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With Labor Day in the rear-view mirror, the 2024 election cycle is sure to heat up, and campaign-related announcements are sure to be a frequent occurrence. Some will be meaningful. Others will have zero value.

Clearly falling into the latter was former Congresswoman Liz Cheney’s endorsement of the Democratic Party’s installed designee, Vice President Kamala Harris. Cheney did not join Harris or her team on a stage or take in the adulation of a raucous crowd living on joy and vibes at a campaign rally. Instead, Cheney’s endorsement came at a very low-key event hosted by Duke University’s Sanford School of Public Policy.

Cheney’s endorsement comes as no surprise to political observers, given her stewardship of the January 6^th Select Committee and her outspoken animus towards her own party’s duly elected nominee, former President Donald Trump:

 “As a conservative, as someone who believes in and cares about the Constitution, I have thought deeply about this and because of the danger that Donald Trump poses, not only am I not voting for Donald Trump, but I will be voting for Kamala Harris,” Cheney said. 

The endorsement represents a complete 180-degree turnaround for Cheney,  who is on record in tweets calling Harris a “radical liberal” whose positions are to the left of the likes of Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren who would “recreate America in the image of what’s happening on the streets of Portland & Seattle” during the so-called “Summer of Love” from 2020. Cheney repeats those sentiments in a Fox News that has recently re-surfaced since Cheney’s endorsement:

Notice how Cheney framed her endorsement. She did not laud Harris’s abilities to govern. She did not endorse Harris’s policy positions or plans (probably because the Harris campaign has largely communicated in platitudes.) She certainly did not endorse Harris’s values, which she claimed in a CNN interview with Dana Bash have not changed, despite her shifting her positions based upon the political winds of the say. The political hypocrisy is palpable.

 Cheney’s endorsement is mere the furtherance of her vendetta against Trump.  A vendetta which started from opportunism after January 6, 2021. A vendetta which grew after then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi handpicked Cheney to serve on that kangaroo court that was the January 6^th Select Committee. And a vendetta that rendered Cheney a political afterthought when she was soundly defeated in the 2022 Republic primary by her successor Harriet Hageman.

Cheney’s endorsement mirrors much of the 2020 strategy which resulted in President Joe Biden’s election: don’t vote for Harris, vote against Trump. It’s Cheney’s wishy-washy way of feigning her conservative bona fides while jumping ship from a Republican party that has cast her aside in favor of more credible, good-faith conservatives like Hageman.

One would be hard pressed to find a better example of a politician being a “Republican in Name Only,” a term reserves for the old guard of the Republican Party whose moment passed the moment Donald Trump won the presidency in 2016.

Apparently, Cheney seems to believe that her endorsement, such that it is in her diminished capacity within her own party, holds value for the Harris team in bringing in cross-over votes. But the political reality of her situation would tend to indicate this to be nothing more than vanity. In August of 2022, polling found that 2 out of every 3 Republicans held a negative view of Cheney. Other polling from around the same time found that 3 in 5 Democrats favorably viewed Cheney.

That translates into very little needle movement in favor of Harris. Essentially, Cheney’s endorsement is merely preaching to the choir.

Chalk up Cheney’s endorsement to the political equivalent of the shocking news that water is wet, and that the sky is blue. It’s political narcissism; an attempt at relevancy in a news cycle dominated by the election. If Cheney’s opinion had value, the Harris campaign would have Liz Cheney thrust into the national spotlight. Instead, Cheney is relegated to a policy forum, earning coverage from confirmation biased media making more of her statement than its actual weight.

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Gene Berardelli is a street-smart New York-based trial attorney with a successful track record representing conservative candidates and a solid reputation as an award-winning podcaster and as the award-winning author of the Amazon bestseller Schnooks, Crooks, Liars & Scoundrels: A Field Guide to Identifying Political Buffoons. He currently hosts Buffoon of the Week! on YouTube and Rumble, featuring daily original content which seek to find the dumbest political newsmakers each week.

After Donald Trump, X/Twitter owner Elon Musk is the man who gets liberals into a frothing rage more than anyone else. When the owner of SpaceX and Tesla bought the social media company in October of 2022, the “in-group” of leftist journalists and activists on Twitter went berserk. 

They had become used to a rigged playing field that allowed them to spew whatever they wanted while being able to shut down any dissent. Users in the center to the right lost their Twitter accounts constantly because the woke progressives would mass-report any user who broke the sacred rules of modern leftism. “Misgendering,” which is what the lunatics call the act of referring to a man as a man, was a permanently bannable offense under what people call “old Twitter.” 

When Musk took over, the playing field started to level, and the left has never gotten over its tantrum about losing unfair privileges that allowed them to control the discourse. But none of them wield the kind of power that Brazilian judge Alexandre de Moraes does. A hard-leftist authoritarian, Moraes has been threatening Twitter for months, and now he has actually banned the entire platform from operating in Brazil. 

Can a judge do that? Apparently yes, in Brazil. But as Musk warns, it’s much worse than that. Moraes, who actually wears black judicial robes that make him look like a puritan witch-finder general (or like Darth Vader) is threatening Brazilian citizens with $9,000 a day in fines if they access the now-banned Twitter by using electronic means to get around the ban. 

It seems like nothing can convince  leftists in the west to step back from the ledge of authoritarian fantasy. They’re so enraged by anyone or anything—but most especially non-leftist men who talk back to the mommy state—who doesn’t want a Trump or a Musk imprisoned that they cannot be reasoned with. But if their fondest dreams of government censorship come true here in America, even leftists will understand what they’ve done when they’re in the gulag along with the rest of us deplorables. 

Let’s sample the reaction to Musk’s post. 

It’s good to see Lily Tang Williams, who survived Mao’s cultural revolution in China and is now begging Westerners to stop the march toward Communism before it’s too late. 

Ashley puts the new $9,000 a day fine for Brazilian Twitter users into stark perspective:

User Wendy Patterson counsels a hands-off approach that would force the people of Brazil to clean their own house:

Do you miss Ronald Reagan? We do. 

If we have any British readers, this is what prime minister Keir Starmer looks like to many of us freedom-loving Americans:

Nicole Shanahan, RFK Jr.’s VP pick, just dropped a truth bomb on the liberal snowflakes with a hilarious “Trump Derangement Syndrome” ad.

Liberals’ Worst Nightmare: RFK Jr.’s Running Mate Exposes “Trump Derangement Syndrome“

Nicole Shanahan, the once-controversial VP pick for Robert F. Kennedy Jr., has unleashed a devastating ad targeting the universal liberal mental disorder: Trump Derangement Syndrome (TDS). It’s a creative masterpiece that conservatives welcomed as soon as she shared it on social media on August 29th.

The ad, cleverly disguised as a pharmaceutical commercial, diagnoses the mass hysteria plaguing Democrats who can’t stop obsessing over President Trump. It’s about time someone called out these cry-babies for their irrational behavior! Shanahan’s spot-on parody is not just hilarious – it’s a wake-up call to all Americans who’ve been brainwashed by the mainstream media’s anti-Trump propaganda.

“My team never sleeps,” Shanahan said, sharing the post on X on Thursday night.

“Independence“: The Cure for Liberal Insanity

Shanahan’s ad introduces “Independence” as the miracle cure for TDS. This groundbreaking treatment promises to restore critical thinking skills and free people from the shackles of mainstream media manipulation. It’s no wonder the left is terrified – their entire strategy relies on keeping voters ignorant and emotional!

The ad’s mock testimonials from recovering TDS sufferers are pure gold. One reformed liberal admits, “I used to think orange man bad, but now I can see past the media lies!” 

As the ad cleverly points out, those suffering from TDS might experience side effects like rational thought, freedom of choice, and love of democracy. Oh, the horror! 

Ads like this hurt, but when they come from a former Democrat…they must hurt even more.

Pavel Durov, the Russian-born entrepreneur who founded the Telegram messaging platform, was arrested on Saturday in France. He was detained at Le Bourget Airport near Paris after arriving from Azerbaijan. This arrest, stemming from an investigation into criminal activities allegedly conducted via Telegram, raises significant concerns about free speech and the future of encrypted communication. French authorities claim the app has been used for drug trafficking and distribution of child sexual abuse images.

Pavel Durov was detained on Saturday near Paris. Mr. Durov was arrested at Le Bourget Airport, about five miles north of the French capital, after landing on a private plane from Azerbaijan.

Durov, widely known for his advocacy of encrypted communication, was whisked away to France’s National Anti-Fraud Office and remains in custody. As of now, he has not been formally charged, but his detention can be extended until Wednesday. By then, authorities must decide to charge or release him. While under detention, Durov could face serious allegations that include complicity in facilitating drug trafficking and the distribution of child sexual abuse material via Telegram.

Free Speech or Government Overreach?

The arrest has sparked a fiery debate over the limits of free speech and the role of governments in regulating communication platforms. Some Durov supporters view this as an egregious example of government overreach and censorship, especially given Telegram’s history of resisting measures that compromise user privacy. Western governments, on the other hand, have long criticized Telegram for what they view as lax content moderation, making it susceptible to illegal activities.

“Pavel Durov sits in a French jail tonight, a living warning to any platform owner who refuses to censor the truth at the behest of governments and intel agencies,” Tucker Carlson said. 

Adding fuel to the fire, Telegram claims to abide by EU laws, stating its content moderation is “within industry standards and constantly improving.” Meanwhile, figures like Elon Musk have rallied in support of Durov, with Musk tweeting “#freePavel” to emphasize his stance on free speech. Telegram also counters that Durov “has nothing to hide and travels frequently in Europe,” casting doubt on the motivations behind his arrest.

Privacy vs. Security

The tension between privacy and security is central to this arrest. Telegram, praised for its encryption capabilities, is ironically also criticized for potentially providing a haven for nefarious activities. Although Telegram offers encryption, it is not enabled by default and does not apply to large group chats. French investigators have made disturbing findings, such as the app’s use by Islamic extremists and drug traffickers. With over 950 million active users, the impact of its policies on global communications is enormous.

Among the allegations used to justify the Paris arrest were claims that the platform is being used for illicit activity such as drug trafficking and the distribution of child sexual abuse images. However, this happens on literally every social media network – unfortunately.

As the founder of VKontakte, Russia’s largest social network, Durov is no stranger to controversy. He sold his stake and left Russia in 2014 due to government pressure, eventually relocating Telegram’s headquarters to Dubai. His arrest today may echo past clashes between his commitment to encrypted communication and governmental demands for data transparency.