Had enough yet

[Lee Chowaniec]

Let's hold all lying politicians accountable, not just the ones with "R's" after their names

Spot on media report! You can’t be a politician unless you are willing to lie!

If we're punishing politicians for lying about their past, start with Joe Biden

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/polit...4d4abd5904ad40

George Santos is a despicable, lying fraud. He's lied about his ethnicity, background, parents, and experience, among other things. If there was anything that could be embellished, George Santos probably did it. His deceit would be comical if it weren't so tragic. Santos should be held accountable with punitive actions for his lies. However, if we are now going to be genuinely outraged and start punishing politicians for lying about their past, we can begin with President Joe Biden.

Biden's lies do not excuse what Santos did in any way. This isn't a case of "whataboutism”, or some attempted rationalization predicated on universally applying the same standards for all politicians. Yet, this doesn't change the fact that many Democrats, such as Joe Biden, have their own sordid history regarding what they told voters about their past. And when these Democrats were exposed, other politicians, pundits, and talking heads in the media — basically the same people in a huff about Santos — did not have the same outrage then as they do now. This is particularly concerning since it was not just Biden who lied.

One of the more notable Democrats exposed for lying about their past was Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA). In 2018, it was revealed that Warren falsely claimed Native American heritage; she wrote that she was an "American Indian" on a registration card in 1986 for the State Bar of Texas. It is believed Warren did such to appear as a racial minority, which could help improve her career prospects.

But this inconsistency in outrage is nothing new. Consider Biden's comments about his past. There are so many to choose from it's hard to figure out exactly where to begin.

He wasn't truthful during a recent speech in Florida about the death of his son, Beau. He stated that Beau died while fighting in Iraq. "They talk about inflation … inflation is a worldwide problem right now because of a war in Iraq and the impact on oil and what Russia's doing. ... Excuse me, the war in Ukraine," the president said. "I'm thinking about Iraq because that's where my son died." But this was not true. Biden's son passed away from brain cancer in 2015 at Walter Reed Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland. There hasn't been any explanation given as to why Biden said this.

There was also the moment when Biden falsely claimed that his first wife died in a car crash in which the driver who struck his wife's vehicle was drunk. This was also not true. Biden's first wife tragically died in a car crash with a tractor-trailer in 1972. The wreck also killed his infant daughter. Over the years, Biden claimed, on multiple occasions, that the driver involved in the crash was drunk. However, there wasn't any evidence to support this claim. Moreover, the state official who investigated the accident denied any sobriety issues caused the crash.

Biden also previously "Santos-d" his law school ranking while campaigning for president in 1987. Other tall tales told by Biden include his dishonesty about his academic credentials, the number of undergraduate degrees he earned, being arrested in South Africa, being raised in a Puerto Rican community, and interaction with his son Hunter about his business dealings — among many, many more. In fact, it could be legitimately argued that Joe Biden was George Santos before George Santos was. None of this excuses Santos or lessens his egregious deception. But the Left's outrage over Santos is as credible as Santos's "Jew-ish" heritage. Rightfully, they criticize Santos. Wrongfully, they ignore Biden's struggles with the truth — a sin they continue to do regularly.

These double standards and inconsistent outrage are hallmarks of the Left. There isn't any moral compass, just political theater to influence public opinion. George Santos deserves scrutiny and criticism for his inability to be honest with the public. But so do politicians such as Warren and Biden.

Let's hold all lying politicians accountable, not just the ones with "R's" after their names.

And yes, Trump ‘the liar-in-chief’ should be held equally accountable as well.

[Lee Chowaniec]

Dan Crenshaw pitches solution to border crisis to unite Democrats and Republicans

While we spend $125 billion to secure another’s border, we have no plan to secure our border from the 5 million illegal crossings, its monetary cost in billions and loss over 120,000 fentanyl deaths from the illegal drugs crossing our border. Vice-president Harris declines interest and we know the Big Guy is clueless and disinterested.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/polit...2985afdafe1cf3

Rep. Dan Crenshaw (R-TX) went a step further than GOP leadership in his proposal to end the crisis at the nation's borders, where federal law enforcement has encountered illegal immigrants approximately 5 million times since President Joe Biden took office.

Crenshaw, a top contender to take over the House Homeland Security Committee, said the historic crisis at the U.S.-Mexico border can be handled with one major change followed by several other twists. The plan may be able to appeal to both parties and includes ideas that centrist Democrats on the border have endorsed.

"Let’s solve the border crisis in one tweet. Instead of spending billions more on 'processing,' spend more money on jet fuel. Pack planes full of migrants who cross illegally and deport them immediately. The crisis will end within months," Crenshaw wrote in a string of tweets Monday evening.

"In summary: fund airplanes, holding facilities, immigration judges, ICE prosecutors, walls, and technology capable of detecting fentanyl. And stop the abuses of our asylum system. That’s what border security would look like," he wrote.

[Lee Chowaniec]

Right and left media outlets skewer Biden on immigration

The Daily Beast, a left media outlet declares Biden is a complete liar on immigration.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/polit...942c9eb99e1f1d

President Joe Biden did a wicked thing this week, and he probably figured that he could hide it behind the smoke from the implosion of the Republican Party at the other end of Pennsylvania Avenue.

With the American people distracted by the efforts by 20 Republican insurgents to deny the speaker’s gavel to Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA), this was an opportune time for the White House to unveil a crackdown on the U.S.-Mexico border that would make any GOP immigration hardliner proud.

All Biden had to do was betray and backtrack. He was able to con the Latinos who voted for him, because they were desperate to be rescued from the regime of former President Donald Trump. Biden said often on the stump that, if elected president, his administration’s immigration system would be “safe, orderly and humane.”

But the immigration plan that the president announced this week—which appears to have been sketched out by the Department of Homeland Security—is none of those things. Instead, the measures are arbitrary, cruel, and racist.

FOX News Steve Hilton blasts Biden's 'pathetic stunt': These are 'unserious people' making everything worse

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/opini...4c29cf5e995077

Since President Biden announced his plans to visit the border Sunday, critics have blasted the move as virtue signaling and a political stunt. On "The Faulkner Focus" Friday, "The Next Revolution" host Steve Hilton criticized the "unserious" Biden administration for their "pathetic stunts" regarding the border crisis.

STEVE HILTON: I think this event yesterday was a perfect encapsulation of the entire Biden years as president. What do they do on every issue? They create a problem because of their pandering to the far-left extremists who control their party. They then deny the problem exists. They belatedly acknowledge it, but not before blaming everyone else for it but themselves. And then they come up with totally pathetic stunts instead of real solutions. You saw that on every issue because they are totally focused on sending the right message, signaling their virtue to their activists. They are unserious people. They are not focused on policy. They are not focused on addressing real problems. They are focused on the politics. On seeming to chime in with whatever the latest fad is that is animating their far-left extremist activist base. That's why on every single issue, whether that's the economy or transportation or energy, you name it, there isn't a single issue where they haven't turned the situation and made it worse with their rule. And it's in that sense so typical. It's not a one-off. This border crisis and their response yesterday, it's exactly how they've been on every issue.


How pathetic and embarrassing for our country that our president can’t get it straight that he is our president, not Kamala Harris.

[Lee Chowaniec]

Tranq, the newest street drug horror

Mexican Cartels control the border and as such are responsible for killing migrants by the thousands and 125,000 Americans. While refugees report socialism in their countries is horrible where they are being killed, tortured, and refrained from talking about their government, some in this country welcome it here.

While little was reported about the amount of fentanyl entering this country and its devastation, much is reported about gender pronouns, trivial offenses, and hateful consequences. The following report on fentanyl spiked with horse tranquilizer (Tranq) is repugnant and terrifying.

Tranq Dope: Animal Sedative Mixed with Fentanyl Brings Fresh Horror to U.S. Drug Zones

https://news.yahoo.com/tranq-dope-an...trk=fb&tsrc=fb

PHILADELPHIA — Over a matter of weeks, Tracey McCann watched in horror as the bruises she was accustomed to getting from injecting fentanyl began hardening into an armor of crusty, blackened tissue. Something must have gotten into the supply.

Switching corner dealers didn’t help. People were saying that everyone’s dope was being cut with something that was causing gruesome, painful wounds. “I’d wake up in the morning crying because my arms were dying,” said McCann, 39.

In her shattered Philadelphia neighborhood, and increasingly in drug hot zones around the country, an animal tranquilizer called xylazine — known by street names like “tranq,” “tranq dope” and “zombie drug” — is being used to bulk up illicit fentanyl, making its impact even more devastating.

Xylazine causes wounds that erupt with a scaly dead tissue called eschar; untreated, they can lead to amputation. It induces a blackout stupor for hours, rendering users vulnerable to rape and robbery. When people come to, the high from the fentanyl has long since faded and they immediately crave more. Because xylazine is a sedative and not an opioid, it resists standard opioid overdose reversal treatments.

More than 90% of Philadelphia’s lab-tested dope samples were positive for xylazine, according to the most recent data.

“It’s too late for Philly,” said Shawn Westfahl, an outreach worker with Prevention Point Philadelphia, a 30-year-old health services center in Kensington, the neighborhood at the epicenter of the city’s drug trade. “Philly’s supply is saturated. If other places around the country have a choice to avoid it, they need to hear our story.”

[Lee Chowaniec]

We are so screwed!

Never in my long life had I believed that America would see such perilous times, so divided, so filled with hate, dispirited, leaderless in Washington and supported by a deceitful / impudent / biased media.

75% of voters voice dissatisfaction with Washington politics and want a change in direction. 66% of voters declare living paycheck-to-paycheck. More workers are leaving the job market because they can do better living from social programs than being employed. Inflation, crime, free speech assault, a proxy war and a deteriorating foreign policy, and the left is apoplectic over the Republicans taking over the House and the election of Speaker McCarthy declaring right-wing insurgents will be threatening our democracy standards of living.

And then there’s the border crisis. Previous presidents have abused parole, but Biden is doing it on an industrial scale. He claims to be acting because Congress won’t, which is to say they won’t pass his immigration "reform" bill granting amnesty to millions of illegal aliens and thus encouraging millions more to enter illegally or overstay their visas. But when he came into office, Biden undid every program the Trump administration had successfully used to reduce illegal entries. Predictably, hundreds of thousands of people from countries near and far headed for the border, knowing they’d be let in regardless of the truth of their claims.

Biden is being called out for tidying up migrant encampments in Texas. El Paso residents watched as sanitation workers took away trash from the scene in order for it to look clean before the president arrived.

President Biden understated the number of deaths caused by fentanyl Monday when raising the issue with Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador — after critics previously blasted Biden for not paying enough attention to the deadly scourge. Biden said that fentanyl has killed “100,000” Americans, when official data actually link the potent synthetic opioid to 196,000 US deaths in 2018-2021 alone.

The toll in 2022 is feared to be even worse than the 71,000 fentanyl deaths in 2021, potentially putting US fatalities over five years close to 300,000 as the drug is increasingly mixed into non-opioid drugs and counterfeit prescriptions.

Much has been made about accusations that President Joe Biden’s mental cognition is in decline. He has exhibited plenty of misstatements, speech that doesn’t make sense, illogical tall tales, and situations in which he looks lost on stage. Donald Trump has shown in some speeches since he left the White House a propensity to wander, and he lacks a coherent logical track to some of his pronouncements. Trump’s alleged cognitive problems are mostly speculation from afar.

Trump has already announced his intent to seek presidential nomination in 2024. Biden is anticipated to announce soon. Russia, China, North Korea, Iran, and the world in general must be thinking, ‘WTF is the U.S. thinking!’

Embarrassed & screwed!

[Lee Chowaniec]

Hochul addressing New York’s’ mental health crisis is spot on

New York residents are suffering mental health issues from anxiety to full blown mental breakdowns from crises relating to immigration, illicit fentanyl drug deaths, economy, inflation, crime, etc.

Joe Biden gets caught yet again mishandling classified documents and the mainstream media bellows that it’s not as bad as Trump’s. If there's a special prosecutor for Trump, there should be one for Biden.

The country is overwhelmed from the political BS and becoming more dispirited and mentally fatigued and in need of mental health assistance. Governor Hochul’s
proposal to address mental health issues is spot on.

Hochul's proposals for 2023 include a $1 billion plan to for a "dramatic reduction" in unaddressed mental illness in New York, which her office says will increase the sense of safety and quality of life in communities.

According to Hochul, nearly 3,200 New Yorkers struggling with severe mental illness or addiction are living on the streets and subways, but sufficient levels of inpatient psychiatric beds and outpatient services do not exist to help them. Hochul plans to add 1,000 inpatient psychiatric beds at state facilities.

"I'm declaring that the era of ignoring the needs of these individuals is over. Because our success as government leaders is measured by our ability to lift up and support all our constituents," Hochul said. "Today marks a reversal in our state's approach to mental health care. This is a monumental shift to make sure no one falls through the cracks. The most significant change since the deinstitutionalization era of the 1970s."

[grump]

“Today I am proposing some new proposals….” She’s as dumb as a stump! That said, thousands of mentally ill are wandering the streets, unmedicated, sleeping on heating grates and injuring themselves and others, because the ACLU repeatedly goes to court to challenge any attempt to provide desperately needed institutional care for the most seriously disturbed. Jochul can provide all the care beds she wants and it will do no good until judges stand up to the ACLU and it’s idiotic arguments.

[Lee Chowaniec]

Beginning of the end for Biden? Nah!

There’s a double standard when it comes to American justice. Biden, Trump, and Hillary Clinton should have adjoining jail cells.

TUCKER CARLSON: This is the beginning of the end for Biden

https://www.foxnews.com/opinion/tuck...ning-end-biden

This is pretty clearly the beginning of the end for Joe Biden. We can't prove that. The future is unknowable, but holy smokes, it does not look good, and it doesn't look good in a very recognizable way. Somewhere in his basement rec room drinking a Courvoisier on ice, Andrew Cuomo is chuckling to himself. He's seen this movie before. Joe Biden's own aides keep finding stacks of felonies he's left around the place in his office, in his car, and instead of throwing this evidence in the fireplace, as under normal circumstances they would, they're sending these documents on to the Justice Department. That's not a good sign.

Meanwhile, Biden's attorney general, the most unscrupulous, unethical attorney general this country has ever had, has somehow decided that actually, in order to maintain his unsullied record of nonpartisanship, he's going to have to pass these documents, these stacks of felonies, on to an independent counsel, because that always works out well for a sitting president and by the way, in this case, the independent counsel is a Republican. Good luck, Joe Biden. Happy 80th birthday.

How sad and embarrassing to once again listen to a stammering Biden unable to read a prepared statement, and unable to make cognitive responses that are logical.

If this were to lead to his ouster from the 2024 presidential election that would be a good thing unless if favored the word salad individual waiting in the wings.


Kamala Harris mocked for repeating several word salads during climate crisis talk

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/polit...a6d9e3acbd86b9

[Lee Chowaniec]

Biden Takes Credit for Inflation 'Coming Down'

96% of workers are looking for a new position in 2023, largely in search of better pay, according to a recent report by jobs site Monster.com.

Nearly half, or 40%, of job seekers said they need a higher income due to inflation and rising expenses, Monster found. While wage growth has been high by historical standards, it isn’t keeping up with the increased cost of living, which is still up 6.5% from a year ago and leaving more workers unsatisfied with their pay. Others said they have no room to grow in their current role or that they are in a toxic workplace.

66% of Americans claim to be living paycheck-to-paycheck and profess seeing no relief in food prices. Biden does and says his policies are working. The CPI went down to 6.5 but ask anyone doing the grocery shopping if they are better off today than they were a year ago!

FACT CHECK: Biden touts falling food prices when they are actually rising

https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/mark...e419b12de9f2ad

President Joe Biden touted falling food prices Thursday, but the latest federal data shows the price of food is actually on the rise and has been for more than a year. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics released new inflation data Thursday that showed the overall consumer price index dropped 0.1%, driven in part by a decrease in energy prices.

While prices overall dropped, food prices actually rose in December. “The food index increased 0.3 percent over the month [of December] with the food at home index rising 0.2 percent,” BLS said. After the tweet, Biden acknowledged in a speech Thursday that food prices did rise in December but lauded the slower increase.

BLS data shows the “food at home” index rose 0.2% in December and 11.8% in the past year. Food away from home rose 0.4% in December and 8.3% in the last year. “The index for cereals and bakery products rose 16.1 percent over the year. The remaining major grocery store food groups posted increases ranging from 7.7 percent (meats, poultry, fish, and eggs) to 15.3 percent (dairy and related products),” BLS said.

From BLS' data, here are some seasonally adjusted price changes for urban consumers for the major food categories in December as well as the annual numbers:

• Cereals and bakery products prices saw no change in December but rose 16.1% in the last year.

• Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs rose 1% in December and 7.7% in the last year.

• Dairy and related products prices declined 0.3% in December but rose 15.3% in the last year.

• Fruits and vegetable prices declined 0.6% in December but rose 8.4% in the last year.

• Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials prices rose 0.1% in December and 12.4% in the last year.

[Lee Chowaniec]

Electrification: Are you ready Buffalo

Ten people died in unheated Buffalo homes that had lost electrical power during the recent storm that knocked out power to 108,000 National Grid customers in Western New York. Many of those who died in the storm or suffered related hardships were homebound and unable to seek outside shelter.

Many who lost power were able to electrify their homes with gas operated in-line or portable generators. Gas fireplaces and gas stoves allowed families to heat food and liquids and provide some heat. All those options will be gone as the government mandates future changes to transition to clean, sustainable energy to save the planet.

Climate change is real. The government should be commended for taking steps to transition to clean energy, promising to provide financial assistance to help everyone in their attempt to achieve their goal. So, what will it take to meet the government’s mandated future goals.

Heat pumps

Cost: $4,000 - $7,000
Installation: $2,500 (on average)
Longevity: 10-15 years
Efficiency: Not installed much in cold weather climates as the system intakes outside air to heat.
Heat pumps can also operate using natural gas – but fossil fuels are slowly being eliminated.

Solar roofs

Cost: $20,000 and up.
Longevity: 20-25 years, losing efficiency as they age.

Efficiency: On a cloudy day loses 75% of potential output. Storage battery required to capture excess energy output for use on those cloudy days – and for use at time of power outages. Provide access to reliable backup power and independence from your utility.

Cost of lithium-ion backup storage batteries: $7,000-$15,000.

Purchase of EV

Cost: $30,000 - $70,000

Efficiency: Depending on model lose 5-30% in temperatures around freezing.

Generators

Fixed or portable operate using fossil fuels. But the government is fixated on eliminating fossil fuels, right? Gas stoves, lawn mowers, leaf blowers are all being transitioned.

When 66% of families today report living pay-check-to-paycheck, strangled by inflation, and watching the pollution caused by the Ukraine war, air travel pollution, etc., they have to be concerned on how they will manage financially to meet government mandates – even with government subsides.

We have friends that live in an all-electric apartment today who were prating they would not lose power. The fireplace and stove were electric and had they lost power there would have been no way the keep warm, heat food, and even have a hot cup of coffee, tea, or broth.

Ready Buffalo, it’s coming! Scared? You should be!

[Lee Chowaniec]

Energy transition plan must work for Western New York

Had the historic blizzard that recently hit the region occurred without the availability of natural gas and other fuels that are to be eliminated in New York State's draconian climate action plan, the results would have been even more deadly and chaotic. The reality is that certain current technologies cannot be relied on in cold weather extremes.

Every day we are becoming more informed on the shortsightedness, recklessness, and consequences of the government’s clean energy plans to eliminate fossil fuels in their entirety. The following report is another example of enlightening the public of the folly.

Energy transition plan must work for Western New York
• By David P. Bauer – Buffalo News

The State of New York has initiated a statewide missions reduction plan designed, in the words of its supporters, to create an example for the world to follow. Called the Scoping Plan, it was adopted by the Climate Action Council, a group appointed as required by the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act enacted in 2019 by former Gov. Andrew Cuomo. To reduce emissions, the plan aims to transform the way the state produces, generates, distributes and uses energy in every sector of the economy.

Many of the recommendations reflect common sense, such as accelerating energy efficiency, increasing research and development efforts for decarbonization and exploring ways to deliver renewable natural gas (RNG) and hydrogen via natural gas distribution systems. However, some of the Council's recommendations are drastic, like banning natural gas appliances in favor of forcing homes to go all-electric, despite strong consumer preference for reliable natural gas service.

New Yorkers have enjoyed reasonably priced energy thanks to a diverse mix of electric generating assets (including hydro, nuclear and natural gas fired, among others) and an extensive natural gas distribution system. As a result of this portfolio of low-carbon energy sources, New York State's energy-related per capita carbon dioxide emissions are already the lowest of the 50 states. However, the Climate Act requires the state to phase out the use of natural gas as a fuel to generate electricity and replace it with intermittent wind and solar resources. The plan includes recommendations that would eliminate the use of natural gas in practically all other applications, instead forcing New Yorkers to use electric alternatives.

While all New Yorkers undoubtedly support measures to address global climate change, I believe that anything our political leaders and regulators attempt should follow an energy version of the Hippocratic Oath: First, do no harm. Our current energy systems work, and work very well. Reducing carbon emissions is an important goal, but the state must do it in a way that does not sacrifice the energy affordability and reliability we have enjoyed for decades. Despite its good intentions, however, the plan as issued will impose significantly higher costs on Western New Yorkers and reduce energy reliability and resiliency. This is unacceptable.

Nearly 90% of people in our region heat their homes with natural gas. The cost to convert to electric heating will be significant – the information developed by the Council's consultants suggests that the cost of converting homes in New York from natural gas to electric energy will cost, in the aggregate, between $10 billion and $25 billion, or between $20,000 and $50,000 for each homeowner, a significant amount considering the median home sale price in Erie County was $240,000 in December. With a median household income in Erie County of approximately $62,500, how will many Western New Yorkers afford this transition?

On top of this, ongoing energy costs will almost certainly skyrocket. The scale of what's proposed is incredible. According to National Grid, electrifying all heat for this area would require a near quadrupling of our region's power grid and generating capacity. Picture, if you will, the Robert Moses Niagara Power Project. To meet the plan's goals, we would need to build the equivalent of four more of those massive generating stations, not to mention the distribution build-out required to deliver that electricity to homes and business. This will require thousands of windmills, countless miles of new electric transmission lines and thousands of acres of solar farms, all to replace a natural gas distribution system that's already built and largely paid for.

In addition to higher costs, the plan's aggressive move to electrify almost everything with intermittent wind and solar generation will reduce the reliability of the electric system. Last November, the New York Independent System Operator, the state's foremost expert on reliability, warned that "thinning reliability margins over the next decade pose increased challenges" and "the slightest deviations from expected conditions … including delays in expected transmission and generation capacity expansion, extreme weather and higher-than-expected demand … could result in reliability concerns during winter cold snaps." Further, the system operator warns that by 2040, there will be as much as a 45-gigawatt shortfall in winter electric generation that cannot be met with existing technologies. That is a startling amount of generation – greater than all the electric generation that's installed in the state today. At present, there's no clear plan as to how this shortage will be solved other than, to paraphrase, "we'll figure it out when we get there."

Despite these repeated cautions, the plan adopts policies to encourage a "rapid transformation" by specific dates that are not tied to any reliability milestones. This is an incredibly irresponsible approach – it makes no sense to mandate the electrification of space heating in Western New York when it's uncertain the necessary power and electric infrastructure will be there to meet the increased demand for electricity.

I support New York's efforts to decarbonize the state's economy. I also believe New York should be a leader and set a good example for the rest of the world to follow. But anything we do has to be done at a reasonable cost and without reducing reliability. Though well intended, the plan fails on both accounts. We simply cannot ban natural gas and expect to maintain affordability, energy reliability and resiliency, especially in Western New York.

But there is a better way. Maintaining a healthy mix of energy sources while pursuing an "all-of-the-above" emissions reduction strategy – focusing principally on energy efficiency programs and hybrid heating solutions – is the best path forward for all New Yorkers. By leveraging the existing energy networks with a coordinated gas and electric decarbonization strategy, the feasibility risks of the state's plan would be better managed. And, with improved energy efficiency measures and heating solutions that combine electricity, natural gas and innovative technologies like RNG and hydrogen, we can achieve the state's emissions reduction goals without sacrificing reliability, and at a lower cost.

[Lee Chowaniec]

Hopefully Governor Hochul seen this media report

Joe Scarborough Absolutely LOSES IT Over ‘Stupid’ Gas Stove Controversy: ‘They Keep Getting Dumber and Dumber!’

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/polit...f1d18f8f39c9fe

On Monday, Morning Joe ran clips of Republicans who have sounded the alarm ever since a U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission official said in an interview that regulating gas stoves was an option up for consideration. The White House has explained that the Biden Administration is not advancing this proposal, so the panic over a make-believe ban has been a recent point of ridicule against conservatives.

Scarborough was helplessly giggling over the outrage before he recomposed himself and called it a prime example of modern political craziness.

“It’s so stupid,” Scarborough said. “When you have Kevin McCarthy going out, and other people talking about gas stoves, I mean, I just believe that whoever is polling this issue and telling Republicans to obsess over it, they just need to stop! It makes Trump Republicans look even dumber.”

Scarborough went on to wonder if Democratic operatives might’ve “infiltrated the Republican Party” in recent years in order to make the GOP look bad by having them focus on trivial matters all the time.

They keep getting dumber and dumber and dumber! If you look at the things they’re holding press conferences about, it’s mind blowing! It’s just mind blowing. It is all gesture, and they have a chance to push issues and talk issues. They just don’t want to. So now they’re talking about gas stoves instead of Vladimir Putin threatening nuclear war, instead of China threatening to go into Taiwan, instead of North Korea focusing on building a nuclear program that can launch nuclear weapons that can hit America’s mainland, they’re worried about gas stoves.

Video: Joe Scarborough, the mocking buffoon!

[Lee Chowaniec]

Biden has been on a roll – so they say

The Biden administration and some media commentators have been eager to declare Biden a success. "Biden begins 2023 with a stronger hand to play," declared Politico. "Biden and his team feeling vindicated," declared CNN. "Whisper it, but Joe Biden had a brilliant year," declared Newsweek. Of course, it should be said that some outlets have always been ready to declare Biden a success. Back in August, the New York Times declared, "Biden is on a roll that any president would relish." That was before he lost control of the House and any hope for a legislative agenda in the second half of his term, the document scandal and with no end in sight to steadfast inflation costs to food, energy, and rent.

A new Quinnipiac poll provides a measure of Biden's standing in the wake of the classified documents scandal. The news is not good. Biden's job approval rating is 38% in the new survey, with 53% disapproval. A full 45% said they strongly disapprove of Biden's performance, versus only 20% who said they strongly approve of the job he is doing.

Biden's approval ratings on various issues are uniformly bad. Just 36% approve of his handling of the economy, 38% approve of his handling of foreign policy, and 46% approve of his handling of the war in Ukraine. On the crisis on the U.S.-Mexico border, an appalling 17% approve of the job he is doing, versus 70% who disapprove. Seventy percent disapproval! That's quite an accomplishment.

It is no surprise that people still say the economy is the "most urgent issue facing the country today." Thirty-five percent named it their top concern. After that came gun violence and crime; a combined 14% named them. Then immigration, at 11%. Climate change came in at 8%. Russia's war in Ukraine was named by just 3%, and COVID came in at exactly 1%.

After going grocery shopping this morning and seeing no relief in pricing reductions and/or product size / quantity shrinkage, an increase of 5 cents a gallon over the past week (during a seasonal low point for usage), it is not difficult to understand why 70% of voters don’t want to see this fossil running in 2024.

[Lee Chowaniec]

The Coup We Never Knew
Dr. Victor Davis Hanson

Did someone or something seize control of the United States?

What happened to the U.S. border? Where did it go? Who erased it? Why and how did over 5 million people enter our country illegally? Did Congress secretly repeal our immigration laws? Did President Joe Biden issue an executive order allowing foreign nationals to walk across the border and reside in the United States as they pleased?

Since when did money not have to be paid back? Who insisted that the more dollars the federal government printed, the more prosperity would follow? When did America embrace zero interest? Why do we believe $30 trillion in debt is no big deal?

When did clean-burning, cheap, and abundant natural gas become the equivalent of dirty coal? How did prized natural gas that had granted America's wishes of energy self-sufficiency, reduced pollution, and inexpensive electricity become almost overnight a pariah fuel whose extraction was a war against nature? Which lawmakers, which laws, and which votes of the people declared natural gas development and pipelines near criminal?

Was it not against federal law to swarm the homes of Supreme Court justices, to picket and to intimidate their households in efforts to affect their rulings? How then with impunity did bullies surround the homes of Justices Brett Kavanaugh, Samuel Alito, Amy Coney Barrett, Neil Gorsuch, John Roberts, and Clarence Thomas - furious over a court decision on abortion? How could these mobs so easily throng our justices' homes, with placards declaring "Off with their d--s"?

Since when did Americans create a government Ministry of Truth? And on whose orders did the FBI contract private news organizations to censor stories it did not like and writers whom it feared?

How did we wake up one morning to new customs of impeaching a president over a phone call? Of the speaker of the House tearing up the State of the Union address on national television? Of barring congressional members from serving on their assigned congressional committees?

When did we assume the FBI had the right to subvert the campaign of a candidate it disliked? Was it legal suddenly for one presidential candidate to hire a foreign ex-spy to subvert the campaign of her rival?

Was some state or federal law passed that allowed biological males to compete in female sports? Did Congress enact such a law? Did the Supreme Court guarantee that biological male students could shower in gym locker rooms with biological women? Were women ever asked to redefine the very sports they had championed?

When did the government pass a law depriving Americans of their freedom during a pandemic? In America can health officials simply cancel rental contracts or declare loan payments in suspension? How could it become illegal for mom-and-pop stores to sell flowers or shoes during quarantine but not so for Walmart or Target?

Since when did the people decide that 70 percent of voters would not cast their ballots on Election Day? Was this revolutionary change the subject of a national debate, a heated congressional session, or the votes of dozens of state legislatures?

What happened to Election Night returns? Did the fact that Americans created more electronic ballots and computerized tallies make it take so much longer to tabulate the votes?

When did the nation abruptly decide that theft is not a crime, and assault is not a felony? How can thieves walk out with bags of stolen goods, without the wrath of angry shoppers, much less fear of the law?

Was there ever a national debate about the terrifying flight from Afghanistan? Who planned it and why?

What happened to the once-trusted FBI? Why almost overnight did its directors decide to mislead Congress, to deceive judges with concocted tales from fake dossiers and with doctored writs? Did Congress pass a law that our federal leaders in the FBI or CIA could lie with impunity under oath?

Who redefined our military and with whose consent? Who proclaimed that our chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff could call his Chinese Communist counterpart to warn him that America's president was supposedly unstable? Was it always true that retired generals routinely labeled their commander-in-chief as a near Nazi, a Mussolini, an adherent of the tools of Auschwitz?

Were Americans ever asked whether their universities could discriminate against their sons and daughters based on their race? How did it become physically dangerous to speak the truth on campus? Whose idea was it to reboot racial segregation and bias as "theme houses," "safe spaces," and "diversity"? How did that happen in America?

We are beginning to wake up from a nightmare of a country we no longer recognize, and from a coup, we never knew.

___________________________
Dr. Victor Davis Hanson is a distinguished fellow of the Center for American Greatness. He is a classicist and historian at the Hoover Institution, Stanford University, and the author of "The Second World Wars: How the First Global Conflict Was Fought and Won," from Basic Books.

[Lee Chowaniec]

Biden and Trump are more alike than different

Trump and Biden are more alike than different – as are the media and diehard affiliated party supporters. To attain their political or personal goals, their self-servi
ng interests too often trump that of the public it serves. Baring murder they will often take any method to destroy their opponent's integrity, credibility, or livelihood.

I don’t despise both parties as the author of the following report, but as a lifelong ‘blank’ I have come to loathe the representatives from both parties (and the media) who by their lies, deceit, and malicious propaganda are destroying the fabric of our country. Spot on!

On documents, Biden and Trump are more alike than different
Ruben Navarrette - Washington Post Writers Group

I despise both parties. Neither my liberal friends nor my conservative ones get angry at me for saying that. What bothers them is when I add, "And often, I can't tell them apart."

My friends in both parties have much invested in trying to convince contributors and voters that there are major differences between the parties. But what they're talking about are policies; e.g., only liberals care about climate change, and only conservatives care about the security of the U.S.-Mexico border. Send your checks, folks!

I don't put much stock in policies. Positions change. Promises get broken. Politicians are expert chameleons; they know how to survive.

While serving in the California State Assembly in the early 2000s, Kevin McCarthy was considered a moderate on immigration who was eager to make peace with Latinos after the state GOP alienated them. Today, the new House speaker falsely claims that the border is open and threatens to impeach Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas for failing to seal the border. He knows better.

In 1994, Joe Biden – then a Democratic senator from Delaware who pandered to working-class whites – teamed up with a law enforcement group to write a racist crime bill that fueled the mass incarceration of African Americans. Today, President Biden – who chose Black women to serve as vice president and a Supreme Court justice – is forever making overtures to African Americans and aspires to be one of the most racially sensitive presidents in U.S. history.

You can't count on policies. The only thing that matters is character. And sadly, that is in short supply in the politics of today.

Nothing could better drive home that point than the scandal involving Biden's sloppy handling of what appear to be Obama-era classified documents.

According to the White House, four batches of documents have been uncovered so far: a "small" number on Nov. 2 in a Washington office at the Penn Biden Center used by Biden after he was vice president, another set in the garage of his Wilmington, Del., residence on Dec. 20, a single classified document in a room adjacent to the garage on Jan. 11, and five more pages in the Wilmington house on Jan. 12.

Biden insisted at one point that he didn't know about the documents. Of course, later – at a different point – he knew enough about the documents to assure reporters that they were safe and sound in "a locked garage" alongside his Corvette. In Washington, "moral consistency" is just another highfalutin phrase lawmakers in both parties shrug off as quaint.

It seems like only yesterday – or more precisely, August – that Republicans intent on protecting their own insisted that former president Donald Trump improperly warehousing classified material, including top-secret documents, at his private residence at Mar-a-Lago was no big deal. Besides, they said, the American public didn't care about any of that as much as they did the price of milk.

Meanwhile, Democrats claimed to be outraged and insisted that this sort of offense was a reckless and irresponsible breach of national security that would surely cause the collapse of the republic if Trump weren't severely punished – and preferably barred from ever again holding elective office.

And yes, they argued, the American people do care about keeping classified documents secured.

But that was then. This is now. The two parties have flipped the script and taken to reciting each other's dialogue. Republicans now see the wisdom in coming down hard on any former vice president or current president who mishandled classified documents, and some Democrats are already making the argument that the American people don't care about this kerfuffle nearly as much as they do about the price of eggs.

Of course the parties will push back. Republicans will dismiss any comparison between what Trump did and what Biden did. Democrats will do the same for wildly different reasons.

See what I mean? These two siblings were separated at birth.

Look, the circumstances are different. But the root is the same. This is about a person in a very high place – a former president, a vice president, a current president – taking home classified documents that were supposed to be turned over to the National Archives.

Trump and Biden now have special prosecutors investigating them and their behavior. Both men are under clouds.

Maybe there is a silver lining – or two. Maybe both parties will emerge from these scandals a tad chastened. Maybe, in the future, they won't be so quick to delight in the misfortune of opponents, because – given the cyclical nature of politics – it's likely their turn will come.