Victor Davis Hanson Discusses Pelosi Cancelling the State of the Union


Published on Jan 24, 2019

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Top Military Diplomat from Venezuela Breaks With Maduro and Supports Guaido…


Venezuela dictator Nicolas Maduro has broken-off diplomatic relations with the U.S. and demanded all attache’s to return home.  However the top Venezuela military attache within the U.S. has now backed President Juan Guaido as the legitimate president and will remain in the U.S.

(Via Miami Herald) The military attaché at the Venezuelan Embassy in Washington, Col. José Luis Silva, broke with the Nicolás Maduro regime Saturday and urged other armed forces members to recognize Juan Guaidó as the legitimate interim president of the South American nation.

“As the Venezuelan defense attaché in the United States, I do not recognize Mr. Nicolás Maduro as president of Venezuela,” Silva told el Nuevo Herald in a telephone interview from Washington, D.C.

“My message to all armed forces members, to everyone who carries a gun, is to please let’s not attack the people. We are also part of the people, and we’ve had enough of supporting a government that has betrayed the most basic principles and sold itself to other countries,” he added.

Silva, like all other Venezuelan diplomatic mission staffers in the United States, was ordered to return home after Maduro announced he was breaking diplomatic relations with Washington because it had recognized Guaidó as the legitimate president of Venezuela.  (read more)

Speaker Pelosi Sets Impeachment Stage With Tweet: “What Does Putin Have on Trump?”


After a few months of head-fake commentary downplaying the Democrat party objective to use the House for an impeachment process, Speaker Nancy Pelosi drops the pretense.

In a tweet last night, connected to a press release, the democrat Speaker of the House of Representatives accuses the sitting President of being a Russian operative; thus Pelosi begins to set the stage for two likely purposes:

(Link)

The tweet itself is connected to, and comes on the heels of, Speaker Pelosi publishing a statement about the Special Counsel, DOJ and FBI arrest of Roger Stone.

“The indictment of Roger Stone makes clear that there was a deliberate, coordinated attempt by top Trump campaign officials to influence the 2016 election and subvert the will of the American people.” … “In the face of 37 indictments, the President’s continued actions to undermine the Special Counsel investigation raise the questions: what does Putin have on the President, politically, personally or financially?” (link)

All indications are that Speaker Pelosi will refuse to allow President Trump to deliver a State of the Union address from the capitol building.  Factually, the Speaker is currently barring President Trump from entering the premises.

The implication within both the tweet and the published press release appears to be groundwork justification to forbid President Trump from entering the venue by claiming his administration is illegitimate.

Obviously this approach would be unprecedented.  However, as with everything that has happened thus far, this level of resistance continues to raise political confrontation into uncharted territory.

Secondly, as we noted in the new Speaker Pelosi ‘House Rules‘, the framework of the congressional committees are specifically structured to accomplish an impeachment process.  The shift yesterday to a more hostile, aggressive and confrontational tone would seem to indicate all House ‘impeachment‘ pretense is being dropped.

When we approach the term “impeachment” we are not discussing it as the technical and legal approach for removal of a President; but rather the political use of the process to Alinsky (damage) President Donald Trump.

Professional political Democrats would not be using “impeachment” in the constitutional sense of the process (high crimes and misdemeanors); but rather weaponizing the process –as a tool itself– to: •target the executive office; •diminish the presidency (“isolate”/”marginalize”, Alinsky rules); •and position themselves for 2020.

Optics and innuendo are key elements, tools per se’, in the Alinsky narrative engineering process.  [Alinsky Rule #6 is Pelosi fueling the resistance base]  Pelosi, Schumer and the democrat machine are also focused on getting a raw Mueller report and not a version from AG Barr {explained here}.

1. “Power is not only what you have, but what the enemy thinks you have.” Power is derived from 2 main sources – money and people. “Have-Nots” must build power from flesh and blood.

2. “Never go outside the expertise of your people.” It results in confusion, fear and retreat. Feeling secure adds to the backbone of anyone.

3. “Whenever possible, go outside the expertise of the enemy.” Look for ways to increase insecurity, anxiety and uncertainty.

4. “Make the enemy live up to its own book of rules.” If the rule is that every letter gets a reply, send 30,000 letters. You can kill them with this because no one can possibly obey all of their own rules.

5. “Ridicule is man’s most potent weapon.” There is no defense. It’s irrational. It’s infuriating. It also works as a key pressure point to force the enemy into concessions.

6. “A good tactic is one your people enjoy.” They’ll keep doing it without urging and come back to do more. They’re doing their thing, and will even suggest better ones.

7. “A tactic that drags on too long becomes a drag.” Don’t become old news.

8. “Keep the pressure on. Never let up.” Keep trying new things to keep the opposition off balance. As the opposition masters one approach, hit them from the flank with something new.

9. “The threat is usually more terrifying than the thing itself.” Imagination and ego can dream up many more consequences than any activist.

10. “The major premise for tactics is the development of operations that will maintain a constant pressure upon the opposition.” It is this unceasing pressure that results in the reactions from the opposition that are essential for the success of the campaign.

11. “If you push a negative hard enough, it will push through and become a positive.” Violence from the other side can win the public to your side because the public sympathizes with the underdog.

12. “The price of a successful attack is a constructive alternative.” Never let the enemy score points because you’re caught without a solution to the problem.

13. “Pick the target, freeze it, personalize it, and polarize it.” Cut off the support network and isolate the target from sympathy. Go after people and not institutions; people hurt faster than institutions. [Alinsky Rules]

[IMPORTANT: Keep in mind that Speaker Pelosi has selected former insider DOJ official Douglas Letter to be the Chief Legal Counsel for the House.  That becomes important because there are new powers granted to the House Counsel.]

From Pelosi’s House rules, we now know Elijah Cummings will deliver the schedule for impeachment hearings before his deadline on April 15th.

Pelosi sets up a new, much narrower, oversight priority for Chairman Elijah Cummings; specifically to tailor oversight to the White House and President Donald Trump. Additionally we see the outlined time-schedule for hearings.

In subsection “k” the “clarification” is the narrowing of Elijah Cummings focus.  “Oversight Over the Executive Office of the President“.  This sets up the system for Cummings to target President Trump, his family, and all members of the executive branch as they relate to specific White House functions.

The Pelosi rules tell Chairman Cummings to deliver his schedule for his investigation(s) to the House by April 15th, 2019.  Thereafter the hearing sessions will commence.  The objective of those hearings is House impeachment of the President; so now we know the general timeline the Democrats plan to follow.

♦ To help achieve that objective on Page #3 Pelosi changed the rules on depositions:

In previous oversight hearings depositions of witnesses could not be conducted by counsel unless minority members were also present.  Pelosi removes that rule allowing an expanded team of House lawyers to question anyone regardless of whether there is a republican present to defend/protect the interests of the witness or target.

Additionally, in the event Republicans develop immediate defensive plans to push back against the weaponization of these oversight committees, Pelosi gives her Chairs 60 days to make up the rules for their committees so they can deflect any defenses.

♦ Following with the investigative plans for impeachment; and in conjunction with all new powers granted to a massively expanded group of House lawyers with new and expanded power; page #7 has specific rules to benefit HPSCI Chairman Adam Schiff:

HPSCI Chairman Adam Schiff can now, autonomously, demand and instruct depositions from anyone, at any time, for any reason; and the House Intelligence Committee does not need to consider any possible scheduling conflicts for any of the targets, or have any republican members present therein.  [Schiff granted far more power than Nunes.]

♦ Page #9 is the beginning of a very interesting new power being granted to an expanded office of House Legal Counsel:

This is only the first part of this Pelosi rule.  This part speaks to coordination with Lawfare and similar activist groups outside government.  The House will now defend Obamacare, and all other possible constructs, with a legal team – regardless of what the DOJ might be doing on the same legal matter.   In essence, a mini-legislative DOJ branch that will fight the U.S. Dept of Justice if needed. (more on this in another section).

♦ Page #13 is the most interesting, and ties back to the Page #9 rule.

Here Speaker Pelosi sets up an internal House division of lawyers, paid with taxpayer funds, to defend Obamacare against any adverse action.  In essence Pelosi is setting up her own Legislative Branch division of justice, to fight against the Executive Branch U.S. Department of Justice if needed.

The primary issue surrounds defending Obamacare from possible legal removal.  However, it doesn’t take a deep political thinker to see where this approach ends up. It would be naive to think the Lawfare group (Benjamin Wittes) did not help create this new internal legal system.

Normally/traditionally House Counsel represents the interests of the entire Legislative Branch on any issue that might surface.  However, Pelosi is setting up a legal activist agency within the House Counsel that will specifically “advocate” for Democrat priorities, against the position of the U.S. Department of Justice, and use taxpayer funds to finance the scheme.

Speaker Pelosi is creating her own mini DOJ inside the legislative branch.  And, with additional investigative powers granted to House committees, we might even see a mini-FBI units, dispatched to conduct investigations, accountable only to speaker Pelosi.  Heck, considering congress already has subpoena power, there’s no telling where this might end.

https://www.scribd.com/embeds/396700100/content?start_page=1&view_mode=&access_key=key-OpPmKLUw7FkHMd3GMYn8

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Priorities? – FBI Director Christopher Wray Delivers Message From The FBI….


The FBI is a sh!t show…. Good grief, the entire institution is now just a hot mess of incompetence, self-preservation, virtue signaling and political positioning.

Cue the audio visual:

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Despite the FBI tender sensibilities being wounded due to the shutdown; somehow the FBI found the motivation and resources to send more heavily armed agents to arrest 68-year-old Roger Stone than ever stepped foot in Benghazi, Libya.

FUBAR.

(IG Report Link)

We are All Connected & for an End Game Purpose


COMMENT:  Dear Mr. Armstrong,
I’m reading your blog for 10 years, every single day, first thing in the morning. It changed me and my views on events in pretty much everything.
I want to say a heartfelt THANK YOU for your titanic work, that you made available to people around the world, changing them for the better.
I don’t know how you are able to wear so many hats plus write for us every single day. You are one of those few geniuses, like A. Einstein, who expand the horizons for many.
Happy New Year 2019, dear Martin! I wish you and your team all the best in the new year and on for always!
Yours Truly,
VL (Russia)

REPLY: I know, I seem to be addicted to work. Thank you very much for your comment. From my side, I am very glad we have so many readers in Russia. There were 37 countries represented at the WEC event in Orlando this year. It was Margaret Thatcher who remarked to me that I reminded her of Winston Churchill. She said we both had a passion for history and we were the best at what we took interest in. Maggie told me she entered politics before 1948. She was a member of the Conservative activist “Vermin Club,” and she ran for Parliament in 1950, 1951, 1954, and finally won her first seat in 1959. She knew Churchill and served in Parliament with him as an MP for five years until Winston left Parliament in 1964. She understood cycles and even spoke at our conference back in 1996.

My philosophy is we learn something from every person we meet, be it good or bad. Our clients have always been special. They are themselves all geniuses because a genius is NOT someone who knows everything. Rather, a genius is someone who looks outside the box and is not afraid to explore. By definition, a genius MUST be someone who challenges the status quo with logic. A member of the staff at Princeton University told me I reminded him of Einstein because I was curious and would always look for the answer regardless of the field. Indeed, Einstein maintained that imagination was the key. I put together the monetary history of the Roman Empire to see simply how it fell. Was it a sudden crash (Waterfall) or was it like a 747 coming in for a gradual landing.

Therefore, if you are reading this blog, you MUST be in this same category. You MUST be thinking outside the box like Einstein and Churchill and seeking answers. Only such thinkers discover anything. Because of Maggie, I took the time to read up on Churchill. Those raising children should pay attention to the signs of a free thinker.

“Clearly there was something odd here. Winston, Davidson had con­ceded, was the ablest boy in his form. He was, in fact, remarkable. His grasp of history was outstanding. Yet he was considered a hopeless pupil. It occurred to no one that the fault might lie, not in the boy, but in the school. Samuel Butler defined genius as “a supreme capacity for getting its possessors into trouble of all kinds,” and it is ironic that geniuses are likeliest to be misunderstood in classrooms. Studies at the University of Chicago and the University of Minnesota have found that teachers smile on children with high IQs and frown upon those with creative minds. Intelligent but uncreative students accept conformity, never rebel, and complete their assignments with dispatch and to perfection. The creative child, on the other hand, is manipulative, imaginative, and intuitive. He is likely to harass the teacher. He is regarded as wild, naughty, silly, undependable, lacking in seriousness or even promise. His behavior is distracting; he doesn’t seem to be trying; he gives unique answers to banal questions, touching off laughter among the other children. E. Paul Tor-rance of Minnesota found that 70 percent of pupils rated high in creativ¬ity were rejected by teachers picking a special class for the intellectually gifted. The Goertzels concluded that a Stanford study of genius, under which teachers selected bright children, would have excluded Churchill, Edison, Picasso, and Mark Twain.

None of this was known to Welldon and his staff, but as term succeeded term an awareness grew among them that Winston was a baffling boy. He couldn’t, or wouldn’t, learn the ablative absolute – a minor feat of memory – but he could recite twelve hundred lines of Macaulay.”

The Last Lion, id/p158-159; by William Manchester

So I thank one and all. We now have readers in more than 100 countries. We are all connected and perhaps we can contribute when the time comes. We are all in this mess together albeit not by our own actions or choice. But just remember, you can lead a horse to water but you cannot force him to drink. We, unfortunately, are in that position. We cannot change the outcome. Nobody will listen. We must remain patient and firm. When the time comes for the crash and burn, then and only then will we have a fleeting moment to turn the course of history in the right direction.

We must grasp one thing. The rational components of human knowledge stand in opposition to all propositions that are arrived at by purely unbiased logical means derived from empirical research, and, in truth, they are completely void of all reality. The talking heads believe they must assign some rational explanation to every move in the markets. They only perpetuate myths and are just void of any reality or logic in the absence of empirical research in favor of presumption. They lack any understanding of the bell curve effect and it is like wine. A glass of red wine is good for the heart. A bottle of red wine is bad for the liver. Anything can kill you if taken to extremes – cold as well as heat. Just remember the bell curve – all things possess a cycle.

bonus fortuna in futurum

 

“The Good Bad & the Ugly” – The Best Rendition Ever


Experimenting with the T-10 military chute when it came out in 1967


This video is taken with a supper 8 camera and the conversion to digital isn’t as good as I would like but it’s interesting if you like jumping from perfectly good airplanes, C-123’s in this case. This was shot in in 1967 I think it was either April or early May at Fr Bragg, NC I don’t remember what drop zone it was. I had the camera strapped to my helmet so the first part after going out the door is a bit jerky until the canopy opens. At the end of the film that is me packing my chute after a jump.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo Holds Press Conference on Venezuela…


Secretary of State Mike Pompeo holds a press conference on the crisis in Venezuela, and introduces Elliot Abrams as the primary U.S. liaison and point-of-contact for the Venezuela Democracy Initiative.

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[Transcript] SECRETARY POMPEO: Good afternoon, everyone. Today I am incredibly excited to announce that a seasoned, principled, and tough-minded foreign policy veteran is joining our State Department team. Elliott Abrams is coming aboard to lead our efforts on Venezuela.

His critical work will get started right away. Tomorrow, he will travel with me to the UN Security Council, where the United States has called a long overdue meeting to urge other nations to support Venezuela’s democratic transition.

Elliott’s long career in foreign affairs includes a great deal of time as a senior leader in this very organization. Under President Reagan, he served as assistant secretary of state for human rights and humanitarian affairs and assistant secretary for inter-American affairs as well.

Under President George W. Bush, he served on the National Security Council as the senior director for democracy, human rights, and international affairs; senior director for North African and Near East affairs; and deputy national security adviser for global democracy strategy.

Elliott’s passion for the rights and liberties of all peoples makes him a perfect fit and a valuable and timely addition. This week, the Venezuelan people have rejected former President Maduro’s illegitimate rule. Consistent with Venezuela’s constitution, and with the support of the Venezuelan people and the National Assembly, Juan Guaido has declared himself the interim president of Venezuela.

These are just the first steps on Venezuela’s road to liberty. Elliott will be a true asset to our mission to help the Venezuelan people fully restore democracy and prosperity to their country.

On this issue and all others, he is eager to advance President Trump’s agenda and promote the ideals and interests of the American people.

And now Elliott would like to say a few words.

MR ABRAMS: Thank you. Very briefly, I left this building 30 years ago this week, last time I worked here. So it’s very nice to be back. This crisis in Venezuela is deep and difficult and dangerous, and I can’t wait to get to work on it. Thank you.

SECRETARY POMPEO: Thanks.

MR PALLADINO: All right, guys, we’ve got time for a question or two. Nick Wadhams, Bloomberg, please.

QUESTION: Mr. Secretary.

SECRETARY POMPEO: Yes, sir.

QUESTION: Can you talk a little bit – in a little bit more detail about what Mr. Abrams will be doing, what will his first task be, what will his chief focus be, will he travel to the region? And also, can you talk a little bit about some of the – what will happen to Venezuela’s overseas assets? For example, the gold that it has in the Bank of England, money it has in overseas accounts – will the expectation be that the interim president would have control over those funds?

SECRETARY POMPEO: Well, as to your first question, Elliott will have responsibility for all things related to our efforts to restore democracy in Venezuela. It’s a global challenge. There are multiple dimensions to how we hope to assist the Venezuelans in achieving democracy there, and he will be responsible for leading that effort.

We have an enormous team here that’s done truly remarkable work to date to get us to the point we are at today, and they’ve done this over certainly my eight months, but long preceding that as well. I’m incredibly proud of the work that our State Department team has done to date. Elliott will now lead our effort that relates directly to our efforts on behalf of the Venezuelan people.

I would expect, though, that his first task will be to get up to speed and then travel with me to New York tomorrow morning for the UN Security Council meeting. And after that, I couldn’t tell you where it will take him. Wouldn’t surprise me if he ends up traveling to the region, but what – the road ahead will be driven by the demands of the Venezuelan people and how we can assist them in achieving the outcome that America wants them to achieve.

QUESTION: And on the overseas assets?

SECRETARY POMPEO: On the overseas assets, we’ll have announcements from other places later today talking about how it is that we anticipate the interim President Juan Guaido will have the resources he needs to lead the Government of Venezuela forward.

MR PALLADINO: Let’s take a question from South America, so NTN. Gustau, please.

QUESTION: NTN 24, Gustau Alegret. Among the countries that has not recognized Juan Guaido as president are Mexico and Uruguay, and both countries has offered their diplomacies in order to help in the crisis. Is the U.S. thinking to work with them, or is the U.S. asking them to recognize Guaido? What’s the position of the State Department with these two countries?

SECRETARY POMPEO: Well, we think every country ought to recognize the constitutional leader of Venezuela, and that’s who the United States has concluded Juan Guaido is, the interim president of Venezuela. We think every country ought to recognize the Venezuelan constitution, the demands of the Venezuelan people.

So whether it is Mexico or Uruguay or any other country, we hope to work with them to achieve the sense that we can ultimately have a free and fair election in Venezuela, where the voices of the Venezuelan people who, under the Maduro regime, have been starved. Enormous medical and humanitarian situation in Colombia, more than a million refugees have fled the horrors of the Maduro regime. We’ll work with all nations to try and achieve that outcome. We think every country ought to take steps towards achieving that, and not side with this cruel dictator in Venezuela who has caused so much devastation for the people of Venezuela.

MR PALLADINO: Wrap it up, sir?

SECRETARY POMPEO: I think one more.

MR PALLADINO: Let’s go to Washington Post. Carol Morello.

QUESTION: Mr. Secretary, I think a lot of people are concerned about the diplomats who are down there. Would you tell us what you’re prepared to do if tomorrow, when the 72-hour deadline passes, they – the Venezuelans cut off electricity and water, maybe even surround the building, or even try to go in to bring out the diplomats by force? Could you be specific about what you are prepared to do in the event of any of these scenarios? And how can you assure people that they are protected?

SECRETARY POMPEO: I appreciate that question. There’s been no activity that’s taken more of our time over the past days than ensuring the protection of all those folks that are under our chief of mission authority there in Venezuela. We’re working diligently to make sure that they are protected. There’s no higher priority for the Secretary of State, and you should know no higher priority for the President of the United States. We have discussed this at some length.

With respect to the way we will deliver that, we’ve made clear to everyone that it is our expectation that the U.S. officials that are there, that have now been invited to be there by interim President Juan Guaido have a right, they have the privileges and immunities that accrue to having been invited to be there by the duly credentialed leader of Venezuela, and we have every expectation that those rights will continue to be protected.

You would have seen today that we have ordered a – have an ordered departure. We’re beginning to move some of our staff out. This is consistent with what the State Department does every day. The first briefing I get every morning is all around the world, every mission, every consulate, every facility where we have officers, I receive a briefing on risk and risk analysis. We’ll continue to do that in Venezuela. It is literally a 24/7, moment-by-moment exercise to evaluate risk to the people who work for me in the State Department, and we’ll get this right. We will make sure that we protect our folks on the ground and take all appropriate measures to ensure that they’re protected.

Thank you.

[Transcript Link]

U.K. Telegraph Issues Published Apology to First Lady Melania Trump…


Libel laws in the U.K. must be much more favorable to the victim than in the United States.  The U.K. Telegraph published a retraction to a previous story written about First Lady Melania Trump that is labeled “An Apology“:

(Article Link)

Roger Stone Discusses His Political Indictment With Tucker Carlson….


Regardless of any opinion of Roger Stone, the reality of what took place today showed the full weaponization and intent of the Robert Mueller probe.  A completely unnecessary, and profoundly aggressive, pre-dawn Bin-Laden raid with dozens of heavily armed FBI agents and SWAT members during the arrest was full Ruby Ridge…. Thankfully no-one was hurt.