Joel Pollak
Politics • Lifestyle • News • Travel • Writing
I will share my thoughts about American politics, as well as current events in Israel and elsewhere, based on my experiences in the U.S., South Africa, and the Middle East. I will also discuss books and popular culture from the perspective of a somewhat libertarian, religiously observant conservative living in California. I will also share art and ideas that I find useful and helpful, and link to my content at Breitbart News, Amazon, and elsewhere.
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Rick Renzi and Jack Smith's revenge

Former Rep. Rick Renzi (R-AZ) just appeared on the "Mark Levin Show." He was a congressman about 15 years ago and went to prison after being convicted of various crimes (and acquitted of others). One of the men who put him there, he told Levin, was Jack Smith.

Briefly -- as Renzi told it: he was a political threat to then-Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano (now the head of the UC system). Her chief of staff was an assistant U.S. attorney who indicted him twice and tried to get him to agree to a plea deal. Renzi refused and went to trial.

During and after the trial, Renzi said, a prosecutor by the name of David Harbaugh faced sanctions -- which are very rare -- on TWO occasions: once for wiretapping conversations between Renzi and his attorney, and once for paying a witness who changes his testimony.

Moreover, an appellate judge in the case, who ordered Renzi to prison despite the fact that he was still appealing his conviction, was the "mentor" for a clerk named Jack Smith.

Harbaugh worked with Smith, Renzi noted -- and had followed Smith to other assignments as well. Moreover, he said, Harbaugh had once worked with then-FBI Director James Comey to cover up Hillary Clinton's offenses, then "retired" when the heat grew too great.

Back to Renzi: the circumstances of his conviction were such that many people felt Renzi was not given a fair trial. He was later pardoned by President Donald Trump. And that, perhaps, has given Smith an incentive to pursue Trump: he wants revenge for Renzi's case, which he and Harbaugh were involved with.

You could see how Harbaugh might also want revenge on behalf of Comey.

I've also looked up Harbaugh and found he was involved in Jack Smith's most infamous failures -- the prosecutions of Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell (R) and Sen. John Edwards (D-NC).

What is it with these DOJ prosecutors and special counsels, that they seem to recycle the most tainted, biased, and agenda-driven people they can find? Robert Mueller's "collusion" investigation was also stacked with Clinton donors, and even a Clinton attorney.

Renzi made the case that the most powerful lobby in Washington is not Big Pharma, but the National Association of Former United States Attorneys, who are responsible for staffing and recommending many of the prosecutors and officials who handle the justice system.

I believe it, because I've seen the "Lawfare" network that staffs every operation against Trump and conservatives -- and that briefly opposed me, when I argued against impeaching Trump (the first time). It's not a conspiracy theory; it's a caste system. More to come.

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Time-lapse sunrise at Temescal Falls
00:00:17
This is what is left of my special place in the forest

Burned, then covered in mudslides and rockslides. The river still flows through it. But we have lost so much. I have to believe the spirit still lives on.

00:00:16
The drive home 💔
00:00:46
Weekly Torah reading: Noah (Genesis 6:9 - 11:32)

The story of Noah is familiar; the details, less so.

Noah is often seen as an ambivalent figure. He was righteous -- but only for his generation. What was his deficiency?

One answer suggests itself: knowing that the world was about to be flooded, he built an Ark for the animals and for his own family -- but did not try to save anyone else or to convince them to repent and change their ways (the prophet Jonah, later, would share that reluctance).

Abraham, later, would set himself apart by arguing with God -- with the Lord Himself! -- against the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, saying that they should be saved if there were enough righteous people to be found (there were not).

Still, Noah was good enough -- and sometimes, that really is sufficient to save the world. We don't need heroes every time -- just ordinary decency.

https://www.chabad.org/parshah/torahreading.asp?aid=2473477&p=complete&jewish=Noach-Torah-Reading.htm

Closing all subscriptions

Hi all -- as I noted last month, I'm going to be closing down my Locals page, at least for tips and subscriptions -- I may keep the page up and the posts as well, but I'm no longer going to be accepting any kind of payment.

Look for cancelation in the very near future. Thank you for your support!

Breitbart News Sunday: show rundown (October 19, 2025)

An interesting weekend -- one of the last of Daylight Savings Time -- in which there is much to celebrate, much to contemplate, and a bit to worry about.

The Gaza peace deal is shaky, but holding, after the living hostages returned; the shutdown is still going on, with no end in sight; the China trade war is heating up; and the confrontation with Venezuela continues to escalate.

The "No Kings" protest was a dud, despite the media's attempt to inflate it. What I find fascinating is that the Democrats have basically stolen the rhetoric and the imagery of the Tea Party protests, circa 2009. They claim they are defending the Constitution -- just like the Tea Party did.

On the one hand, this is good. How wonderful to have a political system in which both sides, bitterly opposed though they are, articulate differences through the Constitution -- and not, as in so many other countries, outside it.

On the other, this is sheer hypocrisy for the Democrats. Not only did they malign the Tea Party as ...

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