NEW VERDICT IN CAPITOL RIOT CASE THROWS A WRENCH INTO POLITICAL NARRATIVE:

A federal defense contractor who had been charged with four misdemeanors for walking into the Capitol on Jan. 6, fought the charges and was acquitted on all counts today by Judge Trevor McFadden. Matthew Martin was charged with: entering and remaining in a restricted building, disorderly and disruptive conduct in a restricted building, violent entry and disorderly conduct in a Capitol building, as well as parading, demonstrating, or picketing in a Capitol building.

But Martin didn’t commit any violence or break into the building. He argued that he believed that the Capitol Police had allowed him into the building, and he just walked in.

From Politico:

McFadden said that, based on video of the scene, that assertion was at least “plausible” and that prosecutors failed to prove the case beyond a reasonable doubt.

“People were streaming by and the officers made no attempt to stop the people,” said the judge [….]

“I do think the defendant reasonably believed the officers allowed him into the Capitol,” the judge said.

McFadden said that the government did not show any evidence of Martin crossing police lines, and that Martin’s “conduct was about as minimal….as I can imagine.”

This is a significant verdict. While some are charged with more serious offenses, many of the people charged for Jan. 6 offenses are in a similar position to Martin — they didn’t do much beyond walk into the building. Some have argued — as Martin did — that the police let them in.

And as Julie Kelly tweets, “What’s notable in this trial isn’t so much that Martin convinced McFadden he was waved into the building but that a USCP official CONFIRMED under oath that police let people inside.”

ANNALS OF LEFTIST AUTOPHAGY: Patrisse Cullors blasts ‘despicable’ New York magazine coverage of BLM’s $6 million mansion.

GOP REP. CHIP ROY CALLS DEMS OUT ON THEIR LATEST COVID HYPOCRISY:

Texas Republican Rep. Chip Roy called out Democrats supporting Title 42’s end while fearing emerging COVID-19 variants.

During a House Judiciary Committee markup Wednesday of  legislation dubbed the “Domestic Terrorism Prevention Act,” Roy slammed his Democratic colleagues who feared the virus’ new forms, but supported the decision to end Title 42, a public health order.

Title 42, a Trump-era order, was put in place in March 2020 to mitigate the spread of COVID-19 and has resulted in the expulsions of over 1.7 million migrants, according to Customs and Border Protection (CBP). The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced Friday that the order will end May 23.

“First of all, the gentlelady from Texas [Democratic Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee] refers to the supposed concern and fear that she has about the Omicron variant coming in April,” Roy said. “Then, on what basis is the CDC recommending that they end Title 42? … If this is such a great concern, then why would the CDC say ‘oh no, we don’t need to use Title 42 to protect our Border Patrol agents, protect Americans, stem the tide of 8,000 people a day coming across our border.”

Flashback: The Biden Admin Is Covering up the Number of Illegal Immigrants with COVID, Says Texas Gov.

NEWS FROM FOOTBALL’S OFFSEASON: Thursday April 7th Is A National Holiday: Baseball’s Opening Day.

RIP: Eric Boehlert, Andrew Breitbart’s Worthy Left-wing Opponent, Dies at 57. “Left-wing writer Eric Boehlert, 57, a former Media Matters pundit who clashed frequently with Breitbart News founder Andrew Breitbart, was killed tragically Monday in New Jersey when he was struck by a train while riding his bicycle.”

BEN SHAPIRO: The Left Is the Culture War Aggressor.

This prompted a well-deserved firestorm for the Mouse House. Disney has long been Left-wing on social issues — but in the aftermath of ginned-up controversy surrounding Florida’s Parental Rights in Education bill, which protects small children from indoctrination on sexual orientation and gender identity, an angry coterie of employees pushed management to signal fealty even harder. So Disney’s brass did, announcing that they opposed the Florida bill and then turning over the company to its most radical contingent.

And people reacted. #BoycottDisney began to trend on social media. We at the Daily Wire committed to spending $100 million to develop children’s content that would be safe for kids — content dedicated to traditional values, where parents wouldn’t have to worry about prescreening content for messages about nonbinary 5-year-olds.

The Left, caught with its hand in the kiddie jar, immediately swiveled and accused the Right of initiating this culture war. Michelle Goldberg of The New York Times lamented that she felt terrible for Raveneau, who, after all, was just “step[ping] up to defend the company’s queer friendliness, only to become a national object of right-wing fury and disgust,” and whose injection of LGBTQ propaganda into children’s content was “sweetly anodyne.” CNN hosted Washington Post transgender columnist Charlotte Clymer, adding the chyron “LGBT COMMUNITY LATEST TO BE CAUGHT IN CULTURE WAR.” The takeaway, according to the social Left, is that anyone who defends traditionalism in child-rearing — or anyone who simply doesn’t want children turned into targets of sexual propagandizing — is the true cultural aggressor.

Related: Disney Hires Dem Political Operative to Lead Global Communications. Kristina Schake “most recently led the Biden Administration’s COVID vaccine public education campaign. Previously, she was Communications Director for First Lady Michelle Obama and Deputy Communications Director for Hillary Clinton’s 2016 presidential campaign.”

A CRIMINAL ORGANIZATION MASQUERADING AS A POLITICAL PARTY: Motion to subpoena Hunter Biden to testify before Congress blocked by Democrats.

(Classical reference in headline.)

MORE LIKE THIS, PLEASE: Governor Abbott Directs Texas to Send Illegal Immigrants to D.C. on Charter Buses. “‘To help local officials whose communities are being overwhelmed by hordes of illegal immigrants who are being dropped off by the Biden administration, Texas is providing charter buses to send these illegal immigrants to Washington, D.C,’  Abbott announced at a press conference Wednesday. ‘We are sending them to the United States Capitol where the Biden administration will be able to more immediately address the needs of the people that they are allowing to come across our border,’ he said. The Texas Division of Emergency Management will be responsible for this operation, the governor confirmed.”

“IMAGINE HOW JEALOUS FAUCI WAS WHEN HE WAS TOLD ABOUT THIS:” Dystopia: Drone warns desperate locked-down Shanghai residents to “control your soul’s desire for freedom.”

ACE OF SPADES: Frantic Liberal Writes Warning to Democrats: This “Trans” Mania You’re Wrapped Up In Is Destroying Children.

OUT ON A LIMB: Beware: Wikipedia Is Not the ‘Neutral’ Source It Pretends to Be. Here’s How We Know.

‘WHY DO THEY ALL KEEP DOING THIS?’ Kamala Harris Latest Dem Politician Photographed Maskless With Masked Kids.

Republican leaders blasted Vice President Kamala Harris for taking a maskless photo with several elementary schoolchildren from Washington, D.C., all of whom were masked.

The Republican National Committee posted a video of Harris, who was on a visit to Neville Thomas Elementary School on Monday to promote the Biden administration’s “Action Plan for Building Better School Infrastructure.” The program would seek to upgrade public school facilities and transportation systems to make them more energy-efficient.

As Harris walked up on stage to give remarks on the plan, she paused and encouraged several children to gather around her and posed for photos. The students were all masked, but Harris was not.

* * * * * * * *

“Lmfao why do they all keep doing this,” conservative digital media strategist Greg Price tweeted, including photos of Harris and other prominent politicians who had previously been photographed maskless: New York Governor Kathy Hochul and Georgia gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams, who were also photographed with masked children, and Michigan Congresswoman Elissa Slotkin, who was pictured with masked attendees at a campaign rally in February.

It’s a symbolic reminder of the elite/non-elite power structure, along the lines of Harris wondering why the “White House staff was not standing up… when she entered the room the way they did for Biden. ‘The vice president took it as a sign of disrespect,’ according to the excerpt.” And it plays well with the left’s anti-science base when it comes to covid and the resiliency of kids:

Flashback: The Masking of the Servant Class: Ugly COVID Images From the Met Gala Are Now Commonplace.

DISPATCHES FROM THE MEMORY HOLE: The Federalist’s Rachel Bovard hopes you’ll ‘remember when Joe Biden voted for an actual Don’t Say Gay bill.’

While consistency isn’t necessarily the hallmark of lifelong politicians like Biden, it’s worth noting this 1994 vote for two reasons. First, to demonstrate just how far the Democratic [Party has] evolved on cultural questions in the two decades since, but second, to highlight just how far Biden actually exists outside of his positioning on the campaign trail as a moderate.

From his support for repealing the prohibition on federal funding for abortion – a policy he routinely supported while in the Senate – to forcing nuns to buy birth control and charging his Department of Justice to “do everything in its power to stop the rash of state laws that . . . violate the constitutional right to an abortion,” Biden has emerged as a willing handmaiden to the progressive jihad in the culture wars.

This is true in the area of gender ideology as well. On his first day in office, Biden issued an executive order directing his administration to ensure all regulations prohibit discrimination on, among other things, sexual orientation or transgender status – including allowing access by biological males to female restrooms, locker rooms, and school sports.

Biden has followed through on that commitment. His administration’s new Title IX rules will expand the definition of discrimination beyond sex to also include sexual orientation and gender identity. In his State of the Union address, Biden demanded that Congress pass the radical Equality Act, which would use sexual politics to erase the First Amendment.

Even before he entered his Trunalimunumaprzure phase, Biden has always been a cypher for whatever Democrats believe they need to say that year in order to maintain power, eventually resulting in as many “for it before he was against it” moments as his fellow former senator, John Kerry. QED: Biden’s recent repudiations of his 1994 crime bill, the 1996 welfare reform bill, and his past views on the dangers of illegal immigration.

JIM TREACHER: Stacey Abrams Proves Losing Is the New Winning. None of the responsibility, all of the fun! “I applaud Stacey Abrams’ newfound fame and financial success, especially if the alternative would’ve been to put her in elected office. If a bunch of dimwits want to cheer her on because she lost, that’s none of my concern. Now I look forward to Abrams painting herself as a victim yet again. Sure, she’s a millionaire who is worshipped by libs wherever she goes, but some people still oppose her. What’s up with that? Can’t a black woman lose an election in America without somebody making fun of her for whining about it? Let’s hope she loses again so she can really get rich. You go, girl!”

DISPATCHES FROM THE EDUCATION APOCALYPSE: Father Claims UPenn Told Female Swimmers to ‘Get Over’ Seeing Lia Thomas’ Male Genitalia in the Locker Room.

HOW’S THAT WELCOME WAGON PROGRAM COMING ALONG? Get outta town: Why majority of New Yorkers would rather be anywhere else.

K-12 IMPLOSION UPDATE: The D.C. Public Charter Schools Where Masks Are Still Mandatory. “People’s irrational fears are taking over these policy decisions,” says one parent.

THE JOURNOLIST IS HOPPING: Liberals Freak out Over Being Called ‘Groomers.’

I wonder if French believes that the ratio here is “one of the blessings of liberty.”

Related: Several Conservative States Look To Mirror Florida’s Parental Rights Bill.

DISPATCHES FROM THE PARTY OF THE WORKING MAN: Biden’s New Budget Includes Massive (Sneaky) Tax Hike On Workers.

The Biden administration recently released a $5.8 trillion-plus budget proposal. The president’s “billionaire tax” proposal and its terrible economics have received the most attention.

Yet there’s also a big tax hike on workers slipped into the fine print of President Joe Biden’s new budget. That pesky fact didn’t stop the president from repeating his big lie that only “the rich” will pay more under his plans.

But consider the facts. The plan includes a proposal for raising the corporate tax rate from 21% to 28%, which Biden said “ensures that corporations pay their fair share.” I know what you’re thinking: Boohoo, who cares if corporate bigwigs have to pay Uncle Sam more?

In reality, however, most economists agree that the corporate tax is in part born by the working class through lower wages. Studies have consistently found that more than 50% of the burden comes out of workers’ wallets. As for Biden’s corporate tax hike proposal specifically, a Tax Foundation analysis found that it would lead to lower wages, lower economic growth, and 159,000 fewer jobs.

Biden’s plan would also make us less competitive internationally. We would have one of the highest corporate tax rates among developed countries, making the United States less attractive for investment and encouraging offshoring. A tax hike on workers that further handicaps American industry and empowers global competitors—how’s that for “Build Back Better,” folks?

Biden’s plan has all these downsides, but it’s unclear what, if anything, it would actually accomplish.

Oh, that’s an easy one: Don’t pretend that high prices and American suffering are a ‘bug’ for the establishment — it’s a historic feature.

YOU F***ED UP — YOU TRUSTED US! House Dem: Big Oil is profiteering by, er … doing what we demanded.

(Classical reference in headline.)

OCEANIA HAS NEVER BEEN AT WAR WITH FREE SPEECH:

● Shot:

● Chaser: Angry mom who confronted Adams on toddler mask mandate fired from city job.

—The New York Post, yesterday.

UPDATE: Christina Pushaw, Ron DeSantis’ press secretary, notices the hypocrisy emanating from Fun City:

(Updated and bumped.)

HOW’S THAT WELCOME WAGON PROGRAM COMING ALONG? Here Are the Five Most Socialist Governors in America.

RIP: Bobby Rydell, teen idol and ‘Volare’ singer, dead at 79.

TRUNALIMUNUMAPRZURE! How Bad Was Biden’s Warsaw Gaffe?

WASHINGTON POST HITS AVANT-GARDE ARTIST FOR VACCINE DISSENT:

Even people who have never heard of Evan Parker and wouldn’t care for his music should note the ominous precedent that was embedded within the Washington Post’s review of his latest album, Descension (Out of Our Constrictions) with the Natural Information Society, a group of far-out jazzmen from Chicago. The Post’s popular music (a category in which the master saxophonist defiantly does not belong) critic, Chris Richards, was full of praise for “the tenacious British saxophonist Evan Parker,” and said that the album “felt responsive, propulsive and alive.” However: “Parker is 77, musically collegial, but a covid-19 denier.”

Richards went on to note with unconcealed lemming outrage that “in an interview published in April,” Parker “described the pandemic as ‘a sham’ designed to ‘harvest DNA and sell vaccines.’ Just like that, his remarks threatened to make his deeply empathetic new music make no sense at all.”

Wait a minute here. This is not vocal music. Neither Evan Parker nor anyone else says a word on the album, either about the COVID hysteria or anything else. Yet the Washington Post would have us believe that Parker’s COVID and vaccine skepticism “threatened” — threatened! — to render his new music meaningless.

This is pure Maoism: if your political views are not aligned with those of the elites, then everything you do is tainted and worthless. Like virtually all avant-garde artists, Parker has been reliably socialist up to now, but the Left doesn’t give out lifetime achievement awards. Chris Richards loves the music and waxes poetic about it: “this new album that Parker has made with Natural Information Society sounds like life, as if the band’s signature groove might be a growing, changing, living, breathing thing.” Parker’s astonishing technique is “inherently dazzling.” But Richards can’t let go of the fact that Parker is also a dissenter from everything he thinks is good and true: “So how could someone this attentive on the bandstand, this empathetic in song, this worldly in his playing come to the conclusion that a decimating global pandemic isn’t real? It baffles and burns.”

Richards also includes a veiled warning: “It’ll be a shame if Parker’s denialism ultimately fouls this band’s great art.” How could it, unless smarmy little fascists such as Chris Richards work to get Parker canceled and discredited because he has dared to enunciate politically unacceptable opinions? Parker’s music has nothing whatsoever to do with his politics: I myself have been entranced with it and fascinated by it for decades despite the fact that Parker has always been a man of the Left.

It’s the same playbook the Post ran on (the infinitely better known) Eric Clapton last year. “It’ll be a shame if Parker’s denialism ultimately fouls this band’s great art” sounds a bit too close to the rhetoric of Monty Python’s resident Mafioso characters Dino and Luigi Vercotti: “Nice career you have. Shame if something were to happen to it.”