The 'new' sheriff is the same as the 'old' sheriff...

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Alright we made it. Just think four years ago it seemed unfathomable that Donald Trump would return to the White House. It seemed like his brief political career was more than finished and it took the pandemic and the unrest (including the January 6, 2021 "insurrection") to take him down.

Oh yeah let's not forget the unforgettable 2020 presidential race that even he still discusses in some ways after his inauguration. He believes there was a lot of fraud and cheating in 2020, still.

Watch his inaugural address here.

There were concerns that outgoing Pres. Joe Biden might resign and make his Vice President Kamala Harris (and vanquished 2024 Democrat nominee) the 47th POTUS. That didn't happen and I can dismiss this as a right-wing conspiracy theory.

Trump made history as only the second man to have been elected to two non-consecutive terms as President. The only other person who achieved this feat was the 22nd & 24th President, Grover Cleveland.

This time around as opposed to 2017, President Trump is in a much better spot. He has a better Congress both with GOP majorities. I'm just not that sure about the US Senate, we'll have to see about the new Republican Majority Leader now that "Cocaine" Mitch McConnel has bowed out - that man has been suffering some serious health issues anyway. I'd say he has a much more supportive Republican majority than he did in 2017. I don't think he'll have much issue pushing his agenda through in this term.

He was a virtual novice in 2017 having held no elective office before being elected President - and I can only imagine winning the 2016 race rocked his world big time. I mean he has a big ego did that even enter his head? Either way his lack of any political or gov't experience caused me to not even vote for him in 2016.

He still did a great job before the pandemic hit. The economy was humming, America was at peace no serious issues in the world at that time. Just remember people thought he's start a third world war during his presidency.

Either way, what I can't wait for is the return of the Trump economy and after the inflation and mismanagement of the economy under Joe Biden it might be a minute before we see that. We'll have to see how the Ukraine war or even the current Israel-Palestine conflict will finally conclude.

However, the 47th POTUS will proclaim a strong America once again.

Open History Society: Donald Trump a Jacksonian?

 Early during the first Trump administration, Donald Trump paid a visit to the Hermitage which is the former estate of our 7th POTUS Andrew Jackson. Jackson is well known for his treatment of our Indigenous Americans forcing then onto the "Trail of Tears" not allowing them to remain on their original territories and send them to what is now Oklahoma.

Pres. Trump saw a kindred spirit in Andrew Jackson as in 1828 President Jackson was a change in the character of most other presidents up to that point. Jackson probably could be described as America's first populist president. Trump in 2016 and again in 2024 could be seen as a populist president in our time.

This article from Open History Society explores in what ways that President Trump is Jacksonian. And then you have to get past biased statements as.

Meacham (2009) contends that Jackson was a principled idealist and there seems no doubt that his patriotic, arch-nationalist love of country was sincere. That notwithstanding, the highest virtue for Jackson was loyalty to himself. He judged that those who opposed him, such as John Quincy Adams and Henry Clay, were not just wrong but enemies of the people, a term employed by Trump against numerous political foes and the media (Smith, 2019). Jackson was a short-tempered man who held a grudge tenaciously, and whose moral code was centred upon an inflexible concept of honour which often led him into personal violence in his early life and propelled him sometimes into ill-advised dogmatism (Wyatt-Brown, 1997). Yet he had many friends and inspired a loyalty which was based on admiration of his sense of justice.

Trump’s character is far more dysfunctional, he is a serial liar, and his increasingly bombastic nationalism is essentially a projection of his own narcissism. He too demands loyalty, but unlike Jackson he rarely returns it. Allies pander to him for advancement or fear of falling out of favour. He is the archetypal bully. Jackson was an acerbic and aggressive character, but he could control his temper, unlike the thin-skinned Trump who is gratuitously abusive even to allies and colleagues. Jackson could be devious and less than truthful, but he was not a pathological liar. Innumerable accounts have catalogued Trump’s casual and unreflective telling of falsehoods. The Washington Post (2020) kept a record of these and revealed that in the first three years of his presidency he made 16,241 false or misleading statements, or 15 per day.

I have to keep reading this, but it's as good as an explanation as any about whether or not Trump or Jackson are similar. I also recognize that both men seemed to either engender great support or great dislike. As I stated Jackson even now has his detractors and even his supporters who cite that he paid off the national debt during his presidency among other accomplishments.

When you read this article what's your hottake?

9/11: 21 years

 I wanted to share this posting from Instapundit this morning. Glenn Reynolds fears that there is a generation that don't remember it and of course he looks at today's leadership.

One thing I guess I didn’t believe 21 years ago is that America would elect such a feckless President in 2008, and stand idly by while he flushed our global position, and security, down a left-wing toilet. But we did — and then we did it again in 2020 — and we’ll be paying the price for a long time.
...
But we have forgotten the criminal negligence of our political leaders and intelligence services that got us to that point. We should have purged the incompetents then. Instead, they’re still running the show. The country is still sound, but the people in charge of it have only gotten worse.

God bless America. We need it.

I don’t mean this to sound gloomy. But Americans consistently shrink from the realities of both international and domestic politics and that’s not good. I think the coming decade will be a dose of reality, for better and for worse.

We still live in a dangerous world and let's not forget that. 

CapFax: Citing violent threats, Carroll abandons push to strip COVID health insurance benefits from the unvaxed

 This seems to be a trend in places around the nation. Yet let's punish those who for whatever reason won't get vaxed. You might hear off handedly that those who seek medical treatment could be denied that because they didn't get vaxed or take away some privileges if you won't get vaxxed say for example travel or go to a sporting event.

And they tried it in this state a Representative named Johnathan Carroll has backed off of legislation to strip "COVOD health insurance from the unvaxed". It was said that some threats were sent to his office as a result of his proposal. Someone out there isn't happy however I hate that people resorts to violent threats. I don't think that's necessary but some people in these crazy times will take it a bit further...

Citing violent threats, Carroll abandons push to strip COVID health insurance benefits from the unvaxed https://t.co/ErlA3UMYYP

— Rich Miller (@capitolfax) December 9, 2021

Basically state Rep. Carroll realized that his proposal was divisive as seen in a statement seen in the above tweet from Capitol Fax. Of course saying that the unvaxed assumes certain risks to the point that it's all on you is certainly what's spreading among many in the country as far as whether or not you should be vaxed.

We all want to get out of this pandemic and drop these masks and the mitigations. However it's a problem to see proposals like this which as being seen time and again is only proving to divide people in the vaxed or unvaxed camps. Then wonder why people still choose to go unvaxed....

BTW, if you want to use violent threats please stop and get some help. Better yet find a hobby...

9/11 - 20 years

 For many people directly affected by this day it still hurts. Especially for the loved ones who perished in this unreal episode. I often avoid any coverage of anniversary activities it seems wherever the planes crashed and people died we go over the names of all - over 3,000 victims - so that they won't ever be forgotten. I think this is one day for everyone to reflect and sadly we're living in very polarizing times with Americans especially divided over political lines.

I want you to see this video about 9/11 from one of my favorite YouTubers Mr. Beat. Go over to my other blog at Shedd School to check it out and let me know what you think of it. Over the last two or so years I've been sharing a lot of videos from him.

Chicago Mayor makes symbolic racial gesture and hammered by press

I wanted to share this with you all before the nite is out. Mayor Lori Lightfoot put out a tweet last nite shared primarily by local journalists like Mary Ann Ahearn for example where the Mayor announced she will only grant interviews with journalists of color (black or brown people). My knee jerk reaction was that she was looking for favorable people to interview her. 

As ⁦@chicagosmayor⁩ reaches her two year midway point as mayor, her spokeswoman says Lightfoot is granting 1 on 1 interviews - only to Black or Brown journalists pic.twitter.com/PAUsacD9Gj

— Mary Ann Ahern (@MaryAnnAhernNBC) May 18, 2021

Then over at Capitol Fax another possible angle, this was an opportunity to start a discussion on the composition of Chicago's political press. Why is the press almost overwhelmingly white and male? Perhaps she wanted to prioritize talking with journalists of color and women. Furthermore she was taking that opportunity to make that call when she arrived at the two year anniversary of her election to the 5th floor at city hall.

Chauvin trial jurors removed

 

[VIDEO] Tim Pool discusses the Derek Chauvin trial in Minneapolis. Two jurors were removed from this case because of their views on a settlement by the city of Minneapolis to the family of George Floyd. If you want to learn more Powerline Blog out of Minnesota has more.

Pool states as I have that no matter the outcome of this trial no one will be happy. And at worst another round of unrest will occur there. Also, he mentions the police excluded autonomous zone that exists where Floyd has passed away.

While considered a shrine for another Black man who died after he was arrested by police, however, proves to be a very violence "peaceful" zone at night. You create a place for peace and remembrance but once the sun comes down it becomes a lawless violent zone. 

You probably shouldn't be too surprised by that.

Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson (R-NC)

 Since I saw this on Instapundit earlier this week I've been wanting to share this.

Mark Robinson is the sitting Lt. Governor of North Carolina who was elected just last year. In North Carolina their executive offices are contested during presidential election years. Either way it seems he as a Black Republican conservative he has to push back.

Lt. Gov. Robinson

Alas and this has historically been true Black Republicans or Black conservatives are singled out and at worse can be considered outcasts especially within the Black community. They just don't always follow the civil rights narrative whatever that is at any given time.

So it was reported on a blog BattleSwarm blog that he had a presser that tried to portray him as a member of the KKK. Well I have yet to see the video of his press conference, however, lately I've heard of this term "multiracial whiteness". I just wonder about the convoluted thinking that created that whole idea.

What I know about Lt. Gov. Robinson was that he got notice in the Tar Heel state for his stance on guns. He's clearly pro 2nd Amendment and one wonders if he's up for the top job there once it's available. He did get elected statewide there so time may well tell. 

Powerline: Chauvin trial preview

 The Powerline Blog is based out of Minnesota and is also written by attorneys. They look at the "tale of the tape" for the Derek Chauvin trial in Minneapolis. Chauvin was the Minneapolis Police Officer who's charge with murder in the death of George Floyd. It touched off riots around the nation and protests around the world. Something we still haven't entirely settled down from, just look at what's happened in Portland, Ore. since then.

Either way the Minnesota Attorney General's office is handling the prosecution in this case. Minneapolis is based in Hennepin County and their district attorney's have been sidelined. And I want to share this:

• The court has set up a page for the Chauvin case here. All public filings in the case by the parties or the court are posted on that page. Separate pages have been set up for the three former officers also charged with responsibility for Floyd’s death. The separate pages for their cases are accessible on Chauvin’s page.

Also these thoughts:

• The charges against Chauvin were brought in a lynch mob atmosphere led by Governor Tim Walz, Attorney General Keith Ellison, and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey. They publicly pronounced Chauvin and the other officers guilty many times over last spring and summer.

• Those of us who took up law and/or journalism may have been inspired by Atticus Finch or John Adams or Woodward and Bernstein, but when the time came to face down the mob or talk back to the authorities, the lawyers and media took their places in the crowd.

• Take the Star Tribune, for example. As the lynch mob formed and the city burned, the cat had their tongue. Star Tribune commentary editor D.J. Tice wrote an excellent column on “the challenge of a fair trial for Chauvin.” The column was published on February 20 — a little late in the game. And it stands more or less alone. (I raised the fair trial issue last year in posts including “Random thoughts on the Floyd case.”)

The blogger here Scott Johnson takes a look at the lead prosecutor in this case and the judge and mentions an appeal as far as the other charge to Chauvin of third degree murder which the judge in this case Peter Cahill had dropped. It seems Johnson likes Judge Cahill, however, once the trail begins we'll see how this goes.

Chauvin deserves a free trial, however, there are people out there who believe he is guilty. Better yet they want him to be guilty. Being guilty and wanting someone to be guilty are two different things. I went back and forth myself on this. All I can say is Chauvin is innocent until proven guilty and sadly this is one of those cases where I don't think anyone will be happy with the results. 

No Deanna Troi just no

 This post from Instapundit discusses Marina Sirtis - who played Deanna Troi from Star Trek: The Next Generation and I had a crush on that character - getting all political talking about the weather related issues in Texas. I'm disappointed....

ALWAYS!

I'm sharing this for posterity

 From Instapundit

Far Left attacks Oregon Democratic Party HQ https://t.co/CCvTs5YMwB

— mark safranski (@zenpundit) January 21, 2021

Thugs are gonna thug. And if it was Trump the same thing, and as it turns out if it was Biden same thing anyway....

Well another four years to go...

Legal Insurrection: Supermarket Chain Adding ‘Black-Owned’ Tags to Products Offered by Minority Owned Businesses

 To be honest I have no real issue with this. A few grocery stores in teh Chicago area have an aisle dedicated to more ethnic items, being Black is an ethnicity after all.

Via Legal Insurrection:

The supermarket chain Giant Food began adding labels to products on their shelves, indicating which items are from black-owned businesses.

This is just the latest example of how the progressive concept of social justice is encroaching on every aspect of our daily lives.

Now the next question is whether or not customers will purchase these products and give many of these companies greater profits or avoid them due to the warped concept of social/racial justice. That remains to be seen, but could this just be another empty gesture that really does nothing.

Meanwhile I want to recommend to you Baldwin ice cream - which is a Black-owned (Baldwin-Richardson Foods) product you can find in your ice cream aisles. Perhaps I should purchase some vanilla.... 

2nd City Cop blog is history for now

I found this out through a local crime blog CWB Chicago. Over the weekend 2nd City Cop written by a police officer(s) went off line and is in restricted mode. Over at yet another Chicago crime site HeyJackass we see a letter left to their readership by 2nd City Cop. Now it has me concerned, as they're concerned about the issues of "Big Tech".

January 9, 2021 - opinionated blog post

 A crazy few days since January 6, 2021.

To start President Trump had his posts deleted under the guise of "inciting violence" and not only that his personal Twitter account @realDonaldTrump has been permanently suspended. He tweeted that he will not be going to the inauguration on January 20th and considering what happened on January 6th, probably a smart move. However, it was one of the tweets Twitter had cited to delete his account.

There's reputedly an ongoing surge going on of anyone who may have attended the January 6th rally or indeed who was in anyway involved with the "riot" that took place on Capitol Hill. And allow me to state for the record that we had loss of life in that incident, and let me say the Air Force veteran who died after being shot inside the US Capitol was tragic. What I would also say with regards to that is entering into a governmental building is definitely a very dangerous thing to do.

I'm not happy about what happened and if there was any chance to successfully challenge the 2020 elections it evaporated. Certainly understandable in light of these events, there was already a chance that the objections weren't going to lead to anything substantial. Once this reprehensible event took place, it definitely hadn't lead to anything substantial.

What I think happened on that day is that some people got caught up, the mob went nuts. I'm distinguishing the mob from those who were there to show their support for President Trump. And who knows there is a plausible possibility that there was an element there looking to cause trouble. They were successful unfortunately and the Democrats - or collectively progressive liberals - can turn around and become the faction of "law & order" although they want to defund police.

It's galling to see Joe Biden and Kamala Harris compare the chaos on Capitol Hill with the chaos in many American cities over the past summer. In my opinion, if they want to allege Trump supporters were handled with kids gloves while BLM was treated far more aggressively, in my opinion BLM was treated with kid gloves. What's the difference between the riots, looting, and unrest of last summer - it went beyond George Floyd - and what happened at Capitol Hill? NOT A DAMNED THING!

They're the same, people got out of control. There is a segment of the population who think it's OK to riot over racial issues, it's not Dr. Martin Luther King said so himself even if he did say rioting is the voice of the unheard. Rioting is not OK regardless and I've heard the argument that we're upset over property but not as upset over the loss of human life. I don't think theft and destruction to protest a loss of life is a very good equivocation.

BTW, I was hoping this morning to share with you a video of about 30 minutes featuring Rudy Giuliani who was involved with Trump's electoral legal efforts and the former mayor NYC and a former federal prosecutor. When I got home last nite, I saw that his video was deleted and only had the opportunity to view at least the first 5 to 10 minutes of the video.

Now since Trump has been banned from Twitter and Facebook we might see a purge on Google owned YouTube and while Giuliani still has his channel he had a video deleted sharing his own observations of what happened on Capitol Hill. He believes that this unrest there was planned with people bringing specialized equipment to break glass and rope. Whether or not Trump had a rally on January 6 - which was heavily publicized through the President's social media - something like this was likely to happen. And it was deleted, why?

We need the facts and the truth and unfortunately it's going to get suppressed. The media other than FOX News and others - well the upstarts anyway even if FOX is allegedly going more liberal. Anything that turns this narrative away from this being a pro-Trump riot is a problem. Let me state this again, I don't care who was involved or their political leanings it's a problem when a gov't building is assaulted.

So either way I will stop here. Hopefully I'll share something with you at the same bat time which is at 11:30 PM on this bat channel.

I fear we will have more trouble ahead, I see there is a yet another "right-wing" rally planned for Joe Biden's inaugural. Hopefully it won't be as unruly, though it will be a very turbulent start for a presidency.

24 states file brief against Texas lawsuit

 Among those 24 states, Illinois.

Via Legal Insurrection:

In the substance of the Brief, first there are the procedural arguments:

PA argues that SCOTUS should not exercise its discretion to accept “original jurisdiction” because core interests of Texas are not at issue, unlike a border or waterway dispute. Rather, the argument goes, Texas is seeking to protect the asserted rights of its citizens, and if SCOTUS expands its jurisdiction in that way, it will open the floodgates to making the rare exercise of SCOTUS original jurisdiction into a trial court for disputes between citizens of states, rather than states themselves.

Next, PA argues that Texas has no standing, because it has suffered no injury in fact; the way in which other states interpret their own laws and own constitutions is not a protected Texas interest. The personal interests of Texas citizens cannot be sued upon by the State of Texas.

PA - Pennsylvania is one of those states cited in the original brief that Texas had filed for the S.C.O.T.U.S. Either they reject this lawsuit and there's hardly anything else to be done at this point and likely Biden will definitely be sworn in as President in January. Or we might have ourselves another Bush v. Gore from 2000. Time will tell. 

Powerline: Do Trump's lawyers know what they're doing

 Powerline Blog is largely written and published by lawyers. If anyone can discuss what's going on at great length with the various court filings with regards to Trump trying to find a path to win the odd 2020 presidential election it would be them.

They focus on a filing in Michigan with some of the oddness going on there especially in Wayne County aka Detroit. Attorney John Hinderaker notices that all the locations filed in an affidavit are actually in his native Minnesota, not Michigan. So know I can only begin to wonder if someone made a boo-boo that can only serve to negatively affect their case.

Regardless it's great to see attention to any voter fraud or "cheating". However here's hoping Trump's lawyers actually do have the attention to detail because let's face it the odds are against them regardless. There are people out there in court and elsewhere that are very happy to dismiss their claims whether they're valid or not.

h/t Instapundit

2020 Election updates

 From PJ Media updates on Trump's lawsuits and recounts in the 2020 elections. I'm going to just say they're all longshots so it is what it is. The updates you see here made no mention of the withdrawal of Trump's legal team from the lawsuit in Pennsylvania. So he won one, and yet seems to take some steps back.

I feel this could get ugly although Trump has every right to pursue these avenues. 2020 is not your typical election....

h/t Instapundit

BTW, I feel it's amazing that we're still calling states such as Arizona (called for Biden Thursday nite), North Carolina (also called for Trump today), and just today Georgia. In the case of Arizona one headline from CNN noted that Biden has increased his Electoral College margin.

Then I thought at this point it doesn't matter CNN and other media has called the race for Biden, he's the president-elect. Says so on his twitter profile, if the elections are certified and according to the data that most media has access to he's gotten to over 270 electoral votes. He doesn't have to pad it anymore, it's not necessary! 

What electoral lead? He's the President-elect it doesn't matter anymore... https://t.co/4lMOhAFhYd

— Levois J (@levois) November 13, 2020

Perhaps it's just discourage the President even further. If the returns come in and establish large margins in those state's Trump will contest in court and certainly if the media wants it to appear as if there's nothing more Trump can do to change the outcome they might continue to pad Biden's electoral votes. My analysis as always.

How's that abolish police going Twin Cities?

 Minneapolis is reportedly considering bringing in supplemental police from outside jurisdictions

Minneapolis officials are considering bringing in officers from other jurisdictions to help the city’s Police Department as they face a wave of violent crime and an officer shortage.

If the mayor and City Council approve the plan, officers from the Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office and Metro Transit Police would temporarily work with the city, primarily helping to respond to violent 911 calls.

“We’re not gonna be having these people out taking bicycle theft reports. These are going to be people out combating crime issues,” said John Elder, a spokesman for Minneapolis police.

The officers would form Joint Enforcement Teams, known as JETs. Elder said the city has relied on such teams in the past, particularly to help in areas where violence was spiking.

Yeah "we don't want no more police" is such a winner in the long run is it?

h/t Newsalert 

#FOXEXIT

 At this point I'm a long way from abandoning FOX News. Not long after 9/11 I gravitated towards them in my consumption of news and opinion. I liked what I saw.

My perception is that they break from what I expected from CNN, NBC, ABC or CBS. Of course that's not to say I stopped watching them from the moment I started watching FOX News. I still perceive them as pursuing different stories or even different angles than you would see in the mainstream media, I felt as if I was joining the "dark side". In this case the side that was really trying to be "fair and balanced"

As happens things change. Last year a movie premiered - Bombshell - about the sexual harassment scandal at FOX News which resulted in some shuffling. Roger Ailes moved on and then later Bill O'Reilly moved on. After election day 2016 a popular host Megan Kelly had also moved on to join NBC and that didn't last long.

The Megyn Kelly this was referenced in this Instapundit post. And it brings up the one thing I would be somewhat concerned about seeing the chatter on social media.

FOX News had a loyal following among conservatives and Republicans. It was more friendly to those groups than the mainstream media was. However as I said things change and it seems there is a perception that FOX News wants to be more like CNN in it's coverage. For my tastes I don't want another CNN I want fair and balanced coverage.

There was criticism over Chris Wallace's moderating at the first presidential debate. There was criticism over FOX News' 2020 election coverage and how they arrived at calling Arizona (other networks as CNN or MSNBC weren't so quick to call AZ for Biden) and their delay in calling Florida. And worst still they were quick to call the election for Joe Biden over the weekend.

I do get the idea that when all is said and done no matter how FOX News wants the audience from CNN or MSNBC they will have abandoned the loyal audience who has supported them all these years. I see so many saying they won't ever watch FOX News and will flock to Newsmax or One American News Network. I will also recommend checking out The First which is the new home of Bill O'Reilly's No Spin News.

As they abandon their conservative audience and go full in on Biden/Harris being the President and Vice President-elect respectively they will have egg on their faces. And the networks they hope to join to pursue the same audience will still treat FOX News as the upstarts they find contemptible.

Here's what's going on in Pennsylvania

 The Supreme Court of the U.S. has ruled on ballots received by 8 PM on Election Day. Ordered them segregated and secured. This should be done in some of these other states where counts are ongoing such as Georgia and I would dare add Michigan and Wisconsin.

Speaking of Georgia, I see on social media there's some celebration that the Peach State has gone blue. I hope the President challenges that result and perhaps it's proven legit or not proven legit. 

Regardless this election is as bad as the other calamities of 2020!