Author Archives: eehines

A Plea Deal and Testimony

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Sydney Powell, former Donald Trump legal adviser, and one of a plethora of indictees in Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis’ sweepingly excessive run at the former President, has agreed to a plea deal. Powell had been looking at as many as seven serious felony charges, including racketeering and conspiracy to commit election fraud, had she gone to trial.

Instead, she pled to misdemeanors and sentencing limited to six years of probation, a $6,000 fine, an apology letter to the state of Georgia, and $2,700 in restitution payable to the State.

Oh, and she agreed to testify for the prosecution in the remaining indictees’ trials.

Therein lies a very serious rub. Powell sold her testimony in return for the light charge and wrist-slap penalties (yes, yes, the apology letter will be personally embarrassing. She’ll get over that). Alternatively, she was brow-beaten by the Willis team’s threat to go all the way on her if she didn’t agree to testify, with the lightness of the deal just cover for the threat.

Either way, Powell can have no credibility on the witness stand: she won’t be the one testifying, for all that it’ll be her mouth reciting the words. It’ll be Willis and her team speaking through Powell.

Federal Energy Subsidies

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Here are some data regarding the magnitude of favoritism the Federal government is displaying for one American industry over others. These are from the government’s own Energy Information Administration.

  • Renewable energy, led by wind and solar, received $15.6 billion in federal government subsidies in fiscal year 2022
  • natural gas and petroleum liquids industry received $2.3 billion
  • coal industry received $0.873 billion

“Green”-sourced energy is getting orders of magnitude more taxpayer money than are the far cheaper and reliable fossil fuel-sourced energy.

This is how much green energy is supported by taxpayer funds rather than by energy users with the rates they pay their utilities.

This is how desperate “green” energy pushers are for funding because of how far distant “green” energy is from being economically viable.

Private Citizens and Firearms Licensing in Israel

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Israel has some firearms licensing requirements that would greatly please the Leftists in our nation. The particular requirement of interest to me is this one:

Firearm licenses for private citizens in Israel are typically only granted to individuals who can prove a need for extra security in their line of work or daily life.

And those who do succeed in getting licenses are limited to 100 rounds of ammunition at any one time.

Israeli citizens live in a small nation surrounded by terrorists that routinely and frequently attack that nation, particularly targeting civilians and civilian gathering spots. That’s their need for extra security.

In the immediate aftermath of Hamas’ current butchery, Israel’s National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir is relaxing the nation’s gun control laws. More permanent and broader reaching relaxation/easier access to firearms for the citizenry may be in the offing.

Such moves are late, but that’s better than never. If they actually happen.

“Why Did Harvard Students Cheer on Hamas?”

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That’s the title of one section of The Wall Street Journal‘s Wednesday Letters section. One Harvard student wrote regarding the plethora of Harvard student groups’ open support of the terrorist Hamas gang,

The morally bankrupt claims made by these groups are not representative of many of their members. They used theirs, Harvard’s, and their members’ names to lend credence to their outrageous claims. These statements were published by organization leaders, often without serious debate or voting by members.

Say that’s true. How many of those members, allegedly omitted from open debate or voting, have resigned from those student groups?

…

Yeah, that’s what I thought.

Another Letter writer wrote,

I received the mass email sent to Harvard alumni by President Gay, addressing the war in Israel. One line was especially notable: “It’s in the exercise of our freedom to speak that we reveal our characters.” Well said. Harvard’s character has been revealed.

Indeed. As well as are, via their decision not to speak or act, the characters of some student group members.

Too many illiberal Liberal and mainstream Left “students” at Harvard are terrorist sympathizers. None of them should be employable in the United States, not just a few lawyer wannabes singled out by a couple of law firms.

That’ll Show ‘Em

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Progressive-Democrat President Joe Biden is shaking his finger very firmly at Hamas and sanctioning the terrorist gang and its supporters.

The sanctions include 10 senior members and “financial facilitators” of the Hamas terrorist group, as well as roughly 1,000 individuals and entities connected to Iranian terror financing. The sanctions struck Hamas, Hezbollah, and other terror organizations in the Middle East that a senior Treasury official said were part of “a massive financial network.”

Ooh, ooh. Be still, my heart.

Having already moved to release $6 billion dollars to Iran for its relay to the likes of Hamas and Hezbollah (and, allegedly, moved with Qatar to delay that delivery), these sanctions are an insultingly puny response to the butchery Hamas is inflicting on Israeli women, children, and babies and that Hezbollah and Iran are threatening to do.

Biden’s Treasury Secretary, Janet Yellen:

The United States is taking swift and decisive action to target Hamas’ financiers and facilitators….

How much money and other value is affected by these sanctions? Neither Biden nor Yellen is saying.

No. What’s needed is free-flowing weapons and ammunition to Israel as the IDF needs them, and two carrier groups’ kinetic response in Lebanon and Syria to destroy Hezbollah should that terrorist gang attack Israel.

Full stop.