Got a flag to fly? Better check first!

 Secretary of State Antony Blinken Orders LGBT Flags Flown at U.S. Embassies, Will Name Special Envoy for Gay Rights   "During the hearing, Blinken also confirmed that he plans to appoint an envoy for the Human Rights of LGBTQ persons, a position created by Barack Obama in 2015 that wasn’t filled during the Trump presidency.

"Blinken claimed violence against that demographic increased while Trump was in office.

“ 'We’ve seen violence directed against LGBTQI people around the world increase,” Blinken said. “And so, I think the United States playing the role that it should be playing in standing up for and defending the rights of LGBTQI people is something that the department is going to take on and take on immediately. Raising the pride flag is one way to outright show LGBTQ solidarity.' ” . . .

Police Chief Bans Officers from Displaying 'Thin Blue Line' Flag "Police officers on the University of Wisconsin-Madison police force have been instructed not to display imagery of the thin-blue-line flag. Why? According to Police Chief Kristen Roman, the thin-blue-line flag has been "co-opted" by people with "hateful ideologies."

"Free speech and freedom of expression were once principles valued in America, particularly on college campuses. Nowadays, one can only speak and express themselves based on a dwindling list of approved items. For her officers, Police Chief Kristen Roman has removed the thin-blue-line flag from that list." . . .

UPDATED, 2/2: The Circle Woman: Jen Psaki Under Fire for Constant Pledges to ‘Circle Back’ on Tough Questions

 Breitbart  "White House press secretary Jen Psaki on Monday addressed growing social media mockery of her repeated promises to “circle back” on tough questions.

“ 'I often note I’m going to circle back. I hate to disappoint conservative Twitter but I’m going to circle back on a number of things as we often do directly,” she said, before following up on questions from last week on Hurricane Maria relief funds, the extended White House fence, and FEMA requesting troops.

"Last week, several media outlets noted Psaki’s repeated promises to “circle back” with reporters on questions for which she had no answers." . . .

Rent Free: Jen Psaki Gets Snarky After 'Circle Back' Video Goes Viral  "Jen Psaki let it be known today that conservative Twitter is really getting to her. Last week, someone put together a video making fun of how many times Psaki tells reporters that she’ll “circle back” on a question she doesn’t feel like answering. In reality, she’s just really bad at her job, clearly showing up unprepared while knowing the media will cover for her inability to give them straight answers." . . .

UPDATE: The Circle Woman: Report Shows Biden Staff Prescreening Psaki Press Briefing Questions  "Biden staffers have prescreened reporters ahead of Jen Psaki’s briefings to see what they plan to ask the White House press secretary, according to a report from the left-wing Daily Beast.

"The outlet cited “three sources with knowledge of the matter” and “written communications” that revealed that the Biden administration has “already on occasion probed reporters to see what questions they plan on asking new White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki when called upon during briefings” less than two weeks into the new administration.

"The report suggests that Psaki would have some idea of what reporters plan to ask prior to formally presenting their questions. Despite that, her “circle back” answers on tough questions have become a staple of her press briefings." . . . 

CLUELESS: Kamala Harris Tells Jobless Coal Miners They Should Work Reclaiming Abandoned ‘Land Mines’

Weasel Zippers

Did Harris mean just plain mines?

News Punch   "Vice President Kamala Harris recently shared her brilliant idea to “build back better” by reclaiming abandoned land mines in West Virginia.

“All of those skilled workers who are in the coal industry and transferring those skills to what we need to do in terms of dealing with reclaiming abandoned land mines.”

 Kamala 'Fweedom' Harris on re-skilling coal-miners to fix up abandoned land-mines.

Tony Branco

Iranian students are victims of the regime’s terrorism goals

Hassan Mahmoudi "The Iranian regime, which Trump's sanctions have pushed close to bankruptcy, is trying in various ways to cover its budget deficit by starving its people, both physically and mentally.  The regime robs them of food and energy and denies Iranian youths an education that will allow them to escape poverty.

"To raise money, the regime exports goods that are essential for its citizens' survival, such as eggs, poultry, vegetables, and other agricultural products.  It also exports gas and electricity at a discount to neighboring countries and converts the payments into foreign currency to use for meddling activities abroad.  Meanwhile, Iranians burn dirty, low-quality mazut at home, polluting the air for the country's citizens.

"The regime engages in further savings by cutting various public services and education budgets.  It uses the money it saves to increase its military and security budgets and to support its proxy forces in the region.  It recently increased the IRGC and Quds Force budgets by 58%.

"These policies have led to bitter poverty and misery in Iran.  A clear example is the misery that students experience.  On January 23, 2021, the Hamdeli newspaper wrote (my translation):

The suffering of Iranian students is a never-ending tale.  From the burning of classrooms to the collapse of school roofs to snake-infested classrooms made of bricks and mud and the challenges of schools made of huts and containers, etc., it is difficult to imagine a significant number of students in deprived areas of the country studying in dilapidated schools or schools made of huts or containers. But, these unsafe schools that do not have any educational standards, are the bitter realities of education in Iran, . . . 

AOC Attacks Home Owners, Squad Pushes Bill To Strip Property From Owners To Make Things ‘Fair’

News Thud

"Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez attacked “homeowners” saying that they are hurting people that can’t afford to own land. Her rant comes as the crooked congresswoman Rep. Ilhan Omar proposed a bill that would strip property owners of their property if the federal government deems it necessary.

“ 'It makes no sense that we are squeezing people that already cannot afford to purchase their own home for more money than a person who already owns land and is a land-owning member or a home-owning member of our economy,” said a video posted

"Rep. Ilhan Omar of Minnesota at the same time introduced a bill that would strip property rights from Americans; it’s called the Rent and Mortgage Cancellation Act, which is a socialist dream.

"The bill would cancel all rent and mortgage payments regardless of income or employment throughout the duration of the pandemic.

“The bill would constitute a full payment forgiveness, with no accumulation of debt for renters or homeowners and no negative impact on their credit rating or rental history,” a news release from Omar’s office says.

"A fund would be created “to fully finance the purchase of private rental properties by non-profits, public housing authorities, cooperatives, community land trusts, and states or local governments — in order to increase the availability of affordable housing during this downturn.” 

"This means private property owners would be undermined and the power of government entities would be greatly increased." . . .

May 30, 2020: Black Lives Matter Rioters Attempt to Kill White Business Owner for Protecting his Business

Brian Stelter thinks Fox is ENEMY of the PEOPLE, wants them SILENCED, gets OWNED over it

 US News  via News Thud

No, this is not George Costanza

"CNN wants to drive Fox News off the air. That’s a business decision. Brian Stelter wants to sell books bashing Fox News. That’s a business decision. But it’s not JUST a business decision in either case.

"For one thing, it’s their little hurt baby feelings. When they get them hurt, they want you shut up.

"And it’s also rank stupidity. Stupid in the sense that they just don’t understand any of the most basic principles of a free and fair society, or the ethics of their profession in any way. Either willfully (the brass) or by dint of dimness (Stelter), it’s the most basic thing wrong with the corporate jokes we refer to as the American press." . . .

Bill Maher: Now that Trump is gone, 'We can't blame everything on him'

http://www.terrellaftermath.com/

Fox News  

The HBO star suggested 'we'll find out' in the next 100 days if Trump was really 'the bad guy' during COVID

. . . "That's because Democrats rely exclusively on the mass ignorance and stupidity of their constituency to get elected. The day their voters' knuckles clear the ground and voiceboxes articulate intelligent language is the day Democrats will experience their darkest hour and perhaps the beginning of the end. That day my be less than two years away." From the comments section in this article.

The ‘After Trump’ Era Begins by Victor Davis Hanson "The new AT age — “After Trump” — began on either Election Day, November 3, or on Inauguration Day, January 20. But either way, reality as we had known it for four years has been abruptly reinvented.

" Pfizer had hinted that a vaccine could be ready in late October. Then, mysteriously, it wasn’t. Then, stranger still, it appeared — a few days after Election Day.

"Suddenly, after Joe Biden’s inauguration, Illinois, Michigan, and other blue states eased some of their lockdown restrictions to get their economies back on track despite little change in COVID-19 rates. 

"During the Trump Age, the president was supposedly responsible for every death from COVID-19. Now, the media report that career scientists and health administrators in the federal government, especially at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, were largely to blame for past slow testing, and were tardy and lax in apprising the nation of the infectious threat." 

"The Biden campaign’s widely reported promises of a new, superior COVID-19 plan turned out to be more of the same old, same old from the Trump Age." . . .