Welcome to the Monday edition of The Mark Steyn Show, in which Mark contrasts the defenestration of Mrs Thatcher with the fixed rigidity of American politics. He also looks back to the peculiar convulsions of the weekend, and to the lessons of Rudy's 2008 presidential campaign. There's also another edition of The Hundred Years Ago Show, with Soviet invasions, Russian regents for Greece, and fake news from West Virginia. Plus homophobic imans, vulnerable strongmen, and your light-orchestral stress-reliever.
Click above to listen.
For that brave band who prefer Mark on video, he'll be back on the telly this Thanksgiving Eve. If you're minded to stick with non-visual formats, he'll be right here at SteynOnline with tonight's episode of Psmith, Journalist by P G Wodehouse this evening.
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Apropos the contrived resignation of Margaret Thatcher, I also have clear memories of public reaction. I was a university student at the time of Thatcher's departure from Downing Street and as you can imagine, my support for her as a political leader was not widely shared. On many occasions, I found myself cornered, outnumbered and harangued for daring to express my own opinion. My how times change - only in that it's considerably worse now.
I find that photo of Thatcher with her husband, in the car as they leave their home of 11 years, quite haunting. Her expression is apposite for a great many Britons through this year of 2020. If only we had someone in No. 10 with even half of the courage of that lady.
I'm just a guy sitting in a very red Midwestern state who is trying to keep his bills paid, so it's not like I have the skills, the time or even the opportunity to go find hard evidence of significant vote fraud. But my God, the widely known statistical anomalies are breathtaking, not to mention clearly impossible without cheating.
The only thing more breathtaking is the the flippant, glib response from the Republican party. How can they not realize that to accept this outcome without exposing what happened is to also accept becoming a powerless party that will be a permanent minority?
Perhaps they think the Left will grant them official minority status, which will give them the same "protections" afforded other minority groups by the Left. They could call it the Rachel Dolezal Plan For Political Security.
The GOP has been nothing more than the shoulder to cry on when they don't like the policies the establishment set for them They tell us all what we want to hear and when the moment comes to deliver, they tell you "Not now, later" and later never comes and they expect you to fight another day. We are nothing more than stepping stones to their success. We need to tell them that it's not enough for you to say what we want, we want you to actually do what we want. They sell us out to save their own ass and they do this every time. Donald Trump is the only one brave enough to fight the establishment and the party he thought he saved, the party he thought wanted to be winners, are nothing more than cowards. Trump deserves better, we deserve better. The Iron Curtain may have been taken down but the Iron Fist that put it up still remains. And when that fist comes down, it'll come down on us and our "representatives" will be in on it.
I imagine there is a group of Republican campaign consultants that tell them not to actually solve any problems because it's bad campaign strategy. Don't defund Planned Parenthood , for example, because lambasting PP in your ads is good for X% turnout. Don't get rid of Obamacare because *promising* to get rid of it is good for Y% turnout. You start solving problems then come next election cycle how do you replace that X+Y% turnout?? Better to complain and blame than solve. In the case of election fraud I suspect the R's have the additional incentive not to act in that some of their own are guilty too, and they don't want us looking too closely at what's living under the rocks.
Republican Party is comfortable with the chains lying lightly on their shoulders, never appreciating the progressive increase in links forged by the Left. Only two Presidents were not content with servitude... Reagan and Trump. Reagan (and Pope John Paul II) saw victory over the Soviets as not only possible but doable contrary to "conventional wisdom". Trump has faced an even greater adversary... the Deep State and its 5th column the 4th estate. As Lincoln said, our demise will be internal. Recover, Regain and Restore America is now confined to recline and decline by both the Left and GOPe. Liberty and freedom have scary responsibilities.
GOP stands for Globalist Orthodoxy Party. I compare what is happening now to how a slave from the South is denied freedom after getting his papers showing he was freed. The slave is let go by his former master and is given papers showing he was freed. Bunch of white southerners confront the slave and think he's a runaway. The slave shows them his papers and says "I'm free". They take the papers and rip them up in front of him and say "You're not free no more" as they proceed to put him in chains again. We are telling the establishment "We're free" when we wave the Constitution and the Bill of Rights in their faces and they took them and are ripping them up in front of us all and are telling us "You're not free".
The GOP Inc needs the DNC Inc bogeyman in power, so that they can raise money "to save America".
Just as they fundraised to "get rid of Obamacare"
It's already started.
Hey Mark. Here is my "You Heard It Here First" prediction: Expect to see the scare word "Sinophobia" enter common usage to be deployed against anyone who disagrees with Biden's China policy or with Covid orthodoxy.
I'm not afraid of sines, cosines, or tangents. And I think as soon as we actually do something serious about them stealing our intellectual property, they fold like a Chinese tent. Slave labor will never outperform a free market. As soon as we get serious about protecting the things we MUST manufacture here - basic necessities, implements of war, the thing we needed so badly at the beginning of the Chan-demic - the sooner we are on the right path. The president (presumptive-elect) is not supposed to have the power to screw that up.
Do believe the 'scare word' for rejecting the politicized line on the virus will be 'unpatriotic' -- the left is going to wrap itself in the flag even as it shreds it and destroys the nation. And the virus -- coupled with true ignorance of science -- is the tool they will have always dreamed about having.
According to Merriam-Webster, a "Phobia is an exaggerated, usually inexplicable and illogical, fear of a particular object, class of objects, or situation."
China, Islam, DNC, DoJ, vote-fraud, election-stealing, WHO, enforced mask-wearing, lockdown, China again, the EU, Facebook, Google, Amazon, Twitter, BLM, Antifa, mass immigration, enforced transgenderization, black-on-white violence, illegal immigration, RINOs, the Deep State, Emmet Sullivan. Fear of these is, apparently, phobic.
Fear of being the 0.1%-0.3% that dies of the Chinese virus? Fear of someone not wearing a mask? Be afraid! Be very afraid!
You trig-gered me. First a Biden Administration will act tough and then in a masterly show of diplomacy there will be a summit and a deal that reverses all gains made by Trump, dropping tariffs and resuming free trade. You'd better be sitting down because it will happen so fast it will make your head spin.
All smothered in syrup of hypocrisy. Already my stomach turns.
This reminds me of how a bat flew into a seafood market located just 300 metres from a BSL-4 facility in Wuhan where gain-of-function research on bat coronaviruses is conducted. And a global pandemic ensued.
Just like we had to believe the Chinese Communist Party explanation, we're expected to move on and let the "Democratic Party" get away with it.
Question the official version, and you're a complete nutter!
From one nutter to another, K., questioning the official version just comes more naturally than accepting it these days. We do have more fun.
As Tucker Carlson would say:
O B V I O U S L Y
:)
"Conspiracy theorist" is the new mentally insane, S.
As always an enjoyable and enlightening show. I have a few thoughts regarding Twitter and it's outsized influence on all things political at the present time. I was on Twitter way back in the early days before there were any vowels (it was originally called Twttr) and when you could send a tweet using SMS (text messaging) or via instant messenger (like AOL and Yahoo!) apps. At that time Twitter was strictly the domain of technology early adopters and even in its early days a "herd" mentality quickly developed. Tech related controversies that might previously take weeks to unfold on blogs unfolded within a few days on Twitter. As Twitter gained popularity that cycle accelerated to the point where controversies blew up and then dissipated within a few hours. It struck me that with the speed of the information cycle accelerating, critical elements of debate such as truth and reason were eschewed in favor of self-righteousness and emotion. And while this was distasteful when tech controversies dominated it became downright unbearable for me once Twitter became dominated by politics. Hence, I haven't had an account on Twitter for years. My personal feeling is that anyone who comes to a conclusion or makes any kind of critical decision based on what "happens" on Twitter is acting foolishly. Hence, many people are acting foolishly.
It's time for people to stop paying so much attention to the venom being sprayed about on Twitter and to start thinking for themselves again. Lest anyone think that Twitter is "critical" to the debate, please be reminded that over the years we've seen various technology platforms come and go (AOL, Yahoo! and MySpace are fine examples of that), and there's nothing particularly innovative about Twitter that makes its future inevitable. If people start leaving Twitter and ignoring what's said on there (it's possible with a bit of self control) we can take power away from the Dorsey's (and Zuckerberg's) in the world and shift it to places that are more representative of our values and responsive to our desires.
S., you remark that "[...] anyone who comes to a conclusion or makes any kind of critical decision based on what 'happens' on Twitter is acting foolishly. Hence, many people are acting foolishly." How right you are. Also, there general conclusions to be drawn about people who communicate via Twitter.
If this is the "new normal", I like it not one scrap.
"Also, there general conclusions to be drawn about people who communicate via Twitter." Agreed. I think that Trump needs to move off there. With his resources he could easily develop his own channel of communication that would gain a huge following. Like all high profile personalities he's found out that Twitter works for them...until it doesn't. I was recently listening to a lecture from the early 1970s by the philosopher Alan Watts who talked about how people were obsessed with electronic reproductions of life instead of actual living. Watts was referring to people watching TV. What would he think of what's happening today, where we're forced by government to experience life 'virtually' much to the benefit of the Big Tech giants? No surprise there. It's amazing how many people have willingly subjugated themselves to "the new normal" though. I'm no fan of it either though.
S., that's a really illuminating insight. As to what President Trump would be well-advised to do, he can do what he likes now. He has tossed the presidency to a no-hoper - a corrupt, lecherous, senile, hypochondriac has-been, no, neverwozzer, and a climate alarmist to boot, who had gone on record offering excuses for or consorting with rioters and other criminals, with the poorest vice-presidential candidate in American and, for all I know, human history and a non-existent campaign, and has already damaged the Republicans' one-certain likelihood of holding the senate. Twitter is the least of his worries now. Seventy-odd million supporters? I doubt it. I firmly believe that those seventy-odd million votes reflected the political wishes of a large number of folk whose determination to support the Republicans caused them to hold their noses and vote for the incumbent regardlessly and the political hopes of a possibly even larger number of folk who wanted to avoid being governed by the Democrats. I think that there were a good number of sympathy votes, too: he had without a doubt been ill-used by the media and wrongfully hounded by his opponents.
I'm in a peevish frame of mind about the under-delivery still, not that I have any right to be. No promises were made to me. On the other hand, I'm grateful for the restraint which you exercised in not pointing out my omission of the linking verb in the sentence in which you generously discerned merit.
Take care of yourself.
Thank you, Mark. Could not have stated the opening monologue more perfectly
Excellent segment on Trump, the Kracken, etc., I love the line, I backed Trump before you did. it's true, I remember it very well.
My problem with the Kracken, the biblical storms, Scytl and all that is that it both distracts from the core argument; that the election was stolen in plain sight with massive mail-in voting fraud and the cesspool democrats in the four corrupt cities of Philadelphia, Detroit, Milwaukee, and Atlanta; and that it also provides a convenient "conspiracy theory" narrative for the media and the left to debunk the real fraud that took place.
I propose we refer to them going forward as D.A.M.P.
I'm afraid that we're close to or maybe at that point where Sheldon Cooper says, "There's nothing left but to assign blame." We seem to have already started. I know I was surprised at the hostile reaction to Tucker and the elevation to sainthood of Powell. What do you really know about her?
Well, she got General Flynn off.... oh wait, she hasn't done that yet, has she? In fact, a pro-Trump conservative lawyer I respect said she made a blunder in that case which allowed Sullivan to keep the case open for months, which he is doing. This happened before the election, btw.
This same lawyer (some of you may know who I'm talking about) also said that Barrett was not the great choice that people thought she was and sure enough, her first official act was to recuse herself in the Pennsylvania case, thus screwing Trump over and allowing that situation to stand. So, I respect this man's opinion.
Personally, I'm no lawyer and I hope to God that Powell can deliver, but her credibility is seriously in question with me and others.
And no, Mark, I don't think you supported Trump before I did.
It's not about Tucker. Forget Tucker. The question is "Where is the DOJ"? Why aren't they investigating the crimes alleged by Powell and others?
The DOJ?! Er, excuse me... I'll get back to you when I get my laughter under control.
I think there was a hostile reaction to Tucker because - for the past 3 weeks - people heard more about the stolen US election from a Canadian who guest-hosts for Tucker than from Tucker himself. (There's an idea!)
Remember that comment last week about TC moving on, Steven? That was *before* the side-show, which would have seemed more compelling had Tucker shown an interest in the broader issue since November 3rd, instead of past-tensing the President.
PS. Robert is correct about the dereliction of duty by the DOJ - and by Tucker.
Exactly what was Tucker supposed to report every night? "This just in, you know those claims that the Trump team is making? They're still making them!"
Oh, I wasn't laughing at Robert, if that's what you think. I was laughing at the DOJ.
have a cup of tea and a lie down
No offence taken, Steve. I knew what you meant. But to answer your rhetorical question: Tucker (and others!) could have invited Barr or Wray on to the show and asked them "What are you doing about these serious allegations?" I know the answer would be "Nothing" but some one has to call attention to the fact that an important part of our government is no longer attempting to do its job.
C'mon man! We all know you were with ¡Jeb! until the $100 million ran out.
Durn Walt, you got me. As I watched the last few of those hundred million dollars be doled out and realized I wasn't getting any, that's when I said, "the hell with this, I'm a Trump guy now!"
I think that guy Huber in Utah has been assigned to the investigation now that the Clinton Uranium One and Carter Page surveillance investigations have been successfully resolved.
If he'd shown half the intellectual curiosity shown by the aforementioned Canadians - vis-Ã -vis "voting irregularities" - that would've been something.
You left out the Bex!
Never mind Melburnian... are you really Australian?!
All right, Kate, I give up. I hate Tucker now and I want to punch him right in his face. Happy?
Oh no! I see that Mark is going to host Tucker's show tomorrow night. To quote Admiral Acbar: "It's a trap!"
:-)
Can't we all just get along...
As noted by one conservative commentator (125K likes)...
- Common sense 101: You don't destroy ballots, refuse audits and have big tech censor your citizens because you acted honestly.
- The American election was clearly rigged.
- The bigger question is whether or not this was the 1st time.
- The next 2 weeks are going to be interesting.
Hey Kate, I think the biggest question is whether or not Americans understand that if they accept that this was a rigged election, that they will never have free elections again and if they are prepared to accept that fact.
You're right, Laura! The (new) penultimate line should be...
- The biggest question is whether or not this will be the last time.
How was the American election clearly rigged ?
In your words .
Please supply the evidence.
I don't hold our American friends in such contempt.
Cheers.
The words are those of an American conservative. On twitter.
Why do you hold her in such contempt?
Then there is the Soviet one party system that selects the candidate and you can take you ballot and hand it immediately back to approve ... or.... walk over to a booth and fill in your selection and then submit it. Worked well for them and , if they get their way, good for the Left. For now... it is a time to "heel" as the Dems want.
No question at all, from Tammany Hall, to Bob Dornan's loss to Dick Tracy voting for a community organizer.
Where's your evidence that it wasn't rigged?
If we do lose, we need to send the establishment Republicans who turned on us a message. We must not show up to vote. We must provide the death knell for them as a loud and clear message that they have lost us. We need a new party and one that can fight on the same level as they do. The resistance must be real and not just talk. We start now regardless of the outcome. This should not stand today, tomorrow, or ever in this country.
We the people need to take back the job of informing the public of this stolen election. No media is going to do it. All club members need to personally spread the word via all means at their disposal (including good old fashioned face to face talking) about how this election was stolen. Then do more than that - talk about how to reform the system (paper ballots, counting ballots where cast, no machines, no mail-in, etc.) And talk about how to make your state legislators implement reforms - and how to make them afraid to govern against the will of the people.
The sad accounts that MS presents of those that outlived much and then succumbed to the virus are accounts that can be multiplied by at least 8000 to 8500 every day in the United States (add expected deaths and virus deaths). Each death is sad, a reason to pause, re-calibrate and reflect on the nature of life (how little time we give to cosmology and epistemology). Yet at 79 and 80, the span of life is complete (or completed for most of us). Yes, a 30-something dying of the virus is particularly sad. But do review the deaths in the 2018 flu, which was the last to push deaths over those expected. It hit 30- and 40-somethings very, very hard, taking the biggest toll on them. And keep in mind life expectancy.
Year 1917, US life expectancy 50; year 1950, US life expectancy 68; year 2017, US life expectancy 78.6...How many people who have been locked in their homes since March know that? We are an old population and many of us are scheduled for death soon, one way or another.
Fear mortality and it's impossible to live. (Oh, yes, don't forget the world's population was only 1.5 billion in 1917 when it absorbed 20 million deaths to Spanish flu without shutting down. People carried on.)
Maybe I should just get COVID and hope it takes me. Better than living in a Biden presidency. This crap just showed us that the so called two party system was just an illusion. When Trump ran it wasn't and never was the Republicans vs the Democrats but rather the cold reality of the average citizen vs the state and in that battle, the state eventually always wins.
No. No. No. Much better to live and fight on...The big mistake that the left makes is to think that every T voter is of the same mindset about everything. In fact, I would argue -- not here -- the T voters are one of the most diverse group ever assembled. Two years ago, a man had come from California to campaign for his nephew who was running for a local office here. He engaged me in my front yard, which is as gardener's heart 'green' as it can get. He could simply not believe my ardent support of T. At one point, he waved his hand across my gardens and said, "You do all this, and you are a Trump supporter?" Apparently, he thinks T supporters don't garden. He was very confused.
Just don't let it ruin your life. Average CoViD death age is only 2-3 months less than average life expectancy. I look at local, state, national and worldwide statistics whenever I see them in the news. 2020 has so far had a death toll well within the standard deviation of the past decade and suicide, drug and alcohol overdoses, other forms of death from despair, etc. are twice or more those from Wuhan flu.
I'm sick of being told by so called conservatives that we should just concede, look at the silver lining in this election and fight for 2022 and 2024. Are they insane? We had both the House and the Senate for two f-n years. We were in the best position for our movement and what happened? They couldn't fix heath care. They couldn't fix immigration. They didn't do anything except pass a corporate tax cut that helped their donors. If anyone believes that these "Republicans" are going to resist like the Democrats have they are fools. We may have had two parties in this country but they are all bow to the same agenda: The Democrat agenda. The Republican party sold out conservatives long ago when globalism took its hold on us. Now they expect us to move on for the "good of the country" when in fact the only ones that benefit from this is them. They get rich, they get the best things in life, they get to have a future while we must be grateful for what they give us and appreciate the fact that they are representing our values. Walk over talk should be our motto and Trump has done both the walk and the talk and when he fails, we see the effort and know he's not blowing smoke up our you know what's.
I also thought we had an ally in Fox but slowly and surely they all fall in line like all the rest. Now Ingraham is telling us to "move on" and to be happy that we won seats in the House and the Senate. We've always had to deal with second place in everything. Always been told to live to fight another day. Meanwhile, the left live and die by the motto of Ricky Bobby from Talladega Nights: "If you're not first, you're last". That is a more truer statement in politics than we can ever have. How many nations now embrace Communism? Don't they realize how hard it is to get rid of it once it takes hold? You're a fool if you think that in four years they'll give Trump a chance to win again. We don't win this one way or another, we will all have to love Big Brother.
Agree. If we lose this one -- and it looks like we are losing because (as is the norm you recount) Republicans are folding/have folded. Our Rino governor Hogan has gone full fascist. Beginning tonight the State Police -- yes, you read it correctly -- the State Police will be doing covid-compliance enforcement. Hogan has set up a hotline for people to report neighbors for non-compliance with his totally unconstitutional, whimsical and absolutely unscientific edicts. Meanwhile, gun violence, machete hacking, pedophilia, etc. are increasing.//If that news were not bad enough, media are reporting T is being sued for trying to disenfranchise black voters. Absurd. But the left is playing for keeps. And what should be the opposition isn't even on the field.
Addendum -- Later the same day previous reply was written -- just learned that overnight several of neighbors' cars were vandalized and one (two doors down) was stolen. Police response (we knew this from previous experience) is no response -- i.e. file a report online and hope for the best. Meanwhile...
For Joe's inauguration, the Marine Corps Band can't decide between "Hail to the Cheat" and "Hail to the Thief."
We could vote on it, but not with those blasted machines.
Sadly, the military is 100% converted and dedicated to defending the worship of Diversity (think General Mattis) and will wholeheartedly celebrate Biden and Harris.
America is being set up to endure a tragedy. I call it the "Tragedy of the Poker Table Commons" a mashup of two ideas.
The "Tragedy of the Commons" is well known. It's "a situation in a shared-resource system where individual users, acting independently according to their own self-interest, behave contrary to the common good of all users, by depleting or spoiling that resource through their collective action."
The "Poker Table" component was inspired by Robert A. Heinlein. "There is no such thing as 'social gambling.' Either you are there to cut the other bloke's heart out and eat it—or you're a sucker. If you don't like this choice—don't gamble."
The U.S. Treasury — the commons — has been mostly mismanaged since its creation. Politicians overseeing its redistribution have a talent for making their self-interest seem like the common good. Occasionally, the two overlap to the benefit of "the people." We now vote for politicians to go to Washington to bring home the bacon.
Both in real terms, and as a percent of Gross Domestic Product, the prize money has grown. In 1929, federal government spending was around 3 percent of GDP. It's around 20 percent today.
Our democracy has effectively become a poker game. We stake our politicians in a national tournament where the winners take home progressively larger sums depending on their skills at a game even more ruthless than poker — legislation.
And it has become an increasingly higher stakes game. As Leviathan has grown, the people sitting at the table, are playing for more than the locations where aircraft carriers, courthouses, and post offices will be built. And the game is turning more uncertain, more ugly.
That's what happens when everything is at stake. To go back to Heinlein: Today's successful poker-player-cum-politician is there to cut the other guy's heart out and eat it. That's why the game has turned so nasty. That's why the discourse for allocation of the commons has become so rancorous. When you realize you're playing for all of your wealth, for the future of your children, for the care of your parents, for liberty itself, is there anything you wouldn't do to win? We aren't divvying up a purse anymore. We are engaged in a culture war.
The tragedy playing out before us is that the American taxpayer is is required to back the losers and winners in a rigged game.
Well said!
Late comment... just reminded of this excellent insight. Please comment more often!
... but if we got rid of the 3 month interregnum between Presidencies, when would be the ideal time to pardon criminals?
... and how could we possibly do without that!
Fantastic opening - poignant Thatcher anecdote, followed by simple clear observations and passionate outrage. I like both Sidney and Tucker and enjoy you standing by both, Mark.
I do wish Trump had run a better campaign, more like 2016, but I also firmly believe he won convincingly. Your list of bellwhether districts is evidence enough for me, though I don't think it would stand up in court. Alas, I think the many fraudulent acts will be difficult to prove to a level required by the courts.
Putting aside the content and/or validity of Sidney Powell's assertions, wasn't there the distinct sense that Tucker Carlson had already moved on in the days and weeks after the election - in terms of the "official" result - before he threw her under the bus?
I don't recall Tucker devoting as much time - nor indignation - to the broader topic of voter "irregularities" delivering a "win" to Joe Biden as he did to the SP segment. Tucker's show is all about the pursuit of truth, yet I've heard far more from Canadians - such as Steyn and McIntyre - about the very legitimate and undisputed issues surrounding the (at best) highly suspicious US election.
Sidney Powell will either dramatically overturn the result by revealing evidence of biblical proportions, or ruin any chance of that outcome if her evidence amounts to nothing more than an elaborate conspiracy theory - and a distraction from more mundane and provable fraud. We shall see.
Interesting observations, Kate, and I'd say quite accurate as well. I'm willing to waiting a little while for Ms. Powell to release the Kraken, but only a little while. I can see why Tucker would ask for the evidence, but not why he wouldn't accept her answer. He doesn't get to dictate when she releases the evidence.
He [Tucker] didn't throw anyone under the bus .
Hillary's claims were nonsense. So are Trumps.
You should provide evidence when making such grand claims.
"He [Tucker] didn't throw anyone under the bus."
Have a listen to the show, cd. Mark said he did - and I was quoting him. Mark also provided evidence of the "grand claims", which are summarised below by Mark Shere.
PS. I recall you telling me last year I wasn't allowed to comment on US politics, as I'm not an American. But why are you an exception to that rule?
PPS. I'm more than happy for Americans to comment on (very insignificant and parochial) Australian politics, but I'd be telling them off if they lectured me about the outcome of an election if it wasn't official.
I'm starting to worry about whether the Kraken is all it's cracked up to be, George. Maybe the "boring" fraud to which Mark alluded is the key.
By the way, based on a few anecdotal discussions in recent days, I'm not the only one who thinks Tucker is looking more and more like one of the media wets (to use Mrs Thatcher's term). People are saying the same thing about Laura Ingraham. If the Murdoch press in Australia is anything to go by, all the journos and commentators (with few exceptions) got their talking points from head office on November 4th - so no surprise regarding FOX.
It shouldn't be up to Powell to do this. She has made allegations of criminal conduct and asserted that she has evidence. That's when the DOJ is supposed to get involved. Tucker should be asking where is the DOJ, not show me your evidence Sidney. The FBI should have seized the voting machines in Antrim County Michigan . But did they? Why not? Tucker and the rest of the media are derelict in their duty to hold the GOVT accountable for what's happening. But they are too hung up on the Rudy- Sidney drama to notice the bigger, and more important, picture.
You recall very well.Please see AOC.
"Tucker and the rest of the media are derelict in their duty to hold the GOVT accountable for what's happening."
With you, Robert. 100%. You've nailed it. And it's been obvious from Day 1.
A fellow Steyn Clubber sent me a text today, saying exactly that.
Tucker throwing Sidney under the bus is a sideshow. He didn't seem that bothered by all the other allegations of electoral fraud.
Yes my thoughts exactly about the Kracken not being all it's cracked up to be. I hope I'm wrong, but I'll bet we'll see evidence of the Loch Ness monster before we'll see evidence of the Kracken. It's enough to get your tentacles all tied up in a tizzy.
Spot on. I cancelled my subscription to the Oz on account of Greg Sheridan's insufferable anti-Trump bleating and Paul Kelly's obsession with Sir John Kerr. I only took it up when Blair went behind a paywall anyway.
From everything I've been able to gather in my reading, there was election fraud in at least 8 states. Given the numbers involved, I don't think it can be proven beyond a reasonable doubt that it threw the election the other way. Unless it can be proven exactly what went on between 10pm and 8am overnight, in D, A, M & P, Biden is president.
I've tried to find a reason to stand by what Tucker did but seeing Ingraham now tell us the president conceded and we need to be "grateful" made me realize that we were all played as fools. I understand the need for answers regardless as to who is in the split screen but don't forget who your audience is. They don't love Tucker, Ingraham, Hannity, or anyone else on that screen. They love Trump and they saw what Tucker did to Powell as an attempt of Fox News to pour cold water on the hopes and dreams of every Trump supporter and as another call for us to "move on". Donald Trump made Fox News relevant just as he did every Republican we had to drag across the finish line every Tuesday in November and then they abandon him when things look bleak. That being said, I'm not telling anyone they should boycott or stop watching Tucker or anyone else. I'm angry that once again, we're told to stand by and support these people and when we give them what they need to be successful, they turn their backs on us and expect us all to be grateful. The left always play to win, while we play not to lose. What's the point of living if you're not going to be given the right to have a life?
Indeed, well noted and said.
Indeed.
"The Australian" immediately imposed the "baseless" narrative, and derided anyone on Sky who wasn't fully on board with the "President-elect" story (ie. Alan Jones).
PS. It's worth cancelling an individual subscription and instead sharing a login with as many people as possible so as to send the garbage MSM a message.
Well said, Brian. Another "Mailbox"-worthy comment.
Couldn't help but want to ask a question: Do we believe in friends or a following? Friendship at one time meant something. We could have our differences but we never let them get in the way of liking each other. Now it seems we can't be friends or won't be friends unless we believe in the same things they do or we have to not like someone because they don't like them. What happened in the Tucker vs Powell event is that we are being questioned as to how loyal we are to Trump. If we aren't allowed to even disagree on some things in hoping to debate them then we are a following or a cult as the left calls us. Free speech is preached a lot here, maybe we need to relearn what it means and realize that criticizing Powell doesn't mean that we want Trump to fail.
'Free speech' is a meaningless concept. Hence your problem and that of others who make 'freedom' their watchword instead of 'democracy'. I suggest you replace 'free speech' with 'democratic speech'. Why? Because it's meaningful. It means there is room for two or more views/opinions/perspectives on everything. And 'democratic speech' begets 'democratic diversity', 'democratic debate', 'democratic opinion', 'democratic equality', 'democratic disagreement', etc. Now you're on firm, meaningful 'democratic' ground, and in balance with democratic gravity. What's in a word? Everything. Test and see.
Interesting question, Brian.
Well, I'm not sure that people are pissed off with Tucker because of his reasonable, constructive criticisms of the approach that Sydney is taking. Because that's not what happened. He demanded that she pony up her evidence on tv - on his "show".
At the heart of the current issue is the TV Game show that the networks have turned the election into. Sydney refused to play by TV rules, and that's a good thing. Being free to not perform is also free speech.
Sydney is popular because she uses the media to promote her case, and she attacks, rather than play the lawyer game, get her client stiffed and walk with the money. Mark Steyn is also popular because that's his approach to the courts. Tucker is also popular because he has been doing his King Canute thing (or is it a Moses thing?) against the lügenpresse - and he's cornered that market.
I suspect people are reacting to Tucker's treatment of Sydney because he is the only person on TV that would have been expected to offer a platform for a Sydney to make or break her case, but he went on the attack. People aren't fools - they smelled a rat - cognitive dissonance 101. It would be like Mark Steyn castigating Frank Sinatra, or Tucker forgetting to introduce Mark as "best selling author".
The showbiz saying is "If it was about friendship, it would be called showfriends. If you want a friend, get a dog"
It's not about Sidney or Tucker or Mark's friendship with either of them. It's not even about Trump. If the election was stolen - and where's the proof that it wasn't? - it means America is a full-blown Banana Republic pretending not to be. #GreatPowerFreakShow
PS. It's interesting to note the recent column and comments at Power Line, where the "base" has turned on the bloggers.
"Where's the proof that it wasn't?"
Precisely. In order for America to continue functioning, such as it is, it's not enough to say "well, you can't prove there was widespread fraud." As Mr. Steyn often says, it's not enough for justice to be done; justice needs to be seen to be done.
Same thing here. This is about much more than Trump. This is about whether an entire country can know that its elections are free and secure. I say "entire country" because methinks that even among those who would be fully happy with a Biden win, there is a significant percentage who doesn't like the way this looks.
Perry, what?! Tucker did offer her a platform. He said he would've given her the full hour or the full week, if she wanted it. She declined. Make of that what you will.
Personally, I think people reacted to Tucker that way because they desperately want Trump to win and they desperately want Powell to have the means to do make that happen. I desperately want that, too. However, I will need to see some proof that Powell can actually bake up her claims before I go all True Believer.
Let's face it, bad news sells. I think this what Fox is telling its hosts - that their ratings and popularity will soar even higher once Biden/Harris are installed so they will be more willing to ditch Trump and move on. Then they can gnash their teeth and foam at the mouth over the latest outrage inflicted on the American public. Media is just showbiz, and so is politics. The dog quote is actually attributed to Harry Truman when speaking of the treachery in D.C., which Bill Clinton also used when explaining why he decided to get his rambunctious chocolate Lab, Buddy.
Sounds like you're for the Democratic party: two wolves and a sheep voting on who gets to be dinner. I'm for individual rights as enshrined in the first 10 amendments, the first of which contains free speech. Now, speak on, free speaker!
Precisely...I can buy that she doesn't want all her witnesses doxed to death and that maybe there's some there there...but right now, the Kraken's looking like Kalimari.
Andy, the 'Democratic' party isn't democratic in any way because it's actually a 'liberal' party', which is why it keeps going on about 'rights' - as do you - none of which are democratic because the demos (us, the people) have never had a vote on any of them, much less all of them. That's a problem not just for the fake 'Democratic' party but for you, and the rest of American too. No wonder you and America are in the state you're in. Never mind 'Make America Great Again'. Democratise America Now by giving everybody a democratic vote on everything, including 'rights'. That's democratism. Liberals call it 'populism'. Your language defines you.
P.S. Your 'two wolves and a sheep voting on who gets to be dinner' was first coined by a liberal journalist in the liberal Los Angeles Times in 1993, protesting against direct democracy ballots in California - the same 'real democracy' ballots that has delivered a series of crushing defeats to liberals in California this very 2020. Liberals hate my direct democracy because it defeats them and their liberal idiotology. What a pity you hate it too, so that you, as well as they, condemn yourselves - and America - to remain in the darkness of pre-democracy.
My life, liberty and property are not subject to the mob's vote. The "rest of America"
- I can assure you - is more like Mark's neck of the woods.The stuff I see on the news is another planet entirely. If you seek to put the rights of which I was "endowed by my creator" up for a vote by the same folks that just popularly elected Biden, I ask you politely to bugger off! That's what the Second Amendment is for. You can keep your Democratism: despite our clownish political class, this is still the greatest republic and nation on earth.
Andy: '... If you seek to put the rights of which I was "endowed by my creator" up for a vote by the same folks that just popularly elected Biden... .'
"endowed by my creator" is just another form of idiotology, like liberalism, designed to control people - all philosopy, ideology and theology is idiotology. Why? Because all of it rests on diktats of one form or another, none of which has ever been put to a democratic vote by us the demos. There's no essential difference between the American dictatorship and other dictatorship globally, East or West. It's just another corrupt dictatorship that takes its antecedence from the equally corrupt Roman dictatorship in ancient history. As went the Roman Empire, so too will go the American Empire, just like the British Empire and all the others. Diktats, dictatorships and dictators never last, nor do they deserve to do so - much less their respective idiotologies, philosophical, ideological or theological.
P.S. The whole point about Biden is that he was NOT democratically elected, due to the corrupt 'democracy' that is the USA. Have a good day, democratically.
Mark,
I've endured two weeks of silver linings from Conservative Inc. regarding the 2020 elections. Something about how winning back a few house seats and maybe keeping the senate majority was a great victory. Even though the only successful conservative cultural warrior since Reagan had been laid low by our enemies. Hell, even when the Republicans controlled the executive and legislative branches, they merely slowed the leftward ratchet into the abyss of socialism. Ironically, it was the rough cut, flawed, but oh so American Donald Trump who spoke to the forgotten men and women of all stripes, and roused their pride in our past and our future. When asked how he would unite our divided country, he didn't pander to identity groups, instead he said we would unite by being successful — how very American is that? The conservative initiatives he fostered such as pro life, religious freedom, 1st and 2nd amendment, and etc. were cultural in nature. Four more years of Trumpism both foreign and domestic would have been good for America and the world. Congress was not an existential threat to the left. Conservitive Inc., and the Republican establishment were not an existential threat to the left. However, Donald J. Trump was just such a threat and they focused all their enmity upon him. Our champion is surrounded but fighting to the end with only a few of the household troops remaining. I wish Jenna and Rudy success in pushing the electoral selection to the state legislatures and the vote to the house, but who among us has faith that the Republican establishment types will man up in the face of hysterical MSM-Democrat-Swamp Creature backlash? I pray I'm wrong. So, for my money, the only one not playing small ball is Sydney Powell. She is swinging for the fences! She may strike out, but if she connects it may be a walk-off homer. Let us pray!
Adios,
JDF
Agree. The it-won't-be-so-bad contingent and the look-at-all-the-good-news (reference to House, for example, and just laughable really) cohort seem for the most part those who are trying to keep their jobs. They are in on-air media, print media, etc. Our local morning radio station (WMAL) got rid of Fred Grandy (excellent host, clever, verbally facile) many years ago because he kept trying to warn about the deeply embedded individuals who were tied to radical Islam. Appeasement of the B/H duo is the expectation for those in media and 'engage' is their operative word now.
Nothing burgers , get your nothing burgers. With fries.
Hillary was a fool , so is Donald.
If Mark doesn't know by now that it was the suburban vote , not the inner city vote that decided the election , he should hand in his card.
Cheers.
Any Canadian who writes a book called "America Alone" should be handing in his card.
To be fair, America is alone within the Anglosphere - and probably the entire West - as far as election fraud goes. #AmericanExceptionalism
May I humbly suggest you review how Trump outperformed in every segment of the populace except in those select inner cities? Either that or quit watching "Desperate Housewives" reruns. Zuckerberg's foundation pumped $400 million into the election to fund "safe" elections including underwriting the employment of vote counters in those inner city areas. The burbs didn't halt vote counting not rack up Biden percentages only equaled by Kim Jung Un.
Humbly suggest you think before posting
Cheers,
Or maybe it required both?
Name a suburb where they closed up shop counting votes before 11pm unless they were done?
I apologize for acting out in anger over Tucker. He has a right to his own opinion and shouldn't be destroyed for it. I can understand why he went after Powell but Powell, as well as us, need to understand that if we played softball with her or anyone in the Trump campaign we'd be no different than Joe Biden and the Democrat Party. Whatever happens happens and if Powell gets the evidence then she can say "I told you so" to us all. I apologize to you as well Mark for my comments. When so many are trying to pour water on our hopes of winning, it's easy to get angry when you're told the bad news.
You have no reason to apologize. You are as entitled to your opinion as everyone else is to his or hers. Debate -- vigorous debate -- means airing all facets of an argument. I understand that you are trying to say you can understand the position of TC, and that's something to be respected, but you do not have to agree with it/cede ground. We need more debate, not less.
What upsets me now is that we seem to be more concerned on who's side was right when the purpose is to win back this election. My biggest fear is that it won't matter what evidence is presented because the judges are going to dismiss them because they either are Obama appointees or they are intimidated by the mob. I'm more so worried about the Supreme Court. If Kavanaugh can sell us out on one state, who's to say he's not willing to sell us out on the whole country.
No hope at all for the Court...Certainly, it's going to be 6:3 most of the time. But the minority will be the Alito-Thomas-Barrett combination (and not even that sure about Barrett)...Kavanaugh will go with the left every time Roberts does, which will be most of the time. Gorsuch will not go with the liberal majority as often, but he will often enough. No, no hope at all for the Court...it's already packed, so the worries about 'packing the court' fall in the sphere of the absurd.
Yes, why bother to pack the court if the so-called conservative judges are unreliable and easy to intimidate? It seems SCOTUS is looking for a "safe space" through safe rulings that won't inflame the Left. They've found it's easier to live peacefully and enjoy their exalted positions by succumbing to the Left's tyranny. You would think after Kavanaugh was publicly vilified and nearly destroyed by them he would be committed to opposing their totalitarian aspirations, but it's just the opposite. Like many, he shrinks before unbridled power, and would rather choose the past of least resistance.
New York Governor Cuomo just won an Emmy award for his COVID press conferences. Really??? Let's analyse why.
E is the fifth letter of the alphabet. That represents five thousand deaths from his decision to send COVID sufferers to age care homes.
M is Latin for thousand. So MM adds another two thousand deaths.
Y is the year of his triumph - 2020. So add a further 2020 deaths.
All told, using that methodology EMMY (5000 + 1000 + 1000 + 2020) amounts to 9020.
Congrats guvnor!/sarc
Impossible to listen to more than 10 seconds (or about two words) of AC...He speaks as though he is talking the way some people speak to toddlers -- and not even toddlers should be spoken to in such a slow and mind-numbing cadence and vocabulary.
Mark,
This show was just the pick me up I needed today after seeing the latest developments in the election theft story. What I have always enjoyed about your commentary is that you always think for yourself -- not with the group. Once again, you do not fail to disappoint.
There is an interesting piece over at the American Thinker entitled "It's in the Code: Hanky-Panky in Virginia's Votes" where author shows how the incoming election vote totals went backwards at a couple of points just after midnight on election night. Vote totals do not go backward unless fraud is taking place!! Any reasonable person can understand this -- even the asinine mainstream media.
Great show! I don't know how you put all this information and variety together twice weekly with everything else you have going on. Monologue, news from 100 years ago that's always relevant today, answering the mail, last call (though I'm hoping for more dead voter obits) alternating with wanker cops, extra songs of the week, fun with those latest exemplars of the Peaceful Religion, etc. Your concise, just-the-facts, statistically outrageous points regarding the election were more convincing and attention-grabbing than all the lefty/righty sound and fury of late.
Have done with the Paper Ballot Party comedy and form the Direct Democracy Party instead, in order to replace America's fake 'representative democracy' with real democracy. Direct democracy has wiped liberalism out in every Californian ballot in 2020 and in every other direct democracy ballot elsewhere in the USA. Go with the winning flow.
Time to replace WhineOnline with DirectDemocracyOnline.
Dear Mark,
I am with you in full support of President Trump's holding firm and not conceding until the President-Elect has been announced officialy by the GSA. To concede now would validate the media's claim that they are in charge of determining the outcome of the election. Putting an end to that ridiculous myth should be a high priority, along with a thorough reform of the electoral system.
By pointing out the difficulties for the holders of a conservative world-view posed by a leftward cultural shift, the boss-man underscores, as it seems to me, the desiderata which must be satisfied by President Trump's successors.
Even Caesar was not as constant as the northern star, which I fully expect to learn shifts its position nightly (or, nowadays, has been cancelled by virtue of its racism). In this fluid world (I'm still accustoming myself to weekly chats with my children and grandchildren in Reading via "Skype") we need to hang onto what does not change. President Trump offers such constancy: he is going out as he came in, in a welter of bluster, bad appointments, accusations of crookery and firing to right and left. I'm not sure that America can't do better, though.
Okay: not funny, lost no end of potential friends, back to purdah with me. Before I go, 'though, I'd like to leave this thought. Having predated both the man and his (evidently brief) party membership, the Republican party has already far outlasted President Trump. He has not done such irreparable mischief that it is necessary to suppose that it will not continue to outlast him after his departure from the presidency (and I've seen enough to suppose that his party membership won't endure much beyond that date, either, President Trump not being disposed to accept blame for his woes).
At the end of the day, President Trump's current supporters may well have to choose whether their future votes should go to the Democrats, or against them, in which case they should go to the Republicans. I'm much too far away to be able to confirm or disconfirm claims that the Republican party has become a political eunuch, but I can ask the obvious question: is this the time to abandon the Republican party, or is this the time to reclaim it?
A less obvious question is whether it is wiser to hope that a messiah will come from the desert to do the job, or to work on putting somebody forward who will. Perhaps a place to start would be to place appealing personality after policy in the selection of candidates, and making it known that there has been a re-prioritisation. Consistency is better cemented by policy than by personal appeal, in my experience. But who am I to make such suggestions? All I can do is hope that the conversation will eventually complete its drift into the realm where things can be done to improve matters practically.
No one is hoping for a messiah. And what many of us are grappling with is the harsh reality that there's a huge segment of the population that will gobble up any meme, no matter how absurd. Forget the Trump is a monster theme. While still able to endure some of the open phone calls on C-Span radio at 7 a.m., the pre-election callers often said things such as, T will take away social security, T was a draft dodger (unaware that B had one more deferment, 6 total, and also ended with a medical exemption), T grabs women's private parts (don't get me started on lack of understanding about women, sex and the lies they tell), etc. etc. Oh, can't forget my favorite (heard over and over): B has empathy. All the callers were apparently responding to the deluge of ads they were seeing (the one true plus of living in a deep blue state is no ads).
Well Seg, to be pedantic, and who doesn't long for a little pedantry in these trying times, the North Star (Polaris) does move. It actually makes a very small circle around the celestial North Pole, as well as moving over time. Columbus even wrote of having to correct for this circle in his navigation.
Also, Polaris will be seen as moving away from the Celestial North Pole and will no longer be the "North Star" by the end of the century. While Shakespeare thought he was being accurate in having Caesar compare himself to the North Star, he did that about 16 centuries after Caesar's time and there was no North Star in that time.
There, I hope you enjoyed the pedantry.
Don't forget the reversal of the Earth's magnetic poles four or five times (interval varies, according to geological evidence) every one million years...not easy to get one's head around (like multiple universes).
Thanks, D. You make good sense - excellent sense- , as ever. Yes, there won't be any messiah from the "outside": the new Republican leader is going to have to come from the Republican party. I believe that the right person is in there somewhere. The search for that person, and the promotion of that person, should in my view begin sooner rather than later. One can't do that by spurning the party lock, stock and barrel - but I suspect there is no news in that for you.
The cock and bull which voters can be induced to believe is indeed alarming. It is my daft notion that the cock and bull is unleashed when elections are about personalities and better contained when they are about policies. On a partisan note, I think that focussing this last election on personalities worked really well for the Democrats. It is my contention that, had the focus been on policy, fewer Americans would have brought themselves to vote for the Democrats and many more would have understood the virtues of the Republicans.
Thanks, S. Well, there it is, then: even the symbols of constancy are inconstant in these strange times.
The lesson was invaluable. I can't wait for visitors to call so that I can share insights about Shakespeare's grasp of astronomy. Seriously, I enjoyed your input, as I always do.
The orbit of Polaris is predictable and published in an emphemeris. I learned how to shoot the North Star to get a true bearing in surveying class. It was a tough exercise. We were due South of the girl's dorm and our view of Polaris was often obscured by heavenly bodies.
Angelo Codevilla in this essay After the Republic (Claremont Review of Books, Sept. 2016) claimed that the Constitutional Republic died with the 1964 Civil Rights Act and is now becoming some kind of empire. The Act gave an open-ended mandate to protect the rights of certain protected classes at the expense of individual rights. Personally, I think the decline started at least as early as 1912 but...
Codevilla asserts the United States is now divided into the ruling class and its subjects. The ruling class consists of a network of executive, judicial, financial, bureaucratic and social kinship channels that bypass the sovereignty of citizens. The imperial regime works on the principle that The Swamp may do whatever they like so long as the bureaucracy obeys and one third plus one of the Senate protects him from impeachment. You can also add the media to the elites the ruling class but mainly as willing enforcers of a lower caste. The biggest change since 2016 is the rise of the Silicon Valley social media to join the top ranks of empire.
After stealing the election, the empire is retreating back to the Imperial Capital to resume their sinecures and pleasures. This goes double for the Republicans. The Republicans have no ideology and only want to collect their commissions for running campaigns and run telemarketing schemes to solicit money from their subjects (rubes) to "fight" for Liberty and Justice for All. So, don't expect a lot of real fighting over the election theft, only enough to put on a good show.
The excitement will come when the ruling class is reminded that reality doesn't want to play their game. The ruling class has used the barbarians, i.e., BLM, Antifa, Marxists and other assorted deadbeats and racists to achieve their ends in 2020 and now the barbarians are going to want their wagons of gold tribute. The Chinese, Russians, North Koreans, Iranians, Turks and every other tinpot including the Europeans are going to push hard and the Neocon wing of the ruling class are going to push back. We've spent ourselves into oblivion and the world has changed. It's going to be a rough ride for the ruling class and even rougher back in coach.
PS. The essay made some predictions before Trump's election that look eerily true. It's worth reading.
Okay, you convinced me. I'm going to read Dickens first before returning to civilization. Can I still call it that?
Sounds like Japan up to the Meiji Restoration. Powerless Emperor, the Bakufu (Shogunate) ruling in his name, clan chiefs plotting and scheming, Samurai enforcers to keep the proles down, bureaucrats beholden to the Bakufu, "Great Powers" stirring the pot, etc.
They avoided mass civil war in the event, largely thanks to Sakamoto Ryoma.
The tragic part about Rudy Giuliani's presidential run is that I think he would have done better in the early states if he had engaged with them. As a proud Iowan, I can tell you that most caucus goers are willing to hear you out if you're willing to put in the time to make your case. Unfortunately, he was the first of many to fall for consultant class gambit of skipping the early states and making the play for Super Tuesday..
Rudy has been his own worst enemy for awhile now. He sabotaged his own presidential campaign with his "novel" strategy. It doesn't matter though, as Obama probably would have won anyway no matter who was running against him. The Republican party is bereft of compelling choices as they've all been retreads and old guys or the heir to a political dynasty (Bush). Trump has been the first person since Reagan who had bold, ideas and spoke his mind about controversial topics and didn't mince his words nor was he embarrassed by his own opinions. The GOP has nothing to offer the American people other than a watered down version of what Democrats are offering.
I remember David Frum being a loud supporter of Giuliani. 'Nuff said.
Thanks Mark.
I'd donate to Powell's campaign if she'd get an ssl certificate for her website. I won't donate to the Trump campaign because the money will be wasted on people like Rudy. Rudy should get out of the way and let the women talk the talk, because they will also walk the walk.
I've abandoned Fox News online and all who sail in her. Not being on social media and not watching telly I don't know much about the slings and arrows and forks flying between Tucker and Sydney. But I shall miss your appearances in the clips that you post. It's a tad frustrating that Bongino has increased his use of Fox links - I now preview before I click.
BTW, I think the word "algorithm" is being misapplied. If there was an algorithm at work in the voting manipulation, it would probably not have created such a step-change when the votes were switched. An algo would have implemented the vote switching based on goal-seeking. I think there was a manual change, when the count was halted and the techies stepped in to update or patch the software. Just a guess, but based on what I have heard and read, the trajectory was going the "wrong way" so they moved the votes, but forgot about the live feed from Edison to the NYT and other "news" businesses.
I agree that WYSI probably WYG, but perhaps the Trump campaign is splitting the team to avoid having all their eggs in an Emmet Sullivan type basket. Powell leads the fraud charge and Sweaty Rudy leads the Constitutional one.
My money is still on Trump being Prez and being on Gab and Parler in 2021.
Re: Rudy's 2008 primary campaign here in South Carolina. It didn't exist. He finished 6th with 2% of the vote. If you aren't pro-life you are DOA as a Republican in SC.
He finished behind 5th place Ron Paul but did manage to beat Duncan Hunter who is scheduled to enter the federal lockup in La Tuna, CA any day now.
Which Hunter?
If prison is his destination he isn't a Democrat.
Mark: Are there any other Lee Wiley performances that you would recommend?
This Sidney Powell business with the legal team declaring that they have evidence of election fraud, but keeping the briefcases shut tight until some later date, is like the Peanuts Halloween TV special where Linus coaxes Sally to sit with him in the pumpkin patch to wait for the arrival of the Great Pumpkin. They sit patiently and alertly until it becomes obvious there is no Great Pumpkin and a disappointed Sally verbally assaults Linus. We are all sitting in the lawyerly pumpkin patch waiting patiently and with eagerness for the impending release of election fraud evidence that will turn the presumptive election results upside down and in favor of the incumbent. It was said over the weekend that the evidence will be released this week. Hmmm. Anyone still hanging around the pumpkin patch?
Terrific analogy! Straight to the public is all that works today. No one would know about Hunter's laptop if they didn't present it directly to the public. I agree with Tucker, if the crime of the century occurred, put the information in the public domain immediately.
Am I the only one who thought the Great Pumpkin was awfully a lot like Waiting for Godot?
The media declared Hunter an innocent victim of Russian collusion and half the population knows nothing. So conducting a trial in the court of public opinion, with a biased judge and jury is not the best way forwards right now.
Drumming up publicity first gets it into the public square - the media cannot suppress it. We shall see.
Keeping the election fraud charges direct and simple is the only way to be effective. Calling all 2nd Amendment supporters to start gearing up would focus the courts minds in a way that would drive them out of their usual sloth and as Samuel Johnson said, "Depend upon it, sir, when a man knows he is to be hanged in a fortnight, it concentrates his mind wonderfully."
Since you ask, R., I'm sitting in the lawyerly pumpkin patch waiting eagerly for the impending release of erection fraud evidence. What has been made known about election fraud is nowhere near enough to overturn the result, but since we're here, it's our party and we can cry if we want to.
I dislike being lied to, though, and that happens a lot to us pumpkin-patch dwellers.
I'm thinking there are a lot of angry Citizens in PA, which is why they have suddenly had a lockdown and alcohol ban imposed.
Is that with apologies to Benny Hill ?
[Agree with you and Robert].
Cheers.
You'll have to drag me out of the pumpkin patch. I'm waiting until Hell, or at least Boston, freezes over. To keep from dying of hypothermia in my sleep, I stayed awake by writing myself a little poem. It goes like this:
Turning and turning over the smoldering pyre
Trump on a spit fires another lawyer.
Cases fall apart; the argument will not hold;
Stacey Abrams is loosed upon the world.
The Durham report lacks all convictions,
The Squad is full of passionate insanity.
Surely some deliverance is at hand,
Surely the Second Trump Administration is at hand.
The Second Trump Administration! Hardly are those words out
When a vast image of Chief Justice Sidney Powell
Relieves my sight. Somewhere out of the muck of the swamp
A shape with lion body and head of a gourd,
Chanel jacketed and string pearled,
Pads with measured pace after unseen prey,
While all about it hiss an indignant press.
Now I know how twenty agents of Deep State creeps
Were vexed to betray a mocking genius very stable.
What rough squash, its hour come round at last,
Slouches toward Bethesda to be born?
Maybe I had a touch of hypothermia after all.
Not bad, Josh.
Absolutely nobody should be listening to that fat, ugly, clearly unstable man in a dress (that does not have a vagina) for health advice.
Josh,
Love the poem. I am reclining among the vines of the pumpkin patch because I have no where else to go. The alternative is to put sandals on my feet, reach for my walking stick and get ready to being the community journey down the road to Dystopia. I think I'll wait a bit and bring up the rear.
Thanks for the wonderful commentary on the events of the weekend. I'm reeling from a bit of shock. I thought Sidney Powell was dynamite. So she blew it up. Or did she? It's not over. "Stick a fork in me, I'm done." Exactly what I was saying to myself all weekend as I followed the bunny down the hole with the corrupted machines from Venezuela even before I heard Sidney talk about them. Well, I may feel wounded by the weekend's events but sorry, not dead yet.
What about putting our boots and britches back on, getting up, brushing ourselves off, staying glued together, all 73 million plus plus Trump supporters instead of feeding like the Twitter microorganisms on the smallest piece of raw meat and instead admit we are in a never ending fight of our life against corruption of our very most basic privilege as citizens. What about that idea and holding onto the thought that the Left and Never Trumpers, media and tech moguls aren't taking away our liberties while they think we have a few gurgling gasps left in us? They don't even know us.
Thanks awfully for the respite from the day's distressing and depressing news with the Hundred Years Ago Show. We all could use the tonic of Russian invasions, Albanian earthquakes, and more murderous Anglo-Irish violence than you could shake a shillelagh at. Good times.
To return to the present day (as we must), how many Republican weenies (but I repeat myself) expect absolution from the leftist mob (birm) for betraying President Trump? They have a little list, a**holes, and you're on it--No. 5, with a bullet. Maybe you'll be one of the lucky ones to endure a show trial where you can confess your crimes and beg for the court's mercy. Good luck with that.
Me, I liked him early--maybe not as early as Mark, but early enough--and I like him now. What's he done to lose my support? It may not amount to a hill of beans, but it's my hill and my beans. I actually think both Tucker and Sidney could have handled their disagreement better. He was not wrong to ask; she was not wring to decline. Respect the other's position, and move on. Many of us think our elected government has been removed by an electoral coup. If you don't agree, fine, gerroff, don't need you. If you do, let's focus on the task at hand. We all have hills, we all have beans. Together they might make...a really big hill with a whole lot of beans.
"We all could use the tonic of Russian invasions, Albanian earthquakes, and more murderous Anglo-Irish violence than you could shake a shillelagh at." Brilliant, J.: I'm with you.
Josh, I like how you just let it rip."Together they might make.. a really big hill with a whole lot of beans."
Gas 'em out all at once!
Thank you for the cogent summary of the vote fraud -- Joe underperforming Hillary in every urban area except the key cities of Philly, Detroit, Milwaukee, and Atlanta; Joe winning despite his party losing all toss-up Congressional races (never happened before); Joe winning despite losing 17 of 18 bellwether counties (never before); and Joe winning despite losing Ohio and Florida (not done in the past 60 years). Combine this with the dead-of-night stop in the counting in each of the four key cities, which somehow resumed with new and more favorable ballots. I don't understand the "Republicans" who fiddle while the actual Republic burns.
None of this passes the smell test; the problem is, is there anyone sniffing around? It seems to me that there isn't. The focus all along has been wrong, I think. It's been "the question is, whatever fraud was happening was it enough to change the results of the election?"
That's the wrong approach. The results of this election are less the point than the results of every election yet to come. How many dead voters do you need to make it worth investigating? How many "glitches" are necessary for an audit?
The answer should be, if there are 3 dead people voting and 1 glitch. Why? Because anyone can say that 1 dead voter is a mistake. Three is too much. And one computer glitch in software being used in multiple locations is enough to say, hmm, we'd better see if this is happening elsewhere.
Trump or Biden isn't the major issue. If Trump were to be elected, he'd at most be able to keep the canoe from going off the waterfall for the next four years. The issue is, if there was fraud and it's ignored, there will never be a fair election in this country again. That's what the "oh, it's okay, we get another chance in 2022/24" Republicans do not grasp.
Good points, both. I heard one lawyer say that Trump's aim shouldn't be to have the result overturned (and declared the winner), but to have the election invalidated. Or words to that effect.
Thank you, Kate. Coming from someone who never makes a comment without a good point, that's high praise.
Simply do not believe B got more legal votes that T for the reasons MS cites and more: Missouri (truly the old bellwether until T won it in 2016 and media immediately ignored) went for T by more that 15 percentage points in 2020. And we are to believe Michigan, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania went for B...uh, no. Moreover, it cannot be emphasized enough that there's something odd about a person who did but rarely leave the basement getting more votes that T, who got more votes than he got in 2016. And yes, the near simultaneous stopping of the vote counts in MI, WI and PA was just bizarre. Heard the announcement while listening live on radio and knew immediately there was foul play in the works.
Likewise, Dafna... thank you!
As it's been pointed out by many people, the Dems have not behaved as though they won fair and square... not on Election Day, nor since. A legitimate winner would be eager to dispel any uncertainty surrounding the outcome. Instead, the media were ramming it through from the outset by crowning their "President-Elect".
I am confused. If there is no evidence of voter fraud, then how can someone be found guilty of money laundering?
It occurs to me that the spat between Tucker Carlson and Sidney Powell is simply due to the fact that Sidney Powell and her team are working 20 hours a day trying to put their case together. Given the scale of the crime, it would normally take months to do it, but they only have two or three weeks.
I suspect the "distancing" of the Trump team from Powell is purely tactical. Powell's attack will be all the more effective if it isn't financed by Trump. Meanwhile, the Trump team can concentrate on listing all the dead people who voted, the violation of rules by election supervisors, etc.
Tucker was asking the wrong question and the wrong person. He should have been asking Bill Barr what the DOJ is doing to investigate these allegations of criminal behavior.
Sidney stepped on the faultline dividing the right: the ever-widening crack between Trump supporters and Republicans. The R's dont want all these things investigated — not election tampering, not corporate kickbacks, not sweetheart deals in Ukraine or China, because they have much to hide.
Time for a third party. Paper Ballot Party will do. Where do I sign up? (Here, I guess.)
I think she ruffled some feathers and was possibly too strident and forceful. I heard that Trump sided with Tucker, if that's to be believed, in his spat with Powell. And that he also didn't like her attacking the governor of Georgia by intimating he had been paid off. Also was mentioned that Rudy Guiliani was butting heads with her, although I hope that wasn't the main reason for cutting ties with her.
Who knows what the truth is though? Rather than something so public, I wish he could have convinced her to quietly take a back seat, but now of course it's all out there in the Twitter-sphere and elsewhere and Trump and his team are the subject of derision once again (along with gleeful, rubbing-the-hands-together schadenfreude).
I heard it was about money. Who really knows what's going on until it's all over? I'm not speculating on nuthin' no mo'z. I'll still spectate here in the peanut galley.
We became tribal after the election like the left in regards to our loyalty to Trump and Tucker vs Powell revealed it to us. We need to understand that if we don't confront all allegations with the same vigor as Tucker did, we'd be no different than fake news offering up softballs to Biden. It's frustrating I know, to have to show transparency and when you break the news that something isn't true or may be a lie you're deemed a plant from the Democrat Party. I don't think Tucker is a traitor and thought he was asking the questions we all wanted to know. Or so he thought. We're all afraid of what will happen if Trump loses and our fears came to light when we saw the exchange between Tucker and Powell. I'm calming down now that more is being revealed but I'm still upset over myself. I need to let things go and not react in the moment. Maybe we should all do the same Fran.
I was beginning to think the same way, Brian. Tribal! What me tribal, I thought!? No, I don't think I really changed except in one way, I've been so angry the last couple weeks knowing in my heart of hearts that the election was a heist that I could no longer keep a lid on it. I've talked about it with anyone who I came into contact with (mostly family and one of the last friends still checking in since Covid non-essential-people-starve phase three which I'll call Thanksgiving Crackdown) and things have not gone well. So, you could say I'm tribal but it takes at least two tribal thinkers to make one with any meaning. On a bright note, leading up to the election, Mark and Rush were encouraging us to convert one (which a few days before election grew to four or five) to my way of Trump thinking. She called me Sunday to say that she couldn't believe the arguments she was getting into with some of her more liberal friends and that she voted Trump and that she looked up VDH for the first time and that she liked the way he seemed emotionally detached but able to articulate both sides. Right now, I'm just for winning the WH back for four more years and watching the MSM, tech giants and mean-spirited Marxists get a psychological whipping when it happens. Keep your eyes on the prize. We live in Truth.
Thanks for the response. Regardless if Tucker was being a journalist or a jerk, we shouldn't be afraid to question our own. Trump got rid of Sessions and we were awarded Barr and we put him on a pedestal without having done a thing. There are many times Trump got it wrong in terms of who he surrounded himself with and we shouldn't be afraid of pointing out when he may be wrong. When Trump did prison reform, Dan Bongino didn't agree with it but I didn't hear anyone call Dan a traitor for it. We all need to relax. What's done is done. As long as Powell gets the job done all this will go away. Now it's her own credibility on the line but take note, Trump had a lot of his cases thrown out already. She needs the big one in a big way and it has to be big enough that when she reveals it that if they throw that out there will be outrage.
Jesse Kelly: "Why don't we already have a special prosecutor with a $40 million dollar budget investigating Illegitimate Chinese President Joe Biden?"
Sign me up too..Yes, the Ukraine is the nexus of so many intrigues. And with so many members of Congress tangled in them any investigation will end before it begins -- oh, wait, it already has.
The problem with what's going on is that we who are Tucker fans have very few other places to go to get the facts. So when Tucker seemed to do the under-the-bussing thing (Kathy Shaidle's term) to SP who we thought was going to save us from a President Harris (Gd forbid) it was a huge meteoric curveball because we're here singing the praises for both of them. Things happen behind the scenes all the time and especially in a case this big where even Tucker claimed that SP claims amounted to the crime of the century. Who can't get emotionally involved in this one? You wouldn't be human. What develops will reveal itself in the near or not so near future. There are still a lot of moving parts here, so I like your advice, "we all need to relax."
Even though I know Trump won't give up, I feel that maybe he's already lost. How can we trust any judge at this point when Kavanaugh turned his back on the party that stood by him? We all learned a lesson here and that the Democrats and Republicans are all part of the state and Trump was the choice over the state. I don't know how I can be confident in all of this. I'm feeling down.
When I get down, I try to do something like sing (When You Walk Through the Storm is a good one to start with) or dance to a jazzy tune for no reason but to change the dial, to break the way the mind is working negatively on you. Sure, this is a tough one and the real ugliness hasn't even begun yet. You know you have 73 million fellow walking beside you. I heard Rush today say 72 % of Trump supporters feel this election was taken from him. Biden, er Harris, will be an illegitimate President. What can they do to damage us? Well, plenty, I guess. They have revealed who they are. There will be karma hunting them down. We will be a large army. Stay positive and strong, Brian. The world will see what American patriots are made of very soon.
If Sidney was the President's only chance then everyone, including Tucker, should have stood with her (in public at least). Her efforts on behalf of General Flynn, even though they have been stymied by a corrupt judge and a supine DOJ both running down the clock, made me think she has bigger balls than anyone outside of the White House.
Failing that if it's not Sidney then what else have we got? The 4D chess trope is getting pretty near its expiry date.
Very much enjoyed hearing the Sabre Dance as it has been played as bumper music on Buffalo Sabres broadcasts (TV and radio) since the team's inception as something of our unofficial theme song and thus stirs up strong emotions for me. MSG (our TV broadcaster) doesn't use it as much these days but it remains the intro and outro for the radio broadcasts.
What was concocted in the years, months, and days leading up to and including the early hours of November 4 extends the arc of our nation's current trajectory. The national treasure plundered; currency debased; dissenters extirpated; long-standing institutions toppled. At the risk of being redundant, I'll attempt to distill some of it in rhyme. (Shucks, it ain't gonna be mistaken for Lord Byron or Keats; but it's the best you'll get out of this yokel from flyover country.) Here it is nonetheless:
Watchful Eye of Providence blinked.
In that moment, what did unfold?
Novel schemes – same mortal sins of old.
Or was it rather that She winked –
Wry approval of lust for gold?
On reopening, what did She behold?
Freedom lashed and squelched and shoved from shore;
Farewell: Annuit Cœptis no more?
In this Novus Ordo Seclorum,
To the rubes adrift, below: deplore 'em.
O'er the rail is flung the trove, aflame;
Does Her lid close now, to reprove, in shame?
What treachery has man wrought in the blink of an eye, at once under the cover of darkness and in plain sight? Time will tell, and only the watchful Eye of Providence knows. Darker days are likely ahead, despite the spurious calls for unity. To reprise an earlier post:
The Sirens' echoes call for love,
From the swamp and through the mist;
When from the fog appears the velvet glove,
Prepare for the blow of the iron fist.
While I was late to support President Trump, I joined the Trump Train as he accomplished more and more of the things that other Republicans had only promised. He also has a way of forcing people to out "Republicans" as supporters of the Deep State, uber alles. McCain, Romney, Bill Bristol, and so many others have shown their true colors. Trump's strength, though, has rested to some extent on his perceived in vulnerability to everything thrown at him, even COVID. Now, the theft of the vote by big city Dems has given many RINOs the excuse to melt back into the woodwork.
This is very similar to the Conservative Party's treatment of Mrs. Thatcher. To me the least attractive feature of the Westminster system is power of faceless MPs and spin doctors to force a change in the Head of Government, in secret, without a vote of any kind. For all its weaknesses, the US still requires a national vote to force such a a change.
I wonder when 'journalists' gather at the local watering hole after hours if they have a good laugh competing for the best Sergeant Schulz routine? If you work for just about any main stream media entity today in America you're required to pretend that "I see nothing" when watching him struggle to put a coherent thought into words - assuming he ever experiences one these days - and all are expected to play along with the approved narrative from on high that there is nothing to see here. Assuming that they still have a shred of self-respect perhaps they have a good laugh at the insane drivel they are required to spew out daily.
Self-awareness might be too much to ask for, R.
You may of course well be right, though, because the collection of journalists with whom I am or have been personally acquainted is a very small sample. For what it is worth, and of course with reference only to my paltry sample, self-awareness was not their strong suit. Self-importance was. Their jobs ranged from trying to drum up outrage about the price of bus tickets in the women's supplement, writing more or less fatuous appreciations of film and theatrical productions currently on circuit, concocting the astrology item for the entertainment supplement, filling the sports pages with purple prose about matches which very clearly seemed different through a gin-induced haze and tweaking the text of corporate press releases to populate the business section to assembling anodyne reviews of the current affairs reported in the previous day's edition to arrive at entirely non-sequitur conclusions for the editorial page, but all believed that they were changing the course of history.
Another strong suit was ignorance. Those who thought of themselves as politically-engaged (or, really, engaging) sported collections of up to a dozen "Beginners' books" publications and one or two autobiographies with bookmarks at about the half-way mark. (For anybody unfamiliar with the "Beginners books" series, this was a collection of appraisals addressing every topic of interest to Marxian readers in an expository variant of the style of crude graphic novels, published before the fall of the Soviet Union by Progress Press of Moscow. Titles included Freud, black history, Lenin, sex, ecology and Sade, and several dozen more. Actually, some are quite entertaining.) For other specialisations, a few university undergraduate text-books were more than sufficient. If the books had a few dog-eared pages, so much the better.
I imagine that their herd get-togethers (which I know to be frequent and boisterous) involve a good deal of parading of self-importance and ignorance and scant laughing about themselves, 'though I imagine that they collapse in gales of back-slapping collective merriment at the merest thought of the straits in which American Republicans find themselves just now.
Just saying.
Not well read. It's one way to sum up contemporary reporters. Compare a novel by Sinclair Lewis or Theodore Dreiser to any novel written in this century and the depth of the problem becomes unfathomable. The brains of contemporary reporters are filled with confection. Even if they read a hero of the left, Upton Sinclair, for instance, they would be doing themselves good. There's Joe, US's alter-ego, trying to unionize the coal miners, using a woman in the process and ultimately going home after making several disparaging appraisals (covertly) of all those he is trying to "help" -- Instead of "King Coal" it should be called "Profile of an Elitist."
Well put, D. Dreadful bunch.
In the summer, you brought to our attention the sad and tragic outcome of the honorable professor, Mike Adams. The temptation to despair when fighting the righteous fight when too many have chosen to give up is strong. I am grateful that your voice is being heard to help us all with resilience and clarity in the midst of these unfolding absurdities.
In defense of the sanctimonious "ar$eholes" on Twitter, (who should really relocate to parler), we've just had an election stolen from us, in a country where where our vote was always supposed to true, we're on the verge of a "Great Reset" in which our elites are to reorganize capitalism, as if they haven't had enough power already, and we have nothing we can do about it.
I, too, feel there is nothing we can do about it. Sidney Powell's sudden disappearance from the Trump legal team makes me feel like I'm lost at sea in a life boat with no land in sight. She seemed like a serious person. Can it be that she was making it up all along? If so, she's evil. If not, something else is going on.
I'd be shocked if she made it up; the corruption she has exposed in the past has been every bit as shocking as her election fraud cases.
I highly recommend her two books: Licensed to Lie and Conviction Machine. I found Licensed to Lie to be especially hair raising. It covers both the Arthur Andersen scandal/trial and also Ted Stevens.
As with most serious illnesses, the cure comes at a price. Curing cancer often puts the patient in immediate high risk and long recuperation such as from chemotherapy (systemic release of a poison) and surgery (controlled but major trauma) because doing nothing else will not work. There is always something to do about it... it's just about what the butcher's bill costs.
One explanation is that she is pursuing a criminal case while the others are pursuing a Constitutional case.
I'd be shocked, too. I'm painfully aware of the Arthur Anderson and Ted Stevens cases and, of course, of her defense of LTG Flynn. I keep waiting (hoping) that something is going on behind the scenes--something that will expose the election fraud beyond the point where it can be denied by the Dems and their media.
I'm with you on this. If, and I don't think she did, she made it up, all hope is lost. See Josh's poem.