Please note that you can leave a comment on any of our posts at our Facebook page.  Subscribers can also comment at length at our Angel's Corner Forum.

FEBRUARY 3,  2021

SHORT TAKES ON THE DRIFTING WRECKAGE – OVERNIGHT:

LIZ CHENEY SURVIVES – FROM FOX:   Embattled GOP Rep. Liz Cheney didn't apologize for her vote three weeks ago to impeach then-President Trump.  And in the end, she didn't need to.  The House Republican Conference Chair on Wednesday night easily survived a push by House GOP Trump loyalists to strip her of her number three leadership position.  In a secret ballot vote by the entire House Republican Conference, only 61 members voted to strip Cheney of her leadership role, with 145 supporting her.  Cheney was under fire over her vote three weeks ago to impeach Trump on a charge of inciting the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol by right-wing extremists and other Trump supporters. Cheney was the most senior of 10 Republicans who joined all 222 House Democrats to impeach Trump, with 197 GOP representatives voting against impeachment.  On the eve of the impeachment vote, the three-term congresswoman from Wyoming said that Trump "summoned this mob, assembled the mob, and lit the flame of this attack." She stressed that "there has never been a greater betrayal by a President of the United States of his office and his oath to the Constitution."  In a way, this is the right outcome.  Cheney was unwise, as a major Republican leader, to join the impeachers.  But to strip her of her position would make her into a martyr, and give the Democrats the chance to ridicule the GOP as narrow and bigoted.  We hope Liz has learned from the experience.

WHAT'S GOING ON HERE? – FROM REUTERS:   WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. military on Wednesday acknowledged it was unsure about how to address white nationalism and other extremism in its ranks, and announced plans for military-wide stand-downs pausing regular activity at some point in the next 60 days to tackle the issue.  The decision to a hold a stand-down was made by Lloyd Austin, who made history by becoming the military’s first Black defense secretary after a long career rising in the ranks of the Army. In his confirmation hearing, Austin underscored the need to rid the military of “racists and extremists”.  Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said Austin ordered the stand-down after a meeting with the U.S. military branch leaders, who are under pressure to show progress in combating extremism after current and former military servicemembers were found to have participated in the siege of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6. This must be looked at very carefully.  The military has always stressed good behavior, and staying within the law.  But a program like this has political overtones.  If done properly, it can improve the services and their contribution to the nation.  If done improperly, it can lead to political indoctrination by the party in power.  We will watch.

February 3, 2021       Permalink

WHEN YOU OPEN YOUR MOUTH TOO OFTEN – AT 9:15 P.M. ET:  It is perfectly clear that Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, or, as we call her, little Evita from the Bronx, is working hard to get the Nobel Prize in Martyrdom, which is reverently given each year by a group of social psychologists at Berkeley.  But now she has gone too far, and seems to see herself as the personal target of evil conservatives.  From Fox: 

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., is facing criticism over initial claims she made about the Jan. 6 Capitol riots, with many noting that she wasn't even in the Capitol when they occurred.

The controversy erupted after the New York congresswoman posted a video in which she described a confrontation with Capitol police at her office, which is located on the larger Capitol complex. But it is not in the Capitol itself — which includes the dome, the House, and the Senate — and was where many rioters stormed in and were seen breaking windows.

Her office is located in the Cannon building, which is accessible through underground tunnels connected to the Capitol as well as via a short stroll down a walkway and across the street. It was also one of the buildings where staff was told to evacuate after suspicious packages were found in the area. Law enforcement found pipe bombs and Molotov cocktails in the vicinity.

In response to the incident, the congresswoman said: "I did not know if I was going to make it to the end of that day alive." She also accused Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas of almost having her "murdered," touching on accusations that Cruz and others incited the attack through their rhetoric about the election.

"I can tell you that I had a very close encounter where I thought I was going to die," she said in a video last month.

In her more recent video, she offered an emotional recollection of how she hid behind a bathroom door and heard the police officer break into her office.

"I thought I was going to die," she said. "I have never been quieter in my entire life."

She added that the situation "didn't feel right because he was looking at me with a tremendous amount of anger and hostility -- and things weren't adding up. There was no partner there and no one was yelling, he wasn't yelling like, 'this is Capitol police, this is Capitol police.'"

Capitol police did not immediately respond to Fox News's request for comment.

On Wednesday, she faced a wave of backlash from people like Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., who tweeted that insurrectionists never stormed the hallway that she shares with Ocasio-Cortez. The hashtag #AlexandriaOcasioSmollet also trended, an apparent comparison to actor Jussie Smollett, who falsely claimed to be the victim of a hate crime.

Ocasio-Cortez responded to some of the criticism, suggesting that it was "the latest manipulative take on the right."

"They are manipulating the fact that most people don’t know the layout the Capitol complex," she said. "We were all on the Capitol complex - the attack wasn’t just on the dome."

In another tweet, she said: "People were trying to rush and infiltrate our office buildings - that’s why we had to get evacuated in the first place. The attempts of attackers & publicly available communications show how they tried to gain access and share location info on finding members for physical harm."

It wasn't immediately clear what she was referring to, and her office did not immediately respond to Fox News' request for comment.

She later posted about her experience deciding whether or not to share her story.

"This is all to say that survivors are watching," she tweeted. "Loved ones are watching. They may share their story tomorrow, or in months or years. Or they may never. Speaking vitriol towards other survivors hurts you & your loved ones. Bc [Because] dismissers rob themselves of meaningful relationships."

COMMENT:  As the scarecrow observes in The Wizard of Oz, "if I only had a brain."  AOC should take a deep breath, and maybe a deeper vacation.  She might also spend some quality time with American women of our armed services who have spent months in combat zones. 

A bit of maturity is not a bad thing in government.  AOC is wearing out her welcome.

February 3, 2021       Permalink

FEBRUARY 2,  2021

SHORT TAKES ON THE DRIFTING WRECKAGE – OVERNIGHT:

CNN FALLS BACK TO EARTH – FROM VARIETY:   While January 2021 will go down in the ratings record books for CNN, the last week of the month may offer a portent of what the post-Trump era will be like for the network.  In the first week of the Biden administration, the AT&T-owned news channel saw the audiences that had been flooding into primetime recently drop precipitously on Jan. 25-29 compared with the highs of previous weeks. Meanwhile, rival Fox News Channel saw its own ratings only dip slightly after weeks of registering its own sharp declines.  Another network that has been characterized as left-leaning, MSNBC, has also seen significant declines but nowhere near as steep as what has hit CNN: Variety Intelligence Platform’s analysis of the viewership data across two key metrics—the target news demographic for people ages 25-54, and the total audience watching—shows that CNN ended the final week of January with ratings dropping roughly 44% for total audience versus the prior week across all three hours of primetime.  What will CNN do without Donald Trump?  They won't unless...they pull off one of the great maneuvers in broadcast history and offer him his own show, unrestricted, no supervision.  Can you just see those numbers?

BERNIE RISES, AMERICA FALLS – FROM THE NEW YORK POST:   WASHINGTON — Socialist Sen. Bernie Sanders has been elevated to the powerful role of Senate Budget Committee Chairman as the Democratic Party continues its metamorphosis under the new Biden administration.  Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer on Tuesday announced the committee memberships for the new 117th Congress and also confirmed that West Virginia centrist Sen. Joe Manchin, who is quickly emerging as a powerful voice in the upper chamber, would lead the Senate Energy & Natural Resources Committee.  After damaging allegations about her flagging mental acuity emerged in the press late last year, 87-year-old Sen. Dianne Feinstein also stepped aside and has been replaced as the chair of the powerful Senate Judiciary Committee by Illinois Sen. Dick Durbin.  The big news here is that Sanders, a socialist, will lead a committee that deals with the national budget.  What a show this will be.  When do the Democrats on the committee start to squirm?

February 2, 2021       Permalink

BIDEN THE DUD?  – OVERNIGHT:  Two weeks as president.  How is Biden doing in the only daily tracking poll we have, Rasmussen?  Not exactly hot.  From PJ Media: 

He (Biden) got 80 million votes. So, all of this must be extremely popular with likely voters, right? Not according to Rasmussen, a polling firm that has conducted the Daily Presidential Tracking Poll since Gallup stopped doing it when Barack Obama was elected. The pollster has used a consistent methodology since 2008, and polls likely voters who have demonstrated they participate in elections.
As of day seven, how is President Biden doing?

Biden has not been above water a single time in the Approval Index rating. This index is the difference between how many likely voters strongly approve and how many strongly disapprove. Total approval has hit 50% once so far.

This result is astonishing when you think about it. President Biden has the full weight of nearly every corporate media outlet, tech company, and cultural institution behind him. They have been drooling all over themselves to convince us this is a return to unifying normalcy. After all, his favorite ice cream is chocolate chip, and his two German Shepherds just love their new digs. So normal. So unifying.

President Trump had the specter of Russian collusion hanging over his head; Democrats already talking about impeaching him; the p*ssy hat brigade protesting in the streets; and a never-ending media onslaught. He was “literally Hitler” and just dying to let his dictatorial freak flag fly. The day before Biden’s Inauguration, Trump’s Approval Index was the name as Biden’s yesterday, and his approval rating was 51%.

Trump’s 55 executive orders per year drastically reduced government interference in people’s lives and the economy. His administration committed that for every order that promulgated a new rule, they’d rescinded at least two. So, roughly 17 executive orders per year directed the agencies to do something new, rather than telling them to stop doing something they had been doing.

You may be old enough to remember President Obama’s first two years in office with much larger Democrat majorities. The administration shoved through a wildly unpopular bailout and the stimulus bill. Then they rammed Obamacare through. Like Biden, Obama had the full support of our cultural institutions and a fawning media. Despite the unpopular policies, he did not see his first negative Approval Index rating until June 21, 2009. He didn’t fall under 50% approval until July 24th of the same year.

Perhaps this is what happens when you relax voting rules to encourage people who don’t usually vote to participate. Activists opened up the floodgates with drop boxes, massive mail-in voting participation, and even the collecting of those ballots in some states. Or you get a billionaire to invest in a get-out-the-vote initiative in Democrat strongholds. These tactics might get you the W, but it doesn’t get you buy-in for your candidate’s agenda.

And in general, the exercise of pure political power based on the thinnest possible majority in government does not go well. Yet, Democrats seem intent on destroying our institutions, solely to ram through a radical agenda that is already unpopular. If history is any guide, assuming a mandate you don’t have is not a smart move, and 2022 will not go well for them.

COMMENT:  Of course, the economy might improve as the Covid 19 vaccine takes effect.  And Republicans might not manage their affairs well, divided as they are, and may not produce new leaders to battle the Democrats in 2022.  Nothing is guaranteed.  But the GOP plays its cards right, and if the Democrats continue their river of arrogance, 2022 might turn out to be a banner year for our side.

February 2,  2021     Permalink

DEFUND LAW ENFORCEMENT? – AT 5:32 P.M. ET:  Two FBI agents were killed today.  A Mississippi police officer was killed in Mississippi.  From Fox: 

The FBI released the identities of two federal agents who were killed in a shooting early Tuesday morning as law enforcement officials attempted to serve a search warrant in a child pornography case to a suspect who barricaded himself inside his home in a Fort Lauderdale suburb.

"Tragically, the FBI lost two of our own today," FBI Director Christopher Wray said in a statement.

"Special Agent Daniel Alfin and Special Agent Laura Schwartzenberger were shot and killed this morning in the line of duty while executing a federal court-ordered search warrant in a crimes against children investigation in Sunrise, Florida."

Both agents had a history of investigating child pornography and sexual exploitation cases, according to reports by the Miami Herald.

Alfin, 36, who had been an FBI special agent since 2009, was recently involved in a case against an aide to the mayor of Miami who was accused of luring a teenage victim to City Hall under the guise of an interview and then kissing and fondling him during the meeting. Rene Pedrosa, who was originally facing state charges that were later dropped for federal charges filed in March 2020, allegedly sent lewd photos to his victim as well.

Alfin was also involved in an FBI hacking campaign to expose child pornography circulating on the dark website, Playpen. The investigation later brought down the founder of the site, Steven Chase, who was sentenced to 30 years in prison in 2017.

Schwartzenberger, 43, an FBI agent since 2005, also worked on child exploitation investigations, many involving internet child pornography. She was active in the community as well, visiting middle schools to teach students about the dangers of online predators.

COMMENT:  The story reminds us of the risks law enforcement officers take every day.  I haven't heard any response from the big mouths in Washington yet.  I assume the president will say something, or have it said for him.  Members of the Squad have been silent.

UPDATE AT 7:15 P.M. ET:  The president has issued an appropriate statement.

February 2, 2021       Permalink