Sharp Bites
With news cycles coming at us at a frenetic pace, I haven’t had the time to do extensive essays on them. Yet, much of it does beg for comment. Consequently, I am posting a pastiche of short takes that I’ll call “Sharp Bites.”
1: GAVIN NEWSOM FOR PRESIDENT?
It’s no secret that the Governor of California has presidential aspirations. It has been said that, because of his terrible handling of the forest fires in LA earlier this year, those aspiration were now “in the toilet.” Currently, because of his anemic, ineffectual and wrong headed response to the LA riots, I would say that he’s now FLUSHED those aspirations right down the drain. He would have trouble, at this point, running for dog catcher.
2: JUST CAN’T STOP LYING.
Even though he’s VERY out office, perennial liar Joe Biden STILL can’t stop. On top of the ”I would have beaten Trump!” claims and other delusions of grandeur, Biden now adds this: “Even though I have cancer, my prognosis is very good.” Wrong! He has clinical stage 4 (out of 4), cell type stage Gleason 9 (out of 10), prostate cancer that has METASTASIZED to bone. The prognosis, at this point, even with very aggressive treatment, for 5 year survival is under 28% with many patients suffering broken bones, unending pain, and devastating disability. And, his claims of “good prognosis” is more than just unfortunate. It’s harmful, as it might MISLEAD some men into complacency, not getting tested and, when necessary, treated. Nearly 36,000 American men will die of prostate cancer this year. A simple blood test and subsequent treatment would have saved most of those. Nice goin’ Joe! See if you can find a way to do more damage to our country.
3: IT’S SIMPLE!
It’s NOT complicated. Any nation whose raison d’être is “Death To Israel and Death To America” CAN NOT be allowed to have nuclear weapons. End of story.
4: NO THEY’RE NOT.
Democrats and leftists claim, with professed indignation, that Trump is calling in troops “on the AMERICAN PEOPLE!”… No he’s not. And no they’re not. Many of them are NOT American citizens. (thanks LRM) They’re here illegally from Mexico (look at all those Mexican flags!), South America, the Middle East and God knows where else (Thank you Joe Biden & Kamala Harris! You’ve left quite a legacy, haven’t you?). And the ones that actually ARE nominal citizens of the United States… by their criminal behavior, aren’t deserving of the privileges and protections of citizenship.
5: YEAH, RIGHT.
Tim Walz, the ex-vice presidential candidate and current governor of Minnesota (lucky for him he didn’t quit his day job), claimed yesterday, during a Center for American Progress event that CHINA was the world’s “moral authority.”!!! … WHAT??!!!… With rampant slave labor, involuntary organ harvesting from prisoners, female infanticide, persecution of every religion, and essentially no bill of rights, China is a “moral authority?”… Yeah, right.
6: NO KINGS?
The premise of the “No Kings” protests is that Donald Trump is, of course, a dictator or “king.” How this “meme” gained any traction what-so-ever, is hard to imagine. Kings are not elected. Trump was. Kings are generally “above the law.” Trump, through two impeachments, several criminal cases and assorted civil case, was clearly not above the law in any meaningful sense. Through history, Kings have had enemies imprisoned, tortured and murdered. Trump, on the other hand, has done none of those things. By the way, the leftists chose the “No Kings” slogan because the terms “Hitler” and “dictator” during the 2024 campaign cycle had stopped working, and strategists found that large numbers of Americans don’t know what an “oligarch” is!
7: OH, ELON!
What to make of the Musk/Trump feud? First of all, Musk’s basic objection that the Big Beautiful Bill doesn’t cut spending enough, is actually CORRECT. However, what Musk doesn’t understand is the workings of participatory democracy. Being in charge of multiple billion dollar companies is no preparation for dealing with cantankerous members of the House and Senate. It’s a whole different playbook. His frustration with the process, I believe, is what caused him to basically “lose it,” lashing out at Trump like a spoiled child (although he has recently recanted quite a bit). (Trump reacted, I think, in a rather measured fashion, showing that he has “grown” into job as President substantially). Normally, for his childishness and unbridled rancor, Musk should be “tarred and feathered.” Given, however, the tremendous benefits on numerous fronts that he’s brought to America, Musk, perhaps, should be granted clemency.
8: ROOTING FOR IRAN.
Quite amazingly, Israel’s actions, taken to ensure its survival, have come under attack by various leftist and progressive Democrats. The usual suspects, Ilan Omar, AOC, Chris Murphy, Bernie Sanders, Tim Kaine, Jack Reed and others, have spoken out in support, not of Israel, our strongest ally in the Middle East, but of Iran, our mortal enemy. Not only does Israel regard Iran as an existential threat, so do most of the countries in the Middle East. Israel’s American critics seem to believe that it should negotiate with a fanatical fundamentalist regime that has sworn to destroy it. But, how can you possibly negotiate with an enemy that has sworn to KILL you?… “Oh, good sir, please kill me just a little.”