"High gas prices plagued most of Biden's presidency, but now that it's ending he's sticking it to the incoming Trump administration." Daily Wire

"The report said that oil prices “climbed sharply” once rumors surfaced that the sanctions were coming."

Off The Press   . . ."President Joe Biden refused to answer on Friday why he waited until the final days of his administration — after he and Vice President Kamala Harris both failed to defeat President-elect Donald Trump during last year’s election — to enact new sanctions against Russia that he himself acknowledged will raise the price of gasoline.

"CNN reported that the new sanctions targeting Russia’s oil industry were some of the “harshest sanctions to date meant to cut off funding for Moscow’s war against Ukraine.”

"A reporter asked Biden at a press conference if he was concerned about prices going up and why he waited until today to impose the sanctions and not years ago." . . .

Please keep in mind that the post title, "Off The Press" is not to be taken in the same sense as Biden's frequent speeches that seem to be taken as commands to "off" Donald Trump. TD

If Trump is assassinated, this man's speeches will
 be replayed over and over. TD

 Biden Refuses To Answer Why He Waited To Issue New Russian Sanctions That Will Increase Gas Prices 

Reuters’s @JeffMason1: “Mr. President, you talked about gas prices coming down. You made today’s decision about sanctions against Russia. Are you concerned that that decision will perhaps lead to gas prices going up? And can you explain why those sanctions were imposed today and… pic.twitter.com/cN1vGTseyE

— Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) January 10, 2025

Biden EV Road Trip Stunt Was Worse Than First Thought

Issues & Insights  

"Maybe it was all just a misunderstanding. Maybe the employees were not properly advised on federal travel rules. But our combined decades of observations indicate that government, at all levels, tends to draw people who couldn’t be more unsuited* for the jobs they have." . . .

"When Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm and her staff of clowns bungled a four-day ramble in 2023 to show off the wonder of electric vehicles, the lasting impression would be the report of her advance team blocking an open charger so she wouldn’t have to wait for one. A federal report, however, reveals details that cast the entire charade in an even worse light.

"The Granholm tour was to take her from Charlotte, N.C., to Memphis, Tenn., and was intended to justify the billions of taxpayers’ dollars the Biden administration was pouring into green energy initiatives. The message was lost when it was learned, two months after the incident, that “an Energy Department staffer tried parking a nonelectric vehicle” by a charger “to reserve a spot for the approaching secretary,” according to National Public Radio reporter Camila Domonoske, who was along for the ride.

"Granholm’s “caravan of EVs — including a luxury Cadillac Lyriq, a hefty Ford F-150, and an affordable Bolt electric utility vehicle — was planning to fast-charge in Grovetown, a suburb of Augusta, Ga.,” said Domonoske. But “one of the station’s four chargers was broken, and others were occupied.”

"It wouldn’t look good for the troupe to have to wait for a charge. After all, the entire purpose of the junket was to show the public that EVs are the way to travel. The optics became worse, though, when Granholm’s team “boxed out — on a sweltering day” a family “with a baby in the vehicle” using a car with an internal-combustion engine, Domonoske reported. 

"Upset by the outrageous manners and ugly display of entitlement by federal functionaries, the family called the police. Turns out Georgia had no law prohibiting non-EVs from parking in charging spaces.

"But that staffer did not commit the only misdeed by a federal employee on the rolling celebration. The Energy Department inspector general found that the government workers who supported Granholm were not “conscientious stewards of taxpayer funds,” and further noted that “conscientious stewardship is particularly crucial for matters involving high publicity.” Such as a public relations campaign to push a politically preferred mode of transportation." . . .

*I believe most of you have heard of The Peter Principle, have you not?

America First Legal Obtains Photos of Joe Biden Meeting with Hunter Biden’s Chinese Business Associates and Introducing Hunter to China’s President Xi Jinping

Knowing what Joe Biden is, when he makes his demagogic speeches before the nation bitterly making his case for the elimination of Donald Trump, what kind of people heed his call and respond? The Tunnel Dweller.

 America First Legal 

“Even while President Biden has pardoned his son, Hunter, for anything and everything ‘he has committed or may have committed or taken part in’ going all the way back to the year 2014, more evidence comes out each day showing how his family leveraged Joe Biden’s even longer career in public office for private gain."...

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, America First Legal (AFL) released new photographs of Joe Biden and his son Hunter Biden during the Obama-Biden Administration, obtained through litigation against the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA). These images shed light on the connections between then-Vice President Biden, Hunter and his Chinese business associates, and Chinese government officials including President Xi Jinping. Lawyers and representatives for President Biden and President Obama delayed NARA’s release of these photographs, as they did with other records, until after Election Day.

"These new photographs appear to show:

• Then-Vice President Joe Biden introducing Hunter to President Xi Jinping of the People’s Republic of China;
• Then-Vice President Joe Biden introducing Hunter to then-Vice President Li Yuanchao of the People’s Republic of China; and
• Then-Vice President Joe Biden meeting with and taking pictures with Hunter’s business associates from BHR Partners, including Jonathan Li and Ming Xue.

"Following the Presidential Records Act, NARA had planned to release these photographs on October 23, 2024 — thirteen days before Election Day. 

"Statement from Michael Ding, America First Legal Counsel:"

. . ."Read all about our Biden Family Corruption investigation here.

View all the photographs released here and here. Please let us know if you can identify any other notable individuals in these photographs.

America First Legal pictures and full article here. Elderly man in all photos with his son is the man whose FEMA was told not to render hurricane assistance to visible Trump supporters. TD

Columbia Law Professor Kicked Out After Investigation Finds She Violated School Policies

Hot Air  

"So this looks like the end of the line for Franke, at least at Columbia. Perhaps she'll fine a job at another school looking for a left-wing agitator. 

"We had this in the headlines but I think it's worthy of a longer post. Katherine Franke was until last week the founder and director of Columbia’s Center for Gender & Sexuality Law. Last Friday she announced she'd agreed to resign after an investigation concluded last November that she had violated school policies with her comments about Israeli students.

"All of this started in January 2024 when pro-Palestinian Columbia students held an unauthorized gathering on campus. Student counter-protesters sprayed them with something smelly and the claim quickly spread on campus that it was an Israeli chemical agent called Skunk."  

NEW: @Columbia Law School has just announced that Prof. Katherine Franke is "accelerating her planned retirement" to tomorrow, Jan 10th. Franke encouraged students to take over buildings, said Israeli students should be removed from Columbia because "so many of them" are "known… pic.twitter.com/ddrb1PsULn

— Columbia Jewish & Israeli Students ✡️🇮🇱 (@CUJewsIsraelis) January 9, 2025

Next step: run for Congress as a Democrat, get elected by NY voters, wear outfits like Rashida Tlaib and AOC, be a special guest on whatever form MSNBC* is in at that time, and live the life you love. Do like Hillary: enthrall TV news shows for the next however many years, bloviating over how you were defrauded by that right-wing school. TD

*MSNBC Boss Is Out Just Days Before the Inauguration

Biden and Harris Hold a Wildfire Briefing, and It Turns Into a Total Disaster

RedState  . . ."Mercifully, the briefing ended fairly quickly, at which point America was treated to Biden making faces at members of the press as his handlers shouted at them to leave the room." 

Biden sits and makes faces at the press as his handlers SCREAM at them to leave the room following his wildfires briefing.

Fewer than seven days until Biden disgraces that room no longer. pic.twitter.com/12qbLfsV4s

— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) January 14, 2025

President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris decided to cosplay as leaders on Monday by giving a briefing on the devastating California wildfires. That's the thing about pretending, though. It rarely ends well, and things went downhill very quickly. 

While sitting at the Resolute Desk in the Oval Office, Biden kept his eyes locked on his script, bragging about giving victims a "one-time payment of $770." What that is supposed to accomplish wasn't immediately apparent.

BIDEN: "People impacted by these fires are gonna receive one-time payment of $770. One-time payment." pic.twitter.com/9E7Toj5BEo

— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) January 14, 2025

 Opposing views from readers here.

In the same vein...   Bitter Kamala Harris Won't Let JD and Usha Vance Child-Proof VP Residence Ahead of Inauguration   "It seems that Kamala Harris has no intention of leaving the Naval Observatory residence, home to all U.S. vice presidents since the 1970s, on a graceful note. According to one report, the sitting vice president has refused to invite Vice President-elect JD Vance and his wife, Usha, to the residence ahead of Monday's inauguration.

"Multiple Democrat and Republican sources confirmed to CBS News that Harris has refused to extend an invitation to the Vances for a formal sit-down or even an informal tour of their new home. This comes after Usha Vance made a specific request back in November for information on the house so she could ensure that it is child-proofed for their three children, all of whom are under the age of eight." . . .

It's a complete cop-out for Team Kamala to make excuses for not allowing the Vances access to the vice presidential residence in order to ease the transition for their young family. After all, Kamala is the woman who styled herself as "Momala" to her step-kids. It's clear that she's simply too bitter about 2024 to be even slightly gracious to the incoming administration.

 More...

UPDATE: "Keep voting Democrat you get what you voted for"

Argus Hamilton's Rogue Report

Jewish World Review    

NBC News sounded the alarm Sunday reporting the first human death in Louisiana from Bird Flu. As soon the L.A. fires faded, the media needed a new emergency to keep Americans glued to the news. A new Bird Flu vaccine is now available for everyone who hasn't died from the Covid-19 shot yet. 

• Mayor Karen Bass is accused of gross negligence by fire victims in the Palisades who lost their homes Friday. No one can understand why there was no water in the local reservoir in the Pacific Palisades. You would think the reservoirs would be full of water after the L.A. Fire Department installed three dikes.

• Will Rogers State Park in Palisades honoring the great Oklahoma stand-up comedian onstage, in print, on the radio and Hollywood movies burned down Tuesday. He's still funny to this day. Will Rogers World Airport in Oklahoma City is the only airport named after somebody killed in a plane crash.

• Governor Gavin Newsom complained to the White House about the TV coverage he's getting blaming him for the fire damage. To be totally honest, the TV news video of the roaring brushfires at night was nothing short of spectacular. California is the last blue state I expected to turn into a red state.

• Donald Trump was urged in a letter from Governor Gavin Newsom Saturday to stop politicizing wildfires. It does seem pointless to keep beating Gavin over the head with a political stick. The good news is Governor Newsom appears to be on track now that he knows that water is useful in fighting fires.

• Governor Gavin Newsom launched state efforts to rebuild burned L.A. neighborhoods Sunday. He signed an order expediting home construction from bureaucratic red tape. Going the governor one better, Donald Trump promised U.S. citizenship to any illegal immigrant who can build a house in 4 days.

• Los Angeles firefighters slowly and finally started to contain the four wildfires plaguing L.A. on Saturday. Corporate attempts to help those battling the blazes faced challenges. Anheuser-Busch sent 50,000 cans of water to the fire crews, but the firefighters complain that it tastes like Michelob Ultra.

• The Wall Street Journal reported that firefighters from all over the U.S. and Canada arrived in L.A. last week to help local firefighters beat back the Palisades and Eaton wildfires. They did all they could with what they had. Our fire hydrants were so dry they were praying for a dog to come by.

NEW VIDEO Shows J6 Trump Supporter Rosanne Boyland Shot in the Face by Police Projectile, Then Pushed Down and Smothered, Before Metro Police Officer Beat Her with a Stick as She Died on US Capitol Steps

 The Gateway Pundit  President Trump also told the assembled journalists that he heard there was a second person who died on January 6, 2021 at the pro-Trump protests on Capitol Hill.

"Actually, Mr. President, four people died that day, three were killed by police action, on January 6, 2021.

American patriots who lost their lives on January 6, 2021. (left to right) Kevin Greeson, Rosanne Boyland, Ashli Babbitt and Benjamin Phillips.

"Ashli Babbitt was shot and killed in cold blood by Officer Michael Byrd. Kevin Greeson died of a heart attack. Benjamin Phillips was killed when Capitol Police fired exploding cylinders into the crowd, and he was knocked unconscious, and Trump supporters were unable to revive him. And Rosanne Boyland was gassed, pushed down, smothered until unconscious, and then beaten with a stick by Officer Lila Morris several times as she lay dying on the US Capitol Steps.

"Ashli Babbitt was shot and killed in cold blood by Officer Michael Byrd. Kevin Greeson died of a heart attack. Benjamin Phillips was killed when Capitol Police fired exploding cylinders into the crowd, and he was knocked unconscious, and Trump supporters were unable to revive him. And Rosanne Boyland was gassed, pushed down, smothered until unconscious, and then beaten with a stick by Officer Lila Morris several times as she lay dying on the US Capitol Steps." . . .

Students who saw campuses devolve into anti-Israel chaos witness first-hand successes of Abraham Accords

Emma Colton; Fox News

The 2020 Abraham Accords marked the first time Israel established peace with an Arab country since 1994 

"Dozens of American college students visited Israel and the United Arab Emirates over the winter break, where they witnessed first-hand the successes of the historic Abraham Accords amid ongoing campus tensions at home as the war in Israel continues. 

"Forty-three undergraduate students from across the country participated in
a 10-day trip to Israel and the UAE over the winter semester break through the Israel on Campus Coalition’s Geller International Fellowship, Fox News Digital learned. The students met with business leaders, academics and political leaders to discuss and experience Middle East culture, as well as see first-hand the importance of the Abraham Accords, which were brokered under President-elect Donald Trump’s first administration in 2020. 

" 'Witnessing the successes of the Abraham Accords first hand with a group of college students who are passionate about peace and coexistence, in an era where dialogue on American college campuses like my own is sparse, has been a poignant and critical reminder of what the future of the Middle East can hold," Columbia University senior studying the Middle East, Eden Yadegar said in comment to Fox News Digital. 

" 'Peace, security, and coexistence are not distant ideals, but a reality on the ground thanks to the United States, Israel, and the UAE. The future of the Middle East is here and it’s bright, and I am incredibly grateful to the Israel on Campus Coalition for providing me with the opportunity to engage in these critical conversations and experiences." . . .

Nearly 100k People Slap Karen Bass With Petition to Resign As Even a Kardashian Rips Her As a ‘Joke’. "Racism" accusations begin in three...two....one...

Rusty Weiss; RedState  

. . ."In short, she went full Biden. Nobody goes full Biden." . . .

https://rofcbybroc.com/

"Nearly 100,000 signatures have been gathered on a petition demanding Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass resign immediately over her "gross mismanagement" of the devastating wildfires engulfing her city.

"The fires in and around the LA area have resulted in at least 16 deaths (five died in the Palisades fire on the west side of Los Angeles), burned over 36,000 acres, and destroyed more than 12,000 homes and structures. 

"Those numbers, tragically, are likely to go higher as firefighters battle to contain the blaze, weather forecasts predict more winds, and thousands of piles of rubble have yet to be searched for victims.

"Democrat politicians in California have done little to instill confidence that they are handling the situation, instead focusing all of their efforts on deflecting blame.

"One of those individuals is Bass. However, a new petition on Change.org initiated by LA residents is putting the focus squarely on her.

" 'We, the undersigned residents of Los Angeles and concerned citizens, urgently call for the immediate recall of Mayor Karen Bass due to her gross mismanagement and failure to effectively respond to the devastating 2025 fires in and around the city of Los Angeles," the petition reads" . . .

If, on the off chance, Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson (D) was looking for competition for the worst mayor in America, he maybe would find it with Karen Bass (D).  

. . ."But Los Angeles is a Democrat-dominated city and they're known for routinely voting for the same people/political party and yet expecting improved results each time. Until that mindset changes, these types of dangerous situations - and the unacceptable responses from city/county/state "leaders" to them -  will, unfortunately, continue to happen." . . .

. . ."Relatedly, a 2021 tweet from Bass dinging Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) for his Cancun trip has resurfaced at a most inconvenient time for the embattled mayor:

Man (gentleman?) Seen Starting Fires With Blow Torch in LA County Not Charged With Arson

 Debra Heine; American Greatness  

"The Daily Mail has interviewed a fireman who claims two men were caught on video dumping gasoline and setting it alight immediately before the Palisades fire broke out."

"A suspect seen starting fires with a blow torch in a Los Angeles neighborhood Thursday afternoon is not being charged with arson because a police investigation found “no probable cause.” The man is still being detained on a felony probation violation amid the ongoing investigation, Los Angeles Police Department Assistant Chief Dominic Choi said in a press conference Friday.

"The arrest comes amid growing speculation that at least some of the LA fires were started by arsonists.

"The suspect was arrested Thursday night on suspicion of arson near the Kenneth fire, a wildfire that started at about 2:30, Thursday afternoon. The suspect, believed to be a homeless man, had reportedly been seen riding around on a bicycle in Woodland Hills Thursday afternoon, attempting to set numerous old Christmas trees and garbage cans on fire with a blow torch

"A resident saw the man wielding a yellow blow torch and called on his neighbors to help him apprehend the suspected arsonist. The neighbors banded together, using zip ties and rope to detain the man.

"With help from neighbors, they cornered him and made the citizens arrest.

" 'We really banded together as a group. A few gentlemen surrounded him and got him on his knees. They got some zip ties, a rope and we were able to do a citizens’ arrest,” a witness said.

"The suspect was described as agitated and like “he was on something.”

" 'He was very like, ‘I can’t stop, I can’t stop'” a resident told Fox11. “I’m not putting this down. I’m doing this.”

"The restrained man is believed to be in his mid-twenties to early thirties and allegedly speaks Spanish as his first language. Authorities have not revealed the suspect’s identity.

"The witness said the man was “very focused on moving forward with his blow torch.” . . .

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-14277339/los-angeles-fires-interactive-map-destroyed-homes.html

California Fires: At Least Two People Arrested, Accused of Arson 

. . ."The Los Angeles County Fire Department was able to quickly put out the fire." . . .

Special Counsel Jack Smith, Leader of Trump Prosecution, Resigns from DOJ

 "What if Biden pardons Jack Smith, Fauci, Cheney, and a few others? Oh wait, they could be subpoenaed, right?"; “Jack Smith’s investigation of Trump is over” "But Pam Bondi’s investigation of Jack Smith is just beginning." Comments to the post below.

Legal Insurrection    . . ."After nonstop investigation and dismissing the charges after Trump won back in November, Jack Smith’s seemingly partisan investigation of Donald Trump has come to an end.

"More from POLITICO:

Word of Smith’s departure came in a footnote to a court filing Justice Department officials submitted to U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon Saturday afternoon, urging her not to extend a court order she issued last week temporarily blocking the release of the final report Smith submitted to department leaders on Tuesday.

Justice Department officials say Cannon’s order overstepped her authority and that she has no power to block Attorney General Merrick Garland from releasing Smith’s findings. Her ban on disclosure of Smith’s report currently runs through Monday.

Garland has said he plans to release publicly only the portion of Smith’s report that covers his investigation into Trump’s effort to subvert the 2020 election. The attorney general has said in court filings that he agreed with a recommendation from Smith to keep the other volume — which addresses the probe into Trump’s possession of a raft of classified documents at Mar-a-Lago after he left office in 2021 — under wraps due to prosecutors’ ongoing efforts to revive a criminal case against two Trump allies and former co-defendants. Instead, Garland intends only to show that report to a handful of members of Congress.

Broc Smith (no relation)

Four years of Biden proves too close a shave

 Harold Witkov 

"In my coin collection, I own a copper piece that I find impossible to look at and not think about the last four years of the Biden administration." 

. . ."Interestingly, despite his many austere measures, Czar Peter I is often referred to as Peter the Great. This is mainly because he managed to make Russia a formidable nation on the world scene, which was certainly his intention. This, in contrast, to President Joe the Pathetic, who has always seemed intent on weakening his own nation -- even as he exits the world scene.

"So glad to see you go Joe. Don’t let the White House door hit you hit you on the way out."

How Much Damage Can the Biden Folks Do?  "Trump will have to fix an inordinate number of problems that Biden is intent on leaving behind." Audio.

Like the debate, an interview reveals the best Biden    "Since the palace coup, Joe Biden has been the lamest of lame ducks. His handlers no longer perceive the need to keep him out of the public eye and are letting him “just be Joe” to the general disgust and horror of the public. Some of them are even admitting—as are some in the Media—that just maybe Joe hasn’t been as sharp as they claimed, and maybe even not before he took office. Even Joe Scarborough, who angrily and obscenely told Americans they couldn’t handle the truth about “the best Biden ever” has backtracked and trekked to Mar-a-Lago to beg forgiveness." . . .

JD Vance: "Joe Biden Has Left Us A Dumpster Fire, Donald Trump Is Going To Have To Put It Out"   

"You need to have basic law enforcement," he said. "And what the Democrats are going to do is they're going to hide behind this. They're going to say that this is all about compassion for families. It is not compassion to allow the drug cartels to traffic small children. It is not compassionate to allow the worst people in the world to send minor children, some of them victims of sex trafficking, into our country. That is the real humanitarian crisis at the border. You're not going to exacerbate it through law enforcement. You're going to fix it through law enforcement."