Happy New Year, everyone

I wish everybody a happy and prosperous 2024. 

A well-deserved decline

AMAC: "2023 – Media’s Year Of Moral Collapse"

Journalism schools may someday point to 2023 as the year of a final moral collapse for the corporate media – a point of no return ultimately reached after years of ethical decline and loss of credibility with the public.

This year, perhaps more than any other in history, America’s once lionized major news organizations proved they were not about “the news” at all, but about the protection of those in power and partisan politicians they favored.

And how.  Republicans - who make up just 3.4% of journalists - should be pushing back on the media relentlessly and without decorum:

There have been plenty of signs this year that the establishment press has entered a terminal decline. Future generations may see as a tipping point the moment when Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy used his platform during the GOP debate hosted by NBC News to turn the tables on moderator Kristen Welker and demanded that she apologize for her network’s dishonest coverage of the “Russiagate” hoax. Though perhaps no better indicator exists of the media’s current moral collapse than its inability to retract and apologize for the spectacular lies involved in its “Russiagate” hoax or its cover-up of the Hunter Biden laptop just before the 2020 election.

They're not even hiding their bias.  Just like Harvard, the media will wear your disapprobation like a badge of honor as they continue to shed jobs and fall into irrelevancy. 

The Martha's Vineyard maneuver

CNN: "Texas is sending asylum seekers to major cities by bus with little notice. These mayors want to pump the brakes."

Sending migrants to sanctuary cities has been a masterstroke.  Don't make me tap the sign at the base of the Statue of Liberty, mayors.

When the President suborned obstruction

Here's Jonathan Turley two weeks ago:

If this latest allegation is true, the president was speaking with his son about committing a potentially criminal act of contempt. Hunter was refusing to give testimony focused not on his own role but on his father's potential role in the alleged influence peddling. The House can pursue evidence on that conversation and how the president may have supported his son’s effort.

,,,

Indeed, President Biden himself has maintained that defying subpoenas cannot be tolerated. When subpoenas were issued to Republicans during the House’s January 6 investigation, Biden declared: "I hope that the committee goes after them and holds them accountable criminally.”

What did Dementia Joe tell Crackhead Hunter?  We may never know since Joey stopped doing anything remotely resembling a press conference and he's currently sunning himself in St. Croix on his endless vacation.

But now this development: "Comer, Jordan: We Are Exploring Impeaching Joe Biden for Advising His Crackhead Bagman Son to Defy a Congressional Subpoena and Obstruct Justice."

What did Joe know and when did he know it?  Does it involve Corn Pop and traveling to the Tibetian Plateau with Xi and Angie pinching his cheeks and saying "Joey baby"?  Possibly!

The 24/7 basement strategy

The Messenger: "Biden Thinks He’s Got Bad Media Coverage? Hold a Press Conference and Answer Some Questions."

Yeah, he's not going to do that.  

Tell me about the fascists again

Matt Taibbi: "Democracy Dies in Daylight - Eight years ago the Washington Post pledged to save democracy, but now argues we need to be saved from it."

A month ago in the Washington Post, not long before the Colorado mess, neoconservative icon Robert Kagan wrote, “A Trump dictatorship is increasingly inevitable. We should stop pretending.” We may accuse Kagan — husband of Victoria Nuland, co-founder of the Project for a New American Century, and co-author (with Bill Kristol) of the “benevolent hegemony” theory of world conquest that was the real reason for America’s Iraq invasion — of much. We can’t accuse him of not knowing history. The graphic was a bust of Caesar, perfect for a six thousand word opus on stopping Donald Trump at all costs, whose sniper-scope subtext was as subtle as the Bullwinkle float at the Thanksgiving Day parade. It could have been headlined, “Where’s Hinckley When You Need Him?”

I pointed out the same opinion a month ago.  The Kagan article has all the subtlety of Henry II blurting out "will no one rid me of this turbulent priest?"  

Then there's the Maine Secretary of State who singlehandedly - without even the imprimatur of the Courts - decreed that democracy was too precious to allow Trump on the Maine ballot.  She followed this up with a "Let the People Decide" hashtag which just shows how broken these people are.

Extra - Spiked: "The year America became a banana republic."  "Time and again, Democrats accuse Trump of being an authoritarian threat to democracy, only to then show the world how it’s really done. They are the ones destroying democracy, even as they purport to be saving it." 

Kafka would be proud

Legal Insurrection: "Jack Smith Wants Judge to Exclude Trump’s January 6 Evidence From Trump’s January 6 Trial." - "It makes me think Smith knows he has nothing to convict Trump." 

It's the NY Times, Jake

Tilting at Windmills: "This is why you don't hate the media enough."  "A United States senator with close ties to the White House writes an op-ed about using the military to put down rioters—and rioting was going on nightly in many places right about then—and it’s somehow an affront to all that is good and decent to run it, but when a member of Hamas who also holds political office in Gaza wants to write an op-ed, they’re silent." 

"We did it, Joe!"

Twitchy: "Border Patrol on Track to Break Record for Most Migrant Encounters in December."

Breaking his own previous record.  Impressive.

Update - Uh-oh, looks like the internal polling just landed: "Blinken Suddenly Wants to Talk to Mexico About Border Crisis." 

Who could have foreseen this?

Red State: "California Unexpectedly Hit by Bad Luck As Top Wealth Producers Flee the State."

Yahoo Finance: "'Severe revenue decline': California faces a record $68 billion deficit." 

Merry Christmas, everyone!

 

A love letter to MST3K

The Corner: "A Child’s Christmas in Space."

Although my dad couldn’t possibly have intended it, what happened next altered the course of my life, and profoundly for the better: I was exposed to Mystery Science Theater 3000 (MST3K for short) for the first time. And “exposed” is the right word; the experience was as instantly catalyzing a moment for me as a rapid chemical reaction. It was the Christmas episode from a few days earlier, and the show was mocking something called Santa Claus Conquers the Martians, about which more later. Before I could even begin to absorb what was going on on-screen, I first had to adjust to the nuttiness of the premise.

MST3K is a treat in part because the commentary is sarcastic but intelligent, usually diving deep into pop culture and trivia.  You don't need to get every joke but, when they land, they're sublime.

Citation needed

pic.twitter.com/DKhzELA3sH

— The Babylon Bee (@TheBabylonBee) December 22, 2023

Hey that is great!

Wall Street Journal: "The Great Blue to Red State Migration Continues - The latest Census data finds that on present course six progressive states would lose 12 House seats in 2030 reapportionment." 

Another "what have we done?" article

This time by former Clinton advisor Douglas Schoen:

The Colorado ruling undermines the Democrats’ argument that the election is about preserving democracy, strengthens Trump’s position as a political martyr, and allows Trump to have a counternarrative in the general election that the issue is not his behavior, but rather the behavior of the legal system that’s trying to deny him his rights in the context of our American democratic tradition.

Make no mistake and let me be clear: I am not here as a Trump supporter. I will not support his candidacy under any circumstances, but it is absolutely the case that the four indictments, the two civil trials, and now the decision of the Colorado Supreme Court only strengthen Trump in the Republican primary and arguably makes him a more compelling general election candidate, as the evidence appears to validate his narrative about how the American legal system really works.

Democrats and the media (I repeat myself) are now the square parents telling their daughter that they can't date that bad boy.

Friday night news dump

Guess what got revealed late last night: "The secret U.S. effort to track, hide and surveil the Chinese spy balloon."

Administration officials at first hoped to conceal the balloon’s existence from the public, and from Congress, according to multiple former and current administration and congressional officials.

“Before it was spotted publicly, there was the intention to study it and let it pass over and not ever tell anyone about it,” said a former senior U.S. official briefed on the balloon incident.

That was a great plan until somebody, ya know, saw it.

Weekend's here: Camp David or Delaware?

It's the underdog Camp David beating out Delaware for vacation this week.  Dementia Joe needs to rest up from this grueling schedule.  

That's a lot of discussion about the weather

Here's Joe Biden in 2019:

"I have never discussed, with my son or my brother or with anyone else, anything having to do with their businesses. Period. And what I will do is the same thing we did in our administration. There will be an absolute wall between personal and private [business interests] and the government."

And today from NBC News: "Records released by House Republicans show that Joe Biden repeatedly emailed Hunter Biden’s business associate in 2014."

The Democrats insist this was just financial advice discussion except they coincided with trips to the Ukraine:

All told, then-Vice President Biden emailed Schwerin 35 times before and after his 2014 trips to Ukraine. Five emails were exchanged just prior to a trip by Vice President Biden to Ukraine on June 7, 2014, and 27 emails were sent from the end of June to a second trip to Ukraine by Biden on Nov. 21, 2014. 

Dementia Joe has decided to address these allegations in an open press conference today.  Just kidding: he's spending the day sniffing kids and ducking the press.

So painful that it turns funny

Red State: "KJP Channels Her Inner Kamala, Delivers Rambling Minute-Long Word Salad on Border That Says Nothing."

I don't know why they have these press conferences since White House airhead KJP is committed to say nothing - nothing at all - of any value.  Yesterday she was asked a simple question: is there any immigration policy that the White House would agree to?

Reporter: I understand you don't want to negotiate from the podium, but can you tell the American people if there's any immigration policy that this White House is willing to talk about and is working on with Republicans?

She can't answer with any substance whatsoever and just rambles on.  It's said that Kamala always sounds like somebody giving a book report who hasn't read the book.  KJP has her enormous binder in front of her and she still can't say anything remotely intelligent. 

This is interesting

Volokh Conspiracy: "Jack Smith Lacks Standing to File in the Supreme Court Because He is Only a Private Citizen - The Justices must sua sponte address Jack Smith's lack of standing."

It dawns on the Left that they've gone too far

Hot Air: "Washington Post Editorial Board: The Supreme Court Should Toss the Colorado Decision."

And Ruth Marcus, too!  Wow.

Extra - Boston Globe, too.

There is a process

Really good thread here on Twitchy on how this whole Colorado thing is deeply unconstitutional.  Key graf:

This analysis renders a lot of the other questions irrelevant.  Did Trump engage in an insurrection? Does Section 3 apply to the President? Should Trump be off the ballot nationwide or just in states like Colorado that found that he engaged in an insurrection?  None of that matters. The only thing that matters is that Congress followed the 14th Amendment and established a procedure for barring someone from office for engaging in an insurrection, and that procedure was not followed here.

Trump hasn't been charged with insurrection, much less convicted, and the Colorado Supreme Court just went "YOLO" anyway.

For the record, I disagree with those who say this will be a 9-0 decision to overturn by the Supreme Court.  Sotomayor and Jackson will side with the Colorado court and then write opinions that appeal to emotion with no basis in the law.  That's their schtick. 

"Democracy is too important to leave to you, the voters" https://t.co/VjnXxie4Te

— jimtreacher.substack.com (@jtLOL) December 21, 2023

We can't have people making decisions on their own

Can you imagine?  Pure chaos!  Red State: "School Choice Is Under Siege in Chicago." 

That's also why the Left is so angry about Dobbs: it takes the decision out of the unelected judiciary and turns it back to the States.

They told me if I voted for Trump, democracy would be destroyed. And they were right!

Legal Insurrection: "Colorado Supreme Court Disqualifies Trump From 2024 Presidential Primary Ballot."

Daily Mail: "Will the suicidal Democrats EVER learn? Like the endless indictments, Colorado's bogus ruling only makes Trump stronger - and Biden look somehow even more spineless."

Look, I'm late to this story, so I'll just say this.  The Colorado justices clearly engaged in what I call the Sonia Sotomayor method of jurisprudence: figure out what outcome you want and work backwards with your legal reasoning. 

The Paper of Record:

What? I shant believe it!

Power Line: "Shocker: Gaza hospital a Hamas base." 

Today's unintentional humor

Ace: "Trial Balloon: Damnit, Joe Biden Is Such a Whirlwind of Energy That His Staffers Are Worried About Cyclone Joe!"

Joe Biden's schedule consists, almost every day -- and I check it out from time to time -- of sitting in a comfortable chair while someone reads bullet points from the Presidential Daily Briefing, and one -- 1 -- single solitary public event.

That's Biden's hectic, demanding schedule, day-in, day-out: Nap-listening to a briefing, and hanging a fucking medal around someone's neck.

And then back to Reheboth.

But oh! You gotta know, he only "appears" fatigued because this magnificent candle is burning himself at both ends!

Man, they're turning the gaslighting into overdrive with this Axios article.

By the way, I remember a similar story of "try to keep up!" senior vigor.  June 2020: "Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s trainer: 3 bodyweight exercises that ‘cover it all,’ for your home workout."

Three months later: pushing up daisies.  

Harvard = Bud Light

Professor Jacobson: "I don’t mean to laugh about it, but this is insane. You have somebody who’s a complete failure, who embarrassed the university, who cost them a billion dollars, who gets caught plagiarizing, and they’re going stand with her…. Maybe they think their brand can’t be permanently tarnished because it’s Harvard. Well, you know what? The people who branded Bud Light thought the same thing, and they found out differently." 

Have you considered *not* sucking at your job, Joe?

The Washington Post had this gem today: "Biden said to be increasingly frustrated by dismal poll numbers"  (Paywall-free hat tip to Real Clear Politics)

After pardoning a pair of turkeys, an annual White House tradition, Biden delivered some stern words for the small group assembled: His poll numbers were unacceptably low and he wanted to know what his team and his campaign were doing about it. He complained that his economic message had done little to move the ball, even as the economy was growing and unemployment was falling, according to people familiar with his comments, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss a private conversation.

I can totally see Biden doing this: dressing down his staff for his crummy Administration as if he's external to the problem.  His entire Presidency is taking credit for things he didn't do and then blaming bad outcomes on others (e.g. "Putin's price hike!").  

Charles C.W. Cooke thinks Dementia Joe's poll numbers are well-deserved:

I wonder: Has Joe Biden considered not being a terrible president? 

I ask this because Joe Biden’s dire poll numbers are always presented as if they’re a mystery. Look at the Post‘s language: “frustrated,” “unacceptably low,” “upset that they are not making more progress.” Clearly, President Biden thinks that he should be more popular than he is — and so, evidently, does the press, which has taken in some quarters to the most preposterous conspiracy theorizing. Week in, week out, this topic is covered as if the public is failing the president, rather than the other way around. He’s a good leader, we’re informed, but, for some reason, the public just hasn’t noticed it. 

The problem with this is that it simply isn’t true. Joe Biden is not a good leader. His approval rating is not unacceptably low. And the public has no obligation to develop a different view of him than the one it has at present.

After this article was published - right on cue - Biden's poll numbers hit a new low.

When the economy hit the skids and Americans consistently said the economy was bad, a smarter and more confident President would have adopted a position of empathy and cautious hope.  Instead, ever eager to stroke his ego, Biden decided a strategy of gaslighting by boosting "Bidenomics."  You can see how that strategy worked out.

If you look at Biden's daily schedule, his work week is just incredibly light.  The dude just can't do the job.  On Thursday, he gave a speech on drug costs that - for like the jillionth time - he intoned how much you could save if only you had diabetes.  This is his schedule since that short speech:

Friday: Lunch with Kamala

Saturday: Nothing

Sunday: Fly to Delaware

Monday: Nothing

That's right: after a grueling week of virtually no public events, Joe remembered he forgot to fly to Delaware for the weekend so he engineered a Sunday-Tuesday getaway.  Don't worry: he's working to get the eight Americans held by Hamas back...from the beach.

Tuesday he'll be right back at work berating White House staff for his dismal poll numbers.

Obstruction of justice

Red State: "Jonathan Turley Thinks KJP May Have Just Put Biden in More Potential Impeachment Trouble."

Which is funny because at her press briefings KJP avoids every question and strives to say nothing at all of consequence. 

Former NY Times editor confirms it all

James Bennet is the former editorial page editor for the New York Times, summarily fired from his position for allowing a conservative opinion piece to be printed.  Can you imagine?  In a long piece in the Economist, he confirms everything the Right has alleged about the New York Times in particular and American journalism in general.

But Sulzberger seems to underestimate the struggle he is in, that all journalism and indeed America itself is in. In describing the essential qualities of independent journalism in his essay, he unspooled a list of admirable traits – empathy, humility, curiosity and so forth. These qualities have for generations been helpful in contending with the Times’s familiar problem, which is liberal bias. I have no doubt Sulzberger believes in them. Years ago he demonstrated them himself as a reporter, covering the American Midwest as a real place full of three-dimensional people, and it would be nice if they were enough to deal with the challenge of this era, too. But, on their own, these qualities have no chance against the Times’s new, more dangerous problem, which is in crucial respects the opposite of the old one.

The Times’s problem has metastasised from liberal bias to illiberal bias, from an inclination to favour one side of the national debate to an impulse to shut debate down altogether. All the empathy and humility in the world will not mean much against the pressures of intolerance and tribalism without an invaluable quality that Sulzberger did not emphasise: courage.

Don’t get me wrong. Most journalism obviously doesn’t require anything like the bravery expected of a soldier, police officer or protester. But far more than when I set out to become a journalist, doing the work right today demands a particular kind of courage: not just the devil-may-care courage to choose a profession on the brink of the abyss; not just the bulldog courage to endlessly pick yourself up and embrace the ever-evolving technology; but also, in an era when polarisation and social media viciously enforce rigid orthodoxies, the moral and intellectual courage to take the other side seriously and to report truths and ideas that your own side demonises for fear they will harm its cause.

One of the glories of embracing illiberalism is that, like Trump, you are always right about everything, and so you are justified in shouting disagreement down. In the face of this, leaders of many workplaces and boardrooms across America find that it is so much easier to compromise than to confront – to give a little ground today in the belief you can ultimately bring people around. This is how reasonable Republican leaders lost control of their party to Trump and how liberal-minded college presidents lost control of their campuses. And it is why the leadership of the New York Times is losing control of its principles.

You would think that the two-decade-long decline in trust in the media would have triggered some self-reflection in journalism circles, but no.  There was a brief moment after Trump's election when they wondered "are we the baddies?" before heading back to the same comfortable bias that confirms their moral superiority.

Oh that's a shame

Breitbart: "Budget deficit forces San Francisco to eliminate reparations office." - "A crushing budget deficit has forced San Francisco Mayor London Breed to eliminate the budget of the Office of Reparations, which was considering lavish payouts to long-term black residents of the city, though it never practiced or allowed slavery." 

Extra - Powerline: "Reparations, goodbye."  If they can't afford the office, they could never afford the reparations.  It was always a virtue-signaling scam from the start.  

That's a bold move, Cotton

Hot Air: "Colorado Thieves Seek Reduced Charges by Arguing Some Items They Stole Were on Sale."

The Executive branch enforces the law

PJ Media: "According to Joe Biden, Anyone Who Defies a Congressional Subpoena Should Be Prosecuted." 

Investigative powers: activated!

PJ Media: "BREAKING: House Votes to Formally Authorize Biden Impeachment Inquiry."

The Republicans are blessed with an embarrassment of riches of Joe Biden's previous statements about the rule of law.

That word wasn't fit to print

The NY Times is gonna NY Times: "SHOCKER: The New York Times Altered Hunter Biden Presser Quote to Cover for Joe Biden."

Damn, it must be great to be a Democrat.

It's funny because it's so expected

Twitchy: "Professor Claims Anti-Plagiarism Policies Harm Black and 'Latinx' Students."

I realize this is one nutcase professor but - c'mon - we all saw this coming.  

Dementia Joe adds a new fake story to his repertoire

Last week, while pandering to railroad workers, Dementia Joe told the repeatedly debunked story about an Amtrak conductor telling him about his time on the rails.  This morning he was pandering to firefighters and told the debunked story about how his house in Delaware almost burned to the ground.

At that same speech, he told a new story that has no basis in reality: "Biden Has a New Tall Tale Involving His Brain Aneurysm and Reagan That Should Concern Us All"

It's incredibly concerning that Biden makes things up out of whole cloth and says things that have no relation to reality; he seems confused about basic things that he should know. If anyone around him had any morals or concern for this country, they would stop this. But it looks like there's no one that fits that bill.

I absolutely believe that Jeff Zients tells Biden before these events "don't tell that story" but Trucker Joe just shifts gears into pander mode for whatever group he's speaking to at that time.

They thought this was a funny sketch

NY Post: "Cecily Strong was ‘uncomfortable’ as Stefanik in ‘SNL’ antisemitism sketch and backed out at last minute."

Like somebody noted: they wrote this, rehearsed it, and decided to open the show with this travesty.

Like clockwork

Hollywood in Toto: "‘SNL’ Goes ‘Republicans Pounce’ Route on Ivy League Presidents - Far-Left sketch series skewers GOP's Stefanik, not morally bankrupt leaders."

Extra - From Instapundit, more "Conservatives seize!" from the NY Times, natch.

My first ballet

I consider myself fairly cultured even though I enjoy a good NASCAR race.  But I've never been to a ballet performance even though I grew up right outside New York City.

Last night, I saw the The Nutcracker staged by the Pioneer Valley Ballet troupe.  It was good!  Bravo.

She's toast

Hot Air: "UPenn Trustees Call 'Emergency Meeting' Tomorrow over Magill"

The Paper of Record: "UPenn President Lights Special ‘Please Don’t Pull That $100 Million Donation’ Menorah." 

Update - She gone.

Living in the media bubble

This is an actual headline in the Boston Globe: "Does anybody care that kids are still drowning in the Rio Grande" - "When it happened under Donald Trump, deaths at the U.S.-Mexico border triggered national outrage.  Now they're met with a shrug."

Gee, that's a real mystery.  Here's a clue: that's (D)ifferent.

Hunter gets his comeuppance

Jonathan Turley has a really good article about how Hunter Biden and his legal team had every reason to believe their special treatment would continue, until it didn't.

It was later learned that there was a push within the Justice Department to have no charges at all brought against Hunter in an investigation that was heavily laden with special treatment, according to IRS whistleblowers.

The investigation by the House has shown how Hunter and his counsel allowed their appetite for special treatment to turn into a raging disorder. The Justice Department reportedly gave Hunter a “heads up” about planned searches and interviews, scuttling those efforts. Even though the Justice Department had an agreement to “toll the statute” to prevent the early charges from expiring, the Special Counsel just let them die without any rational reason.

In this “all-you-can-eat” legal Smorgasbord, it is little surprise that the Biden team would demand an unprecedented immunity deal and just two misdemeanors after years of tax evasion covering millions from insider trading.

Of course we all know this man-child won't spend a day behind bars but it's gonna be a fun ride watching Hunter - finally - face the consequences of his actions.

The ghost of Nick Sandmann

Outkick: "Deadspin finally updates story about child Chiefs fan in 'blackface' amid legal threat."

This is the way to do it: it's the only way they'll learn.

I question the timing

Well, Andrew McCarthy does: 

I’d add an observation about the curious timing of the indictment. Weiss could have charged Hunter Biden with tax-evasion charges anytime during the past several months or years. He has chosen to indict him on December 8, when Hunter is under subpoena to be deposed by the House impeachment inquiry on December 12. Hunter already had a live Fifth Amendment privilege to refuse to answer questions (as I explained in a recent post) because (a) he was under indictment in Delaware federal court on gun charges, and (b) the Justice Department had indicated that its investigation of potential tax and other charges was continuing. But obviously, a new indictment just a few days prior to the House deposition gives Hunter and his counsel added reason to tell the public that he couldn’t possibly be expected to testify because, as they’ll spin it, Republicans have pressured the Justice Department into indicting him again.

How convenient.  I suppose we should be surprised any charges were brought at all considering that the DOJ dragged its feet for so long on the tax charges that the statute of limitations lapsed on the early years of Hunter's tax evasion.

Extra - Federalist: "There’s Only One Explanation For Hunter Biden’s Simple Indictment Taking So Long: 2020 Election Interference." 

Marching orders

Federalist: "Media Fearmonger About A ‘Trump Dictatorship’ Because Biden Told Them To." - "Three weeks ago, the Biden campaign told the media to stir up fear about a second Trump term. And boy did they deliver!" 

Hunter Biden faces 9 tax charges

Why are they picking on this poor child?  CNN: "Hunter Biden faces nine criminal charges in federal tax case."

Check it out:

Hunter is said to have made more than $7 million in gross income between 2016 and 2020, according to the documents.

In addition, prosecutors allege Hunter receives around $1.2 million 'in financial support to fund his extravagant lifestyle' in 2020 alone. 

The documents argue that none of this financial assistance was used to pay 'any of his federal individual income tax liabilities for 2016-2019.' 

Adding: 'Between 2016 and October 15, 2020, the Defendant spent this money on drugs, escorts and girlfriends, luxury hotels and rental properties, exotic cars, clothing, and other items of a personal nature, in short, everything but his taxes.' 

Between 2016 and 2020 the indictment argues that Hunter spent more than $683,000 on 'various women' as well as almost $400,000 on 'clothing and accessories'.

It also alleges that he spent $188,000 on 'adult entertainment' throughout that period. 

This guy made $7 million in four years and even that wasn't enough to fund his lifestyle.  He had to "borrow" (I guess) another $1.2 million from suckers, art lovers, and Dementia Joe.

Also: it looks like the testimony of IRS whistleblower Gary Shapley was spot on.

This can't go on

Real Clear Politics: "Why Social Security Must Be Reformed"

These diagrams vividly show the challenge of the long-term viability of Social Security. This is a case where the old adage that “demographics is destiny” could not be truer. In 1950, just ten years after Social Security began paying benefits, 58% of Americans were 20-64 and only 8% were over 65. As a result, there were just over seven Americans of working age for every potential retiree. Since 1950, the percentage of the population in the working age bracket is about the same (57%), but the percentage over 65 has more than doubled to nearly 19%. That lowers the ratio from 7:1 in 1950 to 3.1:1 today.

And the situation is only going to get worse. By 2050, the ratio falls to 2.3:1 and by the end of the century to 1.7:1. So, the burden on the working generations to support the retired generation will gradually become unsustainable.

Social Security policy is kind of a pet issue for me for several reasons but, perhaps, primary among them is that I don't want to steal from my 2.3 kids. 

You're gonna need a bigger blog

Federalist: "A Short History Of Joe’s Long Record Of Lying About Biden Inc." - "From Joe Biden ‘knew nothing,’ to Joe Biden ‘did nothing,’ to none of what Joe Biden did was ‘illegal’ — it’s been a wild ride."

Follow the money

NY Post: "Biden got recurring $1,380 payment from Hunter’s firm starting in 2018."

Red State: "The Walls Are Closing In: WH Scrambles and Flees When Asked About Hunter's Firm Funneling Money to Joe."

Airhead KJP left her press conference in a cloud of dust when asked about the payments to the Big Guy, claiming she "had not seen that."  Because why would the White House press secretary know anything about what's going on in the news?  Gosh!

Tomorrow's question for the White House: what's up with this?

“There is not a single financial transaction between President Biden and his son related to or involving any of Hunter Biden’s business ventures or prior private commercial dealings,” the first son’s lawyers wrote.

Whoopsie.

The Washington Post calls for Trump's assassination

I had heard about this opinion piece by Washington Post editor Robert Kagan but only today was able to read it thanks to a Real Clear Politics link.  It's titled "A Trump dictatorship is increasingly inevitable. We should stop pretending."

At first I thought it was partisan bluster, then I was bemused by the overwrought fan fiction of a hypothetical tyranny, but then it dawned on me that Kagan was all but calling for Trump's assassination.  The piece has references to Hitler (natch), Stalin, and Julius Caesar.  Having established that Trump's return would be apocalyptic, Kagan makes a call to action:

Are we going to do anything about it? To shift metaphors, if we thought there was a 50 percent chance of an asteroid crashing into North America a year from now, would we be content to hope that it wouldn’t? Or would we be taking every conceivable measure to try to stop it, including many things that might not work but that, given the magnitude of the crisis, must be tried anyway?

Emphasis mine.  From this paragraph to the end of the piece, Kagan uses language - consciously or not - that incites violence to stop Trump:

Yes, I know that most people don’t think an asteroid is heading toward us and that’s part of the problem. But just as big a problem has been those who do see the risk but for a variety of reasons have not thought it necessary to make any sacrifices to prevent it.

And:

Throughout these years, an understandable if fatal psychology has been at work. At each stage, stopping Trump would have required extraordinary action by certain people...

This is the concluding paragraph:

We are closer to that point today than we have ever been, yet we continue to drift toward dictatorship, still hoping for some intervention that will allow us to escape the consequences of our collective cowardice, our complacent, willful ignorance and, above all, our lack of any deep commitment to liberal democracy. As the man said, we are going out not with a bang but a whimper.

What kind of "bang" would you prefer, Mr. Kagan?

This is extraordinarily heated and dangerous rhetoric and in normal times I never would have thought it could get past a newspaper editor.  Shame on the Washington Post.

Extra - The American Spectator: "The Washington Post and a ‘Trump Dictatorship’ - Editor Robert Kagan frets about an imagined Trump dictatorship — but is silent on reality of Biden."

The NYT is a joke

Red State: "NY Times: Don’t Worry About the $112.1B in Shoplifting, It’s a Right-Wing Narrative." -"Once considered the foremost news organization in the country and possibly the world, it has descended into a woke blog whose stories more often seem to emanate from a fledgling college student rather than from actual expert reporters. " 

"The government needs to crush its enemies to protect us from fascism"

This is what the Left is going with these days.  Washington Examiner: "The Left’s fear of fascism under Trump is the ultimate example of projection."

The liberal crazies, from actor Rob Reiner to the once conservative but now ideologue-for-sale Joe Scarborough, have their knickers in a knot over the potential that America may drift into “fascism” upon the possible election of former President Donald Trump in 2024.

How deliciously ironic that these leftists express concern over phantom fascism in the future as they look the other way while their Grand Poobah, President Joe Biden , is laying out a clinic on fascist tactics.

---

Yet none of these outrageous actions by the [Biden] administration have ruffled any feathers for these leftists now crying about a Trump fascist regime.

Well, Trump was in office for four years. No liberals were falsely placed in jail. No left-leaning cable shows, social media platforms, or newspapers had their speech quashed.

If only we could say that was the case for Biden’s critics.

That explains why a majority of Americans now view the DOJ and the FBI as "Biden's personal Gestapo."

Expect more of this since Dementia Joe's economic message is falling apart and that realization has finally penetrated his thick skull: "President Biden appears to no longer embrace the term "Bidenomics" in recent speeches, possibly aligning with polls showing voters still disapprove of the administration's economic policies despite cooling inflation." 

Here in the People's Republic of Massachusetts

Eastern MA: "U.S. Education Department Opens Civil Rights Investigation Over Antisemitism At Harvard."

Western MA: "Massachusetts Hate Crimes Task Force Member Accuses Israel of Genocide, Says Jews Control The Media." 

Hasan chop

Outkick: "MSNBC cancels one of the dumbest guys in cable news."  

No, not Joe Scarborough, but that's a good guess. 

Kissinger RIP

Love him or hate him, truly an American icon: "Former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger dead at 100."

Kamala is really just dim

Twitchy: "Kamala Harris Doesn't Answer When Asked If Israel Is Following the Rules of War."  In case you didn't notice, Kamala doesn't answer questions.  She was told there would be no math.

Her ability to be unprepared for every single question she’s asked is legendary

— Robbb (@bommrob) November 29, 2023

You could have bought a used Toyota Celica

Bidenomics, baby!  CBS News: "Americans need an extra $11,400 today just to afford the basics."

The typical American household must spend an additional $11,434 annually just to maintain the same standard of living they enjoyed in January of 2021, right before inflation soared to 40-year highs, according to a recent analysis of government data.

Such figures underscore the financial squeeze many families continue to face even as the the rate of U.S. inflation recedes and the economy by many measures remains strong, with the jobless rate at a two-decade low. The analysis, from Republican members of the U.S. Senate Joint Economic Committee, taps government data such as the Consumer Price Index and Consumer Expenditure Survey to examine the impact of inflation state by state.

Even so, many Americans say they aren't feeling those gains, and this fall more people reported struggling financially than they did prior to the pandemic, according to CBS News polling. Inflation is the main reason Americans express pessimism about economy despite its bright points, which also include stronger wage gains in recent years.

Eleven large annually!  Nevertheless, Dementia Joe is going to keep pushing Bidenomics until you ingrates come to your senses.  

Learn to code

Hot Air: "WaPo Buys Out 120 Employees, Prepares to Cut 120 More by Next Week."

You did this to yourself, hacks. 

Very on-brand for Captain Empathy

Federalist: "The Bidens Would Rather Snub All Their Grandkids Than Hang A Christmas Stocking For Navy Roberts."

As the New York Post’s Jesse O’Neill wrote last Christmas, “The only thing worse than getting coal in your stocking is not even having one hung for you.” Indeed, and now the president and first lady are proving the depths of their disdain for Navy Roberts: They’d rather not acknowledge their other six beloved grandchildren than honor their seventh with a stocking.

The snub is even further aggravated by the Biden patriarch’s constant appeals to the importance of family in every other context. Entanglements in bribery scandals? No, just a father’s love for his son. Federal gun crimes? Nah, just a close-knit family grieving.

Looks like Biden's love for his grandchildren only extends as far as their political usefulness. 

Priorities

Reason: "Elizabeth Warren Wants the Government To Investigate America's 'Sandwich Shop Monopoly'."

Some good news

Fox News: "American hostages released by Hamas in Sunday cease-fire exchange with Israel." 

Dementia Joe v. Inflation

 

Bidenomics - there goes the American dream

Wall Street Journal: "Voters See American Dream Slipping Out of Reach, WSJ/NORC Poll Shows"

The American dream—the proposition that anyone who works hard can get ahead, regardless of their background—has slipped out of reach in the minds of many Americans.

Only 36% of voters in a new Wall Street Journal/NORC survey said the American dream still holds true, substantially fewer than the 53% who said so in 2012 and 48% in 2016 in similar surveys of adults by another pollster. When a Wall Street Journal poll last year asked whether people who work hard were likely to get ahead in this country, some 68% said yes—nearly twice the share as in the new poll.

Do you know what would turn around this economy?  Yet another New York Times article about how Americans don't realize how good they have it.  We could pay off the national debt with the cottage industry of limousine liberals explaining why things are acksually great.

I do think changing perceptions of inflation would help a lot. The reality is pretty good if you look at the data. Prices have gone up a lot, of course, but according to a careful analysis by Joseph Politano, an economics writer who looked at the data in multiple ways, since the pandemic, average wages have gone up slightly more than prices. That’s a raise. Interestingly, the percentage gains have been bigger for lower-wage workers.

That’s not the perception, of course.

What are you going to do with these stupid Americans, amirite?  Meanwhile let's keep those Community Notes rolling.

Happy Thanksgiving!

pic.twitter.com/zzfDiZNUCF

— Oilfield Rando (@Oilfield_Rando) November 22, 2023

So *now* it's a crisis

As they say in meme-land: "welcome to the party, pal."  Ace: "Washington Post Warns Democrats: The Border Issue Is Bad for You and Getting Worse."

Old and busted: virtual-signaling on border policy.

New and shiny: factual facts on border policy.

The Red Sea

Reason: "Congress Admits It Has a Debt Problem, But Will It Do Anything? - Servicing debt grows more expensive as the deadline to curb the spending spree gets closer."

Came in second place in a trivia contest tonight

OMG these people are shameless

Twitchy: "She Actually Did It! KJP Brags (With Charts) About How Much Biden Saved You on Thanksgiving Dinner."  

Related: "Please pull the plug on the White House daily press briefings." 

ASU hates free speech?

Hot Air: "ASU Shuts Down Pro-Palestinian Event on Campus Featuring Rep. Rashida Tlaib."

Understandably, venues cancel events featuring Hamas supporters like Tlaib. This is a time for moral clarity. Israel has a right to self-defense and must destroy Hamas. These pro-Palestinian protests and rallies often turn violent, unlike pro-Israel rallies.

ASU is a public state university. Taxpayer dollars shouldn’t be used to support an event that aligns with Hamas, a designated terrorist organization. Not only are venues shutting down pro-Palestine events to show support for Israel, but it is also a public safety move.

Here's where I fundamentally disagree with Karen Townsend: I want Rashida Tlaib to keep talking.  I want everybody to hear her and judge if she is the right person to be a Congresswoman.  Furthermore, hiding behind the "public safety move" excuse is just another version of the heckler's veto that conservatives normally deplore when we're on the receiving end.  

Free speech is how we identify the enemies.  We need to hear them for our own safety.

Front page of the NY Post

It never fails to amuse.  Related story: "Mayor Adams Announces Budget Cuts Made Necessary by Migrant Influx."

That's not a surprise

Ace: "Surprise! The Very Special Counsel Appointed by Biden to Investigate Biden's Mishandling of Classified Documents Won't Charge His Boss After All." 

This is it. This is the apotheosis.

I rag on the mainstream media all the time, mostly because I consider "journalists" to be left-wingers who can't suppress their bias.  Every once in a while you also learn they're deeply dumb at the same time.  Hot Air: "New York Times Opinion Columnist Doesn't Know Hamas Runs Gaza."

This gem was dropped in the middle of an argument on Twitter between Noah Blum and Ms “I am so brilliant and wise” Elizabeth Spiers. Blum is Chief Technology Officer of Tablet, an excellent news source focused mainly on Jewish issues. Tablet, however, is alternative media, where you are required to have knowledge before you opine; The New York Times is Mainstream Media, where you don’t.

Spiers, who TEACHES AT A JOURNALISM SCHOOL and writes for THE NEW YORK TIMES didn’t know that Hamas runs the Gaza Health Ministry.

Let that sink in. She literally did not know that. She thought it was a conspiracy theory.

I'm reminded of the time that Rob Reiner was straightened out by Bill Maher:

“Answer this question!” Maher replied. “The question is, was it appropriate to bury the Hunter Biden [laptop story]?”

“And we know for a fact that that’s what they did?” Reiner shot back.

“Of course!” Maher said. “You don’t follow this?”

“I don’t know what they did,” Reiner replied.

“I know because you only watch MSNBC,” Maher said.

At least Meathead can say he's not a journalist.  What's the New York Times' excuse?

Accurate

The Paper of Record: "After Five Minutes With Biden, Xi Gives Order To Invade Taiwan."

When asked why he did this, Xi replied "possibilities." 

Was it covid? I'll bet it was covid

However much you hate the mainstream media, it's not enough.

How do you report that a Jewish peace activist thought to have been taken hostage on October 7th was, in fact, killed in the initial attacks?

If you are Canadian TV News, you leave out the messy details and just report that she “has died.”

The passive voice needs to do a lot of heavy lifting these days.  But then that's when a morsel of news is allowed to survive past the brave and principled journalists who will fold like a card table at the slightest pushback:

“They [Hamas] are aware,” he said, “of the internal political dynamics in the West, and they use them to great effect. They’re not alone in this. China is extremely good at using our internal politics against us.”

Cooke pointed to the recent censorship of an anti-Hamas cartoon at the Washington Post as an example of this in action: “The forces in Gaza are so good at it that when the Washington Post runs cartoons making fun of the means by which the propaganda is achieved . . . the people that they’re trying to manipulate go to the Washington Post editorial board and complain so loudly that the Washington Post takes it down.”

This morning, I tuned into NPR at the top of the hour for the news review.  NPR doesn't archive its news reviews so you'll have to take my word for this: they reported that the Israelis were attacking a hospital in Gaza then said the IDF said that Hamas was hiding out in the hospital..."without proof."

And there you go: Hamas terrorists are to be believed but you just can't trust the word of the Israelis.  The western mainstream media in a nutshell. 

Perish the thought!

Federalist: "Willfully Blind David Weiss Pinky Promises Political Favoritism Didn’t Affect Hunter Biden Probe." 

Juiced-up OJ

Confounded Interest: "Bidenomics Breakfast! Orange Juice Prices UP 47% Under Biden (Even Though Food CPI Has Slowed To 3.69% YoY)."

I blame these guys:

Journalists really are the worst

I don't know why this sets me off so much:

He wants a minimum tax of 25% on the wealthiest Americans, a levy that would be applied not only to income but unrealized capital gains. The idea, which Biden called the “billionaire minimum income tax,” could prove difficult to put in place, not to mention extremely hard to push through Congress, given Republican opposition to higher taxes.

Know why else it will be hard to pass?  Because there is zero percent chance that this is Constitutional.  We do not - and never have - taxed held assets in America.  It's right there in the Fifth Amendment:

The Takings Clause of the Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution reads as follows: “Nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation.” In understanding the provision, we both agree that it is helpful to keep in mind the reasons behind it. We agree that the Clause is intended to uphold the principle that the government should not single out isolated individuals to bear excessive burdens, even in support of an important public good. When this happens, the payment of “just compensation” provides a means of removing any special burden. The most influential statement of this principle is found in Armstrong v. United States (1960), where the Supreme Court wrote: “The Fifth Amendment’s [Takings Clause] . . . was designed to bar Government from forcing some people alone to bear public burdens which, in all fairness and justice, should be borne by the public as a whole.”

The Associated Press just parrots left-wing talking points and not a single editor or publisher adds the relevant Constitutional context.  Every time, man, every time.

None of the above

Karl Rove: "Voters Want Anyone but Trump or Biden"

Neither party’s front-runner will be easily dislodged. But if no changes are made, Americans will get the worst dumpster fire of a campaign in history. It doesn’t have to be this way, and everyone but Messrs. Trump and Biden has good reason to try changing it. The party that picks a fresh face will likely win the White House.

That's why I support Ron DeSantis: a young-ish family man with an accomplished record in both federal and state offices.  He would absolutely destroy Dementia Joe in the general election.  I understand the affection the GOP base has for Trump but, practically speaking, we want to win.  Trump is a gamble when voters are going to be choosing only to stop the other guy.  

News from Western Mass

MassLive: "Smith College lecturer says she was fired after speaking about Israel-Hamas war in class"

Sheesh, can't professors talk about relevant subjects in their history or political science classes?

Demar was hired for the fall 2023 semester to teach Dance 540: The history and literature of dance, a graduate level course.

Oh.

That's Bidenomics!

NY Post: "Moody’s warns US credit rating at risk due to large fiscal deficits causing ‘negative’ outlook."

Shimon Peres at Davos

National Review: "What would you do?"

Peres then reads Moussa, Erdogan, and all of us the Hamas charter: which calls for the murder of Jews, as a holy command. As he proceeds from that, Peres gets more and more emotional, shouting into the microphone, perhaps not realizing how loud his voice is in the hall. Passion — indignation, idealism, and some despair — pours out of him, as he defends his country and, in a way, his life.

Like most people who can't defend their positions, Erdogan walked off the stage and declared himself the winner. 

"Loan repayment"

 

This was their choice since 2005

David Harsanyi: "If Palestinians Wanted Peace And Prosperity, They’d Already Have It."

Just do your job

Reason: "The U.S. Needs a Fiscal Commission Because Congress Won't Do Its Job" - "In the last 50 years, when the budget process has been in place, Congress has managed only four times to pass a budget on time." 

Tlaib censured

Legal Insurrection: "House Votes to Censure Rep. Rashida Tlaib Over Anti-Israel Comments, Including 22 Democrats" - “If this is not worthy of censure, what is? When you can call for the annihilation of a country and its people, if that’s not worthy of a censure, what is?”

As predicted, she played the victim card. 

Whispers getting louder

Ace: "Now That Polls Show Biden Losing to Trump, Politico Writes a Hit Piece About Joe Biden's Corruption."

Yeah, funny how that works.  Somebody noted that the NY Times dropped their bombshell poll results in the Sunday edition instead of their usual Friday night news dump when there's news that negatively impacts a Democrat.  

David Axelrod is the early messenger.  Watch the dam break if the polls continue to break against Dementia Joe.  

Western Mass update

Hot Air: "UMass Condemns Islamophobia After Jewish Student Assaulted on Campus."

This is completely unsurprising for UMass.  

This again

Red State: "It's Crazy That Biden's People Can't Stop This: Joe Tells Bizarre Debunked Story Twice in Less Than Hour."

I saw that Dementia Joe was speaking to Amtrak workers today and saw this coming.  He can't help himself.  But then he also thinks that Bidenomics is going gangbusters. 

Kangaroo court in NY

Andrew McCarthy is a former assistant U.S. attorney and he doesn't think much of the current case against Trump in NYC: "Latest in NY Farce: AG Letitia James Publicly Taunts Trump on Eve of His Testimony."

In a real trial with a real judge, the attorney for the government would not dare pull a stunt like James’s post right as the lead defendant is about to take the witness stand. This, to the contrary, is a show trial in which elected Democrat James’s elected Democrat sidekick, Judge Arthur Engoron, pronounced Trump guilty before the trial began. The two-to-three month farce that has ensued is simply about how much Engoron is going to let (or, better, help) James run up the score — i.e., the “disgorgement” penalty that could spike to more than a quarter-billion dollars by the time all is said and done . . . in a “fraud” case where there are no fraud victims.

Remember, James’s case is the scraps that federal and state prosecutors decided not to indict because nobody was harmed by Trump’s inflation of asset values — particularly under circumstances where (a) Trump’s statements of financial condition contain a disclaimer essentially warning that they should not be relied upon, and (b) at issue are high-end transactions involving sophisticated financial actors (e.g., banks and insurance companies) that do their own due-diligence before transacting.

I think it was Jonathan Turley who said all these cases are Soviet show trials, except for maybe the documents case.  Even in that case, the DOJ will need to explain how Trump's document storage at Mar-A-Lago - surrounded by the Secret Service - is somehow worse than Biden's classified documents strewn all over the Eastern seaboard. 

After the virtue signaling

Dan McLaughlin: "Are they for real? Deluded mayors demand $5 billion from taxpayers to fix a migrant crisis THEY welcomed to their 'sanctuary cities'."  

Choo choo!

Reason: "Biden Threatens To Veto GOP Spending Bill That Would 'Cut' Amtrak Funding to Double Pre-Pandemic Levels" - "Amtrak has historically received $2 billion in federal subsidies each year. Under Republicans' "draconian" cuts, they'd receive over $5 billion next year." 

Great job, Michigan

The Corner: "Rashida Tlaib Posts Video Pushing Genocidal Rhetoric against Jews."

This is not a random video Tlaib reposted which she could claim to have not fully vetted. It is a video in which she herself appears, and it’s posted under her own account. She is well aware that she is calling for genocide against Jews and doesn’t care.

Why should she care?  All the members of the Squad come from deep blue districts that support these beliefs.  There will be no repercussions for Tlaib and she'll cry victim if anybody tries.

pic.twitter.com/7sH02OygNb

— David Burge (@iowahawkblog) November 3, 2023

It's Friday: Camp David or Delaware?

It's Delaware!  Back to the beach, baby.

Sadly accurate

The Bee does it again:

The Left hates free speech...

...well, much more than the Right.  Here are the numbers: "Liberal college students dream of a nation without free speech."  "Per the results, students on the right have a 59% tolerance rate for liberal speech (L1, L2, L3). Yet students on the left have only a 21% tolerance for conservative speech (C1, C2, C3)."

Extra - Nate Silver: "Free speech is in trouble." 

What a coincidence

Twitchy: "It's Looking Like '10 Percent for the Big Guy' Was No Joke (the Math Checks Out)."

It's totally OK because Sara Biden wrote "loan repayment" on the check and not "not a bribe from China."

Here in Western Mass

This is an event tomorrow afternoon at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst: "An Israeli Perspective on the Israel-Gaza Conflict: A Conversation with Dr. Jesse Ferris."

Odds that this perspective will be shouted down by antisemitic protesters: high. 

It's a good thing the border is so secure

NPR: "Wray warns of increased terrorist threat, says U.S. is in a 'dangerous period'." 

America's premiere university

City Journal: "Harvard’s Double Standard on Free Speech - At the university, you’re free to excuse Hamas’s atrocities, but don’t dare say anything that offends leftists."

In this year’s FIRE report, Harvard’s speech climate didn’t merely rank dead last among those of the 248 participating colleges. It was also the first school that FIRE has given an “Abysmal” rating for its speech climate, scoring it zero on the 100-point scale (even that was a generous upgrade, as its actual composite score was -10). That dismal distinction made headlines last month across the United States, Europe, the Middle East, and Asia—but not on the Harvard campus. The Crimson didn’t even publish an article in its news section, much less an editorial.

Leftists can't defend their positions, so the easiest thing to do is censor the other side.

I've been confidently told this is "accountability culture"

Hot Air: "Suddenly 'Cancel Culture' Is Terrible."

Twitchy: "Report: People's Jobs Are Being Targeted for Supporting Hamas."

I liked the T. Becket Adams quote: "We're at the "I never thought that nuking the filibuster would come back to haunt me" chapter in this particular culture war battle." 

Same energy as the "New York will always be a sanctuary city!" boast. 

How does the Bee do it?

The Babylon Bee is now the #1 predictor of the news.  For example:

Biden Announces He Has Secured Pinky Promise From Hamas Not To Use $100 Million For Terrorism https://t.co/YI1QvITb3F pic.twitter.com/xhbojxcMZv

— The Babylon Bee (@TheBabylonBee) October 28, 2023

A couple days later, we have this statement from the Biden security team:

Then came the statement from Deputy National Security Advisor Jon Finer. His remarks were even worse. According to Finer, they believe they can prevent Hamas from stealing the aid because they have an understanding with...wait for it...Hamas. 

You'll never - ever - guess what happened next.  Reuters: "Gazans break into aid centres, taking flour and supplies, UN says." 

That's Bidenomics, kids

CNBC: "For the second Halloween in a row, U.S. candy inflation hits double digits." 

Now here's Joe to tell you about your savings on insulin. 

Chandler is dead?

I'm only seeing this on TMZ but they're reporting that Matthew Perry has died.  Sheesh.

Update - L.A. Times confirms. 

Western Mass news update

Fox News: "Lecturer dodges on condemning terrorism in tense debate at UMass Amherst: ‘It’s not a yes or no question’."

Stumped by the question: "Do you condemn terrorism?"

When you ain't got no metrics

Reason: "Test Scores Are Plummeting Despite California Spending Wildly on Education - State officials seem to delight in how much money they "invest" in different priorities, without worrying too much about outcomes." 

The Left loves censorship, a continuing saga

Power Line: "Amy Klobuchar, Censor." - "Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar has an undistinguished legislative record. She has been a master of small-ball politics, sponsoring unimportant but superficially appealing bills while excelling at constituent service. But now, Klobuchar has stepped out as an advocate for censorship, a key Democratic Party priority."

This sparked a backlash from Matt Taibbi: "Amy Klobuchar, you suck"

These people are the worst. I would pay money to watch them all mauled by bears. Senator Klobuchar, Mr.Bezos, esteemed editors of the Washington Post, to hell with all of you.

They hate free speech.  Simple as that, demonstrated over and over.

Good

Hot Air: "The New Speaker Will Separate Ukraine and Israel Funding."

There's no need for these to be bundled.  

Disney eats its seed corn

Outkick: "Disney delays Snow White, Elio during dismal year."

I have to say that I just got back from a Disney cruise and had a great time.  The ship was filled with families having fun and a lot of Disney fanatics who are still captivated by the institutional magic of the Disney brand.  "Finding Nemo" was on the big screen and there was a lot of laughter at Monsters Inc. trivia.

But what does the current generation of young kids have to look forward to in the Disney universe?  A live-action remake of "Frozen"?  The pending "women are funny get over it" reincarnation of "The Marvels?"  How many kids are going to be watching "Lightyear" on repeat?

Disney got lazy and politically correct and the sub-$80, 10-year low in the stock price reflects how the paying public has turned against the brand.  I say this out of sadness: some of my best times were at Disney World and I've thought about taking my (future) grandkids there.  But the relentless price increases have pushed people away from the parks and sub-par movies have pushed people away from the shows.  The cruise line is doing just fine but how much longer will that last once the memories of "Tangled" and "Moana" fade away?  Walt Disney, who was continuously looking forward to the next great story, would be saddened to the lackadaisical cash-grab that now defines this company.

I'd like to see Disney turn it around but I fear the Bob Iger-era has looked to short-term profit at the expense of developing long-term and meaningful stories.

Dementia Joe's "work" week

This is your weekly reminder of all the hard work Biden is putting in while Americans are killed and missing (possibly held hostage) in Israel.  Here's Joe's schedule this week:

Monday morning: back to the White House after Delaware beach vacation

Monday afternoon: 6-minute speech gaslighting on Bidenomics

Tuesday: handing out medals to scientists

Wednesday: party time/state dinner with the PM of Australia (the B-52's cancelled due to "sorrow and pain" of Israel-Hamas war)

Thursday: nothing

Friday: Vacation time in Delaware

Today's banana republic news

Federalist: "FBI And Its Foreign Influence Task Force Purged Sources Who Were Onto Biden Corruption" - "The House needs to do more than question the personnel Grassley identified. It must first open a long-overdue impeachment inquiry into FBI Director Christopher Wray." 

Sounds about right

The Corner: "Jamaal Bowman Is a Pathetic Man-Child Unworthy of Respect." 

And now Gallup

The Messenger: "Trust in News Media Continues to Plummet"

Gallup's annual trust in media survey was released this week and the findings are more ominous for the state of the industry than ever before. 

Just 32% of American adults trust the media, tying the all-time low set in 2016. But here's where matters really go south: Nearly four-in-ten (39%) say they have no trust in the media whatsoever, marking the highest number saying that in the poll's history and a 12-point drop from the 2016 poll. For contrast, just 7% say they have a "great deal" of trust in the Fourth Estate.

If you look at the numbers, Democrats generally think the mainstream media is A-OK while both Republicans and Independents think they suck.  This is a trend that has widened over 20 years.

It's protected speech

Good (long) article about First Amendment rights.  Reason: "How To Yell 'Fire' in a Crowded Theater" - "Aside from narrowly defined exceptions, false speech is protected by the First Amendment."

Republicans for Hakeem Jeffries

Fox News: "House GOP spirals into chaos as Emmer becomes third speaker nominee dropped in three weeks." 

Seriously, at this point if I were a GOP Congressman, I would just threaten to vote for the Democrats' minority leader.  Anything to end this clown show. 

We condemn all hate, but not really

Legal Insurrection: "Hate Speech: Biden, Jean-Pierre Sometimes Mentions Anti-Semitism, But Always Mentions Islamophobia." 

It's a mystery how this keeps happening

So much distrust of the mainstream media, gosh.  Issues & Insights: "Americans’ Trust In The Media Hits All-Time Low In Latest I&I/TIPP Poll."

Maybe it's because of this: "NYT: A Week Later, Hamas "Fails to Make Case" that Israel Struck Hospital; UPDATE: "Editors Note"?"

Or maybe this: "How dumb is CNN?"  

It's like the "Homer into the Bushes" meme just with NYT pic.twitter.com/w2lOIwUgTc

— American Prometheus (@daniopp) October 17, 2023

Journalists can't do the basic function of their job

National Review: "The Media Will Never Forgive Israel for Not Bombing That Hospital" - "Reporters and pundits mishandled the Gaza hospital story because they wanted so badly for it to be true." 

We're seeing the same bias in play that exploded the Kavanaugh hoax and is currently ignoring the Biden shakedown story.  When is the media going to ask Dementia Joe about his $200,000 payday?

Not suspicious at all

Red State: "Things Heating Up: Biden Paid Cash for Beach Home Within Weeks of Hunter's Threat About Chinese Money." 

It's OK because Joe loves his son.

Back from vacation

Well, when I left there was no Speaker of the House, the ground invasion of Gaza was imminent and the members of the Squad were making anti-Israel gaffes.  So nothing has changed.

Taking a break

Enjoy these jazzy notes during a brief hiatus.

Stuff just got real

Wall Street Journal: "Don’t Hire My Anti-Semitic Law Students - Would your clients want an attorney who condones hatred and monstrous crimes?" 

Their choice was war

Powerline: "It's time to crush Gaza"

When a country is invaded by a foreign power, the only sane response is to retaliate with massive, overwhelming, disproportionate force. And when an invader commits the kinds of atrocities that we have seen over the last week, unprecedented in modern times, vengeance must be the order of the day.

War is a terrible thing. But the Gazans started this war, and war is what they are going to get. Every resulting casualty should be laid at the foot of Hamas and all Gazans who have supported and collaborated with Hamas–a large majority, by all indications.

John Hinderaker is echoing a quote from Civil War general William Tecumseh Sherman:

War is the remedy our enemies have chosen. Other simple remedies were within their choice. You know it and they know it, but they wanted war, and I say let us give them all they want; not a word of argument, not a sign of let up, no cave in till we are whipped or they are.

Sherman followed up this policy with his scorched earth March to the Sea because he and Grant were resolved to end the Civil War, once and for all.  Israel has the same intention for Hamas.