Posse Incitatus

Sleepy Joe's Student Loan Gambit

For years now, we've heard untold sob stories about twenty-somethings being burdened with massive student loans that they are hard-pressed to pay off.

Often, young people squandered their student loan money and first few years out of high school by pursuing worthless degrees in majors such as English Lit, sociology, or women's studies. Then they act surprised and disillusioned when the only jobs they can land with their useless sheepskins are minimum wage or not much more than that.  It's bad news when you're $40K in debt to Uncle Sam for student loans and, despite having a bachelor's degree, are working for $9 an hour at the coffee shop.

So now President Biden is considering canceling all student loan debt. The nationwide total is an appalling $1.6 trillion. But millions of young people are not affected -- i.e., those who took out student loans and repaid them, those who never went to college or borrowed money, and those who borrowed money for purposes other than college tuition, such as for small business expenses and overhead.

For instance, consider a young man who borrowed money to purchase pickup trucks, a back hoe and a Kubota compact tractor for a small construction business. He faces the same pressures as college graduates to bring in enough money to pay back his loans, but people like him cannot garner the public sympathy to be considered for loan forgiveness. In the minds of many liberals, college graduates are far more worthy of sympathy and empathy than grimy, grubby blue collar guys who drive pickup trucks and work with their hands.

It's quite possible that Slow Joe's plans to kowtow to millennials may backfire. Many of them, even if they have been on the liberal side for years, could be cynical and skeptical about his intentions. Maybe, just maybe, they will recognize student loan forgiveness as simply a brazen political ploy to buy votes in the 2022 midterm elections.

Perhaps they will assess "conditions on the ground," an expression military generals like to use, and realize they are not in very good shape. Raging inflation, rising interest rates, the constant threat of violent crime, high-horse badgering from Uncle Sam about supposed systemic racism, and nanny state micromanaging on COVID-19 vaccines and masks are just some of the annoyances driving people crazy.

Nope. On balance, I don't think that young people, despite their frequent ignorance and gullibility, are what you'd call a "cheap date" in the vernacular. They probably can't be bought off with a butt-kissing student loan forgiveness policy. Even those who have supported Democrats in the past may decide not to vote at all, or possibly to vote for Republicans or alternative party candidates.

And it goes without saying, those who paid back their student loans, as well as those who never took out student loans, are not very likely to reward Democrats for helping others and ignoring their needs.

The Biden administration's failures have been so glaring, and the ruinous consequences so widespread, that its internal advisors believe they need a "moonshot" to boost Democrats' chances in November. Sadly for them, but thankfully for our nation, they are simply prolonging clueless, self-destructive behavior and won't get far.

Sleepy Joe's Ministry of Truth

Abuse of the federal government's powers to go after political enemies has long been a threat and a reality. But since Barack Obama's weaponization of the IRS to persecute Tea Party groups a dozen years ago, things have really been ramping up.

In the 15 months since Joseph Robinette Biden was sworn into office, we have seen increasing cases of the FBI being used to harass those who speak out against Democrats and the Biden administration.

The FBI was behind the Russian collusion hoax that started while Obama was president, and has continued coming down hard on conservative activists such as journalistic muckraker James O'Keefe.The Department of Justice (DOJ) and its FBI subsidiary, as well as the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), have been going all out to make life miserable for conservatives who own guns, speak out against leftist government and advocate for individual liberty.

And now the administration has gone one step further: The DHS has created a so-called "Disinformation Governance Board" to counter the alleged threat of misinformation and disinformation (aka alternate views that take issue with the official talking points) affecting elections and homeland security. Obviously, misinformation and disinformation are in the eyes of the beholder.

For five long years, the Democrats and garbage media shouted RUSSIA! RUSSIA! RUSSIA! COLLUSION! RUSSIAN COLLUSION!!! DONALD TRUMP IS PUTIN'S PUPPET!

You've heard of shoe fetishes? The Democrats and most leftists have a Russia fetish. They are utterly obsessed with Russia and its alleged relationship with Donald Trump. Alcohol, drugs, gambling, pornography and promiscuous sex have destroyed the lives and sanity (not to mention the souls) of many a person over the centuries. Methinks Donald Trump and Russia are making Democrats stark raving crazy, causing sleepless nights, and driving them to drink.

So now the feds are going to use their awesome resources and power to harass and intimidate the millions of people who are appalled by the reprehensible policies of the Biden administration, and not afraid to say so. Swell.

I hope that George Orwell, wherever he is, is able to observe what is going on in 2022. He deserves the pleasure and satisfaction of knowing that he was spot-on, albeit off by perhaps 30 years. The surveillance state he prophesied for 1984 took until 2014 or so, when the technology, ruthless government policies, voter apathy, brainwashing and corrupt media compliance kicked into overdrive.

The kings of lying and disinformation are accusing Republicans and conservatives of doing what they've done for years. They have tremendous gall to think they can be arbiters of what is "truth" and what is propaganda. It's beyond the pale.

The projection keeps getting worse, and who knows where this leads or how it will end. Times are bleak. Watch your back.

Elon Musk: Dawn or Dusk?

Congrats to Elon Musk for successfully purchasing Twitter.

It is telling that the left is in lockstep spouting doom-and-gloom angst and warnings about this fabulously wealthy entrepreneur and his plans for Twitter. 

These folks are so delusional, they don't realize that their side has been guilty of censorship and one-sided "standards" or "values" on this platform almost since its inception in 2006. It's called projection.

Musk is not a conservative who will try to keep liberals and progressives off the platform. Nor is he a liberal or progressive who obstinately thinks that those who don't subscribe to woke groupthink are neanderthal Nazis and insurrectionists who must be banished from the town square.

In fact, he seems to be more of a libertarian -- perhaps an amalgamation of miscellaneous beliefs and principles. In short, he cannot be easily pigeon-holed into a stereotypical ideology.

Musk is part of what conservative black commentator Jason Whitlock has dubbed "political climate change." People are waking up, and the rigid propaganda of the left, whether it's climate change dogma, transgender-mania, critical race theory or pro-abortion fanaticism, is now under withering assault from patriotic Americans who are livid at the attacks on our great nation, the mocking of traditional values, and the vermin who mount these attacks.

Americans are not stupid, and just because most billionaires lean left and do their damnedest to prop up the government / Democrat / Big Tech / mainstream media / nonprofit foundations leftist groupthink, doesn't mean the wealthy power brokers will prevail.

It's amusing when hypocritical leftists like former President Barack Obama whine about "disinformation" and accuse their political opponents of doing what they themselves have done: Censor or persecute political opponents. They're too dense to have an ounce of self-awareness.

Some on the left have criticized Twitter for having members who are overwhelmingly white males. (Hard-core feminists who love to bash white males will do so even if their white male targets are liberals or gays.) After all, male whiteness trumps all else in making humans undesirable in the eyes of the woke left.

Well, to those of you who favor diversity, did you know that of all the political donations Twitter employees gave to politicians and political parties during the 2020 election season, 99 percent of the money went toward Democrats? Where's the diversity?

This is a fascinating meltdown by the left. More entertainment to come.

It will be interesting to see if many of the panty-waist liberals who work for Twitter will quit now that Musk has taken charge, and if a plethora of leftist tweeters will shut down their accounts.

Also, will Donald Trump return to the platform if he is permitted to, which is likely? Maybe not, as he has launched his own social media platform, Truth Social.

Leftists have often overplayed their hand, in large part because their smugness and arrogance are out of control. Those of us on the opposite philosophical and ideological side usually can't come close to the left in power, wealth, influence or connections. Oh, but we sure do enjoy lots of sweet schadenfreude.

Honor and Disgrace: A Shameful Dichotomy

SPC Bishop E. Evans of the Texas National Guard, age 22, gave his life when he drowned trying to save two illegal immigrants struggling in the Rio Grande River Friday.

Mr. Evans is a hero, a man who served honorably and tried to do the right thing. Which makes the rest of the story all the more revolting. An absolute kick in the gut, as a matter of fact.

First of all, it turns out the two men Evans tried to save were drug smugglers, and both survived. Second, the White House has not issued any kind of a statement commending him for his service or explaining the specifics of the tragedy. And third, the media vermin have largely ignored Mr. Evans' heroism and sacrifice because it clashes with their narrative (anti-law enforcement and pro open borders -- refusing to cover the negative consequences of unchecked illegal immigration).

This is the same media and White House that spent three days demonizing mounted border agents last summer, claiming they were whipping illegal Haitian immigrants coming across the Rio Grande as they reached the American side. No, the agents were simply controlling and guiding their horses. The absurd whipping story, dreamed up and promoted by stupid, ignorant and hyper-partisan leftists, was soon debunked. The Department of Homeland Security's Office of Inspector General exonerated them. But there was no apology from the media jackals or Slow Joe in D.C. These cretins don't have it in them.

"DAMN," they must have thought. "We were hoping so much that the long arm of the law could have come down on these fascist agents from Texas!" It didn't matter that most of the border patrol agents were "persons of color" (Hispanic) to use leftist language. If they were representing law enforcement and accused of whipping poor, downtrodden immigrants, they were like pond scum to the progressive left, which is all about imagery, idealism and fantasy as opposed to harsh realities.

After more than a year, it is clear the Biden administration's open border policies are a debacle on steroids. Fentanyl flows freely into the country, wrecking lives and families across the nation. Sex traffickers, gang bangers and terrorists rush in with impunity. Rapes and molestations occur with heartbreaking frequency, and as the weather heats up, more and more of these destitute and desperate people will die of dehydration and heat prostration in the Southwest deserts.

The scumbags of the Biden administration have blood on their hands. But being so nihilistic and soulless, they have no problem sleeping soundly at night. They are so far beneath contempt, there isn't even a word to describe their depraved state.

R.I.P. to Bishop Evans, and my deepest condolences to his loved ones. Maybe, just maybe, his tragic death may serve to change some minds on the left and help bring about a course correction. We can always hope.

DVD - DeSantis Vs. Disney

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is not afraid to lock horns with liberals and progressives. And, being a highly intelligent, Yale-trained lawyer, he is articulate and extremely effective when he takes on the left.

He has the support of his Republican-controlled legislature, as the GOP holds solid majorities in both the Senate and House. A few days ago, the legislature passed, and DeSantis signed, a bill stripping Disney of its special status, which was originally granted back in the late 1960s.

The law would eliminate the Reedy Creek Improvement District, established in 1967 to enable Disney to build amusement parks and self-govern, avoiding some regulations and a lot of red tape. The company pays taxes and fees to the district, and in return the district manages a wide variety of services for Walt Disney World, including fire and emergency medical services, road maintenance, wastewater management and power generation.

However, the law is not scheduled to take effect until June 2023, raising the possibility the state could still cut a deal with Disney. This may be advisable, because the loss of Disney paying for public safety services and infrastructure maintenance could lead to significant property tax increases for Orlando area residents.

Disney brought this upon itself by harshly criticizing the DeSantis administration after the governor signed a bill that bars classroom instruction on gender identity and sexual orientation through third grade and limits it for older students to material that is “age-appropriate.” The company promised to work for repeal of what it calls the "Don't Say Gay" bill.

Gov. DeSantis rightly portrays the Parental Rights in Education law as one that will ensure parents have the right to decide when their children are old enough to learn about sexuality, transgender and gay issues, and other matters that are obviously not appropriate for young children.

Disney has been a major employer and major contributor to Florida's tax revenues for decades. But the corporation really needs to get off its woke high horse and take a look in the mirror. As Christopher Rufo of the Manhattan Institute writes in this City Journal piece, Disney has a disgraceful track record for employing predator pedophiles.

What started out as a wholesome company that cultivated a family-friendly reputation for many years has morphed into a destructive left-wing organization that has endangered children and appears to have zero respect for parents' rights to raise their children the way they see fit -- especially when it comes to the charged issues involving sex and sexuality. There are few politicians besides DeSantis who would be a) Willing to wade into this fight and stir up the leftist media hornet's nest; and b) successful at doing so.

CNN + Face Plants After Just ONE MONTH!

With much fanfare and undoubtedly delusional great expectations, CNN announced several months ago that it was launching a streaming service called CNN+.

Well, guess what: After just one month, and despite an ungodly amount of cash invested in it (some say $300 million), the new platform just announced it is shutting down effective April 30. What a joke.

Want a good laugh? Consider this quote from CNN's chief digital officer, Andrew Morse:

“March 29 will be an important day in the history of CNN, and CNN+ will be a critical part of our future. I am so proud of the work our teams have done to ensure our world class journalism and storytelling comes to life on this new platform. We can’t wait for our subscribers to experience it.”

You can't wait for your subscribers to experience it? All 150,000 of them? It's not that the cost was unreasonable -- $5.99 per month or $59.99 annually for on-demand and interactive programming. It's just that the same old warmed over leftist propaganda spouted by dim bulbs can be had for free 24/7 on CNN or MSNBC. Why pay money for it? That's like asking Michiganders to pay for snow in January.

You mean to tell me that out of a nation of 330 million people, only 0.00045 percent of the population took advantage of the opportunity to converse with and ask questions of "world class journalists"? You don't say. Gee, people are lame!

Longtime Fox News anchor Chris Wallace left (or was pushed out of) Fox News last fall to take a job with CNN+. I was delighted to see him go. Wallace always was a closet liberal, but he really let his stripes show with his unfair treatment of Donald Trump in the 2020 presidential debates. Wallace and CNN deserve each other.

This is a sign that Warner Brothers/Discovery, CNN's new management team, means business. There will be no more throwing good money after bad money, and -- we can hope -- the new bosses will jettison some of the many stupid and partisan hacks that have soiled CNN's once respectable reputation.

Schadenfreude never felt so good.

Like Obama, Biden sucks up to the Iranian pariah

Under the Barack Obama and Joe Biden administrations, the United States has been the battered, disrespected housewife to Iran's abusive, philandering husband.

I've often said that both of these leftist presidents were gullible and naive to trust Iran with a nuclear deal that would supposedly prevent, or at least greatly delay, the terrorist nation from developing nuclear weapons. But sometimes I can't help but wonder if they're deliberately playing for the other side. It's that bad.

Iran regularly cheats on deals it makes, and would make an inspection regimen extremely difficult if a nuclear deal is reached. Yet Obama showered the terrorist regime with cash while he was president, and Biden wishes to do the same. Even some Democrats in Congress are objecting. (It is an election year, after all.)

Iran has fomented terrorism across the globe for decades, including the 2000 attack on the U.S.S. Cole, and was responsible for maiming and killing hundreds of American troops during the Iraq War. In more recent years, Iran has fired missiles at American military bases in Iraq and elsewhere. Its proxies, Hamas and Hezbollah, are active all over the world, and have alliances with the Latin American drug cartels that are invading our country's southern border as we speak and spreading killer Fentanyl far and wide.

A few weeks ago, two men with Iranian sounding names were arrested for trying to impersonate federal agents. They had befriended several members of the U.S. Secret Service, fooling them into thinking they were fellow soldiers of the national security apparatus and plying them with luxury gifts and access to plush townhouse apartments.

Arian Taherzadeh, 40, and Haider Ali, 35, have each been charged with false impersonation of a federal officer. Somehow, they obtained paraphernalia, handguns and assault rifles used by federal law enforcement agencies. Then they allegedly used their fake associations with the U.S. government to cozy up to U.S. Secret Service officials with gifts and favors.

One of those agents, according to the FBI, was part of First Lady Jill Biden's security detail. Another was a uniformed division officer at the White House. Several of the agents have been suspended pending the outcome of an investigation.

Incredibly, a federal magistrate has ordered the two men released from jail while their case proceeds. Judge G. Michael Harvey said prosecutors had shown some of their behavior to be “sophomoric” but not a serious threat. Really? Meanwhile, a couple hundred people who milled around the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6 and most likely only committed misdemeanors are languishing in horrid dungeons with no way of knowing when they will have their day in court.

It's no wonder the garbage media is downplaying the phony federal agents case. But keep an eye on it; we may learn some disconcerting details in the coming months.

 

Happy Easter!

Happy Easter to all Posse readers! Today is the holiest Christian holiday -- a commemoration of the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

The message of Jesus' triumph over death -- his own death, and the spiritual death of human beings whose sins he atoned for by dying on the cross -- offers hope and comfort. We recognize the light will ultimately win out over the darkness, and that the dramatic, horrifying way in which Jesus suffered and died underscores our Creator's love for us.

And a Happy Passover to our Jewish friends. Passover also carries a powerful message of deliverance from bondage. While it was slavery that kept the Jews in chains thousands of years ago, it can be myriad psychological, social, financial or family problems that keep anyone in a painful and difficult bondage today. 

Deliverance is at hand, and this message forever intertwines Passover and Easter. Not to mention the fact Jesus was an observant Jew who celebrated the Jewish holy days. Remember, the Last Supper was a Passover Seder.

For many people -- myself included -- religious faith too often represents constraints. You can't do this, you can't do that, you're a sinner, do this, be that, get right with Jesus, etc. But the wiser and more mature way of approaching it -- a perspective that may take decades to appreciate  --  is that faith is a rock to stand upon, a source of comfort, and in all truth, a deliverance from the painful consequences of sin and selfishness. It is, paradoxically, freedom, although it certainly is not perceived that way by millions of people.

I am grateful for that, and for the opportunity to rest and spend a great day with my family.

We at the Posse hope that you and yours enjoy a peaceful and restful day, whether or not you are observing Easter.

The message of Jesus' triumph over death -- his own death, and the spiritual death of human beings whose sins he atoned for by dying on the cross -- offers hope and comfort. We recognize the light will ultimately win out over the darkness, and that the dramatic, horrifying way in which Jesus suffered and died underscores our Creator's love for us.

And a Happy Passover to our Jewish friends. Passover also carries a powerful message of deliverance from bondage. While it was slavery that kept the Jews in chains thousands of years ago, it can be myriad psychological, social, financial or family problems that keep anyone in a painful and difficult bondage today. 

Deliverance is at hand, and this message forever intertwines Passover and Easter. Not to mention the fact Jesus was an observant Jew who celebrated the Jewish holy days. Remember, the Last Supper was a Passover Seder.

For many people -- myself included -- religious faith too often represents constraints. You can't do this, you can't do that, you're a sinner, do this, be that, get right with Jesus, etc. But the wiser and more mature way of approaching it -- a perspective that may take decades to appreciate  --  is that faith is a rock to stand upon, a source of comfort, and in all truth, a deliverance from the painful consequences of sin and selfishness. It is, paradoxically, freedom, although it certainly is not perceived that way by millions of people.

I am grateful for that, and for the opportunity to rest and spend a great day with my family.

We at the Posse hope that you and yours enjoy a peaceful and restful day, whether or not you are observing Easter.

Open Source Algorithm???

The world's richest man is making a bid to buy Twitter. This is great news.

Love him or hate him, Elon Musk is a brilliant, hugely successful man. Although he's often branded as a liberal, and is indeed a climate change fanatic, his overall philosophy seems to make him more of a libertarian.

Like his counterparts on the left who object to progressive groupthink and censorship of alternative viewpoints (think Glen Greenwald or Bari Weiss), Musk is disgusted with Twitter's blatant censorship of viewpoints that promote Donald Trump, conservatism or objection to COVID-19 dogma.

He recognizes how outrageous it is for a social media platform to give anti-semitic bigots and jihadists free reign to spout vile hatred against Jews and the United States, while banning Trump supporters for claiming the 2020 presidential election was stolen. Even Twitter founder Jack Dorsey admitted that conservatives are not treated fairly at his company.

A few weeks ago, Musk bought a 9.2 percent stake in Twitter, to become the platform's biggest shareholder. He has now submitted a $43 billion bid to buy Twitter outright. The board of directors unanimously adopted what's known as a "poison pill."

The poison pill means that if any person or group acquires beneficial ownership of at least 15 percent of Twitter’s outstanding common stock without the board’s approval, other shareholders will be allowed to purchase additional shares at a discount. This is a way to dilute the power of the hostile takeover, because the stocks purchased to control the company will end up being a far lower percentage of the total number of shares.

It is amusing to observe the garbage media expressing alarm at a billionaire controlling Twitter. When clowns like Brian Stelter of CNN and MSNBC's peanut gallery are in unison with scolding, hysterical nonsense, you know the gig is up.

A woke online publication called Business Insider sent out a tweet stating, “Elon Musk’s attempt to buy Twitter represents a chilling new threat: billionaire trolls taking over social media.”

Oh please. Have these imbeciles not heard of what Jeff Bezos did with the Washington Post? The left-wing rag is at least as influential as any social media platform, regularly tossing out red meat for fanatical left wingers who foam at the mouth.

But here's the difference: Bezos employs mostly progressive-left "journalists" and columnists. They bash Trump, Trump supporters, Republicans and conservatives 24/7. They're addicted to putting inane celebrities up on a pedestal, soft pedaling progressive failures, and bashing the opposition. Very seldom do their news reporters cover events or developments that are harmful to President Joe Biden or the Democrats.

Musk, on the other hand, won't heavily censor conservatives and those who oppose government propaganda like Tony Fauci. Nor will he boot leftists from the Twitter platform. He favors the marketplace of ideas. In fact, Musk even said he favors having an open source algorithm. Wow! That's revolutionary and refreshing.

Free speech and a willingness to accept flexibility on a social media platform are realms that can and will be messy, controversial, at times maddening. But they beat the hell out of Soviet-like rigid propaganda.

The Jan. 6 Prosecutions: DOJ Face Plants to Come?

It's been an agonizingly slow process, trying to mete out justice for the hundreds of people charged with participating in the Jan. 6 Capitol demonstration. Outrageously, many defendants languish in horrid jail conditions without knowing when their day in court comes up, what they're being charged with, or whether they will soon get legal representation.

A good number of the defendants undoubtedly were guilty of only committing misdemeanors, but the partisan and corrupt Biden administration must have a bogeyman to detract the public's attention from Sleepy Joe's failed policies. Ditto for the egregious Jan. 6 committee, which knows its days are limited and it needs to squeeze every drop out of this travesty before the November elections.

The garbage media likes to call it an insurrection, which is preposterous as the protesters had no weapons and no intention of overthrowing the government. Even if they had intended to do so, they would have been routed in short order. Even calling it a riot is not entirely accurate. Although there were a few people who acted violently and destroyed property, hundreds simply walked into the Capitol building (often with police waving them in), and milled around peacefully.

The media jackals also try to act as if eight or even 10 people died as a result of the incident. The fact is, a couple of Trump supporters died of heart attacks, and one -- Air Force Veteran Ashli Babbitt -- was shot by a Capitol Police officer. Additionally, several officers committed suicide within a few weeks of the incident, and Officer Brian Sicknick died Jan. 7 after suffering two strokes.

The media liars initially reported that Sicknick died as a result of injuries sustained while grappling with unruly demonstrators. As for the suicide victims, no one knows whether this would have happened absent the Jan. 6 chaos; these people may have had underlying problems with depression, alcohol/drug issues, or marital problems. Let's face it: Any time large events involving physical fighting and charged emotions take place, people can get injured, and some can die. 

The same media that ludicrously called violent riots in the summer of 2020 "peaceful protests," and downplayed the deaths and serious injuries to police and innocent bystanders, blew up Jan. 6 as if it were the Rodney King riots in 1992 L.A. Rest assured, they will continue to soft pedal anything that goes against their distorted narrative.

What's not being reported is that a U.S. District Court judge has acquitted two Jan. 6 defendants, one of whom swore under oath that he was ushered into the Capitol by police. In both cases, Judge Trevor McFadden stated he did not believe the defendants engaged in any violent or destructive acts. Expect many more similar rulings, because this Department of Justice, with its out-of-control megalomania stoked by far-left ideologues in the Biden administration, has been guilty of major overkill.

It has been confirmed that at least a half dozen FBI informants were in the crowd at the Capitol when the incident took place. I cannot say for sure, but I believe the FBI's presence in the crowd -- quite possibly including acts of entrapment -- will be proven to be much greater than has been reported. There were undoubtedly agents provocateur from the left helping to stir up the crowd. They're likely to skate, or if they are punished, it will be low profile with little press.

Meanwhile, in New York City, 62-year-old Frank James has been arrested for a Tuesday attack on a Brooklyn subway. Police say he set off smoke canisters to release a noxious gas inside the subway car, then fired 33 rounds from a 9mm Glock handgun. At least 10 people were injured, some of them critically. James has been arrested nine times since 1992, and has had run-ins with the law in several states.

The neighborhood in which James committed his act of terrorism is predominantly Asian and Hispanic. James is black. So this may well qualify as a hate crime. But don't expect the Biden administration to acknowledge that, nor will the media admit it. Meanwhile, Sleepy Joe Biden and his leftist acolytes will continue demonizing and ostracizing conservative white men -- especially those who support Donald Trump, and especially all who were at the Capitol on Jan. 6.

In the past two years, our nation has taken a major turn for the worse. I wish I could be more optimistic about our chances of pulling out of this tailspin, but the abysmal political class in Washington, D.C., along with its rotten deep state henchmen, the corrupt Big Tech social media platforms, and the thoroughly dishonest garbage media do not leave much room for hope.