Cliches are sometimes unavoidable (hindsight is 20/20), but then so is history – it provides clarity when obfuscation is the order of the day. It seems fitting to say that in some respects we have been here before. Earlier it was with one who some say was a pioneer and in some respects a forerunner to Trump – Patrick Joseph Buchanan. The author, advisor to Nixon, Ford, and Reagan and TV commentator pursued a political agenda that still resonates today among conservative American minds. Those searching for Pat Buchanan’s influence on Trump and the Republican party will not find it in Buchanan’s animus toward the State of Israel. High on his list of priorities for America was a moratorium on unlimited immigration, including a wall along the southern border. He sought to rescind unfair trade agreements and reinvigorate U.S. manufacturing. Buchanan cautioned Americans against foreign interventions and warned that American culture was slipping away. He decried as un-American a “rigged” political system with a voice which produced a groundswell shaking Republican elites. And he was denounced (at the time) by the future 45th President of the United States — Donald J. Trump. In 1999, the Reform Party in America had just been created from what remained of Ross Perot’s two efforts for the White House. Pat Buchanan was about to campaign under that aegis for his third presidential run in a decade. Contrary to his ‘92 and ‘96 bids, Buchanan arrived for his 1999 presidential campaign as a serious contender. It was assumed he’d give “the second Bush” a serious run. (READ MORE from F. Andrew Wolf Jr.: Is ‘Man the Measure’? From Where Does Our Freedom Come?) But the Republicans were putting together something much stronger than what Buchanan had experienced before. It quickly became apparent; the contest was being orchestrated against him. Sound familiar? Buchanan realized his dilemma. He could surrender, like others before him; he could against all odds wage a principled but “rigged” battle against the second Bush. Or he could embrace America’s newest electoral entity — the Reform Party. “The day of the outsider is over in the Beltway parties,” Buchanan said. “The money men have seen to that. Never again will our political establishment permit a dissident to come as close to capturing a nomination as we did in 1996. They have rearranged the primary schedules and rigged the game to protect the party favorites.” Buchanan’s new book at the time was met with both enthusiasm and no small degree of trepidation. A Republic, Not an Empire, amounted to a concerted exposition against foreign entanglements — especially military interventions. The “year 1989 was the American moment,” he writes, “but such moments never last.” Buchanan added, “It is time to let go of empire.” He castigated the establishment (including the military industrial complex) by reconsidering America’s past military ventures. Buchanan showed that “America’s latest commitments were a dramatic break with the most cherished and prudent traditions of American foreign policy. Washington’s Farewell Address was front and center in this story.” The political commentator turned savvy politician fiercely resisted the Washington establishment by challenging not only the elites of the Republican Party but the scion of a former president from its ranks. He captured the fear and frustration of the latter couching his 1992 campaign as “a culture war … a struggle for the soul of America.” But he also garnered the attention and wrath of a former president and his son, who feared that the adage “like father like son” would eventuate politically. It has been rumored that within the Bush family, itself, an uneasiness existed — if Perot cost the father a second term, would Buchanan now deny the son his first? His solution to America’s problems would be the basis for three back-to-back runs for the White House. America, he said, needs a “new nationalism” that focuses on “forgotten Americans” left behind by unfair trade agreements, detrimental immigration policies, and foreign policy military incursions. The three-time presidential hopeful argued that “with the collapse of the Soviet empire, Europe, Japan, and South Korea were now more than capable of providing for their own defense.” America should no longer carry the burden of their defense. The ideas which Buchanan employed were and remain a function of his political ideology: nationalist, noninterventionist, contra open-border immigration, anti-establishment, against unfair trade practices. In a like manner the former president articulates his vision for America in ways that may strike a chord with the past, but that’s only because things haven’t changed much. The system doesn’t permit that. And the issues which need addressing are similar to those of the past. (READ MORE: The Enduring Ronald Reagan) Yet, in considering the past, it is not Pat Buchanan who should garner our attention when considering the politics of Donald Trump today. Yes, like Buchanan, he is nationalist, non-interventionist, contra open-border immigration, anti-establishment, and against unfair trade practices. But Donald Trump is not constrained by those political characteristics; in fact, it was Pat Buchanan who has referred to the former president as the “heir to Reagan.” The similarities are not insignificant. The two former presidents were outsiders, not career politicians. Reagan a successful actor in Democrat Hollywood — Trump, a real estate developer from Queens (a distinctly Democrat city). Both took on the Washington establishment of their day and left their imprimatur upon it. Lest we forget history — let’s “give credit where credit is due.” While it is true that “Make America First Again” started with Buchanan in the ‘90s, it was Ronald Reagan who printed “Let’s Make America Great Again” on millions of buttons and posters in his landslide victory over Jimmy Carter in 1980. Like Ronald Reagan, Trump was regarded in Washington with derision, bordering on resentment for having the audacity to be President in “their city” and contempt for surviving their ridicule (in spite of assassination attempts.) Reagan, like Trump, also admonished America that a country that can’t control its borders isn’t really a country any more. Many deride Reagan for signing the 1986 Immigration Reform and Control Act, which sparked the decades-long flow of immigrants into the U.S. But no one doubts Reagan’s sincere belief in the efficacy of the employer sanctions he insisted be written into the bill. He couldn’t have known at that time of the overwhelming power of the metastasized civil rights regime, or that in its name the courts would step in to obstruct enforcement of those provisions. Reagan and his “heir apparent” subscribe to federalism and state’s rights, preferring to send power and authority back to the people. A Pro-life commitment is tangible in each president’s tenure in office, with Trump appointing three of the justices who made possible the overturning of Roe v. Wade. And both articulate libertarian policies which focus on individual freedom, exemplified by both presidents’ record of deregulation. Tax cuts are and were important to both presidents. For Reagan, they were employed to mitigate our dependence on government and kickstart a moribund economy. For Trump, they incentivized businesses and helped a beleaguered middle-class. Necessary programs like Medicare and Social Security were never in jeopardy. Finally — and this is where the difference between Trump and Buchanan are most apparent — both presidents shared a commitment to Israel, embracing the Strategic Defense Initiative as now embodied by Israel’s Iron Dome Anti-Missile Defense System. Reagan became politically conscious at the time the Jewish state was created in 1948 and felt a warmth toward it stemming from Truman’s embrace of the embattled fledgling democracy. For Reagan, Israel was a stalwart anti-communist ally in a dangerous region. Moreover, Israel now rejoices in Trump’s having moved the U.S. Embassy to its capital city of Jerusalem, as well as in America’s recognition of the Golan Heights as sovereign Israeli territory. Several Muslim countries in the region have begun “normalizing” relations with the Jewish State thanks to Donald Trump’s Abraham Accords initiative. Those searching for Pat Buchanan’s influence on Trump and the Republican party will not find it in Buchanan’s animus toward the State of Israel. Republicans are now overwhelmingly pro-Israel and feel a kinship with Israel’s Likud party. Few (if any) Republicans would say today that the problems in the Middle-East are the fault of “the Israeli Defense Ministry and its amen corner in the United States,” as Buchanan did in 1990. But in truth, the calls from both Reagan and Buchanan for Americans to “take back America” from those who care only for themselves — and not America or Americans — continues to ring true on the lips of Donald Trump. Buchanan, now 85, looks back on a life replete with victories for many of the beliefs he thought redounded to America’s best interest. For a long period many thought these beliefs were at risk of being forgotten — but that was before Donald Joseph Trump became the 45th President of the United States. For all of his influence, Buchanan himself now views Donald Trump as “the future of the Republican Party,” and he acknowledges that Trump possesses attributes that he himself did not. “Trump is sui generis, unlike any candidate of recent times,” writes the retired Buchanan. “And his success is attributable not only to his stance on issues, but to his persona, his defiance of political correctness … charging in frontally where others refuse to tread.” High praise from an influential elder statesman. The post Is Donald J. Trump Channeling Pat Buchanan? appeared first on The American Spectator | USA News and Politics.

from SD Bullion: TRUTH LIVES on at https://sgtreport.tv/

by Martin Armstrong, Armstrong Economics: I have been asked numerous times if a Donald Trump victory would equate to eliminating our computer’s projection for war. No. No one can alter a cycle once in motion. We can change the velocity at best but everyone and anyone who has tried to alter a cycle, be it […]

Vice President Kamala Harris‘ Secret Service detail was caught on video committing crimes against a local business owner during a Harris campaign event late last month in Massachusetts, according to a report. Alicia Powers, owner of Four One Three Salon in Pittsfield, said that she would have been more than happy to let the Secret Service use her business as a comfort station during Harris’ event in the city on Saturday July 27 if they had simply asked her permission. “I’m the kind of person that would have set up coffee and doughnuts for them had they asked me for permission,” said Powers. “Instead, they taped over a security camera on the back porch, broke into the salon, helped themselves to the bathroom, ate the mints on the counter and left without tidying up the bathroom or locking the back door on the way out,” according to The Berkshire Eagle, a local newspaper. The Secret Service agents never contacted her or her landlord to ask permission to enter the building. Powers had decided to close her business for the remainder of the day on the 27th because the agents were doing intense bomb sweeps in the area and things became “a little bit chaotic.” The U.S. Secret Service is apologizing to a Massachusetts salon owner after an agent covered her security camera with duct tape and broke into her salon by picking the lock so that its bathroom could be used by various people for a two-hour period. After the two-hour period,… pic.twitter.com/s4qSFtebn0 — Yashar Ali ? (@yashar) August 11, 2024 The Pittsfield Police Department has been supportive of her efforts to get accountability after what Harris’ agents did. The Secret Service claims that they never would have entered the business if they were not given permission. Powers said that she did not give them permission and she feels violated, angry, and disrespected, the report said. WATCH THE TRAILER FOR ‘AM I RACIST?’ — A MATT WALSH COMEDY ON DEI “When they cleaned up and they left the tape on my camera and they left my back door completely unlocked,” she said. “What could have happened in that hour and a half or two hours that you guys left the building unlocked?” Brian Smith, the building’s landlord, told Business Insider that he did not give the Secret Service permission to enter. “Me and my dad own the building, and I have a crazy eccentric guy that lives upstairs,” Smith told BI. “And he didn’t tell the Secret Service they could use it, and I didn’t tell them, and my father didn’t tell them, and they had no permission to go in there whatsoever.” Powers had other cameras set up that alerted her that people were coming in and out of her business for two hours. “From the communication I’ve heard from the EMS workers, somebody dressed in all black was telling them to come in and use the bathroom all afternoon,” she said. When she spoke to the New York Secret Service office, she said that they denied their agents would act that way and then tried to guilt her into letting go of the issue. “And he kind of ended the conversation with telling me, ‘Do you think we need to deal with this right now with what we have going on?’ And my response was, ‘Sir, I’m not trying to be rude but I don’t deserve to deal with this right now either,’” she said. Powers told Business Insider that the head of the Secret Service’s Boston-based field office caller her and apologized after Business Insider published its report. “He said to me everything that was done was done very wrong,” Powers said. “They were not supposed to tape my camera without permission. They were not supposed to enter the building without permission.”

Vice President Kamala Harris stole Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump’s “No Tax On Tips” policy proposal during a political rally on Saturday night in Las Vegas. Trump has been repeatedly touting his plan for months as a way of helping service and hospitality workers who have been financially damaged by high inflation rates that President Joe Biden sparked with massive government spending early on in his presidency. “It is my promise to everyone here, when I am president, we will continue to fight for working families, including to raise the minimum wage and eliminate taxes on tips for service and hospitality workers,” Harris said. Trump immediately ripped Harris on social media for stealing his policy proposal. “Kamala Harris, whose ‘Honeymoon’ period is ENDING, and is starting to get hammered in the Polls, just copied my NO TAXES ON TIPS Policy,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “The difference is, she won’t do it, she just wants it for Political Purposes! This was a TRUMP idea – She has no ideas, she can only steal from me. Remember, Kamala has proposed the LARGEST TAX INCREASE IN HISTORY – It won’t happen. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!!!” The idea was so popular that the powerful Culinary Union, a left-wing organization, endorsed Trump’s “No Tax On Tips” proposal, as did the state’s two Democrat U.S. Senators. WATCH BEN SHAPIRO’S ‘SCAMALA: KAMALA HARRIS UNMASKED’ ON DAILYWIRE+ WATCH: Kamala just announced she is stealing President Trump's "NO TAX ON TIPS" proposal. But like everything else she says, it's a pure political calculation she'll never actually do — but President Trump WILL. pic.twitter.com/8MiJ8eFreu — Trump War Room (@TrumpWarRoom) August 11, 2024

Country star Parker McCollum and his wife, Hallie Ray Light, are now the proud parents of a little boy! The couple officially welcomed their first child—Major Yancey Tyler McCollum—on August 8th, according to a joint Instagram post. A series of photos shows Parker and Hallie all smiles as they pose with their newborn in the hospital. A photographer also captured up-close pics of Major looking wide-eyed and adorable in a white onesie and blue hat. Later photos show the new parents introducing their son to their dog, Ruger, and his nursery. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Hallie Ray Light McCollum (@hallieraylight) “Mom & Dad forever!!” Parker wrote in the comments. “I love you, Hallie Ray, and I love our little man, Major.” The ACM winner’s famous friends were quick to give him and Hallie congratulations. “CONGRATS GUYS,” wrote Brittany Aldean. “Congrats, bro!” added her husband, Jason Aldean. “Best feeling in the world. So happy for y’all.” “YAYY so happy for y’all. Love the name,” added Nicole Combs. “He’s perfect,” gushed Summer Pardi. “Congratulations.” Parker McCollum and Hallie Ray Light Share Pregnancy News Just Before Their 2nd Wedding Anniversary Parker McCollum and Hallie Ray Light said “I do” during a stunning Texas affair on March 28th, 2022. They announced that they were growing their family just ahead of their second anniversary. In a February 7th Instagram post, the soon-to-be mom and dad shared the exciting news with a romantic seaside photo. In it, they stood before a gorgeous sunset and Parker kissed his wife while she cradled her baby bump. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Hallie Ray Light McCollum (@hallieraylight) “God’s little blessing,” they wrote. “We Iove you so much already, Baby M!” This story’s featured image is by Omar Vega/WireImage. The post Country Star Parker McCollum and Wife Hallie Ray Light Welcome A Baby Boy! See The Adorable Pics! appeared first on InspireMore.

On Friday morning, MSNBC's Jose Diaz Balart devoted a segment to complaining about both the Joe Biden and Donald Trump administrations slowing down the entry of illegal immigrants as the liberal host fretted that limiting immigrant entry makes it take longer for LGBT asylum seekers to enter the country. After beginning the segment by playing a clip of former President Donald Trump promising mass deportations, Diaz-Balart undermined him: You know, immigration is such a hot political topic, but when you look at it, and when you study it, it really all boils down to people. I want to introduce you to three people who were forced to leave their country of birth and experience the most horrendous abuse on their way to the United States because, for them -- for them -- asylum is literally about life or death. He then played a pre-recorded piece recalling the violence faced by gays and transgenders who travel from Central America through Mexico to reach the U.S. before bringing aboard Bridget Crawford of the group Immigration Equality to complain that it is too difficult for gays to get into the U.S.: You know, the process itself is quite daunting, and there are lots of systemic barriers that make asylum out of reach for people even who should qualify. For example, you know, there are policies that have been brought under both the Biden and the Trump administration that make people presumptively ineligible for asylum depending on whether they entered the country regardless of how strong their underlying claim is. She soon complained about gay asylum seekers being detained before their cases are heard: And I think this is particularly pronounced and hard when people are detained. So many asylum seekers are put in immigration jails just because they asked for asylum and assistance. And LGBTQ people face particularly abusive conditions in U.S. immigration jails and often struggle to find lawyers or even prepare their cases. No concerns were raised about how the system needs time to do proper background checks on illegals to make sure they have not committed crimes back in their home countries, and that there have been many cases of those with criminal records being allowed to enter the U.S. in recent years. Diaz-Balart followed up: "Yeah, I mean, so many people who make the journey to the United States in the last couple of years tell us that the worst part of their journey is when they have to go through Mexico. You've represented so many asylum seekers. Do LGBTQ people face additional dangers?" Crawford concluded by complaining about both the Biden and Trump administrations making it too difficult for asylum seekers to enter: ...But one of the biggest problems that we're running into now in Mexico is these asylum bans that have been brought under both the Trump administration and the Biden administration that makes someone ineligible for asylum if they cross the border without authorization, and this means that you have to go through a port of entry to be eligible for asylum. But the issue is, to approach this port of entry, you have to have an appointment, and you might have to wait six, seven months to get this appointment, and this strains at the LGBTQ refugees like my client, like the folks that you had in Mexico in these dangerous conditions. Diaz-Balart wrapped up: "What a horrible, horrible reality that I'm so glad that we're -- and I'm so glad that you are -- Bridget -- are doing to shine a light on this. I thank you for being with us this morning, Appreciate it." Transcript follows: MSNBC's Jose Diaz Balart Reports August 9, 2024 11:45 a.m. Eastern DONALD TRUMP: We are going to start the largest mass deportation in the history of our country because we have no choice. It's not sustainable (editing jump) ... and we're going to start with violent criminals, and we're going to start then with criminals. And our local police is going to work with us because they know everything about the people. They know their names -- they know everything about them. JOSE DIAZ-BALART: You know, immigration is such a hot political topic, but when you look at it, and when you study it, it really all boils down to people. I want to introduce you to three people who were forced to leave their country of birth and experience the most horrendous abuse on their way to the United States because, for them -- for them -- asylum is literally about life or death. (...) What are some of the challenges LGBTQ people face in getting asylum in the U.S.? BRIDGET CRAWFORD, IMMIGRATION EQUALITY: Well, I mean, I think there are a lot of them unfortunately despite the strength of their underlying claims. You know, the process itself is quite daunting, and there are lots of systemic barriers that make asylum out of reach for people even who should qualify. For example, you know, there are policies that have been brought under both the Biden and the Trump administration that make people presumptively ineligible for asylum depending on whether they entered the country regardless of how strong their underlying claim is. You know, I think another big challenge for people is navigating this very complex immigration system, often without a lawyer, especially in a language that they may not understand. Studies show that folks who have lawyers are between five and 10 times more likely to win relief, but many asylum seekers, especially if they enter across the southern border, don't have an attorney. And many folks struggle without an attorney to access the evidence that would help them prove their claim. And I think this is particularly pronounced and hard when people are detained. So many asylum seekers are put in immigration jails just because they asked for asylum and assistance. And LGBTQ people face particularly abusive conditions in U.S. immigration jails and often struggle to find lawyers or even prepare their cases. DIAZ-BALART: Yeah, I mean, so many people who make the journey to the United States in the last couple of years tell us that the worst part of their journey is when they have to go through Mexico. You've represented so many asylum seekers. Do LGBTQ people face additional dangers? CRAWFORD: Yes. I mean, this is so consistent with what we've seen. Mexico is an asylum-producing country, meaning that we have lots of Mexicans who win their cases for asylum because of what they face in Mexico. And the situation is often worse for refugees from other countries traveling through Mexico who may not have any support system... (...) ...But one of the biggest problems that we're running into now in Mexico is these asylum bans that have been brought under both the Trump administration and the Biden administration that makes someone ineligible for asylum if they cross the border without authorization, and this means that you have to go through a port of entry to be eligible for asylum. But the issue is, to approach this port of entry, you have to have an appointment, and you might have to wait six, seven months to get this appointment, and this strains at the LGBTQ refugees like my client, like the folks that you had in Mexico in these dangerous conditions. DIAZ-BALART: What a horrible, horrible reality that I'm so glad that we're -- and I'm so glad that you are -- Bridget -- are doing to shine a light on this. I thank you for being with us this morning, Appreciate it.