said it better, and I definitely couldnβt have done it with his highly-engaging Australian accent.
Have a wonderful Wednesday. Weβll gather again tomorrow morning here on the C&C digital coffee bean plantation. I mean farm, or ranch. Sorry.
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Β© 2022, Jeff Childers, all rights reserved
The views expressed in this commentary are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official position of Citizens Journal Florida.