On SCOTUS Pick or Anything Else, There’s No Moral Equivalence between Left and Right

Let’s get one thing straight.  When it comes to the United States government and the sworn duty of our representatives to uphold and protect our Constitution, conservatives and progressives are not created equal.  One side takes its oath to heart.  The other side takes the oath with one hand behind its back, fingers crossed.  Guess which is which?  There are multitudes of ways in which these two forces differ from a moral perspective, but in the interests of time let’s just focus on the role they play in our government.

Despite the Democrats’ long and stable history of trying to undermine the Constitution, the ongoing battles within the auspices of our government are routinely portrayed by the media as though the two sides are equally righteous in their pursuits.  This is a calculated effort on the part of the leftwing media (aka the MSM) to normalize what should never be normalized, i.e. the systematic undoing of the Constitution by unconstitutional means.  When Barack Obama attempted to rule by Executive Order, for instance, the leftwing media covered for him by focusing on the number of Executive Orders, rather than the substance.  I don’t need to give you the list of the many ways in which Barack Obama attempted to go around the Constitution.  You can Google it if you are really that uninformed.  What’s important to know is how little news coverage his plan of destruction provoked.  The Left is apoplectic over the supposedly illegitimate election of Donald Trump, but never for one moment did they question the legitimacy of a president who undermined the Constitution as a normal matter of policy.  Much to my disappointment neither did the Right to any measurable degree.  We’ve all simply come to accept the Left’s quest to undo the Constitution as a routine part of the game, nothing more than fair play.  The seriousness of that concession cannot be overstated.

Fast forward to 2016 and the tragic passing of Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia.  The ensuing political battle has been completely predictable, with Democrats arguing about “precedence” and “balance of the court” and Republicans, sadly but also predictably, giving these arguments validity by virtue of responding in kind rather than insisting that they will fulfill their duty to confirm a justice who will uphold the Constitution.

Listen to typical leftist Erwin Chemerinsky at the leftwing site, American Prospect, on the Republicans’ refusal to consider Barack Obama’s nominee to fill the vacancy: 

“Democrats are right to be furious that the Republicans acted in an unprecedented manner in refusing to hold hearings or a vote on the nomination of Chief Appellate Judge Merrick Garland. This was the 25th time in American history that a vacancy occurred during the last year of a president’s term. In 21 of the 24 prior instances, the Senate confirmed the nominees, and in the other three, the Senate refused to approve. This time, the Senate did nothing at all, and there was nothing that President Barack Obama or Senate Democrats could do about it.”

My dear Erwin, maybe Republicans were acting in an “unprecedented manner” as a response to an unprecedented president whose unprecedented actions forewarned that he could not be trusted with this appointment.  This was, after all, a president who, when he couldn’t get his way with the people’s representatives in congress, threatened to become dictator via pen and phone.  Furthermore, this was the same president who previously saddled this nation with the appointment of two leftist Supreme Court justices who have presumed, as leftists are wont to do, to substitute their own judgment for that of the people’s Constitution.  Republicans should have stood firm against them as well for the same reasons by which they were right to reject Obama’s nominee for Scalia’s seat.

The bottom line is that conservatives want an “originalist,” someone who will uphold the Constitution as drafted by the Founders or as legally amended.  The Left, in contrast, wants a judge who will sit in judgment of the Constitution, deigning to uphold it when he or she approves or to ignore it when they don’t.  Precedence has nothing to do with anything.  “Balance of the court” is nowhere to be found in the Constitution.  The Right is right.  The Left is wrong.  Period.

~CW

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By All Means, Let’s Face the Truth Shall We?

Yesterday I heard a news report on the radio informing us that the “Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists” (a “liberal activist group,” according to the report) has moved the hands on its doomsday clock from three minutes till midnight up to two and a half minutes till midnight.  Per CNN, “The group cited US President Donald Trump's "disturbing comments" about the use of nuclear weapons and views on climate change among other factors, including cyberthreats and the rise in nationalism, that have contributed to the darkened forecast.”

In a CBS report on the story, Bill Gertz of the Washington Times wasn’t too impressed:  “In a lot of ways, the Doomsday Clock is being used by the liberal left to try to promote its agenda for nuclear disarmament, for greater efforts to control climate change and other elements.” 

Sounds like par for the course, eh? 

Look, it’s not that I don’t worry about nuclear weapons in the wrong hands, of course I do.  But when a liberal group gets worked up over Trump a week into his presidency after they apparently ignored the dangerous Iran deal made by Obama, I take what they say with a large grain of salt.   How do I know that Obama’s deal with Iran was a bad deal?  Because Iran agreed to it.  And because the Obama Administration oversaw it.  That’s how.  I also happen to trust the wise Dr. Charles Krauthammer (“This is a sham from beginning to end. It’s the worst deal since Munich.”) and others who said as much. 

But what really caught my attention from the radio report was a comment by someone with the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists which said something about not being able to fix a problem if you won’t face the truth about the problem.  I couldn’t find the exact quote anywhere so I’m paraphrasing from memory.  It struck home because I wholeheartedly agree.  In fact I’d been in the process of writing a post on the same premise, so it’s kind of nice that I can agree with a liberal on something for a change.

You can’t fix a problem if you won’t face the truth.

I wonder if the liberals who think the Right won’t face the truth on climate change have the same concern about an issue like, say, rampant violence in the black community, where the truth leads straight to the doorstep of failed liberal social/welfare policy? 

How about the truth with respect to high incarceration rates for black males?  Yes, systemic racism plays a small part; but the truth is that black males commit crimes at a far higher rate than other groups and our prison populations reflect this reality, as it should.  Why do black males commit more crimes?  Once again you need to follow the crumbs to the doorstep of failed liberal social policy, i.e. generational welfare.

Or what about some truth on Obamacare, like a comprehensive look at why healthcare costs in the U.S. are so unnecessarily high, and the truth that Obamacare did nothing to address these factors?  Instead, all Obamacare does is redistribute these high costs.  Another truth is that emergency rooms are overrun with the uninsured because we’ve made laws that prevent hospitals from turning people away even when their condition is not an emergency.  And what about this truth:  If you want/need healthcare, you should pay for it if you are able-bodied.  Strive to acquire the experience, skills and/or education that will get you into a job with a healthcare benefit included.  How’s that for truth?  Then you won’t need laws that provide healthcare for you at someone else’s expense.

How about some truth about illegal immigration, starting with the fact that being “undocumented” means you are here illegally, and insisting on politically correct terms is just the Left’s way of ignoring that truth.  While we’re at it, let’s be truthful when it comes to the so-called dreamers, shall we?  The truth is that it was the actions of the dreamers’ parents – not mean old Republicans – that led to their predicament.  Where is the accountability for them?  If I break into someone else’s house in search of “a better life,” that doesn’t excuse my crime.

Maybe the truth would shed some light on the Left’s myth that women are so poorly treated in this nation when it comes to equal pay.  But of course, the truth would mean there’s no reason for women to be hostile to Republicans, therefore the truth must not be faced.

If only there were enough time to look at all the truths that would help solve the problems of this nation.

Getting back to the truth about climate change, I assume there’s a corollary that says if you lie about a problem, that this also makes it impossible to find the solution, right? 

The Myth of the Climate Change '97%'

In Their Own Words: Climate Alarmists Debunk Their 'Science'

Independent Audit Panel Slams U.N.'s Climate Group

The fiddling with temperature data is the biggest science scandal ever

Hmmm….

                                      

~CW


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What Republicans Just Don’t Get About the Left

Once upon a time there was a beautiful girl who had an ugly step-sister.  The step-sister was extremely jealous of the beautiful girl and treated her very badly, accusing her of being selfish, rude and sloppy,  even though the beautiful girl bent over backwards to please the step-sister by sharing everything she owned, by being as polite as anyone could be and by being fastidiously clean.  No matter what she did her step-sister disliked her and continued to treat her badly.

One day the beautiful girl complained to the wise old owl that lived in the tree outside their home.  “Wise owl,” said the girl, “my step-sister hates me because she thinks I’m selfish, rude and sloppy, but as hard as I try not to be these things she hates me still.  What can I do?”

The owl replied, “If someone claims to dislike you for reasons that have no merit, then clearly they are deceiving you about their true motives, and you shouldn’t take them at face value.  What is the real reason that your step-sister hates you?  Think about what makes sense."

The beautiful girl thought for a minute, then quietly said as she looked at the ground, “Well, some have said that she is jealous of me.”

“Bingo.” exclaimed the owl.

“So what can I do?” asked the beautiful girl.

The owl replied, “You can understand that someone who makes up reasons to hate you… someone who hides their real motives, is someone who can never be appeased or trusted.  Stop trying to please her and go on about your life.”

I’ve lost count of the number of times when I’ve heard conservatives theorize that the Left hates us because they believe we harbor terrible bigotries – racism, sexism, homophobia – or because of our supposed disdain for the poor or disregard for the planet.  Like the beautiful girl trying to appease the ugly step-sister, the conservative answer to these charges has often been to bend ourselves into pretzels trying to prove the charges false, as if any amount of proof could ever satisfy the Left.  This age-old game frustrates me to no end and leaves me to wonder how many more trillions of dollars we will allow the Left to siphon away and how much more of our personal liberty we will sacrifice before we engage our brains and see their game for what it really is.

Riddle me this one, Batman:  If racism is really what’s upsetting the Left, why are they so quiet when whites are the targets of racism?   Racism is racism, isn’t it?  Did you see the angry protests and rioting after the recent torture of a disabled white man by four black thugs?  Me neither.   Racism against whites is not only ignored, it is increasingly encouraged.  By the way, did you remember to check your white privilege at the door?

They supposedly detest our sexism, yet they defend and even revere Islam which views women as barely human.  Hellooo???  They take no issue with that certain genre of music that routinely calls women “hos” and “bitches.”  They supposedly revile Donald Trump for his sexist treatment of women, but Bill Clinton is just swell and dandy (Bill’s accusers, though?  The Left hates them).

They hate us because we’re “deniers,” yet never once do they complain when their leftwing idols – the Obamas, the Clintons, the Kerry’s….and all the limousine liberals they love in Hollywood – grow their massive carbon footprints with their lavish lifestyles.

Hmmm.  Are you scratching your head yet?  The serial hypocrisies and selective outrage always give proof to the Left’s lies.  Always.  My dear Republicans, tis better to educate the world on this truth than to perpetually waste our time on the futile exercise of trying to disprove the Left’s lies about us.

They don’t hate us because we’re racists, sexists, homophobes or deniers, even if they happen to believe that’s all true.  They hate us because by standing up for the Constitution, by defending our liberty and our rights, we are standing in the way of what the Left wants.  And what the Left wants is total control.  When the leftists say “Jump!” and you say, “How high?” then – and only then – will the Left finally be satisfied.

Let’s never satisfy them, and let’s stop playing along with their game.

~CW

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“America Will Miss Barack Obama's Decency”

The rose-colored glasses of Ezra Klein

No doubt we’ll all be filled with glee when we can finally stop talking about Barack Obama, but unfortunately that time hasn’t quite come.  In the waning days of the Obama presidency, with his so-called signature “achievements” ostensibly slated to be undone to the best ability of the next administration, those on the Left are busy misremembering things as only liberals can do, as in this charming piece by liberal columnist, Ezra Klein:

"AmericaWill Miss Barack Obama's Decency"

Obama's "decency?"  Isn't this the same guy who wouldn't vote 'no' against partial birth abortion?  “Decency,” it seems, is about to join the ranks of so many other words redefined by the Left in their quest to shape reality as they want it to be.  The proof of Obama’s decency, according to Klein, was:

“…[Obama’s] scandal-free administration. The seriousness with which he approached his job. The faith he had in the American political system, and in Americans.”

Scandals aren’t limited to being caught with your pants down in the Oval Office, Mr. Klein.  Don’t forget about the “phony scandals” (a lie which in and of itself was a scandal) which indisputably occurred.  The IRS DID target conservative groups, the V.A. DID mistreat our veterans, the Obama Administration DID lie about Benghazi, Obamacare WAS based upon falsehoods, and that’s just off the top of my head.

As for “the seriousness with which he approached his job,” is Mr. Klein unaware that the number one job of a POTUS is to uphold and protect the Constitution?  Based upon the record number of challenges Obama lost with respect to the constitutionality of his actions, clearly he didn’t take his job seriously at all.  And by all rights he should have lost on Obamacare as well.  Nor did Obama take his job as Commander-in-Chief very seriously, as he worried far more about the detainees at Gitmo and the futures of our illegal immigrants than he did about winning our military conflicts.  Obama took plenty of things seriously, but his job wasn’t one of them.

Mr. Klein then said:

“Hope was the basis of Obama’s politics. It’s the basis, in ways I did not truly appreciate until the end of his presidency, of Obama’s personality. His political career is built on a vision of who we could be, and the absence of that vision will be felt as he is succeeded by a man whose politics are built on a nostalgia for who we were.”

You know, there are a lot of preachers in this world, some good, some bad.  The way we distinguish who’s who is not by the loftiness of their rhetoric, which any practiced salesman can manage, but by whether or not their actions live up to their words.  The reality of Obama’s actions as POTUS routinely belied his soaring words.  He governed with duplicity against the American people and presided over the least transparent presidential administration in modern history.  He dealt with genuine scandals where real people were hurt by mocking his critics and dismissing them as “phony.”  Instead of providing a forum for open, serious debate on climate change – a cause which threatens to inspire sweeping changes for all Americans -, Obama unilaterally announced “the debate is over.”  He proudly bypassed the will (and therefore the democracy) of the American people with his pen and his phone.

But there’s an even bigger point to be made here.  Klein waxes poetic about Obama’s unfulfilled vision of “who we could be.”  What gives Obama the right, within the limits of his sworn duty to uphold and protect the Constitution – our Constitution – to treat us as if we are all of one mind lining up behind him like children behind the Pied Piper?  We are individuals living in autonomous states, and that’s what the Constitution sought to preserve and protect.  It was never meant to be used to herd us around like sheep.

Klein continues:  “…Obama remained popular to the end of his presidency.”

The Left are really clinging to Obama’s personal popularity as if his ability to charm is some grand achievement and validates their faith in him despite the message of the massive political losses they’ve suffered since he took office.   Obama’s popularity, which at times dipped into the low 30’s, by the way, is a testament to how childlike Americans have become in their ability to separate one’s rhetoric from one’s real motives.  Time to grow up.

Klein goes on:  “This is, and was, Obama’s theory of campaigning. Politics often brings out the worst in us, but there’s no reason it can’t bring out the best.”

Obama has a gift, that’s for certain.  The gift of reflecting his own behavior onto others and then lecturing us about it as if he himself was pure as the driven snow.  But the jokes, toothy smiles and friendly waves didn’t change the reality of the incessant ridicule and the clever lies shrouded in strawman arguments (the last refuge of intellectual cowards) that were his trademark on the stump.  Politics brought out the worst in Barack Obama.

Next:

“…[Obama] managed to ask the right questions of the country. Did we want to feel less divided by political party? Did we want to feel less divided by race? His candidacy wasn’t just hopeful, it was aspirational — it was a statement, at least at the beginning, more about the kind of country we wanted to be than the kind of country we were.”

But Klein concedes:

“He was the most polarizing president on record, and on his watch the blue states became bluer and the red states redder.”

Yep, in fact I just saw polling which showed that just after Obama took office in 2009 60%+ of Americans thought race relations were getting better but now that number has dropped to 30%+.  Maybe you’d like to explain that, Mr. Klein.  If Obama was so aspirational and so determined to do the right things, how did it all go so wrong?

The truth is that your wonderful president has done everything he could to sow the seeds of hostility between blacks and whites in this country.  He ignored the epidemic of black on black violence at the same time that he brought national attention to a handful of racially charged cases before the facts were in.  He staked out his favorites, and his behavior has inspired hate groups like BLM and brought on an unprecedented increase in hostility towards our nation’s police.  His actions were with purpose and intent and proved his “aspirational” candidacy to be a myth from the very beginning.

I wonder if you really are so naïve as to believe that our country’s polarization under Obama was an accident?  Have you never heard of Saul Alinsky or of Cloward and Piven?  It’s no unlucky coincidence that Barack Obama’s actions as president have followed the advice given by these foes of American liberty practically step by step.

“There is an America that sees its growing diversity as a strength, that refuses to believe in the limits set by its own past, that yearns to be less divided than it is. It’s not the only America. But it’s a real America.”

What are these boogeyman “limits” you speak of?  America, the nation where so much of the world longs to immigrate to, puts no limits on what a person can do and be and achieve, the living proof of which is Barack Obama himself.  How’s that for irony?  The only caveat is that you can’t infringe upon the rights of others to get there, so I can only presume that these are the limits that offend you.

America was a great country long before anyone knew the name, Barack Obama, and it will persevere in spite of him because of the foundation for freedom and prosperity laid by our Founders in the Constitution.  They were the great ones, not Barack Obama.

“I think Obama will be missed by many Americans who didn’t agree with his policies but agreed with his sense of hope about America, and his daily efforts to be worthy of the country he saw before him.”

I think Obama will be remembered by many Americans as a liar, a fraud and a divider who, in his temporary role as father of the country, treated his child with cruelty and disdain.  We won’t miss him but will celebrate the end of his presidency with a giant sigh of relief.  If only he were going away for good.

~CW

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The Obama Legacy: A**hole Extraordinaire

Generally speaking I don’t punctuate my blog posts with a lot of expletives, but there are times when only an expletive can sufficiently convey the level of disgust one needs to convey.  Summing up the legacy of Barack Obama counts as one of those times.

From the moment that he first began his campaign for the presidency and throughout the long eight years of his two terms the word that consistently popped into my head when it came to the words and deeds of Barack Obama is “a**hole.”  You all know what an a**hole is.  It’s that cocky guy at the office who throws his co-workers under the bus in order to make a name for himself, or the guy who cuts people off in traffic because his time is more important than anyone else’s.  It’s the neighbor who has to be a trouble-maker in an otherwise peaceful neighborhood.  Barack Obama, as POTUS, has been a bona fide a**hole.

Let’s review:

After taking office Obama wasted little time in letting the British people know how he felt about the late, great British Prime Minister Sir Winston Churchill, rejecting Britain’s offer to allow a bronze bust of Churchill to remain in a place of prominence in the Oval Office where it had been since it was loaned to George W. Bush following 9/11.  The unceremonious return of the sculpture was clearly meant to send a message of disdain for what the Brits had given as a gesture of friendship and support.

A**hole.

  

During the January, 2010 State of the Union Address, to which Supreme Court justices were cordially invited in observance of long-held tradition, a petulant Obama defied the usual rules of etiquette and protocol to scold the justices in front of the entire nation because the court’s majority had had the audacity not to see the issue as Obama saw it.

A**hole.

At the 2010 occasion of what was billed as a “health care summit,” Senator John McCain raised valid concerns in his capacity as a representative of the people of Arizona, rightfully complaining that the bill had been produced “behind closed doors” and included a number of “special deals for the special interests.”  A decent POTUS would have respectfully answered those concerns.  Instead, a visibly annoyed Obama dismissed McCain’s objections as “talking points” and smacked down his former campaign rival by condescendingly stating, “We’re not campaigning anymore. The election’s over.”

A**hole. 

Obamacare.  The lying, the secrecy, the schemes, the brute force politics.  ‘Nuf said.

A**hole. 

Throughout his presidency Obama has lavishly helped himself to your tax dollars for personal travel and vacations for he and his family.  According to Judicial Watch, as of December 29, 2016 the total spent by the Obamas on annual vacations to Hawaii, Martha’s Vineyard and places like Aspen, Morocco, Spain, and Liberia, as well as trips to fundraise for their political party and their political friends has cost the U.S. taxpayers $96,938,882.51.  By the time all the receipts are in for 2016 JW estimates the final tally will exceed $100,000,000 for the personal enjoyment of Barack Obama and his family and friends.  Most Americans don’t begrudge the POTUS a vacation now and then but Barack and Michelle – who wallow in the false lore of being the champions of the little people – really stuck it to the taxpayers.

A**holes.

  

While our military has been busy trying to protect us from terrorism worldwide, Barack Obama has made it a top priority to shut down the prison at Guantanamo Bay which houses some of our dangerous enemies.  He uses the ridiculous excuse that Guantanamo is a recruiting tool for terrorists (apparently drones are not), but of course the reality is that he enjoys getting under the skin of his political enemies and if he can do so by letting the enemies of our country make their way back to the battlefield, then what does he care?  He is well-protected.

A**hole.

  

In January of 2014, frustrated by his stalled effort to “transform” America after the 2012 congressional elections rebuked him by withdrawing power from his party, Barack Obama announced that what he could not force upon us legislatively he would force upon us using his pen and his phone.  The Constitution and the will of the people be damned.

A**hole.

  

Obama was in a unique position to be a uniter, but he thrives on division and throughout his presidency has picked and chosen his words and his battles in order to foment racial hostilities at every opportunity.  He went out of his way to insert himself into every instance where there was the appearance of white on black racism, carefully choosing his words to taint each case with a presumption of guilt often long before all the facts were in. Whenever there have been instances of black on white racism that garnered national attention, he’s kept his thoughts to himself unless pressed on it.  He’ll leave office with race relations at their worst in many decades, and he’ll be inwardly smiling as he does.

A**hole.

  

We pay his salary and for all the perks of the office, but Barack Obama has repeatedly stabbed us in the back and degraded our sovereignty by putting the interests of illegal aliens and refugees first.  We have seen countless stories about aliens pouring unimpeded over our borders and trespassing into our nation in defiance of our laws, and we’ve seen insult added to injury as our own tax monies – our childrens’ wealth – are being squandered on these invaders.  In May of 2014 CBS News reported that a report by the Center for Immigration Studies (CIS) “shows that 36,007 immigrants in the U.S. illegally who were convicted of crimes were freed from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody, including those who had multiple convictions. Those numbers include 193 homicide convictions, 426 sexual assault convictions, 9,187 dangerous drug convictions, 16,070 drunk or drugged driving convictions and more.”

A**hole.

  

From the moment he took office Obama has been on a mission to put the U.S. on a path to death by socialism.  The number of Americans on disability, food stamps, Medicaid, student loans and other welfare programs have skyrocketed, with Obama fully understanding  what chaos will ensue if Republicans dare to try and turn off the spigot.

A**hole.

  

As a parting shot to Benjamin Netanyahu and the state of Israel, Obama conspired with anti-Israel forces in the U.N. to orchestrate a damning condemnation of our ally in the 11th hour of his presidency.  Why? Because he doesn’t like Netanyahu.  And because he could.

A**hole.

  

If there’s a dictionary for the words we don’t use in polite company, next to the word “a**hole” there should be nothing else except a photo of Barack Hussein Obama.

A**hole

  

~CW

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Just say “NO” to Federal Money for Chicago

The madness of liberalism has created a “state of emergency” in Chicago.  That’s according to Father Michael Pfleger, the uber-leftwing Catholic priest and “social activist” who’s been a longtime fixture on the more violent side of Chicago.  Actually, Pfleger only said there was a state of emergency in Chicago (just like a fire or a flood, he informs us).  It was I who added the part about the madness of liberalism being the cause, because what else can you call it when people double down on Democrat leadership and policies that are ruining their cities?  Sounds like madness to me.

In response to the latest news on Chicago’s ever-rising violence, Donald Trump tweeted on January 2, 2017: 

“Chicago murder rate is record setting - 4,331 shooting victims with 762 murders in 2016. If Mayor can't do it he must ask for Federal help!”

Actually, if the Mayor can’t do it he should resign, and he should take his Democrat cronies with him.

I’m not sure what Mr. Trump has in mind but as a taxpayer whose money helps fund the federal government and pay for the resources that Mr. Trump is so generously offering, I would like to suggest that we institute a policy of not using federal money to rescue people from perpetually making bad decisions.  Mr. Trump is always free to offer up a piece of his own personal fortune if he sincerely believes it will be money well spent.  It is not the responsibility of taxpayers, who are already paying to police their own communities, to save Chicagoans from their own mistakes.  In fact, rescuing them with federal money will only reward and embolden the stupidity, and ensure a bottomless pit of need.  What ails Chicago is an absence of common-sense (read:  conservative) leadership, and you don’t need money for that.  You just need people to suffer the consequences of their own decisions and to finally get tired of the pain.

~CW

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