Draining the swamp: Trump boots 70 Obama staffers from NSC

 

Dump him in a pig-pen and you wouldn't know the difference after an hour.

Democrats and establishment media saw President Trump's decision last week to relieve National Security Council staffers Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman and his twin brother, Lt. Col. Yevgeny Vindman, of their White House duties as an act of vengeance for the latter's testimony in the House impeachment investigation.

But with the news Monday that Trump and National Security Adviser Robert O'Brien have cut 70 positions inherited from former President Barack Obama, the move looks more like another fulfillment of Trump's campaign promise to "drain the swamp."

Many of the 70 were loaners from other agencies to came to NSC when Obama fattened the staff to 200," the Washington Examiner reported. The loaners have been sent back, and others have left government work.

More @ WND

From Tornadoes, flooding, the 70s, and snow, we got it covered all in one week (more like 48 hours). Welcome to NC!

Via Daughter Christine

  

Victor Davis Hanson on Hubris, Nemesis in the Deep State

Via Unknown

 

DATED 

In this interview for the American Thought Leaders series, Epoch Times senior editor Jan Jekielek talks with Victor Davis Hanson, a historian and senior fellow at the Hoover Institution, about the impeachment push against President Donald Trump, the so-called deep state, and how Trump is dismantling what Hanson describes as “the progressive project.”

Jan Jekielek: Victor Davis Hanson, excellent to have you back on American Thought Leaders.

Victor Davis Hanson: Thank you for having me.

Mr. Jekielek: In April when we spoke last time, I think it was actually on the day that the Mueller report was coming out, and we were talking a little bit about expectations. As it happens today, the IG report, the Horowitz report on FISA abuse, is coming out. So I think we have to start by basically doing the same thing.

More @ The Epoch Times

DOJ Charges Chinese Military Officials In Connection With Infamous Equifax Data Breach

Via Billy

On Monday, the U.S. Department of Justice announced federal charges against four Chinese military/intelligence officials for their role in the infamous Equifax data breach scandal of 2017. In one of the greatest data theft operations in global history, hackers in 2017 pilfered from Equifax trade secrets and personal data belonging to up to 150 million Americans.

“A federal grand jury in Atlanta returned a nine-count indictment last week that accused members of China’s People’s Liberation Army of conspiring to steal reams of data as part of a sophisticated hacking operation that exploited a major vulnerability in the software used by Equifax’s online dispute portal,” The Wall Street Journal reported.

More @ The Daily Wire

There Are No Good Democrats, Not Anymore

Via Billy

If anything is certain this election season, it’s that everything is uncertain. Should the strong economy continue and nothing too crazy happens, it’s conceivable that Republicans could hang onto the executive, the Senate, and even regain the House. President Trump will be on the ballot in all those districts Democrats swiped from Republicans, and now they’ll also have their own record, or lack thereof (impeachment, anyone?), upon which to run. The Senate will come down to a few key races in Maine, Arizona, Colorado, and North Carolina, but Democrats will have to win them all in order to gain the four seats needed to gain control (three if they win the presidency). And Trump is coming off what even HBO host Bill Maher called “his best week ever” following his Senate impeachment acquittal and widely acclaimed State of the Union address.

More @ Townhall

The Washington Post Publishes Fake News (Surprised, I'm sure......🙄)

 

On January 21st Washington Post reporter Courtland Milloy wrote an article about my “Defending Confederate Monuments” speech at the January18th Lee-Jackson Day in Lexington, Virginia.

His “Lee-Jackson Day with a bit of history and context” article portrays me unfairly. Today’s post responds to one Milloy comment excerpted below:

Before giving his keynote speech, Civil War book author Phil Leigh made an offhand remark discounting the role of slavery in the war. Another man overheard him and pointed out that nearly all the states that seceded from the Union had cited the preservation of slavery as a main reason.
That was it. End of the exchange.

I do not recall this exchange. Mr. Milloy could have contacted me before writing the above to see if I had any response. He had my email address, since he asked me to send him a copy of my speech, which I did before even taking the podium. (We were sitting next to one another during the preliminaries.) Before he left the lecture hall after my speech he told me, “I will be in touch.” But he never contacted me. If he had, I would have responded with the remarks below, which I asked the Washington Post to print as an Op-Ed. The Post declined yesterday.

More @ The Abbeville Institute

The Italian Years of Lead: Could the Secret "Strategy of Tension" Foreshadow America's Future?

Via Alex

While there are some in the United States who believe we are headed toward another Civil War, there is perhaps another, more recent parallel worth exploring – the so-called “Italian Years of Lead.”

The short version is that in the late 1960s through the early 1980s, Italy was a hotbed of assassination, shoot-outs and bombings between various factions of the far-left, the far-right and the Italian government – with American, British and Soviet intelligence agencies often pulling the strings.

While the death toll was a lot lower than it could have been, it’s a fascinating and oft-overlooked area of history. When all was said and done, the Italian political landscape had been radically changed.

Thousands of leftists were forced to flee the nation, but ultimately, shocked by the violence, Italian politics moderated.

More @ Ammo.com

What Is Ball Ammo?

Via Alex

Shooters often use the term “ball ammo” to describe cartridges with a full metal jacket bullet (FMJ). Although the jargon hints that the projectile is spherically shaped or contains some sort of hidden “ball” within, neither is true.

It’s the least-expensive ammunition—on average—available to civilian gun owners and accounts for the bulk of U.S. military small arms munitions. It’s clean, reliable, accurate and the favored fodder for practice, competition and informal range sessions.   

Modern bullet design has slightly blurred ball ammo’s precise definition, however, which can make the term confusing to new gun owners. Here’s a look at likely origins of the name, what it means and what it does not.

More @ Wideners

Knowledgebase: Terminal Ballistics Research

Via David

@ TBR

Trump's most significant legacy

Via Billy

Exclusive: Patrice Lewis contrasts president's love of country with Democrats' outrage

 

If Trump's presidency has done nothing else, it's given ordinary Americans permission to love their country again.

Think about it. Ever since progressives seized control of public education and the mainstream media in the 1960s, they've been in a tireless and relentless mission to disparage the very nation that gave them the prosperity to despise their prosperity. "For most of America's 244-year history, the dominant political parties that evolved had a common goal constantly working to improve the country they both loved," opined John Eidson at the American Thinker. No more. The left believes nothing good – nothing whatever – can be said about America.

More @ WND