Not the first time...

This is just sad

Delivering his second inaugural address indoors because of the frigid weather conditions in Washington, President Donald Trump vowed Monday to restore integrity and efficiency to government.  Having won in November not only the popular vote, but also with a decisive Electoral College victory, Trump struck a mostly unifying tone from inside the Capitol, invoking Martin Luther King Jr. and asserting, “Impossible is what we do best.” The following are eight takeaways from his address: 1. ‘Stars and Stripes on the Planet Mars’ Among the newer policies Trump spoke of was putting a man on Mars.  “We will pursue our Manifest Destiny into the stars, launching American astronauts to plant the Stars and Stripes on the planet Mars,” Trump said.  Elon Musk, owner of SpaceX, stood and applauded with a smile after that comment.  Musk is separately heading up Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency, which aims to identify waste, fraud, and abuse.  2. ‘Saved for a Reason’ Trump referenced the attempt on his life on July 13 in Pennsylvania when a would-be assassin shot Trump in the ear and killed a supporter in the crowd.  The president tied that in with some of the legal cases brought against him seeking to block his path to the presidency.  “From this moment on, America’s decline is over. Our liberties and our nation’s glorious destiny will no longer be denied, and we will immediately restore the integrity, competency, and loyalty of America’s government,” Trump said.  “Over the past eight years, I have been tested and challenged more than any president in our 250-year history, and I have learned a lot along the way,” the president continued. “The journey to reclaim our republic has not been an easy one, that I can tell you. Those who wish to stop our cause have tried to take my freedom and indeed take my life. Just a few months ago in a beautiful Pennsylvania field an assassin’s bullet ripped through my ear. But I felt then, and believe even more so now, that my life was saved for a reason. I was saved by God to make America great again.” Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, appreciated the line in the Trump inaugural address in which the president said, he will “not forget our Constitution, and not forget our God.” “Today, President Trump did not merely proclaim victory, he declared war upon the betrayals and failures of a federal government, which had forgotten its primary duty to protect the American people at home and abroad and to fight for their best interests,” Lee told The Daily Signal in a statement. “He now takes on that mandate, his mission to usher the United States into a new golden age of strength and freedom.” It’s an honor to be in the Capitol as President Trump outlined his plan to BRING AMERICA BACK! pic.twitter.com/huptKUhzZF— Rick Scott (@SenRickScott) January 20, 2025 3. ‘Weaponization … Will End’ Minutes before leaving office, former President Joe Biden pardoned several family members who had been under congressional investigation for possible influence-peddling, and hours after similar preemptive pardons of political allies. Early in his speech, Trump vowed to restore integrity to the U.S. justice system, after facing multiple investigations from the Biden Justice Department.  “Our sovereignty will be reclaimed,” Trump said. “Our safety will be restored. The scales of justice will be rebalanced. The vicious, violent, and unfair weaponization of the Justice Department and our government will end.” 4. ‘Liberation Day’ and Honoring MLK Trump said that Jan. 20, 2025, should be regarded as “Liberation Day.” “It is my hope that the recent presidential election will be remembered as the greatest and most consequential election in the history of our country,” he said. “As our victory showed, the entire nation is rapidly unifying behind our agenda with dramatic increase in support from virtually every element of our society, young and old, men and women, African Americans, Hispanic Americans, Asian Americans, urban, suburban, rural, and very importantly, we had a powerful win in all seven swing states, and the popular vote we won by millions of people.”  Trump referenced the growing support among constituencies that haven’t often supported Republican candidates, as he noted that he was sworn into office on Martin Luther King Jr. Day.  “To the black and Hispanic communities, I want to thank you for the tremendous outpouring of love and trust you showed me with your vote,” Trump said. “Today is Martin Luther King Day, and in his honor, this will be a great honor, in his honor, we will strive together to make his dream a reality. We will make his dream come true.” 5. ‘Only Two Genders’  Trump also called for ending government social engineering on race and gender.  “This week, I will also end the government policy of trying to socially engineer race and gender into every aspect of public and private life. We will forge a society that is colorblind and merit-based,” Trump said. “As of today, it will henceforth be the official policy of the United States government that there are only two genders, male and female.” 6. ‘External Revenue Service’ While the Internal Revenue Service is the Treasury Department agency charged with tax collection from Americans, Trump announced plans for what he dubbed the “External Revenue Service” to fund the government with revenues from foreign countries.  “I will immediately begin the overhaul of our trade system to protect American workers and families,” he said. “Instead of taxing our citizens to enrich other countries, we will tariff and tax foreign countries to enrich our citizens.” He added: “For this purpose, we are establishing the External Revenue Service, to collect all tariffs, duties, and revenues. It will be massive amounts of money pouring into our Treasury coming from foreign sources. The American dream will soon be back and thriving like never before.” 7. ‘National Emergency at Our Southern Border’ Trump said protecting the southern border would be a major priority, and announced numerous executive orders.  “I will declare a national emergency at our southern border,” Trump said. “All illegal entry will immediately be halted, and we will begin the process of returning millions and millions of criminal aliens back to the places from which they came.” “We will reinstate my ‘Remain in Mexico’ policy. I will end the process of catch-and-release. And I will send troops to the southern border to stop the disastrous invasion of our country,” Trump said.  He added that Mexican cartels will be designated foreign terrorist organizations. “We don’t want criminals coming into our country,” Trump said. “We don’t want the jails of every country in the world virtually being deposited into the United States.” Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., said getting rid of the Biden-era Customs and Border Protection app for illegal immigrants to pre-apply for asylum would be an important first step. “Our kids are dying of fentanyl, and families are being ripped apart by murders and assaults committed by illegal immigrants who aren’t supposed to be here in the first place,” Hawley told The Daily Signal. “President Trump has consistently expressed his commitment to stopping the flow of drugs and criminals invading communities across the country. Shutting down the CBP One app—Biden’s concierge service for illegal immigrants—was a huge step in the right direction.” Rep. Ralph Norman, R-S.C., said Trump’s new border policies are a welcome change.  “After four years of dangerous open borders, soaring inflation, out-of-control crime, and disastrous foreign policy, the national nightmare is finally over,” Norman told The Daily Signal. “The American people overwhelmingly delivered a mandate on November 5: They want President Trump’s agenda, and they want it now. During his first term, President Trump delivered the most secure border in history, a booming economy, law and order in our communities, and peace on the world stage—and today he will pick right back up where he left off.” 8. ’National Energy Emergency’ Trump also vowed to roll back the energy policies of the Biden administration.  “The inflation crisis was caused by massive overspending and escalating energy prices. That is why today, I will also declare a national energy emergency,” he said. “We will drill, baby drill.” The Republican majority in Congress will play a key role in enacting Trump’s mandate from the November election victory, said Rep. Eli Crane, R-Ariz.  “The American people gave President Trump a mandate to secure our borders, deport criminal aliens, unleash American energy, and enact a return to law and order—a resounding rejection of the agenda of decline enacted over the last four years,” Crane told The Daily Signal. “The president delivered a strong, bold vision of this new Golden Age of America, and it’s up to Congress to support his commonsense agenda. I look forward to working with President Trump to make these changes a reality.” The post Mars, Tariffs, Two Genders: 8 Takeaways From Trump’s Second Inaugural Address appeared first on The Daily Signal.

Supporters of Donald Trump were jubilant in the streets of Washington, D.C., on Monday after the swearing-in of the 47th president of the United States, joining impromptu dance parties and greeting fellow supporters from across the country. Near the Capital One Arena in downtown Washington where an inaugural parade was to take place, dozens of Trump supporters mimicked his now-famous dance moves, grooving to one of his favorite songs, “YMCA.” Trump supporters celebrating the inauguration outside Capital One in Washington, DC. pic.twitter.com/ToxgdPinu6— George Caldwell (@GCaldwell_news) January 20, 2025 Lindsey, a Trump supporter from Michigan who declined to give her last name, told The Daily Signal that she was ecstatic to be in Washington for the inauguration, even with most events being moved indoors because of the frigid temperatures. “We got into the rally yesterday. It was awesome, amazing. Everybody is so happy and positive, all positive vibes. Everyone was like family. Everybody was sharing hand warmers and food and beef jerky and Kit-Kats,” she said. “And so this day out here, it was pretty much the same vibe. Everybody was together and helping each other as we waited through the line. Everybody was singing, dancing, praying, and it’s just amazing.” Lebron Maverevedze, a Canadian attendee wearing a “Make America Great Again” hat, told The Daily Signal that he was thoroughly enjoying the celebration. “I love it. We waited in line. Even though we didn’t get in yesterday, there was still good vibes and just a good atmosphere to be in. Everybody’s kind around here, so it’s nice,” Maverevedze said. After Trump’s swearing-in, thousands again crowded Capital One Arena—where he held his victory rally the day before—to celebrate his inauguration with an indoor parade.  The president was expected to sign several executive orders at a desk in front of the arena audience. The post Dancing in the Streets: Trump Backers Celebrate ‘Awesome, Amazing’ Inauguration appeared first on The Daily Signal.

The long nightmare of President Joe Biden’s devastating four years in office is finally over, but the work is just beginning. In order to achieve real change, the incoming administration needs to understand just how rotten things in Washington, D.C., have become. What made Biden’s presidency a nightmare? After all, didn’t Good Old Joe from Scranton run on a platform of restoring normalcy? Yet the devastation is all around us. Fentanyl, which pours across our open southern border, has killed millions. Rising prices have made it harder for moms and dads to put food on their children’s tables. Disaster after disaster strikes, and rather than doing the hard work of managing forests or helping Americans rebuild, Democratic leaders callously tie it all to climate change, scapegoating the very fossil fuels which have proven the best tools to improve our lives. Biden’s presidency was supposed to restore the country. The president proudly declared that America was “back” on the world stage.  Yet after the shameful withdrawal from Afghanistan—a disaster of epic proportions that left millions in deadly weapons in the hands of terrorists—Russia invaded Ukraine. After Biden loosened sanctions on Iran—the world’s top state sponsor of terrorism—Iranian-funded Hamas carried out a pogrom in Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, worse than anything since the Holocaust. America wasn’t “back” when Biden took office, the woke elites were. My new book, “The Woketopus: The Dark Money Cabal Manipulating the Federal Government,” (published Tuesday) explains how the ideology of the far Left entrenched itself in the federal bureaucracy under Biden and why it will be extremely difficult for President Donald Trump to uproot it. Life in America has gotten worse because the bureaucracy in Washington, D.C., kowtowed to the priorities of woke elites rather than focusing on the issues Americans truly care about. Biden celebrated drag queens at the White House, pushed “racial justice,” and directed billions in funding to climate activists while Americans struggled with inflation, crime, and the sense that things are falling apart at the border and across the world. None of this is an accident. In fact, Biden revealed his hand when he awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom—the highest civilian honor—to George Soros, the man who launched and helped fund the soft-on-crime “rogue prosecutor” movement. Due to Soros’ advocacy, prosecutors across the country routinely ignore certain crimes, enabling lawlessness. Yet, Biden considered Soros an American hero because of his “philanthropy” to “strengthen democracy, human rights, education, and social justice.” As with so many leftist platitudes, these terms mask the true nature of what Soros does with his money—and it is extremely charitable (if not downright mendacious) to call his efforts to transform society a form of “philanthropy.” George Soros founded the Open Society Foundations, and its money fuels the broader engine of woke activist groups that advised the administrative state under Biden. These activists support a constellation of liberal issues that I summarize with the term “woke,” from critical race theory (the notion that America is systemically racist in favor of whites and against blacks, a notion driving efforts for “diversity, equity, and inclusion”), to gender ideology (the notion that an internal sense of “gender identity” overrides biological sex), to climate alarmism (the belief that human burning of fossil fuels is destroying the earth), to a preference for technocratic government by experts rather than by elected representatives. It is the height of hypocrisy when the Left screams about “democracy,” all the while supporting a bureaucratic apparatus that intentionally insulates the Mandarins who actually write the rules Americans must live by, protecting them from the people’s elected representatives. Yet this preference for experts to call the shots—even after the public health experts repeatedly lied and attempted to silence debate during the COVID-19 pandemic—forms a centerpiece of the comprehensive worldview of woke activists. It explains why former Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe would say, “I don’t think parents should be telling schools what they should teach.” This ideology is deeply rooted in America’s elite institutions, from academia to Hollywood to corporate boardrooms. It reared its ugly head most strongly after the death of George Floyd in police custody in 2020, when the legacy media ignored or covered for antifa riots, parents watched teachers pushing CRT on kids, and companies rushed to release diversity, equity, and inclusion statements. Thankfully, this ideology is in retreat after Trump’s victory in November, but its roots have sunk deep. “The Woketopus” exposes the woke activist groups that infiltrate and brainwash the federal government, getting their agenda enshrined in regulations while often circumventing Congress and the people’s elected president. My book reveals how woke activists urged the Biden administration to transform the Department of Homeland Security into a welcome mat for illegal aliens. It exposes how climate alarmist groups use a “sue-and-settle” strategy to collude with woke bureaucrats and crack down on oil and gas. It pulls back the curtain on the Human Rights Campaign—which forces gender ideology on companies through its “Corporate Equality Index”—which got most of its agenda enshrined in regulations under Biden’s tenure. It reveals the astonishing access that the Southern Poverty Law Center—a thoroughly discredited smear factory—had in the federal government under “Scranton Joe.” “The Woketopus” reveals the infrastructure of the Left and provides a tool for the new administration to find which bureaucrats are likely to oppose Trump’s agenda from within. A recent RMG Research poll found that 64% of Washington, D.C., federal bureaucrats who voted for Kamala Harris said they would refuse to follow a lawful order from Trump if they considered the order bad policy. This is the deep state in a nutshell, and my book shows how the Left got itself entrenched in the bureaucracy. “The Woketopus” is a powerful tool to help combat this nefarious influence campaign. As Biden leaves office, many of the top bureaucrats pushing his agenda are finding their homes in the woke activist groups that make up the Woketopus. Others will entrench, however, seeking to continue the woke Biden policies that made life worse for Americans these past four years. That’s why Congress must work with Trump to restrain the deep state. My book recommends some key legislative changes to hobble the deep state and make the bureaucracy more accountable to the American people. Finally, while Trump will achieve a great deal, the Woketopus is working to oppose him from within and without—and it’ll be gearing up to seize control once again if its preferred candidate wins in 2028. The Biden malaise may be lifting now, but if the Woketopus has its way, these rotten policies will return in four years. “The Woketopus” is essential reading for those who want to prevent that possibility. The post How Biden’s Administration Became a National Nightmare and What Trump Has to Do to Stop It From Happening Again appeared first on The Daily Signal.

CNBC Is Interesting This Afternoon

In the three hours leading up to President Trump’s second inauguration on Monday, the liberal journalists at ABC were having a rough time as they said America’s “deeply divided” thanks to Trump, suggested his affinity and support for the forgotten men and women is fake because of his budding friendships with tech billionaires, and that America no longer has real “check and balances” when Republicans are in power. ABC presidential historian Mark Updegrove used his first set of comments in the 9:00 a.m. Eastern hour to paint Trump as behind what ails the country’s wounds: ABC presidential historian Mark Updegrove, earlier today: “We are a deeply divided nation right now partly because of Donald Trump, partly because what we saw play out four years ago, the insurrection on the Capitol on January 6th, and the very divided nature with which he… pic.twitter.com/MopIq8BoJa — Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) January 20, 2025 Speaking of Updegrove, he and World News Tonight anchor David Muir would partner for an insane downplaying of Trump’s election victory: ABC's David Muir argues Donald Trump doesn't really have a mandate to gover because "it was a relatively close election" if were just passed on the popular vote. Historian Mark Updegrove laments Trump now "has the fealty of" the GOP a his feet pic.twitter.com/cXqI14Yz9T — Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) January 20, 2025 Incredibly, ABC News Live anchor Linsey Davis tag-teamed with Muir and longtime correspondent Terry Moran to wonder if the presence of Jeff Bezos, Elon Musk, and Mark Zuckerberg inside the Capitol rotunda bode ill for the President’s promise to serve the working class (click the X post to see the full transcript): ABC upset too many rich people are at the Trump inauguration back at 10:11 a.m., arguing he’s not actually for the forgotten men and women and working class voters... Linsey Davis: “They were inside St. John's Church, part of the select group that made it in. $885 billion of… pic.twitter.com/aR5frmk8nY — Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) January 20, 2025 Speaking of the economy, chief economics and business correspondent (and former Apprentice contestant) Rebecca Jarvis suggested a successful Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) would harm the economy by shrinking the size of our bureaucracy: ABC's Rebecca Jarvis seemed to imply this morning that allowing DOGE to do its job in cutting government spending would cause real "pain" in the American economy... pic.twitter.com/wBbdYJpedp — Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) January 20, 2025 Contributor and Washington Post editor Mary Jordan had this out-of-the-box meltdown: ABC contributor/Washington Post editor Mary Jordan complains she knows there's "enormous discomfort" in the country b/c the Supreme Court and Congress are "far more aligned, and there's less check and balances this time than there was the last time Trump came to power, and the… pic.twitter.com/OS45FxPHkp — Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) January 20, 2025 Chief global affairs anchor Martha Raddatz got in a few digs at Pete Hegseth as the cabinet nominees arrived at the Capitol. Nearly an hour after she based him as lacking “a great deal of management experience,” she lambasted him over his confirmation hearing: ABC's Martha Raddatz still seeting over Pete Hegseth's confirmation hearing: Trump's cabinet picks “are all outsiders, but what they also are, are absolute loyalists to Donald Trump. Pete Hegseth's confirmation hearing, I've never heard anything so political. Many questions were… pic.twitter.com/2WJ11NOc1A — Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) January 20, 2025 The only things they clung to? That President Biden hosted the Trumps for the tradition morning tea and preemptive pardons of Dr. Tony Fauci, the January 6 Committee, and retired General Mark Milley. This led off the start of their special coverage with Muir gushing this was “quite something to see” and Karl and Raddatz giving a complete and total defense (and thus worth obliterating democratic norms) (click “expand”): KARL: Look. In the campaign, Donald Trump talked about retribution. It was really a cornerstone of his campaign, and there were several times during the campaign, David, where he specifically suggested prosecutions for the members of the January 6th Committee, Liz Cheney, and the others, for Mark Milley who of course, was his own chairman in the Joint Chiefs of Staff and Anthony Fauci. In the case of Milley, Trump suggested he could face the death penalty. So, faced with that, Joe Biden has made this perhaps his last official act as President to issue these blanket pardons. He says this was done not because he believes any of these people committed crimes or did anything wrong, but that they will face politically motivated prosecutions. Now I spoke to Dr. Anthony Fauci who was right there at the top of the list of pardons this morning, just a short while ago. He said that he didn’t seek this. He didn’t ask for it, that the White House first reached out late December about this, but he welcomes it because he knows that if he had faced prosecutions or even investigations, it would have consumed his family. It could have been very costly and very detrimental, so a really big move here by Biden on the way out the door. MUIR: Very costly, and for many years to come, and Dr. Fauci, I saw in your note that you sent out on our in-house DL, we call this the e-mail system, you talked to Fauci a short time ago, he made it very clear, though. He said, Jon, I didn’t do anything wrong here. KARL: He made it absolutely clear and it’s important that Biden underlined this in the statement he issued — this pardons. This is not saying that any of these people did anything wrong that would have warranted prosecution, but Donald Trump made it clear, and by the way, David, something I’ve just learned. I think this may have an impact on what Trump does today right after he gets sworn in. As we’ve discussed, Donald Trump has talked about pardons for the January 6 prisoners, for those that were convicted of attacking the Capitol. The plan as of late last night, I am told by somebody familiar, that Donald Trump was going to issue pardons for hundreds of them, but not all of them, that those that were involved in attacking police officers for instance, would wait for a further review by his Justice Department. I am told that it is quite possible that he goes further now and truly issues blanket pardons for virtually everybody who attacked the Capitol on January 6, in part, out of a reaction to what Joe Biden did. (....) RADDATZ: It is extraordinary. He was chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the highest ranking military officer in this nation, and I’m looking at those images of St. John’s Church. That day in June 2020 when the National Guard was going after Black Lives Matters protesters, Mark Milley in uniform, crossed Lafayette Square, and at that moment, peeled off before they got to St. John’s Church because he felt it was too political. Within days, he apologized for even being in Lafayette Square with the President and others going to St. John’s Church. That was kind of the beginning of the end for Mark Milley. Donald Trump was not happy about that, but what he was most unhappy about he said, according to Donald Trump, was a call that Mark Milley made to a counterpart in China because Milley first of all, was told to make that call by the defense secretary, to calm down the Chinese, especially after January 6 when Milley feared they would worry that the U.S. was going to attack them, and there were signs that the Chinese were worried. So, Milley did make that call, but he said again and again he did nothing wrong. I have spoken to Milley over the last few months about the possibility of a pardon given, as Jon pointed out, what Donald Trump has said about Mark Milley. He’s called him a moron. He’s called him every name in the book, and I asked Milley then, would you accept a pardon? He paused and he said, I would really have to think about it. I have done absolutely nothing wrong. He feared he might be arrested today, but he said, I have done absolutely nothing wrong, but my concern is for my family. I’ve spent 43 years in uniform, serving this country. I don’t want to spend the rest of my years or have my family spend the rest of their years trying to fight something I absolutely didn’t do, and Donald Trump could indeed have pulled him back to active duty to face court martial on who knows what kind of charges, but they can actually legally do that in the Pentagon, pull someone back to face trial. I also know, David, there are military officers, retired military officers whose lawyers have told them to go on vacation for a few days to see what happens with the trump administration. Bruce was ebullient over this “remarkable use of presidential power in the 11th hour, and President Biden is really sending this strong signal that he fears that Donald Trump will abuse his power, will abuse his power in office” and not “leave any of this up to chance” that Trump wold be “wishy washy” promise to “leave it up to the Justice Department as to whether he would not prosecute these people.” Muir hilariously said ABC wouldn’t “belabor” January 6 and the post-2020 transition, but would do just that in trumpeting Biden ensuring “the traditions of the peaceful transfer of power, even if he wasn’t afforded the invitation four years ago, he was determined to get back on track in this respect.” “And adamant to show the American people the importance of those democratic, you know, fundamentals, that this country values which is the peaceful transfer of power that even though it was something he was not afforded four years...[H]is outgoing message to the nation that as he argues, you know, American democracy is something that isn’t just important, but has to be protected, and part of protecting it is for Americans to see that, whether you win or lose, you are going to participate in this transfer of power,” Bruce swooned. That same hour, Muir waxed poetic of the morning tea as “the cornerstone of democracy in this country” that Trump chose to forgo in 2021 that left “so many people were so upset about, and rightly so....robb[ing] them of the moment...of this moment, this sort of mutual respect.” “Democracy in action, David. That is really what American democracy is all about, the ability to say you lost and you’re going to welcome the incoming winner. It is also astounding just to think that Joe Biden is there welcoming home as he may have said, the man he once defeated,” Bruce trumpeted. Bruce also made sure her heart went out to Harris, saying it had to be “a bittersweet day this has got to be for Kamala Harris, and for Joe Biden, but certainly it is not the day that Kamala Harris had envisioned.” Sure enough, she and Muir gently placed blame for this on Biden not having dropped out sooner. She couldn’t even spin without lying. After First Lady Jill Biden and Second Gentlemen Doug Emhoff entered the Capitol rotunda, she said this: ABC's Mary Bruce, apple-polishing for the Bidens to the very end: "The friendship between the Bidens and the Harriss, the Harris-Emhoffs is a real genuine one. I think you felt that and saw that, you know, in the process as we've mentioned when Joe Biden announced he was leaving… pic.twitter.com/WpsalD9dhR — Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) January 20, 2025 Karl, Muir, and Updegrove would undermine Bruce just prior to the inaugural ceremonies getting underway with Karl first noting Biden’s comments insisting he would have defeated Trump if not forced out had to have stung, adding “their legacies are all so intertwined” with Trump. Updegrove put a bright spin on the Biden presidency by touting his reaction to the 2017 events in Charlottesville and that while it’s “a big failure” he didn’t keep Trump from a second term, he also had “many triumphs...including...the many laws that he stewarded through Congress, perhaps the most important legislative president since LBJ.” To see the relevant ABC transcript from January 20, click here.

A New York Times writer is using birds to wokescold the American electorate for turning the dial back on climate change progress by inaugurating President Donald Trump.  Siri, define birdbrain. “On a Cold, Dark Inauguration Day, a Message From the Birds,” read the headline of Times contributing writer Margaret Renkl’s wacky January 20 guest essay. After seven paragraphs of mindless babbling about the symbolism of birds, Renkl then took to crying “fowl” over the incoming Trump administration. “At the dawn of a year that seems almost certain to make this country into an unrecognizable place, to make this world even less hospitable to birds and everybody else, it turns out I am less interested in symbolic associations than in practicalities,” Renkl whined. Uh, what? [Emphasis added.] The bird thing apparently just a cheap cover for Renkl to whine about climate change, in addition to throwing temper tantrums over other political matters that literally have nothing to do with birds or climate change: The new administration, led by a felon who tried to overturn the results of a fair election, has pledged to deport 11 million undocumented immigrants, using military force if necessary, and end constitutionally protected birthright citizenship. He intends to permit more drilling on federal lands and to roll back regulations designed to limit environmental toxins and greenhouse gasses. And all of that is only the beginning. Who knew birds cared so deeply about immigration policy? Perhaps it’s because they tend to fly south for the winter? Only Renkl seems to know, since that’s where her thought process appears to be headed.  Given all these political questions that have birds shivering in their gizzards over, Renkl posed the following question to herself: “Seeing those cardinals watching over each other, I wondered: What can I, too, do to be more watchful? To take more care?” Renkl ended her brain-melting screed bemoaning the hopeless of Trump’s Inauguration Day as ringing a death knell for birds and climate: Birds don’t exist to serve as symbols, and yet they can’t help but mean something to the symbol-making species watching them through a window or a storm door. On this Inauguration Day that brings no hope for help from elected officials to address climate change or to protect vulnerable species, including our own, the living world is showing us what to do: In the dark days already gathering, we will need to do our best to look out for one another and for the creatures we love. Senseless word salads like these don’t even warrant an intellectual rebuttal. But it’s worth noting that Renkl finds her climate fanaticism among the likes of lefties like Hanoi Jane Fonda whose logic for pressing for the Green New Deal in September 2020 included a lecture about how birds were allegedly “dive-bombing dead.” As if we needed more evidence to prove why lefty media types are completely unaware that they have a particularly unique avian-like obsession for living rent-free in their own reality-detached climate activist birdcage.   

Michelle Obama appears to have decided it would be best not to attend Donald Trump’s inauguration or participate in Jimmy Carter’s funeral. Jason Whitlock of “Fearless” believes it’s more than just a personal decision; it's a message to black American women. “It’s a message,” Whitlock says, “to the rest of women, black women in particular, that this is the idea. Expectations, protocols, traditions mean nothing. You establish new protocol, new traditions, new expectations. Out with the old, in with the new.” “It’s a recipe for the kind of destruction and chaos that I think I see throughout all of America, but particularly in black America,” he adds. Shemeka Michelle is in full agreement. “I think they’re sending this message because black women have bought into feminism hook, line, and sinker. And we are too stupid to look around and see that it hasn’t really worked out in our best interest,” Michelle says. “Not only are more black women single, they are single mothers. Our kids have gone astray, and we don’t see the real effects that it’s had,” she continues, adding, “black women and black men alike will applaud Michelle Obama for standing 10 toes down and not going to the inauguration.” “That’s how little the black man is respected, that it’s okay to hate Trump more than you put on a united front with your husband, more than you show that you are submissive and following your husband,” she adds. This is why Michelle and so many others have so much respect for Melania Trump. “It appears that if he says, ‘Jump,’ she says, ‘How high?’ When he moved, she moved, just like that,” Michelle says. “I’m sure she has gone to events that she didn’t want to be at, but she actually showed up to support her husband.” Want more from Jason Whitlock?To enjoy more fearless conversations at the crossroads of culture, faith, sports, and comedy with Jason Whitlock, subscribe to BlazeTV — the largest multi-platform network of voices who love America, defend the Constitution, and live the American dream.

During a speech in Emancipation Hall on Monday, President Donald Trump called out former Speaker Nancy Pelosi and former Republican Rep. Liz Cheney of Wyoming, noting their roles in the January 6 riots. Trump criticized Pelosi for denying additional security that was offered to her ahead of the protests, arguing that she and Cheney deleted crucial documentation from January 6. 'There's virtually nothing left, so that's a criminal offense. If that were a civil case, it would be a criminal offense if that happened civilly.'"I offered 10,000 soldiers," Trump said. Trump also noted that Pelosi accepted "responsibility" for some of the security breaches that day. "She knows it. She admitted it on the tape that her daughter made," he said."In other words, J6 wouldn't be J6," Trump continued. "There would be no J6, but she rebuffed them. She didn't like it. No, she didn't like it. Maybe she wanted that to happen, but she's guilty as hell. And now we would have to go through the process because they destroyed all the evidence.""They deleted everything," Trump continued. "There's virtually nothing left, so that's a criminal offense. If that were a civil case, it would be a criminal offense if that happened civilly."Trump also took aim at Cheney, who was embraced by former Vice President Kamala Harris' presidential campaign in 2024. Cheney's father, former Vice President Dick Cheney, notably spearheaded the conflict in the Middle East during the George W. Bush administration, which Trump and other more isolationist Republicans have criticized."Why are we helping Liz Cheney?" Trump quipped. "I mean, Liz Cheney is a disaster. She's a crying lunatic and crying, crying." "One day when you don't want to kill people in wars, they turn against you," Trump added. "Liz Cheney hated the concept of not going to war with everybody. 'Let's kill everybody. Let's spend a lot of money on military equipment.' You know, where her father works, right?" Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!