Fire Hydrant of Freedom

https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/387091

71% of Palestinians support the massacre

93% do not believe terror organization committed war crimes.

I won't write on the internet where I think these people should be resettled.

"since China cannot fight a two front war with both Taiwan and India, India is likely to make its move for POK while China is distracted."


  - This is an important deterrent keeping or slowing China from taking Taiwan.

Maybe in a Trump second term the US will appreciate the value of having India as an ally.

Andy McCarthy:  Everybody (who votes) should read the Hur-Biden Interview.
https://www.nationalreview.com/2024/03/every-american-should-read-bidens-interview-by-special-counsel-hur/

Unbelievable.
--------------

 “Hur asks Biden in what workspaces he kept documents at the vice president’s residence (the Naval Observatory); Biden’s response runs seven pages — although it was not a sensible response to the very simple question asked”:

On page 55 of the transcript, Hur asks Biden in what workspaces he kept documents at the vice president’s residence (the Naval Observatory); Biden’s response runs seven pages — although it was not a sensible response to the very simple question asked.

The president began by recounting that “I was the guy who wrote the Violence Against Women Act”; that agriculture is “a $4 billion industry in Delaware and the Delmarva peninsula”; that in a law-school torts class he was applauded for speaking ten minutes about a case he had not read; that “to make a long story short” he got a job out of law school at a firm in Delaware; and that “to make a long story not quite so long” he participated in a case while he was waiting for his bar results involving “this poor kid [who was] down a hundred-foot vessel, chimney, scraping the hydrogen bubbles off of the inside” but “was wearing the wrong pants, wrong jeans, and he —a spark caught fire and got caught in the containment vessel and he lost part of his penis and one of his testicles and he was 23 years old.” The senior partner told Biden to write a memo supporting a motion to dismiss the case, “and son of a bitch, it prevailed,” whereupon Biden thought “son of a bitch I’m in the wrong business, I’m not made for this.”

Thereupon, the senior partner invited him to go to the Wilmington Club, where “no blacks, Catholics are allowed — have been allowed to be members. The DuPont family name.” (Biden elsewhere in the seven pages repeatedly refers to the DuPont family, whom he describes as “Rockefeller Republicans” highly influential in Delaware.) Biden recalled being so taken aback by the Wilmington Club invitation that, in “the only time I ever lied that I can remember looking somebody in the eye,” he made up a story that his father was coming to visit that day. Then he immediately walked through “the basement on a public building and walked in with a guy named Frank and I said I want a job as a public defender.” This began “what got me — I had been involved in the civil-rights movement. That got me deeply involved in trying to reform the Democratic Party, which was a southern Democratic Party. We were a slave state by law.”

“And the whole point of telling you all this,” he continued, “is that I had a lot of material that I kept notes on” about the Democratic Party. And at that point, when he was 26 or 27 years old, Biden elaborated, “I went to work part time for a criminal-defense firm mainly, a real estate — there were five people. And so I was no longer a public defender. . . .” Then “one thing led to another” and Biden joined a group seeking to reform the Democratic Party. Even though he was young, they wanted him to run for the state senate. But he wanted to start his own law firm instead. “So to make a long story short,” he ended up running for county council, but “wanted to be sure that I was going to lose,” so he ran in a district that no Democrat had ever won. “And I won it. And next thing you know, I’m in a tough position. My generic point was that there was a lot of material that I had amassed that I wanted to save. I probably still have it somewhere. And so that stuff would travel wherever the hell I was.”

McCarthy concludes with these observations:

Events in his telling are conflated and collapse into nonsense; he lapses into incoherence and often cannot recall and relate basic information.

Biden is asking Americans to elect him president for another four-year term, at the end of which he will be 86 and four years older than the senescent man who answered special counsel Hur’s questions in October.

So please, read the transcript, but not for what it says about Biden’s carelessness regarding the nation’s secrets. Instead, read it and ask yourself whether he should be president right now, let alone for the next five years.

https://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/2024/03/biden-unplugged.php

https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/4528659-biden-sees-no-polling-bump-after-state-of-the-union/

They want to tell us his only problem is he's old, but he is measurably on the wrong side of polling on almost every major issue.

We expected a lethargic, slurring Biden at the SOTU and we got an 'amped up' President, slurring with high energy and anger.  Doesn't that solve the age issue?  Guess not. No bump.

Why not?  High energy Joe doesn't make inflation go away or world peace come back.  It doesn't close the border or remove the crime from the streets.  His problem never was that he is old; his problem is that he is wrong.

Plus he is unlistenable, negating the whole advantage of a 'bully pulpit'.  If anything, he IS the bully, siccing lawfare on his opponents and labeling everyone who disagrees with him an extremist.  Using agencies and surrogates to destroy them while he hides behind the curtain.

Funny it was Democrats who sell youthfulness and vigor as important qualities for leading the country when they think it favors them, cf. Kennedy, Clinton.  An old guy was promised to be a one term bridge to the next leadership, until he wasn't.

Joe's angry tone is more suited for a challenger (as he was last time) than an incumbent.  But old dog can't learn new trick.  Why is he mad at us?  He's the one f*cking everything up.

Out of this, he handed Trump his best line yet:  (paraphrase?)

'An angry Joe Biden shouldn't be shouting at America.  An angry America should be shouting at Joe Biden'.

As Joe tries to 'amp up' his campaign more and more, the line becomes more  lasting and persuasive.

Our American Creed is in grave danger.

I'm in the middle of listening to something


and would like to take a moment to jot down something that was said for deeper rumination:

a) Lies spread faster than Truth

b) Democracy cannot survive based upon Misinformation and Lies

Seems to me there are some deep implications here.

c) The theoretical super power of democracy is that we can listen to all sides and sort it out while authoritarian societies cannot.

Good points. I would add from where I sit,

1) There seems to be a demand for lies, misinformation, deception, "spin" (on the Left) to promote or back up views that fail without that.
Example, they wanted, needed a distinction between Trump and Biden on classified documents. Trump tried to cover it up, Biden didn't so it's not two systems of justice.  But so did Hillary.  Bleach Bit.  No prosecution.

2) I would add projection as an important tactic in deception.  We cover up our deception by accusing you of it.

3) Also 'missing information' is a big part of misinformation.  So many examples.  Not one Democrat reading the NYT everyday would know that revenues grew when marginal tax rates were cut.  Do they know social spending perpetuates poverty?  60 years to study it and still no clue?  Not one story.  Do they know we spend 40% more than we take in, while they propose to worsen that?  Do they know the earth has only warmed by one degree in 100 years?  In the scientific scale of degrees Kelvin, that is a 1/287 (0.0035) movement.  Hunter's laptop?  The checks Joe received?  Do they really not know about rape and human trafficking at the cartel controlled border?  Two million rapes not mentioned in the SOTU, and then mocked in the response.  And on and on. 

“Journalism is about covering important stories. With a pillow, until they stop moving.”
― David Burge

For some reason I have Paul Craig Roberts mentally filed under the heading of crackpot scumbag, but are his facts here accurate?

https://www.paulcraigroberts.org/2024/03/14/us-navy-medic-shut-down-for-releasing-unclassified-dod-data-showing-a-937-increase-in-heart-failure-among-vaccinated-us-military-personnel/

Likewise, I was thinking he was someone once great who later renounced supply side economics, but that wasn't it.  That was Reagan's budget director. Hard to write off a fact based science. From Wikipedia it was foreign policy where he ventured off but no details there.  Was accused of antisemitism by ADL, which might or might not have meaning. I think he wrote something appearing to side with Saddam when I wrote him off but I really can't remember.

On this, he is repeating something out there. Impossible to verify as DOD hides the data.

Mostly a fiction writer now it appears on his website.

I am trying to address the SNL skit point that Sen Britt bringing up a brutal rape out of the blue at her kitchen table is funny. Who would ever do that?

Dems say that point is moot because those rapes happened years ago (not under Biden).

But years ago the flow of illegals was small compared to now.

I want to do some math with this but the real question is true or false:
Is systematic rape and human trafficking, sex trafficking a significant part of this southern border flood?
Of course it is.
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/central-america-migrants-rape_n_5806972
This study says 80% raped. Other studies say 60% raped. Repeatedly raped seems to be a better description from those interviewed.

If 10 million come in under Biden and half are female and half of those are getting raped say an average of twice, isn't that 5 million rapes?  Change the assumptions any way you want and it is still MILLIONS OF RAPES.

Now back to Senator Britt. The symbolic point of kitchen table setting combined with national political speech is to bring up the national issues of the day.  Border is number one for many, and otherwise certainly top 3 nationally.  The human trafficking component of that is numbe one or at least top 3 reasons to address the flow across the border. Millions of rapes is an uncomfortable fact that liberals would be up in arms about if it was happennig in Sudan or Zimbabwe. But here it runs up against political forces, the issue could hurt our guy, and therefore must be kept silent.

Sen Britt put it back in their face. We know this is happening right now, millions of rapes under Bien's failed policies empowering cartels and luring the massive flow.

Hey liberals and Leftists, we on the right want to know why this is political, or humorous.  Why are you not outraged? Why don't you want it stopped?

If we cannot come together on this we will defeat you over it because no amount of evasion, diversion or political spin makes what's happening acceptable.
-----
Secondly, fentanyl is killing millions.  "nearly 100,000 Americans who die from fentanyl imported across open borders"

Thirdly, illegals are filling the low end jobs, removing the bottom rung of the economic ladder for the underclass we already have, making them permanent underclass.

If we can't come together on this, we share no common values at all.

https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/obama-2009-half-a-million-border/

 During a speech in 2009, then-U.S. President Barack Obama said, "We can't have half a million people pouring over the border [...].”

Snopes Rating: Correct
-------------
But we can have 20 times that many pour in under Biden.

What changed?

At the heart of their lying is for someone with one year left on a 4 year term to tell us how things will be in 5 years and 10 years.  How about fix what you can now and we'll have someone else lead us in 5 or 10 years. 

The budget is completely our of control and NOTHING is being cut.  If he did cut anything it would be our ability to defend ourselves.

Crafty has been pointing out for years that "baseline" budgeting is the biggest of big government scams.  Zero based budgeting is how common sense works.  To every agency, show us your positive results.  And show us the damage you are doing so we can compare.  Show us the difference in positive results for every additional dollar you receive above zero, or zero it is.

Of course it's a political trap.  Biden didn't cut the deficit by a trillion.  He didn't cut the new budget by anything.  Anyone see that in the top line number 7.3T in spending when we are taking in 4.8T in taxes at maxed out rates.  But if Trump comes forward with real cuts, watch what happens.  Starving the poor and taking Grannie off her meds one more time.

Biden is failing and losing so he goes back to the old play book one more time.  These plays got a lot of Democrats elected for a lot of years.  Not one new idea in it, just more money for every key interest group and more talk of soaking the rich.  How can we oppose that?

We oppose it by pointing out failure after failure.

BTC 72k is amazing (But nobody says sell). 

I was most impressed when it fell from 60 to 20 and then held, went down no more.  When it failed to fall further is when neutral skeptics knew it was here to stay and would rise again to higher highs.
https://www.tradingview.com/chart/?symbol=BITSTAMP%3ABTCUSD

Another indicator that ya and others were right was that gold did not skyrocket with inflation this time.
https://goldprice.org/gold-price-charts/5-year-gold-price-history-in-us-dollars-per-ounce
That tells me something has changed.


If gold is not the hedge, and real estate is loaded with land mines, taxes, regulation, squatting, lawfare, etc., then what is the hedge against governments mismanaging their countries and currencies?  I don't know like the volatility of bitcoin but what else is there?

With great upside potential confirmed, the most helpful predictions going forward will be what are the future lows again for buying.

Those of us that have done a lot of riding can imagine how hairy this could be: 21K ft enduro ride on a single jug Yamaha:

https://gearjunkie.com/motors/adv-motorcycle-altitude-world-record

My house in the mountains of Colorado (built in 1880) is at 10200 ft  (highest city in North America) a cold climate so I put in a high efficiency furnace to help get a handle on the heating costs. I had a working furnace fully installed with all the duct work and air supply piping done, and I needed to get back home, but I thought I better just test it once before leaving. Didn't work. Couldn't breathe. Only a heating guy working in that altitude would know you need more than twice the volume of air coming in for the combustion to work at that altitude.

As my daughter deduced in her childhood, if the trees can't breathe above tree line, doesn't that tell us something (about where humans shouldn't ski)?

I can't imagine a motorcycle engine running properly at 21000 ft.

Also, if the driver loses his breath, that's a long way to fall.

The peaks around Leadville are 14k. Highest I've ever been is 13k, a slight hike up from the highest lift is exhausting and skiing down above everything is exhilarating! I can't imagine 21k and I don't plan to try it!
https://www.summitconcierge.com/breckenridge-ski-resort/imperial-express-superchair-breckenridge-colorado-ski-resort_id-203.html

This is just a start.  Already mentioned, the rich pay 23% effective federal tax, not 8% as Joe lied, but don't expect factcheck.org to catch that small discrepancy.  Same for that the job growth is all part time jobs and people are needing more and more of them.

https://www.factcheck.org/2022/03/factchecking-bidens-state-of-the-union-address/

Biden said the planned release of 60 million barrels of global oil reserves, including 30 million from the U.S., “will help blunt gas prices here at home.” But energy experts said the emergency measures aren’t enough to have an impact.

He said the economy added 369,000 manufacturing jobs last year, which is about right. But the manufacturing sector hasn’t recovered all the jobs lost during the pandemic, and manufacturing job growth (3.1%) is slower than overall job growth (4.6%).

The president said “our economy created over 6.5 million new jobs just last year, more jobs in one year than ever before.” That’s true based on raw numbers, but not on a percentage basis. The claim also doesn’t acknowledge the unique economic conditions created by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Biden prematurely claimed he’d be the first president to cut the annual deficit by $1 trillion in a single year. Even if it happens at the end of this fiscal year, the deficit would still be among the highest in history.

Biden suggested that a soldier from Ohio developed lung cancer “from prolonged exposure to burn pits.” A scientific review by the National Academies, however, found there is not enough evidence to conclude such exposure is associated with cancer.

He implied that the United States no longer invests almost 2% of its GDP in research and development, falling behind China. But recent Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development data show total U.S. R&D intensity was over 3% — higher than China’s 2.2%, though China may soon surpass the U.S.

He said, “Now our infrastructure is ranked 13th in the world.” A 2019 report supports that, but some say the ranking underrates the U.S.

Biden misleadingly said the tax cuts enacted in 2017 “benefited the top 1% of Americans.” Americans in every income category got tax cuts. It isn’t until 2027 when most of the individual income tax cuts in the law are set to expire that the top 1% sees the lion’s share of the tax benefits.

The president wrongly called gun manufacturing “the only industry in America that can’t be sued.” Though gun manufacturers are protected from some civil lawsuits, there are exceptions. There are also other industries that are shielded from certain legal actions.

[Doug]  Oops, did they end there, run out of paper or something?  It's only a one hour speech, why not fact check ALL of it?

Too bad we didn't have a spy network in Gaza.

(over 5 years)

https://issuesinsights.com/2024/03/12/bidens-budget-proves-what-an-epic-disaster-hes-been/

Steve Hayward, Powerlineblog:

'Replacement Theory' needs to be called "Replacement Fact".

https://www.powerlineblog.com/ed-assets/2024/03/Immigration-by-party.png

https://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/2024/03/the-daily-chart-why-we-have-a-border-problem.php

Claims of blind justice increasingly look like the blind pursuit of a specific person.

  - Jonathon Turley

https://jonathanturley.org/2024/03/11/the-nightmare-scenario-how-a-trump-trial-could-now-run-up-to-or-through-the-2024-election/#more-216667

The backlog of federal criminal cases is 770,000, up 25% under Biden, but they are 'moving other cases and canceling trips to shoehorn Trump's cases' into the election campaign season.

Wow, bitcoin is at 72k (US$) this am! https://www.tradingview.com/symbols/BTCUSD/

What I read into the list of world's top currencies is that there is no competitor to the US$ (other than blockchain/bitcoin)

https://bitcoinist.com/brics-nations-challenge-us-dollar-dominance/

Let's see, the Canadian dollar is no. 6 in the world(?) and has a lousy reputation for holding its value.  Russia and China are further down - and tied to communism, tyranny and oppression.  Britain and Japan are based on smaller markets than the US, less global.  The Euro is the only one tied a bigger base economy, but not a better or stronger one.

The world (OPEC etc) didn't choose the US$ because they liked us; the chose it because it was the most stable, universally accepted currency (at the time).

If we (US) are going to lose reserve currency status (and maybe we already have), we will have to address our deficits, debt problems like all the others or go the way of Argentina, Venezuela and the broke third world. 

Since we will have to reform later (any minute now), why not address those issues now?!

https://apnews.com/article/no-labels-candidates-selection-third-party-ea3f28a5e35f0789e873ac42369b0a77

Am I mistaken here or could the "No Labels" party also be called "No Primaries"?

Are elites going to pick these candidates behind closed doors, and then tell the American people what's best for them?  And that's a better system?? How so?

What about RFKjr's party, who picked him for top of the ticket?  Self anointed man/person of the people?

Nobody seems to like the two parties but at least they have a party, a primary and a process in 50 states known to anyone who wants to jump in.

https://issuesinsights.com/2024/03/11/bidens-criminally-fuzzy-tax-math/

Angry Joe said billionaires pay only 8% in federal taxes.  They actually pay 23%. according to the measurements of his own government.  Just off by 3-fold.  He wants them to pay 25% (with rounding they already do).  25% of WHAT??!!  His new definition of TAXABLE income that includes taxing unrealized capital gains, in other words a WEALTH TAX.

It's such a great new idea that it was tried, failed and repealed in France multiple times and other European countries. Do we want their economic growth rate?  Their unemployment rate?  Their exodus of wealth and job creation?
https://www.investorschronicle.co.uk/education/2021/02/11/lessons-from-history-france-s-wealth-tax-did-more-harm-than-good/

Taxable income is a measure developed over the last 90 years that Joe has been in Washington.  Is he really not familiar with it. 

And how much more revenue do we really raise when we keep raising the top rate?  ZERO??  But by Joe's static math it will pay interest on the debt for a little over 20 days.  What a deceptive liar this demented man is.

And why do we learn this TRUTH about it from a distant pro-growth opinion site instead of from "This is CNN", or MSLSD, don't they care about the truth?  I've seen them fact check other Presidents.

May I remind, a tax on the wealth in an economy is a tax on the economy.  It doesn't limit its impact to wealthy, in fact it doesn't hurt those already wealthy.  It hurts all of us.  But who is Joe to tell you that - when he can raise up some more anger and division over zero dollars in additional revenues to the Treasury.

We are in deficit because we spend too much.  There is no way around that.

President Biden: "I told him, Bibi, and don't repeat this, but you and I are going to have a ‘come to Jesus’ meeting."

“I’m on a hot mic here. Good. That’s good.” pic.twitter.com/KCgpbx4awf

(Doug). What is a "come to Jesus" meeting with a Jewish leader anyway?

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=P1gWtWVmcXs

If we could get suburban Moms to see this. She tells a story of a young girl who survived the cartels human trafficking. Are women voters really in denial that these policies have these consequences?  They are ok with gang rape and destruction of our cities and families, but motivated about the freedom to kill their own unborn. What are America's priorities?

A time for choosing.
---------------
Did Google owned Youtube really think I wanted to see angry Joe after this great talk, or is that all agenda driven?

Obviously he will present his economic case in the best light possible.  It's a great economy.  You people are all wrong about it. Low unemployment, he will take credit for the progress made under his predecessor and ignore that all the "growth" on his watch was the reopening after covid shutdowns. 

We know some things he won't mention. The Afghan withdrawal, the $6 billion he sent to Iran pre-10/7, energy exports, tripling the cost of the national debt and adding a trillion to it every hundred days?

What I wonder (in fear) is what will he lay out for his vision and agenda for the future.  Will people snicker if he talks about what he will do in the next 4 years?  Will he repeat the Clinton line, 'we can do more'?  If they come up with some real stuff they want to do, or blame the Republican House for what didn't happened, will he explain why he didn't do it when he had the trifecta and Democrat power, White House, House and Senate?

Whatever new spending they come up with, we could have afforded better when he started than when he finishes.  Our real spending power is falling.

The big one that I hope to win SOTU bingo with is, will he cure cancer?
https://www.cnn.com/videos/politics/2019/06/12/joe-biden-cure-cancer-campaign-richmond-bolduan-sot-ath-vpx.cnn

That alone justifies his reelection.
------------------------------------
Biden Urged To Wed Billionaire Tax With Social Security in SOTU
https://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2024/03/07/biden_urged_to_wed_billionaire_tax_with_social_security_in_sotu_150617.html

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-13168311/Joe-Biden-tax-raises-corporations-billionaires.html

He will no doubt have clever stuff like that.  Like Hillary said, you can't afford all my ideas.

Who does a billionaires' tax hit hardest?  Clue, not the billionaire.

Port in Gaza: https://www.ynetnews.com/article/sjli4fv6a

The speech’s March 7 delivery date is the latest one for a State of the Union address in history.

Democrats terrified: https://www.mattmargolis.com/p/democrats-are-terrified-of-biden?publication_id=238232&post_id=142391471&isFreemail=false&r=131lq&triedRedirect=true

When they do the ratings of the speech, I hope they show how many watched the whole thing. He could be charged with some form of very slow torture.

I think I will read a transcript instead.

https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2024/03/fani-busted-witness-testimony-fani-willis-visited-biden/

Democrats are squirming.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/it-s-not-just-that-biden-is-old/ar-BB1jq1qm

Objective and brutal. And this is The Atlantic.

"I’m no political-messaging expert, but the shut-up-and-get-behind-this-guy approach seems a tad off-putting."

"The plane has taken off. It is clearly sputtering. The pilot is not saying much. When he does, he sounds shaky. He is not inspiring confidence. A solid majority of passengers would much rather someone else were at the controls. They have voiced this concern repeatedly. (For the record, the Federal Aviation Administration’s compulsory retirement age for commercial pilots is 65.)

But the flight attendants keep telling us it’s too late. The plane’s already in the air. And this is the only captain we have available. Trust us, in private he’s in peak form. He’s not senile. Please remain seated, and keep your seat belts fastened."
-------------------------------------------
Another Atlantic story tells how last minute changes haven't gone so well:
https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2024/03/president-retire-biden-johnson-truman/677621/

Truman's one term led to Eisenhower.  Johnson dropping out led to Nixon.  Replacing Eagleton for VP only yielded one state, Massachusetts for McGovern.

Changing out Biden's name for the same policies doesn't remove the turmoil.