&;quot;I'm gunna clear a few things up here...&;quot; The post Why did people throw Cabbage Patch Dolls at the unfortunate Phil Collins&;#63; first appeared on Far Out Magazine.

During the past several election cycles‚ political pundits have devoted a lot of attention to the “diploma divide.” Much of this commentary has focused on the advantage Democrats enjoy among voters who tell pollsters they possess college degrees. It isn’t difficult to see why this topic has received so much scrutiny. The commentariat is dominated by college graduates who overwhelmingly support the Democratic Party. This also explains why so much of the self-congratulatory writing about the diploma divide tends to overlook its most consequential characteristic — that working class voters without college degrees far outnumber their “highly educated” counterparts. They made a Faustian bargain with a man of limited mental capacity and less character simply to get rid of the Bad Orange Man. As the Pew Research Center reported last week‚ “Voters who do not have a four-year degree make up a 60% majority of all registered voters.” A couple of decades ago‚ this would have been good news for Democrats. As recently as 2007‚ according to the Pew analysis‚ “56% of voters without a degree were Democrats or leaned Democratic‚ while 42% were Republicans or GOP leaners.” There has since been a 20 point swing toward the GOP‚ which now enjoys a 51 percent to 45 percent advantage among these working class voters. This clearly benefits former President Trump‚ as a New York Times/Siena poll released Saturday morning illustrates. He he polls far better than President Biden on the major issues that matter to voters. Predictably‚ the Gray Lady’s coverage of its own poll was characteristically disingenuous‚ heavily focusing on a modest uptick in Biden’s support that purportedly narrowed Trump’s national lead to one point. Among registered voters the head-to-head result was 46-45. Among likely voters the result was 47-46. The first four paragraphs of the article introducing the new poll squeezed as much verbiage as humanly possible out of that all but meaningless datum. The editors of the Times know perfectly well that the 2024 presidential election will be decided by one or two of six swing states in which Trump holds modest but consistent leads. Finally‚ in the fifth paragraph‚ the Times gave its readers the unpleasant news: Beneath the narrowing contest‚ many of the fundamentals of the race appear largely unchanged … Voters in the poll gave Mr. Trump’s and Mr. Biden’s handling of the economy almost perfectly inverted ratings: 64 percent approved of Mr. Trump’s handling of the issue as president and 63 percent disapprove of Mr. Biden’s job on the issue … Immigration gave Mr. Trump his other biggest edge among a host of issues voters were asked about in the survey. Border crossings hit record highs at the end of last year. A majority approved of Mr. Trump’s handling of immigration as president‚ while 64 percent of voters disapproved of Mr. Biden’s job on those matters. The poll’s crosstabs reveal an even more ominous picture for Biden when the responses of working class voters are separated from other registered voters. Trump’s approval rating on the economy rises to 72 percent among voters without college degrees‚ while Biden’s disapproval rating on the economy rises to 70 percent among these voters. On immigration‚ 55 percent of working class voters approve of Trump’s performance during his tenure in office‚ while 66 percent of these voters disapprove of the way Biden has handled the issue. With regard to the ever present age issue‚ 71 percent of working class voters say Biden is too old to be an effective president‚ while only 38 percent say the same thing about Trump. What do the crosstabs tell us about those highly educated voters about whom we have heard so much&;#63; Biden fares a little better with these voters‚ but they’re not happy with him either. On the economy‚ for example‚ only 45 percent of registered voters with a college degree approve of the job he’s doing. On immigration‚ a mere 38 percent of these voters approve of Biden’s performance. As to the age issue‚ 66 percent of college-educated voters say Biden is too old to be an effective president. All of which means there isn’t much of a diploma divide where Biden is concerned. Neither working class voters nor their college-educated counterparts think Biden can cut it. Thus‚ even partisan hacks like Ezra Klein want him to go: I have this nightmare that Trump wins in 2024. And then in 2025 and 2026‚ out come the campaign tell-all books‚ and they’re full of emails and WhatsApp messages between Biden staffers and Democratic leaders‚ where they’re all saying to each other‚ this is a disaster‚ he’s not going to win this‚ I can’t bear to watch this speech‚ we’re going to lose. But they didn’t say any of it publicly‚ they didn’t do anything … I think Biden‚ as painful as this is‚ should find his way to stepping down as a hero. That the party should help him find his way to that‚ to being the thing he said he would be in 2020‚ the bridge to the next generation of Democrats. The problem here is that “journalists” like Klein knew full well that Biden wasn’t up to the job in 2020‚ but they covered for him. They made a Faustian bargain with a man of limited mental capacity and less character simply to get rid of the Bad Orange Man. They evidently didn’t realize that‚ once Biden became President of the United States‚ dislodging him would be all but impossible if he did not want to leave. This man wields more power than the most delusional Roman emperor could have imagined‚ and he is surrounded by creatures whose influence and prestige will evaporate the moment he leaves office. Consequently‚ even if he wanted to step down‚ they will not allow it. This includes the sainted “Dr. Jill.” The good news is that working class voters still outnumber “highly educated” voters by a large margin. To paraphrase Jim Morrison‚ they have the hubris but we have the numbers. The math favors us‚ but not if we sit on the couch and kvetch. READ MORE from David Catron: The Greedflation Canard The Corporate Media Mocks ‘Double Haters’ Why Biden Is Bleeding Non-White Voters The post Trump Owns the Working Class Vote appeared first on The American Spectator | USA News and Politics.

One day in the 00s‚ as a struggling Hollywood screenwriter like Fitzgerald’s Pat Hobby‚ I decided to earn some money playing a courtroom spectator on Judge Judy‚ a show I’d never watched. They sat me in the second row‚ making me prominent in every audience shot. I don’t remember anything about the case‚ or much about the star judge‚ because I dozed off early on. All I recall is a TV crewmember tapping me on the shoulder then relocating me to the back row‚ so I still got paid for sleeping. But I would have stayed wide awake in Matt Walsh’s courtroom during any session of Judged by Matt Walsh‚ because I’d be laughing. Walsh amusingly if drily rips both their dysfunctions and expresses his frustration just before dispensing judgment. Amid the increasingly indistinguishable world of “infotainment‚” Walsh is a conservative triple threat — a witty culture critic‚ a moral crusader‚ and the sharpest deadpan comedian since Norm Macdonald. In the most serious second capacity‚ Walsh was instrumental in outlawing child “gender” butchery in Tennessee last year‚ and aiding the (sadly temporary) blockage of liberal indoctrination in Virginia schools. Circumventing a Loudoun County School Board rule that prohibited non-state residents from speaking out‚ Walsh officially relocated to Virginia for a short time. The lyrics to a segment on his very entertaining Daily Wire podcast‚ The Matt Walsh Show‚ boasts‚ “Who saved Virginia after living there just for a day&;#63;” Yet in his actual address to the far left school board‚ Walsh was brutally direct: “You are all child abusers. You prey upon impressionable children and indoctrinate them into your insane ideological cult. A cult which holds many fanatical views‚ but none so deranged as the idea that boys are girls and girls are boys.” (READ MORE from Lou Aguilar: The Hollywoke Meltdown) Walsh’s most refreshing trait amid the liberal-dominant cancel culture is his total fearlessness in skewering any progressive sacred cow‚ regardless of race‚ sex‚ sexual orientation‚ or status in what he calls the “victim totem pole‚” itself a snowflake-triggering term. He had no qualms‚ for instance‚ about ripping double victim — black‚ female — Democratic Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee on her recent assertion that the moon is gaseous. “The spin that this ignoramus came up with is that she didn’t mean to say that stupid thing — she actually meant to say an even stupider thing.” Walsh added‚ “We are ruled by morons. By people who should not be trusted to walk across a room holding a pair of scissors … These are the people running the country.” And last week‚ Walsh righteously blasted a Republican squish‚ Kari Lake‚ for her pathetic Planned Parenthood-worthy statement criticizing the Arizona Supreme Court’s upholding of a strict pro-life law.  “It’s wrong on principle to come out in support of ‘sometimes you have to make the choice to kill your baby‚’ Walsh said on his podcast. “It’s actually a reprehensible‚ disgusting view.” Walsh wouldn’t just stop intellectually challenged folk from governing‚ he would prevent them from voting as a self-proclaimed “theocratic fascist.” Although he lacks the necessary absolute power‚ he now has binding legal power via his new show‚ Judged by Matt Walsh‚ which is refreshing fun. And watching him wield it is highly amusing. He displays his deadpan skill in the introduction to the first episode. Wearing a judicial robe‚ he indicates two ridiculous sketches of his supposedly magisterial ancestors — both sharing his recognizable beard and glasses — Walsh somberly describes the auspicious family history that led him to the bench. My great‚ great grandfather‚ Matthew Walsh‚ was a judge. He sat on the bench for almost 52 years‚ presiding over some of the most pivotal legal cases of his time. During his five-decade career‚ he sentenced 467 people to death. He was proud of that— and so am I … Same for my own grandfather and my own father‚ together they spent nearly 200 years deciding cases‚ and they passed down almost 3‚000 death sentences. Naturally‚ I was intrigued when the Daily Wire came to me and offered me my own court show. My first question — can I sentence people to death&;#63; The answer‚ of course‚ was no‚ but to the unfortunate people before him‚ Walsh’s judgments may seem pretty harsh. Because he addresses their absurdity‚ as much to the plaintiff as the defendant. The initial two were a couple — whether estranged or not was unclear — which mitigated their foolishness. The male plaintiff had told his girlfriend not to touch his car‚ which she naturally did and crashed. The defendant girlfriend denied any fault because he had left the car keys in her reach. “I feel like if we’re together‚ whatever is his is mine too.” Walsh amusingly if drily rips both their dysfunctions and expresses his frustration just before dispensing judgment. “Ms. Guzman‚ Mr. Taylor‚ I have to tell you that spending this time with both of you has been the worst experience of my entire life.” He does find for Taylor that Guzman must pay him the $5‚000 damage cost‚ but it’s obvious that misfortune of one type or another will follow them into the near future. (READ MORE: Midway in the Culture War) And that’s the only drawback to Judged by Matt Walsh. Walsh’s humor‚ wit‚ aplomb‚ and common sense could eventually seem like pinpricks against widespread cluelessness. It may bring you down a bit but sure won’t put you to sleep. You’ll be laughing too much. The post Laughter in the Court appeared first on The American Spectator | USA News and Politics.

Congress is intent on reauthorizing the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) before it expires on April 19th. It is equally intent on renewing the law without rewriting it to prevent political abuse of the FBI’s authority under the law. Johnson’s bill leaves too much discretion to the FBI and doesn’t include the most critical reform: to get FISA out of politics. Everyone who has been paying the least attention knows the recent history of FISA and how the FBI abused its powers under FISA to accuse former president Trump and his 2016 campaign of collusion with Russia. (READ MORE from Jed Babbin: Biden Is Morally Bankrupt) The Washington Times‚ in a tough December 13th editorial titled “FBI’s assurances no longer cut it in an age of politicized intelligence‚” catalogued those abuses. The editorial concluded that FISA’s Section 702 (about which more later) should be repealed because the FBI‚ including its leadership‚ is untrustworthy with the powers FISA gives. On Thursday afternoon last week‚ FBI Director Christopher Wray testified to the House Appropriations Committee urging that they pass a budget increase for the FBI and the reauthorization of FISA. Cong. Mike Garcia (R-Cal) told Wray to his face‚ “I don’t trust you‚” citing a lack of transparency and his relative silence on the border mess President Biden has created. The preceding Friday former president Trump‚ on his “Truth Social” forum‚ wrote‚ “KILL FISA‚ IT WAS ILLEGALLY USED AGAINST ME‚ AND MANY OTHERS. THEY SPIED ON MY CAMPAIGN&;#33;&;#33;&;#33;” For Trump‚ it’s all about him and not about what our intelligence community can or should do. All Trump accomplished was to make Senate Republicans angry. Adhering to what Trump said‚ several Republicans joined with Democrats to kill the rule under which the FISA reauthorization would be debated. The reauthorization bill was finally passed on Friday‚ extending the law for two years instead of the usual five. At issue was the addition of an amendment that would have required the FBI to get a search warrant before making any search of the many databases the FBI uses for information on any American. The FBI opposes that amendment‚ as did Cong. Mike Turner (R-Oh)‚ chairman of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence — whose FISA “reform” bill didn’t reform anything important — saying it would slow the FBI’s searches down too greatly. Too *#@*&;&;#33;  bad. The Fourth Amendment’s protection against unreasonable search and seizure wasn’t written for the FBI’s convenience. Today‚ a motion for reconsideration may enable the House Republican rebels to pass that amendment. They probably won’t succeed but they should. I have been writing‚ since May 2023 ( see‚ for example‚ here and here) that FISA needs to be rewritten to prevent it being abused again — as it was in the “Crossfire Hurricane” investigation of Trump and his campaign. Those columns expressed the opinion that unless FISA is reformed in that way‚ it should be allowed to lapse. There are too many FBI abuses of FISA to catalogue here. A few – the false affidavits filed with the FISA Court to get the Carter Page warrants‚ the FBI Agent Kevin Kleinsmith falsifying and rewriting an email in support of those warrants and much more — indicate that Garcia was right in saying he doesn’t trust Christopher Wray. FISA was originally written by my old friend‚ retired Sen. Christopher Bond (R-Mo)‚ to provide the means for surveilling foreign nations and terrorist groups meaning harm to our country. It has been proved‚ time and again‚ to be highly effective. FISA was partially re-written in the post-9-11 “Patriot Act.” The Patriot Act added what now is the problem: Section 702 of FISA which has been abused by the FBI too many times to count. Section 702 enables the collection‚ use‚ and dissemination of all electronic communications that pass through U.S. equipment including telephone‚ email‚ and texts. The only real restriction on it is that the communication needs to be with a foreign person on one end and that the purpose of the intercept is to collect foreign intelligence information. The collection of information on any “U.S. person” — a person legally in the U.S. or a U.S. company — is subject to “minimization” procedures which are meant to dispose of the data. House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La) passed a bill that won’t reform FISA‚ but pretends to. According to a Wall Street Journal report‚ “the bill sharply reduces the amount of Federal Bureau of Investigation personnel who can conduct U.S. searches‚ creates criminal penalties for abuse‚ bars the FBI from searching the database solely for evidence of a crime rather than a national-security purpose‚ mandates more auditing of the program‚ and codifies other changes already internally adopted at the FBI.” (READ MORE: Biden Does Nothing for Americans Held Abroad) In short‚ Johnson’s bill leaves too much discretion to the FBI and doesn’t include the most critical reform: to get FISA out of politics. As I explained in the columns above‚ it is necessary to prevent FISA — and the FBI and the FISA court‚ which operates necessarily in secret — from considering surveillance warrants that target federal or statewide incumbent officials and candidates. Unless that is done‚ the bill fails to accomplish anything that will prevent another abuse like the FBI’s “Crossfire Hurricane” investigation. And it fails in precisely that manner. FISA already prohibits targeting U.S. citizens on any surveillance warrants. That‚ too‚ failed. Trump campaign official Carter Page was targeted on the false ground that he was a Russian agent. Johnson’s two-year extension of FISA intends to give Trump a shot at further reforms if he defeats Biden in November. That’s too much to bet on a hope. There’s really no chance that Congress will suddenly become serious about FISA reforms and change the law the way it needs to be changed. FISA is‚ we are told‚ an essential intelligence tool that helps protect us against foreign espionage and terrorism. I believe it does. But the evidence proves that the FBI cannot be trusted with its powers without rewriting the law to prevent it from once again engaging in political abuse. The post Congress Blows It on FISA appeared first on The American Spectator | USA News and Politics.

Every April 15th Major League Baseball commemorates one of the greatest to ever play the sport‚ Jackie Robinson. This Monday every player in the MLB will wear the number 42 to honor what Jackie struggled through during his life and what he gave to the MLB. If you’re a sports fan you’ve probably heard of Jackie Robinson‚ but I bet you didn’t know that Robinson was a conservative. Robinson’s role in the Civil Rights movement may lead people to believe that he was a liberal icon‚ however this couldn’t be further from the truth. While Robinson’s political affiliations and beliefs were not widely publicized during his playing years‚ his religious beliefs‚ anti-communism‚ and pro-business sentiments led him to support the Republican Party. Robinson seemed destined from birth to be a conservative. When he was born‚ his parents named him Jack Roosevelt Robinson‚ his middle name being a tribute to former president Teddy Roosevelt who had died less than a month before Robinson was born. Robinson grew up going to a Methodist church in Southern California‚ where he would learn to love the Lord. Robinson attended church during the end of the Social Gospel movement‚ and his pastor‚ Reverend Karl Everette Downs at Scott Methodist Church was heavily influenced by its teachings. It was in this church where Robinson learned that Christianity was the driving force for equality in the world. During his military service‚ Robinson was court-martialed after arguing with a superior officer who called Robinson the n-word. This trial could have spelled disaster for Robinson‚ but he remained calm and believed that everything would work out for the best‚ “because of his deep faith in God‚ that his grandmother instilled in him.” Robinson was known to have a hot temper‚ but his faith in God allowed him to remain levelheaded in tense situations. In no small part due to his dignified demeanor‚ Robinson was acquitted of all charges. For the majority of his life Robinson eschewed political partisanship and was a true independent voter. He was not a fan of Franklin Delano Roosevelt‚ for example‚ but he did like Harry Truman. The Cold War strengthened Robinson’s conservative values as he deeply despised communism. He viewed communism as one of the greatest threats to the country and he called communism‚ “a resourceful and powerful enemy.” While Robinson was still playing for the Dodgers he was asked to testify against Paul Robeson‚ a communist with ties to the Communist Party USA and the Soviet Union‚ in front of the House Un-American Activities Committee. Robinson had previously signed a contract stating that he would avoid speaking on politics‚ but was released from said contract in order to testify. When he was on the stand‚ Robinson denounced communism and Robeson‚ doing his best to explain why communism was so appealing to African Americans‚ but warning against the dangers of the ideology. One of the main reasons Robinson despised communism was because he believed strongly in the benefits of free enterprise. Determined to keep African Americans from the maw of communism‚ Robinson focused his post-MLB career efforts on helping blacks in the area of business and economic development. (READ MORE: Jackie Robinson: Anti-Communist Republican) Robinson tried his hand at coffee‚ banking‚ and construction businesses all located in black neighborhoods so that he could build up these communities. Robinson opened the Freedom National Bank‚ a black-owned financial institution in Harlem‚ New York‚ a venture aimed to provide banking services to African American communities‚ which were often underserved by mainstream banks. While Robinson aimed to appear apolitical during his playing career‚ he became more vocal about his political beliefs after baseball. A fan of many Republican politicians‚ Robinson was a supporter of the Eisenhower-Nixon ticket and met both the president and vice-president while they were in office. Robinson wrote to them frequently to discuss political affairs during their two terms and Nixon would later recount that of all the praise he received during his presidency there were “none that meant more to me” than Robinson’s. Nixon would write that Robinson’s “expressions of approval will be a constant source of strength and encouragement to me.” Robinson did eventually have a falling out with the party when Barry Goldwater was nominated for the presidency after Nixon’s loss in 1960. Robinson was furious at the Republican Party and took out a newspaper column advocating against Goldwater and voicing his general frustration over the direction of the Party. Despite this falling out‚ Robinson still supported other Republican candidates and never renounced his conservative values. In the race for New York governor‚ Robinson supported Republican Nelson Rockefeller‚ who viewed Robinson as a key to his victory. Robinson toured with Rockefeller and helped him win the gubernatorial race. (READ MORE: Fact-Checking AI: Are Republicans Racist&;#63;) Jackie Robinson will forever remain a national icon in the struggle for equality‚ but do not let liberal historians obscure the reasons Robinson stood for equality. His conservative beliefs and Christian faith made it clear to him that African Americans and all human beings were equals and deserved respect. Robinson was an American hero who became so due to his conservative values. Thank you 42. The post Jackie Robinson: An American Hero … And a Conservative appeared first on The American Spectator | USA News and Politics.

Even at the top of the right-wing National Rally in France‚ the great replacement of the autochthonous French seems unstoppable. On the hustings for the European elections‚ its successful young leader‚ Jordan Bardella‚ proudly presents himself as “a Frenchman of mixed heritage.”  Day-to-day events rub in Bardella’s message that something is very rotten in the parallel‚ Islamic societies developing in many suburbs. The polls predict a landslide for his party Rassemblement National (RN) on June 9th. At around 30 percent of the vote‚ RN is deemed far ahead of its nearest rival‚ a relatively unknown member of president Emmanuel Macron’s party. This lady‚ Val&;eacute;rie Hayer‚ could hope for 19 percent of the vote at best. If the polls are proved right‚ the nationalist Right will sweep the board in France‚ as the RN’s competitor somewhat further to the right‚ Reconqu&;ecirc;te‚ is credited with at least 6 percent of the vote.  About fifteen French parties have put forward candidates for the Parliament in Strasbourg where all 27 member states of the European Union are represented. Voting takes places between June 6th and 9th. (READ MORE from Ren&;eacute; ter Steege: Poles Vote on Immigration While Other Europeans Suffer) It can be argued‚ rightly‚ that the French and other Europeans care little about the European Parliament‚ presented as a coffee klatch and besmirched by corruption scandals and influence-peddling by Russia.  Nonetheless‚ the vote is seen in France as a dress rehearsal for presidential elections in 2027. Marine Le Pen is widely expected to run again‚ after three failed attempts. A victory in June for her prot&;eacute;g&;eacute; Jordan Bardella would stand her in good stead to finally succeed. Second on Mr. Bardella’s electoral list is yet another politician with foreign roots. Malika Sorel‚ the daughter of Algerian immigrants‚ is a conservative but hitherto politically unattached intellectual said to have joined Mr. Bardella’s team after president Macron had turned her down for a government post. The immigrant background of both politicians undermines the well-worn reproach of the Left that the National Rally is inherently “racist‚” bent on ridding France of foreigners. In reality‚ France has‚ albeit not always flawlessly‚ mostly welcomed immigrants willing to embrace the country. But during the last four decades‚ the once neutral word immigration has in French acquired a negative connotation‚ linked with self-chosen apartheid by often Islamic migrants and their offspring who have unleashed a wave of crime and terror on the country. Jordan Bardella had witnessed this at first hand in 2005‚ when‚ aged nine‚ he lived with his mother Luisa‚ born in the Italian city of Turin‚ in a council flat in the drab Parisian suburb of Saint-Denis. There‚ too‚ youngsters mostly of Arab and African origin created havoc in the first national “uprising” which surpassed itself in the summer of last year‚ creating an atmosphere of insurrection on a national scale.  Later‚ Bardella‚ born in 1995 in the suburb of Drancy‚ would refer to the rioting around his modest apartment building as his “first political memory.” At the time‚ his mother eked out a meager living as an educational assistant in nursery schools‚ witnessing at first hand the linked phenomena of white flight and massive non-Western immigration to the northern suburbs of Paris.   Bardella’s parents had separated when Jordan‚ their only child‚ was two years old. His father Olivier‚ the child of Italian immigrants already settled in France‚ moved out of Saint-Denis and settled in more prosperous surroundings as an entrepreneur in soft drink vending machines. Jordan paid regular visits to his father‚ but he was essentially raised by his mother who witnessed him becoming a member‚ at 16‚ of the Front National‚ the right wing party founded and led by Jean-Marie Le Pen in 1972. The scenes of looting and violence he had witnessed as a frightened young boy from his window had a lot to do with his choice to join a party demonized by the Left and the political center. Thus‚ Bardella enjoys impeccable popular credentials. “During my childhood‚ I watched as my Mum struggled to make ends meet‚ especially towards the end of each month‚” he told a television interviewer in 2022. His parents had sent him to a private Catholic High School‚ rather than an Islamized and rowdy public one. Looking back at his youth in Saint-Denis‚ a former Communist stronghold‚ and the surrounding department of Seine-Saint-Denis‚ Mr. Bardella told the weekly Valeurs Actuelles: “I see these places as territories that are lost to the French Republic. Immigration‚ poverty‚ and crime are rife‚ masked drug dealers ply their trade around apartment buildings‚ I stumbled upon them as I tried to enter ours.” After obtaining the baccalaureate‚ he attended the Sorbonne University in Paris where he did not finish his geography studies and turned to politics instead. Starting as a member of the youth wing of the party‚ which he was later to lead‚ Mr. Bardella caught the eye of Mr. Le Pen p&;egrave;re and his youngest daughter Marine‚ who in 2015 excluded her father from the party. His anti-Semitic outbursts kept the party‚ renamed RN in 2018‚ from being seen as government material. From local party leader to provincial councillor‚ Mr. Bardella‚ under Marine Le Pen’s wing‚ quickly rose through  the ranks. (READ MORE: Is Civil War on the Horizon in France&;#63;) In 2017‚ she put him at the heart of her campaign team for the presidential elections that year‚ when she was flatly beaten by Emmanuel Macron in the run-off. Her disastrous performance in the only debate with her opponent had a lot to do with it. She maintained Mr. Bardella in her team of close advisors‚ however‚ promoting him to the role of her spokesman and leader of the team of RN candidates at the previous European elections‚ in 2019. He won‚ with 23 percent of the vote‚ pipping the candidate of Macron’s party who he is now expected to roundly defeat.   Bardella was elected president of the Rassemblement National in 2022‚ beating his only opponent‚ Marine Le Pen’s former partner. Shortly before‚ she had again failed to defeat Macron‚ but the media deemed she had lost honorably this time. Marine‚ freed from the humdrum tasks of leading what is still her party‚ will now concentrate on possibly her last effort to enter the Elys&;eacute;e. With Bardella at the helm‚ for the first time the main nationalist party in France is no longer led by someone from the Le Pen family. But his ties with the “family firm” remain close‚ as he is romantically linked to Nolwenn Olivier‚ the daughter of Marine’s elder sister Marie-Caroline and her husband Philippe Olivier‚ a party apparatchik. Mr. Bardella is often depicted as “the ideal son-in-law”: well behaved‚ conventionally dressed. At 6‚5 feet and of athletic build he strikes a handsome if somewhat staid figure. He never raises his voice in debates with opponents‚ the raising of an eyebrow is one of his few signs of irritation. With rare exceptions his vocabulary is sufficiently technocratic and bland not to offend anyone.  This greatly annoys the Left‚ already bereft of hate-figure Jean-Marie Le Pen‚ who‚ at the age of 95‚ has been placed under legal protection at the request of his three daughters.  Day-to-day events rub in Bardella’s message that something is very rotten in the parallel‚ Islamic societies developing in many suburbs and even in provincial towns. Early April‚ a 15-year old schoolboy was beaten to death in a small town near Paris for disobeying the order of brothers of his Muslim girlfriend to stop seeing her. White people are totally absent from pictures of the victim’s funeral in the town of Viry-Ch&;acirc;tillon. At about the same time‚ a Muslim schoolgirl in the southern town of Montpellier was beaten into a coma by a female classmate for “dressing as a European‚” that is to say unveiled. Earlier‚ the head teacher of a lyc&;eacute;e in Paris resigned after receiving death threats for ordering a student to obey the rules on clothing and take off her Islamic headdress. According to not only Mr. Bardella‚ France thus reaps the bitter harvest of unbridled immigration from its former colonies. His many enemies in left-wing media claim he stirs up hatred against Muslims and are desperate to dig up some dirt. But a “scoop” by investigative journalists on public television‚ alleging in January that Mr. Bardella was behind anonymous Twitter-accounts spewing hatred of non-whites‚ fell flat. He denied it and the evidence was unconvincing.   Other members of his party can or could‚ with some justification‚ be seen as admirers of Vladimir Putin‚ as Marine Le Pen before the invasion of Ukraine‚ but not Bardella.  At the start of his campaign for the European elections‚ he avoided the words “great replacement‚” judged beyond the pale by his adversaries. Instead‚ he lambasted “le grand effacement‚” the gradual phasing out of the French and other Europeans “by a totally mad immigration policy for over forty years.” (READ MORE: Silent French Minority Wants No Part In Pension Reform Protests) Will Bardella‚ someday‚ replace Marine Le Pen as the presidential candidate of the hard right in France&;#63; Even some of her supporters fear that the stigma attached to the name Le Pen will prevent her from ever coming to power. Even with his foreign sounding name‚ her prot&;eacute;g&;eacute; could pull it off‚ just like Nicolas Sarkozy‚ the son of a Hungarian immigrant and a French mother‚ in 2007. The post Jordan Bardella‚ Marine Le Pen’s Crown Prince appeared first on The American Spectator | USA News and Politics.

The war in Ukraine has had one positive effect. It is waking up our defense establishment to the fact that we are still fighting the last (lost) wars. Success today demands recognizing that technology creates new problems that require human spirit more than artificial intelligence. The challenge to U.S. defense today is to resist the drag of the status quo. AI is still at an early stage but its fundamental problem is that it is inherently backward-looking. At a recent Pentagon-arranged AI discussion‚ the participants demanded its rapid adoption by the military. But a reporter noticed that some others urged caution deploying systems researchers are “still working to fully understand.” Others “warned against the temptation to push emerging AI applications into the world before they were ready‚ merely out of concern of China catching up.”  Serious thought must start with simple‚ inquisitive human intelligence. At the Army’s National Training Center‚ Commanding Maj. Gen. Curtis Taylor recently reported to The Washington Post that a new device — confirmed in its lethality by both Ukraine and Russia in their current war — “is going to get our soldiers killed.” It took a bit of time to realize he was talking about iPhones‚ which are easily discoverable even by primitive devices to expose where troops are hiding. Referring to doughboys becoming targets when smoking cigarettes in foxholes in World War I‚ Taylor said Ukraine shows us that “the new cigarette in the foxhole” is the cellphone. And U.S. troops are more dependent on such devices than they were on cigarettes in the past and harder to restrain from using them. (READ MORE from Donald Devine: Promoting Everyday Freedom Requires Rewriting the Rule Books) Army Chief of Staff Gen. Randy George explained to the planning symposium‚ “We are learning from the battlefield — especially in Ukraine.” Even “aerial reconnaissance has fundamentally changed.” Until recently battlefield drones were large‚ expensive‚ and usage was decided by top officers‚ and not sent to troops until tested and evaluated. Ukraine successfully utilizes small‚ cheap drones with decisions made on the battlefield by ordinary soldiers. The U.S. could find this difficult as shown recently in Jordan where three U.S. soldiers were killed by an undetected cheap drone and with no effective countermeasures. The problem is that headquarters are reluctant to give up control or to ask for cheaper‚ less thrilling weapons. It likewise took simple human observation to recognize that Ukraine’s battlefield is now all trench lines — more like WWI than recent warfare‚ enforced by massed artillery which the U.S. basically eliminated in Iraq and Afghanistan. Trenches make U.S. standard maneuver difficult and command posts basically “unsurvivable.” Even more fundamentally for the U.S. is its dependence on satellites. The problem is their radio waves and the like all rely on electromagnetic force and thermal energy that can be easily detected. After this warning‚ the reporter was taken to the training area and noticed that a command post was covered in camouflage to dampen electronic and thermal emissions. But the “bright white Starlink satellite internet terminal” was merely partially covered‚ with a soldier explaining that “the netting interfered with its operation‚” although risking “standing out to drones or surveillance aircraft.”  China has also provided new insights. FBI Director Christopher Wray recently warned about Chinese malware hacking U.S. infrastructure‚ that it took “five or more years” before it was discovered‚ and that it still remains a problem. China’s intellectual challenge is for the Navy‚ especially for its most expensive and beloved weapon‚ the aircraft carrier. I was told in the ’90s by a then top defense expert that the carrier was outdated‚ and that the U.S. needed a major switch to smaller‚ unmanned‚ and more maneuverable ships. But the carrier had won WWII‚ and its fighter pilots still look great on TV. Its appeal is unmistakable.  The Navy did institute a new class of aircraft carriers  beginning with the Gerald Ford in 2017 to meet criticism. But the cost of the ship was even higher at $13.3 billion‚ and was 1‚092 feet long‚ 256 feet wide‚ and stood 250 feet high with a crew of 4‚539. Looking back‚ “The USS Midway‚ commissioned one month after V-J Day‚ weighed 45‚000 tons‚ took only 17 months to build‚ and cost $90 million — or $1.5 billion in current dollars. The USS Gerald R. Ford weighs 100‚000 tons‚ took 12 years to build‚ and cost more than eight times as much (accounting for inflation).” President Biden just asked Congress to begin funding $2.7 billion to build three more Ford’s. The problem is that even with a large defensive element built into Ford carriers‚ supporters concede that any movement closer than 660 miles towards China would be difficult. Even if defense experts wanted change‚ the program would be extremely difficult to reverse even just to build smaller replacements. There are 13‚100 workers in 48 states and 364 congressional districts in the Ford Class supply chain and 25‚000 more who work at the Newport News shipyard who could lose their jobs if the chain ended‚ which would not be popular with their congressional representatives.  Currently every major Navy shipbuilding project is “plagued by huge delays.” Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Lisa Franchetti was particularly concerned with delays in implementing the new Amphibious Ready Group and its flagship Boxer formed to rapidly deploy power to world hotspots. The Boxer reportedly left San Diego “to join the 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit on April 1‚ months behind schedule. The rapid-response ship was reportedly slated to deploy in late 2023 but did not become seaworthy until August‚ after multiple engineering mishaps‚” including “obstacles in training Marine soldiers‚” into which lapses Franchetti demanded a “deep dive” investigation. The Air Force did look forward to replace its fabled F16 aircraft with a new permanent F35 manned fighter beginning in 2016. But proponents for F35 longevity were challenged at a 2020 Air Warfare Symposium attended by the Chief of Staff and top officials. Elon Musk challenged that audience of manned F35s for-the-future fans by predicting‚ “Locally autonomous drone warfare is where the future will be‚” not manned aircraft. He added “I can’t believe I’m saying this‚ because this is dangerous‚ but it’s simply what will occur.” The audience seemed dismissive. But a month later at another gathering‚ Air Combat Commander Gen.  Mike Holmes responded to a question about the F35 future when a decision had to be made to replace the final F16s. His response was: “Will I still want to replace them all with F35s or will I start cutting in something else‚ like Elon talked about‚ or like [Air Force acquisition chief] Will Roper and I are discussing&;#63;” Adding Musk’s argument into the decision framework was not what the audience of manned-aircraft proponents wanted to hear. Holmes was even more skeptical of AI proponents who were “playing games where they know 100 percent of the information.” But “when you’re playing a game where you have uncertainty and you don’t know everything‚ then there’s still a role for people to play‚ whether that’s in the cockpit of a fighter or whether it’s in the command-and-control center.” The latter vehicle would‚ of course‚ be unmanned. There have been tests in the last few years using both manned and unmanned in a limited manner; but the culture of the Air Force (and Congress) is for human operated airplanes; and no one is expecting radical change very soon. (READ MORE: Apples and Oranges: Atheists‚ Agnostics‚ and Nothings) The past can be a great burden resisting change‚ magnified now by backward-looking but popular AI. Henry Kissinger gave his final warning in a book Age of AI and Our Human Future (with Eric Schmidt and Daniel Huttenlocher) to demonstrate that‚ at best‚ AI or technology can only tell us something about the past. The challenge to U.S. defense today is to resist the drag of the status quo‚ to break from yesterday’s thinking and technology to meet today’s new military realities. And this requires hard human thinking — and great political courage.  Donald Devine is a senior scholar at the Fund for American Studies in Washington‚ D.C. He served as President Ronald Reagan’s civil service director during his first term in office. A former professor‚ he is the author of 11 books‚ including his most recent‚ The Enduring Tension: Capitalism and the Moral Order‚ and Ronald Reagan’s Enduring Principles. Devine is a frequent contributor to The American Spectator. The post New Ways of War and Meeting the Human Challenge appeared first on The American Spectator | USA News and Politics.

A glorious day yesterday April 13‚ 2024. The Islamic State of Iran. The leading global sponsor of terror. The recipient of billions in oil money‚ and the beneficiary of Mr. Biden’s inexplicably stupid tone of appeasement and the donee of sophisticated terror equipment from Russia‚ North Korea‚ and Red China‚ attacked Israel with almost 400 drones‚ cruise missiles‚ and ballistic rockets. There were no known fatalities‚ thanks to Israel’s absolutely top drawer air defense‚ partly made with American help — but mostly made by the genius of the Jewish state. The days have come. After seven millennia of the Jew being afraid‚ now anyone who tangles with Israel has to be afraid. Glory days. Hamas is still hiding out‚ but that day will come‚ too. Thank God. I’m not sure what He was waiting for‚ but I can tell you that here on earth‚ it all began with Richard Nixon showing the world he would not let catastrophe happen to the Jews again. God bless him for all eternity. READ MORE from Ben Stein: A Letter for Coco The Blame Israel Horror Show The post Israel Comes Through appeared first on The American Spectator | USA News and Politics.

Last week‚ while hosting Arab diplomats in East Turkistan (Xinjiang to China)‚ Chinese officials boasted about the “creative governance measures” they have implemented in the region. They are right to do so. China’s policies in Xinjiang are so innovative they could probably obtain a patent for them.   But the world seems uninterested in the killing of Uyghurs‚ the number killed is unknown‚ and China maintains its innocence. So far‚ Chinese officials have described these policies very simply: “setting up vocational training centers‚ saving people from religious extremism and unemployment within two years‚ thus rooting out terrorism.”  As a Uyghur author who grew up in the Uyghur region‚ most of my family members live there and I would like to explain these “creative measures” in a little more detail. In the past‚ experts have reminded China that it is not possible to imprison an entire population and advised China not to target the Uyghur people while punishing “separatists.” However‚ China showed the world that this was possible‚ establishing more than 380 camps in 2017‚ imprisoning more than 3 million people ( (1/5 of the population‚ all those of military age) and detaining them for six years. (READ MORE: Hong Kong Affords a Glimpse of the Future for Taiwan) Although today’s modern surveillance technology has made imprisoning a population possible‚ China has been unique in its willingness to use it to destroy what it believes is the enemy within the country. Colonial powers around the world have often chosen massacre as the best way to control or reduce the population of native people. But by adding sterilization and family separation to the mix‚ China has created ways to achieve this goal more effectively. By this method‚ China’s own population statistics show that Uyghur birth rates have sharply declined. In 2017 and 2018‚ about one million fewer Uyghurs were born than had been in years past. In China they have destroyed not only the unborn babies of their “enemies‚” but also their sperm and eggs‚ something even the most lethal rulers in the past have not attempted. Until recently‚ repressive regimes punished political criminals with controversial sentences. These sentences were usually criticized by the international community‚ the state was typically subject to an economic embargo‚ and therefore the offending state suffered social and economic losses. But China has blocked all kinds of debate by implementing extrajudicial punishment. Moreover‚ they created economic value by establishing factories in prisons and camps or by taking prisoners to factories outside of prisons and forcing them to work. To my knowledge‚ creating economic value while punishing “criminals” is a method that has not been tried much in the world. China’s explanation of the reasons why Uyghurs were taken into concentration camps has been convincing enough to gain the support of the Islamic world‚ even though China has said that Islam was a mental illness and needed to be treated. Although the hostility Islamic countries have towards America and the West played a part in the Islamic world’s acquiescence‚ it required real inventive intelligence and effort on the part of the Chinese to discover this hatred and use it for one’s own benefit. Never in the world has there been such unity of dictatorial regimes as in the last decade‚ a unity that has taken place under the leadership of China. While the range of dictators was previously limited to China‚ Russia‚ Iran‚ North Korea‚ and Cuba‚ it now ranges from the Saudi’s Bin Salman to Africa’s Zimbabwe‚ from Central Asia’s Nazarbayev to Venezuela’s Ch&;aacute;vez‚ and from Belarus’s Lukeshenko to Egypt’s  El-Sisi. They all walk hand in hand under the leadership of Xi Jinping.  It should be noted that China has managed to accomplish this alliance of tyranny not only with determination but also extraordinary fickleness. For example‚ China‚ which occasionally accuses the East Turkistan Islamic Movement Organization of being pro-Taliban and blacklists them in the UN‚ is today the first state to recognize and officially host the Taliban. China‚ which accuses the Uyghurs (who rebelled against the Chinese occupation of their own lands) of separatism‚ defends Hamas’s entry into Israeli territory and taking people hostage as a war against occupation. So the extent of China’s creativity is astounding. China has also made unprecedented progress in transforming its economic power into political power. Xi organized leaders‚ ambassadors‚ and journalists from poor countries to visit the Uyghur region‚ and paid these delegates for doing so. Many of these visitors were “persuaded” enough by China’s propaganda that China’s human rights record won support at the UN during a recent five-year review. Much of China’s support came from poor countries in Africa‚ Latin America‚ and the Middle East. China has shown great expertise in taking advantage of the weaknesses of states and leaders.  (READ MORE: The US Learns China’s Lessons on Elitism) Today‚ much of the world seems obsessed with counting and publicizing the exact number of Palestinians killed in Gaza. But the world seems uninterested in the killing of Uyghurs‚ the number killed is unknown‚ and China maintains its innocence. Keeping the locations of Uyghur killings a secret while committing massacres‚ keeping the world quiet while committing torture‚ and appearing as an ambassador of peace on the international stage while committing genocide are unique innovations of China. In other words‚ China is a pioneer of modern innovative genocide methods.  In short‚ the patent for “creative government measures” that Chinese authorities have unofficially requested must be granted. The post China’s Remarkable Ingenuity in the Uyghur Genocide appeared first on The American Spectator | USA News and Politics.

by Mish Shedlock‚ Mish Talk: If you are a bond market bull‚ it’s been a tough month. Let’s review what happened‚ why‚ and what’s ahead. Yield Change In Past Month 2-year: +49 Basis Points 5-Year: +55 Basis Points 10-Year: +46 Basis Points 30-Year: +38 Basis Points And to add more injury‚ 30-year mortgage yields rose […]