THE 21st CENTURY IS NOT TURNING OUT AS I HAD HOPED: Man Allegedly Stripped Naked and Masturbated at Airport After Headbutting TVs, Then Said ‘It’s A Free Country’ and Threw Stanchion at TSA Agents.

WE DON’T NEED NO FLAMING SPARKY CARS: Battery Experts Provide Deeper Explanations for Chevy Bolt Fires.

(Classical reference in headline.)

HMMM: Huge: Imminent Vacancy Rumors Swirling on Capitol Hill.

JIM TREACHER: Those Border Patrol Agents Never Whipped Any Haitian Immigrants, But the Gov’t Can’t Admit That. “So the hot potato gets tossed back and forth between three-letter agencies until everybody forgets about it and moves on. Those Border Patrol agents now exist in a legal limbo, neither guilty nor not guilty, and none of their accusers will ever be held to account for it. Once again, power protects itself. Your tax dollars at work.”

It was simply one more example of “stray voltage” from an administration “led” and staffed by Obama-era retreads attempting to get through yet another brutal news cycle.

DISPATCHES FROM GOVERNMENT MOTORS: Top Biden Aide’s Lobbyist Brother Wins Presidential Visit for Client. General Motors, set to welcome Biden to Michigan factory, has paid Jeff Ricchetti nearly $200K to lobby White House and Congress.

After paying the lobbyist brother of a top White House aide nearly $200,000 this year, auto giant General Motors has won an official visit from the president to showcase its new electric vehicle factory.

Jeff Ricchetti, the brother of Biden’s longtime political consigliere Steve Ricchetti, has disclosed $160,000 in payments from General Motors since President Joe Biden took office to lobby the White House and Congress on electric vehicle tax incentives, according to his firm’s lobbying disclosure forms. The investment appears to have paid off—on Wednesday, Biden will attend the grand opening of the company’s new electric vehicle factory as part of his push for Congress to “approve big tax incentives for zero-emission vehicles,” precisely what Ricchetti was paid to push for.

Steve Ricchetti has been one of Biden’s closest advisers for nearly a decade and played a leading role in framing the administration’s infrastructure negotiations. Neither the White House, Jeff Ricchetti, nor General Motors responded to requests for comment on Jeff Ricchetti’s role in arranging the visit.

Ricchetti has cashed in on his family ties to the administration. Ricchetti has already brought in $2.4 million in lobbying fees this year, double his 2020 haul of $1.2 million, according to numbers compiled by OpenSecrets. Ethics experts have criticized the Biden administration for allowing Steve Ricchetti to work on issues his brother is being paid to lobby the administration on.

GM, in bed with an Obama administration retread? Unexpectedly!

QUESTION ASKED AND ANSWERED: Biden Wanted an F.D.R. Presidency. How’s He Doing So Far?

—The New York Times, October 26^th.

So badly that the DNC-MSM are reduced to comparing him to the hapless Gerald Ford: Can Biden Whip Inflation Now?

—Washington Monthy, today.

FAKE BUT ACCURATE: Atlantic’s Anne Applebaum explains why ‘even if every single word in the Steele dossier was wrong,’ the FBI and media were right to treat it as legit.

Unexpectedly, considering alleged “whistleblower” Eric Ciaramella blurbed her 2017 book:

STACY MCCAIN:Kenosha: Media-Induced Mistrial?

MICHAEL BARONE: History has some bad news for Biden Democrats.

Another historic perspective: Three decades ago, Americans emerged from a long era (1952-92) in which they mostly elected Republican presidents and Democratic Congresses. That often resulted in widely accepted bipartisan legislation, as neither party’s politicians expected to have total control any time soon.

Since 1994, voters have become both increasingly partisan and more closely divided. So both parties’ politicians have reason to shun bipartisan compromise and wait until they can win a political trifecta — control of the White House and both houses of Congress. When they get one, they push for, and sometimes pass, sweeping legislation, then promptly lose their majorities.

This happened in 1994 after Democrats failed to pass Hillarycare and in 2010 after they passed Obamacare. It happened in 1966 after the passage of Lyndon Johnson’s Great Society legislation, when Republicans won the House popular vote outside the then-heavily Democratic South. If Biden’s approval remains low, it will probably happen again in 2022.

It happened to Republicans in 2018 after passage of the Trump tax legislation, and it might well have happened in 2002 if George W. Bush’s job approval hadn’t been so high after 9/11. In any case, Republicans were swept out of control in the 2006 midterm elections.

Why do voters dismantle trifectas? Partly for the structural reasons already mentioned. And partly because apparently, most voters don’t want the significant economic and entitlement policies pushed by politicians and policy wonks of both parties.

As Glenn has written, “Really, don’t get cocky…If you want to win, donate and volunteer. Winning takes work, and commenting on Internet blogs, even this one, doesn’t count.”

THE FAKE ENVIRONMENTALIST ATTACK ON BITCOIN: New video from Reason TV.

“So how much energy does bitcoin mining actually consume? Critics routinely invoke the idea that bitcoin uses more electricity than whole countries to generate attention-grabbing headlines, but that’s also true of many industries, and if bitcoin were a country it would rank 39th out of 59 tracked by the Cambridge Centre for Alternative Finance.”

FORMER MAO POLITICAL PRISONER SCHOOLS PBS HOST ON TRUMP AND AUTHORITARIANISM (Video):

In preparing for this interview, Margaret Hoover came across a reference to a Trump tweet that she was unable to resist. It led her to ask Ai Weiwei directly if he saw the former President as an authoritarian.

If she was hoping to have her guest help her take a swipe at Trump, she was sadly mistaken, instead, he knocked the intolerant left.

When asked if Trump was an authoritarian Ai Weiwei said:

“In many ways, you are already in the authoritarian state. You just don’t know it . Certainly the United States, with today’s condition, you can easily have an authoritarian.”

He implied that Trump couldn’t be an authoritarian because

  “If you are authoritarian, you have to have a system supporting you. You cannot just be an authoritarian by yourself.

“Many things happening today in U.S. can be compared to the Cultural Revolution in China. Like people trying to be unified in a certain political correctness. That is very dangerous.”

Ah, cancel culture and wokism. I don’t think that’s what Margaret Hoover expected to hear.

If Trump was an authoritarian, he certainly did a lousy job of it, as Rod Dreher notes in “Michael Pack Vs. The Baizuocracy.”

FJB MAKES IT TO CALIFORNIA: Paso Robles students wave ‘F— Biden’ flag on campus during event honoring veterans.

GOODER AND HARDER: California Gas Prices Reach New Record High.

The average price of a regular gallon of gasoline in California reached a record high on Monday as sticker shock continues to anger drivers paying more at the pump.

Monday’s average price for a gallon of regular unleaded gas in California rose to $4.682, according to the American Automobile Association. The price broke the previous record of $4.671 set in October 2012.

Mid-grade unleaded gasoline also rose to an average price of $4.868. Premium unleaded gasoline reached an average of $4.997, with diesel at $4.816.

The jump is most noticeable when compared with gasoline prices one year ago. In California, the average price at the same time in 2020 was just $2.125 per gallon for regular unleaded fuel.

The prices also make California, the most populated state in the nation, the state with the highest average gas prices in the nation, according to the data.

Last week, Peppermint Psaki said the quiet part out loud: “Our view is that the rise in gas prices over the long term makes an even stronger case for doubling down our investment and our focus on clean energy options.”

PAST PERFORMANCE NO GUARANTEE OF FUTURE RESULTS:

Shot: Desperate: Jen Psaki says that Republicans are ‘rooting for inflation.’

—Twitchy tonight.

Chaser: Jen Psaki Defends Rising Prices: ‘Good Thing’ Because it Means ‘More People are Buying Goods.’

—Mediaite, October 15th.

And Biden’s operatives with bylines at MSNBC agree with Psaki’s earlier take:

CHINESE TENNIS STAR, 35, VANISHES AFTER SHE WAS CENSORED FROM THE INTERNET FOR ACCUSING COUNTRY’S FORMER VICE PREMIER, 75, OF SEXUAL ABUSE:

A Chinese tennis player has vanished a week after accusing the country’s former vice premier of sexual abuse.

Peng Shuai, 35, accused 75-year-old Zhang Gaoli of forcing her to have sex with him in a lengthy post uploaded to Weibo, the Chinese Facebook equivalent.

The post was soon deleted and all of her recent content on the site has been scrubbed. The word tennis (‘wangqiu’) was even censored on the social network.

The athlete, who became a household name after winning the French Open doubles in 2014, has not been seen since.

While China has been rocked by #MeToo scandals before, this is believed to be the first involving a high-ranking member of the Communist Party.

Earlier: China erases billionaire actress Zhao Wei from history.

Zhao’s name won’t be immortal. Her entire internet existence has been scrubbed.

All serials and chat shows featuring her have vanished from major Chinese online streaming sites. She no longer even appears in the online credits for the movies she appears in.

Discussing why is being censored on social media.

China’s versions of Winston Smith are getting quite a workout these days:

Related flashback to November of 2019: How to Conduct Business with Chinese Companies That See a Dark Future.

ALAN DERSHOWITZ: Rittenhouse ‘should be acquitted,’ then sue liberal media outlets for their ‘deliberate and willful lies.’

PROFESSOR WHO ADVOCATED FOR DESTIGMATIZATION OF ‘MAPS’ PLACED ON LEAVE BY UNIVERSITY:

An Old Dominion University professor who days ago caught the public’s attention for his “MAP”* advocacy, or sexual attraction to children, has been placed on administrative leave tonight.

Allyn Walker’s stance of  “MAP” as a “sexual preference” has caused enough backlash for the school that the school has agreed to have Walker step back from his position.

The newest statement from Old Dominion University says the following: “Reactions to Dr. Walker’s research and book have led to concerns for their safety and that of the campus. Furthermore, the controversy over Dr. Walker’s research has disrupted the campus and community environment and is interfering with the institution’s mission of teaching and learning.”

It’s followed up with reassurances from the school’s President Brian O. Hemphill, who stated, “I want to state in the strongest terms possible that child sexual abuse is morally wrong and has no place in our society. This is a challenging time for our University, but I am confident that we will come together and move forward as a Monarch family.”

“Placed on leave” — but actually fired. Presumably Hemphill is hoping for the Internet backlash to die down.

* Transgender Professor At Old Dominion University Rebrands Pedophiles As ‘Minor-Attracted Persons.’

UNEXPECTEDLY: Biden’s Spending Gives Milton Friedman the Last Laugh. “Maybe the White House and its supporters are right that inflation will go away as the pandemic recedes and the supply chain sorts itself out. Mr. Biden must hope so. Because if inflation doesn’t go away, Americans are going to wish Milton Friedman really were running the show.”

MICHAEL WALSH: COVID Panic Will Only End Through Civil Disobedience and Mockery.

JEN PSAKI IS ANNOYED YOU’D ASK ABOUT BIDEN DEFAMING KYLE RITTENHOUSE AS A WHITE SUPREMACIST:

“Why did President Biden suggest that Kyle Rittenhouse on trial in Kenosha is a white supremacist?” Fox News’s Peter Doocey asked the press secretary this week during a news conference.

Psaki let out a loud, long sigh, as if it’s tiresome to be asked about an issue the Biden team previously was very eager to discuss.

“What I’m not going to speak to right now is anything about an ongoing trial, nor the president’s past comments,” responded Psaki. “What I can reiterate for you is the president’s view that we shouldn’t have, broadly speaking, vigilantes patrolling our communities with assault weapons. We shouldn’t have opportunists corrupting peaceful protests by rioting and burning down the communities they claim to represent anywhere in the country.”

The Biden campaign tweeted a video on Sept. 30, 2020, with the accompanying caption, “There’s no other way to put it: the President of the United States refused to disavow white supremacists on the debate stage last night.” The video includes images of Rittenhouse taken on the night of the riots.

That tweet is still up, by the way:

WHY IS THE LEFT SUCH A CESSPIT OF RACIALISM? NPR slammed over story highlighting ‘disappointment’ over Boston electing Asian woman mayor. NPR deemed Michelle Wu’s win a ‘letdown’ for some after she defeated African-American candidates.

“TIME FOR ME TO BE MORE THAN A WEEKEND WIFE, MOTHER, AND FRIEND:” Jackie Speier is eighth House Democrat to announce retirement in 2022.

CAPITALISM: THE UNKNOWN IDEAL. St. Paul Just Implemented the Nation’s Strictest Rent Control Law. It’s Already Backfiring Tremendously.

MEL GIBSON IS IN TALKS TO DIRECT LETHAL WEAPON 5:

It looks like Mel Gibson is returning to the Lethal Weapon franchise, and pulling double duty this time.

The actor and filmmaker, who starred in the first four films in the buddy cop series alongside Danny Glover, is in talks to direct the long-gestating Lethal Weapon 5, EW has confirmed. Gibson, 65, would follow in the footsteps of Richard Donner, who helmed the previous installments and died in July.

“[Donner] was developing the screenplay and he got pretty far along with it,” Gibson said at an event in London over the weekend, per The Sun. “And he said to me one day, ‘Listen kid, if I kick the bucket you will do it.’ And I said: ‘Shut up.'”

He continued: “But he did indeed pass away. But he did ask me to do it and at the time I didn’t say anything. He said it to his wife and to the studio and the producer. So I will be directing the fifth one.”

Related: Mel Gibson defies the keyboard cancelers.

XI’S GOTTA HAVE IT! Biden Infrastructure Czar Advises Pro-China Group. Mitch Landrieu will oversee $1.2 trillion in infrastructure spending.