Hoover Institution Senior Fellow Victor Davis Hanson discusses his new book, “The Case for Trump,” live from the Hoover Institution’s office in Washington, D.C.
This is a fascinating lecture given by Victor Davis Hanson, a professor in Classics and Military History. I found this lecture to be incredibly insightful and gives a description of Western Civilization starting with the Greeks that I think everybody should be familiar with whether they want to support or critique the Western Tradition. Enjoy! If you enjoy this production, feel compelled, or appreciate my other videos, please support me on Patreon, or donate directly by PayPal or to my project fund by way of my website. Any contribution would be greatly appreciated. Thank you 🙏
Donald Trump ran for president largely on a promise to reduce the trade deficit, specifically with China. But the new report shows a 10-year record high trade deficit. Why doesn’t President Trump admit that trade deficits are largely a fiction, and it’s his booming economy that makes a “really really great, huge one” possible? Bill Whittle Now is a production of the Members at http://BillWhittle.com
We discovered last year that Jeff Sessions had authorized U.S. Attorney John Huber to work with the Inspector General’s office, but we did not know exact dates and scope of the original Huber investigation. Thanks to a FOIA request, some details now fill in.
A left-leaning watchdog group, American Oversight, filed a FOIA request in 2017 looking for any communication that might show former AG Jeff Sessions giving instructions to DOJ officials to target Hillary Clinton for investigations.
Ironically, and perhaps serendipitously, the American Oversight FOIA request was submitted on November 22nd, 2017, the exact date Sessions’ chief-of-staff Matt Whitaker was sending a letter to Utah U.S. Attorney John Huber. Had they waited a day, what AO were looking for would have surfaced. However, with the Sessions-Huber communication falling outside the FOIA request window, the DOJ response was delayed until yesterday.
The Sessions letter was an attachment to a email sent by Whitaker to Huber at 5:21pm on November 22nd, 2017. The AG letter to Huber requests Huber to review issues raised by the House Judiciary Chairman Bob Goodlatte, and return with advice. Here’s the letter:
CONTEXT – in 2017 House Judiciary Chairman Bob Goodlatte was conducting oversight and receiving testimony from witnesses concerning a possibility the DOJ and FBI had intentionally manipulated their investigations to protect Hillary Clinton. Goodlatte wrote to AG Sessions about his concerns.
At the request of AG Jeff Sessions, Asst. AG Stephen Boyd sent a responsive letter back to belay Goodlatte’s concerns explaining what ongoing review processeswere in place:
The November 13th, 2017, response letter to Goodlatte was also copied to John Huber as an outline to specify the review parameters of what AG Jeff Sessions was requesting from Utah’s U.S. Attorney.
Within the November 22nd, 2017, letter to Huber, Attorney General Jeff Sessions requested: a review Chairman Goodlatte’s concerns; take note of the Boyd response letter; initiate the requested review; and recommend further appropriate action, if any, Huber might deem necessary.
Interestingly the letter states:
“Your review need not include matters that you determine are within the scope of the investigation being conducted by Special Counsel Robert Mueller.”
So we can reasonably infer that John Huber saw the unredacted Rosenstein ‘scope memo‘ defining the parameters of what Mueller was supposed to investigate.
In broad terms Jeff Sessions was asking John Huber if the U.S. Attorney saw any reason to initiate a new or deeper investigation, and/or if any “matters would merit the appointment of a Special Counsel.”
It has been sixteen months since that letter, so we can assume Huber did not identify a need for another ‘special counsel’; and/or it would have been just an absolute mess to have two special counsels investigating both ends of the same corrupt enterprise.
Four months after this November 2017 instruction to John Huber, in March 2018, Attorney General Jeff Sessions faced even stronger congressional demands from Senate Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley, House Oversight Chairman Trey Gowdy and again House Judiciary Chairman Bob Goodlatte. Now people were getting frustrated.
By March 2018 most of the “spygate” corruption was visible; Lisa Page and Peter Strzok text messages were in the public domain; numerous Senior FBI and DOJ officials were fired, quit, demoted and outed within a bigger conspiracy afoot. The existence of DOJ-IG Michael Horowitz’s internal investigations was now widely known; congress was demanding a special counsel, and the public was looking for answers from the Attorney General…. The basic theme: what the f**k are you doing?
On March 29th, 2018, Jeff Sessions wrote to Senator Grassley, Trey Gowdy and Bob Goodlatte telling them of the November 2017 review he initiated, and publicly informing them for the first time of U.S. Attorney John Huber working with IG Horowitz.
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Within that letter from Sessions, a very defensive Attorney General notes the prior November 2017 response to congress and his request for Huber to review all issues. Read the full letter below. (Note: this is the letter TTP is dependent upon):
Summary: We know when John Huber was assigned to the corruption review (November 22, 2017); and we know the first scope of that review was Clinton issues (working with Horowitz); and we know the outcome the Horowitz/Huber review (on Clinton issues and FBI misconduct) resulted in a disappointing IG report, no criminal referrals [McCabe referral only related to media leaks and lying], and no special counsel.
We also know the IG/Huber review later expanded (March 2018) to cover FISA abuse.
However, we do not know what aspects of the FISA abuse the IG has investigated, if anything, or what accountability outcomes there may be, if any.
It still appears the Mueller probe is the impediment to the public releases of declassified documents and evidence; and we do not know what Huber and Horowitz have been doing for a year on the FISA abuse issues.
However, if Rod Rosenstein is actually leaving the DOJ in the middle of this month; and if he actually does leave; perhaps that indicates Mueller’s investigative roadblock is about to end… timed with the ides of March.
The White House has announced that Brazil’s President Jair Bolsonaro will visit with President Trump on March 19th for bilateral discussions. The media are framing the visit around the ongoing crisis within Venezuela; however, there’s also an important element as it relates to the panda dance.
President Donald Trump and President Jair Bolsonaro both have a strong nationalist perspective and share a common geopolitical outlook.
In fact, during the 2018 election many dubbed Bolsonaro the ‘Brazilian Trump‘. President Bolsonaro also made headlines last year when he said he was open to a U.S. military base and alliance.
Yes, it’s true the turmoil in Venezuela is a likely top issue for discussion, but the U.S. and Brazil are now aligned with a commonality toward China…. and it just so happens the U.S. and Brazil are #1 and #2 in production of China’s number one import, soy beans.
China has an almost unquenchable thirst for soybeans, which are crushed to make cooking oil and used in the protein-rich animal feed ingredient soymeal. The U.S. is the worlds largest producer of soybeans at 108 million metric tonnes. Brazil is the second largestproducer with around 87 million metric tonnes.
In July 2018, when China initially wanted to strike back against the U.S. for import tariffs, Beijing initially tried to boycott U.S. soybeans and purchase their needs from Brazil and Argentina; However, that didn’t last too long. There’s just not enough global production of soybeans to supply all of China’s needs without the U.S.
At a critical juncture in the U.S-China trade negotiations; and with China seeming to slip back into manipulative dragon-mode recently; the timing for a Trump and Bolsonaro summit couldn’t be better…. almost, well, as if it were by design.
WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump will host Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro in Washington on March 19, the White House announced Friday. They are expected to discuss the turmoil in Venezuela.
Bolsonaro was elected in 2018 and his upcoming visit to Washington comes as Brazil’s border with Venezuela has become a flashpoint in the ongoing political crisis facing the oil-rich country and Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro. Brazil has sided with the U.S. in supporting Venezuela’s opposition leader, Juan Guaido, as the legitimate head of state.
Food and medicine shortages under Maduro’s rule have caused a flood of Venezuelans to flee across the border into neighboring countries. The U.S. has sent relief supplies to the region but the political and economic crisis shows no signs of ending soon.
According to the White House, Trump and Bolsonaro are also expected to discuss trade issues and military ties between the two countries. (read more)
In the dance with the dragon, always watch the more subtle gestures.
National Economic Council Director Larry Kudlow discusses the February jobs report, wage gains, stimulus from the European Central Bank, and President Trump’s ongoing trade confrontation with China. [Solid Interview]
Chairman Kudlow notes some interesting dynamics at play including the recent National Household employment survey which showed 225k additional workers resulting in a drop in the overall unemployment statistics to 3.8%
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Additionally, the globalist-minded Wall Street crowd are disappointed that a March summit between Chairman Xi and President Trump has been scuttled. In aggregate terms, this cancellation backdrops USTR Robert Lighthizer’s strong granular demands of the Chinese delegation toward contractual enforcement terms. It is most likely Chairman Xi is not happy with the feedback he is receiving from his team. Too bad.
The BLS employment report for February is very underwhelming with a mere 20,000 new jobs calculated and results that fall far short of expectations. The recent private sector ADP payroll reportshowed 183,000 gains. Despite the low reported jobs gains, the national unemployment number dropped to 3.8%.
Further confounding the low February BLS calculations, revisions to December and January were upward. December’s jobs were revised up from +222,000 to +227,000 (gaining 5k), and the change for January was revised up from +304,000 to +311,000 (+7k). With these revisions, employment gains in December and January combined were 12,000 more than previously reported. Job gains now average 186,000 per month over the last three months.
On a very positive note the calculated wage growth continues to reflect a tight labor market where employers are increasing wages well beyond inflation. “In February, average hourly earnings for all employees on private nonfarm payrolls rose by 11 cents to $27.66, following a 2-cent gain in January. Over the year, average hourly earnings have increased by 3.4 percent.” That is the strongest sustained wage growth in a decade.
“Aside from the headline number, this is a solid report for wages that gained +0.11. That brings them to +3.4 year-over-year and the labor participation rate held steady at 63.2 after the recent gains,” Wall Street analyst Tim Anderson at TJM Investments, said.
Jobs Report: Most Important Highlight
Non-Supervisory Wages continue to surge and outpace overall wage increases
This is amazing news for all Americans#Winning
The White House could possibly be evolving from a dynamic of confronting political opposition, into a more necessarily aggressive war against all Swamp adversaries. Following grandma’s rule, well, I am not disappointed in this departure…
From the White House: “Assistant to the President and Communications Director, Bill Shine offered his resignation to the President yesterday evening, and the President accepted. Bill continues to support President Trump and his agenda and will serve as Senior Advisor to the 2020 re-election campaign.”
•From Bill Shine: “Serving President Trump and this country has been the most rewarding experience of my entire life. To be a small part of all this President has done for the American people has truly been an honor. I’m looking forward to working on President Trump’s reelection campaign and spending more time with my family.”
•From President Trump: ““Bill Shine has done an outstanding job working for me and the Administration. We will miss him in the White House, but look forward to working together on the 2020 Presidential Campaign, where he will be totally involved. Thank you to Bill and his wonderful family!”
•From Mick Mulvaney: “Bill has been an asset of invaluable importance to this West Wing. I have enjoyed working with him and witnessing firsthand his unmatched talent, expertise and, and skills. I am grateful that he will continue to be an important member of team trump. I look forward to all of his future contributions.”
•From Sarah Sanders: “Bill Shine has been a great leader on our team and someone we have all loved working with every day. He has brought a tremendous amount of talent and expertise to the Administration. Bill has become a real friend and his generosity and his passion for our country will be sorely missed. It is a big loss for the White House, but a huge gain for the President’s reelection campaign.”
From Sundance: OK, now lets get down to business…. FIREWORKS!
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Donald J. Trump
✔@realDonaldTrump
Sessions didn’t have a clue!
Paul Sperry@paulsperry_
BREAKING: McCabe Investigated Not Just Trump but Sessions Too
Ordering the Sessions probe was “another unprecedented, partisan action that has been forgotten,” said former federal prosecutor Solomon L. Wisenberg, partner at Nelson Mullins in Washington.https://www.realclearinvestigations.com/articles/2019/03/04/mccabe_probed_not_just_trump_but_own_boss_sessions_too.html …
President Trump and first lady Melania Trump flew to the worst impacted areas of eastern Alabama today to review damage from a recent series of tornadoes and comfort victims. Traveling aboard AF1 was Alabama Senator Richard Shelby, and Representative Mike Rogers.
President Trump toured Lee County, Alabama, where 23 people were killed by a massive EF4 tornado almost a mile wide. After Air Force One landed at a military base along the Georgia border, the President took Marine one for an aerial tour of the damage while press followed in two Ospreys.
The President and First Lady then traveled to Beauregard, Alabama, where at least one tornado had maximum impact and visited with survivors of the storm.
After the Ariel tour President Trump, Melania Trump, Secretary Ben Carson and Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen were met by Governor Kay Ivey, Senator Doug Jones, MG Sheryl Gordon – Adjutant General of the Alabama National Guard, Director Brian Hastings – Alabama Emergency Management Agency, Sheriff Jay Jones of Lee County, Alabama, Chairman Bill English, Lee County, Alabama Commission and Mayor Gary Fuller, Opelika, Alabama
President Donald Trump delivered an impromptu presser to White House media prior to departing for Alabama with First Lady Melania Trump. [Video and Transcript]
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[Transcript] – South Lawn – 9:37 A.M. EST – Q (Inaudible) February jobs numbers?
THE PRESIDENT: Well, the economy is doing very well. We’re seeing wages rise more than they have at any time for a long, long time. Wages are going up first time for many years — I talked about it during the campaign — for over 20 years. So, I’m happy about that.
The economy is very, very strong. If you look at the stock market over the last few months, it’s been great. And certainly since my election, it’s up — getting close to 50 percent — the stock market. So, we’re obviously very happy with that.
We will — I think as soon as these trade deals are done, if they get done — and we’re working with China; we’ll see what happens — but I think you’re going to see a very big spike. A lot of people are waiting to see what happens with the China deal. Mexico, Canada is done. We’ll be submitting to Congress very shortly. And that’s a great deal for the United States, so we’re very happy about that.
And I am now, as you know, going to Alabama. Some of you are joining me. But I look forward to it. I’ll be meeting with Governor Ivey. The people of Alabama, they got hit very hard by the tornadoes. We’re stopping there, then we’re going to Florida. And we’re going to do a lot of work. We’ll be working very hard.
Q Your reaction to Manafort’s sentencing?
THE PRESIDENT: I feel very badly for Paul Manafort. I think it’s been a very, very tough time for him. But if you notice, both his lawyer — a highly respected man and a very highly respected judge — the judge said there was no collusion with Russia. It’s had nothing to do with collusion. There was no collusion. It’s a collusion hoax. It’s a collusion witch-hoax. I don’t collude with Russia.
So I just want to tell you that his lawyer went out of his way, actually, to make a statement last night. No collusion with Russia. There was absolutely none. The judge, I mean, for whatever reason — I was very honored by it — also made the statement that this had nothing do with collusion with Russia.
So, you know, keep it going. Let’s go. Keep the hoax going. Just a hoax. Senator Burr said there’s no collusion. If you look at Devin Nunes and the House Intelligence Commission — Committee — they said there’s no collusion. And guess what? There is none.
Q Is 20,000 new jobs good enough, sir?
THE PRESIDENT: What?
Q Is 20,000 new jobs good enough for you, sir?
THE PRESIDENT: Well, it’s a step. I think you’ll probably find out it averages out. The unemployment rate just went lower. We’re down now to 3.8 percent, so we had very good news on that.
I think the big news, really, was that wages went up. And that’s great for the American worker. That’s something people — I don’t know if they ever expected to see it.
Yeah?
Q Mr. President, we’re hearing rumblings from China that they’re not really positive about a trade deal and that perhaps (inaudible) may not happen. Where is that?
THE PRESIDENT: Well, I haven’t heard that. I think they’re doing well. But if it happened that way, we’ll do even better. We’ll do very well either way, with or without a deal. But you’re telling me something that I have not heard.
Q Do you feel confident that you can get a trade deal with China?
THE PRESIDENT: Yeah. Sure. I’m confident. But if we don’t make a very good deal for our country, I wouldn’t make a deal. If this isn’t a great deal, I won’t make a deal.
Q Are you ruling out a pardon for Manafort?
THE PRESIDENT: Say it?
Q Are you ruling out a pardon for Manafort?
THE PRESIDENT: I don’t even discuss it. I have — the only one discussing it is you. I haven’t discussed it.
I know that, in watching and seeing you folks at night, that Michael Cohen lied about the pardon. It was a stone-cold lie. And he’s lied about a lot of things, but when he lied about the pardon, that was really a lie. And he knew all about pardons. His lawyers said that they went to my lawyers and asked for pardons. And I can go a step above that, but I won’t go do it now.
Q Why do you think Cohen is suing the Trump organization?
THE PRESIDENT: Why what?
Q Why do you think Cohen is suing the Trump organization?
THE PRESIDENT: It’s the most ridiculous suit I’ve ever seen. Bad lawyer. I had a bad lawyer.
Go ahead. That happens.
Q Your administration is being sued by Planned Parenthood over Title 10 funding. What’s your reaction to that?
THE PRESIDENT: We’ll make a comment on it later.
Q (Inaudible.)
THE PRESIDENT: Talk. Talk. Up. You’re competing with a helicopter, John.
Q On immigration and what’s going on in Congress now, are you certain that they will not be able to override your veto?
THE PRESIDENT: Well, I think that it’s going very well. The border — we’re doing a great job. We’re apprehending record numbers of people — 75,000 over the last short period of time. That’s a lot of work. And with a wall, we wouldn’t have to do it.
No, I think we’re doing fine in Congress. They understand it’s an emergency.
Q Michael Cohen’s decision to testify (inaudible) your decision to walk (inaudible) with North Korea?
THE PRESIDENT: Well, time will tell, but I have a feeling that our relationship with North Korea — Kim Jong Un and myself — Chairman Kim — I think it’s a very good one. I think it remains good. I would be surprised, in a negative way, if he did anything that was not per our understanding. But we’ll see what happens.
Look, when I came in — under the Obama administration, North Korea was a disaster. You were going to war, folks, whether you know it or not. You were going to war. There was no talking. There was testing. We didn’t have our people back. We didn’t have our great hostages back. Now we’re getting the remains, we’re doing a lot of things now. This was a disaster. I inherited a mess.
In many ways, I inherited — the Middle East, I inherited a mess, and it’s straightening out a lot. We’re doing very well there. I inherited a mess.
Q (Inaudible.)
THE PRESIDENT: I inherited — wait. Wait. I inherited a mess with North Korea. And right now, you have no testing. You have no nothing. Let’s see what happens. But I would be very disappointed if I saw testing.
Q What do you make of the vote yesterday in the House of Representatives on the anti-Semitism resolution?
THE PRESIDENT: I thought yesterday’s vote by the House was disgraceful because it’s become — the Democrats have become an anti-Israel party. They’ve become an anti-Jewish party. And I thought that vote was a disgrace and so does everybody else, if you get an honest answer. If you get an honest answer from politicians, they thought it was a disgrace. The Democrats have become an anti-Israel party. They’ve become an anti-Jewish party, and that’s too bad.
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This is a library of News Events not reported by the Main Stream Media documenting & connecting the dots on How the Obama Marxist Liberal agenda is destroying America
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