The Decline & Fall of Civilization is Upon Us


COMMENT:

Good afternoon

I would like to share a testimony to Marty:

I am french and have attended a conference of technology in Germany last weekend, in which Barack Obama attended as a guest speaker.
Though I am not American nor Republican, I was really surprised by the tonality and the comments different American speakers voiced during the speeches about Republicans and Donald Trump : uneducated, in denial, egocentric, dumb,… a speaker even said she regretted not having offered a “Dump Trump” sweater to President Obama (quote). I was really surprised to see the level of undisclosed hatred being displayed in a business/public event..

You are absolutely right, the gloves are dropped now, and 2020 will be hectic in the USA…
Thanks a million for your blog and your insights, you are a true teacher to me

CQ

REPLY: I have never seen a worse political divide. There is no going back. The 2020 election is going to be the most violent and nasty election in American history. There is just no way to return to civility. The hatred is brewing and that will erupt into violence.

From my study of history, it appears that this is just part of the cycle in how empires, nations, & city-states collapse. The very purpose of civilization is that there emerges a synergy that is greater than an individual can create alone. You no longer need to bake bread because someone started a bakery.

However, when society turns in upon itself, that is the end. It is no longer beneficial to remain in a collective group. We are rapidly approaching this point and that erupts into separatism, which you are witnessing everywhere around the globe.

Senator Graham on Impeachment: “I Will Not Allow Hearsay Evidence During Senate Trial”…


An impeachment trial in the senate would presumably be run through the Senate Judiciary Committee (presiding judge John Roberts), unless there are constitutionally permitted process rule changes.

Senate Judiciary Chairman Lindsey Graham begins to get specific about what he will and will-not allow as part of the senate trial.   Graham notes the ‘hearsay rule’ will be applied to the House evidence within the article(s) as presented.  Additionally, Graham notes that anonymous witnesses (ie. “whistleblower”) will not be permitted.

Ukraine State Dept. Experts Clueless – Senator Grassley Asked DOJ to Investigate Ukraine in 2017…


During the impeachment hearing today State Department officials George Kent and Bill Taylor both stated they never heard of any claims of Ukrainian political interference in the 2016 U.S. election.  Additionally, both claimed to have no knowledge of any U.S. investigation that might overlap with Ukraine.

When pressed with specifically cited reports about DNC operatives engaging with Ukraine government officials to gather opposition research against candidate Donald Trump, both Mr. Kent and Ambassador Taylor denied any knowledge of the outlined reporting.

However, what everyone in the media –and on Capitol Hill– seems to forget is a letter in July, 2017 [LINK HERE], written by U.S. Senator Chuck Grassley to Dept. of Justice Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, specifically outlining 2016 election interference by Ukrainian government officials; and specifically asking for an U.S. DOJ investigation therein:

Here’s the Full Letter:

 

Senate GOP Leadership Warns Trump: Any White House Attempt to Dismiss Impeachment Charges Will Fail…


They are called “decepticons” for a reason. McConnell is king, and Cornyn, Thune and Barasso are his praetorian guards.  {Go Deep}

Senator John Cornyn (TX), a key member of the Senate GOP leadership; and a member of the Senate Judiciary and Intelligence committees; warns the White House that a vote to immediately dismiss articles of impeachment and avoid a trial won’t work.

“There’s some people talking about trying to stop the bill, dismiss charges basically as soon as they get over here. I think that’s not going to happen. That would require 51 votes,” Cornyn told reporters Wednesday. “I think it would be hard to find 51 votes to cut the case off before the evidence is presented.”

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – A top Senate Republican, John Cornyn, said on Wednesday that should the U.S. House of Representatives vote to impeach President Donald Trump, he doubts a motion in the Senate to immediately dismiss the charges would succeed.

Cornyn, who spent years as the Senate’s no. 2 Republican, said such a motion would not receive the 51 votes necessary in the Republican-controlled Senate to pass. He said he was confident that ultimately, a vote in the Senate to remove Trump from office would fail. (read more)

Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky, is one Republican senator who previously hinted at the possibility of advancing a motion to dismiss the articles of impeachment. However, Majority Leader Mitch McConnell told GOP colleagues during a lunch meeting last month any motion to dismiss would have to come from the president’s defense team after the impeachment managers deliver the articles to the Senate.

…Senate Republicans, even though they control 53 seats, don’t think there would be enough unity within their conference to dismiss charges against Trump before the prosecutors and defense have a chance to lay out their arguments and senators have a chance to ask questions and deliberate. (link)

One of the problems in the Senate trial is the participation of the SSCI within the network of interests working to eliminate candidate Trump and then President Trump from office.

SSCI Chairman Richard Burr doesn’t go on an political targeting expedition like that without the approval of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell.   Yes, it really is that simple.

To remind ourselves how Minority and Majority Senator McConnell took down the threat of the Tea Party revisit these old articles CNN Part I and CNN Part II  both showcase how McConnell works.   Then do some research on how McConnell worked with Haley Barbour in Mississippi [SEE HERE].

The Tea Party was a risk to McConnell in 2010-2014 the same way MAGA coalition is to McConnell in 2016-2020.   Take nothing for granted.

 

Hearing Highlights – Jordan, Stefanik and Ratcliffe Deconstruct Impeachment Narrative…


Day One of the Pelosi, Schiff and Lawfare effort to publicly construct support for the impeachment of President Trump ends.  Within the questioning of State Department officials George Kent and Bill Taylor the value of adding Jim Jordan to the hearings became clear.

Jim Jordan, Elise Stefanik and John Ratcliffe methodically deconstructed the false premise advanced by the impeachment crew.  It became clear that both Kent and Taylor held no specific and direct knowledge of the substance behind the claims made by the democrats leading the effort.  Here’s a few highlights starting with Jim Jordan:

Jordan pressed Taylor on how he came to have a “clear understanding” that the U.S. aid to Ukraine was dependent on opening an investigation into Trump’s political rivals. Jordan said there was no “linkage” and Ambassador Taylor said he came to his “clear conclusion” based on what other people said about what other people heard about conversations with other people.

Here’s the visual to help (tweet embed video):

Mad Liberals@mad_liberals

A visual recap of the “clear understanding” of Ambassador Taylor’s knowledge of what happened.
.@Jim_Jordan

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Next up John Ratcliffe: Rep. Ratcliffe reviewed multiple public statements made by Ukrainian President Zelensky that he was not pressured by the U.S. and had no knowledge of military aid being withheld from Ukraine.

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Then Elise Stefanik brings it home by outlining Burisma: Rep. Stefanik focused on both officials’ statements on the corruption in Ukraine and Burisma:

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TheLastRefuge@TheLastRefuge2

.@EliseStefanik swinging the atomic common-sense hammer.

Burisma was a corruption problem.
Obama thought Burisma was a problem.
Mr. Kent thought Burisma was a problem.
Trump thought Burisma was a problem.

Hence the anti-corruption request.

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TheLastRefuge@TheLastRefuge2

…”I don’t consider myself a star witness”.
…”I do not have any first hand knowledge”.

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TheLastRefuge@TheLastRefuge2

“A member of my staff told me about a phone conversation that he overheard” where President Trump did not seek our approval prior to talking with the President of Ukraine.

This cannot stand amid the international rules based order we have constructed for decades. Impeach!

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TheLastRefuge@TheLastRefuge2

Oh My God.

President Trump may have selected people for the delegation that went to President Zelenskyy’s inauguration!

Without, REPEAT, *WITHOUT* consulting with Mr Kent.

This. CANNOT. STAND.

IMPEACH !

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Ranking Member Devin Nunes Opening Statement – Impeachment Hearings Day One…


Here’s the opening statement from HPSCI Ranking Member Devin Nunes:

House Impeachment Public Hearings – Day One – William B. Taylor and George Kent – 10:00am Livestream…


The House Intelligence Committee will begin holding public hearings to impeach President Donald Trump today at 10:00am EDT.  The hearings are carefully scripted, organized and planned. Day One begins with Ambassador William Taylor and Deputy Assistant Secretary George Kent.  To support the Democrat impeachment effort all major media networks are carrying the event live, and promoting their anticipation of drama.

Impeachment Chairman Adam Schiff has threatened severe punishment if any member of congress speaks publicly about the CIA helping to organize the ‘whistleblower‘ effort.

Mr. Taylor currently serves as the Chargé D’affaires for the U.S. State Department in Ukraine. Mr. Kent serves as Deputy Assistant Secretary in the European and Eurasian Bureau at the U.S. Department of State.  Both State Dept. officials disagree with President Trump’s foreign policy which they hope will lead to his removal from office.

Fox News Livestream – Fox Business Livestream – CSPAN Livestream – HPSCI Livestream

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When Justice Isn’t


by Tabitha Korol

A letter written by a local elementary school teacher, I’ll call “Mrs. Krieg,” was brought to my attention by a mutual acquaintance.  In light of the notice that honor classes will be discontinued, she thoughtfully agreed that equity (defined as fairness and impartiality) in the schools should benefit all students.  Regrettably, she has been influenced by terminology that has been devalued and redefined to become a tool for social engineering among students.  Such revisionism has been applied to Equity, Diversity and Social Justice, and comes at the expense of freedom and true justice.

Honors classes were designed to challenge students academically.  The advanced work, faster pace, and higher course-credit weight have provided for smarter, happier, well-rounded children who had the opportunity to flourish according to their capabilities and not misbehave out of boredom.  But now, the authorities have determined it best to cancel the honor courses across the country because of a “lack of diversity” – that is, more Caucasian and Asian students were engaged than Blacks, Latinos and Native Americans.  Instead of also providing honors classes that meet the interests of the low-energy students – perhaps music, theater, artisanal handicrafts – the Department of Education has decided to close the achievement gap by lowering the bar and expectations and discontinuing all incentives.  Mrs. Krieg did not foresee that by eliminating the incentives and opportunities, the resulting “equity” would be mediocrity and the loss of exceptional achievement.

Now the Department of Education will generate equity in boredom, discontent, resentment, truancy and delinquency.  Academia is not unaware of these inevitabilities.  Their purpose is not an improved education but the decline of achievement and the elimination of the exceptional. Former President Obama expressed a similar derogatory outlook when he denounced high-achieving Americans with, “You didn’t build that.”

Diversity in the schools no longer describes a richness of ideas, course studies, or specialty careers, but defines and categorizes the students themselves, by race, religion, ethnicity, financial status, sexual orientation, and however else the students choose to differentiate themselves.  As with the term “equity,” the meaning of “diversity” has been corrupted, as it now implies division, divisiveness, and discord, the opposite of E Pluribus Unum – Out of many, One.  These differences have led to a totalitarian-style monitoring and bullying – called Speech Control, necessitating “Diversity Officers” with doctoral degrees, credentials in counseling and inclusion techniques, and six-figure salaries reflected in higher tuition costs.  The officers’ mere presence confirms the growing disharmony, isolation, discrimination, harassment, and violence that characterize the socialist strategy.  These points are significant:

  • Many schools have implemented a policy of discouraging the bonding between classmates, beginning with Kindergarten, alleging that “best friends” keep the students from mingling with This is false and destructive.  Best friends are a mutual support system, as they learn to agree, compromise, comfort, accommodate, and be reliable, traits needed throughout their adult lives.
  • Schools now place students at their computers for hours, removing eye contact and discussion opportunities with others, disallowing autonomy over time scheduling, reducing writing and penmanship with its inherent creativity. Presidential hopeful Kamala Harris said she would increase daily school time by three hours, thereby seriously reducing home and family activities, personal growth, and individual achievement.
  • Academia has introduced “intersectionality” to diminish the self and encourage victimhood by race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender, family class; the more the classifications, the higher their status.  Instead of a unitedness with school and pride of citizenship in their own country, they are now tribalistic, divisive, and intolerant.
  • Bigotry against Jewish students and staff (antisemitism) is on the rise and spreading.  History has shown that Jews are always the first, but never the only ones, to be attacked.  The hostility is growing to include whites (white supremacy), extending to our founding and history by the socialists and Sharia-compliant; and towards boys (toxic masculinity), diminishing their self-worth and ambitions, and damaging their  God-given purpose of contributing to our nation’s growth and defense.  Boys must become men: marry and support their families, be strong fathers and teach morality to the next generation.
  • The removal of God from the schools and population’s psyche has produced a plethora of new definitions that facilitate a ruling class, convince the public to tolerate lawlessness over sovereign borders, and to submit to the measured demands of sharia made by the Muslim Brotherhood and affiliates on campus and in the media.
  • The Common Core standards introduced new courses: intentionally convoluted math that prohibits parental participation; dystopian and uninspiring literature that offers limited creative vocabulary and replaces inspiration with fatalism; inaccurate and indoctrinating history lessons that misinform students about our growth and successes and secretes the truths about Islam; and social studies that support a political agenda.
  • With individuality stifled, the children are indoctrinated to think alike, falter alike, and expect equal return for widespread mediocrity.  This equity in communist countries has produced  stagnation in education, the economy and real income; slow improvement in everyday services and medical care; shortages of goods; rising criminality and corruption, along with an increase in alcoholism, particularly in Russia.  Socialism kills the spirit of personal endeavor.
  • The introduction of transgenderism is ruining the lives of many children, psychologically and physically, wrecking all opportunities for happiness in marriage and family, leading some to suicide.
  • The threat of climate change, perhaps the greatest hoax, is the extensive control over all life, which would bring a scarcity of energy, failing manufacturing firms and  retail operations, vilified consumerism, diminishing food supplies, curbed transportation for people and food distribution.  The environmentalists purposely falsify the data about climatic conditions in order to throttle human activity – which they hate – to produce their worshipped green planet.
  • In short, the goal of the left is to crush the human spirit.  Pride in accomplishment must be stifled, progress discouraged, and the dispirited population reminted into the globalists’ compliant working class.

Contrary to Mrs. Krieg’s understanding, the term “diversity” was invented to con the populace into accepting all incoming non-citizens.  Regardless of criminality, disease, or hatred for the American flag, they must be housed, fed, clothed, educated and medicated.  Multiculturalism is already the downfall of several European countries due to cultures that are too disparate for assimilation.  Muslims come to replace their hosts’ laws with their sharia and establish yet another oppressive totalitarian Islamic state.

Justice becomes injustice when the word needs a modifier.  “Social justice” means a revision of laws to accommodate a socialist agenda.  True justice is served only when the interests of Americans are considered, when Americans can, of their own volition and in their own time, partake of the promise of “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.”  The authoritarian government seeks total/totalitarian control over the masses to forcibly produce identical workers, taught and indoctrinated to comply with the needs of the regime.

The final outcome is not unknown to mankind.  We have seen countries fall to socialism, fascism, and Islam, and the vulnerable children are always the first to feel the effects of the increasing control.

Now is the time to act if we are to avoid Orwell’s dire warning: If you want a vision of the future, imagine a boot stamping on a human face – forever.

Tabitha Korol

https://tinyurl.com/y7e6z63d

 

The Silence of The Shams – “Some Witness Reviews Still Being Negotiated”…


The Washington Post jumps-in to the Horowitz ‘principal review’ timeline adding that some of the opportunities for witnesses to review the final draft report are “still being negotiated”, likely by the attorney’s for the principals.

Take all reporting on this two-week review phase with a grain of salt. Despite the NDA’s there will be a rush to control the narrative.  “People familiar with the matter” will start popping up in the Washington Post, New York Times, Politico, Buzzfeed and CNN.

There is likely to be a flood of spin from the PR teams behind each principal outlined in the report.  Lawyers for James Comey and Andrew McCabe will be using every angle of Lawfare imaginable to attempt to shape their clients image within the report.

Lawyers, Lawfare legal teams, and DC-based PR consultants for Sally Yates, John Carlin, Mary McCord, Peter Strzok, Lisa Page, Hillary Clinton, James Baker, Michael Kortan, Rod Rosenstein, Robert Mueller, Andrew Weissmann, Chris Steele, Glen Simpson, Nellie Ohr, Bruce Ohr, John Brennan, James Clapper and many more will all be working at courtroom rates to control any report damage for their clients.

The Obama administration will be working in the background, while Fusion-GPS takes in fees and pays their primary journalists and narrative engineers premium rates for column inches that protect their client interests.  This is one big confab of interests all positioning to control any negative impressions and highlight their magnanimous patriotic activity.

Watch and we will see full deployment of the justification defense and “outrage trap“.  After all, according to their predictable defenses, there was evidence, even if slight, that President Trump was a Russian asset belonging to Vladimir Putin…. it had to be taken seriously, etc.  Even the Republicans in congress were alarmed.

We are going to see the Intelligence Community Assessment deployed as a shield… see, even the entire intelligence community was concerned about Russia; so we had to use the FISA process…. because these were unprecedented times, unprecedented threats, etc.

Spying, surveillance, unmasking, electronic monitoring, all of it will be deemed as necessary because the system of our entire governmental apparatus was under attack…

You know the routine.

Watch for it in the next two weeks; watch who is protesting the loudest; and we will be able to identify where Horowitz’s report was targeting the hardest.  Look for the tell-tale signs of ‘justifications’ and who is deploying those justifications to excuse their involvement.

WaPo – The Justice Department inspector general has begun scheduling witnesses to review draft sections of his report on the FBI’s investigation of President Trump’s 2016 campaign — the clearest indication yet that the long-awaited document will soon be released publicly, people familiar with the matter said.

Several witnesses have been scheduled or are in talks to review sections of the report dealing with their testimony in the next two weeks, the people said on the condition of anonymity to discuss a sensitive matter. That could mean public release is imminent, though the witnesses will be allowed to submit feedback — which could spark more investigative work and slow down the process.

The particulars for each witness’s review were not immediately clear and in some cases were still being negotiated. The inspector general’s office will probably offer relatively short windows for witnesses to submit feedback and take other steps to prevent leaks, as it often does in sensitive and high-profile cases. (read more)

Finally – AP Confirms Horowitz Report “Principal Review Phase” Underway – “Invitations” For Witnesses and Lawyers……


We finally have confirmation of a procedural process that allows us to anticipate the timing for public release of the FISA report from Inspector General Horowitz.

According to the Associated Press:

The Justice Department’s watchdog is nearing the release of its report on the early stages of the FBI’s Russia investigation, a document likely to revive debate about a politically charged probe that shadowed President Donald Trump’s administration from the outset.

The inspector general in recent days has invited witnesses and their lawyers who were interviewed for the report to review portions of a draft this week and next, a critical final step toward making the document public, according to multiple people familiar with the process who insisted on anonymity to discuss it.

As part of that process, the people will have opportunities to raise concerns or suggest potential edits, making it unclear precisely when in the coming weeks a final version could be ready for release. Inspector General Michael Horowitz told Congress in a letter last month that he did not expect a lengthy review period and that he intended to make as much of the report public as possible, with minimal redactions. (read more)

Generally speaking, and using the 2018 IG report on FBI conduct as a guide, the ‘Principal Review’ phase under Horowitz usually lasts 10 business days, or two weeks. All principals, and lawyers who review the report, are required to sign non-disclosure agreements.

Presuming this is principal review week one (seems certain), that would put the final report publication after the week of November 25th through November 29th. [NOTE: Thanksgiving day is November 28th]

The inspector general may allow principal comments to be added to the final report; however, the IG usually adds rebuttal information for any principal additions. Once the principal review and final OIG referencer check is complete the report moves to publication and public distribution.

In the example of  the 2018 report on FBI conduct in the Clinton investigation, the principal review was 10 days from start to finish.  It seems like Horowitz is following the same schedule.  With Thanksgiving on Thursday November 28th, it is likely the resport will be released the week after Thanksgiving week; however it is possible for the report to be released during Thanksgiving week if IG Horowitz limits principal additions.

Best guess is the week after Thanksgiving.