The Other McCain

"One should either write ruthlessly what one believes to be the truth, or else shut up." — Arthur Koestler

FMJRA 2.0: Velvet Voyage

Posted on | July 30, 2022 | 1 Comment

— compiled by Wombat-socho

It was a really bad week for the Senators, who are starting to feel a lot like the Kansas City A’s in the 1950s and 60s. Many water coolers were broken, a couple of sportswriters had hot water poured on them (and much to our manager’s surprise, did not turn into shit), and the air around the dugout was a starting shade of blue…anyway, nothing for it but to buckle down and wait for hockey season. Oh, wait, the Capitals don’t start up until 1974. Damn.
Big week for links this week. Say hello to Okrahead, who broke through into the top linkers list this week and helped put economists and philosophers ahead of hot French babes.
Ceterum autem censeo Silicon Valley esse delendam.

Teddy Baseball is not in his happy place.

Magical Thinking as Economic Policy
Okrahead
Transterrestrial Musings
A View From The Beach
357 Magnum
EBL
Proof Positive

Academic Stasi Protecting Students From White Supremacist Menace of (Checks Notes) 18th-Century Scottish Philosopher
The DaleyGator
The Political Hat
Okrahead
357 Magnum
EBL

Rule 5 Sunday: Marine LeCourt
Animal Magnetism
Ninety Miles From Tyranny
A View From The Beach
EBL
Proof Positive

‘We Were Somewhere Around Barstow on the Edge of the Desert When the Trump Derangement Syndrome Began to Take Hold…’
Okrahead
The DaleyGator
A View From The Beach
357 Magnum
EBL

In The Mailbox: 07.27.22 (Evening Edition)
Okrahead
A View From The Beach
357 Magnum
EBL
Proof Positive

In The Mailbox: 07.28.22
Okrahead
A View From The Beach
357 Magnum
EBL
Proof Positive

FMJRA 2.0: Starface
A View From The Beach
EBL

Paying Attention NOW, Democrats?
The DaleyGator
A View From The Beach
357 Magnum
EBL

In The Mailbox: 07.25.22
A View From The Beach
357 Magnum
EBL
Proof Positive

In The Mailbox: 07.27.22 (Afternoon Edition)
Okrahead
357 Magnum
EBL
Proof Positive

‘I Think She Was Delusional’
Okrahead
357 Magnum
EBL

Still More Aspiring Rapper Updates
Okrahead
357 Magnum
EBL

Feds: Russian Agent Funded Radical Fringe Groups, Including Black Hammer
Okrahead
357 Magnum
EBL

In The Mailbox: 07.29.22
Okrahead
357 Magnum
EBL
A View From The Beach

Top linkers for the week ending July 29:

  1.  EBL (14)
  2.  357 Magnum (12)
  3.  Okrahead (10)
  4.  A View From The Beach (9)
  5.  Proof Positive (6)

Thanks to everyone for all the links!

Amazon Warehouse Deals




Category: FMJRA Award

Joe Biden Has COVID — AGAIN!

Posted on | July 30, 2022 | 1 Comment

Double-vaxxed, double-boosted, and COVID-positive:

President Biden tested positive for COVID-19 in a “rebound” case on Saturday, according to the White House.
“As described last week, acknowledging the potential for so-called ‘rebound’ COVID positivity observed in a small percentage of patients treated with PAXLOVID the President increased his testing cadence, both to protect people around him and to assure early detection of any return of viral replication,” White House Doctor Dr. Kevin O’Connor said.
O’Connor said in the letter that Biden tested negative for COVID-19 on Tuesday evening, Wednesday morning, Thursday morning, and Friday morning, but tested positive on Saturday morning by an antigen test.
The doctor says that the re-infection represents “rebound positivity” and said that Biden has not experienced a reemergence of symptoms, and there’s no need to restart treatment.
Biden will, however, begin “strict isolation procedures,” according to O’Connor.
Biden tweeted on Saturday afternoon that he will continue working. . . .
Biden tested negative for COVID-19 on Wednesday after contracting the virus last week, prior to the announcement on Saturday afternoon.
A White House official told Fox News that contact tracing is now underway since Biden tested positive for COVID-19 again.
Previously, White House press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said that it didn’t matter where Biden contracted the coronavirus.
“Look, I don’t think that matters, right? I think what matters is we prepared for this moment,” Jean-Pierre said on July 21.
He was previously seen at several White House events without a mask since testing negative for COVID-19 on Wednesday, including at a roundtable discussing the economy on Thursday.

The White House is a circus and Joe’s the biggest clown.




 

Category: Joe Biden

Patrick Mahomes: Victim of Racism?

Posted on | July 30, 2022 | 2 Comments

Because I didn’t win the Mega Millions jackpot last night, it’s difficult this morning to feel sorry for the $45-million-a-year quarterback:

After an anonymous defensive coordinator called Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes a “tier 2” quarterback because of his “inability” to throw past his first read, discussions have been raised about the underlying message behind the criticism that other quarterbacks don’t receive.
The unnamed defensive coordinator was quoted by The Athletic’s Mike Sando in an article about quarterback tiers with votes from coaches and executives.

“We love Mahomes because of his unorthodox throws, not because of his natural pocket presence. And when that disappears, that is when they lose games. I don’t think that is a 1. I think that is a 2. Nothing against the guy. I love the kid. But take his first read away and what does he do? He runs, he scrambles and he plays streetball.”

The “streetball” comment, along with criticism of Arizona Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray for an “independent film study” clause in his contract, prompted discussion’s about the types of criticisms Black quarterbacks receive, compared to other quarterbacks.
When asked about those types of critiques, Mahomes said he wouldn’t read that far into it, but knows Black quarterbacks have had to fight to get to where they are.
“It always is weird when you see guys like me, Lamar, Kyler, get that on them and other guys don’t,” Mahomes said. “But at the same time we are gonna go out there and prove ourselves everyday to prove that we can be some of the best quarterbacks in the league.”
Mahomes added that he and other quarterbacks like him prove everyday that they belong behind the line of scrimmage throwing the ball.
“Obviously, the Black quarterback has had a battle to be in this position that we are to have this many guys in the league playing,” Mahomes said. “I think everyday we’re proving that we should have been playing the whole time. We got guys that think just as well as they can use their athleticism.”

To start with, Mahomes is half-white, so some might question his invocation of racial solidarity. However, it is perhaps not entirely wrong to suspect that the “streetball” criticism has some racial subtext. It could be pointed out, for example, that Josh Allen of the Buffalo Bills and Justin Herbert of the L.A. Chargers are both quarterbacks of the “athletic/mobile” type — capable of “extending the play,” as the TV commentators say, and scrambling for extra yards — but because they’re both white, they don’t seem to be targets of the “streetball” criticism.

Watching Mahomes this past season, I was very impressed with him overall, even though I’m not generally a fan of that style of play. The divisional playoff game between the Chiefs and the Bills was one of the most exciting NFL games you could ever hope for, a seesaw struggle down to the wire, decided in overtime, with both quarterbacks doing their share of “streetball.” Mahomes ran the ball seven times for 69 yards and a touchdown, while Allen ran 11 times for 68 yards. On Kansas City’s first possession, the Chiefs came up on a 3rd-and-6 at their own 40, and Mahomes scrambled for 34 yards, giving them a first down at the Buffalo 26. When you’ve got a quarterback capable of that kind of run, it creates real problems for the opposing defense — a problem the New England Patriots experienced in their two losses to Buffalo last season — so maybe “streetball” isn’t an entirely bad thing. On the other hand . . .

Over the long haul, the traditional dropback quarterback style wins more consistently. This year’s Super Bowl featured two traditional “pocket passers,” Matthew Stafford of the Los Angeles Rams and Joe Burrow of the Cincinnati Bengals, so spare me your enthusiasm for the improvisational run-and-gun style as allegedly being the future of football, as if the traditional style were obsolete. And it should be pointed out that, in the AFC title game, where the Bengals beat the Chiefs in overtime, Burrow actually ran more (five carries for 25 yards) than did Mahomes (three carries for 19 yards). Why don’t analysts speak of Joe Burrow, rather than Patrick Mahomes, as the future of football? Isn’t it because many analysts are prejudiced in favor of the “streetball” style? Isn’t it because, as Rush Limbaugh once notoriously observed, most guys in sports media desperately want black quarterbacks to succeed, just to make some kind of “racial justice” statement? Therefore, if black quarterbacks do have a tendency toward the “steetball” style, most of the voices in sports media will be enthusiastic for that style of play, simply for political reasons. (Please notice the word “if” in that sentence.)

Who’s promoting stereotypes here? Is it me or Mahomes? Is it the anonymous defensive coordinator, or the sports media’s “racial justice” cheerleaders? It seems to me that some people are making an implicit argument for a double standard, where a more risky type of offensive approach must be encouraged, simply because this style of play is what black quarterbacks (allegedly) do best. Embedded in this implicit double standard is an apparent belief that black quarterbacks can’t succeed in the more traditional dropback “pocket passer” role. And so we’re in this hall of mirrors where it’s difficult to say that enthusiasts for the “streetball” style are less racist than critics of that style.

Can’t we just play football? Or is it no longer possible to have any area of human existence exempt from the madness of identity politics? Football fans ought to be able to cheer for our favorite teams without having to worry about suspicions of racism — “RAAAAACISM!” — lurking around every corner. Because I’m a Patriots fan, of course I want Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs to lose, just as I’m sure Chiefs fans want the Patriots to lose, and for the same reason: Both teams are regularly in the playoff hunt in the AFC, so we want to see our conference rivals get taken down a notch or two. On the other hand, when the Chiefs are playing the Bills, it’s my duty as a Patriots fan to cheer for the Chiefs, because the Bills are our division rivals. Therefore, on Oct. 16, when Buffalo travels to Kansas City, I will be cheering for the Chiefs and Patrick Mahomes, despite the “streetball” style of their tragic mulatto quarterback. (The phrase “tragic mulatto” is from a book entitled Dreams of My Father, by a certain politician you may have heard of). Perhaps, if the Chiefs beat the Bills — and thus indirectly help the Patriots in the AFC East standings — I will praise Mahomes as “articulate and bright and clean.” On the other hand, if the Bills beat the Chiefs, I might say something less flattering about Mahomes. Racism is strictly situational, you see.

“Winning isn’t everything, it’s the only thing.” Say what you will about this win-at-all-costs mentality, by making victory the only standard of judgment, athletic competition tends to work against racism, because football fans only care about the color of a player’s jersey, not his skin. Patrick Mahomes ought to try to encourage this attitude, rather than leaping to suspicions of racism every time anyone criticizes him.




 

Category: Football, Racism

In The Mailbox: 07.29.22

Posted on | July 29, 2022 | 2 Comments

— compiled by Wombat-socho

Usual weekend deadlines for the usual weekend posts. May have a book & comics post as well.
Video of the day
Ceterum autem censeo Silicon Valley esse delendam.

OVER THE TRANSOM
357 Magnum: Sparky Bus Fire Sends Three To Hospital
EBL: PRIDE POX!
Twitchy: KJP Explains How States Busing Illegals To DC Is Very Different From Feds Flying Them Around the Country, also, Special K Also Explains How Inflation Reduction Act Will Fight Inflation (It’s Right There In The Name)
Louder With Crowder: “Stop Sexualizing Kids”
Vox Popoli: Excess Death in Australia, A Warning Within the Warning, and Send in the Boomers
According To Hoyt: Going Backwards, also, On Being A Flea
Monster Hunter Nation: July Update Post, also, WriterDojo S3 Ep3: Writing Action (Round 3/2)

RIPPED FROM THE HEADLINES
American Conservative: A Life in the InfoWar, also, State-Sanctioned Anarchy
American Greatness: House GOP Vows to Subpoena Hunter and James Biden Under New Majority
American Power: They Can’t Let Him Back In, The Frictionless Politics of the Social Technocracy, and Definition of a Recession
American Thinker: Biden’s Cabinet: Let us Count the Ways, A Corrupt and Rigged Government, and Why Satire Unhinges the Left
Animal Magnetism: Rule Five Oil Bonanza Friday
Babalu Blog: Three children arrested during last year’s July 11 protests in Cuba remain imprisoned, Top Latinx socialist advocate for Cuban dictatorship caught wearing un-socialist garb, and Cuban dictatorship forces workers to become spies, snitches, and paramilitary thugs
Behind The Black: Long March 5B core stage crash window narrows to 12 hours, Update on status of first orbital Starship/Superheavy, and Pushback: Teacher wins victory against R.I. school district that tried to blacklist her
CDR Salamander: Fullbore Friday
Da Tech Guy: The Best Argument For Trump I’ve Ever Heard
Don Surber: West Virginia Takes On Black Rock, also, Let Trump Be Trump
First Street Journal: Telling the people most at risk for contracting #Monkeypox how to avoid it is just way, way, way too politically incorrect!
Gates Of Vienna: The Greens Troll for the Preschool Vote, Knife Jihad in Le Mans, Tilting at Windmills, and What’s Missing From This Picture?
The Geller Report: In the Past Year, Chinese Investors Purchased $6.1 BILLION Worth of Property in The US, also, Zuckerberg’s Edsel: Meta FAIL, Loses 2.8 Million Dollars
Hogewash: Team Kimberlin Post of the Day, also, Gravitational Lensing
Hollywood In Toto: Thirteen Lives Could Use Some Hollywood Razzle Dazzle, also, Resurrection Is Way Too Desperate to Shock Us
The Lid: For Party’s Sake, Trump Must Wait Until After Midterms To Declare Intentions
Legal Insurrection: Special K – Biden Isn’t Finishing the Border Wall, We’re Cleaning Up Trump’s Mess, Biden Nominates Lawyer Who Represented Mississippi Abortion Clinic to Appeals Court, and Yale Law School Shuts Down Listserv Tied to Disruptive Student Protests
Nebraska Energy Observer: Wars and Rebirths
Outkick: NBA Finally Follows Science – Won’t Mandate Jab Next Season, Rep. Linda Sanchez (D-CA) Flips Off Republicans During Congressional Baseball Game, Major League Football Members, Players Left Stranded At Unpaid Hotels By League Speak With OutKick, and Cleveland Guardians Struggling To Attract Fans, Ratings After Name Change
Power Line: Everybody’s Talking About the Bird, News You Can Use on . . . Naked Biking?, and Thoughts from the ammo line
Shark Tank: Florida Democrats Mobilize To Push Moderates/”DINOs” Out Of The Party, also, Bilirakis – Democrats Doubling Down On Radical Green Agenda
Shot In The Dark: You’ll Get Nothing And Like It, also, Antisocial Contract
STUMP: Middle-aged Massacre (too!): Increase in Mortality for Ages 40-59 in the U.S. for 2020-2021 Mainly Driven By COVID
The Political Hat: Firing Line Friday: Is Big Business Out of Hand?
This Ain’t Hell: WWII Navy ship found more than 4 miles down, Retired Coastie and wife – identity thieves, and KGB officers?, Army to train up recruits – to become recruits, and Valor Friday
Transterrestrial Musings: Another Trump Presidency, Bad Newspace News, and Magical Thinking
Victory Girls: Monkeypox By Any Other Name Is Still Gay
Volokh Conspiracy: West Virginia v. EPA: Getting to Actual Delegation
Watts Up With That: Uncivil Society: Climate Alarmists’ Last Stand?, also, The Bright Side of the Manchin/Schumer Climate Deal
Weasel Zippers: Special K On The Recession: “We Are In A Transition”, Tucker Carlson Renames “Monkeypox” And Liberals Freak Out, Red China Threatens To Shoot Down Nancy Pelosi’s Plane If She Flies To Taiwan, and Households Spending $6,000 More Per Year Because Of Joe Biden And His Climate Religion
The Federalist: Here’s What Wyoming Voters Really Think Of Liz Cheney And Her Sham J6 Committee, Pay Attention To The Dutch Farmer Protests Because America Is Next, and Youngkin-Era Law Forces Election Integrity Group To Take Down Its List Of Virginia Voter Rolls
Mark Steyn: Live Around the Planet: Friday July 29th, also, Rule by Experts

Amazon Warehouse Deals




Category: Linkagery

Feds: Russian Agent Funded Radical Fringe Groups, Including Black Hammer

Posted on | July 29, 2022 | 1 Comment

Remember our friend Augustus Romain Jr. a/k/a “Gazi Kodzo”? Well, his Black Hammer group is one of three organizations identified by federal prosecutors as under Russian influence:

An indictment was unsealed today in Tampa, Florida, charging a Russian national, working on behalf of the Russian government and in conjunction with the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB), with allegedly orchestrating a years-long foreign malign influence campaign that used various U.S. political groups to sow discord, spread pro-Russian propaganda, and interfere in elections within the United States.
As alleged in the indictment, from at least December 2014 until March 2022, Aleksandr Viktorovich Ionov, a resident of Moscow, together with at least three Russian officials, engaged in a years-long foreign malign influence campaign targeting the United States. Ionov is the founder and president of the Anti-Globalization Movement of Russia (AGMR), an organization headquartered in Moscow and funded by the Russian government. Ionov utilized AGMR to carry out Russia’s influence campaign.
“Ionov allegedly orchestrated a brazen influence campaign, turning U.S. political groups and U.S. citizens into instruments of the Russian government,” said Assistant Attorney General Matthew G. Olsen of the Justice Department’s National Security Division. “The Department of Justice will not allow Russia to unlawfully sow division and spread misinformation inside the United States.”
According to the indictment, Ionov — working under the supervision of the FSB and with the Russian government’s support — recruited political groups within the United States, including U.S. Political Group 1 in Florida, U.S. Political Group 2 in Georgia, and U.S. Political Group 3 in California, and exercised direction or control over them on behalf of the FSB. Specifically, Ionov provided financial support to these groups, directed them to publish pro-Russian propaganda, coordinated and funded direct action by these groups within the United States intended to further Russian interests, and coordinated coverage of this activity in Russian media outlets. Ionov also relayed detailed information about this influence campaign to three FSB officials.
“Secret foreign government efforts to influence American elections and political groups threaten our democracy by spreading misinformation, distrust and mayhem,” said Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Polite, Jr. of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “The department is committed to ensuring U.S. laws protecting transparency in the electoral process and the political system are not undermined through foreign malign influence.”

Although none of the groups are named in the DOJ announcement, reporters in Tampa identified the African People’s Socialist Party (APSP, known as the “Uhuru Movement”) as Group 1, while Black Hammer was identified by Atlanta reporters as Group 2, and others have identified the secessionist “Yes California” movement as Group 3. My guess is that after Gazi Kodzo got busted for serious crimes in Atlanta, he rolled over and became a federal informant. Recall that he spent years with the APSP, so Kodzo would have known their secrets, and probably sang like a canary when faced with the prospect of a life sentence in a Georgia prison.




 

Category: California, Crime, Florida, Georgia, Russia

Magical Thinking as Economic Policy

Posted on | July 29, 2022 | 2 Comments

“In psychiatry, magical thinking is a disorder of thought content; here it denotes the false belief that one’s thoughts, actions, or words will cause or prevent a specific consequence in some way that defies or circumvents commonly understood laws of causality.”

Joe Biden evidently believes that recession can be avoided by pretending there is no recession, and that inflationary spending proposals can be enacted by dubbing them “The Inflation Reduction Act.”

Of course, it is somewhat sarcastic to speak of what Biden “believes,” let alone what he “thinks,” given that his mental condition has deteriorated to such a dysfunctional state that his cognitive processes cannot really be described as “belief” or “thought,” in the literal definition of those words.

In 2022, of course, many words have lost their meanings. Newsweek ran the headline “Joe Biden’s Eyes in Video Spark Wild Conspiracy Theories,” but is it really a conspiracy theory to say that the appearance of Our Alleged President in that 17-second video clip looked like some kind of CGI green-screen deepfake? Considering how we were assured by the same media outlets that it was a “conspiracy theory” to believe Biden’s dopehead son Hunter left a laptop full of incriminating evidence in a computer repair shop — which everyone now admits actually happened — hasn’t “conspiracy theory” become just a pejorative epithet meaning facts the media don’t want you to know about? But I digress . . .

The shameless effrontery of the people running the White House keeps surprising even hardened cynics like me. Just when you think their capacity for bald-faced lying has reached its absolute rock-bottom, they somehow manage to go even lower. Remember the “Build Back Better” act that died in the Senate last year? The mendacious bastards just repackaged it and called it “The Inflation Reduction Act of 2022”:

The latest compromise includes the previously agreed-upon health care provisions as well as a 15 percent corporate minimum tax, a proposal to close the carried interest tax loophole, and a provision for IRS enforcement. Additionally, it contains historic spending for climate, though it’s on a smaller scale than what the House envisioned last year.
All told, Democrats estimate the bill will bring in $739 billion in revenue and will invest $433 billion in spending. It also addresses Manchin’s goal of reducing the deficit and would do so by $300 billion or more. The bill’s investment in areas like clean energy, tax credits, and reducing health care costs is notable, though it’s much less ambitious than the provisions in the $1.75 trillion bill that the House passed last year.

That’s according to the liberal site Vox, which repeats the Democratic Party’s claims about projected revenue and deficit reduction as though this stuff will actually happen. News flash: It won’t.

When you employ magical thinking as the basis of economic policy, it’s possible to imagine almost anything, including $735 billion in tax revenue by imposing punitive taxes on corporations, as though the smart guys who run international business conglomerates are just going to leave that money sitting around and wait for Uncle Sam to come get his 15 percent share. But when the tax man shows up, those CEOs will point to the accounting numbers which prove that, in fact, they haven’t got two nickels to spare. The IRS guy will shrug and say, “Oh, well,” then walk away empty-handed. And then the CEOs will make gigantic donations to the Democratic Party, and the fact that all these hundreds of billions of dollars in projected tax revenue never made it to the Treasury Department will be forgotten, quite conveniently for all concerned.

You can’t tax your way out of a deficit.

Call that McCain’s Law of Fiscal Policy, if you wish, but every time Democrats get control of the White House, they keep trying the same thing. Democrats never met a wasteful billion-dollar boondoggle or welfare giveaway they wouldn’t support, and they throw away taxpayer money on all sorts of useless or harmful projects, and don’t you dare suggest that a single penny be taken away from the Department of Health and Human Services budget, you damned racist Republicans who want to shove Grandma off a cliff. Democrats want federal taxpayers to fund programs to hand out free needles to junkies sleeping on the sidewalk, send drag queens to entertain kindergartners in every school in America, and subsidize economically dubious “green energy” projects, while still claiming that they’re in favor of reducing the deficit.

Magical thinking: “Corporate minimum tax!” This will miraculously solve all the budget problems, Democrats expect us to believe and, considering that 38.2% of voters actually approve of the job Biden’s doing as president, there are tens of millions of Americans stupid enough to believe anything. Yet the fact remains: You can’t tax your way out of a deficit because, as the First Corollary to McCain’s Law of Fiscal Policy, the federal government will automatically grow to consume whatever additional revenue new taxes might actually produce.

The revenue dog is never fast enough to catch the spending rabbit, you might say, but even if you believe that this latest “compromise reconciliation” bill will somehow reduce the deficit — which no intelligent person honestly believes — please tell me, how the hell is it supposed to reduce inflation? Because that is the official name of this preposterous legislation: “The Inflation Reduction Act.” Apparently, we are expected to believe that ramming this thing through Congress to “invest $433 billion in spending” will reduce inflation, as if out-of-control federal spending weren’t the principal cause of our inflationary spiral. Instead, Democrats want us to believe, the real cause of inflation is — brace yourself for genius-level insight — corporations aren’t paying enough taxes!

There are no adjectives strong enough to describe my disgust with the gross cynicism behind the “Inflation Reduction Act of 2022.” No honest person could possibly endorse this fraudulent legislation. Yet the magical thinking of Biden’s economic policy keeps producing insults like this:

President Joe Biden on Thursday reminded Americans suffering from inflation and high gas prices that he sent them a check for $8,000 in 2021.
“There’s reason to be down but I started thinking about it … the first year, we were able with the rescue plan, we were able to send them a check for eight grand,” he said. “I mean a check. Beyond that by the way, there was more than that.”
The president spoke about the trillions he spent in the Democrat-passed American Rescue Plan during a conversation he had with his economic advisers on the state of the economy. His mention of the “$8,000 check” was likely a reference to the temporary expansion of the child tax credit provided to some families in 2021 until it expired this year.
Biden complained that Americans forgot what he did for them in 2021, even as he admitted it was “totally understandable.”
He pointed out that even for Americans making $120,00 a year, $8,000 dollars should have meant a lot to them.
“That’s a lot of money, and so it helped save a lot of people in terms of getting thrown out of their home and rental housing and a whole range of things,” he said. . . .
“Does that make any sense to everybody or is it just me?” he asked his advisers.
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen agreed, noting the trillions in government spending boosted the economy, despite the high inflation rates that followed.
“We need to bring down inflation, but we need to preserve the success that that plan achieved in the labor market,” she said.

This makes me so angry, it’s impossible for me to write any sentence that doesn’t include the phrase “fucking bullshit.” Think back, if you will, to what actually happened with the so-called “American Rescue Plan. The first COVID “stimulus” bill passed in March 2020, at a time when were were being told that a lockdown of “two weeks to slow the spread” was necessary, which was immediately followed by “30 days to flatten the curve.” So by May 1, all the lockdowns would be over, right? No, the pandemic panic brigade insisted on lockdowns ad aeternum — we must “follow the science!” — and so millions of people were forced out of work. Months went by and, with so much of the economy locked down, the need for more “stimulus” was obvious, but the Democrats who controlled Congress wouldn’t pass another stimulus bill before the election.

Meanwhile, thanks to the Trump administration’s “Operation Warp Speed” project, COVID vaccines were developed in record time — but not in time for the election. So then the election happened and, while the first vaccinations were being administered, Congress belatedly passed another $900 billion “stimulus” package in December 2020, a month before Biden took office. The vaccine promised a swift return to normal (even though Florida had been back to normal for months, without causing any great crisis), and therefore, the need for additional “stimulus” wasn’t obvious. And it was at this crucial moment that Democrats rammed through “The American Rescue Plan Act of 2021,” a $1.9 trillion — yes, trillion, with a “t” — stimulus package, which took effect in March 2021, just three months after the previous $900 billion stimulus bill, so that the federal government injected $2.8 trillion in new spending into the economy in a span of 90 days.

“Gosh, I wonder why we have all this inflation now?” said nobody.

Oh, and of course I didn’t get any “eight grand,” and neither did you, because we were still working and paying our bills, same as always. The question of who did get “eight grand,” I’ll leave you to figure out for yourselves, but here Joe is telling Americans they shouldn’t complain about inflation because “we” — notice the first-person plural pronoun, by which he means Democrats — “we were able to send them a check for eight grand.” WHAT DO YOU THINK CAUSED THE INFLATION, JOE? DO YOU THINK MAYBE IT WAS $1.9 TRILLION IN ‘STIMULUS’ TO PAY PEOPLE TO STAY HOME INSTEAD OF WORKING?

Excuse my all-caps rant there. I’ve been trying to ignore this kind of stuff — concentrate on pleasant things, like the Patriots opening training camp — but today I made the mistake of reading actual news and saw they were calling this legislative monstrosity “The Inflation Reduction Act of 2021,” and suddenly found myself thinking, “You know, those guys who stormed the Capitol may have had the right idea all along.”

Everybody should have known the Biden administration would be a disaster, but even I never imagined how bad it would be.

UPDATE: Welcome, Instapundit readers!




 

Category: Economics, Joe Biden

In The Mailbox: 07.28.22

Posted on | July 29, 2022 | 1 Comment

— compiled by Wombat-socho

Silicon Valley delenda est.

OVER THE TRANSOM
357 Magnum: They Suffered A Failure Of The Victim Selection Process
EBL: Tony Dow, RIP, also, Democrat Nicholas Roske Was Hunting For Conservative Justices
Twitchy: Peter Doocy Triggers KJP Over Small Towns Being Expected To Take Care Of Illegals
Louder With Crowder: Crowder Returns August 1 – “Get Ready For Something You’ve Never Seen Before” 
Vox Popoli: So THAT Didn’t Work, Incompetent or Irrelevant?, and Revenge For 500 Years

RIPPED FROM THE HEADLINES
American Conservative: ‘Race’, ‘Nation,’ And Modern Times
American Greatness: DeSantis Announces Plan to Fight Globalist ‘ESG’ Influence in Florida, also, Trump Threatens Lawsuit Over CNN’s ‘Defamatory Statements’ About 2020
American Power: White House Braces for Grim News on Economy
American Thinker: Are the Woke Morally Superior?
Animal Magnetism: Animal’s Daily Own Nothing News
Babalu Blog: Cubans are calling for a national strike to bring down the Castro dictatorship, also, Dengue epidemic in Cuba worsens as more deaths are reported on social media
BattleSwarm: Ill-Advised Semiconductor Subsidies Pass
Behind The Black: Update on Long March 5B core stage crash prediction, NASA is apparently withdrawing its permit for Starship launches in Florida, and Today’s blacklisted American: January 6th rally attendee commits suicide
CDR Salamander: The CNO Has a Plan
Chicago Boyz: Supply Chain in Ukraine
Da Tech Guy: Do You Feel a Draft in the Air?, Answer:  The Results were always “Unexpected” by the Media/Elites, and Why are we sitting on our hands while the United States is dismantled?
Don Surber: The Biden depression, also, Republicans ignoring an increasingly irrelevant press
First Street Journal: And here you have all of the information that you need to understand the violence in Philadelphia!, also, Recession! The Biden Administration won’t admit it, but people know it
Gates Of Vienna: Murdering Somali Gets a Shrink Instead of the Clink, “Yes to Peoples’ Sovereignty – No to Brussels’ Bureaucrats”, and Manure for Tyrants
The Geller Report: MEDIA BLACKS OUT WORLDWIDE PROTESTS, also, Big Tech’s Plot to Stop a Red Wave in 2022
Hogewash: Team Kimberlin Post of the Day, also, Eta Carinae
Hollywood In Toto: B.J. Novak’s Vengeance Finds Humor, Wisdom in Cultural Cliches, Reporters Hope Hollywood, Springsteen Boycott for Abortion Rights, and It’s Official – Late Night TV Turned on Recession-Era Biden
The Lid: Is Biden Really Okay? Why Can’t He Blink?
Legal Insurrection: Military Recruitment Crisis Underway as Biden Admin Continues Emphasis on Wokeness & The Jab , Justice Clarence Thomas Not Teaching at George Washington Law This Fall After All, D.C. Mayor Bowser Wants National Guard to Help With Illegal Immigrants Bused to Capital, and Association of American Medical Colleges Criticized for Pushing Critical Race Theory
Nebraska Energy Observer: You know…
Outkick: Nebraska HVAC Company Signs Husker WR Decoldest Crawford To Genius NIL Deal, Marcus Mariota Named Falcons Starting QB On First Day Of Camp, and Miami Marlins Pitcher Daniel Castano Takes 104 MPH Liner Off The Head
Power Line: “What base ingratitude”, also, The Trans Fiasco: Will There Be an Accounting?
Shark Tank: Sexualizing Kids At Florida Drag Queen Clubs Is Widespread
Shot In The Dark: Au Revoir, Not Goodbye, also, Open Letter To Rep. Phillips
STUMP: On recessions: definitions, Humpty Dumpty, and out-sourcing decision-making
The Political Hat: Things That Are Now Racist & Evil: Thanksgiving; Google; “colonial and neoliberal coercion around time and productivity”
This Ain’t Hell: Army Veteran Fakes Blindness and Defrauds VA – Now Gets Prison, MN National Guard pays $77k to LGBTQ mag for recruiting efforts, Summer uniform shortages for AF, Army, and Yet Another Stolen Valor Scam
Transterrestrial Musings: An Interesting Precedent, also, James Lovelock
Volokh Conspiracy: Nicholas Roske Used Reddit and Discord To Plan Assassination of Kavanaugh And Potentially Two Other Justices, also, John Roberts’ Wicked Good Year
Watts Up With That: Climatologists Embarrassed: Increase in Global CO2 Levels Accompanied by Arctic Sea Ice Growth!, also, End Carbon Imperialists’ Impoverishment of Africa
Weasel Zippers: Dems Introduce Bill To Fund Abortions Around The World With Foreign Aid, Joe Biden Reportedly Met With 14 Of Hunter’s Business Associates While He Was VP, and Mayor Bowser Requests Activation Of DC National Guard Over Illegal Alien Buses
The Federalist: Monkeypox Is The Left’s ‘Don’t Say Gay’, Democrats Are Dangerously Close To Changing Laws So Our President Is Elected By Popular Vote, and The Dems’ New Proposal Does Nothing To Lower Inflation
Mark Steyn: Schwab the Deck, also, The Paedos’ Protectors

Amazon Warehouse Deals




Category: Linkagery

Still More Aspiring Rapper Updates

Posted on | July 28, 2022 | 1 Comment

Javorius Scott, a/k/a “JayDaYoungan”

It’s been a busy week in the hip hop community, as young performers are being gunned down with astonishing frequency:

Louisiana rapper JayDaYoungan was fatally shot in his hometown of Bogalusa, north of New Orleans, police said.
The musician, whose real name is Javorius Scott, was killed Wednesday just after 6 p.m. He was 24.
Police said they received a call about a shooting just before 6 p.m. Wednesday. One of the injured people was brought to Our Lady of the Angels emergency room. Another victim, still on scene, was critically wounded and was transported there by ambulance.
Police were then notified of another shooting shortly after 7 p.m., about 4 miles from the first shooting. Authorities said a car was hit by bullets, but the occupants were not injured, police said.
In a Facebook post, Bogalusa Police confirmed Scott’s death “as a result of his injuries.” The other victim, identified by multiple news outlets as Kenyatta Scott Sr., the rapper’s father, was said to be in stable condition. . . .
Bogalusa Police investigators said they believe the two shootings are linked.
Investigators have connected Scott to crimes involving gang rivalries in parts of rural Louisiana in recent months. They said they believe the violence is retaliatory. An investigation is continuing.
In June 2021, Scott was released from prison after serving seven months on charges of possession of a firearm while under indictment for a crime. In September that year, he was arrested on charges of obstruction of justice and accessory to a second-degree murder that occurred in Louisiana. The next month, he was arrested for multiple felonies, including the illegal use of a controlled dangerous substance in the presence of minors. . . .
Scott has more than 2.5 million followers on Instagram. His most recent video, “First Day Out Pt2” had amassed 1.9 million views on YouTube.

Do not weep for JayDaYoungan, but instead shed a tear for America’s youth, who have lost an inspiring role model. Meanwhile, in Tampa:

Ari Williams, a/k/a “Rollie Bands”

Five days after up-and-coming rapper Rollie Bands was fatally shot in Tampa, Florida, following a social media post daring critics to confront him, his killer has not yet been arrested.
The 27-year-old performer, real name Ari Williams, was the father of a six-year-old girl. In response to his killing, Williams’ family and friends are calling for justice.
“His daughter deserves that. His mom deserves that. Our family deserves that,” his aunt, Towanda Covington, told local news station WFLA-TV.
Williams was gunned down Friday in the parking lot of his apartment complex, minutes after posting a message on Instagram telling his enemies he was on his way home. “If a ni–a want smoke, I’m at my crib in 5 mins,” he wrote in an Instagram Story.
The Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office released a press release saying Williams likely knew his killer. “At this time, the shooting does not appear random,” the sheriff’s office said.
Williams’ family told WFLA he had a disagreement with someone earlier Friday, before he expressed his frustration on Instagram.
“It doesn’t matter what kind of statement, he didn’t deserve for his life to be taken,” Covington said.
Williams’ friend, Tim Simmons, added that a social media post should not get someone killed.
“He shouldn’t have did that, but he also shouldn’t have died because of that either,” Simmons said.

Let this be a lesson for young aspiring rappers: If you taunt your enemies on Instagram, you’ll be making headlines. Not in a good way.




 

Category: Aspiring Rapper Update
« go back — keep looking »