GOP lawmakers demand release of Lt. Col. Stuart Scheller, a Marine officer that criticized the withdrawal from Afghanistan.

 

Lt. Col. Stuart Scheller. US Marine photo.

Several Republican lawmakers have demanded the release of Lt. Col. Stuart Scheller, a Marine officer that criticized the chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan and is now in the brig. Washington Examiner. Scheller was extremely critical of the withdrawal and posted a video on Facebook demanding accountability from military leadership. The lawmakers say that Scheller is being held for political reasons and not due to his actions. Scheller's hearing has not been scheduled and he faces four possible charges, including contempt to officials, disobeying a superior, failure to obey a lawful order and conduct unbecoming. 

My Comment:

The double standard here is ridiculous. Military figures, up to and including General Mark Milley, leaked, lied and betrayed their uniform regularly and none of them ever got punished for it. Why? Because they were opposed to President Trump. But as soon as an officer does the same thing to Biden and his staff it's suddenly beyond the pale. 

I do think that Scheller is probably guilty of some of the charges. He knew he was torpedoing his career and could face military justice for his videos but he didn't care and did it anyways. Under normal circumstances I would say he deserves to be punished. But these are not normal circumstances and it's clear that Scheller is only being punished because he criticized the wrong administration. 

And it's clear the reason Scheller is being punished is because the military and civilian leadership massively screwed up the withdrawal from Afghanistan. Nobody has been punished for losing the country. Nobody has been punished for the major terror attack that killed Americans and civilians alike. Nobody has been punished for blowing up an innocent aid worker and his family. And nobody has been punished for an evacuating so disorganized and disgusting that hundreds of unvetted people made it into America while hundreds of American citizens were left behind. And nobody has been punished for having Afghan civilians falling from our planes. 

There is nothing more the government hates than being embarrassed and Scheller's words hugely embarrassed them. The Biden administration can hardly admit that they failed during the withdrawal from Afghanistan. I am sure Biden and the Democrats are depending on voters short memories to have any chance in the 2022 midterms at all. By silencing Scheller and throwing the book at him they hope to bury the story and possibly try and right the tailspin that the Biden administration is in. 

It won't work of course. The Republicans smell blood in the water and know that they can use this situation to their advantage. They could even recruit Scheller as a possible candidate, the man is a good speaker and has a future outside of the military. I don't think they are going to let this go and I do think there is a large amount of outrage over this incident. 

Senior al-Qaeda leader killed in drone strike in Syria.

 

File photo of a drone. Fox News/Getty.

A senior al-Qaeda leader was killed in a drone strike in Syria. Fox News. Salim Abu-Ahmad was killed in a drone strike near Idlib in rebel controlled Syria. He was a planner, organizer and funder of regional terror attacks. The drone strike only killed Abu-Ahmad and was confirmed by the White Helmets group. Al-Qaeda has remained active in Syria throughout the civil war there. 

My Comment:

This will be a short post as there isn't too much to discuss but I did think it was worth noting that yet another senior al-Qaeda leader is dead. I think that it is great that the only time we really hear from al-Qaeda is when one of their people dies. And the next video that Ayman al-Zawahri will release will have even more names of al-Qaeda "martyrs". 

Al-Qaeda leaders getting destroyed isn't that uncommon but I was somewhat surprised that the United States was able to kill one without killing any civilians. Their record on that has not been very good lately, with the infamous case in Afghanistan where an innocent aid worker and his family was misidentified as an ISIS terrorist and blown up by a missile. That's not the way to do it but this case shows how it is done. 

The Syrian Civil War has almost completely fallen out of the news cycle with almost no coverage of the continuing fighting. Indeed, I am betting many Americans don't even know we have troops there or that Bashar al-Assad has been threatening them. I personally was honestly surprised there was still surviving al-Qaeda fighters in Syria, though they might be affiliated with whatever al-Nusra is calling themselves now. 

As much as the media has hyped the threat of Afghanistan becoming a terrorist haven, I wonder if Syria is a possibility. There are less places to hide in Syria and a huge number of factions that are hostile to international terror groups but they are also hostile to each other. Perhaps a terror group could take advantage of that? Plus Syria has the added benefit of being much closer to Europe and having established smuggling and human trafficking routs. It's something to think about...

Taliban warns the United States to stop flying drones over Afghanistan...

Taliban fighters with a captured Humvee. The Hill/Getty.

The Taliban have warned the United States to stop flying drones over Afghanistan. The Hill. The Taliban claim that the Doha agreement they made with President Trump last year prevents the use of drones over Afghanistan. They are also saying that the drone flights violate international law. The United States withdrew from Afghanistan this August under extreme circumstances. The US government has said that they will launch strikes against ISIS and al-Qaeda without Taliban approval. 

My Comment:

Just a follow up to yesterday's post. It does seem clear now that the Taliban will try and stop operations against ISIS and al-Qaeda in Afghanistan. What I wasn't expecting was how they were going to do so. It appears that the Taliban will be using political pressure against the United States instead. 

This will, of course, not work. The United States usually does whatever it wants and that tendency has increased under Joe Biden. They are not going to stop these flights and won't give the Taliban a heads up when a strike happens. It's clear that they will do what they want when they want in Afghanistan. 

I don't know that the Taliban has much other option though. I don't think they have much in the way of an anti-aircraft capability. They may have some ancient anti-air guns but I don't see them having much in the way of surface to air missiles that would be the main threat to our drones and planes. 

I do wonder if they might try and use their small fleet of captured A-29 Super Tucanos. Though the planes were obviously designed for an air to ground role, I bet they could be used to intercept lower flying drones. The problem is having trained pilots and I doubt the Taliban has too many of these. If they are lucky they had a few left over from the Afghan government that they recruited. Arming and maintaining these planes are a problem as well. Of course the problem with using these prop planes to try and shoot down drones is that they would be extremely vulnerable to US air power. 

I do have to say that it seems pretty clear that the war in Afghanistan is anything but over. The Pentagon is openly talking about how they are going to bomb targets when it is convenient to them. And now it's clear that there won't be any normal relations with the Taliban. I think it's only a matter of time before we end up launching airstrikes there again. 

 

Pentagon says they will not ask the Taliban for permission to launch strikes in Afghanistan against ISIS or al-Qaeda

 

A Taliban fighter in Afghanistan. Newsweek/AFP.

The Pentagon has announced that they will not ask the Taliban for permission to launch strikes in Afghanistan against ISIS or al-Qaeda. Newsweek. The US pulled out of Afghanistan this August but has said they will continue to target ISIS and al-Qaeda fighters. This is counter to the policy in many countries where these terror groups operate, usually the US military gets permission to strike first. It is unclear if the Taliban would allow these strikes but planes flying over Afghanistan have permission to use more defensive measures to defend against Taliban anti-air fire. Pentagon officials fear that Afghanistan will become a new base for terror groups. 

My Comment:

I guess US involvement in the war in Afghanistan isn't actually over. It sounds as though the Pentagon is actively planning airstrikes against al-Qaeda and ISIS. That isn't surprising, I never thought that Joe Biden actually wanted to wash his hands of Afghanistan. We won't ever get out of there. 

As for the Taliban I expect them to be very upset with this. I do think that they would be perfectly fine with the United States bombing ISIS. They are mortal enemies after all. Bombing the hell out of them would help prevent a continuation of the war between ISIS and the Taliban. And ISIS is still launching attacks against the Taliban, including suicide bombings. Remember, though 13 Americans died in the bombing during the evacuation, dozens of Taliban fighters died as well. 

ISIS won't be the sticking point though. It will be al-Qaeda, or what is left of it. Al-Qaeda is of course a shadow of their former selves and the core groups is mostly extinct. They mostly exist through their affiliates. Regardless though, al-Qaeda and the Taliban are allies. They fight together and they are not enemies like the Taliban and ISIS are. If we start bombing al-Qaeda we will be bombing the Taliban as well. 

I do think that there is a chance that al-Qaeda could use Afghanistan as a base to launch further attacks. Given how destroyed al-Qaeda is it would take a long time for them to regroup but with a safe haven they could do it. With the Taliban giving them cover I think the only way we could stop that from happening is by bombing them. But it will probably take them years, if not decades. 

What can the Taliban do to prevent these kinds of strikes? It's unclear. I assume that the Afghan government had some rudimentary anti-air capabilities but I don't think they are much of a threat after the Taliban captured them. In the end I don't think they can do much of anything to shoot down a US aircraft. 

2020 was a terrible year for homicides in the United States.

 

Police in New York respond to a homicide. NBC News/AP file photo.

2020 was a terrible year for homicides in the United States with an increase of 30% according to the FBI's Uniform Crime Report. NBC News. 21,500 homicides were listed in the report in 2020, a major increase from 2019's 16,669. The high rate of homicide was still lower than the rate it reached during the 1990's, but is the highest it has been since that peak. The report covers about half of all police departments in the United States. There was some good news as most other crime, including property crime, burglary and rape all decreased. Other violent crime saw a minor increase. 

My Comment:

As expected the numbers for the Uniform Crime Report are terrible when it comes to homicide. Murder is out of control in this country and it's more confirmation that what everyone knows is happening is actually happening. 

Other crimes are mostly going down, but that may have a lot to do with the lockdowns we had last year. After all, it's hard to commit property crime or sexual assault if you are locked down. And given the high rates of gun ownership it's not surprising that burglary is going down. You would have to be nuts to try and break into someone's house these days if they are home. 

So why did the murder rate explode last year? Almost certainly due to the Democrats anti-police, pro-crime agenda. It turns out when you don't arrest people they tend to go ahead and commit more crime. And it's also clear that police are not interested in enforcing the law when they know that by doing so they can get thrown under the bus. Why would anyone want to be a cop after what happened to Derrick Chauvin? 

This has sent a message that people can commit crime without any repercussions. And they have been doing so. Honestly, there isn't a reason not to given that in the big cities crime goes unsolved. You can murder someone and get away with it if you are even remotely smart about it in these big cities. 

I am guessing that the vast majority of this murder increase is due to gang violence. With drug dealing still being a major source of income, these criminal gangs are killing each other to gain control of these lucrative markets. They aren't getting much in the way of police interference either so they are doing what they can to gain control. And some of the violence stems from revenge killings due to the violence. 

The media likes to try and blame the increase in gun sales for this violence but that's obviously getting the cause and effect reversed. People are buying guns because they are afraid of crime (and fear of instability and further gun control laws). Plus, the criminals usually get stolen or illegally purchased guns anyways, they are driving the massive sales boom. 

What can be done to reduce the murder rate? Start throwing people in prison again. Get the cops back on the street and stop whining whenever some criminal gets wasted by them because he's too stupid to follow simple commands. 

Biden threatens border patrol agents for doing their jobs...

 

A border patrol agent confronts a Haitian illegal immigrant. AFP. 

Biden has threatened border patrol agents, falsely claiming the men were whipping Haitian illegal immigrants. Fox News. Biden was quoted as saying "those people will pay" despite the fact that the images do not show anyone being whipped. Biden, along with the media, appear to be unaware that the ropes pictured in the images and video are of horse reigns, not whips. Critics blasted the comments due to their misleading nature and the idea that the men involved in the incident were being pre-judged before any investigation has even started. Even the photographer that took the picture said that nobody was being whipped. 

My Comment:

Absolutely disgusting behavior from the Biden White House, but what did you expect with them? They know this story is false but they are pushing it anyways, probably to distract from the fact that this entire situation is their own fault. Indeed, Kamala Harris blasted the crisis at the border, calling for an investigation, without somehow realizing that she was the one in charge of it. 

It's clear that the border patrol is being thrown under the bus. The Democrats hate the agency and want them disbanded and what better way to do that than to discredit them and call them racist? The poor people in these photos that were only doing their jobs could lose them and are being slandered by the President of the United States (as illegitimate as he is) himself. And that's assuming that they don't get criminal charges. 

How could anyone work under these conditions? I wouldn't be surprised if many of these officers quit. It's obvious that the government does not have their back and that they will throw them under the bus at the quickest opportunity. 

I would say that even if the illegal immigrants were being whipped I wouldn't have a problem with it. Indeed, I'd be fine if they just did that to everyone who tried to cross into our country illegally. These people have zero right to be here and should have zero chance to become a citizen. How dare they try to take jobs from American citizens and jump the line ahead of people who did it the legal way? 

And it's very important to note that these Haitians are not refugees from Haiti. Most of them were in safe countries like Brazil and Chile and have no cause to come here under asylum or refugee status. They were perfectly safe in those countries and would have been mostly safe in Haiti as well. But the Biden administration is only deporting some of them instead of all of them. It's disgusting. 

Finally, I have to point out that this entire situation is the fault of Joe Biden. President Trump had the border mostly under control. The wall was mostly built and everyone in the world had heard the message loud and clear. Don't come here illegally because if you do you will be deported. But Biden opened the floodgates and caused a third major crisis for his administration for absolutely no reason other than the please the far left psychopaths who want open borders. 

Hilariously enough those far left psychopaths are furious with Biden as well. Though Biden isn't deporting anywhere near enough of these illegals they are furious because he is deporting any at all. Plus racial hucksters like Al Sharpton are taking advantage of the situation to call Biden and his policies racist. It's an incredibly own-goal and nobody is happy with Biden right now. 

China sends a squadron of jets to Taiwan.

 

Taiwan. The Hill/Getty.

China sent a squadron of jets to Taiwan to intimidate the country. The Hill. 19 planes flew near Taiwan this morning and a second flight of five planes approached in the afternoon. Taiwan launched interceptors and followed the planes on radar. China has been much more aggressive towards Taiwan which they consider a breakaway province. The United States has authorized an arms sale to Taiwan last month and this incident might be in retaliation for the sale. Fears of a wider conflict between China and Taiwan have grown in recent years. 

My Comment:

Not much else to write about tonight so I figured I could give an update on the current situation in Taiwan. As always, I think it is very important to resist China on the issue so once again, I have to say that there is only one China and Taipei is it's capital. I don't recognize the Communist government of China in any way, and though Taiwan has their own set of problems it would be much better if they were the ones in charge of China. That won't happen but it would be nice. 

This incident was probably an operation with two goals. The more obvious one is that they want to intimidate Taiwan and their allies. I don't think it's just about the arms sale though. China is furious with the new joint USA/UK/Australia alliance that will provide Australia with nuclear submarines. Those submarines would be a major threat to China and are obviously aimed and countering them. Indeed, I think that is probably a bigger concern for China than the arms sale. 

The other objective is that they want to test Taiwan's defenses. The more data they have on Taiwan's defenses the more information they have and the better they can plan any eventual war with the country. They now know more about Taiwan's air defenses and air force reaction times are. 

Is war with China likely? It's very possible. China seems to have a window where they could have a chance to take back the island. I still don't think they have the invasion forces to do it. They have the troops and ships but I don't know if their logistics is up to snuff. Time will tell if they can pull it off. 

The other problem is that China may not be as stable as they seem. The Evergrande company going under will be a huge problem given how big the construction company is. It's possible it will destabilize the entire economy of China. If that happens China's ambitions in Taiwan will be moot. They won't be able to launch a major war while at the same time trying to prop up their economy.  

Has the Delta variant of Coronavirus peaked? Modelers predict the virus will not surge during the winter.

 

A Coronavirus testing site in Kentucky. NPR/Getty.

Modelers have predicted that the Delta variant of Coronavirus has peaked and will not surge over the winter. NPR. The new models were commissioned by the CDC and found that in multiple models the virus will have mostly flatlined by March. The modelers developed different scenarios. The most likely scenario is if children get vaccinated and no new variant comes out. If that happens the numbers in March would be about 9000 cases a day down from 140,000 cases a day. This would match what the numbers were when the pandemic took off in March of 2020. However, if a new variant that was more contagious than Delta, there could still be around 50,000 cases a day in March.

My Comment:

I think these models are very optimistic. It doesn't match what has happened in the past or what happens with every other respiratory virus in the world. It always dials back in the summer and explodes in the fall and winter. That is the more likely than what this model says. 

The other thing is that the model appears to depend on people getting vaccinated. Over 71 million eligible people are not vaccinated as of this writing and those numbers don't include the children that the model would require for it to be accurate. In short, I doubt many parents will vaccinate their kids given the extremely low chances of children getting severely ill or dying from the Coronavirus. 

And it also assumed that the vaccine actually provides serious immunity during winter. The vaccine seems to have some use as few people who have the vaccine die from the virus (some do die from the vaccine itself though). The problem is that we don't have good data on what it does during winter. My guess is that it would probably still work but we can't assume that it would. 

The other problem is the fact that new variants could arise. The real problem with the vaccination is the fact that it isn't an immunizing vaccine. People can still get the virus with the vaccine and I fear that will push the evolution of the virus to a version that is more resistant to the vaccine. 

This is why I think that the mass vaccination campaign was a mistake. Though I do agree that people who are especially vulnerable should get it, giving it to everyone could push the virus to resist the various vaccines. It makes little sense to vaccinate people who are low risk and can get natural immunity with little risk. 

With that being said there is an argument that the cases will collapse sooner rather than later. Historically these kinds of outbreaks tend to last two years and by March we will be hitting the two year mark. I think history is a better guide than any of these models. 

And I think that people underestimate natural immunity. Though you can get Covid multiple times you do build immunity to the virus and the vast majority of people won't get as sick or sick at all after a 2nd exposure. At some point most people will become immune.

And it's not like the vaccines provide zero protection. They have brought the deaths down (along with the fact that Delta is less deadly) and I think they do provide some level of protection. It's very possible that the combination of vaccination and natural immunity will drop the caseload to acceptable levels. 

There is one thing that I don't think will happen though and that is the extinction of the SARS CoV-2 virus. We have been able to eliminate one virus from humans and that was smallpox, which was a very different virus than coronaviruses. Smallpox had no natural reservoirs and did not spread though the lungs like the Coronavirus does. Even if we vaccinated everyone and everyone had natural immunity the virus would still be present in wild and domestic animals. 

I think that the Coronavirus will be with us forever, though it won't be the same virus that has killed so many. Instead I think it will be like the Russian flu virus (HCoV-0C43). That virus killed 1 million people in 1889 but is still around. You probably know it as the "common cold" now. That will be the likely fate of the Coronavirus... 

Wuhan virus lab requested funding to release coronavirus into wild bat population

 

Workers in China disinfect a mall. The Telegraph/China News Service. 

The Wuhan virus lab requested funding to release a modified coronavirus into a wild bat population. The Telegraph. New documents show that the lab proposed to release spike proteins as a vaccine into the wild bat population to vaccinate them against Coronaviruses that could potentially infect humans. They also planned to modify Coronaviruses to create chimeric viruses that would be better able to infect humans. They planned to mix more infectious but less dangerous viruses with the more dangerous and lethal ones. The current Coronavirus pandemic puzzled scientists with the spike proteins that allowed human cells to be infected. The proposal was to get funding from DARPA but DARPA refused to fund the work citing the high danger of a lab escape and global pandemic. The work into gain of function research may have continued and would explain how the Coronavirus pandemic started. Most disturbing of all is that the lab was reported to have modified the MERS virus, a much more deadly Coronavirus with a fatality rate of 30%, to be more infectious. 

My Comment:

The case for a lab leak being the cause of the pandemic is growing stronger. We now know that the lab was interested in some very dangerous things. It's clear now that they were trying to make viruses more infectious and were working with bats. It's very possible that one of the viruses they cooked up escaped. 

My guess is that they modified one of the viruses and through gain of function research they made a virus that could easily infect humans. This had an obvious outcome when one or more of the lab techs got infected and then spread it to the rest of the world. Remember intel agencies claim that some of the workers at that lab had gotten sick in late 2019. This is the most plausible origin of the pandemic. 

Some of the other things they were doing at this lab were just as crazy. The idea of an airborne vaccine to infect these wild bats seems like a horrible idea. The vaccine could have unpredictable results if humans were exposed, possibly acting as a virus itself. Indeed, this too could have been the origin of the pandemic, but there is no evidence that the experiment was actually tried. It's a crazy idea though because of the obvious chance of something going wrong. 

But the Telegraph buried the lede on this story. If the lab was working with MERS we are extremely lucky that was not the virus that escaped. A virus that has 30% fatality would cause the apocalypse if it was as infectious as the SARS-COV2 virus. Millions would have died and society may have even collapsed. I don't think we would have been able to develop a vaccine fast enough and a lot of people would have died...

That's the danger of this gain of function research. There isn't a good reason to do this kind of research and the threat of a viral escape is extreme. Both Obama and Trump did not want this research done but it appears China did it anyways. 

I think the circumstantial case for the virus being created and escaping from the lab is very strong now. Probably not beyond reasonable doubt but under the preponderance of the evidence standard you could convict China for this virus. The case for it being a deliberate release is a lot weaker and the chance of it being a natural virus seems remote now. 

Will China ever face any consequences for this? Millions of people are dead, others are injured and weakened by the virus, billions of dollars have been spent, and people have lost almost two years of their lives. But China hasn't faced any consequences whatsoever and indeed, our government seems more interested in defending them than actually doing anything to make sure this kind of thing never happens again. 

Mass shooting in Russia leaves 8 people dead and 28 wounded.

 

Survivors call their loved ones. The Hill/Getty. 

A mass shooting in Russia has left 8 people dead and 28 wounded. The Hill.  The attack occurred at Perm State University. The suspect was armed with a long gun and was shot and wounded by police before being taken into custody. He was armed with a non-lethal weapon that was modified to accept real bullets. Video shown on social media shows the attacker walking with a tactical vest and helmet while more video shows students jumping from windows to escape the attacker. The attackers motives were unclear but were not political or religious in nature. Russia has strict gun laws but the attacker was able to get a gun. 

reports of another school shooting in Russia; this time at Perm State University. Russian agencies say there are casualties. pic.twitter.com/jkeyGDLO05

— Mike Eckel (@Mike_Eckel) September 20, 2021

The shooter who opened fire at Russia’s Perm State University, leaving several people wounded. pic.twitter.com/0tc46ZUbPM

— Raj Shekhar Jha (@rajshekharTOI) September 20, 2021

My Comment:

Western media is already ignoring this story. There has been more information released about this attacker but mostly from Russian media. They have identified the attacker and updated the number of wounded while most western media are still using the five dead stat that was released early this morning. 

From what I understand the attacker used a less than lethal firearm that was modified to accept actual bullets. I am assuming it was a shotgun based on that information and the pictures and video I have seen of the shooter. 

I am guessing a lot of the wounded were the people that fell down from the windows. Though it was only a single story drop a few of them appeared to land on concrete and there may have been some broken bones and twisted ankles. Still probably the right thing to do if confronted with a mass shooter. A broken leg is better than a shotgun blast in most cases. 

The motive of this case is unclear. Some people on social media are claiming this was Islamic terrorism but I haven't seen evidence of that. What little I do know seems like this was just another nihilistic killer that just wanted to kill people. There doesn't appear to be a political or religious aspect to this attack.

Russia has had problems with mass shootings and school shootings in particular. They had one just this year in May. That is despite strict gun control laws that make it fairly difficult to get a gun. Those laws were tightened after the shooting in May but haven't gone into effect yet. 

Regardless, despite the strict gun control laws the shooter in this case was able to get guns and ammo. He had to take an extra step to modify a less than lethal firearm but he was still able to get a firearm without too much difficulty. It just goes to show that gun control won't stop mass shootings. 

That's probably one of the reasons why western media is mostly ignoring this story. The absolutely hate it when there is a mass shooting in a country with gun control laws. But I don't think that's the only reason. In short there is little sympathy for Russia in Western media to the point where I bet more than a few journalists are happy that this happened...  

ISIS leader in Indonesia killed in raid.

 

Police in Indonesia guarding a hospital. The Guardian/Shutterstock.

An ISIS leader in Indonesia was shot and killed by a joint raid by Indonesian police and military. The Guardian. Ali Kalora was one of the two militants killed and he was Indonesia's most wanted man. Kalora and his group, an ISIS affiliate called MIT, was responsible for several murders and attacks on Christians. The group was small with only six core members, two of which are now dead. Indonesia is now trying to track down the remaining members of the terror cell. 

My Comment:

It seems like the only time you here about ISIS or al-Qaeda these days is when their leadership gets killed in security operations. The terror groups are nowhere near their peak power and are mostly a joke now with much of their leadership and core fighters killed. 

This seems like it was a pretty small cell. There have been terror attacks that involved more than six attackers but this group only had six people in it. That isn't to say that they weren't a threat. Obviously they have committed a few murders and we know that it doesn't take too many people to conduct a terror attack, but these guys seem pretty understrength. 

My guess is that few people want to join ISIS anymore. Some people may want to gain a purpose in life and may even be willing to risk their lives to do so, but not if the cost will be quick death and failure. With ISIS in decline it is probably hard to find troops, even after the Afghanistan propaganda coup. 

There weren't a lot of details of how these guys were caught and killed. All it said was that there was a shootout and both men were shot and killed. My guess is that their communications were compromised and this allowed police and soldiers to hunt them down. 

Indonesia has had issues with Islamic terror in the past. ISIS has taken the mantle there but they haven't had as many problem as other Islamic countries with terrorism. And frankly, ISIS seems pretty pathetic there. I am not sure why, perhaps Indonesia is a less fertile ground for ISIS and other terrorist recruits?  

Regardless, their problem with Islamic terrorism seems to be less after this killing. Terror groups really do need effective leadership in order to operate and once the leadership is dead there isn't much the rank and file guys can do other than lone wolf attacks. Hopefully the Indonesian police and military can hunt down the rest of this cell and end the threat they pose once and for all. 

10,000 migrants held under a bridge in Texas.

 

Haitian migrants in Mexico. ABC News/Reuters. 

10,000 migrants, mostly from Haiti, are being held under a bridge in Texas in deplorable conditions. ABC News. The illegal immigrants have flooded the area with the number of people there increased from 8,000 to 10,000. The governor of Texas and other Republican officials blame the Biden administration for the crisis due to their failure to deport these illegal immigrants. The FAA at one point had banned drone flights over the camp but Senator Ted Cruz took his own video and pictures to help spread the news of this crisis. 

The Daily Mail has an excellent article with photos that show the scope of the crisis. 

BREAKING: Just wrapped up a helicopter ride with Texas DPS at the international bridge in Del Rio, TX. What we saw was absolutely stunning. There are at least 10,000 migrants under the bridge who crossed illegally, and a constant stream of hundreds more crossing over. @FoxNews pic.twitter.com/IADqBzb3qn

— Bill Melugin (@BillFOXLA) September 17, 2021

 

BREAKING: Our drone is back over the international bridge in Del Rio, TX. Per source, the number of migrants waiting to be processed has now swelled to approx 8,200. It was 4,000 yesterday AM. Doubled in one day. BP overwhelmed, & I’m told situation is “out of control” @FoxNews pic.twitter.com/ThJJJ0JWCT

— Bill Melugin (@BillFOXLA) September 16, 2021

My Comment:

What an absolute failure by the Biden administration. None of these people should be in the United States and they should be sent back immediately. These aren't Mexican or Central American immigrants they are Haitians. They have no right to be here and should be gone. 

But even I have to say that the way these folks are being treated is terrible. Instead of deporting them they are being held in the hot desert under a bridge. They are stuck with their garbage and filth and I am serious concerned about their health. It's September in Texas and the temperatures are in the 80's and 90's. Do these people have enough food and water? 

And these folks are an obvious threat to the United States. Coronavirus can easily spread under these conditions and that's just one virus. Things like measles, chickenpox and perhaps even cholera could spread as well. None of these people are being tested for the Coronavirus, let alone vaccinated. A regular person could be out of work and banned from polite society for not being vaccinated, but these illegals? No chance.

This entire situation was entirely preventable. All Biden has to do is deport these people back to Haiti. If they want to come to America make them go through the correct process. I know Haiti is a terrible place but it has to be better than the desert. We could end this crisis today if Biden would just deport these people like the law requires. 

But he won't. Because he knows that these Haitian immigrants will help further dilute the vote of Republicans. Some will become citizens and will vote for Democrats. Some won't and will do the same thing. But either way, he has little motivation to deport these folks, plus if he did his progressive left would attack him for it. 

It's clear though that the Biden Administration understands how damaging this story is. The banning of drone flights over this highway is pretty obviously an attempt to keep the truth from coming out. It failed due to helicopter flights and Senator Cruz actually getting out his own cell phone to record this. Their efforts to keep the lid on this story have failed. 

And of course, outside of conservative media, there is an obvious double standard here compared to how the media covered President Trump. I was honestly surprised that ABC News had a story up. But if this had happened under President Trump? It would be the #1 story worldwide and would make the "kids in cages" faux controversy look like a joke. Indeed, Trump would probably be impeached over it. And he would be called a racist. 

So I am going to break that trend. Biden is being racist here. Holding these people this way instead of deporting them safely is dangerous to them, dangerous to US citizens and just dangerous in general. There is no reason for doing this other than to be evil. Biden should resign. 

France is furious over canceling of Australian nuclear submarine deal

 

A nuclear sub. The Guardian.

France is furious over the cancelling of an Australian nuclear submarine deal. The Guardian. The news comes as a new alliance between the United States, the United Kingdom and Australia was announced. The news was not shared with France and they found out about the cancelation of the $90 billion submarine deal from the media. French officials have called this a "stab in the back". The cancelation is a major setback for French President Emmanuel Macron, both financially and in terms of France's ambitions in the region. French leadership from both the right and the left say the incident is a huge defeat for France and a national embarrassment. 

My Comment:

As much as President Trump got crap for "alienating" our allies, Joe Biden has been pretty good at doing the same thing. France is furious with us, the United Kingdom and Australia. They got screwed over massively here and completely embarrassed internationally. 

And this is a huge deal for France. They are out $90 billion and have a lot less influence with the Australian government. They have Pacific colonies that are probably isolated now and they are going to have to find a new alliance partner to defend those colonies. And they have lost a lot of face as well. 

But it's not like France is the only country that is mad about this deal. China too is upset with this new alliance as they know it is aimed at them. New Zealand as well is upset, probably because they weren't included, and have said that Australia can't use these nuclear subs in their waters. And I am guessing Canada, the final nation in the Five Eyes alliance, is angry as well since they got left out. 

I do have to say that it is nice that America is getting this contract instead. We will be getting some money out of the deal and we will be able to get more practice building nuclear submarines. If we could have done it without absolutely infuriating our first ally it might have been a good thing.

I also have to say that I am not comfortable cozying up to Australia. Their behavior as of late has been absolutely despicable. Indeed, if regime change hadn't been so conclusively disproven as a way to get what you want, I would say that we should overthrow the Australian regime and install a replacement that actually respects civil rights. The Australians have shown to be incredibly tyrannical in terms of gun control and covid restrictions and I really don't see much difference between them and Communist China. 

Regardless, this could have been handled better. We didn't even throw France a bone here and I think they are going to be angry enough to make us pay. Given that France has been a key ally to the United States for most of our history and that they have been a key partner in fighting Islamic terrorism in North Africa, alienating them is not a good decision. There will be blowback from this, mark my words.  

French President Macron says that France killed an ISIS leader in Africa

 

French President Emmanuel Macron. Reuters.

French President Emmanuel Macron says that France has killed an ISIS leader in Africa. Reuters. Adnan Abu Walid al-Sahrawi was the leader of ISIS's Islamic State in the Great Sahara affiliate. Al-Sahrawi was responsible for an attack on US soldiers in 2017 and the murder of six French aid workers and their Nigerian in 2020. It is unclear how al-Sahrawi was killed. France has been deeply involved in fighting Islamic militants in the Sahel region. Macron has been redeploying their troops there. 

My Comment:

Not a whole lot of info on how al-Sahrawi died. It seems like it was the French military but it doesn't say if he was killed in an airstrike or by ground troops. It could even have been a drone strike. In the end it doesn't really matter as long as he is dead.

Al-Sahrawi joins a long list of dead ISIS fighters and leadership. Indeed, there are hardly any major ISIS leaders left. And ISIS in Africa is one of the few remaining ISIS groups with much in the way of fighters and leadership. Now even they are down one of their leaders. 

France does deserve praise for their efforts at fighting ISIS in North Africa. They have done a good job in destroying them and protecting not only their own citizens but the citizens of their former colonies. And it's not just ISIS, they have dealt crippling blows to local al-Qaeda affiliates as well. 

I do know that France has been moving their forces around. Part of that is due to success against these Islamic fighters but part of it was just war fatigue. People in France do want these wars to end and don't really support the war anymore. France obviously has major domestic problems to deal with so it isn't surprising. 

As for ISIS I do worry that they could make a comeback. The fall of Afghanistan was a major defeat for the West and a major inspiration for Jihadists everywhere. They don't have much in the way of leadership or even fighters but the supply of young disillusioned men that are also Muslim is pretty endless. France is doing a good job at fighting them in North Africa but North Africa is hardly the only place they could regroup...  

Chairman of the Joints Chief of Staff Mark Milley admits to secretly calling China saying he would warn them in the event of a war

 

President Trump with General Milley. The Federalist. 

Chairman of the Joints Chief of Staff General Mark Milley has admitted that he secretly called China and told them that they would be warned in the event of an attack. The Federalist. During the end of President Trump's first term Milley called his counterpart in China, General Li Zuocheng before and after the 2020 election. Milley went so far to say that he would warn General Zoucheng if the United States planned an attack on China. 

Fox News also reports that Milley tried to overrule President Trump's decisions. He spoke with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi about what options were available to stop President Trump from taking military action. He also ordered an admiral to postpone any Pacific naval exercises and made top generals swear an oath to him that he would be consulted if nuclear weapons were to be used. 

My Comment:

So General Milley just admitted that he would commit treason against the United States in favor of China in the event of a war. I really can't describe it in any other way. In the event of a war Milley said he would warn our enemy that an attack was coming, which would cost the lives of American service members he was sworn to protect and possibly even cost us a war. 

And of course the idea that we were anywhere near war with China last year is insane. We had no reason to go to war with China in the end of 2019 and start of 2020. It makes zero sense that Milley would believe this and feel the need to betray our country like this. It's not like 2020 was that long ago and I don't remember anything resembling saber rattling. Everyone was only paying attention to the election, nobody cared about China. 

Either way, this is treason and Milley should be prosecuted as such. He should be removed from his position immediately. I am not someone who would give advice to Joe Biden, but I would warn him that if Milley could do this to President Trump he could certainly do it to Joe Biden. It would be insane to keep an officer like this who has said that he would warn our biggest national rival in the event of a war. 

I do wonder why this is coming out now. It seems clear that Milley pissed someone off, most likely President Biden for losing in Afghanistan. It's very clear that he is being thrown under the bus by the Washington Post and Bob Woodward. If Milley was still in the good graces of the powers that be this would never be happening. 

My guess is that the Biden administration knows that someone needs to pay the price for losing Afghanistan and the debacle that was the Kabul evacuation and the ISIS terror attack. But they also can't admit that they failed and failed badly. So I think Milley is getting thrown under the bus and will be fired by Biden, ostensibly for treason but instead because he's going to get the blame for Afghanistan. 

Of course it's very possible that Bod Woodward is lying about what Milley has done. I don't particularly trust him or the Washington Post. That being said I do think this probably happened. Milley wasn't particularly quiet about how much he was undermining the Trump administration. Famously he refused to deploy troops to put down the riots that were threating the capitol (Not January 6th, the actual riots that threatened democracy, Black Lives Matter).  

If there is one criticism I have for President Trump's first term is the obvious fact that he couldn't hire anyone he could trust. Some of his hires, like Jeff Sessions, were just incompetent. But others, like Milley, were actively working against both him and the country. It deeply damaged his efforts to help the country and obviously cost him the presidency in 2020, in an election he pretty obviously won. If he gets a second chance he should ensure that loyalty to both him and the Constitution of the United States are higher than their own personal ambition. 

The US will be sending $64 million in aid to Afghanistan...

 

The Hill/Getty.

The United States is sending $64 million in aid to Afghanistan. The Hill. The UN had called for $600 million in aid to prevent famine and promote public health. The money is a drop in the bucket compared to the $300 million a day the government was spending on the war in Afghanistan. The aid will come even though the Biden administration has not recognized the Taliban as the government of Afghanistan. The fall of the Afghan government and withdrawal of US forces has lead to a food shortage and shortage of basic supplies, and many people are fleeing the country. 

My Comment:

I know that $64 million is a rounding error to the US government but it is insane to me that we are spending even more money in Afghanistan. The whole point of withdrawing our troops was to wash our hands of the Afghanistan problem. We no longer owe anything to the people of Afghanistan who made their choice when they decided to not fight the Taliban. 

And this money could be used anywhere else. Our own country is in shambles right now. The economy is declining fast, crime is out of control, the Coronavirus is still raging and we owe trillions of dollars in debt. Sending this money to try and fix some of these terrible problems is a much better idea than spending even more money on people that hate us. 

That isn't to say that Afghanistan isn't in trouble. Given the war and the pariah status of the Taliban government trade is going to suffer. And without trade they will have difficulty obtaining supplies and food. They could grow all of their food but most of Afghanistan's agriculture is dedicated towards the production of opium. Normally they could just sell that opium but the Taliban have banned it. 

This means that Afghanistan is rapidly running out of food. They won't have enough to feed everyone and even if they did they might be able to transport it. Plus they are having medical problems as well, especially with the Coronavirus pandemic going on. It's going to be a rough couple of years unless the Afghans get help.

But that help shouldn't come from us. The Taliban have made it clear they don't want us there and it makes no sense for use to spend good money after bad. We are no longer responsible for what happens in Afghanistan. And we should not be giving money to people that hate us. 

United Kingdom reverses vaccine passport plan.

 

The Hill

The United Kingdom has reversed a plan to implement a vaccine passport plan. The Hill. The plan would have required proof of vaccination to attend events and go to bars and nightclubs. England's Covid minister Sajid Javid said that the country should not do things just because other countries are doing so. He also said that he was uncomfortable with forcing people to show papers to do normal things. The UK has vaccinated about 2/3rds of their citizens but are still having more than 200,000 cases a week. 

My Comment:

It's fairly ironic that the UK, which has a reputation of violating human rights, has a less draconian policy than supposed bastion of freedom here in the United States. Vaccine passports are not the answer to the coronavirus pandemic and I am glad that another country is backing down. 

I don't think it is anyone's business if someone is vaccinated or not. So of course I am opposed to vaccines being necessary to participate in normal human activities. I also don't think there is any justification in preventing people from doing the most basic things just because they don't want to get vaccinated. 

I also don't think these vaccination mandates do anything to actually end the pandemic. You can still catch and spread the virus even if you are vaccinated. It's usually not as severe but even if we somehow magically achieved 100% vaccination, somehow ignoring all the people that won't or can't get the vaccine, you would still have this virus floating around with these vaccines. If the vaccines actually did stop infections then it might be a different story but at this point it's obvious they don't as even highly vaccinated countries are having major problems with the virus right now. 

I am not sure about the demographics of who is vaccinated in the United Kingdom but I think a lot of the low hanging fruit has been taken already. Most of the people who have gotten the vaccine are older people who are more vulnerable. It's mostly young people that haven't gotten the vaccine and considering their lower risk from the virus and the higher risk for some in that group from the vaccines themselves it's probably not the right idea to try and vaccinate these people against their will.

Either way, I think it's pretty obvious that we aren't going to vaccinate our way out of this pandemic. Unless a new vaccine is developed that actually prevents the spread of the virus (perhaps the more traditional Novavax vaccine?) we aren't going to stop the virus without natural immunity. That makes these vaccine mandates pretty pointless. 

As for choosing to vaccinate or not, I continue to say that it's a personal decision between yourself and your doctor. For many people it's the right choice. If you are older, in poor health, overweight or have some other risk factor for the virus you should probably get one of the vaccines. If you aren't than you probably don't need it. If you have natural immunity because you recovered from the virus you are probably ok to not to get vaccinated. 

Al-Qaeda chief Ayman al-Zawahri reemerges with new video released on September 11th.

 

A screen-grab from the video. 

Al-Qaeda chief Ayman al-Zawahri reemerges with a new video released on September 11th. Politico. The head of al-Qaeda has been reported dead, and may actually be, but the video referenced events that happened his year, including the agreement to withdraw from Afghanistan and an al-Qaeda terror attack targeting Russians in Syria this January. In the video al-Zawahri blasted Judaism and praised terror attacks. Al-Zawahri is the last of the old school Jihadist leaders with most of his fellows either killed or imprisoned. 

My Comment:

Looks like the rumors of al-Zawahri's death are at least partially false. It doesn't sound like this video was recorded recently but it shows that he was alive at least in 2021. That doesn't mean he is still alive as the rumors were that he was critically ill, but who knows what the truth is. 

My guess is that the leadtime was due to security measures. Al-Zawahri is beyond the use of most traditional communication efforts. He can't simply call up a video recording crew, he has to use a courier that contacts someone else and so on and so forth. If he had called someone he would have eaten a hellfire missile so it's clear that the delay is due to security concerns. He can't simply record a video, there is a huge process in getting it done. 

Western media isn't speaking too much about what al-Zawahri said. The Long War Journal has more information but it isn't exactly a flattering picture of al-Qaeda. Much of the video was praising dead al-Qaeda leadership, which isn't a good sign that your terror group is active and strong. It also praises the Taliban and the various al-Qaeda sub-groups, like al-Qaeda in the Arabian peninsula. 

Of course both articles kind of buried the lead, which is the fact that the leader of al-Qaeda is calling for new attacks. Given the historical importance of the day the video was released I think there is a chance that this video could lead to new attacks. 

Or at least the attempt to do so. Remember, core al-Qaeda is basically al-Zawahri himself and whatever few followers that are left. They don't have much ability to do anything, let along carry out an international terror attack. Indeed, they are essentially irrelevant and only act as a figurehead right now. 

But AQAP and other al-Qaeda affiliates do have some ability to launch terror attacks. But even these groups are a shadow of what they used to be. Much of their leadership and funding is dead and gone and they also have to compete with what is left of ISIS. They could launch attacks, but if they reach beyond the Middle East I would be surprised and absolutely stunned if they were able to attack the United States. 

The real worry is that this video may inspire lone wolf attackers. Especially with the fact that Joe Biden just brought in a huge number of unvetted Afghani "refugees". A lot of these people are not the people that helped the US government, like translators and government officials. They are just people that happened to be at the airport at the time. It's very possible that one of them could see this video and pull out an attack. Same with radical Muslims across the world... 

Kabul drone strike killed an innocent aid worker and his family.

 

Destroyed vehicles at the site of the drone strike. New York Post/AFP/Getty.

The last military action in Kabul, Afghanistan by American forces is now reported to have killed an innocent aid worker and his family. New York Post. The man and nine of his children were killed in the drone strike. The United States claimed that they had bombed an ISIS bomber with a major secondary explosion. However, photos from the scene dispute that claim as the blast marks were not consistent with anything other than a hellfire missile. The man, Zemari Ahmadi, worked for a US based charity, Nutrition and Education International and was trying to get out of the country. Footage shows Ahmadi loading water into his vehicle and he and his fellow workers had laptops. It is believed that the incident was a case of a mistaken identity as a similar vehicle was used to launch a rocket attack on Kabul airport by ISIS.

My Comment:

The New York Time broke this story but unfortunately their work is behind a paywall. The New York Post will have to do as a source, but I was able to attach the above video. 

As for this incident, it seems clear that the military, and Joe Biden, screwed up badly here. The victims in this case seem totally innocent and are not the terrorists that the military claimed they are. Indeed, Zemari Ahmadi, seemed like a pretty decent man by Afghani standards. This didn't have to happen to him and his family. 

That isn't to say that these things are totally preventable. The fog of war is a real thing and occasionally innocent people die. That is part of warfare and things like this are always going to happen. Sometimes mistakes are made and people die. I don't think you can reduce these kinds of incidents to zero but this was still a bad incident. 

So why did this happen? It seems like a combination of mistaken identity and loosened rules of engagement. I think that they thought that this man and his vehicle were in the same car that ISIS was using. It was the same style and color and Ahmadi was seen loading water and laptops into the car. With the rules of engagement loosened that was all the military needed to launch a strike. 

Was that the right choice? I am not sure. Nobody wants to be the guy that wastes an innocent family but nobody also wants to be the guy that lets a terror attack happen. But I personally think that the rules of engagement were too loose in this case. Ahmadi wasn't an imminent threat to the operations at Kabul airport and he wasn't even approaching the airbase. It's hard to see the threat here and under normal circumstances I don't think this attack would have been made. But I think it was politics that caused this incident. 

The politics of this situation was pretty clear. The ISIS terror attack in Kabul was a huge embarrassment for the Biden administration. 13 US service members, 12 Marines and 1 Navy Corpsman died and Biden was criticized by everyone for further screwing up the Afghanistan pullout. Any further attacks would have caused further criticism so Biden ordered the military to do whatever they could. That led to the death of an Afghan family. 

Of course none of this had to happen. Had Biden actually planned for a withdrawal Mr Ahmadi and his family would still be alive. So would the 13 service members (and dozens of civilians and Taliban fighters) killed in the ISIS terror attack. The blood of these people is on the hands of Joe Biden and his utter failure in Afghanistan. 

Biden administration announces sweeping and draconian vaccine mandates.

 

Joe Biden. Reuters.

The Biden administration has announced sweeping vaccine mandates that would affect millions of Americans. Reuters. The new rules would include 2/3rds of American workers since it would require vaccination for any employer that has more than 100 employees. It would also require all medical workers to get the vaccine. Businesses that are unable or unwilling to comply with this order could be fined $14,000 per violation under OSHA. Biden would also require large entertainment or sports venues to discriminate against the unvaccinated. 

My Comment:

People are, predictably, furious about this. I am, of course, one of those people. Though I have been vaccinated myself I have never supported making the vaccine mandatory. It's draconian and tyrannical to do so under normal circumstances, let alone under the circumstances we are under now. 

The worst thing is that vaccination no longer appears to be the way out of this pandemic. Take Israel for example. They have more than 90% of their population vaccinated and have had a major outbreak of the Delta variant. Though the vaccines have had some effectiveness in preventing deaths and severe cases they in no way stop the spread of the virus. Even if we had 100% vaccination rates the virus would still be out there and still spreading. And there is the obvious evolutionary pressure these vaccines are causing that will mean new variants will be resistant to the vaccine (which we saw a bit with Delta and are beginning to see with the new "Mu" variant.)

Besides the vaccines failure to stop the spread of the virus there are dozens of valid reasons to not take the vaccine. Some people have legitimate medical or religious reasons to not do so. Others are concerned about known and unknown side effects from experimental vaccines. Some are concerned about leaky vaccines making the Coronavirus more deadly, much like how such a vaccine turned Marek's Disease from a minor annoyance to a 100% fatal disease. And some just aren't afraid of the Coronavirus anymore. (I know that whatever worries I had of the virus personally ended when the Delta variant emerged, which was months after I had been vaccinated). 

Still others will object to the vaccine on principle alone. I don't think the Government has any right to make a dangerous and monumental decision out of the hands of people and their doctors. The government does not have that right and I am guessing that this will probably be struck down by the courts. 

I continue to say that getting the vaccine is a personal choice. I got it myself because at the time, Delta was not the dominate variant and I have some minor risk factors. Even then I wouldn't have taken it if I had natural antibodies (which as far as the Biden administration is concerned apparently don't exist). For others, like my elderly parents, I am fully supportive of them getting vaccines. The risk reward calculation is different for different people and forcing people to take more risk than they would accept is not the way out of this. 

Because the only way out of this is through natural immunity and evolution. The virus, much like other viruses we have seen, becomes easier to spread and less deadly as it evolves. We have seen this with many diseases, most notably the Russian Flu, which was another Coronavirus pandemic. That virus is now a variant of the Common Cold which is likely to be the fate of SARS-COV-2. The only way that happens is through time, and threatening forced vaccine under the punishment of unemployment and exile will not change a damn thing, especially since the virus seems perfectly capable of infecting wild and domesticated animals.

With that being said though, Biden is acting like an utter fool here. You can't threaten the livelihood of millions of Americans without there being some major blowback. You can do a lot to a man before he stands up for himself but putting him out of work? That's how revolutions start. 

I would, however, recommend peaceful protest at this time. I have already contacted my elected officials and I implore you to do the same. You can do so with this website. Should our elected officials shirk their responsibility here than there are other non-violent ways to help stop this. At this time I am waiting to share those until I know the situation requires it, but I am sure you can think of non-violent means of resistance. 

But I do worry that cooler heads will not prevail. Biden has no mandate to do this and he is doing it at a time that the country has never been weaker or more divided. We have been utterly embarrassed in Afghanistan and it looks pretty clear that the economy is already starting to tank. There is only so much people can take before they start to fight back and we are getting dangerously close to that point now. 

I also have to say that Biden is acting utterly unhinged. In his little speech he talking about how is patience is running thin and threatening to remove governors that stand in his way. Those aren't the actions of a man that cares about his people. That's how a dictator acts and I think that the senility is really starting to show through. Or perhaps Biden is just a petty, vindictive man that wants to punish the millions of Americans who don't show him any of the respect he thinks he deserves. 

If there is hope here it is this. At this point the American people might just start to ignore the rambling of the federal government and it's senile oathbreaker leader. People are sick and tired of Coronavirus restrictions and they are being almost universally ignored pretty much wherever I go. Though I have seen some people wear masks, nobody is forcing them to do so and I don't believe anyone is even willing to try. In short, Biden can rant and rave and try to be a petty tyrant all he wants, but there is a good chance that everyone just ignores him and he backs down when he realizes that he's accomplishing nothing. My sincere hope is that I am right about this... 

Biden administration pulls David Chipman nomination to head of ATF.

 

David Chipman. Fox News/Getty.

The Biden administration has pulled the nomination of David Chipman to the head of the ATF. Fox News. Chipman had a long history of disparaging gun owners and had worked with two separate gun control groups. He also had a history of mistreating his fellow employees back when he worked for the ATF. Republicans were furious with the nomination but many less radical Democrats were privately opposed to him as well. It is unclear if a replacement will be found as the ATF has been without a head for years now. 

My Comment:

This is, of course, a reason to celebrate for anyone who has even the slightest desire to own a firearm. Chipman was an extreme radical that supported gun confiscation, bans on so-called "assault weapons" and even lied about the Branch Davidians shooting down helicopters with .50 BMG rounds. He was a massive opponent to gun rights and it is good that he failed. 

The Fox News article downplayed what I think the real reason Chipman was pulled. He's been accused of racism. He had said at one point that the only reason a large number of black people had been promoted at the ATF is because they cheated to get where they were. If true it's a shame that is what torpedoed his chances because being racist is about the least offensive thing about Chipman. He's a terrible person. 

I also wonder if the gun rights community had an effect on this nomination. I know that I personally sent out e-mails to both of my senators, and I doubt I was the only one. My Republican senator ignored me but my Democratic one did send me something back so at least I know she had received the note. I am guessing that all 100 senators had their mailboxes flooded due to the opposition to Chipman. 

As for the ATF, I don't think Biden will be able to ever confirm someone for the ATF unless the Democrats somehow manage to sweep the 2022 midterms. The more conservative "blue dog" Democratic Senators like Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema won't support a hugely anti-gun candidate but the Biden White House won't nominate a pro-gun ATF head. That means the position will remain unfilled. 

And for Chipman himself? I am sure that he will portray himself as a victim, as the deranged anti-gun people are already doing. I am guessing he has a sweet job lined up with one of these gun control groups and will be able to retire a wealthy man. In a just world he would be spending the rest of his life in a small and dirty prison cell but this is not a just world... 

Protesters throw gravel at Canadian Prime Minster Justin Trudeau.

 

Canadian Prime Minster Justin Trudeau. The Hill. 

Protesters threw gravel at Canadian Prime Minster Justin Trudeau. The Hill. Trudeau was wrapping up a campaign event before being confronted by protesters. The protesters were upset by vaccine mandates and other Coronavirus restrictions. Trudeau downplayed the incident saying that "it was no big deal" though he was struck by the gravel. Trudeau called for snap elections to try and create a liberal majority government, but has faced widespread protests against his Coronavirus restrictions. 

My Comment:

I've got mixed feelings on this one. I have nothing but utter contempt for Justin Trudeau. He is a terrible Prime Minster and a thriving example of everything I despise about Canada. I consider him to be a textbook example of an out of touch elite that has no relationship to normal people. He's a joke and it's great to see him taken down a notch. 

But I do have to say that I dislike political violence. Though there was pretty much no chance of anyone getting hurt by a small amount of gravel, it still could have injured someone. And if someone was close enough to throw gravel at Trudeau, they could have done much worse. 

As for Trudeau, I think he should review his security procedures. As a world leader he certainly could be targeted with violence. This incident shows how vulnerable Trudeau is. This is not something that should happen. Sure, politicians get heckled all the time, even Joe Biden was today as well, but people shouldn't be able to throw rocks at a Prime Minster. 

I do think that the protesters were justified in protesting Trudeau, even though they probably should not have pelted the guy. I think he and Canada have gone far to far in terms of Coronavirus restrictions. It's been clear for awhile now that the virus is no longer a major threat so the question has to be raised, why push for all this nonsense now?

Things like mandating vaccines, vaccine passports and closing businesses down, none of these are justified by the current state of the pandemic. People are right to be upset by it. Canada's economy is falling apart and it's crazy that people aren't allowed to have normal lives like we have here in the United States (at least outside of deep blue states). 

Extended unemployment benefits finally end.

 

Extended and enhanced unemployment benefits put into place for the Coronavirus pandemic are finally expiring. Fox Business. Up to 7.5 million workers will lose all of their benefits while an additional 3 million will lose their extra $300 a week bonus. The benefits were put into place due to the pandemic but had a major effect on employment. Despite their being 5.5 million people on unemployment right now there are a record setting 10.1 million open job postings. However, the end of these programs will likely cause consumer spending to decrease. Democrats have made some statements that they will try and push through more aid through their massive infrastructure bill, but that seems unlikely to happen. 

My Comment:

This is long overdue as far as I am concerned. These massive benefits incentivized people to simply not work. Why would anyone want to work when they could get their normal unemployment payments plus an extra $300? 

And it's clear that a lot of people simply did stop working. It's incredibly obvious if you have been paying attention. I have seen a ton of stores that simply aren't open because of lack of workers. I've given up on going out to eat due to the remaining servers being overworked and not able to keep up with demand, assuming that the restaurant is open in the first place. And at my own business we had a difficult time filling open positions in our department despite having decent pay and benefits, to say nothing about the actual line jobs. 

Getting rid of these benefits will encourage some of these people to go back to work, just like ending the eviction moratorium will encourage some of these people to actually pay their rent. After all, people like having money after all, and will need to work in some fashion to get it. 

But I do worry that a lot of these people will simply drop out of the economy completely. Some of these people will be, for example, a wife that doesn't want to go back to work and can rely on her husbands paycheck.. Some might retire and some may even try to get on some kind of disability. 

Others though might be convinced that the status quo has changed and that simply won't have to work anymore. Already the Democrats are trying to push through another extension and some might take that as a sign that things aren't actually going to change. These people will likely be sorely disappointed and will end up further into debt. 

There will be negative consequences to ending these benefits. Obviously consumer spending will likely slow as people stop getting free money. Given that spending is already anemic that's not going to be a good thing. People are already holding onto their money due to high inflation, economic uncertainty  and Coronavirus restrictions. That is not going to be good for the economy. 

On the other hand, our spending was not sustainable. These programs could not continue indefinitely. The best time to end them would have been this spring when the virus slowed down, but the next best time is now. At some time we had to rip the Band-Aid off. 

I do think that the events of the past year and a half show that the idea of universal basic income will never take off. Instead of being an economic benefit, our stimulus and unemployment benefits caused a massive labor shortage. People simply would not do the jobs on the lower end of the economy if they had a choice not to. 

Finally, I do think that this has had one obvious economic benefit. Most of the lower end jobs have had major pay increases. I haven't seen a fast food restaurant that advertises wages under $10 an hour for a long time and one of the nicer ones around here, Culvers, has a starting wage of $15 an hour. That has been a demand for the left for a long time and they finally seem to be getting it. Of course these wage increases have been utterly destroyed by the inflation we have suffered in the past eight months, so it comes out as a wash...