Posse Incitatus

Republican Virtue Signalers Betray Their Voters

We've talked before about politicians' frequent urge to DO SOMETHING (seemingly anything) to be perceived as compassionate and responsive to a serious problem -- COVID-19, spiking gasoline prices, school shootings....

We already witnessed the disastrous effects of heavy-handed COVID lockdowns that destroyed lives and livelihoods. This week, President Biden introduced a ludicrous proposal to provide "relief" from $5-plus-per-gallon gasoline prices by suspending the 18-cent federal gas tax for three months. Yes, that's right: 18 cents. What a joke. What a slap in the face to struggling Americans coming from a disgraceful administration.

And now, 14 RINO Republicans have voted with Democrats on a gun control bill that contains several egregious provisions. Among them, handing $100 million to the FBI to dole out grants to anti-Second Amendment operatives (what could POSSIBLY go wrong?), and showering states with money to promote "red flag" policies that stomp on due process and greatly infringe on Americans' Second Amendment rights.

Several of the Republican senators who voted against this legislation complained that they were given just a few minutes to read the 80-page bill before voting on it. Once again, the virtue signaling, the imagery that they were DOING SOMETHING trumped the substance of the bill and the need for reasoned debate.

Imagine if the situation were reversed. What if a Republican president had been failing on almost all of his policies, with poll ratings in the 30s and a huge chunk of the country disgusted with his administration. So this GOP chief executive introduces a big bill that will help boost his ratings with the public, and an incredible 14 DEMOCRAT SENATORS vote "yes"! Ain't gonna happen. Not now, not in a million years. Not ever.

The Republicans, led by the usual suspects (McConnell, Murkowski, Graham, et al), are once again snatching defeat from the jaws of victory. They may well endanger their chances of taking the Senate by trying to offer "Democrat Lite." When will they ever learn?

But I do see some silver linings. Once the Republicans take the House (a foregone conclusion at this point), they will control the purse strings. They can promptly defund the Democrats' anti-Second Amendment initiatives. Furthermore, legal challenges may well result in this bad bill being shot down (pun intended) by the courts, all the way up to SCOTUS.

It is disgusting how many Republicans lie through their teeth to their constituents back home, then vote with the miserable swamp creatures in the District of Corruption. Clueless? Perhaps. Disdainful of their supporters? Likely. Cowardly? Definitely; the prospect of criticism by the corrupt media terrifies them. But bottom line: Stupid may well be the operative word.

Protection for SCOTUS Justices Rightfully Expanded

Recently, the U.S. Senate unanimously passed a bill to extend federal protection to families of Supreme Court Justices, and the House also passed it, albeit not unanimously. An appalling 27 Democrats voted against it, in large part because they wanted to expand it to include protection for abortion providers and other leftist darlings. In the current climate, this legislation, which the president said he will sign, is the right thing to do.

It has been apparent for many years that hard left activists are like two-year-olds on steroids when they don't get their way. Their natural reaction is to riot, rage, threaten and spew vile pejoratives at conservatives, Christians and anyone else who stands in their way. They have zero respect for the separation of powers, checks and balances, and the entire U.S. Constitution. They would gladly scrap the First and Second amendments, among other portions of the constitution, if they only could.

Remember what Washington, D.C. was like on Donald Trump's inauguration day? Do you recall the horrendous summer of 2020 when the left set fire to many American cities, and various rif-raff including Black Lives Matter and Antifa were behind vandalism, assaults on Trump supporters and law enforcement officers, looting, arson and takeovers of blocks of urban streets?

In recents weeks, the vicious leftists have been demonstrating outside the homes of conservative Supreme Court justices -- a clear violation of federal law -- yet are given a pass by our partisan Department of Justice. Certain types of disrupters, you see, can do as they please with impunity as long as they follow the progressive, woke narrative. Others, who dare oppose the current regime or its policies, risk getting arrested, jailed, canceled and demonized as dangerous insurrectionists. 

A hard left pro abortion groups called Jane's Revenge has publicly threatened to send its militants out to riot in the streets if SCOTUS overturns Roe V. Wade, a ruling that is expected within the next few weeks. In recent days, dozens of women's pregnancy centers have been attacked with vandalism, fire-bombings and threats.

Just stop and ponder this pure, unadulterated evil. The pro-abortion fanatics think it is okay to dismember a developing baby in the mother's womb even in the third trimester of pregnancy. A distinct human being with a unique genome, a functioning brain, lungs and heart.

On the same token, they direct their hatred and rage against pregnancy care centers (aka pregnancy resource centers) that offer free ultrasounds, counseling, and items a young mother would need should she decide to keep her child, such as maternity clothes, cribs, car seats, diapers, wipes, and baby blankets.

Probably what sends the hateful leftists into an uncontrollable rage is the fact that, unlike abortion clinics, pregnancy centers provide information to the mother that may well persuade her to choose life. Real science, like the fact that a fetus has a heartbeat by 24 days and brain waves within 7-8 weeks. And unlike Planned Parenthood (founded by a vile, racist eugenicist), pregnancy centers don't make profit off of the services and resources they provide. The thought of people bombing and vandalizing these rays of light in a dark world is truly reprehensible and speaks to the black soul of progressivism.

The threat against employees of pregnancy centers (often volunteers) is too widespread and extensive for Uncle Sam to guard against in the manner of the Secret Service protecting presidents, vice presidents and their families.

But the threat against Supreme Court justices warrants beefed up federal protection. Especially in light of the fact a deranged California man was recently arrested on Justice Brett Kavanaugh's street with a gun, ammunition, a knife, tactical gear, pepper spray and zip  ties. He told police it was his intent to kill Justice Kavanaugh.

Regrettably, due in large part to the totalitarian, thuggish bent of so many leftists and their frequent reliance on courts to do their bidding when they fail to pass their initiatives legislatively, we may get to the point that federal marshals will also be needed to protect U.S. Circuit, District and Appeals Court judges. Where does it ever end?

Inflation 101 -- It's Not Rocket Science

Several months ago, many Democrats were ready to crucify Democrat senators Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema for their dogged, persistent opposition to the so-called Build Back Better pork bill.

These two politicians have a lot more common sense than most Democrats (and many Republicans and independents). They realized the U.S. economy was already overheating due to an excess of stimulus bills that were major over-reactions to the pandemic. The economy needed another $4 or $5 trillion of pork as much as a passed out drunk at closing time needs a pint of Maker's Mark.

So the excessive deficit spending was clearly a contributor to today's 8.5 percent inflation (an understated rate, since the Consumer Price Index does not include energy or food costs, both of which are major parts of most household budgets). The Federal Reserve's extended easy money policies have also contributed toward inflation, as have rising wages necessary to motivate people to get off their asses and actually go to work.

But in my estimation, spiraling energy prices are the most severe contributor to inflation. All businesses -- but especially shippers including trucking and freight companies such as UPS and FedEx -- must pass along rising fuel prices to their customers. Even businesses not involved in shipping are hard-hit. They face much higher electric and natural gas bills due to this administration's misguided war on fossil fuels and its sick paranoia about the leftist bogeyman CLIMATE CHANGE! Those higher costs must also be passed along to customers.

Just about everything you purchase -- whether in a bricks-and-mortar store or online -- has been transported from a manufacturing facility or port to a warehouse or retail outlet. Diesel fuel has nearly doubled in price in the past year, from $3.18 per gallon to about $6 per gallon. The large trucking companies can find ways to absorb these costs due to their economies of scale and ability to pass along higher costs by raising their rates. But the small mom-n-pop companies and independent operators who own their own trucks are getting hammered so bad, they're barely surviving.

Regardless of the effect on the trucking companies, the consumers ultimately suffer the consequences. They're already dealing with higher prices across the board because Joseph Robinette Biden has an irrational, obsessive hatred of fossil fuels. On his first day in office, he canceled the Keystone pipeline. Meanwhile, the Bureau of Land Management has been slow walking permit approvals for drilling on public lands. 

The administration has boasted that it issued more permits for drilling on federal lands than Trump did in his first year in office, but the truth is that oil production from federal lands makes up only about 24 percent of the total, according to the American Petroleum Institute.

Furthermore, oil drillers can't just immediately drill once they obtain permits. Companies have to contract rigs to drill the wells, and must build a sufficient inventory of permits before rigs are contracted, according to the Independent Petroleum Association of America.

Some companies have had a hard time obtaining machine parts needed for their drilling operations due to supply chain disruptions, and ensuring enough workers on staff is also a challenge because of so many Americans' sudden aversion to work.

But perhaps an even bigger reason for the constricted supply of gasoline is that there is not enough refinery capacity. You could just about count on the fingers of your hands the number of American refineries that have come online in the past 40 years. The bureaucratic nightmare, the hoops companies must jump through, the permits and legal wrangling -- all of these put a damper on oil companies constructing new refineries and on investors betting on fossil fuels.

Those who voted for Biden and are upset about the high gasoline prices and spiraling utility bills have no one but themselves to blame. He stated clearly in the 2020 presidential campaign -- not just when he was the nominee, but also during the primaries -- that he wanted to halt all fossil fuel production and convert to a so-called "green" economy.

As I have noted many times before, the engineering just does not exist right now, nor will the laws of physics comply with, a 100 percent renewable energy infrastructure. Not only do we have plenty of days when winds are low or nonexistent, and / or the sun doesn't shine; we don't have adequate infrastructure for storing and transporting wind- and solar-generated power. What's more, our electric charging infrastructure is only a blip on the radar screen.

Additionally, the mining of elements such as lithium, cobalt, nickel, and cadmium used for electric batteries causes environmental damage, not to mention the burning of lots of fossil fuels. And -- I hate to say it -- China dominates the market for solar panels and windmill turbines. Biden will bow down to totalitarians? What else is new?

Perhaps worst of all, the administration has been forced to obsequiously beg pariah nations like Venezuela, Iran and Saudi Arabia to boost their energy production for the United States..... And now....Metaphor alert!.... This is like a multi-millionaire who lives in a mansion showing up at a pawn shop dressed in ratty clothes and attempting to pawn a flat screen TV or old iPod for a few bucks to score a hit of heroin. Beyond pathetic. Sadly, the whacked out progressives of the administration have zero capacity for shame; zero knowledge of dignity. Oh, and did I mention ZERO common sense?

I digressed a bit into my standard rant against how grossly overrated and unrealistic the "green new deal" is. But my overall message today is that utter ignorance of basic economics by the fools of the Biden administration is what has wrecked our economy in only 18 months. Also, let's totally disregard the administration's ludicrous excuse that Vladimir Putin and the Russian invasion of Ukraine are primarily to blame for our inflation problems. That's as stupid as "the dog ate my homework." Somehow, I expect more from the "smartest people in the room."

First of all, spending trillions of dollars you don't have devalues the dollar. Second, keeping interest rates artificially low encourages people to take on more debt than they ought to, inflates the stock market, contributes to a housing bubble, and harms investment returns for senior citizens living on fixed incomes. Third, maintaining a disdainful, adversarial relationship with fossil fuel producers is shooting yourself in the foot. Higher fuel prices have a huge ripple effect on inflation.

All of this is so elementary, I'd bet that most seventh graders could comprehend it.... IF they had not been brainwashed with leftist, doctrinaire bullshit of the Democrat teachers unions. Alas, millions of them have been. Ditto for millions of young, middle-aged and older Americans. 

I've said for literally decades that it's not nuclear weapons, terrorism or even the rot of apathy/drugs/alcohol/decadence that represent the greatest threat to our republic. It is utter, sheer ignorance. Sadly, it is as pervasive as kudzu in the South.

When Progressive Insanity Melts Down

Two more of America's finest have died way too young in the line of duty. More on that shortly, but first, let's contemplate the sickening context.

Millions of us who believe in God, personal accountability and individual liberty have been appalled, angry and aghast about the creeping cancer of progressivism. This malevolent philosophy is destroying families, communities, individuals, businesses and institutions. Each day we keep getting pounded by the relentless sledgehammer of the left.

The corrupt and incompetent Biden administration is chock-full of progressive true believers. I supposed it's a mixed bag of naive people with good intentions (No, they don't actually hate America); spiteful fanatics whose hatred of the founding fathers and traditional values make them into "disrupters," as Nancy Pelosi once put it, who stop just short of wanting us to become the next Venezuela; and downright Marxists / Trotskyites who abhor the United States and want to ramrod totalitarian, brutal communism down our throats (as long as they will be among the elitists living the high life).

Fortunately, tens of millions of Americans have common sense, know their history, and own firearms. The left must know -- if they don't, they're pathetically ignorant -- that for many decades, totalitarian governments have moved quickly to disarm the populace so that they can impose their censorship, torture, imprisonment and executions with impunity. Furthermore, the left must realize that those they would oppress (the "deplorables," in Hillary's words), are not ignorant simpletons. We know our history, and we are aware of the grave danger progressives represent to individual dignity and liberty.

Well, lefties, I'm sorry to tell you this, but there are between 300 and 400 million firearms out there within the borders of the United States. Good luck trying to fully implement your overbearing despotism. The truth is, this should never have to come down to freedom loving Americans resorting to arms to oppose government tyranny. The ballot box has been pretty effective (despite Democrat efforts to corrupt the voting process with banana republic style voting rules).

Last November, Republican Glen Youngkin defeated well-funded Terry McAuliffe in the Virginia gubernatorial election, 50.6 percent to 48.6 percent. In a BLUE state. The impetus was the local school boards trying to ramrod racist Critical Race Theory down parents' throats; trying to indoctrinate children with not just racist curricula, but also perverted LBGTQ propaganda that is guaranteed to confuse and depress young, emotionally vulnerable students who are grasping for a sense of reality and security.

The hard-left U.S. Department of Justice didn't help matters by accusing concerned parents who spoke out at school board meetings of being borderline terrorists and a grave threat to the republic. The over-the-top hack Attorney General Merrick Garland directed the FBI and DOJ to take a hard look at what goes on at local school board meetings, and crack down on alleged violent threats.

Virginia's voters responded with righteous indignation. And this common sense reaction has become more common across the fruited plains.

After the hideous 2020 riots, voters across the nation elected Republican members of Congress despite Joe Biden defeating Donald Trump in the presidential election. Local officials, such as San Francisco Prosecuting Attorney Chesa Boudin, were recalled from office. (His recall followed by a few months the February recall of three far-left members of the San Francisco Board of Education.)

For many months, San Francisco has been melting down with chaos, crime, homelessness, feces and used heroin syringes littering the ground, the smell of urine permeating many city streets. Relief may be on the way.

In Oregon last fall, voters decriminalized possession of small amounts of hard drugs such as heroin, methamphetamine, cocaine and fentanyl. Consequently, there has been a breakdown in civilization, with homeless people strewn about, buying, dealing and using drugs. Law abiding citizens pay the price for uber woke virtue signaling by misguided prosecutors and council members.

In Los Angeles, a George Soros-supported, far left prosecutor named George Gascón has repeatedly given hardened criminals a slap on the wrist in the name of pie-in-the-sky "compassion." Recently, his lenient and naive treatment of scumbags brought about tragedy and heartache in the cold-blooded killing of two police officers in El Monte, a Los Angeles suburb.

Corporal Michael Paredes and Officer Joseph Santana responded to a call of a possible stabbing at a motel Monday evening. Upon arrival, a gunman opened fire on the officers. The gunman was a hardened criminal, 35-year-old Justin Flores, who had already served many years in prison on various felonies.

Flores had served two prison terms for burglary and car theft and pleaded no contest to possessing a firearm as a felon last winter. The weapons charge could have sent him back to prison for three years, but instead he was sentenced to two years’ probation and 20 days of time served by the insane leftist prosecutor. (A silver lining: The incorrigible piece of garbage Flores was killed in an exchange of gunfire.)

It is worth noting that the two victims are both Hispanic, as was their killer. Both officers were married fathers, which exacerbates the sadness. This, like so many other violent criminal acts occurring daily in our nation's cities, flies in the face of Joseph Robinette Biden's concocted, mendacious narrative that racist white men are primarily responsible for preying upon minorities. That the white rednecks represent the vast majority of perpetrators when it comes to the death of brown-skinned victims.

Like so much of the risible propaganda coming out of this reprehensible administration, this narrative is complete and utter bullshit -- a major insult to the intelligence of the American people. Fidel Castro and Joseph Stalin must be dancing in their graves, delighted with the horse shit coming out of Washington, D.C., and also emanating from the demonic pocketbook of George Soros' dark soul.

Satan is also doing the jig, as he's made major inroads and senses that the United States is dazed, staggering, and near collapse.

Trump is the Real Target of Jan. 6 Committee

I  didn't want to write about the dog-n-pony show known as the Jan. 6 Committee, in large part because it is simply political theater and presents a partisan, distorted narrative of what happened before, during and after the 1/6/21 Capitol riot.

This kangaroo court is presenting one-sided testimony, video and documents against all who were in and around the Capitol that fateful day. It is also impugning not just Donald Trump and his administration, but by extension, the 75 million people who voted for him in the 2020 election.

No cross examinations are allowed, nor did the organizers of this committee allow any Republican members who would challenge the narrative and raise uncomfortable questions. Thousands of hours of video tape have not been released, and the committee definitely will not address the questions about House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser refusing to beef up police presence or accept Trump's offer of National Guard troops when they knew that unrest was expected.

Also among the stories swept under the rug by the corrupt media is the "pipe bomber” who allegedly planted explosives outside the headquarters of the Democratic National Committee and Republican National Committee on the evening of January 5. This led to the evacuation of House office buildings and widespread panic.

The Department of Justice is throwing everything but the kitchen sink against the Proud Boys and Oath Keepers (both VASTLY overrated as genuine threats), charging members with seditious conspiracy.  (Overkill alert!)

According to reporter Julie Kelly of American Greatness, DOJ's M.O. is to threaten defendants with severe penalties (i.e., decades in prison) to coerce them into plea-bargaining for lighter sentences and avoiding a trial. She says DOJ wants to avoid going to trial because cross examination would shed light on the extent to which the FBI undercover agents and informants had infiltrated the crowd. I'm not a lawyer, but I do believe elements of entrapment were pervasive on Jan. 6.

The Capitol invaders were a disparate, motley crew. Some were undoubtedly federal agents provacateur; many were overly enthusiastic (and possibly drunk or drugged) Trump supporters; many more were possibly just rowdy rabble-rousers caught up in the moment and perhaps looking for their 15 minutes of fame.

The overkill with prosecution of these people -- most of whom are guilty of committing misdemeanors -- exemplifies the fascist tendencies of the current administration, a warped bunch of fanatics who honestly think that heartland conservatives are a far greater threat to our republic than drug cartels, Islamic terrorists, sex traffickers and vicious urban gangs. The Merrick Garland cultists are like programmed cyborgs -- no matter what reality is, they will continuously spit out the garbage with which they've been programmed.

The Jan. 6 committee believes if it -- to use a crude old expression -- "throws enough shit against the wall, eventually some of it will stick." They hope to find some obscure text messages, emails or eyewitness accounts to demonstrate Donald Trump's collusion with Proud Boys, Oath Keepers or any other bogeyman. (Never mind the FBI's announcement that it found scant evidence the Capitol attack was coordinated.)

The committee hopes that it can get an indictment of Trump from a D.C. cesspool jury, and ramrod a conviction through with a swamp judge -- just in time for the proverbial "October Surprise" prior to the 2022 midterm elections. Of course, The Donald would appeal. But the damage will have been done. Leftists can crow about how Trump was convicted of (fill in the blank with hysteric, overblown charges), just like they do about his impeachments on trumped up charges.

The Jan. 6 committee is almost a parody of itself. It is the manifestation of ruthless, cynical and mean-spirited politics. It wouldn't surprise me if the panel's TV ratings end up very low. Still, the Democrats could use it to crucify Trump, and in the process help some of their members in the midterm election.

I guess our greatest hope is that when they overplay their hand, a huge percentage of Americans will recognize the sham and vote accordingly. That would indeed be a breath of fresh air.

 

The Truth Will Set You Free

For several years now, I have watched with fascination as corporations, sports leagues and TV networks have shot themselves in the foot to promote false woke narratives.

Their love-fest with the Marxist hate group Black Lives Matter is a prime example. From corporate credos, to baldfaced lies uttered by MSNBC anchors, to the NBA and NFL going all-in (e.g., messages emblazoned on players' jerseys and painted onto basketball courts and football fields).

Some of these corporations are so bullheaded, they've stuck with their distorted propaganda even after a) Their profits took a major hit due to alienating a large chunk of their customers; and b) BLM was proven to be a fraud -- a bunch of two-faced hypocrites lining their own pockets and those of cronies to live large, including building mansions, plus little accountability on how donations were spent as well as selective indignation about which black lives matter. (The thousands of blacks killed by other blacks in urban neighborhoods don't matter a whit to these charlatans.)

But the NBA, among others, dialed down its woke bullshit. Here's a picture of how badly its ratings -- already on the downslide prior to the pandemic and 2020 summer of riots -- declined since 2018. About 17.6 million people watched the 2018 NBA Finals. The 2021 Finals? A measly 8.5 million. The NBA, and to a lesser extent, the NFL backed off a bit on over-the-top virtue signaling. Even NBA Commissioner Adam Silver announced publicly that his league would scale back on its social justice and BLM messaging after the abysmal 2020-2021 ratings became apparent. Smart guy.

A similar wakeup call may be happening with the clown show at MSNBC and the propaganda parrots of CNN. American Thinker mentioned the other day that even far-left conspiracy kook Rachel Maddow acknowledged that Donald Trump's Jan. 6 outdoor rally and speech had nothing to do with the Capitol riot. Apparently, MSNBC having its worst ratings in the coveted 25-54 demographic since 1999 had something to do with the network's abrupt change of M.O. Doubtless, the management is telling Maddow she needs to stop it with the outlandish bullshit because it's taking its toll in dramatically reduced revenues.

Recently, Discovery merged with WarnerMedia (formerly owned by AT&T), in the process taking charge of CNN, HBO, HBO Max, TBS, TNT and other networks.

From the get-go, the newly formed company, Warner Bros.-Discovery, made it clear that it's no longer business as usual. CEO David Zaslav wasted no time in shit-canning the bloated and worthless CNN+ just a month after its founding. He knew it was a black hole of wasted money for little or no returns. Billionaire John Malone, an influential Discovery board member, has gone on record as stating he wishes to return CNN to its more respectable 1980s roots as a mainstream, legitimate news organization, not a shill for left-wing causes.

This is simpatico with Zaslav, who recently met with CNN founder Ted Turner and also stated he wants the network to back away from its advocacy journalism.

For a while there, it seemed like virtue signaling and woke propagandizing trumped even the almighty dollar. But there comes a time when common sense sets in. It's in the spirit of that classic 1959 Motown hit by Barrett Strong, "Money (That's What I Want)," which was later covered by The Beatles.

One verse says, "Your lovin' gives me a thrill, but your lovin' don't pay my bills, I need money." Over and over, the powerful background vocals chant "That's what I want!"

In this case, it's not love and lust that give left-wing parrots a thrill;; it's spouting Marxist propaganda, heaping derision upon conservatives in flyover country and hating on Donald Trump 24/7. But alas, that doesn't pay the bills, and hasn't for a long while. Time to grow up.