Author Archives: eehines

Precisely Why

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Secretary of State Antony Blinken finally agreed to let House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Michael McCaul (R, TX) and Committee Ranking Member Greg Meeks (D, NY) personally view—in a State Department facility—the dissent cable regarding President Joe Biden’s (D) decision to…withdraw…from Afghanistan and the State Department’s official response to the dissent.

What McCaul said afterward:

The dissenters were absolutely right about everything they said. And it was a warning to the administration about what was going to happen and what they needed to do. [The dissenters] deserve a medal.
Unfortunately, the administration didn’t heed all their warnings and we got what we got.

What Meeks said afterward:

There’s nothing really that we didn’t know. There was a dissent cable, there was a reply and action that was being done.
Hopefully that puts to rest this whole thing about having a subpoena and the president is hiding something or whatever it is. That should be put to rest.

Contra Meeks’ effort to sweep the whole fiasco under the rug, the existence of sharply differing views by the Chairman and Ranking Member regarding the contents of the dissent and the reply are precisely why the material, completely unredacted, should be given over the Foreign Affairs Committee and, equally unredacted, made public for us in the public to read.

We’ll decide for ourselves the importance of the material, whether Biden is hiding something or whatever it is, whether Biden and others involved should be held accountable for the disaster, and of what that accountability should consist.

Meeks doesn’t speak for us. Meeks doesn’t even speak for all of his constituents. And neither do Blinken or Biden.

Stop “Preparing”

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The ongoing tussle between House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer (R, KY) and FBI Director Chris Wray over the latter’s refusal to satisfy a Committee subpoena to hand over an FBI form FD-1023 needs to stop being ongoing.

House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer on Wednesday announced that he would soon meet with FBI Director Christopher Wray to resolve a dispute between House Republicans and the bureau over its refusal to hand over a document that detailed an alleged bribery scheme involving then-Vice President Joe Biden and a foreign national.
Comer indicated he might seek a House vote hold FBI Director Christopher Wray in contempt of Congress….

Comer needs to stop yapping about going to hold Wray in contempt, and have the Committee vote, and then have the House vote to hold him in contempt. Wray has already refused to turn over the document; there’s nothing to be gained with more pretty pleases, no matter how forcefully uttered.

Unfortunately, Comer seems satisfied with his first grade playground taunt of “boy, oh boy, when I get you.”

Memorial Day Celebrations

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I first posted this in 2012.  It bears repeating.

Enjoy this holiday.  Take the time to kick back, relax from the hard work you’ve been doing, and just goof off for a bit.

While you’re doing that, though, do something else, also.  Invite that veteran in your neighborhood, who came back from his service wounded or maimed, and his or her family, to your celebration.  Invite the family in your neighborhood whose veteran was killed in his or her service to your celebration.  They need the break and the relaxation and the support, also.  And they’ve earned your respect and remembrance.To which I add this, excerpted from Alex Horton’s remarks on the significance of the day to him and his:

I hope civilians find more solace in Memorial Day than I do.  Many seem to forget why it exists in the first place, and spend the time looking for good sales or drinking beers on the back porch.  It’s a long weekend, not a period of personal reflection.  At the same time, many incorrectly thank Vets or active duty folks for their service.  While appreciated, it’s misdirected.  That’s what Veterans Day is for.  Instead, they should take some time and remember the spirit of the country and the dedication of those men and women who chose to pick up arms.  They never came home to be thanked, and only their memory remains.

 

h/t Spirit of America

Two “Whys”

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Carefully—cowardly—anonymous Biden administration officials have leaked to the press that

A drone attack on the Kremlin earlier this month was most likely orchestrated by Ukraine, which has conducted a series of attacks on Russian targets, US officials said.

Why is the Biden administration even talking publicly about this? Who conducted the strike would seem to be a national security matter, for us and for the nation—if there was one—that conducted the strike, especially when that nation, supposedly, is heavily supported by the US. The leak and its claimed attribution of who did it seem especially egregious in light of the nature of the attack: it was blatantly amateurish and so wholly inconsistent with the quality of operations which the Ukrainian military has otherwise executed.

 

Meanwhile, the Biden administration has cautioned Ukraine against conducting attacks inside Russia over fears that Moscow could escalate the conflict….

Why does President Joe Biden (D) insist that Russia should be a sanctuary nation, free to assault a sovereign nation with impunity and without fear of response?

Gavin Newsom’s Racism and Sexism

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This is made manifest in the kerfuffle over who he has said he’ll appoint as a California Senator should sitting Senator Dianne Feinstein (D) retire before the end of her term in January 2025.

Newsom drew criticism for not appointing a Black woman to replace Kamala Harris when she assumed the vice presidency and has since vowed to do so should he receive another chance to appoint a senator.

Notice that. Newsom doesn’t say he would appoint Feinstein’s replacement on the basis of qualification for the position, on the basis of being able to function effectively as a representative of that person’s California constituents, on the basis of merit. No, he said he’d appoint someone on the basis of his first and most important criteria: that the person would be black and a woman.

Appointing someone to office because that person is black is blatantly racist.

Appointing someone to office because that person is a woman is naked sexism.

Newsom is looking to score a two-fer.