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Note to readers:  Due to a technical failure in our website software, we're running awfully late today.  CNN informs me that the fault lies with Donald Trump.   Or maybe Melania, or Ivanka.  They always get it right.

JANUARY 29,  2021

SHORT TAKES ON THE DRIFTING WRECKAGE – OVERNIGHT:

THE RICH GET RICHER – FROM COLLEGE FIX:    Stanford University could receive up to $5.3 million in taxpayer funds under the COVID-19 relief stimulus bill passed by Congress on December 21 and later signed into law by President Donald Trump at the end of December.  The American Council on Education conducted a simulation to determine how the $20 billion in stimulus funding allocated to the Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund could be allocated. The association represents colleges and universities across the country.  Its simulation, which uses a calculation formula in the “Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act” found that Stanford could receive a total of $5.3 million, including over $3.5 million in grants to students.  The private university in Palo Alto, California would not tell The College Fix if it planned to accept any stimulus money.  Neither Dee Mostofi nor E.J. Miranda, media relations team members for the university, responded to two emailed requests for comment in the past week on if it planned to accept the stimulus money.  The university announced in October that its endowment had reached $28.9 billion as of August 2020.  Amazing how much federal money goes to vastly rich universities.  It shouldn't even be offered. 

MADNESS – FROM CAMPUS REFORM:    The Indiana University Department of Information and Library Science recommended that students read the autobiography of known terrorist Assata Shakur, referring to her instead as a "social activist." In a post on its official Instagram account, the department stated that the biography is part of the “Winter Reading List."  "This book is an autobiography of Assata Shakur, social activist and former member of the Black Liberation Army, as well as the godmother of Tupac Shakur," the post stated. The post features a picture of the autobiography's cover, which promotes a foreword by self-described communist Angela Davis, who also appeared on the FBI's Most Wanted List.  Davis is a frequent campus speaker, as Campus Reform has noted.  Assata Shakur, whose actual name is Joanne Deborah Chesimard, became the first woman in 2013 to make the FBI’s Most Wanted Terrorists list. She is a convicted murderer, responsible for the 1973 death of a New Jersey state police officer. She is also a leader of the Black Liberation Army, a violent militant revolutionary movement responsible for the killing and wounding of more than a dozen law enforcement officers, the hijacking of Delta Flight 841, and numerous armed robberies and bombings, according to The New York Times.  What our kids are learning.  The next generation will pay the price. 

January 29, 2021       Permalink

BIDEN'S UGLY AGENDA, CALLING SUSAN RICE – OVERNIGHT:  A betrayal of Dr. King's dream.  Does the press care?  From Michael Barone at the New York Post: 

On Tuesday, six days into Joe Biden’s administration, it became clear why Susan Rice, hitherto a foreign-policy specialist, was named director of the Domestic Policy Council. Rice — unconfirmable for a Cabinet post after her unembarrassed Sunday-show lying about the Benghazi terrorist attack — ventured into the White House press room to preview Biden’s “equity” initiative.

With one possible exception, the specific policies announced were less important than the word ­“equity,” invoked 19 times by Rice and nine by Biden. Ending federal private prison contracts and combating “xenophobia” against Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders are small potatoes as federal policies.

Not so, perhaps, with the Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing initiative, started under former President Barack Obama, repealed under former President Donald Trump and now due for spirited revival. The idea is for the feds to reverse local zoning laws and plant low-income housing in suburbs deemed insufficiently diverse.

Actually, discrimination in housing has been reduced since the 1968 federal Fair Housing Act, to the point that in metropolitan areas from Washington to Atlanta to Los Angeles, most blacks now live in suburbs, not in the central cities.

But for Rice and Biden, “equity” requires not equality of opportunity but equality of results. That’s one of the fundamental tenets of critical race theory training banned by outgoing Trumpites and reinstated by Biden on Day 1.

A lower-than-population percentage of blacks in any desirable category, explains critical race theorist Ibram X. Kendi, must be the result of “systemic racism” (a term Rice used twice and Biden six times Tuesday). If you don’t agree, you’re guilty of “white fragility” and you must be a “white supremacist.”

As Andrew Sullivan trenchantly observes, “to achieve ‘equity’ you have to first take away equality for individuals who were born in the wrong identity group. Equity means treating individuals unequally so that groups are equal.”

This is exactly contrary to the central thrust of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. It could easily be judged, in particular cases, to violate the 14th Amendment. Individuals discriminated against might have standing to go to court.

And there will surely be many such individuals. Rice made clear that the policies mentioned Tuesday are just a start. “Every agency,” she said, with no suggestion of exceptions, “will place equity at the core of their public engagement, their policy design and program delivery to ensure that government resources are reaching Americans of color and all marginalized communities — rural, urban, disabled, LGBTQ+, religious minorities and so many others.”

 That’s a lot of preferred categories, but one suspects that, as in George Orwell’s “Animal Farm,” some preferred groups will be more preferred than others. What we’re being promised is racial quotas and preferences in every conceivable program, in every possible corner of American life.

COMMENT:  And that would be the end of the United States of America as we understand it.  The greatest democratic experiment in history would be over.  Ronald Reagan warned about it.  The institutions we depended on to protect us against this monstrosity – the schools and the press – have bowed to it instead.  And one of our two parties – once known as the party of Roosevelt, Truman and Kennedy, is enforcing it. 

January 29, 2021       Permalink

WE DEPLORABLES AND INSURRECTIONISTS WILL JUST HAVE TO WAIT – AT 11:50 P.M. ET:  That's what we get for being, racists, sexists, and capitalist warmongers.  From Fox: 

While many Americans continue waiting to get vaccinated against the coronavirus, at least one notorious figure already has his shot – and another could soon follow, according to reports.

Ex-convict O.J. Simpson, living in Nevada since being freed from prison in 2017, posted a photo of getting himself vaccinated in Las Vegas on Friday.

"Get your shot. I got mine!!!" Simpson, 73, captioned the post.

The former NFL star, actor and NBC Sports commentator became eligible for the vaccine in Nevada because of his age, his lawyer Malcolm P. LaVergne said, according to the New York Post.

"If you’re 70-plus, you’re eligible for the shot. You can schedule you’re shot and they’ll do it," LaVergne told the newspaper. "There’s no favoritism with him being a celebrity. That has nothing to do with his getting the shot."

Meanwhile, at the Guantanamo Bay lockup in Cuba, 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed (aka "KSM") and other detainees were scheduled to begin receiving their shots as soon as next week, a Defense Department spokesman confirmed, according to the Post.

News that both Simpson and KSM might have their shots ahead of millions of waiting Americans drew lots of snark on social media – as well as severe criticism.

"Who had ‘OJ Simpson being stabbed by a white woman’ on their 2021 bingo card?" one Twitter user commented.

"Yeah that’s just what I want to see, OJ Simpson getting his vaccine before my elderly Dad," another wrote.

COMMENT:  I wonder if the Prince of Unity, Joe Biden, or America's governor, Andrew Cuomo, will raise any objection.  Why do I hear silence?

Janujary 29,  2021     Permalink

JANUARY 28,  2021

SHORT TAKES ON THE DRIFTING WRECKAGE – OVERNIGHT:

HYPOCRISY, THY NAME IS KERRY – FROM FOX:  Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) records indicate that the family of U.S. Special Envoy for Climate John Kerry owns a private jet, despite his position on combatting fossil fuels in the new administration.  The FAA's registry shows a Gulfstream Aerospace jet owned by Flying Squirrel LLC, the name previously reported for Teresa Heinz-Kerry's private charter jet company. The company's listed address matches that of the Heinz Family Foundation.  The White House did not immediately respond to Fox News' request for comment. Neither did the Heinz family office.  According to FAA records, the jet's registration certificate was issued in July of 2005 and expires in October of 2023.  While it's unclear exactly how much Kerry benefited from his wife's company, private jets have been estimated to emit upward of 40 times as much carbon per passenger as commercial flights.  Nothing surprising here.  Standard hypocrisy of a certain class.  Teresa Heinz is from the ketchup people, and I just wonder if John can get Heinz ketchup to flow out of the bottle at 30,000 feet.

January 28, 2021       Permalink

AN IMMATURE LITTLE CHILD – OVERNIGHT:  AOC, who is perpetually up past her bedtime, has now issued another judgment, which will no doubt ignite the "progressives" among us.  My excitement builds.  From Fox:   

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y. scorched her Republican colleagues on Capitol Hill Wednesday, accusing them of sympathizing with White supremacists and alleging that House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., is beholden to QAnon conspiracy theorists.

During an appearance on MSNBC, the Democratic "Squad" member was asked about the "nature" of the GOP caucus that she works alongside with following the deadly riot on Jan. 6. She began by pointing out a "profound difference" between the GOP caucus in the current Congress and the one from the previous Congress.

"That difference was that it really felt that last term, the Republican caucus was one of extreme fealty to Donald Trump," Ocasio-Cortez told host Chris Hayes. "There were some that were true believers, others that simply remained quiet out of cowardice and out of fear of the president's retribution."

"But this term, there are legitimate White supremacist sympathizers that sit at the heart and at the core of the Republican caucus in the House of Representatives. And if you see someone like the House Minority Leader, Kevin McCarthy, of the Republican Party respond to White supremacist vitriol coming from his own members, not with censure like they did with Representative Steve King of Iowa, not with, you know, being stripped of committees, not with any consequence, you have to wonder who actually has that power. And it increasingly seems, unfortunately, that in the House Republican Caucus, Kevin McCarthy answers to these QAnon members of Congress, not the other way around. And that is something, frankly, that needs to be said."

COMMENT:  Yes, we've seen how Congresswoman AOC responds to the vitriol and sheer hatred coming from her side, like the vile anti-American and anti-Semitic remarks made by her pal, Congresswoman Ilhan Omar of Minnesota.  What you hear is AOC's silence.

AOC is an example of the new McCarthyism, the McCarthyism of the left.  Destroy people's reputations, threaten others with "cancellation," try to drive conservative voices out of society.  Hey, what's the problem?

Remember that the 2022 elections are less than two years away.  The campaigns will start in one year.  We have work ahead.

January 28, 2021       Permalink

GOVERNOR ANDY IN THE HOTTEST WATER – AT 7:46 P.M. ET:  This may well be a career ender from the man the mass media dubbed "American's governor" early in the pandemic.  The sound you hear is the sound of knives being drawn.  From Fox: 

The controversy over Democratic New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo's nursing home policy reached a new level Thursday after the state's attorney general suggesting Cuomo's administration may have undercounted the number of COVID-related deaths among residents of nursing homes and long-term care facilities.

The report represents a source of embarrassment to members of the mainstream media who touted Cuomo's actions in the early days of the pandemic.

MSNBC anchor Chris Jansing hailed Cuomo as a "leader in calling for science-based ways to fight this coronavirus.

Her colleague, "Morning Joe" co-host Joe Scarborough, claimed, "Even lifelong Republicans tell me, they look at Cuomo and they're like, 'God, now there's a leader.'"

Jimmy Fallon and Chelsea Handler gushed over the prominent Democrat on "The Tonight Show."
"I heard, though, that you were crushing on our boyfriend, Andrew Cuomo," Handler began.

"Dude, everyone does, right?" Fallon reacted. "I think he's fantastic."

"I mean, I'm so turned on by him. I'm so turned on by the leadership," Handler expressed.
CNN anchor Ana Cabrera massaged Cuomo's ego during an interview, telling the governor, "Having heard you day after day after day at your press conferences, I have to wonder what it's like to be in your shoes with the weight of this responsibility and just the sheer exhaustion you must be feeling right now."

Washington Post columnist Jennifer Rubin repeatedly fawned over the Democratic governer, writing pieces with headlines like "Andrew Cuomo gets it right: Govern by science, not your gut" and "No one does it like Andrew Cuomo."

And…

New York Attorney General Letitia James said that the state Department of Health may have underreported COVID-19 deaths in nursing homes by as much as 50%, according to a report released Thursday.

Cuomo famously directed nursing homes in the Empire State to accept patients who had or were suspected of having COVID-19. The decision created an onslaught of COVID-19 cases that infected thousands of elderly patients and resulted in hundreds of deaths among the state's most vulnerable population. The governor eventually reversed the decision, but not before thousands died from COVID-19 in New York nursing homes.

COMMENT:  Does the term "rush to judgment" come to mind?  That's what we had here.  Andy did a few good TV spots, and suddenly he's replacing the president, becoming prime minister of the world.  Even getting an Emmy.

People living here in New York, strangely enough, didn't quite feel the same love.  The new charges are serious.  There is talk of a major investigation into Cuomo's governorship.  Even criminal charges.

There is no talk of his becoming president.

Calm down, journalists.  Just give us the facts next time.

January 28, 2021       Permalink