SOTU: Feisty Joe Didn’t Run Offstage, And It Ultimately Paid Off

Issues & Insights  

Mr. White: “We bow, right?… and we’re off the stage before the applause dies out.”

Jimmy: “Well, what if they want an encore?”

Mr. White: “You unplug and you run, run offstage! Smiling, smiling, of course.”

That Thing You Do (1996 Film)

"How is Joe Biden like the infamous spy balloon?
1. Full of hot air.
2. Hovering over America in unwelcome fashion.
3. Maneuvered by China.
4. Ideally subject to immediate removal – except for too-high collateral damage.

This extended simile aligns with key “issues to manage,” as communications professionals would put it, that hung over Mr. Biden like that enemy airship pre-State of the Union:

1. Impugned Integrity: Hunter and filched documents anyone?

2. Deep Disapproval: 18% strong approval versus 46% strong disapproval, per the latest Washington Post/ABC poll. And yikes! 62% believe he has accomplished “not much” or “little to nothing” while in office.

3. Flabby Foreign Policy: That sense of global drift the meandering balloon truly symbolizes: The Afghanistan abomination. The Ukraine “minor-incursion” invasion-invitation. Heaping helpings of humble pie courtesy of China.

4. Imperative Impeachment Insurance: Removal, by resignation or impeachment, is virtually demanded by serial swindling, subterfuge, and deliberate dereliction of duty on the  economy, energy independence, immigration, and America’s national security. Joe’s burden cum saving grace: an insurance policy in the form of his callow, cackling veep, the subject of a nicely-timed New York Times hit piece.

And yet: Sleepy Joe woke up last week to a jobs report one stunned economist called “incredibly, surprisingly strong”: a five-decade unemployment low, 517,000 new jobs, longer hours, and wage growth.

So how to handle said situation? The crisis specialist in this commentator might suggest knocking down those “issues to manage” one by one, highlighting – briefly – unfolding solutions.

But one’s Mr. White/impresario side fairly screams: like the film’s one-hit Wonders, play the Top-Ten number – Those Jobs Americans Do! – do the heroes-in-the-gallery tour … then run, run offstage.

And Joe did squarely land an opening salvo featuring the job news: near record-low unemployment, 800,000 new manufacturing positions, and job-creating investment and projects resulting from bipartisan infrastructure and semiconductor-subsidy bills.". . .

To Counterpunch Smokin’ Joe, ‘G.O.P.’ Must Rebrand As ‘Government Of The People’ "Stipulated: Feisty Joe Biden deceived, demonized and divided his way through his State of the Union thumper. But he also adeptly defied his Republican foils – cleverly cornering catcallers in an impromptu imbroglio.

"And more important, deftly demagogued with a people-oriented pitch that may well set the stage for a surprise surge. The money line in suddenly-Smokin’ Joe’s populist appeal?

“Americans are tired of being played for suckers.”

"Dang straight. The Scrantonite and his scribes are on to something in combating “junk fees” and other indignities heaped upon the non-upper crust.

"Biden took on a Corn Poppish cornucopia of love-to-hate lowlifes: Health care hustlers. Old folk defrauders. Cable conmen. Cellphone scamps. Financial institution fleecers. Ticket tricksters. And most deliciously, airline over-chargers, whom he justifiably asserted “treat your child like a piece of baggage” in dinging families to travel in the same zip code as their toddlers.

"This swift switch to common-guy champion packs all the more punch when contrasted with Wrong-Way Republicans’ stubborn staying of the course.". . .

CNN's Lemon Problem

. . .There is a constitutional guarantee of freedom of speech even to say stupid things for all American citizens (except for most Republicans and conservatives), but there is no constitutional guarantee of the right to do so as an overpaid television presenter on some alleged “news” channel. . . 

Richard McDonough   "Don Lemon, whose brain may have disappeared into a near earth-orbiting black hole around the time of the November 2016 election, is in trouble again and may lose his job, with his absurd insensitive remark, referring to “person of color” Nikki Haley, upon her announcement that she is running for the Republican presidential nomination in 2024, that a woman is only “in her prime” in her 20s and 30s and maybe 40s.  (Note, by the way, that a confused Don Lemon claimed that that was the facts but that he was not saying he agreed with it.)  Equally absurdly, Lemon stated that one can verify this on Google.  Apparently, if Google says its true then it must be true.  In fact, one gets a far more nuanced view even on Google but nuance is not Lemon’s strong point.

"Bill O’Reilly makes a partially correct but partially incorrect defense of Lemon’s right to keep his job. 

"O’Reilly correctly stated that Lemon has a long history of absurd claims and that his recent statement is “preposterous” but adds that “The United States no longer has free speech. You will be punished if you say something ‘offensive.’ Lemon may lose his job.”  In fact, firing Lemon over this scandal has nothing to do with free speech.  But before considering O’Reilly’s claim, consider first Lemon’s statement.

"Lemon, like many talking-heads on television, should have known that he was on thin ice when he made any statement about a woman’s prime without stating upon what axis he is measuring them.  Poppy Harlow asked the correct question, which never occurred to Lemon:  Prime for what?  When Lemon limits a woman’s prime to her 20s-40s he is assuming the sexist view that a woman is good only for sexual attractiveness (not his expertise) and baby-making.   Unfortunately, Lemon appears to have forgotten that women have these things called brains that continue to function well into their old age. ". . .

Watch Alejandro Mayorkas struggle to answer basic questions about the ongoing border crisis and open border policies by Chris Wallace.

Train wreck; the cast of characters

 Morning Greatness: Buttigieg Ripped for Being ‘No-Show’ in Toxic Ohio Train Derailment  

"Sen. Eric Schmitt called out the Biden admin for a 'complete disconnect' with the American people

'More than two weeks after the toxic Ohio train derailment, the Biden administration is taking flak for how it has handled the toxic spill after refusing to approve a FEMA disaster declaration. 

'Sen. Eric Schmitt, R-Mo., is one of the White House's critics, and he joined "Sunday Morning Futures" to discuss how the administration's handling has indicated a "complete disconnect" from the American people. 

'"I think there's a complete disconnect here when you hear the president talking about sending American tax dollars to Ukraine to help pay for their pensions, and he does nothing about the millions of people who stream across our southern border distributing fentanyl, human trafficking and crime across the country," Schmitt told Maria Bartiromo. "It is completely out of touch to not address this."

"And Pete Buttigieg was a no-show this week in our committee to talk about FAA problems they had in January with the travel system across the country," he continued. "He's been a no show in Ohio, and so the American people are right to be upset about this. They demand answers. They demand a presence by this administration to know that they're going to take care of these issues."

"The Biden administration has said the crisis in East Palestine does not meet legal requirements for a FEMA declaration, even though the agency has deployed resources to the city. ". . .

WHITE HOUSE EXPLAINS WHY IT TURNED DOWN DISASTER RELIEF FOR OHIO

FEMA to Deploy Federal Services to East Palestine Two Weeks After Train Disaster

“ 'We are ineligible for a FEMA disaster declaration, we’ve been told by FEMA that we will not meet the qualifications at this time,” Tierney said at the time. “And the reason for that is that FEMA disaster declarations are related to property damage, and solely property damage.”

"In addition to Friday’s announcement that FEMA will now be deployed to East Palestine, DeWine’s office also revealed that Ohio is setting up a medical clinic in the town this upcoming week “to engage with residents, answer questions, evaluate any symptoms, and provide medical expertise.”

"The governor’s office added that in response to a request from DeWine, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) will be sending federal officials to East Palestine to support the clinic.". . .

TIME TO GO, PETE! Calls Grow Louder for Buttigieg's Resignation, Impeachment Talk Begins  From Just The News:

“Amidst an impending possible rail strike last year, Secretary Buttigieg left the country to vacation in Portuguese wine country,” [Senator Marco] Rubio wrote to President Biden. “Near misses in commercial aviation, as well as recent system failures, including the one that shutdown air travel in Florida in January, indicate that serious and persistent problems across the DOT are not being sufficiently remedied. I do not have confidence that Secretary Buttigieg is capable of keeping the American people safe.” 

Biden visits Ukraine but not East Palestine, Ohio

 FEMA Deploys Team to Ohio Two Weeks After Chemical Disaster

Perhaps the optics of sending massive aid to Turkish earthquake victims and paying for Ukrainian pensions while Americans in Ohio suffer from chemical fallout wasn’t as good as originally thought

. . ."Clearly, Ukraine is more of a priority for Biden…as he heads to Poland to commemorate the first anniversary of the start of the Ukraine-Russia War. However, President Donald Trump is heading to East Palestine to support the community on Wednesday, and he will likely highlight his America First agenda.". . .

Why Is Pete Buttigieg Allowed To Keep Failing Upward?

 The Federalist

. . ."Now the secretary of transportation is both a political celebrity and someone immune to meaningful criticism over our country’s transportation failures — and there have been many.  

"Though the left rarely misses an opportunity to announce that “the adults are back in charge,” Buttigieg’s failures suggest otherwise. His highlight reel at the Department of Transportation includes a supply-chain crisis punctuated with a personal leave, flight system disruptions that stranded millions of travelers and temporarily grounded all U.S. flights, rail strikes, and a series of horrific train derailments. On Main Street, people get fired for far less.

"Plucked from obscurity as mayor of a struggling Rust Belt city, Buttigieg found himself among the leading Democratic presidential candidates in 2020; he even won the Iowa caucuses. Biden, who considers the former mayor a future party star, awarded him a cabinet post. It defies logic.

"Where logic fails, leftist dogma can fill in some of the gaps. Buttigieg will continue checking the “first gay ___” box as far as he climbs the ladder. In the current manifestation of the Democratic Party, which selects and rejects candidates over such identity trifles, it is a powerful weapon in his arsenal. Any honest reflection on his meteoric political rise must consider identity factors. Ask incisive questions next time you meet someone who admits to being a 2020 Buttigieg supporter. It is an instructional exercise in today’s political environment.". . .

Gigi Sohn: Sen. J.D. Vance Puts Biden’s Nominee For FCC Commissioner On FULL BLAST For ‘Racialized Rhetoric’

"If confirmed, Sohn will become the first openly gay FCC commissioner. She and her wife Laura have been married since 2008." UK Daily Mail 

 K. Walker  "We all know that none of that racist B.S. would fly if it went the other way as Sen. Vance so beautifully pointed out. Somehow these race-obsessed leftists don’t even see their own bigotry as bigotry. It’s nice to have it tossed in their smug faces while they have to sit there indignantly. It’s especially nice when it’s done with decorum and finesse as Senator Vance did."...

Full article here.

ClashDaily's Associate Editor since August 2016. Self-described political junkie, anti-Third Wave Feminist, and a nightmare to the 'intersectional' crowd. Mrs. Walker has taken a stand against 'white privilege' education in public schools. She's also an amateur Playwright, former Drama teacher, and staunch defender of the Oxford comma. Follow her humble musings on Twitter: @TheMrsKnowItAll and on Gettr @KarenWalker

Dominatrix at the center of row over Biden's FCC nominee Gigi Sohn | Daily Mail Online

. . .Gigi Sohn, President Biden's pick for a vacant seat on the Federal Communications Commission, is a proud member of a nonprofit that wants to uphold sex work online, and which honors sex workers including a dominatrix who boasts about urinating on people's faces. . . 

Cruz throws down with radical Biden nominee who tweeted: ‘Fox News plays a role in destroying democracy’ (bizpacreview.com) . . ."Then Cruz asked her an obvious question and her reply stretches credulity to the limits of belief.

" 'Can I ask you one final question? Is MSNBC very, very close to the Biden administration?” the conservative asked.

“ ' haven’t the slightest idea. I don’t watch it,” Sohn snapped back.

“ 'You don’t watch MSNBC?” Cruz asked, obviously not believing her claim in the least.

“I do not, I don’t watch CNN either. I listen to NPR. Honestly, I don’t,” she responded.

"At one point during the hearing, Senator Cruz asserted, “Ms. Sohn portrays herself as a defender of free speech, but she has a history of campaigning to censor conservatives. She calls Fox News, quote, ‘dangerous to our democracy.’ And has urged the FCC to revoke Sinclair’s broadcast licenses.”

“To Ms. Sohn, it seems that conservative speech is worse than obscenity,” he claimed.". . .

Biden's pick of Gigi Sohn to lead the FCC is utterly inappropriate - Washington Times

. . ."This new reality makes the Biden administration’s nomination of Gigi Sohn to the FCC all the more troubling given her track record of disregard for our sensitive secrets and outright hostility to intellectual property, which could dangerously empower America’s enemies namely Russia and China, if she is confirmed.  She is an utterly inappropriate choice, and the administration should withdraw her nomination straight away.

"Unauthorized release of classified information is a federal crime in the United States, and over the last decade, two significant leaks of government information carried out by NSA contractor Edward Snowden and Army private Chelsea Manning have directly undermined the safety of the American people as sensitive information enabled our adversaries to target U.S. soldiers and our allies in Afghanistan. The senior-most military leaders in our country — serving under Presidents from both parties — have testified as much to the U.S. Congress. 

"The Snowden and Manning leaks should be front and center again as Ms. Sohn’s nomination is considered because she serves as a board member and champion of the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), which has been outspokenly supportive of her nomination. ". . . 

The buck stops...with the previous guy

  Silvio Canto, Jr.

Why do the Biden administration's people engage in these lies? First, they know that the media won't challenge them.  The journalists have been on a long "siesta" since Biden took over. Second, and more seriously, the "Biden-istas" don't know what they are doing.

"It has happened before.  In other words, the current president will blame his predecessor for this or that.  However, I don't remember someone doing it in his third year or to this degree.

The Biden administration has a "Trump" for everything.  Let's look at five of their excuses in this article from Ben Whedon:

President Joe Biden, however, has time and again sought to sidestep the weighty burden of history through the simple expedient of passing the buck for presidential choices gone awry to his predecessor.

With Biden's job approval rating remaining well underwater, his administration is redoubling efforts to blame its perceived failures on former President Trump — a practice dating back to its botched withdrawal from Afghanistan in August 2021 and stretching right up to the present, with its much-panned responses to the Chinese spy balloon and the Ohio toxic train derailment.

"Let's look deeper:

1) Blame the Ohio derailment on Trump executive orders.  Not true — but they had two years to reverse them if the rules were so dangerous to rail safety.

2) Balloons flew over us when Trump was president.  No one in the Trump administration remembers, and I guarantee you that some bureaucrat would have leaked it to his favorite newsman if so.  They leaked everything else.

3) Inflation was here when I got here.  Well, inflation was here at 1.4%, and it’s a lot higher now.

4) Trump left us a chaotic border.  This is so absurd that it makes you wonder how they can say it with a straight face.

5) Trump made me get out of Afghanistan the way we did.  Why didn't Trump do it when he was president?  He wanted to get out but understood that it was important to leave correctly.

One trip to the border and Kevin McCarthy can only say 'no amnesty'

 Monica Showalter  "House Speaker Kevin McCarthy is thought to be soft on a number of issues, but so far, he's shown a lot of backbone.

"We see that now, with his trip to the border, according to Fox Digital:

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy on Thursday again ruled out any form of

Donkey Hotey

amnesty for illegal immigrants already in the U.S., after the Biden administration renewed calls for an inclusion of a pathway to citizenship as part of any immigration deal.

McCarthy spoke to Fox News during his visit to the border in Arizona. He was asked about past statements he has made where he has ruled out any form of pathway to citizenship for illegal immigrants as part of an immigration deal. On Thursday he reiterated that stance.

"That is the case, because you can't have immigration reform without first securing the border," he said. "How can you trust? You find people coming one after another and when you ask them why they’ll tell you ‘the president told me to come.’"

The Biden administration and congressional Democrats have called for citizenship for millions of illegal immigrants as part of a reform to fix what they say is a broken immigration system.

"While he's actually always been against amnesty, he underscored pretty well what he learned on that border trip, that the border is out of control and illegals are rolling in for taxpayer benefits and to benefit Democrats as voters.

"It came as new amnesty noises are being heard from Washington.

"According to a different story on Fox Digital:". . .

The Left Is Willing to Bankrupt America for Climate Change

 I just feel these people with their record of oppression and violence cannot be believed. TD

The American Spectator

Like the most intolerant zealots of the past, they believe they have the only truth and will override forcibly all who contradict them.

“The inherent vice of capitalism is the unequal sharing of blessings. The inherent virtue of Socialism is the equal sharing of miseries.”
— Winston Churchill, House of Commons, Oct. 22, 1945

 . . ."Replacing all gasoline-powered cars with electric vehicles won’t be enough to prevent the world from overheating. So people will have to give up their cars.… Progressives’ dirty little secret is that everyone will have to make do with much less—fewer cars, smaller houses and yards, and a significantly lower standard of living.

As Finley makes clear, that is only the beginning of the problem. To replace your gas heating and stoves with electric and to junk all internal combustion cars and trucks is far beyond the power of our grid to generate or deliver. And on top of that, we have the catastrophists’ urgent demand to replace all fossil fuel power generation without the use of nuclear power. That in turn creates a necessity to build up a battery-storage capacity that is capable of smoothing out the immense dips in wind power that come with every calm day and the even greater dips in solar power that come with every night and every overcast day.

"Even supposing that were practically possible to some degree, the catastrophists are facing the fact that tripling the output of batteries would require a green imperialism that would exploit the environment and cheap labor of places like Congo for cobalt and lithium and other elemental needs that we are unwilling to dig closer to the power centers of the ruling class of the Green Empire.

"There don’t seem to be material solutions that can do what the first easy ad campaign of the climate catastrophists sold us on. It is becoming apparent that it is going to take more than EVs to green the planet.

"For the catastrophists, at least the ones still thinking, it is clear that there is no technology that can deliver what they require in time to deal with the doom they believe is imminent.

"So, what should we do? Their emerging suggestion is: Do what our grandparents did — do without.". . .

Comment: LexOrandi On the one hand, you can't expect to endlessly dump toxic chemicals into the air and water without expecting harmful environmental repercussions. On the other, what began as common sense anti-pollution and conservation efforts decades ago has morphed in its own religion where Mother Earth is worshipped and man is viewed as the anti-Christ. The Reign of Error of the Eco-Nazis must be stopped.

The lies government will tell to force green energy 

 . . ."And now we see how little they care about actual pollution, and an actual threat to the people, with a massive chemical spill in Ohio.  They see the fish dying and the chemicals in the water, but they tell the people the water is safe. 

"I bet the people in this town are comfortable with coal plants and gas-powered vehicles.  Biden and Mayor Pete haven't even cared enough to visit.  Maybe Kerry, Gates, Obama, and Gore can fly in on their private jets to warn them about climate change and to watch their carbon footprint.

"Of course the same people that talk about the existential threat of natural resources spread multiple lies about COVID and silenced anyone who dared disagree with the dictatorial edicts. 

"Is it any wonder that the people have so little trust in big government and in the media establishment that promotes its policies?". . . 

Comment to this post: The arrogance of elites betrays them: There is no God but there is "climate change" and CO2 is their devil and they can control the environment. We should give them more billion$$$$$. Yet all they give us is death, inflation, drugs, fear, disease, and despair. Leftists are those who never "received a love of the truth." 

Rare Footage Documents Queen Elizabeth's Coming of Age During Second World War

Youtube    "Rare archive footage tells the story of a young Princess Elizabeth's 'coming of age' during the Second World War. As the Commonwealth endures the coronavirus pandemic, the Queen has made comparisons between the current crisis and the hardship of the war years.

"Elizabeth was just 13 when war broke out in 1939, but went on to become the first female member of the royal family to serve in the armed forces in 1945. "Fascinating video clips chart her growing role in the war effort, from her first radio broadcast addressing child evacuees in 1940, to her appearance on the balcony of Buckingham Palace during the VE Day celebrations in 1945. "Not everyone knows the full extent of Elizabeth's role in the final year of the war. The heir presumptive was granted a commission as an honorary second subaltern in the Auxiliary Territorial Service (ATS) on 24 February 1945. During her service, the princess learned how to repair vehicle engines as a mechanic in her unit. "The monarch’s position as a driver and mechanic during the war is being explored in a documentary airing at 9pm on Wednesday 22 April on ITV, titled Our Queen at War."

18-year-old Queen Elizabeth serving in the Second World War

West Coast, Messed Coast™ : The Complete and Utter Failure of 'No Bail' for Criminals

Victoria Taft

Excerpt from this post below:

. . ."How’s No Bail Working Out for You?

"Our first stop on the West Coast, Messed Coast™ report takes us to California, whose cadre of George Soros-bankrolled district attorneys and their fellow travelers in the Democrat super-majority legislature have tripled the violent crime rate since “no bail” rules went into effect. That was a lot for just one sentence, so you may wish to go back and review it.

"A study commissioned by Yolo County District Attorney Jeff Reisig found that suspects “released without bail were rearrested on 163% more charges than those who posted bail, and they reoffended 70% more often.” The net effect? “Violent crime tripled and felony offenses nearly doubled.”

"What are you looking at? Your safety isn’t important, California’s woke Left seems to be saying.

"No bail has been an utter failure if — and it’s a big if — one counts public safety as a goal.

Irony Alert

"The case of stupid hanging over the West Coast, Messed Coast™ like an odiferous miasma has settled over Washington state, where mental health big shots and the Department of Corrections are busily planning to release the worst of the worst sex perverts from McNeil Island into neighborhood homes, as I previously reported. McNeil Island is where these unfixables are sent after their prison terms have expired.

"Parents of children who wait for the school bus across the street from the Tenino-area residential property that will house a handful of the Washington state’s unfixable sex criminals have filled inboxes and town halls with outrage, fighting for their children’s safety. A daycare is ensconced nearby.  No matter.". . .