Archive for 2022

January 21, 2022

ANNALS OF LEFTIST AUTOPHAGY: Infighting: Joe Biden’s Chief of Staff Ron Klain Accused of Hidin’ Biden.

As Biden’s Chief of Staff, Klain is the nucleus of office politics, which are said to be rife with “grumbling” “personal score-settling and constraints… on Biden’s ability to reach out,” though top White House officials denied the report.

When Biden was asked at Wednesday’s press conference about what his 2022 reset would entail, Biden blamed coronavirus and not Klain for his detachment from his pragmatic way of “connecting with people.”

“I find myself in a situation where I don’t get a chance to look people in the eye because of both Covid and things that are happening in Washington, to be able to go out and do the things that I’ve always been able to do pretty well — connect with people,” Biden claimed.

Biden’s decision to escape the White House and speak with Americans is reportedly not in line with Klain’s priorities.

Biden’s confidants told NBC News that “Klain knows Biden ‘can be influenced by his old friends,’ and that ‘frankly, he should be, because there’s a lot of experience there.’”

The report also accused Klain of giving “outsize credence to cable news and social media” and supported the claim with evidence of incessant tweeting and retweeting to pacify the media.

Flashback: Journo Twitter runs the Biden administration.

Posted at 4:45 pm by Ed Driscoll on Jan 21st, 2022

THINK OF THEM AS DEMOCRATIC OPERATIVES WITH BYLINES AND YOU WON’T GO FAR WRONG: The Washington Post Invents a Vaccine Claim Ron DeSantis Didn’t Make.

Nowhere in this quote does DeSantis suggest that getting the COVID-19 vaccine can affect fertility.

The speech, which was given at an event where DeSantis announced $2.3 million for nursing and vocational programs, focused on the critical medical worker shortage seen not just in Florida but around the country. The Post, as well as MSNBC and other outlets, are cutting off a key sentence from the DeSantis quote. A local outlet in Florida gives you the context you need. . . .

In one sentence, it’s clear that DeSantis is talking about how vaccine mandates will only make a shortage of nurses worse. Young nurses who are wanting to get married and start families are getting let go because they aren’t getting vaccinated. It’s a controversial policy because on one hand, potentially spreading the virus from staff to patients is a medical and legal nightmare, but on the other hand, you’re looking at a shortage of nurses because of the virus and other circumstances already and letting more go only hurts the quality of care you can give.

DeSantis is looking at the mathematical equation here and deciding that it’s silly to look at a health care worker shortage and think “We need more barriers to work,” which is not an unreasonable conclusion to draw.

But the media looks at the DeSantis quote, cuts off a sentence, and declares he is spreading some conspiracy theory because he’s a successful Republican governor and he’s speculated to be a frontrunner in 2024. He has dismissed the media on multiple occasions as the hacks they are, and they don’t like being undermined.

At this point, I no longer assume that they’re biased or sloppy. I assume that they deliberately make things up for partisan reasons.

Posted at 4:24 pm by Glenn Reynolds on Jan 21st, 2022

TEXAS JUDGE BLOCKS BIDEN’S FEDERAL WORKER VACCINE MANDATE. CBS News is quick to get both T-words in there; Trump and Texas:  “A U.S. judge in Texas issued a nationwide injunction on Friday barring the federal government from enforcing President Joe Biden’s requirement that federal workers without qualifying medical or religious exemptions be vaccinated for COVID-19. Judge Jeffrey Brown, who was appointed to the District Court for the Southern District of Texas by then-President Donald Trump, ruled that opponents of Mr. Biden’s vaccination mandate for federal employees were likely to succeed at trial and blocked the government from enforcing the requirement.”

Somehow I don’t think they lost much sleep over the legendary “Hawaiian Judges” blocking The Bad Orange Man’s agenda.

UPDATE: Ace of Spades writes, “your employer does not have the right of Medical Prima Nochtae over you, which leftwing professors would grasp if a conservative president mandated, say, that all female government workers not get abortions or whatever. And the president’s power to order about the bureaucracy is limited by the powers actually given to him by Congress. And Congress has not given him this power…I saw a commentator, I forget who, maybe Brit Hume, note that Presidents and their attorneys are usually mindful not just about the personal price of losing on their claims of presidential power, but about the historic price of losing on claims of presidential power for all future presidents. And so that most presidents do not roll the dice and say ‘YOLO’ on very dubious, weak claims of power, knowing that in all likelihood the courts will say ‘No’ and put up a firm limit on presidential power. Brandon doesn’t roll that way, obviously. His presidency is not just disastrous for the nation’s current citizenry, but for all future occupants of the White House. This small, nasty, weak little man is enfeebling the office of the presidency for all future presidents out of pique and senility-caused anger.”

 

Posted at 4:14 pm by Ed Driscoll on Jan 21st, 2022

PRESSURE WORKS: UND stops work on proposed gender inclusion policy. “UND has stopped work on a proposed gender inclusion policy that caught the attention of the North Dakota Catholic Conference and sparked a community conversation. . . . Armacost ultimately made his decision after hearing feedback on the policy from various groups both on campus and off. He then informed members of the State Board of Higher Education, legislators and alumni of his decision to cease work on the policy.”

Posted at 2:52 pm by Glenn Reynolds on Jan 21st, 2022