NewsNation Chief Washington Anchor and On Balance host Leland Vittert was a foreign correspondent for four years in Jerusalem. He gives you an early look at tonight’s 7 p.m. ET show. Subscribe to War Notes here.
“Can I Take Questions?”
Yesterday, President Biden asked his staff if he could take questions from the press — they immediately answered, “No.”
Flashback to when Biden promised the most transparent administration in history.
Watch tonight: Mick Mulvaney (who once tried to hide Trump) on how the White House actually hides the president and whether White House reporters will EVER turn on Biden.
Crime and Disease
Even mention the crime (such as the murder of Laken Riley, the murder of Mollie Tibbetts a few years before and the recent kidnapping and rape of a woman in Florida) and disease (like the measles outbreak in Chicago) brought by the influx of illegal immigrants, and one is instantly labeled “xenophobic, anti-science and racist.”
- And yes, anti-immigrant activists claiming those arriving bring crime and disease go back to the 1800s, and their claims were largely untrue, but that doesn’t make them untrue now.
- A couple of weeks ago, Geraldo Rivera joined us to discuss his 2007 shouting match with Bill O’Reilly.
- Geraldo echoed the “studies show illegal immigrants commit crimes at a much lower rate than the native-born population” argument many people make these days.
- Well, turns out those studies are old, use incomplete data and miss the current crime wave plaguing America.
- We know this because we checked.
- Watch our interview with the one statistician who got complete data (about the immigration status of convicted murderers in Texas).
- We know this because we checked.
And it is not just those that come here illegally. In an attempt to lower the numbers crossing the southern border, the Biden administration offered a number of parole and quasi-asylum programs to some individuals.
One is now accused of raping a child in Massachusetts.
Yes, but, argue the activists, children are raped all the time — why deny people the right to come to America?
- And therein lies the fundamental difference between the progressive Left and traditional Americans: There is no right to come to America.
And the lax or nonexistent checks at the border not only miss known criminals but also miss the dangerous diseases they may carry.
Chicago now runs a quarantine hotel for illegal immigrants with measles. It’s not Chicago taxpayers’ fault and shouldn’t be their responsibility.
Get out, says ultra-progressive mayor of Chicago Brandon Johnson, who is evicting illegal immigrants from city-paid shelters after 90 days, citing a lack of “federal investment.”
We’ll see how long it takes for him to be called “xenophobic, anti-science and racist.”
Dead Boeing Whistleblower “Made Powerful Enemies”
The list of Boeing’s problems is long …
- doors falling off airplanes
- missing security tapes
- incomplete records
- shoddy work
- executives under fire
- angry investigators
- investor questions
But it appeared they caught a major break when the key whistleblower about their profits-over-passengers business strategy ended up dead. It was deemed a “suicide.”
Not so fast:
- The New York Post reports major discrepancies in the storyline, including reporting that John Barnett made powerful enemies.
- Barnett checked out of the hotel in the morning but went to the hotel restaurant for dinner.
- His driver’s license was still in his room, but he died in his truck
- They found him with the gun in his hand, but only 25% of the time do guns stay in the hand of the person who died by suicide.
It seems too convenient. The one person who is willing to talk about firsthand experiences with Boeing’s problems ends up dead.
NYC Needs a Rudy
The two-minute video of a fight turned stabbing turned shooting on New York City’s subway encapsulates everything wrong with the Big Apple:
- Unchecked violence
- The migrant crisis
- A mental health crisis
- Shootouts on subways
It appears the man who started it all got shot with his own gun. Interestingly, he might not get charged … perhaps the district attorney is learning something after he arrested and charged a former Marine with subduing another violent nut on the subway.
BUT THIS IS THE REAL PROBLEM!
Zoom out: Bloomberg reports more than 500,000 people have left New York City since the pandemic, and the outflow continues.
- With the video above, who wants to move to New York City?
- If you can leave, why wouldn’t you?
- As the wealthier that can escape do leave, the tax base disappears, making all the fancy social programs even less realistic.
- The progressives raise taxes on those that stay, and more leave. It becomes an endless cycle.
Over his head: New York Mayor Eric Adams thought bringing the city back would be easy. He’s a former cop but has a heart — a Mr. Cool who parties with the billionaire types.
One of his early supporters and donors sent me this devastating New York Times piece from Nicole Gelinas.
- Gelinas writes, “In many ways, Mr. Adams governs as if he were still Brooklyn borough president, a largely ceremonial post that allowed him to cheerlead for constituent causes and promote a series of ideas, achievable or otherwise. One day, he wants to eliminate rats. Another day, he’s launching a war on the sidewalk sheds that frustrate pedestrians. The next month, he wants electric helicopters. He attends flag-raisings and tiny parades. But even after a news conference to showcase a substantial idea, there is no consistent follow-through, or evidence of sustainable results. One proposal is forgotten to make room for the next.”
Watch tonight: How do we prevent the rest of America from becoming like New York? The great Victor Davis Hanson will discuss. He recently wrote a piece called “Elite Heaven or Real Hell on Earth?”
Hey, Everybody, Let’s Increase Inflation by 15%
Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., proposed an idea to increase inflation by at least 15% and completely end economic growth in America — well, actually, he proposed a 32-hour workweek.
BUT — everybody still gets paid for 40 hours of work.
- Sanders claims correctly that billionaires disproportionately benefit from all the productivity gains over the past century. Yes, because they invested in creating those gains.
We’ve become more productive since we came out of the cave, cooked with fire and invented the wheel.
Fact check: There are policy opportunities to make things more fair.
- End the carried interest deduction, which is a handout to hedge fund billionaires
- End the private jet depreciation loophole
- End Roth IRA swap for angel investments
Step back: Bernie’s proposal won’t ever become law.
- But it sounds good to working-class voters who actually WORK at WORK 40 hours a week.
- As opposed to the credentialed and elite class that makes up the Democratic base and works from home in the ‘burbs three days a week.
But if it did become law: Moving to a 32-hour workweek and legislating that pay remains the same would force employers to raise prices by 10 to 15% – and you thought inflation was bad last year?!
Case in point: Minneapolis’s city council says it will require Uber and Lyft to pay drivers a minimum wage of $15.57 per hour.
- Result: Soon, you won’t be able to get an Uber or Lyft in Minneapolis. Both companies say they will pull out of the city.
Watch tonight: Liberty Vittert will be on to discuss the proposal after testifying in Congress about it this week.
Fani’s “Odor of Mendacity”
Definition of “mendacity”: untruthfulness, tendency to lie.
The judge overseeing former President Trump’s Georgia trial wants it both ways:
- He ruled there was an “appearance of impropriety” but not enough evidence to “support a finding of an actual conflict of interest.” So Fani Willis can stay on the case if her lover, Nathan Wade, steps down.
From the ruling: “However, an odor of mendacity remains. The Court is not under an obligation to ferret out every instance of potential dishonesty from each witness or defendant ever presented.”
WAIT, WHAT?!?! If there is an odor of mendacity, as we previously defined, about a prosecutor, they shouldn’t be a prosecutor.
- In fact, a portion of the bar exam tests whether the applicant has good enough moral and ethical character to become a lawyer.
Facts: Fani Willis created the appearance of impropriety by:
- Sleeping with the man she hired to prosecute Trump
- Trying to hide it
- Allegedly paying him back for lavish trips in cash
- Being less than candid in her financial disclosures
- And that’s all before allegations the two of them committed perjury
Prosecutors have enormous power in America — they are not above the law. They are the law.
A prosecutor creating an appearance of impropriety should be more than enough to disqualify them if not remove them from office and disbar them.
The arrogance is stunning.
Perfect timing:
- Lauren Irwin (@laurenirwin88) with our partners at The Hill, reports Georgia’s governor just signed a law creating a commission to “sanction and remove” corrupt district attorneys.
Even MSNBC sees a problem.
- Zachary Leeman at Mediaite quotes MSNBC legal analyst Andrew Weissmann saying, “The key is how to go forward because clearly Wade is off, but I think this is such a huge body blow, almost a fatal blow to Fani Willis. I think the way forward is she has to voluntarily recuse herself. I don’t know that she has it in her, but I think she has to say I’m going to appoint a chief assistant who is going to oversee this case. She clearly has no credibility with this judge.”
Tune into “On Balance with Leland Vittert” weeknights at 7/6C on NewsNation. Find your channel here.
The views expressed in this article are those of the author and not necessarily of NewsNation.