B-Man

Well done.

LOL. Media Malpractice: The Press Held a Pandemic In Florida, but They Never Got an RSVP From the Virus By Brad Slager If you have heard about an outbreak of a contagion in Florida this month I feel it is necessary to cover what is happening. Since I am located in South Florida it is incumbent upon me to deliver up-to-the-minute dispatches from here, in the Hot Zone. It is the least I can do since - unlike those reporting on this danger - I am actually here, and thus I can file this field report: Just what in the hell are they screaming about?! Many people talk about how upside-down things are in this country in 2024, and a recent episode in the press shows this to be the case. For decades now Florida has been regarded as something of a psych ward waiting room, but today the state is a national leader with the enviable Governor Ron DeSantis and people streaming across the state lines with U-Hauls and renewed hope. Meanwhile, we look outward and see a media industry losing their collective minds over the Sunshine State, as we sit back and wonder from where they are getting their information. In just the latest example of this, I have been looking over the press coverage of conditions in my home, and I marvel at what journalists in New York, Washington, and Los Angeles tell me is happening here. It appears the practice of actually speaking to people in the region you are covering is a foreign concept regarding domestic issues. We will start with the Washington Post, where disgraced (and thus revered in the press) Doctor Leana Wen covers an outbreak of measles in Florida. She calls this a “devastating” event and proceeds to scorch the state Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo for dropping the ball and permitting this outbreak to fester. NBC News very calmly and rationally described Florida’s outbreak as “A Heat Seeking Missile.” The Guardian was no more reserved, saying Florida “Is Swamped By Disease Outbreaks” (there had been only one), and described Ladapo as practicing “quackery.” Then there was this editorial from a local outlet, once regarded as a vital news organ in South Florida. The Miami Herald column featured three doctors, intoning all of the warnings of this virus and what it could lead to, all while slamming the response by state officials. Florida leaders are largely ignoring the measles outbreak, with calls for Florida surgeon general’s resignation over inaction towards measles. Meanwhile, waiting for the CDC to recover its professional voice is not an option. It is imperative that state and local officials, and healthcare professionals, take immediate action to stop measles. There was plenty of hysteria and cautionary scenarios offered, but this editorial lacked something that has been missing from most of the other pieces featured – current statistics. There was plenty of warning of what this could all lead to and promises of doom for the lack of activity, but how many cases are we dealing with and what can we expect from it all?!?!? Nine. That is the totality of the measles cases in the state. Nine. Additionally, there have been no more than those reported to this point, no more than the number which I cannot stress enough - NINE! And while this is a glaringly small figure, against all of the screaming of doom and castigating of health officials in the state, by looking into things those media reports become all the more irresponsible and completely unacceptable. Of those nine measles cases, none saw the infected requiring hospitalizations. And of those nine, all were located in Broward County, with most of the cases found in one school. There have been no further reports of measles anywhere else in the state, so this alleged outbreak of “devastating” proportions was in fact contained, and the “tragedy” saw no one adversely affected. {snip} Much like we had been exposed to during the COVID pandemic, the media are infected with bias, as they dispense advice and reporting afflicted with partisan approaches to stories. What we are in desperate need of is an outbreak of journalism to take place in the press. https://redstate.com/bradslager/2024/03/15/media-malpractice-the-press-held-a-pandemic-in-florida-but-they-never-got-an-rsvp-from-the-virus-n2171429

Yes sir. I'm afraid that we have.

Yep, Trump was an accepted member of Democrat society for 35 years, until the moment he announced that he was running for president as a Republican. Then he instantly turned into a criminal rapist liar monster.

Simple enough for PPP's poor posters. .

MORE: More Americans Are Treating Their 401(k)s Like Cash Machines. “A record share of 401(k) account holders took early withdrawals from their accounts last year for financial emergencies, according to internal data from Vanguard Group. . . . Americans are dealing with conflicting financial forces. While hiring has been strong and workers’ earnings keep rising, the cost of groceries, child care and car insurance keeps climbing. More people are carrying heftier balances on their credit cards. Emergency distributions hit back-to-back record highs in 2022 and 2023, according to Vanguard, which administers 401(k)-type accounts for nearly five million people and published the data ahead of an annual report scheduled for June. The Internal Revenue Service allows withdrawals for hardship-related reasons, including preventing evictions and paying medical and tuition bills. People who take them from traditional accounts must pay income tax, plus often a 10% penalty if they are younger than 59½ years old. Nearly 40% of those who took a hardship distribution last year did so to avoid foreclosure, compared with 36% in 2022.” https://archive.is/wq8vx

Wholesale Inflation Surges at Double Expected Rate. Unexpectedly! Wholesale inflation rose at double its expected rate in February, according to a government report released Thursday, the second report this week that could indicate a lack of progress on tempering inflation. The Producer Price Index (PPI), which tracks the cost of materials that producers and manufacturers buy from their suppliers, rose by 0.6 percent last month compared with January, a report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics said. That surge is double the expected 0.3 percent that Dow Jones forecasted. A PPI report signaling higher prices for producers may portend higher prices for consumers. https://freebeacon.com/latest-news/wholesale-inflation-surges-at-double-expected-rate/

JOE BIDEN SAYS A LOT OF THINGS: Joe Biden Says His Fellow Syracuse 1Ls Gave Him A Standing Ovation In Their First Torts Class. https://taxprof.typepad.com/taxprof_blog/2024/03/joe-biden-says-his-fellow-syracuse-1ls-gave-him-a-standing-ovation-in-their-first-torts-class.html

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WHAT DOES IRAN HAVE ON BIDEN/OBAMA ??

It's Ron Desantis's fault. .

Biden Tries to Take Questions but Staff Cuts Him Off in Bizarre, Troubling Video By Nick Arama FTA: Any time you let Biden out in public, you know his staff has to be holding its breath, wondering what he will say or do next that is likely to be embarrassing or further expose his issues. I don't know why they had him speaking with people on a porch, but that appeared to confuse him. https://redstate.com/nick-arama/2024/03/14/biden-michigan-remarks-n2171401

Good article. Much too long for the lemmings on the board Don't Believe the Doom-and-Gloom Crowd; the Changes at the RNC Are Overwhelmingly Positive By Jennifer Van Laar Call me crazy, but when Democrats hyperventilate over something Republicans are doing politically and say the strategy is ill-advised or will lead to disaster, I tend to think the strategy might have some merit. Since that's been their reaction to the swift changes enacted at the Republican National Committee, you can assume they think the changes are good for Republicans - or at least are capable of being good for Republicans. Just four business days into their term, RNC chair Michael Whatley, co-chair Lara Trump, and chief of operations Chris LaCivita have been extremely busy restructuring the organization. As we reported Monday night, political director Elliott Echols and one of his top staffers, Tripp Looser; communications director Keith Schippert; Mike Mears (chief of staff to former co-chair Drew McKissick); and the lead data director were all given their walking papers. We also reported at that time that an email went out to staff from Sean Cairncross, LaCivita's number two, stating that all existing vendor contracts were going to be reviewed. {Snip} Some Republicans are also concerned that the RNC will be used to pay Trump's legal bills, citing some of Lara Trump's media appearances before the RNC election. She's walked those comments back, and on Thursday stated that the RNC is not paying any of her father-in-law's legal bills. LaCivita has pledged on numerous occasions that the RNC will not spend money on any of Trump's legal bills - and I will be watching to ensure that's the case. As conservatives, we're natural skeptics and don't trust bureaucracies or political machines to do the right thing. We should absolutely continue that skepticism. However, based on my hundreds of hours of poring over eight years of RNC finances and dozens of hours speaking with vendors, grassroots activists, state party officials, and the 168 members of the national committee, and my background in both political and management consulting I believe that the actions taken so far signal a massive sea change in the culture at RNC headquarters, and one that was sorely needed. https://redstate.com/jenvanlaar/2024/03/14/dont-believe-doom-and-gloom-changes-at-rnc-are-overwhelmingly-positive-n2171336