Know thine enemy

Bastiat's Window: "Don’t Cut the Rattle off the Rattlesnake - Limits on Free Speech Are More Dangerous for You than They Are for the Snakes"

Really good article that aligns with my take on free speech.  The William Shockley anecdote is particularly apt. 

Inflation forever

To paraphrase Elvis: we're caught in a (debt) trap and can't walk out.

In case you missed it: "U.S. deficit tops half a trillion dollars in the first quarter of fiscal year."

Reason: "The Fiscal Hawks Were Right About Debt and Interest Rates - Rosy fiscal expectations based on eternally low interest rates have proven dangerously wrong."

That brings us back to where we started. For decades, Washington has spent money it didn't have on entitlement programs that benefit the relatively old and rich. They have picked up the pace of spending in recent years, encouraged by economists and pundits who claimed that interest rates would always stay low and that the insatiable appetite for U.S. government debt would not end anytime soon.

You don't have to be ideologically committed to a smaller government to understand that this was a risky bet. Rates are up, and people aren't as eager to buy U.S. debt at the current price, especially since there is much more to come. So we're probably in for more rate hikes and higher interest payments, and we may get more inflation. I don't know where that will end, but I do know that all this was utterly predictable—and that the blame rests not just on lawmakers' failure to tend to the country's fiscal health, but on those who made up dubious economic theories to facilitate their fiscal delinquency.

The siren song of cheap money was too alluring for Washington, where the easiest course of action is to pass the buck to the next generation.  But now that debt over 100% GDP is going to press down on growth (see: Japan) and the U.S. has to pump interest rates to sell bonds, devaluing the dollar through inflation is really the only tool left. 

Now we know why they keep him under wraps

This is fine: "Biden's Scary Confusion Is Concerning, as He Comments on Iran and Houthis, Whispers to Girl, Gets Heckled."  

Sheesh, the death shuffle, the blank stare, the clip answers...this is scary.  

The invisible man

Daily Caller: "Doocy Asks Jean-Pierre Why Biden Has ‘Been Kept From Public View’ For Multiple Days" - "The president has not held a single public event at the White House in the new year and has gone three days without making any public appearances." 

The gaslighting team

Federalist: "Media Downplay Yet Another Inflation Hike To Cover Democrats’ Economic Incompetence"

When outlets question why Americans are “unusually down on a solid economy,” they prove their culpability in a giant scheme to cover up Biden’s terrible economic track record.

To the media, there is no world in which Americans can reasonably feel bad about the “strong US economy” because corporate media take the “strong US economy” talking points the White House feeds them as truth. When polls, data, and their own grocery bills say something different, they willfully turn a blind eye and lie to save face.

Make no mistake: the months and months of reports insisting that inflation is no big deal and Americans are stupid for complaining about rising prices are part of the propaganda press’ 2024 elections strategy to keep Democrats in power. Leftist media’s insistence on telling Americans what they see isn’t real only further erodes its rock-bottom credibility.

The media continues its downward spiral.

It's a mystery

Here's the headline of a story over at the Boston Globe today: "Fourth Walgreens to close in a predominantly Black and Latino Boston neighborhood in about a year, raising equity concerns." 

Since it's the Boston Globe, a mainstay of the mainstream media, where only the NARRATIVE may be allowed you'll be surprised by this factoid: the word "shoplifting" appears absolutely nowhere in the story.  It's only hinted in this short paragraph:

In many cases, longtime customers learned of the coming closures only after they encountered barren shelves, and thought enough to ask why.

Golly, why are the shelves barren?  The Boston Globe knows why: racism. 

Shut up, Chuck Todd, you're a moron

Twitchy: "Chuck Todd Ponders How Liz Cheney Could Channel Her Influence and 'Credibility With the Right'."  

Sex, lies, and coordination

PJ Media: "Looks Like the Georgia RICO Case Against Trump Just Imploded."

While the sexy bits alone are enough to disqualify both Willis and Wade from pursuing the case, the pair are alleged to have made plenty of other missteps in their power-mad pig-pile on the former president. For one thing, there was apparently improper coordination between the DA's office and Joe Biden's White House. 

Improper coordination?  Where have I heard that before?  "Biden staffers met with Special Counsel Jack Smith’s aides before Trump indictment." 

It's all in the name of democracy, ya know.

Here we go

Here come the trial balloons to keep Dementia Joe in the basement: "Biden Allies Start Talking about Skipping Debates in the Fall"

We keep getting told that 81-year-old Joe Biden is in fine shape and that he can easily perform his duties in one of the most difficult jobs in the world until he is 86. And yet, Biden’s public schedule is particularly light, he rarely does sit-down interviews anymore, he disappears for long stretches, he needs a day or two to recover from foreign trips, and his closest allies are looking for an excuse to cancel any presidential debates.

It's been over a year since Dementia Joe has given a formal press conference.  You know, the kind where he doesn't get the questions in advance. 

Missing

PJ Media: "Defense Secretary Austin Scandal Is Even Worse Than We Thought."

When I'm late for work by an hour, I start getting texts and calls.  The head of the military and 6th in line to the Presidency was missing for four days and nobody asked "hey, where's Austin?"  

Maybe there needs to be some kind of Dead Man switch to ensure the positions are actually manned especially in the Oval Office.https://t.co/yl3S3mfVmc

— wretchardthecat (@wretchardthecat) January 7, 2024

Keep it up, media chumps

Sasha Stone: "January 6th and How the Press Became the "Enemy of the American People" - "In their war on Trump, the press did the bidding of the Democratic Party, lost the story and lost their way." 

Losing $100 million a year

Red State: "The Washington Post Is in Full-Scale Collapse"

As to the reasons behind this precipitous fall, I think they are fairly obvious. Nothing the Post produces is worthwhile. Their columnists are boring parrots who all say the same thing, levying the same boring attacks they were levying nearly a decade ago. Even a dyed-in-the-wool liberal can only take so many Jennifer Rubin columns claiming the end is nigh for the nation because Republicans get to vote. 

I complain about the bias of the mainstream media constantly but even the collapse of their business won't penetrate their bubble and force some self-reflection.  How much longer will Bezos dump money into this failing business?

In other news, I'm happy to see that Republicans are increasingly pushing back on the liberal press.  They are the enemy and should be treated as such. 

Back on vacation

After 13 days of vacation in Camp David and St. Croix, Dementia Joe gave his largely-ignored speech yesterday.  Then he headed back to Delaware for another weekend off.

Must be nice.

Who can keep up with Dynamo Joe?

Did you have to head back to work this week?  Not so much for Dementia Joe: "President Biden Has Had No Public Events Since December 22."

Yes, everyone’s schedule slows down a bit around the holidays, but Biden hasn’t made any public comments, taken any questions, or otherwise interacted with anyone in public in 13 days. That period includes a four-day stay at Camp David and a six-day Christmas vacation in the U.S. Virgin Islands.

Ah, but if you never take a question, you can't be asked about American hostages in Gaza or the national debt hitting $34 trillion or Hunter Biden ducking a Congressional subpoena.  Those are questions unrelated to ice cream.

For the 13th day in a row, Biden has nothing on his public schedule today.

Here's what Biden has been doing for the past two weeks:

DEC. 22: Spent ~9 minutes at Children's National Hospital

DEC. 23: Left for vacation at Camp David

DEC. 24: Vacation at Camp David

DEC. 25:… pic.twitter.com/WJA6D4Ji5s

— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) January 4, 2024

One thing I like about the Biden years is all the unity

Red State: "Biden's New Ridiculous Campaign Ad Is Just Hillary Clinton's 'Deplorables' 2.0."

Honestly, this is all his campaign has: they can't run on the economy, immigration, foreign affairs, the national debt, or almost anything of concern to most Americans.  You really need to pity the people working on Dementia Joe's campaign.

Extra - Twtichy: "Uniter in Chief! Biden Reminds Millions of Americans How Much He Hates Them in '24 Campaign Ad." 

That's (D)ifferent

Federalist: "Joe Biden Apparently Helped Hunter Defy A Subpoena, So Why Is Trump The One Charged With Obstructing Justice?" - "The level of projection at play with this administration would be hilarious if it weren’t so damaging to our country." 

Not a word about the plagiarism

Claudine Gay had a chance to take responsibility for her actions and accept the suitable consequences.  She chose not to: "Claudine Gay's Resignation Letter Is Exactly What You'd Expect." 

YOLO = You only lawfare once

Reason: "Who Decides Whether Trump Can Run, and What Sort of Evidence Suffices? - Letting state officials determine whether a candidate has "engaged in insurrection" opens a huge can of worms."

Hamas leader takes a dirt nap

Fox News: "IDF confirms troops killed Hamas leader involved in Oct. 7 attack - Adil Mismah was allegedly killed in an airstrike conducted by the Israeli Air Force." 

A feel-good story to start out the year

USA Today: "A fraying coalition: Black, Hispanic, young voters abandon Biden as election year begins" - "In a new USA TODAY/Suffolk University Poll, Biden's failure to consolidate his victorious 2020 support has left him narrowly trailing Trump."

President Joe Biden heads into the election year showing alarming weakness among stalwarts of the Democratic base, with Donald Trump leading among Hispanic voters and young people. One in 5 Black voters now say they'll support a third-party candidate in November.

"Alarming weakness" perfectly describes Dementia Joe.  He likes ice cream.