
Ray Hanania
We’re being distracted from the real scandal
By Ray Hanania
The warnings that Russia will attack Ukraine have been much like forecasts of the TV meteorologists. They can predict snow, but how intense or light they often get wrong. Schools close. Some parents stay home from work, but the snowfall is light.
We live in Chicagoland, folks. It snows! It always has. We’ve seen some real storms but what we have been seeing lately seems pretty much mild and manageable.
Every day, we’re told, a Russian attack is imminent “in the next day or so.”
Everyone is focused on the apparent plans that Russian tyrant Vladimir Putin has to revive the old Soviet Communist empire when he is not killing rivals with radiation poisoning in cities around the world.

Ray Hanania
But this crisis isn’t just about Putin. It is about President Joe Biden, who benefits from the crisis to offset his past problems.
As we enter the midterm elections this year — what we are not talking about when we talk about Ukraine — is Biden’s failed policy on Afghanistan, where tyranny and religious fanaticism that empowered terrorists has returned.
What we are not talking about is the failed efforts to restore the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action agreement with the terrorist regime in Iran. Iran has been dragging its feet in the Vienna negotiations since they began nine months ago and advancing its uranium enrichment to the point where even Secretary of State Anthony Blinken has warned it will reach the point where an agreement becomes irrelevant.
Domestically, Biden has been unable to gather the votes needed to pass the Build Back Better plan, which he claims will help America’s economic recovery. He can’t get the whole package through because he can’t keep his party together.
But then there is the Ukrainian “crisis.” Every day that Americans fear the breakout of war, we are not talking about Biden’s failure in Afghanistan, the expansion of terrorist Iran or the erosion of his political base as we enter the midterm elections.
The midterm elections, as you know, are important because in nearly every presidential term, with only a few exceptions, the political party that holds the White House, this year the Democrats, lose control of the House and Senate to the opposition, in this case, the Republicans.
If you think negotiations with Iran have been bad, wait until the Republicans take over the House and the Senate. America will be in worsened polarization.
You can’t blame the Republicans alone for the polarization. You have to blame the Democrats, too. It seems no one cares about the country more than they care about their politics.
Democrats keep exaggerating the Jan. 6 violence as an “insurrection” (meaning an orchestrated, organized violent assault); when in fact it was an act of unprecedented violence from some of the thousands of demonstrators who gathered to protest the presidential election results.
The media was so biased against claims of vote fraud — something inherent in American election systems across this country — that it fueled the belief that somehow the election was stolen.
Meanwhile, the Democrats did nothing about the months-long violence that was fueled by George Floyd’s murder when thousands and thousands of protesters destroyed, burned down and vandalized businesses, and killed police and civilians.
They were just expressing their rage, or letting off “justified” steam.
The media has exaggerated the cries of the left while marginalizing and demonizing the cries of the right.
There is a middle ground, but the mainstream news media is not there as they should be.
Among the questions not being asked are those involving Biden’s controversy-plagued son, Hunter, who has engaged in millions of dollars in consulting contracts in Ukraine.
Miranda Devine, whose father, Frank Devine, was a friend of mine when he ran the Chicago Sun-Times under right-wing media mogul Rupert Murdoch, wrote an eye-opening book you should read called “Laptop from Hell.”
The book is about what Hunter had left on a laptop that a computer store owner said he brought in weeks before his father announced his candidacy for the presidency. But Hunter, who had a drug problem, according to the book, never picked up the laptop. The computer store owner, who held conservative political views, owned it and made it available to Biden’s critics.
Few media would explore those facts because they didn’t want to hurt Biden’s chances of defeating the blowhard and petty former President Donald Trump.
How does this all tie into Ukraine? Like most conspiracy concerns, we won’t know for many decades. By then, who knows what will happen in Ukraine?
Check out Ray Hanania’s columns and political podcasts at hanania.com.
Local News

She kept her promise
Spread the love. . By Joan Hadac Your correspondent in Clearing and Garfield Ridge (708) 496-0265 • [email protected] . Never underestimate a woman’s love for her man. Gary and Kimberly Hughes met in 1996. They fell in love and were wed in 1998. They bought a home near 61st and Natchez and were on their way…

District 128 schools are going to the dogs and the kids love it
Spread the loveBy Kelly White Pet therapy has also been shown to improve energy levels, self-esteem, social skills, verbal communication and mood, as well as decrease depression. Palos Heights School District 128 made the decision to bring pet therapy into the classroom to help both its students and staff reap these benefits while enjoying the…

Orland Park cops honored and defended
Spread the loveBy Jeff Vorva The Village of Orland Park hosted its police awards ceremony last week and, as usual, Mayor Keith Pekau expressed his gratitude for the job the police force does. He also was irked by some comments he has seen online with negative comments on a post. On Jan. 7, Orland police…

Warn of burglars in Garfield Ridge
Spread the loveFrom staff reports A cluster of residential burglaries in Garfield Ridge has prompted police to issue a warning to the community. Crime scenes include: 5200 block of South Normandy on Jan. 1. 5600 block of South Mobile on Jan. 7. 5300 block of South Mason on Jan. 10. 6000 block of West 60th Street…

Casten scolds sheriff on new gun control law
Spread the loveSays he can’t pick which laws to enforce By Tim Hadac U.S. Rep. Sean Casten (D-6th) and several other Democratic members of the state’s Congressional delegation recently sent a letter to DuPage County Sheriff James Mendrick, expressing concern over his Jan. 13 statement that he will not enforce the Protect Illinois Communities Act…

Bust accused shooter in Clearing
Spread the loveBy Tim Hadac Chicago Police and the Great Lakes Regional Fugitive Task Force visited Clearing late last month to apprehend a man wanted in connection with a West Side shooting. Shaheer Muhammad, 24 of the 3800 block of West Grenshaw, was arrested on Wednesday, Jan. 25 at a home in the 6000 block…

2023 Illinois tax filing season now open
Spread the loveFrom staff reports The Illinois Department of Revenue began accepting 2022 state individual income tax returns on Monday, the same date that the Internal Revenue Service began accepting federal individual income tax returns. “Taxpayers are encouraged to file electronically as early as possible in the tax season and choose direct deposit in order…

Palos Park tries to stay ahead of the curve on sextortion scams
Spread the loveBy Jeff Vorva The Palos Park Police Department is trying to stay ahead of a disturbing trend that has not been talked about publicly very much. When it comes to the topic of sextortion scams, the Palos Park police are monitoring things very closely and Detective Ross Chibe was called on to provide…

Former hospital employee charged in Palos Heights identity theft
Spread the loveFrom staff reports A Hazel Crest man was charged last week with aggravated identity theft stemming from an incident that happened on December 27. Palos Heights police took a report on December 27 from a patient at Northwestern Palos Hospital who reported their wallet was missing and then observed two unauthorized charges on…
Neighbors

She kept her promise
Spread the love. . By Joan Hadac Your correspondent in Clearing and Garfield Ridge (708) 496-0265 • [email protected] . Never underestimate a woman’s love for her man. Gary and Kimberly Hughes met in 1996. They fell in love and were wed in 1998. They bought a home near 61st and Natchez and were on their way…

District 128 schools are going to the dogs and the kids love it
Spread the loveBy Kelly White Pet therapy has also been shown to improve energy levels, self-esteem, social skills, verbal communication and mood, as well as decrease depression. Palos Heights School District 128 made the decision to bring pet therapy into the classroom to help both its students and staff reap these benefits while enjoying the…

Orland Park cops honored and defended
Spread the loveBy Jeff Vorva The Village of Orland Park hosted its police awards ceremony last week and, as usual, Mayor Keith Pekau expressed his gratitude for the job the police force does. He also was irked by some comments he has seen online with negative comments on a post. On Jan. 7, Orland police…

Warn of burglars in Garfield Ridge
Spread the loveFrom staff reports A cluster of residential burglaries in Garfield Ridge has prompted police to issue a warning to the community. Crime scenes include: 5200 block of South Normandy on Jan. 1. 5600 block of South Mobile on Jan. 7. 5300 block of South Mason on Jan. 10. 6000 block of West 60th Street…

Casten scolds sheriff on new gun control law
Spread the loveSays he can’t pick which laws to enforce By Tim Hadac U.S. Rep. Sean Casten (D-6th) and several other Democratic members of the state’s Congressional delegation recently sent a letter to DuPage County Sheriff James Mendrick, expressing concern over his Jan. 13 statement that he will not enforce the Protect Illinois Communities Act…

Bust accused shooter in Clearing
Spread the loveBy Tim Hadac Chicago Police and the Great Lakes Regional Fugitive Task Force visited Clearing late last month to apprehend a man wanted in connection with a West Side shooting. Shaheer Muhammad, 24 of the 3800 block of West Grenshaw, was arrested on Wednesday, Jan. 25 at a home in the 6000 block…

2023 Illinois tax filing season now open
Spread the loveFrom staff reports The Illinois Department of Revenue began accepting 2022 state individual income tax returns on Monday, the same date that the Internal Revenue Service began accepting federal individual income tax returns. “Taxpayers are encouraged to file electronically as early as possible in the tax season and choose direct deposit in order…

Palos Park tries to stay ahead of the curve on sextortion scams
Spread the loveBy Jeff Vorva The Palos Park Police Department is trying to stay ahead of a disturbing trend that has not been talked about publicly very much. When it comes to the topic of sextortion scams, the Palos Park police are monitoring things very closely and Detective Ross Chibe was called on to provide…

Former hospital employee charged in Palos Heights identity theft
Spread the loveFrom staff reports A Hazel Crest man was charged last week with aggravated identity theft stemming from an incident that happened on December 27. Palos Heights police took a report on December 27 from a patient at Northwestern Palos Hospital who reported their wallet was missing and then observed two unauthorized charges on…