No, Joe, keep fighting!

NY Times: "Biden Told Ally That He Is Weighing Whether to Continue in the Race - The president’s conversation is the first indication that he is seriously considering whether he can recover after a devastating performance on the debate stage in Atlanta on Thursday."

Biden needed to staunch the bleeding immediately after the debate either with a free-form press conference or a contentious interview.  Instead, a week later, he has a softball interview planned with George Stephanopoulos who has been openly hostile to Trump in every appearance.  Nobody is going to buy what they're selling.

Flashback - just a week ago:

I know — I know — I know right from wrong.  (Applause.)  And I know how to do this job.  (Applause.)  I know how to get things done.  (Applause.)  And I know like millions of Americans know: When you get knocked down, you get back up.  (Applause.)

Get up, Joe!  You need to work your 11-4 day.

Lot of resume updating in the West Wing

Legal Insurrection: "Report: ‘Anxiety is Only Increasing’ Inside Biden’s White House" - “Everyone is freaking the f*** out.” 

A conspiracy of lies

The Corner: "‘How Did the Media Miss the Biggest Story in American Politics?’ Some of Us Didn’t!"

I think the clearest answer is that a lot of people in the major mainstream media are really lousy at their jobs, because they wake up every morning asking, “How can I convince people that Democrats are good and Republicans are bad?” instead of asking, “What’s going on in the world, and what do my readers, viewers, or listeners need to know about it?”

The media has destroyed both itself and Joe Biden by covering up his infirmity for years as conservatives were posting "Weekend at Bernies" memes.

Good.

Let's go Joe!

Fox News: "Biden donors 'freaked out' by his reliance on teleprompters at private fundraisers."

That's right: even at intimate events with friendly crowds, Biden can't recite his campaign talking points without a crutch.  I've known this for a while because if you compare the transcripts for these events they are identical.

Everything's fine!

Washington Post: "Biden team circulates poll showing no change in race after bad debate."

Keep calm and support Joe, Democrats.

Schedule update

The White House says Dementia Joe will give a statement on the Supreme Court's immunity ruling at 7:45pm tonight.

But - really - this is just an opening so that Biden can take some shouted questions and then declare that he's staying in the race.  That's the only reason they shoehorned in this last-minute event.

Update - Meh, no questions taken, just reading off the teleprompter and shuffling away.

Ignore Biden like the Borg

In the Star Trek universe, there is a species known as The Borg.  A collective hive mind, the members of the Borg will not react to anybody or anything unless they consider them a threat.  Thus there are several episodes where the Star Trek: TNG characters will board the Borg ship and none of the Borg drones react until they consider something a danger.

Republicans should now ignore Biden like the Borg.  Biden is no longer a threat.

In fact, we should amplify the support of politicians like Senator Chris Coons and Governor Wes Moore.  Biden is the best!  Keep going, buddy, you're doing great.

Borg collective: "Biden is sharp and engaged...behind closed doors.  Also: resistance is futile."

OMG

NY Post: "Biden claims at posh NJ fundraiser that his debate debacle impressed undecided voters."

He's staying in the race, folks.

The Torricelli switcheroo

Federalist: "Can Democrats Just Dump Biden And Move On? It’s Not That Simple."

Mostly because of Kamala.  

Won't work anymore

Washington Free Beacon: "The Gaslighting of the American Public." - "Believe it or not, some of us were not actually surprised by President Joe Biden’s catastrophe of a debate performance." 

Everybody knows

For years - years! - I've been complaining about the mainstream media's long march away from fairness and objectivity.  Last night's debate exposed the media as hopeless shills for the Democrats, covering up Biden's infirmities, because Orange Man Bad.  The media's downfall is condign punishment.

Here's Bari Weiss: "They Knew"

The debate was not just a catastrophe for President Biden. And boy—oy—was it ever.

But it was more than that. It was a catastrophe for an entire class of experts, journalists, and pundits, who have, since 2020, insisted that Biden was sharp as a tack, on top of his game, basically doing handstands while peppering his staff with tough questions about care for migrant children and aid to Ukraine.

Anyone who committed the sin of using their own eyes on the 46th president was accused, variously, of being Trumpers; MAGA cult members who don’t want American democracy to survive; ageists; or just dummies easily duped by “disinformation,” “misinformation,” “fake news,” and, most recently, “cheapfakes.”

Ah, yes, the "cheap fakes."  That's the last time we'll hear that phrase since Americans saw the debate video with their own eyes.  All the media's so-called integrity is now blown to hell:

The lies won’t work anymore. Biden’s dementia isn’t a “cheap fake.” It’s not “misinformation.” Last night the sad truth was plain to see, live on national television.

Now our moral, ethical, and intellectual betters in the press have no choice but to say the same thing the Republicans have been saying for four years, without ever admitting that their bitterest enemies were right.

Biden is done and he's taken the media down with him.  

It's been a glorious 24 hours if you're a conservative (like me) who has been seething at the chummy and mutual behavior of the Democrats and the media.  "I told you so" isn't enough.  Trump Derangement Syndrome has destroyed both Biden and the media and now everybody knows.

Wow

So I was wrong about Biden debating but was OH SO RIGHT why he shouldn't have.

I can't stay up (gotta work tomorrow) but watch the prediction markets.  Trump is currently +18 on the betting odds and by tomorrow it will be +48.

You know why.

— Stephen Green (@VodkaPundit) June 28, 2024

Well, I was wrong wrong WRONG

Barring some last minute surprise, it looks like Dementia Joe will join the debate tonight.  I guess he invested a full week to debate prep, so he's going through with it.

I can't remember the last time he was without a teleprompter, a binder, or notecards so it's going to be interesting to see how he functions without them.

That's all.

You know that's gotta hurt

The Hill: "Swing-state ‘deciders’ trust Trump more than Biden to protect democracy: Poll"

Voters in key states who will likely decide the election trust former President Trump more than President Biden to handle threats to democracy, according to a survey released Wednesday.

The poll, conducted by The Washington Post/Schar School, surveyed voters across six swing states and identified a subgroup of respondents labeled as “deciders.” It found that 38 percent of “deciders” said Trump would do a better job of handling threats of democracy to the U.S., while 29 percent said Biden and 23 percent said neither.

Good gravy.  The Biden campaign has gone all-in on the January 6th/Grave Threat to Democracy narrative and Americans just aren't buying it. 

I'm just spitballing here but maybe turning the country into a banana republic with Soviet show trials for invented charges that have never been used before was a bad idea.

Turns out voters think prosecuting your political opponent isn't very Democratic. https://t.co/Cvrrrj1uDf

— Stephen L. Miller (@redsteeze) June 26, 2024

No s--t, Sherlock

CNN: "Outside advisers urging Biden team to focus on Trump – not first-term record."

Several top Democrats have issued stark warnings to President Joe Biden’s camp, urging them to spend more time going directly after former President Donald Trump and less time – if any – pointing to the president’s policy record.

The reason is simple: Talking about Biden’s policy achievements is not resonating with voters.

“He wants the credit, but it’s not working,” one top Democrat, who recently shared these concerns with the campaign, said of Biden. “He needs to stop.”

I simply refuse to believe this debate is going forward.  There's going to be a sudden "international crisis" or some other such excuse to keep Dementia Joe off the stage.  

Put aside Biden's mental infirmity and his deep reliance on notecards and teleprompters.  He has two choices in this debate, neither one of them good: 1) gaslight on his record or 2) go after Bad Orange Man.  Who in America has not heard this latter drumbeat for nine years now?  There's zero evidence that the "convicted felon" mantra has or will move the needle.

The Biden camp seems to be congealing around the slogan that "Biden is for you while Trump is just for himself."  I don't see how this moves Americans who are beset by inflation and illegal immigration, wishing for the days when the world wasn't on fire.

Unconstitutional bribery

Hot Air: "Double Blow to Biden's Unconstitutional Student Loan Forgiveness Scheme"

Biden knows his blatant sop to young voters in an election year is unconstitutional. He brags about working around the Supreme Court's ruling against it. Biden is transferring student debt repayments from students who took out the loans to taxpayers. The loan debt doesn't magically disappear. Ordinary taxpayers are on the hook.

It appears we're now in a loop where Biden ignores the law and then courts have to issue new rulings to shut down the latest iteration of his illegal scheme.

Inside Out 2 = great movie!

Outkick: "Disney Actually Released A Non-Woke Kids Movie, And It’s Doing Well Financially."

Hollywood in Toto: "‘Inside Out 2’ Leaves the Lectures Off Screen."

I went to the movies this weekend for the first time since "The Holdovers" to see Pixar's latest "Inside Out 2."  Great time.  Without giving too much away, our beloved Riley is now 13 and puberty has brought on a whole range of new emotions, mostly Anxiety.  You care about Riley as a character and you care about the characters inside of Riley, especially Joy who has to face up to the reality of growing up.

Pro-tip: stay until the very end for the post-credits scene.  Four stars.

Why are you swinging your arms like that, Riley?!?  Sheesh.

The media runs with White House talking points

Independent Journal Review: "CBS News Issues Update After Getting Called Out for Falsely Labeling Video of Biden ‘Digitally Altered’."

Western Journal: "CBS Forced to Delete Segment After Most Embarrassing Biden Reporting in History Exposed On-Air."

CBS "News" went all-in on the "cheap fake!" characterization preferred by Biden's White House until people looked at the video and said "what is fake?"

This is the Biden's campaign's new strategy: don't believe your lying eyes.  

Too late, they realized their mistake

Crowd Goes Dead Silent as Bill Maher Realizes “Hush Money” Trial Was a BIG MISTAKE

BILL MAHER: “The trial in New York, the one he [Trump] got convicted for, was the greatest fundraising bonanza ever. He was lagging behind Biden, and now he's pulled quite a bit ahead. That trial… pic.twitter.com/lATiJBVaj0

— The Vigilant Fox 🦊 (@VigilantFox) June 22, 2024

The gaslighting isn't working

Hot Air: "NY Times Readers Aren't Buying the Democratic Talking Point About 'Cheap Fake" Videos."

Lawfare in America

Excellent article here from WSJ: "Why Republicans Don’t Abandon ‘Felon’ Trump - They see the Democrats’ political use of the justice system as a more serious threat to democracy."

This is me:

Many Republicans who have never been Trump supporters—who are disgusted by his personal immorality, appalled by his inflammatory and often uninformed rhetoric, and unconvinced by his claims that the 2020 election was stolen—believe that Democratic prosecutors are waging lawfare against Mr. Trump. Many Republicans who condemned his part in the Jan. 6, 2021, assault on the Capitol and thought he should have been impeached and convicted for it now consider the legal crusade against Mr. Trump to be as threatening to democracy as what happened that day. Democrats need to understand why.

In 2016, I voted for Marco Rubio in the primary and saw certain defeat with Trump who - at the time - I did not consider to be a real Republican.  Now I'm all-in on MAGA because this banana republic B.S. cannot profit.

Using the criminal-justice system to handicap the opposing political party is a deep-dyed violation of democratic norms—something we expect from authoritarian regimes, not in a mature, well-functioning democracy. This isn’t to say that members of the opposing party ought to be exempt from prosecution, but any such prosecution should be for real crimes that would be brought against defendants of either party. If Democrats want to be taken seriously when they claim to be defending democracy, they should take a long, hard look in the mirror and see the damage they are doing.

As detailed in the article, the prosecutors couldn't find a direct crime so they had to invent one just for Trump and Trump alone.  The Democrats were warned this lawfare would elect Trump and that's exactly what's happening.

Democrats in a nutshell

The Corner: "Ben Kamens Is a Perfect Spokesman for the Democratic Party"

“Just got a call to let me know my student debt has been canceled. This is why elections matter. Thanks @JoeBiden.”

Ben Kamens, the communications director for Representative Marcy Kaptur (D., Ohio), posted that on X today. It included a picture of the letter he received from Nelnet, the company that serviced his student loans. The letter begins, “Congratulations! The Biden-Harris administration has forgiven your federal student loan(s) listed below with Nelnet in full.”

Kamens’s two loans were taken out in 2010. The original principal balances were $2,750 and $5,500. Again, he posted this on X for the entire world to see.

As the text of his message demonstrates, he’s not the least bit ashamed about the fact that he, a grown man and college graduate with a full-time job, was apparently unable to repay debt with a principal of $8,250 over a span of 14 years.

In related news: "Student loan relief contributing to 27% jump in projected federal budget deficit, per CBO."

Whenever Republicans pass a tax cut, Democrats scream that letting Americans keep more of their own money "wasn't paid for."  Well, this little defiance of the Supreme Court isn't paid for.  I'm sure the mainstream media will be all over this.

Extra - Freeloader Ben has been having a good time spending money.

Biden won't debate

Here's your regular update.  PJ Media: "The Media Knows Biden Will Lose the Debate With Trump."

MSNBC - naturally - is making pre-emptive excuses:

Can anyone explain how Joe Biden, whose campaign set the terms of the debate, is at a structural disadvantage? The rules they proposed — which Trump agreed to — were designed to benefit Joe Biden, yet Wagner feels the need to preemptively make excuses for Biden’s anticipated poor performance. Not only will there be no audience present, but there will be no opening statements, microphones will be muted when it’s not the candidate’s turn, and it will be just one hour, not the usual 90 minutes. 

The media is desperate.  They know what's coming.  Biden's biggest mistake was agreeing to no pre-written notes and he simply cannot function without them.

Nobody cares

Hot Air: "CBO: National Debt Will Pass $50 Trillion in 10 Years."

The national debt is an abstract that currently affects nobody and nobody will care until it becomes an intractable problem, whereupon it will be too late to stop Frankenstein's monster.

"The media gaslighting is embarrassing."

Federalist: "Stop Trying To Convince Me Joe Biden Isn’t A Confused, Doddering Old Man." 

Another executive action on immigration

Dementia Joe lets his executive action pen go wild whenever it comes to letting more illegals into the country but - gosh darn it - he just can't do anything at all to enforce the law unless Donald Trump says so.

The Corner: "Amnesties All the Way Down"

The amnesty the White House announced today is simply the latest — and maybe not even the largest — of its many unilateral decrees legalizing and/or letting into the country individuals who have no right to be in the United States. 

Just like Biden's YOLO student loan forgiveness scheme, I hope Democrats remember this latest perversion of the law when Trump is back in office.  Anything goes, man: you opened the door.

Your lyin' eyes

PJ Media: "White House Denies Biden Froze at Hollywood Fundraiser."

Sharp as a tack...behind closed doors, we've been assured.

Imagine believing this

Twitchy: "Yeah, Go With THAT Strategy: Axios Says Hollywood Stars Could Be the Key to Biden's Campaign."

In case you hadn't noticed, the producers of the Academy Awards had to tell actors to STFU because Americans were tired of being lectured to by Hollywood phonies.

Hey, how's the box office lately?  Have you considered making another "strong girlboss" movie?

NYT is gonna NYT

Which means: simping for Democrats.  Althouse: "The Biden campaign is a disaster and this is what the NY Times dredges up?"

This is the stupidest thing I've ever seen in The New York Times.

Competition is fierce!

Time to recalibrate the "battleground states"

Red State: "Shock Polls: Trump Edges Biden in Two Blue States That Haven't Gone With the GOP for President in Decades"

Those states are Virginia and Minnesota.  

Real Clear Polling has a running update of seven battleground states but - let's face it - four of them are going to Trump.  (Arizona, Nevada, North Carolina and Georgia.)  The battleground has shifted.  Time to add Virginia, Minnesota, and how about Maine? 

Extra - Wall Street Journal: "Virginia Hasn’t Backed a Republican for President in Two Decades. Is It About to Flip?" 

Joe ain't got no rizz

Ace: "NYT: Biden Is Trying to Get TikTokers and "Influencers" on His Side But They Don't Trust Him and Think He's Cringe"

The subtext of this story is that, denials notwithstanding, the Biden campaign is paying influencers to shill for Uncle Joe.

The slightest of pushbacks

PJ Media: "Even the WH Correspondents’ Association Is Sick and Tired of Biden's Press Conference 'Rules'."

She concluded the statement with what sounds like a barb at Biden: “WHCA would welcome more opportunities to pose a range of questions to the president in a press conference setting.”

It's telling that even the more sycophantic press members see fit to push back against the "rules" that Biden insists govern his press conferences. It makes one wonder if they're beginning to get tired of his shtick, too.

Maybe!  But you ain't gonna get that press conference.  Also: Biden won't debate.

Of course

Reason: "The Mainstream Media Is Still in Denial About Hunter Biden's Laptop - Case in point: The Washington Post's Philip Bump."

Speaking of which: "Charles C.W. Cooke Takes Philip Bump APART for Refusing to Admit He Eff'd Up Hunter Laptop Story."

It's a mystery why the Washington Post is a dying newspaper.

Sweden leads the way for Europe

Wall Street Journal: "Europe Follows Sweden in Tilting to the Populist Right - The new right’s success has alerted liberals to the threat to social cohesion from mass immigration."

Wonder why the immigrant backlash started in Sweden?  Probably all the grenade attacks: "Sweden’s new normal: Bombs in the suburbs on a weeknight." 

Nothing will happen

He's a Democrat.  Fox News: "House votes to hold Garland in contempt, refer him for criminal charges at own DOJ" - "Republicans went after Garland for not handing over the Hur-Biden audio tapes."

Hunter's conviction

I don't care much about the Hunter Biden gun crime for this very reason: "Hunter’s Conviction Is A Fig Leaf To Cover The Biden Family’s More Serious Crimes." 

Have you considered calling them "racist"?

Ace: ""Far-Right" Parties Make Big GAINZZZ in European Parliament and the Leftwing Media Is Angry."

No kidding.  The hyperventilation on NPR this afternoon was something else.  Positively apocalyptic.  Whelp, you didn't want to protect the borders and this is whatcha got, Europe.

More insight from the Paper of Record:

Biden Asks Why Europe Didn't Just Arrest Conservative Candidates Before Election https://t.co/3MgAh4kIB4 pic.twitter.com/HcP16crCUA

— The Babylon Bee (@TheBabylonBee) June 10, 2024

The threats to democracy are coming from inside the house

Jonathan Turley: "Can democracy survive the ‘defenders of democracy’?" - "The most obvious threats today to the democratic system are coming from the left, not the right." 

The NY Times suddenly decides to do its job

NY Times: "Biden Loves to Tell Tall Tales. We Cut Them Down to Size. - By President Biden’s account, he was a fierce civil rights activist in his youth, had an uncle who fell prey to cannibals and used to drive an 18-wheeler."

The cynic in me suggests this is a way for the Times to get this out well before the election so they can claim they covered Biden's perpetual lies like an honest newspaper.

I was fooled. Not.

Biden takes unscripted questions from reporters in France, and jogs off stage showing his tremendous vigor.

Just kidding. None of that happened. pic.twitter.com/0gfpCDj9lv

— Sara Rose 🇺🇸🌹 (@saras76) June 8, 2024

At this event dubbed "remarks to the press," Dementia Joe read directly off his laminated binder, barely looking up, then bid a hasty retreat.  It is so very rare when he has an unscripted event and when he does (like the CNN interview), it's a disaster. 

This is interesting

Wall Street Journal: "Wall Street Moves to Texas - Financial firms want competition for the NYSE and Nasdaq." - "New York politicians, watch out. A new stock exchange based in Texas could soon challenge Nasdaq and the New York Stock Exchange—and the Empire State’s status as America’s financial capital."

Population, business, and now finance seems to be gravitating towards the red states. 

We found the collusion in Washington

Victor Davis Hanson: "Dems, media fool no one: White House is knee-deep in Trump prosecutions." 

Plagiarist

Dim bulb Biden pretty much copied Ronald Reagan's classic D-Day speech: "Pointe Du Hoc- Biden’s Sad Echo."

Oh, cool, World War 3

NY Post: "NATO preparing for potential ground war with Russia — including plans for US troop involvement." 

Can't we just go back to leaving billions of dollars of equipment to the Taliban? 

Let me just leave this meme right here

The Nation: "Under a Second Trump Term, the DHS Will Be Even Harsher Than Before."

"The game is up"

I've written about the crisis at the Washington Post but Ace (unsurprisingly) has a much funnier take:

Listen to this guy's answer. It's an energizing spa day for your boner.

"Don't we need our brilliant social journalists and service journalists as embedded in our core product to make sure that people are actually reading the thing that's out at the center of the mission of the Washington Post?" one staffer asked, to which Lewis replied, "You haven't done it. I've listened to the platitudes. Honestly, it's just not happening."

I love how this person used such flowery and woke language in xir's question and the publisher responded: "No, you suck." 

Biden won't debate

Zero point zero chance of it happening.

Wall Street Journal: "Behind Closed Doors, Biden Shows Signs of Slipping."

Jim Geraghty condenses the article here: "What Did the President Know, and How Long Did He Remember It?"

On the menu today: Way back in June 2022, I wrote, “I think the single most predictable ‘bombshell’ of the coming years is that sometime in 2025, someone like Bob Woodward or Robert Costa will publish a book with a title like Perpetual Crisis: Inside the Biden White House, and we will ‘learn’ something like, ‘the president’s official health report said he was in fine shape for his age. But behind the scenes, Jill Biden, Ron Klain, and Susan Rice were deeply concerned the president’s health was rapidly declining, and that he would soon be unable to perform his duties.’” This morning, the Wall Street Journal takes us another half-step toward that minimally shocking revelation, interviewing more than 45 sources and offering a grim portrait of President Biden behind the scenes: forgetful, mumbling, increasingly reliant on notes to remember basic facts, and seemingly oblivious to his own administration’s policies and decisions. 

I don't mean to keep harping on this sick man, but he brings it on himself with his unearned self-regard and the contempt he pours upon half the country. 

Historic figure Karine Jean-Pierre will be out soon repeating the story about how she can't keep up with Dynamo Joe...behind closed doors:

The media explain Biden’s “stellar mental abilities” with all the fervor of Sasquatch hunters. “I’ve seen it, it’s real, but it is impossible to capture on film.” https://t.co/lj54B7YdSS

— Magills (@magills_) June 5, 2024

Good Lord, Morning Joe, have a soupcon of respect for yourself. 

The failing media has its priorities

Outkick: "Washington Post Is Failing But Some Staffers Are Only Concerned With Diversity."

Don Surber: "Media pays for getting Trump wrong." 

After losing half their readership and $77 million over the past three years, the Washington Post replaced their diversity hire with a bunch of white guys.  The newsroom was not amused. 

Dementia Joe speaks to Time magazine

Here's the transcript from Time.  It was another train wreck full of non-sequiturs, (unintelligible) moments, and outright lies - so many that Time felt obliged to include a fact-check.

What's striking about this interview is how Biden falls back onto the same lines and tropes, without deviation, that he's been using for three years.  For example:

"And what do you say to Americans who are worried about [your age]?"

Biden: Watch me. Look, name me a president that’s gotten as much done as I've gotten done in my first three and a half years. When all of you wrote in Time magazine I couldn't get any of it done.

OMG, the "watch me" thing again?  Yeah, we've been watching Joe.  Also, the interview is dotted with misremembered history to provide the basis for a humblebrag moment.  Everybody doubted the great Joe Biden and he proved them wrong!  His invented stories about European leaders insisting he must win is part of the same mythology.

Don't change a thing, Joey.  You're doing great.

The media is trash

I guess the disembodied knife just "went in" to this policeman.

Just amazing work honestly… pic.twitter.com/LOXFJu1l6k

— EducatëdHillbilly™ (@RobProvince) June 3, 2024

Biden won't debate

Hot Air: "Why Joe Biden's Hur Interview Recording Was Hidden."

So why would this transcript be altered in that fashion? That much should be obvious. It's the same reason that Biden is refusing to allow the recording to be made public. The removal of awkward pauses ("uh... um") and repeated words ("and... and") makes Biden sound less like a cognitive mess. If he started rambling and losing the thread in the middle of the unscripted interview, that would look even worse as he pursues his reelection bid. Having an audio tape floating around in the media could be politically toxic.

Those cognitive deficits won't disappear in a debate and will probably be exacerbated.  This is why Dementia Joe gives so few media interviews and no press conferences.  He won't debate.

Extra - "Deepfake privilege?"

Lavrentiy Beria nods

Old and busted: "Give me the man, and I will find the crime."

New and shiny: "Bragg...pushed his prosecutors to scour the penal code for a workable theory."

But don't call it a Soviet show trial.

They cut down the laws to get the devil

Classic reference:

Powerline presages the whirlwind that is coming:

What to do now? First, it is now absolutely essential that Trump be elected president. The Democrats cannot be allowed to get away with this effort to turn America into a banana republic.

Second, the Democrats understand nothing except the raw exercise of power. Therefore, Republican attorneys general and district attorneys should bring criminal charges against Democratic officeholders wherever possible. No Democratic officeholder should be allowed to retire, in any jurisdiction with Republican law enforcement, without facing criminal charges. There can’t be a single Democratic official in America against whom a criminal case can’t be brought that is better than this case against Trump. It should be open season on Democrats in the criminal courts.

Third, the criminal prosecutions should begin with Joe Biden. Unlike Trump, Biden is actually a criminal. He is already known to be guilty under the federal bribery statute, to the tune of at least $20 million. If Trump wins in November, his Department of Justice should immediately indict Biden, and Biden should be hounded until the day he dies or goes to prison, whichever happens first.

It's worth noting that - despite all his "lock her up" bluster, President Trump never sent his DOJ to pursue Hillary Clinton.  Hillary, who was actually guilty of campaign violations never faced any consequences for that crime, nor her wholesale hard drive wipe ("with a sponge") of classified information.

Now?  Now all the guardrails are off.  The laws are flat and the Orange Devil will have his due.

Related: Former federal prosecutor and CNN legal analyst Elie Honig: "Prosecutors Got Trump — But They Contorted the Law".  

But when you impose meaningful search parameters, the truth emerges: The charges against Trump are obscure, and nearly entirely unprecedented. In fact, no state prosecutor — in New York, or Wyoming, or anywhere — has ever charged federal election laws as a direct or predicate state crime, against anyone, for anything. None. Ever. Even putting aside the specifics of election law, the Manhattan DA itself almost never brings any case in which falsification of business records is the only charge.

It's going to take a week or so to see how this shakes out with the race but my guess is that the number of people put off by Trump's conviction will be equal to those eager to see him elected so that this legal perfidy does not prosper.

America turned into a banana republic to save democracy

I think this headline says it all: "In the least surprising verdict ever, 12 Manhattanites just found Donald Trump guilty." - "Of what is anyone’s guess." 

Here are some of the things we learned in this trial:

In reality the case depends on a raft of dubious propositions, including:

Companies shouldn’t classify payments to a lawyer as legal services;

Candidates illegally “influence” elections if they try to hide negative information;

Trump had no non-campaign-related reasons to keep Daniels from telling her story;

New York state can bring a prosecution that turns on federal election laws.

My biggest fear is that Dementia Joe Biden uses this verdict as an excuse to back out of the debates.

It was tiny

Red State: "What the Biden Campaign Doesn't Want You to Know About His Philly Audience."

To paraphrase Ian Faith: "I wouldn't worry about it, Philly isn't a big Democrat town."

In other news, North Carolina is not a battleground state.

Spoiler alert: Magical thinking required

NY Times: "Jamie Raskin: How to Force Justices Alito and Thomas to Recuse Themselves in the Jan. 6 Cases."

It involves asking the other seven justices to undermine their own colleagues in a co-equal branch of the government.  There is just no depth to the Left's madness and inability to cope when things don't go their way.  The election is going to be wild. 

Violating the Sixth Amendment, three times

After hearing the prosecution's closing argument in Trump's Kafka case, Andrew McCarthy confirms what we all knew: Alvin Bragg is leaning on federal crimes he has no authority to prosecute:

Listening to the prosecution summation by Joshua Steinglass, it is quite amazing how explicitly the state is relying on violations of FECA as the “other crime” that Donald Trump was allegedly concealing by causing his business records to be falsified.

It is impossible to draw any conclusion other than that Manhattan district attorney Alvin Bragg knew that, as a state prosecutor, his enforcement of federal law would be incredibly controversial since he has no such authority; the federal agencies that do have such authority investigated Trump and opted not to prosecute; and to get this prosecution done, Bragg is simply making up his own version of federal law.

Bragg had the collusion of Judge Merchan, who allowed the state to get away with not putting the “other crime” in the indictment, and rejected defense attempts to force him to provide explicit disclosure pretrial. Prosecutors hid in the tall grass until summation and are now emphatically describing Trump as having blatantly violated federal campaign law.

The completely biased judge helped the prosecution by ignoring the law again with his "Pick your own crime!" approach to the New Law when Trump  - and only Trump - is on trial.  "Judge Merchan Violates the Constitution Again, Instructs Jury That They Don't Need to be Unanimous About Which Mystery Crime Constitutes the Legal Predicate for the Trump Prosecution."

Finally, the "adults are back in charge" Biden campaign apparently violated the law again with their little stunt with Robert DeNiro: "Yet Another Violation of Trump’s Constitutional Rights in the Bragg Case"

No sooner did I write this morning’s post on a violation of Donald Trump’s rights under the Sixth Amendment than we had a second violation of another of Trump’s rights under the Sixth Amendment.

------

This is a nationally known celebrity acting as a representative of the president of the United States, at the very site of the trial, on the day before the jury will begin to deliberate, declaring that “everybody in the world” knows that the defendant is guilty and that he has previously gotten out of too many things. Sure, Trump has had his surrogates out there (including the speaker of the House), but the prosecution doesn’t have a constitutional right to an impartial jury; the defendant does. If this isn’t over the line, what is?

As usual, the Babylon Bee nails it: "Judge Instructs Jurors They Need Not Believe Trump Is Guilty To Convict Him"

And here's Ben Shapiro on the Biden campaign and their silly demonstration:

This is the move of a losing campaign https://t.co/pqEXG8bqAE

— Ben Shapiro (@benshapiro) May 28, 2024

Not shocking at all

Twitchy: "Shocker! Biden WH Reportedly Asking European Allies to Back Off Iran Until the US Election." 

Also: we gotta tap the SPR again for a national emergency the election.

Don't listen to this guy

He's crazy.  Breitbart: "Carville: 'Democrat messaging is full of s--t', stop ignoring the economy."

More student loan forgiveness, says Carville.  Harvard grads need help.

What happened to the magic?

NY Post: "Disney World’s ‘Star Wars’ experience closed after just 18 months — this travel influencer reveals why."

I watched this four-hour deep-dive video yesterday and it should be taught in business schools on how theme parks need to manage people, entertainment, queues, etc.  When the core of your "immersive experience" is having guests run around scanning QR codes with their cellphones, you've miscalculated somewhere.

As one of those Disney people, I need to say that I still love the cruise line but I don't think I'll ever go back to the parks mainly because of the price-gouging built into their Genie system.  So many changes that Disney World added are just meant to squeeze one more buck out of you. 

Oh no. Anyway.

Hot Air: "Washington Post Publisher: 'We Are In a Hole, and We Have Been for Some Time'."

I don't know who the Post wants to be but as a subscriber who looks at the paper at least 6 days a week I can tell you who they are. They are the voice of the Democratic Party in print. They cater almost exclusively to the left and there are rarely any surprises in the partisan outlook of their daily output with the exception of the editorial board which isn't bad. Apart from that, the paper is downright dour most of the time and attracts nothing but left-wing commenters who have clearly honed their skills shouting down opposing viewpoints on social media. The Post is an unpleasant place and I'm not surprised they are having a hard time selling it to subscribers.

All the major newspapers are essentially carbon-copies of the NPR model where there are exactly zero opposing voices to the preferred narrative.  You would think that at some point these media sources would create a scatter chart of profits vs. trust in the media polls and notice a correlation.  But no.

The ongoing gaslighting

Here's Krugman...again...with the same article again: "America Is Still Having a ‘Vibecession’."

Let me be honest: I didn’t want to write about this subject yet again.

You and me both, Paul!  Do they pay you the same amount for re-runs?

Krugman and the Democrats and the mainstream media (I repeat myself) are the meme of Homer Simpson insisting the economy is "still good!" as it's systematically destroyed.

Community notes for the win

Outkick: "Iranian Dictator Gets Destroyed On Social Media After President Dies In Helicopter Crash."

MMFA lied, staffers learn to code

Twitchy: "Media Matters for America Layoffs Brings Schadenfreudelciousness to X." 

Let me, um, disagree with you there

Here's Mona Charon: "Biden Can’t Blow the Debates - They may be his only chances to change people’s minds."

Trump and his allies have way oversold the Biden-is-senile message. A fair share of voters have come to think that he is not just old, but drooling and unable to function. The truth is that, though his voice is getting croaky, he messes up words and names sometimes, and he walks quite stiffly, he is very much compos mentis.

No. 

Charon boggles at scripted appearances like the State of the Union but the fact is that every unscripted moment for Biden - especially over this past year - has been an absolute train wreck.  And he's even struggling at scripted events with a teleprompter telling him what to say.  The CNN interview was a prime example of outright lies, denial, and delusion with zero pushback from a friendly host.  Trump won't be so accommodating during a live debate way past Dementia Joe's bedtime.

Of course, that point is moot since Biden won't debate.

These videos are wild

See them here: "KJP Says We're Talking About People Who Are 'LITERALLY Being Crushed' by Student Debt."

This question has been asked thousands of times since student loan forgiveness has been raised and still we can't get a straight answer as to why certain people are entitled to a $35K check while others are not.  Remember this classic?

How is this legal?

Associated Press: "Biden releasing 1 million barrels of gasoline from Northeast reserve in bid to lower prices at pump."

When did the SPR morph from something to be used in a national emergency into Dementia Joe's re-election slush fund?

We finally found a crime in the Trump trial

Federalist: "The Only Discernible Crime In Trump Trial Is Michael Cohen Admitting To Stealing $30,000."

How about this quote?

In fact, Cohen’s admission is “more serious of a crime than falsifying business records,” CNN’s Senior Legal Analyst Elie Honig said.

“The money that Michael Cohen stole from under Donald Trump’s nose by his own admission, was part of the $420,000 that Michael Cohen was reimbursed for Stormy Daniels,” Honig explained. “So the heart of the prosecution’s case is, that whole setup where they were going to repay Michael Cohen $420,000 to reimburse him for Stormy Daniels, that was all done to pay Stormy Daniels. Trump knew it, Trump knew every penny — that’s why he’s guilty. Now it turns out Trump is getting robbed by his own guy.”

As the joke goes, "when you've lost CNN." 

Yeah, funny that

Red State: "The Press Are Strangely Incurious As White House Makes More Troubling Corrections to a Biden Transcript."

Send out the cleaning crew for the latest: "Biden Mistakenly Claims Hershel Goldberg-Polin is 'With Him' Before Realizing He is Still Held By Hamas." 

Consumer confidence slumps

Washington Post: "Americans are down on the economy (again), with inflation topping election concerns = Consumer sentiment is at a six-month low, and people are pulling back on all kinds of purchases." 

Democracy dies in darkness

Jeff Jacoby: "A cynical Washington Post tells Biden: Nothing matters more than beating Trump." - "In a lifetime of newspaper reading, I have never encountered an editorial so cynical in its willingness to discard any principle other than to win at all costs." 

Too late, they realized their mistake

Ross Douthat in the NY Times: "Why the Manhattan trial is probably helping Trump."

I defer to those analysts on what New York state legal precedent suggests. But I would defy anyone to summarize the underlying situation, in which a presidential candidate could be sent to prison for a misdemeanor offense elevated by a second crime for which he isn’t even being charged, without the description coming across as somewhat Kafkaesque.

We warned that charging Trump for a bookkeeping dispute would turn him into a martyr and now the laughable nature of this case is doing just that.  Great job, guys!

I can't make sense of this stupid article

Here's Democrat operative Symone Sanders LARPing as a journalist with "Democrats need to counter Trump's courthouse campaign."

The theme here seems to be that the Trump trial is creating a media circus that is sucking the oxygen away from all the great work the Biden administration is doing:

Trump’s indictments are historic and should be covered vigorously by the media. But minuscule details of the trial threaten to obscure developments out of the executive branch that affect the lives of millions of Americans.

If only we could track down the people who have generated this black hole of attention around Trump!

Furthermore, nobody's stopping you from getting your message out, Symone.  The idiot White House press secretary gave five press conferences this week.  Dementia Joe even sat down for interviews with CNN and Yahoo recently.  The problem (for you) is that Americans have tuned out the constant gaslighting about the economy. 

Go ahead and spread the great news.  Nobody's stopping you.  Here, let me help: "Biden’s $7.5 billion investment in EV charging has only produced 7 stations in two years."  

Awesome job.  The adults are back in charge!

Alabama votes "no"

The Corner: "So Much for the Great UAW Unionization Wave."

Two words: "Vroom vroom!"

Federalist: "If Joe Biden Is ‘Sharp As Ever,’ Why Is He Trying To Suppress The Hur Audio?" 

We all know why. 

When you've lost CNN

PJ Media: "Michael Cohen Gets Destroyed During Cross Examination, Leaving Anderson Cooper Stunned."

This is great:

"I think it's devastating,” Cooper added later. "I mean, for Michael Cohen's credibility on this, I mean, on this one particular topic."

He added, "Yes, I think, if I was a juror in this case, watching that, I would think this guy's making this up as he's going along or he's making this particular story up."

Cohen is the prosecution's star and final witness.  The defense hasn't even started yet!  If the judge had any scruples, he would throw out this silly case with a directed verdict.

This robot gets paid $19/hour

Twitchy: "Nina Turner EMBARRASSES Herself With Another Hot Take on What McDonald’s Workers Should Be Paid."

People who have never had to meet a payroll always know what's best.  This is the future:

Saw this fry flipper robot in action today in Chicago at the National Restaurant Association show.

Didn’t hear a single complaint to management out of the robot. pic.twitter.com/X34cULsdPy

— Joe Kinsey (@JoeKinseyexp) May 22, 2023

Biden won't debate

Know how I know?  His debate announcement video: "Biden mocked over number of jump cuts in Trump debate challenge video: ‘Like a Claymation film’."

I've seen quite a few articles online questioning why Trump agreed to Dementia Joe's terms for the debates including picking left-loving CNN to moderate.  My feeling is that Trump is calculating - correctly - that Biden can't speak extemporaneously anymore.  Every public appearance by Dementia Joe is assisted with teleprompters and note cards and occasionally the Easter Bunny.   Whenever Biden is deprived of his crutches, it's a disaster and the only thing that saves him is that journalists are too deferential to call him a liar.

Donald Trump won't be so deferential.  Biden won't debate.

Biden won't debate

Red State: "Joe Biden Tells Inflation Whopper Again, As His Campaign Continues to Crash and Burn."

Here's the transcript from Yahoo Finance.  Dynamo Joe fielded a grand total of three questions, didn't answer two of them, and completely lied on the third by repeating the inflation falsehood.

Jim Geraghty estimates there are three scenarios to explain why Biden lies about inflation (among many other things): 1) he knows he's lying, 2) he was told he lied but already forgot or 3) he wasn't told he lied.  I believe this last scenario:

Another possibility is that Biden misremembers the inflation rate when he took office, said so publicly, and no one around the president has told him, “Mr. President, when you took office, the inflation rate was just 1.4 percent, you can’t go around claiming that it was 9 percent.” Meaning we have a president who operates in a fog of half-truths and illusory claims that reflect the way he wishes things had happened, and no one around the president sees any point in correcting him.

It's just easier to let Dementia Joe mis-remember the awesome job he did then give him some ice cream.

Can you imagine a debate with Trump where these obvious lies are called out in real time?  It would be the bloodbath we were promised.

He should have done the opposite

Wall Street Journal: "The George Costanza Presidency - With each expedient act, from climate policy to the Mideast, Joe Biden digs a deeper hole for himself."

Look who's ox is being gored now

Jonathan Turley: "The New York Times Denounces Cancel Culture . . . After Fueling Cancel Culture for Years." - "Recently, however, the mob came for liberal professors and media who have remained silent for years as conservatives and others were targeted on campus. Suddenly, there is a new interest in free speech and academic freedom, including by the Times editors who blamed cancel culture for the recent demonstrations and disruptions on campus."  

Suddenly, indeed.  Tom Cotton was unavailable for comment. 

Architects of their own destruction

Don Surber: "We don't want journalism back"

Do we really want the dingbats and dingleberries that Kahn described as the people who decide what is news and what the facts are? When I was a youngun, a wise newspaperman explained to me that the power of the press belongs to the man who owns the presses. NYT and the rest abused that power. We will not give it back to them.

Thus the answer to Taibbi’s question “Is Journalism Back?” is no. Journalists abandoned objectivity. Readers have decided that they do not want the journalists back.

The largest paper in Western Massachusetts has not run a single editorial with Joe Biden as the topic in an entire year.  For four years, every week (at least) the same paper inveighed against Orange Man Bad.

You can probably guess which half

Reason: "Nearly Half of All Masters Degrees Aren't Worth Getting - According to new research, 23 percent of bachelor's degree programs and 43 percent of master's degree programs have a negative ROI."

However, different kinds of degrees were more likely to have a negative ROI than others. For example, 77 percent of bachelor's degrees and doctoral and professional degrees have a positive ROI. In contrast, just 57 percent of master's and associate degree programs have a positive ROI.

Story time: a couple years ago, I felt my career in engineering had hit a dead-end so I went back to school to get a master's degree.  This degree was a Master of Science degree in Engineering Management.

Know what kind of degrees have a positive return on investment (ROI)?

1) Engineering

2) Management

and ipso facto

3) Engineering Management

For me, it was a great investment and enhanced my career.  So YMMV but thumbs-up for me.

The paper of record

 

Biden Strikes Deal Where Hamas Gets To Keep American Hostages In Exchange For Fifteen Votes In Michigan https://t.co/bCkU6m09IL pic.twitter.com/SRxE58SW6l

— The Babylon Bee (@TheBabylonBee) May 9, 2024

That CNN interview was...something

Hot Air: "Joe Biden's Really Bad, Truly Terrible Interview on CNN."

This was the interview where Biden decided to abandon Israel: "Biden Commits To Saving Hamas, Will Cut Off Offensive Weapons To Israel If It Enters Rafah."  Because - hey - those votes in Dearborn, Michigan ain't gonna buy themselves.

On the homefront, Biden lied relentlessly about the economy.  

As somebody who follows Dementia Joe's speeches with some regularity, I can tell you that he uses the same rationalizations and prevarications with predictable reliability.  As a journalist - even a CNN journalist - interviewer Erin Burnett should have been prepared for Biden's lies.  I'm not even talking about statements that can be open to interpretation (such as, say, Trump saying there will be a "bloodbath" if he's not elected).  I'm talking about hard numbers, immutable history, and cold facts.

So, once again, I'm disappointed at the mainstream media that allows Biden to say that inflation was 9% when he took office.  This is completely untrue and just one of the ways Biden tries to weasel out of any responsibility for his terrible economic record.   And yet, Burnett did not push back.  At all.

This is why I hate the mainstream media.  These clowns love to wrap themselves in the "truth to power" mantra until the truth will embarrass a Democrat. 

Extra - NY Post editorial: "Biden tells a lie a minute during CNN interview." 

A hard rain is gonna fall

Hot Air: "Social Security Has About One Decade Left."

That is, about ten years from now, the automatic benefit cuts kick in leading to a reduction of 21% in promised benefits.  There is a general belief that a "grand bargain" will be reached but it would be my preference that any reform of the Social Security system is accompanied by partial privatization similar to the personal accounts in the Australian superannuation system. 

Government-controlled programs like Social Security and pensions (looking at you, Detroit) can disappear but personally-controlled retirement programs can't be touched.

Forrest Gump Biden does it again

NY Post: "Biden falsely claims his Catholic school teacher was drafted by Green Bay Packers during Wisconsin appearance."

The president has a long record of embellishing stories in an attempt to establish a personal connection with his audiences.

It's just comical at this point.  As many have noted, when Dementia Joe says "not a joke" that means he's lying.

Extra - Another obvious lie in the same speech.  My word as a Biden!

Spreading joy wherever he goes

In mid-April, Joe Biden spent an entire week campaigning in Pennsylvania, visiting Scranton, Pittsburgh, and Philadelphia.

You can see the fruits of efforts in the Real Clear Politics composite poll.  

Tomorrow he'll be in Wisconsin so watch the polls there next.  

KJP is an idiot

One of my favorite YouTubers has a new video on the inept White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre and he picks up on the exact same question I highlighted on Saturday about the sunsetting Trump tax cuts.  The answer wasn't in KJP's enormous binder and she's incapable of ad-libbing an intelligent answer so the result is a complete mess.  To be clear.  Enjoy:

Rewarding the mob

This is just disgraceful: "Columbia University Cancels Main Commencement Ceremony After Protests."

Imagine working years for your degree and then you can't even celebrate the day with your friends and family.  What a bunch of entitled jerks.  

Back to the basement

PJ Media: "Biden’s Cognitive Decline Is Getting Worse, and His Campaign’s New Strategy Proves It."

I dunno, I think Biden can really turn things around in the debates. 

That unbearable airhead KJP

Here she is in action, "answering" a press question about the Trump tax cuts which Dementia Joe said he will allow to expire:

Q    Thanks, Karine.  So, the President says that he wants to let the tax cuts — the Trump tax cuts expire.  If that law expires, it does raise taxes on almost every American.  So, does he still support that expiring without anything else in place?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  So, look, the — as you said, the President is going to allow — is going to — is — is going to let the Trump tax cut expire.  And he was very clear.  But he will not raise taxes on anyone making less than $400,000 a year.  That is — that is part of the budget that you saw come out.  And it’s going to expire for the wealthy.  So, been very clear about that.  

You know, look, this is a president that’s going to make sure that we protect and not raise taxes for — for people making $400,000 and less a year.  

And — and Republicans want to do the opposite.  They want to give tax breaks to corporations and billionaires.  They’ve said that.  They want to cut Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid.  Who does that hurt?  That hurts everyday Americans.  

And so, the President has been really clear about that.  He wants to expand Affordable Care Act, as you see him doing that, for Americans — making sure that they have good healthcare.  And so, that’s what the President is — is going to focus on.

Q    But still, the President can’t pick and choose which part of the law sunsets.  The entire law will sunset.  And the — the Tax Foundation says that someone who’s married, two kids, making $85,000 would pay $1,700 more in taxes.  That’s somebody under $400,000 who would —

MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  The President has been very clear.  He’s going to protect working- — working- and middle-class Americans making less than $400,000 a year.  He’s been very clear on th- — about that.

Despite repeating the word "clear," this is as clear as mud.  The law is going to expire and everybody's taxes are going to go up.

But...Republicans.

The choice is yours, Joey

The Hill: "Biden to deliver speech on antisemitism at Holocaust memorial ceremony."

I'm curious to see if Biden will rise to the occasion and deliver a solemn speech in the Days of Remembrance ceremony, or whether he'll fall into his typical pattern of self-aggrandizing, self-serving, and political rhetoric.

So this thing is still going on

Gregg Jarrett: "NY vs. Trump: Bragg's own witness, Hope Hicks, implodes case against Trump - Manhattan D.A. Alvin Bragg should turn himself in to authorities for impersonating an honest lawyer"

Hicks testified that Trump used his personal money on the advice of his lawyer (Cohen) to pay down a shakedown and avoid personal issues.  This is exactly the same defense used by John Edwards who actually used campaign funds to pay off his indiscretion in 2011.  

Extra - Reason: "The New York Case Against Trump Relies on a 'Twisty' Legal Theory That Reeks of Desperation." 

So will be the cries of racism

Outkick: "Ticket Prices For Caitlin Clark's First WNBA Preseason Game Are Mind-Boggling." 

WTF did I just watch?

Twitchy: "This Video of Biden's Chief Economic Adviser Is Making the Rounds."

America is back, baby!

The Corner: "Biden: Let Me Tell You About How Xenophobic Those Japanese and Indians Are." 

Too little, too late

The Hill: "Biden finally breaks his silence on the campus riots — but he’s still hedging his bets."

You can tell Dementia Joe was shamed into this perfunctory five-minute speech because it wasn't on his official calendar.  The poll numbers must have come in so they scrambled to set up his giant teleprompter.

Extra - Wall Street Journal: "Biden Fails the Campus Protest Test - His fear of taking on the crazy left poses a real threat to his re-election chances." 

Update - Twitchy: "White House Post Condemning 'Hate Speech and Violence' Couldn't Possibly Be More Predictable." 

Seems high

Hot Air: "AP/NORC Poll: Only 14% of Americans Trust the Media." 

How does this keep happening?  It's a mystery. 

No wonder they tried to fire her

Like ragging on AOC, it's low-hanging fruit to criticize White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre.  She's just awful.

Today, I got the impression - a very clear impression (KJP joke here!) - that even the White House press corps is getting pretty sick of her s--t.  She was asked in several different ways why Biden hasn't made a public statement on the nationwide college protests and KJP just refuses to answer while padding her responses with more vapid filler than a junior high student trying to meet a word count target on an essay.

Extra - The Corner: "Biden Speaking on Camera about Columbia Is Too Much to Ask, Huh?"