The Morning Report — 1/5/23

Good morning, kids. So, Kevin McLuntz lost a sixth vote last night for House Speaker. Between the Democrats guffawing – and as some say, being incredibly stupid by not making him the proverbial "offer he can't refuse" by dragging his sagging ass over the finish line in exchange for being their puppet for the next two years – and the GOPe with its hair on fire because of the 20 "terrorists" in their eyes preventing him from taking the seat, you'd think this was an existential crisis the likes of which rattle the very foundation of the republic to its core.

Bitch, please. The most laugh-out-loud commentary on this episode, which just oozes cluelessness comes from some fellow at PJ Media by the name of Lincoln Brown.

If, however, the interest is over committee assignments or potential benefits, or if said congressperson simply has an axe that they feel needs grinding, then it may be time to reconsider. If personal gain or making a point is the reason for objecting to McCarthy, then there is an albeit risk not only of electing a minority party speaker but also of turning into the thing to which you are ostensibly opposed and rendering the GOP MIA.

That is not to say that the dissenters need to roll over. McCarthy would do well to heed the concerns of the opposition. That is also part of running a Republic. Compromise can work and Boebert asserts that McCarthy has rebuffed proposals from his opponents.

The questions that McCarthy and rebellion must answer, as soon as possible, are not just cui bono, but what are they trying to accomplish? Our Republic is not designed to be easy, but at some point, there comes a time to get on with the people’s business.

Let me not jump entirely down Mr. Brown's throat because he does make a few valid observations both about the process, the motivations of the individuals involved on our side, and perhaps the negative outcome should a Democrat or Democrat-controlled or influenced GOPe Speaker be selected. Perfectly reasonable except for one tiny detail he doesn't seem to realize: the nation as founded and as it was intended to be governed ceases to exist. All of this, at least in my estimation, is complete kabuki-bukkake theater.

First of all, as messy as all of this appears, it's actually the way things were intended to be. I have no problems with that, insofar as it shows healthy skepticism, debate and people standing on principles. As for "doing the people's business," Congress has not come anywhere close to doing that at least since the end of the Second World War, if not before that. Probably its last stand was when FDR's own party rebelled against some of the more egregious aspects of the New Deal and his court-packing scheme to ram it all down our throats.

"Doing the people's business." Pfft. Let me state this as clearly as I can. Every single nano-second that this government is prevented from "doing the people's business," which amounts to robbing us of our freedom, our finances and our children's children's futures, is a blessed gift from The Almighty to be savored in that it prevents, or at least forestalls our inevitable plunging into the abyss. If we're not plunging already.

In any case, I will say that symbolically at least, it does show that not everyone in that House of Representatives Ill-Repute is a phony criminal whore out to line his/her pockets. Opposition to McCarthy and digging in the heels is for sure a barometer of the mood of the people who are sick and fucking tired of this go along to get along corruption and business as usual.

As of this morning, supposedly McCarthy has caved in to the complete list of demands the holdouts want in return for their votes. Does that really mean anything, not only in terms of the value of McCarthy's word but more crucially, in terms of the status of this nation, which is to say, that it's dead?

The Morning Report's biggest fan, Victor Davis Hanson:

Did someone or something seize control of the United States?

What happened to the U.S. border? Where did it go? Who erased it? Why and how did 5 million people enter our country illegally? Did Congress secretly repeal our immigration laws? Did Joe Biden issue an executive order allowing foreign nationals to walk across the border and reside in the United States as they pleased?

Since when did money not have to be paid back? Who insisted that the more dollars the federal government printed, the more prosperity would follow? When did America embrace zero interest? Why do we believe $30 trillion in debt is no big deal? . . .

. . . How did a virus cancel the Constitution? Did the lockdowns rob of us of our sanity? Or was it the woke hysteria that ignited our collective madness?

We are beginning to wake up from a nightmare to a country we no longer recognize, and from a coup we never knew.

VDH is a pretty sharp cookie, so I will assume the gravamen of his discourse consists of rhetorical questions. Yet, considering everything he asks and his final question, you have to really ponder the vaudeville act going on in the House as we speak.

In light of all of this, does it really matter who gets to wield Malig-Nancy Pelosi's clown gavel? In the end (pun intended), we're the ones getting the Paul Pelosi treatment with it.

ABOVE THE FOLD, BREAKING, NOTEWORTHY
• "The [Chinese] Covid regime’s grip may have loosened during the heat of the 2022 election cycle, but the ‘forever pandemic’ fearmongers are back."
  The Tyrannical Chinese Covid Regime is Quietly Reviving the "Forever Pandemic"
  
• "Why invest if there is no chance to profit and see your investment grow?"
  Wall Street Will Die
  
• Daniel Greenfield: "AP takes millions from groups leveraged in green investments to promote the need for green investments."
  How Green Investors Pay the Media to Promote "Climate Change"

LUNTZ'S DUNSEL?
• "The deal with the McCarthy-affiliated super PAC, the Congressional Leadership Fund (CLF), involves CLF agreeing to stay out of open-seat Republican primaries in safely red districts, as well as CLF vowing not to enable other super PACs to do the same."
  Speaker Race Breakthrough: McCarthy PAC Agrees with Conservatives on No Spending in Safe Open-Seat Primaries
  
• "Needing 18 votes, McCarthy only received 201 votes, while House Democrats unanimously backed Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) for speaker with 212 votes. A small fraction of House Republicans gave 20 votes to Rep. Byron Donalds (R-FL), and one member voted present."
  House Speaker Vote Fails for Fifth Time
  
• “The motion to vacate is something that is a simple tool available to members, but it's not really used by members. It’s only been used twice in the last 100 years. It does speak more loudly to concerns about the ability to effectively lead the chamber if that's what the concern is. It shouldn't be a concern, and this is the thing that I want to make sure the American people understand,” he said.
  Donalds: "In Any Corporation … the Board of Directors Can Call a Vote at Any Time"
  
• "Republican Reps. Chip Roy of Texas and Lauren Boebert of Colorado nominated Donalds to challenge McCarthy on the fourth and fifth ballots. Donalds garnered 20 votes from the anti-McCarthy representatives in the Republican conference, which prevented McCarthy from receiving the 218 votes needed to be handed the gavel."
  Filthy Shit-Whore Racialist Cori Bush Calls Rep. Byron Donalds a "Prop," Accuses Him of "Perpetuating White Supremacy"
  
• "The political realignment has been evident to anyone paying attention since Donald Trump rode down the escalator in 2015. Republicans will continue to ignore the Obama-Obama-Trump voter, the blue-collar voter, the parents, and the freedom voters at their peril. The recent Florida election results show that rejecting the status quo and delivering results for the people you represent is a winning strategy. Perhaps the GOP should try it."
  A Significant Majority of Republican Voters Agree With the GOP Rebels
  
• ". . . no matter what happens, the beauty is in the process. If he wants to sway the 20 dissenters, McCarthy should show a path forward that could result in real change in the way the House conducts its business. He should commit to transparency and rules reform that will stop the practice of pushing through mammoth spending bills one minute before midnight at the end of the congressional session. Unfortunately, he’s shown no indication that he wants to change the status quo, and the 20 holdouts know that. So let’s have that fight."
  Don't Buy the Establishment's Spin on the House Speaker Fight
  * * * * *

• "She also stated Democrats would require Republicans to give concessions, such as potentially giving up committee seats to Democrats." (comedy gold, except the GOPe is perfectly capable of doing this shit - jjs)
  House Democrats Float ‘Unity Speaker’ Possibility amid GOP Speaker Debate
  
• "With 222 Republican representatives, McCarthy can afford only four defections. There are 20 votes against McCarthy as of Wednesday morning."
  Dem Side of the House Called to Order as Rep. Cammack Rebukes "Popcorn, and Blankets, and Alcohol"
  
• "A Republican majority in the House gives conservatives a chance to make meaningful procedural changes."
  Trimming Back the Speakership
  
• David Harsanyi: "It’s just a vote about management."
  Relax, the GOP Fight Over House Speaker Doesn’t Really Matter
  
• "The questions that McCarthy and rebellion must answer, as soon as possible, are not just cui bono, but what are they trying to accomplish? Our Republic is not designed to be easy, but at some point, there comes a time to get on with the people’s business." (the author of this piece is utterly clueless - jjs)
  At Some Point, You Have to Deal With Reality

  FIRST AMENDMENT ISSUES, CENSORSHIP, FAKE NEWS, MEDIA, BIG BROTHER TECH

• "Musk has become both widely vilified and widely lauded recently for bringing more free speech to Twitter. But he continues to be a hypocrite when it comes to Communist China."
  Security Risk? Elon Musk Makes China Chief His Top U.S. Exec
  
• "Analysis: Liberal journalists have way too much sympathy for degenerate élites."
  Media Still Fawning Over FTX Fraudsters Caroline Ellison and Sam "the Sham Bank-Fraud" Bankman-Fried
  
• "As Americans get pestered by the digital hall monitors, criminals are emboldened."
  Losing Our Freedom to the Digital Pinkertons
  
• "Fake news, hoaxes, and other cases of widely disseminated misinformation have at times led to awards for damages. . . "
  Fake News, Twitter, Elon Musk, and the Fight Against Online Disinformation
  
• The email was sent by someone at KRCG CBS 13 in Missouri, which is owned by Sinclair and is a CBS affiliate. In the email, the outlet called Trump’s Super PAC’s emails “pathetic” and called Trump a “criminal, traitorous, idiot candidate.” It was sent in response to an “ICYMI” email from the PAC sharing an op-ed that says “Trump Can Rescue, Restore the American Dream.”
  CBS Affiliate Launches Investigation Over Anti-Trump Email
  
• Somewhere in Hell, Lord Haw-Haw says "That's my boy!"
  Former Rep. Adam Kinzinger to Become CNN Contributor

  CIVIL WAR 2.0: J-6 FBI FALSE FLAG "RIOT" & AFTERMATH, LEFTIST PERSECUTIONS, DEMOCRAT PUTSCH, AMERICAN DISSOLUTION

• "Demand Justice shows no signs of giving up after losing on court packing, filibuster reform." (first person whose platform includes seizing the Soros assets wins my endorsement - jjs)
  Nazi Collaborator George Soros Doubles Funding to Left-Wing Legal Group Working To Upend Supreme Court
  
• "Canada's descent into fascism continues apace."
  Peterson Ordered to Report to Reeducation Camp for Criticizing Trudeau *UPDATED*
  
• "The juxtaposition between the two parties says everything about the state of American race relations today."
  Democrats Refuse to Cheer Martin Luther King Jr. on House Floor
  
• "The Founders established a government that Lincoln later described as 'Of the people, by the people, and for the people.' We don’t have that."
  Has the American Experiment Failed?
  
• Victor Davis Hanson: "We are beginning to wake up from a nightmare to a country we no longer recognize, and from a coup we never knew."
  The Coup We Never Knew

  RED-GREENS, CLIMATE CHANGE HOAX, DEMOCRAT-LEFT WAR ON FOSSIL FUELS, JUNK SCIENCE, LYSENKOISM

• "Biden sold millions of reserve barrels to China, other foreign entities."
  Biden Junta Touts Drained Emergency Oil Reserves as Top 2022 Accomplishment
  
• Forget the threats and just pull the friggin' plug and make them cry uncle.
  Kentucky GOP Treasurer Threatens 11 Banks With Divestment for Boycotting Fossil Fuels

  THE ECONOMY, STUPID

• "Primary concerns cited in the survey of 23 primary dealers, including those from Barclays PLC, Bank of America Corp, TD Securities, and UBS Group AG, were a dwindling of pandemic savings, a decline in the housing market, and a tightening of lending rules as potential warning signs of an incoming recession."
  Economists at Major Banks Predict US Recession in 2023
  
• "The number of open positions at the end of November was 10.5 million—topping even the highest estimates. The median forecast was for 10.1 million. The end of October figure was revised from 10.334 million to 10.512 million, indicating the jobs market was tighter than previously thought and the decline in openings at the end of last year was less substantial than it looked."
  Job Openings Stay Much Higher Than Expected, Fueling Inflation Fears and Expectations for Fed Hikes
  
• "Voters seek pullback from world's most populous nation, even if it means a weaker US economy."
  Americans Want U.S. Firms to "Stand Up" to China: I&I/TIPP Poll
  
• Terry Jeffrey: "Did you get your money's worth? Will the government ever pay this money back? The answers are no and no."

  In 2022, Biden Increased Debt $11,374 per Worker – But for What?

  AMNESTY, IMMIGRATION, BORDER SECURITY

• He's going to cheer it on and grope tweener Latinas.
  After Two Years of Record Illegal Immigration, Biden to Visit Southern Border
  
• “While I expect [so-called quote-unquote "president"] Biden will deflect and possibly lie about his failures, similar to what both of his White House Press Secretaries have done, I am happy that certain media outlets have attempted to present the truth to the American people and be the watchdogs necessary to bring about positive change, which is undoubtedly the catalyst for this visit,” Judd said.
  ‘Give The Illusion’: Border Patrol Agents, Union President Pour Cold Water On Biden’s Planned Border Visit
  
• "The report found that the White House has relied on NGOs, some of which present themselves as charities or religiously affiliated nonprofits, to provide shelter, food, and transportation resources to migrants. While these NGOs are partly funded by private donations, a significant percentage of their funding comes from American taxpayers. One of the mentioned organizations is Catholic Charities, a prominent NGO with operations across America and around the world."
  Biden Junta Using Charities, Non-Profits to Hide Cost of Border Crisis
  
• “Colorado earmarked $5 million to assist people identified as migrants, including helping them purchase bus tickets. About half the money is allocated already.”
  Colorado Dem Governor Jared Polis to Send Migrants to Chicago and NYC
  
• "It’s hard to imagine how anyone could choose to further punish legal immigrants by saddling them with higher fees to help speed up the process for illegals claiming asylum to come into our country."
  Biden to Increase Fees for Legal Immigration to Cover Costs Processing Illegals

  CRIME & PUNISHMENT, NON-DOSTOYEVSKY

• "The statements corroborate reports that Bickford was motivated by Islamic extremism. A recent Muslim convert, he expressed a desire to fight for Islamic militants in the Middle East, prompting his family to notify the authorities. The FBI later placed him on its terrorism watchlist."
  Times Square Assailant Says He Attacked Police Because US Supports Israel
  
• "It should be noted that a gag order was issued on police and lawyers involved in the case, restricting them from speaking to media. If Fox’s source is real, the individual is in violation of that court order. If the source is accurate, however, it’s a pretty slick move by law enforcement."
  Traffic Stop or Sting? Were Cops Instructed by FBI to Get Video of Idaho Suspect Bryan Kohberger's Hands?
  
• "The men didn’t do it in the name of climate change or far-left groups." (true, but you better believe the latter took notice - jjs)
  Two Men Arrested in Connection With Attacks on Washington State Power Substations
  
• "All for equality and equality for all."
  YAS QUEEN: Amber McLaughlin Becomes First Trans Woman Executed by Lethal Injection
  
• "As a new year dawns, residents await leadership that can address the city’s harrowing crime problem."
  Can Philadelphia Turn the Page?

  AMERICA AND THE WORLD IMPRISONED: CHINESE CORONAVIRUS FICTIONS AND FACTS

• "Meanwhile, former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo demands that the US ban Chinese travelers."
  China’s President Xi Admits Zero [Chinese] Covid Policy Was a Failure

  SECOND AMENDMENT

• "Now that Oregon narrowly passed some of the most restrictive gun control laws in the country this past election, should it be any surprise that Washington wants to follow suit?"
  Washington State is Coming for Your Guns

  EDUCATION, AND WHAT PASSES FOR IT

• "The MIT resolution is not perfect, reflecting in it the large number of faculty that opposed the idea of free speech."
  Backlash against MIT’s blacklisting of teacher forces it to adopt Free Speech Resolution
  
• “One of the most egregious violations of academic freedom in recent memory.”
  Hamline University Under Fire for Not Renewing Art Prof’s Contract for Showing Images of Muhammad

  ABORTION

• "The new FDA update comes following a year of significant changes to abortion policies. In June, the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade and returned abortion laws to individual states."
  FDA Says Abortion Pills Can Now be Offered at Retail Pharmacies

  SHAMPEACHMENT 1.0, 2016 CLINTON/OBAMA COUP, CONGRESSIONAL PERSECUTION, SPYGATE, DEEP STATE, MUELLER DECEPTION

• "Attorney General Merrick Garland tapped Smith, a former war crimes prosecutor, to be special counsel to take over two Department of Justice investigations into Trump in November. Smith accepted the appointment but was initially held back at The Hague in the Netherlands as he recovered from a biking accident."
  Special Counsel Jack Smith Returns To United States To Lead Investigations Into Trump

  DEMOCRAT/LEFTIST AND RINO SCANDALS, MESHUGAS, CHUTZPOCRISY

• "His dishonesty, in an ironic way, is more truthful than the posturing of the preening hypocrites denouncing him."
  The Truth Behind George Santos’ Lies

  POLITICS

• "After mumbling that he had been to more than 140 countries, Biden, gripping the podium as if it were a life buoy, delivered his zinger . . . Hopefully, someone translates that into English sometime soon."
  Biden: ‘The World Is Not a Patch in Our Jeans’
  
• "What chance does he have now of being able to do the job of a U.S. senator?" (that's why they have Kalorama - jjs)
  WATCH: "Lumpy" Fetterman's Painfully Awkward Swearing-in Renews Doubts About Ability to Serve
  
• "The beginning of the end of Joe Biden's political career."
  Biden’s Year of Reckoning
  
• "Voters who think Congress doesn’t care are, by far, the most pessimistic about the prospects that the new Congress will get anything of substance accomplished."
  Just 1 in 5 of Voters Say Congress Cares What Constituents Think; 57% Doubt It’ll Address Nation’s Important Problems
  
• "In the end, we will make the choice."
  What Lies Ahead for Trump and We the People?
  
• "Moderate" means he leans just to the right of Trotsky. Brain dead in O-hi-o.
  Ohio Statehouse Elects ‘Moderate’ Republican for Speaker with Democrat Support

  THE UKRAINIAN "FRONT"

• "The human suffering in Ukraine is predicated on massive U.S. military aid, and is transforming an ailing country into a bankrupt failed state."
  The Long-Term Economic Implications of the Ukraine War

  FOREIGN AFFAIRS, INTERNATIONAL

• "Biden can’t ‘walk and chew gum at the same time’ when it comes to managing America’s Ukraine and Taiwan commitments."
  Our Ukraine Obsession is Hanging Taiwan Out to Dry, and the Biden Junta Just Admitted It
  
• "For a time, he implemented serious tax reform, an American adviser to Putin recalls."
  When Putin Got Into Reaganomics
  
• "Making a premature judgement on Netanyahu’s coalition government."
  The Double Standard in Dealing With Israel

  WE-ALL-SLAM-FOR-I-SLAM

• "Michel Houllebecq is being proved correct about the Muslim invasion of France."
  French Writer Sued by Paris Mosque for Expressing an Opinion

  DOMESTIC AFFAIRS, THE COURTS, WASTE/FRAUD/ABUSE

• "Over the opposition of progressives, Governor Hochul nominates a former prosecutor as the next chief judge—and a battle looms."
  High Noon at New York’s High Court

  FEMINAZISM, TRANSGENDER PSYCHOSIS, HOMOSEXUALIZATION, WAR ON MASCULINITY/NORMALCY

• "The social contagion angle is red meat for the populist right-wing base, who see their children immersed in cult-like groupthink in every civic institution, bankrolled by woke corporate foundations with their own interests in mind. Their outrage is morally justified in this regard. But the parallel physiological drop-off in sperm counts and testosterone levels, which effectively feminizes boys and men, is also likely an underappreciated angle and arguably even more important than social conditioning."
  Shocking Brand New Research: Testosterone in Total Freefall, May Account for Explosion in Transgenderism
  
• "A 7–4 vote by the 11th Circuit permits schools to segregate bathrooms by sex."
  Appeals Court Upholds Florida Bathroom Policy
  
• "Drag shows are quickly descending to staggering depths of depravity." (why were the parents not "dragging" their children the hell away from there? - jjs)
  Man in "Drag" Acts Out Self-Induced Abortion on Stage in Front of Children
  
• "Rick Zbur spent years at the helm of an activist group that encouraged teachers to lie to parents." (he should go through the procedure by having his junk yanked out – through his throat - jjs)
  Meet the California Assemblyman Who Wants Teachers to Help Students Get Sex Change Operations

  CULTURE WARS, NATIONAL SUICIDE

• "Men can get pregnant, don't you dare ask for data, and other lessons from diversity training across the federal government."
  What the Feds Are Teaching in Diversity Training
  
• "Human composting treats ends as means, and lets us hide from the true nature of our mortality."
  Against Fertile Remains
  
• Christian Toto: "Spotify podcaster comes out on top after furious attempts to silence him."
  It’s Official: Joe Rogan Beat Cancel Culture in 2022
  
• "Does the Washington Post even know the difference between freedom and slavery?"
  Who Will Free the Enslavers
  
• "Conservatives shouldn’t mistake good habits for good politics."
  The Perils of Lifestyle Rightism
  
• "Music doesn’t have to be original to be good, but it does have to be good; being a copycat is OK if you’re decent at it."
  Mediocre Copycat Musicians Who Flood Big Tech’s Algorithms Make Music Worse
  
• "Zeffirelli’s cinematic take on one of the most romantic stories in western history was rightly honored with several awards, including a Golden Globe for Hussey. It’s a shame that more than 50 years later, Hussey and Whiting would look to cash in on the least artistic part of their masterpiece."
  Romeo and Juliet Actors From the 1960s Sue Paramount for Sexually Exploiting Them

  HITHER & YON

• "Apollo 7 was the first manned mission in the program, following the tragic fire on the launchpad that claimed the lives of astronauts Roger Chaffee, Gus Grissom, and Ed White. Cunningham flew Apollo 7 with Wally Schirra and Don Eisele."
  Walt Cunningham, Apollo 7 Astronaut and Climate Alarmism Skeptic, Dies at Age 90
  
• "Time and time again, Reagan has proven his acting ability, yet this ability (not to mention, the variety in his performances) has either gone unrecognized or is diminished, and often denigrated."
  A Picture-Perfect Girl
  
• Lloyd Billingsley: "Liberalism, journalism and comedy aren’t what they used to be."
  Remembering Barbara Walters

NOTE: The opinions expressed in the links may or may not reflect my own. I include them because of their relevance to the discussion of a particular issue.

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posted by J.J. Sefton at 07:21 AM

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