GOP Reps Told to "Shut Up"
During his State-of-the-Union speech, President Biden made yet another attempt to exploit the death of his "heroic" son Beau from brain cancer. Unlike his disgraced son Hunter who was discharged from the Navy for drug abuse, Beau was deployed to Iraq in 2008. In 2015 he died of brain cancer, which his father speculated may have been caused by exposure to toxic smoke from "burn pits." The President's intent was to show that he, too, has experience the pain of loss from a war.
This tale of woe marked the 1,000th time the President has referred to the loss of his son. During this rendition two Republican members of the House of Representatives--Marjorie Taylor Greene (GA) and Lauren Boebert (CO)--interjected "what about the 13" who were killed in the President's botched Afghanistan withdrawal. At this point, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) shouted back "shut up."
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif) praised Graham's courage and wisdom, saying "he's one of the few Republicans who understands the role required of a minority party and is willing to turn on his own Party's members to enforce it. The President is the only one elected to speak for the whole nation. It is the obligation of everyone else to support and applaud what he has to say. That's what unity means. Sadly, what we mostly get from the Republicans is unpatriotic opposition and terroristic obstruction from people like Greene and Boebert. I am confident that voters will rebuff these kinds of attacks by electing a Democratic majority to the House and Senate this Fall."
Buttigieg Defends Incoherent Energy Policy
Since Russia's war on Ukraine is largely funded by profits from selling its oil and gas, MSNBC journalist Stephanie Ruhle wondered "why the sanctions President Biden imposed do not include the 700,000 barrels of petroleum products per day the US buys from Russia? Aren't these purchases aiding and abetting Russia's aggression?"
US Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg admitted that "to the unsophisticated observer it looks that way, but since the President has committed this country to weaning itself off of fossil fuels he had to cancel the Keystone Pipeline and shut down oil drilling on public lands. The 800,000 barrels a day that Keystone could have provided would have enabled us to completely boycott Russian oil. The short-term impact of such a boycott could have seriously undermined Russia's war effort, but it would also undermine our conversion to green energy."
"Yes, I see that," Ruhle said, "but doesn't replacing US produced energy with Russian-produced energy also undermine the green energy agenda?"
"You make a good point," the Secretary acknowledged. "However, in the months running up to the November elections the price spike for gasoline that would result from a boycott would severely hamper the chances for Democrats to retain our majorities in Congress. Helping to fund Russia's war by buying their petroleum is the lesser evil. The thousands of lives lost in Ukraine would be bad. The dozens of seats lost in Congress would be an intolerable disaster for our country. After the elections will be the time for Democrats to push the price of gasoline beyond the reach of selfish individuals who put their own freedom of mobility ahead of their collective duty to sacrifice for a greener tomorrow."
In related news, by a vote of 221-202, Democrats in the House rebuffed a GOP effort aimed at reclaiming the energy independence achieved during the Trump Administration by restarting the Keystone Pipeline and allowing oil drilling on public land. Speaker Nancy Pelosi called the GOP measure an unnecessary attempt to embarrass the President. He has already ordered the release of 60 million barrels of oil from our strategic reserves." Sixty million barrels is enough to meet three days worth of US demand.
"Gross Violation of Human Rights"
The police-state inflicted on New Zealand by Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern received a severe rebuke from the country's high court this week when Justice Francis Cooke ruled that "ordering people to be vaccinated or face losing their jobs was not a reasonably justified breach of the Bill of Rights. The mandate impinged on the basic right to decline a medical procedure."
Cooke also observed that "inasmuch as the current situation is one in which those vaccinated are just as likely as those who are not to become infected with and transmit the latest variant of covid, there is no medical evidence to support a vaccination mandate. It is an infringement without practical value."
Ardern is said to be perplexed by the ruling and uncertain on what to do next. "I've been proceeding on the assumption that restricting freedom is essential for the battle against this dread disease," she asserted. "Left on their own, people engage in all sorts of unhealthy habits. The covid emergency gave the government leeway to interdict these behaviors. If we accept the court's ruling as dispositive the anarchy of individual choice will prevent a unified front for imposing life-saving limits on the ignorant masses who depend on us to guide them to safety."
Internationally recognized covid expert Dr. Anthony Fauci called the New Zealand court's decision "a potential calamity of unconstrained magnitude. Individual freedom must take a backseat to public health. Courts do the people a disservice by contradicting the advice of experts and restraining the power of government to compel obedience to that advice. Allowing individuals to decide for themselves whether to receive inoculations prescribed for them by their governing authorities is a step backward from the new world order we have had so much success in promoting during the pandemic."
Meanwhile, Democrats in California want to extend the abuse of power accumulated during the pandemic by passing two bills. AB1993 would require everyone holding a job—full or part time, public or private sector—to prove they've been vaccinated if they want to keep their job. AB 2098 would strip the medical licenses from any doctors who disagree with state-approved "facts" regarding covid vaccines or treatments. In separate action, Gov. Gavin Newsom is establishing a state agency "to work full time stifling any information contradicting the narrative surrounding covid and the vaccines. Others may welcome a return to the lax pre-covid era where people were free to make their own health choices. I am not."
In related news, California has the lowest literacy rate of any state—a statistic that Newsom hailed as "a major contributor to our success as a political party."
US Supreme Court Says State AG Can Defend Law
In an 8-1 decision, the US Supreme Court ruled that Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron has the authority to defend the state's law against live-dismemberment abortions. The ruling reversed a 6th Circuit Court decision that "a State Attorney General lacks the authority to take action counter to the wishes of the current Governor."
Writing for the majority, Justice Alito said that "defending the state's laws is an independent function of the state's Attorney General. The fact that the current governor disagrees with a law enacted prior to his administration is not a valid reason for trying to negate its defense in court. His only legitimate route is to ask the current legislature to repeal the law."
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) disagreed with the Supreme Court's decision, saying that "first, quibbling over how an unwanted child is dispatched should not impede a woman's legal right to terminate that child. There may be good medical reasons for why dismembering the child is necessary. For example, the pregnancy might be too far along for a less gruesome method to be safe and effective. Second, since it is inconceivable that the Supreme Court will reverse its 1973 Roe v. Wade precedent, state efforts to limit the unrestricted right to an abortion created by that decision must inevitably be struck down. The efforts of Cameron and his ilk are just wasted motion clogging up the system."
In related news, President Biden vowed "to give up ice cream for lent as penance for my continued support of abortion. Personally, I'm against it. I would never have one myself, but Democrat voters demand that their freedom to dispose of unwanted children must be legally protected. This includes the women who don't want to be mothers and the men who don't want to be fathers. Not every father can have a son as brave as Beau or as financially successful as Hunter. So, I can't blame them for wanting out of their obligation to support a child they sired."
Gov Says His Dictatorial Rule Necessary
Washington Gov. Jay Inslee insists that "the continuation of my rule by emergency decree is necessary to prevent a coup by Trump and his right-wing extremist supporters. Only by ensuring that dictatorial powers remain in the hands of enlightened progressives like myself can democracy be saved from overthrow."
Inslee cited "Trump's encouragement of the development of covid vaccines via Operation Warp Speed is a prime example of the threat to democracy he poses. Sure, he helped make vaccines available, but he didn't force everyone to get vaccinated. That task was left to the Democratic president who succeeded him. Eighty-one million voters chose Biden over Trump in 2020. Biden used this as a mandate to compel submission to being vaccinated. That is what democracy is all about—choosing a leader and then obeying his decrees. Well, voters also chose me. I won't let them down."
Washington House Minority Leader JT Wilcox contends that "Inslee's demand that he be allowed to continue rule by decree is the antithesis of democracy. Democracy isn't just the right to vote for a person to hold public office. It also includes basic freedoms like the freedom to disagree with the government without being persecuted by that government, the right to pursue happiness, and the liberty to to try to achieve it."
Biden Dismisses Threat of Nuclear War
Earlier this week, Russian President Vladimir Putin directed his military to move to heightened readiness to launch nuclear weapons because of "aggressive statements" by NATO countries. Russian TV host Dmitry Kiselyov boasted "our submarines can shoot more than 500 nuclear warheads. This would guarantee destruction of the USA, and all other NATO countries."
In answer to a reporter's question "should Americans be worried about nuclear war?" President Biden responded with a firm "no. Look, surveys show that less than 25% of Americans can find Delaware on a map. We're counting on Putin doing even worse. As long as I stay in my basement I should be safe. Americans need not fear that their leader in this time of crisis will be taken out. Hey, with any luck a Russian nuclear missile strike will take out Manchin in West Virginia. He poses a far greater threat to this country than Russia ever will."
Meanwhile, the White House is said to be exploring the idea of sending Vice-President Kamala Harris to Russia to serve as a hostage. "With the VP in Putin's hands this should alleviate any fears he has regarding our designs on him," said a confidential source. "It should immediately offset the demand by Sen. Graham that Putin be targeting for assassination. Clearly, we could not go ahead when the cost would be the murder or torture of Harris if she is in their hands. So far, she has been a net negative for the President. The feeling here is that it's time she made a positive contribution to the Administration."
