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Showing posts with label Paula Bolyard. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Paula Bolyard. Show all posts

Saturday, January 7, 2023

RINO Kevin McCarthy: Speaker of the House


This blog linked the other day to Paula Bolyard’s column at PJ Media about the House debate over RINO Kevin McCarthy’s run for Speaker of The House.  She was encouraged to see open debate between Freedom Caucus members and establishment Republicans.  This blog agreed that the open debate was a good thing.  And to the extent that the maneuvering of the Uniparty was exposed to and in plain sight for anyone watching, it was a good thing.

BUT it turns out it was all Kabuki theater.  Again.  Kevin McCarthy is now Speaker of the House. 

Most of the Freedom Caucus, including Chairman Scott Perry, caved, and it will be business as usual.  All the talk about changing the system – was just talk.  As one reader commented elsewhere, the only tactic available to the House now is obstruction.  No constructive bill will get past the Senate and the pResident’s desk.  There will be no reversal of the Omnibus porkalooza. 

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Thursday, January 5, 2023

GOP vs GOPe : the Uniparty in plain sight

 


The curtain is pulled back.  Paula Bolyard is right about the GOP opposition to [R-establishment] Kevin McCarthy becoming Speaker of the House --- the floor fight visibly exposes the Uniparty’s concern for its own power and wealth – and it has nothing to do with the voters:

As of publishing time, Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) has lost five six votes in his bid to be House speaker and there seems to be no end in sight. There are around 20 Republican holdouts in the “never McCarthy” camp, and they’re showing no signs of budging.

. . .

Meanwhile, Republican establishment types are running around with their hair on fire, shouting about unity and warning that Republicans will pay a steep price unless they can show a united front in the early days of their House majority.

Hogwash.

One way or another, this will all be over in a few days and we’ll all go back to binge-watching mindless dramas on Netflix and planning our Super Bowl parties. A month from now, Rep. Jim Jordan will be holding hearings that won’t result in any Democrats paying a price for their treachery during Trump’s presidency, the House will once again be spending money like drunken sailors, and Congress will continue to get next to nothing useful done for the American people. Lather, rinse, repeat. Delaying the start of the congressional session by a few days, or even a month, won’t matter one iota. By the time the 2024 election rolls around, no one will care that there was a protracted fight for House speaker in early 2023.

. . .

What we’re witnessing now is the messy, glorious republican form of government our Founding Fathers laid out in the Constitution. Many Americans are tired of the Uniparty that exuberantly passes pork-laden omnibus spending bills in the dead of night and plays by Marquess of Queensberry Rules as our country plunges toward insolvency, immorality, and anarchy.

While establishment Republicans like Kevin McCarthy and Ronna McDaniel would like to keep the party’s dirty laundry hidden, the American people deserve to know how the sausage is being made. We need to know what’s being promised to Republicans who vote for McCarthy. There are rumors that he may try to bring Democrats over to his side, and Marcy Kaptur of Ohio is reportedly trying to cut a deal with him, which only increases distrust within the caucus.

And Ms Bolyard points out toward the end of the article:

But no matter what happens, the beauty is in the process. . . . enjoy the process, and thank God that you live in a country where we settle these things with words and not guns.

Read Ms. Bolyard’s PJ Media article here.

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Saturday, July 24, 2021

Chief Wahoo on unemployment

To follow up on yesterday's news announcing the Cleveland Guardians, here's the Babylon Bee with another good one:

Unemployment Up 800% Among Ethnic Mascots



And from Paula Bolyard at PJ Media:

RIP Cleveland Indians:
Brave New Name Will Honor Traffic Pillars
on a Crumbling Bridge

. . . The name change depresses me. I’m sad that my grandkids will never know the joy of cheering for the Cleveland Indians—like their parents, grandparents, and great-grandparents before them. If they even bother to watch the team, they’ll be cheering for a stupid traffic pillar. I feel the same way I did when Art Modell up and moved the Cleveland Brown to Baltimore in 1995, leaving fans with an empty stadium and the rights to the name. A part of our collective history died that day and the team has never really recovered. “The Move” joined a long and storied line of disappointments for Cleveland fans (there’s an entire Wikipedia page dedicated to the topic). But it’s more than just the Indians’ name change. Our history is being erased by a small minority of noisy activists, statue by statue, logo by logo, name by name. They’re using 1984 as an instruction manual to shove our entire history down the Memory Hole. Meanwhile, their fellow travelers are inundating our schools with fake history, heavy on social manipulation and light on education.

I refuse to accept the premise that I’m a racist because I love the Cleveland Indians—the name, the logo, and Chief Wahoo. I’m sick and tired of having my motives called into question at every turn because of my skin color. I will never EVER cheer for the Cleveland Guardians. Instead, I’ll join the many loyal Tribe fans who will no doubt continue to cheer for the Indians. And we’ll wear our black-market Wahoo gear proudly, celebrating the history of the team and the bravery of our Native American brothers and sisters.

I grew up with the Cleveland Indians, and when I read the change to “Guardians” – I made no connection between that name and these “guardians on the Hope Memorial bridge.  No, it's just another politically correct decision that will sadden and irritate the fans. 

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Thursday, March 25, 2021

President Biden’s press conference

 


I got this one wrong. I didn’t think there would ever be a Biden press conference. But it did indeed take place earlier today, and if you want to watch it, livestream links are here.  As soon as I saw that Stephen Green (a/k/a Vodkapundit) and his colleagues were live-blogging the whole thing, I went to the PJ Media link here.  Start at the bottom and gradually scroll up.  Takes less time and it’s bearable.

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Tuesday, September 22, 2020

Boos for Gov. DeWine

 

Paula Bolyard at PJ Media reports on the Trump rally in Dayton and his introduction of Gov. Mike DeWine:

President Trump, as is customary at these events, introduced Republican Gov. Mike DeWine at his rally in Dayton, Ohio, on Monday—only to have the audience loudly boo the governor, who had imposed a statewide masking order in July that has been wildly unpopular with the president’s base.

“We’re joined today by a real good friend of mine, somebody that’s been with me from the beginning and I’ve been with him from the beginning, Ohio Governor Mike DeWine,” the president began. “Where’s Mike?” he asked, to a spattering of applause. Trump looked around, seemingly unable to spot DeWine in the crowd—and then the boos began. “What’s that all about?” he quipped, looking a bit confused. “He’s opening up,” Trump said, trying to defend the governor. “He’s a good man.”

The rest of the report is here.  President Trump describes Gov. DeWine as “a good man”?  The Ohio Governor who keeps moving the goalposts on mask mandates and onerous regulations that hamper opening up businesses?  Gov. DeWine seems to have been enjoying his role as a petty tyrant.  Not good.

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Friday, May 8, 2020

Mike DeWine "plans" for Ohio


Paula Bolyard at PJ Media doesn’t think much of Governor Comrade Mike DeWine’s power-grab:

The Ohio House on Wednesday passed a bill stripping the state health director of some emergency powers and limiting stay-at-home orders to 14 days, requiring the approval of the legislature for an extension. Gov. Mike DeWine, a Republican who’s been basking in the praise of Democrats and the MSM for his heavy-handed approach to containing the coronavirus pandemic, has vowed to veto the bill.

. . . 

DeWine’s office told reporters on Wednesday that should the bill make it to his desk he will veto it. It does not appear at present that the House would have enough vote to override a veto. The Senate has yet to take up the measure.

“My administration is focused on the important things we need to do to help businesses responsibly reopen while protecting Ohioans’ health and safety,” DeWine said in a statement. “This week alone, this included increasing coronavirus testing and tracing, balancing Ohio’s budget, and working on plans to move Ohio’s economy forward. Ohioans need their legislators focused on these important issues. Creating more uncertainty regarding public health and employee safety is the last thing we need as we work to restore consumer confidence in Ohio’s economy.”

In other words, the governor has no intention of relinquishing the power he and the unelected health director have amassed. If that power is taken away, what will he and Acton have to talk about at their incessant, mind-numbing “Wine with DeWine” daily press briefings?

How does he plan to "restore consumer confidence in Ohio’s economy" by keeping everybody under house arrest?  Ms. Bolyard's column is here.

Meanwhile, Seth A. Richardson at cleveland.com reports:

Gov. Mike DeWine said Thursday that barbershops, hair salons, nail salons, tanning salons and day spas can reopen starting May 15, nearly two months after they were closed due to the coronavirus pandemic. Businesses will have to abide by certain health guidelines, including social distancing and strict sanitization regimens.

May 15?  Why May 15?  What is wrong with yesterday?  
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Tuesday, March 17, 2020

Election Day: it's off: UPDATES





UPDATE:  It’s off!   (See here.)

As of 11:25pm, the election is OFF.  Here’s Ed Driscoll at Instapundit:
NOW WHAT? Judge Denies Ohio Gov’s Request to Delay Primary, But Poll Workers Say They Won’t Be Ready.
UPDATE: “Minutes ago Gov. Mike DeWine defied a judge’s earlier ruling that the primary must go on tomorrow. He announced on Twitter that his director of Public Health, Amy Acton, will order the polls closed tomorrow due to a ‘health emergency.'”

Is that it? Ohio Christian Alliance reported earlier this evening:
With the unprecedented measures that have been implemented by federal and state government agencies, tomorrow's election has been postponed. More information will be available on the Secretary of State's website and from the Governor's office.
As of 10 pm Monday night, I have not been able to confirm that report via the Board of Elections or the Secretary of State website.

Ohio Value Voters reported that the March 17 election is ON as scheduled.

Is it on or off?  ON (if pollworkers show up)?  This latest from Paula Bolyard at PJ Media who reports that the election is proceeding as scheduled on March 17:

CHAOS: Judge Denies Ohio Gov's Request to Delay Primary—
AFTER Poll Workers Told Not to Set Up Polling Locations


Update 9:45 p.m.: Ohio House Speaker Larry Householder, a Republican, sent out a memo to members asking them to inform their constituents that the election will go on as planned Tuesday. "To my knowledge, the court is closed until 8:30 AM tomorrow and polls open prior to that," he wrote. "You should instruct your constituents that the Election is scheduled to occur March 17 as set by Ohio Law."

Here's more about what we know about Ohio's primary elections, scheduled for today, March 17 (reprinted from this blog, published yesterday):

Headline from cleveland.com:

Judge denies request to delay Ohio primary election until June over coronavirus

People who want the election postponed may appeal. It’s still being decided whether an appeal is possible.

According to my conversation with the Cuyahoga County Board of Elections, none of this confusion has been clarified; the BoE spokesperson recommended checking the website for the Ohio Secretary of State for any updates;  click here

Yesterday's blog with more details of all this confusion is here
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Wednesday, March 13, 2019

Your cell phone and Google




image credit: andysowards.com


Google Exec Admits to Congress That They're Tracking Us 
Even with 'Location' Turned Off

Paula Bolyard reports at PJ Media (via Blazing Cat Fur) on yesterday's congressional hearing:

A Google executive admitted during a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on Tuesday that Google tracks users' phones  — even when their location history is turned off.

Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) questioned Google Senior Privacy Counsel Will DeVries about the company's tracking policies during a hearing examining online consumer privacy. Some of DeVries' answers will likely disturb consumers who thought there was a way to avoid being tracked by Google through their phones.
. . .
DeVries explained that it's "complicated" -- a word that he used several times as he tried to evade Hawley's questions about why Google tracks its users' locations.
. . .
PJM's Phil Baker explained in December 2018 how to turn off as many tracking features as possible on your phone, but ultimately, users need to understand that Google has the ability to track you anytime you're carrying your phone. As Congress and Big Tech continue to duke it out over privacy issues — which may ultimately lead to new laws designed to protect consumers' private data — it's imperative to understand that your smartphone is a sophisticated geotracking advice. For now, that is the price you pay for the "free" services Google provides.

Full article at PJ Media is here. I don’t use a cell phone very often, but I have already switched from using Google on my desktop computer. And it’s easy for computer illiterates such as myself. Instead of Google, choose DuckDuckGo or StartPage as your search engine in your default settings menu.
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Saturday, November 3, 2018

The critical race for Ohio’s next Secretary of State



Remember the progressive Secretary of State project?

The Secretary of State Project originated due to the culmination of frustration, anger, bitterness and overall resentment Democrats felt towards Republicans in the wake of President George W. Bush’s re-election in 2004. Still plagued with memories of Katherine Harris and Florida from the 2000 presidential contest, Democrats placed the blame for Senator John Kerry’s loss squarely on the head of former Ohio Secretary of State Kenneth Blackwell, who ruled that provisional ballots in the state would not be counted if they were submitted in the wrong precinct, a decision upheld by the United States Court of Appeals. Bush’s victory in the state – a relatively slim 118,000+ votes – gave him the necessary electoral votes (twenty) to cross the victory threshold of two hundred and seventy.


Democratic founders of the SoS Project saw conspiracy in Blackwell's decision, insisting that those individuals who were elected on the principle of upholding and enforcing election laws were, in fact, political operatives. But rather then push for reform so that the offices of the Secretaries of State reflected a level of neutrality, perhaps making it so holders of those positions were elected on a nonpartisan basis, they instead sought to implement an aggressive agenda exactly the same in nearly every respect that they had just accused Republicans of performing.

Through the strategic process of placing specific candidates, ones that met a certain liberal or progressive criteria set down by the organization, in positions of power that oversaw and administered state elections, the Democratic Party would be "better positioned than in the previous elections to advance traditional Democratic interests," particularly when it came to the administration of election laws.
. . .


The SoS Project has not been active since 2010. It spent just over $50,000 in 2012 and its website was taken down.

The SoS Project may be gone technically, but it seems to be operating under different auspices. Paula Bolyard’s report at PJ Media shows that Ohio voters may yet be vulnerable to progressive, uh, cheating:

Ohio SoS Candidate Who Moved to Keep Trump Off 2020 Ballot
 Vows to 'Impact' Election if She Wins

Ohio has long been known as a battleground state because it often plays a pivotal role in deciding presidential elections. Although the state has a mere 18 electoral votes, Ohio is often a barometer of the nation's political mood. A down-ticket race that hasn't garnered much national attention — but should — is the contest to be Ohio's next secretary of state. Two state lawmakers, Republican Frank LaRose and Democrat Kathleen Clyde, are vying for the position that the Democratic candidate has said could impact the 2020 presidential election.

Kathleen Clyde, who, as a member of the Ohio House introduced the TRUMP Act last year to try and force President Trump to release his tax returns, has vowed to play a role in the 2020 presidential election should she win next Tuesday. Clyde, who did not return PJM's request for a comment, said in February, “It is a very powerful and important position, impacting the presidential election because of our importance as a battleground state and the redistricting process” [emphasis added]. She explained, “It matters who runs the elections in this critical state.”

LaRose, 39, is a combat veteran and U.S. Army Special Forces Green Beret, who earned a Bronze Star for his service in Iraq. The father of three has served in the Ohio Senate since 2011. Clyde, also 39, has served in the Ohio House since 2011. A lawyer by trade, Clyde, according to her website, is a "dedicated defender of voters and voting rights" who "wants to take her life’s work to the Ohio Secretary of State’s Office to secure and modernize Ohio elections so every Ohioan’s vote counts."

 A Baldwin-Wallace University poll earlier this month showed the race in a dead heat, with LaRose and Clyde deadlocked at 32.6 percent. A Libertarian candidate, Dustin Hanna, had 7.2 percent, while nearly a third of voters were undecided, likely owing to the fact that neither candidate had statewide name recognition going into the contest.

The fact that impacting the election is on Clyde's mind "should give every Ohioan great cause for concern," LaRose told PJM. "Let me be clear. The secretary of state does not get to impact Ohio's election, the voters do." LaRose added that if he's elected to be Ohio's next chief elections officer, he "will run fair elections, assuring that the voices of Ohioans are heard."

But Democrats clearly have a different idea. That's why Democrats far and wide — from Hillary Clinton to Elizabeth Warren to Eric Holder to Tom Steyer — are focusing their attention on the race and pouring pallets full of cash into it.
Grant Schaffer, LaRose's campaign manager, told PJM, "We're facing an unprecedented wave of out-of-state spending in the secretary of state's race.

National figures like George Soros, Donald Sussman, Eric Holder, Tom Steyer and his wife, Elizabeth Warren, Joe Biden, and Hilary Clinton have all made large personal investments in the race." All, he said, "have publicly stated interests in defeating Trump or want to run for president themselves." He said outside groups like OMG-WTF and iVote are targeting the race.

If the money is pouring in from out-of-state to promote Clyde’s campaign for SoS, that’s bad news for Ohio. And the Libertarian candidate usually splits the conservative vote. 
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Wednesday, May 23, 2018

Ohio House speaker update

image credit: georgebrikho.com



The Pajamas Media headline: 
FBI Agents Raid Home of Former Ohio House Speaker Cliff Rosenberger

From Paula Bolyard’s report:

FBI agents raided the home of former Ohio House speaker Cliff Rosenberger in Clarksville on Wednesday, and also searched a storage facility in Wilmington, Ohio.

“We are conducting law enforcement activities in those areas,” said FBI spokesman Todd Lindgren told the Dayton Daily News, declining to comment further.
Rosenberger, a Republican, resigned in April after learning that the FBI was investigating him for possible corruption charges. He announced at the time of his resignation that he had hired a criminal defense attorney.
. . .
Work in the Ohio House is at a standstill while Republicans bicker over who should become the next speaker. 

Sounds pretty much like a version of the DC swamp. More details here.

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Monday, March 12, 2018

HB 512 sets off alarm bells at PJ Media



image credit: youtube.com

The other day, Paula Bolyard at PJ Media ran a report “Kasich Power Grab Could Give Unelected Bureaucrats Almost Unlimited Power Over Education.” Here’s the opening:

Ohio Governor John Kasich and the Ohio legislature are fast-tracking a bill that that would consolidate nearly all educational departments into one unelected executive agency controlled by the governor. It's a giant power grab by Kasich and Ohio Republicans, who have become frustrated by their inability to control the Ohio Department of Education and the elected members of the State Board of Education.

HB 512, currently under consideration by the Ohio House, seeks to combine the Ohio Department of Education (ODE), Ohio Department of Higher Education, and Ohio Department of Workforce Transformation into a single new department organized under the governor. In addition, the elected State Board of Education (SBE) would be stripped of most its powers to promulgate rules related to K-12 education. The current board, which has 11 regionally-elected members and eight at-large members appointed by the governor, has purview over a wide variety of education issues, including standards, assessment selection, proficiency determination, state report cards, teacher/student ratios, private and homeschool regulations, and public school operating standards.

"What I really want... I want to be able to run the Department of Education," Kasich said at an Associated Press forum in early February, signaling his support for the move. "I don't think we should have this elected school board." Instead, he said the governor should be in charge of education in the state.

"We have no clue who these people are and they're running education policy," Kasich said. "And I'm governor and I can't tell them what to do. It's nuts."

That's the way democracy works, John.
. . .
The most egregious change, she warned, "is the transfer of authority from our State Board of Education to one person appointed by whomever the governor may be." As a result, "every four to eight years the focus and direction of [the agency's] broad scope of power can change, which is not conducive to stability," Elsey said.

Read the rest here -- including written testimony already submitted. Don’t just weep. Cleveland Tea Party blogged alerts on HB 512 earlier today here and on March 4 herePlease refer back to those blog links for Actions you can take to stop this monstrosity.
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