PARTY OF YOUTH UPDATE: The Taboo Lifts on Discussing Biden’s Age. “Almost overnight, Biden’s age, mental state, memory, and health changed from the elephant in the room to a topic that is now acceptable for Democrats and the media to discuss. Hey, how about the rest of us who noticed all of this a long time ago?”
Related: Jim Treacher: Biden Wishes They’d Build Bikes Better.
INSIDE THE END OF SILICON VALLEY’S DYNASTY:
Tesla was one of Silicon Valley’s higher-value companies — then it moved its HQ to Texas. Following the move in December 2021, the company’s new HQ is listed as a “gigafactory” near Austin. Although they maintain a presence in California, up to 50% of the company’s Palo Alto workforce is expected to follow Tesla to Texas. One of the reasons Tesla owner Elon Musk cited for the shift was the high cost of living in California, which he claims made it difficult for workers to afford homes. Musk first hinted at the move after a disagreement with Alameda County health officials in 2020 (via US News). The world’s richest man is also expected to save around $2.5 billion in capital gains tax because of the move (via Business Insider).
Musk’s electric car company wasn’t the only Silicon Valley giant to make the move and is unlikely to be the last. Bloomberg reports that Hewlett Packard made the shift after citing the difference in real estate expenses between the Golden and Lone Star states, with Oracle Corp also making the move. If other major companies also make the decision to leave Silicon Valley, it could spell disaster for the area — especially given how income and employee numbers are split. If just Google, Apple, Meta, Amazon, and Cisco left Silicon Valley would lose 20% of its employees and billions of dollars in GDP. High taxes and living costs may soon drive companies and workers away from Silicon Valley, and towards cheaper states with Texas a regular target. If it declines to nothing, there may never be another Silicon Valley, but if a second tech hub springs up it will likely be in the Lone Star State.
How’s that Welcome Wagon program coming along?
BIDEN’S BIKE CRASH ISN’T ABOUT HIM. IT’S ABOUT THE MEDIA:
“Trump’s Halting Walk Down Ramp Raises New Health Questions” shouted The New York Times headline in June 2020 after he gave a speech at West Point. The story authored by favorite Trump media foil Maggie Haberman raised questions about Trump’s own health. CNN’s Chris Cillizza wrote, “Why the Donald Trump-West Point ramp story actually matters,” citing Trump’s advanced age. “The President turned 74 on Sunday. He is the oldest person ever elected to a first term in the White House. Earlier this month, the White House released a memo on the results of Trump’s annual physical that only briefly outlined the overall picture of his health (height, weight, etc.).”
When it came to Joe Biden spilling onto the pavement in front of an adoring crowd, however, Cillizza’s only response was “Been there.” Joe Biden was at a complete stop when he fell over. Sure the culprit seems to be a stuck pedal, but maybe he had a moment of exhaustion or heat exertion. At the edge of 80, who knows?
Biden’s own campaign made a point of the president’s physical fitness, comparing him to Trump’s awkward ramp walk. The problem with going that route is exactly what we saw this weekend. Deputy Press Secretary Andrew Bates immediately took to Twitter to fend off mockery and trolls, to no avail. It was hopeless, and this very online administration should have just laughed it off. But because they themselves made Biden’s fitness an issue, it is now fair game.
And because the media decided to go full Woodward and Bernstein over Donald Trump’s own health, they are now also fair game for their unequal and biased coverage now as well, no matter how silly the entire matter may be.
At least the Washington Free Beacon reached out to get the culprit’s side of the story: Why I Busted Joe Biden’s Elderly Ass on Father’s Day Weekend. ‘This is my truth: I hate being Joe Biden’s bicycle.’
A COOL AND LOGICAL ANALYSIS OF THE BICYCLE MENACE: Trek FX 1 Disc, the First Bicycle of the United States, explains “Why I Busted Joe Biden’s Elderly Ass on Father’s Day Weekend.”
First of all, I want to thank the Washington Free Beacon for reaching out. It was the only respectable media outlet to express concern and show any interest in telling my side of the story. It is a story the American public deserves to hear.
The incident that took place on June 18, 2022 in Rehoboth Beach was no accident. I accept full responsibility for my role in deliberately causing President Joe Biden to bust his elderly ass on the pavement in front of a gawking mob. My actions, which I do not regret, were motivated by years of festering resentment and an overwhelming sense of moral outrage. I took the geezer down to send a message.
This is my truth: I hate being Joe Biden’s bicycle. I am routinely forced to provide Sleepy Joe with conveyance, exercise, and entertainment during his many vacations. In return I am subjected to hours upon hours of deranged, incomprehensible anecdotes about the Suez Crisis or the Cuyahoga River fires or the trucker strike of 1973-4. His brain is as warped and rusted as my crankset.
Pedal on over, and read the whole, err, bike.
Related: Joe Biden’s Bike Fall Checks the Final Item on the Jimmy Carter Narrative List.
(Classical reference in headline.)
GREAT NEWS FOR AMERICA, AWFUL NEWS FOR AMERICA:
They don’t pray that Biden goes back to his basement to save America from Biden’s awful presidency. They pray that Biden ends his awful presidency after one term because his lousy approval ratings are damaging their approval levels.
On the other hand, Hillary Clinton has announced she will not be running in 2024:.
Clinton used an interview with the Financial Times to rule out a strike for high public office. “No, out of the question,” she told the newspaper, pointing to Biden’s professed desire to run for reelection.
“No, out of the question,” Clinton told the outlet. “First of all, I expect Biden to run. He certainly intends to run. It would be very disruptive to challenge that.”
There you have it. Hillary announcing she won’t run for president again is great news for the future of America. Joe Biden has been an incredibly awful president, but the fact that he’s announced he will run for reelection is awful news.
As Jeff Dunetz writes, “Some people may believe another Biden run for the White House will give the advantage in the 2024 election to any Republican presidential candidate. But folks, this is politics–politics and logic are mutually exclusive terms. Those who don’t want a second Biden term should be working against it right now.”
NOT SURPRISINGLY, JACOBIN MAGAZINE IS PRO-BERLIN WALL: Why the East Germans Lost.
The Wall was ugly, menacing, and, for many citizens, no doubt heartbreaking. But the economic and geopolitical stability it ensured also gave the GDR the chance to build a society that was broadly characterized by modest prosperity and social equality between classes and genders. Workers were guaranteed employment, housing, and all-day childcare, while basic foodstuffs and other goods were heavily subsidized. Though wages were only half of what they were in the West, adjusted for prices in relation to earnings, GDR workers’ actual purchasing power was more or less the same. This fact, combined with the chronic lack of certain consumer goods, taught citizens to rely on each other and help each other out in times of need — a reality that still resonates today in polls showing that Easterners are considerably more sensitive to social inequality and the importance of solidarity.
(Emphasis mine.) Near the end of The Lives of Others, after the Berlin Wall has fallen, the fictitious former East German Culture Minister Bruno Hempf (played by Thomas Thieme) tells playwright Georg Dreyman (Sebastian Koch) that he isn’t surprised that he’s had a case of writer’s block. “What is there to write about in this new Germany? Nothing to believe in, nothing to rebel against. Life was good in our little Republic! Many people only realize that now.”
Always fascinating to discover someone who must have watched that scene and thought, “Well, he’s got a very good point there.”
BYRON YORK: The 39.9% president. “Yes, it’s entirely possible that the president’s rating will nose above 40% — it has done that before when he briefly dipped into the 30s — but Biden seems mired in a world in which about 40% or less of voters approve of the job he is doing and about 55% of voters disapprove. How could it be otherwise? With prices rising 8.6% on an annualized basis in May — the price of groceries up 11.9%, gas up 48.7%, used cars up 16.1% — voters by far say that inflation is the most serious problem facing the nation today. And now the Federal Reserve, in a bid to bring inflation under control, has raised interest rates three-quarters of a percentage point, the biggest increase in almost 30 years, which greatly increases the risk of a recession.”
WHEW, THAT’S A RELIEF! Yellen says recession not ‘inevitable,’ despite ‘unacceptably high’ inflation.
“IT’S HIS FAULT, PERIOD:” Joe Biden’s tampon shortage.
WELCOME BACK, CARTER! Joe Biden’s Bike Fall Checks the Final Item on the Jimmy Carter Narrative List.
WHAT FATHER’S DAY MEANS TO THE FATHERLESS: As a country, we still have much to do to remedy the crisis of fatherlessness that’s harming millions of young people.
Maher stated, “If someone knows of a story that more effectively captures what’s wrong with today’s journalism than the sad saga of what happened last week at The Washington Post, they need to keep it to themselves. Because it would be too depressing.”
After recapping the story, Maher said, “The fact that The Post’s initial response was to punish, not Felicia, but one of their best reporters for a silly joke shows that the kindergarten is already in charge. Today, June 17, is the 50th anniversary of a very seminal event in American history. On this day in 1972, the Watergate break-in happened, and over the next two years, The Washington Post gave the world a masterclass in investigative journalism. I have to wonder how The Post’s newsroom of today would handle that story or how they’re currently handling any story. All this time blubber-tweeting over a retweet begs the question, don’t you have anything better to do? Aren’t you supposed to be reporters digging up stuff? Are there no more vital issues going on in America right now? This is why you’re not in charge. Because if someone named ‘Deep Throat’ called the paper today and wanted to meet in a parking garage, this crew of emotional hemophiliacs would have an anxiety attack and report it to HR that they didn’t feel safe.”
Heh, indeed.
If only there were some other way of handling uber-woke young staffers. If only.
OH, TO BE IN ENGLAND: Male blood donor turned away from clinic after he refused to answer whether he was pregnant.
NINA JANKOWICZ 2.0: Kamala Harris’ Online Harassment Task Force Is a Bad Idea.
Kamala the cop is back!
DISPATCHES FROM THE EDUCATION APOCALYPSE: Stanford’s War On Social Life.
JP’s favorite college story is the night he built an island. In the fall of 1993, JP was a junior in Stanford’s chapter of Kappa Alpha. The brothers were winding down from Kappa Alpha’s annual Cabo-themed party on the house lawn. “KAbo” was a Stanford institution, a day-to-night extravaganza that would start sometime in the morning and continue long after midnight. The girls wore bikini tops and plastic flower leis, and the boys wore their best Hawaiian shirts.
That year, the brothers had filled the entire main level of Kappa Alpha’s house with a layer of sand six inches deep. The night was almost over; the guests were leaving and the local surf rock band had been paid their customary hundred dollars in beer. The only question was what to do with all the sand.
No one remembers who had the idea to build the island. A group of five or six brothers managed the project. One rented a bulldozer; another shoveled the sand off the floor. Their house was not far from Lake Lagunita, the mile-wide lake on Stanford’s campus. The only holdup was the strip of university-owned land between the house and the lake.
It was JP who talked to Stanford’s head groundskeeper and convinced him to let the bulldozer pass. In the end, the groundskeeper admired their spirit. “If anybody asks you about it,” he said, “just send them to me.”
Later that year, the brothers installed a zipline from the roof of their house to the center of the island. They also built a barge, which they would paddle around the lake on weekends and between classes.
The Winds of Freedom
It is hard to imagine someone at Stanford building an island anymore. In fact, it is hard to imagine them building anything. The campus culture has changed.
Today, most of the organizations JP remembers from Stanford are gone. The Kappa Alpha boys have been kicked out of their old house. Lake Lagunita was closed to student activities in 2001, ostensibly to protect an endangered salamander that had taken up residence in the artificial waters. Eventually, Stanford let the lake go dry. JP claims you can still see his island though, now a patch of elevated ground in a dry, dusty basin.
Stanford’s new social order offers a peek into the bureaucrat’s vision for America. It is a world without risk, genuine difference, or the kind of group connection that makes teenage boys want to rent bulldozers and build islands. It is a world largely without unencumbered joy; without the kind of cultural specificity that makes college, or the rest of life, particularly interesting.
I’m so old, I can remember when Dean Wormer was supposed to be the bad guy in Animal House, not a role model for killjoy college bureaucrats.
UPDATE (FROM GLENN): Not just bureaucrats! These days, he’s a role model for students.
CREEPY JOE BIDEN IS BACK; TUCKER CARLSON REVEALS SHOCKING ALLEGATIONS FROM ASHLEY BIDEN’S DIARY:
Fox News host Tucker Carlson attacked President Joe Biden over his daughter Ashley Biden’s diary admissions.
In Ashley Biden’s writings, she claims that the president took showers with her when she was young, fueling her sex-addiction.
Carlson described the disturbing details as “sick” and “horrifying,” saying “if that’s not child molestation, it is definitely close enough to justify a police visit.”
Inside a January 2019 diary entry, she wrote “I remember having sex with friends @ a young age; showers w/ my dad.”
Carlson then asked the audience, “if you are the father of daughters, ask yourself, is there any explanation for that behavior that is justifiable?”
Ashley Biden’s diary was found by a woman named Aimee Harris who sold it after finding it at a halfway house that Biden’s daughter stayed at while receiving treatment.
The Fox News host then slammed the FBI for probing the woman over an incident that is not a federal crime and for not going after Biden.
Flashback: “This week Anthony Weiner got a lengthy profile in the NYT. Today Jeffrey Toobin got his old job back at CNN. And of course, Bill Clinton is welcome anywhere at any time. Is there a sex pest the libs won’t welcome back for telling them what they want to hear?” Jim Treacher asks.
See also, Bad Touch Biden:
In 2020 voters evidently* decided that voting out #OrangeManBad was more important than #metoo:
* Or not: The ‘cabal’ that bragged of foisting Joe Biden on us must answer for his failed presidency.
FASTER, PLEASE: Will Los Angeles DA George Gascón Be the Next Radical Prosector Recalled?
As New York Times owner Tom Cotton wrote in December: Recall, Remove & Replace Every Last Soros Prosecutor.
NO THANKS, I DON’T EVEN WANT TO DATE IT: How to have sex with monkeypox: Bizarre CDC guide revealed.
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