Putin Hits Me!
 
I got some surprising news over the weekend.  As you know, the United States has sanctioned dozens of Russians who are major supporters of Vladimir Putin.  The Biden Administration has targeted Russian oligarchs especially hard, choking off their access to Western sources of finance.
 
Putin just retaliated by imposing sanctions on hundreds of Americans.  The Russian Foreign Ministry warned these banned Americans that they better not travel to Russia or bad things may happen to them. 
 
Well, I am pleased to report that I am number 42 on Russia's banned list.  I take this attack against me by Putin's regime as a badge of honor.  But Carol and I had to cancel our plans to vacation in Stalingrad – NOT!
 
At first glance, it appears that former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and I are the only Trump appointees on the list.  (I was a Trump appointee to the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom.)
 
A few years ago, Khalid Sheik Mohammed, the mastermind of the 9/11 attacks, smuggled a letter out of GITMO through his lawyers.  In the letter, he singled out four Christian leaders, including me, as the worst Christian Zionists in the world. 
 
A Christian Zionist is a Christian who supports the U.S.-Israel alliance, and fights against anti-Semitism.  The sheik suggested that Allah would smile if someone sent me to the hereafter.  Honestly, I welcomed making the sheik's list.
 
There's an old refrain that it's a positive thing to have friends in all the high places.  I have a corollary to that.  If you're involved in the battle to defend America, you want to have enemies in all the low places.  
 
I celebrate being singled out by Al Qaeda's leaders and now Putin's Russia as affirmation that I'm doing things right.
 
But I have one major goal left.  In spite of everything I have said and done, communist China still hasn't sanctioned me yet.  So, I'm just going to have to try harder to earn Beijing's scorn!  Surely, they must hate me at least as much as Nancy Pelosi and Bernie Sanders do.
 
 
 
Biden Does It Again
 
As you may know, President Biden flew to Asia to rally our allies and address concerns created by the supply chain crisis.  At a press conference in Tokyo, Biden was asked by a reporter whether the United States would militarily defend Taiwan if it was attacked by communist China.
 
Biden replied, "Yes."  The shocked reporter pressed Biden again, and he said, "That's a commitment we made." Some "hawks" are praising Biden's remarks.  But they are missing the point.
 
Witnesses said that as soon as Biden made that statement, Secretary of State Antony Blinken looked startled, and was on his phone immediately.  The White House quickly began walking back Biden's statement. 
 
I would not be surprised at all if "Thoroughly Modern" Milley was on the phone with his People's Liberation Army counterpart in Beijing reassuring him that there was no change in U.S. policy in spite of Biden's rhetoric.
 
This isn't the first time Biden has stepped into this particular mess.  Here's what you need to know:  For decades, the U.S. has followed a policy of "strategic ambiguity" about Taiwan.  Clearly, Taiwan is an ally.  I believe, under the right presidential leadership, that we would defend Taiwan because it is in our national interest to do so. 
 
I have never been impressed by the strategic ambiguity strategy, but I don't welcome what Biden said either.  It's clear that his comments were not a change of policy, but just another one of Biden's gaffes.  If it was a genuine policy change, the White House wouldn't be desperately trying to walk it back.
 
This is the kind of mistake you would expect of a freshman member of Congress, not a man who has been at the center of American foreign policy for the past 40 years.
 
But what we're seeing yet again is that Biden is either too old or too mentally challenged for the tough job of the presidency.  He just doesn't seem to understand what he's doing when he says things like this. 
 
It's not something any of us should applaud.  It means we have an incompetent, unpredictable and untrustworthy man at the helm of our government. 
 
Biden desperately wants to be seen as a strong leader, but he will never be seen by world leaders as strong as long as he refuses to secure our border.  There is no leader in the world who would tolerate the crisis Biden has created at our southern border.
 
The bottom line is communist China is likely to conclude that we don't mean what Joe Biden says and won't defend Taiwan in the event of military action, which increases the likelihood of a major miscalculation by Beijing.
 
 
 
Europe To The Rescue?
 
Yesterday Joe Biden eagerly announced that 70,000 tons of baby formula were being airlifted from Europe and would be arriving soon in the U.S.  He was wrong again.  It was actually 70,000 pounds.  He was only off by 139,930,000 pounds.  That's a "rounding error" in the Biden White House.
 
But here's what struck me as I watched the aircraft from Europe land in Indiana:  In the world I grew up in, America airlifted supplies to Europe to help them deal with various crises.  Under Joe Biden, Europe is now airlifting supplies to the heartland of the United States.  Enough said. 
 
 
 
Monkeypox Fear
 
Reports are coming in from Europe, Canada and even the U.S. of individuals being diagnosed with a disease known as monkeypox.  The cases are puzzling because the disease is usually found in isolated cases in Central and West African rainforests where animals that carry the virus live.
 
Some press reports say the outbreak may be due in part to two widely attended "raves" (sexually promiscuous festivals) that took place in Europe.
 
There is already talk of the need for another vaccine.  President Biden has already been briefed.  It is a big subject at the globalist Davos meeting.  Can Dr. Fauci be far behind? No doubt America's socialists and Marxists are already plotting to take advantage of this new "crisis."
 
My friends, this is not COVID.  Monkeypox spreads through very close contact with infected people, animals or contaminated material.  Sexual contact is an effective vector.  This is not essentially a respiratory virus. 
 
There is no need to panic.  There is no need to shut our country down.  There is no need to sacrifice any liberties.  There is no need for massive new deficit spending.  The only crisis we have right now is the aggressive left-wing effort to turn America into a socialist dump.
 
 
 
Abrams Bashes Georgia
 
By all accounts, Stacey Abrams is a unique candidate with her own unique style.  After all, it takes some real chutzpah to go from a losing gubernatorial candidate to delivering the national Democrat response to the State of the Union address.  Such primetime assignments are usually awarded to rising stars, not falling ones.  That was certainly a historic "first" of some kind.
 
Abrams demonstrated her chutzpah again this weekend by attacking the very state she is hoping to lead.  She told a group of liberal activists that she's "tired of hearing about how we're the best state in the country to do business when we are the worst state in the country to live."
 
When Donald Trump announced that his 2016 campaign slogan would be "Make America Great Again," the left immediately attacked the idea of American greatness simply because Trump embraced it.  (Here, here and here.)  Telling Americans that our country was "never great" is just not something you want to say to earn their support.
 
Well, we'll see how it works out for Abrams as she just tried the state equivalent of "America was never great" by telling a bunch of leftists that "Georgia was never great."  Of course, Abrams would never say Georgia was a better place to live in the 1930s or 1970s.  So, she's saying her state was never great. 
 
I can't think of a better gift to the Georgia Republican Party.  I hope they are smart enough to use it.  Having been to Georgia many times, I guarantee you that people of all races and ethnic backgrounds love the Peach State and think it is indeed "great." 
 
Stacey Abrams has got some explaining to do.