What it feels like to be a Republican in Provincetown, MA

 

The whale watch was fun, though.

CNN and NYT white-knighting for their guy

Biden didn't say that thing he said.  Twitchy: "Drew Holden fact-checks the fact-checkers after Tuesday night’s debate."  

Regrettably, I mostly agree with this

Power Line: "A long night":

If President Trump entered the debate trailing in most battleground states, as I believe he did, his performance served him poorly. I can’t believe he won over a single persuadable voter.

Trump’s performance must also have cemented the negative perceptions held by voters who have turned against him. He carried his do not go gentle into that good night mode to wild excess. Perhaps it was President Trump who needed pharmaceutical assistance to dial it back. As it happened, I thought Trump interrupted Biden on a few occasions when a Biden brain freeze was in progress.

It's fair to say that what appeals to a lot of conservatives like me is that Trump is not a wishy-washy McCain or a milquetoast Romney; he gets out there and fights.  But four years of this is exhausting and I can see how the persona that worked so well as an outsider can turn against him as President.  Trump didn't do himself a lot of favors, including interrupting Biden when he was in the midst of bad response.

Also: you'd think by now Trump would amply understand that the press is solidly aligned against him.  This was his opportunity to cut through the bias and directly contradict Biden's many lies.  But he didn't counter the phony Atlantic story until a couple minutes later when he raised Biden's "stupid bastards" comment.  He failed to push back at the moment and gave repetitive replies when he would have been better served by strategic jabs. 

Make no mistake, I thought Biden was terrible as Andrew Sullivan noted: "I’ve never seen Biden seem so old or so weak. He can’t land a strong blow. He’s being successfully heckled."  But if you're a voter looking to move past the high drama and return to some normality, Trump added fuel to your fatigue.

Well, that was fun

That was not a debate, but I think it was what we expected at least from Trump.  Biden gave as good as he got but, once again, he lied repeatedly and was allowed to get away with it since we know the fact checkers will ignore them. 

Prove me wrong, mainstream media.  I didn't keep a running list but - off the top of my head - Biden lied about "very fine people", about the unproven Russian bounty story, the uncorroborated Atlantic story, about Hunter Biden's grift, his adherence to the Green New Deal, Kamala Harris badmouthing science, and his opposition to the travel ban.

On other issues, he refused to state his position on court packing in a Presidential debate, claimed Antifa was just an abstraction, and flip-flopped on election-year nominations to the Supreme Court.

Funniest quote tonight: "God save the transcribers."  

Update - Hot Air: "Biden Told So Many Whoppers Last Night, Burger King May Sue Him." 

Debate night!

I'm on semi-vacation so this is the first time I'm checking the news today.  It looks like the candidate who has been spending half his campaign under the "lid" wants periodic breaks in a 90-minute debate.

The media is garbage, a continuing series

I didn't believe this one until I saw it with my own eyes.  Not the Bee: "Incredible: USA Today fact checks The Babylon Bee's "claim" that Ruth Bader Ginsburg's death was overturned by 9th circuit court."  

Thanks Harry Reid

Washington Examiner: "Thank God and Chuck Schumer for Amy Coney Barrett: The four Democratic overreaches that got us here."  

Joe Biden's appeal is becoming more selective

Twitchy: "Biden campaign officials brag about limiting crowds, like the spouses of Joe Biden and Kamala Harris did."  Nine people at a Biden event.  Nine.  Of course, this is nine more than Sleepy Joe met with after putting a lid on his campaign yesterday.

Relevant clip with a bonus thanks to Rob Reiner:

It's nomination day!

Hot Air: "NYT: The Upcoming SCOTUS Confirmation Hearing Could Be A Real Game-Changer — For Trump And The GOP."

And that’s why the assumption that a Kavanaugh-esque spectacle won’t galvanize voters to back Trump is no small wager. Trump’s nomination of Barrett (or Lagoa, or another woman) isn’t going to change many minds about Trump among voters already inclined to oppose him either, but a failure to go all-out in smearing the nominee may well disenchant and disincentivize them to turn out at all. The upcoming confirmation hearing may not be entirely a win-win for the GOP, but it’s very clearly a lose-lose proposition for Democrats — which is why Republicans want to hold the hearing.

Will Democrats be able to curb their worst instincts, or will we see more "Handmaid Tale" costumes shuffling around Capitol Hill?  Probably the latter and they're treading into dangerous ground of religious tests for a nominee considering that the Jewish woman she's replacing was confirmed on a 96-3 vote.

What a novel concept

Glorious American: "ESPN Launches ‘ESPN Sports,’ A Division Dedicated To Covering Sports." 

It's Amy

Power Line: "Report: it will be Judge Barrett."

Good choice.

Is Joe Biden dying?

Is this such an extreme question?  In case you missed it, Biden's campaign called their ninth "lid" on the day this month, so Sleepy Joe could rest.  When Biden does appear in public, it's in tightly controlled scenarios to minimal crowds, that are not advertised ahead of time in case they need a quick retreat:

There is scant physical evidence that the former vice president and Democratic nominee is in town. His visits are scarcely publicized beforehand, logistical details are closely held and his event venues serve as much as video studios as places of gathering. Barely anyone is allowed near the candidate.

The most significant recent high-wire act for Biden was the CNN town hall where he was served up countless softballs in a forum that even Politico called a "kid-gloves" treatment.  On the few times he was challenged, he either ignored the questions or went into a weird jag about chicken manure. 

Michael Dougherty asks "Seriously, Can We Talk about Joe Biden Now?"

Usually, a party tries to avoid making the same mistakes that recent losing campaigns made. But Biden’s operation seems to be leaning into dangers that should be obvious. Hillary Clinton’s campaign was dogged by conspiracy theories about her health, ones that were dismissed by her cheerleading journalists until the very moment she seemed to collapse at a public event, and was thrown into the side of a van by her handlers.

Joe Biden has had two aneurysms, he lashes out when he gets the slightest bit of pushback ("Listen, fat"), and now he's spending a third of his time in hiding and the rest of the time led around by his puppeteers.  What, indeed, is going on with this guy?

Two other clues: the Democrats are pivoting away from mail-in voting, perhaps because of the high disqualification factor, but maybe because it locks voters into candidate who may not make it to election day.  Second, Kamala Harris is incommunicado:

“A reminder that it has been 42 days since Harris was tapped as the VP pick. There are 42 days until election day,” NBC News reporter Deepa Shivaram tweeted. “The senator has not once formally taken questions from the press.”

Isn't this weird?  Why isn't she out there promoting Joe Biden?  Maybe it's because she knows Joe is in a downward spiral and it's only a matter of time before she'll be forced to step in.  Until then, the campaign has one goal: hide the decline.

Today's least-surprising news

Daily Wire: "Ruth Bader Ginsburg Didn’t Retire Because She Wanted Hillary Clinton To ‘Name Her Successor,’ Daughter Says."

Please oh please oh please let it be Amy: "Trump Supreme Court favorite Amy Coney Barrett would be the ultimate insult to RBG."

Coolio.

Hunter loves coke and hookers

If you're hankering for another weaselly non-denial after Biden spokesman TJ Ducklo's epic performance, you're in luck: "Biden campaign spokesman addresses report on Hunter Biden by pivoting to coronavirus, denies nothing."  

Hygiene theater

Reason: "Can the CDC Get Anything Right?"  "As the coronavirus pandemic rages on, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) can't stop proving itself useless and incompetent."  

You know, I thought traffic was light today

Ace: "Sundown Joe Biden: Covid Has Killed Two Hundred Million Americans."

Relevant source: Did Joe Biden kill me?  

Ready for the battle

Bring it on.  Red State: "Lindsey Graham 2.0 Returns, Flames the Dems on SCOTUS in Brand New Statement."  Here's the key part:

“After the treatment of Justice Kavanaugh I now have a different view of the judicial-confirmation process,” Graham said. “Compare the treatment of Robert Bork, Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito, and Brett Kavanaugh to that of Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Sonia Sotomayor, and Elena Kagan, and it’s clear that there is already one set of rules for a Republican president and one set of rules for a Democrat president. I therefor think it is important that we proceed expeditiously to process any nomination made by President Trump to fill this vacancy. I am certain if the shoe was on the other foot, you would do the same.”

Speaking of Elena Kagan, I remember the vicious grilling Lindsey Graham gave Kagan after she was nominated by Obama in 2010.  Avert your eyes from this partisan cruelty:

Extra - PJ Media: "Dems Are About to Learn How Much Republicans Are Still Seething 2 Years After Kavanaugh Hearings." 

Because of course

 

Washington Post headlines on Scalia's passing and Ginsburg's passing pic.twitter.com/VQlWwphlXa

— Joe Bishop-Henchman (@jbhenchman) September 19, 2020

Why is the steering wheel on the right?

Gateway Pundit: "Liberal Woman Posts Selfie Video of Hysterical Meltdown Over Death of Justice Ginsburg."  When politics is your religion.  

RBG's activism engendered the current mood

Bookworm Room has a detailed review on Ruth Bader Ginsberg and I could not agree more with point #7:

7. Ginsburg’s politicizing the Court is part of why we’re at the situation we are today, where a Justice’s death can throw an upcoming election into an uproar. When judges legislate, as she and her fellow leftists on the Court have been doing, the Court takes on oversized importance. For decades, leftists who couldn’t get their fellow citizens to vote on their policies were able to use the Court as a super-legislative body. This is not what the Constitution intended, and it means that we Americans are being ruled by a cabal of 9 people who hold their positions for life. They are, in essence, a form of non-democratic absolute monarchy.

To this I would point to her dissent in the 7-2 decision for Masterpiece Cakeshop, a.k.a. the "bake me a cake, hater" case (joined by the worst justice on the Supreme Court, Sonia Sotomayor).  As Bookworm notes, Ginsberg was always portrayed as a "fighter" which means she was a politician and not a jurist sworn to uphold the Constitution.  I'll go a step further: I think RBG got caught up in the hagiography around her and simply tailored legal decisions to burnish her leftist bona fides.  The result was judicial activism that led to decisions away from freedom and towards compulsion.  This is why everybody is up in arms about the Supreme Court and now the election is going to be super-mega-insane.

For contrast, look at the legal reasoning of the late Antonin Scalia who leaned towards individual rights ("go ahead and burn that flag!") and often wondered why the Supreme Court was ruling on issues that should be decided by the people:

The States may, if they wish, permit abortion on demand, but the Constitution does not require them to do so. The permissibility of abortion, and the limitations upon it, are to be resolved like most important questions in our democracy: by citizens trying to persuade one another and then voting.

People voting?  Like in a democracy?  Scalia and Ginsberg were friends, it's said, but I wonder what Nino would have thought about his good friend forcing a baker to create a cake at the barrel of a gun.

RBG has died

Huge news tonight: "Ruth Bader Ginsberg has died." 

Sleepy Joe on CNN

Joe Biden did a town hall with Anderson Cooper on CNN tonight.  Here's his answer to every question:

"I'm not Trump who is bad."

And, man, he lied a lot, including the anonymous Atlantic lie, the fracking flip-flop, and the Charlottesville lie.  I'm sure our brave Candy Crowley firefighters will set the record straight.

To paraphrase Obama: "Yes he does"

Don't Walk, Run! - "Does Joe Biden use a Teleprompter to answer questions?"

You gotta be cruel to be kind

Reason: "Federal Regulations Have Made Western Wildfires Worse - Controlled, prescribed burns can stop wildfires from spreading. Too bad they are effectively prohibited by rules like the Clean Air Act."  If you guessed that the environmental whackos in California are making a bad situation much worse, you're correct:

"What you'll often find," Wood says, "is that there are projects which have been extremely well-vetted, which have been years in the work, there will be a 5,000-page document, which no one could conceivably ever read because it's so long and complicated, but then the project will still get put on hold for an indefinite period of time, because some special interest group filed a lawsuit." So much time is spent considering the ramifications of an action; little is spent considering the impact of doing nothing.

From 1999 to 2017, an average of 13,000 acres of California were subjected to controlled burns each year. In February 2020, Nature Sustainability published a report arguing that California needs to burn 20 million acres of forest in order to restore forest health.

But the owls! 

That was two or three hoaxes ago

Red State: "That ‘Bombshell’ Russian Bounty Story Was Just Officially Shown to Be Garbage." 

Nice country. Be a shame if something happened to it.

Federalist: "The Left Is Setting The Stage For A Coup If Trump Wins = Under the guise of planning for right-wing violence if Trump loses, Democrats are gaming out how to steal the election if Trump wins."

Looks like a kid

Fox News: "Compton 'ambush' leaves 2 LA County sheriff's deputies 'fighting for their lives'."

Update: Defund NPR. 

If there's another explanation, I'd love to hear it

Twitchy: "Did Joe Biden get busted by Michael Moore using a teleprompter for his appearance with James Corden?"

Yes, this "Interview" was scripted. Note different colors for teleprompter text. They are two sides to the "conversation". I've worked with TV teleprompters before. This is what they are.

This was staged. It's all a show.

Why does Biden need a script? pic.twitter.com/zEwyR5E94u

— Eye of Orwell (@OrwellOf) September 12, 2020

Prediction: Sleepy Joe won't debate

That's the opinion of this guy who flatly predicts: "Look for Biden to bow out of the debates within the next two weeks."  From the American Spectator: "Why Biden Will Withdraw From the Debates - It’s the only way for Joe’s handlers to save him from himself."

While Biden has said “he can hardly wait” to take on Trump in the debates, I don’t think his team or his proxies will let him. Even before Kenosha, Nancy Pelosi, Joe Lockhart, and others were publicly urging their candidate to pull out of the debates, ostensibly because of Trump’s alleged incorrigible dishonesty. I expect that the drumbeat to withdraw will increase steadily over the next two weeks. The usual anti-Trump “bombshells” by the media (like those in the Atlantic and in Bob Woodward’s latest book) will provide the Democrats some cover, though dodging the debates will hurt them in some circles.

If Biden defies my prediction and proceeds with the debates — whether out of misplaced confidence or desperation — they are far more likely to be a disaster for him than a success. Although he and Trump are roughly the same age, right now they are worlds apart in terms of their mental and physical abilities. Moreover, Biden’s former, more moderate positions on law and order, patriotism, religious liberties, business, even pro-life issues — are at loggerheads with the progressive stances he’s been forced to adopt in the new Democratic Party.

The other day, Biden emerged from his basement and sat down for an rare interview with Jake Tapper of CNN.  On full display was the confusion cloud that surrounds Sleepy Joe whenever he doesn't have a teleprompter to give him the answers, culminating in obliquely calling Michigan voters racist.  

I believe Biden will debate because his ego tells him he can beat Trump.  But Trump is going to give him the pushback that Biden rarely experiences from the mainstream media and only exploded into view a handful of times on the campaign trail, you dog-faced lying pony soldier.

The paper of record

Babylon Bee: "Nobel Peace Prize Committee Informs Trump He Has Not Launched Enough Drone Strikes To Qualify."  

Show me on this doll where Trump hurt you, Atlantic

Fox News: "The Atlantic calls to 'end the Nobel Peace Prize' following Trump nominations."

Because of course they did.

Extra - Red State: "The TDS at this point is pretty darn hilarious. They’re literally crossing out Nobel because Trump has the possibility of getting it. But when Obama won it, The Atlantic saw it as leading to a new global society with possibly Obama leading it. How delusional is their illness?" 

Ready for some football? America: "Meh"

 Ace: "Gallup Poll: Public Favorability Towards Corporate Spectator Sports Falls THIRTY POINTS, from +20 to -10, in a Single Year."  

Well done, fellas. You were becoming millionaires just by playing children's games.

Good luck moonlighting at Foot Locker.

Let's look back to the 1994 MLB baseball strike when players said "up yours" to the fans:

"I never felt the same way about baseball again after that,'' Dave Stewart, a four-time 20-game winner and then pitching for the Toronto Blue Jays, tells USA TODAY Sports. "Even today, after all of my years in baseball, the passion I have for the game has never been the same. All because of that strike."

It took a full decade to get back to baseline attendance:

In 1994, the average attendance was a then-record 31,256. It was not until 2004 — the first year in which players could be suspended for testing positive for steroids, after almost a decade of a drug-fueled home run derby — that the average attendance again topped 30,000.

Americans have had six months to find new interests that don't include $10 beers and preachy millionaires.

Here in the cuckoo Pioneer Valley

Western Massachusetts update: "Massachusetts women's college describes itself as "a women’s college that is gender diverse"

Words - how do they work?

Good question

McClatchy: "Will Joe Biden ever face tough questions during this campaign?"

Finally, Biden was asked about a new diplomatic development. “President Trump has just announced an economic normalization deal between Serbia and Kosovo. And part of that deal is Kosovo and Israel having diplomatic normalization.” Biden said he knew nothing about it. Imagine if Trump made such a public admission.

The questions didn’t focus on Biden’s claims, qualifications or proposals. Those were all simply assumed to be good with no need for checking or verification.

The main takeaway from the “news event” was a real stunner, that Joe Biden is not Donald Trump. That just happens to fit the professed motivation of almost two-thirds of Biden supporters who say they’re voting against this president, not for the next one.

The event’s subliminal takeaway, however, was that these members of the Fourth Estate, these self-appointed guardians of America’s presidential election process, are just fine with that. But should voters be?

Is there any wonder that Republicans are clamoring for the debates?  It's the first time to stick a crowbar between the Biden campaign and the cheerleader media.

The Atlantic: covering itself with glory

Twitchy: "‘There’s even video of it!’ Sean Davis blasts Atlantic reporter in receipt-filled thread for yet ANOTHER ridiculous lie defending Biden."

They can't help it: TDS comes for even the most august of publications.

Extra - Red State: "In more normal times, the media would be supremely concerned about the lack of access to a presidential candidate. But in these less than normal times, which center wholly on the orange man being bad, they are more than happy to shill for a politician who thumbs his nose at them." 

Another un-anonymous witness goes on the record

Breitbart: "Zach Fuentes, top aide to John Kelly, denies Atlantic story about Trump."

Former Deputy White House Chief of Staff Zach Fuentes denied to Breitbart News The Atlantic’s account of President Donald Trump’s comments about troops in Europe.

Fuentes unequivocally denied The Atlantic’s report last week, a huge blow to the establishment media narrative. Fuentes personally briefed President Trump on the weather situation that led to the trip being canceled. He is also a close personal confidante of former White House Chief of Staff John Kelly.

One reporter in Wisconsin finds that 100% of the people she meets DGAF about this bogus story.

Extra - Federalist: "Atlantic Editor Concedes Central Claim Of Trump Hit Piece Could Be Wrong."  Big concession, considering contemporaneous records and a dozen eyewitnesses say it's fiction.

Desperation time

Confirmed: the media is garbage

Glenn Greenwald: "Journalism’s New Propaganda Tool: Using “Confirmed” to Mean its Opposite."

But journalism is not supposed to be grounded in whether something is “believable” or “seems like it could be true.” Its core purpose, the only thing that really makes it matter or have worth, is reporting what is true, or at least what evidence reveals. And that function is completely subverted when news outlets claim that they “confirmed” a previous report when they did nothing more than just talked to the same people who anonymously whispered the same things to them as were whispered to the original outlet.

Quite aside from this specific story about whether Trump loves The Troops, conflating the crucial journalistic concept of “confirmation” with “hearing the same idle gossip” or “unproven assertions” is a huge disservice. It is an instrument of propaganda, not reporting. And its use has repeatedly deceived rather than informed the public. Anyone who doubts that should review how it is that MSNBC and CBS both claimed to have “confirmed” a CNN report which turned out to be ludicrously and laughably false. Clearly, the term “confirmation” has lost its meaning in journalism.

These reporters all "heard it from a guy" and then pass the rumor through the Trump-hate filter to determine if it's true.  

The first step is admitting you have a problem

Washington Examiner: "NPR regrets elevating pro-looting anti-Semite."  

The media tosses softballs at Grandpa Joe

Fox News: "Reporters blasted for 'shamefully embarrassing' softball questions at rare Biden press conference."

Twitchy: "‘Pitiful performance’: Brit Hume just absolutely drags TF out of the media for joke of a Biden presser (especially Ed O’Keefe)."  

Ace: "The "Independent" Press Asked Joe Biden Nothing But Tee-Up "How Bad is Trump?" Questions, and Biden Still Had to Read from His Prepared Notes."

Red State: "Biden Presser Screams of Coordination and Kayleigh McEnany Busts Them Good."

More true than ever:

The media is garbage

Brooke Baldwin goes full Nina Burleigh

Wow, that's an obscure reference.  Video at the link.

Twitchy: "‘This is quite incredible’: Time to play ‘Is this a CNN anchor, Joe Biden press secretary, or both?’." 

Joe Biden plagiarizes Trump's Kenosha trip

It's in his nature.  American Greatness: "Small Crowds, Little Enthusiasm for Joe Biden During ‘Desperation Trip’ to Kenosha."

Lowlights: Slow Joe talked to Jacob Blake and treated him like a returning hero, then went into full-on pander mode claiming that a black man invented the light bulb.  There were more members of the press and Secret Service on hand than real Americans who support Biden.

It was funny in 2013

 

Defund NPR: spreading the Charlottesville lie AGAIN

Here they go again.  This morning, NPR featured a story with a former employee of DHS who opined that Trump wasn't doing enough to fight domestic terrorism.  Here's the story which leaves out the section of the story I heard on the radio repeating the Charlottesville lie. 

If you click on the link reading "10-minute listen" and then fast-forward to 7:20, there it is.  Again.  The "very fine people" lie that will never die.  

It's a mystery!

Western Journal: "If Biden/Harris Really Think Trump Is Responsible for Riots, Why Didn't They Mention It at DNC?"  

Defund NPR

This morning on NPR's Morning Edition, I had the misfortune of hearing a story titled "Trump Will Fan Protest Flames, Wisconsin State Lawmaker Says."  Here's an excerpt with NPR's Rachel Martin:

MARTIN: And as we understand it, President Trump will not be visiting the family of - either Jacob Blake or his family. I want to ask about what the president has said about Kyle Rittenhouse. This is the 17-year-old suspected of shooting and killing two protesters in Kenosha. As we hear in our previous conversation, he said it appeared that Rittenhouse was, quote, "in very big trouble and probably would have been killed." There is no conclusive evidence to support that claim. But what do you believe to be the effects of those remarks?

No conclusive evidence except, ya know, the Glock pointed at his head.  I guess the dimwits at NPR repeated this in a tweet because later I saw: "Taxpayer-Funded, Government-Sponsored NPR: Trump Claimed, "WITHOUT EVIDENCE," That Kyle Rittenhouse May Have Acted in Self Defense" and "NPR slammed over tweet that Trump claimed 'without evidence' that Kenosha gunman acted in self-defense."

But you needn't have looked any further than the double standard for "conclusive evidence" than the conclusion of the NPR article where this exchange occurred:

MARTIN: Just in seconds remaining, I want to ask about what Joe Biden said. He criticized President Trump for fomenting divisions, but he also said rioting is not protesting. And recent polls indicate that support for Black Lives Matter, especially among white people, is slipping because of the violence from protests in Kenosha. Do you think all this is taking a political toll on Democrats?

BOWEN: Well, I think that there are white supremacists that are implanting themselves in these protests, and they are seeking to discredit the movement.

There is ZERO evidence that this is happening, much less "conclusive evidence."  So NPR's Rachel Martin pushed back hard against this claim!

JK:

MARTIN: David Bowen - he's a Democratic state representative in Wisconsin and a member of Wisconsin's state Legislative Black Caucus. He joined us on Skype. Thank you so much for your time.

Just more gaslighting and narrative protection.  Time to save some taxpayer money.

“Without evidence?” There’s video. And the President referenced the video.

What are we doing here?

— Matt Whitlock (@mattdizwhitlock) September 1, 2020