One hour

Red State: "New Details of the Police Response to Uvalde Shooting Paint an Incredibly Disturbing Picture."

We should reserve judgement until all the details come out but the police spokesman sure was evasive in his press conference today.

You can tell when it became a real crisis

Ace: "FDA's Top Official Will Acknowledge They Did Not Even Begin Discussing For the Impending Baby Formula Crisis Until Mid-February-- and Did Nothing About It Until the Last Several Weeks."

Let's see: Afghanistan, inflation, and hungry babies.  The only thing left to do is form a puppy-kicking club at this point. 

The one time we needed Mushmouth to be ambiguous

Twitchy: "White House grabs a mop for another cleanup in aisle Biden (this time about Taiwan)."

The United States has maintained a policy of "strategic ambiguity" for over half a century.  Joe Biden unraveled this policy so he could be the tough guy he always imagines himself to be. 

TIL John Fetterman is a racist

The Corner has the lowdown on the Senate candidate from Pennsylvania: "Who Among Us Has Not Chased Down an Unarmed Black Jogger with a Shotgun?"

Fetterman heard gunshots and assumed this innocent jogger must have had something to do with it.  It would be bad sport, sniffs the New York Times, to hold this incident against the candidate.

It was a huge mistake

The Atlantic: "Kids Are Far, Far Behind in School."

Starting in the spring of 2020, school boards and superintendents across the country faced a dreadful choice: Keep classrooms open and risk more COVID-19 deaths, or close schools and sacrifice children’s learning. In the name of safety, many districts shut down for long periods. But researchers are now learning that the closures came at a stiff price—a large decline in children’s achievement overall and a historic widening in achievement gaps by race and economic status.

The achievement loss is far greater than most educators and parents seem to realize. The only question now is whether state and local governments will recognize the magnitude of the educational damage and make students whole.

We gave in to hysterics and the teachers unions over the scientists and the kids paid the price.  Now a million of them have disappeared off the public rolls, signalling a new relation with public education.

BLM = Buy large mansions

NY Post: "Anti-cop pols yawn as slay spike hits black Americans hardest." 

Grasping at straws

Reason: "Banning 'Unconscionable Excessive' Gas Prices Is Risky Economic Nonsense - Democrats are trying to inject a political solution into an economic problem." 

Failing up

The Corner: "House Republicans Were Right to Vote against More FDA Funding."

Long story short: this legislation does nothing to help the baby formula shortage and instead was a payoff to the FDA for failing to do its job. 

RIP Ministry of Truth

We barely knew ye.  Reason: "Nina Jankowicz's Faulty Record, Not Her Critics, Doomed the Disinformation Board" - "And The Washington Post's wildly one-sided account of Jankowicz's fall was an exercise in government PR."

I have a theory: the Left finally figured out that the standards they set today might turn around on them in the future.  OK, well, I stole this from Bill Maher:

Then, Maher pointed out the inevitable way such an expansion of power will eventually be used against liberals and progressives. 

“Who do you think is going to be the Truth Czar in 2025?” he asked, implying that it may very well be a Republican appointee if the GOP wins the White House. 

In this observation, Maher makes an insight so often ignored by partisans on either side, who pursue short-term goals in ways that erode their own causes in the long term. For another example, look no further than the Democrats abolishing the filibuster for lower-court judicial nominees and then having Republicans under Trump go on to abolish it for Supreme Court nominees, too, enabling the appointment of more conservative justices. 

That was awesome.  Thanks, Harry Reid!

The Left hates free speech, continuing saga

Red State: "Chuck Schumer Makes a Cowardly Move After Tucker Carlson Calls His Bluff."

I've said this before but the Left loves to pontificate from the stage of "Hamilton" when they know there is zero chance of a rebuttal.  Same with Chuck Schumer.  Here was an epic chance to go right into the devil's den, but Chuck declined, because running away from debate is what they do.

I said publicly that I could beat up Floyd Mayweather. He called and challenged me to a fight. I’m declining. Floyd Mayweather needs to stop resorting to violence. https://t.co/jElhwCDBlx

— Kate Hyde (@KateHydeNY) May 17, 2022

"This isn't a classroom, ma'am!"

Daily Caller: "Mom Reads Aloud Purported Assignment Given To Daughter. School Board Cuts Her Mic Because It’s Too Obscene." 

Yeah, that's what they do

Hot Air: "Man, liberals are desperate to blame the GOP for gas prices." 

I guess we're all George Wallace again

Ace: "Surly, Cranky Dementia Patient Announces He's Done Being Polite."

Uh-oh, it looks like Joe Biden's unity effort has faltered and now - only now - he's going to say that Republicans want to put you in chains, and that they want Jim Crow 2.0, and they're happy when kids don't have insulin.  

Passing the buck

Joe Biden takes absolutely no responsibility for anything:

Fetch my fainting couch!

PJ Media: "AP Is Aghast That the GOP Would Use Biden's Failures as a Political Weapon. Aghast!" 

Can you imagine a political party pointing out the failure of an opposing politician?  What is this world coming to?

Just another day

Fox News: "National gas price average hits new record high at $4.45 per gallon." 

Biden's dementia runs deep

Because I like a cheap laugh, sometimes I read the transcripts from Joe Biden's public appearances.  The other night he appeared at a fundraiser and the speech is a farrago of lies, random thoughts, and mostly broken English.

The fact of the matter is, I’ve spent a lot of time with Xi Jinping — they tell me more than any other world leader has.  When he was vice president and I was vice president, I traveled 17,000 miles with him. 

This has been debunked multiple times but Joey just keeps repeating it.

I’ve had — I, obviously, will never name them, but I have — six of them have told me — senators I used to serve with; we served with; some of them you served with, Carol — said that, “You know, I agree with you on such and such a thing.  But if I vote for it, they’ll primary and I’ll lose my seat.”

Sure thing.  That happened.

What it’s about is that — you know, the Republicans say that, well, the things we did with the Recov- — with the legislation we passed is causing inflation.  

It wasn't just Republicans who said that.  Larry Summers famously said it a year ago.  He was right.

Well guess what?  The first year in office, we’ve reduced the deficit by $350 billion.  In fact — $350 billion — reduced the deficit. 

And it should have been a lot more.

(Cellphone rings.)

I know that’s Trump calling.  He always does this when I talk.  (Laughter.)

Living rent free in Joe's vacuous head.

We have to remember that we’re talking about a relatively small number of people who are the MAGA Republicans.  We may be talking about as much as one third of the electorate.

This is Biden's "deplorables" moment.

And what they say is — it’s really quite basic.  They’re making the point that what happens is that what they’re going to be — we’re going to increase taxes on 90 percent of the American public, people making a — excuse me, 70 percent of the American public — people making under $100,000 a year are going to have tax, because the notion is everybody should pay something. 

Another lie, debunked multiple times, and handed Three Pinocchios.

So, folks, we got a lot of work to do.  We got a lot of work.  I think we can pick up three Senate seats.  And I think we can increase our majority in the House...

Sure thing, Joe.

Think about it: where we are today, what we’re fighting over.  There are more restrictive efforts to restrict the right to vote today than there’d been in my whole political career.

Jim Crow 2.0 down in Georgia is so restrictive that early voting is only up 160%.

We’re making progress, but there’s going to be a way to go.  Our inflation rate is lower than almost any other nation — industrial nation in the world.

This is the first time Biden mentions inflation in his rambling speech and, true to form, it's another lie:

This man cannot remain in power.  He's too far gone.

And here's that inflation report

The media assures us the great news is that inflation is very slightly slowing its growth.

Ace: "April Inflation Continues at Torrid 8.3% Pace, Still the Highest in 40 Years, Which Leftwing Propaganda Media Spin as "Moderate"." 

Getting ahead of tomorrow's inflation report

The Corner: "Joe Biden’s Preemptive Inflation Spin." - "The monthly Consumer Price Index update release day is going to be a bad one for the administration, every month from now until the midterms — and probably some time after that, too. The only thing Joe Biden can do is get in front of it and insist that it’s everyone’s fault except his." 

Eighty-five percent

Reason: "Biden Brags About Falling Deficits, but the Federal Fiscal Situation Is Still 'Unsustainable'." - Under current policies, Social Security and Medicare will consume 85 percent of all federal tax revenue by 2050." 

The Disinformation Board is going to be busy

Charles Lipson: "Biden's Disinformation Board is a Gift to Republicans."

If you did all these things, as the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has, you would be committing political malpractice. You would be mocking the Constitution's fundamental protection of free speech, encoded in the First Amendment. Although a few ideologues might applaud you, you would hear only groans from moderate Democrats running for reelection. This ill-conceived board would lash them, at their peril, to a high-profile effort to monitor private speech, conducted by a very unpopular administration. That's dangerous constitutionally and incompetent politically.

The Ministry of Truth is going to have to deal with Biden's debunked and repeated lies. 

Here in the People's Republic of MA

Jeff Jacoby: "Boston's ignominious record of disrespecting free speech." - "For much of the 19th and 20th centuries, the phrase "banned in Boston" evoked the right-wing Puritanism of the city's political leadership. Today Boston and Massachusetts are left-wing bastions, yet the willingness to stifle unpopular expression persists." 

But enough about the Biden administration

Politico's National Security Daily: "'It’s stupid, it’s unnecessary'." - “It’s stupid, it’s unnecessary. There’s no upside, only downside,” a European official told us. “It looks like the Americans are trying to take credit for what the Ukrainians are doing.” 

Oh that's (D)ifferent

Shot: "Psaki Dodges Question Asking If White House Condemns SCOTUS Leak"

Chaser: "Report: Biden "livid" at leaks about U.S. intel assistance to Ukraine." 

Homina homina homina

Hot Air: "The View guest host to Warren: I paid off my student loans. Where's my reimbursement?"

Twitchy: "View guest Elizabeth Warren short-circuits when Lindsey Granger asks her about reimbursement for people who paid off their student loans."

She pulled the same deflection to every question on CNN also and they let her get away with it.  Just once, I'd like to see a journalist say: "Answer my question."

Again this is a party governed by the opinions of 30% of Twitter. They tweet out catchy slogans and then when questioned about it, they just melt. https://t.co/Url3WP4zNd

— Stephen L. Miller (@redsteeze) May 6, 2022

So, World War 3 it is

Hot Air: "Great: Yes, of course we helped sink Russia's Black Sea flagship, U.S. officials admit."

“Build your opponent a golden bridge to retreat across.” - Sun Tzu

"For God's sake, this man cannot remain in power." - Joe Biden, expressing his personal opinion

Kneeling for that black gold

Hot Air: "Desperation II, Saudi Boogaloo: Biden sends CIA chief to make nice with MBS."

This, however, reeks of desperation. Biden desperately needs more oil production in order to get prices lower in the US for the political survival of his party. He’s still hostage to the hardline progressives in his party, who erupted in outrage when Biden attempted to slightly loosen restrictions on production and exploration he hastily imposed at the start of his term. Biden tried to call on MBS to get Saudi Arabia to increase production at the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, only to get very publicly snubbed by one of our key strategic partners in the Middle East.

Let's see: we have the SPR release, the E15 ploy, and now the Saudi supplication.  Anything - anything at all - except boosting domestic production of oil.

Liz on the warpath

Red State: "Elizabeth Warren Has Hysterical Breakdown Over Roe v. Wade Leak."

It’s hard to believe at this point, but there was a time when Sen. Elizabeth Warren wasn’t absolutely insane.

Liz resorts to these overwrought hysterics for the cameras, putting on the matinee show for the suckers.  But Liz has no plan.  She has nothing to offer except her quavering voice and cheap theatrics.

Believe me, I've seen this show before.

"This cheesy ploy is not working anymore"

 Townhall: "Liberal Corporations Are Confused and Scared Because Conservatives Now Fight Back."

The Left is on tilt, as they say in poker.  Nothing is working for them.

I question the timing

National Review: "Tulsi Gabbard Suggests Obama Devised Biden’s ‘Ministry of Truth’ Disinformation Board."

Former Hawaii congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard implied that former President Barack Obama devised the formation of President Biden’s recently announced Disinformation Governance Board, which critics have likened to the “Ministry of Truth” from George Orwell’s 1984. 

“Biden is just a front man,” Gabbard tweeted Sunday. “Obama, April 21: social media censors ‘don’t go far enough,’ so the government needs to step in to do the job. Six days later, Homeland Security rolls out the ‘Ministry of Truth’ (aka Disinformation Governance Board).”

In other news, we've always been at war with East Asia.

No, it is not

College Investor: "Is Student Loan Forgiveness By Executive Order Legal?"

The President does not have the legal authority to forgive student loans on his own. Only Congress has the power of the purse. Executive action can be used only when it has been specifically authorized by Congress.

The executive branch cannot spend money that has not been appropriated by Congress, per 31 USC 1301 et seq (Antideficiency Act (P.L. 97-258)) and Article I, Section 7, Clause 7 of the U.S. Constitution.

Know who else came this exact same conclusion? Nancy Pelosi:

Why did Pelosi say “the president can’t do it.” She said that because the president can’t do it. Why did Pelosi say “that’s not even a discussion”? She said that because everybody knows that the president can’t do it. Why did Pelosi say that this was a matter for Congress? She said that because this is a matter for Congress.

The simplest explanation is that Congress decides how to spend money and only Congress can forgive this debt. 

Slavery is freedom

NY Post editorial: "Elon Musk’s right: The left has gone insane." 

They never really believed in free speech

Federalist: "Incensed By Elon Musk’s Twitter Takeover, The Left Won’t Even Pay Lip Service To Free Speech." - "There was a time not long ago when liberals at least pretended to support free speech. Those days are gone, and never coming back." 

Boy, this past week has been illuminating.

I expected nothing less

Red State: "Biden’s New ‘Ministry of Truth’ Director Turns out to Be a Raving Lunatic." 

That 70s show

NY Post: "GDP drops 1.4%, US economy shrinks for first time since 2020" and "Stagflation is staring Biden in the face — but he refuses to change course."

So this show is still on

Red State: "Chuck Todd Bitterly Admits Democrat Capitol Riot ‘Investigation’ Ploy Not Going as Planned."

This post suggests that Americans don't care about January 6th when inflation is at a 40-year high and we're slouching towards stagflation.  But even before Joe Biden wrecked the economy, I thought this show trial wouldn't play in Peoria because Americans want to turn the page on the Trump presidency.

Also: high-school graduate Chuck Todd is a tool.

The Ministry of Truth

Legal Insurrection: "Biden Administration Creating ‘Disinformation Governance Board’ Under DHS Headed by Trump-Hating Leftist - “Jankowicz also suggested last week that she opposes the The First Amendment because she thinks it is bad for ‘marginalized communities’ and called Elon Musk a ‘free speech absolutist’ because he wants to make Twitter more open to all voices.”

She seems qualified: "Biden’s new disinformation czar said voters need context, ‘not a fairy tale about a laptop repair shop’." 

Moral hazard? Never heard of it

 

These people are insufferable

Jonathan Turley: "MSNBC's Melber issues dire Twitter warning that seems oddly familiar."

These people are so ensconced in their media bubble, they can't even recognize the irony here.

Extra - Ace: "MSNBC: Now that Elon Musk Controls Twitter, He Can Rig Twitter's Rules to Favor One Party, Limit the Reach of Certain Speakers, Suppress Stories Before an Election, and Then Hide All His Handiwork With Zero Transparency."

Really, you don't say, Ari Melber.

You don't.

Say.

Shocking, isn't it?

Bring on the culture wars

Real Clear Politics has a morning and evening edition and there was a linked story in each with the latter one appearing to respond to the earlier piece.

In the morning, CNN's resident dimwit leftist Dean Obeidallah wrote this excrement: "Democrats should embrace being woke and make 2022 about GOP's extremism."

Some in today's Republican Party are trying to ban abortion, books they find objectionable, Black history from being taught fully, transgender teens from playing sports, and discussions of sexual orientation in schools, and now they're even going after Mickey Mouse.

Please, please, please Democrats: listen to Dean Obeidallah.  Please run on teaching first-graders about trans-sexuality, CRT, and allowing biological men into women's sports.  Show us you've learned absolutely nothing from the Virginia gubernatorial race.  

These people live entirely within a bubble, which is the topic of this Federalist article: "Democrats’ Culture War Is Destroying Their Ability To Govern Competently Enough To Fool Voters."

It is also why the left cannot understand its own failures. They have isolated themselves in a bubble that has drifted so far from reality and the concerns of normal voters that even electoral disaster may not bring them back to Earth. Cocooned in privilege and ideology, they think Biden is doing just fine. But most Americans have had enough of a government that is more committed to transitioning children than to controlling crime and inflation.

Driving home today, NPR played a blurb from somebody who claimed the Florida law nicknamed "Don't Say Gay" is some kind of an attack against trans kids.  My thought was "keep it up."

Well would you look at that

NY Post: "Joe Biden met with Hunter Biden business partner at the White House."

Hunter Biden’s closest business partner made at least 19 visits to the White House and other official locations between 2009 and 2015, including a sitdown with then-Vice President Joe Biden in the West Wing.

Visitor logs from the White House of former President Barack Obama reviewed by The Post cast further doubt over Joe Biden’s claims that he knew nothing of his son’s dealings.

Eric Schwerin met with Vice President Biden on November 17, 2010 in the West Wing, when he was the president of the since-dissolved investment fund Rosemont Seneca Partners.

The New York Post is now the only paper interested in doing journalism on this story.

New York Times: "We don't see nothin'."

You know you're winning when you're banned on social media

American Conservative: "Libs Of TikTok Vs. The Regime - The Washington Post's targeting of the anonymous account is just the latest flare-up in a cultural, spiritual, and political war." 

The Left hates free speech, the continuing saga

Twitchy: "Twitter will no longer allow advertisers ‘who deny the scientific consensus on climate change’."

Related - Oh, that's not notable: "Wikipedia deletes entry for Hunter Biden investment firm Rosemont Seneca Partners." 

He sure does, Joey

 

Yes, I've seen "The Wire"

Hot Air: "IG report: Baltimore city schools had more than 900 ghost students costing taxpayers $10 million." 

I've already resolved that my kids will be the last generation in my family to go to public schools.

At least Carter once held a real job

Power Line: "I can't believe I miss Jimmy Carter."

I’m slowly working up to a long piece about the parallels between the hapless Jimmy Carter Administration and the Biden Clown Show that go beyond inflation, energy market disruptions, foreign policy cluelessness, and other totems of the dismal 1970s.

You have to be somebody of advanced age like (ahem) me to remember the Carter years.  For a huge chunk of America, they've never seen runaway inflation like this eating away at wages coupled with a feckless foreign policy dependent on Middle East plutocrats.  

It's all falling apart for BLM

Powerline: "BLM was always a fraud."

Wall Street Journal: "BLM’s Anti-Police Racket Is Coming Undone."

Fox News: "BLM silent when confronted with data showing massive 2020 spike in Black murder victims."

Why it's almost like they were just a means to an end.  A very swanky end.

The journalism elite, folks

This Not the Bee headline says it all: "This dude just made the most glaringly satirical post in history and The New York Times contacted him because they thought it was totally real." 

The New Coke of news platforms

Axios: "CNN+ looks doomed." - "Warner Bros. Discovery has suspended all external marketing spend for CNN+ and has laid off CNN's longtime chief financial officer as it weighs what to do with the subscription streaming service moving forward, five sources tell Axios."

Buh-bye

Fear of a free speech planet

City Journal: "Musk Makes the Mask Slip - The Tesla CEO’s bid to buy Twitter has prompted many prominent figures to admit bluntly that they oppose free speech."

If Musk is trolling the humorless progressives who dominate our institutional and cultural heights, though, he has already achieved a coup. That Musk might buy Twitter has caused a meltdown among Twitter elites. “Today on Twitter feels like the last evening in a Berlin nightclub at the twilight of Weimar Germany,” wrote one blue check. “[This] could result in World War 3 and the destruction of our planet,” exclaimed another. Robert Reich has equated Musk to Vladimir Putin.

Musk has done more than simply induce liberal tears. He has caused a mask to slip. He has prompted many prominent figures to admit bluntly that they oppose free speech.

It's always been obvious to the conservative crowd.

Extra fun - The Paper of Record: "Dems Explain They Don't Want Billionaires Controlling Our Media Unless They're Bezos, Zuckerberg, Gates, Bloomberg, Buffett, Or Soros." 

Leporine intervention

Hot Air: "Easter Bunny saves Biden from foreign policy questions."

That was pretty crazy: Biden started talking about Pakistan and Afghanistan and the Easter Bunny jumped in before he committed yet another foreign policy gaffe.

Tax time

Reason: "Americans Will Spend 6.5 Billion Hours on Income Taxes This Year - The IRS takes not only your money, but a lot of your time." 

There were a couple of years where I had my own consultancy and the combination of regular income, small business income, and increasingly complicated deductions felt like it took 6 billion hours to complete.

Sleepwalking into disaster

NY Post: "Fears of recession are everywhere — except at the clueless White House." 

No kidding

Rich Lowry: "Joe Biden promised to bring normality to the White House — instead, he’s been anything but." 

Journalists: "Save us from free speech!"

Jim Treacher: "Musk Triggers Mass Journophrenia - Journos love free speech unless it's yours." 

Extra - Twitchy: "Elon Musk’s bid to take over Twitter has brought with it a parade of media hot takes like no other." 

If they didn't have double standards

 Matt Taibbi: "Twitter's Chickens Come Home to Roost" - "The Great Elon Musk panic of 2022 is revealing a big fat boatload of blue-check hypocrites." 

This is wild

 

Every item in this SF Walgreens is under lock and key.

There’s practically nothing you can buy without having to call an associate to unlock something.

I’ve never been in a country that lives this way. pic.twitter.com/omFdoqH2CL

— Antonio García Martínez (agm.eth) 🇺🇦 (@antoniogm) April 13, 2022

Protect me from this freedom

Glenn Reynolds: "‘Censorship is free speech’ is the establishment’s Orwellian line on Elon Musk’s Twitter crusade." 

It's a new record!

CNBC: "Supplier prices rose 11.2% from a year ago in March, the biggest gain on record."

How convenient

Federalist: "Black Lives Matter Co-Founder Claims Asking About Allegations She Spent Millions In Donations On Mansions Is Racist." 

National policy or senile ramblings? Who can say!?!

National Review: "Biden’s Gaffes Are Becoming a Crisis."

Do a president’s words count, or not? If a president keeps making declarations that bear no relationship whatsoever to actual administration policy, he is at best irrelevant.

How strange, considering we were told repeatedly that "the words of a President matter."  

It's just a messaging problem

PJ Media: "Guess Who Democrats Will Blame for Their Midterm Election Losses?" 

We know, we know.

Just more flailing from this guy

Hot Air: "Inflation desperation: Biden to order more ethanol for cars as grain shortages loom."

Good news: Gas may go down by a dime!

Bad news: You have to drive to Nebraska to get the gas.

The White House has argued that the use of E15 can shave 10 cents off each gallon of gasoline. E15 is currently sold in 30 states at more than 2,300 gas stations, the Energy Department has said, but that is just a fraction of the more than 150,000 gas stations in the United States.

Brandon is doing everything he can to counter Putin's price hike - everything except drill for oil.  Gosh darn it, it's just not his fault.

The dotted line is Putin's invasion of Ukraine.

Oh, wait, it's not.

It's Biden's inauguration. pic.twitter.com/4JYsxGBqDd

— Brad Polumbo 🇺🇸⚽️ 🏳️‍🌈 (@brad_polumbo) April 11, 2022

Going off half-cocked

The Corner: "Biden’s Tired Gun Act Is Back."

Shorter version: virtually everything Biden said today is completely wrong and he nominated a candidate to run the ATF who will never be confirmed.  So another huge waste of time for Brandon.

The New Yorker employs 4-year-olds

That's the only possible explanation for this ahistorical piece of crap article from toddler Amy Davidson Sorkin: "The Ketanji Brown Jackson hearings may only be the beginning."  Babygirl Sorkin is very upset at the tone and line of questioning at the Jackson hearings.  Very upset at the lack of decorum.

Word search on this article for "Kavanaugh" = zero mentions.

Little Amy joins Joe Biden and the Washington Post's Ruth Marcus as very serious people who are peeved by Justice Jackson being asked to answer questions about her (checks notes) judicial philosophy and sentencing guidelines.  Charles C.W. Cooke responded to Marcus' false equivalence:

Ah, yes. On the one side we have the Bork hearing, the Thomas hearing, and the abomination that was the Kavanaugh hearing — all of which involved deliberate and egregious character assassinations. And on the other side, we have the . . . Senate exercising its powers under the Constitution. (I’d put the Gorsuch filibuster into this category, too. I personally favored Gorsuch’s appointment, but the Senate was not obliged to, and it was permitted to filibuster him if it so wished.)

Even the slightest inspection here would reveal that there is no similarity between these things whatsoever. One suspects that the reason Marcus would rather breezily say that “neither side has clean hands” than “endlessly debate” her own evidence is that, in her heart of hearts, she knows it.

I suspect baby-teeth Amy Sorkin also knows this too unless she was distracted watching episodes of "Dora the Explorer."

Extra - Federalist: "Don’t Be Gaslighted About How Insane The Kavanaugh Hearings Were Even Before Blasey Ford Accusations."  

Sure you did, champ

Hot Air: "Obama: Hey, I warned you that Putin "was always ruthless"."

Terrorism expert and International security professor at Northeastern University Max Abrahms blasted Obama’s answer as “self-serving revisionist history.”

“Watch Obama’s self-serving revisionist history of how his administration responded the last time Russia invaded Ukraine in 2014,” Abrahms wrote.

That's the B.O. M.O.

"Go start your own platform"

Reuters: "Elon Musk's arrival stirs fears among some Twitter employees."

Good.

Fish gotta swim, birds gotta fly

Reason: "Why Is Facebook Censoring Articles About How BLM Used Donations To Buy a $6 Million House?" - "It's unclear why an opulent 6,500-square-foot $6 million mansion is needed to end police brutality and bring about racial justice for black Americans."  

Shut up, they explained

National Review: "Psaki Refuses to Explain Why Biden Wrote College Recommendation Letter for Chinese Businessman’s Son." 

It was during the time he was driving an 18-wheeler while teaching a class at UPenn.

Keep up the fight, libs. Don't stop now.

Legal Insurrection: "Media In Sync Trots out ‘QAnon,’ ‘Red Scare’ Cards to Attack Parents Rights Movement" - "Questioning SCOTUS nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson’s sentencing record towards child sex predators and championing Florida’s new parental rights law is supposed evidence of the GOP ginning up a modern-day version of the “red scare,” wrote Washington Post “reporter” Philip Bump." 

The horror, the horror

Babylon Bee: "Twitter Workers Worried Elon Musk Will Turn Their Free Speech Platform Into Platform That Allows Free Speech."

Biden wonders: "How can I diminish my Presidency any further?"

PJ Media: "Biden Presses Panic Button, Invites Obama to White House."

This is just sad.

Update - Called it.  Totally called it.

Called it, part 2: "If Obama thought that he was going to make Joe Biden look better by his visit, his appearance may have had the opposite effect."  Just painful to watch.

So this grift is still going on

Hot Air: "BLM used donations to buy a $6 million house in southern California." 

Washington Post: We done screwed up

Finally - finally - the mainstream media is awakening to the fact that they have a credibility problem and part of it traces back to their suppression of the Hunter Biden laptop story: "Washington Post editorial board admits Hunter Biden story is a 'reckoning' for media."

"For now, what’s more compelling than the assorted accusations about the Bidens’ behavior is this question: Why is confirmation of a story that first surfaced in the fall of 2020 emerging only now? When the New York Post published its blockbuster exclusive on the contents of a laptop said to have been abandoned at a Delaware repair shop by Hunter Biden, mainstream media organizations balked at running with the same narrative. Social media sites displayed even greater caution," the editorial board wrote.

"Greater caution" meant that Twitter completely threw the NY Post off their platform.

"This series of events has prompted allegations of a coverup, or at best a double standard in the treatment of conservative and liberal politicians by mainstream media and social media sites," it wrote.

Here comes the great awakening where the mainstream media asks "Are we the baddies?"

Yes, yes you are, and you've squandered the public's trust in pursuit of your preferred narrative. 

I'm reminded of this quote from the 2003 movie "Shattered Glass" about when the magazine The New Republic discovered that one of their reporters had just invented stories out of thin air:

Chuck Lane: "Caitlin, when this thing blows, there isn't going to be a magazine anymore. If you want to make this about Mike, make it about Mike. I don't give a shit. You can resent me, you can hate me, but come Monday morning, we're all going to have to answer for what we let happen here. We're all going to have an apology to make! Jesus Christ! Don't you have any idea how much shit we're about to eat? Every competitor we ever took a shot at, they're going to pounce. And they should. Because we blew it, Caitlin. He handed us fiction after fiction and we printed them all as fact. Just because... we found him "entertaining." It's indefensible. Don't you know that?"

The mainstream media blew it.  But will they be able to repair the breach?  Somehow I think it's going to require razing the whole structure to the ground and rebuilding from the ground up.

Voting with their feet

Well, this is an interesting graph, h/t Power Line:

Reposting with clarified graph of the states pic.twitter.com/M1ykv8hr18

— Daniel Clifton (@DanCliftonStrat) March 29, 2022

I honestly don't understand how people live in California. 

Clown nose on, clown nose off

Andrew Sullivan: "The Problem With Jon Stewart - How painfully, cringingly super-woke must a comedian get to stay relevant?" 

Layers of fact-checkers

Ace: "Media All This Week: TRUMP MUST EXPLAIN "MISSING 7 1/2 HOURS OF PHONE RECORDS" ON JANUARY; DELETION OF RECORDS RECALLS WATERGATE

Media Today: Oops Nevermind the Records Are All There."

The media went full tilt with THE NEXT WATERGATE! and doing the bare minimum of actual journalism had to take a backseat to this MAJOR SCOOP.

Meanwhile, it took the NY Times and Washington Post a year-and-a-half to confirm that Hunter Biden's laptop was real because they didn't want to be too hasty. 

Oh, I do

Reason: "Blame Insane Government Spending for Inflation" - "Some want to solve the problem with subsidies for gas, housing, child care, and more. That only risks greater stagnation." 

Welcome to the party, pal!

Timely reporting from the Democracy Dies in Darkness crowd: "Washington Post: Some of the material on Hunter Biden's laptop is definitely real." 

Extra - Powerline: "Hunter Biden: First the Times, now the Post."

For the record, I don't even care about Hunter Biden.  All I want is the mainstream media to apply the same standards to both sides of the political spectrum.  FFS, they don't even try to hide their bias anymore.

More - National Review: "Recuse Yourself, Joe Biden." - "If we’re going to create transparently idiotic, partisan standards on the fly, they should be applied to everyone in government." 

Maybe we should have listened to Larry

This is an article back in November 2021: "Biden's Truly Reckless Spending Will Likely Be His Undoing."

With a full $1 trillion in prior federal emergency relief still unspent upon his taking office, Biden nonetheless pushed through the so-called American Rescue Plan, an additional purely partisan $1.9 trillion COVID-19 spending package.

In total then, the U.S. government spent more than 30% of the country's annual total economic output to try to stimulate the economy. This was unchartered territory. Many on both sides of the political aisle warned at the time that all this government spending could overheat the economy. Larry Summers, Treasury secretary under President Bill Clinton and National Economic Council director under President Barack Obama, summarized the concerns succinctly: "While there are enormous uncertainties, there is a chance that macroeconomic stimulus on a scale closer to World War II levels than normal recession levels will set off inflationary pressures of a kind we have not seen in a generation, with consequences for the value of the dollar and financial stability ... Stimulus measures of the magnitude contemplated are steps into the unknown."

Which leads to this, today: "Former Obama Economic Advisor Larry Summers: We're Heading for 1970s Stagflation and a Major Recession."  

Larry Summers was wrong about one thing: inflation is the highest it's been in two generations.

So I guess the "Will Smith Celebrity Roast" is off

What a wild show.  I had the TV on but muted and eventually I looked up to see Will Smith yelling and Lupita Nyong'o looking very uncomfortable.  The United States feed was censored but not the international feed and all the best videos showed up this morning.

This stupid idea never dies

Hot Air: "Biden: You're just going to love my plan to punish the successful."

The centerpiece of this legislation is the "unrealized assets tax" that takes the value of stock you didn't cash out and slaps a tax on the "income" you made.  Never - ever - explained is what happens if your investments decrease in value.  Do you get a rebate then?

This is likely unconstitutional and it will never pass Congress anyway.  It's just raw meat for the Elizabeth Warren and AOC loons.

"He came, he saw, he confused"

NY Post: "President Biden’s Putin speech in Poland is a catastrophe."

Don't sell Brandon short: this entire trip has been a disaster. 

Here we go again

This tough-guy clown Biden is going to start World War 3: "Biden says Putin ‘cannot remain in power’ as he assures Ukraine: ‘We stand with you’."

It appeared to be the first time Biden has explicitly called for Putin’s removal and would mark a sharp contrast from prior statements from the White House, which have emphasized that regime change in Russia is not the policy of the United States.

Shortly after Biden's address however, the White House denied that Biden was calling for regime change.

"The President’s point was that Putin cannot be allowed to exercise power over his neighbors or the region. He was not discussing Putin’s power in Russia, or regime change," a White House official told Fox News Digital shortly after the speech concluded.

I can think of another country desperately in the need of regime change.

Extra - Twitchy: "‘Unbelievable’! WH flacks grab mops for more clean-up duty after Biden’s comment about Putin."

For as much as Biden claims he doesn’t want WWIII, he’s about to stumble us into it with his extraordinary sloppiness.

— Katie Pavlich (@KatiePavlich) March 26, 2022

Clean-up on aisle Biden

Red State: "Biden Just Stuck His Foot Straight in His Mouth in a Way That Could Set off WWIII."

For not the first time, the White House communication office had to say "ignore what that guy just said."

Keep digging

Reason: "The Biden Administration Is Ignoring How Its Policies Will Worsen Inflation. Again." 

Democracy dies with dumbasses

Journalists: "Our credibility has hit rock-bottom."

Washington Post: "Hold my beer."

Hot Air: "WaPo editors: KBJ got treated worse than Brett Kavanaugh, you know."

This entire editorial is intellectually bankrupt. It’s the kind of commentary we’d expect to see on TikTok, not from serious analysts and especially not from news editors that actually covered the Kavanaugh hearings. It should linger in the air like a permanent boof over the offices of the Washington Post and embarrass everyone connected to the newspaper.

I'm pretty sure they're incapable of shame at this point.

Extra - Federalist: "Washington Post Says Asking KBJ Questions About Her Legal Rulings Is Worse Than Falsely Accusing Kavanaugh Of Rape" - "The Post’s commentaries on Jackson are not only patently false but their phony claims about her confirmation hearing deserve endless taunting." 

Decades of foreign policy "experience"

PJ Media: "Joe Biden and World War III for Dummies"

This is when wise Western leadership — an unfunny joke these days, I know — would be taking Sun Tzu’s ancient advice to heart.

“Build your opponent a golden bridge to retreat across,” he told winning generals.

In other words: When the other guy is effectively beaten but still needs to keep his dignity intact, offer him a gracious way out. You never know how much fight he might have left in him, or what desperate-stupid thing he might try if you insist on pushing him too hard.

Not warring is almost always better than warring, particularly in the case of Ukraine, which is Not. Our. War.

Can you guess what Presidentish Joe Biden is doing instead?

Tough guy Joe loves to be a tough guy.  Just ask Corn Pop.

Extra fun - Always remember "Biden has been on wrong side of foreign policy issues for decades."

Oh that's just Russian propaganda, they lied

Tablet: "Invasion of the Fact-Checkers" - "Who are you going to believe, the Democratic Party’s new official-unofficial, public-private monopoly tech platform censorship brigade, or your misinformed, disinformed eyes?" 

That's not a crack pipe.  It's a "slender glass tube," the fact-checkers declared. 

Huh, I did not see this coming

Just kidding.  Red State: "Democrats Call Republican Senators Racist for Treating Ketanji Jackson Like Everyone Else."

No news if she's been accused of sexual assault but she was asked about being a religious nut.  And she pretty much lied about critical race theory.  But nobody cares because she checks all those Kamala Harris boxes, and that's all that matters.

Absolute clown show

National Review: "Washington Post Attempts to Justify Media Suppression of Hunter Biden-Laptop Story." - "One of the main reasons that the mainstream press is so utterly lost these days is that the mainstream press does not know that it is utterly lost these days. See, for a good example, this preposterous post-rationalization of the reaction to the New York Post’s Hunter Biden laptop story that has been put together by the Washington Post’s Philip Bump."

Just take the "L," mainstream media.  You destroyed your own credibility - stop digging.

What's Russian for "OMG"?

Hot Air: "Did the true number of Russian troop deaths in Ukraine just leak?"

Here are the guesses in the article:

United States intelligence: 7000

This pro-Kremlin newspaper in the article: 9861

A Russia-intercepted communication, per the Ukrainians: 12814

Yeesh.  That's a lot of dead soldiers in such a short amount of time.

On par with El Salvador

The Youtube channel "Economics Explained" does great videos including reviews and rankings of countries' economic power.  The takeaway from this video is that Russia's economy was already pathetic before they turned themselves into a pariah state with the invasion of Ukraine:

The NYT discovers free speech

When they're not busy trying to bury news harmful to Democrats, the New York Times occasionally reveals some integrity.  Reason: "The New York Times Admits That 'America Has a Free Speech Problem'."

By now, it should be impossible to ignore the ill effects of free-speech hostility; what appeared to begin on elite college campuses has spread to broader society and is agitating for a world where the act of dissenting from progressive orthodoxy is treated as violence—and thus can be met with force. Indeed, colleges campuses continue to provide some of the most palpable examples of this phenomenon: Earlier this month, Yale Law School students shouted down a conservative speaker and a liberal one—as well as the school's own officials—in order to prevent a discussion about a recent Supreme Court case. (David Lat, an attorney, legal commentator, and Yale graduate, described the incident as "much worse" than many people know.) The student activists' philosophy is by now familiar to everyone who has paid attention to higher education for the past decade: Speech that perturbs progressives or their allies is illegitimate and should be prevented.

Your speech is violence, but their violence is speech.

Extra - Legal Insurrection: "Liberals Infuriated By NY Times Editorial Recognizing Cancel Culture Problem; Cancel Subscriptions."  So much for their famed tolerance.

It committed suicide a long time ago

Fox Business: "Hunter Biden story is the 'death of journalism': Doug Collins" - "New York Times confirms legitimacy of Hunter Biden's laptop, emails." 

China starts their pivot

Hot Air: "Hmmmmm: Chinese media now airing evidence of Russian atrocities." 

Also right all along

The NY Post is taking a well-deserved victory lap: "Now that Joe Biden’s president, the Times finally admits: Hunter’s laptop is real." 

Rude, crude, and right all along

Today a woman in Massachusetts faced federal charges for fraud: "Boston's 'best social justice advocate' arrested for defrauding donors."

In 2017 Monica Cannon-Grant started a social justice group called Violence in Boston. She became an organizer of Black Lives Matter marches and was voted one of the Bostonians of the Year in 2020 by the Boston Globe. Now Cannon-Grant has been arrested and charged with defrauding donors of much of the money her organization collected.

Cannon-Grant was showered with accolades from the usual quarters of Boston and nobody thought to question where all the money was going.

Except for Turtleboy.  This guy runs an unsophisticated blog that exposes grifters like Cannon-Grant all across the Bay State and he's been churning out stories on her for almost a year.  It's almost like he asked very obvious questions while the very "journalists" who were expected to do their job covered their eyes because a story they liked fit their preferred narrative.

10% inflation

Townhall: "Producer Price Index Sets New Inflation Record." - "The latest data released Tuesday by the Bureau of Labor Statistics shows that prices upstream from consumers continue to surge higher at record-setting levels, putting more pressure on American companies and manufacturers."

Extra - Reason: "Biden's Dishonest Attempt To Pin Inflation on Putin." 

Today's obligatory post

Breitbart: "H.R. McMaster: 'Russia getting desperate - Putin is in real trouble."

The failed logistics of Russia's invasion of Ukraine

“Infantry wins battles, logistics wins wars.” - General John J. Pershing.

I found this 20-minute video on YouTube and it's an excellent review of the logistical mistakes committed by the Russian army invading Ukraine.  Well worth the time:

Batting a thousand

Two economies in one year. Not bad. https://t.co/FpYW0E60IE

— Andrew Mark Miller (@AndyMarkMiller) March 10, 2022

Russia heading for defeat in Ukraine

That's the opinion of Francis Fukuyama here, with this interesting detail in bold:

Russia is heading for an outright defeat in Ukraine. Russian planning was incompetent, based on a flawed assumption that Ukrainians were favorable to Russia and that their military would collapse immediately following an invasion. Russian soldiers were evidently carrying dress uniforms for their victory parade in Kyiv rather than extra ammo and rations. Putin at this point has committed the bulk of his entire military to this operation—there are no vast reserves of forces he can call up to add to the battle. Russian troops are stuck outside various Ukrainian cities where they face huge supply problems and constant Ukrainian attacks.

Oops.  I like the part about the Turkish drones, too.

Biden's next scapegoat: you, dummy

Red State: "Biden Just Insulted Americans as Being Too Stupid to Understand His Greatness." 

Nah, bro, nah

Fox News: "Former Obama advisor: Don't blame Russia, blame Biden for inflation rates."

Also: "Biden took credit for dip in gas prices, now sheds responsibility during spike."

This you, Joey?

Look at me, judge me based on -- I know what the job takes. I've sat for hundreds of hours in the Situation Room. For eight years I was vice president in every major decision. I know how difficult this job is.

And one more thing I'll do, I'll take responsibility, I'll acknowledge my mistakes when I make them, and I'll level with the American people.

This administration has been a disaster in every conceivable way, but it's not Biden's fault, according to Biden.

Extra - The Paper of Record again: "Biden Says Gas Prices Are Not His Fault Unless They Go Back Down Again." 

More - Legal Insurrection: "February CPI Increases 7.9%, Highest in 40 Years, As White House Intensifies Spin To Blame Putin For Gas Increase." 

Jussie goes out the liar he is

I just finished watching the sentencing of Jussie Smollett for his felony hate hoax and it was worth the wait.  The judge spent over a half-hour lacing into Jussie for dragging out his obvious lies, committing perjury on the stand, and for generally undermining the fight against real hate crimes.

The judge sentenced him to 150 days in the Cook Country jail, 30 months felony probation, and restitution to the Chicago police for all the time they wasted.

Upon sentencing, Smollett took off his mask and yelled out "I am not suicidal!"  (It looks like he was worried about going out like Epstein.)  Then he said "I am innocent!"  The judge turned down all motions for a suspended sentence during the appeal process and Smollett was led away once again proclaiming his innocence and saying he was not suicidal.

It was quite the show, the last one he'll ever star in.

The adults are back in charge

Federalist: "The U.S. And NATO Have No Strategy To Aid Ukraine And Defeat Russia." - "The confusion over providing fighter jets to Ukraine underscores a dangerous reality: NATO has no end-game and no off-ramps for this war." 

Narrative shift

December 2021: "Joe Biden's actions have lowered gas prices by two cents.  You're welcome, America."

Today: "Nothing I can do, jack."

Biden does the ol' "you can't fire me, I quit" twist

Putin's puppet didn't want to cut off oil revenues to his Russian buddy...until his hand was forced by Congress: "Democrats Hit New Level of Disarray Over Decision to Ban Russian Oil."

The Associated Press reported Tuesday morning that President Biden will ban imports of Russian oil, less than 24 hours after Jen Psaki sought to minimize the impact of the United States' share of the oil Russia exports and following a tense series of conversations between the White House and Democrat leaders on Capitol Hill.

Whether you agree with the ban or not, one thing is clear: Biden didn't lead on this decision. His team has been cagey at best when questions have come up about why Russian oil hadn't yet been banned amid multiple rounds of sanctions levied against Russian government officials and oligarchs. But the wheels really came off when the White House learned that the House Ways and Means Committee had been working on a bill over the weekend to ban Russian oil imports — from a press release issued Sunday night that was quietly removed some five minutes later.

Congress was drafting bipartisan legislation to shut down Russian oil imports and the White House got wind of it and tried to stop it.  When Nancy Pelosi demurred, Biden placed a personal call, but it was clear something was going to come out of Congress.

So, with the handwriting on the wall, Joe Biden bravely did the right thing.  Then he promptly declared there was nothing he could do to alleviate the price of gas at the pump.

Just like a leader who takes responsibility.

Oh my gosh this color is phenomenal.

The White House worked to stop Congress from a deal to ban Russian oil for days, even Pelosi was like “you guys are dumb we are doing this” and here we are.

The Biden administration is incapable of decisive action unless they are forced. https://t.co/yVze0Afes6

— Matt Whitlock (@mattdizwhitlock) March 8, 2022

Putin's puppet keeps the oil cash flowing

Hot Air: "What are the dark, unsettling truths behind Biden's reluctance to ban Russian oil?"

What kind of dirt does Putin have on Brandon?  Has Stephen Colbert been informed?

Extra - The Paper of Record: "Biden Sells Alaska Back To Russia So We Can Start Drilling For Oil There Again." 

Mumble-mouth on his terrible Administration

The squeeze is on

Hot Air: "Visa/Mastercard suspend operations in Russia "immediately"." - "This is one headline that may not rise to the top of the endless flood of news coming out of Russia and Ukraine, but it may wind up being one of the more important ones." 

Clown show

The Corner: "Russia and Iran Taunt Biden in Humiliating Revival of Nuclear Deal."

What a perfect storm of American amateur hour and embarrassment. And what an inexcusable blow to American national security.

That's our Joey, who has been wrong on every foreign policy decision for 40 years.

We have billionaires over here

NY Post: "Russia has lost its power over NASA and in the space business: experts." 

I would argue that NASA has lost the power over space exploration.

Well, *I'm* ready

Social Security has been a topic of interest to me for a while although I pretty much stopped writing about it because it's clear that nobody cares.  But the program's baked-in insolvency isn't going away and the date of bankruptcy keeps creeping forward.  So here's another story: "Social Security's Day of Reckoning Could Arrive Soon. Are You Ready?"

Can Social Security be saved?

To be clear, Social Security isn't going bankrupt, and as of now, the worst-case scenario involves benefit cuts -- not a dissolution of the program itself. But significant benefit reductions are apt to be a huge problem for the millions of seniors who get most or all of their income from Social Security.

As it is, many beneficiaries today are struggling to make ends meet. Take away what could be 20% of their retirement income or more, and we're talking about a widespread financial crisis.

Current workers have an opportunity to avoid a serious financial shortfall in retirement by socking funds away in an IRA or 401(k) plan. But that's not an option existing retirees have. And so we have to hope that lawmakers will get moving on a solution to address Social Security's financial issues -- before that doomsday clock ticks down.

Simply put, the Social Security Trust Fund is running out of money which means either it needs to be replenished with new taxes or we have to toss aside the Trust Fund structure and just start paying out of the general fund by adding to our $30 trillion national debt.  

Personally, I have never factored Social Security into any of my retirement calculations and - humblebrag - I'm well positioned to live out my golden years (several years away now).  However, for the vast majority of Americans, the future is either 1) higher Social Security taxes, 2) reduced SS benefits, or 3) more borrowing which triggers inflation thereby reducing the value of those benefits.

That's it: there's no quick fix.  Stein's law applies: "If something cannot go on forever, it will stop."

Overtaken by events

Hot Air: "White House: Maybe we should stop buying Russian oil after all." - "This is pretty clearly a case of leading from behind. The White House has clearly been dragged to this new position over several days by both Republicans and Democrats."

I think that's the only thing that moved President Klain on this issue: the prospect of bipartisan legislation forcing Biden's hand. 

Good thing we killed that Keystone pipeline

Ace: "The US Will Not Increase US Energy Production, and Will Continue Enriching Russia By Gobbling Up Russian Oil At Jacked Up Prices." 

Tough guy Joe Biden is a man who stands on principle...and that principle is that high gas prices will hurt Democrats in the midterms.  When you've lost Nancy "I love burn pits" Pelosi.

On a related note: the professional journalists are on the job, crafting a narrative for Brandon.

Brandon's talk-time before nap-nap

Federalist: "The ‘State Of The Union’ Is A Disaster, So Biden Gave A Campaign Speech Instead."

Here's Stephen Green echoing my Insta-analysis from last night: "If you liked all the things I didn’t get passed last year, you’re going to like them even better when I don’t get them passed this year." 

Gas pumps join the vast right-wing conspiracy

High-school graduate Chuck Todd is on another jag: "Chuck Todd proposes that a majority of Americans feel the economy sucks under Joe Biden because of the all-powerful ‘right-wing echo chamber’."

When I was in the supermarket the other day, searching through decimated shelves, the vast right-wing conspiracy manifested itself.

That speech (mostly) sucked

Biden's State of the Union started strong with support for Ukraine but then devolved into a laundry list of spending that has already failed to pass through Congress.  What's the point of bringing it up again?  Biden's a lame duck President, he just doesn't know it.

No words on Afghanistan, nothing on Iran, and nothing on crime except to pretend that it wasn't Democrats who wanted to defund the police.  Inflation was the fault of all those greedy corporations and not the result of pumping trillions out of the Fed.  That 60 million barrels of oil released by "the world" is enough for three days consumption in America.  This is just pandering.

Finally, I'll say this: Biden vilified members of Congress who disagreed with a federal takeover of voting rights as "Bull Conner" and comparing them to white supremacists like George Wallace.  Just yesterday, he claimed that Republicans are trying to ban black votes "from even counting" - whatever that means.

So you can shove your call for unity, Joey.

Slur of the Union

The Paper of Record: "State Of The Union Will Just Be 90-Minute Broadcast Of Dumpster Engulfed In Flames."  

Deep thoughts with Kamala

A heartbeat away, America.  One decrepit heartbeat away:

Kamala Harris explains the Ukraine/Russia conflict:

“Ukraine is a country in Europe. It exists next to another country called Russia. Russia is a bigger country." pic.twitter.com/QYPLJ02mDy

— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) March 1, 2022

Boosters forever

Reason: "Two Years To Slow the Spread - Government can't stop moving the COVID-19 goal posts."

It's gotten so bad that even Saturday Night Live is questioning covid policies.

Whoopsie daisy!

Oh look, it's another one of those "honest mistakes" that only go in one direction.  Again.  Hot Air: "NY Times uses same misleading edit of Zimmerman's 911 call got two NBC journalists fired." 

This is one spectacular backfire

A really interesting analysis about the current state of machinations in Russia: "Is regime change in Moscow the west's new goal?"  Namely, the blowback from Putin's aggression in Ukraine has unified the world against Russia:

The sanctions may ease in exchange for some sort of Russian withdrawal but I think Kelly’s right that Putin will be treated diplomatically going forward more like Kim Jong Un than, say, Xi Jinping. The only way for Russia to regain “normal” status in international diplomacy will be to replace him with a new leader.

Putin won't go willingly and that's where there's danger.

Carry that water, Gunga Din

Fox News: "WaPo slammed for headline saying 'economy appeared ready to surge,' Russian invasion 'could send shockwaves'."

Ukraine turns into Putin's nightmare

This evening I was listening to the news and they said that Russian forces hadn't gained control of any significant part of Ukraine.  It seems amazing but as this story notes, Putin is losing militarily, economically and in world opinion.  

Live updates are here including:

The U.S. sees signs that Russia is "increasingly frustrated" by a lack of momentum in the invasion of Ukraine, particularly in the north of the country, a U.S. defense official said Saturday.

Military aid is pouring in now...will it be enough?

Extra - Red State: "Amazing: Kyiv Is Still Holding out, and Putin Is Reportedly Furious." 

More - Belmont Club "Putin's Failure": "The crisis in Ukraine, while not over, is likely to evolve into a crisis in Russia. We shall soon see who is more to be feared: a Putin in Kyiv or a Putin raging in the bunker." 

Another empty threat

Federalist: "If Ukraine Survives, It Won’t Be Thanks To Biden’s Sanctions." 

How convenient

It's breathtaking how covid science has been changing since Glenn Youngkin won in Virginia.  Mask mandates are falling left and right because of science.  Now it appears the science is changing just before the State of the Union address: "The CDC To Relax Masking Rules -- Just Before Brandon's State of the Union."

A picture of a masked Congress would be a very conspicuous reminder that Biden did not "shut down the virus" as promised, so this new science is very timely.

Very timely.

Impossible: I've been told Biden is a foreign policy expert

Red State: "Report: Joe Biden Got Absolutely Played by China on Russia and Ukraine."

From the NY Times, no less.

Extra - From Politico: "Putin was playing Biden all along - The U.S. president and his aides thought they could manage Putin. Their calculations were dead wrong."

Also: some greatest hits from Tough Guy Biden.