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.

JANUARY 22,  2022

SHORT TAKES ON THE DRIFTING WRECKAGE – OVERNIGHT:

ABOUT TIME SOMEONE SAID THIS – OVERNIGHT:  Senator John Kennedy of Louisiana, a Republican, is a congressional treasure.  When he speaks, he makes his point quickly and clearly.  He's just said something that's needed to be said in this country for a long time.  From bizpacreview: U.S. Sen. John Kennedy (R-LA) blasted President Biden’s racial demagoguery on “The Faulkner Focus” Friday while voicing “disgust” with Rep. Hank Johnson (D-GA) who called the Senate “racist” for not passing the left’s voting rights legislation that would have federalized elections.  Kennedy proclaimed that the hateful rhetoric from Democrats calling Republicans racists needs to stop. He stated that “the American people are getting pretty tired of being called” racist.  “The Democratic congressman, he takes his cues from his leader, President Biden. I don’t hate anybody. I look for grace wherever I can find it. I have spent time with him. President Biden is a nice guy. He is. Is President Biden a perfect person? No. Does he try to do better every day? Also no. Therein lies the problem. He keeps trying to stuff more diapers down the toilet,” Kennedy colorfully asserted.  “He goes down to Georgia two weeks ago and demonstrated raw gut racial demagoguery. And that’s what the congressman is just parroting. … President Biden basically said to tens of millions of Americans who don’t want to have an election month — they want to have an Election Day — who believe that if you vote, you ought to have to prove you are who you say you are. He basically told all the tens of millions of Americans who believe that that they are Bull Connor, George Wallace racists,” he told host host Harris Faulkner.  Exactly right, but I doubt there'll be change.  The Democratic Party is stuck in the 1960s.  Everything is race, gender, and ethnicity.  They are an obsolete entity, and I wish they'd just disappear and allow others to form a new center-left party.

THE END OF CIVILIZATION AS WE KNOW IT – FROM THE WASHINGTON TIMES:   The cartoon mascots that sell M&M’s in television commercials will now dress and act in more gender-neutral ways, the 80-year-old candymaker announced Thursday.  Jane Hwang, global vice president for M&Ms at parent company Mars, told AdWeek that it’s time to minimize traditional gender stereotypes in marketing campaigns for the chocolate candies that feature the characters.  “We took a deep look at our characters, both inside and out, and have evolved their looks, personalities and backstories to be more representative of the dynamic and progressive world we live in,” Ms. Hwang said.  To support the change, the female M&M’s characters will dress more comfortably: Green will wear sneakers rather than knee-high boots and act more confidently, and Brown will wear plainer eyeglasses and more sensible low-block heels instead of stilettos.  Ms. Hwang said Green and Brown will team up as a “force supporting women, together throwing shine and not shade.”  Is nothing sacred?  Even M&M's has now caved.  But remember, Ilsa, we'll always have Milky Way.

January 22, 2022       Permalink

GETTING MORE SERIOUS – OVERNIGHT:  The US/Russia confrontation over Ukraine is getting more serious.  Although the issue hasn't caught fire with the American people, it is bound to attract more attention as the possibility of American action grows larger.  From Fox: 

President Biden met with his national security team Saturday amid reports that Russia was planning to install a pro-Kremlin leader in Ukraine.

One U.S. official told Fox News the reports were "deeply concerning."

Late Saturday, the White House posted a photo on social media, showing Biden and advisers at Camp David, Maryland, where they gathered to discuss "continued Russian aggressive actions toward Ukraine."

The president "affirmed that if Russia further invades Ukraine, the United States will impose swift and severe consequences on Russia with our Allies and partners," the White House post said.

Earlier Saturday, the U.K.'s Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office disclosed it had information suggesting the Russian plan was in the works.

"We have information that indicates the Russian Government is looking to install a pro-Russian leader in Kyiv as it considers whether to invade and occupy Ukraine," a spokesperson for the British agency said.

Former Ukrainian Member of Parliament Yevhen Murayev was being considered a potential candidate, the spokesperson added.

Murayev heads Nashi, a small pro-Russian political party that currently has no representation in Ukraine's parliament, The Associated Press reported.

The U.K. government said its claim was based on an intelligence assessment, but it provided no evidence to support it, according to the AP.

Britain has sent anti-tank weapons to Ukraine a part of efforts to help the country defend against a potential Russian attack.

A U.S. official reacted to the reports regarding Russia and Ukraine.

"This kind of plotting is deeply concerning," Emily Horne, a spokeswoman for the White House National Security Council, told Fox News.

COMMENT:  It's time for the president to deliver an address to the nation about Ukraine, and the stakes for the United States.  Polls show that Americans are skeptical about our getting involved.  This is when presidents show what they're made of...uh, maybe we'd better not try to find out.

January 22, 2022       Permalink

JANUARY 21,  2022

SHORT TAKES ON THE DRIFTING WRECKAGE – OVERNIGHT:

AND THE BAD TASTE AWARD GOES TO...:  Do you think President Biden is trying too hard?  From Fox:  President Biden Friday put on full display admiration for "partner" Vice President Kamala Harris claiming he could not imagine having anyone else serve by his side as questions about her performance grow.  Biden's praise for Kamala came as the two of them delivered remarks at a virtual Democratic National Committee grassroots event on Friday.  "Hi, Kamala. I love you," Biden said as he opened his remarks. "You always have my back. You’re really amazing. You’re the best partner I could imagine."  "I do," Harris responded.  The exchange was highlighted by the DNC on social media, with the account writing, "What a team." Biden's cheerful confidence in Harris comes just days after he suggested he will run for reelection in 2024 and that Harris would, once again, serve as his running mate.  "She's going to be my running mate," Biden told reporters on Wednesday when he was asked if he could commit to Harris being his 2024 running mate. "I think she's doing a good job."  How gross!  I mean, that is tackier than Bill and Hillary, which is a high standard for tackiness.  I guess some adviser told Joe that he had to show more warmth toward Kammie.  The nation must be so moved.

January 21, 2022       Permalink

CALIFORNIA IN CONFLICT – OVERNIGHT:  The very blue state of California is starting to show some ideological cracks, as residents finally notice that the ideologically left mentality that has run the state is producing one disaster after the other.  Even beaches and sunshine can't cure the damage.  From Fox: 

Sacramento County District attorney Anne Marie Schubert blames the rise in violent crime on liberal DA's allowing criminals to stay on the streets.

Sacramento County District Attorney Anne Marie Schubert said on "Fox & Friends" Friday that the soft-on-crime approach by liberal prosecutors in the state is resulting in more crime, including homicides. Schubert responded to the recent murder of Brianna Kupfer, a 24-year-old UCLA graduate student, calling out district attorneys like George Gascon in Los Angeles and Chesa Boudin in San Francisco.

ANNE MARIE SCHUBERT: "Well, they want to dismantle the system. I mean, when they try to talk tough, it's really just a show because when you actually follow them through with those cases, what we're seeing is that they're really not being tough on crime, they're not holding people accountable. So for instance, in Los Angeles, you've got a district attorney who acts like he wants to hold people accountable, yet he won't file things like special circumstances. He thinks people should get out of prison after 15 years, no matter what they've done. You've got murderers in prison that are toasting Gascon, celebrating that they're going to get out of prison early. So these are the types of things that these policies, these prosecutors are doing. We are emboldening criminals to really commit even more crime."

COMMENT:  You don't hear much talk like that in California politics, and certainly not among most members of the California congressional delegation.  The state where Ronald Reagan served as governor has swung pretty close to being a socialist paradise, and there is more socialism to come if the local leftists continue to stay on the march.

But there have been stirrings from the once-powerful Republican Party of California.  They may even know there's an election coming up.  The party was completely unprepared for the recent attempt to oust Governor Newsom from office, but polls show the residents are fed up with crime, taxes, and mediocre schools.  Maybe, just maybe, the right candidates can be found to stage some upsets.

January 21, 2022       Permalink