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MARCH 11,  2021

SHORT TAKES ON THE DRIFTING WRECKAGE – OVERNIGHT:

CALIFORNIA IS WAKING UP – FROM FOX:  District Attorney Chesa Boudin is facing a recall campaign amid a crime spike in the liberal city.  Richie Greenberg – a former mayoral candidate for the Golden Gate city – launched the petition to recall the city's far-left district attorney, citing unsafe streets and Boudin's soft-on-crime policies.  The Committee Supporting the Recall of District Attorney Chesa Boudin announced Tuesday that they had been authorized by the Department of Elections to start gathering signatures on the petition.  "Law-abiding, fed-up citizens are pushing back against activist district attorneys who've gone too far and are destroying our cities," Greenberg said in a release.  "People are dying, our streets are dangerous, our homes are targets, business owners close shop and flee due to an unworkable environment. San Francisco is united in its desire to move on from the failure of Mr. Boudin's experiment," he added.  Greenberg and Boudin did not immediately respond to Fox News’ request for comment.  Greenberg has said that the group pushing for Boudin’s recall needs to obtain "a little over 51,000" valid signatures by the second week of August to have his recall petition included on the ballot.  The hard-left district attorney of Los Angeles is also facing a recall campaign, as is the governor of the state.  Maybe Californians are getting truly woke, and realizing that their state is sinking into the mud, driven there by extreme leftist politics and fanatical ideology.  I hope all three recalls succeed.

March 11, 2021       Permalink

NOT THE GETTYSBURG ADDRESS – AT 11:30 P.M. ET:   The President spoke to the American people in a formal address for the first time since his inauguration tonight.  Clearly part of the reason for the speech was to show the nation that he is coherent.  It wasn't much of a challenge.  When you have everything written out on a teleprompter, with hours of rehearsal and memorization available, and no questions by the press permitted, almost anyone with a pulse can pass the basic test.

And Biden passed.  There were no serious mental lapses, no moments of embarrassment like those that have piled up over the months.  Anyone hearing him could reasonably say that he's in good mental health.  But presidents don't spend their time giving formal speeches.  Trump was available to the press almost daily.  Even on his walks out to the presidential helicopter, he stopped and took questions from often-hostile reporters.  Biden hasn't done that, and the White House promise that he'll soon have a press conference makes us wonder what the rules will be.  The White House staff can hide Biden's impairment only so long. 

That aside, the president's speech was reasonable, if not particularly informative.  The subject was Covid-19, and what he is doing to bring the pandemic to an end.  The problem was that he took credit for almost everything that's been done, never even acknowledging the enormous role played by President Trump in steering the development in eight months vaccines that normally take years.  Acknowledging Trump's work would have given Biden's speech the size and statesmanship that it lacked.

The president, though, did list the things that will happen in coming months, and we came away reasonably satisfied that we're on a good track to vaccinate the population and suppress the virus.  He promised aid to open the schools, but came nowhere near denouncing the vast power of the teacher's unions, power that has resulted in outrageous delays in opening schools in big cities that could have been safely opened months ago. 

He told us about the "relief" checks we would get from the federal government, but never mentioned who pays for it.  See those young kids on the couch?  They'll pay for it.

Not a speech to remember.  No great lines.  But Biden's appeals to patriotism, and his remembrance of American troops abroad were welcome.  If we have to have a Democrat in the White House, he's better than most.

March 11, 2021       Permalink

ANDY JUST DOESN'T GET A DAY OFF – AT 6:31 P.M. ET:  Andrew Cuomo, governor of New York, winner of an Emmy for sounding good during a pandemic, just can't catch a break from those pesky folks who are upset at the charges some women have lodged against him, and the belief that his handling of the pandemic in New York cost thousands of lives.  Sigh, people are so unfair.  Andy's troubles grow by the day.  From Fox:

The New York State Assembly is opening an investigation with full subpoena power, the first step in pursuing a potential impeachment of Gov. Andrew Cuomo amid sexual misconduct allegations.

"The Democratic Conference is taking the first step toward impeachment by opening an investigation with full subpoena power to obtain facts and testimonies under oath," Democratic Assemblyman Ron Kim said in a statement obtained by Fox News Thursday.

"Some members, including myself, argued that we had enough admission to proceed with impeachment today but the conference is leaning toward setting up the process and structure toward impeachment."

Albany police said Thursday they received a report from the New York State Executive Chamber, which is the governor's office, involving an incident with potential criminal activity. The incident allegedly involved a female aide and took place at Cuomo's executive mansion. The news came just after the Albany Times Union reported on an allegation that Cuomo groped a female aide last year.

That marked the sixth allegation of inappropriate conduct since last month. Cuomo has denied the most recent allegation and said he was confident in the pending results of Attorney General Letitia James' investigation.

After multiple allegations surfaced in February, the governor released a statement in which he denied inappropriately touching anybody but acknowledged his jokes at work might have been misinterpreted.

Amid his multiple responses, dozens of state lawmakers -- at least 59 -- have called for his resignation.

COMMENT:  As we've said here before, Cuomo's strategy appears to be to ride it out, stall for time, and hope that the voters forget.  It may not work, as there are plenty of top Democrats who don't like Cuomo personally, and there are plenty of Democrats who'd like to be governor. 

Cuomo's biggest problem may be a Department of Justice investigation linked to his handling of nursing home patients during the pandemic.  Will new Attorney General Merrick Garland kill that probe?  If he does, Cuomo might be saved.  If he doesn't, Cuomo could conceivably go to prison.

Of course, as everyone knows, it's all Trump's fault.

March 11, 2021       Permalink

MARCH 10,  2021

SHORT TAKES ON THE DRIFTING WRECKAGE – OVERNIGHT!

THE MARCH OF MADNESS – FROM FOX:    "Squad" member Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., joined a group of her Democratic colleagues in calling on President Biden's education secretary to suspend standardized testing requirements amid the COVID-19 pandemic.  Omar signed onto a letter to Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona that urged the new secretary to "provide all states with waivers" for federal standardized testing "for this school year."  "We should be prioritizing the students’ academic, and emotional well-being, not arbitrary standardized testing goals," wrote Omar, responding to a tweet from Rep. Erin Murphy calling for a pause on standardized testing.  "Proud to join [Rep. Jamaal Bowman] in an effort to provide students with standardized testing waivers for this academic year. #SuspendTheTests," she added.
Murphy’s tweet called for Biden to suspend standardized testing, as well.  Clearly, this is just the start of an assault on standardized tests and standards generally.  It's based on the notion that all standards are "racist" and are unfairly holding back certain groups.  Wouldn't it be a better idea to prepare students properly for the tests, rather than abolishing the tests themselves?

DUMB, DUMB, DUMB – FROM AMERICAN GREATNESS:   An air traffic controller is ringing alarm bells about the Biden administration’s mask mandates, warning that the face coverings are creating a serious safety hazard.  Investigative journalist Alex Berenson reported on Twitter that he received an “urgent warning” from an air traffic controller who works at a major Air Route Traffic Control Center (ARTCC) for the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).  The whistleblower told Berenson that the FAA issued a guidance about a month ago requiring controllers to “wear masks at all times” while at work and in position, and warned that the directive could have devastating consequences for airline passengers and pilots.  Prior to this, he said, most controllers took off masks while speaking directly with pilots.  The whistleblower noted that posters have gone up where he works that say “mask up for the mission,” and his supervisors are now insisting that they keep the masks on while speaking with pilots. “For context, our headsets use a boom microphone that adjusts to fit somewhere an inch or two away from our face. It has created an issue where we get a lot more read-back errors from pilots on instructions because they can’t hear us clearly over the radio,” he explained.  Another brilliant Biden administration move.  I guess they're following the "science," right to disaster.

March 10, 2021       Permalink

THE WHISPERS ARE BECOMING LOUDER – AT 11:30 P.M. ET:  We continue on the theme that we hit yesterday, the clear and developing matter of the president's ability to carry out the job to which he was elected.  It could become an all-consuming issue very soon, despite attempts by the worst of the mainstream press to avoid the question altogether, and the pathetic announcements by the White House today that President Biden will soon get out in public more. 

Fox this evening ran a devastating comparison between the Joe Biden of a decade ago and the Joe Biden of today.  One had to be appalled that the man who may have to make a nuclear decision at 3 a.m.  has deteriorated into the shell that he is.  As we've pointed out, enemies of this nation are watching.   And so are the American people.  From the Washington Examiner: 

It doesn’t take much for the nation’s voters to become concerned that President Biden, the oldest new chief executive at 78 years old, might not be up for the job.

The latest proof: His resistance to holding a full-blown press conference now 49 days into his presidency has half the country worried.

In the latest Rasmussen Reports survey of likely voters, 50% said they are not confident that “Joe Biden is physically and mentally up to the job of being president of the United States.” Another 48% have confidence in Biden, though only 34% were “very confident” that he was up to the job.

Driving that, Rasmussen said, was Biden’s refusal to meet with reporters. He has had some interactions with the small pool of reporters, but his sometimes awkward speaking style has led to criticism. And the White House has recently cut short his appearances.

Rasmussen said today 52% of likely voters are concerned that he hasn’t held a press conference and that 46% aren’t.

And 76% of those not confident of Biden’s ability are very concerned about the lack of press conferences, Rasmussen added.

The split decision on Biden so far comes as the White House has also been silent on the president giving a State of the Union address. Proponents are shocked he hasn’t made his way to Capitol Hill to declare the opening of the new Biden era and share his plans.

But the results shouldn’t be surprising considering preelection polling that showed many voters were concerned that Biden would resign before the end of his first term.

COMMENT:  The question must be asked:  Who in a democratic nation decides whether a president is fit for office?  The answer is clear.  The American people decide, and they don't need a doctor's note to help with their decision.  If they look at a president, and have no confidence in the person they see, that's it.  And the numbers are becoming very bad for Joe Biden.  Formal governmental procedures for removing a president under the 25th Amendment are there, but we will know the truth before the politicians do.

Stay tuned.  This sad story, and it is sad, is continuing.  I cannot see a happy ending.

March 10, 2021        Permalink