The Koch network‚ Americans for Prosperity‚ in a memo from its AFP Action PAC threw its support behind Nikki Haley‚ calling her “a candidate who can turn the page and win.” Haley has surged in New Hampshire polling‚ putting actual daylight between her and the GOP peloton consisting of Chris Christie‚ Ron DeSantis‚ and the despicable Vivek Ramaswamy. But she is a galaxy away from leading former President Donald Trump‚ who is consistently at the mid-40 percent mark where Haley has barely approached 20 percent. David French posted on Threads: This is good news–both because Nikki Haley is the best remaining viable GOP candidate and because it signals that the Koch network isn’t engaging in purity tests‚ but rather pragmatic efforts to save our democracy. I like Haley’s Reaganite foreign policy. Most libertarians don’t love it. So for a more libertarian network to endorse Haley demonstrates they understand the urgency of the moment. From the 50‚000-foot GOP strategy level‚ French is right. Purity tests only serve to divide the field and keep everyone from rising to challenge Trump‚ who is immune to such tests and has stayed out of the debates. Not everyone is going to like Haley’s positions on abortion‚ foreign policy‚ the border and migrants‚ and fiscal policy. But on those issues‚ she’s more-or-less within the guardrails of mainstream Republican thought. Where Haley has a problem is addressing the big orange guy she has to beat‚ lest she end up as a DeSantis ally acidly observed: “You won the Never Trump primary. Your prize is nothing.” Two challenges that Haley must deal with‚ are her equivocation regarding the seriousness of the events of January 6th‚ 2021; and her cheerful endorsement of his time in the White House. These together lead many Republican voters to believe Haley is running not for the GOP nomination‚ but to be Trump’s running mate in the general election. Asking the candidate if she’d take second place on a ticket with Trump would certainly and deservedly bring a dismissal of the question. But Haley refused to answer the simpler one: does she think Trump is a threat to democracy? New Hampshire teenage political wonk Quinn Mitchell posted on X‚ the site formerly known as Twitter‚ that he was “saving his hard questions” and “threw [Haley] an extreme softball line ‘D you think Donald Trump is a danger to democracy?’” at a candidate forum on November 22. He was brusquely whisked away by her staff; Haley never answered the question. Back in June‚ Haley told Trump-supporters Buck Sexton and Clay Travis that Trump was “reckless‚” but she’d be “inclined” to pardon him of any federal charges if she were president. To add context‚ the only federal charges Trump faced at the time were for mishandling classified documents. “…I think it would be terrible for the country to have a former president in prison for years because of a documents case‚” Haley said. Trump’s greatest legal threats come at him from state charges‚ such as Fulton County DA Fani Willis‚ who this week said she would not offer Trump a plea bargain‚ as she has with many of the racketeering cases she has brought in Atlanta. But Willis is tied up with another racketeering case involving rapper “Young Thug” that has wormed its way through her office for two years; it’s unlikely Trump will see the defendant’s chair in an Atlanta courtroom before November 2024. Even were Haley to win the presidency‚ she would have no power to pardon Trump in state cases. Haley needs to deal with January 6th head-on‚ which she’s never done. Back in 2022‚ she was saying that “Republicans ought to stop shooting at Republicans” in response to the RNC’s censure of then-Reps Liz Cheney and Adam Kinzinger. But in 2021‚ Haley told Politico that she was “disgusted” by the events of January 6th‚ and “we shouldn’t have followed him.” In May of this year‚ Haley told an Iowa town hall “It was not a beautiful day‚ it was a terrible day‚ and we don’t ever want that to happen again.” This week‚ Haley said Trump was “the right president for the right time‚” but then added‚ “I agree with a lot of his policies‚ but the truth is‚ rightly or wrongly‚ chaos follows him‚” speaking at a friendly town hall at the campus of the University of South Carolina‚ her home state which she led as governor before serving as Trump’s ambassador to the United Nations. Those statements lead reasonable people to conclude that Haley is a Trump supporter‚ and she’s never regretted her access to him or what he did during his term as president. Haley has never really placed the blame for January 6th squarely on Trump’s shoulders—not without qualifying herself. This strategy will not win Haley the GOP nomination. It will perpetually place her behind Trump‚ and as many think‚ put her in the running to be on his ticket‚ which in turn makes it more likely that Trump could indeed win another term. Does Haley think she could do better than Mike Pence at restraining Trump’s worst instincts? She’s delusional if she thinks a second-term Trump‚ bent on revenge and control‚ could be stopped by his Vice President. She’d end up in political Siberia so quickly she’d pass the current Vice President Kamala Harris making her way out. No.  At some point‚ soon‚ before the N.H. primary‚ Haley needs to make a turn. She needs to‚ unequivocally‚ give a full-throated denouncement of Trump‚ January 6th‚ and everything that goes with those events. Haley is well-positioned to do this‚ as she announced her departure from the Trump administration before the events leading to Trump’s first impeachment‚ and was gone well before the end of his term. Left-leaning political analysts say that Haley’s leading the “Never Trump” GOP‚ but that’s not really true. Chris Christie is leading that particular effort. Haley has sidled up to Trump while trying to maintain some kind of distance‚ which is not only awkward‚ but also confusing and impossible to maintain. Either Haley will turn on Trump. fully‚ or she will fade away. I believe if Haley turns‚ with her new Koch backers‚ and some momentum in the polls‚ she has a decent chance of knocking Trump out of the lead in N.H.‚ and then moving to South Carolina‚ she could begin to move ahead in a powerful way. If she doesn’t‚ well‚ then she might end up on the bottom half of a Trump ticket. That won’t earn my vote‚ and hopefully‚ won’t win Trump another term. I’d prefer the first option. Turn‚ Nikki‚ turn. Follow Steve on Twitter @stevengberman. The First TV contributor network is a place for vibrant thought and ideas. Opinions expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of The First or The First TV. We want to foster dialogue‚ create conversation‚ and debate ideas. See something you like or don’t like? Reach out to the author or to us at ideas@thefirsttv.com. 

After the release of 13‚ Black Sabbath promised one more album before their farewell tour. Schedule conflicts and health scares meant it never came to be.

For one weekend only‚ Queen at their most regal and commanding are coming to an IMAX cinema near you

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has signed legislation to completely eliminate the state’s fossil fuel industry and transition entirely to green energy by 2040. It also gives the state authority to override local decisions blocking wind and solar projects at the expense of oil and gas. The bill signed on the 28th included clean energy targets […] The post Dark Days for Michigan With New Tyrannical Anti-Fossil Fuel Laws appeared first on www.independentsentinel.com.

At least one person is dead after a U.S. military Osprey aircraft crashed near the coast of Japan Wednesday‚ the Japan Coast Guard said.  Six people were aboard the aircraft when it went down around 2:47 p.m. local time. Shortly after the crash‚ the 10th Regional Coast Guard Headquarters said it dispatched a patrol boat and aircraft to the crash scene‚ CNN reported. The aircraft crashed into the ocean near the island of Yakushima‚ which is about 45 miles south of the southern main Japanese island of Kyushu‚ a coast guard spokesperson told NBC News.  The Japanese Coast Guard said one man was recovered “unconscious and was not breathing” near the site of the crash. He was given CPR and taken to Anbo Port‚ which was nearly two miles away‚ but the Osprey crew member was later pronounced dead. No details were given on the status of the other five crew members.  Japan’s Vice Defense Minister Hiroyuki Miyazawa said the incident involved a U.S. Air Force  CV-22 Osprey and called the incident an “emergency water landing.”  “The U.S. side explained to us that the pilot did his best until the very end‚ so we’re using the term ‘emergency water landing‚’” Miyazawa said.  The CV-22 Osprey can take off vertically like a helicopter while boasting the long-range flight capability of a turboprop aircraft. Its two rotors remain vertical during takeoff and landing and can rotate 90 degrees once the aircraft is in flight‚ allowing it to fly like a rotor-powered plane.  Wednesday’s crash marks the third tragedy in the last two years involving U.S. military personnel flying an Osprey aircraft. In August‚ three Marines were killed and several more were seriously injured when their MV-22B Osprey‚ which is similar to the CV-22‚ crashed on a northern Australian island while carrying 23 troops.  CLICK HERE TO GET THE DAILYWIRE+ APP In June of 2022‚ all five Marines aboard an MV-22B Osprey died after it crashed in California‚ a few miles north of the U.S./Mexico border. A few months before that crash‚ four Marines were killed in Norway during a NATO training exercise after their MV-22B Osprey went down in the Arctic Circle.