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MARCH 26,  2021

SHORT TAKES ON THE DRIFTING WRECKAGE – OVERNIGHT: 

FIGHTING BACK AT THE BORDER – FROM DAILY MAIL:    Senator Ted Cruz and 18 of his Republican colleagues have released shocking photos and video showing children packed into migrant camps, blaming President Joe Biden for the crisis at the southern border.  'This is inhumane, it is wrong and it is the direct consequence of policy decisions by the Biden administration to stop building the wall, to return to catch-and-release, and to end the stay-in-Mexico policy,' Cruz said at a press conference on Friday.  Cruz, Senator James Lankford of Oklahoma and others shared heartbreaking images of a severely overcrowded holding facility in Donna, Texas, where Lankford said that 'pods' designed to hold 80 children are packed with more than 700.  The remarks and new images came after Cruz led the delegation on a midnight border tour late Thursday, during which Cruz claimed he could hear human smugglers 'taunting' Border Patrol from across the Rio Grande.  'I know why President Biden doesn't want the media to be here -- because we do have an open border,' said Lankford, referring to Biden's continued refusal to let journalists visit holding facilities or accompany Border Patrol agents on patrol.  'Last night we stood under that bridge and watched as families, if they had a six-year-old or younger, within hours you were processed and released into the country,' he continued.  A national scandal of the first magnitude, despite the attempts by some news organizations to minimize it, or at least reduce its impact.  The Biden administration has botched its first two months in office.  We await future adventures...with dread.

LIFE UP ON THE WICKED STAGE – FROM DAILY MAIL:  A local Minnesota theater has cancelled a production of Roger & Hammerstein's Cinderella because its cast was 'too white'.  Chanhassen Dinner Theatres was scheduled to stage the show later this year before its artistic director stepped in to slam its lack of diversity.   'It was 98 percent white, ' the artistic director, Michael Brindisi, told the Pioneer Press on Wednesday after looking at who had been cast.   However, Chanhassen - located southwest of Minneapolis - has a population that is overwhelming white, and the racial demographics of the cast were not strikingly different from the city as a whole.   According to the most recent census, 92.5 percent of people  in Chanhassen are white. Less than 3 percent of residents are Hispanic, while 1.1 percent are black. 
No photos of the Cinderella cast were officially released before the show was scrapped.   In a statement released on Monday, the theater stated:  'After careful consideration and with our ongoing commitment to Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, we have made the decision to cancel our upcoming production.'  I'm so moved and impressed.  I wonder how many artists from the "Cinderella" production lost jobs over this virtue signaling.  The people who made the decision will get a little publicity, maybe a little medal from some obscure organization, then fade away.  There are far better ways to advance the interests of minority artists.

March 26, 2021       Permalink 

THE CONTINUING DEMISE OF NEW YORK – OVERNIGHT:  The Marxist mayor of New York is in his last year in office, and seems determined, with the help of the city's radical-left City Council, to do as much harm as possible.  First target, the police.  From Fox: 

The New York City Council moved to end qualified immunity for police officers Thursday, making it the first big city in the nation to do so.

The measure passed as part of a broader overhaul of police practices.

The legal doctrine has for decades protected officers from lawsuits alleging misconduct against those they’re arresting, unless the officer had violated a clearly established constitutional right.
Qualified immunity first came under scrutiny during the racial injustice and police brutality protests that roiled the nation in the light of George Floyd’s death.

The city council said in a statement the bill would protect New Yorkers against unreasonable search and seizures and against excessive force, in addition to banning qualified immunity. The Big Apple joins two states, Colorado and Connecticut, in curbing the immunity defense.

The bill now goes to the desk of Mayor Bill de Blasio, who is expected to sign it.

At the same time, city lawmakers approved de Blasio’s plan to spend $72 million to improve police practices and accountability. This came after the city moved to divert $1 billion from the police budget last summer.

Another provision gives the Civilian Complaint Review Board, which investigates police misconduct, resources to investigate racial bias in policing, and it requires police to collect data on traffic stops, including the race of people apprehended.

Another resolution the council passed requires newly hired cops to live in New York City limits.

New York City Council Speaker Corey Johnson said qualified immunity was "rooted in our nation's history of systemic racism" and "should never have been allowed.

Opponents of the bill said it might discourage some from getting into law enforcement. "Ending qualified immunity will prevent the best young men and women in our city from joining the police force," Councilman Robert F. Holden said as he voted no, according to the New York Times.

"New Yorkers are getting shot, and police officers are on the streets day and night, trying to stop the bloodshed," Patrick Lynch, president of the Police Benevolent Association, said in a statement, adding that the new bill would "chill the operations of law enforcement."

COMMENT:  What smart young man or woman would want to be a police officer in the WOKE New York of today?  There won't be too many.  Standards will be lowered – always a dream of the left in almost any situation.  And the police force will be reduced, squeezed for money, and blamed for almost anything.

New York in the 1990s, under Rudy Giuliani, produced a miracle:  rapidly declining crime rates.  The greatest beneficiaries were minorities.  Leftist journalists were furious, some claiming the statistics were false.  They weren't.  Others claiming the numbers were lowered by turning minority communities into prison camps.  In fact, they were liberated.  The police commissioner got a standing ovation every time he went to a black church.

But the WOKE types kind of like high crimes.  With high crime rates they can demand money for "programs" that never work.  And high crime rates confirm their vision of a society, where some people have to kill to get money to survive.  A blatant lie.

And yet, the people of New York, ordained in the church of liberalism, will probably go to the polls and elect, as next mayor, a carbon copy of the current one. 

Cities do die, and some commit suicide.

March 26, 2021       Permalink 

MARCH 25,  2021

SHORT TAKES ON THE DRIFTING WRECKAGE – OVERNIGHT:

FIGHTING BACK AGAINST INSANITY – FROM COLLEGE FIX:  The president of Emory University will not bow to pressure from the campus Young Democrats who want a campus arts center renamed.  The Emory Wheel reports President Gregory Fenves “declined to take action” on the Young Democrats of Emory’s proposal regarding the Donna and Marvin Schwartz Center for Performing Arts, stating the “generous benefactors” are “devoted” to the university.  The Young Democrats, supported by resolutions from the College Council and Student Government Association, want the center’s name changed because Mr. Schwartz sponsored an event featuring conservative commentator and author Heather Mac Donald over a year ago.  The Wheel notes Mac Donald “ignited campus-wide dissent” with claims about campus rape and minority students asserting victimhood without reason. Fenves said that while Mac Donald “angered and alienated many,” her appearance was “consistent with Emory policy and [its] commitment to the free expression of ideas.”  Young Democrats of Emory President Alex Chanen said his group would not drop the effort to rename the center, saying “We plan to continue to hold the Emory administration accountable to help create a more equitable community.”  I wish someone would explain to these "students" that they are guests of the university, and should behave accordingly.  I'm glad Emory stood up to the craziness.  It happens too rarely.

SO THIS IS HOW IT'S DONE – FROM FOX:   Civil rights leader and MSNBC host Al Sharpton threatened to accuse Sens. Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona of "supporting racism" over their approval of the Senate filibuster.  "The pressure that we are going to put on Sinema and Manchin is calling [the filibuster] racist and saying that they are, in effect, supporting racism," Sharpton told Politico. "Why would they be wedded to something that has those results? Their voters need to know that."  Sharpton is part of a larger push from the left to eliminate the filibuster in order to pass Democrats' election and voting rights legislation known as S.1.  Manchin said earlier in March that he would "never" stop supporting the filibuster. Sinema has said that she is not open to "changing her mind."  Their views on the filibuster are important because the Senate is evenly split 50-50, with the deciding vote going to Vice President Harris. In most legislation, there is a 60-vote threshold to advance to President Biden’s desk.  Pretty disgraceful.  Just accuse someone of racism, whether true or not.  Just destroy and destroy.  There used to be a word for this.  It's called McCarthyism, but affects vastly more people.

March 25, 2021       Permalink

THE PRESIDENT SPEAKS, WELL, SORT OF – AT 10:30 P.M. ET:  Today the president held his first formal press conference since taking office.  It wasn't as big a hit as "South Pacific."  In fact, linguists all over the world are trying to figure out exactly what he said and why he said it. 

The image Mr. Biden presented was that of a man only semi-present, briefed by his staff, and equipped with notes to which he frequently referred.  He also had before him a sheet with reporters' names and their photos.  He would not call on a single opposition reporter during the conference.  Compare please with President Trump, who loved the give and take.  From From Fox: 

President Biden referenced "cheat sheets" detailing key policy points and the identities of attending journalists when he conducted the first formal press conference of his presidency on Thursday.

Photos taken at the event showed Biden holding a card labeled "infrastructure," with key statistics and talking points. One bullet point noted that "China spends 3 times more on infrastructure than U.S."

In another photo, Biden was seen consulting a sheet that appeared to show the pictures and news outlets of journalists who attended his press conference. Some of the pictured reporters had a circled number next to their images.

Just 25 reporters were permitted to attend the press conference. Biden took a limited number of questions from a list of pre-selected reporters before leaving the podium. Fox News’s Peter Doocy was not among the reporters who were selected to ask a question.

Biden answered questions related to the ongoing crisis at the southern border, his view on calls to end the filibuster, and an array of other topics. The president said he intends to run for reelection in 2024.

Critics of the Biden administration have called on administration officials to make Biden available to the press on a regular basis. White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki holds daily briefings.

The use of note cards is not unprecedented at press conferences. In November 2019, Trump held a notebook with handwritten prompts during a press conference on testimony delivered at his first impeachment hearing.

Biden made no attempt during the press conference to extend a hand of bipartisanship to the Republicans or show any interest in real compromise, even in areas often handled on a bipartisan basis in the past.  From Ari Fleischer at Fox: 

President Biden has detached himself from his highly touted inaugural promise to promote national "unity" and furthermore made stunning comments in defending the administration's purported transparency when it comes to access to federal border facilities -- some of which are exponentially above capacity, according to former White House Press Secretary Ari Fleischer.

Fleischer, who served in the George W. Bush White House, told "The Story" following Thursday's press conference that Biden conducted one of the most "partisan news conferences" in history and egregiously dismissed his own promise of fomenting unity.

"This was Joe Biden saying that all the problems are the Republican problems. As somebody whose whole soul's for unity, who says the issue is that Republicans are posturing?"

Fleischer also called out Biden for his comments when asked about the lack of proper media access to federal holding facilities on the southern border, where an immigration crisis is rapidly growing.

"I will commit when my plan very shortly is underway to let you have access to not just them," Biden said. "I will commit to transparency."

Fleischer said he translated that to mean essentially that the media must wait until the administration tries to clean up the crisis somewhat before allowing the public proper open access via the media.

"He said 'I'm not letting you in now. I'll only let you in when my plans go into place' -- That is like a co-conspirator saying when the police knock on their door 'oh sure, I'll let you in but let me hide the evidence'," he said.

COMMENT:  We don't know when the next "real" press conference will be held, or who will be permitted to ask questions.  Or whether Biden will show up or send Ed McMahon.

March 25,  2021     Permalink