KAROL MARKOWICZ: Democrats declare needless emergencies — on COVID and maybe climate change — to grab power.-

Gov. Kathy Hochul has been extending her “emergency” powers monthly since she declared a state of emergency in November in response to the Omicron variant. (That was after declaring a “statewide disaster emergency due to health-care staffing shortages” in September.)

The governor’s office downplays her extensions by saying they give “the state the flexibility to troubleshoot hospital capacity issues.”

But that’s not all. As Albany’s Times Union reported last week, “The order suspended competitive bidding for certain contracts as well as the normal contract review and approval process conducted by [Comptroller Tom] DiNapoli’s office, which oversees state government spending.”

This is a big deal. The state spends our money recklessly at the best of times — but with this “emergency” in place, it doesn’t have to answer to us or even pretend to give expensive contracts to anyone but friends.

The family of Charlie Tebele, owner of Digital Gadgets LLC, has donated almost $300,000 to Hochul’s gubernatorial campaign. By great coincidence, surely, the state has paid Digital Gadgets $637 million for at-home COVID-19 test kits. No bidding, no problem. It’s an emergency, you see.

Read the whole thing.

RE-FUND THE POLICE: Minneapolis’ New Crowdfunding Craze: Police. “$2,640 annually is a lot of money for most household budgets, and those extra patrol hours won’t be kind to a police force already stretched thin.”

AHEAD OF THE CURVE! Biden administration announces new pandemic response division.

FROM PRO-CHOICE TO PRO-ABORTION TO ANTI-BIRTH: In Show Of Pro-Abortion Brutality, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer Just Slashed Care For Pregnant Women From Michigan’s Budget.

RIP: David Warner, Stalwart British Actor in ‘The Omen,’ ‘Tron,’ ‘Titanic,’ Dead at 80.

STRAIGHT TEACHERS SHOULDN’T BE DOING THAT: Kamala Harris Goes Full Groomer, Wants LGBT Teachers to ‘Love Openly’ in Their Classrooms.

WHEN THEY DON’T TELL US THINGS, IT’S BECAUSE THEY’RE AFRAID OF WHAT WOULD HAPPEN IF WE KNEW: SCOTUS and media silence: Whatever happened to the leak probe?

DEAL OF THE DAY: Greenworks 40V 13″ Cordless String Trimmer. #CommissionEarned

FLASHBACK: Why We Still Don’t Have Flying Cars.

EVERYTHING IS GOING SWIMMINGLY: “Americans deserve to know and see that they have a vice president who is trusted by White House and administration officials to take over, should anything happen to the president. Instead, we have mostly seen the opposite.”

Related: The ‘cabal’ that bragged of foisting Joe Biden on us must answer for his failed presidency.

Also: Biden’s Collapse Exposes Rot in the Establishment: The problem isn’t really Joe Biden. It’s that the supposed “adults in the room” who surround him are children with no self-awareness and a violent allergy to accountability.

Plus:

I don’t expect to see Harris’s stature improve, and I can’t picture her doing well as a candidate for President in 2024, so it’s just as well that Biden keeps saying he’s running for a second term.

And I really wish Trump haters would move away from characterizing his criticisms of the 2020 election as “lies” and attempting to intimidate anyone who wants better election security — calling them a threat to “the legitimacy of American democracy.” Put you efforts into improving the accuracy of our elections, not denouncing the people who are telling you that they’re worried about the legitimacy of American democracy.

Yes.

UPDATE: More Kamala: Pregnancies are a crisis in America, you know.

WELL, THAT’S WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOUR GOVERNMENT IS CORRUPT AND RIGGED: Shocking poll: Majority believe government is “corrupt and rigged.” “It’s understandable for members of the party that is out of power to have a more sour view of the government, but that’s not really what we’re seeing here. . . . You may find yourself thinking something along the lines of, ‘Good. It’s not just me.’ Or possibly the notion that it’s a relief that other people have their eyes open and can see what’s been going on. I’ll confess that those thoughts flitted through my mind when I first read the results. But I would like to assure you after further consideration that this is not good news for anyone. . . . While I understand that Tucker Carlson can be a controversial figure at times, he’s been sounding warnings about this precise situation for months now. There is a limit to how much people will be willing or able to tolerate.”

I’ve been sounding warnings for years.

K-12 IMPLOSION UPDATE: Midwest teachers leaving the classroom over student behavior, left-wing politics. There’s not much of an argument for public education anymore.

SKYNET SMILES: Chess-playing robot grabs child opponent’s finger and breaks it.

HMM: Why Has Cooperstown Shut Out Curt Schilling?

COMMUNIST FRONT CORPORATION: Feds’ case against Huawei in cell networks tracked ‘unprofitable’ deals near US military bases. “An FBI investigation into Huawei reveals the Chinese telecom company had a pattern of installing equipment on cell towers near military bases in rural America — even if it wasn’t profitable to do so, according to a report from CNN. The unearthed investigation sheds some light on the US government’s motive behind the stalled ‘rip and replace’ program that pushes for the removal of Huawei’s tech throughout the country.”

HIGHER EDUCATION BUBBLE UPDATE: Florida invests $430K to expand diesel mechanic program. “The idea that every student needs a university degree to be successful is mistaken.”

Yep, but this is chump change, about the pay of one Vice Chancellor for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion.

BOTTOM STORY OF THE DAY: Move Over, Monkeypox: ‘Islamophobia’ Breaks Out in Southern Indiana.

FLASHBACK: Why Men Are Avoiding College. “If women were fleeing the nation’s universities and colleges, we would have a national uproar, but men are now fleeing in large numbers and society barely notices.”

ANALYSIS: TRUE. Democrats always know corporate media will help them.

GOOD: Biden’s symptoms ‘continue to improve significantly,’ says White House physician.

If a 79-year-old man in apparent decline health can recover so quickly while suffering so little, then it’s time for even the worst panic-mongers to admit the emergency is over.

KRUISER’S MORNING BRIEFING: The COVID Vax Nazis Always Knew They Were Wrong. “Saying that the government “overplayed” the messaging redefines understatement. We were told in no uncertain terms that the vaccines were going to stop COVID quicker than a Kamala Harris cackle can make any situation awkward.”

EVERYTHING IS GOING SWIMMINGLY: Black CNN Commentator Admits Life Is ‘Worse’ for Black Americans Under Biden: ‘The Pain Is More Intense.’

DEAL OF THE DAY: ENERGIZER LED Headlamp. #CommissionEarned

TO BE FAIR, EVERYTHING WORTHWHILE COUNTS AS WHITE SUPREMACY NOW: Yale Medical Professor Blasts Biden for Working While Sick With COVID — It’s White Supremacy. “POTUS working while having COVID infection epitomizes white supremacy urgency in the workplace.”

SHOT: How Did Democrats Become So Out of Touch With the American People? -Josh Hammer

Chaser: How in God’s name are the Democrats still losing — even after Jan. 6 hearings and Roe? –Salon

Well, if you want to lose touch with the American people, reading Salon is as good a place to start as any.