A new President is in office, and the dutiful media are singing a new tune.
January 28, 2021
ITEM #1: We hope you’ve been able to take some time to rest and relax these past few weeks, and perhaps take a brief mental hiatus from the world of politics, just as we have taken a break from our regular schedule of content.
Now, it’s time to get back to work, fighting for conservative ideals and exposing and combatting the left’s attempts to undermine the principles that have long made our country and our state so exceptional.
And we hope you’re feeling refreshed, because there’s an awful lot to get to.
President Joe Biden was sworn in on Jan. 20, and while there wasn’t much all that memorable about his inaugural address, it’s fair to say that one word emerged as the unmistakable theme.
Unity.
“With unity we can do great things,” Biden informed us, adding later that, “For without unity, there is no peace, only bitterness and fury.”
While it’s not uncommon for incoming Presidents to try to strike a unifying tone, we couldn’t help but notice the fawning coverage Biden’s address drew from our nation’s ostensibly impartial news media.
CNN's Abby Phillip captured the prevailing sentiment among the press, saying, "It was not a partisan speech. It was an invitation, not just to reach across the aisle, but to get back on track. It was an invitation to decency, to civility. It was about the core foundation of democracy and not so much about politics."
Over at CBS, Margaret Brennan added: "I think particularly for all of us as journalists, it was resonant to hear the president say, this is about defending the truth and defeating the lies."
“For all of us as journalists.” You know, the folks who are supposed to hold our elected leaders accountable, not simply heap praise on their every word and move.
Back when Donald Trump was President, the press seemed to have no problem drawing that distinction. Trump himself had issued a call for unity in his own inaugural speech, declaring, “When America is united, America is totally unstoppable.”
The response from the press was … different.
Instead of praise, he drew their ire. There was no “honeymoon” period the likes of which is usually afforded a new commander-in-chief. Instead, we got the immediate emergence of “the resistance” and a barrage of editorials warning that under Trump, America now stood at the precipice of fascism, ready to go over the edge at any moment.
From elected Democrats, we got endless investigations into the phony Russia-collusion hoax, a baseless and hyper-partisan impeachment, and a refusal ever to accept Trump’s election as legitimate, including from his vanquished opponent, Hillary Clinton. (Gee, where were the media’s concerns over the sanctity of our elections then?)
But now, with Joe Biden in office, Democrats and the press would have us all believe that a calm has swept over the nation, and we can at last attain that heretofore elusive goal: Unity.
Never mind that Joe Biden hardly fits the mold of a unifying figure. He’s a far-left idealogue who is already pursuing a radical agenda (about which more below). He’s known for serially plagiarizing speeches, lying about his wife and daughter being killed by a drunk driver, and verbally assaulting voters on the campaign trail.
As President, he has already given us this gem, as reported by the Wall Street Journal’s Kimberley Strassel:
“The ‘unity’ lasted all of a couple of minutes. Then, hours after President Biden pledged in his inaugural address to show ‘tolerance and humility,’ the brass knuckles came out.
“One duster was aimed at Peter Robb, general counsel of the National Labor Relations Board. Within minutes of Mr. Biden’s swearing-in, and as the new president told the nation it needed to ‘be better,’ the new White House delivered Mr. Robb an ultimatum: resign by 5 p.m., or be fired.
“The general-counsel position is a Senate-confirmed four-year appointment at an independent agency; Mr. Robb had 10 months left in his term. No NLRB general counsel had ever been fired, and the Biden White House provided no cause for the action. Mr. Robb pointed all this out in a return letter and respectfully declined to step down. So Mr. Biden (‘we must end this uncivil war’) canned him.”
Unity, indeed.
Keen observers of the left will know exactly what is going on with all this “unity” talk. When they say “unity,” the word they mean is “obedience.”
They mean get in line and support our agenda … or pay the price.
Like we said: Get ready, folks. There’s work to do.
ITEM #2: So … about that Biden agenda.
We’re barely a week in, and already we’ve been treated to the following “highlights” …
- He revoked the permit for the Keystone XL oil pipeline via executive order, prompting Mark McManus, General President of the United Association of Union Plumbers & Pipefitters, to remark, correctly, that, "In revoking this permit, the Biden Administration has chosen to listen to the voices of fringe activists instead of union members and the American consumer."
- He launched a war on fossil fuels, announcing a 60-day freeze on new leases on federal lands and bureaucratic permitting, which the Wall Street Journal notes "could soon become a long-term ban."
- He signed an executive order halting the deportation of some illegal immigrants — a move that quickly drew a rebuke from a federal judge because it violated an agreement between the Department of Homeland Security and the State of Texas that required the state’s approval to stop deportations.
- And, in an insane sop to the radical transgender movement, he signed yet another executive order that will all but spell the end of girls’ sports by forcing any school that receives federal funding to allow biological males to compete with females.
- All in all, Biden has already signed more than 30 executive orders and actions as President — this after saying at a town hall just this past October that you can’t govern by executive order “unless you’re a dictator.”
Hey, remember when the press repeatedly assured us during campaign season that Biden was a harmless moderate?
So much for all that.
ITEM #3: Well, this is awkward:
“President Biden faced criticism for removing his face mask while visiting the Lincoln Memorial on Wednesday night hours after signing an executive order requiring masks on federal property to prevent the spread of coronavirus,” reports Fox News’ Evie Fordham.
Do as Dems say, not as Dems do.
ITEM #4: And this one may be even more awkward … and outrageous.
Via Politico:
“Thousands of National Guardsmen were allowed back into the Capitol Thursday night, hours after U.S. Capitol Police officials ordered them to vacate the facilities, sending them outdoors or to nearby parking garages after two weeks pulling security duty after the deadly riot on Jan. 6.
“One unit, which had been resting in the Dirksen Senate Office building, was abruptly told to vacate the facility on Thursday, according to one Guardsman. The group was forced to rest in a nearby parking garage without internet reception, with just one electrical outlet, and one bathroom with two stalls for 5,000 troops, the person said. Temperatures in Washington were in the low 40s by nightfall.
“‘Yesterday dozens of senators and congressmen walked down our lines taking photos, shaking our hands and thanking us for our service. Within 24 hours, they had no further use for us and banished us to the corner of a parking garage. We feel incredibly betrayed,’ the Guardsman said.”
Apparently some of our elected “leaders” believe our brave men and women in the National Guard are good for little more than a photo-op. Shameful.
ITEM #5: Say, what’s the record for the most embarrassing moments in the first week of a presidency, anyway?
Breitbart reports:
“The official Twitter account of the U.S. Embassy in Israel changed its name following the inauguration of President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris from ‘U.S. Ambassador to Israel’ to ‘U.S. Ambassador to Israel, the West Bank and Gaza’ — but changed it back hours later.
“The change in title sparked an uproar on Twitter after the Washington Free Beacon first highlighted it. With speculation rife that it may indicate a shift in U.S. foreign policy under Biden, it was quietly changed back hours later. Adam Kredo, a reporter for Free Beacon who first broke the story, even speculated whether a U.S. envoy to Gaza would necessitate dialogue with leaders of the coastal enclave’s ruling Hamas a terror group.”
It's going to be a fun four years, isn’t it?
ITEM #6: For those of you wondering what the tone of presidential news coverage is likely to be during the Biden administration, we’ve been treated to a nice preview, courtesy of the Wall Street Journal’s James Freeman.
Freeman warns us:
“It’s no surprise that the American press corps is falling hard for the Biden presidency. This week’s coverage suggests that public displays of media affection are likely to continue, no matter how uncomfortable they make news consumers feel.”
He then passes along this pathetic tidbit that ought to drive journalism professors from coast to coast to resign en masse:
"[A] number of media outlets are also enjoying the Biden beat, including Sunday’s breaking news. 'A few days into the job, and President Joe Biden has already made his first restaurant visit,' noted Jessica Sidman in Washingtonian magazine. Mr. Biden actually remained in the car while his motorcade stopped for bagels at the Call Your Mother deli."
Freeman also informs us that, “Some media reports claimed that a Secret Service agent was dispatched on the bagel run but photographs of the event suggest that the President’s 50-year-old son, Hunter Biden, is able to get breakfast all by himself.”
You can read more from these latest episodes in hard-hitting journalism here.
ITEM #7: And finally, lest you think government bumbling is limited to the federal level, we’ve got the latest sorry news out of Nevada.
The newest numbers from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics shows the Silver State continuing to suffer crippling unemployment numbers — the second-worst rate in the nation, as a matter of fact.
Even more discouraging, we have the absolute worst employment situation in the entire country when factoring in discouraged and underemployed workers. That’s right, folks: Under Governor Steve Sisolak’s “leadership,” Nevada leads the nation in hopelessness.
We’ve warned repeatedly — and for almost a year now — that the Governor’s heavy-handed, confused and inconsistently enforced shutdown of economic activity in our state was going to lead to financial catastrophe and widespread suffering among our citizens.
The maddening evidence continues to mount that we were, unfortunately, right.
Then there’s the Governor’s vaccine rollout. The Las Vegas Review-Journal’s Victor Joecks informs us that:
“On Monday, Sisolak held a news conference on his updated plan for rolling out the coronavirus vaccine. Unfortunately, his playbook lacked basic logistical details.
“For instance, there is no clear timetable on when those 70 and older will be able to receive the vaccine.
“‘We are limited by certain factors out of our control, including how many doses are allocated to Nevada by the federal government,’ Sisolak said.
“That makes it sound as if Nevada doesn’t have any vaccines available. But the state has more than 100,000 shots sitting in freezers. The state has distributed 61,600 vaccines as of Sunday. It has received 170,400. That means Nevada has only given out a bit more than one-third of the vaccines it already has. That’s one of the lowest vaccine distribution rates in the country, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
“Nevadans, especially older ones, are desperate to find out when the vaccine will be available. Sisolak doesn’t need to advertise or persuade them to take it. He just needs to tell them when and where.”
Where’s the accountability?
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