It’s Monday, April 28th, 2014…and here’s The Gouge! First up in our Cover Story, writing at NRO, John Fund details…

The Increasing Desperation of Democrats

Slanders and lies may be part of a deliberate strategy to drive up turnout in November.  

Harry Reid isn’t backing down from his claim that rancher Cliven Bundy’s supporters are “domestic terrorists.”

It’s astonishing rhetoric given the White House’s characterization of the mass shooting by a genuine terrorist, Major Nidal Hasan, who killed 13 Americans at the Fort Hood Army base after yelling “Allahu Akbar!” (God is great.) Rather than labeling Hasan’s actions “domestic terrorism,” the Obama administration is prosecuting him for having committed “workplace violence.”…

Then again, as demonstrated in today’s edition of the “With Friends Like These…” segment, there remain prominent Republicans seemingly hell-bent on assisting the Dims in snatching victory from the jaws of defeat:

John McCain to host Hillary Clinton in Sedona, Ariz.

Since leaving the State Department last year, Hillary Rodham Clinton has racked upscores of accolades and appeared on many a big stage. Still, it might come as a surprise that a past Republican presidential nominee — specifically, the one who is among the loudest critics of Clinton’s handling of the Benghazi terrorist attacks — would invite her to his desert retreat for a lofty conversation about leadership values.

This is precisely what Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) has done.

Clinton, a prospective 2016 Democratic presidential candidate, will appear on stage Saturday with McCain at the Sedona Forum, an annual ideas festival hosted by the McCain Institute for International Leadership at Arizona State University. Clinton is among the national and international business leaders, philanthropists and public figures appearing at the gathering, held in Sedona, the tony red-rocks oasis in Arizona’s Verde Valley.

In a statement released Thursday, McCain called Clinton “my friend” and praised her public service career. “From her years of service as first lady, in the U.S. Senate and the State Department, one would be hard-pressed to find a leader with Secretary Clinton’s informed perspective on the many challenges facing America across the globe,” McCain said.

Why…because she’s helped create most of them?!?  Not that McCain could, if pressed, name a single positive achievement which qualifies Hillary for anything…outside of marrying…then staying with…Bill Clinton.  Then again, other than getting himself shot down and spending 5-1/2 years in the Hanoi Hilton, we can’t name a single thing of significance John McCain’s ever done…other than divorcing his crippled wife immediately upon returning from Vietnam and marrying a buxom beer heiress. Speaking of the Battling Bastage of Bosnia, borrowing a page from The Dear Misleader’s playbook, Hillary’s playing up her “religion”:

For Hillary Clinton, faith means caring for others

Yeah; caring for others.  Oh,…and slaughtering the unborn!!!  No contradiction there. And since we’re on the subject of the political party dedicated to the death and destruction of the defenseless, here as an aspect of the Queen of Death’s recent resignation you won’t catch on the network evening news:

Sebelius stays on just long enough to get government benefits

Mere coincidence we’re sure! Turning now to the Environmental Moment, courtesy of Balls Cotton, The Washington Free Beacon offers the facts that refute the feelings:

These Maps Destroy Any Objections to Keystone XL Pipeline

On Friday, President Barack Obama extended the decision on Canada’s Keystone XL pipeline until after the 2014 midterm elections. Announced on a Friday afternoon (the Good Friday holiday, no less) the story was barely covered by mainstream media outlets already heading out of town for their extended Easter weekend.

In a call with reporters on Friday, a Senior State Department official speaking on background said the administration “felt that it is important to have additional information and a better understanding of what that route might be, because it could have implications for the environmental, cultural and socioeconomic impacts that are being evaluated by the agencies.”

This explanation is spurious, at best. The U.S. portion of Keystone will consist of 1,078 miles of 30″ pipeline. Sounds like a major environmental issue, right? Not when compared to the already existing 2.3 million miles of pipeline already in the U.S. pumping petroleum, gas, and chemical products every day.

To hear Obama warn against Keystone, you’d think this 1,000 miles of new pipe would be the deal-breaker in his campaign promise to slow the rise of the ocean’s tides. It defies any sense of logic or reason to suggest that 1,000 miles of new pipeline, installed with 2014 technology, would somehow endanger humanity when we already have 2,300 times that much already working without catastrophe.

So what is at play in this decision?

The answer could be found in the New York Times just two months ago:

A billionaire retired investor is forging plans to spend as much as $100 million during the 2014 election, seeking to pressure federal and state officials to enact climate change measures through a hard-edge campaign of attack ads against governors and lawmakers.

How would a billionaire environmentalist effect the President’s unpopular decision to delay the Keystone decision? Politico connected some of the dots:

He spent millions on the 2013 Massachusetts Senate and Virginia governor’s races, helping Democrats Ed Markey and Terry McAuliffe prevail, and has become one of the most outspoken opponents of the proposed Keystone XL oil pipeline. The group has also showed signs it’s willing to go after Democrats who support Keystone, possibly including vulnerable Louisiana Sen. Mary Landrieu.

Bottom line: There’s money in them thar anti-Keystone hills!

Most observers believe Obama will eventually make the obvious decision to allow Keystone. Big Labor supports it as well as a majority of U.S. senators, including many from his own party. That’s what makes the delay so transparently cynical: As long as the Keystone question is open, the big money from deep-pocketed donors who have an obsession with global warming will continue to gush into the Democrat’s coffers.

Any…

…questions?!? In a related item, here’s our “Better Late Than Never” segment, and an AP report which would have been noteworthy five years ago…

Study: Corn biofuel causes more ‘global warming’ than gasoline…

Which is when, way back in 2009, Scientific American, an unabashed advocate of the theory of anthropogenic global warming, published more definitive findings: 

Corn Ethanol Will Not Cut Greenhouse Gas Emissions

California regulators may rule that the biofuel is no better–and might be worse–than petroleum for solving climate change

On the other hand, these counterproductive, government-mandated corn-based ethanol requirements DO provide added Environazi-friendly benefits such as dramatically higher gas and food prices and reducing the surplus population in the Third World.  Next up, in the Sports Section, a story you probably haven’t read about a player you likely don’t know:

‘I’m done’: Rolando McClain pulls the plug on comeback attempt

Rolando McClain has had enough. He was once a highly touted linebacker out of Alabama who was a high first-round draft pick (No. 8 overall) of theRaiders back in 2010. But several off-field and on-field struggles later, McClain found himself out of the league after retiring as a member of the Ravens last season. However, it seemed he was attempting to make a comeback inBaltimore just last week.

On Monday, McClain officially gave up. The writing was on the wall after McClain’s disastrous workout with the Ravens on April 15. He showed up late, wasn’t able to complete the standard conditioning test and was apparently uncooperative.

McClain, 24, is still a young man and can do any number of things with his life. However, at least for now, football is out.

Yeah…

…name ONE!  Reason #42 a significant number of professional athletes, particularly in football and basketball, end up dead-ass broke despite earning millions, if not tens of millions, of dollars.

Then there’s this bit of sports-related selective outrage:

Obama: Alleged remarks by NBA Clippers owner ‘incredibly offensive’

“Incredibly offensive”; really?!?  Ignorant, bigoted and contemptible, yes; but “highly offensive”…when you’re constantly hanging around with the likes of… …THESE THREE?!? Yet another example of how The Great Divider has helped redefine mindless bigotry: By the way, don’t look for The Dear Misleader or any of his MSM shills to point out Sterling’s affiliation with the Dimocratic Party or a variety of Liberal causes.  Though Donald should probably think about… …think about canceling his travel plans for the NAACP awards gala! And finally, on the Lighter Side, it’s a Michael Ramirez special: Magoo