Good news everyone!

'Well‚ let's be honest about that‚ Laura'

These days‚ it’s not controversial to point out that on the Biden administration’s watch‚ the world has become far less stable and far more dangerous. The sudden and haphazard U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan in August 2021 surely emboldened our adversaries‚ given Russia’s invasion of Ukraine six months later. And Russia‚ despite failing to take Ukraine as rapidly as many predicted‚ has resorted to nuclear coercion‚ threatening to use nuclear weapons not only in Ukraine‚ but on many NATO countries—including the United States. More recently‚ the United States failed to respond to the Hamas attacks in Israel—despite the fact that as many as 31 Americans were killed in the attack‚ and as many as 20 Americans were held hostage by Hamas. Despite the Biden administration taking the Yemen-based‚ Iran-backed Houthis off the list of terrorist groups‚ Houthis’ missiles are now forcing global shipping to reroute around the Cape of Good Hope‚ just as in the days of Vasco de Gama.  And Tehran—despite ejecting International Atomic Energy Agency weapons inspectors from Iran and stockpiling 60% enriched uranium (just a technical step away from weapons-grade nuclear material)—continues to sponsor Hamas‚ Hezbollah and the Houthis‚ with nary a word of objection from the Biden administration. And amid all those gathering threats‚ a truly bizarre‚ unprecedented story broke over the weekend about how‚ for roughly three days‚ no one was apparently in charge of the Pentagon. If what follows is unclear and ambiguous‚ that’s because the entire story is unclear and ambiguous—and still unfolding.  The public learned on Saturday evening that Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin was in intensive care at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center outside Washington‚ D.C. Austin‚ 70‚ was admitted on Jan. 1 due to “intense pain” that followed a few days after a yet-to-be specified “elective procedure” he undertook on Dec. 22. As of Sunday‚ Austin remained at Walter Reed. While Austin was supposedly teleworking the week of Jan. 1‚ according to his front office staff‚ he was in fact in intensive care—a fact that he shared with only the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff‚ Gen. C.Q. Brown‚ and Austin’s chief of staff‚ Kelly Magsamen.  No one else knew that Austin was in intensive care—not the president‚ not the National Security Council‚ not the military service chiefs‚ our military combatant commanders‚ nor service secretaries‚ nor the undersecretaries‚ let alone congressional leaders‚ until Thursday‚ three days after Austin was hospitalized. One odd exception was the No. 2-ranking civilian in the Defense Department‚ Deputy Secretary Kathleen Hicks‚ who was on vacation in Puerto Rico with her family. Officials in the Pentagon informed Hicks on the afternoon of Jan. 2 that she was assuming “certain operational responsibilities that require constant secure communications capabilities.” However‚ Hicks wasn’t informed that Austin was hospitalized until Jan. 4‚ the same day that the Pentagon informed the White House and the day that President Joe Biden learned that his secretary of defense had been incapable of performing his job functions for the better part of a week. According to public statements‚ Biden spoke with Austin on the phone on Sunday‚ as the secretary remained in a hospital bed at Walter Reed and they are said to have had a cordial conversation. Unfortunately‚ very little beyond that is known at this point. And the more we learn‚ the more questions we have.  What was the elective surgery that triggered all this?  Austin‚ of course‚ is due some privacy‚ but given the number of crises unfolding in the world‚ why have elective surgery at all at this time?     Why did Austin not tell more people about his hospitalization than Brown and his chief of staff?  He is a Cabinet secretary at a time of two wars‚ in Europe and the Mideast. Why did he not tell the National Security Council or the relevant combatant commanders?  If Austin was in intensive care on Jan. 1‚ why did the deputy secretary not assume the responsibilities of acting secretary until the afternoon of Jan. 2?  And why was she not told he was in the hospital until Jan. 4? Even if Austin was unable to call more than a couple of individuals that he was being put in intensive care on Jan. 1‚ why didn’t Brown inform the White House‚ the service secretaries and the senior military commanders?  Magsamen apparently was ill‚ which was why she didn’t inform the White House or Hicks before Jan. 4. Everyone has been flat on their back sick for a few days. That’s a part of life. Literally‚ all she or Brown would have to do is say to a member of the secretary’s Secret Service detail‚ “Place a secure call to the White House Situation Room and brief them on what’s going on.” As noted‚ Hicks was in Puerto Rico on a no-doubt well-earned family vacation. But during this time of crisis‚ if the secretary of defense was hospitalized and no senior leaders were aware of his condition‚ why was she not summoned back to the Pentagon? Finally‚ the defense secretary was in the hospital and was incommunicado during a period in which Iranian generals are being killed‚ Russians are shelling hospitals in Ukraine‚ Israel is conducting a war in Gaza‚ and global shipping is being rerouted out of the Red Sea … and no one in the White House or the National Security Council noticed? More details will surely come to light. But this potential disaster is without precedent in the Defense Department.  There has never been a week when the Pentagon’s chain of command broke down to such an extent that—for all we can discern—no one was in charge. While we wish Austin a full and speedy recovery‚ the fact of the matter is that had anyone else in any other organization been so derelict in his or her responsibilities for the organization they lead‚ they would have been fired. But as is the case with the failures in Afghanistan‚ Ukraine and Israel‚ it appears no one will be held accountable‚ and the American people are less safe for it. Have an opinion about this article? To sound off‚ please email letters@DailySignal.com‚ and we’ll consider publishing your edited remarks in our regular “We Hear You” feature. Remember to include the URL or headline of the article plus your name and town and/or state. The post The Bizarre Case of a Missing Defense Secretary appeared first on The Daily Signal.

Trump Co-Defendant Claims Fani Willis Had Relationship with Prosecutor She Hired

A new MRC study by Bill D'Agostino found that of 337 Biden-scandal questions asked of White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre in the second half of 2023‚ only eight (2.38 percent) drew an answer instead of a maddening deferral or a blatant refusal to answer. Bill joins the show to discuss the consistency of KJP's stonewalling‚ and his generous definition of an actual answer. His eight answers included lame defenses of Biden: "I’m just going to quote him and say‚ 'It’s malarkey.'” But that's an actual attempt at rebuttal‚ instead of endlessly referring all inquiries to the White House Counsel's office‚ which also wasn't answering. The answer was meant to be a dead end‚ so you'd avoid that street. Or you received preposterous claims in response to softball questions‚ like "The Department of Justice is independent." About two-thirds of the questions were about Biden's improper holding of classified materials in his garage and at the Penn Biden Center. Out of 220 questions‚ the Press Secretary concretely answered five all year (2.27 percent). The baggie of cocaine found in the West Wing on the evening of July 2 was the sole focus of scandal-related questions for the first half of July. Reporters asked a total of 30 questions about the cocaine across five briefings from July 5 to July 17. KJP would not give a concrete response to a single question. Enjoy the podcast below‚ or wherever you listen to podcasts. 

A man arrested for car burglary in San Francisco was caught on video by a YouTuber who set up an elaborate prank‚ but an investigation found that he had been recently been released by a judge on previous charges related to car burglary. YouTuber and former NASA engineer Mark Rober baited car burglars by setting up cameras on a car that had a rigged backpack inside. When burglars cracked the car window and stole the backpack‚ it would later emit a foul odor and announce a countdown to scare the robbers. He also installed bulletproof glass in one car just to watch burglars impotently try to break the glass to get to their booty. Rober then took things a step farther and obtained help from KGO-TV reporter Dan Noyes‚ who looked into identifying the alleged burglars by looking up the license plates to the cars they drove to commit the burglaries. While he found that most used stolen license plates to conceal their identities‚ one man drove his car with his regular license plate‚ and they were able to identify him. 30-year-old Charvel Augustine of San Francisco is recorded on video smashing the window to one of Rober's bait cars and grabbing a backpack from inside. Another video from inside the backpack shows him open up and peer inside before abandoning it after it deploys the foul odor and starts counting down. "Fart spray cannon fired!" reads a message automatically texted from the bag. Augustine is then caught on video allegedly stealing a second backpack from another one of Rober's bait cars an hour later. When Noyes looked into Augustine's past‚ he found that the man had been released days previously by a judge over charges related to car burglary. When he failed to appear‚ a judge issued a $35‚000 bench warrant. He had been charged with second-degree burglary of vehicle and possession of burglar tools. Police said that they had recovered U.S.‚ Indian‚ and Euro currency from the suspect's car‚ as well as watches and jewelry. Despite this‚ the judge released him on his own reconnaissance. "The judges are showing poor judgment there" "Looks like it would be easily settle-able‚" said Judge Loretta Giorgi on Oct. 9 when she dropped the bench warrant. Three days later‚ Augustine was caught on video by Rober's bait cars and also videotaped by police allegedly burglarizing two other cars. Frank Noto of Stop Crime SF told KGO that this incident is not unusual in the courts. "That's just crazy‚" Noto said. "The judges are showing poor judgment there. They're saying this criminal is not going to commit a crime‚ at least not pending trial. But they're dead wrong." Noyes noted that Augustine appeared to wear designer jeans to court that were very similar to those he wore while allegedly committing the car burglaries. He pleaded not guilty‚ and his public defender told KGO that he was "loving and kind" and takes care of his sick grandmother. She also claimed that incarceration did nothing to deter car burglaries. Rober has more than 4.6 billion views on his various videos on YouTube. Here's the news report: Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors‚ sign up for our newsletters‚ and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

On November 28‚ 1994‚ Jesse Anderson was murdered by Christopher Scarver while serving a life sentence in a Wisconsin prison for killing his wife. The post Jesse Anderson‚ The Man Who Killed His Wife And Was Later Beaten To Death Alongside Jeffrey Dahmer appeared first on All That's Interesting.

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