An Immodest Proposal: Defund And Eliminate Department Of Homeland Security Immediately.

We could streamline the Federal government by 80 to 90 percent without inflicting discomfort on the citizenry. We have a Department of Energy that does not produce energy, a Department of Education that has passively witnessed the decline of American education at every level, and a Department of Agriculture that sometimes impedes the production of food. A parlor game arises: if I could only eliminate one federal bureaucracy, what would it be?

My blue ribbon choice is the Department of Homeland Security, DHS. Reason for the thumbs down?

1. Justification for its origin,

2. Redundant missions.

3. Repeated mission failure.

4. 240,000 employees.

5. Capacity for weaponization.

Department of Homeland Security was created in the wake of  the 9/11 terrorist attacks when it was made obvious that the people who are supposed to protect our homeland, failed to do so. The FBI, NSA, CIA, Customs, et al, let the easy pop fly hit the ground. Rather than addressing the ineptitude and the priorities of the Muellers and Tenets, the Bush Administration proposed a raw recruit for The Keystone Cops.

From the birth of this demonic spawn it was unclear where DHS would fit in the crowded corridor of bureaucracy. Its purported missions were already the turfed out by bigger and older agencies. Blessed with a gargantuan budget, DHS justified its existence by offering grants to local police. Under DHS profligacy almost every Mayberry has been militarized.

Despite its dubious purpose, DHS would swell to 240,00 employees, roughly 7 times as many employees as the FBI, 4 times as many as Customs and Border Protection, and 3 times as many as the IRS. Whatever else one might think of the IRS, we at least know its function. Ditto, Customs and to a lesser extent, the FBI. Can anyone describe DHS's province in one sentence? 

DHS has duplicated purported services while failing to deliver results. Has DHS protected the integrity of our elections? No. Has DHS rooted out nefarious foreign interventions in our electoral system? Has DHS protected our country from invasion on our southern border? Fail. Did DHS protect our American cities from BLM arsonists in the Summer of Love? Have they stepped up to protect the citizenry in areas where police have been defunded and prosecutors permit crimes against property and people?  LOL.

DHS is The Department of Redundancy Department on steroids. It is also a serious drain on our resources, a budgetary toothache that keeps on throbbing. But the best argument against DHS is not its hefty price tag for zero productivity. The better argument is that the Obama/Biden Regime has weaponized just about every facet of government/ and DHS provides them with too many opportunities to terrorize American citizens. Do we need to fund 240,000 mini-Merricks?

Defund! Banish! Eliminate!

So Fox News Beheaded Tucker Carlson?

The editor was working on another column when he was informed that Tucker Carlson was fired from Fox News. The purported reason for Carlson's beheading is related to the Dominion lawsuit. This is absurd because Carlson did not discuss election fraud and ridiculed those who did, both on air and in text messages. Let's leave that on the back burner for now.

We all have strong opinions about Fox News. Generally, I am emotionally detached from matters related to news networks and jumbo corporations, but I will concede that I genuinely despise Fox News. To say they are deceptive is to understate the compounding intricacies of their deception. It is like saying Bernie Madoff made an accounting error.

"Even Fox News..." Don't you love that phrase? As if somehow these privileged millionaires spoke for you or me. "Even Fox News says..." As if the entirety of narrative perspective has been covered by the MSM chorus and their wresting villain foe, Fox News. "Even Fox News admits..." as in they somehow speak for you and me. "Even Fox News..." as if Fox News has any relevance whatsoever.

I don't want to turn this into "Roger and Me" so I will only go back a few years with Fox. Circa 2018 I started listening to YouTubers like Katie G. and X22 Report. YouTube did not immediately find these pundits threatening and they would follow up with videos of people whose audiences watched the same video I was watching. So I was exposed to Amazing Polly, Deception Bytes, Jordan Sather, Dustin Nemos, Praying Medic and many other interesting vidcasters. It should be noted that everyone that I found interesting would later be purged from YouTube in the months preceding the 2020 presidential election.

I don't remember if it was 2018 or 2019 but at some point YouTube followed up EVERY interesting video with a Fox News video. I already held a dim view of Fox News, but I thought of them as more inept than corrupt, more white bread than cyanide. I did not think of them as Google coconspirators, but there they were, directing this lost lamb back to the flock.

Election integrity is the great divide. Election integrity eclipses every other issue. It will forever divide us from MSM, the Dems, the deep state, the weaponized bureaucracy, Never-Trumpers, Con Inc., Rona McDaniel, Tim Poole, Reason.com, and to be multiply-redundant, Fox News. The censors have eased up on COVID news, but they still work diligently to quash information regarding our rigged elections. So I am dismissive of Fox News.

Having said that, I do see Fox News from time to time. Part of that is because YouTube still follows vaguely political or even apolitical videos with Fox News vids. Almost always, that video features Tucker Carlson. Also, I see Tucker videos embedded into other stories at a myriad of sites. Never Hannity or Ingraham or Judge Jeanine, or even the sometimes-witty Greg Gutfeld. Tucker and Tucker only.

I have to admit that Carlson sometimes hits it out of the park. He did a good job on the J6 footage, but he left a lot undone. He challenged the multiple COVID narratives, long after real journalists but far ahead of his talking head peers. Ukraine. The Southern border. Alvin Bragg. Merrick Garland. Nothing was off-limits to Tucker. NOTHING EXCEPT ELECTION FRAUD!

Fox News is firing the only reason people watch their decrepit network. Coupled with the bizarre Dominion settlement, we are witnessing the controlled demolition of Fox News. Fox New was destroyed from within. By the way, if the Federales have not launched an investigation to determine if Fox News management holds a financial stake in Staple Street Capital, we are witnessing dereliction of duty.

Whither Carlson? Carlson is bigger than Fox News but we said the same thing about Glenn Beck years ago and his solo career has not gone so well. No one is scouring the net to see where Don Lemon lands, but Tucker is another matter. If Carlson is willing to follow up on J6 and open Pandora's Election Fraud Box, a titan will rule the news media. It's fun to dream, isn't it?

Why Recent Books Seem Dated

Let me pre-editorialize by stating that I generally dislike the standard book review. Is it the format, the formality, or the formula? All of the above. 

Here is a recurring theme that I will recycle from time to time: Something happened in Obama's runup to the presidency that marked a change in Western Civilization. The biased news media cranked up the partisan thermostat and memories of a pre-inferno living room are but a memory.

It was as if the hometown refs had tired of their brittle-boned team's anemic efforts, and they took it upon themselves to perform lay-ups in the Visitor's basket. The victorious fourth estate would never abandon their referee jerseys. They would scrub  their silliest, gushiest, most inane Obama praise from YouTube and feigned objectivity would stage a comeback from time to time. But when summoned, the player-refs would sink as many baskets as needed to raise another banner to the ceiling.

The self-adoring press flexed their muscles in 2008 and let the world know that they would decide the outcome of America's presidential election. They would establish the divinity of Barack Obama and identify the organic racism festering in even the gentlest of his critics. The hive media would hammer home the illegitimacy of the 2016 presidential election and the hyper-legitimacy of the 2020 presidential election. They would decide all that was significant about COVID, from its origins, to its dispersal, to its likelihood of infection, to its severity of infection, from the efficacy and safety of the newly-created vaccines to the incompetence, stupidity and criminal recklessness of Pfizer skeptics, from the efficacy of masks to...the rules of the game had changed. The before and after photos prompt the query: Is that the same model?

This brings us to two interesting books that try to make sense of the Obama coronation. I recently gave away my copies of both these books. I can recommend them highly but...they do not age well. 

The first epistle is "A Slobbering Love Affair: The True (And Pathetic) Story of the Torrid Romance Between Barack Obama and the Mainstream Media" by Bernard Goldberg.

The second journal is "Obama Zombies: How the Liberal Machine Brainwashed My Generation" by Jason Mattera.

Both of these works pierce the bullseye. If you want hard-hitting media criticism from a self-professed liberal, Goldberg delivers. If you want vignettes of shamelessly-stupid adoration for Barack Obama, Mattera delivers. The question in hindsight is, are any of these things revelatory?

Both Mattera and Goldberg seem to believe in a return to normalcy. There seems to be the wish, even the expectation, that the subjects will wake up to a Kevorkian-level hangover, take the pulse of the mysterious person in bed next to them, and with a sigh of relief ask aloud, "What was I not thinking?" The Jimmy Olsens would rededicate themselves to truth and objectivity and the Obama Zombies would cultivate the subtle joys of common sense. Hah!

Corrupt media and mindless followers are now fixtures of the American landscape. Not ubiquitous as cell phones but plentiful enough to photobomb every other snapshot. Goldberg and Mattera harken back to an era when shame was possible, and redemption was desirable. For these reasons, the aforementioned books seem hopelessly dated.

What Turned Howard Stern Into A Pussy?

So Howard cannot understand the Bud Light backlash? Last time I read about The King of All Media was when he finally exited his home following the sensationalized COVID fiasco. Too frightened of an overhyped virus and unvaccinated people. Stern maintained a self-imposed quarantine long after it was trendy. Howard The Phobic.

In his day, Stern was brave, bold, truthful and insightful. Yes, he could be cruel, but man oh man, was he entertaining! At an age when I thought I was too old for heroes, Howard came into my life. I could praise him for hours, but knowing how the story ends tarnishes the memory.

The one tidbit I will mention, however, is that Stern revealed a different side of Donald Trump. I disliked Trump before I heard him on Stern's radio show. Surprisingly, Trump was witty and engaging and nothing like I thought he would be. Stern probably played a small part in Trump's eventual political success.

I lost track of Howard after he went to satellite radio. Maybe it was better that way. You don't want to watch your heroes after they are washed up. Think Muhammad Ali versus Larry Holmes. I would be sickened to the soul listening to Howard The Woke.

I won't spend too much time on the subject because it is depressing. Still, I will wonder from time to time what killed my hero. Well it didn't kill him, but it sure turned my hero into a pussy. I suspect acceptance has something to do with it. Stern rose to fame as the anti-celebrity, inciting feuds with the rich and famous and sometimes talented. At some point, Howard morphed into one more slice of celebrity white bread. I guess he got what he always wanted and he is afraid of losing it.

Thanks for the memories, Howard. Now please go away.

There Is Something Really, Really, Really, Really, Really Wrong With The Official News Story Of The Fox News Settlement

The Dominion vs. Fox News lawsuit was fishy from day 1.

Why would Dominion file suit knowing that in the process of discovery, it would be revealed that Dominion had doubts about the security of their voting machines?

Why would Dominion sue Fox News after Fox immediately fired the only correspondent who broached the subject of election fraud?

Why would Fox settle their suit when internal texts reveal that their marquee talkers badmouthed Sidney Powell and others who advanced the very premise of election fraud? If anything, Fox News went above and beyond to shield Dominion. The most embarrassing aspects of the case for Fox News is the low regard they have for their viewers and their willingness to turn a blind eye to ALL evidence of election irregularities.

We have linked elsewhere to a post that also questions the numbers. Fox News "settled" for somewhere between 4x and 40x the value of Dominion Voting Systems? 

If I were a Fox News stockholder, I would talk to someone knowledgeable about legal malpractice as well as management's failure to uphold fiduciary responsibility. But of course, I am not a Fox News stockholder. Fox News sucks.

The Parallels Between Robert Kennedy and Robert Kennedy, Jr.

In writing about the Kennedys I feel the need to pre-editorialize. 

It is an act of glaring stupidity to speak about the Kennedys collectively. That holds true for Howie Carr, the funniest man in radio who is also capable of objective and spot-on political analysis. We waited years for his magnum opus to arrive, a book about America's favorite family. Those of us who wanted an encyclopedia to park next to our Collier and Horowitz master work would be sorely disappointed. Carr fell back on his tabloid roots to give us, "Kennedy Babylon". I have not seen it but I am told it is a compilation of bad stuff and only bad stuff, a proud homage to Murdoch journalism.

Rush Limbaugh spoke of the Kennedys collectively. "The New York Post", another Murdoch outlet printed the headline "The Hunk Flunks" to inform the world that JFK Jr, failed his bar exam. Murdoch saw the Kennedys as enemies, every last one of them. He was not alone.

At the other end of the Kennedy spectrum, hagiographies still abound. As word spread throughout New England that Robert Kennedy Jr., was going to seek the presidency, a lot of New Englanders voiced their support. Many of them know little about the lawyer activist and probably don't care to know more. They crave Camelot 2.0 and they are not necessarily focused on first names.

If you either hate or worship the Kennedys, your mind is made up on RFK Jr. Whereas those of us who see a family who produces some of the most complex and intriguing characters in American history, we want to see more.

Sirhan Sirhan cheated all of us. He cheated the millions of people who lined up to witness Robert Kennedy's funeral train as it mourned across the country. He also cheated the detached, spectatorial, popcorn-munching, hammock-resting, celebrant of American history as high entertainment. Possibly the most interesting character in the entirety of the United States was cut down just as soon as he stepped into the limelight. 

Ted Kennedy's policies were antithetical to John Kennedy's policies. JFK was one of America's best presidents. He literally launched a space program that has remained unsurpassed for over half a century. He was fervently and resolutely anti-Communist. He strongly believed in civil rights. He effectively fought poverty by the time-tested method of lowering taxes. He locked horns with the deep state and the military-industrial complex (possible redundancy acknowledged).

For all of JFK's virtues, he ascended to the presidency with the aid of organized crime. It is likely that La Cosa Nostra assisted Kennedy in defeating Senator Hubert Humphrey in the primaries, and it seems to be the consensus that they stole the general election from Richard Nixon. JFK was inaugurated with a pocketful of IOU's to the mafia written by his well-connected father. 

What was the reform-minded president to do? Should he honor his debts? Maybe honor some but not all of them? Should he work the incumbent players to maintain law and order in its state of evolution? Should he work with the mob in a Lucky Luciano sort of way, maybe joining forces with them in taking back Cuba from Castro? The president had a multitude of options.

Regardless of what should have been done, we know how history was written. The president appointed his brother to the rank of Attorney General, and Bobby unflinchingly propelled a scorched Earth policy against the mob. The very people who got JFK elected now felt the full brunt of the Department of Justice. Robert Kennedy might not have thought of his actions as betrayal, but the mafia certainly did. Some people theorize that this perceived treachery was what ultimately got JFK assassinated.

Without the mafia, the Kennedys would be comfortable and successful, but they would not be in the White House. Robert Kennedy sang "Aud Lang Syne" to the kingmakers. As Spock once said, "Interesting".

History rhymes. Robert Kennedy, Jr.  is seeking the presidency. The Democrat Party has morphed into the biggest crime cartel in the history of our planet. They are much more powerful than the Lanskys and Giacanas ever dreamed of being. Robert Kennedy, Jr., is starting a campaign from third base, due to his family's longstanding relationship with the Democrat Party.

This is not his father's Democrat party and RFK Jr., knows that. This was an institution that once produced great people. JFK, RFK, Scoop Jackson, William Proxmire, Daniel Patrick Moynihan...Today's party is composed entirely of frauds, thugs, terrorists and thieves, propped up by pathetic brain-dead minions. "Grat Democrat" has become an oxymoron.

To run an effective campaign, RFK, Jr. must bite the hand that fed him. Whether that is a nibble or an amputation remains to be seen. 

Is Ballot Harvesting Code Speak For Cheating?

 Is ballot harvesting code speak for cheating? 

The term is euphemistic but much more accurate than most euphemistic terms. A devoted activist creeps into a nursing home and assists the Alzheimer victims in selecting their Democrat choice for office. The harvested ballots are then dutifully returned to drop boxes conveniently located in areas that impede observation. The next day the loyal sharecropper conducts a harvest in public housing, assisting the residents in selecting Democrat choices without interrupting their busy schedules. The following day, ballots are harvested from Non-English migrants. A cornucopia of democracy is enjoyed by peasant and king alike.

The Dems win elections mostly because they cheat and ballot harvesting is their primary weapon. The only way the Republicans can win through this method is if they are willing to cheat at levels that the Dems cheat. Only by harvesting the ballots of the incompetent, the illegal, the deceased, and the fictitious, will the GOP reap a larger bounty.

I have heard a few pundits propose installing drop boxes in churches and gun shops as if these places can yield more crops than the fields of plenty fertilized with broken voter rolls. Voter rolls where the Mary Smith who changed her name to Mary Jones still votes. Voter rolls where Mr. and Mrs. Johnson who moved out of state still vote from the house that they lived in 10 years ago. Voter rolls where 23 people with the last name Hernandez vote from a house with plywood windows. Voter rolls where the deceased rise from the dead every election year to loyally check the Democrat boxes. There aren't enough pews or firing ranges in America to beat the phantom voter.

If we know that the other side is cheating, shouldn't we reciprocate? The problem with cheating is that cheating escalates and escalates quickly. If a person is willing to nullify another person's vote, what other level of harm would they be willing to inflict? We all renounce violence, but once a line is crossed, another line is soon crossed and then another and then another. Cheating escalates.

If MAGA voters are content to counter-cheat, do they really think they can beat the Dems at their own game? The big city political machines have been doing this sort of thing for decades, refining their skills with each passing election. What would it gain the America-first candidate to collect more votes than there are citizens, only to lose yet another close race to the wily Democrat? 

MAGA candidates should be forewarned that their ballot harvesting might be viewed through a different lens than legacy cheating. Think J6 "insurrection.' Think Hillary's subpoenaed and deleted emails. Think James Comey and the FBI and Merrick Garland and Alvin Bragg and Soros pawns and our corrupt and broken justice system. Look before you leap.

Is ballot harvesting code speak for cheating? Is counter-cheating the answer to election fraud? Can MAGA match the Dems in chicanery? Will there be blowback to counter-cheating? Who owns the moral high ground when both sides cheat? Does moral high ground matter anymore?

I was hoping for some other resolution.