The Widburg Report

By Rich Kozlovich 

MUST-SEE VIDEO: A local TV newscast makes the most perfect mistake ever-  Yes, this is a puff piece. But when you spend your days reading about Ukraine, the economy, the border, and all the other miserable things in 2022, and then spend another two hours on Biden’s state of the union address (one hour listening to it and a second hour writing about it), you have to take pleasure wherever you can find it. And—oh, my goodness!—did I find it in a video someone grabbed of a local Pittsburgh news station’s report about a local crime. (Hat tip: Twitchy.)

What you must understand is that the news report ran a few hours before the state of the union address. The TV station was clearly planning to do a quick little news piece about that upcoming state of the union address. However, some poor shlub charged with putting up the graphics got a bit ahead of himself so that Biden’s picture appeared with an actual news story that was too perfect to be true.........

Biden's SOTU was a combination of unicorn dreams and unicorn poop - A hopped-up Biden, who must have ingested a pharmacy to stay up so late, gave an hour-long state of the union speech that opened with a rousing few minutes about a war in which we have no part and went down from there. He rewrote history, misstated facts, and insisted that the government, using our tax dollars, can end inflation and create full employment, all without increasing our energy output.

The speech was a combination of unicorn dreams and unicorn poop. Through it all, the trained seals in the audience...er, members of Congress clapped and cheered. Not that there were that many of them. A few (like the decrepit Jerry Nadler) had ditched the masks but the Democrats rigorously maintained social distancing, limiting the audience size. But about the speech..............

Understanding the military realities regarding Ukraine - When it comes to a surprise attack against another country, there are two schools of thought.  First, you can attack with 100% of your military strength to subdue the country instantly.  Call it the "ripping off the Band-Aid" or the "shock and awe" approach to conquest.  Second, you can go in with some delicacy to see how much pushback you're going to get from the country before you commit your best troops, especially if you'd like to keep civilian casualties to a minimum.  This second tactic, Colonel Douglas MacGregor told Tucker Carlson on Tuesday night, is what Putin opted to do:.......

Gov. DeSantis brings a dose of happy mask reality to some students -  Whether Ron DeSantis runs for president in 2024 or 2028, he's going to get a lot of support from ordinary Americans.  He's an effective administrator with a lot of common sense and a deep respect for individual liberty.  These last two traits came through loud and clear when he attended an event at the University of South Florida (USF) and gave the masked high school students arrayed behind the podium some good news about masks: they don't work, and you don't need them.  Leftists instantly accused him of yelling at the students.  The beaming smile of the students who took DeSantis's advice put the lie to that claim............

The NYC poop attacker exemplifies Democrat criminal justice failures - Lately, Americans have been made aware of the problems with the revolving door criminal justice system that operates wherever Democrats have had a hand in drafting the laws.  For example, the man who drove through a Christmas parade in Waukesha, killing six and injuring scores of others, had a lengthy rap sheet and almost no comparable prison time.  The man who smeared a woman with his feces in the New York City subway is the same type of criminal.  What makes him interesting is how he behaved in court for his arraignment and the result of that conduct......

Former Illinois Democrat speaker Michael Madigan has been indicted -On Wednesday, the federal government filed a RICO claim against Michael Madigan, the former Illinois House speaker.  The 106-page indictment accuses Madigan of engaging in bribery, extortion, and racketeering, all with an eye to maintaining Madigan's power and rewarding his political allies, workers, and associates, and to generate income for everyone involved in these criminal activities.  Considering how powerful Madigan was, I'd like to say this strikes a devastating blow against corruption in Illinois politics, but no one would believe me if I said that........

While all eyes are on Ukraine, Biden's administration is selling out to Iran -A magician's best trick is misdirection.  While he has the audience focused tightly on his left hand, his right hand is busy making "the magic" happen.  Then he redirects the audience's attention and — voilà! — magic. The problem is that this same trick of misdirection can be used not for entertainment, but to hide perfidious political behavior.  Unfortunately, if Gabriel Noronha, a former Iran official in the U.S. State Department, is to be believed, that's exactly what's happening in Austria, where U.S. negotiations with Iran are taking place.