O'Rourke mulling run for Texas governor

 

The Hill   "Former Rep. Beto O'Rourke (D-Texas) said this week he is considering a 2022 gubernatorial run, setting up a potential challenge against incumbent Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R). 

"It's something I'm going to think about," O'Rourke told Buzz Adams on Texas radio station KLAQ on Monday.

"O'Rourke went on to hit Abbott's handling of the coronavirus pandemic, accusing him of having a "complete indifference" to steps local leaders are trying to take to save lives amid the public health crisis. 

" 'This state has suffered perhaps more than any other in the midst of this pandemic, in the midst of the worst recession since the Great Depression. And it is particularly galling to you and to me and everyone who is listening that El Paso in one of the hardest-hit states was, if not is, the hardest-hit city," O'Rourke said. 

" 'I want to make sure that we have someone in the highest office in our state to make sure that all of us are OK," he said. "Whether I'm a candidate for governor or I support someone who's a candidate for governor, I want to make sure that we have excellence in leadership and that excellence goes to every single part of the state, including ours.' " . . . 

So now we're going to tax miles driven?

Democrats: every morning we wake up wondering what they will do to us next. TD

American Thinker  "Last week, Pete Buttigieg began confirmation hearings for his appointment as Transportation secretary.  During the question-and-answer session, we discovered why President Asterisk favors Mayor Pete for this position.  It seems he has a radical new idea for how to fund highway maintenance and development, which the new administration favors.  Funding for our highway infrastructure is currently supported via a fuel tax — 18.4 cents per gallon of gasoline and 24.4 cents per gallon of diesel.  Mayor Pete's proposal is to move to a tax on miles driven rather than fuel consumed.

It seems that the administration is concerned that drivers of electric cars are not paying their fair share.  Thank God we're past the silliness of the Trump administration.  The adults are back in town, and the Harris/Biden administration is tackling the inequity of highway funding head on.  I'm sure racism is involved somehow.  I haven't figured that angle out yet, but I'm sure that the white privilege of owning an electric car has something to do with it." . . .

..."The next time I'm out in my pickup truck and come upon a slow-moving hybrid with a Biden/Harris bumper sticker, I'll find great comfort in knowing that its driver is paying as much to use the highway as I am." ...

Off to a Bad START: Putin Schools Biden with One Phone Call

The DIANNY Image Vault

 Lynn Corum

Whatever Biden actually said during that phone call, it has inspired Putin to embark on a whole new weapons program. Hail to our Commander-in-Chief!

"According to Russian news service Ria Novosti, on Tuesday, the presidents of the Russian Federation and the United States, Vladimir Putin and Joe Biden, held a telephone conversation.  During the conversation, Biden and Putin agreed to a five-year extension of START-3, until 2026, “100% on Russian terms, without additions, in the form in which it was originally signed.”  As a result of the call, the authorized Duma committees were ordered to urgently take the necessary steps to extend START-3.  On that same day, Putin submitted to the State Duma a bill on the ratification of START-3 through 2026; it immediately passed.  Putin’s Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov enthused that “START-3 is being extended on Russian terms, for 5 years, without any conditions or additional requirements, without attempts to change the START verification regime, without those, in our view, absurd and unacceptable aspirations of the previous administration to make sure to draw the PRC [China] into this process without fail."

"Biden ran on a platform that was endorsed by the entire American security and foreign policy establishment. The platform stand was to rebuild international multilateralism, taking no actions without coordination with our allies. Trump was routinely condemned by the establishment for insisting on the “America First” approach in foreign policy. Biden’s promise of multilateral cooperation with allies didn’t last a week. Indeed, he showed even more disregard for America’s NATO allies than Trump ever did. Biden’s phone call to Russian President Putin was his first serious test of foreign and security policy; he flunked. In the course of that one phone call, he casually agreed to a five-year extension of the New START Treaty, a treaty that originally took months to negotiate." . . .

Danger and Disgrace on Inauguration Day

What’s even more disturbing about the military presence is that, as Tucker points out, it appears that the Pentagon has thrown its weight entirely to the Democrat party. Certainly, it is following the ludicrous ‘insurrection’ narrative. We see clearly that the one institution in America that was entirely non-partisan, at least at the upper levels, has become just another part of the Deep State. It seems that Obama succeeded in changing management in the Pentagon.

Intellectual Takeout   . . . "This military occupation of Washington D.C. also raises some questions.

"When some in the previous administration advocated putting National Guard troops on our border to prevent what amounts to an invasion of our country, why did so many on the left resist that measure?

"When rioters were burning and looting our cities all summer long, and some wished to send the Guard to put a stop to those thugs and vandals, why did some governors refuse to use the military to quell these riots?

"How long will the National Guard remain in Washington? What exactly is their mission statement? All military units have mission statements, but do we know what our leaders intend to do with this force once Inauguration Day has passed?

"The swell of troops to our nation’s capitol is a disconcerting sight. Is this show of force based on real information and apprehension about an armed mob entering the city? Or is it intended to go hand-in-hand with the recent attacks on some members of our Congress and Big Tech’s silencing of thousands of Americans, including a presiding president, to drive home the point that the government now in charge will brook no nonsense about such freedoms as those of speech and assembly? Do we still live in a republic or are we now in a dictatorship?

"On Monday evening, Jan. 18, Tucker Carlson rightly railed against this massive turnout of soldiers and the dangerous suggestions of a Congressman and a retired colonel, with the latter advocating for the military to put down domestic terrorists. In this case he apparently meant those who voted for Donald Trump. You can watch this video and read Andrea Widburg’s accompanying article here." . . .

Female Athletes Explain How a Biden Executive Order Threatens Women’s Sports

And regarding women's gymnastics in Olympics trials.....?

Alliance Defending Freedom "Last week, President Joe Biden wasted no time in pushing policies that threaten to gut legal protections for women and girls.

"Unfortunately, we’ve already gotten a glimpse of what this means. The past few years, we’ve watched as female athletes have increasingly lost out on championship titles and opportunities to advance to the next level of competition. All because of policies like those President Biden is pushing." 

"Take Connecticut for example, where a state athletic association policy permits male athletes who identify as females to compete on girls’ athletic teams. Under this policy, two male athletes in the state won 15 championship titles and over 85 chances to advance to higher levels of competition that belonged to deserving girls.

"Alliance Defending Freedom has stepped in and filed a lawsuit on behalf of several of these female athletes.

"But now, that threat could be taken nationwide.

"On January 20, President Biden signed an executive order instructing federal agencies to reinterpret federal laws and regulations that prohibit sex discrimination—including Title IX, which prohibits sex discrimination in schools that receive federal funds—to include “gender identity.”

"With this executive order, the Biden administration is declaring that the real, biological differences between men and women don’t matter.

"But those female athletes in Connecticut know that isn’t true. And they appeared on Fox News over the weekend to share how policies like these threaten equal educational and athletic opportunities for women and girls.

"Ultimately, when our laws ignore the differences between men and women, it is most often women and girls who get hurt. Selina, Chelsea, and Alanna can attest to that.

"Under President Biden’s executive order, situations like theirs would become a nationwide reality. And that should concern us all.

"Our country was founded on the principle that we are all created equal. But policies like those laid out in Biden’s executive order do not treat women equally."

A political agenda should never trump the equal opportunities of women and girls. And if it does, you can rest assured that ADF will be there to stand up for their rights—all the way to the Supreme Court if necessary."

Rand Paul continues to rise

Bob's Blog blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">World class <a href="https://t.co/JgbdcwdejX">pic.twitter.com/JgbdcwdejX</a></p>&mdash; Cerno (@Cernovich) <a href="https://twitter.com/Cernovich/status/1354167149103702018?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 26, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

The ‘After Trump’ Era Begins

 Coincidentally, after weeks of disastrous state incompetence in getting residents vaccinated, Amazon has now told the new administration that it will lend its infrastructure and organization to speed up vaccinations. If Amazon could announce that in late January, why not weeks earlier?

Victor Davis Hanson

Presto: Nothing the president can do about COVID deaths! And don’t even think about a special counsel to investigate collusion or quid pro quos. 

"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." . . .

. . . "Stranger still, during his first few hours in office, President Biden announced, “There’s nothing we can do to change the trajectory of the pandemic in the next several months.”

"For the first time, we now learn that there is “nothing” Biden can do about COVID-19?" . . .

Kingman Miner

“It Doesn’t Make Any Sense – They Took It!” – MUST SEE: Black Keystone Pipeline Worker GOES OFF After Biden Fires Him and 10,000 Co-Workers

 The Gateway Pundit   "This was powerful!

"A black construction worker on the Keystone XL Pipeline took to social media after Joe Biden and Democrats fired him and 10,000 co-workers this week so that Americans could pay more on their utility bills.

"The man talks about his new car he will likely have to sell. Then he adds this,

“It just doesn’t f*ckin make any sense. It doesn’t make any sense. HOW! Did Donald Trump… I know how – They took it! They didn’t steal the election. When you steal something that’s when no one knows that you took it. But they outright boldly went in and said, “We’re gonna f*cking take this presidency from you. Screw the American people. Screw you, Donald Trump. Screw everybody! America last! Oh, and by the way, you guys are going to lose your job!” “

"This was an amazing video!" . . .

Jobs Already Being Lost As Joe Biden Ends Keystone XL Pipeline

After Claiming He's 'Not a Fan,' Biden Forms a Commission to PACK the Supreme Court

FDR tried to pack the Court but better judgement prevailed in those days. “It was never realistic that this plan would pass,” Perry says. “Roosevelt badly miscalculated reverence for the Court and its independence from an overreaching president.”

PJ Media  "Joe Biden has begun staffing a commission that would examine reforming the Supreme Court and the federal court system. The commission will supposedly be bipartisan, but we all know which side will be in the majority.

"Biden floated the idea of a commission to study reforming the Supreme Court during the confirmation of Amy Coney Barrett. At that time, the radical left was advocating to put more justices on the court to flip its ideological makeup to make it friendlier to the radical liberal social agenda.

"Biden said at the time he was “not a fan” of court-packing. He said in 2019 that he opposed the idea. But now that he’s president and beholden to the radicals for his election victory, it’s time to pay up.

"Politico:

The commission will be housed under the purview of the White House Counsel’s office and filled out with the behind-the-scenes help of the Biden campaign’s lawyer Bob Bauer, who will co-chair the commission. Its specific mandate is still being decided. But, in a signal that the commission is indeed moving ahead, some members have already been selected, according to multiple people familiar with the discussions.

Among those who will be on the commission are Cristina Rodríguez, a professor at Yale Law School and a former deputy assistant attorney general in the Obama Department of Justice, who will join Bauer as co-chair. Caroline Fredrickson, the former president of the American Constitution Society, and Jack Goldsmith, a Harvard Law School professor and a former assistant attorney general in the Bush Department of Justice, will also serve on the commission, those familiar with discussions said.

"Fredrickson, a respected constitutional lawyer, had this to say about packing the court." . . .

America, what have you done?

This is a nasty group of radicals, this Biden Cabinet of now out-of-the-closet communists. They are wildly overreaching in a country that is based on individual liberty. Patricia McCarthy 

Image by Kevin Dzuban.

Biden's environment agenda: Regressive, oppressive, depressive   . . . "Biden talked recently about social equity for Indian tribes while simultaneously destroying them by blocking oil drilling on federal lands, which gives them huge amounts of money to feed themselves. 

Biden should change his slogan from "Build Back Better" to "Let's Make China, Russia, and Iran stronger". The media are cheering for all the executive orders.". . . 

Biden's center, such as it is, will not hold  "President Trump enacted policies about the economy, the border, and national security that benefited all Americans.  Biden's initiatives, however, benefit only special interest groups, and, along the way, they will harm other special interest groups, as well as most Americans.  Biden's center cannot hold; the administration will eventually maintain power only through brute force." . . .

How and Why Joe Biden Opposes Patriotic Education  "Of all the executive orders that newly elected Joe Biden swiftly enacted,  nothing is more indicative of his anti-American animus and radical left-wing influence than his revoking Trump's "1776 Commission" to promote "patriotic education." 

"The 1776 Commission to Create a Patriotic History Curriculum is in direct contrast to the "1619 Project," which reflects a decidedly  anti-American, factually incorrect, and blatantly biased program currently being pushed through the U.S. education system." . . .

Mr. Biden will explain this publicly as soon as his teleprompter is prepared.

Biden's LGBT Agenda: Pedophilia Coming Down the Pike?  "The Biden regime's January 20 executive order demanding "equal treatment under the law, no matter [one's] gender identity or sexual orientation" is just the first salvo in the next wave pushing "LGBT rights."  The order will soon be backed by federal law, via the pending LGBT "Equality Act."

"While many are now warning that the order will destroy girls' and women's sports, its impact is much broader."  . . .

One week in, Biden administration shows its exquisite cruelty "Joe Biden was inaugurated a week ago, and like the dictator his handlers have long yearned to install, his has started out as a cruel administration.  His 22 executive orders so far, more than any other president in history, have already sent tens of thousands of jobs down the drain with coldhearted carelessness.  He stopped construction of the Keystone XL pipeline with the stroke of his pen.  He has put all those who were working on the border wall out of work.  As all those who opposed his candidacy suspected, he is doing China's bidding.  Of course he is; the Chinese own him.  Every single person he has appointed to his Cabinet is aligned with China as well.  It is quite likely that Biden has no idea how catastrophic the E.O.s he has apparently signed have already been for blue-collar workers across the country." . . .

Video: Asked About The Sacrifices He’s Asking American Workers To Make, Biden Walks Away…

Biden and Kerry gaslight about green jobs  "The Biden administration seems to recognize it's got a problem with its green energy schemes, as it takes a wrecking ball to the nation's economic edifice in the name of green and strikes at it with all the people still in it.

"Exhibit A: Biden's day-one cancellation of the Keystone XL pipeline, at an immediate cost of 1,200 jobs, a projected loss of 2021's 11,000 jobs, an additional loss of 42,000 knock-on jobs, and one angry Canada.

"Exhibit B: Biden's executive order banning new oil and gas drilling on federal land. "It's climate day," Biden chirped." . . .  Here the rest of Biden's spin:

Just so we know terms: to Gaslight; Also at the Urban Dictionary.

A form of intimidation or psychological abuse, sometimes called Ambient Abuse where false information is presented to the victim, making them doubt their own memory, perception and quite often, their sanity. The classic example of gaslighting is to switch something around on someone that you know they're sure to notice, but then deny knowing anything about it, and to explain that they "must be imagining things" when they challenge these changes.

 

Biden Administration Sued for Halting Oil, Gas Leasing on Federal Lands

The Washington Examiner "President Joe Biden is slowly assembling his Cabinet, but what’s likely to be his most fiery Senate confirmation showdown (featuring his old friend and rival Bernie Sanders) hasn’t been scheduled yet.

"Biden’s announcement that he had tapped Neera Tanden, 50, as the director-designate of the Office of Management and Budget, tasked with drafting his budget and overseeing his administration’s budget plans and policy implementation, was met with opposition from his left and right.

Tanden photo added by TD

"But even before Tanden’s candidacy is put to a vote on the floor of the Senate, she is facing some friendly fire: Democratic opposition.

"Sanders’ Senate Budget Committee has jurisdiction over Tanden’s position, and the pair have openly clashed. Tanden, president and CEO of the Center for American Progress, a liberal think tank, as well as an alumna of former President Bill Clinton’s administration, was a fierce backer of Hillary Clinton’s two White House campaigns, using CAP to boost her bid.

"The newly installed chairman has yet to schedule Tanden’s confirmation hearing. While his panel is tied up with Biden’s $1.9 trillion COVID-19 rescue package and efforts to legislate a federal minimum wage hike, his decision to delay her appearance has dredged up the pair’s past public clashes when Sanders challenged Clinton for the 2016 Democratic presidential nomination.

“ 'I don’t know, honestly. We’re working on it,” he said last week when asked about the timeline. “It’s going on. ... Obviously, there’s a process we’re going to go through.”

"In 2016, Sanders blasted Tanden in a letter for “maligning my staff and supporters and belittling progressive ideas.”

"I worry that the corporate money CAP is receiving is inordinately and inappropriately influencing the role it is playing in the progressive movement,” Sanders wrote.

"And the animosity hasn’t abated. Sanders’ 2020 campaign spokeswoman tweeted last November that Tanden embodied “everything toxic about the corporate Democratic Party.” . . .

Who is Neera Tanden? Hillary Clinton loyalist and Joe Biden’s pick for budget chief 

. . . "But it will hardly be the first taste of power for Tanden, who is the daughter of Indian immigrant parents and often makes the list of the most powerful people in the US capital, from Elle’s 10 most powerful women in DC in 2014, to Politico’s 50 (sharing the 18th rank with two other aides of the then US presidential nominee Hillary Clinton) in 2016.

"Tanden, 50, is a Yale Law alumna who currently serves as chief executive of the think tank Center for American Progress, a public policy research and advocacy organisation based in Washington. 

"A policymaking veteran, she served as a healthcare adviser in the erstwhile Obama administration, where she played a key role in framing provisions of the Affordable Care Act or ‘Obamacare’." . . . 

Will Rude Tweets Get Neera Tanden Blocked From the Biden Administration?

Ten Reasons a Post-Presidency Impeachment of Barack Obama Should Happen

Matt Margolis "With the Senate looking to be on the verge of starting an impeachment trial for President Trump over bogus allegations that he incited the assault on the Capitol on January 6, Democrats have established the precedent that even after a president is out of office, he must be held accountable for alleged crimes committed during his presidency.

“ 'If it is a good idea to impeach and try former presidents, what about former Democratic presidents when Republicans get the majority in 2022?” asked Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) as an ominous warning to Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.). “Think about it and let’s do what is best for the country.”

"Cornyn’s message was clear. The Democrats, in proceeding with this impeachment, will have opened Pandora’s Box. While it’s hardly a sure thing that Republicans would have the courage to impeach former Democrat presidents once they are back in the majority (let alone a current one) the possibility now exists.

"Cary Elwes, the actor most famous for his role as Westley in The Princess Bride, scoffed at Cornyn’s hypothetical: “And what would you try to impeach former Democratic Presidents for?”

"Well, that’s the question I’m about to answer. The most obvious former Democrat president who could be and should be impeached despite already having left office is Barack Obama.
While Democrats are most likely motivated by their desire to prevent President Trump from running for president again, there are other benefits given to former presidents that would be taken away upon conviction. Given his many impeachable acts while in office, the post-presidency impeachment of Barack Obama would hopefully set an example for future presidents.

"I’ve compiled ten things Barack Obama could be impeached for once Republicans retake the majority in the House.: . . .

10. Illegally firing an inspector general to protect a sex predator...

9. His war on cops...

8. Illegal treaties...

7. The Sestak bribery scandal...

6. Rampant obstruction of justice...

5. Spying on the media...

4. The illegal war in Libya...

3. The Benghazi attack cover-up...

2. The IRS targeting scandal...

1. Obamagate...

Further, evidence that Russia actually preferred Clinton over Trump was allegedly suppressed by Obama CIA Director John Brennan.

Matt Margolis is the author of Airborne: How The Liberal Media Weaponized The Coronavirus Against Donald Trump, and the bestselling book The Worst President in History: The Legacy of Barack Obama

Allow me to add to the list these items that the vindictive man-child Barack Obama inflicted on us:

"Obama’s IRS also attempted to silence political enemies.  Lois Lerner, an IRS official who served under Obama, threatened Tea Party nonprofits that had applied for tax-exempt status throughout the 2010 midterms and the 2012 presidential election." . . . 

2013: Obama Wants to Make the Shutdown Hurt Ordinary Americans  . . . "The managing director of the farm, Anna Eberly, said, “In all the years I have worked with the National Park Service … I have never worked with a more arrogant, arbitrary and vindictive group representing the NPS,” Eberly said." . . . "Mr. Obama’s behavior is not normal behavior but it is the behavior one would expect in a Banana Republic." . . .

President Obama wants the government shutdown to hurt, and hurt bad. He closed a World War II memorial and tried to block veterans from remembering their service to their country. Is Obama using the federal budget to spite veterans and the elderly? Hear what Trifecta thinks.

More at The Tunnel Wall Blog