It’s Friday, July 30th, 2021…but before we begin, we offer two other citations we considered for our Quote of the Day immediately above:

“So the vaccines work, the only people getting sick are the unvaccinated, but the vaccinated still have to wear masks. Why is that? You just read it. Quote: “Public health leaders in our administration have made the determination.” In other words, because we said so. That’s the medical justification for suffocating your 3rd-grader with a paper mask forever. “Public health leaders in the administration have made the determination.” They issue the rule, without explaining it. You then obey it. If you question it, CNN calls you a murderer. That’s how our government works.” – Tucker Carlson

“You cannot work yourself into a frenzy denouncing unvaccinated rural Americans and Trump voters as a bunch of ignorant, tin-foil-hat-wearing lunatics who are extending the pandemic and the suffering it has caused for everyone and then shrug when a bunch of teachers refuse to get vaccinated.” – Jay Caruso, commenting on the fact fully 40% of NYC teachers REMAIN UNVACCINATED.

There is no question WHATSOEVER this entire “pandemic” is about power, NOT protecting people.

If further proof were needed, one need only look as far as the following headline courtesy of FOX via George Lawlor, which certainly doesn’t serve to lessen our skepticism of its seriousness and severity:

Texas police learn COVID-positive illegal immigrants sent to local hotels by Catholic charity without informing local authorities

Authorities became aware of the matter after a migrant group was seen exhibiting symptoms of COVID-19 inside Whataburger

 

Here’s the juice: You can draw only one of two conclusions from this incident.  First, this whole thing is indeed a scamdemic, and the lockdown, mask mandates and every other aspect of the vast, invasive government bureaucracy’s reaction to the Wuhan virus…which that same government bureaucracy helped birth…was intended to take down The Donald and gain powers citizens heretofore would not cede it.  Or, the pandemic is real, the Wuhan virus a genuine threat (though not as great as represented), but the Progressive powers-that-be place a greater value on overrunning the country with potential supporters than protecting the lives of law-abiding U.S. citizens.  After all…

Keep in mind, these ill illegals are being transported, at your expense, to every corner of the country.  Put in one place, they would constitute a population larger than nine existing states.  Their dispersal is undoubtedly intended to dilute Republican dominance in key congressional districts and states.  After all, these are Socialists, many more appropriately Communists, indiscernible from their Chinese, Cuban and Soviet comrades.  And as we all know…

And like their Communist comrades, nothing strikes fear in the heart of would-be dictators than an educated, informed citizen, as demonstrated in this video clip from Speed:

We for one have concluded…

Now, here’s The Gouge!

First up, NRO‘s Jack Crowe reports Mike Pompeo stated for the record…

Fauci ‘Should No Longer Be Serving in American Government’

 

“…Fauci insisted he’s never lied to Congress and said the Wuhan research “was judged by qualified staff up and down the chain as not being gain of function,” citing the extremely narrow gain-of-function definition developed by the Department of Health and Human Services, rather than the one commonly used by virologists.

But the specific label is beside the point, according to Pompeo. “My wife and I always taught our son, you tell the whole truth, you don’t quibble,” Pompeo said during a Monday night interview. “He is at best playing some sophisticated word game for his elitist doctor buddies. I don’t know the purpose of it but it’s dangerous.”

Fauci defended the NIH’s partnership with the Wuhan lab as recently as Sunday, and suggested that the agency has no plans to cut off funding for the kind of research which mounting circumstantial evidence suggests sparked the pandemic.

…Putting aside the question of whether U.S.-funded research caused the pandemic, Pompeo argued that Fauci should be removed over his refusal to adjust his thinking on the question of funding Chinese virology labs after witnessing the havoc of the last year. “That’s crazy,” Pompeo said of Fauci’s desire to continue funding dangerous research on bat coronaviruses in poorly run Chinese labs…”

We’ll go one further than Mike Pompeo and suggest not only should Dr. Faux Chi no longer be serving in government, he should forfeit his entire pension and spend the rest of his misspent, miserable life behind bars.  Harsh but heartfelt, as this man committed to paper his belief the risks of a new-and-far-more-lethal virus variant escaping from a sub-standard ChiCom lab were worth the potential advancement in science.

Sorry, but when you make calls like that without informing the population at large, and are proven wrong by events, your life should be relinquished.  So jail time’s a gift.

Continuing our COVID coverage, writing at Townhall.com, Kurt Schlichter asks us to…

Imagine If They Hadn’t Lied To Us For The Last 18 Months

 

“…Let’s try a thought experiment. Let’s imagine our ruling class was not as utterly corrupt, dishonest, incompetent and downright stupid as it manifestly is. I know that’s hard, but go with me.

This weird new virus appears and starts spreading. Instead of leveraging it to take down Trump, the Democrats appear with the Republican president and GOP leadership to announce they are working together to solve the problem. Imagine that instead of shaming people, first about wearing masks, then about not wearing masks, then about not wearing two masks, then no masks, then masks again, they went with transparency. 

“We are not sure how much, if at all, masks work. We’re running test trials to see and we’ll tell you what we find as soon as we have the data. In the meantime, let’s all wear them just in case.” And then, when they ran the studies, they would tell us the answer. 

Have you seen any studies about masks? We get a lot of that fascist gnome and others telling us to wear masks (after initially telling us they were useless – remember that memory-holed narrative?) but where’s the actual science?

See, you have to believe the science, and believe them when they tell you what it is yet won’t show you. Obey!

But trust is earned, and these people act like it is their right to have our trust, that we owe them to take it on faith that whatever these people say is the Gospel. Except they are wrong all the time, and instead of owning up to it, they treat you like some sort of idiot for noticing. When you don’t trust people who are perpetually wrong (and repeatedly and continuously LIE to you!!!), that’s not denying science. That is science – you are making observations, and drawing reasonable conclusions. In this case, the observation is that our establishment sucks, and that it can’t be trusted…”

Which is the only correct conclusion.  For as this clip from a recent Tucker Carlson Tonight demonstrates, they did lie, repeatedly and continually:

Tucker’s complete commentary can be viewed here; trust us, it’s well worth your time.

Speaking of those no longer deserving of trust, Kurt Schlichter offers this missive penned by a Navy officer who understandably prefers anonymity, as he…or she…details…

The General’s New Clothes: Transgender Policy and the Willful Demoralization of the American Military

The following is from @WhyWherever, aka Melquíades, a serving member of the military who, for obvious and sad reasons, cannot risk stating these views publicly. It is based on a powerful Twitter thread that highlights what our Navy has become under the woke leadership currently in place.

 

“…We’ve long expected that sort of chicanery from our politicians, but the leaders of our military were a different story.  We took them at their word when they swore an oath to the Constitution and we cherish our apolitical fighting force.  Unfortunately, it’s time for greater scrutiny. 

For those of you in the civilian world, it really is hard to explain the magnitude of god-like fear, awe, and respect these men command, to say nothing of the material rewards.  If you don’t think those are powerful hooks sunk deep into their skin, think again. They’ve spent lifetimes scraping and sweating to get where they are, and they’re not eager to see it disturbed.

So when policies like those recently issued by the DoD demanding everyone play along with the delusions of the mentally ill are issued – preferred pronouns and all – none of them says a word. Worse yet, they’ve been trained to pretend they agree.  What began with an oath to “support and defend the Constitution from all enemies, foreign and domestic” has become a luxuriant career that makes them wealthy, stages them for yet more lucrative follow-on careers, and stokes their egos into bonfires. 

Or do you believe that every one of these 50 and 60-year-old men suddenly realized that they’d been wrong all along? That Bradley Manning isn’t a traitor and that Chelsea Manning is a civil rights hero?  Be serious.

The only thing worse than men crazy enough to believe this nonsense is men cowardly enough to pretend they do. And that’s precisely what they’re doing. They’re pretending in order to protect the careers they love so dearly. 

Let’s be clear: if you believe a man can become a woman, you suffer from a psychological disorder on par with those in the throes of gender dysphoria, only you have no excuse. They are genuinely unwell; you have merely been deceived. (Or are willfully ignoring what you know to be true.)

Furthermore, if you genuinely believe that men and women can mutilate their genitals, change their clothes, and become the opposite sex, you are unfit for military service.  At any rank, in any position.  Full stop.

But these men don’t really believe it. They are motivated by varying combinations of a desire to get promoted and a fear of getting fired.  These are the men paid lavishly to defend our nation in time of war. Men who don’t have the spine to speak an obvious yet suddenly unspeakable truth. Men who will force out of service everyone who isn’t also a coward in order to maintain uniformity…”

Here’s a second supersized shot of the juice: The Socialists’ goal in remaking our Armed Forces is simple: A Military ready, willing and able to turn their weapons on their fellow citizens when their Socialist overlords deem it necessary to maintain power, or at the least unwilling to oppose the overthrow of the Constitution.  Not conjecture, not a conspiracy theory…

Truly an uncomfortable truth, but truth nonetheless.

Next, we offer a sextet of specially-selected items certain to pique the curiosity of inquiring Conservative minds:

(1). So, why the mask mandate for children? Look no further than the teachers unions, who have been lobbying the CDC to issue mask guidelines for students. In May, when the CDC repealed mask guidelines for the vaccinated, which they reversed this week, the country’s largest teacher’s unions insisted kids still wear them. 

(2). In a related item, as NRO‘s Charlie Cooke astutely observes, COVID-19 Has Given Us Progressivism Unleashed, and “Thankfully, if history is any guide, the backlash will last a lot longer than the pandemic.”

(3). Turns out the teary-eyed  Capitol Police officer who testified about his traumatic experience during the peaceful January 6th protest previously defended the violent riots In Kenosha.

This is precisely…

As for his claims to have been called the “N” word by someone in the crowd, sorry, but that’s the same patent, unverified  bullsh*t John Lewis tried back in 2010, except that time it was Tea Partiers.

(4). San Francisco shoplifting: Women caught on video allegedly bolting from CVS with bags full of stolen goods.

(5). Courtesy of the The Boss, the WSJ‘s Dan Henninger wonders IS 46* sinking in the polls, and how long will the president’s old pals, the MODERATE Democrats, hang on for the descent?  While Dan, as usual, makes some excellent points, the title of his commentary brought two thoughts immediately to mind: First, the question isn’t whether 46* IS sinking in the polls, rather at what rate his descent is accelerating; and second, we cannot think of a single “old pal” of  Joe’s still extent…other than possibly Corn Pop…and the only “moderate” Dimocrat who comes to mind, Kyrsten Sinema, doesn’t know The Groper from Adam.  Nor, given his proclivities, is she likely anxious to better their acquaintance. 

(6). And since we’re on the subject of senators, Rob Portman is a dissimulating douche pump.  As the Editorial Board at the Journal notes…

“Senate Republicans, or at least some of them, are taking a victory lap for striking a $1 trillion infrastructure deal with the White House. Hurrah! They can now retreat to the sidelines and let Chuck Schumer and Bernie Sanders negotiate a partisan multi-trillion dollar entitlement expansion that they have made easier to pass.“

…adding, “The GOP gets roads and bridges, Democrats a green bonanza and more.”  Yeah, MUCH more.

P.S. Peggy Noonan spews even greater volumes of vinegar and water than Portman.

Which brings us, appropriately enough to The Lighter Side:

Then there’s these from the lovely Shannon…

…Speed…

…Balls Cotton…

…Ed Hickey…

…and last, but certainly never least, James Patrick:

Finally, we’ll call it a month with the Sports Section, and a dispassionate look at a most unexpected, and indeed, rarely paralleled event, as Townhall.com‘s Mark Davis bravely broaches what…

The Simone Biles Moment Reveals Our Softened World

 

“Athletes regularly say it is mental strength that allows the uppermost zeniths of performance.  Countless human bodies are capable of staying in good shape and practicing diligently—that’s a work ethic.  But to be Muhammad Ali, Tom Brady, Serena Williams, or others who have achieved unequaled greatness—that calls on the ethereal world of the mind.  These athletes find something undefinable that brings their talents to a level other mortals just can’t reach.

And the thing is, Simone Biles displayed precisely that quality for years. So what happened?

Apparently no one gets to ask, and we have learned quickly that only the approved reactions are acceptable.

If Brady had thrown three interceptions in the first half of the last Super Bowl, he would have faced numerous questions about such a massive performance hiccup.  Curiosity would have properly surrounded both his arm and his mental focus.  And there is no universe in which he would have handed the ball to the backup quarterback and opted out of the second half because he wasn’t in “the right head space.”

No comparison will be exact.  There is nothing precisely like the pressure on an individual gymnast in an Olympic team rotation.  Does it exceed any pressure on any athlete in any other setting?  I don’t know.  I do know that she has excelled under that pressure in the past, revealing a grit that has written her name on the tablet of our greatest Olympians.

Since no one knows why that well ran dry Tuesday, the air filled with speculation, all of it by definition underinformed.  I can’t know what it was like for her as she called on her characteristic inner strength and found it lacking.

But I do know this:  if Brady had thrown those three picks, he would have failed to do what was expected.  And I’m guessing Hell’s fury would not have awaited anyone saying so.

…So to conclude, I wish nothing but the best for Simone Biles, for the rest of these Olympics, for the rest of her remarkable life.  But I have wishes for our society as well.  I want it to be permissible to tell people to fight through tough moments, to dig down and find whatever is necessary to find the right “head space” to do what is required of a given moment.  Sometimes it will be in sports, sometimes in battle, sometimes in family life, sometimes in personal struggles.

If we do not value such toughness enough to call for it from each other, our collective and individual strengths will ebb.  We should maintain high expectations not so we can berate people when they are not met, but so we can inspire them to do better next time.  We don’t want countless young athletes across America to start cultivating “head space” justifications, and we surely don’t want this to become any more common in other walks of life.

Empathy is always a kind instinct, but we cannot allow it to devour what used to be a high value placed on doing whatever is necessary to fight through tough times and do what is expected.“

The nearest parallel upon which we can draw is the infamous “No mas, no mas” moment which was the unfortunate finish to the otherwise brilliant boxing career of Roberto Durán:

Durán, whose the legendary “Manos de Piedra” (“Hands of Stone”) enabled him to beat Leonard in their first meeting, was roundly criticized, even ridiculed for quitting in their rematch.  The difference is, Roberto was then, Simone is now, where we’re living in a woke society and she’s a female of color.

BTW, TLJ just informed us the Biles camp is claiming she withdrew from competition owing to a loss of equilibrium.  Maybe…maybe not.  The point is, we’re not slamming Simon Biles, whatever her reasons for withdrawing.  Rather we’re calling out the culture which prevents anyone even asking pertinent, legitimate questions of a very celebrated athlete and public figure in the wake of a most rare and curious occurrence.

Magoo

P.S. On an administrative note, having tested negative for the Wuhan virus, TLJ and I will be winging our way to Africa Friday evening.  And while we’d love to think we might publish an issue or two whilst abroad, odds are we’ll be radio silent until either Wednesday August 18th or Friday August 20th.  So ’til then…

P.S.S. We covet your prayers for a safe trip and return home.

Video of the Day

Tucker and Brit highlight the hypocrisy of the sham hearing currently underway on Capitol Hill.

Tales of The Bewildered

46*: He’s going…going…

On the Insensate Side

GONE!  Sorry, but this bumbling, stumbling a*sclown has TOTALLY lost it!!!