Liberty & Prosperity Blog

The political axiom is that the longer you're explaining something, the more you're losing ground. This is Day 3 of the Nikki Haley Civil War fiasco. She still isn't close to putting that fiasco permanently behind her. She's still attempting to relitigate her reply. First, she shouldn't have gotten into this position. It wasn't a difficult question. Frankly, the question was a softball, one that Haley should've hit out of the proverbial ballpark. If I'd been asked that question, I would have replied 'Slavery was what triggered the Civil War. The Confederate states tried arguing that it was a states' rights issue, which it wasn't.' Then I would've replied that I was the governor that got the Confederate Flag removed. After that, I would have moved on to economic issues. Either that or I would've fielded questions from those gathered. Next, it's obvious that she isn't willing to stop digging. The saying is that 'there...

It isn't surprising that a liberal Democrat president (Joe Biden) doesn't like a conservative Israeli prime minister (Benjamin Netanyahu). That's to be expected. What's unexpected is this Axios report that's filled with more leaks than Adam Schiff's office. Axios is reporting that "President Biden held a difficult conversation last weekend with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over Israel's decision to withhold part of the tax revenue it collects for the Palestinian Authority, according to two U.S. and Israeli officials and a source with knowledge of the issue." The article continues with another leak, saying "According to the U.S. and Israeli officials, Biden told Netanyahu that he should face the hardliners in his coalition on this issue like he is dealing with political pressure from Congress about the war in Gaza. After a few minutes of discussion, Biden told Netanyahu he expects him to solve this issue, added that "this con...

Apparently, there are lots of high-profile Democrats who don't grasp the Constitution or the Constitution's amendments. Lately, the Fourteenth Amendment, Section 3 has been highlighted. The Fourteenth Amendment's Section 3 text says "No person shall be a Senator or Representative in Congress, or elector of President and Vice-President, or hold any office, civil or military, under the United States, or under any State, who, having previously taken an oath, as a member of Congress, or as an officer of the United States, or as a member of any State legislature, or as an executive or judicial officer of any State, to support the Constitution of the United States, shall have engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same, or given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof. But Congress may by a vote of two-thirds of each House, remove such disability." Where in Section 3 does it identify the president or VP as subject to the Fourteenth Amendment? I see lots of refe...

Alan Dershowitz is exactly right. Iran has declared war against the U.S. According to Prof. Dershowitz, "Iran has now engaged in a deliberate act of war — casus belli — on numerous occasions against the United States. Most recently it was responsible for critically injuring an American soldier." While that's true, what's more true is that Iran didn't declare war against us this October. Iran declared war on the U.S. when Iran invaded the U.S. embassy in Tehran, Iran on Nov. 4, 1979 . They've been at war with us ever since. Additionally, Dershowitz said "Since Hamas' attack Oct. 7 attack on Israel, estimates run as high as 100 Iranian-backed attacks across the Mideast on U.S. bases, ships, and service personnel. Iran has acted through its surrogates and proxies, including the Houthis, Iraqi militia, Hezbollah, and others. Under the laws of war an act of war can be committed by the principal nation itself, which in this case is Iran, or surrogates act...

It isn't surprising that pro-Palestinian Democrat protestors blocked roads leading into JFK and LAX airports . As with other protests, the protestors proved that they're either exceptionally dishonest or that they haven't used a dictionary in decades. Fox Business is reporting that "protesters were seen on the road holding banners accusing Israel of committing genocide in the Gaza Strip amid Israel's military offensive against Hamas." The Dictionary.com definition of genocide is " the deliberate and systematic extermination of a national, racial, political, or cultural group." What happened during the Holocaust fits the description of genocide. What Hamas wants to do to Israel fits the definition of genocide. What Israel tries to do in defending itself against Hamas's terrorist attacks doesn't fit the description of genocide. The article reports that "at least 26 people were arrested Wednesday during a pro-Palestinian protest where de...

Joe Biden is attempting to put a positive spin on the term Bidenomics. It isn't working. That's because Bidenomics isn't working. In a major speech in June, 2023, Biden explained Bidenomics by saying "Folks, let me say it as clearly as I can: (The) trickle-down approach failed the middle class and failed America." That's an outright lie. First, Reaganomics poured jet fuel into a double-dip recession. Part of the reason for success was the capital gains tax cuts and immediate expensing for major corporations. Thanks to those things, the Big Three automakers were able to rebuild their plants. Thanks to that, Detroit went from a position where they were constantly losing ground to Japan in terms of market share to outpacing Japan by a significant margin. The biggest winner in that fight? UAW workers, whose job security significantly improved and whose wages rose significantly. That's Failure? If that's Biden's definition of failure, let's have lo...

Embedded within Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu's WSJ op-ed  is a truth that hasn't been denied for years, if not decades. In his op-ed, PM Netanyahu wrote "In destroying Hamas, Israel will continue to act in full compliance with international law. This is especially challenging because an integral part of Hamas’s strategy is to use Palestinian civilians as human shields. Hamas places its terrorist infrastructure inside and underneath homes, hospitals, mosques, schools and other civilian sites, deliberately putting the Palestinian population at risk." The truth is that Hamas isn't a major military threat. They're only effective when carrying out surprise terrorist attacks, then hiding in their tunnels. It isn't like they have a legitimate military. That's why they've relied on the dishonest press to win its wars. Without pictures of dead children or stories of bombed hospitals, the world wouldn't pay any attention to Hamas. Military defeats aren...

Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu laid out what he's calling Israel's 3 "prerequisites for peace" in this WSJ op-ed . In his op-ed, Netanyahu said "Hamas must be destroyed, Gaza must be demilitarized, and Palestinian society must be deradicalized. These are the three prerequisites for peace between Israel and its Palestinian neighbors in Gaza." This is more than reasonable since Hamas has repeatedly shown that they aren't interested in any 2-state solution. That's simply a PR stunt. Netanyahu's op-ed continues, saying "First, Hamas, a key Iranian proxy, must be destroyed. The U.S., U.K., France, Germany and many other countries support Israel’s intention to demolish the terror group. To achieve that goal, its military capabilities must be dismantled and its political rule over Gaza must end. Hamas’s leaders have vowed to repeat the Oct. 7 massacre 'again and again.' That is why their destruction is the only proportional response to preve...

It doesn't matter where you throw a dart at a global map these days. Wherever the dart hits, you're likely to hit a place where Joe Biden's policies have caused a crisis. To sarcastically use a phrase I just saw on Twitter, "Thank God the adults are back in charge." People thinking that the failed Afghanistan withdrawal was the first sign of Biden administration incompetence are only half right. Early in the administration, it became clear that the administration's policies would be based on appeasement. The first proof came when China criticized SecState Blinken for their human rights record. China's proof? BLM's statements. Instead of raising the issue of the Uygur Muslims, Hong Kong or Taiwan, Blinken just took the criticism. This wasn't a worldwide disgrace but it was proof that Biden would quickly turn U.S.  foreign policy into a disaster. Next, of course, was the Afghanistan withdrawal disaster. This officially became a disaster when 13 U.S. ...

It's time to admit that Barack Obama isn't a moderate Democrat. I wouldn't object if someone said that he's a moderate-sounding Democrat. However, that's far from being a 1990s Bill Clinton moderate. Since Claudine Joy's antisemitic testimony in front of Congress, Barack Obama has quietly lobbied Harvard to keep President Joy rather than terminate her. Considering the fact that President Joy's doctoral dissertation is filled with one plagiarized paragraph after another, isn't already disqualified? Other than Obama's lobbying, what's keeping her at Harvard? It isn't her scholarship. It definitely isn't her fundraising abilities. Finally, what she lacks in fundraising abilities, she lacks in human rights even more. This raises a question that hasn't been raised before. Why is President Obama expending so much political capital for such a mediocre 'talent'. Is it solely because of Gay's race? If it is, then Obama is both a r...

Merry Christmas! While December 25th isn't likely to be the date of Jesus' birth, there isn't any doubt that this is the night that we celebrate Jesus' birth. The historical record from the Gospel of Luke is quite clear: And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be taxed. 2 (And this taxing was first made when Cyrenius was governor of Syria.) 3 And all went to be taxed, every one into his own city. 4 And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judaea, unto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem; (because he was of the house and lineage of David:) 5 To be taxed with Mary his espoused wife, being great with child. 6 And so it was, that, while they were there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered. 7 And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn. 8 A...

During his first overseas trip, Joe Biden defiantly declared that "The U.S. is back." At that get-together, much was made of the back-slapping and glad-handing, etc. This Barrons article paints a quite different picture, though. The Barrons article notes that "Spain's Socialist government said Friday it had still not decided whether it will take part in an international coalition led by the United States to quell Houthi attacks on ships transiting the Red Sea." France is considering whether it'll join the coalition, too. Perhaps Mr. Biden was a little premature with his declaration that the U.S. was back. Then, too, perhaps what Mr. Biden meant was that the U.S. was back to leading from behind and apologizing everywhere it went in the world. Who can forget President Obama’s worldwide apology tour? He was a worldwide embarrassment to the U.S., the opposite of JFK or Reagan. Today’s Democrats apparently see strength as appalling. America's allies worldwid...

Anyone that's paid attention to Hamas's terrorist attack on Israel knows that Hamas started this war. It's also apparent to anyone with a functioning brain (that omits Joe Biden, BTW) that Israel has the right and obligation to finish Hamas's threat to Israel. Further, people thinking that a 2-state solution is the right option hasn't studied the situation. Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu wrote this op-ed to set the record straight on what started this war, when this war started and what it'll take to end this war. PM Netanyahu's op-ed opens by saying "On October 7, Israel was brutally attacked by Hamas terrorists. They murdered over 1,200 people, wounded hundreds, and kidnapped over 200 hostages. In the most lethal attack on Jews since the Holocaust, they raped and decapitated women, killed children in front of their parents, burned babies and mutilated bodies." Netanyahu’s op-ed continues, saying "After the attack, Hamas officials vowed that ...

After Liz Magill resigned as UPenn's president in disgrace after her antisemitic testimony at a House committee hearing, the prevailing thought was that the presidents of Harvard and M.I.T. would be gone by the end of the weekend. That prevailing opinion didn't prevail, though not because Harvard's president, Claudine Gay, hasn't been trapped in scandal after scandal. President Gay is fighting her way through multiple plagiarism scandals. If Harvard isn't careful handling this situation, they could find themselves in legal hot water. Further, it's getting more difficult to continue supporting President Gay considering "she plagiarized other academics throughout her career. The newest charges have amplified questions about her research integrity and position at the helm of the prestigious Ivy League institution." Considering the fact that President Gay "plagiarized other academics throughout her career", it might be more appropriate to call H...

When Joe Biden announced that he was seeking the Democrat nomination for president in 2020, he said that he wanted to restore the soul of America. Most of us thought that sounded like BS at the time. With the passage of time, we now have abundant proof that Biden didn't give a damn about restoring America's soul. How can he restore it when he's likely quietly praising Colorado's Supreme Court ruling that defies a half-dozen foundational legal principles? This WSJ editorial puts the wood to Colorado's Supreme Court, saying "Mr. Trump’s behavior after the 2020 election through Jan. 6 was disgraceful, and it is one of several reasons not to trust him with so much power again. It was an attempt to obstruct the counting of electoral votes. But the evidence is unpersuasive that this amounted to an insurrection or rebellion under the statutory or constitutional meaning of those terms." I agree with every word of that paragraph but that's just the start of th...

First, it's essential to stipulate that Jamie Comer, the Chairman of the House Oversight Committee, owns a company that is a limited liability corporation, aka LLC. Next, it's essential to stipulate that Chairman Comer's business isn't a shell corporation. CNN's Scott Jennings has written this op-ed to explain why the AP should've done better research. Let's cut to the heart of this dispute. In his op-ed, Jennings writes "At issue is an allegation from the Associated Press that Comer’s ownership of six acres of land in Monroe County, held in a Limited Liability Corporation (an “LLC” in common business parlance) called Farm Team Properties, makes him a hypocrite because he is investigating the president and his son, Hunter Biden, for the Biden family’s use of shell corporations to mask the source and movement of tens of millions of dollars." Chairman Comer wasn’t gentle in highlighting the AP’s lack of "financial literacy" in such matters...

Vivek Ramaswamy is either on his last legs or he's angling for a position in Donald Trump's cabinet. In either case, this is a major move to get on Trump's good side. This isn't done for altruistic motives. After the Colorado Supreme Court ruled that Trump isn't eligible  to be on Colorado's GOP Primary ballot, "Presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy pledged on Tuesday to remove himself from Colorado’s Republican primary ballot in response to the state’s Supreme Court’s ruling that former President Donald Trump is ineligible to run in the state over his activity surrounding Jan. 6." I would've forgotten that he was still in the competition if not for all of his obnoxious jabs at Nikki Haley. And no, I'm not a fan of Haley's. This ruling is spilling lots of ink across the internet and X, formerly known as Twitter. The majority of X opinions are that SCOTUS will a) accept this case on an expedited basis and b) rule against the Colorado Suprem...

Donald Trump is having a difficult week. It's easy to tell because he's having difficulty after running into a pair of pro-DeSantis surrogates. Last night, Trump looked like an idiot by calling Texas Republican Chip Roy a RINO. His campaign also put out a new ad that makes it look like Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds is endorsing Trump. In reality, Gov. Reynolds endorsed Gov. DeSantis a month ago. Now Gov. Reynolds is firing back at Trump. The Des Moines Register is reporting that "Gov. Kim Reynolds says former President Donald Trump is 'misleading Iowans' with a campaign ad that uses old clips of her praising Trump. The Trump campaign's ad shows previous speeches where Reynolds thanked Trump for cutting taxes, appointing conservative justices to the Supreme Court and being a 'partner' to the Midwest. The minute-long video ends with a photograph of Trump and Reynolds standing side by side, waving." Further, Gov. Reynolds scorched Trump by saying this: ...

Shooting from the lip hip is one of Donald Trump's specialties. He isn't especially consistent in telling the truth. This time, Mr. Trump "called for a Republican to challenge Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas) Monday night, even though the filing deadline to enter the congressional contest passed last week. " This isn't especially surprising, considering the fact that Trump's loyalties are situational at best. By comparison, Chip Roy's loyalties are principled. Chip Roy's loyalties are principled, just like Gov. Ron DeSantis, Rep. Roy's endorsed preference for president. It's long past time to start calling Trump out as too dishonest for the job of president. Trump's almost as dishonest as Hakeem Jeffries, Dan Goldman or Jamie Raskin. Not surprisingly, Trump's dishonesty was captured forever when Trump took to Truth Social to say "Has any smart and energetic Republican in the Great State of Texas decided to run in the primary against RINO ...

From the moment I first heard about ISD 728's attempt to intimidate pro-parent school board members John Anderson and Mindy Freiberg, I've been disheartened by the School Board's and the Superintendents' disdain for the Constitution. Specifically, I'm disheartened by the School Board's and the Superintendent's disdain for the First Amendment. Dr. John Palmer, who wrote this well-researched article , sent me this link to highlight the fact that ISD 728's disdain for the First Amendment isn't new to this year. On Nov. 19, 2021, the Upper Midwest Law Center sent a cease-and-desist letter to the ISD 728 School Board. The letter opens by saying "We represent Maria Isabel Harju, Cassandra Bonine, and Sarah Ronchak, who are residents and taxpayers of ISD 728 (the District). Simply put, the District trampled on its residents and taxpayers’ First Amendment rights when it prohibited our clients from discussing the School Board’s failure to address sexual...

Is Past Prologue? Could Minnesota’s ISD 728 (Elk River) Be On a Path Leading to a Lawsuit? By John W. Palmer, Ph.D. Yesterday this blog reported on the December 11th meeting of the Minnesota ISD 728. That post led me to doing a search for any legal actions related to disciplining and or removal of a school board member for exercising their First Amendment Rights. The search yielded two interesting findings. One finding came from Minnesota, the other from Pennsylvania. The Minnesota finding reported on the state’s first and perhaps only case of the removal of a school board member. If you thought the case happened in the tumultuous 20th Century, you were wrong. The Austin, MN case happened in 2010. An internet search using the keywords Minnesota School Board Member Removal yielded no other instance of a removal of a sitting school board member. The Minnesota case involved a lawsuit and is reported in this Austin Daily Herald story from Tuesday, March 9, 2010. School board removes Ru...

For 2 months, the corporate media has insisted that there wasn't a sliver of daylight between the U.S. and Israel. For 2 months, I've questioned those declarations. Today, I got the proof that there's daylight galore in between Biden and Israel . CNN is reporting that "Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin will push Israeli officials to define milestones for its war against Hamas in Gaza, marking the second visit of a top Biden administration official to the region aimed at communicating US expectations as civilian casualties mount." The article continues, saying "In Israel on Monday, a senior Defense Department official said, Austin will “receive specific updates on how the war cabinet minister of defense, (Yoav) Gallant, and the [IDF] assess their progress in the current phase of the campaign in Gaza to dismantle the military infrastructure of Hamas." The Biden administration appears to be more interested in nitpicking at Israel's plans than anything. Che...

Just when I started worrying about running out of dictatorial authoritarian types, a school board meeting is scheduled and a handful of authoritarians appear.. When ISD 728 held its meeting on Dec. 11, 2023, 5 dictatorial types did their best to intimidate John Anderson and Mindy Freiberg into submission. That's a stupid thing to do. The ISD 728 School Board voted to censure John Anderson and Mindy Freiberg last Monday. If you're wondering what Director Anderson and Director Freiberg were charged with, the Center for the American is on the case. Bill Walsh wrote "District lawyer and paid attack-dog Michael Waldspurger then breathlessly walked through the charges as if he was their boss and this was a year-end employee review. Here are the charges: Late for meetings. Unprepared for meetings. Talked to legislators about district priorities without authority. And the ultimate sin: failure to follow Policy 209. ISD 728 wants to know which people are voting yes or no before de...

When David fought Goliath in the Valley of Elath, David had God on his side and 5 smooth stones. Now that Minnesota's education establishment has let Mindy Freiberg and John Anderson know that they're planning on making their lives miserable, their ace-in-the-hole is Rep. Walter Hudson, who represents HD-30A in Minnesota's legislature. As the old cliche goes, the proof is in this article , which was written by Sheilla Qualls. I'm not saying that Rep. Hudson is God's equivalent. He isn't. That isn't to say that Rep. Hudson isn't someone I wouldn't want on my side. FULL DISCLOSURE: I've known Rep. Hudson since the TEA Party started and consider him a friend. Let's jump into Mrs. Qualls' article. A significant portion of the school board meeting dealt with this censure resolution against "pro-parent" Directors Freiberg and Anderson. Specifically, it cited "Board Policy 209", which said that Rep. Anderson wasn't ...

Upon Joe Biden's instructions, National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan travelled to Israel with the goal of talking Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu into fighting a gentler war with less indiscriminate bombing. The Wall Street Journal's report says that the trip didn't go as planned. The WSJ article opened by saying "National security adviser Jake Sullivan pressed Israeli leaders to shift from a reliance on airstrikes and ground assaults in Gaza toward targeted military operations and warned that a protracted conflict would make the Palestinian territory harder to govern after the war, U.S. officials said." The article continued, saying 'Sullivan’s meetings with Israeli political and military leaders Thursday seemed to have made little headway addressing the growing rift between the U.S. and Israel over civilian casualties, the length of the conflict, flagging international support for Israel’s campaign, and the future governance of the Gaza Strip.'" Th...