LH 🇺🇸

Hello, Europeans. The first thing you need to understand about the rant I'm about to utter is that I'm not MAGA, not a Trumpite, but a libertarian who has in the past nevertheless been strongly supportive of US military presence overseas. Because I want the wars that defend this country to be fought in somebody else's country, as far away from me as possible with a nice big ocean in the way. Also relevant: I have a history of having lived in Europe and traveled there extensively. I was at one time bilingual in English and Spanish, and have been passably fluent in Italian and French as well. I could probably still find my way around London and Rome and central Paris reasonably well. So if you're tempted to tell yourselves that I'm some kind of parochial American hick, abandon that hope. All that was set-up. So that, when I tell you that almost the entirety of the US electorate, not just Trump supporters, is increasingly fed up with your shit, take me seriously. We've been cleaning up your messes and keeping the sea lanes open since 1917. And that was for you, not us - we, being very close to resource self-sufficient, don't need that investment so much. We've spent enormous amounts of blood and treasure on keeping you safe. We risked nuclear hellfire on our own cities for nearly 50 years to keep Soviet tanks from rolling through the Fulda Gap. Even since the Cold War ended, we've subsidized your socialist-playpen welfare states and disastrous immigration policies by taking the need to maintain militaries more effective than a sack of wet farts off the table. Now we've come looking for help keeping a bunch of rabid Islamic fanatics from getting nuclear weapons that are a clear and present danger to all of you even more than they are to us, and what do we hear? "Waah! It's another Republican president we don't like, just like the last half dozen of them! So we're going to sulk in a corner, except when we're biting at your ankles with crap like airspace restrictions." No. No, we're not going to take this anymore. It's not just conservatives who have had enough, it's moderates and people who used to be strong supporters of liberal internationalism. Our citizen's willingness to pay higher taxes to protect you was upward-bounded by your gratitude. Now that we know your gratitude has effectively gone to zero, so does our willingness. Don't expect this to change if the Democrats take power here. They are much less liberal-internationalist than Republicans now. While they might make mouth noises that soothe you, their overriding concern is the gaping, insatiable maw of their income transfer programs. They'll sacrifice subsidizing Europe's playpen socialism to feed their domestic version in a heartbeat. And there is no longer any significant Democratic constituency to argue against that. In truth, three decades after the Cold War ended there is no American constituency at all for the massive subsidies you get. It frankly surprises me they lasted this long, that we were this patient with your cowardice and your bitchy whining. This moment has been a long time coming. It's not Donald Trump sinking the transatlantic alliance, it is absolutely you.

Stop. Stop. Just tired of all your gaslighting. Your side has captured the judiciary worldwide. Just because God found it fit to save our country from falling into a Communist hellhole for the grace of a few SCOTUS judges, proves exactly this point. You have captured literally every other institution out there. I know, because I spent months researching that. In 2020, y'all gathered in Davos and signed onto Klaus Schwab's sweeping ESG reforms which binded corporations to the leftist agenda at the penalty of excluding them from government contracts worldwide or other non-ESG signatories. And private corporations are only the tip of the iceberg. You captured academia, virtually every professional association -- every single government except America, because only USA was uniquely structured on the basis of division of powers (as opposed to achieving uniparty consensus as in the case of EU-style parliamentary systems). Your era of capture and gaslighting is over. We know we have been in a Soviet-style epistemic bubble, and X is breaking that. Your empire is dying like every empire has died: you sacrificed competency in the pursuit of preserving your own narrative. We are ascendant. We have homeschooling, we have Bitcoin, we have 3D printing. We are no longer gaslighted by you, and with the blessing of God, we WILL replace you.

One of the most profound articles I’ve read in awhile! Worth the read!

@johnkonrad What a profound article. Thank you for all your doing, your efforts do not go unnoticed and are appreciated!

When this is over, the western part of NATO will never be the same. Spain, England, France and Italy have sold us out, as they too often have a history of doing. Eastern European nations are the heart of NATO. They spend money on defense, know how to fight and love the US. France particularly deserves fault and blame. From supporting China and Russia at the UN to denying Americans overflight rights, they’re doing what they’ve always done - showing weakness, while cutting deals with terrorists. (The reason the US has a Marine Corps and Navy is unlike France, we refused to pay a ransom to the Barbary Pirates. France is always happy to cut a deal.) Wars have unintended consequences as nations show their true colors. NATO will never be the same, and Western European weakness and acquiescence is the cause.

I received a lovely email this morning. (I use “lovely” like southerners use “bless your heart.”) It was from the teacher. The subject line read, “Assistance Needed.” I looked at the ceiling. That can mean one of two things: 1. She needs a volunteer for a task, and the other parents have already said no. (I’m the last resort. You know why.) Or 2. There’s a problem. It’s usually the latter. “Dear Mrs Brooks,” I notice I lost first name status. It’s the latter. “During our career day, your husband made two children cry.” Oh, no. Usually it’s just the teacher. This is very bad. “During the slide show,” Uh oh. I told him not to use the slide show. “He tried explaining EBITDA.” I look at the ceiling. “To seven year olds. I didn’t even understand it.” Neither do I. “One boy burst into tears.” I know the boy in question. I’m not sure it’s fair to hang this one on Ethan. The boy cries when the tip of his pencil breaks. You know the type. “Then _______’s mother called and asked why her daughter came home in tears because ______ thought she was going to sell her cupcake business.” I’ve had her cupcakes. They’re amazing. She sends them in for every class party. They make tons of money at the PTA bake sale. So I understand the teacher’s concern. This is the party & fundraising equivalent of a five alarm fire. “I would normally never ask this, But is there any way you can keep Mr Brooks from my classroom?” I understand the request. He could test the patience of an actual saint. But loyalty is one of my most prized qualities. She’s trying the divide-and-conquer technique. The teacher completely misunderstands my staring at the ceiling. I only humor her sometimes. Because I don’t want both of us banned from the building. Or play groups. “Any assistance you can offer will be greatly appreciated.” I immediately feel under-qualified for this request. “I look forward to hearing from you.” That’s a dubious claim. Bless her heart. It looks like I have a few emails to write. I’m going to have to make another therapy appointment. Plz pray. Thx. Sent from my iPad

Former U.S. Attorney Involved in Trump Transition Drops BOMBSHELL, Says Plan to PURGE Corruption at DOJ Was NOT Followed. Brett Tolman revealed that there was a plan to restructure and overhaul the Department of Justice when President Trump took office and it was ignored. "Unlike what happened in the State Department with their plan, and unlike several other agencies, the DOJ plan wasn't followed. And when I say wasn't followed, we made recommendations on internal gutting that needed to occur in order for the Attorney General to maintain the capability of implementing this administration's priorities"

We’re seeing reports that one crew member has been recovered, while efforts are still underway to locate the second after a U.S. F-15 went down over southern Iran. We’ve seen this before. In 2011, when a U.S. pilot went down in Libya during Operation Odyssey Dawn, ordinary Libyans stepped in. Good people risked everything to protect him from militias and get him to safety. No politics, no agenda just doing the right thing. That’s the reminder today even in the worst circumstances there are still good people. If that pilot is on the ground in Iran, let’s hope their first contact was with ordinary Iranians, people who’ve lived under this terrorist regime and largely reject it. They’ll make the right choice. Praying for that and always for our troops and the people of Iran.

@PolitiBunny Ethan Brooks @alt_w_v_g and his wife @MrsEthanBrooks are good!

Feel like my timeline is getting a little stale, which isn't great for a Twitchy editor, considering so much of what I write is found ON my timeline. Can you guys suggest smart, funny accounts to follow for content, not only for me but for Twitchy readers as well? Thanks!🐰✌️

TMZ continued investigating and now has evidence of 30 members of Congress vacationing touring a castle in Scotland while everyone has to deal with the shutdown “Guess who's footing the bill? YOU” TMZ yet again flips the script and directly calls out Democrats, and all of Congress Also “We got pictures of Senator Cory Booker in Los Angeles at a swanky hotel having breakfast. Apparently he's here for a book signing in Santa Monica on Friday night. So it looks like he had just worked out. It seems like he's with his wife. They had just worked out and they were chowing down at the London Hotel Restaurant in West Hollywood.”

I want to apologize for not responding to any of the 22 thousand comments my last post inspired. I’ve been filming all week and just noticed my observations about Jimmy Kimmel and a former plumber named Markwayne Mullin have gone viral. I've also noticed that many of the comments are from people who genuinely seem to believe that Jimmy wasn’t belittling plumbers at all, but was instead, simply trying to point out that Mullin is not qualified to lead the DHS. Here's a small smattering... Roger Bicknell... Mikey stop. Kimmel wasn't making fun of plumbers he was making fun of Mullin. Rebecca Piatt Gonzalez... Dearest Mike, it's not anything to do with his being a plumber. It's him NOT being skilled in Homeland Security. Patrick Wise... Being a plumber qualifies you to be a plumber. Period. The issue Jimmy and the rest of us at the adult table recognize is that jobs require certain training and experience and being a plumber does not qualify you to be Sec of DHS. Had Roger, Rebecca, Patrick and all the others who rushed to Jimmy’s Kimmel’s defense actually read what I had written, they would see that I did not suggest - even remotely - that a plumber was inherently qualified to hold a cabinet position. What I said was that being a plumber should not disqualify a person from holding such a position. Big difference. Doctors, lawyers, veterinarians, fireman, and university professors are no more or less qualified to run the DHS than plumbers, electricians, or carpenters – but should they all be dismissed as “unqualified” simply because they made a living in some other vocation? As I wrote in my original post, credentials and diplomas are great ways to bolster a person’s credibility, especially if we’re talking about mastering a specific skill. I think we can all agree that plumbers, accountants, mechanics, and surgeons should all have to prove themselves competent before hanging out a shingle. But what do their credentials and diplomas have to do with their actual competency? Are we not already surrounded by a legion of perfectly qualified experts who don't know what the hell they're doing? Moreover, what do credentials and experience have to do with wisdom, honesty, common sense, integrity, courage, the ability to lead, or any other virtue we’d like to have in our elected officials? There are plenty of legitimate reasons to question Mullin’s suitability for this role. But there’s no legitimate reason to disqualify him simply because he used to be a plumber. Just as there was no legitimate reason to dismiss AOC because she used to tend bar. As for the joke itself, here’s an honest question. If Senator Mullin was a retired doctor instead of a retired plumber, do you believe he would have would made the same joke? Roger, Rebecca, Patrick...be honest. Do you really think Jimmy would have said to his audience, "So, now we have a DOCTOR in charge of protecting us from terrorism? Hey – it worked for Dr. Suess – maybe it’ll work for Markwayne!" Personally, I don't. Not in a million years. Why? Because no one would have found it funny, that’s why. Even though doctors are no more “qualified” to protect us from terrorists than plumbers are, Jimmy knows that doctors are widely respected in society, and that plumbers are not. He knows that medical degrees and doctorates are aspirational credentials, whereas plumbing certificates are not. The entire premise of his joke was based on a personal bias that he knew his audience shared – a bias that presupposes plumbers are uneducated, one-dimensional workers who never made it to college, and are therefore "unqualified" to do anything but plumb. Jimmy is entitled to his opinion, along with anyone else who believes that Mullin is unqualified to lead the DHS. The Constitution, however, says otherwise, and so does the Senate. Likewise, reasonable people can disagree as to what is funny and what isn’t. Frankly, I couldn’t care less. What I do care about, is the extraordinary shortage of plumbers and electricians our country is facing, and the longstanding stigmas and stereotypes that continue to discourage people from considering a lucrative career in the skilled trades. Jimmy’s joke – and his audience’s reaction to it – is proof positive that those stigmas and stereotypes are alive and well. PS. We have a lot of money set aside to help train the next generation of plumbers. Apply for a scholarship at mikeroweworks.org Who knows? Could be the first step on your road to President..

Great article from @emilyjashinsky who first broke the news last year on how Punchbowl works.

tl;dr The U.S. Navy can reopen the Strait of Hormuz. It just won’t happen until Europe sits down, shuts up, and lets our kids cook…

🚨 UNITED PASSENGER CATCHES INSANE NASA ROCKET LAUNCH FROM PLANE WINDOW — FLIGHT ATTENDANT LOSES IT MID-AIR A United flight just turned into a front-row seat to history. A woman captures the exact moment NASA’s Artemis II rocket launches… straight from her window at 30,000 feet. And then you hear the flight attendant: “15 years of flying… I’ve been praying to see something like this.” • Rocket blasting through the clouds • Crew calling it a “once in a lifetime” moment He said he flew to Florida multiple times just to see a launch… Canceled. Every time. And then this happens midair. What are the chances you randomly look out your window… and see history taking off?

@itslinklauren Or Judge Jeanine Pirro! She’d be great!

Let’s get my position on the Republican Party crystal clear. I’ve been a registered Republican since Bill Clinton turned the Oval Office into his own personal brothel. Now that Senate Majority John Thune refuses to protect election integrity, I am disgusted with my party. I will NEVER vote for a Democrat in my life, but the RINO elements destroying the Republican party are a disgrace. I am a devout follower of President Trump, and as a registered Independent will continue to vote with Republicans when they stand behind this great President and act like Republicans again. Democrats, the ragtag band of con artists and grifters that they are, manage to work together in lockstep, but getting Republicans to accomplish anything is like herding cats. It’s absolutely infuriating.

@DataRepublican @DataInterpretr @JoelValdezDOW Congratulations!

Officially credentialed Pentagon press corps as of today, alongside my interpreter @DataInterpretr. First Deaf journalist to hold the badge. Thank you @JoelValdezDOW for moving mountains to make this unique arrangement possible. Naturally, the legacy media is invited to congratulate the Department of War on their commitment to press corps inclusiveness. This wouldn't have been possible without you. Every $3 subscription and every engagement opened this door. Now I'm going to use it. Military institutional capture research starts today.

PHEW No, Jonathan the tortoise is not dead despite claims that the world's oldest land animal had died at the age of 193. A spokesperson for the St Helena government confirmed to Guinness World Records that Jonathan is "alive and well".

Do you support banning birthright citizenship in the United States? Please retweet for a larger sample size.

I've seen birth tourism up close. It's a total abuse of the system. Think about it -- someone like me, who was not born in the U.S. but has lived here since I was a 6 years old, will never be able to run for President. But a child born here through birth tourism, then taken back and raised in their parents' country, never growing up with American values, somehow can. American citizenship is not an "insurance policy."