PrairiePundit

Steyn Online: ~The eminent barrister (and later Lord Chancellor) F E Smith was famously asked by an irritated judge: "Are you trying to show contempt for this court, Mr Smith?" To which he replied: "No, my Lord, I am trying to conceal it." We have all been there. Well, I certainly have - rather recently, as it happens. There are times, however, when it is necessary not to conceal it. This week's Trump Trial of the Week is the bazillionth attempt by the ruling party to nail the leader of the opposition on ...something, anything, whatever's to hand. So naturally a certain artfulness is required. In this case, if one accepts as true the charges of corrupt prosecutor Alvin Bragg, Trump paid former crony Michael Cohen to pay off Stormy Daniels. Which would be a falsification of business records. Which is, under the "laws" of New York, a misdemeanour - albeit one in which the statute of supposed limitations has already kicked in. So Bragg is arguing tha

The argument for defunding NPR

The Federalist Wire: The former president has had enough of the biased media in this country. He’s putting his foot down. And Donald Trump threatens to shut down this major media corporation. According to reports from National Public Radio (NPR) Senior Editor Uri Berliner, NPR has 87 registered Democrats on their staff that work in an editorial capacity. They don’t have any Republicans, however. Berliner, who aligns more with the Left, has come out against the way NPR has reported on several controversial topics such as Hunter Biden’s laptop, the COVID “lab leak theory,” the 2016 Russian collusion hoax, former President Donald Trump, and Florida’s “Don’t Say Gay” bill. Former President Donald Trump unsurprisingly has also opposed NPR’s Leftist bias that they frequently use when reporting on key issues. And now he’s calling for them to be defunded completely. “NO MORE FUNDING FOR NPR, A TOTAL SCAM! EDITOR SAID THEY HAVE NO REPUBLICANS, AND IS ONLY USED TO ‘DAMAGE TRUMP,'” the form

Biden policies have aided Russia and Iran

Federalist Wire: Democrats today are quick to defend radical Muslims. But it’s worse than you ever thought. And now President Biden’s dark connections with Iranian terrorists have been revealed. The Biden administration’s recent decisions seem to be inadvertently favoring Hamas, Qatar, and Iran, strengthening their positions in support of terrorism. On March 25, the Biden administration chose not to veto a United Nations Security Council resolution, effectively siding with Hamas and disappointing Israel. This move was seen by Israel’s adversaries in Iran, Qatar, Lebanon, Jordan, Syria, and Iraq as a signal that the United States had abandoned its support for Israel. The abstention appeared as if the US had embraced Hamas’s stance, especially during the conflict’s peak. Throughout its term, the Biden administration has also provided significant financial concessions to Iran, primarily through sanctions waivers, amounting to nearly $60 billion. This included an additional $10 billion th

Phantom 'climate change'

Zero Hedge: The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) predicts July, August, and September will be hotter than usual. And for those who view warmer temperatures as problematic, that’s a significant cause for concern. “ Earth’s issuing a distress call ,” said United Nations secretary-general António Guterres on March 19. “The latest State of the Global Climate report shows a planet on the brink. “Fossil fuel pollution is sending climate chaos off the charts. Sirens are blaring across all major indicators: Last year saw record heat, record sea levels, and record ocean surface temperatures. … Some records aren’t just chart-topping, they’re chart-busting.” President Joe Biden called the climate “an existential threat” in his 2023 State of the Union address . “Let’s face reality. The climate crisis doesn’t care if you’re in a red or a blue state.” In his 2024 address he said, “I don’t think any of you think there’s no longer a climate crisis. At least, I hope you don’t.

Chicoms accused of facilitating fentanyl distribution

National Review: China has been subsidizing the manufacturing and exporting of illicit fentanyl precursor chemicals and other synthetic narcotics through tax rebates and other means, according to newly revealed details released Tuesday by the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party. “Many of these substances are illegal under the PRC’s own laws and have no known legal use worldwide,” the 64-page report states. “Like its export tax rebates for legitimate goods, the CCP’s subsidizing of illegal drugs incentivizes international synthetic drug sales from the PRC. The CCP has never disclosed this program.” ... There is much more at the link above. I don't think there is any legitimate use of this killer drug.

The Trump advantage

Byron York: ... Trump had a solid advantage in voters’ recollections, with 42% saying his presidential years were mostly good years for America, while just 25% said Biden’s presidential years have been mostly good for America. Trump also had a solid advantage on the other side of the answer, with 33% saying his presidential years were mostly bad for America, while a much larger 46% said Biden’s presidential years have been mostly bad for America. Trump’s advantage in voters’ memories is nearly across the board. Among men, 53% said the Trump years were mostly good for America, compared to 24% who said the Biden years have been mostly good for America. Among women, the margin was closer, but Trump still led 33% to 27%. Trump’s lead extended to all age groups. In one notable example, 33% of voters 18 to 29 said the Trump years were mostly good for America, while just 8% said the same of Biden. Among voters 30 to 44, the Trump lead was 39% to 20%. Among voters 45-64, the Trump lead was

Iran gets help from Russia for attacks on Israel

DC Daily Journal: Joe Biden has plunged the world into war and destruction. Now it has all come to a head. Because Iran made an apocalyptic threat that left Biden hyperventilating. The international community is on edge thanks to plenty of foreign policy failures from the Biden administration. Everyone knows Israel has been embroiled in a war for the past six months that has seen Hamas be nearly annihilated. The terrorist group has gotten much of its funding from radical neighbors, including Qatar and Iran. But up until recently, the support came in the form of weapons, money, and supplies – a classic proxy war. That all changed when Iran launched hundreds of missiles and drones directly at Israel. Hilariously, Israel was able to shoot down 99% of the incoming projectiles, but Iran still claimed it’s strike was a success. Now the ball is in Israel’s court. Will they respond in kind? Iran knows they don’t have the same capabilities to defend themselves, so they’re making a huge threat

Biden's border bungle unlikely to be fix with more agents

American Update: The Biden administration’s plea for more Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and Border Patrol funding fails to address key problems facing the agency, according to a former border security leader. The White House told Axios on Monday that Congress is failing to “do its job” by refusing to pass a border security bill that, among a host of other initiatives, would include $405 million in funding for the hire of 1,300 additional Border Patrol agents. But there is an increasing vacancy of Border Patrol staff under the Biden administration, even as CBP spends more money on recruiting incentives and lowers personnel standards; it is not so much a resource issue as it is a chronic problem with how the administration restricts Border Patrol agents from doing their jobs, Mark Morgan, senior visiting fellow at the Heritage Foundation and former commissioner of the CBP, told the Daily Caller News Foundation. It doesn’t matter if the administration can secure funding for new B

Blinken blinks in response to Iran attack on Israel

Newsmax: Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke to American Jewish leaders on Tuesday and advised them that further escalation with Iran is not in the best interest of the U.S. or Israel, Axios reported . According to three people who attended the meeting, the Biden administration and other Western allies are strongly urging Israel to not jump too hastily into a retaliation against Iran that could lead to a larger regional war. "We think it will be very hard to replicate the huge success we had on Saturday with defeating the attack if Iran launches hundreds of missiles and drones again — and the Israelis know it," a U.S. official told Axios. Iran on Saturday launched a wave of drone attacks in retaliation for the killing Brig. Gen. Mohammad Reza Zahedi, a top Iranian Quds Force general in charge of Iran's military operations in Lebanon and Syria along with five other IRGC officials on April 1. In response, Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei vowed revenge

Who Knew?

The Cannon: Inflation is the Result of Washington’s Poor Decisions ... Of course, those responsible for soaring prices and sapping savings are Washington D.C. policymakers. A majority of the nation’s elected class—comprised of members of every political stripe—seem to have developed a penchant for reckless fiscal and monetary policies, both of which are driving inflation higher. Those twin policy perils generally manifest as deficit spending and money printing, neither of which is good for the long-term health of the American consumer. Thus, the problem is clear: Washington, D.C. has a spending problem that, in large part, is being propped up by debt and the Federal Reserve. Because of this, ordinary Americans are left to bear the consequences, be it in the form of higher taxes, diminished purchasing power, shrinking economic opportunity, or some combination of all three. And while virtually everyone is left worse off as a result, some people, like those residing in the DFW area, bea

Supreme Court not impressed with government Jan. 6 argument

Red State: ... In response, the government had no real answer except to illustrate its blatant hypocrisy with reckless abandonment. There is a two-tiered justice system, and being a far-left radical is the dividing line between having the book thrown at a defendant and a defendant getting a slap on the wrist. Theoretically, the left-wing protesters who block roads and prevent official proceedings (in this case, court proceedings) from occurring could be charged under the same statute as the January 6th protesters. According to the government, though, it's different because they somehow didn't know they weren't allowed to obstruct an official proceeding. How does that make any sense? How is a meemaw who took selfies in the Rotunda on January 6th, having walked through an already opened door, somehow more aware of what they are doing than a left-wing protester who planned to do what they did? It doesn't make sense, and it's obvious the government simply doesn't c

Not much support for NY trial against Trump

Newsmax: AP-NORC Poll: 7 in 10 Side With Trump in N.Y. Criminal Case The first criminal trial facing former President Donald Trump is also the one in which Americans are least convinced he committed a crime, a new AP-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research poll finds. Only about one-third of U.S. adults say Trump did something illegal in the New York City criminal trial in which he's charged with falsifying business records to pay a former adult film star to keep quiet before the 2016 election about an alleged extramarital affair. ... I am among those who think the trials against Trump are politically motivated. Trump was clearly a much better president than Biden. When Trump was in office inflation was under control and the US was not spending billions on wars in Europe and the Middle East.

Trump responds to New York trial

Newsmax : Former President Donald Trump alleged on social media that the Biden administration is coordinating with Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg and New York Judge Juan Merchan, who is overseeing Trump's hush-money case. "Judge Juan Merchan, perhaps the most highly conflicted Judge in New York State history, only gave us a short period of time to read and study hundreds of thousands of pages of documents that D.A. Alvin Bragg illegally hid, disguised, and held back from us," Trump wrote on Sunday . "Of course, and as the Judge knows, we need far more time than that. They could have started this Fake Biden Trial many years ago, not right in the middle of my campaign for President, and time would not be a problem. "This is a blatant and unprecedented attack on Crooked Joe Biden's Political Opponent (who is leading in every poll!), done in close coordination with the White House, that cannot be allowed to go forward!" On April 2, ABC News repo

US dodges counter attack on Iran

The Hill: The White House said Monday it would not support a stand-alone bill only providing aid to Israel in the wake of Iran’s recent attack, urging the House to pass a national security supplemental that included assistance for Ukraine, Israel and other allies. “We are opposed to a stand-alone bill that would just work on Israel, as we’ve seen proposed. We would oppose a stand-alone bill, yes,” National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby told reporters. Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) said Sunday the House would vote in the coming days on aid for Israel after it was the target of a drone and missile attack launched Saturday by Iran. “House Republicans and the Republican Party understand the necessity of standing with Israel,” Johnson said on Fox News. “We’re going to try again this week, and the details of that package are being put together. Right now, we’re looking at the options and all these supplemental issues.” The House had previously attempted to pass a stand-alone bill

Iran influence operation targets Biden

Washington Examiner: At least three reported members of a covert Iranian government-controlled influence network visited the Biden White House on numerous occasions for meetings with senior U.S. officials, records show. The trio, Dina Esfandiary and Ali Vaez of the global International Crisis Group think tank, plus now-Pentagon official Ariane Tabatabai, was outed through the release of leaked Iranian government emails last year as being linked to a network called the Iran Experts Initiative, a project of Iran’s foreign ministry that helped push Tehran talking points in the United States and Europe . According to a Washington Examiner review of White House visitor logs, Esfandiary, Vaez, and Tabatabai headed to the White House a combined 10 times between April 2022 and December 2023 — a fact that foreign policy experts, watchdog groups, and congressional sources say shows the Biden administration has granted those with concerning Iran ties apparent access to the halls of po

Hiding Biden

The Federalist Wire: The press is enraged after Biden ditches them during crucial meeting with foreign leaders Joe Biden and his staff are constantly trying to avoid the media. They don’t want them to report on how awful the president is at speaking in front of cameras. And the press is enraged after Biden ditches them during a crucial meeting with foreign leaders. ... They are trying to control Biden's gaffe tendency.

Denver discovers how expensive migrants can be

National Review: In February 2018, Denver city leaders sent a valentine to foreigners interested in relocating to the progressive mountain city and a message to any elected officials looking to stop them. Draped on Denver’s City and County building was a large, blue banner: “Denver ❤️ Immigrants.” If it wasn’t clear enough, then-mayor Michael Hancock posted on social media that it was a statement of “love” to let immigrants know that Denver is “an open and welcoming city.” Denver leaders unfurled that welcome banner six months after they passed an ordinance curtailing the city’s ability to cooperate with federal immigration agents during a Trump-era crackdown on illegal immigration. Hancock also issued an executive order at the time directing city agencies to aid illegal immigrants in Denver and setting up a legal defense fund for them. But six years later, amid a crisis that has seen more than 40,000 migrants arrive in the city since late 2022, Denver leaders appear to have a new me

Leftist NPR can't handle diversity

Fox News: NPR CEO slams editor who exposed bias. Looks like truth is 'profoundly disrespectful' In a memo, NPR CEO Katherine Maher told staff that editor Uri Berliner attacked 'our people on the basis of who we are' NPR doesn't look like it is interested in a large portion of the American public. See also: NPR Suspends Longtime Editor after Scathing Exposé on Left-Wing Bias

Florida deals with the pro-Hamas demonstration

Red State: Monday marked an escalation by pro-Hamas supporters as multiple "protests" were launched to shut down major transportation gateways. The Golden Gate Bridge was one target, with police standing around doing nothing as just a few dozen terrorist simps were allowed to stop traffic for a prolonged period. Similar scenes played out on the Brooklyn Bridge in New York. Multiple airports were also targeted. As I wrote in my initial write-up on the illegality taking place, none of this stops until officials decide to take action. That means removing people who block traffic with prejudice. ... That brings me to the most satisfying development of the day, courtesy of a video posted by Bryan Griffin, who serves as Gov. Ron DeSantis' communications director. In it, a group of pro-Hamas "protesters" learned that Florida isn't New York, and consequences were delivered . ... The leftists are just too wimpy in dealing with other goofy leftists. Hamas is a terr

Biden's goofy Iran policy

The Federalist Wire: ... “There is no other way to describe the Obama-Biden Middle East policy except as a dangerous disaster,” Waltz shared during his appearance on Fox News. “I mean, this is an utter calamity. Just a few years ago, under President Trump, ISIS was destroyed, Iran was broke and on their back foot and we had the Abraham Accords, and look where we are now.” He criticized the administration for not renewing sanctions on Iran’s drone and missile program and failing to enforce oil sanctions. Waltz expressed concern over the perceived weakening of support for Israel and the apparent leniency towards Iran. He concluded by suggesting that a change in leadership is necessary for the United States to regain respect and deterrence from its adversaries. “I think the fundamental mistake, the fundamental underpinning, has been an appeasement strategy from the Biden Administration that is so focused on what they called de-escalation that it has signaled to the region, and certainly

UK Muslims in denial about Hamas atrocities

Newsmax: British Muslims aged 18-34 are largely in denial that the Hamas terrorists committed the murder and rape atrocities in Israel of Oct. 7, 2023, if not outright backers of the terrorists and espousing antisemitic views. Just 24% of British Muslims 18-34 say the Hamas terrorists murdered and raped Israelis during the attack – including just 19% of women among them – and J.L. Partners' latest polling points to radical Islamic views in the United Kingdom if not antisemitism among those younger voting-age Muslims. The younger generation of the expanding Muslim community in the U.K. points to a generational shift of the U.K. population, electorate, and potentially the political authority of Great Britain. Alarmingly, just 24% say Israel has a right to exist, pointing to potential genocidal views among the young U.K. Muslim community. And a majority of 53% U.K. young Muslims sympathize with the Hamas terrorists rather than Israel amid the war. Just 24% have a negative view of t

Trump gaining support from blacks

Daily Caller: Civil rights attorney Leo Terrell on Friday said the Democratic party will be damaged if even a small number of black voters leave to support former President Donald Trump in the 2024 election. Trump’s support among black men has increased in battleground states to 30% ahead of the 2024 election by more than double his backing among the same group in 2020’s contest when he received 12%, according to a poll published on Thursday by The Wall Street Journal. Terrell on Fox News reacted to this poll as well as a viral moment where a black woman embraced Trump at an Atlanta Chick-fil-A , asserting this is a real and prevalent trend. ... “If the Democrat Party does not receive anywhere between 85 or 90% of the black vote, there is no Democrat Party,” Terrell told host Dana Perino. “That photograph of that black woman with President Trump is a nightmare for CNN, MSNBC, New York Times. They have sent out a false narrative: ‘Trump is a racist, black people hate Trump.’ You see

Iran war likely?

Newsmax: Retired Lt. Col. Tony Shaffer cautioned that escalating tensions with Iran could spiral into a "desert storm-type conflict" with global implications, as he highlighted the potential for a regional coalition against Iran and the risk of triggering a wider conflict. Shaffer, in an interview on Newsmax on Saturday, expressed grave concerns about the escalating tensions with Iran, warning of the potential for a conflict of significant magnitude. "Look, if the Iranians decide to go all in with a full-on attack, we have to use our resources in addition to the Israeli resources that are already deployed," Shaffer emphasized. "This could become, very quickly become, a desert storm-type conflict," he said. Shaffer pointed to the likelihood of a coalition forming in response to Iranian aggression, stating, "They would have to be a coalition of the willing, if you will, initially, and I think there's going to be a number of Arab nations" alig

Debate schedule does not take into account early voting

Federalist Wire: ... Trump’s campaign has demanded that the debates this year take place earlier in the election cycle and that they happen more frequently. They said that because more voters are voting earlier in elections over the past several years, that it’s key to hold the debates at an earlier date. “Voting is beginning earlier and earlier, and as we saw in 2020, tens of millions of Americans had already voted by the time of the first debate,” Susie Wiles and Chris LaCivita, Donald Trump’s co-campaign managers announced in a letter which was written to the Commission on Presidential Debates. They then said that the commission’s proposed dates for the debates are too late in the election cycle and by then too many people would have made their decision for president through early voting. “Specific to the Commission’s proposed 2024 calendar, it simply comes too late. By the date of the first proposed debate, September 16, 2024, over 1 million Americans will have likely voted. By t

Biden's Big Green agenda shuts down half of Alaskan production

Red State: Just when you thought they couldn't do anything more to make sure energy costs keep rising, we learn now that the Biden administration's Bureau of Land Management plans to lock down half - half of Alaska's National Petroleum Reserve . The 23 million-acre petroleum reserve on the North Slope was set aside as an emergency oil supply, originally for the U.S. Navy, by President Warren Harding. In 1976, in accordance with the Naval Petroleum Reserves Production Act, administration of the reserve was transferred to the Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and renamed the NPR-A. President Joe Biden is on the verge of locking down half of it, making it unavailable for oil and gas development. He intends to do so with a new rule that is proposed by the Biden Administration through the Bureau of Land Management, a division of the Department of Interior. The pubic [sic] comment period has ended, and the rule will be finalized soon. Rep. Mary Pelt

Biden's blunders

The Federalist Wire: The President is in a world of trouble. He’s running out of time to turn his ship around. But now President Biden’s made a truly moronic mistake that has his own campaign furious. The White House seems to think that they can ignore all of the major issues facing Americans today like rising inflation, the housing crisis, illegal immigration run rampant, and more, while just pandering to the far-left base’s deranged obsession with Donald Trump and sail to a second term in office. That’s proving to be a risky strategy, to say the least. His approval ratings are a dumpster fire and they are showing no sign of improving at all. In fact, the most recent polls from reputable sources like YouGov and TIPP Insights suggest Biden’s approval ratings are getting worse. What’s been the biggest factors of his worsening favorability in the eyes of the general American public? There’s a few major factors, to be sure. First of all, Americans feel like the economy is only getting wo

How Florida went red