DON’T GET COCKY: Republicans ‘Favorites’ to Take Senate. “The Senate battleground isn’t friendly to Republicans this cycle, even in what looks like a potential wave election. Nevertheless, Larry Sabato’s left-leaning Crystal Ball says the GOP is now the favorite to wrest control away from the Democrats.”
Much more at the link.
CHRIS WALLACE CHOSE… POORLY: CNN+ Shutting Down Less Than a Month After Launch.
STRATEGERY: The Biden Administration’s Nuclear Posture Review: Assured Survival for Vladimir Putin.
In late March, the Biden administration sent the results of its 2022 Nuclear Posture Review to Congress in the form of a classified document and with no press briefing. This is unprecedented. All that was released to the public was a less than one page “Fact Sheet,” which spoke almost entirely about the “no first use” issue. Why? Is the Biden administration afraid of offending the tender sensibilities of President Putin, the “butcher” of Moscow and war criminal who must be removed from power? Or is it concerned about the public’s reaction to weakening our nuclear deterrent in the context of the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the threat of Russian WMD use?
There has never been a larger disconnect between an administration’s perception of the nature of Vladimir Putin, the heavily nuclear-armed Russian dictator, and the requirements for nuclear deterrence. Furthermore, the Nuclear Posture Review decisions could negatively impact our credibility with our allies. With the Russians constantly making threats of nuclear war, the Biden administration has cut an already marginal nuclear modernization program. Additionally, movement toward no-first-use of nuclear weapons is difficult to understand when the Biden administration and the United Kingdom are warning that Russia may use chemical and biological weapons in the current war with Ukraine. This policy change seems driven more by ideological considerations than the requirement for a credible, effective deterrent.
Leftist ideology first, last, and always has been the hallmark of this “moderate” president.
YOU WILL BE MADE TO CONFORM: Biden admin to rescind Trump ‘conscience’ rule for health workers. “The Biden administration is preparing to scrap a Trump-era rule that allows medical workers to refuse to provide services that conflict with their religious or moral beliefs, three people familiar with the deliberations told POLITICO.”
BIDEN IS ONLY PRETENDING TO GOOSE DOMESTIC ENERGY PRODUCTION: Feds offering 80% less in oil and natural gas lease sales, increasing royalty rate.
PJ MEDIA VIP ROUNDUP: Don’t forget that VODKAPUNDIT promo code if you’ve been thinking of joining us.
Matt Margolis: The Embarrassing Decline of Kamala Harris. “Frankly, things really don’t look good for Kamala if Biden decides not to run for reelection. As we saw in 2020, she’s a lousy campaigner, and as we’ve seen since January 20, 2021, she’s an awful vice president—in fact, she’s so awful that she’s not even well-liked in her home state anymore.”
Cameron Arcand: Number of Suspected Terrorists Caught at Border Since Biden Took Office Keeps Growing. “Of course, these are just the people that CBP is aware of. It would not be unlikely if there are people on the terror watchlist who made it into the country successfully while avoiding unrest.”
Yours Truly: Russia Is Fighting the Ukraine War on Five Fronts: Where Are They Winning? (Part I). “Russia is actually fighting on five fronts: Military, Propaganda, Diplomatic, Domestic, and Economic. Let’s take a brief (well, as brief as possible…) look at each one and see how Moscow is doing.”
TIMING: Russia says it has successfully tested a new intercontinental missile that can evade defenses.
Russia announced on Wednesday it had successfully launched a new missile that it said could deploy nuclear warheads at hypersonic speeds anywhere in the world and outwit defenses, a move that President Vladimir V. Putin said was aimed at showing Russia’s adversaries that they needed to “think twice” before threatening his country.
But even if the test was successful, the new missile does not appear ready for use. The Russian Defense Ministry said Wednesday’s test launch of the Sarmat intercontinental ballistic missile was its first and that it would enter Russia’s arsenal only “after the completion of the testing program.”
The RS-28 Sarmat was originally supposed to enter service two years ago. This announcement sounds more like an effort to turn around the new narrative that the Russian armed forced aren’t all they were cracked up to be before the Ukraine War.
KRUISER’S MORNING BRIEFING: Defund the Police — Democrats Lied, Black People Died. “The Ferguson riots play a central role in the Democrats’ incessant disparagement of law enforcement. That’s when His HIgh Holiness the Lightbringer Barack Obama got really comfortable with blaming cops and trusting criminals. What the Democrats did in 2020 was his legacy.”
YOU DON’T SAY: Workers are unhappy to be back in the office, and now they’re getting ready to quit. “Managers stay remote while staff are sent back to the office, further fueling resentment — and the Great Resignation.”
Related (From Ed): Of course, not everybody is back in the office these days: Office Vacancy Rate in San Francisco Hits a Pandemic High.
And to put it into visual terms: Visualizing All the Vacant Office Space in San Francisco.
IT’S ANOTHER INSURRECTION… NEVER MIND: U.S. Capitol Evacuated After Mixup With Army Golden Knights Parachute Team.
Plus, the usual histrionics from Nancy Pelosi.
DON’T GET COCKY: Two Respected Political Sites Make Massive House Predictions Shift Toward GOP. “Two of the most respected political prognostication sites — Larry Sabato’s Crystal Ball and The Cook Political Report — announced massive shifts in their partisan ratings for House races.”
HE MAKES EVERYTHING WORSE: Biden’s Child Allowance Made Tax Season Worse. “Over the last few weeks, many Americans came to the shocking realization that instead of getting a refund – a refund they’d been counting on to offset the last 12 months of rising prices – they would owe money to the federal government. Why? Because President Joe Biden’s now-expired government child allowance disrupted a longstanding tax benefit.”
KREMLINOLOGY REMAINS AN INEXACT SCIENCE AT BEST: Kremlin Insiders Alarmed Over Growing Toll of Putin’s War in Ukraine.
The ranks of the critics at the pinnacle of power remain limited, spread across high-level posts in government and state-run business. They believe the invasion was a catastrophic mistake that will set the country back for years, according to ten people with direct knowledge of the situation. All spoke on condition of anonymity, too fearful of retribution to comment publicly.
So far, these people see no chance the Russian president will change course and no prospect of any challenge to him at home. More and more reliant on a narrowing circle of hardline advisers, Putin has dismissed attempts by other officials to warn him of the crippling economic and political cost, they said.
Some said they increasingly share the fear voiced by U.S. intelligence officials that Putin could turn to a limited use of nuclear weapons if faced with failure in a campaign he views as his historic mission.
NOBODY LIKES JOE: Lefties in Panic Over Biden Support Collapse With Younger Voters. “To give you an idea of the actual bitterness felt by young voters for Biden, this TikTok video from March is closing in on two million views.”
PART 2: Is China Screwed? “Per capita wealth remains low, on the level of Mexico, the Maldives, and Kazakhstan. That means this mass of retirees won’t just contribute less to the economy, but will also require immense financial support — the kind China’s fractured pension and healthcare system isn’t remotely prepared for.”
Much more at the link.
AN “ARMY OF DAVIDS,” TO COIN AN INSTAPHRASE: We’re All Libs of TikTok Now — Get On Groomer Patrol.
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