{"id":110533,"date":"2023-06-27T14:23:00","date_gmt":"2023-06-27T18:23:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/?p=110533"},"modified":"2023-06-27T14:23:06","modified_gmt":"2023-06-27T18:23:06","slug":"the-daily-gouge-archive-monday-june-26th-2023","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/?p=110533","title":{"rendered":"The Daily Gouge Archive, Monday, June 26th, 2023"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>It&#8217;s Monday, June 26th, 2023&#8230;but before we begin, if you thought throwing money at America&#8217;s failing public education establishment would fix the problem, this item from <em>The Daily Signal<\/em>\u00a0should disabuse you of that notion, as&#8230;<\/strong><\/p>\n<h1 id=\"post-title entry-title\" style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"color: #800080;\"><a style=\"color: #800080;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dailysignal.com\/2023\/06\/22\/reading-math-scores-plummet-racial-sexual-activism-replace-academics\/?utm_source=TDS_Email&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;utm_campaign=MorningBell\" class=\"broken_link\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Reading and Math Scores Plummet as Racial and Sexual Activism Replace Academics<\/span><\/a><\/span><\/h1>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/download-9.jpeg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-110503\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/download-9.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"462\" height=\"240\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/download-9.jpeg 462w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/download-9-300x156.jpeg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 462px) 100vw, 462px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">&#8220;As America\u2019s public education system reports the\u00a0<span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em><a style=\"color: #0000ff; text-decoration: underline;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2023\/06\/21\/us\/naep-test-results-education.html?smid=tw-nytimes&amp;smtyp=cur\" class=\"broken_link\">worst literacy and math performance<\/a><\/em><\/span><\/strong><\/span>\u00a0in decades, its schools dedicate <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>increasingly immense portions<\/em><\/span><\/strong> of their time to lessons on the supposed virtues of racial and gender segregation.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">With only eight hours per day and 180 school days per year, one would think that everyone from the newest teacher\u2019s aide to the tenured administrators would call \u201call hands on deck\u201d to spend every moment trying to close the enormous performance gaps inflamed by COVID-19 lockdowns. Instead of utilizing data-proven methods to close gaps in literacy and math,\u00a0<span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em><a style=\"color: #0000ff; text-decoration: underline;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dailysignal.com\/2023\/04\/05\/parents-scrub-toilets-so-kids-can-attend-christian-school\/\" class=\"broken_link\">like many private and microschools<\/a><\/em><\/span><\/strong><\/span>\u00a0do, most public schools have centered on a different tactic: <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>political distraction<\/em><\/span><\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">As parents around the country began demanding answers for the lack of results from those they entrusted their children to, schools began presenting scapegoats to deflect the culpability in the mess they helped to make. Teachers unions, school \u201cequity officers,\u201d and administrators began proclaiming that\u00a0<span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em><a style=\"color: #0000ff; text-decoration: underline;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.forbes.com\/sites\/nataliewexler\/2020\/06\/06\/how-reading-instruction-fails-black-and-brown-children\/\" class=\"broken_link\">historic racial inequities were responsible<\/a><\/em><\/span><\/strong><\/span>\u00a0for the massive gaps in black and Hispanic students\u2019 reading scores. They claim\u00a0\u201c<span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em><a style=\"color: #0000ff; text-decoration: underline;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ctulocal1.org\/posts\/in-defense-of-critical-race-theory\/\">white supremacy\u201d is responsible<\/a><\/em><\/span><\/strong><\/span>\u00a0for students\u2019 disengagement\u2014that \u201cstudents of color\u201d would learn <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>far more<\/em><\/span><\/strong> if they were \u201callowed\u201d to read books by <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>black authors<\/em><\/span><\/strong> under <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>black teachers<\/em><\/span><\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>This is<\/em><\/span><\/strong>, of course, <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>highly misleading<\/em><\/span><\/strong>. Students respond more to the <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>quality of the text and the educator<\/em><\/span><\/strong> than to the <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>race of the teacher<\/em><\/span><\/strong>. The \u201cracial inequities\u201d claim also ignores that the\u00a0<span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em><a style=\"color: #0000ff; text-decoration: underline;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.epi.org\/publication\/five-key-trends-in-u-s-student-performance-progress-by-blacks-and-hispanics-the-takeoff-of-asians-the-stall-of-non-english-speakers-the-persistence-of-socioeconomic-gaps-and-the-damaging-effect\/\" class=\"broken_link\">highest-performing demographic<\/a><\/em><\/span><\/strong><\/span>, <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>Asian<\/em><\/span><\/strong> students, <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>aren\u2019t<\/em><\/span><\/strong> reading books by predominantly <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>Asian authors<\/em><\/span><\/strong> and studying under <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>Asian teachers<\/em><\/span><\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">Nevertheless, major metropolitan districts have <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>doubled down<\/em><\/span><\/strong> on the need for a focus on <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>racially-driven education<\/em><\/span><\/strong>\u2014often implementing the tenets of critical race theory and citing its so-called scholars.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">Indianapolis Public Schools and its over 30,000 students languish in illiteracy, but you won\u2019t hear superintendent Aleesia Johnson apologize for a lack of results. Instead, she flocks to media outlets to praise the school\u2019s <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>third<\/em><\/span><\/strong> gallant push towards \u201cracial equity\u201d (because <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>apparently<\/em><\/span><\/strong>, the <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>first two didn\u2019t succeed<\/em><\/span><\/strong>).<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">Instead of hosting emergency training sessions to bring Indianapolis teachers up to speed on proven reading instruction pedagogy, Indianapolis brought critical race theory scholar Gloria Ladson-Billings in for an emergency \u201call staff required\u201d session on racial equity.\u00a0<span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em><a style=\"color: #0000ff; text-decoration: underline;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dailymail.co.uk\/news\/article-10341741\/Woke-teachers-force-middle-schoolers-listen-BLM-activists-claim-society-ruined.html\">One Indianapolis middle school<\/a><\/em><\/span><\/strong><\/span>\u00a0<strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>required<\/em><\/span><\/strong> students to attend so-called racial equity sessions in which Black Lives Matter activists told them that crime was a \u201cmade up\u201d term by \u201cthe white people.\u201d In undercover interviews with several Indiana schools,\u00a0<span style=\"text-decoration: underline; color: #0000ff;\"><strong><em><a style=\"color: #0000ff; text-decoration: underline;\" href=\"https:\/\/aim.org\/2023\/04\/12\/crt-indiana\/\">Accuracy in Media<\/a><\/em><\/strong><\/span>\u00a0captured several administrators <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>admitting<\/em><\/span><\/strong> to consistently wasting reading instruction time with racially segregationist activism\u2014even if they had to <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>hide it<\/em><\/span><\/strong> from parents.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">In 2021,\u00a0<span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em><a style=\"color: #0000ff; text-decoration: underline;\" href=\"https:\/\/wirepoints.org\/trapped-in-a-death-spiral-chicago-public-school-spending-hits-record-29k-per-student-as-enrollment-shrinks-outcomes-plummet\/?fbclid=IwAR3DuFi11LFvGk_P6byeVZehmLamfaYQ0tGIIWXsw0hGQcYCjB98XiqQzlo\">Chicago Public Schools<\/a><\/em><\/span><\/strong><\/span>\u00a0boasted only a <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>17% literacy rate for Hispanic students<\/em><\/span><\/strong> and an <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>11% literacy rate for black students<\/em><\/span><\/strong>. Rather than assist black and Hispanic students in improving the single greatest factor in adult success, Chicago launched another racial equity initiative and hired additional \u201cOffice of Equity\u201d staff.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">While racial equity is most often the distraction touted by inner-city metropolitan schools\u2014from New York City and Washington, D.C., on the East Coast to Los Angeles and Seattle on the West Coast\u2014the suburban school districts surrounding them usually tout LGBTQ activism as a school focus.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">Several California suburban public school districts reported\u00a0<span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em><a style=\"color: #0000ff; text-decoration: underline;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.usnews.com\/education\/k12\/california\/districts\/glendale-unified-100881\" class=\"broken_link\">abysmal reading and math performances<\/a><\/em><\/span><\/strong><\/span>\u00a0in 2022 but have spent little time attempting to provide remediation since. Instead, these California districts threw their time and resources into celebrating LGBTQ activism.\u00a0<span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em><a style=\"color: #0000ff; text-decoration: underline;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.latimes.com\/california\/story\/2023-06-02\/parents-protest-lgbtq-pride-day-los-angeles-saticoy-elementary-school\">Hollywood and Glendale schools<\/a><\/em><\/span><\/strong><\/span>\u00a0chose to implement curriculum on the history of \u201cLGBTQ+ activists\u201d <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>in place of additional reading and math instruction<\/em><\/span><\/strong>. Hispanic and Armenian parents flocked to school board meetings to protest what many called \u201ca waste of time.\u201d \u201cWhy can\u2019t you just focus on teaching our children to read?\u201d a parent of elementary school children\u00a0<span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em><a style=\"color: #0000ff; text-decoration: underline;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dailysignal.com\/2023\/06\/06\/antifa-armenian-parents-clash-california-school-board-meeting-required-lgbtq-activities\/\" class=\"broken_link\">asked the Glendale Unified board<\/a><\/em><\/span><\/strong><\/span>.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">The grassroots advocacy organization Parents Defending Education\u00a0<span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em><a style=\"color: #0000ff; text-decoration: underline;\" href=\"https:\/\/defendinged.org\/map\/\">cites dozens of suburban school districts<\/a><\/em><\/span><\/strong><\/span>\u00a0in over 40 states that have launched LGBTQ initiatives in the last five years, with district after district replacing an academic focus with hour after hour of learning about racial and sexual activism.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">The British newspaper the Daily Mail gained access to a private online meeting of a\u00a0<span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em><a style=\"color: #0000ff; text-decoration: underline;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dailymail.co.uk\/news\/article-12202901\/Midwest-teachers-trade-tips-subversively-quietly-transitioning-kids-without-telling-parents.html\">group of midwestern public school teachers<\/a><\/em><\/span><\/strong><\/span>\u00a0discussing ways to spend time encouraging students to engage with LGBTQ activism and to consider \u201ctransitioning\u201d kids (calling them by different names and pronouns and letting them dress as members of the opposite sex) during the school day <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>without telling their parents<\/em><\/span><\/strong>\u2014even in the face of recently passed laws <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>forbidding<\/em><\/span><\/strong> sexually explicit discussions with students in class.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em><a style=\"color: #0000ff; text-decoration: underline;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dailysignal.com\/2023\/05\/10\/desantis-signs-largest-reform-public-education-floridas-history\/\" class=\"broken_link\">Florida<\/a><\/em><\/span><\/strong><\/span>\u2014which has enacted legislation to forbid racial and sexual activism in the classroom\u2014along with Gov. Ron DeSantis\u2019 efforts to keep public schools open during the COVID-19 pandemic, has shown\u00a0<span style=\"text-decoration: underline; color: #0000ff;\"><em><strong><a style=\"color: #0000ff; text-decoration: underline;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.fldoe.org\/accountability\/assessments\/national-international-assessments\/naep\/results\/\" class=\"broken_link\">greater reading and math score improvement<\/a><\/strong><\/em><\/span>\u00a0than <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>any other state in the country<\/em><\/span><\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">Education reform advocates for years have been touting the positive data regarding keeping schools open during the pandemic and keeping the focus on academics. Consistent reports from\u00a0<span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em><a style=\"color: #0000ff; text-decoration: underline;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dailysignal.com\/2023\/04\/25\/public-school-critics-new-book-details-40-examples-of-educational-mediocrity\/\" class=\"broken_link\">Corey DeAngelis<\/a><\/em><\/span><\/strong><\/span>\u00a0of the American Federation for Children,\u00a0<span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em><a style=\"color: #0000ff; text-decoration: underline;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.aei.org\/research-products\/report\/focus-on-early-literacy-common-curriculum-and-better-teacher-training\/\">Robert Pondiscio<\/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.aei.org\/education\/civil-rights-lawlessness-in-public-education\/\">Max Eden<\/a><\/em><\/span><\/strong><\/span>\u00a0of the American Enterprise Institute, and\u00a0<span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em><a style=\"color: #0000ff; text-decoration: underline;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.heritage.org\/education\/report\/education-choice-rural-america\" class=\"broken_link\">Jason Bedrick<\/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.heritage.org\/education\/commentary\/the-data-prove-education-choice-winner-students-and-taxpayers\" class=\"broken_link\">Lindsey Burke<\/a><\/em><\/span><\/strong><\/span>\u00a0of The Heritage Foundation\u2019s Center for Education Policy prove what common sense suggests: <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>Students who focus on reading and writing in the classroom fare better than those who don\u2019t<\/em><\/span><\/strong>. (The Daily Signal is the multimedia news and commentary outlet of The Heritage Foundation.)<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">While The New York Times may suggest it\u2019s \u201cbreaking news\u201d for math and reading scores among 14-year-olds to be the \u201clowest levels in decades, with a sharp drop since the pandemic began,\u201d it really isn\u2019t news\u2014and it\u2019s not breaking. When a school <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>wastes eight hours a day<\/em><\/span><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em> on political activism instead of academic instruction<\/em><\/span><\/strong>, literacy and math competency <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>don\u2019t improve<\/em><\/span><\/strong>. Political activism <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>isn\u2019t<\/em><\/span><\/strong> preparing students for the challenges of their future career and for adulthood, and public schools\u2019 <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>attempts to convince parents that it does<\/em><\/span><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em> are losing their luster<\/em><\/span><\/strong>.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p><strong>Any parent who was <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>ever<\/em><\/span> convinced teaching their children nonsensical theories of racism and the benefits of diversity instead of the basic skills necessary for their future isn&#8217;t worthy of being a parent.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Now, here&#8217;s <em>The Gouge<\/em>!<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Since we&#8217;re on the subject of the nonsensical,\u00a0<em>Best of the Web\u00a0<\/em>offers&#8230;<\/strong><\/p>\n<h1 class=\"css-k3zb6l-Paragraph e1e4oisd0\" style=\"padding-left: 30px;\" data-type=\"paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.wsj.com\/articles\/enterprising-journalist-finds-proud-minnesotans-11452918?mod=djemBestOfTheWeb\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><strong class=\"css-11kxzt3-Strong e1ofiv6m1\" data-type=\"emphasis\"><span style=\"color: #ff0000; text-decoration: underline;\">Clickbait for Regulators<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/a><\/h1>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p data-type=\"paragraph\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/redtape-web-copy.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-110488\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/redtape-web-copy.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"462\" height=\"267\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/redtape-web-copy.png 462w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/redtape-web-copy-300x173.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 462px) 100vw, 462px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"css-k3zb6l-Paragraph e1e4oisd0\" style=\"padding-left: 30px;\" data-type=\"paragraph\">Eric Boehm\u00a0<span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><strong><em><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><a class=\"css-1h1us5y-StyledLink el06won0\" style=\"color: #0000ff; text-decoration: underline;\" href=\"https:\/\/reason.com\/2023\/06\/21\/it-takes-six-clicks-to-cancel-amazon-prime-and-the-ftcs-new-lawsuit-says-thats-too-many\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" data-type=\"link\">writes<\/a><\/span><\/em><\/strong><\/span>\u00a0for Reason magazine:<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"css-oqk0mc-Blockquote e1w9lx6l0\" style=\"padding-left: 30px;\" data-type=\"blockquote\"><p><em>Customers dissatisfied with\u00a0Amazon\u00a0Prime\u2014the $14.99 monthly subscription service that <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">includes<\/span><\/strong> free shipping and unlimited access to Amazon\u2019s streaming television service\u2014must jump through an <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">unreasonable<\/span><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"> number<\/span><\/strong> of hurdles to <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">cancel<\/span><\/strong> their memberships, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">alleges<\/span><\/strong>.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote class=\"css-oqk0mc-Blockquote e1w9lx6l0\" style=\"padding-left: 30px;\" data-type=\"blockquote\"><p><em>In a lawsuit filed Wednesday against Amazon, the FTC explains that consumers must click \u201c<strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">a minimum of six times<\/span><\/strong>\u201d to navigate from Amazon.com\u2019s main page through the entirety of the cancellation process.\u00a0.\u00a0.\u00a0.\u00a0Ah, but do you know <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">how many clicks it would take<\/span><\/strong> to <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">submit your feedback to the FTC<\/span><\/strong> about its decision to file this lawsuit? <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Seven<\/span><\/strong>.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote class=\"css-oqk0mc-Blockquote e1w9lx6l0\" style=\"padding-left: 30px;\" data-type=\"blockquote\"><p><em>That tally, courtesy of Patrick Hedger, executive director of the fiscally conservative Taxpayers Protection Alliance, <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">sums up the silliness<\/span><\/strong> of the FTC\u2019s <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">latest<\/span><\/strong> attack on Amazon.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p class=\"css-k3zb6l-Paragraph e1e4oisd0\" style=\"padding-left: 30px;\" data-type=\"paragraph\">As regulatory actions often do, this one has us thinking of the old saying that <strong><em><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">markets <\/span><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>d<\/em>on\u2019t have to work perfectly<\/span><\/em><\/strong>\u2014they <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>only have to work better than government<\/em><\/span><\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p><strong>And, with very few if any exceptions, they do!<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>In a related item, writing at <em>NRO<\/em>, Noah Rothman accurately observes&#8230;<\/strong><\/p>\n<h1 class=\"article-header__title\" style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nationalreview.com\/corner\/we-can-build-things-in-america-we-just-dont-want-to\/\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><span style=\"color: #0000ff; text-decoration: underline;\">We Can Build Things in America \u2014 We Just Don\u2019t Want To<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/h1>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/Interstate-95-copy.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-110489\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/Interstate-95-copy.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"462\" height=\"269\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/Interstate-95-copy.png 462w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/Interstate-95-copy-300x175.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 462px) 100vw, 462px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">&#8220;On Sunday, June 11, a section of overpass highway on Interstate 95 near North Philadelphia collapsed, disabling both sides of this major roadway. The structural failure occasioned bouts of serious apprehension about the logistical disruptions that would follow in the \u201c<span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><strong><em><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><a style=\"color: #0000ff; text-decoration: underline;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/2023\/06\/11\/us\/philadelphia-i-95-collapse-fire\/index.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" data-testid=\"standard-link\">months<\/a><\/span><\/em><\/strong><\/span>\u201d officials said it would take to fully repair one of the most critical arteries in the Northeast.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">What the collapse <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>did not<\/em><\/span><\/strong> occasion was any indication that this highway\u2019s collapse represented a test, not just for the Pennsylvania-based custodians of this section of interstate but for Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, who quickly took ownership of this disaster and has quite a lot to prove. That trepidation on the part of political observers contrasted with the \u201ctest\u201d they imposed on Florida governor Ron DeSantis in the wake of Hurricane Ian. Because DeSantis passed his \u201ctest\u201d rather easily,\u00a0<span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em><a style=\"color: #0000ff; text-decoration: underline;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nationalreview.com\/corner\/when-roadways-collapse-a-test-for-desantis-but-business-as-usual-for-buttigieg\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" data-testid=\"dynamic-link\">I posited at the time<\/a><\/em><\/span><\/strong><\/span>\u00a0that the American political class didn\u2019t want to risk inviting potentially unflattering comparisons between the Florida governor\u2019s post-disaster performance and Buttigieg\u2019s or, for that matter, Pennsylvania governor Josh Shapiro\u2019s. It turns out that we were all too pessimistic.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">The compounding series of disasters experts assumed would follow that roadway failure never happened. The freight disruptions, supply-chain problems, and stalled traffic patterns stretching back miles didn\u2019t materialize. Drivers quickly learned to\u00a0<span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em><a style=\"color: #0000ff; text-decoration: underline;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.vice.com\/en\/article\/v7bb99\/i-95-philadelphia-carmageddon-never-happened-data-shows\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" data-testid=\"standard-link\">take alternate routes<\/a><\/em><\/span><\/strong><\/span>\u00a0around the collapse, and over-the-road truckers adjusted. Moreover, Governor Shapiro announced on Tuesday that construction crews working round the clock had completed\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/6abc.com\/i-95-repairs-construction-collapse-rebuild\/13406575\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" data-testid=\"standard-link\"><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>temporary repairs<\/em><\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/a>\u00a0to the point that I-95 will reopen to traffic this weekend. Though the circumstances are distinct and repairing this small section of I-95 is a more modest challenge than rebuilding the Pine and Sanibel Island bridges, the alacrity with which these works were completed is impressive, given the usual sluggish pace of construction.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">\u201cThis is what it looks like when the ingenuity of Delco meets the grit of Philly,\u201d\u00a0<span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em><a style=\"color: #0000ff; text-decoration: underline;\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/billy_penn\/status\/1671235877324877824\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" data-testid=\"standard-link\">Shapiro said<\/a><\/em><\/span><\/strong><\/span>\u00a0on Tuesday. \u201cThis is what happens when we all come together.\u201d That\u2019s true in more ways than one. This impressively speedy repair work is indicative of how fast things <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>can<\/em><\/span><\/strong> get done in this country when a consensus forms around the criticality of a particular project. Florida\u2019s experience and now Pennsylvania\u2019s attest to the degree to which the <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>slow pace of construction<\/em><\/span><\/strong> in the United States is <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>both a choice and a luxury<\/em><\/span><\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">It\u2019s tempting to attribute the speed with which these roadways were repaired to the extent to which a disaster focuses the minds of policy-makers. But these achievements are <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>more revealing of the priorities<\/em><\/span><\/strong> that make construction in the U.S. on a <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>non-emergency<\/em><\/span><\/strong> basis a <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>wildly expensive, multi-year proposition<\/em><\/span><\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">\u201cSo the lesson is why don\u2019t we apply some of these <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>same things<\/em><\/span><\/strong> to the <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>other projects<\/em><\/span><\/strong>?\u201d asked\u00a0<span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em><a style=\"color: #0000ff; text-decoration: underline;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.vice.com\/en\/article\/v7bb99\/i-95-philadelphia-carmageddon-never-happened-data-shows\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" data-testid=\"standard-link\">Bob Pishue<\/a><\/em><\/span><\/strong><\/span>, an analyst with the transportation-analytics company Inrix, in an interview with\u00a0<em>Vice<\/em>\u00a0reporter Aaron Gordon. \u201cAnd I think that\u2019s a completely fair question.\u201d <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>So fair<\/em><\/span><\/strong>, in fact, that it goes <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>unanswered<\/em><\/span><\/strong> in that report. It is <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>not<\/em><\/span><\/strong> because the process of design, acquisition, surveying, and engineering is more complicated today than it was a century ago, when American skyscrapers sprouted up like mushrooms. <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>Nor<\/em><\/span><\/strong> is that entirely attributable to the additional complexities surrounding funding and contract negotiation for big projects. It is a <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>question of values<\/em><\/span><\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">Today, we value\u00a0<span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em><a style=\"color: #0000ff; text-decoration: underline;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nationalreview.com\/corner\/industrial-policy-and-why-it-fails-2023-edition-part-1564\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" data-testid=\"dynamic-link\">federal permitting processes<\/a><\/em><\/span><\/strong><\/span>\u00a0and the <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>army of lawyers and regulators that a prolonged licensing review supports<\/em><\/span><\/strong> as much as, if not more than, the project itself. We value\u00a0<span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em><a style=\"color: #0000ff; text-decoration: underline;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nationalreview.com\/magazine\/2020\/03\/09\/the-unbuildable-american-home\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" data-testid=\"dynamic-link\">land-use restrictions, zoning laws, and other regulations<\/a><\/em><\/span><\/strong><\/span>\u00a0more than we do the increased availability and affordability of housing. We value the ideal of urban density over and above the\u00a0<span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em><a style=\"color: #0000ff; text-decoration: underline;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nationalreview.com\/corner\/progressives-want-urban-density-but-do-voters\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" data-testid=\"dynamic-link\">lifestyle homebuyers actually want<\/a><\/em><\/span><\/strong><\/span>. We value the input of organizations with\u00a0<span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em><a style=\"color: #0000ff; text-decoration: underline;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/transportation\/2022\/08\/06\/maryland-toll-lane-project-delay-i270\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" testid=\"standard-link\" class=\"broken_link\">vested interests<\/a><\/em><\/span><\/strong><\/span>\u00a0in <strong><em>limiting or thwarting development <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">entirely<\/span><\/em><\/strong> to such an extent that\u00a0<span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em><a style=\"color: #0000ff; text-decoration: underline;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.kxly.com\/news\/local-news\/gov-inslee-s-proposed-budget-could-create-years-long-delays-for-north-south-freeway-project\/article_206346e8-901c-5b4e-9905-5b810ed588ce.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" data-testid=\"standard-link\">major projects<\/a><\/em><\/span><\/strong><\/span>\u00a0are often delayed while their\u00a0<span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em><a style=\"color: #0000ff; text-decoration: underline;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.governor.ny.gov\/news\/governor-hochul-announces-public-transit-expansions-increase-access-affordability-and-safety\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" testid=\"standard-link\" class=\"broken_link\">costs balloon<\/a><\/em><\/span><\/strong><\/span>\u00a0to\u00a0<span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em><a style=\"color: #0000ff; text-decoration: underline;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2023\/03\/13\/nyregion\/laguardia-lga-airtrain.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" testid=\"standard-link\" class=\"broken_link\">the point of being prohibitive<\/a><\/em><\/span><\/strong><\/span>. On an <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>emergency<\/em><\/span><\/strong> basis, by contrast, the red tape is dispensed with, and the <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>environmental impact studies, legal reviews<\/em><\/span><\/strong>, and\u00a0<span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em><a style=\"color: #0000ff; text-decoration: underline;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.forconstructionpros.com\/infrastructure\/article\/22043740\/what-does-bidens-union-mandate-mean-for-construction-projects\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" testid=\"standard-link\" class=\"broken_link\">project labor agreements<\/a><\/em><\/span><\/strong><\/span>\u00a0take a backseat.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">Recent experience suggests there are more political rewards available to public figures who reject the managerial sclerosis that has become <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>so typical<\/em><\/span><\/strong> of big public and private works that it\u2019s <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>not even scandalizing anymore<\/em><\/span><\/strong>. It <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>doesn\u2019t have to be that way<\/em><\/span><\/strong>. These are <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>choices<\/em><\/span><\/strong>. We <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>don\u2019t have to make them<\/em><\/span><\/strong>.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p><b>Yet we keep putting those responsible for such costly, counterproductive policies in positions of power.\u00a0 This is <\/b><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>precisely<\/em><\/span><b> why the cost and time to construct facilities which produce the most efficient, cleanest and cheapest source of energy on the planet&#8230;<\/b><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/Components-of-a-nuclear-power-plant-1400x803.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-110542\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/Components-of-a-nuclear-power-plant-1400x803.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"462\" height=\"265\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/Components-of-a-nuclear-power-plant-1400x803.png 462w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/Components-of-a-nuclear-power-plant-1400x803-300x172.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 462px) 100vw, 462px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><b>&#8230;are prohibitively high and lengthy.<\/b><\/p>\n<p><strong>Next, <em>The Washington Free Beacon<\/em> offers up&#8230;<\/strong><\/p>\n<h1 class=\"mb-3 text-gray font-sanserif text-4xl\" style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/freebeacon.com\/biden-administration\/a-tale-of-two-systems\/?utm_source=actengage&amp;utm_campaign=FreedomMail&amp;utm_medium=email\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><span style=\"color: #333399; text-decoration: underline;\">A Tale of Two Systems<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/h1>\n<h3 class=\"mb-3 text-gray font-sanserif text-4xl\" style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\"><a style=\"color: #ff6600;\" href=\"https:\/\/freebeacon.com\/biden-administration\/a-tale-of-two-systems\/?utm_source=actengage&amp;utm_campaign=FreedomMail&amp;utm_medium=email\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">The presidential son gets off with a slap on the wrist<\/span><\/a><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/7qcg61.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-110507\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/7qcg61.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"462\" height=\"299\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/7qcg61.jpg 462w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/7qcg61-300x194.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 462px) 100vw, 462px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">&#8220;First of all, my son has done nothing wrong,&#8221; President Joe Biden told MSNBC last month. It was but one of a litany of such statements from Biden, who has behaved as if <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>any<\/em><\/span><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em> question<\/em><\/span><\/strong> from the press about his son\u2019s criminal activity\u2014and there <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>haven\u2019t been many<\/em><\/span><\/strong>\u2014is an <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>affront<\/em><\/span><\/strong>, an <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>indignity<\/em><\/span><\/strong>, and an <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>insult<\/em><\/span><\/strong> to the office.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">Well, <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>he lied<\/em><\/span><\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">The younger Biden owed more than $1 million in taxes over several years, and over $200,000 for the years in which he struck the plea deal. Even then, his celebrity lawyer pal didn&#8217;t\u00a0<span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em><a style=\"color: #0000ff; text-decoration: underline;\" href=\"https:\/\/freebeacon.com\/biden-administration\/hunter-bidens-hollywood-attorney-now-controls-his-stake-in-chinese-private-equity-firm\/\">fork over the money<\/a><\/em><\/span><\/strong><\/span>\u00a0to the federal government on his behalf until the Department of Justice started investigating him. He also copped to owning a gun while he was coked up, and lying about it when he bought the firearm in 2018. That\u2019s a felony, but Hunter is getting off with a slap on the wri\u2014uh, probation and enrollment in a &#8220;diversion program.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">Democrats, very much including Biden,\u00a0<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=epA-z6H6WAo&amp;ab_channel=AssociatedPress\">love to talk about<\/a><\/em><\/span><\/strong><\/span>\u00a0the two systems of justice in this country: <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>one<\/em><\/span><\/strong> for the rich and well-connected, the<strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em> other<\/em><\/span><\/strong> for racial minorities and the poor. When it came to his son, apart from lying to the American people, Biden\u2019s statements about Hunter Biden\u2019s innocence <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>constituted presidential interference<\/em><\/span><\/strong> with the Justice Department probe.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">So we\u2019ll wait for the left to cry foul over this and the fact that the presidential son got off with a slap on the wrist for crimes that would have landed others behind bars.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">The <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>rank bullshit<\/em><\/span><\/strong> that has emanated from the White House on related issues is <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>secondary<\/em><\/span><\/strong> but <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>not unimportant<\/em><\/span><\/strong>. It wasn\u2019t even a year ago that Biden signed the inaptly named Inflation Reduction Act into law. In the weeks beforehand, we heard endless jawboning from administration officials about why the additional $80 billion the law is now funneling to the IRS, much of it for increased enforcement, was necessary to hold the powerful to account. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen,\u00a0<span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em><a style=\"color: #0000ff; text-decoration: underline;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2021\/10\/11\/business\/irs-bank-accounts.html\" class=\"broken_link\">for one<\/a><\/em><\/span><\/strong><\/span>, pointed to &#8220;typically very high-net worth, high-income individuals and businesses that have opaque sources of income that are not paying the taxes that are due.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">The message sent by the Biden administration on Tuesday was <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>clear<\/em><\/span><\/strong>: enforcement and prison <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>for thee<\/em><\/span><\/strong>\u2013but <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>not in a million years<\/em><\/span><\/strong> for our president\u2019s <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>drug-addled, tax cheat son<\/em><\/span><\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Meanwhile, commenting on w<\/strong><strong>histleblower accusations of preferential treatment for Hunter Biden, Merrick Garland\u00a0<span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>reiterated his previous statement<\/em><\/span> that Weiss &#8220;would be permitted to continue his investigation and to make a decision to prosecute <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>any way in which he wanted to<\/em><\/span> and <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>in any district in which he wanted to<\/em><\/span>.&#8221;\u00a0 However, and this is a BIG however,<\/strong><strong>\u00a0Garland pointedly\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/townhall.com\/tipsheet\/spencerbrown\/2023\/06\/23\/garland-responds-to-whistleblower-accusations-of-preferential-treatment-for-hunter-biden-n2624922\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline; color: #0000ff;\"><em>REFUSED to say whether Weiss was told he COULDN&#8217;T bring charges<\/em><\/span><\/a>.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>For more on the crookedest A.G. in the nation&#8217;s history&#8230;which, given Eric Holder&#8217;s record, is saying something&#8230;we turn to the Editors at <em>NRO<\/em>, who detail&#8230;<\/strong><\/p>\n<h1 class=\"article-header__title\" style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\"><a style=\"color: #ff6600;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nationalreview.com\/2023\/06\/the-explosive-irs-whistleblower-revelations-on-hunter-biden\/?bypass_key=Yi9lVFBCbmZ5bVN1b05hWW9iSkE4dz09OjpPWGd2VUc5YVlrczFVbG95UVZwUVR6aDBiVEUyVVQwOQ%3D%3D\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">The Explosive IRS Whistleblower Revelations on Hunter Biden<\/span><\/a><\/span><\/h1>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/Screensho.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-110525\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/Screensho.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"462\" height=\"528\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/Screensho.jpg 462w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/Screensho-263x300.jpg 263w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 462px) 100vw, 462px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span class=\"drop\">&#8220;I<\/span><span class=\"small_caps\">f<\/span>\u00a0confirmed, explosive whistleblower testimony by a senior Internal Revenue Service agent released by a House committee yesterday adds to evidence that President Biden was up to his neck in his family\u2019s lucrative business of cashing in on his political influence. Given that this business involves millions of dollars in suspiciously structured payments to Biden family accounts from corrupt and anti-American regimes, prominently including the Chinese Communist Party, national security <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>demands<\/em><\/span><\/strong> that Congress prioritize this investigation.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">Of equally immediate concern, <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>particularly<\/em><\/span><\/strong> after the\u00a0<span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em><a style=\"color: #0000ff; text-decoration: underline;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nationalreview.com\/2023\/06\/hunter-bidens-sweetheart-deal\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" data-testid=\"dynamic-link\" data-saferedirecturl=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/url?q=https:\/\/www.nationalreview.com\/2023\/06\/hunter-bidens-sweetheart-deal\/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1687625275256000&amp;usg=AOvVaw3Fm_4JwP33rhz580aotFwX\">sweetheart plea bargain<\/a><\/em><\/span><\/strong><\/span>\u00a0the Biden Justice Department just announced it is giving the president\u2019s son, Hunter Biden, to dispose of his serious tax and firearms crimes, <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>someone<\/em><\/span><\/strong> in that investigation <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>is lying<\/em><\/span><\/strong>. Specifically, if the\u00a0<span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em><a style=\"color: #0000ff; text-decoration: underline;\" href=\"https:\/\/waysandmeans.house.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/Whistleblower-1-Transcript_Redacted.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" data-testid=\"standard-link\" data-saferedirecturl=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/url?q=https:\/\/waysandmeans.house.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/Whistleblower-1-Transcript_Redacted.pdf&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1687625275256000&amp;usg=AOvVaw2HBhOzUhYi9whpHjzDGmKH\">testimony<\/a><\/em><\/span><\/strong><\/span>\u00a0IRS supervisory agent Gary A. Shapley Jr. has provided to the House Ways and Means Committee <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>is true<\/em><\/span><\/strong>, then the testimony\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.judiciary.senate.gov\/committee-activity\/hearings\/02\/22\/2023\/oversight-of-the-department-of-justice\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" data-testid=\"standard-link\" data-saferedirecturl=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/url?q=https:\/\/www.judiciary.senate.gov\/committee-activity\/hearings\/02\/22\/2023\/oversight-of-the-department-of-justice&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1687625275256000&amp;usg=AOvVaw0z79YNwUZJxmKBu_L60vkF\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline; color: #0000ff;\"><strong><em>Attorney General Merrick Garland provided<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/a>\u00a0to the Senate Judiciary Committee <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>was false<\/em><\/span><\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">&#8230;In the years leading up to the 2020 election, the Biden probe was assigned to Delaware U.S. attorney David Weiss, a Trump appointee whose confirmation in the president\u2019s home state was supported by its Democratic senators (Biden allies Tom Carper and Chris Coons). Following the transition to a new administration, Weiss was retained to continue running the investigation by the Biden Justice Department, even though other Trump-appointed district U.S. attorneys were fired. Garland <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>refused<\/em><\/span><\/strong> to appoint a special counsel <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>despite the obvious conflict of interest<\/em><\/span><\/strong> in the Biden Justice Department\u2019s investigation of the president\u2019s son (and, more broadly, the Biden family influence-peddling business). The attorney general\u2019s rationale was that the case was in the <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>capable hands of a Trump appointee<\/em><\/span><\/strong> and <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>vowed that there would be no political interference<\/em><\/span><\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">We\u2019ve always been <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>skeptical<\/em><\/span><\/strong> about that commitment. Because the Hunter Biden matter has been categorized as a <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>tax investigation<\/em><\/span><\/strong>, Justice Department rules call for <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>involvement and sign-off<\/em><\/span><\/strong> by Tax Division at Main Justice, which is <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>run by Biden appointees<\/em><\/span><\/strong>. Moreover, <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>if<\/em><\/span><\/strong> the venue for any charges lay <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>outside<\/em><\/span><\/strong> Delaware, Weiss would need <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>permission from the Biden-appointed U.S. attorneys in those federal districts<\/em><\/span><\/strong> to file them. Tax charges, for example, must be filed where the taxpayer\u2019s return is filed or prepared, or where he resides. In Hunter Biden\u2019s case, that would be the District of Columbia or the Central District of California.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">Nevertheless, Garland has <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>repeatedly testified<\/em><\/span><\/strong>, most recently in questioning by Senator Grassley just three months ago, that Weiss had been instructed that he would <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>not be interfered with<\/em><\/span><\/strong>, that he would <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>not be blocked<\/em><\/span><\/strong> by any other district U.S. attorney, and that Garland would personally grant him a<strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>ny authority he needed<\/em><\/span><\/strong> to bring cases in <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>any district<\/em><\/span><\/strong> Weiss believed was necessary. (See\u00a0<span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em><a style=\"color: #0000ff; text-decoration: underline;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.judiciary.senate.gov\/committee-activity\/hearings\/02\/22\/2023\/oversight-of-the-department-of-justice\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" data-testid=\"standard-link\" data-saferedirecturl=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/url?q=https:\/\/www.judiciary.senate.gov\/committee-activity\/hearings\/02\/22\/2023\/oversight-of-the-department-of-justice&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1687625275256000&amp;usg=AOvVaw0z79YNwUZJxmKBu_L60vkF\">here<\/a><\/em><\/span><\/strong><\/span>, beginning at the 58-minute mark, or\u00a0<span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em><a style=\"color: #0000ff; text-decoration: underline;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nationalreview.com\/corner\/when-garland-promised-there-would-be-no-political-interference-in-hunter-biden-probe\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" data-testid=\"dynamic-link\">here<\/a><\/em><\/span><\/strong><\/span>.)<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">&#8230;<strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>Most<\/em><\/span><\/strong> disturbing, <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>despite Garland\u2019s sworn commitments to the contrary<\/em><\/span><\/strong>, Weiss is said to have acknowledged to the agents that when he pushed in 2022 to file tax-evasion charges against Hunter Biden in Washington, D.C., and the Central District of California, he was <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>rebuffed<\/em><\/span><\/strong> by Matthew Graves and Martin Estrada, the Biden-appointed U.S. attorneys in those districts. Weiss <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>confessed<\/em><\/span><\/strong> at an October 7, 2022, meeting, \u201c<strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>I\u2019m not the deciding official on whether charges are filed<\/em><\/span><\/strong>.\u201d He elaborated that the Justice Department had <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>turned him down flat<\/em> <\/span><\/strong>when he asked for special-counsel authority so he could file charges over the objections of Biden\u2019s appointees \u2014 <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>exactly the opposite<\/em><\/span><\/strong> of what Garland promised would happen.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">In the course of this dithering, <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>the statute of limitations lapsed on key charges<\/em><\/span><\/strong>. Investigators had gathered <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>proof<\/em><\/span><\/strong> that Hunter Biden failed to register as a foreign agent for Burisma, the corrupt Ukrainian energy company that put him on its board while his father was running point on Obama administration Ukraine policy. In addition, in 2014 and 2015, he <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>evaded taxes<\/em><\/span><\/strong> on his lavish Burisma income. Such charges <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>should have been<\/em><\/span><\/strong> the backbone of any tax and corruption prosecution against Biden; <span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>now they are time-barred<\/em><\/span><\/strong><\/span>.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">Garland <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>vowed<\/em><\/span><\/strong> that the Biden investigation would proceed <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>independently<\/em><\/span><\/strong>. That investigation has <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>implicated the president<\/em><\/span><\/strong> in the shady business dealings of his son, who <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>appears<\/em><\/span><\/strong> to have committed <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>serious crimes<\/em><\/span><\/strong>. <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>Now<\/em><\/span><\/strong>, the investigating agents claim the probe has been <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>sabotaged<\/em><\/span><\/strong> by Garland\u2019s department \u2014 the <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>same<\/em><\/span><\/strong> Biden DOJ that <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>just gave away the store<\/em><\/span><\/strong> in the plea bargain. Garland, Weiss, Wolf, and everyone connected to this growing scandal <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>owe the nation answers<\/em><\/span><\/strong>, <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>forthwith<\/em><\/span><\/strong>.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p><strong>Welcome to the Biden clown car, an administration so corrupt it stinks&#8230;<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"YouTube video player\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/nI67dSs3dXU?start=9&amp;end=11&amp;\" width=\"462\" height=\"258\" 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>Hat tip to the lovely Shannon for the FBI meme.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Moving on, here&#8217;s another sextet of special selections certain to sate the curiosity of inquiring Conservative minds:<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><strong>(1). As Larry O&#8217;Connor notes, it must be nice to live in Paul Ryan&#8217;s world where one is above the Culture War tearing at the very fabric of American society:<\/strong><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">Paul Ryan: \u201cI\u2019m not a culture war guy\u2026\u201d <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/VqMGu47BHX\">pic.twitter.com\/VqMGu47BHX<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Townhall.com (@townhallcom) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/townhallcom\/status\/1668617755787165696?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">June 13, 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>As Larry observed:<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 60px;\">&#8220;&#8230;It should be noted that Ryan was asked about Republicans &#8220;pushing legislation on banning books,&#8221; and <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>instead of immediately exposing that disgusting lie<\/em><\/span><\/strong> by explaining that <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>no one<\/em><\/span><\/strong> is &#8220;banning books&#8221; but <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>instead<\/em><\/span><\/strong> Republicans have <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em><strong>judiciously determined that some books are not age appropriate<\/strong><\/em><\/span> for school libraries (you know&#8230; like the porn books that are being forced in the face of 10-year-olds), he <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>let the slanderous lie go<\/em><\/span><\/strong> and <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>preened<\/em><\/span><\/strong> about how he&#8217;s <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>not &#8220;that type&#8221; of Republican<\/em><\/span><\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 60px;\">&#8230;You see, Paul Ryan is the kind of Republican who <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>isn&#8217;t divisive<\/em><\/span><\/strong>. He works with his poverty foundation to lift people to upward mobility and to focus on the threat from China. He can&#8217;t get his hands dirty in the &#8220;culture wars.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 60px;\">Wow, <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>must be nice<\/em><\/span><\/strong> to live in Paul Ryan&#8217;s world.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 60px;\">Paul Ryan&#8217;s world is a place where taxation, government spending, and inflation are <strong><em><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">way<\/span><\/em><em><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"> more important<\/span><\/em><\/strong> than children being told that they would be happier if they would take chemical castrating puberty blockers to &#8220;change&#8221; their sex.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 60px;\">Paul Ryan <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>doesn&#8217;t live<\/em><\/span><\/strong> in a world where pornographic manuals detailing homoerotic sex acts with vivid visual aids are introduced to his children at a tax-funded, government school, but we do.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 60px;\">Paul Ryan&#8217;s world <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>isn&#8217;t a place<\/em><\/span><\/strong> where parents are investigated by the FBI as domestic terrorists if they raise their voice at a school board meeting as they try to get their children back into a classroom after an unnecessary, devastating lockdown.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 60px;\">Paul Ryan <strong><em><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">can&#8217;t worry himself<\/span><\/em><\/strong> as a &#8220;culture war guy&#8221; because his 5-year-olds aren&#8217;t forced to dance with a drag queen at his local library&#8230;&#8221;<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><strong>Ryan personifies why the Psalmist advised us, &#8220;<\/strong><strong><span id=\"en-KJV-16345\" class=\"text Ps-146-3\">Put not your trust in princes, nor in the son of man, in whom there is no help.&#8221;<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><strong>(2). Republican representative Russell Fry and and Special Counsel John Durham get to the heart of why the FBI needs to be torn down and rebuilt from the ground up:<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"YouTube video player\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/2dwF82ZQehE?start=48\" width=\"462\" height=\"258\" 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>(3). Remember one thing as you listen to the heirs of Sodom and Gomorrah: They&#8217;re telling the truth!<\/strong><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">\u201cWe\u2019re here, we\u2019re queer, we\u2019re coming for your children.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Yeah, we know. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/9Tfku0uGha\">pic.twitter.com\/9Tfku0uGha<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Billboard Chris \ud83c\udde8\ud83c\udde6\ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf8 (@BillboardChris) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/BillboardChris\/status\/1672422582073847808?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">June 24, 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>(4). In a related item from <em>Townhall.com<\/em>, Michael Brown relates how the message of the Lutheran Church in Germany is, \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/townhall.com\/columnists\/michaelbrown\/2023\/06\/25\/when-a-german-lutheran-pastor-preaches-that-god-is-queer-n2624955\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline; color: #0000ff;\"><em>We are the blind leading the blind! Come follow us into the ditch<\/em><\/span><\/a>!\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><strong>(5). Also courtesy of <em>Townhall.com<\/em>, <a href=\"https:\/\/townhall.com\/tipsheet\/mattvespa\/2023\/06\/24\/heres-when-we-knew-an-anti-putin-coup-was-brewing-in-russia-n2624956\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline; color: #0000ff;\"><em>in detailing the claim by U.S. intel officials to have known in advance a coup was brewing in Russia<\/em><\/span><\/a>, Matt Vespa asks the very question we&#8217;ve been pondering:\u00a0&#8220;So, everyone knew something was happening, only for it to die out in <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>less than two days<\/em><\/span>. Are we <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>sure<\/em><\/span> this was a <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>legitimate<\/em><\/span> coup attempt?&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><strong>And if it was, does\u00a0Yevgeny Prigozhin <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>really believe<\/em><\/span> Putin&#8217;s going to <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>honor<\/em><\/span> the terms of their arrangement?!?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><strong>(6). In an updated version of the old slip-and-fall scam, <span style=\"text-decoration: underline; color: #0000ff;\"><em>one Atalah Khalaf has filed suit against Macy&#8217;s for injuries incurred THREE YEARS AGO when a mannequin HIS TODDLER TUGGED ON fell over and struck the boy in the face<\/em><\/span>.\u00a0 What, you might wonder, is the evidence which proves Macy&#8217;s negligence beyond any doubt, reasonable or otherwise?\u00a0 The family was &#8220;<span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>told by a security guard<\/em><\/span> that it\u2019s not the first time those mannequins have tipped over&#8221;.\u00a0 Hey, they&#8217;ve got <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>us<\/em><\/span> convinced!<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Which brings, appropriately enough, to <em>The Lighter Side<\/em>:<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/sk062523dAPR-800x0.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-110517\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/sk062523dAPR-800x0.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"462\" height=\"389\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/sk062523dAPR-800x0.jpg 462w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/sk062523dAPR-800x0-300x253.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 462px) 100vw, 462px\" \/><\/a><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/aaaa-5.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-110493\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/aaaa-5.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"462\" height=\"331\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/aaaa-5.png 462w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/aaaa-5-300x215.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 462px) 100vw, 462px\" \/><\/a><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/cb062323dAPC-800x0.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-110494\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/cb062323dAPC-800x0.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"462\" height=\"349\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/cb062323dAPC-800x0.jpg 462w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/cb062323dAPC-800x0-300x227.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 462px) 100vw, 462px\" \/><\/a><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/a-9.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-110495\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/a-9.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"462\" height=\"298\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/a-9.png 462w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/a-9-300x194.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 462px) 100vw, 462px\" \/><\/a><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/aaa-8.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-110496\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/aaa-8.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"462\" height=\"296\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/aaa-8.png 462w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/aaa-8-300x192.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 462px) 100vw, 462px\" \/><\/a><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/MC_NoseJob_web-800x0.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-110509\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/MC_NoseJob_web-800x0.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"462\" height=\"347\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/MC_NoseJob_web-800x0.jpg 462w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/MC_NoseJob_web-800x0-300x225.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 462px) 100vw, 462px\" \/><\/a><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/afb062323dAPC-800x0.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-110497\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/afb062323dAPC-800x0.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"462\" height=\"330\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/afb062323dAPC-800x0.jpg 462w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/afb062323dAPC-800x0-300x214.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 462px) 100vw, 462px\" \/><\/a><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/liar.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-110498\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/liar.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"462\" height=\"371\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/liar.png 462w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/liar-300x241.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 462px) 100vw, 462px\" \/><\/a><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/alg062323dAPC-800x0.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-110499\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/alg062323dAPC-800x0.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"462\" height=\"330\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/alg062323dAPC-800x0.jpg 462w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/alg062323dAPC-800x0-300x214.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 462px) 100vw, 462px\" \/><\/a><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/aaa-9.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-110516\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/aaa-9.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"462\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/aaa-9.png 462w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/aaa-9-300x195.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 462px) 100vw, 462px\" \/><\/a><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/aa-10.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-110500\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/aa-10.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"462\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/aa-10.png 462w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/aa-10-300x195.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 462px) 100vw, 462px\" \/><\/a><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/Image-6-23-23-at-9.13-AM.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-110491\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/Image-6-23-23-at-9.13-AM.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"462\" height=\"508\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/Image-6-23-23-at-9.13-AM.jpg 462w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/Image-6-23-23-at-9.13-AM-273x300.jpg 273w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 462px) 100vw, 462px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Then there&#8217;s these from Dick Mayer&#8230;<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/Dick-Mayer.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-110518\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/Dick-Mayer.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"462\" height=\"585\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/Dick-Mayer.jpg 462w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/Dick-Mayer-237x300.jpg 237w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 462px) 100vw, 462px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>&#8230;Balls Cotton&#8230;<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/Balls1.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-110520\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/Balls1.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"462\" height=\"465\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/Balls1.png 462w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/Balls1-150x150.png 150w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/Balls1-298x300.png 298w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 462px) 100vw, 462px\" \/><\/a> <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/Balls2-1.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-110521\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/Balls2-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"462\" height=\"349\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/Balls2-1.jpg 462w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/Balls2-1-300x227.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 462px) 100vw, 462px\" \/><\/a> <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/Balls3-1.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-110522\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/Balls3-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"462\" height=\"526\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/Balls3-1.jpg 462w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/Balls3-1-263x300.jpg 263w\" 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\/06\/Speed-1.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-110523\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/Speed-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"462\" height=\"388\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/Speed-1.jpg 462w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/Speed-1-300x252.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 462px) 100vw, 462px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>&#8230;and <em>The Patriot Post<\/em>:<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/Image-6-25-23-at-4.05-PM.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-110540\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/Image-6-25-23-at-4.05-PM.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"462\" height=\"231\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/Image-6-25-23-at-4.05-PM.jpg 462w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/Image-6-25-23-at-4.05-PM-300x150.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 462px) 100vw, 462px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Finally, we&#8217;ll call it a wrap with yet another sordid story straight from the pages of <span style=\"color: #800000;\"><em>The Crime Blotter<\/em><\/span>, courtesy today of Nick and the\u00a0<em>New York Post<\/em>, where a&#8230;<\/strong><\/p>\n<h1 class=\"headline headline--single\" style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2023\/06\/21\/chilling-video-captures-nyc-subway-slash-victim-screaming-in-agony-seconds-after-attack\/\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><span style=\"color: #800000; text-decoration: underline;\">Disturbing video shows bloody NYC subway slash victim chasing own attacker as straphangers appear to just go about their business<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/h1>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"YouTube video player\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/cBobfPG6SAA?start=86\" width=\"462\" height=\"258\" 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>Here&#8217;s the juice: While we&#8217;re certainly happy a career-criminal like Rideout&#8230;<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/criminal.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-110541\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/criminal.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"462\" height=\"237\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/criminal.png 462w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/criminal-300x154.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 462px) 100vw, 462px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>&#8230;and a psychotic such as White are off the streets, however briefly in New York these days, we find NYPD Transit Chief Michael Kemper&#8217;s claim their arrests were the result of&#8230;<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"YouTube video player\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/cBobfPG6SAA?start=118&amp;end=120&amp;\" width=\"462\" height=\"258\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><strong>&#8230;somewhat misleading, as White was apprehended only after jumping a turnstile, while Rideout&#8217;s arrest came as a result of him being kicked off a bus for refusing to pay the fare.\u00a0 So, while meaning no disrespect to law enforcement, these arrests seem more the result of the stupidity of the perps rather than top-notch police work.<\/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>Ami Horowitz is once again on the loose in Venice Beach and South Central L.A. asking whether White people not knowing what Juneteenth was before it was made a national holiday is due to racism.\u00a0 How is it White Liberals know SO LITTLE about how and what Blacks think?!?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"YouTube video player\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/KpxsNuEfNao\" width=\"462\" height=\"258\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/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>Dave Rubin records there&#8217;s the way Socialist activists WANT it to be, then there&#8217;s the way it IS!<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"YouTube video player\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/9ajgNIHQ4Ho\" width=\"462\" height=\"258\" 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><b>An old Monty Python bit from another day and time we confess to finding amusing.<\/b><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"YouTube video player\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/19fcN3VaXs4\" width=\"462\" height=\"258\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><span data-mce-type=\"bookmark\" style=\"display: inline-block; width: 0px; overflow: hidden; line-height: 0;\" class=\"mce_SELRES_start\">\ufeff<\/span><\/iframe><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>It&#8217;s Monday, June 26th, 2023&#8230;but before we begin, if you thought throwing money at America&#8217;s failing public education establishment would fix the problem, this item from The Daily Signal\u00a0should disabuse you of that notion, as&#8230; Reading and Math Scores Plummet as Racial and Sexual Activism Replace Academics &nbsp; &#8220;As America\u2019s public education system reports the\u00a0worst [&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-110533","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/110533","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=110533"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/110533\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":110582,"href":"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/110533\/revisions\/110582"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=110533"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=110533"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=110533"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}