What We’re Reading: Warren’s Lies, Biden’s Gaffes, Taco Bell’s Hotel … And More

Issues & Insights

Biden’s Brain  Joe Biden claims there are ‘at least 3’ genders during Iowa campaign stop, blows up at college student — New York Post

Biden’s Gaffes Fuel Anxiety About Potency Against Trump — Wall Street Journal

Biden mistakenly says he was VP during 2018 Parkland shooting — The Hill

De Blasio’s Momentum  De Blasio campaign event in Iowa draws roughly 15 attendees — New York Post

Much, much more...

Joe Biden’s History of Racial Gaffes

Free Beacon

"Once boasted he could appeal to southerners because Delaware was a 'slave state"

Andrew Wilkow

Joe Biden’s Recent Gaffes Are Not Uncommon For Him

Joe Biden’s History On Race Looms As He Weighs Presidential Bid

. . . "2007: ‘I Spent Last Summer … Trying To Get Black Men To Understand It’s Not Unmanly To Wear A Condom’ " . . .

The Epstein Whodunit grows

Elite media already demonizing suspicions about Epstein’s death: you’re a ‘conspiracy theorist’ in the ‘fever swamps’  "Within hours of the death of Jeffrey Epstein, one of the thought-leaders of the media establishment rushed to print a demonization of suspicions about the shocking demise of a man whose death was advantageous to some of the most prominent and powerful figures in the world. The Atlantic is owned by deep-pocketed Lauren Powell Jobs, the widow of Steve Jobs, and functions as a guide to what other elite media are supposed to think.  It is edited for people who think of themselves as more sophisticated than New York Times readers." . . .

Barr Claims There Were ‘Serious Irregularities’ at Jail Where Epstein Died 
. . . “ 'We are now learning of serious irregularities at this facility that are deeply concerning and demand a thorough investigation,” Barr said during remarks before a law enforcement conference in New Orleans.  “ 'We will get to the bottom of what happened and there will be accountability,” he added." . . .

Epstein Was Left Unattended In His Cell for ‘Several’ Hours Before His Death . . . 
"Epstein was placed on suicide watch on July 23 after he was found unconscious following what authorities believed to be a suicide attempt. But he was taken off suicide watch after only one week, in a decision the Bureau of Prisons surely will be asked to account for. His cellmate was transferred after Epstein was taken off suicide watch, leaving him alone in his cell on the night he died." . . .

Why Conspiracy Theorists Will Never Believe the ‘Official’ Epstein Story  . . . "The reported cause of death was suicide—but the conspiracy-mongers were already springing into action.

"Within hours, #EpsteinMurder was trending on Twitter, as was #TrumpBodyCount (where liberals speculated that the president had offed his former friend), and #ClintonCrimeFamily (where conservatives accused Bill and Hillary Clinton of orchestrating a murderous cover-up). But the speculation was not limited to the fringes—the president himself retweeted a video suggesting Epstein was now dead because he had information on the Clintons." . . .

It’s next to impossible to kill oneself in jail—I know, because I’ve been there. 
. . . "In most jails, you can’t wear a belt, or shoelaces, or keep a razor in your cell. You have no privacy, no sense of dignity, and no rights. And in a well-run jail, high-profile prisoners have virtually no chance of killing themselves.
"So the alleged suicide of Jeffrey Epstein, the 66-year-old financier with powerful American and foreign friends who was about to stand trial for allegedly sexually abusing dozens of girls, many of them underage, is particularly unfathomable—and outrageous. In a letter to the Justice Department, Republican Senator Ben Sasse of Nebraska called it inexcusable that Epstein did not live to face his accusers. “Obviously, heads must roll,” he wrote. " . . .

Report: Epstein Was Not on Suicide Watch at His Time of Death  . . . "The Associated Press also reported that the billionaire was taken off suicide watch:

A person familiar with the matter told The Associated Press that Epstein had been taken off suicide watch. The person wasn’t authorized to discuss the matter publicly and spoke to AP on condition of anonymity. It wasn’t immediately clear when he was taken off suicide watch.

 Autopsy of Epstein performed, but details yet to be released   . . . "The details of how Jeffrey Epstein died in his Manhattan jail cell over the weekend have yet to be released, but medical officials have performed an autopsy on the high-profile inmate accused of sexually abusing underage girls and paying them hundreds of dollars in cash for massages.

"Epstein’s abrupt death Saturday cut short a criminal prosecution that could have pulled back the curtain on the inner workings of a high-flying financier with connections to celebrities and presidents, though prosecutors have vowed to continue investigating." . . .

How Robert O’Rourke Became ‘Beto’

Victor Davis Hanson

It seems that being thought Hispanic is an advantage, not a disadvantage.

"A great deal of controversy has continued the past few days over Robert Francis O’Rourke’s longtime use of a nickname given to him at birth (albeit temporarily jettisoned while in prep school) — especially in the wake of his recent sensational and unfounded charges that Donald Trump is directly responsible for the mass shootings in El Paso, Texas, and that white supremacy defines America, past and present, and explains Trump’s culpability.
"The point of the amused contention is not that O’Rourke was given such a nickname at or near birth. Rather, the controversy is over his continued use of the sobriquet for cynical political advantage in a somewhat related manner to Senator Elizabeth Warren’s longtime false cultural appropriation of a Native American identity for careerist purposes. After all, we live in a progressive era in which “cultural appropriation” is a mortal sin and non-minority university students are routinely chastised for wearing clothing or hairstyles associated with minority groups or appearing in dramas playing the roles of characters of a different ethnic background." . . .

Rather, Beto seems to think that the current and continued Hispanicizing of his nomenclature (remember, at times Beto has dropped his nickname) will pay dividends in a national race. Yet according to his own logic, it should not, given his prior denunciations that America is incurably racist.

Beto O'Rourke says he's more determined to pursue nomination after El Paso 
. . . "A clip of a frustrated O'Rourke went viral last week after he was asked by a reporter if there's anything Trump could do to improve his relationship with the Hispanic American community.
"Along with Sen. Elizabeth Warren, O'Rourke also became one of the first candidates to label Trump a "white supremacist.' "  Helped along by MSNBC shilling for him.

A very liberal ‘fortunate son’ named Beto

My View by Silvio Canto, Jr

Verbal diarrhea: Take a look at Jake Tapper's face as Beto O'Rourke tries to tell him all Trump voters are racist

Townhall

Monica Showalter  "If Democrats and their media allies can be described as a single animal, take a look at this picture of CNN anchor Jake Tapper and flailing presidential candidate Beto O'Rourke as O'Rourke tries to claim that anyone voting for President Trump is a racist. Tapper looks like the front end of the beast in the throes of some kind of extended digestive trouble and O'Rourke looks like the back end, producing the noisy 'output.'" . . .

. . . "No wonder Tapper looked like the guy on the toilet waiting desperately for the whole thing to be over. With a string of drivel like that from O'Rourke, where is one to start? The bottom line here is that O'Rourke is an increasingly irrelevant candidate, his words are increasingly inchoate, and he's being used to fill news time, despite his one-percent support among Democrats alone. Nobody wants this guy, so now he's being made the verbal diarrhea mouthpiece for the increasingly unhinged Democrat narrative.

"Tapper shouldn't put up with this dreck and really ought to have repeated his question to O'Rourke in a bid to pin him down and make him answer it.  . . ."

Al Sharpton Heckled In Baltimore: “You’re A Phony . . . You’re A Hustler!” (VIDEO

American Thinker

The Gateway Pundit  Cartoons added by TD

Al Sharpton has been in Baltimore defending the record of Democrat Rep. Elijah Cummings, but not all of the local residents are happy about it.

 "MUST WATCH: Al Sharpton Confronted & Heckled By Baltimore Residents"

A must-watch video of Baltimore residents speaking out about their living conditions and how unsafe the city they’re living in is was posted onto Youtube a few days ago.It showed several citizens of Baltimore, Rep. Elijah Cummings’ district, talking about how scary it is to live in the city, then showed Democrat anti-Trump Rev. Al Sharpton making an appearance condemning Trump’s criticism of Cummings and the city.Several Baltimore residents were outraged over Sharpton’s audacity and forced him to face the facts by boldly shouting out to him statements like, “You go back to New York! You bring that s*** to New York! You ain’t do nothing for Baltimore! You a phony!” and “Our schools are failing us! Where are you when our schools are failing us? You’re just a hustler.”

Earl of Taint

/div>

How did these four horsewomen of the apocalypse get their street cred?

America's weak link seems to be the voter, but I'm sure things will get better when sixteen-year-olds get to vote. TD

White Supremacy and Know-Nothings  "Any conservative who takes seriously the charge that conservatism has a serious white-supremacy problem is a chump. The people making such charges—Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) in her maniacal tweets, the Baltimore Sun editorial page—invoke a dark history of white supremacy in their condemnations of President Trump, Tucker Carlson, and those who admire them, but they don’t know anything about that record." . . . 

Ilhan Omar Falsely Claims That 'White Men' Are Greater Threat Than Jihadis

. . . "She also offered a ready solution: “Profiling, monitoring, and creating policies to fight the radicalization of white men.” Amid a general clamor on the Leftover “white supremacist terrorism,” this is even crazier than most claims, as commonplace as it is. But the reality is that the idea that there is a massive terror threat from “white supremacists,” dwarfing the jihad threat, isn’t remotely true." . . .

State Dept. changes definition of ‘anti-Semitism’ following Omar and Tlaib’s engagement in rhetoric

And by doing so, Tlaib made it clear — at least according to the State Department’s update definition of anti-Semitism — that she’s an anti-Semite. A proud one at that.

http://www.terrellaftermath.com/

UPDATED: U.S. athletes protest Trump on medals stand at Pan Am Games. No courage necessary

It's sickening because courageous U.S. men and women have died for this flag, and the brave people of Hong Kong are defying a brutal communist juggernaut by waving that very same flag as the world's strongest beacon of freedom. By Monica Showalter

UPDATE:  Another athletic egomaniac looking for some extra spotlight by dissing the U.S. flag     "By now, the routine of athletes calling attention to themselves by dissing the U.S. flag at some athletic event has become so de rigueur you could write the script before it happens.

"I'll be a victim for CNN now!"

"Lose the big prize. Take a knee to the flag. Make a raving or two to the press about the awfulness of the U.S. And reap lots of media attention your athletic performance wouldn't otherwise merit. Instant fame. Endorsement deals. Money. Profit big from insulting the very flag of the country that made your performance possible.
"A couple days ago we got this attention-seeker whose bronze medal in fencing at a championship event in Lima, Peru, apparently wasn't sufficient for him." . . .
. . . 
"Never heard of him before. Hope I never hear from him again.
"But that's too much to ask, what with an eager media clamoring to record his every word and hand him exposure his rivals can only envy. The two U.S. athletes who outperformed this publicity hound get zero press attention, but the third-place finisher, Race Imboden, gets all the soapbox he wants. See how they fawn:" . . . Right on cue, he was the darling of CNN

UPDATE: Virtue-signalling has consequences

Race Imboden — who took home gold in the team foil event — knelt during the national anthem at the medal ceremony Friday in Lima, Peru, in what he saw was a protest over racism and gun control.

Washington Times  "Two Americans used their medal-winning moments at the Pan American Games to draw attention to social issues back home that they feel are spiraling out of control.
"During their medals ceremonies at the sports festival in Lima, fencer Race Imboden took a knee and hammer thrower Gwen Berry raised her fist. Both athletes could represent the U.S. less than a year from now at the Tokyo Olympics, where similar protests would be seen by a much wider audience.

"I'll own the TV talk shows!"

"“Racism, gun control, mistreatment of immigrants, and a president who spreads hate are at the top of a long list” of America’s problems, Imboden said in a tweet sent after his team’s foil medals ceremony. “I chose to sacrifice my moment today at the top of the podium to call attention to issues that I believe need to be addressed.

"They're bound to see me way out here!"

"“I encourage others to please use your platforms for empowerment and change.”
"Berry raised her fist as America’s national anthem was played to honor her win in the hammer throw. She called out injustice in America “and a president who’s making it worse.”
“ 'It’s too important to not say something,” Berry told USA Today. “Something has to be said. If nothing is said, nothing will be done, and nothing will be fixed, and nothing will be changed.' ” . . .

And just why? These people are either ignorant tools of the Democrats or simple showoffs, looking for admiration from other personalities who also strive for acceptance. I see them as no different than the "Look-at-me!" soccer player who adored center stage and relished every opportunity to place herself there.

"They're looking at me!"

Lori McMath Varner for Ms Veteran America 2019

The mouth and the intellect of Joe Biden

PolitiFact Rates Biden Claim About Trump 'False'  "PolitiFact, a well-known, left-leaning fact-checking site, decided to address the portion of Biden’s statement where he claimed Trump said “that immigrants would, quote, ‘carve you up with a knife.’” In short, PolitiFact admits that Trump did not say that at all.

At an October 2018 rally in Texas, Trump attacked then-U.S. Senate candidate Beto O’Rourke, who is now running for U.S. president.

"O'Rourke voted against the border wall," Trump said. "He voted against Kate's law. And he voted for Obama amnesty. O'Rourke even voted to shield MS-13 gang members from deportation. He doesn't want to deport them. He says they're people. They're people. They carve you up with a knife, but they're people."

MS-13 is a violent transnational gang with members primarily in Central America and the United States. Trump’s words were clearly aimed at gang members, not all immigrants.

"The Biden campaign did not respond to PolitiFact’s request for comment. Nevertheless, they rated the claim as false.

 "Democrats and the media have been twisting Trump's words for years now, so it's not surprising Biden resorted to lying about Trump's comments, but it is nice to see left-leaning fact-checkers calling him out for his lies."

Biden’s Campaign-Trail Gaffes

Is Joe Okay? Biden’s Mouth Goes Rogue

Rep. Joaquin Castro business target list backfires as Texans rally around Bill Miller Bar-B-Q

Initially, Castro’s hit list resulted in a lot of death threats and other hate directed at those listed and at their workplaces/investments/businesses.But a funny thing happened on the way to Castro’s war on his own constituents: Trump supporters are fighting back . . . with their wallets

Legal Insurrection  "Leftist projection is something that we once had to work to prove and often could not (at least to skeptics), but after the 2008 election of Barack Obama as president, it became a bit easier because the Obama executive branch was busily silencing and undermining conservative and/or Tea Party voices while publicly speaking about transparency, tolerance, equity, and fairness.

     "Hillary Clinton’s phantom “vast right-wing conspiracy” of the 1990’s was replaced with the right’s understanding that there may indeed be a “vast left-wing conspiracy.”  The very thing she claimed was aligned against her and was completely imaginary was actually just how the left rolls.

     "And we’re seeing it vividly today.  Since President Trump was duly elected our nation’s president, #TheResistance has been in overdrive.  Donning “pussy hats” or masks and all-black gear, the anti-Trumpers dance on the edge of civility and even of criminality.

     "Their goal has become increasingly apparent since President Trump took office: get rid of Trump. Because Orange Man Bad.  One of the cues the current leftist “resistance” is taking came from then-presidential candidate Hillary Clinton (D-NY): the people who support Trump are “deplorables.”  They are less than human, less than those on the fat-cat, self-satisfied progressive left.

     "Fast forward to July of this year and leftist outlets insist that anyone who supports the “racist” and “white supremacist” Trump is clearly, themselves, a racist white supremacist.  The left’s “war,” then, goes beyond Trump and even beyond the GOP to everyday normal American voters." . . .

People reporting lines around the block at Bill Miller Bar-B-Q following Castro’s Trump shaming  While many people identified on the political hit list recently shared by Rep. Joaquin Castro (D-TX) have been harassed by leftists, many Americans have come out to show support for the people unfairly singled out for supporting President Donald

Trump.
"Included on Castro’s list were some San Antonio businesses owned by people who have donated to Trump’s campaign. One of those businesses is Bill Miller Bar-B-Q.
"It seems Castro may have unintentionally advertised for the business because people claiming to be locals are reporting lines of people looking to support it stretching long and far.
" “Cars were lined up around the block at one of the San Antonio Texas locations! Loved The Bill Miller Breakfast Special. I even purchased breakfast tac oui s for my coworkers!” one user tweeted along with a picture of cars waiting to give the business their money." . . .

House Republicans Call For Ethics Probe Into Joaquin Castro For Sharing Trump Donor Names  . . . "2020 presidential candidate Julian Castro has defended his brother's behavior . . .  on the same grounds while denouncing harassment against Trump supporters. "

Sanctuary cities, who wouldn't want to live freely in one, especially if you're a Democrat?

Image by Timothy Bishop

Central American drug dealers having a field day in those sanctuary cities

"With the press idealizing every illegal immigrant, and sanctuary cities making sanctuary for illegals a higher priority than even the welfare of their own citizens, it hasn't taken long for Central American drug dealers to move in and have a field day. Want to know why San Francisco is such a filth-strewn place? Look no further than its imported drug problem, which seems to be especially beneficial to foreign drug dealers. 

"Here's one report about Honduran drug dealers benefiting immensely from San Francisco's sanctuary city politics:" . . .

Video: Are Sanctuary Cities Safer? from Olivia Crellin on Vimeo.

Biden, Real or Satire? Take the Snopes Challenge.

Bookworm Room  "Are you smarter than a SNOPES fact-checker?"

"So, put yourself in the shoes of some poor shlub at Snopes who has to determine which of the following is satire from the Babylon Bee, and which is straight news reporting?  Choose before clicking (or hovering with the mouse) please.  This is a test.

A.  Biden says “Poor kids are just as bright and just as talented as white kids.”

B.  Biden Aides Forced To Use the Spray Bottle Again

C. Biden’s Latest Gaffes on Russia, Segregationists Are ‘Just the Beginning’

D.  Second Democratic Debate Turns Into Tense Minimum Wage Bidding War

"The bad news, if you fail the test, you may be qualified to work at Snopes."


Another Splendiferous, Gafftastic Day for Joe Biden

No one is more pleased about Biden's gaffisms than his main rivals for his party's nomination. But the former veep has built a great deal of momentum over the last few months and the latest polls show him nearly doubling his lead over his nearest rivals, Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders.
He is clearly the candidate to beat. But his penchant for weird misstatements and oddly unsettling references cause many less-partisan observers to wonder whether the old man is simply confused, or suffering from some debilitating condition like Alzheimer's disease.
It hardly matters. The next debate holds great peril for Biden. If he were to slip badly on national TV in front of millions of Democrats, even his friends in the media would start to abandon him.

 PolitiFact Rates Biden Claim About Trump 'False'   . . . "PolitiFact, a well-known, left-leaning fact-checking site, decided to address the portion of Biden’s statement where he claimed Trump said “that immigrants would, quote, ‘carve you up with a knife.’” In short, PolitiFact admits that Trump did not say that at all."