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.

MAY 15,  2021

SHORT TAKES ON THE DRIFTING WRECKAGE – OVERNIGHT:

AN OVERDUE CORRECTION – FROM FOX:   The FBI has reclassified the 2017 congressional baseball shooter and would-be assassin as a "domestic violent extremist," ditching the much-maligned "suicide-by-cop" theory that those on the field had condemned as unrealistic.  It came after survivors raised pressure last month after Rep. Brad Wenstrup, R-Ohio, made the original designation last month during a hearing with FBI Director Christopher Wray.  "Our intelligence and law enforcement apparatuses require accuracy, precision, and justice. I’m encouraged that the FBI has updated its classification of that nearly catastrophic event to reflect the actual motives of the assailant, and I commend Director Wray for his oversight of that correction," Wenstrup said Saturday. "I will continue to work with the Bureau toward investigating what led to the original 'suicide by cop' determination."  The gunman, James Hodgkinson, fired well over 100 rounds at the congressmen, their aides and others present on the ballfield on June 14, 2017, after asking whether Republicans or Democrats were practicing there.  House Republican Whip Rep. Steve Scalise, of Louisiana, was severely injured in the shooting and nearly died. So was Matt Mika, a Tyson Foods lobbyist and also a coach for the GOP team.  Freely translated, the FBI's original designation was politicized, and the new designation is not.  The FBI must work hard to restore its reputation after years of misuse of the Bureau by the liberal swarms.

I FEAR IT'S TRUE – FROM FOX:   Police should brace for a potentially more violent summer than last year as crime trends show the bloodshed in some parts of the country, such as New York City, picked up earlier than is typically expected, analysts and experts tell Fox News.  "It's not getting any better," Joseph Giacalone, an adjunct professor with the John Jay College of Criminal Justice, told Fox News. "Let's put it this way: New York City is already ahead of last year's pace, but last year, the homicides and shootings really started spiking at the end of May and into June. So that will be the real tale of the tape, so to speak, to see what's happening over there."  Giacalone said the rise in crime "seems to be centered around the urban environments and the cities."  "So, if you look at New York, Chicago, St. Louis, Baltimore, you name the big cities and they're having huge problems," Giacalone added.  And the anti-police attitude that appears often in the Biden administration doesn't help matters.

May 15, 2021       Permalink

SUCH AN ACHIEVEMENT - OVERNIGHT:  It must feel great to be a member of Congress and achieve high honor.  From Fox: 

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., also known as AOC, has been ranked the most partisan Democrat of the House of Representatives, according to a new study.

The Squad member ranked No. 427 out of 437 lawmakers analyzed, according to the Bipartisan Index of the 116th Congress (2019-2020) from The Lugar Center in collaboration with Georgetown University.

Other members of the group of progressive congresswomen also ranked low: Democratic Reps. Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts ranked at No. 426, Ilhan Omar of Minnesota ranked at No. 424 and Rashida Tlaib ranked at No. 414, the study found.

Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., who helped lead impeachment efforts against former President Donald Trump, ranked at No. 423.

Republican Reps. Gary Palmer of Alabama, Rick Allen of Georgia, Jim Jordan of Ohio, Steve Scalise of Louisiana, Mike Johnson of Louisiana, Mo Brooks of Alabama, Larry Bucshon of Indiana, John Rose of Tennessee, Michael Cloud of Texas and Tom McClintock of California all ranked in the bottom 10 overall.

The rankings are nonpartisan and are based on how often members of Congress work across the political aisle.

Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick, R-Penn., ranked No. 1 overall; John Katko, R-N.Y., ranked at No. 2 and Josh Gottheimer, D-N.J., ranked at No. 3, according to the study.

COMMENT:    Recently AOC was ranked as one of the least effective members of Congress.  She's got a big mouth and a small record.  Unfortunately she's in a safe Democratic district, so she probably has a lifetime job.  Same for other members of the Squad.

May 15, 2021       Permalink

MAY 14,  2021

SHORT TAKES ON THE DRIFTING WRECKAGE – OVERNIGHT: 

THE DISGRACE – FROM FOX:   Missouri Democratic Rep. Cori Bush praised the Black Lives Matter activist who advocated "death" for police officers in 2014 and tweeted the BLM chant "pigs in a blanket fry 'em like bacon."  Bush, a newly minted member of the "squad," compared the ongoing conflict in Israel and Gaza with the Black Lives Matter movement during a speech on the House floor Thursday, reflecting on the life of Bassem Masri, who died in 2018.  Bush described Masri as a "St. Louis Palestinian," noting how he garnered national attention for live streaming heated exchanges between himself and Ferguson police officers following the 2014 shooting of Michael Brown Jr.  Masri was among those arrested on a variety of charges following demonstrations outside the Ferguson Police Department in November 2014. Just one month later, Masri tweeted what became a popular BLM chant: "Pigs in a blanket, fry 'em like bacon." Real class, real class.  Cori Bush is emerging as perhaps the most extreme member of the already-extreme "squad."   She's a disgrace to Congress, and I can't see how any thoughtful African-American could tolerate her. 

IT'S ABOUT TIME! – FROM LEGAL INSURRECTION:   The Pennsylvania State University’s faculty senate passed “inclusive language” reform legislation.  As Penn State News detailed, the Senate Committee on Curricular Affairs passed a resolution for the “Removal of Gendered & Binary Terms from Course and Program Descriptions.”  “The University, as with most all academic institutions world-wide, has grown out of a typically male-centered world,” reads the resolution’s introduction. “As such, many terms in our lexicon carry a strong, male-centric, binary character to them.”  The resolution asserts that “terms such as ‘freshmen’ are decidedly male-specific, while terms such as ‘upperclassmen’ can be interpreted as both sexist and classist.” Terms such as “junior” and “senior” are supposedly “parallel to western male father-son naming conventions, and much of our written documentation uses he/she pronouns.”  The resolution recommends that the university make “editorial updates to our course and program descriptions, which appear in the course catalog and bulletin, to remove gendered terms.”  Boy, or, er, person, am I glad this problem is being solved.  What a difference it will make to elevating our society, and even improving the climate.  Now if only they could get rid of "bride" and "groom."

May 14, 2021       Permalink

ELISE RISES – AT 6:10 P.M. ET:  Despite some last-minute competition, Elise Stefanik of Nw York has now been elected to the number three position in the House Republican leadership, replacing LIz Cheney.  From Fox: 

The House Republican Conference on Friday morning voted to elect Rep. Elise Stefanik as its chairwoman, sealing the New York lawmaker's ascent two days after the group ousted Rep. Liz Cheney amid strong tension over the party's future.

Stefanik said she's "truly honored and humbled" to earn the support of her Republican colleagues, and vowed to "save our country" from the "radical Democrat Socialist agenda," Fox News is told.

"I'm truly honored and humbled to earn your support to serve as our Republican Conference Chair," Stefanik went on to say. "I know we are all here to serve the people, the voters who place their trust and faith in us. You have put yours in me to serve this Conference and I will never lose sight of that. I will always work my very hardest to earn your trust every day."

She added: "This will not be an easy job, but I know we are stronger when united as a team."
Stefanik said she has spent the last several weeks speaking to Republican lawmakers, listening to their "feedback, goals and priorities."

"Members of our conference have a simple and unifying goal - winning back the majority in 2022 to save our country from the radical Democrat Socialist agenda under Speaker Pelosi and President Biden," Stefanik said.

"At my home in Upstate New York, my husband and I live just a few miles from the Saratoga National Battlefield where 244 years ago, the founding of the Great American Experiment was in grave danger, hanging on by a thread as the prospects looked grim for those early patriots seeking to found a new country based on the ideals of liberty, freedom, and a limited government of the people, for the people, by the people," she continued. "Great Britain looked to finish off the war once and for all. But the American patriots were disciplined and steadfast in carrying out their mission. They were comprised of brave patriots from across the colonies, each one bringing a different skill set and attribute to the larger team."

"The world watched closely as the Americans defied expectations and won - that victory at Saratoga for the Americans turned the tide of the Revolutionary War, and the rest is history," Stefanik declared. "How blessed we all are to live in the greatest Nation in the world - the United States of America. And how humbled we are that we have the opportunity to save our great Nation to make it better for all the American people."

Stefanik’s appointment as House Republican Conference chair came just days after House Republicans voted to remove Cheney, R-Wyo., from leadership.

COMMENT:  She is gutsy, thinks strategically, and will be a major asset to the team.   As I've said here before, it is very sad that Liz Cheney had to be removed.  She has the right ideas, but her intense dislike of Donald Trump blinded her to her first responsibility as a leader – being part of a team focused on victory.

The 2022 campaign begins in September, only four months from now.

May 14, 2021       Permalink