Psycho SCOTUS Scheme, More Minnesota Mayhem, and Vexing Vaccine Verdict: The Week in Review

Guest Post by PF Whalen

Headline #1:         Democrats Show Their Hand on Court-Packing Plans

On Thursday, Democratic congressional leaders unveiled legislation to expand the number of Supreme Court Justices from nine to thirteen; an idea that has become known as “court-packing.”

Thoughts and Observations:

• Most reactions from our mainstream media, and even conservative news outlets, were dismissive. It’ll never make it out of Congress, they told us, which is true… for now. But the only thing preventing this insane scheme, and other equally insane schemes, from becoming law is the Senate filibuster. The opposition to filibuster abolishment by two Democratic senators – Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) and Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ) – is all that’s saving us from this would-be abyss.

•  If somehow the filibuster were to be abolished in the next 20 months, this bill would end up on President Biden’s desk, and there’s no way he’d refuse to sign it. He’s got no spine to begin with, and he has clearly shown no appetite for standing up to the radical left within his party.
• Describing this plan as insane isn’t hyperbolic. It may be an understatement. The Supreme Court is already liberal, despite the majority of Justices having been appointed by Republicans, and shifting the balance by adding four leftists to the bench would be devastating to our civil rights. For those who worry that our raging culture war could evolve into an actual civil war, this is the type of maneuver that could be the catalyst to such an unthinkable progression. Yet Democrats unabashedly applaud the idea.
• The defeat of Republican senate candidates during the special election on January 5^th has been well-documented here. If those Republicans had been seated instead of the two radical Democrats (Ossoff and Warnock), not only would we not have had Biden’s recent outrageous spending binge with money that doesn’t exist, the absurdity of court-packing wouldn’t even be on Congress’ radar. The Republicans’ failure in that election, of which President Trump shares significant responsibility, was catastrophic and inexcusable.
• At the risk of overstating the obvious, Republicans must have a strong showing in the 2022 midterm elections. If somehow they were to fail to either take control of the House of Representatives or at least maintain the current balance of power in the Senate, court-packing could become a reality. Pundits like to say “this is the most important election of our lifetimes,” and when they do they’re usually talking out of their ass. But it’s hard to remember a more consequential midterm election than the one coming up next year.

Headline #2:          Minnesota Erupts After another Black Man Dies at the Hands of Police

A young man named Daunte Wright was killed on Sunday in a Minneapolis suburb in a deadly case of human error. Riots ensued as the left and their media pushed the false narrative that the shooting was somehow race-related.

Thoughts and Observations:

• The officer who shot Wright was a white, 26-year police veteran named Kim Potter, who has since resigned from her position and has been charged with second-degree manslaughter. Footage from the incident clearly shows Potter calling on Wright to stop, and threatening to use her taser. Potter had mistakenly pulled her firearm instead, and shot Wright, who then fled the scene and died a few minutes later. It is truly a tragic story, and one which has already destroyed multiple lives.
• During the footage, Potter can clearly be heard yelling “Taser! Taser!” After shooting Wright, she can be heard using an expletive in expressing her surprise and regret. There is no doubt: Mr. Wright’s death was a tragic accident.
• For those who claim it’s impossible for Potter to have made such a mistake, you know nothing about policing. While the officer’s mistake is totally inexcusable, it’s also far too common. This isn’t the first time this type of mistake has happened, and unfortunately it probably won’t be the last.
• Even though the shooting was accidental, the charge of manslaughter for Officer Potter is certainly appropriate. Being a police officer is a dangerous and difficult job, and one which requires a clear head and unwavering good judgment. Any such lapse can result in errors such as this one. Officer Potter served her community for over a quarter-century, and she should have been heading down the home stretch of her career. But she was well-trained and fully aware of her responsibilities, and she tragically failed. Now a young man is dead, and Officer Potter’s life is ruined.
• Mr. Wright has since been depicted as some type of choir boy; he wasn’t. There was a warrant out for his arrest, and Officer Potter was undoubtedly aware of that warrant before confronting Wright. Mr. Wright resisted arrest, and then attempted to flee the scene. If he had complied with Potter’s directives, he’d still be alive. Do those facts make Officer Potter’s error acceptable? Of course not. But virtually nobody on the left is pointing out those facts. Comply with police commands, and the chances of being killed by an officer virtually disappear; regardless of the color of your skin.
• The riots and outrage were both ridiculous and predictable. There is absolutely no evidence that the shooting was in any way intentional, let alone affected by race. Nonetheless, our race-baiting media and the Democrat politicians they adore ran unchecked with the narrative that it was just another example of America’s evil systemic racism. Their politicization of this tragedy, before Mr. Wright’s body was even cold, is truly despicable.
• Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) may have had the most absurd reaction, claiming the incident was no “accident,” and then blaming the “indefensible system.” No, AOC, your response and the rhetoric from your cronies is what’s indefensible. This incident was clearly accidental.
• Remember that time when President Joe Biden talked about unity and healing? Like, remember three months ago? Wouldn’t this have been a great opportunity for Biden to put his money where his mouth is by debunking the obviously bogus claim that race had anything to do with Mr. Wright’s death? You’re damned right it would have been.

Headline #3:          Johnson & Johnson’s COVID Vaccine Paused

Due to the development of a rare blood clotting condition by six people who had received the J&J vaccine, the CDC and FDA on Tuesday recommended a pause in the administration of the vaccine.

Thoughts and Observations:

• With almost 7 million people having been given the inoculation and with six people having developed the rare blood disorder, the chances of being stricken with the condition is less-than one-in-a-million. But only one of those folks has died, therefore the chances of dying from the shot are actually one-in-seven-million.
• Note that the current frequency of overall U.S. deaths-per-million due to COVID is approaching 2,000; and that number reflects the frequency of our entire population, not just folks who were given some type of shot. Therefore, we’ve paused a vaccination that is approximately 14,000 times less-likely to produce a death than the virus against which it protects. Follow the science, indeed.
• I actually received the J&J shot on Monday, and had to drive an hour to the pharmacy in question. On the ride home, I was listening to the radio and heard the news about the vaccine, and it didn’t even phase me. We all have to make a risk assessment with COVID, and I made a decision for which I have no regrets. I made a personal calculation that I’d rather take my chances with the unknowns of a vaccination than roll the dice on getting COVID and dealing with even more troubling possibilities.
• For those of you who oppose COVID vaccinations and view this development as some type of vindication of your position, it’s an understandable attitude. It’s also understandable to oppose the COVID vaccines in general. I get it. And no one should be forced to vaccinate. Ultimately, we each need to evaluate what makes the most sense for us, and determine which option poses the least risk. The fact is, however, there’s a low risk of serious side effects with just about any vaccine we take, not just COVID. There’s a risk in virtually everything we do, every day.
• Former President Donald Trump ripped the decision, going after the Biden Administration specifically and citing cronyism by Biden himself. Trump suggested the administration is in bed with Pfizer which manufactures one of the other two vaccines being administered, and the motive behind the pause was to damage Pfizer’s competitor. It’s certainly a plausible theory, but I think the motivation is simpler. Biden and Democrats want the pandemic panic to continue for as long as possible and stalling vaccinations while planting seeds of doubt will accomplish that goal. The longer lockdowns, masking, and social distancing continue, the more Democrats can exploit the crisis and implement their radical agenda; like $2.3 trillion infrastructure bills.

Headline #4:         Russia Rattles Sabres, Ukraine on Edge

Russia continues their military build-up near their border with Ukraine, with as many as 50,000 troops now amassed as the international community has taken note.

Thoughts and Observations:

• Secretary of State Antony Blinken, along with other western leaders including NATO, voiced support for Ukraine and later agreed to a summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Summits are good things, particularly among adversaries, but not with this type of timing. Blinken and Biden should be far more assertive and vocal, and should be leading the way with strong, denouncing rhetoric.
• Putin recognizes Biden is a weak leader, and he’s looking to take advantage of that weakness; and he’ll probably succeed. In 2014, Putin waltzed right into Ukraine virtually unimpeded, seizing the Crimean peninsula; and he hasn’t given it back. And what was the American response? President Barack Obama gave Mr. Putin a thorough tongue-lashing. Obama and Biden were a joke with foreign policy, and thugs like Putin walk all over them.
• The irony with American-Russian relations is, of course, the outright misrepresentation of the situation by the mainstream media. They pushed the Russian Hoax for three years, claiming that President Trump was soft on Russia because he was too friendly with them. In reality, it’s the other way around. Putin would have never tried such a build-up with Trump, but he doesn’t even hesitate with Biden.
• When GOP Presidential Candidate Mitt Romney pointed out the formidable threat from Russia in 2012, Obama famously quipped, “The 1980s are calling and they want their foreign policy back.” Barack Obama was clever, articulate, and sharp-witted; and dangerously incompetent. Joe Biden is stupid, inarticulate, and dull-witted; and also dangerously incompetent.

Headline #5:         BLM Big Shot Buys Big Home, but MSM & Big Tech Say No Big Deal

New York Black Lives Matter co-founder Patrisse Khan-Cullors has now spent over $3 million on real-estate recently, while the media and Big Tech appear to be fine with the development.

Thoughts and Observations:

• For those who think BLM is simply a bunch of race-baiters trying to destroy the country, that’s only part of who they are. BLM is a Marxist organization, hell bent on communism, and they’re not shy about that objective. Read their literature. BLM makes Bernie Sanders look like Rush Limbaugh. For one of their leaders to be living like a thriving capitalist is the height of hypocrisy.
• In reality, BLM is both a communist propaganda tool and a racket. They’re promoting Marxism, yes, but they’re also exploiting the sympathy they seize through prolific fundraising. There’s a lot of money to be made from victimhood, just ask Al Sharpton. BLM is taking that business model to a whole new level.
• Social media giants Twitter and Facebook have once again stepped into the fray with this story, with Twitter shutting down the account of author Jason Whitlock from The Blaze and a New York Post article on the matter being banned by Facebook. Once Republicans take control of our Federal government again, and someday they will, their first order of business needs to be the destruction of the anti-American social media oligarchy.
• Facebook’s censorship tends to be subtle, as users are still posting comments, pictures, and other non-NY Post articles about Khan-Cullors. But Twitter is becoming increasingly brazen. They’re not even trying to hide it anymore. If you’re a conservative and you’re still using Twitter, you need to stop. Today. You’re essentially aiding and abetting an enemy of America at this point. Just shut it down and move on; it’s not that hard, believe me.

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