As Trump Faces a GOP and an America Divided on Terrorism, Gun Control and Bergdahl, Saudi Arabia Sets Out to Re-invent Itself

WE START THE WEEK IS A LOT OF NEWS IS JUMPING OFF THE PAGES. Mostly conservative online pages and the UK press, to be sure. • • • THE ANTIFA MARCHES DID NOT LED TO INSURRECTION. Not that we expected them to. But, what is telling about the Antifa wave is that not much was made of it -- except for al-Jazeera that was the only day-after report I could find -- and of course the New York Times, that decided to take Antifa pieces of silver and place a full-page ad about the marches in the "all the news that's fit to print" propagandist vehicle for Progressives. The Antifa advertisement tells readers how "To Find a Protest Near You.” • The New York Times, according to InfoWars : "knows -- even if its readers do not -- that Refuse Fascism is a front group founded and run by the Revolutionary Communist Party (RCP), a violent Marxist-Leninist group that idolizes China’s Communist mass-murderer Mao Zedong. Which makes the Refuse Fascism appeal to “humanity” doubly propagandist and offensive." • InfoWars aside, it is still shocking , even in this age when there is nothing left to shock us, that one of America's oldest and most cited newspapers would choose to take money -- that it, if the ad was not placed as a free 'public service' -- to support a group that publicly calls for the overthrow of America. Is that sedition in itself??? • • • THE BUSHES TRY AGAIN TO TAKE OUT TRUMP. And fail. TheHill published on Saturday an article about the Bush concerns set out in the new book, “The Last Republicans” by Mark K. Updegrove, in which President GW Bush is quoted as saying that he worries he would be “the last Republican President." The book, to be released Nov. 14, was previewed by TheHill and other media outlets late Friday and Saturday. • The White House fired back at former Presidents George H.W. Bush and George W. Bush on Saturday, attacking their legacies after both Bushes expressed their displeasure with President Trump in the new book. The WH statement by press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said : "The American people voted to elect an outsider who is capable of implementing real, positive, and needed change -- instead of a lifelong politician beholden to special interests. If they were interested in continuing decades of costly mistakes, another establishment politician more concerned with putting politics over people would have won.” In another statement reported by CNN, a White House source criticized the Bush legacy : “If one presidential candidate can disassemble a political party, it speaks volumes about how strong a legacy its past two Presidents really had,” the White House said, according to CNN. • Elitist #NeverTrump turncoats that they are, the Bushes -- father and son -- confirmed in the book they did not vote for Trump in the last election. The elder Bush confirmed he voted for Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton. Former President GHW Bush said of President Trump : “I don’t like him. I don’t know much about him, but I know he’s a blowhard. And I’m not too excited about him being a leader.” George W. Bush offered his own critique of Trump in the book, saying Trump “doesn’t know what it means to be President." The younger Bush also didn’t vote for Trump in the 2016 election, saying he opted for “none of the above” on his ballot. • This came in the week in which former House Speaker John Boehner implied the Republican party is dead, telling Politico : "Donald Trump’s not a Republican." • Maybe the real question is whether the Bushes and Boehner are Republicans. • Both Bushes offer their thoughts on the Iraq War in the book. George W. Bush says the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, “changed the equation” in Iraq and demanded a change in policy : “I’m very comfortable that when people fully analyze my decisions in the proper context, they will understand why my foreign policy -- not in the principles of US leadership but in the application -- was different." But, the White House said the Bush legacy "begins with the Iraq war, one of the greatest foreign policy mistakes in American history." George H.W. Bush said in the book that Bush’s decision on the Iraq War “will be seen as the right thing to do. Saddam Hussein was a bad guy. I think history will be okay with it." • In a final word, the White House told CNN : “President Trump remains focused on keeping his promises to the American people by bringing back jobs, promoting an America First foreign policy and standing up for the forgotten men and women of our great country." • President GHW Bush's comment that he doesn't know much about Trump but he doesn't like him could, I suppose be excused because of GHW Bush's age. But, we do know something about former President GHW Bush from his days as President Reagan's Vice President. Abortion was an issue as Reagan considered GHW Bush as a running mate in 1980, and Newsweek said : "While he personally opposes abortion, he is against passing a constitutional amendment to make it illegal." Reagan was running on a strict anti-abortion platform and needed a vice presidential candidate who was right there with him. Richard Allen, Reagan's foreign policy advioer at the time and later national security advisor, wrote about the worry in the Reagan camp in an article for the New York Times : " 'There's Bush,' I suggested, half expecting him to close off the discussion. Instead he paused and then said, 'I can't take him; that 'voodoo economic policy' charge and his stand on abortion are wrong.' " Allen then said that Bush was approached by Reagan himself about whether he could pledge to support the platform. That was the beginning of Bush's unwavering antiabortion support." Planned Parenthood says Bush "turned his back on reproductive health care to be Reagan's running mate," while the National Right-to-Life Committee endorsed him for president in 1988.So, GHW Bush was a moderate Republican whom everyone in politics in 1980 believed to have changed his position from pro-abortion to pro-life just to get on the national ticket with Ronald Reagan. And, now GHW Bush is accusing Trump of being a "blowhard," while Bush himself was so intersted in being VP that he reversed his position on abortion in a matter of weeks. Makes one wonder if anything he says is deeply felt or simply political expediency. • • • TRAVESTY OF JUSTICE IN THE BERGDAHL SENTENCING. Of all the news making the headlines right now, surely the sentencing of Army Sergeant Bowe Bergdahl is the most shocking. President Trump tweeted Friday that Bergdahl's sentence -- a dishonorable discharge, but no prison time for leaving his post in June 2009 -- was a "complete and total disgrace to our Country and to our Military." • More than eight years after Bergdahl walked off his base in Afghanistan -- and unwittingly into the clutches of the Taliban -- Bergdahl walked out of a North Carolina courtroom a free man Friday. Bergdahl, who pleaded guilty to endangering his comrades, was fined $10,000 by the judge in the case, Colonel Jeffrey Nance, and was reduced in rank to E1 and dishonorably discharged -- but he received no prison time. Bergdahl faced up to life in prison for desertion and misbehavior before the enemy, and he was shaking and appeared emotional as the verdict was quickly read. Bergdahl's defense lawyer has told reporters after sentencing that his client "has looked forward to today for a long time," adding : "Sergeant Bergdahl is grateful to everyone who searched for him in 2009, especially those who heroically sustained injuries." • Was there no Bergdahl comment about soldiers who died searching for him??? • One of the soldiers who suffered because of Bergdahl's act was Master Sergeant Mark Allen, who suffered a head injury in July 2009 that left him unable to speak or walk. But, one of Bergdahl's defense attorneys said it wouldn't be justice to rescue Bergdahl from the Taliban "only to place him in a cell" now : "Sergeant Bergdahl has been punished enough. Sergeant Bergdahl paid a bitter price for the choices that he made." During the multiday sentencing hearing, Bergdahl himself testified that he was sorry for the wounds suffered by searchers. He also described brutal beatings by his captors, illness brought on by squalid conditions and periods of isolation, most of it in a cramped cage -- a story which some military doubt. • Back in 2014, President Obama caused great controversy when he brought Bergdahl home in a swap for five high-value, dangerous Taliban prisoners at Guantanamo Bay. Obama said at the time that the US does not leave its service members on the battlefield. • Retired US Navy Captain Chuck Nash, Fox News military analyst, severely criticized the military judge who ordered no jail time for admitted deserter Bergdahl as a “disgrace” and says the actions of both men strike a serious blow to good order and discipline in the U.S. military. Nash also said this episode is just the latest wound absorbed by the military due to the advancement of political correctness and social engineering. Nance’s decision is hitting a very raw nerve in the military community. Nash told Fox News : “It’s insane. This judge is a disgrace. He should have recused himself. By doing this, he just brings more discredit upon himself.” Nash says the military will suffer as a result of Nance and Bergdahl : “The rules are the rules and everybody in the military is held to the standards. The whole thing about the military and good order and discipline and all of that is just taken a serious hit today by this guy’s actions. And I mean both of these guys : Bergdahl for doing what he did and this judge for doing what he did. Just disgusting.” • Nash said the military is built on the understanding that orders will be followed and rules enforced, and the overwhelming majority of American service personnel fulfill their oaths despite countless tours and immense disruptions for their families and Nance’s decision shows a lack of respect for that : "You have someone who admits he did two really heinous things -- desertion and cowardice in front of the enemy -- and this judge says Donald Trump, when he was a candidate, said something that actually affected [his] ability to sentence?” Nash said he would not be surprised if Bergdahl wins his appeal on the dishonorable discharge sentence : “He’ll probably find some Obama appointee who will back him on it,” said Nash. • The truth is that six US service members were killed looking for Bergdahl and others were severely wounded. No amount of time as a "prisoner" of the Taliban, if that's really what Bergdahl was, can pay for those lives or wounds. It was not Barack Obama who "refused to leave a service member on the battlefield." It was Bowe Bergdahl who deserted his comrades in arms, leaving their battlefield and then causing the deaths of six of them and the grave wounds of others." A lifetime of incarcerated penance is a small price to pay for his cowardice and his dishonorable treatment of the uniform he wore. • • • DE BLASIO AND CUOMO DO A PROGDEM KNEEJERK ON GUN CONTROL. Lifezette reported last Thursday that New York Governor Andrew Cuomo and New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio talked about firearms after the NYC islamic terrorist who used a truck to kill 8 people. Cuomo and De Blasio responded to the attack by calling for more restrictive gun laws. De Blasio spoke about the issue Wednesday at a news conference to update the public about Tuesday’s attack : "There's a much bigger conversation we could have about gun safety. The NYPD has always vigorously believed that we need to keep guns out of this city and that gun safety laws are here to protect us and protect our officers." Cuomo echoed De Blasio's comments and praised the 2013 passage of the Secure Ammunition and Firearms Enforcement Act, which prohibits certain kinds of firearms defined as "assault weapons," limits the size of high-capacity magazines, and requires criminal background checks for people buying ammunition. Cuomo said : "As far as gun laws, I am increasingly proud that New York State passed some of the smartest gun laws in the country, the SAFE Act. I think it is madness the number of assault weapons that we have in this country. I think that it endangers law enforcement. I think that it costs us untold numbers of deaths. And I hope that one day we'll have a federal policy that actually brings sanity to the gun policy laws in this country." • Are De Blasio and Cuomo and all the other ProgDems deranged when they attack the Second Amendment every time a terrorist or crazed person kills people -- whether it is with a truck or bombs or a knife?? The NYC attacker killed 8 people with a vehicle, not a gun. • If that doesn't prove the bad faith of De Blasio, Cuomo and all likeminded ProgDems, consider that De Blasio also said he favored "vetting" people coming into the United States, as long as it does not involve where they are coming from or what their religious beliefs are : "I can say simply, we support vetting of individuals. We support thorough vetting, not of groups of people just because they belong to a group. We think that this is a very crucial distinction. There should be very, very careful vetting of anyone where there's an indication of a concern. But not because of their religion. Not because of their country of origin." • If the US were not allowed to ask where a visa applicant comes from or what his religious beliefs are -- what can be asked? Name? Age? Marital status? Number of children? That's about it -- and we know where that will lead -- more trucks and knives and bombs killing more Americans and visitors to America. It is utter nonsense. • • • SAUDI ARABIA CLEANS HOUSE. The House of Saud, that is. • CNBC News and other outlets reported that billionaire Saudi Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, a member of the Saudi royal family, was reportedly detained on Saturday. Saudi Arabia's royal family ousted key officials and arrested others in a sweeping anti-corruption drive. Bin Talal is a very prominent investor with stakes in companies like Citigroup, Apple and Twitter. The arrests on Saturday were made in connection with a wide-ranging anti-corruption initiative, according to local reports. Saudi Arabia's King Salman removed a host of prominent officials in a sweeping crackdown, in which dozens of princes and former ministers were detained after private airplanes were grounded. News outlets, including Saudi-owned Al Arabiya, and the Wall Street Journal, reported Bin Talal was among those arrested. CNBC said it could not immediately confirm Bin Talal's status. • Bin Talal is an American-educated philanthropist and investor. In 2015, bin Talal announced he would donate his entire fortune to help build a "better world of tolerance, acceptance, equality and opportunity for all." • Saudi King Salman appointed two new ministers on Saturday to key security and economic posts, removing one of the royal family’s most prominent members as head of the national guard, as part of a series of high-profile firings that sent shock waves in the Kingdom. The king also announced the creation of a new anti-corruption committee chaired by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, which state-owned Al Arabiya TV said had already detained 11 princes, four current ministers and tens of former ministers. The suspects were not named. • The anti-corruption sweep is taking place against as Saudi Arabia begins political and cultural reform and the upcoming launch of an initial public offering for state-owned oil giant Saudi Aramco in 2018. The IPO is expected to be the largest in history, and Aramco is widely expected to dual-list shares on an international exchange. The Guardian wrote on September 2 that Saudi Arabia’s new heir to the throne Mohammed bin Salman al-Saud, son of the current King Salman, was plotting his ascendancy -- "he surrounded himself with public accountants and private advisors who all drew the same conclusion – the Kingdom itself was at serious risk if its people didn’t change their ways." The Guardian said : "On every front, the house of Saud faced a struggle -- that it would probably lose -- to retain its grip on a country that was moving towards implosion. Culturally, socially and economically, Saudi Arabia needed an overhaul and Mohammed bin Salman, who sensationally ousted his uncle, Mohammed bin Nayef, as crown prince earlier this year, pinned both his startling rise and eventual legacy to the most comprehensive reform attempt that the Kingdom has ever seen. An absolute monarchy with a bloated, inefficient public sector, a huge government payroll and a resistance to change is not an easy target. Add to that a mindset of entitlement among many Saudi young people and low productivity, and the challenges seem close to insurmountable. Central to the young prince’s plan is unlocking wealth and giving its citizens a buy-in. As sweeteners, he has thrown in cultural reforms, such as opening cinemas, promoting concerts and other enhancements to social life that many Saudis crave." • But, it is the partial sale of Aramco -- potentially the world’s biggest company -- that is the centerpiece of Mohammed bin Salman's broad reform. Aramco is one of the world’s most opaque organisations: a state-owned oil conglomerate that holds the keys and secrets to the Kingdom. According to the Guardian : "Tapping into its revenue stream is seen by the country’s rulers and investors alike as a vital step to weaning the economy off its near-total dependency on oil. Its true valuation is being assessed in all the world’s financial capitals, where initial curiosity about the Saudi transformation has started to turn to tangible interest. Investment-house chiefs and merchant bankers have been regular visitors to Riyadh this year, where Mohammed bin Salman – a 31-year-old with carte blanche to reform -- has hammered home his Vision 2030 plan, which, if successful, would transform more than just the country’s ossified economy." • A senior minister told the Observer in Riyadh earlier this year : “This is cultural revolution disguised as economic reform. Everything hangs on it.” More than 60% of the Saudi population is under 30 and includes a large numbers of disenfranchised young people dissatisfied with the current social contract, which is bound up in rigidly conservative rules governing social interactions. Entertainment and fraternization are mostly outlawed. Jobs are few, and often menial. There are fears that in the absence of credible alternatives, extremist groups may provide a lure. Overhauling the way that Saudis live is intertwined with changing how they work. Despite enthusiasm among many sectors in society, there is broad resentment among other communities to the scale and scope of the plans. “The leadership is significantly less conservative than the base,” said the senior minister. “None of this will be easy at all. They are hoping for whole shift in values set within a generation. To do this, they will have to take on the clerics at the same time as building a new economy.” • On October 24, Mohammed bin Salman vowed to return the country to “moderate Islam” and asked for global support to transform the hardline Kingdom into an open society that empowers citizens and lures investors. In an interview with the Guardian, the powerful heir to the Saudi throne said the ultra-conservative state had been “not normal” for the past 30 years : “What happened in the last 30 years is not Saudi Arabia. What happened in the region in the last 30 years is not the Middle East. After the Iranian revolution in 1979, people wanted to copy this model in different countries, one of them is Saudi Arabia. We didn’t know how to deal with it. And the problem spread all over the world. Now is the time to get rid of it....We are a G20 country. One of the biggest world economies. We’re in the middle of three continents. Changing Saudi Arabia for the better means helping the region and changing the world. So this is what we are trying to do here. And we hope we get support from everyone." Earlier, the Crown Prince had said : “We are simply reverting to what we followed -- a moderate Islam open to the world and all religions. 70% of the Saudis are younger than 30, honestly we won’t waste 30 years of our life combating extremist thoughts, we will destroy them now and immediately.” • Those are quasi-revolutionary words, coming from the next ruler of a Kingdom considered to be one of the most repressive of Islam's leading states, which is often accused of promoting a brand of Islam that underwrote Middle East extremism. But, Mohammed bin Salman is moving to consolidate his authority, which includes sidelining clerics whom he believes have failed to support him and demanding unquestioning loyalty from senior officials whom he has entrusted to drive a 15-year reform program that aims to overhaul most aspects of life in Saudi Arabia. Central to his reforms is the breaking of the alliance between hardline clerics, who have long defined the national character, and the House of Saud, which has run the affairs of state. The changes have already tackled head-on societal taboos -- such as the recently rescinded ban on women driving, as well as scaling back guardianship laws that restrict women’s roles and establishing an Islamic center tasked with certifying the sayings of the prophet Muhammed. Alcohol, cinemas and theatres are still banned in the Kingdom and mingling between unrelated men and women remains frowned upon. But, Saudi Arabia -- an absolute monarchy -- is overpowering the once-feared religious police, who no longer have powers to arrest and seem to be falling in line with the new regime. • The economic reforms will feature a new economic zone to be established on 470 kilometers of the Red Sea coast, in a tourist area that has already been earmarked as a liberal hub similar to that of Dubai, where male and female bathers are free to mingle. It is the centerpiece of efforts to turn the Kingdom away from dependence on oil into a diverse open economy. The economic zone is due to be completed by 2025 -- five years before the current Vision 2030 reform program ends -- and is to be powered by wind and solar energy. The Kingdom’s enormous sovereign wealth fund is intended to be a key backer of the independent zone. It currently has $230 billion under management. The sale of 5% of the world’s largest company, Aramco, is expected to raise several hundred billion dollars more. But, obstacles remain -- an entrenched poor work ethic, a crippling regulatory environment and a general reluctance to change. A leading Saudi businessman told the Guardian : “Economic transformation is important but equally essential is social transformation. You cannot achieve one without the other. The speed of social transformation is key. It has to be manageable.” Prince Mohammed bin Salman has repeatedly insisted that without establishing a new social contract between citizen and state, economic rehabilitation would fail. A senior royal said : “This is about giving kids a social life. Entertainment needs to be an option for them. They are bored and resentful. A woman needs to be able to drive herself to work. Without that we are all doomed. Everyone knows that -- except the people in small towns. But they will learn.” • • • DEAR READERS, it was a busy weekend. And this week will undoubtedly be the same as President Trump moves through Asia in a trip designed to affirm America's critical role in the region. With North Korea and trade on his agenda, Trump will be speaking at every stop to hammer home the truth that the United States is the Pacific power to reckon with.