The French flick is his 50th feature film!

During the past several months the corporate media have devoted a lot of coverage to a species of voter they describe as “double haters.” This pejorative label notwithstanding‚ such voters are neither unique to the current election cycle nor particularly hateful. It’s probably more accurate to call them double dissenters. They disapprove of the presumptive presidential nominees offered by the two major political parties and decline to choose the “lesser of two evils.” Some may sit out 2024 and others may vote for an independent like Jill Stein‚ Cornel West or Robert F. Kennedy Jr. This has earned them the derision of a pundit class that fears most third-party votes will be cast at the expense of President Joe Biden. [T]he double dissenters are not merely an important voter bloc‚ they may well send Trump back to the White House. Consequently‚ legacy news outlets have been publishing snide opinion pieces that openly insult these errant voters. The Los Angeles Times‚ for example‚ ran a column last week about a woman named Victoria Thompson who says she may vote for Kennedy. Its author‚ Mark Z. Barabak‚ refers to her as “crazy” and “nutty.” He describes her political views as “conspiratorial” and “far-fetched.” And what are those views? She’s been a Democrat most of her life‚ but doesn’t believe she owes her vote to any party: “As for Biden‚ she’s convinced — like many Republicans — that he is well past his sell-by date and lacks the mental capacity to be president.” This is nutty? A recent NYT/Siena College poll found that most voters agree. As Niall Stanage writes in The Hill‚ “Kennedy has some fertile ground to plow among disaffected Democrats‚ given the widespread concern about Biden’s age.” And the number of double dissenters is significant. Catherine Kim points out in Politico that they constitute roughly one-fifth of the electorate. They were a negligible factor in 2020 but in 2016 they made up about 18 percent of the voters‚ many of whom cast ballots for third-party candidates. As Matthew Xiao reports in the Washington Free Beacon‚ the Democratic National Committee held a conference call that revealed who the Democrats believe will be the beneficiary of their votes this year. Democrats slammed Robert F. Kennedy Jr. after he announced Nicole Shanahan as his presidential running mate on Tuesday‚ with lawmakers expressing worry that the pair’s campaign will siphon votes from President Joe Biden in his rematch this fall with Republican nominee Donald Trump … The DNC hosted the call with several Democratic officials from swing states after Kennedy on Tuesday ramped up his independent White House bid by announcing his running mate would be Shanahan‚ an attorney who donated $4 million to Kennedy’s campaign for Super Bowl advertising. That Super Bowl ad highlighted one of the most important strengths Shanahan brings to Kennedy’s campaign — money. She is a billionaire who can help cover the costs associated with a multi-front legal war coordinated by the DNC to keep him off state ballots. NBC reports‚ “The Democratic National Committee is building its first team to counter third-party candidates‚ while outside groups stockpile money for a wider campaign.” The Kennedy campaign has sued Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows‚ according to a report from Spectrum News. Bellows‚ who attempted disqualify former President Trump from running in Maine‚ has now barred Kennedy from collecting the necessary signatures to get on the state’s ballot. (READ MORE: Will the 2024 Election Get Lost in the Mail?) Kennedy may have to sue the state of Nevada pursuant to his petition to get on its ballot. State officials say it is invalid because it lists no VP candidate. Kennedy’s attorney told CBS News‚ “After successfully collecting all of the signatures we need in Nevada‚ the DNC Goon Squad and their lackeys in the Nevada Secretary of State’s office are outright inventing a new requirement for the petition with zero legal basis … The petition does not even have a field for a VP on it.” This collusion between the DNC and Nevada officials suggests that the Biden campaign believes most double dissenters will vote for anyone but the President if they have a choice. A USA Today/Suffolk University poll indicates they may well be right: Twenty-five percent of the double haters supported Trump in the survey‚ compared to 18% for Biden. About 44% of the double haters currently back various third-party candidates. Kennedy drew more of these voters‚ 21%‚ than Biden did. Green Party candidate Jill Stein had the backing of 7% of double haters‚ while independent Cornel West was supported by 6% … In the 2016 election‚ Trump performed 17 percentage points better than Hillary Clinton among the double-hater voters — who made up about 20% of the vote — steering him to victory. Assuming these percentages are reasonably accurate‚ the double dissenters are not merely an important voter bloc‚ they may well send Trump back to the White House. The corporate media would be wise to stop mocking these voters. Snide columns like the one quoted above from the Los Angeles Times are unlikely to motivate dissident voters to support any candidate offered by the two major parties. Moreover‚ if the DNC continues its election interference strategy — and that’s the proper definition of its effort to bar Kennedy from state ballots — it will blow up in Biden’s face. If voters like Victoria Thompson are denied the right to vote for the candidate of their choice‚ they will sit home. That’s just as good as a vote for Trump. (READ MORE: The State of the President) A majority of the voters are less than enthusiastic about the presidential candidates the two major parties will offer them in November. Most will cast ballots for the least worst of the two. Some will sit home and others will vote for a third-party candidate. If the Democrats and the corporate media continue to deride the latter group‚ the larger it will become. Insulting the customer is a losing strategy. Let’s hope‚ for the good of the nation‚ they keep doing it . The post The Corporate Media Mocks ‘Double Haters’ appeared first on The American Spectator | USA News and Politics.

Last Good Friday‚ I visited the chapel of my church‚ conveniently located on the Florida island where I live. It’s one of only six in the Miami area that houses the living Host for twenty-four hours a day‚ seven days a week. A series of mortal setbacks to loved ones over the past five years — including my mother’s cancer (cured)‚ the death of her beloved companion‚ the death of my ex-girlfriend’s only son‚ and other family health issues — have considerably elongated my prayer list‚ so I try to seek help from the Lord every evening in His presence. But on Good Friday‚ I found the sepulcher empty and the adoring twin angels beside it covered by purple mourning cloth. And I thought‚ what a perfect reflection of not only this holy weekend but of our time — the perceived absence of Christ. But the faithless will lose in the end. It will be the ultimate Easter Rabbit trick. Most people agree that the country is in a dark age‚ as do I‚ the bleakest in my lifetime. Depression in young people is spiking‚ particularly among females‚ as their once clear life purpose‚ even unalterable sexuality‚ come under divisive Marxist attack. And boys‚ especially white boys‚ get taught they will become toxic men‚ with few role models to indicate the opposite. Too many religious leaders‚ including the successor to Apostle Peter‚ either accept or embrace this demonism. They may not be able to recruit more worshippers‚ but they can certainly weaken their institutions. A new Gallup poll shows a steep decline in religious observation across the spectrum. According to the poll‚ only 44 percent of Protestant Christians now attend regular services‚ with Catholics at an abysmal 33 percent. Outspoken traditionalist churchmen like Bishop Joseph Strickland — the Vatican-displaced bishop of Tyler‚ Texas — are bravely and accurately blaming the hierarchy. “Up there is an agenda that is gradually pulling all those people away from faith and pulling them into communism‚” Strickland told Red State. (READ MORE from Lou Aguilar: England Reconstructs Camelot) It all evokes the days following the Crucifixion‚ when to the faithful all seemed lost. The man they had forsaken their past lives to follow had been tortuously executed‚ leaving them at the mercy of the rabble that condemned Him. Yet unlike in Israel‚ where those events took place two thousand years ago‚ “when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled for fear of the Jews‚” (John 20:19)‚ today both Jews and Christians face equal persecution by the State and the godless activists in control of it. All over America‚ mobs educated by the Judeo-Christian tradition scream for the extermination of the nation that gave birth to it‚ and the people who further it‚ in favor of the murderous savages with whom they share nothing other than contempt for Western Civilization. That in the world they’re pushing for‚ they would be the first to go — see Queers for Palestine —  never occurs to them‚ so blinded are they by hate. While the fools nominally leading this country bend to their will‚ both out of desperation to retain power and loathing for religious conservatives. Last Monday‚ the United States abstained on a United Nations Security Council resolution demanding an immediate ceasefire between Israel and Palestine‚ which allowed the resolution to pass. The inept Biden Administration knew this would cripple Israel from forestalling another large scale Jewish massacre like that of October 7th‚ 2023‚ but as usual Democratic Party politics took precedence over good and evil. Another recent Gallup poll shows Americans disapprove of Israeli military action in Gaza — 55 percent to 36 percent‚ among Democrats a stunning 75 percent to 18 percent — following relentless anti-Israel media bombardment. Unfortunately for the longtime U.S. ally‚ abandoning the righteous course for votes is the Left’s modus operandi. So is hostility to Christians‚ in full display this Easter. The White House is prohibiting children of National Guard personnel from submitting religious-themed Easter Eggs for the “2024 Celebrating National Guard Families” event. The event flyer states that Easter Egg design submissions “must not include any questionable content‚ religious symbols‚ overtly religious symbols‚ or partisan political statements.” Because to the progressive mind‚ religious symbols equal questionable content and partisan political statements. Consequently‚ any illustrative reference to the reason for the holiday — such as an empty cave tomb — would be strictly forbidden. (READ MORE: Midway in the Culture War) It gets worse‚ or better‚ because the Biden regime doesn’t realize that‚ despite the decline in religious worship‚ the tide has turned against one leftist delusion. Instead‚ Biden just declared March 31st‚ Easter Sunday‚ “Transgender Day of Visibility.” In Biden land‚ kids can’t depict or suggest the Resurrection of the Lord‚ yet he will celebrate the fantasy that men can become women or vice-versa‚ with all the surgical butchery required to fail miserably in the attempt. His idiocy opened the politically endangered President not only to Christian outrage but to Republican mockery. “Isn’t every day at the Biden White House ‘Transgender Day of Visibility’?” “tweeted” Harmeet K. Dhillon‚ vice-president of the Republican National Lawyers Association. The ridiculous Admiral Rachel (“Richard”) Levine may agree with her. But the faithless will lose in the end. It will be the ultimate Easter Rabbit trick. Beginning this Sunday‚ when I visit the chapel‚ the Host will be in the sepulcher. And the world will realize what the faithful did two-thousand years ago on the Road to Emmaus. That the Lord has risen and walks among us. Happy Easter. The post Easter Rabbit Trick appeared first on The American Spectator | USA News and Politics.

The oldest put-down in New York always revolves around buying the Brooklyn Bridge. The tag line is always something like‚ “If you’re that dumb I’ve got a bridge to sell ya.” There are a lot of variations on that theme and President Biden invented another one this week. Main sections of the I-685 Baltimore Beltway will be closed until the bridge is rebuilt at a cost that will be in the billions of dollars. Waking up to the collision of the container ship MV Dali with the Francis Scott Key bridge in Baltimore‚ Biden had two reactions. As the (very) old liberal he is‚ he automatically wanted to throw money at the problem‚ so he promised to pay for replacing the bridge even before he declared that Easter Sunday was “transgender visibility day.” We’ll get back to federal funding in a minute. Biden’s second comment was that he remembered traveling over that same bridge many times by train. The problem with that‚ of course‚ is that the Key Bridge never had railroad tracks on it. Now the wokesters are saying that the new bridge shouldn’t be named after Key‚ the composer of our national anthem. He evidently owned slaves‚ so the bridge — when its eventually rebuilt — will be renamed. (READ MORE from Jed Babbin: Dark Irony at the UN) Thanks to videos taken of the ship’s collision with the bridge and the bridge’s immediate collapse and what the National Transportation Safety Board has told us‚ we have a good but incomplete picture of what happened. One report — not from the NTSB — says that the ship suffered a power failure before it left the dock. If it had‚ and didn’t remain docked until the problem was diagnosed and repaired‚ someone was significantly negligent. According to the NTSB the Dali left the port at about 12:39 am‚ going slowly‚ as ships always do in harbors. At 1:24 am‚ alarms started going off‚ indicating a big problem. At 1:27 am‚ the harbor pilots — again according to the NTSB — ordered the crew to drop the anchor. They must have been in contact with police and shore parties by that time. Two minutes later‚ the ship collided with the bridge at about 8 mph. If you’ve seen the videos of the ship colliding with the bridge you saw that the Dali seemed to blow a large amount of smoke which could be the crew and pilots trying to reverse the engines at emergency speed to attempt to slow the ship and prevent the collision. Then the ship apparently takes a sharp turn to starboard (right) and goes into the bridge pier and the bridge collapses very quickly. The Dali — which displaces over 95‚000 tons (empty) and is about 300 meters long — is roughly the size of a Nimitz-class aircraft carrier. It holds about ten thousand containers which increase the weight. (Shipping containers such as these are what you see on the back of heavy 18-wheelers going down the highway.) Some of the Dali’s containers reportedly have hazardous materials in them such as lithium-ion batteries. None of the hazardous materials have reportedly leaked so far. Given the physics — momentum equals mass (roughly what something weighs) multiplied by velocity — it’s no wonder that the ship quickly demolished one of the bridge’s main piers and resulted in the bridge’s collapse. Police reportedly had about ninety seconds to stop traffic over the bridge before the collision. They somehow managed to do so. At least six people were killed — workers on the bridge — in the accident. Not all of the bodies have been recovered yet because their recovery is blocked by the wreckage and conditions are adverse to divers’ access. Had the police not stopped traffic‚ had the collision occurred when traffic across the bridge was heavier‚ the death toll would have been much higher. According to the NTSB‚ the Key Bridge was “fracture critical‚” which means that any damage to its principal piers could cause collapse. Again‚ according to the NTSB‚ eight other bridges in the U.S. are rated the same way‚ including the Verrazano Narrows bridge in New York City. All eight are critical commerce arteries in California‚ Maryland‚ Oregon‚ New York‚ and Washington. Remember Obama’s economic stimulus plan which he said was meant for “shovel-ready” projects? None of that money was spent on strengthening those bridges. So let’s get back to what Biden said. Rebuilding the bridge isn’t the Feds’ problem. The cost of replacing it may yet be borne by the government‚ but it shouldn’t be. It’s up to the ship’s insurers and others who may be held liable for the damages to pay for it. Nevertheless‚ it probably can’t be rebuilt without federal funds‚ given Maryland’s — and the country’s — sinking economy. The litigation will go on for years. The Feds’ real problem is clearing the harbor and making trade flow again. At the risk of stating the obvious‚ the ship and the bridge wreckage are blocking any ships from going into or coming out of Baltimore harbor. Baltimore is one of the busiest ports on the East Coast. Twenty-eight percent of our coal exports went through it last year. Hundreds of thousands of cars are imported through Baltimore every year. According to Maryland Gov. Wes Moore‚ 52 million tons of foreign cargo worth about $80 billion came in through Baltimore. (READ MORE: Biden’s Strange Story Collapses in Bridge Collapse Presser) The bridge’s wreckage certainly weighs more than one million pounds. Some of it lies across the ship’s bow. The Navy has moved massive cranes to help clear the harbor. They include the “Chesapeake‚” which reportedly can lift two thousand tons — two million pounds — is on scene along with four other Navy cranes. The bridge parts will have to be cut or blown apart to enable the cranes to begin to clear the ship and remains of the bridge from the harbor.  The process is likely to take at least weeks or months. Main sections of the I-685 Baltimore Beltway will be closed until the bridge is rebuilt at a cost that will be in the billions of dollars. It will take years to accomplish. Maybe then an ex-president Biden can ride across it on a train.                           The post Buying the Bridge appeared first on The American Spectator | USA News and Politics.

Among the least pressing problems facing Washington these days is what to do with all our neglected NeoCons now that Donald Trump has seized the Republican Party and decisively evicted them from their chosen home.  They are still rattling around the D.C. think tank world‚ with regular publications showing the world they are at least alive‚ if not thriving. Without the support of a party‚ they have become ideological orphans‚ ignored by the foreign policy apparatus. The Democrats don’t want them‚ both for the lingering odor of the Iraqi misadventure and the unwelcome reminder that the Democratic leadership took their counsel and supported it.  Where can the NeoCons peddle their policy wares now that Washington has little use for them? Europe can secure Ukrainian independence if a mere fraction of its industrial capacity and military might are devoted to it. A reasonable answer must first consider what are those wares‚ exactly?  By 2006‚ the NeoCon “brand” had become so tarnished that the very label became obscured by opprobrium just short of the “fascism” curse bandied about by progressives today. Before that dark chapter though‚ the term derived from a discrete set of policy axioms residing not far outside the broad historical spectrum of U.S. foreign policy. Foremost‚ that the assertive use of American military power could stabilize the world in terms favorable to the Western liberal democracies. Second‚ that liberal democracy is a system applicable to a wide variety of the world’s polities‚ and U.S. power could inculcate it in these places. And finally‚ that the United States had a unique responsibility to both manage the international system and to bear a disproportionate cost for maintaining its primacy. In sum‚ not much more than a vigorous retooling of the internationalism of John Kennedy or Woodrow Wilson. What gave these ideas renewed purchase on U.S. foreign policy was an overweening hubris derived from the First Gulf War. Over the opposition of the media‚ the anti-war activists‚ and a sizable number of Democrats‚ the NeoCons were vindicated by a smashing victory over Saddam Hussein in a mere 100 hours. The Clinton White House adopted the NeoCon project when it went to war against Slobodan Milosovic and his Serb henchmen without UN sanction. After American power prevailed in the Balkans‚ the NeoCons appeared securely ensconced in both parties. The next war to topple a dictator would certainly prove them right again. (READ MORE from Karl Pfefferkorn: The US and Gaza Mission Creep) But it didn’t. The NeoCon project foundered on that next war and the ugly reality of post-war Iraq. Saddam was vanquished‚ but average Iraqis proved indifferent or violently hostile to their American liberators. U.S. military power proved highly effective at destroying a ruling regime‚ but woefully incapable of erecting a durable successor government. The experiment of governing post-war Iraq suggested that liberal democracy was not a universal governing paradigm‚ but rather a highly contingent phenomenon that emerged from unusual historical circumstances in the West. The NeoCons discovered to their dismay that Iraq in 2003 was not analogous to Germany in 1945. A NeoCon syllabus with a little less Francis Fukuyama and little more Max Weber might have saved the United States many lives and much treasure. Today‚ the aim of implanting democracy worldwide has been displaced by a weary acceptance of stable authoritarianism in its various shades of ferocity. Where might the NeoCon project still resonate? Not in the U.S. Donald Trump in word and Joe Biden in deed have embarked on a protectionist project designed to insulate America from foreign competition‚ China and Europe alike. Economic populism is incompatible with the interventionist internationalism favored by the NeoCons and represents a profound renunciation of America’s leadership of the liberal free trade regime. But there is one place where the NeoCon program could thrive‚ albeit under an assumed name with a limited scope. In Europe‚ and specifically Ukraine‚ the unique historical antecedents for liberal democracy do pertain. Ever since it came blinking out into the daylight as head of an independent state‚ the government in Kiev has suffered from spectacular levels of corruption and an electorate divided by language and loyalties. The war utterly transformed the country. It has made the campaign against corruption a matter of national survival‚ and has joined Western and Eastern Ukrainians in opposition to the Russian invaders. You could reasonably argue that Vladimir Putin is the father of a unified Ukrainian nation committed to liberal democracy and its attendant prosperity. What Ukraine desperately needs is the support of a Europe committed to what can be quietly termed regional NeoCon principles‚ although we should politely attribute them to President Macron or perhaps Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk. What they share is the belief that Europe has the power to save the Ukrainian state‚ through massive increases in military assistance‚ economic aid‚ and perhaps even intervention. Macron believes that the future of Europe depends on it. (READ MORE: The Heartbreak of the Brideshead Republicans) Post-war liberal democracy is already the strong preference of the Ukrainian people‚ and the European Union is well-suited to encourage it‚ through extensive aid‚ and the governance requirements imposed on every candidate member.  The magic that the EU worked in Poland in the 1990’s can work again in Ukraine. There will be no better refutation of Putin’s imperial Russia than a Ukraine thriving and prosperous under EU tutelage and European protection. Europe is the natural regional counterweight to authoritarian Russia. It should assume the role of regional hegemon akin to the expansive global role the NeoCons proposed for America in the 1990’s. Europe can secure Ukrainian independence if a mere fraction of its industrial capacity and military might are devoted to it. The limited regional scope of this interventionist moment grants it a far better chance of success than the global hubris touted by our own NeoCons not so long ago. Perhaps we could spare a few to help Brussels realize its destiny. They need the work. The post NeoCons Awake‚ Europe Needs You! appeared first on The American Spectator | USA News and Politics.