Saturday 30 April 2022

US Politics: The Democrats have become the party of miserable, whiny grumps

 

The Democrats have become the party of miserable, whiny grumps


By Eddie Scarry, New York Post, April 29th 2022

The Democrats have become a party of perpetually miserable people.
The Democrats have become a party of perpetually miserable people.

When Elon Musk tweet­ed on Friday, “The far left hates everyone, themselves included!” the only thing he got wrong was his use of the word “far.” 

The hatred, anger and resentment of liberals is not exclusive to the extreme Democrat. It’s now the entire party. 

When was the last time anyone encountered a happy Democrat? They don’t exist. They’re perpetually miserable, annoyed that normal people have moved on from COVID, offended that anyone objects to public schools teaching 7-year-olds about sexual identity, and frustrated that their fetish with “critical race theory” (also known as “how to properly hate whites!”) isn’t as widely shared as they thought. 

Consider the response to a Florida judge recently striking down the Biden administration’s loathsome air-travel mask mandate. Social media was immediately flooded with videos of flight attendants and passengers overjoyed that they had unfettered access to oxygen again. Liberals could only sulk. 

“Wearing my mask no matter what non-scientists tell me I can do,” tweeted former Obama White House aide Valerie Jarrett. She included a photo of herself decked out in an N-95, hair pulled back alarmingly tight and one of the lens of her glasses fogged up from her covered mouth. 

@ValerieJarrett | 199,898 followers
Wearing my mask no matter what non-scientists tell me I can do.


A perfect mascot for liberal misery. 

Elon Musk pointed out on Twitter that the "far left hates everyone, themselves included."
Elon Musk pointed out on Twitter that the “far left hates everyone, themselves included.”
Patrick Pleul/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo

Similarly at The Washington Post, columnist Kate Cohen wrote Wednesday how awful it is to see Americans ditching their masks in celebration. “I still planned to wear a mask while COVID circulated in my community because I was afraid of spreading the virus to vulnerable people,” she said. “Surely we can personally be ‘done’ with this pandemic while respecting the fact that others are not.” 

It’s not just COVID 

What she means is something more along the lines of: I don’t like that I can’t morally nag people about masks without the backing of the State anymore. 

After all, there’s nothing liberals love to do anymore these days than nag. 

Stay home! Mask up! Follow the science! All of them slogans of the forever angry Left. 

Their bitterness isn’t exclusive to COVID. It’s everywhere. The worst of it is seen on matters of race and sexual identity. 

Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin wouldn’t be so hated by the left if he hadn’t put a spotlight on public schools that were teaching students that to be white is to be irredeemably awful. Florida wouldn’t be at the center of controversy right now if it weren’t for liberals believing it is their constitutional right to explain to kindergarteners who aren’t theirs what it means to be trans. 

Many liberals sulked when a Florida judge lifted the mask mandate on indoor transportation.
Many liberals sulked when a Florida judge lifted the mask mandate on indoor transportation.
REUTERS/Alyssa Pointer

Those are just the big policy fights. They’re willing to make everyone uncomfortable in small encounters as well. Not a single person reading this hasn’t experienced the angry entitlement of a liberal in social settings. They speak on political and cultural controversies with presumed impunity, certain that whatever they have to say is shared by everyone present, and if it’s not, you’re the problem for failing to agree. 

Don’t believe in vaccine mandates? They’ll get in your face. Not a fan of defunding the police? They’ll call you a racist. Opposed to transgender kids being loaded up with puberty blockers? They’ll suck all the joy out of the room without any sense of shame whatsoever. 

Normal people avoid conflict. Liberals desperately search for it. All the time. 

Elon Musk is on the right track about liberals being hateful. He just doesn’t realize how vast that hatred is. 

Eddie Scarry is a columnist at The Federalist.

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  • Wednesday 27 April 2022

    The Coconuts Recipe Corner: King Salmon with a Mustard Sauce

     

    King Salmon with a Mustard Sauce


    By Chef Jean Pierre

    https://chefjeanpierre.com/recipes/king-salmon-with-a-mustard-sauce/



    INGREDIENTS
      

    • 4 Salmon Fillets, 6 to 8 ounces each cut into scaloppini
    • 4/5 ounces Butter melted in the microwave for a few seconds 10/15 MAX
    • 1 tablespoon Extra Virgin Olive Oil
    • 2 Shallots, minced
    • 1 cup Chardonnay
    • ¾ cup Chicken Stock
    • ½ cup Heavy Cream
    • 2 tablespoons Chives, chopped
    • 2 tablespoons Des Meaux Mustard
    • 1 to 2 healthy tablespoons of extra Butter if you like
    • Salt and Pepper to taste

    INSTRUCTIONS
     

    Preheat Oven to 375ºF / 190ºC

    • If you are going to keep the skin be sure to scrape it with a knife like the chef did in the video.  Season the skin with Fleur de Sel if you have it or use your favorite salt.
    • Salt and pepper the top side.  Preheat your oven proof frying pan with clarified butter to 350ºF.  Place the fish top side down for 2 to 3 minutes until golden brown.
    • In the meantime, start the sauce in a sauce pan.  Heat some regular butter, when hot add the shallots and cook until translucent.  Add the Chardonnay and let reduce by half.  Add the stock, cream and cook for a couple minutes.  Add the Chives, mustard, and salt and pepper to taste ingredients.  Cook for 1 minute mix well.
    • If you are going to add more butter remove from heat add butter incorporate well and serve.
    • For more instructions watch the video




    Tuesday 26 April 2022

    Hezbollah Sleeper Agent inside USA: Software Developer Plotted Terrorist Attacks

    New Jersey software developer, 45, was sleeper Hezbollah agent who planned to carry out terror attacks on famous US landmarks if Iran was bombed, court hears

    • Alexei Saab allegedly worked for Hezbollah's Islamic Jihad Organization as a spy
    • Investigators allege he planned to carry out attacks on famous U.S. landmarks if Iran were to be bombed and would photograph his potential targets
    • The naturalized US citizen worked as a software engineer in New Jersey by day and as a terrorist operative by night, officials allege
    • He faces numerous charges including conspiracy, supporting a foreign terrorist organization, citizenship application fraud and more
    • Saab has pleaded not guilty to all charges and is currently on trial in NYC 

    A New Jersey software developer was a 'sleeper agent' for an Islamic terrorist group and planned to carry out attacks on famous landmarks if Iran was bombed, prosecutors say. 

    Alexei Saab, 45, of Morristown, worked for Hezbollah's Islamic Jihad Organization (IJO) from 2000 to 2005 as 'a terrorist and spy' scoping out potential terrorism targets in New York, Boston, Washington, D.C. and abroad, his trial heard Monday.

    Prosecutors allege by day Saab worked for technology companies as an engineer, keeping up appearances as a 'normal' American citizen. But, at night, he allegedly gathered intelligence information on national landmarks, tunnels and bridges, and photographed his potential targets.


    'On paper, he lived a normal life when in reality he was a sleeper agent for Hezbollah,' Assistant US Attorney Sam Adelsberg said during opening statements.

    Saab has pleaded not guilty to charges including providing material support to a foreign terrorist organization, conspiracy, receiving military-type training from a foreign terrorist organization, unlawful procurement of citizenship to facilitate international terrorism and citizenship application fraud. 

    He is also facing a marriage fraud charge for allegedly marrying a co-conspirator in 2012 under false pretenses. Saab's lawyer did not contest that charge.

    The most serious charge carries a maximum potential penalty of 25 years in prison, though the charges collectively carry potential penalties of over 100 years in prison.

    Alexei Saab, 45, allegedly had a double identity as a 'sleeper agent' for an Islamic terrorist group and planned to carry out attacks on famous U.S. landmarks if Iran were to be bombed

    Alexei Saab, 45, allegedly had a double identity as a 'sleeper agent' for an Islamic terrorist group and planned to carry out attacks on famous U.S. landmarks if Iran were to be bombed

    'He was sent by Hezbollah to set up a sleeper cell right here in this city,' Adelsberg told the jury at the federal courthouse in Manhattan on Monday, according to The New York Post.

    Saab was arrested in July 2019 after being questioned during 11 sessions over several weeks with FBI agents. 

    In court documents, investigators said Saab told agents he took photographs of buildings and locations including Quincy Market and the Prudential Center in Boston and the Capitol Building, Congress and the White House in Washington, D.C. 

    Adelsberg Saab researched many targets including Rockefeller Center, Grand Central Terminal, all three New York area airports, the Brooklyn, Triborough and George Washington bridges and the Lincoln and Holland tunnels connecting New Jersey to Manhattan, among other locations.

    A video of Fenway Park baseball stadium in Boston was also recovered from one of Saab's electronic devices.

    The prosecution alleged that as part of his work for the IJO, Saab would determine if the locations had 'soft spots' that the organization could exploit to cause the most damage if it were to attack a target. 

    He also indicated during interviews with investigators that he was 'on autopilot to collect intelligence at any opportunity' and would capture images as both a tourist and an operative for the group, according to his indictment.

    Saab allegedly scoped out potential terrorism targets in New York, Boston, Washington, D.C. The picture he took identifying the US Capitol building as a potential target is shown

    Saab allegedly scoped out potential terrorism targets in New York, Boston, Washington, D.C. The picture he took identifying the US Capitol building as a potential target is shown

    He allegedly gathered intelligence information on national landmarks, tunnels and bridges, and photographed his potential targets. A photograph he took for the IJO of NYC's Feorge Washington Bridge is shown

    He allegedly gathered intelligence information on national landmarks, tunnels and bridges, and photographed his potential targets. A photograph he took for the IJO of NYC's George Washington Bridge is shown

    Besides surveillance activities in the United States, Adelsberg said Saab also operated abroad after joining Hezbollah in 1996. 

    He said Saab tried to kill a man he later understood to be a suspected Israeli spy by pointing a weapon at the individual at close range, but the firearm jammed. 

    The alleged attempted murder took place in Turkey in 2005.

    Saab's IJO training also highlighted how to take surveillance footage in an unsuspecting manner which included having people pose for photos in front of the object of surveillance, as seen above

    Saab's IJO training also highlighted how to take surveillance footage in an unsuspecting manner which included having people pose for photos in front of the object of surveillance, as seen above

    A video of Fenway Park was also recovered from one of Saab's electronic devices. Officials believe the Boston sports center was a potential target

    A video of Fenway Park was also recovered from one of Saab's electronic devices. Officials believe the Boston sports center was a potential target

    According to his indictment, Saab was recruited to the IJO as 'a component of Hizballah responsible for the planning and coordination of intelligence, counterintelligence, and terrorist activities on behalf of Hizballah outside of Lebanon.'

    He reportedly joined in 1996 while he was a member of the Hizballah student organization at the University of Lebanon. He was introduced to an IJO handler during a study group. 

    However, he later transitioned to a role in external operations and 'received extensive training in IJO tradecraft, weapons, and military tactics, including how to construct bombs and other explosive devices'.

    His training also highlighted how to take surveillance footage in an unsuspecting manner which included having people pose for photos in front of the object of surveillance.

    Saab received extensive training in IJO tradecraft, weapons, and military tactics, including how to construct bombs and other explosive devices

    Saab received extensive training in IJO tradecraft, weapons, and military tactics, including how to construct bombs and other explosive devices

    In November 2000, he 'lawfully entered the United States using a Lebanese passport' and became a naturalized U.S. citizen in August 2008.

    At that time he falsely affirmed that he was not associated with the terrorist organization, the indictment stated. 

    Saab, who most recently served as the director of IT for waste management company Covanta, also taught as an adjunct lecturer at Baruch College in New York City.

    According to his LinkedIn account, he began teaching at the college in 2016 and offered instruction for masters students in 'IT Strategy for Managers' and 'Business and Data Modeling'. 

    It is not clear when he stopped working at Baruch College or Covanta as his profile has not been recently updated. 

    Also while living in the U.S., Saab was allegedly paid to get married in an attempt to get American citizenship for his spouse.

    He reportedly married a French citizen in July 2012 and 'filed a petition seeking to obtain naturalized citizenship' for his spouse in march 2015. The spouse is said to have entered the U.S. on a student visa to attend college in Manhattan.

    His lawyer has not contested the charges related to his alleged fraudulent marriage.

    Saab was recruited by the terror organization as a college student in Lebanon and rose up the ranks, ultimately enlisting in the “external security organization,” or unit 910.

    In the early 2000s, Hezbollah dispatched Saab and other “spies” to countries including the US — putting them in place to kill Americans if the US attacked Iran, the group’s main ally, he said.

    According to federal prosecutors, Saab would scout potential terror targets for the group in New York City.
    Saab scouted potential terror targets for the group in New York City.
    New Jersey software engineer Alexei Saab allegedly lived a double life as a Hezbollah sleeper cell member.
    Authorities say Saab was recruited for Hezbollah while in college.

    Saab also allegedly surveilled the federal courthouse in Manhattan were his trial is now taking place.
    Saab also allegedly surveilled the federal courthouse in Manhattan were his trial is now taking place.
    The Brooklyn Bridge
    The Brooklyn Bridge was one of the potential targets scouted by Saab.