Kamala's Conundrum
She's got one inescapable problem coming
So the anointing of Kamala as the savior of democracy is in full-swing — with her history being rewritten before our eyes.
Border czar? Never happened. Defunder? Nah. Freedom Fund? What Freedom Fund?
Now, the fact that Kamala has done virtually nothing for four years as Vice President is beyond dispute. Biden handed her the job of seeking out the border’s “root causes” — she visited exactly once, in a stunt more choreographed than a moon landing.
Biden also tasked her with leading Democrats’ legislative efforts to “secure voting rights” — inspiring another vanishing act.
Short of giggling maniacally for four years, it’s hard to say what she’s actually been up to. But none of that will matter. We’re about to experience more gaslight than Victorian London.
But there’s one thing even the left is going to have a hard time hiding. Here’s a taste:
The point: the final chapter on Kamala’s presidential hopes won’t be written until (a) the DNC; and (b) the Fall semester.
If the Democratic National Convention is anywhere near as unruly and chaotic as the events we saw during Israeli PM Netanyahu’s recent visit to Washington, the inescapable optic will be that Kamala and the Dems own American Disorder. Because violent protests in which activists do battle with the police are, in the public mind, crime-and-border-adjacent.
In short: the Dems will be firmly back where they were when pro-Hamas, anti-Israel, and anti-American protestors stormed campuses during the Spring semester. The Soft-On-Crime Squad.
Because clearly, DOJ will continue to do nothing in regard:
Actually, charges were dropped against 11 protestors. And those who didn’t have their charges dropped — charges which included felony Assaulting an Officer and Assault With a Deadly Weapon — were immediately released. Look for those charges to quietly be reduced to misdemeanors or dropped altogether. Nobody’s going to jail.
Recall — this was in Washington, D.C. That’s federal jurisdiction. And that’s the key. This is chaos the Biden-Harris administration owns, and which they clearly won’t address; both because they are reflexively anti-police, but also for fear of losing the Muslim vote in swing-state Michigan.
Their best hope is to simply keep things from getting too far out of hand. But a shorthanded Chicago PD is going to have a hell of a time keeping a handle on all this during the DNC — especially with a mayor that must have Chicagoans missing Lori Lightfoot and a DA that makes Alvin Bragg look like Perry Mason.
So ignore the polls and the gaslighting. America’s anarchists are still going to have their say. Quite loudly, I suspect.
It’s About More Than Just Cheatle
by Matt
So the House Oversight Committee held its highly anticipated hearing on the attempted assassination of former president Trump on Monday. The director of the Secret Service, Kimberly Cheatle, accomplished something I didn’t think was possible – she united the Congress.
Representatives across the ideological spectrum, from Chairman Comer to Ranking Member Raskin, from AOC to Marjorie Taylor Greene, demonstrated unwavering bipartisan consensus that the Secret Service was responsible for catastrophic failures, information was not forthcoming, and the Director needed to resign.
Even before the first question was asked, Ms. Cheatle asserted a falsehood in her opening statement. She said, “since January First 2024, the Secret Service has successfully [emphasis added] secured over seventy-five hundred sites.”
False. Cheatle cannot possibly know that those efforts were successful. Just because no bad actors exploited security failures at other events doesn’t mean that those operations were a success. Given the number of critical failures surrounding the assassination attempt (and there were many) and the concomitant lack of accountability, it is likely that similar malfeasance has occurred in the past.
During the hearing, Director Cheatle appeared detached, evasive, and at times defiant. She excused her lack of detail on “open investigations” and the recency of the incident. How convenient.
It’s all too common for organizations to hide behind open investigations. The FBI is conducting a criminal investigation into the shooter, which does not inhibit the Director’s ability to examine the role of her agency in the events that led up to that shooting. This includes visiting the site. There is no substitute for walking the ground to fully comprehend what occurred.
In contrast, we now know that the shooter visited the site three times, to include flying a drone 200 yards from the stage just two hours prior to the start of the rally. This points to another potential failure with the site surveys and sweeps conducted prior to the event: namely, the ability to detect, deter and disrupt a bad actor’s pre-operational surveillance and “practice moving-to-target”. The shooter, without military training and experience, was way too comfortable navigating that site.
That’s not just down to Cheatle’s failed leadership; that’s institutional-level failure.
Director Cheatle rebuffed suggestions that she resign, stating that she was the “right person” to lead the Secret Service through this crisis. Less than 24 hours after the hearing, she resigned her post. In her resignation announcement, she wrote that she takes “full responsibility for the security lapse."
Security lapse? That’s like saying the Titanic took on some water. She also attempted to portray herself as some sort of heroic figure. She wrote, “I do not want my calls for resignation to be a distraction from the great work each and every one of you do towards our vital mission."
That statement implies that it’s not really her fault but she’s taking one for the team. But Cheatle is not just hiding her failed leadership. This entire affair is likely symptomatic of larger cultural issues within the organization.
So why continue to spill ink on this topic following the Director’s resignation? Because while the resignation was a necessary first step, it only scratches the surface of more deep-rooted problems. The Secret Service doesn’t have the luxury to pause operations while it corrects course. They are responsible for the security of a sitting president, presidential candidates, visiting heads of state and several upcoming National Special Security Events.
In the near term, the Deputy Director will assume command of the agency. President Biden has promised to appoint a new director “soon” – if he can find someone willing to assume the mantle for the remaining six months of the administration. Leadership transitions in large organizations generally entail briefings, policy reviews, focus groups, retraining, re-engineering plans and personnel changes – all in the midst of internal and external investigations. This bureaucratic morass threatens to circumvent and delay reforms the Service badly needs.
Overcoming organizational inertia can be daunting. The new leadership doesn’t have the luxury of time – it is imperative to convey a sense of urgency throughout the agency and empower subordinates to take the initiative.
The failures that have already been exposed, if embraced, can provide a useful roadmap to instituting immediate reforms. The men and women of the Secret Service deserve no less. As does the country.
A Pilot Program in NYC
by Chris
There was an article in the New York Times on Thursday that described new technology the NYPD will soon be putting in place. It is a “gun detecting scanner” that can be placed at the entrance to subways. As people pass through the stanchions the device allegedly can determine if they are carrying a firearm.
The article was informative, explained both pros and cons, and displayed very little bias. Coming from that newspaper, that alone is notable.
Unsurprisingly, in the comments section, the technology was met with less-than- enthusiasm. People complained about fare evaders and the mentally ill disrupting the subways and scaring riders. These are good points, but they are not the same as the gun issue.
Gun violence in the New York City subway is up dramatically in the past few years. As a former supervisor of a Transit Detective Squad I can say I never had a subway shooting. And that was in the Bronx!
Shootings in the subway iare particularly frightening. There are almost always innocents nearby and ricochets send bullets in unintended directions. Also, you’re underground; it’s much more difficult to simply flee.
This technological solution is only a pilot project. Quite frankly, I don’t see it being particularly effective. But I said the same thing about the Shot Spotter technology — remote sensors which detect gunshots and alert the police — and I was wrong. This new tech could be a deterrent in some regard and that alone may be worth the price.
In a larger sense, it is critical that our police stay on top of technology (God knows the perps do — they always have the latest gadgets). It is vital that police try new, innovative, and legal solutions. In recent years we have seen drones, Shot-Spotter, transit robot cops, and even a robotic dog. Some will work, some will not. There is a cost, but lives are more valuable.
(Click the image for NYPD’s robot dog in action. It can approach situations such as a gas leak or other hazard without endangering the lives of officers)
So if you see one of these new gun scanning devices, have some patience. Let the cops work out the kinks. Let the courts ensure its constitutionality. Let the police have their “toys”. It may turn out that these “toys” will save a life.
And finally….
So now… who makes the Hillbilly Elegy joke?
 | A guest post by
|