But send money

Hot Air: "Democrats would like their rabid base to cool it with the impeachment talk."

Hush-hush

Fox News: "Amid Russia concerns, Comey's closed-door Hill visit results in uncanny silence among lawmakers."  Hmmmmmm....

Shut up, they explained

Buffalo News: "Raucous crowds overwhelm Reed town hall meetings."

Huge crowds of raucous progressives and quieter conservatives overwhelmed Rep. Tom Reed's town hall meetings in Ashville and Cherry Creek Saturday morning, with the progressives repeatedly interrupting and shouting down the congressman's comments as he tried to defend Republican plans to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act.
The crowd in Ashville, in Chautauqua County, was so large that it was moved out of the senior center where it was scheduled and into the parking lot outside. There, Reed  patiently worked - but failed - to maintain order.
"We do not always agree," the Republican Congressman from Corning told the crowd at the outset of the meeting. "As we have disagreement, let's make sure we have it in a respectful, safe way."

This plea was met with more brainless chanting which is the Democrat version of "having a dialogue."

Back in the good ole days

Interesting thread over at Explain it like I'm 5: "In the 50's a single person in the US with a decent job requiring little or even no education could provide a comfortable home, education for their children, etc etc by themselves. Why were they paid so much or why hasn't that pay transitioned to 2017?"

Generally speaking, the combined effects of more people entering the workforce (not just white men) along with automation and globalization has tamped down on wages.  Also, some have pointed out that the "basics" of living in modern society - cell phones, Internet, multiple televisions - was not a standard for that era.

Make me a bouquet

Hot Air: "Washington florist ready to take religious liberty case to Supreme Court."

A Washington florist who refused to participate in a same-sex wedding lost a unanimous decision yesterday at the state Supreme Court. The 9-0 ruling rejected her claim to a First Amendment right to exercise her right to religious liberty in favor of the state’s anti-discrimination law. The next step for Barronelle Stutzman will be the US Supreme Court...

Really?  A unanimous decision for forcing a florist to make an arrangement for a gay wedding?  I'm really curious to read the legal reasoning to force this kind of compulsion, one which raises all kind of additional questions.  Can a Jewish baker be compelled to bake a swastika cake?  How about asking a Muslim photographer to take wedding pictures in front of a drawing of Mohammad?  Too bad, I guess.

Update - Here's part of the explanation from the AP:

Stutzman argued that she was exercising her First Amendment rights. But the court held that her floral arrangements do not constitute protected free speech, and that providing flowers to a same-sex wedding would not serve as an endorsement of same-sex marriage.
"As Stutzman acknowledged at deposition, providing flowers for a wedding between Muslims would not necessarily constitute an endorsement of Islam, nor would providing flowers for an atheist couple endorse atheism," the opinion said.

I guess I just don't understand why this explanation doesn't open the door for any kind of compulsion.  Is freedom of commerce just an illusion or is force necessary to make sure everybody plays nice?  I guess Melania Trump is going to get her Tom Ford dress after all.

Based on today's press conference, Trump believes this

Axios: "The media IS the opposition party."  I only caught the tail end of Trump's press conference today but I've never seen a politician - much less a President - treat the media with such unambiguous and conspicuous disdain.  He berated the BBC guy and called BBC "another CNN."  It was cuckoo.

In other news, he's never heard of Russia and didn't talk to anybody in Russia except for some guy who called him on Inauguration Day to congratulate him.

Awww...poor baby

PJ Media: "CNN's Jim Acosta: 'The Fix Is In' Trump Ignores MSM Questions."

Meanwhile, the greatest minds in politics and journalism join forces: "Pelosi, Cummings, New York Times fall victim to fake Twitter account."

Extra - From Twitchy.

More - Ace on the Washington Post's vapors: "The National Laughingstock: The Fact That Trump Won't Talk to Our Blatantly Biased Prog Rag Should "Terrify You"."

A nation of laws

I wholeheartedly agree with this analysis by Patterico on reports that Trump will no longer enforce the Obamacare mandate for mandatory healthcare: "All hail the King! Trump's IRS will "turn a blind eye" to enforcement of Obamacare mandate":

I’m sure plenty of Trump supporters will cheer this — because, you know, Trump. But if you’ll recall, conservatives (including myself) screamed bloody murder — with good reason — when Obama unilaterally decided to delay enforcement of ObamaCare provisions like the employer mandate. For me and for many others, this was a genuine and principled concern. But I think we’re about to find out that, for some conservatives, the complaints about Obama’s actions were pure partisanship — and for these unprincipled hypocrites, non-enforcement is about to be cool again.

To paraphrase "A Man for All Seasons", Obama cut a road through the laws to maintain Obamacare, whether diverting money to the risk corridors or ignoring statutory timelines.  And while President Clinton and/or a Democrat-controlled Senate was a sure thing, the political Left cheered it on.  So I understand that the urge to stick it back is strong, but this tu quoque fallacy leaves us without laws, only interpretation by an executive authority which is no law at all.

The death spiral continues apace

Hot Air: "Humana announces it is dropping out of Obamacare in 2018."  Quote: "Further signs of an unbalanced risk pool."

Scott has a problem with Twitter

Scott Adams: "Freedom of Speech is now largely an illusion."  Depends on the side of the political spectrum.

Fake news again

Washington Examiner: "More mainstream media mess-ups: The Muslim Olympian 'detained because of President Trump's travel ban' was detained under Obama."

To be sure, this woman misled the press by saying the detention occurred "just a few weeks ago" when it actually happened in December.  Still, the media had their narrative and ran with it - the "when" can wait until later.

Extra - From Gateway Pundit.

The Ninth Circus

Federalist: "The Ninth Circuit’s Stay On Trump’s Immigration Order Is Legal Garbage - It’s clear the judges went through the exercise of writing an opinion so they could get to the outcome they wanted. The problem is, the outcome they wanted is, legally speaking, wrong."

Fauxcahontas update

Ed Rogers in the Washington Post gets right to the point: "Elizabeth Warren is a grandstanding phony."  "I don’t mean to give advice, but these events should suggest something to the Democrats about how egotistical, artificial and selfishly driven Warren really is. She should be embarrassed, and the Democrats should keep looking for someone authentic."

I read MassLive on a regular basis and, even here in Western Massachusetts, a lot of people are getting really tired of Warren's shtick.

Keep it up Hollywood

Any day now - any day now - deplorable America will come to its senses.  Hit and Run: "Meryl Streep Congratulates Herself (Again) for Criticizing Donald Trump - The Hollywood star's self-dramatizing self-righteousness plays right into the president's hands."

Moral vanity is like crack to the entertainment industry.  Make sure you skip the Grammies tonight.

California crybullies

City Journal: "From Culture to Cupcakes - The once-great University of California at Berkeley continues its descent into victimology."

UC Berkeley’s Division of Equity and Inclusion has hung vertical banners across the main campus reminding students of the contemporary university’s paramount mission: assigning guilt and innocence within the ruthlessly competitive hierarchy of victimhood.

Free speech for me, not for thee.

Guess who used to support school vouchers?

You'll never guess: "Vouchers would relieve parents from the terrible choice of leaving their kids in lousy schools or bankrupting themselves."

I guess he did divide us

Slate: "Shia LaBeouf’s Controversial Anti-Trump Museum Installation Has Been Shut Down."  "In unfortunate contradiction with its messaging, the installation became a political battleground, as clashes between Trump supporters and opponents turned violent—an ugly distillation of what’s currently playing out on a much larger scale around the country."

It's funny because it's Rolling Stone

Rolling Stone: "The End of Facts in the Trump Era."

The comments are great fun, with a lot of "Jackie" references.

Problem with the Jews

Legal Insurrection: "Mother Jones proves Keith Ellison lying about his Farrakhan history."  Powerline has been covering Keith Ellison's bid for DNC chair and notes that this is the first time somebody in the media has seriously looked into these allegations.

Hollywood phonies are upset about DeVos

Fox News: "Celebrities weigh in on Betsy DeVos confirmation: 'This is murdering' our school system."  Well, not your school system, right?

First on the list is Stephen Colbert who sent his kids to the tony Montclair Kimberley Academy according to this student report.  Tuition: 38 large.  I'll update if I can find anybody on this list who has school-age kids in a public school.  Don't hold your breath.

Update - Joshua Malina sent his daughter Isabel to the Archer School for Girls.  Tuition: 35 large.

Somebody name Ilana Glazer: no kids.

That funny guy from Parks and Rec: no kids.

Seth MacFarlane: surprisingly, no kids.

Connie Britton: has a five-year old who has not started private school yet, presumably.

Josh Gad: two kids, aged 2 and 5, also probably not in private school yet.

That guy from Silicon Valley: no kids.

The hysterical Joss Whedon has two kids aged 12 and 14 but he's really keeping them private, hiding them under his wife's name.

Chelsea Handler: no kids.

The Left hates free speech, continued

Right Wisconsin: "Marquette official who schemed to keep out Ben Shapiro event attendees being ‘reprimanded' - Attempt to keep students out of event unsuccessful."

Who ya gonna call? Pausebusters!

Powerline: "Climate 'science' rocked by another scandal."

Patriots parade

I generally do not approve of profanity on public signs, especially with kids around, but I laughed at this.

Talkathon on Betty DeVos

Politico: "Senate Democrats plan to debate all night in hopes of stopping DeVos."

I flipped over to C-Span to watch Patty Murray read a bunch of letters from "everyday Americans" opposed to education secretary nominee Betty DeVos.  OK, I get it: she's been in support of charter schools and the teacher unions control the Democrat party.  But then Murray leveled this complaint: "She doesn't understand public schools and sent her children to private schools."

Really?  Like virtually every politician in Washington?  Puh-leeze.

Not hearing it

Scott Adams: "Sam Harris Induces Cognitive Dissonance in Ben Affleck."  "Watch for the moment Ben has to hallucinate Sam’s opinion from the reasonable position that many Muslims worldwide have non-liberal views to an hallucination about “All Muslims are bad.” Sam and Bill both clarify their viewpoints, with data, but Ben is struck deaf to it. All he can hear is the absurd absolute “all.” He is literally hallucinating."

A gathering of "journalists"

Hot Air: "The media suddenly seems less interested in the Nerd Prom. I wonder why?"

Maybe they're concerned that Trump will read from this list: "16 Fake News Stories Reporters Have Run Since Trump Won."

Sweet mercy, this catch

Julian Edelmans Ridiculous Catch

Let's go Patriots!

I never get tired of this:



Official prediction: Patriots 34 - Falcons 24
There is nothing in the world one team wants more than having Roger Goodell hand over the Lombardi trophy to Tom Brady.

Update - Holy cow!  I was not far off: 34-28 Patriots win!

Check out this free speech nut!

Minuteman: "The NYT on Gorsuch - With Enemies Like This..."  "If this is what they've got, it's less than nothing."

Defeating ISIS

Here's an interesting thread on Explain Like I'm 5: "Why is a terrorist organization like ISIS so difficult to defeat? With so many powerful nations actively fighting them, how do they still have a leg to stand on?"

There's a new sheriff in town

MassLive: "'You can't just say 'Obama pays for it all,' judge tells man seeking taxpayer-financed lawyer."

Welcome Justice Gorsuch

Slate: "Democrats Have No Play on Neil Gorsuch."

Hot Air: "Dem Senate operative: The big Supreme Court fight will be over the next nominee, not Gorsuch."  Namely, the one to replace RBG.

You want to be a winner, don't you?

The Truth about Cars has an absolutely great review of Audi's pending Super Bowl commercial: "The Real Message Behind Audi’s Super Bowl Ad Isn’t Exactly An Uplifting One."  An excerpt:

Well, if you’ve been reading along, I think you’ve figured out what the real message of this Audi advertisement is, but just in case you’ve been napping I will spell it out for you: Money and breeding always beat poor white trash. Those other kids in the race, from the overweight boys to the hick who actually had an American flag helmet to the stripper-glitter girl? They never had a chance. They’re losers and they always will be, just like their loser parents.

If you'll recall, Bud Light tried this silly feminist strategy in their ad campaign with Amy Schumer and it backfired spectacularly.  I know you spent a lot of money on Don Draper, Audi, but pull this ad now.

Let's all laugh at this obvious lie

Daily Caller: "NYT CEO With A Straight Face: We’re Not Liberal."

Happy Friday!

Democrats no-show again on nomination votes

For the third time, Democrats boycotted their subcommittee meetings on Trump nominees so they can demonstrate to their base that they're resisting, always resisting.  Yet the other day, they showed up to move along Jeff Sessions' nomination to Attorney General.  Hmmm.....how odd.

Well, it looks like Mitch McConnell is on to their game.  Ace: "McConnell Delaying Sessions' Floor Vote Because His Vote As a Senator May Be Necessary to Confirm Mulvaney and DeVos."

This guy

What is wrong with Trump?  The Atlantic: "Donald Trump's Blunder Down Under - Citizens of an unusually close ally now regard the president as a volatile, vainglorious, untrustworthy bully after he needlessly disrespected their leader in a phone call."

I guess we need to piss off allies in every hemisphere now.  I'm getting the impression that Trump is like Harry Truman's assessment of Eisenhower's pending Presidency:

When contemplating General Eisenhower winning the Presidential election, Truman said, “He’ll sit here, and he’ll say, ‘Do this! Do that!’ And nothing will happen. Poor Ike—it won’t be a bit like the Army. He’ll find it very frustrating.”

Disclaimer: Trump is not Eisenhower.

The Left hates free speech

Especially so in the birthplace of the "free speech" movement.  Fox News: "Milo Yiannopoulos: Berkeley riot 'self-defeating for the social justice left'."

Of his opponents, Milo said, "They never want to debate because they’re scared of losing. They don’t have the facts on their side and for 30 years the left has been able to bully people into silence by name-calling and they’ve forgotten how to argue."

How'd that work out for you guys, calling everybody a racist/sexist/fascist?  Keep it up, yo.

Now you're going to see some petty payback

About a month ago, there was a hilarious graphic on Imgur showing an American flag kicked over on the moon with the copy: "Imagine if the Chinese went to the moon and decided to knock over the US flag.  What are we gonna do, rebuild the moon program and go back up there to re-erect the flag?  Ha ha".

Then the response is: "I have lived in America my entire life and I am 100% sure we would do exactly that."

Today it was announced that two GOP Senators (Collins and Murkowski) are going to vote against Betty DeVos for Education Secretary which puts DeVos in a precarious situation.  If she doesn't lose any additional Republican votes, it could go to a 50-50 Senate vote with Mike Pence casting the tie-breaking vote.  But if she's denied, I totally agree with this Katy Pavlich tweet: "With this absurd DeVos obstruction (you too, GOP), now would be a good time for an executive order eliminating the Department of Education."

Brother, you know he'll do it, too.

Yes, I'm watching C-Span

Jeff Sessions was just approved out of the Judiciary Committee for Attorney General.  A lone Code Pink cried "shame!" and was hustled out.

Supreme Court pick tonight

Independent Journal Review says it's going to be Neil Gorsuch.  IJR calls him a "firm Constitutionalist."  Works for me.

Tough times for the Bard

Headline of the day via MassLive: "William Shakespeare arrested for 2016 Mattapan killing."  Alas!

Listen to Vox!

Twitchy: "This could be the best idea Vox has ever had: ‘Cancel the Oscars’ to protest Trump."

Insubordinate Sally Yates

Politico: "Why Trump had to fire Sally Yates".  I think this paragraph says it all:

Second, the president did not order his principal officer to violate the law. Yates acknowledged that there was a credible argument that the executive order was constitutional—she said only that she was not convinced by the OLC’s determination that it was lawful, hinting at the president’s campaign-trail calls for a “Muslim ban.” But many laws of dubious constitutionality are routinely, and zealously, defended in court by the Justice Department. Her objection, instead, was that the order was unwise or unjust. These may be valid points for a public citizen to raise, but the attorney general has a statutory duty to “[r]epresent the United States in legal matters generally,” regardless of her personal proclivities.

I'm conflicted about the wisdom of this Executive Order but only one person had the statutory duty to follow it.  Now she's gone.

Extra - Lawfare: "Quick Thoughts On Sally Yates’ Unpersuasive Statement."

Cato on the refugee ban

I generally agree with the libertarians on most issues so let me add this link from the Cato Institute: "Five reasons Congress Should Repeal Trump’s Immigrant & Refugee Ban."

At the risk of sounding like a broken record, we wouldn't be in this predicament (I think) if Mr. Phone and Pen hadn't decided to run roughshod over traditional executive limitations, while liberals cheered him on.

Well, this was totally expected

Hot Air: "Report: Senate Dems preparing to filibuster Trump’s SCOTUS nominee — no matter who it is."

Democrats are still butt-hurt that they were hoisted by their own petard on the topic of Supreme Court nominations made in an election year.  I suspect their paramount interest in re-establishing a "full" Court will fall by the wayside.

This seems foolish to me, at least in the context of replacing one conservative Justice (Scalia) with another.  Better to keep your powder dry and save the real battle for the seat that will swing power in the Court.  But nobody said the Democrats operate on logic.

"Journalists"

Twitchy: "NY Times WH correspondent asks for fact check on terrorism claim, tweeters oblige."  Ladies and gentlemen: the vaunted Paper of Record.

Everyone:  Journalists can not possibly make themselves look worse.
Maggie Haberman: Hold my beer. https://t.co/V4IfDPquvj

— atomickristin (@atomickristin) January 28, 2017

#MuslimBan is trending

Legal Insurrection: "Most claims about Trump’s visa Executive Order are false or misleading."

Extra - David French on the Corner: "Trump’s Executive Order on Refugees — Separating Fact from Hysteria."

Chuck Todd tells us what we knew

Red State: "Chuck Todd Admits Media Ignored Stories, Avoided Criticism Of Hillary Clinton In Election Coverage"

Chuck Todd basically just told us that the Mainstream Media didn’t report certain things to avoid appearing Sexist, and didn’t report the “story” of middle America as there were others that interested them more, personally. This is what Conservatives have been saying for years. Literally, years. That their own bias impacts the coverage they give. Chuck Todd just confirmed it.

I wonder how many Americans, upset with the Obama Administration, were so tired of being called "racist" they voted against Hillary to avoid being called "sexist" for 4-8 years.

Don't let Oregon hit you on the backside

American Mirror: "‘Calexit’ paves way for Republican lock — could finish off Dems as national party."

Fake news update

Vox: "A viral Washington Post story about State Department resignations is very misleading."

Hat tip to Instapundit who quips: "Anti-Trump fearmongering is so bad, it's being corrected by Vox."  Vox!

Pwned

Hot Air: "Deadspin spars with Ted Cruz on Twitter, gets KO’d."  Seriously, what is wrong with these guys?  Is it because Ted Cruz, of all people, got the better of them?  I think so.  At some point it would be much better to just admit defeat, take your lumps, and live to laugh about it later.

Paul Krugman = sad!

Do you remember when the former Enron adviser said the markets would "never recover" from Trump's election?  Twitchy: "This Paul Krugman-related shot & chaser is one for the ‘prediction fail’ time capsule."

A Krugman prediction is like the economic version of the Gore Effect: the exact opposite is likely to occur.

Concentration of power

Glenn Reynolds writing in USA Today: "Elections matter too much."  "There's now an opportunity for Republicans and Democrats to restrict executive power."

Let's give identity politics another try

That seems to be the theme of this transparent piece in Time by Keith Ellison who is vying to become DNC chair.  Oh, sure, he nods his head towards economic issues but that's wrapped up in the tortilla of civil rights.  As I was reading it, I was ticking off all the protected groups; the required LGBT mention came in the 10th paragraph.

Related - Grabian News: "DNC chair candidates bash white people in racially-charged forum."  Keep it up, guys, great stuff.

Schumer sets the stage

Do you want the nuclear option, Chuck?  Because this is how you get the nuclear option.  After backing out on an agreement to move on Mike Pompeo's nomination to the CIA, Mitch McConnell is not going to rely on gentleman agreements anymore.

Oh, yeah, you liked "selective enforcement" too

It looks like Trump is using all of the tricks-of-the-trade of the Obama Administration: "Trump may not enforce individual health insurance mandate: aide."

Flashback - "President Trump can do whatever he wants, using Obama's example as a guide."

Live and die by reconciliation

Politico: "How Trump can use Obamacare to kill Obamacare - The same executive authority the Obama administration used to implement the law may now be used to dismantle it."

Conservatives who railed against Barack Obama's vast powers to build up the Affordable Care Act declared vindication Saturday with President Donald Trump’s executive order to tear it apart.

"For me, it’s a mix of irony and schadenfreude," says Josh Blackman, a law professor who's written two books that criticized the Obama administration's implementation of the law. "I’ve warned for years that, with a new president in the White House, the exact same powers could be used for different purposes. That’s what we’re seeing now, to a T."

This is why Obama's legacy is written on an Etch-a-Sketch: he couldn't be bothered to do the hard work of building legislative support.  Without the smoke and mirrors of executive orders and reconciliation tricks (remember "deem and pass?") everything from Obamacare to the Iran Deal to the Paris Accords can be wiped away with the wave of Trump's pen.

Off to a good start

CNBC: "The White House website's page on climate change just disappeared."

As WUWT comments: "You can hear the heads exploding already."

Update - So it was just a transition to a new "America First Energy" page.  Conspicuously missing: renewable energy.

POTUS 45

Fox News: "President Trump takes office."

Was anybody else unnerved when a bunch of military officers walked down the stairs behind Trump?  I thought maybe there was a security issue.

Inauguration day

Explain like I'm 5: "Why do we have separation of church and state, but still have people swear on the bible for government events?"  Short answer: it doesn't have to be a Bible.

Flashback fun

Did Oliver ever write that check?  I'm skeptical.

Donald sharpens the axe

Back in July, I linked to an article: "Neither Clinton Nor Trump Would Reduce the National Debt" indicating that neither candidate was really serious about reducing spending and living within our means.

Well, maybe that is changing.  Via the Hill: "Trump team prepares dramatic cuts."

The departments of Commerce and Energy would see major reductions in funding, with programs under their jurisdiction either being eliminated or transferred to other agencies. The departments of Transportation, Justice and State would see significant cuts and program eliminations.

The Corporation for Public Broadcasting would be privatized, while the National Endowment for the Arts and National Endowment for the Humanities would be eliminated entirely.

Overall, the blueprint being used by Trump’s team would reduce federal spending by $10.5 trillion over 10 years.

I'm with Ace on this one: I'll believe it when I see it.

Drug convictions voided

It looks like Obama isn't the only one letting people convicted on drug charges out of prison today.  Via Hit and Run: "Mass. Supreme Court Orders D.A. to Vacate Cases in Massive Forensics Scandal" "A corrupt crime lab tech tainted one in six drug cases in Massachusetts. The state high court just ordered prosecutors to drop thousands of those cases."

Fish gotta swim, NYT gotta lie

If I remember correctly, the New York Times said they were going to review the way they cover the news after Trump's surprising victory.  But some things never change.  Washington Examiner: "That New York Times hit piece on Perry was unsubstantiated garbage."

Prediction: Obama will pardon Ethel Rosenberg

You heard it here first.

In case you missed it, Obama commuted much of Bradley Manning's sentence yesterday, a move opposed by Defense Secretary Ash Carter, because...why not?  As Sean Davis noted: "Giving classified info to Wikileaks is good as long as it only endangers national security and not Democrat careers."

Why did Obama give comfort this traitor, particularly during this time when the Democrats are whining about the Russians "stealing" the election?  Maybe we'll find out in today's press conference in one of his filibuster-lengthed responses.  But I have a theory: Obama is addicted to the "history" thing.  He wants everything to be "historical" from kneecapping health care to giving Iran the bomb.  What was the rationale for reversing long-standing policy and opening up to Cuba?  History, baby, history.

So I think you'll see him make a last-minute splash and pardon Ethel Rosenberg despite all the evidence that she indeed spied for the Soviets.  All that stuff is so fifty years ago.

Best buddies no more

National Review: "Is the real Cory Booker now standing up?"  "If he opposes Betsy Devos, his former ally on school choice, he’ll reveal himself as a garden-variety partisan."  I think we know which was this is heading: get ready for a case of "serious concerns" such as the kind he had for his great friend Jeff Sessions.

Couldn't print to wireless printer from Windows 10

I know there were thousands - maybe millions - of readers wondering: "Why are there no new posts?"  Well I spent the better part of yesterday trying to get my HP wireless printer to print from my relatively-new Windows 10 Lenovo laptop.  It was working fine then suddenly it wasn't.

Let me take an interlude here to say that all the troubleshooting guides and "Print Doctor" programs are equally useless.  The HP programs in particular exist solely to sell ink and they will be purged later.  No matter what I did (updated drivers, toggle Wi-Fi, manually enter TCP/IP address), the printer would announce it was connected but there was always an error.

Long story short: eventually I went into McAfee, disengaged the firewall, and printed.  So something had updated to block my print spooler, for some reason.  I reset firewall defaults and I'm going to try again today but at least I know where the problem lies.  I'm writing this as a service to anybody else who might have seen a recent problem with their McAfee-protected computer.

Media re-discovers purpose

Daily Caller: "Liberal Journalists Rediscover Mission As Obama Leaves Office."  It's almost like they've been in a daze for eight years but now the real accountability starts!

Extra - From Instapundit.

Boondoggle

Hit and Run: "Even the Feds are Warning that California's Bullet Train Is a Disaster in the Making."  "Just days after California Gov. Jerry Brown warned that the state was slipping back into deficit spending ($1.6 billion by next summer), the Los Angeles Times got its hands on a confidential internal report from the Federal Railroad Administration that points the fingers right back at the governor when it comes to wasteful spending."

Friday can't come fast enough

Obama still can't fathom the "severity of partisanship" in Washington.

Speaking of the circus shutting down

Hot Air: "The Clinton Global Initiative is closing its doors for good."  It couldn't continue if Hillary got elected but now it can't survive because the Clintons' political influence has dried up.

The day the clown cried

Associated Press: "Ringling Brothers circus to close after 146 years."

After 146 years, the curtain is coming down on "The Greatest Show on Earth." The owner of the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus told The Associated Press that the show will close forever in May.

The iconic American spectacle was felled by a variety of factors, company executives say. Declining attendance combined with high operating costs, along with changing public tastes and prolonged battles with animal rights groups all contributed to its demise.

Wow, that's sad.  My folks took me to Madison Square Garden when I was a kid.  I guess the circus was a kind of throwback to a time when, if you wanted to see exotic animals and live shows, the circus coming to town was a cause for excitement.  Now it's all on YouTube, I suppose.

Get it together, Fox

The feed for the Seattle-Atlanta football game is so choppy the game is unwatchable.

No problems with the commercials, though!  Those are smooth as silk.

Good news everyone

The First Amendment lives again!  Legal Insurrection: "Dissent is patriotic again week in higher education."

Fake news and the NY Times

But I repeat myself.  Minuteman: "Fake news (ongoing layup drill)."  "My guess as to the dynamic in play? Every NY Times news meeting opens with "What is our Trump outrage du jour?". The staffers want it and their readers need it, so stories are bent to fit the desired narrative."

Enough already

WSJ: "How Can We Miss a President Who Won’t Go Away?"

Every former president probably believes in his heart that he can do the job better than the guy in there now. But living in Washington, Mr. Obama is likely to think those thoughts more often than his distant counterparts have. That’s why it is unlikely he will stay silent for long once he departs the White House on next week.

There's another reason why I can see Obama chiming in on a regular basis: he's just about all the Democrats have left on the national stage.

Unintentional sincerity

At the tail-end of Samantha Bee's show, she said "This may be the last time I get to criticize Obama...which would also be the first time."

We know, Sam, we know.

Transparent

Hot Air: "If you thought Cory Booker’s testimony against Jeff Sessions would be all about grandstanding for 2020, collect your prize."  "As the saying goes, it would take a heart of stone not to laugh at a performance this shameless."

Extra - Powerline: "It proved precisely one thing: the utter shamelessness of Booker’s ambition."

Philly soda tax update

Remember this story about how Philadelphia raised the soda tax so that it almost equals the cost of the product itself?  The mayor is outraged that businesses are passing the cost on to customers.  Hit and Run: "Philly Mayor Blames ‘Price Gouging’ for Outrage Generated by City’s New Soda Tax - Businesses are passing along the cost of the tax to consumers, because that's how taxes work. Someone get Jim Kenney an economics textbook."

You can go now

This pretty much sums it up.  Washington Examiner: "Obama's farewell address longer than Reagan's, Clinton's and George W. Bush's combined."

Countdown to ecstacy

A little bright piece of news today.  Ace: "Clock Boy's Defamation Lawsuit Against Broadcasters Who Reported On His "Cool Clock" Dismissed."

Since the judge dismissed the lawsuit with prejudice, it opens the door for the defendant to counter-sue for legal fees.  This will cut into Clock Boy's budget for old Radio Shack components.

They're a terrible bunch

Powerline: "Why America hates Hollywood, or should."

Executive power

Hit and Run: "If You're Freaking Out Over Donald Trump's Presidential Powers, Thank a Liberal! - Where were Democrats when Obama was going power-mad? Egging him on, mostly."

People are quick to forget that when Obama won election, he had large congressional majorities too and got everything he asked for during his first two years. Besides tripling troop strength in Afghanistan, expanding and extending TARP bailouts, passing a stimulus plan, and shoving Obamacare through, all that netted was a Repbublican Congress in the 2010 midterms. Suddenly, the guy who was fond of saying "elections have consequences" was singing a different tune, one about having "a pen and a phone" and how he wasn't just "going to be waiting around for legislation." And he didn't.

Thank heaven we're turning over these expanded executive powers to somebody with a great temperament.  This will end well.

They know so much that isn't so

The Democrats are holding a talkathon in the Senate tonight to talk about Obamacare.  I just saw my idiot Senator Markey on C-Span and his theme is that the Republicans are going to do away with preventive care that saves money and lives.  Well, that's not the case, but Markey has his story and he's sticking to it.

Soon it will be over

Jeff Jacoby: "At home and abroad, Obama's trail of disasters."  "In almost every respect, Obama leaves behind a trail of failure and disappointment."

To this long list of commission, let me add a crime of omission.  The looming insolvency of entitlement programs like Medicare and Social Security are not going away and this President has done nothing - nothing at all - to address the problem.  For the past decade, the Trustees of these programs have submitted an annual report with the same message:

Both Social Security and Medicare face long-term financing shortfalls under currently scheduled benefits and financing. Lawmakers have a broad continuum of policy options that would close or reduce the long-term financing shortfall of both programs. The Trustees recommend that lawmakers take action sooner rather than later to address these shortfalls, so that a broader range of solutions can be considered and more time will be available to phase in changes while giving the public adequate time to prepare. Earlier action will also help elected officials minimize adverse impacts on vulnerable populations, including lower-income workers and people already dependent on program benefits.

Emphasis added.  Instead of amending the programs to ensure they survive, Democrats get drunk on their biannual spree of scaring Grandma.  Oh, well, they'll be out of office before last call, so it will be somebody else's problem.

The MSM cries "uncle"

Look who's getting branded as "fake news" nowadays.  Margaret Sullivan in the WashPost wants it to stop: "It's time to retire the tainted term 'fake news'."

This guy called it: "'Fake news' as shorthand will almost surely be returned upon the media tenfold."  You sowed the wind, now reap the whirlwind.

So the Golden Globes are on tonight

Hot Air: "On the “absurd” notion of a Hollywood liberal agenda."  Jimmy Fallon started out with four Donald Trump jokes tonight (he's just like Joffrey from GOT) but, so far, the actors have been more restrained during acceptance speeches.

Update - Hugh Laurie, who played a psychopathic billionaire in "The Night Manager," accepted his award on the behalf of psychopathic billionaires.  That was kinda funny.

It's possible

Scott Adams: "Is the Onion advising Democrats now?"  The Dilbert creator never wavered during the election cycle that Trump would win, so maybe he knows something.

Saved you a click

Saw this on Reddit.  World Economic Forum: "Rich and poor teenagers use the web differently – here's what this is doing to inequality."

They hate them for this weird trick!  Rich kids are using the Internet to look up news or information while poor kids use the web to play games and Facebook.

Soon to be a memory

Weekly Standard has a review of Jonathan Chait's book: "Courtiers in Denial - Obama's rapidly shrinking legacy."  "Chait writes about politics for New York magazine, and in the crowded imperial court of Obama's journalists he stands apart—the courtier's courtier, the boot-licker against whom all boot-licking must be measured."

The book review was cringeworthy; the book itself must be excruciating.

Symbols - how do they work?

This is pretty funny.  Powerline: "The most epic "Epic media fail" of all time?"

Heck of a job, Colorado

Hot Air: "Feds: CO ObamaCare exchange misused almost $10 million."

A lot of that was in the form of performance bonuses.  Here's what they performed: "Colorado health-insurance rates to jump 20 percent on average for individual buyers in 2017."  Bonus: "...for the first time, residents in 14 counties will have the choice of only one carrier offering plans in their area via the state health insurance exchange."

Let freedom ring

This story is crazy.  Zero Hedge: "Masses Shocked By Philly Beverage Tax Impact."  Sugary drinks in the city of Brotherly Love are hit with a huge "Philly Bev Tax."

Keep your eye on this latest effort to tax Americans for their "own good."  It's not like we haven't seen this show before.

Cui bono?

Who benefits?  That's how the NY Times determines which side they're on when it comes to legislative principles.  Patterico: "New York Times prints op-ed supporting filibuster (unexpectedly!)"

Y U no understand?

Twitchy: "POTUS takes responsibility for Obamacare suckage (but there’s a catch)."  The catch is that - gosh darn it - you Americans didn't comprehend.  Shame on you.

Life in the bubble

Federalist: "Watch A Bunch Of Journalists Freak Out After Being Asked If They Know Anybody Who Drives A Truck - If you thought what happened in 2016 might teach the Panem progressives of American journalism to be a little more circumspect, you'd be wrong."

Live by reconciliation...

...die by reconciliation.  Here's what I wrote in November:

The original [Obamacare] legislation was passed through a budget reconciliation maneuver after Scott Brown was elected to the Senate; surely it can be repealed under the same maneuver.

Instapundit (because I won't link Vox): "Senate Republicans just introduced an Obamacare repeal plan Democrats can't stop."

Harry Chapin hardest hit

Boy, that may be an obscure reference.  Fox News: "NYC's taxi fleet could be replaced by 3,000 ridesharing vehicles, MIT study says."

The strange tribe in flyover country

Legal Insurrection: "NY Times goes on safari to Texas, struggles to understand natives’ love for their “trucks”."

Missing from the narrative

"60 Minutes" just showed a segment about murder rates in Chicago rising while arrests have dropped.  Not once during the story did anybody say "Ferguson effect."