{"id":108939,"date":"2023-04-20T21:08:10","date_gmt":"2023-04-21T01:08:10","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/?p=108939"},"modified":"2023-04-20T21:08:15","modified_gmt":"2023-04-21T01:08:15","slug":"the-daily-gouge-archive-wednesday-april-19th-2023","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/?p=108939","title":{"rendered":"The Daily Gouge Archive, Wednesday, April 19th, 2023"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>It&#8217;s Wednesday, April 19th, 2023&#8230;but before we begin, Chicago&#8217;s alternative to Lori Lightfoot tells you ALL you have know about the nature of HIS immient administration:<\/strong><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">The new mayor of Chicago refuses to condemn looting. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/x98ybwu9CX\">pic.twitter.com\/x98ybwu9CX<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Catch Up (@CatchUpFeed) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/CatchUpFeed\/status\/1647767963276279810?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">April 17, 2023<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"YouTube video player\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/SlxrfaHgJKU?start=6\" 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>Thus have Chicagoans, just like the citizens of every other major urban center who keep Progressives in office, gotten the government <em><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">they deserve<\/span><\/em>!!!<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>And consequently <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>we<\/em><\/span> say&#8230;<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"YouTube video player\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/6I6TrGedUn8?start=224&amp;end=229&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>By the way, the same goes for the gullibulls in the Keystone State who elected <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>this<\/em><\/span> piece of work:<\/strong><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">John Fetterman returns to Capitol Hill. He refused to take questions.<a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/arNJZ5C3iM\">pic.twitter.com\/arNJZ5C3iM<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Citizen Free Press (@CitizenFreePres) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/CitizenFreePres\/status\/1648047521766469632?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">April 17, 2023<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p><strong>More on the anarchy engulfing the Windy City later.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Now, here&#8217;s <em>The Gouge<\/em>!<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>First up, in an <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>absolutely must-read<\/em><\/span> offering which deserves inclusion in full, Jim Geraghty details&#8230;<\/strong><\/p>\n<h1 class=\"article-header__title\" style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nationalreview.com\/the-morning-jolt\/the-smoking-gun-in-the-senate-report-on-covid-origins\/?lctg=547fd4393b35d0210c8dec30&amp;utm_source=Sailthru&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;utm_campaign=MJ_20230418&amp;utm_term=Jolt-Smart\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><span style=\"color: #ff9900; text-decoration: underline;\">The Smoking Gun in the Senate Report on Covid Origins<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/h1>\n<h3 class=\"article-header__title\" style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nationalreview.com\/the-morning-jolt\/the-smoking-gun-in-the-senate-report-on-covid-origins\/?lctg=547fd4393b35d0210c8dec30&amp;utm_source=Sailthru&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;utm_campaign=MJ_20230418&amp;utm_term=Jolt-Smart\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><span style=\"color: #ff0000; text-decoration: underline;\">How Could the Wuhan Lab Research a Covid Vaccine before the Outbreak<\/span><\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-size: 16px; color: #ff0000;\">?<\/span><\/h3>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/7ct9ui.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-107697\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/7ct9ui.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"420\" height=\"280\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/7ct9ui.jpg 420w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/7ct9ui-300x200.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 420px) 100vw, 420px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">&#8220;By 2019 the Wuhan Institute of Virology had collected, at a minimum, approximately 20,000 bat- and other animal-virus samples from field expeditions conducted all across China.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">After going into caves and other locations to collect the samples and,\u00a0<span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><strong><em><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><a style=\"color: #0000ff; text-decoration: underline;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nationalreview.com\/the-morning-jolt\/yup-the-wuhan-institute-of-virology-kept-live-bats-within-its-walls\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" data-testid=\"dynamic-link\">in some cases, live bats<\/a><\/span><\/em><\/strong><\/span>, researchers would take the samples back to Wuhan, where they \u201croutinely underwent initial evaluation in Biosafety Level 2 settings where they were first evaluated, usually by graduate students, for the presence of SARS-related beta coronaviruses. If viruses were present, researchers then attempted to isolate and sequence the virus.\u201d<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">This information is in the\u00a0<span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><strong><em><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><a style=\"color: #0000ff; text-decoration: underline;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.marshall.senate.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/MWG-FDR-Document-04-17-23.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" testid=\"standard-link\" class=\"broken_link\">full report on the origin of Covid-19 released yesterday by the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee<\/a><\/span><\/em><\/strong><\/span>. The report is 300 pages and has 1,570 footnotes.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">The information about the Biosafety Level 2 labs comes from a thesis on the \u201cGeographic Evolution of Bat SARS-related Coronaviruses\u201d submitted to the University of Chinese Academy of Sciences by Yu Ping, a graduate student pursuing a degree of Master of Natural Science in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, supervised by Professor Cui Jie and <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>Professor Shi Zheng-Li<\/em><\/span><\/strong>, which was published in June 2019. You can\u00a0<span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em><a style=\"color: #0000ff; text-decoration: underline;\" href=\"https:\/\/docs.google.com\/document\/d\/15U2uE7Eru0QxRbf8QVRPRMpssCoYhGvT\/edit\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" data-testid=\"standard-link\">read that thesis here<\/a><\/em><\/span><\/strong><\/span>. You may recognize the name Shi Zhengli, the Chinese virologist nicknamed \u201cBat Woman\u201d for her work with that species, <em><strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">the one who told\u00a0Scientific American\u00a0early in the pandemic that when she first heard about the virus spreading through Wuhan, she initially wondered,\u00a0\u201c<\/span><\/strong><strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Could they have come from our lab<\/span>?\u201d<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">This is significant because the safety standards at Biosafety Level 2 labs are <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>not as extensive and stringent<\/em><\/span><\/strong> as those at Biosafety Level 4 labs. Level 2 labs handle bacteria and viruses such as Lyme Disease and the standard flu; Level 3 labs handle more dangerous pathogens such as anthrax and HIV; and Level 4 labs handle the most dangerous viruses, such as Ebola.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">Last week, the\u00a0<em>Washington Post<\/em>\u00a0<span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em><a style=\"color: #0000ff; text-decoration: underline;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/investigations\/interactive\/2023\/china-lab-safety-risk-pandemic\/?itid=hp-top-table-main_p001_f001\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" testid=\"standard-link\" class=\"broken_link\">published an excellent report<\/a><\/em><\/span><\/strong><\/span>\u00a0examining the safety record of China\u2019s government-run laboratories <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>overall<\/em><\/span><\/strong>, not just focusing on the Wuhan Institute of Virology or the Wuhan Centers for Disease Control. The opening anecdote is <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>terrifying<\/em><\/span><\/strong>:<\/p>\n<blockquote style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><p><em>In the summer of 2019, a <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">mysterious accident<\/span><\/strong> occurred inside a <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">government-run<\/span><\/strong> biomedical complex in north-central China, a facility that handles a pathogen notorious for its ability to pass easily from animals to humans.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>There were <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">no alarms or flashing lights<\/span><\/strong> to alert workers to the defect in a sanitation system that was supposed to kill germs in the vaccine plant\u2019s waste. When the system <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">failed<\/span><\/strong> in late July that year, <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">millions of airborne microbes<\/span><\/strong> began seeping invisibly from exhaust vents and drifting into nearby neighborhoods. Nearly a <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">month<\/span><\/strong> passed before the problem was <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">discovered and fixed<\/span><\/strong>, and <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">four months<\/span><\/strong> before the <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">public was informed<\/span><\/strong>. By then, at least <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">10,000 people had been exposed<\/span><\/strong>, with hundreds developing symptomatic illnesses, scientific studies later concluded.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>The events occurred <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">not<\/span><\/strong> in Wuhan, the city where the coronavirus pandemic began, but in another Chinese city, Lanzhou, 800 miles to the northwest. The leaking pathogens were bacteria that cause brucellosis, a common livestock disease that can lead to chronic illness or even death in humans <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">if not treated<\/span><\/strong>. As the pandemic enters its fourth year, new details about the little-known Lanzhou incident offer a revealing glimpse into a <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">much larger<\/span><\/strong> \u2014 and <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">largely hidden<\/span><\/strong> \u2014 struggle with biosafety across China in late 2019, at the <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">precise moment when both<\/span><\/strong> the brucellosis incident and the coronavirus outbreak were coming to light.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">Perhaps the most chilling quote in the article comes from biosecurity expert Robert Hawley, \u201cwho for years oversaw safety programs at the U.S. Army\u2019s maximum-containment lab at Fort Detrick, Md.\u201d Hawley told the\u00a0<em>Post<\/em>\u00a0he saw \u201c\u2018imprudent\u2019 lab practices in inspection reports obtained by a congressional oversight committee.\u201d \u201c<strong><em><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">It is very, very apparent<\/span><\/em><\/strong> that their biological safety training is <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>minimal<\/em><\/span><\/strong>,\u201d Hawley said.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">The closest thing to a smoking gun in the full Senate report is the evidence that researchers affiliated with the Wuhan Institute of Virology <strong><em><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">began working on a vaccine against SARS-CoV-2<\/span><\/em><\/strong>, the virus that causes Covid-19,\u00a0<strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>before almost anyone else in the world had heard of the virus<\/em><\/span><\/strong>:<\/p>\n<blockquote style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><p><em>November 2019 <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">also<\/span><\/strong> appears to be the timeframe that PLA researchers began development of at least two SARS-CoV-2 vaccines. People\u2019s Liberation Army (PLA) Professor Zhou Yusen, Director of the 5th Institute at the Academy of Military Medical Sciences (AMMS), worked with the WIV, and possibly at the WIV, episodically, for several years prior to the pandemic. Zhou or AMMS researchers may have been working at the WIV no later than the Fall of 2019 conducting research for a paper that he coauthored with two WIV researchers, Shi Zhengli and Chen Jing, on a known adverse effect of SARS-related vaccines and antibody treatments. There is reason to believe Zhou was engaged in SARS-related coronavirus animal vaccine research with WIV researchers beginning no later than the Summer or early Fall of 2019. Zhou submitted one of the first COVID-19 vaccine patents <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">on February 24, 2020<\/span><\/strong>.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>The patent includes mouse-derived serological data from vaccine-related experiments which experts, consulted with during this investigation, assess <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">could not have been completed unless Zhou\u2019s team began work on vaccine development before the known outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic in late December 2019<\/span><\/strong>. The research required <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">both access to the sequence of and the live SARS-CoV-2 virus<\/span><\/strong>. Several experts assessed that Zhou likely would have had to start this vaccine development research no later than November 2019 to achieve the February patent submission date. Zhou later published transgenic mouse infection and vaccine challenge studies in mice, including humanized mice and non-human primates. The location(s) where Zhou\u2019s animal vaccine challenge studies were performed was not disclosed. There is reason to believe that these vaccine experiments were performed at the original WIV\u2019s downtown Wuhan campus and possibly at the Wuhan University Institute of Animal Models located approximately a mile from the WIV.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>PLA AMMS Major General Wei Chen led a second, separate, effort to develop another candidate COVID-19 vaccine. Chen collaborated with the China state-owned biopharmaceutical company SinoPharm. Chen\u2019s vaccine experiments with humanized mice, ferrets and non-human primates occurred at the Harbin veterinary research facility BSL-4 laboratory in northern China.124 Human clinical trials began in mid- March 2020. Chen submitted a patent for her vaccine March 18, 2020\u00a0 Based on this timeline, experts believe Chen would have had to begin her vaccine efforts no later than early December 2019. Chen\u2019s vaccine candidate was also dependent on the availability of SARS-CoV-2\u2019s genetic sequence that would not be published until January 11, 2020. However, unlike Zhou, there is no evidence that Chen\u2019s vaccine efforts were associated geographically or temporally with the initial COVID-19 outbreak in Wuhan.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">This is further evidence that the Chinese government knew it was dealing with a contagious virus and\u00a0<span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em><a style=\"color: #0000ff; text-decoration: underline;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nationalreview.com\/the-morning-jolt\/chinas-devastating-lies\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" data-testid=\"dynamic-link\">deliberately lied to the rest of world that there was \u201cno clear evidence of human-to-human transmission\u201d up until January 20, 2020<\/a><\/em><\/span><\/strong><\/span>.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">This is one of the many maddening aspects of this matter. Even if this all traces back to a natural transmission of someone ordering bat soup or grilled pangolin in a seafood market, or as Jon Stewart memorably characterized it, \u201c<span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em><a style=\"color: #0000ff; text-decoration: underline;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=sSfejgwbDQ8\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" data-testid=\"standard-link\">Maybe a bat flew into the cloaca of a turkey and then it sneezed into my chili<\/a><\/em><\/span><\/strong><\/span>,\u201d\u00a0<em>the Chinese government was still lying when the world needed the truth and lives were at stake<\/em>. We all had years of our lives taken away from us because the Chinese government refused to acknowledge that there was a contagious virus spreading around their country and the world.\u00a0<span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em><a style=\"color: #0000ff; text-decoration: underline;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2020\/04\/04\/us\/coronavirus-china-travel-restrictions.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" testid=\"standard-link\" class=\"broken_link\">In the month of January 2020, more than 1,300 flights from China arrived at 17 U.S. airports<\/a><\/em><\/span><\/strong><\/span>, carrying roughly 381,000 passengers.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">When <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>did<\/em><\/span><\/strong> the Covid-19 pandemic start? The Senate HELP committee report indicates that <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>people in Wuhan<\/em><\/span><\/strong> were starting to notice an abnormal rate of viral infections <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>in October and November<\/em><\/span><\/strong>:<\/p>\n<blockquote style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><p><em>Eyewitness accounts, media reports, epidemiological modeling and additional academic studies further support <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">October 28 to November 10<\/span> <\/strong>as the window of emergence. Diplomats stationed at the U.S. Consulate General in Wuhan have attested to observations of what they believed at the time to be the early onset of a \u2018bad flu\u2019 season. The Deputy Consular Chief recalled: \u201cBy mid-October 2019, the dedicated team at the U.S. Consulate General in Wuhan knew that the city had been struck by what was thought to be an unusually vicious flu season. The disease <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">worsened in November<\/span><\/strong>.\u201d These observations were <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">reported to the U.S. Embassy in Beijing<\/span><\/strong> during this period.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">By one measure, the argument about the lab-leak theory, which has gone on for about three years, is effectively over. Those of us who suspect human error is the cause of one of the world\u2019s greatest modern calamities have persuaded an overwhelming majority of the American public of that.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">A\u00a0<span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em><a style=\"color: #0000ff; text-decoration: underline;\" href=\"https:\/\/poll.qu.edu\/poll-release?releaseid=3869\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" data-testid=\"standard-link\">Quinnipiac University poll<\/a><\/em><\/span><\/strong><\/span>\u00a0conducted in March showed <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>64 percent<\/em><\/span><\/strong> of Americans think the pandemic was \u201ccaused by a laboratory leak\u201d and just <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>22 percent<\/em><\/span><\/strong> believe it was \u201ccaused by a natural transmission from animals to humans.\u201d Another poll taken a week earlier by\u00a0<span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><strong><em><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><a style=\"color: #0000ff; text-decoration: underline;\" href=\"https:\/\/today.yougov.com\/topics\/politics\/articles-reports\/2023\/03\/10\/americans-believe-covid-origin-lab\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" testid=\"standard-link\" class=\"broken_link\">Economist\/YouGov<\/a><\/span><\/em><\/strong><\/span>\u00a0showed an even <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>stronger split<\/em><\/span><\/strong> in favor of a lab leak: <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>66 percent to 16 percent<\/em><\/span><\/strong>. If I were a meaner person, I would characterize <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>the zoonotic origin as a fringe theory<\/em><\/span><\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">That Senate report also acknowledges the potential for a \u201czoonotic spillover\u201d \u2014 after all, either this virus or its evolutionary precursor had to be in a bat at some point \u2014 <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>but points out the frustrating lack of conclusive evidence<\/em><\/span><\/strong>:<\/p>\n<blockquote style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><p><em>To date, <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">China has not acknowledged the infection or positive serological sample(s) of any susceptible animal prior to the recognized outbreak<\/span><\/strong>. Genetic analysis of published SARS-CoV-2 sequences from the early outbreak <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">does not show evidence of genetic adaptation reflecting passage through a susceptible animal species<\/span><\/strong> such as a palm civet, raccoon dog or mink. To this end, <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">no intermediate host has been identified<\/span><\/strong>.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>Despite these facts, three data points do present themselves to support the zoonotic origin theory. First, approximately 33 percent of the earliest known human COVID-19 cases (with symptom onset dates in mid- to late-December 2019) were associated with the Huanan Seafood Market in Wuhan. Second, several animal species susceptible to SARS-CoV-2 were sold live and in poor animal welfare conditions at the market. Finally, the identification of genetic sequences of raccoon dogs in samples taken from the market in early 2020 confirm that this susceptible intermediate host was at the market at the time of the outbreak. As noted, \u201cthere is <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">no data<\/span><\/strong> . . . associating SARS-CoV-2 with the presence of <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">any<\/span><\/strong> of these animals.\u201d These data themselves, however, do not explain the origin of the COVID-19 pandemic.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">This Senate committee report was overseen by the now-retired North Carolina GOP senator Richard Burr. Back in November, the\u00a0<span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><strong><em><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><a style=\"color: #0000ff; text-decoration: underline;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.charlotteobserver.com\/opinion\/article268098657.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" testid=\"standard-link\" class=\"broken_link\">Charlotte Observer\u00a0editorial board<\/a><\/span><\/em><\/strong><\/span>\u00a0thundered that \u201cRichard Burr, <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>who typically keeps a relatively low profile<\/em><\/span><\/strong>, seems to be playing games on his way out of office.\u201d The board referred to the lab-leak theory as \u201c<strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>a Covid conspiracy<\/em><\/span><\/strong>,\u201d contending that the interim report \u201cfueled the fire of disinformation that has been blazing since the pandemic began. It also gives the COVID conspiracy theorists a new bone to chew on.\u201d<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>Because<\/em><\/span><\/strong> Burr is usually \u201clow profile\u201d and <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>isn\u2019t<\/em><\/span><\/strong> a bomb-thrower, a frothing-at-the-mouth demagogue, <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>or<\/em><\/span><\/strong> an unhinged conspiracy theorist, shouldn\u2019t the editorial board <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>sit up and take notice when he is putting his name behind a contention like this<\/em><\/span><\/strong>?<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nationalreview.com\/news\/fbi-director-says-covid-most-likely-emerged-from-chinese-lab-leak\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" data-testid=\"dynamic-link\"><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>FBI director Christopher Wray<\/em><\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/a>\u00a0is not a wide-eyed conspiracy theorist. The U.S. Department of Energy, and in\u00a0<span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em><a style=\"color: #0000ff; text-decoration: underline;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nationalreview.com\/the-morning-jolt\/the-energy-department-lab-investigating-covid-knows-what-its-talking-about\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" data-testid=\"dynamic-link\">particular the Livermore Labs\u2019 \u201cZ Division,\u201d is not full of guys<\/a><\/em><\/span><\/strong><\/span>\u00a0who believe lizard people walk among us and who insist they saw Elvis at their local convenience store.\u00a0<span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em><a style=\"color: #0000ff; text-decoration: underline;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nationalreview.com\/the-morning-jolt\/the-people-arguing-that-the-origin-of-covid-doesnt-matter-are-fools\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" data-testid=\"dynamic-link\">Former CDC director Robert Redfield<\/a><\/em><\/span><\/strong><\/span>\u00a0is not some nut who believes in healing crystals and werewolves.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">In the face of the <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>biggest and most consequential mystery in modern history<\/em><\/span><\/strong>, <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>some of us<\/em><\/span><\/strong> looked at the <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>remarkable coincidence<\/em><\/span><\/strong> of a novel coronavirus most like those found in bats emerging near not one but two laboratories doing gain-of-function research on novel coronaviruses found in bats \u2014\u00a0<span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em><a style=\"color: #0000ff; text-decoration: underline;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nationalreview.com\/2020\/04\/coronavirus-china-trail-leading-back-to-wuhan-labs\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" data-testid=\"dynamic-link\">going back to April 3, 2020, I remind you<\/a><\/em><\/span><\/strong><\/span>. And in response, <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>we\u2019ve gotten name-calling, sneers, and smears<\/em><\/span><\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Here&#8217;s the juice:<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/aaa-6.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-108920\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/aaa-6.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"420\" height=\"427\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/aaa-6.png 420w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/aaa-6-295x300.png 295w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 420px) 100vw, 420px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>And all those lying, pernicious public health bureaucrats led by Dr. Faux Chi can kiss our conspiracy theorist backside&#8230;along with a ticket on the&#8230;<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"YouTube video player\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/bHzov33tgfg?start=2&amp;end=5&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>Next, as promised, more on the breakdown of the rule of law in the Windy City, as\u00a0<em>NRO<\/em>&#8216;s Jeffrey Blehar advises Chicagoans to&#8230;<\/strong><\/p>\n<h1 class=\"article-header__title\" style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nationalreview.com\/2023\/04\/call-crime-by-its-name\/\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><span style=\"color: #ff0000; text-decoration: underline;\">Call Crime by Its Name<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/h1>\n<h3 class=\"article-header__title\" style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><a style=\"color: #0000ff;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nationalreview.com\/2023\/04\/call-crime-by-its-name\/\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">If even the mayor-elect doesn&#8217;t believe in Chicago as a city, why should the city believe in itself<\/span><\/a>?<\/span><\/h3>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"YouTube video player\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/jk7bVeYBFwA\" 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;\"><span class=\"drop\">&#8220;I\u00a0<\/span><span class=\"small_caps\">have<\/span>\u00a0a prickly relationship with people whose go-to commentary on Chicago involves some variation of the term \u201curban street crime.\u201d Many times, this is harmlessly intended as an awkward conversation-starter. (Imagine an elegantly dressed woman tippling a cocktail at an East Coast party saying, \u201cOh, Chicago, yes, I\u2019ve heard about the crime. It sounds dreadful.\u201d That one has actually happened to me . . . twice.) More frustrating, the idea gets rotely parroted back to you by fellow conservatives who are using the city as a punching bag that epitomizes all the failures of blue-city governance and life.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">I object not so much to the critique of the city\u2019s governance as to the critique of Chicago living. Chicago is the <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>best big city in America<\/em><\/span><\/strong>\u00a0<span style=\"color: #008000;\"><strong>(<em>Which is akin to saying it&#8217;s the best leper colony on the planet!<\/em>)<\/strong><\/span>, and we have <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>such wonderful sights to show you<\/em><\/span><\/strong>\u00a0<span style=\"color: #008000;\"><strong>(<em>One of which is showcased in the video above!<\/em>)<\/strong><\/span>. So, my typical response when I\u2019m confronted with Chicago-bashing socially is to (1) point out that corruption, financial mismanagement, and warring special-interest groups are even bigger problems than crime and (2) demur and pull a Marty Feldman from\u00a0<em>Young Frankenstein<\/em>: \u201c<strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>Could<\/em><\/span><\/strong> be worse; <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>could<\/em><\/span><\/strong> be San Francisco.\u201d<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">It\u2019s getting <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>much harder<\/em><\/span><\/strong> to do that in recent months.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">You may have heard, via social media or your personal grapevine (but less likely via national media), about the chaos that spontaneously descended upon Chicago this weekend: An enormous crowd of kids from the South Side, coordinating via social media,\u00a0<span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em><a style=\"color: #0000ff; text-decoration: underline;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.chicagotribune.com\/news\/breaking\/ct-teens-shot-loop-20230416-wcb2jspkjfgcxavvaiw6m42p4e-story.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" data-testid=\"standard-link\">flash-mobbed the city\u2019s downtown<\/a><\/em><\/span><\/strong><\/span>, the beating heart of the Magnificent Mile, and scenes of frank barbarism followed. The videos \u2014 which circulated on TikTok, because people who are amoral enough to participate in such crimes are often also stupid enough to record and publicize them \u2014 are traumatizing and will be suppressed by the mainstream press. If you wish to gaze into the maw of insensate mob horror, you can\u00a0<span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em><a style=\"color: #0000ff; text-decoration: underline;\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/CWBChicago\/status\/1647998114542829571\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" data-testid=\"standard-link\">watch as one unarmed woman is swarmed outside her place on Wabash Street<\/a><\/em><\/span><\/strong><\/span>\u00a0and \u2014 <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>there is unfortunately no other way to phrase this<\/em><\/span><\/strong> \u2014<strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em> brutally gang-stomped into the ground<\/em><\/span><\/strong> by a throng of cheering <span style=\"color: #008000;\"><strong>(<em>Truth be told, BLACK!!!<\/em>)<\/strong><\/span> teenagers. (Stalking through the crowd prominently after getting a few whacks in on the shrieking woman, one kid flashes a hoodie emblazoned \u201cANTISOCIAL SOCIAL CLUB.\u201d Dispatches from my urban dystopia.)<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">The events coincided with unusually nice weather. Chicago last week experienced an unseasonable warm snap (temperatures in the mid 80s, sunny, breezy), <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>which residents understand is a recipe for weekend crime spikes<\/em><\/span><\/strong>\u00a0<span style=\"color: #008000;\"><strong>(<em>So&#8230;<span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">what<\/span>? We should only visit your fair city in <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">winter<\/span>?!?<\/em>)<\/strong><\/span>. But it felt apropos regardless because it confronted mayor-elect Brandon Johnson (a progressive Chicago Teachers Union activist who, two weeks ago, won the closest mayoral election in the city\u2019s history) with a moment when the rubber <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>truly<\/em><\/span><\/strong> met the road: Would he move on from his \u201cdefund the police\u201d rhetoric of 2020 (in the immediate post\u2013George Floyd era) and the \u201cdefund-lite\u201d position he adopted during his mayoral campaign? What would his response be to this sort of wanton \u2014 a word whose meaning is underappreciated and entirely appropriate here \u2014 violence?<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">If you were expecting Johnson, being a new mayor, to suddenly <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>get serious<\/em><\/span><\/strong> about the undesirableness of pop-up mobs that spread violence and hooliganry in Chicago\u2019s downtown, well, then, my friends, <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>you don\u2019t appreciate what kind of pre-programmed progressive true believer Chicago has managed to vote into office<\/em><\/span><\/strong>. Johnson\u2019s response this weekend was, <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>practically speaking<\/em><\/span><\/strong>, \u201cThe kids are <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>all right<\/em><\/span><\/strong>.\u201d<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">And yet it\u2019s an <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>improvement<\/em><\/span><\/strong> on Johnson\u2019s rhetoric from August 2020, when \u2014 as the city was being ransacked during the George Floyd riots \u2014 he placed the\u00a0<em>real<\/em>\u00a0blame on \u201c<span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em><a style=\"color: #0000ff; text-decoration: underline;\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/EsotericCD\/status\/1648009882870620180\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" data-testid=\"standard-link\">corporate looting<\/a><\/em><\/span><\/strong><\/span>.\u201d (Fair enough: I still remember when <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>Target<\/em><\/span><\/strong> came to my place, smashed all my windows, fractured my skull, and emptied my closets.) He has <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>evolved<\/em><\/span><\/strong> since then: Instead of squirming and refusing to condemn rioters and looters,\u00a0<span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em><a style=\"color: #0000ff; text-decoration: underline;\" href=\"https:\/\/chicagodefender.com\/mayor-elect-brandon-johnson-issues-statement-on-weekend-violence\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" testid=\"standard-link\" class=\"broken_link\">he\u2019s now willing to say, as a concession<\/a><\/em><\/span><\/strong><\/span>, that \u201cin no way do I condone the destructive activity we saw in the Loop and the lakefront this weekend.\u201d That\u2019s <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>mighty generous<\/em><\/span><\/strong>\u00a0of you, mayor-elect\u00a0<span style=\"color: #008000;\"><strong>(<em>Or, perhaps more appropriately, might WHITE of you!)<\/em><\/strong><\/span>. Then again, it\u2019s understood that nothing <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>before<\/em><\/span><\/strong> the \u201cbut\u201d <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>really matters<\/em><\/span><\/strong>, and with a throat-clearing \u201chowever,\u201d Johnson instantly supplies us with his real view: \u201c<span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><strong><em><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><a style=\"color: #0000ff; text-decoration: underline;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nationalreview.com\/news\/not-constructive-to-demonize-incoming-chicago-mayor-defends-teens-after-weekend-violence\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" data-testid=\"dynamic-link\">It is not constructive to demonize youth who have otherwise been starved of opportunities in their own communities<\/a><\/span><\/em><\/strong><\/span>.\u201d<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">I have <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>little difficulty<\/em><\/span><\/strong> \u201cdemonizing\u201d \u2014 apparently a new dysphemism for what normal folks call \u201c<strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>accurately assessing<\/em><\/span><\/strong>\u201d \u2014 <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>people who hurt others for kicks while asking friends to film their best and most pain-inflicting blows so that they may gloat about them later<\/em><\/span><\/strong>. Johnson continues in his statement: \u201cOur city must work together to create spaces for youth to gather safely and responsibly, under adult guidance and supervision, to ensure that every part of our city remains welcome for both residents and visitors.\u201d <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>I also have little difficulty saying that it\u2019s more important to create a cultural, civic, and legal incentive structure that discourages this behavior instead<\/em><\/span><\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">Unfortunately, this would involve <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>police and vigorous prosecutors<\/em><\/span><\/strong>, as opposed to \u201c<strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>community approaches<\/em><\/span><\/strong>.\u201d Johnson\u2019s cow-eyed inability to pivot even the slightest bit from memorized progressive cant in the face of obvious looming disaster (remember: A ruling on Illinois\u2019s hastily passed and instantly regretted cashless-bail law awaits) is a <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>terrible omen<\/em><\/span><\/strong> for the city. I <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>understand<\/em><\/span><\/strong> that no politician can simply walk out to a podium and calmly explain to a panicked public that Chicago\u2019s descent into random spates of frequently horrific lawlessness is the result of a combination of <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>years<\/em><\/span><\/strong> of societal breakdown, the near-complete (and often self-inflicted) collapse of policing in Chicago, and the chaos-agent catalyst of social media. I don\u2019t need a sociology lecture. But how pathetic is it when\u00a0<strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>Lori Lightfoot<\/em>,<em>\u00a0of all people<\/em><\/span><\/strong>, who <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>squarely denounced<\/em><\/span><\/strong>\u00a0<span style=\"color: #008000;\"><strong>(<a href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/UzgOlunQA48?t=313\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline; color: #0000ff;\"><em>Maybe NOT so squarely!<\/em><\/span><\/a>)<\/strong><\/span> this weekend\u2019s events, <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>comes across as a serious person compared with Johnson<\/em><\/span><\/strong>?<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">In the face of all this, the rhetoric of Chicago\u2019s incoming mayor \u2014 and of its new ultra-progressive city council, its media outlets, and its activists \u2014 <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>bespeaks an entire ruling class that has simply given up on the city and on the idea of its being anything but a broken sandbox to test academic ideas in.<\/em><\/span><\/strong> If you <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>cannot call crime by its name<\/em><\/span><\/strong>, <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>identify antisocial behavior for what it is<\/em><\/span><\/strong>, <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>and hold those who engage in it properly accountable<\/em><\/span><\/strong>, then that\u2019s <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>the ball game for urban cohesion<\/em><\/span><\/strong>. And if even Brandon Johnson doesn\u2019t believe in Chicago as a city, why should the city believe in itself?<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">I no longer think I know the answer.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p><strong>Sorry, Jeff, but there&#8217;s nothing you can show me in Chicago that&#8217;s worth our life.\u00a0 And you&#8217;re missing the point that this is what Progressives intended for Chicago and the rest of the country all along.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Meanwhile&#8230;<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"YouTube video player\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/Su79-aSa620\" 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>And in today&#8217;s installment of the <em><span style=\"color: #008000;\">EnvironMental Moment<\/span><\/em>, energy correspondent Jeff Foutch forwarded the following from David Blackmon, from whence we sourced our <em>Quote of the Day<\/em> at the top of the page, featuring&#8230;<\/strong><\/p>\n<h1 class=\"post-title unpublished\" style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/blackmon.substack.com\/p\/sundays-energy-absurdity-why-mining?utm_source=post-email-title&amp;publication_id=712558&amp;post_id=115163441&amp;isFreemail=true&amp;utm_medium=email\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><span style=\"color: #008000; text-decoration: underline;\">Sunday&#8217;s Energy Absurdity: Why Mining Will Be The Roadblock for the Energy Transition<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/h1>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/7ing0m.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-108929\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/7ing0m.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"420\" height=\"235\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/7ing0m.jpg 420w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/7ing0m-300x168.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 420px) 100vw, 420px\" \/><\/a> <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/download-2.jpeg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-108930\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/download-2.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"420\" height=\"280\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/download-2.jpeg 420w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/download-2-300x200.jpeg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 420px) 100vw, 420px\" \/><\/a><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/7infy0.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-108931\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/7infy0.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"420\" height=\"235\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/7infy0.jpg 420w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/7infy0-300x168.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 420px) 100vw, 420px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">&#8220;Daniel Yergin, Vice Chairman of S&amp;P Global and author of great energy-focused books like \u201cThe Prize,\u201d \u201cThe Quest,\u201d and \u201cThe New Map,\u201d published\u00a0<span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><strong><em><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><a style=\"color: #0000ff; text-decoration: underline;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.wsj.com\/articles\/net-zero-will-mean-a-mining-boom-electric-cars-minerals-oil-fossil-fuels-climate-change-policy-cb8d5137?mod=e2two\" rel=\"\">an op\/ed<\/a><\/span><\/em><\/strong><\/span>\u00a0in the Wall Street Journal recently in which he lays out the reasons why <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>hard rock mining<\/em><\/span><\/strong> will become the ultimate roadblock to all the net-zero dreams of the global elites.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">It\u2019s a terrific piece that everyone should read.\u00a0Yergin\u2019s piece begins with this paragraph:<\/p>\n<blockquote style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><p><em>California\u00a0<span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><a style=\"color: #0000ff; text-decoration: underline;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.gov.ca.gov\/2022\/08\/25\/california-enacts-world-leading-plan-to-achieve-100-percent-zero-emission-vehicles-by-2035-cut-pollution\/\" rel=\"\">made a stunning decision<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/span>\u00a0last year\u2014that <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">by 2035 all new cars sold in the state must have at least 2\u00bd times as much copper as conventional cars today<\/span><\/strong>. That\u2019s <span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">not literally<\/span><\/strong><\/span> what the mandate said, of course, but it\u2019s <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">the practical effect<\/span><\/strong> of ordering all cars to be electric in the next 12 years. \u201cBig Shovel\u201d will compete with \u201cBig Oil\u201d as mining ramps up to supply the vast increase in a wide range of minerals that energy transition requires. But <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">getting<\/span><\/strong> everything that will be needed will be <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">tough<\/span><\/strong>.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">That\u2019s right: the typical EV requires <strong><em><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">2.5 times the copper<\/span><\/em><\/strong> in the typical gas-powered car. Multiplied by the estimated 1.446 billion autos on the road in 2022, and that comes to a <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>whole bunch<\/em><\/span><\/strong> of copper. And that mined metal requirement doesn\u2019t <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>begin<\/em><\/span><\/strong> to tell the tale: EVs <strong><em><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">also<\/span><\/em><\/strong> require copious amounts of lithium, cobalt, antimony and an array of other critical and rare earth minerals to become a reality.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">But it\u2019s <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>not just<\/em><\/span><\/strong> EVs. Yergin notes in his very next paragraph that \u201cAn <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>offshore wind project<\/em><\/span><\/strong> uses\u00a0<span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em><a style=\"color: #0000ff; text-decoration: underline;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.iea.org\/reports\/the-role-of-critical-minerals-in-clean-energy-transitions\/executive-summary\" rel=\"\">nine times the minerals<\/a><\/em><\/span><\/strong><\/span>\u00a0of a <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>natural-gas-fired power plant of the same generating capacity<\/em><\/span><\/strong>.\u201d<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>Oh<\/em><\/span><\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">The <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>same principle<\/em><\/span><\/strong> applies to <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>solar arrays<\/em><\/span><\/strong>, too. The presence of all those critical and rare earth minerals, some of which are <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>highly toxic<\/em><\/span><\/strong>, is why, like EV lithium-ion batteries, they <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>can\u2019t just be tossed into the local landfill when their useful life expires<\/em><\/span><\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">As Yergin points out, another big looming problem is the reality that these minerals <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>aren\u2019t evenly distributed across the globe<\/em><\/span><\/strong>. <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>Two<\/em><\/span><\/strong> South American countries with <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>highly unstable governments<\/em><\/span><\/strong>, Peru and Chile, <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>currently produce 40% of the world\u2019s copper<\/em><\/span><\/strong>. <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>Even worse<\/em><\/span><\/strong>,&#8230;<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/but-wait.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-108947\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/but-wait.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"420\" height=\"188\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/but-wait.png 420w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/but-wait-300x134.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 420px) 100vw, 420px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">&#8230;fully <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>70% of the world\u2019s cobalt<\/em><\/span><\/strong> is produced in the <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>Republic of the Congo<\/em><\/span><\/strong>, where it is <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>often<\/em><\/span><\/strong> produced in small, hand-dug mines that feature extremely dangerous conditions and use of <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>child labor<\/em><\/span><\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">Supply chains for these minerals are <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>also<\/em><\/span><\/strong> a key issue. Yergin writes that <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>60% of the world\u2019s lithium<\/em><\/span><\/strong> is <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>currently processed in China<\/em><\/span><\/strong>, and that <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>47% of the world\u2019s copper is smelted there<\/em><\/span><\/strong>. China and Mongolia are also home to large deposits of a variety of rare earth minerals, where their mining operations use slave labor and have been widely documented to cause <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>enormous<\/em><\/span><\/strong> environmental damage.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">The governments in the U.S. and the rest of the western world have implemented plans to establish supply chains outside of China for their mineral needs, <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>but<\/em><\/span><\/strong> have yet to show <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>any substantial progress<\/em><\/span><\/strong> in that regard. One area the Biden administration is <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>known<\/em><\/span><\/strong> to covet is the rich Lithium Triangle region in South America, <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>by far the largest known lithium deposit on earth<\/em><\/span><\/strong>. But in <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>late January<\/em><\/span><\/strong>, Bolivia\u00a0<span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em><a style=\"color: #0000ff; text-decoration: underline;\" href=\"https:\/\/thediplomat.com\/2023\/02\/in-bolivia-china-signs-deal-for-worlds-largest-lithium-reserves\/\" rel=\"\">awarded contracts<\/a><\/em><\/span><\/strong><\/span>\u00a0to produce and process <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>its<\/em><\/span><\/strong> share of that Triangle\u2019s lithium wealth to <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>two companies<\/em><\/span><\/strong> based in &#8211; you guessed it &#8211; <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>China<\/em><\/span><\/strong>, <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>whose own<\/em><\/span><\/strong> renewable energy needs <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>will dwarf the rest of the world\u2019s<\/em><\/span><\/strong> if it continues down this energy transition road.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">The <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>central issue<\/em><\/span><\/strong> that neither the Biden administration nor any other western government seems inclined to address is the <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>one of timing as it relates to the permitting and building of new mining operations<\/em><\/span><\/strong>. Yergin points to the reality that it currently takes <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>15 to 20 years<\/em><\/span><\/strong> for a typical hard rock mining operation <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>to progress from concept to first production<\/em><\/span><\/strong> in the western world.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">But Biden\u2019s EPA issued new CAFE standards <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>last week<\/em><\/span><\/strong> that would essentially render the production of <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>2\/3rds<\/em><\/span><\/strong> of gas vehicles currently produced in the U.S. <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>illegal by 2032<\/em><\/span><\/strong>, thus <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>mandating<\/em><\/span><\/strong> the placement of tens of <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>millions<\/em><\/span><\/strong> of additional EVs on the roads in <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>just the next 9 years<\/em><\/span><\/strong>. Contrast <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>that<\/em><\/span><\/strong> conceit to the <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>reality<\/em><\/span> that, in recent months, the Biden government has actually gone <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>backwards<\/em><\/span><\/strong> on domestic mining,\u00a0<span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><strong><em><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><a style=\"color: #0000ff; text-decoration: underline;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.axios.com\/local\/twin-cities\/2022\/01\/27\/biden-twin-metals-mine-boundary-waters-cancel-permit-minnesota\" rel=\"\" class=\"broken_link\">revoking existing permits<\/a><\/span><\/em><\/strong><\/span>\u00a0for the Twin Metals mine in Minnesota and <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>refusing<\/em><\/span><\/strong> to issue permits for various proposed new mining operations for the very metals these EVs, windfarms and solar arrays <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>will consume with great gusto<\/em><\/span><\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">Yergin sums the issue up this way:<\/p>\n<blockquote style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><p><em>One of the leading wind and solar developers in the U.S. summed up the issue recently: \u201cThe single biggest challenge for renewables going forward is <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">how supply chains evolve<\/span><\/strong>.\u201d It\u2019s becoming clear that there is a <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">very big gap<\/span><\/strong>, <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">not easily closed<\/span><\/strong>, between <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">aspirations<\/span><\/strong> for energy transition and the <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">availability<\/span><\/strong> of the minerals needed to <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">implement<\/span><\/strong> those goals.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">He is, as always, <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>an eloquent master of understatement<\/em><\/span><\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><strong><em><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">I<\/span><\/em><\/strong> will put it <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>more bluntly<\/em><\/span><\/strong>: The energy policies being adopted in the U.S., Canada and Europe <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>are placing the western world on a collision course with inevitable disaster<\/em><\/span><\/strong>. Voters had <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>better wake up<\/em><\/span><\/strong> soonest, or <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>they will be the ones paying the price for all this energy insanity<\/em><\/span><\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>That is all<\/em><\/span><\/strong>.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p><strong>Here&#8217;s a second shot of the juice: That&#8217;s no only all, but that&#8217;s more than enough, as the inconvenient truth is, and will <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>always be<\/em><\/span>&#8230;<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"YouTube video player\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/sIJBUZm1HoY?start=72&amp;end=75&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>Meanwhile, as another forward from Jeff Foutch informs us, <a href=\"https:\/\/townhall.com\/tipsheet\/katiepavlich\/2023\/04\/17\/the-climate-fanatics-have-a-new-food-target-n2622039?utm_source=thdailypm&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;utm_campaign=nl&amp;recip=27269709\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline; color: #0000ff;\"><em>the climate change lunatics who want to ban beef and force everyone to eat bugs have a new target: rice<\/em><\/span><\/a>.\u00a0 Hey, why not?\u00a0 After all, only <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>3.5 billion people<\/em><\/span> depend on rice as their primary source of nourishment.\u00a0 But then, isn&#8217;t that part and parcel to the EnviroNazis&#8217; goal to thin the herd&#8230;<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"YouTube video player\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/6Hx0Qxut3eM?start=74&amp;end=76&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;as it were?!?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Moving on, here&#8217;s another sextet of special selections certain to pique the interest of inquiring Conservative minds:<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><strong>(1). If you&#8217;re wondering how bad things have gotten in Portland, consider the fact <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nationalreview.com\/news\/rei-in-city-of-portland-to-close-due-to-record-number-of-break-ins-theft\/?utm_source=recirc-desktop&amp;utm_medium=article&amp;utm_campaign=right-rail&amp;utm_content=top-stories&amp;utm_term=second\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline; color: #0000ff;\"><em>REI just announced it&#8217;s closing its remaining store because the outdoor fitness retailer could no longer guarantee the safety of employees and patrons<\/em><\/span><\/a>.\u00a0 That and the skyrocketing rates of break-ins and theft.\u00a0 The bloom is <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>DEF<\/em><\/span>initely of the Rose City.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><strong>(2). Speaking how bad things have gotten, put THIS in your Bud Light-in-the-Loafers and drink it!<\/strong><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">Look at those numbers for 40-64 year-olds.<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/budlight?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@budlight<\/a> &#8211; is that where most of your customers are? <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/VpgVFoH170\">https:\/\/t.co\/VpgVFoH170<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/s6V5XUErZC\">pic.twitter.com\/s6V5XUErZC<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Rasmussen Reports (@Rasmussen_Poll) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Rasmussen_Poll\/status\/1648384573691011078?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">April 18, 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>(3). <em>NRO<\/em>&#8216;s Noah Rothman relates how <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nationalreview.com\/2023\/04\/the-media-are-strangely-cautious-about-a-mass-shooters-motives-just-this-one-time\/?bypass_key=bDJDdGFvVnVTQlVocXdVdlF2WjRwQT09OjphM2RMZUhZeU1WWlBTR3hsYURsR05IbzJkREZhWnowOQ%3D%3D&amp;lctg=547fd4393b35d0210c8dec30&amp;utm_source=Sailthru&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;utm_campaign=NR%20Daily%20Monday%20through%20Friday%202023-04-18&amp;utm_term=NRDaily-Smart\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline; color: #0000ff;\"><em>the MSM is strangely cautious about a mass shooter&#8217;s motives just THIS one time<\/em><\/span><\/a>.\u00a0 So why <span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><a style=\"color: #0000ff;\" href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/1D2SUVaaiRI\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>hasn&#8217;t<\/em><\/span><\/a><\/span> the Nashville shooter&#8217;s manifesto been released to the public?!?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><strong>(4). In today&#8217;s edition of <em>Stupidity on Parade<\/em>, listen as Hank Johnson, the knucklenose <a href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/cesSRfXqS1Q\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline; color: #0000ff;\"><em>who questioned our old friend Bob Willard about the possibility of Guam capsizing<\/em><\/span><\/a>, questions the motives of the families of crime victims in the Big Apple:<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"YouTube video player\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/CDmfYV_gSjE?start=6961&amp;end=7189&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<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><strong>Imagine the righteous indignation if a White congressman had similarly questioned the motives of these Black families.\u00a0 And i<\/strong><strong>s it just us, or <a href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/_QhuBIkPXn0\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline; color: #0000ff;\"><em>does Johnson sound eerily like another, much funnier clown<\/em><\/span><\/a>?\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><strong>(5). Since we&#8217;re on the subject of stupid, who on earth other than 46* would put at the helm of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>Firearms<\/em><\/span>\u00a0a person not only unable to define an assault weapon, <a href=\"https:\/\/dailycaller.com\/2023\/04\/18\/atf-director-define-assault-weapon\/\" class=\"broken_link\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline; color: #0000ff;\"><em>but who admits he&#8217;s not an expert in one of three primary areas under his oversight<\/em><\/span><\/a>?!?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><strong>(6).\u00a0<\/strong><strong>And in all seriousness, <span style=\"color: #000000;\">does anyone give a flying fig about what Chris Christie thinks<\/span> about <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>anything<\/em><\/span>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nationalreview.com\/news\/chris-christie-on-florida-disney-feud-i-dont-think-ron-desantis-is-a-conservative\/?utm_source=email&amp;utm_medium=breaking&amp;utm_campaign=newstrack&amp;utm_term=31205090\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline; color: #0000ff;\"><em>let alone the Conservative credentials of Ron DeSantis<\/em><\/span><\/a>?!?<\/strong><\/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\/2023\/04\/a-9.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-108951\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/a-9.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"462\" height=\"316\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/a-9.png 462w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/a-9-300x205.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 462px) 100vw, 462px\" \/><\/a><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/MC_ScottRun_web-800x0.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-108950\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/MC_ScottRun_web-800x0.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"462\" height=\"347\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/MC_ScottRun_web-800x0.jpg 462w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/MC_ScottRun_web-800x0-300x225.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 462px) 100vw, 462px\" \/><\/a><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/afb041723dAPC-800x0.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-108902\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/afb041723dAPC-800x0.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"462\" height=\"330\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/afb041723dAPC-800x0.jpg 462w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/afb041723dAPC-800x0-300x214.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 462px) 100vw, 462px\" \/><\/a><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/mc_trannyvan_web-800x0.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-108906\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/mc_trannyvan_web-800x0.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"462\" height=\"347\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/mc_trannyvan_web-800x0.jpg 462w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/mc_trannyvan_web-800x0-300x225.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 462px) 100vw, 462px\" \/><\/a><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/sk041823dAPR-800x0.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-108949\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/sk041823dAPR-800x0.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"462\" height=\"355\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/sk041823dAPR-800x0.jpg 462w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/sk041823dAPR-800x0-300x231.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 462px) 100vw, 462px\" \/><\/a><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/a-8.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-108903\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/a-8.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"462\" height=\"299\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/a-8.png 462w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/a-8-300x194.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 462px) 100vw, 462px\" \/><\/a><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/Lisa.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-108904\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/Lisa.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"462\" height=\"298\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/Lisa.png 462w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/Lisa-300x194.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 462px) 100vw, 462px\" \/><\/a><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/Leesa.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-108905\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/Leesa.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"462\" height=\"301\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/Leesa.png 462w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/Leesa-300x195.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 462px) 100vw, 462px\" \/><\/a><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/aa-5.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-108907\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/aa-5.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"462\" height=\"331\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/aa-5.png 462w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/aa-5-300x215.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 462px) 100vw, 462px\" \/><\/a> <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/aaaa-4.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-108908\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/aaaa-4.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"462\" height=\"313\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/aaaa-4.png 462w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/aaaa-4-300x203.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 462px) 100vw, 462px\" \/><\/a><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/Greater-Than-The-Summary-of-Its-Parts-1.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-108896\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/Greater-Than-The-Summary-of-Its-Parts-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"463\" height=\"416\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/Greater-Than-The-Summary-of-Its-Parts-1.jpg 463w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/Greater-Than-The-Summary-of-Its-Parts-1-300x270.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 463px) 100vw, 463px\" \/><\/a><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/Image-4-17-23-at-10.23-AM.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-108895\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/Image-4-17-23-at-10.23-AM.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"462\" height=\"281\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/Image-4-17-23-at-10.23-AM.jpg 462w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/Image-4-17-23-at-10.23-AM-300x182.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 462px) 100vw, 462px\" \/><\/a><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/Image-4-18-23-at-3.55-PM.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-108918\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/Image-4-18-23-at-3.55-PM.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"462\" height=\"308\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/Image-4-18-23-at-3.55-PM.jpg 462w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/Image-4-18-23-at-3.55-PM-300x200.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 462px) 100vw, 462px\" \/><\/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\/2023\/04\/Balls2-2.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-108898\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/Balls2-2.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"462\" height=\"531\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/Balls2-2.jpg 462w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/Balls2-2-261x300.jpg 261w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 462px) 100vw, 462px\" \/><\/a> <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/Balls3.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-108899\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/Balls3.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"462\" height=\"482\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/Balls3.png 462w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/Balls3-288x300.png 288w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 462px) 100vw, 462px\" \/><\/a> <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/Balls4-1.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-108900\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/Balls4-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"462\" height=\"362\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/Balls4-1.jpg 462w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/Balls4-1-300x235.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 462px) 100vw, 462px\" \/><\/a> <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/Balls5-1.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-108901\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/Balls5-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"462\" height=\"492\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/Balls5-1.jpg 462w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/Balls5-1-282x300.jpg 282w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 462px) 100vw, 462px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>&#8230;Ed Harvey&#8230;<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/20230415edphc-a.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-108941\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/20230415edphc-a.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"462\" height=\"338\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/20230415edphc-a.jpg 462w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/20230415edphc-a-300x219.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 462px) 100vw, 462px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>&#8230;<\/strong><strong><em>The Patriot Post<\/em>&#8230;<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/PPost1.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-108892\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/PPost1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"462\" height=\"462\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/PPost1.jpg 462w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/PPost1-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/PPost1-300x300.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 462px) 100vw, 462px\" \/><\/a><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/PPost2.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-108893\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/PPost2.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"462\" height=\"462\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/PPost2.jpg 462w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/PPost2-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/PPost2-300x300.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 462px) 100vw, 462px\" \/><\/a><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/PPost3.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-108891\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/PPost3.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"462\" height=\"462\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/PPost3.jpg 462w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/PPost3-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/PPost3-300x300.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 462px) 100vw, 462px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>&#8230;and the lovely Shannon&#8230;<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/shannon.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-108936\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/shannon.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"462\" height=\"465\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/shannon.png 462w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/shannon-150x150.png 150w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/shannon-298x300.png 298w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 462px) 100vw, 462px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>&#8230;along with this cartoon from <em>The Rabbit Hole<\/em> via Nick which was inspired by the sobering graph which follows it:<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/TheRabbitHole2.jpeg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-108889\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/TheRabbitHole2.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"462\" height=\"578\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/TheRabbitHole2.jpeg 462w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/TheRabbitHole2-240x300.jpeg 240w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 462px) 100vw, 462px\" \/><\/a> <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/TheRabbitHole1.jpeg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-108890\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/TheRabbitHole1.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"462\" height=\"492\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/TheRabbitHole1.jpeg 462w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/TheRabbitHole1-282x300.jpeg 282w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 462px) 100vw, 462px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Finally, we&#8217;ll call it a wrap with two tragic tales torn from the pages of <span style=\"color: #800000;\"><em>The Crime Blotter<\/em><\/span>\u00a0which prompted this question: Read the two headlines, check out those involved, then tell us&#8230;<\/strong><\/p>\n<h1 class=\"headline\" style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/us\/new-york-man-accused-killing-woman-driveway-had-short-fuse-hated-trespassers-report\" class=\"broken_link\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline; color: #800000;\">New York man accused of killing woman in driveway had &#8216;short fuse,&#8217; hated trespassers<\/span><\/a><\/h1>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/077d7e60-ddd9-11ed-96c1-8107b836fbe5_800_420.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-108934\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/077d7e60-ddd9-11ed-96c1-8107b836fbe5_800_420.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"420\" height=\"221\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/077d7e60-ddd9-11ed-96c1-8107b836fbe5_800_420.png 420w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/077d7e60-ddd9-11ed-96c1-8107b836fbe5_800_420-300x158.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 420px) 100vw, 420px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<h1 class=\"StandardHeader__title\" style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thedailybeast.com\/ralph-yarls-family-contradict-kansas-city-cops-after-he-was-shot-for-ringing-wrong-doorbell\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline; color: #008080;\">Black Teen Says White Homeowner Said \u2018Don\u2019t Come Around Here\u2019 as He Opened Fire<\/span><\/a><\/h1>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/Ft9cOccXgAEzs_y.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-108933\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/Ft9cOccXgAEzs_y.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"420\" height=\"252\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/Ft9cOccXgAEzs_y.png 420w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/Ft9cOccXgAEzs_y-300x180.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 420px) 100vw, 420px\" \/><\/a><br \/>\n<strong>&#8230;which family did Biden call to offer prayers for the victim&#8217;s recovery and justice?\u00a0 Thankfully, 16-year-old Ralph Yarl is back home recovering; 20-year-old Kaylin Gillis wasn&#8217;t so lucky.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Magoo<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><strong><em>Video of the Day<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><strong>For once, we actually agree with Piers Morgan.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"YouTube video player\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/RzmLUrAtd7E?start=137&amp;end=1153&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 style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><strong><em>Tales of The Darkside<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><strong>You have to love the reaction of a multi-millionaire who never had to work for a penny of his wealth when Jen Psaki doesn&#8217;t match his hypocritically self-righteous outrage over income equality.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"MRC TV video player\" src=\"https:\/\/www.mrctv.org\/embed\/579620\" 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;\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em><strong>On the Lighter Side<\/strong><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n<p><strong>All we can say is lower, faster, LOUDER and more of &#8217;em!!!<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"YouTube video player\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/_p442KB-UGY\" 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 Wednesday, April 19th, 2023&#8230;but before we begin, Chicago&#8217;s alternative to Lori Lightfoot tells you ALL you have know about the nature of HIS immient administration: The new mayor of Chicago refuses to condemn looting. pic.twitter.com\/x98ybwu9CX \u2014 Catch Up (@CatchUpFeed) April 17, 2023 \ufeff Thus have Chicagoans, just like the citizens of every other major [&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-108939","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/108939","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=108939"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/108939\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":108992,"href":"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/108939\/revisions\/108992"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=108939"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=108939"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=108939"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}