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JUNE 13,  2021

SHORT TAKES ON THE DRIFTING WRECKAGE – OVERNIGHT: 

THE GENIUS SPEAKS AGAIN – FROM FOX:    Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is "inclined to say yes" to calls by progressive organizations and at least one fellow Democrat in Congress for 82-year-old Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer to retire at the end of the current term of the high court.  Ocasio-Cortez, the two-term representative from New York who’s arguably the most high profile progressive in Congress and the most well-known of the group of diverse lawmakers on the left known as "the Squad," was asked Sunday in an interview on CNN’s "State of the Union" whether Breyer should retire.  "You know, I – it's something that I’d think about but I, I would probably lean towards yes. But yes, you're asking me this question so I've just, I would give more thought to it, but, but I'm inclined to say yes," Ocasio-Cortez answered.  Some progressive are urging Breyer to step down now – while the Democrats control both the White House and the Senate, which confirms Supreme Court justices – so he can be succeeded by another progressive-minded justice.
Earlier in the CNN interview, when host Dana Bash asked Ocasio-Cortez if she agreed with comments in April by Democratic Rep. Mondaire Jones of New York urging Breyer to retire, she said "I believe Representative Jones has a point."  Who does she think she is?  She's a junior congresswoman who's antagonized just about everyone in Washington, including leaders of her own party.  And here she is pressuring a distinguished member of the Supreme Court to retire for political reasons.  We're glad to note that Justice Breyer is showing no signs of yielding to the nutbag left.

SINKING CNN – FROM FOX:  CNN’s recently revamped morning show "New Day" continues to embarrass the struggling liberal network and has now failed to draw 500,000 viewers for six consecutive weeks while setting a yearly low among viewers in a key age demographic.  "New Day" averaged only 470,000 viewers from May 31 through June 4, which was actually a slight improvement from the yearly low of 460,000 it averaged the week prior. But both numbers are remarkably low for a major network’s flagship morning program, as "Fox & Friends" averaged 1.14 million viewers and MSNBC’s "Morning Joe" averaged 891,000 last week.  "New Day" finished the week as the No. 42 program in cable news, behind a variety of programs with less desirable timeslots.  CNN president Jeff Zucker has a reputation as a morning TV guru because of a successful run overseeing NBC’s "Today" show earlier in his career, but his strategy hasn’t worked for CNN’s "New Day." In April, Zucker replaced Alisyn Camerota with outspoken anchor Brianna Keilar to co-host the show alongside John Berman, but the shakeup hasn’t helped attract viewers.  Last week, "New Day" averaged only 98,000 viewers among the key demographic of adults age 25-54 that is crucial for advertisers. "Fox & Friends" averaged 234,000 demo viewers, while "Morning Joe" attracted 118,000. To put things in perspective, there are multiple college football stadiums that can comfortably hold all the people among the key demo who tuned in to "New Day" last week.  I have no idea how CNN stays in business.  It lost its credibility by becoming the anti-Trump network, with little interest in serious news reporting.  It continues downward without Trump as a ratings grabber.  It seems to have no purpose.  There is nothing that compels the viewer to watch.  Other than that, it's great.

June 13, 2022      Permalink 

THIS WEEKEND IN AMERICA – OVERNIGHT:  Daniel Patrick Moynihan once warned of "defining deviancy down," by which he meant the tendency to get used to low standards or poor behavior.  I fear we're seeing that in America right now.  From Fox: 

Police in New York City and Chicago are reporting another wave of weekend violence.

A spokesperson for the New York City Police Department told Fox News that there were at least 16 shooting incidents and 5 homicides in the Big Apple just on Friday and Saturday.

According to the New York Post, which cited police sources, a 42-year-old man was killed and a 28-year-old female bystander was wounded in a broad-daylight shooting outside a Bronx church on Saturday. The man was found unresponsive with multiple gunshot wounds in front of the Church of St. Anthony of Padua just after 2:30 p.m. Meanwhile, the woman suffered minor injuries when three bullets grazed her body. Both victims were taken to Lincoln Hospital, where the man was pronounced dead. The woman was treated for her wounds and released, police said.

Other victims over the weekend reportedly include a 23-year-old man who was shot in the back; a 19-year-old man shot in the back in the Mott Haven section of the Bronx; a 26-year-old man shot in the right thigh by a gunman who fled in a gray sedan and a 40 year-old who walked into Wyckoff Heights Medical Center after being shot in the foot.

Shooting incidents in New York City are up 68% year-to-date, according to the latest NYPD crime data, with a total of 602 incidents reported compared to 358 as of the same period in 2020. Within the past month alone, shootings incidents are up about 31%, with a total of 153 incidents reported compared to 116 incidents reported during the same period in 2020.

Meanwhile, police in Chicago reportedly said that, as of Saturday, at least three people had been killed and 34 had been injured in shootings across the city over the weekend.

A shooting on the city's South Side on Saturday resulted in one person killed and at least nine others injured. The victims, all of whom are adults, were reported to be in either "fair" or "good" condition after being transported to local hospitals. One 29-year-old woman was pronounced dead at the University of Chicago Medical Center after she was shot in the leg and abdomen.

Other victims over the weekend include a 30-year-old man who was shot in the ankle; a 32-year-old man who was shot in the hand and leg; a 46-year old man who was shot in the buttocks; a 26-year-old man who was shot in the leg; a 34-year-old woman who was shot in in the left arm and shoulder; a 23-year-old man who was shot in the arm and leg; another 23-year-old man who was shot in the foot; and a 27-year-old man who was also shot in the foot.

According to the Chicago Police Department's latest available crime statistics ending June 6, shooting incidents are down 8% over the past month compared to the previous year, but are up 17% year-to-date.

COMMENT:  Five years ago, New York was the safest large city in America, thanks to the work of Mayors Guiliani and Bloomberg, and the great effort of the New York Police Department.  Now, under the non-leadership of Marxist Mayor Bill de Blasio, New York is returning to the bleak days of the 1970s.  All the progress made is being erased.

Chicago is under the nitwit leadership of Mayor Lori Lightfoot, who checks off three treasured boxes in the Democratic Party's list of qualifications:  She's black, she's female, and she's gay.  She is presiding over a city that is plagued with troubles, and she doesn't seem to have the will to solve them.

The picture is similar in many other Democrat-run cities.  The predictions for this summer are grim, and people seem to be accepting them.  Is this the "new normal"?  We may find out in next year's midterms.

June 13, 2022      Permalink

JUNE 12,  2021

SHORT TAKES ON THE DRIFTING WRECKAGE – OVERNIGHT:

AND THE BEAT GOES ON – FROM FOX:   EXCLUSIVE:  The Federal Reserve has instructed employees to adopt "bias-free language" and avoid using biased terms like "Founding Fathers," according to an internal webpage obtained by Fox News.  The Federal Reserve's Board of Governors issued the guidance for all employees nationwide on April 29, a former Fed staffer with knowledge of the matter told Fox News.  "Bias-free language recognizes diversity and avoids stereotyping, demeaning, or excluding people on the basis of gender, race, ethnic group, religion, age, ability/disability, or sexual orientation," the guidance states.  "Try to avoid words and phrases that may be considered offensive, pejorative, or prejudiced (whether consciously or unconsciously), as these can distract your audience from the ideas/information you’re trying to convey," it continues.  The guidance contains a list of "biased terms" to avoid, including "blacklist," "grandfathered," and "Founding Fathers." Employees are instructed to use terms like "denied," "legacy," and "Founders" instead.
The Fed also said the terms "whitelisted, "manpower," "manmade," and "singular generic pronouns" – such as "he," she," "his," and "hers" – should be replaced with more "bias-free" alternatives like "allowed," "artificial," and pronouns such as "they," "their" and "theirs."  I'm sure this will greatly improve our economy, which used to be the job of the Federal Reserve.

A MAJOR MOMENT IN THE MIDEAST – FROM THE JERUSALEM POST:   Barring an unexpected last-minute development, the new government of Yamina leader Naftali Bennett and Yesh Atid chairman Yair Lapid will pass a vote of confidence at the Knesset on Sunday night and Bennett will be sworn in as Israel’s 13th prime minister, replacing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.  Netanyahu would leave office after more than 12 straight years in power and a total of 15 years as prime minister, which made him one of the longest currently serving democratic leaders in the world.  The special Knesset session will begin with Bennett introducing his cabinet and presenting the government’s guidelines. Lapid will speak next, followed by Netanyahu and representatives of the 13 factions in the Knesset. There will then be a vote on replacing Knesset Speaker Yariv Levin (Likud) with MK Mickey Levy (Yesh Atid) and then the vote of confidence in the new government.  If the vote passes, Bennett and Lapid would be sworn in as prime minister for each of the two halves of their term, followed by the other ministers. The first meeting of the new government would take place late Sunday night and the ceremonial photo of the new government would take place at the President’s Residence on Monday.  Sources close to Netanyahu said his departure from the Prime Minister’s Office and then the official residence on Jerusalem’s Balfour and Smolenskin streets would be coordinated soon after, if he is indeed replaced. But they left open the possibility of last-minute surprises.  Many can't imagine an Israel without Bibi Netanyahu at the helm.  He's an extraordinary leader.  However, we are reminded of the old French proverb that the graveyards of the world are filled with indispensable men.  If the change in government goes through, Israel will survive.  But I would not be shocked to find Bibi back at the top before too long.

June 12, 2022      Permalink

THE MARCH CONTINUES – OVERNIGHT:  As readers know, we are keeping a very close watch on the attempts by the "progressive" left to take over every institution in American society.  I am waiting for an assault on pizza.

I can report that what I like to think of as the mothers' crusade is gaining momentum throughout the country, and is starting to impact both political parties.  There are stories every day of mothers taking on school boards and everyone else in defense of their children.  But a word of caution:  A bunch of news stories, no matter how exciting, is not a guarantee of success.  This is a nation of 330 million people, and moving that nation will take national-level power and the involvement of the Republican Party.  It will also take some brave journalists who are willing to break from the leftist pack and reveal the truth about some progressive "causes."  And it will take defectors from those causes to give truth and character to the mothers' crusade.

Here's a good sign because it has national scope.  From Fox:   

Critical Race Theory is a controversial philosophy – a progressive idea that proponents say can increase racial equity and which critics describe as a Marxist, anti-American and neo-racist.

It’s either "a way of understanding how American racism has shaped public policy, or a divisive discourse that pits people of color against White people," according to a recent article in Education Week.

"CRT seeks to diminish the reality that we are all unique and precious in God’s eyes," Melody Clarke of Heritage Action for America told Fox News Friday. "Our individual destiny is up to our God-given talent, drive and ambition, not what someone else thinks about us."

Nearly half of all states in the U.S. are taking measures to ban it from their public schools.

The following states have already approved bans on forcing teachers to give lessons on Critical Race Theory, in alphabetical order:

Arkansas
Republican Gov. Asa Hutchinson signed Senate Bill 627 on May 3. The bill is titled, An Act to Prohibit the Propagation of Divisive Concepts: To Review State Entity Training Materials; And for Other Purposes. The bill’s definition of divisive concepts includes the idea that Arkansas or the U.S. are "fundamentally racist or sexist" and that individuals are inherently racist or oppressive, "whether consciously or unconsciously."

Florida
In early June, the Sunshine State's Board of Education banned CRT from public school classrooms in a unanimous vote and grouped it in with the New York Times' controversial 1619 Project and Holocaust denialism.

Iowa
A Hawkeye State bill passed the state Legislature and was signed into law by Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds. The bill declared CRT "discriminatory indoctrination."
Idaho

Gov. Brad Little, a Republican, signed House Bill 377 on April 28. Under the new law, an amendment to the state’s existing statutes on education, public schools that teach CRT can lose their funding.

COMMENT:  Read the rest of the list.  This is what I like to see, action all over the country.  But some of the legislation discussed will not pass, especially in Democrat-controlled legislatures.  Everything I read convinces me that the 2022 midterms will be the most important midterms in modern history.  Republicans must win, and win decisively, to stop the progressive left from taking a wrecking ball to all we have built up as Americans.

June 12,  2022      Permalink