House Speaker Nancy Pelosi declined to condemn the destruction of a statue of Christopher Columbus in the city of Baltimore (where she was born and raised) yesterday in the latest example of politicians enabling such mob action with their silence. When asked about a mob pulling down the statue and dumping it in the harbor (with no interference from police), Pelosi simply declared “People will do what they do.” Indeed, they will when leaders refuse to condemn their conduct. Her comment explains why a recently arrested supporter of Antifa declared that they are winning in the campaign to destroy statues and memorials. Update: Maryland Governor Larry Hogan blasted Pelosi for being out of touch with her comments. Rather than pander to the most extreme elements of these protests, Hogan insisted “while efforts towards peaceful change are welcome, there is no place in Maryland for lawlessness, vandalism, and destruction of public property.”
The incident in Baltimore is the latest such example of mob destruction of public art and memorials. As in Washington D.C. where the police chief said that he made the “tactical decision” to allow a mob to destroy such public memorials, the mob was allowed free rein and ample time to topple and drag the statue.
I previously denounced Pelosi for her ripping up of the State of the Union speech in shattering decades of tradition, but this is an act of mob destruction of public art.
Democratic leaders continue to straddle the fence in not acknowledging, let alone condemning, the extreme elements of recent protests. While the vast majority of protesters have been peaceful, there has been significant violence and property damage. Antifa and other “anti-fascist” organizations have long been a violent presence on college campus, including my own. Indeed, the recently arrested Antifa member accused of organizing the effort to topple the famous Andrew Jackson statue is a GW student.
I have criticized Democratic leaders for their support of Antifa despite its pronounced anti-free speech beliefs and violent history. The effort to remain neutral in the face of violent acts will not last long as today’s allies becomes tomorrow’s reactionaries.
Despite the current divisions in our society, we should be able to agree that the decision to remove such statues must be done collectively and legally in our society. It is disgraceful that a Speaker of the House of Representatives, and the third in line for the presidency of the United States, should have to be prodded to condemn such unlawful action and even then will not do so. While Pelosi said “I don’t care that much about statues,” she should care a bit about statutes like the ones making this a crime.
The media however has been relatively quiet on Pelosi’s comment. Unlike Trump’s equivocation that there were “very fine people on both sides” in Charlottesville, there is no expectation that Pelosi would condemn a mob destroying public art.
This is why James Freeman Clarke once said that “A politician thinks of the next election; a statesman thinks of the next generation.”
“People Will Do What They Do”
– Professor Turley
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America Cannot Sue China, Professor Turley
The Dutch people are suing Russia for the downing of MH17 as Professor Turley posits that America cannot sue China for releasing the “China Flu,” COVID-19.
Dutch launch legal action against Russia over downing of MH17 plane
THE NETHERLANDS is launching legal action against Russia over the downing of flight MH17 over Ukraine six years ago.
By Luke Hawker
PUBLISHED: 13:33, Fri, Jul 10, 2020 | UPDATED: 15:40, Fri, Jul 10, 2020
The Dutch minister for foreign affairs Stef Blok said the nation was filing a case to the European Courts of Human Rights (ECHR) in a bid to support the victims’ next of kin. The Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 was shot down over eastern Ukraine on July 17, 2014. The crash killed all 298 people on board including 196 Dutch nationals. The Kremlin has consistently denied any involvement. Minister of foreign affairs Stef Blok said: “With the step we are taking today, by filing a case with the ECHR and thereby supporting the complaints of the next of kin as much as possible, we are getting closer to our goal.” He added: “The submission is a new step in our efforts to establish truth, justice and accountability.” In a letter to parliament Mr Blok said the Government would give the court all its information on MH17 and support the individual applications already submitted by the victims’ next of kin. The aircraft had taken off from Schiphol Airport in Amsterdam and was destined for Kuala Lumpur. The MH17 aircraft was shot by a missile from a territory held by pro-Moscow rebels as it flew over eastern Ukraine. Last year a report by a Dutch-led international Joint Investigation team (JIT) claimed the missile launcher used to hit the aircraft came from a Russian army base just across the border. The JIT issued arrest warrants for four suspects, who were put on trial in the Netherlands in absentia earlier this year. The four suspects, three Russian men and one Ukrainian, are said to have arranged the missile system. They remain at large and are believed to be in Russia. Despite the new case, the Dutch government said it wanted to continue the talks with Russia on MH17 that it started together with Australia over a year ago. The aircraft was travelling from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur. In a report published by the Dutch Safety Board (DSB), harrowing details of the final moments emerged. The DSB said a missile exploded just above and to the left of the cockpit, causing the plane to break up in mid-air. It said the crash was caused by the detonation of a Russian-made 9N314M-type warhead launched from the eastern part of Ukraine using a Buk missile system. Investigators say only the captain and two crew members were instantly killed after the cockpit broke away from the rest of the plane.
Investigators believe it was between 60 and 90 seconds after the cockpit split that the rest of the aircraft hit the ground. According to the report during that time the rest of the passengers on board remained conscious before the plane crashed. The report said: “It cannot be ruled out that some occupants remained conscious during the 60 to 90 seconds before the plane crashed. “Victims were barely able to comprehend the situation in which they found themselves…no indications were found of any conscious actions such as sending text messages.”
– Daily/Sunday Express
Quin Lucas Schansman was an American with dual citizenship killed on MH17. Obama did nothing.
INSIGHT-‘Epic failure’: U.S. election officials warn of November chaos due to budget crunch
Reuters – Friday, 10 July 2020 09:59 GMT
WASHINGTON, July 10 (Reuters) – A Michigan town wants machines to speed up counting of absentee ballots. In Ohio, officials want to equip polling places so voters and poll workers feel safe from the coronavirus. Georgia officials, rattled by a chaotic election last month, want to send voters forms so they can request absentee ballots more easily. In all three cases, the money is not there to make it happen, say local officials responsible for running elections in the states – any one of which could determine who wins the Nov. 3 presidential election. Presidential nominating contests held this year in states from Wisconsin to Georgia have exposed massive challenges in conducting elections during the worst public health crisis in a century. Closed or understaffed polling venues led to long lines, there were problems delivering absentee ballots, and the votes took days, even weeks, to count. But instead of receiving more money for the all-important contest between Republican President Donald Trump and Democrat Joe Biden, officials face budget cuts after tax revenues plunged in the virus-stricken economy, two dozen election officials across several battleground states told Reuters. The consequences, they warn, go beyond practical headaches to the risk voters’ faith in the process will be undermined. “What kind of price tag are you going to put on the integrity of the election process and the safety of those who work it and those who vote?” said Tina Barton, the city clerk and chief elections official in Rochester Hills, Michigan, a state where Trump beat Democrat Hillary Clinton in 2016 by fewer than 11,000 votes. “Those are the things at risk.”
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Election Postponement – Not A Vote By Survey Monkey
President Trump must postpone the November election due to COVID-19, understanding that a fair and equitable election is impossible and that all other economic and social activities have been modified and/or suspended for reasons of the pandemic. To conduct a legitimate election, voters must appear and have their identity confirmed at a polling place. Democrats have already cancelled their convention. Communists (liberals, progressives, socialists, democrats, RINOs) are promoting “vote-by-mail” knowing that they will be afforded an historic opportunity to manipulate and defraud the vulnerable voting system. Communists (liberals, progressives, socialists, democrats, RINOs), in order to seize unfair advantages, absurdly propose that America surrender its self-governance to Survey Monkey. Communists (liberals, progressives, socialists, democrats, RINOs) employed our South Korean “allies,” K-pop, to enlist and encourage Tik Tok users to crash President Trump’s Tulsa rally. Communists (liberals, progressives, socialists, democrats, RINOs) “harvested” ballots to conquer Orange County, CA and other districts. Lincoln won 1860 with 38.9% and 1864 with brute military force. Joe Kennedy erased a Nixon victory and bought the presidency for JFK through Mob purchases in Chicago. Is it conceivable that the communists will not maximally corrupt and manipulate “vote-by-mail” to obtain a November victory? Of course they will. To communists (liberals, progressives, socialists, democrats, RINOs), the ends justify the means. No ethic, regulation, law, promise, duty or point of honor will ever prevent them from attempting to steal power. The essence of the Republic must be preserved at all costs, as Lincoln would say. President Trump must postpone the election due to COVID-19 until such time as the pandemic is in sufficient and quantifiable decline.
I distinctly remember a ruling by the Supreme Court last year, because I remember reading an opinion written by Gorsuch, saying that destroying public monuments is NOT protected by the first amendment. Gorsuch said something like, “In a country with 350 million inhabitants, everybody is going to have a different opinion, and we can’t have people just tearing down monuments all willy-nilly to express an opinion.” Obviously that’s paraphrasing but that’s pretty much the gist. So now are we just acting like the Supreme Court is some kind of 80’s girl band whose opinions don’t matter? Thanks to Judge Sullivan the Department of Justice has truly revealed itself to be, as Gowdy put it, “the department of ‘let’s see what we can get away with.'” We are either heading for or we’re already deep into a constitutional crisis. Laws are made to be obeyed. If you don’t like a law, change the law – the right way. Mob rule is never a good thing. It might swing your way today but by tomorrow it will be your head rolling. Pelosi thinks she’s going to hitch her wagon to the radicals and then jump ship when she’s gotten what she wants but that’s not how it works. She’s not going to jump ship, she’s going to be walking the plank. When you make a deal with the devil you had better read the fine print first. Too bad that Pelosi, while wily, is dumb as a tunafish sandwich.
America is in a condition of hysteria, incoherence, chaos, anarchy and rebellion.
President Abraham Lincoln seized power, neutralized the legislative and judicial branches and ruled by executive order and proclamation to “Save the Union.”
President Donald Trump must now seize power, neutralize the legislative and judicial branches and rule by executive order and proclamation to “Save the Republic.”
Pardon the off topic question but where’s the Durham investigation results? We didn’t need Chief Inspector Clouseau to determine crimes were committed against a US President. At least a criminal conspiracy.
“Not every abuse of power — no matter how outrageous — is necessarily a federal crime” – AG Bill Barr, Deep State agent, hater of the current president, lover of authoritarianism. The Stable Genius knows how to pick ’em, eh?
Advice and Consent of the Senate
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Article 2, Section 2, Clause 2
He shall have power, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, to make treaties, provided two thirds of the Senators present concur; and he shall nominate, and by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, shall appoint ambassadors, other public ministers and consuls, judges of the Supreme Court, and all other officers of the United States, whose appointments are not herein otherwise provided for, and which shall be established by law: but the Congress may by law vest the appointment of such inferior officers, as they think proper, in the President alone, in the courts of law, or in the heads of departments.
You’re right. Trump-hating Republican Senators (virtually all of them) would never confirm an AG who might actually aid Dear Leaser’s quest to drain the swamp and replace them with absolute loyalists.
Here’s your response:
Thank you. I stand corrected.
LOL. I’ll take the Deep State status quo over government by Trump cultists. Crazy decisions we have to make these days!
Too bad Trump blew his chance to destroy both parties and make lasting changes. Utterly unable to lead anyone but the converted. Sad.
Durham is still working, Vet.
Once he has all of the Ducks lined up, he will act.
The establishment only tolerates civil disobedience when they want or approve of it happening.
“The next day, Trump responded, saying “If you look at what I said, you will see that that question was answered perfectly. And I was talking about people that went because they felt very strongly about the monument to Robert E. Lee, a great general. Whether you like it or not, he was one of the great generals.”
I knew immediately what Trump meant by, “very fine people.” There were indeed people there to peacefully protest in favor of not tearing down the Robert E Lee statue. Trump still had to clarify this for some disingenuous adversaries and his explanation is still regarded as never having been uttered. The war was brother v brother and Lee was a decent man highly regarded by both Lincoln and Grant
“The next day, Trump responded, saying “If you look at what I said, you will see that that question was answered perfectly. And I was talking about people that went because they felt very strongly about the monument to Robert E. Lee, a great general. Whether you like it or not, he was one of the great generals.”
I’m wondering when protestors will protest outside Pelosi’s CA mansion. Keep in mind that the Seattle mayor did nothing to clear out the CHAZ/CHOP zone until protestors showed up at her home. People who are upset about what’s happening need to protest where these rich mansion liberals live.
I think the statue of Lenin in Seattle is still intact.
People in her district hate Trump far more than they care about statues. She could have torn them down herself and no one there would protest.
Lorenzo, why does it have to be just local people who protest in front of her mansion? Do you think all these “protests” are local people?
The entire SF Bay Area tends to be very liberal so not a lot of people to draw from even outside of SF itself.
Mob Boss D’Alesandro must be rolling over in his grave…
This is why the election is no longer about Trump or Trumps tweet but rather about saving Ametica. That comment went unnoticed as well as Di Bassio saying people should stay home and there will be no mass gatherings except for the protesters. I hope people are waking up
De Blasio’s action is unconstitutional and immoral on it’s face.
the COVID is real– HOWEVER the restrictions being applied to everyone but BLM protesters is patently illegal, invidious, discriminatory against US, unconstitutional, wicked censorship and totally illegal exercise of emergency powers.
If Trump issued an order that “everybody stay home because of disease except for Republicans” noboby would follow the law and it would be mocked and defied in force.,
So, where these stupid restrictions are presumed to be applied to law abiding citizens, citizens now should and must defy them. For example, let the Christians have church again if they have any spine or purpose whatsoever.
The governors and mayors doing this should all be arrested. It’s fully morally justified to have open war against them if they are in such a huge conspiracy to violate everyone’s rights that the FBI cant do its job.
I mean if it were feasible; right now, probably not feasible, but that could change fast
Well the anarchists want anarchy and they may yet get what they’ve bargained for.
You are correct, of course, so maybe that’s what he should do so we can finally get this out of our system! I agree completely that the governors and mayors that have been complicit should be held accountable for every single thing that has transpired in the territory they govern, up to and including the murders. There is no question at this point this would have been shut down in a day if the police were allowed to do their jobs. I have zero patience left, book them to the full extent of the law as private citizens as they have all acted outside of the purview of their stations. The governors whining that it’s on the feds because they didn’t intervene need to reread their law and their history. that includes Pelosi IMO, but I am not holding my breath. Heaven help us if Trump loses or we lose the senate to these ingrates.
Maybe four years of Trump presidency really was worth it to prevent a Hillary administration. If this covid business had gone down under her, we might actually be in the civil war of your wet dreams right now. Far fewer covid deaths, but even more civil unrest.
Instead we get Trump’s weasel waffling between IT’S NOT SERIOUS/IT’S SERIOUS AND IT’S CHINA’S FAULT AND I SAVED YOU. Whatever keeps the cultists retweeting instead of reloading, I guess.
If the psychopathic war criminal named Hillary had won, we would be well on our way to WWIII by now, and the Corona canard would have never happened.
How about leaving statues and other artwork alone? There’s no way to “legally” remove them without causing division. After all, the War Between the States (it was NOT a civil war) was fought because of division, literally. As for Pelosi and the Democrats, they’re demonstrating their desire to destroy this country and establish a Marxist state. That’s been their goal since the Sixties.
It’s taken the election of an outsider President Trump to make the Democrat party out themselves. They’ve fooled many Americans for a very long time but now the curtain has been pulled away to reveal who they really are. Given the opportunity they will turn this nation into “Russia Russia Russia.
There has to be some way Pelosi and the others, America needs now, to avoid this embarrassment. “People will do what they do.” is beyond pathetic. That’s not quite Trump stating that there are good people amongst the white supremacists but getting there.
It reeks of the same stench as the Mayor of Baltimore in 2015 about “give them some space” in regards to the riots. Now the stench of Baltimore (Pelosi’s roots) have expanded nationwide. Public and private property will not be defended from vandals. This will not end well.
Trump condemned the white supremacists in Charlottesville in that same press conference. The implication that he was supporting white supremacists is an obvious lie.
Ugh, I’m so tired of people taking out of context what Trump said about “good people.” Does issac not think on his own? Look up the whole video and actually watch it instead of bleating such misrepresentation.
You are on a blog where each day there is an example of someone unjustly getting labeled a racist.
The same thing happened to Trump at Charlottesville and anyone who doesn’t realize that either hasn’t taken an honest look at what he said and the context of the event, is just lapping up propaganda, or is outright lying.
What do you expect, she’s evil.
Pelosi, albeit the most powerful, is simply one in a long line of democrats who have said nothing to condemn either the destruction of monuments and the rioting and looting or even the murder of innocent civilians, compared to the orgasmic response they had to the possible killing of a violent felon by a police officer. And, many democrats, like the Minneapolis, Washington D.C., New York, Portland and Seattle mayors have been active enablers of the destruction, either by encouraging it or intentionally pulling back to let the criminals and fascists have their way. There is no courage or statesmanship left in the democrat party. All that’s left is a willingness to do anything to regain power even if that means grievously wounding our country.
There is no courage or statesmanship left in the democrat party. All that’s left is a willingness to do anything to regain power even if that means grievously wounding our country.
I agree, but where is the statesmanship out of the Republican party?
Olly– I see it in many of President Trump’s initiatives– prison reform and the emphasis on black unemployment even though he is supported by only a small percentage of blacks and condemned by many. The same could be said of his recent executive order assisting Mexican Americans. And I think there are many more examples where he put the interests of the country ahead of his personal interests.
HLM,
I should have been more precise. Other than President Trump. I’m trying to figure out the strategy by the GOP. Are they content with watching the Democrats leave the moderates in their party behind as they get dragged further left?
Olly– I agree with you there. There are precious few Republicans in Congress who stand behind President Trump and who stand up to the avowed enemies of this country and who show that they are capable of leading a fractured country. I think they are just as afraid as democrats of the Marxist wing of the democrat party.
HLM,
Of course we are living in some strange times. Instead of two political parties pandering to the middle, we have Trump doing what he does best, the rest of the Republicans are staying out of the line of fire and the Democrats have made Jill Stein seem sane and moderate. Tulsi Gabbard is a right-wing radical compared to where the Democratic party has gone.
She has to keep the Squad mollified. Pelosi is an old hand and does not want to lose power.
Even if the Dems keep the house, no way she’s speaker again. This is about the presidential election – if she condemns the statue destruction, then she’s criticizing the Left in her party and that’s far too risky. Especially now since Manchurian Biden is moving Left as well.
She’s 80 years old and she and her husband have an 8-digit net worth. Have a look at the legislation she’s shepherded through Congress over a period of 33 years. Absolutely banal. That she continues in office is indicative of pathology. (The same might be said of Steny Hoyer, who has occupied elective office without interruption since 1962).
Do we need any more evidence that the Liberals in the DNC have been overtaken by the Leftists? Pelosi clearly is no longer in power of her party and is literally mouthing the Leftist party line.
“Indeed, they will when leaders refuse to condemn their conduct.”
A. Pelosi doesn’t represent Baltimore, she represents San Francisco.
B. The people pulling down the statue don’t give a shit what Nancy Pelosi says
Watch her change her tune if a statue of Robert Byrd (Dem. senator from WV and the KKK) were to be toppled.
Democrat violence in 68 gave Nixon a landslide victory.