Washington liars will not stop us from rescuing America

By 

Sen. Rick Scott

November 29, 2022 06:00 AM

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Earlier this year, I released a plan with more than 100 ideas for how Republicans can govern and rescue America from President Joe Biden’s radical, socialist agenda that has done nothing but destroy our country with debt, record inflation, and massive crime. The Democrats immediately lost their minds. Our disturbingly incompetent president tried to say that I was proposing to cut Social Security and Medicare and “put programs on a chopping block.” Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer echoed this falsehood, and sadly, some Republicans parroted these Democrats’ lies.

I originally wrote this op-ed to respond to some of those criticisms directly, several of which have been published recently in the Washington Post. Sadly, the Washington Post refused to accept this piece. The Washington establishment, in both Congress and the media, is so committed to the status quo that it will do whatever it takes to silence anyone who thinks differently. So much for “democracy dies in darkness,” right?

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WASHINGTON VERSUS REPUBLICAN VOTERS

The attacks against me and my plan are a predictable reaction in broken, corrupt Washington, but it’s nothing but total fiction. It’s the same political smear the Democrats use every election, and it’s a lie. These fake, tired claims that “Republicans are going to throw grandma over the cliff” are ridiculous, and people know it’s a lie. It doesn’t work anymore. I don’t know any Republican who wants to cut Social Security or Medicare. But I do know that every Democrat in Congress voted to cut Medicare this year. I never have and never would. It’s just a lie to claim otherwise.

Yes, I put out a plan of ideas, and I don’t regret it one bit. Yes, one of them suggested sunsetting laws after five years — noting that if a law is worth keeping, Congress can pass it again. Washington has spent decades exploding the size of our government and wasting money, and it must be stopped. Anyone who is serious knows that my plan was never about ending Social Security or Medicare. Nor was it about sunsetting the Navy or any other absurd suggestion. Biden and Schumer are simply engaged in Washington political gotcha BS.

Unlike Biden , I’ve never once advocated cutting Social Security, Medicare , or Medicaid . During my time in the Senate, I’ve fought to protect these programs, many times against Democratic-driven cuts and bad policies such as the $280 billion Medicare cut we just saw Democrats pass in August.

The sad truth is that truth barely exists in Washington anymore. For today’s Democrats, words no longer have meaning. They can’t say what a woman is, they cut Medicare and then insist they didn’t, and they testify in hearings under oath and say that the border is secure. When they are talking, they are lying. For Biden and his party, falsehood is standard policy — it’s what they do.

So we have a choice to make: We can cower in a corner, or we can stand up and take them on. I will not be intimidated by these liars. When they smear me with false statements, I take it as a badge of honor.

Republicans must again become the party of ideas and have no fear of telling the public what we plan to do. It’s time for us to define the future we want for America and how we plan to get there.

We’ve done a fine job of telling people how terrible Biden and the Democrats are and how badly they are doing. And the polls clearly show that the public knows it — they know the Democrats are crazy. Voters overwhelmingly believe the country is headed in the wrong direction, the economy is terrible, energy prices are horrible, crime is out of control, and the border is wide open.

The public knows all of this. What they do NOT know is what we Republicans are going to do about it. And the stunning part is that this is on purpose. That is the current strategy of many Republicans in Washington, to be against the crazy Democrats only and never outline any plans of what we are for or what we will do.

And if you dare step out of line and suggest that we give people something to vote for, they attack you, and they partner with the Democrats to twist your words and trash you and tell you to be quiet.

But I have good news — a new day is coming. Republicans and conservatives all over this country are demanding that we stand up, boldly defend our values, and fight like hell to save this country. It may take a little bit longer for those in Washington to get the message, but it is coming. A new era in which Republicans actually give the voters a positive reason to vote for them is coming.

I ran for Senate leader because the current plan of routinely caving in and allowing Schumer and Biden to win must stop and because we must become a party with a plan to rescue America.

My effort to change the way the Senate operates is not over. In fact, it is just beginning. We can no longer be merely a speed bump on the road to socialism.

Everyone says compromise is crucial in Washington. That’s fine. But it’s about time we stop compromising our principles and start making the Democrats compromise theirs.

The old Washington establishment Republican path of never having a vision is over, it’s dying. A new wave of bold and aggressive Republicans who will stand up and fight is demanding change from our leaders in Washington. It is happening, and it will happen. Count on it.

Republican Rick Scott represents Florida in the United States Senate. He is the former governor of Florida.

“Elon Musk has promised to throw open the doors of Twitter jail…”

Musk is right to throw open the doors of Twitter jail

The elites’ response to Twitter’s amnesty on banned accounts has been unhinged.

LAUREN SMITH AT SPIKED:

29th November 2022

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TopicsFREE SPEECHSCIENCE & TECHUSA

Elon Musk has promised to throw open the doors of Twitter jail and reinstate a large number of suspended accounts. Last week, Twitter’s proud new owner posted a poll asking whether users thought Twitter should ‘offer a general amnesty to suspended accounts, provided that they have not broken the law or engaged in egregious spam’. The results came out overwhelmingly on the side that it should, with 72 per cent for ‘yes’ and 26 per cent for ‘no’. Signing off with the words ‘Vox Populi, Vox Dei’ (‘The voice of the people, the voice of God’), Musk announced that an amnesty will be granted this week.

Ever since Musk completed his Twitter takeover, the blue-check class has been losing its collective mind. These people are clearly terrified by Musk’s promise to ‘free the bird’ and make Twitter a haven for free speech. For someone who is not terminally online, this entire controversy might seem irrelevant. After all, Twitter is not real life. But the elites’ response to Musk giving a platform to people who have said offensive but nonetheless legal things is significant. It illustrates their antagonism towards free speech and their wider disdain for the public.

The suspension amnesty is only the latest in a string of controversial Musk decisions. He has announced mass lay-offs for Twitter staff and created outrage by suggesting users should pay for their official checkmarks. And then, just over a week ago, he welcomed the previously banned Donald Trump back on to the platform. Like the suspension amnesty, the fate of Trump’s account was also decided by Musk’s followers – 51 per cent thought the former president should have his account reinstated.

The backlash to the suspension amnesty was, naturally, immediate and unhinged. Musk has been accused of facilitating white supremacy, conspiracy theories and harassment. Some have even claimed that Musk now has blood on his hands.

Alejandra Caraballo of Harvard cyberlaw clinic described the decision as ‘like opening the gates of Hell’. Michael Edison Hayden, a reporter and spokesman for the Southern Poverty Law Center, accused Musk of ‘bringing white supremacy back in a big way’. Imran Ahmed, chief executive of the Center for Countering Digital Hate, warned that ‘superspreaders of hate, abuse and harassment will be the only people to benefit from this latest decision by Twitter’ and urged brands to continue pulling their ads from Twitter.

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This is a ridiculous overreaction. It also reflects an ignorance of the vast number of people who have been caught up in Twitter’s content-moderation policies, often when they haven’t said anything remotely controversial. I would wager that the majority of banned accounts never should have been banned in the first place, even under Twitter’s existing rules.

The obvious problem with Twitter’s automated content-moderation system is that it cannot identify irony, satire or hyperbole. It often flags jokes and sarcasm as violence. I have first-hand experience of this. I lost my old account because I told a friend that I was going to kill him after he posted a mundane opinion I disagreed with. Apparently, I had violated Twitter’s rules against ‘violent threats’. Meanwhile, Twitter has somehow allowed child sexual exploitation content to go under the radar.

The fact that woke leftists are terrified at the prospect of Twitter users being allowed to say and read what they like is telling. It shows that what they really oppose here is free speech itself, and that this opposition is driven by a contempt for the general public. The cultural elites seem to think that ordinary people cannot be trusted to critically digest the content they see online. It is the public, not Elon Musk, who they really fear.

Lauren Smith is an intern at spiked.

TRUMP FOR FOUR YEARS AND DESANTIS FOR VEEP AND EIGHT YEARS PRESIDENT FOLLOWING!

November 29, 2022

Should it be Trump or DeSantis in 2024?

By Edward Mike at American Thinker:

Should it be Trump or DeSantis in 2024?  The answer lies in these four words: Form Always Follows Function.  For example, if you’re shopping for a new vehicle, you must consider where the vehicle will typically be driven and for what purpose.  If you would buy a new rifle, you must consider what you plan to shoot with it.  The form must be matched to serve the function.

A classy Corvette wouldn’t be a good choice in the northern mountains.  Given the likelihood of blizzards and rocky back roads, a four-wheel-drive pickup will suit you better. Sure, they aren’t as classy looking and don’t get good mileage, but they are many times over more likely to get you where you need to go.

In a story about elephant hunting, the hunter reported that the tracks he followed were two feet wide.  Think of a large tree, two feet in diameter, thumping down every elephant step! That trusty deer rifle wouldn’t do if you’re planning to hunt elephants.  Elephant-hunting merits the biggest caliber you can find.  Sure, that ammunition is very expensive, and your shoulder will remember the kick.  But an elephant at 30 feet dictates a powerful gun.  Form always follows function.

Apply those two examples to managing a functional society.  What do we mean by a functioning society?  Instinctively, we know what that implies for us.  It works smoothly and allows every individual citizen to pursue his happiness.  These values are expressed in our Declaration of Independence (the sacredness of individual lives and the liberty that allows everyone to fulfill their potential), and the Bill of Rights in the Constitution (matching the laws of nature and of nature’s creator).  A functional society rests on the individual family unit, which is the cornerstone and model of society.  Individuals contribute responsibly what they are able.  We have the “feel” for a functional society because it works.

“America” today is bifurcated and seemingly, evenly divided.  There are the historical Americans we call patriots, who are convinced that America had it right in theory all along.  There are the “woke” progressive citizens, who sign on to the belief that America has it all wrong and needs to be trashed.  Their ideas of “function” don’t meet our definition and thus their form is contradictory.  

When Donald Trump and the patriots say they want to make America great again, they are envisaging the historical America, affirming the unalienable natural rights of the citizens.  When the progressives sign on to their own definition of function, they envisage creating a reset, called the Great Reset, with docile citizens as a collective, without individual rights but marching, lockstep, to the totalitarian agenda.  Contradictory functions are served by antagonistic game plans.  

Suppose we compromise and buy a front-wheel-drive sedan instead of that cumbersome pickup?  Suppose we take our trusty deer rifle elephant hunting after all?  It might work, but it’s not the best choice.  If we subscribe to making the former America great again, we are facing far greater threats than blizzards: the antagonistic agenda of the woke progressives.  We have a more hazardous route, by far, than rocky roads to get where we need to go.  And the Swamp that they promote has proven to be far more intimidating that a bull elephant at 30 feet.  So, we need to engage the very best program in existence to confront this daunting Swamp and support our function.  And we don’t have “all day” to figure it all out and get where we need to go — alive.  

Let’s say the apartment building is on fire.  Well, Sally just lay down for her afternoon nap and Alice is right in the middle of finding out who wins the most money on “The Price is Right.”  George and Bill are in the middle of their chess game.  But none of that is important now.  The apartment building is on fire!  Deal with it now, before the flames start licking at the door frame and you decide that well, maybe, this fire thing is serious after all!

What I’m getting at is which form or game plan — which vehicle or rifle, if you will — do we need at this juncture?  Our societal apartment is burning down.  Do we pick the front-wheel-drive sedan or the deer rifle?  Or do we go all-out?  I say we go all-out — now.

This Great Reset of human society is a far greater obstacle to keep us from getting where we need to go than blizzards and rocky mountain roads.  Our lives are on the line.  So, for my money — and my life — I go with Donald Trump.  I don’t think Donald Trump in 2024 can be the Donald Trump in 2016-2020.  That was the “Last Hurrah,” and that “Championship Season” is in the record books.  But Donald is still healthy, talented, and devoted.  Trump still galvanizes the patriots.  He is still the icon for taking on that Swamp, which is expanding by the day and threatens to flood the world instead of global warming.

While he has many critics, I’m on the same page with The Donald.  He speaks the language of blue-collar construction workers, who build America, because their cause is his cause.  But it is also the cause of grandma and the ladies of the guild.  We’re all in the same apartment building.  He isn’t always right — maybe, in this blizzard, he gets off-road sometimes.  But he’s the one driving on rocky roads, in the blizzard, to get us where we need to go.

I think Ron DeSantis is great.  Considering Trump’s successor, I can’t come up with a better man.  And, to belabor our analogy, in four more years Trump may have smoothed out those roads enough so that a front-wheel-drive sedan will do.  For now, we need all Trump’s four-wheel-drive muscle.

It was Florida that got the national ball rolling on self-defense and the “Castle Doctrine” — the right to use whatever force is necessary to protect our “castle,” our home.  DeSantis is doing a great job defending the Floridians’ castle.  He has proven that he is “a deadeye with his deer rifle.”  In the next few years, he may gain the skill and the courage to also take aim at large targets: national/international challenges; the Great Reset/the Swamp.  But Trump has already proven that he has the knowledge, the will, and the courage to confront them all, “at 30 feet.”

Form makes or breaks function — our functional society. We can’t remain asleep at the switch, hide behind entertainment, or play chess.  This is the real world, folks.  The apartment where we all live is burning down.  We need the form that matches our functional society now.

Edward Mike is a clinical psychologist with a background in theology.  His website is http://www.restoringourvalues.com.

As Our America DECAYS!

November 28, 2022

Remember when you could mail something and expect it to be delivered to the addressee?

By Thomas Lifson at American Thinker:

Benjamin Franklin, the founder of the U.S. Post Office, must be spinning in his Boston grave over what has happened to his creation.  I am sure that I was not alone in being shocked when, four weeks ago, just prior to the holiday peak mailing season:

The U.S. Postal Service (USPS) has warned people not to use its blue boxes on specific dates. It particularly warned about the chances of theft from these on Sundays and holidays.

I hadn’t ever noticed blue mailboxes being cut open and their contents stolen.  So how, I wondered, does this thievery work?  An answer has just come from Chicago, where civil order goes to die.  The invaluable CWBChicago reports:

A US Postal Service mail carrier was robbed at gunpoint in the West Loop on Saturday morning, according to a Chicago police report. It’s the latest in a series of similar crimes where armed robbers force postal workers to give up the master keys to the mail system.

Master keys, eh?  Just the sort of thing to use on a blue mail collection box.  And CWBChicago found mailmanscott to provide a photograph:

Via CWBChicago.

Of course, this being Chicago, the crooks were particularly egregious in their choice of location for the theft:

Saturday’s robbery occurred one block south of the Chicago Police Department’s training academy.

Two men, both wearing masks, rolled up in a dark SUV and pulled a gun on the mail carrier in the 1300 block of West Van Buren around 11:30 a.m., the CPD report said. After getting the victim’s work keys, the offenders told him to run away.

Experts say the stolen master keys, also known as “arrow keys,” are used by theft crews that steal checks, credit cards, and documents to fuel identity theft operations.

The loss of secure mail service is a clear sign of our decline to third-world status, a journey well underway now.

Do We Know The Present YET?

November 28, 2022

Dreaming of America’s Future

By Christopher Chantrill at American Thinker:

After the indecisive midterm election, it is time for everyone to be doing thumbsucker pieces. Former President Trump had a couple of thinkers over to Mar-a-Lago — Ye West and Nick Fuentes — for a chat. Nick Fuentes? But he’s a faaar-right conspiracy theorist last seen at Charlottesville! OMG! You should see the outrage on lefty Twitter.

Roger Kimball is more worried about “Highways to Utopia” such as the destructive dynamism of the Marxists and Wokists, the possibilities of technological Armageddon, and the ever-present threat of genetic engineering.

Yep, with all that stuff, there’s no doubt it’s the end of the world — particularly when a far-right conspiracy theorist gets into range of Trump.

But my imagination sees three things that are going to affect traffic in the near to middle-distant future.

First, I think that the Dems made a big error in keeping the COVID handout giveaway going for so long. It is really going to muck up the economy and, more important, many marginal Americans. By the spring of 2024 this will be obvious to the dullest regime apologist with a byline. I just think, existentially, that the crazed money printing of 2020-21 and the dead stop on January 1, 2022 — M2 is down from $21.7 trillion to $21.3 trillion – and cranking short term interest rates from zero to 5 percent in one year is going to echo for years. I know what Lina Lamont would say: “Are you dumb or somep’n, Jerry Powell?”

Second, I think that the top-down political and economic philosophy of everyone from Klaus Schwab to President Xi to the Duke of Fauci is going to blow up. As I put into my maxims library this week:

Five Year Plan equals Great Leap Forward equals Build Back Better.

Do you understand what that means, you progressives, you CCPers, and you WEFers, and all you twentysomething journalists that literally know nothing? It means that top-down supervision of the economy has never worked and never will. It means that your top-down Great Reset is just another version of the two biggest economic debacles of the 20th century, when educated idiots thought they knew the shortcut to the future.

But what if the climate reaches a tipping point?

What if it does? The one thing certain is that we don’t want Klaus Schwab or Joe Biden or Lord Fauci anywhere near the Engineer’s Dials.

And hey, with any luck, Elon Musk will have got his Occupy Mars thing going with Starships as far as the eye can see.

Third, I believe that, sooner or later, you ruling-class courtiers will get run over by the Commoner middle class. I have slowly come to realize that this has been building all my adult life, since Richard Nixon was elected by the Silent Majority to give space to ordinary middle-class folks after the Sixties Kids had strutted and fretted their hour upon the stage. And then the Reagan Democrats elected Ronald Reagan to stop the Carter stagflation so people could live an ordinary life without soaring grocery prices and gas lines. And then Donald Trump promised to Make America Great Again so that ordinary people could live an ordinary life.

Ever since Rousseau and Marx, educated people have gotten drunk on various home-brews of social transformation liquor. They were going to save the world, but the next morning the hangover revealed the inevitable wreckage after party night.

Did they ever ask the middle class what it wanted? Or for that matter the working class? All the educated ruling class has ever done is force its latest wizard wheeze on society by politics and force. And politics always reduces human life to a war on the enemy and rewards for the supporters.

It is easy to experience the politics of the last two decades merely as a monstrous injustice against ordinary people, but I prefer to look deeper.

I believe that all the wokiness, all the manipulation of voting systems, all the catering to gender craziness is really an unconscious knee-jerk by the ruling class to the failure of its project, and an unconscious acknowledgment of the harm done to the ordinary middle class over the decades.

Over the past two hundred years we have been lectured endlessly about the sufferings of the oppressed, and the monstrous injustices of landowners and the capitalists. Latterly, the lecturing has been all about racist-sexist-homophobes.

And yet, all along there has been this growing middle-class underground river, an accumulating seepage of injustices meted out by the educated class, year after year.

But your underground rivers, ever and anon, burst onto the surface in a spring that brings the water of life to the land and its people.

And one fine day we’ll wake up and realize that the rule of the pompous and unjust educated class is over.

Christopher Chantrill @chrischantrill runs the go-to site on US government finances, usgovernmentspending.com. Also get his American Manifesto and his Road to the Middle Class.