Friday, August 14, 2020
More Deals
President Trump's peace deal between Israel and the United Arab Emirates, known as the "Abraham Accord," is a big deal. And you can tell it is a big deal because the media largely ignored it or dismissed it. (Here and here.)
Meanwhile, Washington insiders tell me we can expect to see more Arab countries signing similar treaties with Israel in the coming days.
Barack Obama received the Nobel Peace Prize for a lot less than what Donald Trump just accomplished. That's why former Obama officials like Ben Rhodes were quick to dismiss the Israel/UAE treaty, saying it was just the status quo "dressed up" by two Middle East leaders who want Trump to win reelection.
Well, why didn't Obama and Rhodes get this treaty done if it's no big deal? Probably because they were too busy appeasing Iran and throwing Israel and other moderate Arab countries under the bus. They believed that the only way to get peace in the Middle East was for Iran to prevail.
The Left vs. Law Enforcement
The left's effort to defund the police is gaining momentum. Yesterday the Austin City Council voted to gut the police budget by more than a third.
Among the police services taking a big hit are the 911 call center, which is losing $17 million. How would you like to be put on hold when you call 911?
Forensic services is losing nearly $13 million. Community partnerships is losing $2.5 million. Three upcoming cadet classes were cancelled. The mounted patrol was defunded, and victims services is losing more than $3 million.
If that doesn't say enough about the left's priorities, get this: The city council approved an amendment redirecting some of these funds to "abortion access."
One left-wing council member said after the vote, "Today I hope that the community feels hope." Somehow, I suspect many residents of Austin just lost hope.
And the radicals aren't done. One social justice advocate exclaimed, "We're just getting started!"
Texas Governor Greg Abbott blasted the city council's action, saying, "Public safety is job one, and Austin has abandoned that duty."
Terrorizing Sick Children
In all the moral depravity that we're seeing the left unleash on the streets of America's cities, few things are so jarring as the picture of the Ronald McDonald House in Chicago. These homes provide families with a place to stay with their sick children as they undergo treatment at nearby hospitals.
So as gangs and thugs were looting Chicago's Miracle Mile for new shoes, iPhones and what one activist considered to be "reparations," they went looking for new targets to sack like barbarians always do. They descended upon the Ronald McDonald House, with families and their critically ill children huddled inside in fear.
Social justice can be a real two-edged sword, apparently. What this has to do with a man killed in Minneapolis no one has yet explained.
When the left started tearing down statues of Robert E. Lee and then moved on to George Washington, Thomas Jefferson and Abraham Lincoln, who knew Ronald McDonald would be next? I expect we will see lynchings of Santa Clause and the Easter Bunny soon.
State Police Pull Out Of Portland
Earlier this week we reported that Multnomah County District Attorney Mike Schmidt announced that he was refusing to prosecute the overwhelming majority of rioters arrested over the last two and a half months of violent protests that have rocked Portland.
More than 500 arrests have been made, and so far, Schmidt has only prosecuted fewer than 50 rioters.
As a result of Schmidt's craven appeasement of the lawless left, the Oregon State Police announced that it was pulling its officers out of Portland and ending the agreement it reached with Governor Kate Brown to help secure the federal courthouse in Portland. In a statement, the Oregon State Police declared:
"The Oregon State Police is continually reassessing our resources and the needs of our partner agencies and at this time we are inclined to move those resources back to counties where prosecution of criminal conduct is still a priority."
Other News
- U.S. Attorney John Durham's investigation of the Russiagate hoax is finally producing results. Former FBI lawyer Kevin Clinesmith will reportedly plead guilty to making false statements. Clinesmith had been previously accused of falsifying documents to justify the investigation of Carter Page.
- 55% of Americans support President Trump's executive orders deferring the payroll tax and boosting unemployment benefits. Only 27% disapproved, and 18% weren't sure.
- President Trump recently suggested that schools that refuse to reopen should refund parents so they can put those resources to use. 53% of voters who are parents like the idea of using public school funds to provide educational options for their children if their local school refuses to open.
- Retail sales soared to pre-pandemic levels in July, once again beating economists' expectations.
- Asked this week if she would accept an offer to serve in the Biden/Harris administration, Hillary Clinton responded, "I'm ready to help in any way I can." Maybe if she goes back to the State Department, she can find those 30,000 missing emails!