This is appropriate for today

Dementia Joe shuns the press

And the press is OK with that.  Fox News: "Biden finds time to talk cars with Jay Leno, but hasn’t done TV interview with American journalist in 200 days."

Sometimes I read transcripts from the White House website and it's remarkable to see the cadence of a Joe Biden speech.  They follow a familiar pattern where he starts off with Grampa Simpson-style rambling before rehashing the exact same talking points that have been consistently debunked over and over and over again.  

That's why he won't sit down with the media since Lester Holt broke him in February and it's why the rumors that he's already "quiet quit" continue to swirl.  

Back to Delaware for the weekend!  Joe's exhausted from the four public events he had this week.

Off the rails

Legal Insurrection: "Will a Rail Strike be the “Black Swan” of the 2022 Midterm Election?" 

Rest in peace, Lilibet

Spectator: "Queen Elizabeth II made a difference — to Britain and the world - "Her commitment to duty was remarkable"

Supply v. demand

Federalist: "How Corporate Media Sold The BYU Race Narrative With Zero Corroborating Evidence." - "The real question here is not whether Richardson was telling the truth but why it took so long for anyone to investigate or corroborate her claims before blasting them to the world."

They never learn.

To be fair, she's very mockable

Another bad day for diversity hire and election denier KJP: "Karine Jean-Pierre mocked after calling Nord Stream 1 pipeline ‘Nordstrom’."

Fistbump!

How it started: "Biden gives Saudis the gesture they wanted. But he returns to Washington with little in hand."

How it's going: "OPEC+ makes small trim to world oil supplies as prices fall." 

Thanks, suckers

The Hill: "Biden’s student loan bailout treats hard-working Americans as chumps on Labor Day"

President Biden’s plan to forgive up to $20,000 of student loans per borrower is bad policy for numerous reasons. It adds nearly $1 trillion to the national debt. It fuels inflation. And it is illegal executive overreach. (The Job Creators Network Foundation’s Legal Action Fund is currently considering legal options to block it.)

The bailout is also fundamentally unfair to most Americans who never earned an associate’s or bachelor’s degree. These hard-working folks are forced to shoulder loan forgiveness for the consultant class through their tax dollars. Biden’s action, therefore, makes for an especially depressing Labor Day for ordinary workers who also face declining real wages and living standards because of historic inflation. 

The potential lawsuit by the Job Creators Network is the first legal action I've heard about.

Zero. Zero % chance this is real.

Twitchy: "Biden’s @POTUS account shares grateful DM (and for SOME reason people are NOT buying it)."

As noted, the college intern running Joe Biden's twitter account made up a fake DM.  End of story.

Nice work if you can get it

Joe Biden refuses to take questions as he leaves on yet another weekend vacation.
Biden has spent 23 of the past 32 days on vacation. pic.twitter.com/fpazqso2eU

— Andrea Jackson TV 📺🇺🇸 (@AJacksonTV) September 3, 2022

In Joe's defense, just look at this jam-packed work schedule from Wednesday:

 Wow, slow down buddy!

Whoops, looks like the overnight polls are in

NY Post: "Biden walks back attacks on Trump voters in anti-MAGA speech." 

The paper of record

Babylon Bee: "Biden Condemns Fascism In Speech While Also Debuting Attractive New Mustache."

It's gonna be a "no" from me, dawg

Ramesh Ponnuru at Bloomberg: "Republicans Need to Get Serious About Social Security" - "Party leaders don’t even have a plan to fix it — which is a pity, since benefits are growing beyond the program’s revenue."

Social Security used to be a hobby issue for me but now I'm quite content to see the whole program come crashing down.  Nobody wants to do the tough work of reform.  It would be better to see the automatic cuts kick in and see how Americans react.

Well, if it isn't the consequences of my own actions

Not the Bee: "Can't make it up: California asks residents to stop charging electric cars on strained grid the week after passing a law to ban gas-powered cars." 

These people have learned exactly nothing since Enron gouged them.

Oh no

Ace: "Womp Womp: Washington Post Will Lose Money This Year After Shedding Subscribers."

Learn to code. 

Shut up, they explained

Red State: "New Survey Shows How Weak Minded College Kids Are Scared of Different Views."

I have to reminisce about my time in college when (big surprise) I was a conservative among many liberals at a state school.  For a time I wrote for the conservative newspaper on campus and I had a particular beef with one left-wing group.

At the time, I wanted to write an article addressing this group's main goals and invited their head guy for an interview.  He refused.  I said, okay, how about if I tell you the questions in advance to prepare?  No dice.  OK, then, no interview but I'll give you the questions and you can respond in print.  Nope.

At the time, I couldn't understand why somebody wouldn't want to explain his main beliefs to what (at the time) was one of the biggest papers on campus.  I don't wonder anymore.

Nailed it

 

Get happy

Real Clear Science: "Why Are Conservatives Happier Than Liberals?" 

This explains so much

Hot Air: "Yellen and Jill Biden advised him not to cancel student loan debt, but Joe listened to someone else."

Joe Biden’s decision to cancel student loan debt was bone-headed at best, cynical at worst. To make a bad decision even worse – Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and Jill Biden ( that’s Dr. Jill to you) advised the dazed and confused president not to do it. Instead of listening to a couple of people who might actually know a little something about the subject, Joe Biden decided to listen to Kamala Harris. That’s right. Biden acted on Kamala’s advice.

Haha, OMG.  Best and brightest, y'all.

$6000/taxpayer

Hot Air: "Penn-Wharton pegs Biden's Academia bailout potential cost at $1 trillion."

That's $6000 per taxpayer to pay off AOC's useless economics degree.

Washington Post returns to form

It was fun while it lasted.  Twitchy: "‘Mean tweets are good now’! WaPo spotlights newly punchy & feisty White House Twitter account." 

Hey, that was *my* headline

The Washington Examiner totally stole my headline from yesterday: "Biden to the working class: Drop dead."

We would expect that reaction from the Examiner.  What was more surprising is that Biden's YOLO on student debt was too much for even the Washington Post: "WaPo editors: Biden's Academia bailout is "a regressive, expensive mistake".

Wow, a bridge too far even the Post. 

Scranton Joe to America's working class: Drop dead

Hot Air: "Biden's indefensible bribe."

If not for the Afghanistan withdrawal debacle, the policy he’s announcing today would be the lowest moment of his presidency.

No kidding.  Frankly, I never thought Brandon would do it.  Not only is student loan forgiveness transparently illegal, it is absolutely a middle finger aimed at America's working class.  I actually watched his announcement today and it was a greatest hits of his debunked statements, dutifully read off a teleprompter followed by a quick getaway.

This guy is never going to do a sitdown interview or a press conference again and his response to a yelled question about people who (responsibly) paid off their debts shows why.  He doesn't have an answer.  He'll never explain why a plumber should pay off the debts of a Harvard grad.

Get ready for months of campaign ads like this:

2020:
"I've saved all my money. [My daughter] doesn't have any student loans. Am I going to get my money back?"

Warren: "Of course not."

"So you're going to pay for people who didn't save any money and those of us who did the right thing get screwed."pic.twitter.com/Z19hR5Vsdg

— Daily Wire (@realDailyWire) August 23, 2022

Impeach

Let's flashback to a year ago: "Pelosi says Biden doesn’t have power to cancel student debt."

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi suggested on Wednesday that people who believe President Joe Biden can forgive student debt on his own are misinformed.

“The president can’t do it,” Pelosi said, at a press briefing. “That’s not even a discussion.”

Pelosi said any student debt forgiveness would have to be carried out by Congress.

The Corner: "President Biden Is Planning to Violate His Oath of Office Again"

There can be no “limits,” because the move is illegal. There can be no “decision,” because the move is illegal. There can be no “planning,” because the move is illegal.

Red State: "Biden Is About to Commit an Impeachable Offense."

I can't believe we're going to have to learn this lesson again, but illegal executive actions like this will only beget illegal actions by future Presidents.  But if Harry Reid's nuclear option has taught us nothing, it's that Democrats never believe their actions will boomerang back on them.

Hidin' Biden

Legal Insurrection: "Joe Biden: The MIA President" - "For instance, he’ll appear in public at the White House for a speech or to make an announcement, but rarely takes questions from the press. He’ll give a speech on the road, but many times will simply ignore reporters. On rare occasions when a yelled question from a reporter gets through to Biden, his handlers work to quash it immediately, hurrying Biden away from the throngs of questioners as though they present a threat to his very existence."

What I think is weird is that the Biden's daily schedule doesn't even show him receiving the President's Daily Briefing.  What's this guy doing all day? 

Fake news

Twitchy: "ABC News’ Jon Karl spotted ‘pushing completely fake news as part of its obsessive pro-Democrat election meddling’." 

You had one job.

Mr. Potato Head is unemployed

PJ Media: "New CNN CEO Tells Employees, 'You Might Not Like or Understand' What's Coming."

Brian Stelter's last appearance was today and, honestly, I've never seen a second of his show but everybody says it's terrible.  Now I can say that once I was forced to watch Don Lemon's show and he is unambiguously awful.  There's no justification for that guy keeping his job. 

This caption made me LOL

Yes, I've been in an office with a manager urging us to leverage our synergy:

Everybody who has worked in an office has worked with somebody like this: pic.twitter.com/jYcci2UGUc

— Freddy Gray (@Freddygray31) August 15, 2022

Luxury beliefs

Twitchy: "Sanctuary cities New York and DC not prepared to handle the ‘massive influx of migrants’."

As I've noted here many times, it's so very easy to post your "Nobody is Illegal" yard signs until somebody breaks into your house. 

So this thing is still going on

NewNeo: "And let’s not forget the Iran deal." - "Betrayal of Israel, concessions and payments to Iran. Then, of course, Trump the Terrible ended all that. But now Biden and company are desperate to go back to those glory days of The Deal."

Flashback: "Obama Defense Sec. says Biden as VP was wrong on nearly every big foreign policy issue."

Nearly?

They'll sure try

Federalist: "The Corrupt Media Can’t Wish A Successful Biden Into Existence."

Now tell us again how we're not really in a recession, water-carriers.

The U.S. government is still going bankrupt

Another phony claim

Hot Air: "Biden claimed CHIPS Act would create a million construction jobs, the actual number is around 6,000."

Much like the so-called Inflation Reduction Act, here's another example of the media running to correct a story after the legislation passes.  

Lester Holt broke him

Gateway Pundit: "Joe Biden Has Nothing on His Public Schedule Today and Hasn’t Done an On-Camera Interview with American Media Outlet Since February." 

Guess we're not going to get a victory lap on the super-successful one-year anniversary of Afghanistan withdrawal. 

Yes nukes

Reason: "In a Belated Outburst of Rationality, Germany Decides To Keep Three Nuclear Plants Open."

You heard Joe

White House official transcript:

And I’m keeping my campaign commitment: No one — let me emphasize — no one earning less than $400,000 a year will pay a penny more in federal taxes.  (Applause.)

See that: no "one" person.  Surely they won't bait and switch.  

Something happened, like, 12 months ago

Hot Air: "NPR, NYT: A year ago, the Taliban took over Afghanistan all on its own, or something."

You'll never guess whose fingerprints are nowhere to be found in these articles:

It just collapsed all on its own, eh? Once again, as Ben pointed out, the name “Biden” appears nowhere in this anniversary analysis. Not once does the NYT or NPR assess Biden’s role in these results of the collapse, especially given his insistence one month before the collapse that the Taliban wouldn’t seize control.

Well, you probably did guess, given the sources.  Of course, if I point out this passive voice style of ass-covering journalism, it will inevitable lead to a "Republicans pounce" article.

Just like college tuition

Daily Caller: "Ford Raises Electric Truck Price By Up To $8,500 After Democrats Pass $7,500 EV Tax Credit." 

Journalism, 2022

CBS News: "One thing the Inflation Reduction Act may not do: Lower inflation."

Weird they waited to report this until after it passed. Huh. https://t.co/mm3B2jYhiz

— Stephen L. Miller (@redsteeze) August 14, 2022

Here comes the bait and switch

Reuters: "Biden pledge to tax wealthy, companies revived with Manchin-led bill."

Biden said during a speech on Thursday that the deal would "for the first time in a long time begin to restore fairness to the tax code - begin to restore fairness by making the largest corporations in America pay their fair share without any new taxes on people making under $400,000 a year."

And here's Kamala yesterday getting out the new talking points:

And if people ask you — just in case they might — “Who is going to pay for all of this?”  Well, let them know: As we promised, we are not going to raise taxes on families making less than $400,000 a year, but we are going to expect that our largest corporations will pay their fair share.

See what they did? 

You may not be interested in EVs

But EVs are interested in...your money.

Axios: "Who will pay for all the electric car chargers? Pretty much everyone." 

What a tremendous success

Reason: "Congress Just Passed the Inflation Reduction Act. It Will Hike Taxes on Some Middle-class Households." - "In the final hours before the House vote, the Joint Committee on Taxation (JCT) completed a breakdown of how the bill's corporate tax increases would affect households at various income levels. The JTC, a nonpartisan number-crunching agency within Congress, found that households earning between $50,000 and $75,000 are more likely to see a tax increase than a tax decrease next year."

You can't fool all of the people all of the time

But it looks like you can fool a tiny sliver: "Just 12 Percent of Americans Believe That the Inflation Reduction Act Will Reduce Inflation."

This, obviously, is disastrous for the Democrats. It’s also richly deserved. The Inflation Reduction Act has nothing whatsoever to do with reducing inflation — and everybody knows it. Over and over again, President Biden and his party have had the chance to make it clear that they care about the inflation that their last major bill made much worse, and over and over again, they have chosen to focus on the issues that they wished voters cared about instead. Eventually, after a lot of hemming and hawing, they decided that they were going to keep doing what they’d wanted to do all along, but that, to square the circle, they’d slap the word “inflation” on their work in the hope that the electorate is full of morons.

Oops.

Where are the fact-checkers now?

Today Dementia Joe said that the United States is now at "zero percent inflation" because the inflation rate dropped from a 40-year high to merely 8.5%.  Red State: "Biden Takes Lying to New Heights as He Redefines Inflation."

But Joe Biden is not only taking a victory lap, he’s descending into complete falsehood with what he’s saying about the inflation number now. He and his team are claiming there was “zero inflation” just because it didn’t go up as much as it went up last month.

If you expected the media to call out this outlandish mendacity, well, think again: "Media lapdogs’ insane spin on new inflation numbers is an outright slap in the faces of struggling Americans."

Look, this Administration - hell, any Administration - is going to spin the numbers as best they can.  Is it so much to ask that the media call out such a brazen lie with the same alacrity and intensity they do for a Republican administration?

That's a rhetorical question. 

Inflation was announced at 8.5% for the month of July, one of the highest rates in forty years. Joe Biden just said inflation is at 0%. They lie so brazenly it’s incredible. pic.twitter.com/6DUCxG1W9l

— Clay Travis (@ClayTravis) August 10, 2022

This guy griping about illegals being sent to NYC

Narrative shift in Albuquerque

Just a couple days ago, there was a serial killer hunting Muslim men in Albuquerque: "Series of Killings of Muslim Men in Albuquerque Sends Fear Through the Community"

President Joe Biden said he was “angered and saddened” by the killings and that his administration “stands strongly with the Muslim community.”

“These hateful attacks have no place in America,” Biden said Sunday in a tweet.

The conversation about safety has also dominated WhatsApp groups and email groups that Almontaser is on.

“What we’ve seen happen in New Mexico is very chilling for us as a Muslim minority community in the United States that has endured so much backlash and discrimination” since the 9/11 attacks, she said. “It’s frightening.”

Uh-huh: "‘Primary Suspect’ Arrested in Murders of Four Muslim Men in New Mexico is Sunni Muslim Angry Over His Daughter Marrying a Shiite Muslim: Report."

Watch this story go straight down the memory hole.

Now, AP to the rescue!

Associated Press wants to set the record straight:

CLAIM: A Washington Post columnist published an opinion article with the headline: “To save democracy, Biden must cancel the midterms.”

AP’S ASSESSMENT: False. No such article appeared on The Washington Post’s website, according to digital archives of the news outlet’s site and a Post spokesperson. A Twitter user who posted a popular version of the altered image later clarified that it was meant to be satire.

THE FACTS: Social media users are sharing a fabricated image of a Washington Post headline to claim that a columnist for the news outlet suggested President Joe Biden should cancel November’s midterm elections to “save democracy.”

Just like Reuters, when satire hits too close to home, it's time to deploy the factcheckers.

Think how much you'll "save" when you buy that Tesla

Reason: "Biden's Giveaways Largely Benefit Well-Off Americans" - "Perhaps not coincidentally, the makeup of the Democratic Party has recently been trending toward high-earning professionals." 

Sanctuary cities filling up

NY Post: "Democrats suddenly realize open borders are a disaster." 

In case you missed it

Joey is playing the classics again:

Like I said, I was raised in one of those households where when the price of a gallon of gasoline went up, it was a topic of discussion around the kitchen table.  And we weren’t poor, we were just typical middle-class family in a three-bedroom house with four kids and a grandpop.

And today:

I literally can remember sitting at my mom and dad’s dining room table and watching them choose which bills they’re going to this — that month because there wasn’t enough money to pay all the bills.  I get it.  That’s why I’m doing everything in my power to lower the costs for families.

Sure thing, Joey.  You would never make up a story.  That's what Cornpop told me.

More inflation on the way

Reason: "The 'Inflation Reduction Act' Won't Actually Reduce Inflation" - "But it will hike taxes, including on Americans earning less than $200,000 annually."

"The impact on inflation is statistically indistinguishable from zero," concluded the Penn Wharton Budget Model (PWBM), a number-crunching policy center based at the University of Pennsylvania. In fact, if the bill's passage had any impact on inflation in the short term, it would be to increase it very slightly until 2024, according to the group's preliminary analysis, released on Friday.

It's almost like they're passing it to say "we did something."

Oh, you don't say, you don't say

Hot Air: "NY Times: Say, this influx of migrants to Washington, DC is quite taxing."

I'm sure I told this story before but a couple years ago I saw a concert at Tanglewood deep in the Berkshires of Western Massachusetts.  Somebody had to make a comment about how "nobody is illegal" and "all are welcome" or something and I told my kids that not a single person in that audience would ever have to face the consequences of illegal immigration.

Unsurprising

The Corner: "CBO: Over 90 Percent of Promised Deficit Reduction in Manchin–Schumer Would Come after 2026."

I guess I'll have to wait four years before I can eat steak again. 

Reuters to the rescue!

Powerline: "I scream, you scream, Reuters screams." - "What strikes me about this episode is that Reuters evidently believes that Joe Biden’s mental decline is so severe that people really will think that he wanders away in a fog when he hears an ice cream truck. In that respect, the “fact check” is unintentionally revealing."

It sure is.  

Today must be Opposite Day

I've come to praise Nancy Pelosi and criticize Ron DeSantis.

The Corner: "Why Pelosi Did It, in Her Own Words."  I thought Nancy might shy away from her Taiwan trip but, not only did she go, she laid some serious smack on the Chinese government.  Good for her.

On the other hand, I'm a bit disappointed that Ron DeSantis turned down an offer to appear on "The View."  Back in May, I criticized Chuck Schumer for running away from an invitation to appear on Tucker Carlson's show.  

This was a prime opportunity for DeSantis to face his stupid accusers.  You gotta grab those chances when you can.

Take a bow, Joe

Finally, a win for the Big Guy and America: "US takes out al Qaeda leader Ayman Al Zawahiri in 'successful' Afghanistan counterterrorism operation." 

For the record, the book "The Looming Tower" presents an excellent background of Zawahiri's rise.

The irony of this tweet

Let's recall this Joe Biden boast the week he both plunged the country into recession and caught Covid twice.

Food is expensive

Breitbart: "Poll: 4 in 10 Americans forced to cut back on groceries due to Bidenflation."

I got some stuff today and do you know what's really expensive?  Cold cuts.  When I make a sandwich for my work lunch, I'm now asking myself: "Can I afford a second slice on this roll?" 

Extra - Sign of the times: "SPAM goes on lockdown due to inflation in NYC."  It's come to this. 

It's come to this, part 2: "Bidenflation Shortages Continue: Hershey Warns There Won’t Be Enough Candy To Meet Halloween Demand." 

Death of the newsstand

It looks like days of selling ink on the city corner are coming to an end.  As noted in the article, digital media put the newsstand on the ropes and covid killed it:

“I used to stand in the cold selling the New York Times — that’s how I started,” he recalled. “We’d sell 60, 70 copies of the early edition, 200, 300 copies of the late, at a slow location. In the terminal, a thousand copies a day.” On a recent summer Tuesday, despite the crush of street traffic, tourists in the streets, people lazing in the park, he’d sold a total of six.

Maybe people just don't want a lousy product.

Take a break, Joey, you've earned it

For the record, Joe Biden did nothing today.  Must be nice.  Good thing we're not in a recession.

He had no public events on his schedule Wednesday either but the White House quick-scheduled a Rose Garden speech so Biden could announce his negative Covid test. 

This story is LIT

Washington Free Beacon: "Inside the Woke Meltdown at One Domestic Violence Organization - Women Against Abuse discouraged black domestic abuse victims from calling the police. Yes, you read that right."

The ACLU is another example of these left-wing groups who have a core mission that is subsumed by the woke agenda to the point where the original mission fades away.

Remember when the ACLU supported free speech?  I 'member. 

The Biden Recession is here

And I, for one, am blown away at Joey's adult-in-charge responsibility-taking.

Ace: "Biden: The Economy's "On the Right Track," "That Doesn't Sound Like a Recession to Me"

Hot Air: "Biden goes full Chip Diller: Economy "on the right path"."

And, right on cue, the Mainstream Media signals they've received their marching orders: "AP and Bloomberg give a master class for the rest of the MSM on how to spin the Great Biden Recession."

Also: Afghanistan went as well as expected.

Here's the adult-in-chief bravely running away from any questions:

Joe Biden REFUSES to admit that we are in a recession, then bolts out of the room without taking questions… #BidenRecession pic.twitter.com/K8uBouTtC1

— Chad Gilmartin (@ChadGilmartinCA) July 28, 2022

Extra - Red State: "A Petulant Joe Biden Makes a Cowardly Move in Presser Held After GDP News."  I may be wrong but I think the last sit-down interview Dementia Joe had was February with Lester Holt.  Not counting the Jimmy Kimmel train wreck. 

Working the refs

Politico: "White House braces for grim news on economy" - "Senior administration officials are hitting the airwaves and arm-twisting reporters in private, imploring anyone who will listen that the economy is still healthy." 

This is a long time coming

Legal Insurrection: "Democrat Activists of Media Shocked That Republicans No Longer Want to Talk to Them" - "DeSantis spokeswoman: “write the same hit piece you were gonna write anyway”

Christina Pushaw is your new boss now.

Unemployed woman looking for a book deal

Federalist: "Exclusive: In Private, Cassidy Hutchinson Joked About Riot, Called J6 Committee ‘Phony,’ Praised Trump Before Changing Story." - "Hutchinson commiserated with other targets of the probe about how little information she had about any wrongdoing on Jan. 6." 

Straight-on gaslighting

Twitchy: "Biden economic adviser Brian Deese brought out to change the definition of ‘recession’ for the press."

Also this: "Joe Biden Signs 'Don't Say Recession' Bill."

One of these is satire. 

"That's just, like, your opinion, man"

Federalist: "Recession? No Problem. Just Pretend It Doesn’t Exist."

I forget where I saw it today but somebody noted that this is the acid test for the failing mainstream media.  For decades, the definition of a recession has been two consecutive quarters of economic contraction.  Two quarters of negative growth.  It's numbers.  It's an either/or proposition.

It's likely this White House already knows that a recession is coming and the solution is to...redefine the definition of a recession.  The question now is whether the compliant, biased media will go along with this scheme or whether - for once - they'd exhibit a little integrity. 

Big boy Joey cleaned his plate

Good video from Andrew:

Rules matter until you start losing

Then it's "no fair" and time to change the rules.  Bookworm Room: "Progressives Playing Calvinball." - "This is the stuff of adolescent tantrums and Calvinball.  But Calvinball has no place in our nation’s government." 

The adults are back in charge

When your terrible economic policies trigger a recession, the answer is to...change the definition of a recession:

Should the economy decline in the second quarter, it could meet the technical criteria for a recession, which requires a "significant decline in economic activity that is spread across the economy and that lasts more than a few months." Still, the NBER — the semi-official arbiter — may not confirm it immediately.

The White House is now seeking to redefine what constitutes a recession before the data release, which is likely to show two consecutive periods of shrinkage. In a new blog post, White House Council of Economic Advisers chair Cecilia Rouse and member Jared Bernstein argued the economy is nowhere near a downturn as defined by the NBER. 

Maybe the recession will be transitory.  

The paper of record

Babylon Bee: "Biden Races To Sniff One Last Girl Before Losing Sense Of Smell From COVID." 

Who's sorry now?

Twitchy: "2 WaPo takes on Trump, Europe and Russia inspire ‘one of the greatest shot/chaser moments’ in history." 

Winter is coming. 

Look upon my barren wasteland

The Corner: "Whose Idea Was It to Have Biden Speak in This Spot?"

Who thought this was a good idea? Which White House staffer chose to have Biden discussing how much he cares about the environment from an empty lot that looks like it’s where the mob dumps bodies?

To be fair, there is so much turnover in this White House that the site was probably chosen by a college sophomore. 

Yeah, that's what the media does

Ace: "Democrats Blockade Supreme Court and Get Politely Escorted Away by Police;

AOC and Ilhan Omar Put Their Hands Behind Their Backs As They're Gently Led Away to Pretend They've Been Handcuffed, and the Media Dutifully Aids Them In Their Hoax." 

Dutifully and happily. 

The Chuck Todd effect

Gallup: "Media Confidence Ratings at Record Lows."

Americans' confidence in two facets of the news media -- newspapers and television news -- has fallen to all-time low points. Just 16% of U.S. adults now say they have "a great deal" or "quite a lot" of confidence in newspapers and 11% in television news. Both readings are down five percentage points since last year.

Gallup has tracked Americans' confidence in newspapers since 1973 and television news since 1993 as part of its annual polling about major U.S. institutions. The latest readings are from a June 1-20 poll that saw declines in confidence ratings for 11 of the 16 institutions measured and no improvements for any.

If history is any guide, this will lead to zero introspection by the mainstream media. 

Extra fun! - Radar: "‘Meet The Press’ Anchor Under Siege At NBC After Ratings Slumps To Worst Since He Took Over In 2014." 

Pick a lane, Joe

Twitchy: "Biden’s brag about gas prices coming down hits all kinds of snags."

Namely, when gas prices go up it's Putin's Price Hike and out of Joe's control; but when they go down, it's bragging time!  

Reap that whirlwind

National Review: "Starbucks CEO: Progressive Cities ‘Have Abdicated Their Responsibility in Fighting Crime’."

Legal Insurrection: "Defunding the Police Has Backfired in Seattle as They Now Scramble to Hire More Cops."

Who could have seen this coming?  /sarc

"Cool bone saw, bro!"

Hot Air: "Biden: Saudis are lying and stop talking about our fist-bump."

This whole trip was ill-advised from the get-go.  The Saudis weren't going to raise oil production and, even if they could, they would likely spurn Biden for vowing to turn them into a "pariah" state.  Then, in exchange for nothing, MBS got the fist-bump photo-op he wanted.

No wonder Joe doesn't want to talk about it. 

Mildenhall

I saw that Air Force One is refueling at Mildenhall, UK today so it gives me an excuse to post this great Shins song:

Americans refuse to buy bad product

Axios: "News engagement plummets as Americans tune out." 

This dumpster fire Administration can't do anything right

Wall Street Journal: "Baby-Formula Shortage Deepens, Defying Replenishment Efforts - Out-of-stock levels remain high in U.S. stores: ‘Until those shelves are full, the crisis continues’."

And there's this: "Bidenflation pushes producer-price index up 11.3% in June."  Yeesh.  Time to break out the excuses.

C'mon, Jack!

Daily Wire: "Biden Dismisses Record-High Inflation News As ‘Out-Of-Date’."

Sri Lanka commits suicide

How it started: "Collapse of Sri Lanka Is a Failure of Leftism"

Sri Lanka, under the leadership of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, decided in April 2021 to become the world’s first all-organic country. The government banned the use of chemical fertilizers and banned their importation. The move was pitched as creating a self-reliant economy on the island nation and hailed as a great experiment in green policy-making. 

Milton Friedman said that if you put the government in charge of the Sahara Desert, there would be a sand shortage. What the Sri Lankan government has done is almost as unbelievable.

How it's going: "Sri Lanka president blocked by airport staff during attempt to flee country after protesters break into home."  

Not a surprise at all

Twitchy: "Ohio’s attorney general said his office has heard ‘not a whisper’ about a pregnant 10-year-old from Ohio."

Either this doctor failed to report a crime or she made up the story out of whole cloth.  Spoiler alert: it was the latter.

End of quote. Repeat the line.

Red State: "Even the New York Times is Now Amplifying Concerns About Biden's Age and Incoherence."

These people *never* think their tactics will boomerang

Twitchy: "AOC doesn’t understand the pearl-clutching over Kavanaugh protesters (her tweet also got flagged for misinformation)."

I, for one, am enjoying the fruits of Harry Reid's detonation of the nuclear option.

So that means the right can chase you out of a store or restaurant
It's all fair isn't that right?
You said it https://t.co/jRObpEC0Iu

— Conservative/Cowboy (@6988Cowboy) July 9, 2022

This story makes me so very, very happy

The Blaze: "Ratings hit rock bottom for Chuck Todd's 'Meet the Press'."

"Meet the Press" – the longest-running program on American television – had its worst ratings since Chuck Todd became the host in 2014, according to a new report.

"Meet the Press with Chuck Todd" recorded its lowest-rated quarter over the April-May-June period, according to Radar.

Extra super fun! - "Trust in news collapses to historic low." 

Sorry kid, regulations

Reason: "FDA Finally Admits It Caused the Baby Formula Shortage" - "The agency is now taking small steps to allow foreign formula manufacturers to import their goods into the U.S." 

When you allow your debating skills to atrophy

This was quite a post at Hot Air: "The overturning of Roe and the left's failure of imagination."  They never saw it coming and never felt the need to defend their position when condescension was so easily accessible:

Douthat piggybacked on that statement by noting the reason pro-choice people haven’t needed to debate the issue is that the entire culture was in lock-step agreement with them. Pro-lifers were just a sort of novelty they never had to really engage beyond a few talking points supplied by the abortion industry. He calls is a failure of imagination.

This is something I've touched upon repeatedly when I post "the Left hates free speech."  The Left doesn't deign to debate ideas with the other side when it's so much easier to just call them racist or sexist.  There's only one political side that regularly calls for censorship of cable news stations they find disagreeable or the deletion of ideas they deem hurtful or dangerous to Mother Earth.

In other words: shut up, they explained.

If the Left had the courage of their convictions, they'd be calling for debate at every turn.  They'd accept every opportunity to meet with conservative icons and put them in their place.  But not only do they refuse to acknowledge a differing viewpoint, they demand censorship. 

Rudderless, aimless and hopeless is no way to go through life, son

CNN: "After string of Supreme Court setbacks, Democrats wonder whether Biden White House is capable of urgency moment demands."

Top Democrats complain the President isn't acting with -- or perhaps is even capable of -- the urgency the moment demands.

"Rudderless, aimless and hopeless" is how one member of Congress described the White House.

Two dozen leading Democratic politicians and operatives, as well as several within the West Wing, tell CNN they feel this goes deeper than questions of ideology and posture. Instead, they say, it gets to questions of basic management.

Never mind asking if Joe Biden will be able to answer the 3 a.m. call.  He can't answer the 3 p.m. call; that's nap time.

Confidential informer

Townhall: "Will America Ever Find Out Who the Supreme Court Leaker Is?"

I'm surprised that they haven't identified this person considering there are only about 36 suspects (each Justice is allowed up to four clerks).  Conceivably, it could have been somebody in the photocopy room but I doubt it.

Say, they never did find out who leaked IRS tax returns either, did they? 

Probably Ron Klain

Hot Air: "Did a White House "intern" write the ridiculous gas station price hike tweet?" 

Happy Independence Day!

Now bake me a cake

Manhattan Contrarian: "There Are Two Fundamentally Irreconcilable Constitutional Visions."

Classic reference

Babylon Bee: "Running Short On Funds For A July 4th Barbecue, Man Opens The Family Safe To Retrieve The 16 Cents He Saved Last Year." 

Mr. "I won't blame others" does nothing but

The Corner: "The Long-Term Problem with Responding to a Crisis With Scapegoating."

If Biden’s message always seems to be some variation of, “I’d like to help, but other forces won’t cooperate, so there’s just not much I can do,” many voters are likely to respond, “if you can’t do anything to help with my problems… then what do we need you for?”

Yup.

Extra - Red State: "Biden's Numbers Hit Another All-Time Low While He Finds a New Target to Blame for Gas Prices." 

The show trial continues

Legal Insurrection: "Liz Cheney’s J6 Committee Show Trial Theatrics Are Further Exposed After ‘Concerning Messages’ Source Is Revealed" - “Cheney could have asked Hutchinson about [the messages] right then and there. But she instead chose to do the TV tease and leave everybody hanging.”

"Democrats aren't really this short-sighted, are they?"

Reason: "Abolishing the Filibuster To Protect Abortion Rights Would Clear the Way for Republicans To Ban Abortion." 

Back to the days of Jimmy Carter

The Corner: "On Top of All These Problems, an Economic Recession?"

There is a good chance that on the morning of July 29, the headline will be, “U.S. NOW IN RECESSION.”

Are there voters out there who will be more concerned about abortion, gun control, and the events of January 6? Sure. But those voters will be dwarfed by the number of voters who are irate about runaway inflation, high gas prices, high food prices, difficulty finding infant formula, lingering supply-chain problems, shrinking 401(k)s and the market, dwindling savings, and on top of all that, an economic recession.

Every day it seems to get worse and this Administration has no plans and nobody in charge. 

Of course he did

You'd think the press would call him out on this lie, but nah.  Fox Business: "Biden repeats false claim that US has lower inflation than rest of world."