{"id":106235,"date":"2023-01-05T21:41:16","date_gmt":"2023-01-06T02:41:16","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/?p=106235"},"modified":"2023-01-05T21:41:21","modified_gmt":"2023-01-06T02:41:21","slug":"the-daily-gouge-archive-monday-january-2nd-2023","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/?p=106235","title":{"rendered":"The Daily Gouge Archive, Monday, January 2nd, 2023"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>It&#8217;s Monday, January 2nd, 2023&#8230;but before we kick off the new year, our high opinion of Joe Concha notwithstanding, when did <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>THIS<\/em><\/span> type of coarse discourse&#8230;<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"YouTube video player\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/XjGMbHMvWfM?start=23&amp;end=45&amp;\" width=\"420\" height=\"235\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><span data-mce-type=\"bookmark\" style=\"display: inline-block; width: 0px; overflow: hidden; line-height: 0;\" class=\"mce_SELRES_start\">\ufeff<\/span><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><strong>&#8230;become acceptable as part of purportedly serious television journalism?\u00a0 &#8220;Knocked up&#8221; versus &#8220;pregnant&#8221; or &#8220;expecting&#8221;: Seriously?!?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Now, unexpectedly, here&#8217;s our inaugural 2023 edition of\u00a0<em>The Gouge<\/em>!<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>First up, <em>NRO<\/em>&#8216;s Andy McCarthy makes the case to&#8230;<\/strong><\/p>\n<h1 class=\"article-header__title\" style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"color: #800080;\"><a style=\"color: #800080;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nationalreview.com\/2022\/12\/impeach-biden-over-the-security-catastrophe-hes-caused-at-the-border\/?utm_source=Sailthru&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;utm_campaign=WIR%20-%20Sunday%202023-01-01&amp;utm_term=WIR-Smart\"><u>Impeach Biden over the Security Catastrophe He\u2019s Caused at the Border<\/u><\/a><\/span><\/h1>\n<h3 style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"color: #333399;\"><a style=\"color: #333399;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nationalreview.com\/2022\/12\/impeach-biden-over-the-security-catastrophe-hes-caused-at-the-border\/?utm_source=Sailthru&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;utm_campaign=WIR%20-%20Sunday%202023-01-01&amp;utm_term=WIR-Smart\"><u>The president\u2019s dereliction of duty has created a crisis. Congress must either impeach him or fix it<\/u><\/a>.\u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/762yrf.jpeg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-106227\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/762yrf.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"420\" height=\"245\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/762yrf.jpeg 420w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/762yrf-300x175.jpeg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 420px) 100vw, 420px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span class=\"drop\">&#8220;<span style=\"color: #800080;\"><strong>P<\/strong><\/span><\/span><span style=\"color: #800080;\"><strong><span class=\"small_caps\">resident Biden<\/span>\u00a0should be impeached by the incoming House Republican majority over his ongoing destruction of the southern border.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"color: #333399;\"><strong>Yes, I know, the votes for a conviction are not there at the moment, and probably won\u2019t ever be: The Constitution requires a two-thirds Senate supermajority to convict and remove an elected official from office, and Biden\u2019s Democratic Party will hold a two-seat majority in the upper chamber for the next two years.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"color: #800080;\"><strong>Yet there must be an impeachment investigation and, if Biden fails to change course, articles of impeachment. <span style=\"color: #333399;\">That would forever stain him, which he deserves; more significantly, it would force the Senate to shut down other business and conduct a trial that would expose the depth of our security catastrophe and the fact that Democrats have willfully caused it.<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"color: #800080;\"><strong>If Joe Biden, Chuck Schumer, and Mitch McConnell don\u2019t fancy that prospect, here\u2019s a suggestion:\u00a0<em>Fix the friggin\u2019 border<\/em>. <span style=\"color: #333399;\">Oh, and stop ramming through omnibus boondoggles that spend billions on\u00a0<span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><em><u><a style=\"color: #0000ff;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.prnewswire.com\/news-releases\/omnibus-spending-bill-does-not-secure-the-border-but-further-incentivizes-and-enables-illegal-immigration-charges-fair-301709755.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" data-testid=\"standard-link\">processing and sheltering illegal aliens<\/a><\/u><\/em><u><\/u><\/span>\u00a0but <em><u>explicitly forbid<\/u><\/em> shifting American taxpayer funds to protect Americans by securing the border.<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"color: #800080;\"><strong>The president\u2019s dereliction of duty has abetted a foreign invasion of, so far,\u00a0<em>approximately 6 million<\/em>\u00a0illegal aliens. <span style=\"color: #333399;\">A large number of these aliens are released into our country in violation of American law.<\/span> And mind you, we haven\u2019t even faced the onslaught that awaits the rescission of Title 42, the Covid-era restriction on immigration that the courts have blocked Biden from lifting since May. <span style=\"color: #333399;\">As I detailed in a\u00a0<span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><em><a style=\"color: #0000ff;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nationalreview.com\/2022\/12\/deeply-divided-supreme-court-maintains-the-covid-crisis-fiction-for-the-sake-of-border-security\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" data-testid=\"dynamic-link\">column<\/a><\/em><\/span>\u00a0earlier this week, although the Supreme Court has temporarily kept Title 42 in place, its rescission is inevitable because it is a pretext, not a policy.<\/span> Once it is lifted, the current rate of illegal immigration \u2014 an eye-popping 6,785 apprehensions per day, with another 2,000-odd \u201cgot-aways\u201d who evade capture as they enter \u2014 will grow to somewhere between two and three times as high as it is now.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"color: #800080;\"><strong><span style=\"color: #333399;\">To provide some perspective, during the Obama\u2013Biden years, the Department of Homeland Security regarded it as a crisis if the number of illegal-alien encounters inched up to\u00a0<span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><em><a style=\"color: #0000ff;\" href=\"https:\/\/cis.org\/Arthur\/Border-Patrol-Apprehensions-Southwest-Border-Reach-21Year-Monthly-High\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" data-testid=\"standard-link\">1,000 per day<\/a><\/em><\/span>, which computes to 365,000 per year.<\/span> \u201cA thousand [per day] overwhelms the system,\u201d Obama\u2019s former DHS secretary,\u00a0<span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><em><a style=\"color: #0000ff;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.realclearpolitics.com\/video\/2019\/03\/29\/obama_dhs_secretary_jeh_johnson_we_are_truly_in_a_crisis_on_southern_border.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" testid=\"standard-link\" class=\"broken_link\">Jeh Johnson, acknowledged in a 2019 interview<\/a><\/em><\/span>. <span style=\"color: #333399;\">At the time, the Trump administration was dealing with four times that amount due to a surge in border arrivals by alien family units and unaccompanied alien minors.<\/span> (The surge was caused by the refusal of congressional Democrats to cooperate in Trump\u2019s signature border-security priority; it was quelled,\u00a0<span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><em><a style=\"color: #0000ff;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nationalreview.com\/2020\/12\/bidens-immigration-radicalism\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" data-testid=\"dynamic-link\">as Rich Lowry related<\/a><\/em><\/span>, because Trump induced cooperation from other countries.)<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"color: #800080;\"><strong><span style=\"color: #333399;\">Thanks to Biden\u2019s wholesale adoption of transnational-progressive radicalism, we are now at\u00a0<em>seven times<\/em>\u00a0the number that Johnson conceded would constitute a crisis.<\/span> Post\u2013Title 42, we could find ourselves at\u00a0<em>18 times that amount<\/em>, or perhaps even more \u2014 and remember, that\u2019s <em><u>just<\/u><\/em> the apprehensions, <em><u>not<\/u><\/em> the got-aways.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"color: #333399;\"><strong>By what multiple must a president intentionally metastasize a crisis, for the benefit of foreigners and to the ruin of the American people, before he is impeached?<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"color: #333399;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">&#8230;<\/span><strong><span style=\"color: #800080;\">We\u2019re talking here not merely about a border-security crisis.<\/span> We\u2019re <em><u>leaps and bounds past that<\/u><\/em>. This is an <em><u>invasion<\/u><\/em> \u2014 millions of aliens rushing our border in a manner that is illegal, and thus hostile. <span style=\"color: #800080;\">(How remarkable that Democrats, who never hesitate to describe a five-hour riot that posed no serious threat to the republic as an\u00a0<em>insurrection<\/em>, scream bloody murder when someone uses the word\u00a0<em>invasion<\/em>\u00a0to describe millions of foreigners lawlessly storming our border, with tens to hundreds of thousands more\u00a0<span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><em><a style=\"color: #0000ff;\" href=\"https:\/\/cis.org\/Bensman\/Latin-American-Media-Migrants-Marching-North-Title-42s-Funeral\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" data-testid=\"standard-link\">currently staging to storm the gates<\/a><\/em><\/span>\u00a0the moment Title 42 is lifted.)<\/span> Biden\u2019s refusal to secure the border is potentially an existential crisis for the United States. <span style=\"color: #800080;\">It <em><u>already is<\/u><\/em> an existential crisis for border states, which are expected by their federal overlords not just to accept the onslaught but to bear the ruinous costs of public education and health care, in addition to exorbitant supplemental law-enforcement expenditures at a time when crime is already surging nationwide.<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"color: #333399;\"><strong>Without a border, we <em><u>won\u2019t have<\/u><\/em> a country&#8230;<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"color: #333399;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">&#8230;<\/span><strong><span style=\"color: #800080;\">By destroying the border, President Biden is <em><u>destroying<\/u><\/em> the country.<\/span> That\u2019s a bracing assertion, but I am not engaging in the habitual hyperbole with which our competing political parties customarily frame each other as monstrous. <span style=\"color: #800080;\">This is common sense.<\/span> Defended borders are an <em><u>ineliminable element of national sovereignty<\/u><\/em>. <span style=\"color: #800080;\">A nation is a nation only if it has internationally recognized territory over which it exercises dominion and control.<\/span> A rudimentary component of dominion and control is the power to exclude intruders \u2014 those who lack lawful authority to enter and to be present. <span style=\"color: #800080;\">One of Biden\u2019s jobs, which he swore an oath to perform faithfully and in a manner consistent with the Constitution, is to\u00a0<em>defend the border<\/em>.<\/span> And he is <em><u>violating<\/u><\/em> that oath, exploiting the power of the presidency on behalf of non-Americans to strip the United States of its sovereignty. <span style=\"color: #800080;\">A <em><u>clearer<\/u><\/em> case for impeachment there has <em><u>never been<\/u><\/em>.<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"color: #333399;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">&#8230;<\/span><strong>The objectives of impeaching Biden and perhaps other administration officials would be to illuminate the profound threat to our country, to place the blame for it squarely where it belongs, and to force Democrats either to reverse course or to <em><u>publicly own<\/u><\/em> their radical position that the United States should not have enforceable borders and that the government should prioritize the desires of aliens over the security of Americans. <span style=\"color: #800080;\">The Framers believed impeachment was indispensable not because they thought we\u2019d make a habit of removing presidents but because the credible threat of impeachment and removal \u2014 the historical stigma and the prospect of losing power \u2014 would encourage presidents to honor the constitutional oath and execute the laws faithfully.<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"color: #333399;\"><strong>The crisis at the border is the <em><u>direct result<\/u><\/em> of President Biden\u2019s <em><u>impeachable dereliction of duty<\/u><\/em>. <span style=\"color: #800080;\">That dereliction is a <em><u>direct result<\/u><\/em> of the <em><u>Democrats\u2019 core positions<\/u><\/em> that our country <em><u>should not have<\/u><\/em> a border, and that illegal aliens are entitled to enter, remain at liberty, and exploit public services at the expense of American taxpayers.<\/span> These matters need to be exposed and confronted. <span style=\"color: #800080;\">The way to expose and confront them is to impeach Biden.<\/span> Otherwise, he will stay the course, Democrats will continue undermining border security, and the crisis will <em><u>become existential<\/u><\/em>.<\/strong><\/span>&#8220;<\/p>\n<p><strong>We&#8217;re in the Hill Country west of Austin, and here the response to the crisis thus far has been limited to lending resources to jurisdictions along the border, as well as helping pay the tab to cope with the increasing flood of illegals.\u00a0 To the lovely Shannon and others in close proximity to the problem, it&#8217;s already all too real.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Next, <em>Best of the Web<\/em>\u00a0records&#8230;<\/strong><\/p>\n<h1 class=\"css-1hch5ce-StyledHeadline e1ipbpvp0\" style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"color: #333399;\"><a style=\"color: #333399;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.wsj.com\/articles\/a-last-partisan-gasp-from-the-capitol-riot-committee-11672171425?mod=djemBestOfTheWeb\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">A Last Partisan Gasp From the Capitol Riot Committee<\/span><\/a><\/span><\/h1>\n<h3 class=\"css-mosdo-Dek-Dek e1jnru6p0\" style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><a style=\"color: #ff0000;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.wsj.com\/articles\/a-last-partisan-gasp-from-the-capitol-riot-committee-11672171425?mod=djemBestOfTheWeb\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Rep. Raskin sees an opportunity to trash constitutional institutions<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/h3>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/GetFile.jpeg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-106228\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/GetFile.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"420\" height=\"350\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/GetFile.jpeg 420w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/GetFile-300x250.jpeg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 420px) 100vw, 420px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"css-xbvutc-Paragraph e3t0jlg0\" style=\"padding-left: 30px;\" data-type=\"paragraph\">&#8220;<span style=\"color: #333399;\"><strong>The members of the Capitol riot committee, disbanding because voters removed Democrats from majority power in the U.S. House, seem determined to show that they are\u00a0<span style=\"text-decoration: underline; color: #0000ff;\"><em><a class=\"css-1h1us5y-StyledLink exk4ewm0\" style=\"color: #0000ff; text-decoration: underline;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.wsj.com\/articles\/january-6-committee-doubles-as-november-8-committee-11666297630?mod=article_inline\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferer\" data-type=\"link\">just as partisan and ideological<\/a><\/em><\/span>\u00a0as they appear. <span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">Americans who had come to suspect that the committee was pursuing agendas other than simply gathering facts about the disgraceful events of January 2021 received further confirmation last weekend from Rep.\u00a0Jamie Raskin\u00a0(D., Md.).<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"css-xbvutc-Paragraph e3t0jlg0\" style=\"padding-left: 30px;\" data-type=\"paragraph\"><span style=\"color: #333399;\"><strong>Readers will recall Mr. Raskin as one of the\u00a0<span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em><a class=\"css-1h1us5y-StyledLink exk4ewm0\" style=\"color: #333399; text-decoration: underline;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.wsj.com\/articles\/capitol-riot-show-to-debut-in-d-c-11654723563?mod=article_inline\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferer\" data-type=\"link\">committee\u2019s sore losers<\/a><\/em><\/span>\u00a0who have refused to accept presidential losses by Democrats but cast themselves as the stalwart defenders of the U.S. political system when the sore losers are Republicans.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"css-xbvutc-Paragraph e3t0jlg0\" style=\"padding-left: 30px;\" data-type=\"paragraph\"><span style=\"color: #333399;\"><strong><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">Sunday on\u00a0CBS, Mr. Raskin made clear how far he has wandered from the alleged investigative mission of the committee when he attempted to use the riot to promote his long-term campaign to eviscerate the U.S. Constitution\u2019s Electoral College.<\/span> Rather than defending the U.S. political system, he sees this as his moment to try to change it.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"css-xbvutc-Paragraph e3t0jlg0\" style=\"padding-left: 30px;\" data-type=\"paragraph\"><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><strong>On Sunday on CBS Mr. Raskin said, according to the network\u2019s\u00a0transcript:<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"css-xbvutc-Paragraph e3t0jlg0\" style=\"padding-left: 60px;\" data-type=\"paragraph\"><span style=\"color: #333399;\"><em><strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">I think<\/span> that the Electoral College now, which has given us five popular vote losers as president in our history, twice in this century alone, has become a danger not just to democracy, but to the American people.<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"> It was a danger on January 6th, there are so many curving byways and nooks and crannies in the Electoral College, that there are opportunities for a lot of strategic mischief.<\/span> We should elect the president, the way we elect governors, senators, mayors, representatives, everybody else, whoever gets the most votes wins.<\/strong><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"css-xbvutc-Paragraph e3t0jlg0\" style=\"padding-left: 30px;\" data-type=\"paragraph\"><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><strong>Mr. Raskin presented no evidence that the Electoral College had anything to do with the riot, nor did he explain how the institution\u2019s \u201cnooks and crannies\u201d threaten Americans<\/strong><\/span>&#8230;<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">&#8230;<span style=\"color: #333399;\"><strong>If electoral colleges are rare in the world, so is the success of the United States. <span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">Many countries have modeled their constitutions generally upon ours, but whether or not they choose to copy our system exactly, certainly Americans should be hesitant to restructure a political order that has allowed the creation of the most prosperous nation in history and a worldwide champion for liberty.<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"css-xbvutc-Paragraph e3t0jlg0\" style=\"padding-left: 30px;\" data-type=\"paragraph\"><span style=\"color: #333399;\"><strong>Mr. Raskin wants to end the practice of U.S. presidential campaigns competing in each state to accumulate the 270 electoral votes needed to win and instead move to a national popular vote.<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"> But the framers\u2019 decision not to institute a pure democracy wasn\u2019t because of ignorance of human experience but because they understood it so well.<\/span> They knew from history that pure democracies didn\u2019t tend to last long and could not be counted on to protect the rights of the minority.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">&#8230;<span style=\"color: #333399;\"><strong><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">Lest anyone think that the First Amendment and the Electoral College are the only constitutional institutions targeted by Mr. Raskin, he also has a problem with the judiciary when it doesn\u2019t yield the results he favors.<\/span> He once wrote a book-length screed called, \u201cOverruling Democracy: The Supreme Court Versus the American People.\u201d <span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">A website for the publisher\u00a0<span style=\"text-decoration: underline; color: #0000ff;\"><em><a class=\"css-1h1us5y-StyledLink exk4ewm0\" style=\"color: #0000ff; text-decoration: underline;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.routledge.com\/Overruling-Democracy-The-Supreme-Court-versus-The-American-People\/Raskin\/p\/book\/9780415948951#:~:text=Detailing%20specific%20cases%20through%20interesting,back%20a%20more%20democratic%20system.\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferer\" data-type=\"link\">noted<\/a><\/em><\/span>\u00a0that Mr. Raskin \u201cargues that we need to develop a whole new set of rights.\u201d<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"css-xbvutc-Paragraph e3t0jlg0\" style=\"padding-left: 30px;\" data-type=\"paragraph\"><span style=\"color: #333399;\"><strong>Let\u2019s hope we can protect the ones we already have against politicians like Mr. Raskin.<\/strong><\/span>&#8220;<\/p>\n<p><strong>We should note the problem of Mr. Raskin <a href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/politics\/maryland-rep-jamie-raskin-diagnosed-serious-curable-cancer\" class=\"broken_link\"><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><em><u>may soon take care of itself<\/u><\/em><\/span><\/a>, though in the spirit of Christian charity we must wish him a full and speedy recovery.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Since we&#8217;re on the subject of last gasps, courtesy of Nick and the <em>New York Post<\/em>, the great VDH records&#8230;<\/strong><\/p>\n<h1 class=\"headline headline--single\" style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2022\/12\/25\/the-woke-university-implosion-and-what-comes-next\/\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><span style=\"color: #ff0000; text-decoration: underline;\">The woke university implosion \u2014 and what comes next<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/h1>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/worthlessdegree.jpeg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-106229\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/worthlessdegree.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"420\" height=\"189\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/worthlessdegree.jpeg 420w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/worthlessdegree-300x135.jpeg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 420px) 100vw, 420px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">&#8220;<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><strong>In a famous exchange in the \u201cThe Sun Also Rises,\u201d Ernest Hemingway wrote: \u201cHow did you go bankrupt?\u201d Bill asked. <span style=\"color: #0000ff;\">\u201cTwo ways,\u201d Mike said.<\/span> \u201cGradually, then suddenly.\u201d<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><strong><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\">\u201cGradually\u201d and \u201csuddenly\u201d applies to higher education\u2019s implosion.<\/span>\u00a0<\/strong><\/span><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><strong>During the 1990s \u201cculture wars,\u201d universities were warned that their chronic tuition hikes above the rate of inflation were unsustainable.\u00a0<\/strong><\/span><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><strong>Their growing manipulation of blanket federal student loan guarantees and part-time faculty and graduate teaching assistants always was suicidal.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline; color: #0000ff;\"><em><a style=\"color: #0000ff; text-decoration: underline;\" href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2022\/12\/14\/after-a-15-year-decline-more-colleges-have-become-hostile-to-free-speech\/\">Left-wing indoctrination<\/a><\/em><\/span>, administrative bloat, obsessions with racial preferences, arcane, jargon-filled research and campus-wide intolerance of diverse thought short-changed students, further alienated the public \u2014 and often enraged alumni.\u00a0<\/strong><\/span><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><strong><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\">Over the last 30 years, enrollments in the humanities and history crashed.<\/span> So did tenure-track faculty positions. <span style=\"color: #0000ff;\">Some $1.7 trillion in federally backed student loans have only greenlighted inflated tuition \u2014 and masked the contagion of political indoctrination and watered-down courses.<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><strong>But \u201cgradually\u201d imploding has now become \u201csuddenly.\u201d <span style=\"color: #0000ff;\">Zoom courses, a declining pool of students and soaring costs all prompt the public to question the college experience altogether.<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">&#8230;<\/span><strong>Men account for about 71% of the current shortfall of students. <span style=\"color: #0000ff;\">Women number almost 60% of all college students \u2014 an all-time high.\u00a0<\/span><\/strong><\/span><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><strong>Monotonous professors\u00a0<span style=\"text-decoration: underline; color: #0000ff;\"><em><a style=\"color: #0000ff; text-decoration: underline;\" href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2022\/11\/26\/living-hell-and-the-destruction-of-academic-freedom\/\">hector students about \u201ctoxic masculinity,\u201d as \u201cgender\u201d studies proliferate<\/a><\/em><\/span>. If the plan was to drive males off campus, universities have succeeded <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>beyond their wildest expectations<\/em><\/span>.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><strong><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\">The number of history majors has collapsed by 50% in just the last 20 years.<\/span> Tenured history positions have declined by one-third to half at major state universities.\u00a0<\/strong><\/span><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><strong>In the last decade alone, English majors across the nation\u2019s universities have fallen by a third.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><strong>At Yale University, <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>administrative positions<\/em><\/span> have <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>soared<\/em><\/span> over <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>150%<\/em><\/span> in the last two decades. <span style=\"color: #0000ff;\">But the <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>number of professors<\/em><\/span> increased by just <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>10%<\/em><\/span>.<\/span> In a new low\/high, Stanford recently enrolled <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>16,937 undergraduate and graduate students<\/em><\/span>, but lists <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>15,750 administrative staff<\/em><\/span> \u2014 in near <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>one-to-one<\/em><\/span> fashion.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><strong><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\">In the past, such costly praetorian bloat would have sparked a faculty rebellion.<\/span> Not now. <span style=\"color: #0000ff;\">The new six-figure salaried\u00a0\u201c<span style=\"text-decoration: underline; color: #ff0000;\"><em><a style=\"color: #ff0000; text-decoration: underline;\" href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2022\/12\/20\/stanford-releases-guide-against-harmful-language-including-term-american\/\">diversity, equity and inclusion\u201d commissars<\/a><\/em><\/span>\u00a0are feared and exempt from criticism<\/span><\/strong><\/span>&#8230;&#8221;<\/p>\n<p><strong>Read <a href=\"https:\/\/www.barnesandnoble.com\/w\/1984-george-orwell\/1100009100\"><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><em><u>1984<\/u><\/em><\/span><\/a>, people: Orwell saw all this coming back in 1949.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Speaking of <em>1984<\/em>, <em>Best of the Web<\/em> sums up&#8230;<\/strong><\/p>\n<div class=\"crawler css-bsrkcm-Box e1vnmyci0\">\n<h1 class=\"css-1hch5ce-StyledHeadline e1ipbpvp0\" style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><a style=\"color: #0000ff;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.wsj.com\/articles\/the-costs-of-a-closed-society-11672258295?mod=djemBestOfTheWeb\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">The Costs of a Closed Society<\/span><\/a><\/span><\/h1>\n<\/div>\n<h3 class=\"css-mosdo-Dek-Dek e1jnru6p0\" style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.wsj.com\/articles\/the-costs-of-a-closed-society-11672258295?mod=djemBestOfTheWeb\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><span style=\"color: #ff6600; text-decoration: underline;\">U.S. kids pay a staggering bill for government\u2019s suppression of Covid debate<\/span><\/span><\/a><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\">.<\/span><\/h3>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/Fauci.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-106207\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/Fauci.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"368\" height=\"420\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/Fauci.png 368w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/Fauci-263x300.png 263w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 368px) 100vw, 368px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"css-xbvutc-Paragraph e3t0jlg0\" style=\"padding-left: 30px;\" data-type=\"paragraph\">&#8220;<span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><strong>Open societies like the United States thrive because free speech and vigorous public debate generally allow the best ideas to win in a competitive marketplace. <span style=\"color: #ff6600;\">Closed societies fail because a central authority of political apparatchiks can never be smarter than all the independent creativity of free citizens studying and proposing and testing and trying new ways to solve problems.<\/span> Faced with the challenge of Covid, too many U.S. government officials not only refused to subject their disastrous lockdown policies to rigorous analysis, but appear to have tried to silence those most equipped to demonstrate the flaws of the shutdown strategy. <span style=\"color: #ff6600;\">Government officials opted for closing not just buildings but public debate, at a moment when America most needed the virtues of the open society.<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"css-xbvutc-Paragraph e3t0jlg0\" style=\"padding-left: 30px;\" data-type=\"paragraph\"><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><strong>The Journal\u2019s Ben Chapman and Douglas Belkin\u00a0<span style=\"text-decoration: underline; color: #ff6600;\"><em><a class=\"css-1h1us5y-StyledLink exk4ewm0\" style=\"color: #ff6600; text-decoration: underline;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.wsj.com\/articles\/pandemic-learning-loss-could-cost-students-70-000-in-lifetime-earnings-11672148505?mod=article_inline\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferer\" data-type=\"link\">report<\/a><\/em><\/span>\u00a0on one massive cost of this disaster: a Stanford study showing a possible lifetime earnings decline of $70,000 for children resulting from Covid-era learning losses, <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>especially in math<\/em><\/span>&#8230;<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"css-xbvutc-Paragraph e3t0jlg0\" style=\"padding-left: 30px;\" data-type=\"paragraph\"><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">&#8230;<\/span><strong><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\">Now the latest release of internal Twitter files reports that the federal government was leaning on the social media company to suppress even well-informed messages from highly accomplished doctors who didn\u2019t toe the government line.<\/span> Specifically suppressed were those who accurately pointed out that children were not at great risk from Covid.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"css-xbvutc-Paragraph e3t0jlg0\" style=\"padding-left: 30px;\" data-type=\"paragraph\"><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\"><strong>After receiving files from Twitter, journalist David Zweig recently\u00a0<span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><em><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><a class=\"css-1h1us5y-StyledLink exk4ewm0\" style=\"color: #0000ff; text-decoration: underline;\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/davidzweig\/status\/1607380401328369664?s=20&amp;t=J4pxKWTvpocM24qh3-vx6Q\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferer\" data-type=\"link\">tweeted<\/a><\/span><\/em><\/span>:<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"css-xbvutc-Paragraph e3t0jlg0\" style=\"padding-left: 60px;\" data-type=\"paragraph\"><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><strong><em>The United States government pressured Twitter and other social media platforms to elevate certain content and suppress other content about Covid-19&#8230;<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"css-xbvutc-Paragraph e3t0jlg0\" style=\"padding-left: 60px;\" data-type=\"paragraph\"><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><strong><em><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\">Twitter executives did not fully capitulate to the Biden team\u2019s wishes.<\/span> An extensive review of internal communications at the company revealed employees often debating moderation cases in great detail, and with more care than was shown by the government toward free speech.<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"css-xbvutc-Paragraph e3t0jlg0\" style=\"padding-left: 60px;\" data-type=\"paragraph\"><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><strong><em><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\">But Twitter <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">did<\/span> suppress views\u2014many from doctors and scientific experts\u2014that conflicted with the official positions of the White House.<\/span> As a result, legitimate findings and questions that would have expanded the public debate went missing.<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"css-xbvutc-Paragraph e3t0jlg0\" style=\"padding-left: 60px;\" data-type=\"paragraph\"><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\"><strong><em>&#8230;dissident yet legitimate content was labeled as misinformation, and the accounts of doctors and others were suspended both for tweeting opinions <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">and<\/span> demonstrably true information.<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"css-xbvutc-Paragraph e3t0jlg0\" style=\"padding-left: 60px;\" data-type=\"paragraph\"><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><strong><em>Exhibit A: Dr. Martin Kulldorff, an epidemiologist at Harvard Medical School, tweeted views at odds with US public health authorities and the American left, the political affiliation of nearly the entire staff at Twitter.<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"css-xbvutc-Paragraph e3t0jlg0\" style=\"padding-left: 30px;\" data-type=\"paragraph\"><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><strong><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\">Rep. James Comer (R., Ky.) will become chairman of the House Oversight Committee in the new Congress, and he\u2019s been busy collecting information on the government\u2019s disastrous response to Covid.<\/span> Tuesday on the Fox Business Network he\u00a0<span style=\"text-decoration: underline; color: #ff6600;\"><em><a class=\"css-1h1us5y-StyledLink exk4ewm0\" style=\"color: #ff6600; text-decoration: underline;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.foxbusiness.com\/shows\/the-evening-edit\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferer\" data-type=\"link\">told<\/a><\/em><\/span>\u00a0your humble correspondent:<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"css-xbvutc-Paragraph e3t0jlg0\" style=\"padding-left: 60px;\" data-type=\"paragraph\"><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><strong><em><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\">Now we\u2019re learning that the government was very involved in suppressing speech, among other medical experts and other people who didn\u2019t agree with [Dr.\u00a0Anthony Fauci]<\/span>&#8230; history is not going to be kind to the American response to COVID 19.<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"css-xbvutc-Paragraph e3t0jlg0\" style=\"padding-left: 30px;\" data-type=\"paragraph\"><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><strong><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\">Speaking of America\u2019s most famous government disease doctor, this column has been noting since early in the pandemic that his destructive recommendations were offered without <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>any serious consideration of costs and benefits<\/em><\/span>.<\/span> Given this <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>pseudoscientific<\/em><\/span> approach, which unfortunately seems to have become <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>standard operating procedure<\/em><\/span> among public-health officials, it\u2019s no wonder that the feds didn\u2019t want to subject their plans to a fair and open debate.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"css-xbvutc-Paragraph e3t0jlg0\" style=\"padding-left: 30px;\" data-type=\"paragraph\"><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\"><strong>University of Chicago economist\u00a0Tomas Philipson\u00a0<span style=\"text-decoration: underline; color: #0000ff;\"><em><a class=\"css-1h1us5y-StyledLink exk4ewm0\" style=\"color: #0000ff; text-decoration: underline;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.wsj.com\/amp\/articles\/an-economic-evaluation-of-covid-lockdowns-pandemic-deaths-spread-biden-trump-vaccine-mandate-11642627730?mod=article_inline\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferer\" data-type=\"link\">wrote<\/a><\/em><\/span>\u00a0in the Journal earlier this year:<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"css-xbvutc-Paragraph e3t0jlg0\" style=\"padding-left: 60px;\" data-type=\"paragraph\"><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><strong><em>Reducing the incidence of disease isn\u2019t necessarily desirable if excessive prevention, in the form of lockdowns or school closures, is more costly to society than the damage done by an illness. <span style=\"color: #ff6600;\">We don\u2019t close highways to minimize accidental deaths, despite the existence of dangerous drivers&#8230;<\/span> The public-health community has proved <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">incapable<\/span> of quantitatively assessing trade-offs between the harms of prevention and the harms of disease. <span style=\"color: #ff6600;\">This has hindered the development of policies that could have minimized the total harm to society from Covid-19.<\/span> <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Economic epidemiologists<\/span>, by contrast, have <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">for decades<\/span> used quantitative methods to evaluate these harms by looking at them the same way they look at taxes&#8230;<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"css-xbvutc-Paragraph e3t0jlg0\" style=\"padding-left: 60px;\" data-type=\"paragraph\"><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><strong><em><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\">In early 2020, University of Chicago economists estimated that about 80% of the total damage from Covid came from prevention efforts that hindered economic activity, and only 20% from the direct effects of the disease itself.<\/span> This analysis motivated me and others to recommend that initial efforts to stop the spread should focus on older people, who are at higher risk of severe illness and not as active in the economy as younger people. <span style=\"color: #ff6600;\">This would allow younger people to keep the economy going while limiting the spread of the disease among those most at risk from it.<\/span> Some in the public-health community, like the signers of the Great Barrington Declaration&#8230;saw the light.<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"css-xbvutc-Paragraph e3t0jlg0\" style=\"padding-left: 30px;\" data-type=\"paragraph\"><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\"><strong>Too many government officials sought to operate in the darkness.<\/strong><\/span>&#8220;<\/p>\n<p><strong>We won&#8217;t hold our breath waiting <a href=\"https:\/\/www.science.org\/content\/article\/almost-everything-tucker-carlson-said-about-anthony-fauci-week-was-misleading-or-false\" class=\"broken_link\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline; color: #0000ff;\"><em>for the likes of the magazine Science to correct the record<\/em><\/span><\/a>.\u00a0 Dr. Faux Chi once <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nbcnews.com\/news\/us-news\/fauci-says-jesse-watters-fired-spot-fox-news-hosts-kill-shot-comments-rcna9521\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline; color: #0000ff;\"><em>demanded Jesse Watters be fired for urging people to &#8220;ambush&#8221; him and record their &#8220;kill shot&#8221; confrontations<\/em><\/span><\/a>.\u00a0 Given what&#8217;s come out about this charlatan dressed in career-bureaucrat clothing, Jesse Watters didn&#8217;t go far enough.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Moving on, here&#8217;s a septet of items specially selected for inquiring Conservative minds:<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><strong>(1). The <em>Journal<\/em> informs us <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wsj.com\/livecoverage\/stock-market-news-today-12-30-2022?mod=djemalertNEWS\"><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><em><u>stocks closed out the year with a whimper<\/u><\/em><\/span><\/a>, as &#8220;all three major indexes posted modest losses Friday, capping their <em><u>worst year since 2008<\/u><\/em>.&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/s-l500.jpeg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-106224\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/s-l500.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"420\" height=\"454\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/s-l500.jpeg 420w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/s-l500-278x300.jpeg 278w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 420px) 100vw, 420px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><strong>Yes, you demented deviant, you did <em><u>indeed<\/u><\/em>!<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><strong>(2). If <a href=\"https:\/\/theconservativetreehouse.com\/blog\/2022\/12\/27\/interesting-on-many-levels-mom-blocked-from-taking-daughter-to-radio-city-music-hall-event-as-result-of-facial-recognition-and-blacklist\/\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline; color: #0000ff;\"><em>this story of a m<\/em><\/span><\/a><\/strong><strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline; color: #0000ff;\"><em>om blocked from taking her daughter to a Radio City Music Hall event as on the basis of of facial recognition and a blacklist<\/em><\/span> doesn&#8217;t scare you, the <span style=\"color: #000000;\">potential for government abuse of the technology&#8230;<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">She was so excited about the convenience of face-scan payment in China&#8230;no card or phone needed &#8230; \ud83e\udd21 \ud83c\udf0e<\/p>\n<p>Wait until the govt decides your social credit score is too low for not doing what they tell you. No water for you until you receive your 4th booster. \ud83d\ude32<\/p>\n<p>\ud83d\udd0asound &#8230;\ud83d\ude30 <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/XJ9dCKkukk\" class=\"broken_link\">pic.twitter.com\/XJ9dCKkukk<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Wall Street Silver (@WallStreetSilv) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/WallStreetSilv\/status\/1607216009152237571?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" class=\"broken_link\">December 26, 2022<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">&#8230;e<\/span>scapes you.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><strong>(3). Courtesy of <em>AEI<\/em>, the <em>Washington Examiner<\/em>&#8216;s Michael Rubin wonders\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.aei.org\/op-eds\/why-is-america-afraid-of-winning\/\"><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><em><u>why is America afraid of winning<\/u><\/em><\/span><\/a>?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><strong>(4). The <em>Libs of Tik Tok<\/em> reveals&#8230;<\/strong><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">California is now a safe haven for people who give healthy minor girls double mastectomies and give young kids irreversible treatments which permanently stunts their growth <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/5RxRTbSjlt\">https:\/\/t.co\/5RxRTbSjlt<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/libsoftiktok\/status\/1609374336175202305?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" class=\"broken_link\">January 1, 2023<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><strong>(5). Speaking of losers, spendaholic Kevin McCarthy thankfully\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.wsj.com\/articles\/kevin-mccarthys-speaker-bid-faces-final-hurdle-11672523756?mod=djemalertNEWS\"><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><em><u>still hasn&#8217;t secured the votes<\/u><\/em><\/span><\/a> to succeed his Dimocratic equivalent.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><strong>(6). Courtesy of Speed, the <em>American Spectator<\/em> sagely suggests <a href=\"https:\/\/spectator.org\/release-pelosis-tax-returns\/\"><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><em><u>since the precedent has been established, other high government officials should be forced to release their tax returns<\/u><\/em><\/span><\/a>, starting with Nancy Pelosi.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><strong>(7).<\/strong>\u00a0<strong>In a forward from Breeze, the <em>Navy Times<\/em> informs us <a href=\"https:\/\/www.navytimes.com\/news\/your-navy\/2022\/12\/27\/navy-developing-smart-bra-undershirt-for-fighter-pilots\/\"><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><em><u>the Navy is developing a smart bra to monitor the vital signs of female pilots<\/u><\/em><\/span><\/a>.\u00a0 Great, more scarce funding pissed away on a dull-edged sword which is&#8230;<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/75qrwg.jpeg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-106200\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/75qrwg.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"420\" height=\"280\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/75qrwg.jpeg 420w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/75qrwg-300x200.jpeg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 420px) 100vw, 420px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Which brings us, appropriately enough, to <em>The Lighter Side<\/em>:<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/biden.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-106214\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/biden.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"462\" height=\"315\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/biden.png 462w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/biden-300x205.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 462px) 100vw, 462px\" \/><\/a><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/gv122822dAPR-800x0.jpeg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-106215\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/gv122822dAPR-800x0.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"462\" height=\"330\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/gv122822dAPR-800x0.jpeg 462w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/gv122822dAPR-800x0-300x214.jpeg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 462px) 100vw, 462px\" \/><\/a><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/IMG_0324-800x0.jpeg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-106216\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/IMG_0324-800x0.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"462\" height=\"347\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/IMG_0324-800x0.jpeg 462w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/IMG_0324-800x0-300x225.jpeg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 462px) 100vw, 462px\" \/><\/a><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/IMG_0322-800x0.jpeg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-106217\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/IMG_0322-800x0.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"462\" height=\"347\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/IMG_0322-800x0.jpeg 462w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/IMG_0322-800x0-300x225.jpeg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 462px) 100vw, 462px\" \/><\/a><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/a-14.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-106218\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/a-14.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"462\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/a-14.png 462w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/a-14-300x195.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 462px) 100vw, 462px\" \/><\/a><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/Image-12-28-22-at-9.34-AM.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-106199\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/Image-12-28-22-at-9.34-AM.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"462\" height=\"329\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/Image-12-28-22-at-9.34-AM.jpg 462w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/Image-12-28-22-at-9.34-AM-300x214.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 462px) 100vw, 462px\" \/><\/a><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/Image-12-29-22-at-7.13-AM-1.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-106246\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/Image-12-29-22-at-7.13-AM-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"466\" height=\"583\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/Image-12-29-22-at-7.13-AM-1.jpg 466w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/Image-12-29-22-at-7.13-AM-1-240x300.jpg 240w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 466px) 100vw, 466px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Then there&#8217;s these from Balls Cotton&#8230;<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/Balls4-1.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-106211\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/Balls4-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"462\" height=\"619\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/Balls4-1.jpg 462w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/Balls4-1-224x300.jpg 224w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 462px) 100vw, 462px\" \/><\/a><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/Balls2-4.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-106209\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/Balls2-4.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"462\" height=\"349\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/Balls2-4.jpg 462w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/Balls2-4-300x227.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 462px) 100vw, 462px\" \/><\/a><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/Balls3-2.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-106210\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/Balls3-2.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"462\" height=\"550\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/Balls3-2.jpg 462w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/Balls3-2-252x300.jpg 252w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 462px) 100vw, 462px\" \/><\/a><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/Balls1-3.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-106208\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/Balls1-3.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"462\" height=\"296\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/Balls1-3.jpg 462w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/Balls1-3-300x192.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 462px) 100vw, 462px\" \/><\/a><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/Balls5-1.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-106212\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/Balls5-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"462\" height=\"259\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/Balls5-1.jpg 462w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/Balls5-1-300x168.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 462px) 100vw, 462px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>&#8230;the Wizard of Oz&#8230;<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/IMG_6922.jpeg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-106245\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/IMG_6922.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"462\" height=\"564\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/IMG_6922.jpeg 462w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/IMG_6922-246x300.jpeg 246w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 462px) 100vw, 462px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>&#8230;Ed Hickey&#8230;<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/image005.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-106253\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/image005.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"462\" height=\"578\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/image005.jpg 462w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/image005-240x300.jpg 240w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 462px) 100vw, 462px\" \/><\/a><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/Untitled.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-106252\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/Untitled.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"462\" height=\"455\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/Untitled.png 462w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/Untitled-300x295.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 462px) 100vw, 462px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>&#8230;and finally, this perfect segue into the new year from the lovely Shannon:<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/IMG_6921.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-106241\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/IMG_6921.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"462\" height=\"393\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/IMG_6921.jpg 462w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/IMG_6921-300x255.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 462px) 100vw, 462px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Here&#8217;s wishing you and yours a blessed 2023!<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Magoo<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong><em><u>Video of the Day<\/u><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>In a forward from Right Fielding, Matt Christiansen offers some insightful analysis into the curious case of the Paul Pelosi videos and audio.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"YouTube video player\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/mJaw14GGGiI\" width=\"420\" height=\"235\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong><em><u>Tales of The Darkside<\/u><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>These are sheeple, mindless immoral myrmidons, bereft of any hint of independent thought or principles&#8230;except for of course the last guy Ami asks.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"YouTube video player\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/nA49Hb3U0Eg\" width=\"420\" height=\"235\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><span data-mce-type=\"bookmark\" style=\"display: inline-block; width: 0px; overflow: hidden; line-height: 0;\" class=\"mce_SELRES_start\">\ufeff<\/span><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><em><strong><u>On the Lighter Side<\/u><\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<p><strong>Matt Walsh presents the most annoying Tik Toks of 2022.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"YouTube video player\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/sxje-ndAxos\" width=\"420\" height=\"235\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><span data-mce-type=\"bookmark\" style=\"display: inline-block; width: 0px; overflow: hidden; line-height: 0;\" class=\"mce_SELRES_start\">\ufeff<\/span><\/iframe><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>It&#8217;s Monday, January 2nd, 2023&#8230;but before we kick off the new year, our high opinion of Joe Concha notwithstanding, when did THIS type of coarse discourse&#8230; \ufeff &#8230;become acceptable as part of purportedly serious television journalism?\u00a0 &#8220;Knocked up&#8221; versus &#8220;pregnant&#8221; or &#8220;expecting&#8221;: Seriously?!? Now, unexpectedly, here&#8217;s our inaugural 2023 edition of\u00a0The Gouge! First up, NRO&#8216;s [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1988,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_s2mail":"no","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-106235","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/106235","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1988"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=106235"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/106235\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":106321,"href":"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/106235\/revisions\/106321"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=106235"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=106235"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=106235"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}