{"id":108857,"date":"2023-04-18T20:31:56","date_gmt":"2023-04-19T00:31:56","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/?p=108857"},"modified":"2023-04-18T20:32:05","modified_gmt":"2023-04-19T00:32:05","slug":"the-daily-gouge-archive-monday-april-17th-2023","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/?p=108857","title":{"rendered":"The Daily Gouge Archive, Monday, April 17th, 2023"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em><strong>Editor&#8217;s<\/strong><\/em><\/span><em><strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"> Note<\/span><\/strong><\/em><strong>: At the time of publication, for reasons known only to our hosting service, the #4 link for our On the Lighter Side video was missing, and the entirety of The Gouge, with limited exceptions, was in italics.\u00a0\u00a0We apologize in advance for these and any other appearance issues, and will work to correct the problem as soon as possible.\u00a0 Now, on with the show!\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>It&#8217;s Monday, April 17th, 2023&#8230;but before we begin&#8230;<\/strong><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">Susan Rice does magic math, claims that systemic racism has reduced the size of the economy by $16 trillion. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/nWQeYKyTEl\">pic.twitter.com\/nWQeYKyTEl<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Catch Up (@CatchUpFeed) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/CatchUpFeed\/status\/1646229188523982848?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">April 12, 2023<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p><strong>Citibank&#8230;<em><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Citibank<\/span><\/em> says so?!?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"YouTube video player\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/5T6umD9Z8HA?start=0&amp;end=8&amp;1\" 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>As <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nationalreview.com\/2023\/04\/susan-rice-keeps-the-dei-racket-humming\/?lctg=547fd4393b35d0210c8dec30&amp;utm_source=Sailthru&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;utm_campaign=WIR%20-%20Sunday%202023-04-16&amp;utm_term=WIR-Smart\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline; color: #0000ff;\"><em>NRO&#8217;s Noah Rothman notes<\/em><\/span><\/a>:<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">&#8220;&#8230;Indeed, those figures <strong><em><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">are<\/span><\/em><\/strong> a product of the work primarily done by Citigroup global economist Dana Peterson, who produced these estimates in 2020, and\u00a0<span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><span style=\"color: #0000ff; text-decoration: underline;\"><em><strong><a style=\"color: #0000ff; text-decoration: underline;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.bloomberg.com\/news\/articles\/2020-10-20\/racism-and-inequity-have-cost-the-u-s-16-trillion-wall-street-economist-says\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" testid=\"standard-link\" class=\"broken_link\">whose findings enjoyed<\/a><\/strong><\/em><\/span><\/span>\u00a0uncritical coverage\u00a0<span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em><a style=\"color: #0000ff; text-decoration: underline;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.cbsnews.com\/news\/how-16-trillion-became-the-cost-of-racism-in-the-united-states\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" data-testid=\"standard-link\">in the press<\/a><\/em><\/span><\/strong><\/span>\u00a0and\u00a0<span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em><a style=\"color: #0000ff; text-decoration: underline;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.hsph.harvard.edu\/event\/the-high-cost-of-racism-inequality-the-economy-and-public-health\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" data-testid=\"standard-link\">academia<\/a><\/em><\/span><\/strong><\/span>.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">To describe a number of variables that contribute to Peterson\u2019s estimates as <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>complex<\/em><\/span><\/strong> would be a <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>profound understatement<\/em><\/span><\/strong>. The report that forms the basis of Rice\u2019s claims examines the effects on black Americans, over decades, of insufficient access to housing and home loans. It studies the intergenerational wealth foregone by those who cannot secure a college degree. It explores the costs of racial discrimination in hiring and in adversarial interactions with police. It considers the wealth not earned by lower- and middle-income black Americans and those of more means, including African-American Ivy League graduates who reportedly earn less than their counterparts, and by black entrepreneurs who struggle to secure venture-capital investment.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">All told, Peterson estimates that, absent these \u201cpyramidal\u201d roadblocks to advancement, the U.S. could have created over 6 million new jobs in this century alone.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">Given the <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>bewildering number<\/em><\/span><\/strong> of inputs introduced into this analysis, it\u2019s hardly surprising that <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>other firms<\/em><\/span><\/strong> looking into the economic activity foregone by African Americans as a result of racial impediments have produced <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>wildly divergent conclusions<\/em><\/span><\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">In 2019, the management-consulting behemoth\u00a0<span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em><a style=\"color: #0000ff; text-decoration: underline;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.mckinsey.com\/industries\/public-and-social-sector\/our-insights\/the-economic-impact-of-closing-the-racial-wealth-gap\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" testid=\"standard-link\" class=\"broken_link\">McKinsey &amp; Company<\/a><\/em><\/span><\/strong><\/span>\u00a0pegged the GDP costs of the racial wealth gap, which limits rates of consumption among African Americans, at about $<strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>1\u20131.5 trillion<\/em><\/span><\/strong> over a decade. It <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>reached<\/em><\/span><\/strong> this conclusion by adopting what it describes as the \u201c<strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>optimistic assumption that black wealth grows faster than white wealth<\/em><\/span><\/strong>.\u201d But that\u2019s <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>not<\/em><\/span><\/strong> the <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>only<\/em><\/span><\/strong> eye-popping assumption in this report.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">Exploring the home-ownership gap, McKinsey added that <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>black-owned homes<\/em><\/span><\/strong> do not appreciate in value at rates seen by <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>white homeowners<\/em><\/span><\/strong> \u2014 a gap that is <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>not explained<\/em><\/span><\/strong> by \u201cneighborhood differences and the quality of homes.\u201d <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>Only<\/em><\/span><\/strong> \u201cracial animus can account for the remaining difference in appreciation.\u201d Similarly, <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>black families<\/em><\/span><\/strong> are less likely to own stocks than <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>white families<\/em><\/span><\/strong>, \u201cpartly because black communities have <strong><em><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">historically struggled to trust the stock market<\/span><\/em><\/strong>.\u201d Of particular relevance to Citigroup, the \u201crelative lack of access to mainstream banking\u201d and the \u201chigh availability of high-cost financial services\u201d contributes to \u201ca <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>lack of trust in financial institutions<\/em><\/span><\/strong>\u201d among a <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>significant number<\/em><\/span><\/strong> of black Americans, who are \u201ccompletely disconnected\u201d from the banking sector.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">The <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>DEI industry<\/em><\/span><\/strong> is quick to cite <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>itself<\/em><\/span><\/strong> as the remedy for at least some of these gaps. According to a report produced by the professional-services firm Accenture, American firms are sacrificing <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>at least $1 trillion in profits<\/em><\/span><\/strong> by failing to be more \u201cinclusive.\u201d By <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>failing to produce \u201ca culture of equity<\/em><\/span><\/strong>,\u201d as\u00a0<span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em><a style=\"color: #0000ff; text-decoration: underline;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.businessinsider.com\/accenture-report-perception-gap-shows-economic-cost-lack-of-diversity-inclusion\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" data-testid=\"standard-link\">Accenture CEO Julie Sweet<\/a><\/em><\/span><\/strong><\/span>\u00a0wrote, U.S. businesses contribute to a \u201cperception gap\u201d between employees and C-suite executives that <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>reduces productivity and employee-retention rates<\/em><\/span><\/strong>. Bank of America Global Research sees the costs of racial avulsion running <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>far higher<\/em><\/span><\/strong>. \u201cIs it $<strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>70 trillion<\/em><\/span><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em> in foregone economic output<\/em><\/span><\/strong>? Or $<strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>23 trillion in USD GDP<\/em><\/span><\/strong>? Or $<strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>172 trillion in lifetime earnings<\/em><\/span><\/strong>?\u201d a\u00a0<span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em><a style=\"color: #0000ff; text-decoration: underline;\" href=\"https:\/\/news.yahoo.com\/bof-a-lack-of-diversity-within-companies-is-costing-trillions-213302922.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" data-testid=\"standard-link\">2022 Bank of America report<\/a><\/em><\/span><\/strong><\/span>\u00a0asked. \u201cNo matter <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>how<\/em><\/span><\/strong> you measure it, lack of diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) limits national economies and reduces GDP.\u201d <span style=\"color: #008000;\"><strong>(<em>It <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">SHOULD<\/span> read &#8220;No matter how you make it up&#8221;!<\/em>)<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">As these disparities suggest, the legacies of discriminatory policies in the U.S.\u00a0<em>do<\/em>\u00a0put downward pressure on African-American incomes. And yet, it is <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>impossible to separate<\/em><\/span><\/strong> social factors from those <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>deriving from free personal choice<\/em><\/span><\/strong> to the degree necessary to produce an accurate assessment of racism\u2019s macroeconomic effects. That was the conclusion of an\u00a0<span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em><a style=\"color: #0000ff; text-decoration: underline;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.brookings.edu\/blog\/up-front\/2021\/03\/30\/measuring-racism-and-discrimination-in-economic-data\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" data-testid=\"standard-link\">academic joint session<\/a><\/em><\/span><\/strong><\/span>\u00a0of the Allied Social Sciences Associations in 2021. As Brookings Institution scholars Randall Akee and Marcus Casey observed, \u201cexisting data sets have <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>limited usefulness<\/em><\/span><\/strong> for identifying the breadth and scope of outcomes and instances of racism.\u201d <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>All we know for sure<\/em><\/span><\/strong>, according to Brookings Institution fellow\u00a0<span style=\"text-decoration: underline; color: #0000ff;\"><em><strong><a style=\"color: #0000ff; text-decoration: underline;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.brookings.edu\/research\/closing-the-racial-wealth-gap-requires-heavy-progressive-taxation-of-wealth\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" data-testid=\"standard-link\">Vanessa Williamson<\/a><\/strong><\/em><\/span>, is that <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>eliminating<\/em><\/span><\/strong> the racial wealth gap requires a \u201c<strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>program of heavy and highly progressive taxation aimed at the very wealthiest Americans<\/em><\/span><\/strong>.\u201d<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>In lieu<\/em><\/span><\/strong> of a constitutionally fraught, racially discriminatory redistribution of income in this country, <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>the DEI industry will have to suffice<\/em><\/span><\/strong>. Upon the release of the blockbuster report that Susan Rice cited, Citigroup also announced a plan to direct\u00a0<span style=\"text-decoration: underline; color: #0000ff;\"><em><strong><a style=\"color: #0000ff; text-decoration: underline;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.cbsnews.com\/news\/us-gdp-growth-missed-16-trillion-systemic-racism-inequality-report\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" data-testid=\"standard-link\">$1 billion<\/a><\/strong><\/em><\/span>\u00a0toward closing the racial wealth gap. In 2021, the firm reluctantly assented to a \u201cracial audit\u201d of its policies \u2014 a measure that Citi\u00a0<span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em><a style=\"color: #0000ff; text-decoration: underline;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.bloomberg.com\/news\/articles\/2021-10-22\/citi-becomes-first-wall-street-bank-to-agree-to-racial-audit\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" testid=\"standard-link\" class=\"broken_link\">executives attempted to block<\/a><\/em><\/span><\/strong><\/span>, arguing that the audit was <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>unnecessary<\/em><\/span><\/strong> in part because of that <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>well-intended<\/em><\/span><\/strong> $1 billion investment in black entrepreneurs and homeowners.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">Citigroup is not alone. JPMorgan Chase &amp; Co. made a $30 billion contribution to advancing racial equity in 2020 only to submit later to an audit of their efforts by PricewaterhouseCoopers \u2014 an audit that was deemed\u00a0<span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em><a style=\"color: #0000ff; text-decoration: underline;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.bloomberg.com\/news\/articles\/2022-12-20\/jpmorgan-investor-blasts-deficiencies-in-racial-equity-audit\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" testid=\"standard-link\" class=\"broken_link\">woefully inadequate<\/a><\/em><\/span><\/strong><\/span>\u00a0by <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>more-explicitly equity-focused<\/em><\/span><\/strong> auditors. Amazon appeared to have learned the rules of the road\u00a0<span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em><a style=\"color: #0000ff; text-decoration: underline;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nationalreview.com\/news\/former-ag-loretta-lynch-to-lead-amazon-racial-equity-audit\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" data-testid=\"dynamic-link\">when it retained<\/a><\/em><\/span><\/strong><\/span>\u00a0Obama-era attorney general Loretta Lynch to perform its review of the online retailer\u2019s commitment to \u201caddress racial justice and equity.\u201d Good intentions don\u2019t speak for themselves, <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>unless the relevant DEI stakeholders are given a taste<\/em><\/span><\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">Many firms, however, are\u00a0<span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em><a style=\"color: #0000ff; text-decoration: underline;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.hrdive.com\/news\/dei-first-to-go-recession-monster\/640114\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" testid=\"standard-link\" class=\"broken_link\">ditching their DEI departments<\/a><\/em><\/span><\/strong><\/span>\u00a0to <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>cut costs<\/em><\/span><\/strong> amid increasingly challenging economic circumstances. No doubt, DEI advocates would cite <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>America\u2019s latent racial bigotries<\/em><\/span><\/strong> as the <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>real<\/em><\/span><\/strong> impetus. \u201cThese layoffs show some CEOs <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>weren\u2019t committed<\/em><\/span><\/strong>,\u201d said DEI consultant\u00a0<span style=\"text-decoration: underline; color: #0000ff;\"><em><strong><a style=\"color: #0000ff; text-decoration: underline;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.businessinsider.com\/layoffs-diversity-departments-some-ceos-talk-committed-racial-justice-2023-2\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" data-testid=\"standard-link\">Dee Marshall<\/a><\/strong><\/em><\/span>\u00a0ruefully of the layoffs targeting her industry. \u201cTheir priority was performative. It was, in some cases, business; it\u2019s what they had to do for shareholders and stakeholders.\u201d<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">To hear Susan Rice and others tell it, racism presents Americans with tangible costs that the country can\u2019t afford. Their remedies to this condition involve imposing reparative costs on America\u2019s most productive enterprises, which, it seems, those enterprises cannot afford either. The DEI industry\u2019s prescription is a <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>recipe for despair<\/em><\/span><\/strong>, at least for those Americans <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>who aren\u2019t getting a piece of the action<\/em><\/span><\/strong>.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p><strong>That these supposed bastions of Capitalism have cravenly capitulated to wokeness in the face of Progressive governmental pressure has <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>no bearing whatsoever<\/em><\/span> on the accuracy of the fictitious facts and figures they&#8217;ve fabricated.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Here&#8217;s the juice: Follow the money, people, for as AOC so famously observed, it&#8217;s all about&#8230;<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/depositphotos_12690838-stock-photo-closeup-abstract-of-100-bill.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-108873\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/depositphotos_12690838-stock-photo-closeup-abstract-of-100-bill.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"420\" height=\"312\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/depositphotos_12690838-stock-photo-closeup-abstract-of-100-bill.jpg 420w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/depositphotos_12690838-stock-photo-closeup-abstract-of-100-bill-300x223.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 420px) 100vw, 420px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>&#8230;the Benjamins.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Now, here&#8217;s <em>The Gouge<\/em>!<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>First up, the great VDH highlights&#8230;<\/strong><\/p>\n<h1 style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/townhall.com\/columnists\/victordavishanson\/2023\/04\/14\/the-biden-10-step-plan-for-global-chaos-n2621956\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><span style=\"color: #333399; text-decoration: underline;\">The Biden 10-Step Plan for Global Chaos<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/h1>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/7i9ymb.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-108832\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/7i9ymb.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"420\" height=\"288\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/7i9ymb.jpg 420w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/7i9ymb-300x206.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 420px) 100vw, 420px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>Why<\/em><\/span><\/strong> is French President Emmanuel Macron cozying up to China while trashing his oldest ally, the United States?<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\"><strong><em><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Why<\/span><\/em><\/strong> is there sudden talk of discarding the dollar as the global currency?<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>Why<\/em><\/span><\/strong> are Japan and India saying they cannot follow the United States&#8217; lead in boycotting Russian oil?<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\"><strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>Why<\/em><\/span><\/strong> is the president of Brazil traveling to China to pursue what he calls a &#8220;beautiful relationship&#8221;?<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\"><strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>Why<\/em><\/span><\/strong> is Israel suddenly facing attacks from its enemies in all directions?<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\"><strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>What happened<\/em><\/span><\/strong> to Turkey? <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>Why<\/em><\/span><\/strong> is it threatening fellow NATO member Greece? Is it still a NATO ally, neutral, or a de facto enemy?<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\"><strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>Why<\/em><\/span><\/strong> are there suddenly ongoing Chinese threats toward Taiwan?<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\"><strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>Why<\/em><\/span><\/strong> did Saudi Arabia conclude a new pact with Iran, its former archenemy?<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\"><strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>Why<\/em><\/span><\/strong> was Egypt secretly planning to send rockets to Russia for use in Ukraine, according to leaked Pentagon papers?<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\"><strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>Since when<\/em><\/span><\/strong> did the Russians talk nonstop about the potential use of a tactical nuclear weapon?<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\"><strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>Why<\/em><\/span><\/strong> is Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador bragging that millions of Mexicans have entered the United States illegally? And <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>why<\/em><\/span><\/strong> is he interfering in U.S. elections by urging his expatriates to vote for Democrats?<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\"><strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>Why and how<\/em><\/span><\/strong>, in just two years, have confused and often incoherent President Joe Biden and his team created such global chaos?<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Let us answer by listing <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>ten ways<\/em><\/span><\/strong> by which America lost <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>all deterrence<\/em><\/span><\/strong>:<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">1) <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>Biden<\/em><\/span><\/strong><em> abruptly pulled all U.S. troops from Afghanistan<\/em>. He left behind to the Taliban hundreds of Americans and thousands of pro-American Afghans. Biden abandoned billions of dollars in U.S. equipment, the most extensive air base in central Asia &#8211; recently retrofitted for $300 million &#8211; and a $1 billion embassy. Our government called such a debacle a success. The world disagreed and saw only humiliation.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">2) <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>The Biden administration<\/em><\/span><\/strong> allowed a Chinese high-altitude spy balloon to traverse the continental United States, spying on key American military installations. The Chinese were defiant when caught and offered no apologies. In response, the Pentagon and the administration simply lied about how China had surveilled top-secret sites.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">3) In March 2021, at an Anchorage, Alaska mini-summit, Chinese diplomats unleashed a relentless barrage at their stunned and mostly silent American counterparts. They lectured the <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>timid Biden administration diplomats<\/em><\/span><\/strong> about American toxicity and hypocrisy. And they have defiantly refused to explain why and how their virology lab birthed the COVID-19 virus that has killed tens of millions worldwide.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">4) In June 2021, in response to Russian cyber-attacks against the United States, <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>Biden<\/em><\/span><\/strong> meekly asked Russian President Vladimir Putin to at least make off-limits specific critical American infrastructure.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">5) When asked what he would do if Russia invaded Ukraine, <strong><em><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Biden<\/span><\/em><\/strong> replied that the reaction would depend on whether the Russians conducted a &#8220;minor incursion.&#8221;<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">6) Between 2021 and 2022, <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>Biden<\/em><\/span><\/strong> serially insulted and bragged that he would not meet Muhammad bin Salman, the de facto ruler of Saudi Arabia, and one of our oldest and most valuable allies in the Middle East.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">7) For much of 2021, <strong><em><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">the Biden administration<\/span><\/em><\/strong> announced that it was eager and ready to offer concessions to re-enter the dangerous Iran nuclear deal &#8211; when Iran has joined China and Russia in a new geostrategic partnership.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">8) Almost immediately upon inauguration, <strong><em><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">the [Biden] administration<\/span><\/em><\/strong> moved the United States away from Israel, restored financial aid to radical Palestinians, and publicly and privately alienated the current Netanyahu government.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">9) In serial fashion, <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>Biden<\/em><\/span><\/strong> stopped all construction on the border wall and opened the border. During the 2019 Democratic presidential primary, Biden made it known that illegal aliens were welcome to enter the United States &#8211; some 6-7 million did. He reinstated &#8220;catch and release.&#8221; And he did nothing about the Mexican cartel importation of fentanyl that has recently killed over 100,000 Americans per year.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">10) In the last two years, <strong><em><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">the [Biden] Pentagon<\/span><\/em><\/strong> has embarked on a woke agenda. The army is short by 15,000 in its annual recruitment quota. The defense budget has not kept up with inflation. One of the most significant intelligence leaks in U.S. history just occurred from the Pentagon.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">The Pentagon refused to admit culpability and misled the country about Afghanistan and the Chinese spy balloon flight. The current chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff called his Chinese communist counterpart and head of the People&#8217;s Liberation Army to advise him that the U.S. military would warn the Chinese if it determined an order from its commander-in-chief, former President Donald Trump, was inappropriate.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">This list of these self-inflicted disasters could be <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>easily<\/em><\/span><\/strong> expanded.\u00a0<\/span>But the examples explain well enough why our emboldened enemies <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>do not fear us<\/em><\/span><\/strong>, our triangulating allies <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>judge us unreliable<\/em><\/span><\/strong>, and calculating neutrals <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>assume America is in descent and too dangerous to join<\/em><\/span><\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Yet <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>without<\/em><\/span><\/strong> America, the result is a new Chinese order in which, to quote the historian Thucydides, &#8220;The strong do what they can, and the weak suffer what they must.&#8221;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><strong>Here&#8217;s a second shot of the juice: Contrary to our humble attempt at humor in the meme above, America&#8217;s declining status in the world isn&#8217;t the result of stupidity or ineptitude, but rather <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>simple greed<\/em><\/span>, as <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>all<\/em><\/span> of this plays to the advantage of <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>only one party<\/em><\/span>, the <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>Chinese Communist Party<\/em><\/span>, our <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>most<\/em><\/span> dangerous foreign foe, and the <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>very country<\/em><\/span> who has <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>our nation&#8217;s<\/em><\/span> First Family&#8230;<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-btApMtkaeOs\/X4pxiQbk-5I\/AAAAAAAAM7M\/ItRDbUU8mewYpiX9O5C4_x1ZQ5v6PPnjACLcBGAsYHQ\/w420-h235\/biden-bucks.GIF\" alt=\"Fox News Confirms Biden\/China Payoff - W\u00b3P Lives\" \/><\/p>\n<p><strong>&#8230;<span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>on its payroll and firmly in its pocket<\/em><\/span>.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Speaking of the ChiComs, writing at <em>NRO<\/em>, former assistant secretary of defense for international security Bing West offers this ominous assessment:<\/strong><\/p>\n<h1 class=\"article-header__title\" style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><a style=\"color: #ff0000;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nationalreview.com\/2023\/04\/taiwan-no-way-out\/?lctg=547fd4393b35d0210c8dec30&amp;utm_source=Sailthru&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;utm_campaign=WIR%20-%20Sunday%202023-04-16&amp;utm_term=WIR-Smart\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Taiwan: No Way Out<\/span><\/a><\/span><\/h1>\n<h3 class=\"article-header__title\" style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nationalreview.com\/2023\/04\/taiwan-no-way-out\/?lctg=547fd4393b35d0210c8dec30&amp;utm_source=Sailthru&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;utm_campaign=WIR%20-%20Sunday%202023-04-16&amp;utm_term=WIR-Smart\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">There is no avoiding the consequences of appeasement if China swallows it up<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-size: 16px;\">.<\/span><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/Xi-Jinping-Taiwan-1317620.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-108877\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/Xi-Jinping-Taiwan-1317620.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"420\" height=\"249\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/Xi-Jinping-Taiwan-1317620.jpg 420w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/Xi-Jinping-Taiwan-1317620-300x178.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 420px) 100vw, 420px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span class=\"drop\">&#8220;I<\/span><span class=\"small_caps\">n<\/span>\u00a0recent weeks, there has been a flurry of support for Taiwan from the U.S. House of Representatives, typified by the visit of the Foreign Affairs Committee chairman, Representative Michael McCaul. If China invaded Taiwan, he said, sending U.S. forces into the fight \u201cwould be discussed by Congress and with the American people.\u201d McCaul was hewing to the congressional Taiwan Policy Act of 2022, which designates Taiwan a \u201cMajor Non-NATO Ally\u201d but leaves ambiguous whether the U.S. would fight alongside it or instead treat it as it does Ukraine, sending arms but not entering the fight.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">Chairman Xi Jinping has instructed his country\u2019s military to \u201cbe ready by 2027\u201d to invade Taiwan. Obviously, his preference is to achieve Taiwan\u2019s capitulation through political maneuvers and threats. But his pledge to employ force during this decade must be taken as firm. A day after McCaul made his unremarkable remarks, China dispatched\u00a0<span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em><a style=\"color: #0000ff; text-decoration: underline;\" href=\"https:\/\/focustaiwan.tw\/cross-strait\/202304080013\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" data-testid=\"standard-link\">80 military aircraft and ships<\/a><\/em><\/span><\/strong><\/span>\u00a0into Taiwan\u2019s littoral space and threatened to board and \u201cinspect\u201d commercial vessels. The Chinese general in command said this was intended as a \u201cserious warning against the joint provocations of \u2018Taiwan independence\u2019 separatists and external forces.\u201d The White House issued an <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>infelicitous response<\/em><\/span>, saying there was no reason for China to \u201c<span style=\"text-decoration: underline; color: #0000ff;\"><em><strong><a style=\"color: #0000ff; text-decoration: underline;\" href=\"https:\/\/thehill.com\/policy\/international\/3924338-white-house-says-no-reason-for-china-to-overreact-to-taiwan-presidents-us-trip\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" testid=\"standard-link\" class=\"broken_link\">overreact<\/a><\/strong><\/em><\/span>.\u201d<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">Let\u2019s have no illusions about what is at stake. Taiwan is <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>both<\/em><\/span><\/strong> the linchpin <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>and<\/em><\/span><\/strong> the weakest link in the security agreements and trade and military resources that make America the superpower in the vast Pacific. China already has imposed dominance in the 3.5 million square miles of the South China Sea, through which an estimated\u00a0<span style=\"text-decoration: underline; color: #0000ff;\"><em><strong><a style=\"color: #0000ff; text-decoration: underline;\" href=\"https:\/\/mail.yahoo.com\/d\/folders\/1\/messages\/AFATsqwUDDPPYs1sqAy50FXy-ec\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" data-testid=\"standard-link\">$5 trillion<\/a><\/strong><\/em><\/span>\u00a0in goods passes each year. <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>If<\/em><\/span><\/strong> China next controls Taiwan by force, <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>then<\/em><\/span><\/strong> South Korea, Japan, and the Philippines <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>will adhere to China\u2019s rules<\/em><\/span><\/strong>. With China ascendant, the U.S. would retrench back to Guam and Pearl Harbor, while clinging to seaborne ties with a tepid Europe.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">No longer a global superpower, America would morph into the Brazil of North America. <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>There is no avoiding the consequences of appeasement as Taiwan is swallowed up<\/em><\/span><\/strong>. History may write that China was more determined than America. That is nonsense. There is <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>no person named \u201cHistory<\/em><\/span><\/strong>\u201d \u2014 it is <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>human beings<\/em><\/span><\/strong> who make decisions.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">Who are the human beings <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>currently<\/em><\/span><\/strong> making America\u2019s history? President Biden as commander in chief has proposed a\u00a0<strong><em><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.wsj.com\/articles\/bidens-defense-budget-draws-gop-criticism-sets-up-spending-clash-55df9493\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" data-testid=\"standard-link\">defense budget<\/a><\/span><\/em><\/strong>\u00a0that grows 2 percentage points <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>less<\/em><\/span><\/strong> than the 5 percent rate of inflation. He also supports <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>decreasing<\/em><\/span><\/strong> the Navy\u2019s warships from\u00a0<em><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><span style=\"color: #0000ff; text-decoration: underline;\"><strong><a style=\"color: #0000ff; text-decoration: underline;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.defenseone.com\/policy\/2022\/03\/navy-gets-budget-bump-fleet-would-shrink-under-biden-request\/363720\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" data-testid=\"standard-link\">297 to 280<\/a><\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/em>. The current secretary of defense is a <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>platitude without conviction<\/em><\/span><\/strong>, while the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff is <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>overstuffed with self-importance<\/em><\/span><\/strong>\u00a0<span style=\"color: #008000;\"><strong>(<em>Like the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/2018\/12\/08\/politics\/trump-announces-joint-chiefs-milley-nomination\/index.html\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline; color: #0000ff;\">president<\/span><\/a> who appointed him.<\/em>)<\/strong><\/span>.\u00a0<strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>Not one<\/em><\/span><\/strong> of the top three makes a vigorous case for increasing our military capabilities to stand up to China.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">&#8230;Either <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>we declare we will fight<\/em> <em>with<\/em> Taiwan<\/span><\/strong>, and so increase the odds that Xi does not attack. Or <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>we do nothing<\/em><\/span><\/strong> until Xi assembles his invasion force, and <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>then<\/em><\/span><\/strong> we decide in haste. That leaves the incremental approach. The White House could gradually deploy U.S. troops ashore in Taiwan. Special Forces training teams already shuttle in and out. This fall, a Marine battalion of 800 troops could practice landing on the Pacific side of the island, far from the Taiwan Straits. In winter, an Army battalion of 1,000 soldiers could conduct an exercise, leaving behind a support element for the next exercise. Such incremental steps would avoid anything dramatic. There would be no flamboyant gesture akin to President Kennedy\u2019s 1963 declaration \u2014 \u201cIch bin ein Berliner\u201d \u2014 when the Soviet Union controlled half of that divided city. But the message is the same: America is here with you. That would put Xi on the spot. If he attacked, he would know that he must engage American forces. There is, however, <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>no<\/em><\/span><\/strong> public evidence to suggest that either our military or the White House is contemplating such an approach.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">In sum, there\u2019s <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>no way out of Taiwan<\/em><\/span><\/strong>. Our elected leaders are <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>procrastinating<\/em><\/span><\/strong>. They are content to drift downstream, <strong><em><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">knowing<\/span><\/em><\/strong> there are falls ahead.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/7ie9f8.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-108879\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/7ie9f8.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"420\" height=\"315\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/7ie9f8.jpg 420w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/7ie9f8-300x225.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 420px) 100vw, 420px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>In a related item, in a meeting with German Foreign Minister Anaalena Baerbock,\u00a0<\/strong><strong>Wang Yi, China&#8217;s top diplomat, stated <a href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/world\/china-says-hopes-believes-germany-will-support-peaceful-reunification-taiwan\" class=\"broken_link\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline; color: #0000ff;\"><em>he &#8220;hopes and believes&#8221; Germany will support its &#8220;peaceful reunification&#8221; with Taiwan<\/em><\/span><\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/7idksp.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-108853\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/7idksp.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"420\" height=\"236\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/7idksp.jpg 420w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/7idksp-300x169.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 420px) 100vw, 420px\" \/><\/a>\u00a0<\/strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/7idm56.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-108855\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/7idm56.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"420\" height=\"236\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/7idm56.jpg 420w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/7idm56-300x169.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 420px) 100vw, 420px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>You know,&#8230;a &#8220;minor incursion&#8221;&#8230;like Putin launched into Ukraine.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Since we&#8217;re on the subject of the most corrupt and destructive president in American history, the <em>Journal<\/em>&#8216;s Kim Strassel records&#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: #ff6600;\"><a style=\"color: #ff6600;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.wsj.com\/articles\/the-democrats-health-warning-feinstein-khanna-newsom-biden-competency-age-reelection-f8242e0c?mod=opinion_featst_pos1\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><span style=\"color: #ff9900; text-decoration: underline;\">Democrats Discover the Age Issue<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/span><\/h1>\n<\/div>\n<h3 class=\"css-jiugt2-Dek-Dek e1jnru6p0\" style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><a style=\"color: #0000ff;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.wsj.com\/articles\/the-democrats-health-warning-feinstein-khanna-newsom-biden-competency-age-reelection-f8242e0c?mod=opinion_featst_pos1\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">They belatedly admit Dianne Feinstein is too old to serve. What about Joe Biden<\/span><\/a>?<\/span><\/h3>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/video-api.wsj.com\/api-video\/player\/v3\/iframe.html?guid=5D96A76C-8AC2-4F17-A8A7-FC9F25E392ED\" width=\"420\" height=\"235\" frameborder=\"0\" marginwidth=\"0\" marginheight=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\" 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=\"padding-left: 30px;\">&#8220;Nothing is certain but death and taxes, save perhaps Democrats\u2019 <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>recent ability<\/em><\/span><\/strong> to ignore the relevance of old age to that saying. Will their\u00a0Dianne Feinstein\u00a0problem provoke a rethink of the wisdom of renominating\u00a0Joe Biden?<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">&#8230;How electable <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>will<\/em><\/span><\/strong> Mr. Biden be 19 months from now? Might Democratic voters\u2014already feeding into the president\u2019s low approval ratings\u2014prove unwilling to turn out for the party\u2019s anointed yet faltering nominee? What happens if Mr. Biden announces a run yet by next spring is <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>incapable of following through<\/em><\/span><\/strong>, leaving the party in disarray?<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-k3zb6l-Paragraph e1e4oisd0\" style=\"padding-left: 30px;\" data-type=\"paragraph\">One smart move in today\u2019s crazy political environment is to assume <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>anything<\/em><\/span><\/strong> is possible, <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>including<\/em><\/span><\/strong> the worst. All the more so when there are <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>already<\/em><\/span><\/strong> blaring signs of a problem to come. Democrats might view the Feinstein moment as a warning of the danger they are courting by continuing to close their eyes to what the rest of the country so clearly sees.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong>Next, <em>NRO<\/em>&#8216;s Michael Brendan Dougherty ponders a question we&#8217;d wager few of us have been considering, namely&#8230;<\/strong><\/p>\n<h1 class=\"article-header__title\" style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><a style=\"color: #0000ff;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nationalreview.com\/2023\/04\/what-happens-when-the-darien-gap-is-overrun\/?bypass_key=NUhQSDdocW9VUWFUYWd6M04zWDNNZz09OjpWM0UxZG1oR1RtcHFZWGs1ZFVnM1kweHFjRnBIWnowOQ%3D%3D&amp;lctg=547fd4393b35d0210c8dec30&amp;utm_source=Sailthru&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;utm_campaign=NR%20Daily%20Monday%20through%20Friday%202023-04-14&amp;utm_term=NRDaily-Smart\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">What Happens When the Darien Gap Is Overrun<\/span><\/a>?<\/span><\/h1>\n<h3 class=\"article-header__title\" style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"color: #800080;\"><a style=\"color: #800080;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nationalreview.com\/2023\/04\/what-happens-when-the-darien-gap-is-overrun\/?bypass_key=NUhQSDdocW9VUWFUYWd6M04zWDNNZz09OjpWM0UxZG1oR1RtcHFZWGs1ZFVnM1kweHFjRnBIWnowOQ%3D%3D&amp;lctg=547fd4393b35d0210c8dec30&amp;utm_source=Sailthru&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;utm_campaign=NR%20Daily%20Monday%20through%20Friday%202023-04-14&amp;utm_term=NRDaily-Smart\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">A wave of humanity is starting to tame the jungle by trampling it, and the Biden administration is not prepared<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/h3>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/Darien-Gap-copy.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-108841\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/Darien-Gap-copy.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"420\" height=\"245\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/Darien-Gap-copy.png 420w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/Darien-Gap-copy-300x175.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 420px) 100vw, 420px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span class=\"drop\">T<\/span><span class=\"small_caps\">he<\/span>\u00a0most important barrier to illegal entry to the United States is so impassable that <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>only one<\/em><\/span><\/strong> normal car has ever crossed it. <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>Sixty-two years ago<\/em><\/span><\/strong>, a Land Rover made the journey. And it took <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>five months<\/em><\/span><\/strong> to do so, crawling along at just over <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>a tenth of a mile per hour<\/em><\/span><\/strong>. This barrier is guarded ferociously day and night, with <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>truly<\/em><\/span><\/strong> deadly sentries who are indifferent to human life. And it\u2019s not even on the American border \u2014 it is the no-man\u2019s land that exists between Central and South America, the Darien Gap between Panama and Colombia. It is the <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>only place<\/em><\/span><\/strong> between Prudhoe Bay in Alaska and Ushuaia, Argentina, the world\u2019s southernmost city on planet Earth, that <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>cannot be driven over<\/em><\/span><\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">There is <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>not a single road<\/em><\/span><\/strong> that joins North and South America, <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>precisely because<\/em><\/span><\/strong> the geography of this place is so forbidding. The 100 kilometers between the city of Turbo in Colombia and the town of Yavisa in Panama is a dense equatorial jungle, rising quickly into treacherous mountains. It is crisscrossed with rivers that regularly become flash floods because the Darien Gap is one of the rainiest locations on Earth. It\u2019s often over 95 degrees during the day and usually at 100 percent humidity. The wildlife is <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>treacherous<\/em><\/span><\/strong> \u2014 including poisonous snakes and frogs, any of which can induce a medical emergency in a place that is hundreds of miles from the nearest human habitat. And then there are the <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>billions of mosquitos<\/em><\/span><\/strong>, many of them carrying malaria or dengue. There is no cell service, so nobody can use modern cellphone maps or GPS trackers to figure out their exact location or whether they are going in the right direction. The only moderately safe way to cross the gap is to take boats or planes to bypass it entirely. But that costs significant money, and rules out many hundreds of thousands of those most <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>desperate<\/em><\/span><\/strong> to escape crumbling regimes in South America.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">The Darien Gap has stopped Colombia\u2019s drug-trade dysfunction from spreading north into Panama. It\u2019s <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>also<\/em><\/span><\/strong> been the <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>one thing<\/em><\/span><\/strong>, including massively tightened visa restrictions into Mexico, <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>stopping a tsunami of potential migration to the United States from South America<\/em><\/span><\/strong>. And <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>not just<\/em><\/span><\/strong> South America. After the collapse of Haiti\u2019s government in 2021, Haitians began pioneering a route to the southern border of the United States using the Darien Gap.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">Since Covid, a number of countries have become drastically more unlivable, and hundreds of thousands of their citizens are now following in those Haitian footsteps, whether from Venezuela, Ecuador, Gambia, or China. And this wave of humanity is starting to <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>tame<\/em><\/span><\/strong> the jungle by <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>trampling<\/em><\/span><\/strong> it. Increasingly, <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>drug smugglers and paramilitaries<\/em><\/span><\/strong> are organizing the gap for migration. It\u2019s estimated that\u00a0<span style=\"text-decoration: underline; color: #0000ff;\"><strong><em><a style=\"color: #0000ff; text-decoration: underline;\" href=\"https:\/\/abcnews.go.com\/International\/wireStory\/400000-migrants-cross-darien-gap-2023-98574235\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" testid=\"standard-link\" class=\"broken_link\">as many as 400,000 will cross the Darien Gap in 202<\/a><a style=\"color: #0000ff; text-decoration: underline;\" href=\"https:\/\/abcnews.go.com\/International\/wireStory\/400000-migrants-cross-darien-gap-2023-98574235\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" testid=\"standard-link\" class=\"broken_link\">3<\/a><\/em><\/strong><\/span>; <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>90,000<\/em><\/span><\/strong> have <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>already<\/em><\/span><\/strong> done so. People are coming from <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>all over the world<\/em><\/span><\/strong> as well. According to\u00a0<span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em><a style=\"color: #0000ff; text-decoration: underline;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/world\/2023\/mar\/09\/growing-numbers-of-chinese-citizens-set-their-sights-on-the-us-via-the-deadly-darien-gap\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" data-testid=\"standard-link\">the\u00a0<\/a><a style=\"color: #0000ff; text-decoration: underline;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/world\/2023\/mar\/09\/growing-numbers-of-chinese-citizens-set-their-sights-on-the-us-via-the-deadly-darien-gap\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" data-testid=\"standard-link\">Guardia<\/a><a style=\"color: #0000ff; text-decoration: underline;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/world\/2023\/mar\/09\/growing-numbers-of-chinese-citizens-set-their-sights-on-the-us-via-the-deadly-darien-gap\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" data-testid=\"standard-link\">n<\/a><\/em><\/span><\/strong><\/span>:<\/p>\n<blockquote style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><p><em>Panamanian government\u00a0<span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><a style=\"color: #0000ff; text-decoration: underline;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.datosabiertos.gob.pa\/dataset\/ebb56d40-112f-455e-9418-ccd73560021d\/resource\/3fae4878-5068-4b80-b250-ee9e52b16510\/download\/irregulares-en-transito-por-darien-por-pais-septiembre-2022.pdf?fbclid=IwAR1kcm3zS-z2dDEH_JKRDtbtBuPvvZcbkKLqr0K-pdnhgrcQ0WX0vy08z-E\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" testid=\"standard-link\" class=\"broken_link\">dat<\/a><a style=\"color: #0000ff; text-decoration: underline;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.datosabiertos.gob.pa\/dataset\/ebb56d40-112f-455e-9418-ccd73560021d\/resource\/3fae4878-5068-4b80-b250-ee9e52b16510\/download\/irregulares-en-transito-por-darien-por-pais-septiembre-2022.pdf?fbclid=IwAR1kcm3zS-z2dDEH_JKRDtbtBuPvvZcbkKLqr0K-pdnhgrcQ0WX0vy08z-E\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" testid=\"standard-link\" class=\"broken_link\">a<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/span>\u00a0shows about <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">400 Chinese citizens<\/span><\/strong> made the journey during the <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">first half of 2022<\/span><\/strong>. In <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">November<\/span><\/strong> last year, the figure rose to <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">377<\/span><\/strong>, then to <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">695 in December<\/span><\/strong>. In <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">January 2023<\/span>, a <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">record-breaking 913 Chinese nationals crossed<\/span><\/strong>, making them the <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">fourth-largest<\/span><\/strong> group of migrants to do so this year.\u00a0<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">Just this week, the Biden administration announced a joint 60-day campaign with the governments of Panama and Colombia to stop the flow of migrants through the gap. The Biden administration faces another potential exacerbation of the border crisis because the pandemic-related rules that it has used to slightly contain the chaos will end on May 11 of this year.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">Unfortunately, just as the Biden administration has tried to end the border crisis by spreading it to random hotels and destinations around the United States, so the White House is advertising that its <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>solution<\/em><\/span><\/strong> to the crisis at the gap will <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>include<\/em><\/span><\/strong> \u201cnew lawful and flexible pathways for tens of thousands of migrants and refugees as an alternative to irregular migration.\u201d One <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>particularly<\/em><\/span><\/strong> futile-sounding part of the announced plan was a joint operation to \u201creduce poverty\u201d in the border communities of Colombia and Panama to dissuade people from the booming human-smuggling business around the gap.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>If<\/em><\/span><\/strong> these plans <strong><em><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">fail<\/span><\/em><\/strong>\u00a0<span style=\"color: #008000;\"><strong>(<em>&#8220;IF&#8221;?!?<\/em>)<\/strong><\/span>, and the Darien Gap becomes a major land bridge for migration, it will expose and pressurize the <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>other<\/em><\/span><\/strong> \u201cgap\u201d in immigration enforcement, which is the <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>simple unwillingness<\/em><\/span><em><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"> of Democratic administrations to vigorously enforce the laws that distinguish between U.S. citizens, lawful visa holders, and illegal migrants<\/span><\/em><\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p><strong>But hey, no worries: We&#8217;re certain the Biden clown car will vet these illegals, <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>particularly the Chinese<\/em><\/span>, with the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/restoring-america\/fairness-justice\/immigration\/tens-of-thousands-entered-us-unvetted-after-kabul-airlift-officials-say-in-memo\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline; color: #0000ff;\"><em>same thoroughness they did the Afghans fleeing Kabul<\/em><\/span><\/a> in the wake of Joe&#8217;s precipitous surrender.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/joe-biden-buy-a-shotgun-instead-of-an-ar-15-L-vIAH06.jpeg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-108878\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/joe-biden-buy-a-shotgun-instead-of-an-ar-15-L-vIAH06.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"420\" height=\"314\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/joe-biden-buy-a-shotgun-instead-of-an-ar-15-L-vIAH06.jpeg 420w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/joe-biden-buy-a-shotgun-instead-of-an-ar-15-L-vIAH06-300x224.jpeg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 420px) 100vw, 420px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Moving on, here&#8217;s a septet of special selections certain to sate the curiosity of inquiring Conservative minds:<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><strong>(1). If you&#8217;ve ever wondered whether there&#8217;s ANY limit to the fraudulent &#8220;facts&#8221; Progressives won&#8217;t formulate in their purposeful pursuit of a divided country, this forward from Nick should convince you the answer&#8217;s not &#8220;no&#8221;, but &#8220;<span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>HELL<\/em><\/span><em> NO<\/em>!!!&#8221;:<\/strong><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">BREAKING: Pete Buttigieg blames blacks dying in traffic accidents on racism <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/UK2AmXrGYd\">pic.twitter.com\/UK2AmXrGYd<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Jack Poso \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf8 (@JackPosobiec) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/JackPosobiec\/status\/1647692742129070080?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">April 16, 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>(2). Having decided to shut down its last 3 nuclear plants, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/world\/germany-shutting-down-last-3-nuclear-plants-relying-coal-natural-gas-during-clean-energy-push\" class=\"broken_link\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline; color: #0000ff;\"><em>Germany plunges ahead into an incredibly uncertain &#8220;green&#8221; energy future<\/em><\/span><\/a>, despite quite legitimate concerns over the dependability of its energy future.\u00a0 Hey, what\u00a0<\/strong><strong>could go wrong?\u00a0 After all, it&#8217;s not like Germany&#8217;s political class will be standing in line for coal&#8230;<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"YouTube video player\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/zEfzyiUCvTs\" 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=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><strong>&#8230;or <a href=\"https:\/\/markets.businessinsider.com\/news\/commodities\/russian-gas-heat-germany-ukraine-energy-nord-stream-deustche-bank-2022-7\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline; color: #0000ff;\"><em>chopping wood<\/em><\/span><\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.bloomberg.com\/news\/articles\/2022-10-06\/energy-crisis-people-in-poland-burn-trash-to-keep-warm-in-coal-shortage#xj4y7vzkg\" class=\"broken_link\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline; color: #0000ff;\"><em>burning trash<\/em><\/span><\/a> to heat their homes next winter!<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><strong>(3). We couldn&#8217;t help but notice <span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><a style=\"color: #0000ff;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/us\/missouri-theme-park-implements-new-rule-massive-brawl-erupts-involving-teens\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>this article detailing a riot involving what is repeatedly reported as between 100 and 150 &#8220;teenagers<\/em><\/span><\/a>&#8220;<\/span> never mentions the race of the individuals involved:<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"YouTube video player\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/5Fhb5zL0MTI\" 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=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><strong>Then again, neither did articles or videos <a href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/uFB6APeWz7k\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline; color: #0000ff;\"><em>detailing a larger riot at the same park back in 2019<\/em><\/span><\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><strong>Meanwhile, in Chicago&#8230;<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"YouTube video player\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/rvX6MyVkGKI\" 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=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><strong>&#8230;MORE &#8220;teenagers&#8221;!!!<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><strong>(4). The Washington state legislature has <a href=\"https:\/\/townhall.com\/tipsheet\/saraharnold\/2023\/04\/15\/washington-to-allow-children-to-be-legally-taken-from-parents-if-they-dont-consent-to-gender-transition-n2622004\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline; color: #0000ff;\"><em>passed a bill allowing children to legally be taken away from parents unwilling to consent to gender transition procedures<\/em><\/span><\/a>.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><strong>(5). In a forward from Nick, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thegatewaypundit.com\/2023\/04\/is-the-horse-trans-now-budweisers-attempt-to-win-back-public-goes-horribly-wrong-as-social-media-obliterates-new-clydesdale-horse-ad-in-epic-fashion-video\/\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline; color: #0000ff;\"><em>The Gateway Pundit records the derision<\/em><\/span><\/a><span style=\"color: #000000;\"> which greeted<\/span> <a href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/DTMZKlkXP_k\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline; color: #0000ff;\"><em>Anheuser-Busch&#8217;s desperate attempt<\/em><\/span><\/a><span style=\"color: #000000;\"> to slow its stock&#8217;s rapid rate of decline<\/span>.\u00a0 Here are three of our favorites:<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/Bud1.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-108874\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/Bud1.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"500\" height=\"149\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/Bud1.png 500w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/Bud1-300x89.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\" \/><\/a> <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/Bud2.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-108875\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/Bud2.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"500\" height=\"171\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/Bud2.png 500w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/Bud2-300x103.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\" \/><\/a> <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/Bud3.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-108876\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/Bud3.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"500\" height=\"218\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/Bud3.png 500w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/Bud3-300x131.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><strong>(6). In a speech reminiscent of a famous scene from <em>Jerry Maguire<\/em>, at least one Black San Franciscan who likely has never suffered true discrimination, let alone slavery, wants the city to&#8230;<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"YouTube video player\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/IpwSXWq1wwU?start=47&amp;end=65&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><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<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">\u201c$5 million is NOTHING!\u201d<\/p>\n<p>California\u2019s reparations task force is going exactly how you would expect <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/Y092oV2l4J\">pic.twitter.com\/Y092oV2l4J<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 End Wokeness (@EndWokeness) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/EndWokeness\/status\/1646997115334275072?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">April 14, 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>(7). Speaking of those who think nothing of demanding others pay for their perceived rights,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/lifestyle\/plus-size-airline-passenger-demands-free-seats-bigger-bathrooms-more-online-petition-faa\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline; color: #0000ff;\"><em>in a petition to the FAA<\/em><\/span><\/a>, an <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>incredibly<\/em><\/span>\u00a0overweight individual named Jae&#8217;lynn Chaney&#8230;<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/7ia08b.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-108837\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/7ia08b.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"420\" height=\"236\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/7ia08b.jpg 420w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/7ia08b-300x169.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 420px) 100vw, 420px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><strong>&#8230;is insisting, among other things:<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 60px;\"><strong>(i) All morbidly obese passengers should be provided with an extra free seat, or even two or three seats depending on their size, to accommodate their needs and ensure their comfort during the flight.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 60px;\"><strong>(ii) Airlines should offer refunds to morbidly obese passengers who purchase additional seats independently.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 60px;\"><strong>(iii) Airlines should create special standards for booking, refunds, check-in, boarding and flight procedures for morbidly obese people.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 60px;\"><strong>(iv) Aircraft should be&#8230;we assume&#8230;retrofitted with larger-sized bathrooms to accommodate the girth of the morbidly obese, as well as provide them priority boarding and additional airport assistance.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><strong>Along with super-sized snacks, extra-sugary drinks and grease to help them squeeze down the aisle.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><strong>Something tells us while Mayor Pete would undoubtedly take up her cause, the airlines might have a&#8230;reservation&#8230;or two!\u00a0 But never fear, Jae&#8217;lynn, our beautiful sister-in-law Jackie offered a common-sense, low-cost solution to your plight: It&#8217;s called &#8220;taking the bus&#8221;; or in your case, a freighter.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Which brings us, <em><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">in<\/span><\/em>appropriately enough, to <em>The Lighter Side<\/em>:<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/a-7.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-108822\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/a-7.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"462\" height=\"329\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/a-7.png 462w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/a-7-300x214.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 462px) 100vw, 462px\" \/><\/a><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/sk041723dAPR-800x0.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-108823\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/sk041723dAPR-800x0.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"462\" height=\"371\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/sk041723dAPR-800x0.jpg 462w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/sk041723dAPR-800x0-300x241.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 462px) 100vw, 462px\" \/><\/a><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/sk041423dAPR-800x0.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-108824\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/sk041423dAPR-800x0.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"462\" height=\"370\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/sk041423dAPR-800x0.jpg 462w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/sk041423dAPR-800x0-300x240.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 462px) 100vw, 462px\" \/><\/a><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/sk041623dAPR-800x0.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-108825\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/sk041623dAPR-800x0.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"462\" height=\"383\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/sk041623dAPR-800x0.jpg 462w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/sk041623dAPR-800x0-300x249.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 462px) 100vw, 462px\" \/><\/a><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/aaaa-3.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-108826\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/aaaa-3.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"462\" height=\"286\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/aaaa-3.png 462w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/aaaa-3-300x186.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 462px) 100vw, 462px\" \/><\/a><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/afb041423dAPR-800x0.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-108827\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/afb041423dAPR-800x0.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"462\" height=\"330\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/afb041423dAPR-800x0.jpg 462w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/afb041423dAPR-800x0-300x214.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 462px) 100vw, 462px\" \/><\/a><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/aa-4.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-108828\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/aa-4.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"462\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/aa-4.png 462w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/aa-4-300x195.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 462px) 100vw, 462px\" \/><\/a><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/cb041423dAPC-800x0.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-108829\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/cb041423dAPC-800x0.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"462\" height=\"349\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/cb041423dAPC-800x0.jpg 462w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/cb041423dAPC-800x0-300x227.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 462px) 100vw, 462px\" \/><\/a><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/gv041423dAPR-800x0.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-108830\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/gv041423dAPR-800x0.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"462\" height=\"330\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/gv041423dAPR-800x0.jpg 462w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/gv041423dAPR-800x0-300x214.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 462px) 100vw, 462px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Then there&#8217;s<\/strong><strong>\u00a0these from Balls Cotton&#8230;<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/Balls6.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-108867\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/Balls6.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"462\" height=\"523\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/Balls6.jpg 462w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/Balls6-265x300.jpg 265w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 462px) 100vw, 462px\" \/><\/a> <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/Balls1.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-108868\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/Balls1.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"462\" height=\"376\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/Balls1.png 462w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/Balls1-300x244.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 462px) 100vw, 462px\" \/><\/a> <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/Balls2-1.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-108869\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/Balls2-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"462\" height=\"311\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/Balls2-1.jpg 462w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/Balls2-1-300x202.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 462px) 100vw, 462px\" \/><\/a> <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/Balls4.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-108870\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/Balls4.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"462\" height=\"557\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/Balls4.jpg 462w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/Balls4-249x300.jpg 249w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 462px) 100vw, 462px\" \/><\/a> <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/Balls5.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-108871\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/Balls5.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"462\" height=\"396\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/Balls5.jpg 462w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/Balls5-300x257.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 462px) 100vw, 462px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>&#8230;Speed&#8230;<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/a9cefff1-0c78-4b6f-a002-1fa9a0fb6adf_808x519-copy.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-108866\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/a9cefff1-0c78-4b6f-a002-1fa9a0fb6adf_808x519-copy.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"462\" height=\"297\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/a9cefff1-0c78-4b6f-a002-1fa9a0fb6adf_808x519-copy.png 462w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/a9cefff1-0c78-4b6f-a002-1fa9a0fb6adf_808x519-copy-300x193.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 462px) 100vw, 462px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>&#8230;and\u00a0<em>The Patriot Post<\/em>&#8230;<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/FttPbHKWYAA636i.jpeg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-108851\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/FttPbHKWYAA636i.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"462\" height=\"453\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/FttPbHKWYAA636i.jpeg 462w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/FttPbHKWYAA636i-300x294.jpeg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 462px) 100vw, 462px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>&#8230;along with this one we created ourselves inspired by the actual photo of a friend&#8217;s newborn granddaughter:<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/7ie0od.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-108872\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/7ie0od.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"462\" height=\"536\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/7ie0od.jpg 462w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/7ie0od-259x300.jpg 259w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 462px) 100vw, 462px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Finally, we&#8217;ll call it a wrap with this hilarious example of bad lip reading courtesy of energy correspondent Jeff Foutch:<\/strong><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">This is absolutely unreal! <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/xnaArfxPNo\">pic.twitter.com\/xnaArfxPNo<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Jack Poso \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf8 (@JackPosobiec) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/JackPosobiec\/status\/1647596780685606912?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">April 16, 2023<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p><strong>Magoo<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em><strong>Video of the Day<\/strong><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n<p><strong><em>CBN<\/em> details the decline of a city we once enjoyed frequenting; Not any more.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"YouTube video player\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/t9478Uqe7co\" width=\"420\" height=\"235\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em><strong>Tales of The Darkside<\/strong><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n<p><strong>Author, art professor, feminist, and cultural commentator Camille Paglia speaks on the current transgender mania, the child abuse that is early medical &amp; surgical intervention and how the explosion of gender identities is a recurring sign of cultural collapse throughout the history of civilization&#8230;SIX years ago!<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"YouTube video player\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/I8BRdwgPChQ\" width=\"420\" height=\"235\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><strong><em>On the Lighter Side<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><strong>Here&#8217;s an interesting bit of statistical analysis courtesy of Mark Hannon. P.S. We can&#8217;t speak to the accuracy of the figure set forth.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"YouTube video player\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/OQwHNqMapiE\" 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><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>Editor&#8217;s Note: At the time of publication, for reasons known only to our hosting service, the #4 link for our On the Lighter Side video was missing, and the entirety of The Gouge, with limited exceptions, was in italics.\u00a0\u00a0We apologize in advance for these and any other appearance issues, and will work to correct the [&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-108857","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/108857","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=108857"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/108857\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":108945,"href":"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/108857\/revisions\/108945"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=108857"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=108857"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=108857"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}