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MARCH 12,  2021

SHORT TAKES ON THE DRIFTING WRECKAGE – OVERNIGHT:

THE DAILY ANDY – FROM FOX:   New York Democratic Sens. Kirsten Gillibrand and Chuck Schumer have joined a long list of lawmakers in calling for their state's governor, Andrew Cuomo, to resign amid mounting allegations of inappropriate conduct.  "Confronting and overcoming the Covid crisis requires sure and steady leadership," a joint statement read.   "We commend the brave actions of the individuals who have come forward with serious allegations of abuse and misconduct. Due to the multiple, credible sexual harassment and misconduct allegations, it is clear that Governor Cuomo has lost the confidence of his governing partners and the people of New York. Governor Cuomo should resign."   Schumer, the Senate majority leader, is the highest-ranking Democratic official to call for Cuomo's resignation. More than half of the 19 members of New York's House delegation have called for Cuomo's resignation, and a majority of the state assembly has as well.  Note that the sole concern of these characters is the sexual harassment.  The fact that Cuomo's mishandling of the Covid 19 crisis resulted in the deaths of thousands is of no interest to them.  The cynicism and hypocrisy flow.  It's hard to know who is more sleazy, Cuomo or his enemies. 

AYE ON THIS ONE – FROM THE HILL:   Lawmakers are seeking to block President Biden from reversing the Trump administration’s last-minute decision to list Cuba as a state sponsor of terrorism.
Legislation from GOP Sens. Marco Rubio (Fla.), Rick Scott (Fla.) and Ted Cruz (Texas) would bar Biden or Secretary of State Antony Blinken from removing the designation President Obama first lifted five years ago.  The State Department added Cuba to the state sponsored terrorism list in Trump's last 10 days in office, with then-Secretary of State Mike Pompeo arguing it would help with “denying the Castro regime the resources it uses to oppress its people at home, and countering its malign interference in Venezuela and the rest of the Western Hemisphere.” Though critics widely panned the move as a trumped-up claim designed to complicate Biden’s path forward with Cuba, the Biden administration has thus far not begun the process of removing Cuba from the list.  One of Obama's biggest mistakes was normalizing relations with Cuba without getting anything in return.  Cuba continued to do its mischief wherever it found an opening.  The Republican senators are correct in trying to block the fashionable left from making Obama's mistake again. 

March 12, 2021       Permalink

DEATH OF A CITY – AT 8:16 P.M.  AND DOES THE NATION CARE?  PORTLAND WILL NOT BE ON ANYONE'S VACATION LIST THIS YEAR.  FROM DAILY MAIL:

Antifa protesters have burned American flags and clashed with cops outside the Federal Courthouse in downtown Portland. 

The ugly scenes occurred Thursday evening, as dozens of the far-left protesters assembled in the area for a demonstration US against Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). 

The Courthouse has already been boarded up with plywood after sustaining damage during destructive protests last summer, but shocking video shared to Twitter shows all remaining uncovered windows were smashed during the latest demonstration.  

'Anti ICE protesters gather. A few of the remaining uncovered windows have been broken. An American flag burns in front of the door,' local journalist Garrison Davis wrote beneath a video shared on Twitter. 

Several other demonstrators set fire to the plywood outside the building, prompting federal agents to deploy teargas in a bid to push the protesters back towards a park. 

According to Davis, 'the feds marched further into the streets of downtown Portland while firing off chemical weapons and projectiles. A few of their pepperball and 40 mm launchers appeared to malfunction'. 

He claimed the agents were 'aggressive' and that the air was thick with smoke. 

At least one person has been arrested. 

Last summer in Portland, Black Lives Matter marches began in the wake of George Floyd's death, but the demonstrations soon became co-opted by far-left agitators. 

Night after night, they clashed with law enforcement officials, who often declared riots. 

There were was at least 100 consecutive nights of unrest in the city. 

The violence has continued into this year. In January, Antifa protesters went on a destructive rampage following President Biden's Inauguration. 

Biden has previously appeared to downplay Antifa, describing the group as 'an idea'.  

'President Biden condemned protests and violence on the far right and far left before he was president,' a Fox News journalist stated to White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki after the January clash.

COMMENT:  This is an American city, and a beautiful one.  And no one seems to care.  Only when Donald Trump was president, and the violence could be blamed on him by the left-wing press, was there any serious concern stated. 

The mayor of Portland was on TV today saying that the attempt to defund the city's police over last summer was a mistake.  What a concession.  I never would have known.

March 12, 2021       Permalink

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