SWALWELL AND THE FBI

 

                                                  BY WILLIAM JUNEAU                      

                                Just when U.S. Rep. Eric Swalwell figured that  his pillow talk with Christine Fang, the Red China spy,  was tucked away and protected by Nancy Pelosi, fourteen  Republican congressman have decided otherwise.  

                                New York Rep. John Kaito, ranking member of the Homeland Security Committee, and 13 other U.S. Representatives have sent a letter to FBI Director  Christopher Wray requesting a classified briefing on the conduct and activities of Swalwell regarding his relationship with Ms. Fang. Otherwise known to politicians as "Fang Fang, " she was involved with Swalwell for six years, during which time the attractive native of China functioned as Swalwell's  key assistant, fund raiser and public relations face. 

                                Dating back to his first days as a California congressman in 2011,  Swalwell was seen and photographed regularly in the company of the grinning Fang Fang.  In 2012 and 2014  when he ran successfully for election to the Bay area's 15th district, Fang's job was to raise funds and sweet talk VIP donors  with deep pockets.  In 2015,  he was appointed by Speaker Pelosi to the House Intelligence Committee and the House Judiciary Committee and early this year, he was given a seat on the Homeland Security Committee.  

                                 As Swalwell busied himself in congressional matters, Fang Fang recommended an intern for work in his congressional office and the young Chinese woman assumed paper shuffling duties there, always maintaining her close friendship with  her mentor, Fang Fang. 

                                 In 2015, the FBI determined that the PR face  of Swalwell's inner circle was a planted Communist spy and that she reported regularly to her Asian superiors.  Agents buttonholed Swalwell and investigated the extent of their relationship and those of the intern she sponsored in his congressional office.  As inquiries moved forward,  Fang Fang  and her intern friend vanished and apparently returned to their homes in China. 

                                 Reputedly, the 40 year old Swalwell told agents that Fang Fang was just a friend who helped him.   It was all  business stuff, he averred, although agents were suspicious, having established in their investigation that Fang Fang had also befriended at least two mayors of midwest cities and became involved in romantic interludes with them. 

                                 In 2015, Swalwell and his wife were divorced and there were rumors that the young congressman and the alluring Fang Fang had more than a platonic relationship.  In 2016, he married Brittany  Ann Watts, a hotel sales director.

                                 Several months ago, Axios, a news website based in Arlington County, Va.,  began digging into Swalwell's activities and learned of his adventures with the Chinese spy and of FBI investigation of six years ago.  Speaker Pelosi was informed also, and Swalwell told agents that there was no intimate activity with Fang Fang and and that he did not discuss privileged information with her.  Her Communist affiliation was a surprise to him, he said.  With word of the investigation by the FBI, Swalwell told Axios reporters that Fang Fang "just disappeared" and he has not seen or heard from her since 2015. 

                                Swalwell is a favorite gopher for  Speaker Pelosi and was always vociferous in attacking President Trump with claims that he was a pawn of Russian President Putin.  He often asserted that he had seen evidence of Trump's seditious behavior and stood side by side with  Rep. Adam Schiff, Pelosi's other gopher and  California colleague, in denouncing the Republican Chief Executive and Commander-in-Chief with an assortment of lies.  

                                 Swalwell also told reporters last December that he believed his role as a vocal critic of then-President Donald Trump was the motivation for the initial information leak orchestrated by the President.  "I’ve been a critic of President Trump.  I’ve spoken out against him. I was on both committees that worked to impeach him," Swalwell said. The FBI ought to look into that, he added.         

                                 The letter to the FBI read in part, 

                                 "As our nation faces a growing security threat from the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) attempts to infiltrate and undermine the United States Government, we write to request a full briefing regarding counterintelligence threats to Members of Congress, including information related to Rep. Eric Swalwell’s ties to a suspected Chinese intelligence operative."

                                 Kevin McCarthy, Republican minority leader in the House, has demanded that Speaker Pelosi remove Swalwell from his committee assignments. He has also criticized the aged Pelosi for having assigned Swalwell to top secret committees, knowing that he may have been compromised by a Chinese spy.

                                 Congressman Kaito said that Republicans have repeatedly called for Swalwell's removal from the Intelligence Committee, and yet Rep. Swalwell continues to serve on it and was appointed to the Committee on Homeland Security by Speaker Pelosi in the new 117th Congress. 

                        The potential for a security leak from the Committee on Homeland Security by a member who had either hired a Chinese spy to run his office, and possibly share pillow talk, or who was too dumb to recognize a Communist spy after six years of close contact, could have disastrous impacts on national security.

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TRUMP DEFENSE ATTORNEY VAN DER VEEN

                                 BY WILLIAM JUNEAU

                           The impeachment attack on former President Trump is over, and the antics and emotions of the liberal prosecuting managers is now just ashes from a worthless and unnecessary conflagration. Each of us who followed the political circus, which was aimed at destroying the name and the legacy of the nation's 45th president, remember parts and segments of the whole fabricated political package.  

                           For me, one of the takeaways was the legal and reality skills of Michael van der Veen, the defense lawyer who took on the House managers and decimated their howling demands that the President be adjudged guilty of "inciting an insurrection."  Van der Veen walked away a winner having achieved vindication for the former President; and having successfully pushed mud into the faces of the the eight Congressmen masquerading as dedicated and professional prosecutors seeking justice. 

                           Selected as one of the President's defense attorneys,  Van der Veen  emerged from anonymity.  He was not a fast-on-the-draw criminal lawyer who did away with his opposition in Perry Mason style. No, Michael Thomas van der Veen called out the scripted Democrat "managers" for their unprofessional and make- believe evidence of an "insurrection" ordered by President Trump, and for their shameful distortions and doctoring of evidence.  He also castigated them for having deprived the former President of his basic and  constitutional rights to due process of law. 

                            As the trial in the Senate moved forward, it brought difficulties for Van der Veen on the home front.  Vandals smashed windows and spray-painted “Traitor"  on the driveway of his Pennsylvanian home  after he had spent hours on the Senate floor condemning the former president’s second impeachment trial as unconstitutional. But he did his job  and never looked back.  

                            After the verdict by the Senate exonerating the former President of orchestrating the January 6 mob violence in the Capitol,  the 57-year-old laid-back Van der Veen was summoned by liberal, Trump-hating  TV  pundits for interviews and he let his opinion of the conduct of the "managers" and of the media be known.  Some wanted to know about attacks on his home and conversations that he had with the President, but he declined to discuss those matters.  

                     Lana Zak of CBS, righteous and overbearing,  wanted to demonstrate that the House lawyers had made their case against the evil Trump. The tone and intent of her biased questions with which she sympathized with House managers for their "doctoring "of evidence, infuriated Van der Veen and he lashed back--and not in a friendly manner.   

                        "You are bloodthirsty for ratings, and as such, you’re asking questions now that are already set up with a fact pattern," Trump's attorney said.  "I can’t believe you would ask me a question indicating that it’s all right just to doctor a little bit of evidence. There’s more stuff that we uncovered that they doctored, to be frank with you, and perhaps that will come out one day.

                            "They (Democrat lawyers) switched the date of a Twitter post to try to connect it to this case. That’s not a small thing. ma’am. The other thing they did is they put a check mark on something to make it look like it was a validated account when it wasn’t. And when they were caught, they didn’t say anything about it. They didn’t even try to come up with an excuse about it. And that’s not the way our prosecutors or our government officials should be conducting themselves."

                                 The media ought to be investigating the House managers concerning their conduct, he said.   "The media has to start telling the right story to this country. 

                            What this country wants,  what this country needs, said Van der Veen, is for this country to come together;  to take the left and the right and find a middle ground and start responsibly being our public officials, our elected officials.  And the media needs to do an honest job which it doesn't do, he told Zak.      

                                At the end of the interview, van der Veen tossed his microphone aside and walked off the camera, while Zak looked flushed.

                                Van der Veen is a partner in a Philadelphia law firm and he specializes in personal injury matters. He was one of three lawyers picked by the ex President to represent him in the impeachment trial in the senate.  The other attorneys were Bruce Castor of Pennsylvania and David Schoen of Georgia. 

                               After mediocre  opening statements by Shoen and Castor were criticized by Trump and his supporters,  the heavy lifting for the trial fell upon Van der Veen. He stepped to the front and for the duration of the litigation made the key arguments and assumed the starring and lead role.           

                                   The tone and conduct of the Zak interview seeking to torpedo and demean Trump and his supporters has been typical of the biased and unprofessional Democrats during the past five years, including four years of the Trump presidency. Trump has regularly said that the media provides "fake news," and that lying reporters and their employers are the true  "enemies of the people." 

                                  Former President Trump has said that he believes that the 2020 election was part of a massive fraud and that had there been honesty and a counting of only verified and legitimate  ballots, he would have won reelection.  Some 75 million Americans voted for Trump's reelection.  Millions of his supporters are questioning the integrity of the election and are encouraging Trump to run again for President in 2024--- and Trump has indicated that he will do so, and that his movement is very much alive.   

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REP HASTINGS AND THE DOUBLE STANDARD

         

                                 BY WILLIAM JUNEAU

                           In the House of Representatives, with questions on "impeachment" and its processes and appeals, Democrats know where to go for  answers.  They have an in-house expert on the subject, and he is a former United States District judge.  He was a judge until he got booted from the bench for bribery and dishonesty, and he now sits as a member of the House, and is a favorite of the aged and venomous Speaker, Nancy Pelosi. 

                          Wearing this unique and unprecedented hat is Florida Congressman Alcee Lamar Hastings, 84,  who wants the Trump impeachment to go forward, and is cheering and coaching his colleagues in the ways of the world.  He sits on many key committees in the People's House, and his background as a dishonest judge and thief is no barrier. 

                          Under present House pronouncements, past misdeeds would bar a congressman or congresswoman from sitting on committees.  But Hastings deserved forgiveness, unlike new Republican Representative Michelle Taylor Greene who was ousted from all committee work for past comments which she made.  

                          Prior to election from a Georgia district last November, Greene had made some far out comments on the social media which tended to side with some conspiracy theories.  A few days ago, she made a public apology and said that she regretted her statements. and requested that the House  allow her to remain on committees. Overwhelmingly, the House Democrats with Hastings part of the majority said no and had Rep. Greene  removed as a member on all committees. 

                          So what is Hastings all about? 

                          In 1979, President Carter nominated him to the federal bench from  sunny Florida and he became the first African American district court judge in that state.  Hastings was a smooth talker, but a few years later he got caught reaching for $150,000 in bribe money in exchange for his favorable rulings.  

                          In 1983, he got arrested, was charged and went to trial,  but the key witness for the prosecution declined to testify and he was acquitted.  New investigations ensued and it was determined that Hastings had perjured himself and tampered with evidence. In 1987, after years of legal wrangling, evidence against Hastings was so glaring that an impeachment action was brought against him by the House of Representatives as is provided for in the Constitution.  In 1989 he was found guilty by the Senate and removed from the bench.  

                          He appealed to the U.S. Supreme court, but there was no turning around the verdict of Congress and Hastings had to put his robes aside permanently in exchange for a business suit.  The disgrace, disbarment and appellation of being a thief,  did not slow down the bearded, silver haired and silver tongued Hastings from embarking on a change of professions and a  new political career.  But that's the way it goes when Democrats give the green light to a loyal party guy. With Democrats, there is always mercy and a second chance.  

                           Liking Florida where he was well known, he ran for Secretary of State but lost in a tight race.  But then in 1992, the 20th district caught his eye, and Hastings ran with zest in the heavily African American area. At one point he labeled his white opponent as a racist bitch and when the votes were counted he was the new  congressman and took office in January, 1993.  No one seemed to care that he was an ex-judge who had been kicked off the federal bench for dishonesty, and at one point Pelosi even wanted him to be chairman of a key and  powerful committee, but Democratic advisers  persuaded her to do otherwise. Last November, he was reelected for the 13th consecutive time.                                        

                            Overlooking Hastings' thievery and disgrace was never a  problem for Democrats who always take care of their own. The double standard is a way of life for Democrats. 

                            Presently, Rep. Hastings is the Vice Chairman of the House Committee on Rules and Chairman of the Subcommittee on Legislative and Budget Process, which deals with legislation regarding relations between Congress and the Executive Branch.  Also, he is the Chairman of the Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe (U.S. Helsinki Commission), charged with monitoring compliance with the Helsinki Accords and advancing comprehensive security through promotion of human rights, democracy, and economic, environmental and military cooperation in 57 countries.

                           Congressman Hastings also serves as Dean and Co-Chairman of the Florida Delegation, and Senior Democratic Whip.

                            

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TULSI GABBARD--WHAT'S NOT TO LIKE

 

                                                       BY WILLIAM JUNEAU

                                  It is not just the beauty of the beaches and the palm trees and the cool blue waters and evening breezes which excite citizens and make them look with affection on Hawaii, the eden of the Pacific.   Nowadays, along with the enchantments of this paradise island, thousands of miles from America's turbulent capitol, there is a growing sentiment and admiration for Hawaii's former Congresswoman,  Tulsi Gabbard,  for the honesty and courage and political grit which she has displayed.

                                 For sure, many citizens are disappointed that Ms. Gabbard is no longer a figure in the House of Representatives where she was a member from  2013 to the beginning of this year (2021).   She stepped down from her Hawaiian seat having decided not to seek another term, though her reelection appeared certain to observers.   

                                   In many ways, Rep. Gabbard, 39, was unique as a Democrat member of the People's House, led by old and venomous Nancy Pelosi whose hate for President Trump and contempt for Republicans has become legendary. 

                                 Unlike partisan Democrats who simply kneel and do what they are told to do, their oath be dammed, Gabbard represented her district and  made her decisions based upon what she believed to be the best for the country and its citizens.  Sometimes she disagreed with her party's fumbling and disingenuous policies and rantings based solely on aversion for the sitting President, and she made her positions known.  In the partisan Ukraine impeachment fantasy of President Trump,  Gabbard voted present while every other Democrat followed the party's manufactured  effort to destroy the Trump presidency and legacy. 

                                 Last year, during the Democrat's search for a presidential nominee,  Gabbard entered the competition as a candidate. On the national debate stage, she was reasonable and articulate and smart, and she stood out for her patriotism and good sense. Party loyalty was important but not always the bottom line.   She won support and praise from many corners of the country which heretofore were unfamiliar with even her name.  Her failure to line up as a belligerent critic and hater of President Trump drew criticism from prominent Democrats, including Hillary Clinton, who accused her of being a Russian plant. She withdrew as a candidate and subsequently sued Clinton for defamation. 

                                    Physically attractive and well educated, Gabbard was a major in the army reserves and had served in combat in Iraq and other parts of the Middle East.  Her popularity and respect from peers inside the  People's House was well known, and she worked regularly with Republican colleagues on pending legislation designed to benefit all Americans.  She was an elected Democrat, but her pride as an American took precedence over her party loyalties, and her disenchantment with the Nancy Pelosi leadership was never much of a secret. 

                                     After rioters swarmed the capitol on January 6, she denounced the violence, and  took issue with the conduct of prominent Democrats  and with "Big Tech" companies which suspended President Trump's platform to communicate his messages to Americans. 

                                     It took courage, but the 39-year-old ex-battle- hardened Army veteran,  saw the negatives in the partisan lying and rantings from prominent Democrats in the House and she singled out for criticism Adam Schiff, a Pelosi weasel who has lied repeatedly in public statements and former CIA Director John Brennan, whose fealty to the United States has always been questioned. 

                                      As a guest on a Fox News show with Laura Ingraham, Gabbard upbraided Nancy Pelosi for having labeled Republicans as terrorists who are causing problems and are the "enemy within." Pelosi's remarks, she said, qualified  as "throwing a match onto the tinderbox." Her words are "dangerous" and unless she has evidence to support what she is saying, she should apologize to the American people.   

                                     Gabbard has posted a video on the social airways with her reaction to the violence and and to the pummeling of the Free speech rights belonging to all Americans including the President.   

                                     "President Biden, I call upon you and all members of Congress from both parties to denounce these efforts by the likes of Brennan and others to take away our civil liberties that are endowed to us by our Creator and guaranteed in our Constitution. If you don’t stand up to these people now, then our country will be in great peril.

                                       “The mob which stormed the Capitol on January 6 to try to stop Congress from carrying out its constitutional responsibilities was behaving like domestic enemies of our country,” Gabbard said. 

                                        “But let’s be clear," she emphasized, "the John Brennans,  and the Adam Schiffs and the oligarchs in Big Tech who are trying to undermine our constitutionally protected rights and turn our country into a police state with KGB-style surveillance are also domestic enemies....and they are more powerful, and dangerous, than the mob that stormed the Capitol.” 

                                          Her negative references to Adam Schiff, a Pelosi sycophant,  were actually restrained, given Schiff's conduct as a proven liar. Over the last four years Schiff has attacked the former president on an almost daily basis, and has never been held accountable for what he has said.  Instead he is praised by the far left Media which is now owned and controlled by the Democratic party. As  chairman of the powerful House Intelligence committee,  Schiff has led efforts to impeach President Trump on fabricated allegations, and in 2018 even persuaded an army lieutenant colonel working in the White House to betray his commander-in-chief and  invent seditious charges that the President had bulldozed the Ukrainian president in an effort to have him denigrate Joe Biden.

                                         John Brennan, a former CIA director and Obama loyalist, has said that he was in favor of  Biden forces moving in "laser like" fashion to identify members of the pro-Trump insurgency, namely, "religious extremists, fascists bigots, racists, nativists and even libertarians who did his biddings." 

                                         Brennan's patriotism to the counry has long been a subject of speculation and question.   He was an activist and a supporter of Communist Gus Hall who sought the Presidency back in the 1970s.  One former FBI agent who worked with Brennan in the Middle East has said that Brennan is a convert to the Islam religion, and "cannot be trusted." When sworn into that office as the spy chief,  Brennan declined to take his oath with his hand on the Bible; and instead took his oath of office with his hand on an  old and superseded copy of the U.S. Constitution which did not include four of the ten amendments in the Bill of Rights. 

                                         Hopefully, the courage displayed by Tulsi Gabbard will influence other dedicated and honest Democrats to come forward and help end the left wing efforts to bring discord to the country and to terminate adherence to the 250 year old U.S. Constitution. 

                                         

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TALK OF "MOM" AND "DAD" BANNED IN THE PEOPLE'S HOUSE.

                                    BY WILLIAM JUNEAU

                                           Is there a corner group of Americans-- somewhere, or anywhere-- who actually support plans by the House of Representatives (The People's House) to "de-gender" the rhetoric and the written words used by its members? In a spurt of asininity led by the aged and mush-mouthed lady speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi, changes have been drafted to Rule XXIII of the official House Code of Official Conduct--- so buckle up. 

                                Technically, according to Pelosi, the necessary changes are being offered for pronouns and familial relationships in the House rules so as to become "gender neutral," and to provide a warmer welcome to new members from the LGBTQ community.  

                                 As I get it, the actual implementing of this absurd proposed rule change, remains subject to approval by a majority of the 435 members of the U.S. House of Representatives. Since the proposal is being pushed by the speaker, and no doubt endorsed by cool and ambitious "squad members," it is likely to pass.  The idea is so incredibly looney that I fear that it will appeal to the full ship of Democrats, or as some refer to the majority members as the "ship of fools."  

                                 Words and phrases scheduled to be struck from the House vocabulary include father, mother, son, daughter, brother, sister, uncle, aunt, nephew, niece, husband, wife, father-in-law, mother-in-law, son-in-law, daughter-in-law, brother-in-law, sister-in-law, stepfather, stepmother, stepson, stepdaughter, stepbrother, stepsister, half brother, half sister, grandson, and granddaughter.

                                The terms would be replaced with parent, child, sibling, parent’s sibling, first cousin, sibling’s child, spouse, parent-in-law, child-in-law, sibling-in-law, stepparent, stepchild, stepsibling, half-sibling, and grandchild. 

                               The prohibitive list which is lowering the hammer on affectionate words like "Mom" and "Dad," and very likely, "Nana" and "Papa." will certainly grow.  Comments like "founding fathers" will require a change, and correspondingly,  "chairman" will become the "chair."  The Second Commandment,  "Honor your Father and your Mother" apparently will be banned from  conversations inside the House, and on congressional stationary.

                                No congressperson should be caught giving a "mother of-pearl" necklace to a beloved daughter (child), lest he or she be hauled before the ethics committee.

                                Quite an undertaking on the agenda for the new 117th congress.  No word on when the vote might come, but right now, Speaker Pelosi and favored colleagues Adam Schiff, Jerold "Fat Jerry" Nadler and Eric Swalwell, who shared pillow talk with a Chinese spy, are advocates of the de-gendering talk as necessary to assuage the offensiveness which the free use of these words and expressions have caused to the gay, lesbian and trans community.  

                                 Former Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard of Hawaii, blasted the idea of gender word reform as nonsense.  In Congress for seven years, Gabbard, a Democrat, had been a candidate for President last year.  She opted not to run for another term in congress though her popularity in the island state remains strong. 

                                  "It's the height of hypocrisy for people who claim to be the champions of rights for women to deny the very biological existence of women," Gabbard said in an interview... "The proposed rule shows how out of touch lawmakers are with reality and the needs of the American people." 

                                   "Their first act as this new Congress could have been to make sure elderly Americans are able to get the COVID vaccine now alongside front-line health care workers,"   Instead of doing something that could actually help save people's lives, she said, they (House members) are choosing instead to say 'You can't say mother or father."                                   

                                    According to Pelosi, the changes are necessary as the House continues to welcome in new members of the Gay and Trans community.  Pelosi, who will turn 81 in March has been a California representative since 1987 and has been speaker, on and off,  since 2013.  She has a net worth of $120 million, according to on line reports.

                                     Kevin McCarthy, California representative who is the minority leader in the House with 211 Republicans and 222 Democrats, summed it up with one word:  "Stupid."  

                                    

                               

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SENORA HILARIA

 

     

                                                    BY WILLIAM  JUNEAU

                                 As we sort through all the stories which have made 2020 a year to be forever remembered, the saga of Hilaria Thomas Baldwin is in the pile, but its historical significance is near the bottom.  But it is there to talk about.

                                 In the final month of 2020, it was revealed that fitness expert Hilaria Baldwin, 36, celebrity wife of actor, Alec Baldwin, had been hoodwinking her associates and fans into believing that she was a Spaniard.  She possessed a comely face, charm and athletic curves, and her rhetoric was interspersed with Spanish inflections and colloquialisms.

                                 Usually the aura of Spanish enchantment is most apparent in the  cultured, goateed gentleman with impressive duds and a baritone voice and with an intriguing Latino name, but not always.  A  lady, comely and alluring with broken English and with the name of "Hilaria," will certainly draw attention from the Hollywood crowd and the hoi polloi. 

                                 Seems like that was how it was for Hillary Thomas Baldwin,  who was born in Bean town-- Boston-- in Massachusetts, but then found that her standing as a fitness expert and author of books, could be enhanced if she acquired the distinction of being a Spanish lady.  Step one was to change her  given name of Hillary to "Hilaria,"  and to mix her English with demure Spanish stumbles and expressions.  On one occasion, while being interviewed, she said she did not remember the English word for "cucumber."  

                                  Soon, Hilaria was perceived by her friends as a full-fledged immigrant from Spain, and in fact, she frequently referred to her roots in Spain, on the island of Mallorca, a place well known for its fashionable lifestyle, resorts and beaches. 

                                 In 2011,  she  met Alec Baldwin, an actor in movies and on television, who at 54 was some 25 years her senior. They were  married the following year  and the volatile and boastful Baldwin was enchanted with his beautiful young bride and he often spoke of her intriguing Spanish ways and of the beautiful island of Mallorca where she was born.  In the passing eight years, the Baldwins became the parents of five children,   Carmen,  Rafael,  Leonardo Angel Charles,  Romeo Alejandro David; and  Eduardo Pau Lucas. Beautiful Spanish names and the illusion of Spanish heritage continued to flower.                         

                                 Hilaria's success and reputation surged. She exhibited ambition and business acumen and became admired and widely known as a fitness guru.   She authored several books on staying fit, and appeared in films.  Her winsome face showed up in newspapers and on the cover of periodicals such as Hola, a Spanish language magazine.

                                  In early December of last year as Hilaria's endeavors were making her rich and famous, a twitter posting from a critic put a dent in her success story, and probably in her bank accounts.      

                                  "You have to admire Hilaria Baldwin's commitment to her decades long grift where she impersonates a Spanish person." the tweet read. The castigation promptly went viral and Hilaria was on the defensive.  Husband Baldwin too, was asked for an explanation and he said he considered the social media a bucket of "crap."    

                                   For most of December and into January of the new year, Mrs. Baldwin was busy defending herself against being a culture fake. Her explanations were everywhere, but for the most part she simply denied that it was her intention to pass herself off as a Spaniard.  Since she was a young girl, she said, she had visited Spain with her parents and it was like a second home to her. 

                                But, she declared, "I am a white woman, born in Boston, Massachusetts.  I am who I am and have always had emotional  ties to Spain." She also explained that her stumble on the English word for cucumber was simply a "brain fart," and was not intended to enhance her Spanish personality.  She said that she and her husband are raising their children to be bilingual in the same way that she was raised.                                    . 

                                 Hilaria is a cultural wannabe, no question about that, and it certainly enhanced her bottom line.  According to today's experts, she is worth more than $10 million.  She has much in common with Rachel Dolezal and Jessica Krug, white women who pretended for many years to be black, and rose to positions of  trust and prominence. Krug was a professor at George Washington University in the nation's capital when in 2019 she admitted that she had been living a lie.  

                                 Like Krug,  Ms Dolezal  was the white daughter of Caucasian parents.  She was active with the NAACP and held a high office in that organization in Spokane, Washington. Her pretense that she was a Black woman went on for decades and came to a stop after her White mother and father came forward and declared that Rachel was a white woman and had always been one.  

                                     It is mucho amusing and entertaining to see how easily one can morph from plain old Hilary of Boston to Hilaria exotica de Mallorca, no?  

                                                 xxx

PERSON OF THE YEAR

            

                                  BY WILLIAM JUNEAU

                              Like much of the media, Time Magazine doesn't have the prestige and power  (or circulation) it had in bygone days.  So the announcement on the cover of the once famous flagship of Henry Luce, of the selection of the 2020 "Person of the Year,"  didn't have too many people writhing in feverish anticipation. 

                            This December, it was the 78-year-old  President-elect Joe Biden, and his Vice President Kamala Harris as the honored "Persons of the Year."  In the judgment of the liberal Time's editors and writers, here was the twosome which exerted incredible "impact" on life and times in the USA during the turbulent 12 months of 2020. 

                            Finding sense in the selection by Time editors is nearly impossible.  The 12-months of  2020 was the year of a pandemic which took the lives of 600,000 Americans and millions throughout the world. It was a year in which the President was impeached by a completely partisan House for make-believe misdeeds.  It was a year which saw increased racial tensions stemming from the death of a black man with a criminal past at the hands of a white police officer.  It was a presidential election which was loaded with fraud.

                           It was a year in which the former Obama-era Vice President and Time's honoree was linked to the seeming criminal activities of his son, Hunter, a cocaine addict, and to his brother James, in million, even billion dollar deals with Red China, Russia, Ukraine and Romania--all of which were evidenced by emails now in the hands of the FBI and under investigation. . 

                            It was a year which will live forever in history books, but the impact that Joe Biden and Kamala Harris are alleged to have provided in the judgment of the editors of Time magazine, is a fairy tale, which has its roots in Time's disdain of President Trump and his conservative approach to government.  The magazine is applauded by cohorts in the media which have abandoned all journalistic objectivity in its coverage of the Trump administration. 

                             In this unforgettable year, who were the candidates for Time's chair of honor?   Extraordinary circumstances require extraordinary responses, but Time magazine failed to produce one, so let's ruminate a bit more.

                            In 2020 there were thousands of health care workers and first responders who put their lives on the line as they worked endless hours trying to save patients dying by the thousands of Covid-19. There were scientists, like Dr. Anthony Fauci and hundreds of doctors who worked day and night to understand this new plague and researchers who produced a viable vaccine in record time. 

                           There were small business people faced with enforced slow downs and closings of their restaurants and bars and hair salons, who worked feverishly to adapt to new ways of doing business and to erect protective shields and outside tents to keep employees and customers safe--only to be shut down as the pandemic surged. 

                         There was even the much maligned President Trump. He pushed  for the Warp Speed program to produce vaccines and the all out production of ventilators and urged a foot-dragging Congress to produce financial support for the unemployed and small business owners, even if he did fall down on wearing a mask and social distancing at all times..

                         And then there was the slow witted and aging Joe Biden, who spent six months in his basement, but still managed to win a deeply suspect election. And there was Kamala Harris, who once applauded the woman who accused her running mate of sexual assault.  Harris, whom the magazines lauded for her mixed heritage, also is remembered for denouncing her running mate as a racist who opposed desegregation policies, and who had allied himself with southern bigots in the Congress where he had served as a Delaware senator for nearly 40 years.   

                        In my opinion, the 2020 election was all about love and hate.  Millions of Americans voted for President Trump's reelection because they loved him, unconditionally.  Slightly more Americans,  residing principally in New York and California, voted for Biden, simply because they despised  President Trump.  Personally, I doubt  that there were many citizens who voted for the slow-witted  Biden because they saw him as the preferred guiding hand for the nation. 

                      Finding "impact" from the presence of Biden and Harris is poor journalism, but definitely in keeping with Time's "Never Trump" agenda. The choice of Biden and Harris was not only ludicrous, it was an insult to the thousands who truly deserved the recognition. 

                                               xxx