PrairiePundit

  Epoch Times: First Jan. 6 Defendant Files Habeas Corpus Petition A Jan. 6 defendant has filed a habeas corpus petition, alleging his constitutional rights have been repeatedly violated while being held pending trial. He’s the first implicated in the breach of the Capital to file such a petition. Many of them have endured what sounds like cruel and unusual punishment, while the DOJ ignored the participants in the much more violent BLM riots. 

 Chris Queen: ... Let the first part of that last sentence sink in. “Few companies are as beloved as Disney,” Morrell said last year. Yet Chapek and former CEO Bob Iger inserted Disney into a political fight that they couldn’t win, simply because they listened to the squeaky-wheel wokes in the company and  ignored other voices . Presumably, Chapek and Iger expected Morrell to clean up the mess they created. Earlier this month I wrote about how Disney has turned its back on its founders, on its fans, and on the truth. Letting Morrell go won’t repair those wounds. I hope and pray that Disney will turn itself around, but if it doesn’t, there may be more trouble ahead in the Magic Kingdom. ... Apparently, someone who supports the trans movement got his ear and he did not listen to what his customers were saying instead. 

Democrats have be4come the intolerant left and they are even bullying their own who do not toe the far-left agenda.  Musk has left their reservation and they are coming after him.

 NY Post: The Biden Justice Department is finally acknowledging the war on cops: FBI Director Christopher Wray denounced the 59% increase in cop murders in 2021. An officer is murdered nearly once every five days, yet violence against law enforcement “doesn’t get enough attention,” Wray said Sunday on CBS’s “60 Minutes.” That is an understatement. Wray’s bosses — Attorney General Merrick Garland and President Joe Biden — have instead focused almost exclusively on alleged white-supremacist criminality, which they claim is the biggest domestic threat facing the country today. That charge is preposterous. It is violent street crime — drive-by shootings, sadistic robberies, carjackings — that has been destroying lives at an increasing rate since the George Floyd race riots. White-supremacist violence played no role in the record-breaking 29% national homicide increase in 2020 or in the ongoing crime surge since then. As startling as that 2020 homicide increase was, cop murders rose a...

 AP: Citing growing worries about high gasoline prices, Democratic leaders announced an effort Thursday to give the Federal Trade Commission increased authority to crack down on companies that engage in price gouging. In doing so, they downplayed the possibility of other options such as a federal gas tax holiday or offering oil companies more government incentives to increase production. Instead, they said the FTC needs more tools, including stiffer fines and penalties and a team of dedicated experts to monitor markets and go after price gouging. With voters concerned about the growing toll of inflation, Democrats again signaled their intention going into November’s midterm elections to place much of the blame for high gas prices on oil companies. Democrats accused oil executives of “ripping off the American people” at a contentious hearing this month. “There’s no excuse for big oil companies to profiteer, to price gouge or exploit families,” House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., s...

 Biz Pac Review: ... “Is this the same individual who said the Dossier was real and the Hunter Biden laptop story was false?” asked Rep. Jordan. “Is that the individual who’s now running the Disinformation Governance Board?” “I’m not familiar with those statements,” Mayorkas responded. “It’s been reported widely,” Jordan pressed. Mayorkas doubled-down. “I’m not familiar with those statements,” he repeated. Just to be clear: This is the head of Homeland Security, claiming he didn’t know an appointed government official charged with stopping the spread of disinformation was, in fact, spreading disinformation about two of the biggest political scandals in modern American history. ... Biden may not be the only member of this administration suffering from dementia.  It looks like the Biden administration has a serious vetting problem.

 Popular Science: Last week, the Department of Defense announced that it was sending “121 Phoenix Ghost Tactical Unmanned Aerial Systems” to Ukraine. This release was part of a broader package of arms and aid for the country that has, since February 24, been fighting against invading Russian forces. It also came as a surprise: the Phoenix Ghost drone appeared to be a brand-new weapon system, one so far never reported or revealed to the public. As reported by Breaking Defense, the Phoenix Ghost is a drone-missile similar to the Switchblade already fielded by Ukraine. The Pentagon initially claimed the Phoenix Ghost was developed for Ukraine after Russia’s February 24 invasion, but Pentagon Press Secretary Jack Kirby clarified the development timeline, saying instead that the Phoenix Ghost was created before the invasion, and was “developed for a set of requirements that very closely match what the Ukrainians need right now in Donbas,” as Breaking Defense reported. ... What is kn...

 Karens Townsend: George P. Bush: Time for a declaration of invasion in Texas ... A week ago, the Texas Tribune reported that there is pressure on Governor Abbott from Republicans, including former Trump administration officials, to issue a declaration of invasion. This would allow local law enforcement to expel illegal migrants apprehended at the border. The term ‘invasion’ is incendiary and a declaration is likely unconstitutional. George P. thinks there is justification under the constitution to allow Texas to secure its border when the federal government fails to do so. George P. says Texas can invoke Article IV, Section 4 and Article 1, Section 10 of the constitution and exercise wartime powers, using state law enforcement to turn back illegals at the border. Arizona Attorney General Brnovich is also in favor of declaring an invasion in his state but so far Governor Ducey has rejected the idea. Brnovich is currently running for governor. Ducey is term limited out of office...

 Washington Free Beacon: President Joe Biden's pick to represent the United States on a council that promotes free trade in Asia has a long history of cozying up to the Chinese Communist Party. He's also a top Biden donor. Biden tapped Dominic Ng, the chairman of East West Bank, to represent the United States on the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation’s Business Advisory Council, a group of business leaders that advises governments on issues in the Asia-Pacific region. Ng, who has led the East West Bank since 1992, contributed $100,000 to the Biden Victory Fund and $35,500 to the Democratic National Committee in October 2020, according to campaign finance disclosures . Ng’s appointment means the United States will be represented by a consistent defender of some of Beijing’s most controversial policies. The role could also provide a boost for Ng’s bank, which lends heavily to businesses in Asia. Ng has endorsed China’s infrastructure program, the Belt and Road Initiative, and crit...

 Breitbart: The United States added just three oil rigs this week despite crude oil prices soaring. The total number of oil rigs in the U.S. ticked up from 549 to 552, data from the oil and gas services company Baker-Hughes showed on Friday. The price of West Texas Intermediate, the U.S. benchmark, jumped above $105 a barrel on Friday. Brent crude, the global benchmark, is above $109 a barrel. The Permian Basin in west Texas, where new production is thought to be most likely to arise, added just one rig after flatlining for the two prior weeks. One rig was added in the Williston Basin, which covers most of North Dakota. Another was added offshore. The number of natural gas rigs in the U.S. climbed was unchanged 144. Canada’s rig count fell by six to 95, reflecting a typical seasonal decline. The Biden administration has said it wants more domestic oil production but until very recently it was refusing to auction new leases for federal land. Even as the administration announced the ...

 Daily Caller: Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis vowed to fight the Biden administration’s proposed Disinformation Governance Board Friday, which he said was an attempt to censor ordinary people and impose narrative control. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced the formation of the board Wednesday, which will be run by Nina Jankowicz, a self-described “disinformation expert” who previously attempted to discredit the Hunter Biden laptop story. DeSantis promised to fight the board in a Friday press conference. “You cannot have a Ministry of Truth in this country. And so let’s get real here,” DeSantis said . “We’re not gonna let Biden get away with this one, so we will be fighting back.” Critics including DeSantis have compared the board to the “Ministry of Truth” in the novel “1984,” an agency that produces government propaganda and decides what citizens are allowed to say and believe. “They now have an idea – and I honestly thought this was a belated April Fool’s ...

  Fox News: Mayorkas won't name 1 domestic terror, White supremacy case referred to DOJ   Mayorkas has called White supremacy the top terrorism-related threat to the homeland, but declined to name a case referred to DOJ This is an interesting video.  The congressman doing the questioning also points out that half the cases referred to DOJ were crimes by illegal aliens that Mayorkas is allowing into the country.  I have long thought that the administration's focus on "white supremacy" was a political attempt to scare blacks into voting for Democrats. 

  Hot  Air: Mayorkas looks to divert VA funding to illegal immigrants Just when you think the Biden administration cannot get anymore tone-deaf on illegal immigration they suggest diverting support to veterans that sacrificed for this country to people who have no business being here in the first place. 

  Fox News: Elon Musk tells AOC to 'stop hitting on me' after Twitter purchase criticism   The tweet was made in response to AOC expressing her frustration with a 'massive communication platform' AOC later said she was talking about Zuckerberg. 

 Epoch Times: Elon Musk drew criticism from left-wing Twitter users after he posted that the Democrat Party has been “hijacked by extremists.” On Thursday, Musk posted a meme image that showed a timeline from 2008 to 2021. The picture showed both conservatives and liberals were near the center of the political spectrum, with Musk depicting himself slightly to the left of the center. But over the next 13 years, the meme shows, Musk is seen remaining near the center while the right remains the same. The liberal figure, which is seen running to the left, then is seen at the extreme left portion of the spectrum while Musk is now on the conservative side. Later, in response to another Twitter post, Musk wrote : “I strongly supported Obama for President, but today’s Democratic Party has been hijacked by extremists.” ... After Musk posted the meme and criticism of the Democratic Party, left-wing users immediately criticized him, and some threatened to leave the site. ... Musk also wrote...

 ISW reports that Russia is mainly using artillery, rockets, and air assaults in its current campaign in Ukraine/  I suspect this is because it has not successfully reconstituted its infantry since the debacle of the early days of the war.  Morale apparently continues to be a problem and the new conscripts are likely not up to the task. ... Russian troops continued to shell the entire frontline in Donetsk and Luhansk and secured several tactical advances on April 29.[6] Russian forces reportedly captured Yampil (directly west of Severodonetsk) on April 28 and are likely preparing to conduct further attacks east in the direction of Lyman.[7] Pro-Russian sources posted social media footage of Russian forces using thermobaric munitions against Ukrainian positions in Avdiivka, and the Ukrainian Head of the Donetsk Regional State Administration Serhiy Haidai claimed that Russian troops employed phosphorus bombs in Ocheretyne on April 29.[8] Haidai additionally stated that Ukr...

  Epoch Times: Durham’s Treatment of Clinton Camp Contrasts with Mueller’s Treatment of Trump Camp Durham is not trying to trap people into process crimes as leverage against his intended targets.  He is dealing more with the substance of the allegations. 

 Sean Davis: Congressional Republicans now have a 10-point lead in the generic ballot test ahead of November’s mid-term elections, according to a new poll from The Federalist and Susquehanna Polling & Research . The new poll found that 49 percent of likely voters would vote for Republicans if the elections were held today, versus just 39 percent who said they would pull the lever for the Democrat candidate. In a previous poll released by The Federalist in February , Republicans had a 47-41 lead in the generic ballot test. Additionally, the new poll found widespread support for anti-groomer laws and Elon Musk’s Twitter takeover bid and widespread opposition to attempts to force female athletes to compete against men who claim to be women. The poll found that President Joe Biden’s approval rating has fallen to just 39 percent, with 54 percent of likely voters saying they disapproved of Biden’s job performance thus far, for a net disapproval rating of 15 percent. In The Federalist...

 Epoch Times: EXCLUSIVE: New Jan. 6 Bodycam Videos Show DC Police Officer Assaulting Unconscious Protester   Use-of-force expert says DC Metro Police officer committed felony in attack on Rosanne Boyland The internal affairs investigation also looks like a cover-up according to experts.  There were also several witnesses who corroborate the bodycam video. 

 Epoch Times: Study Links Increase in Emergency Heart Events With COVID-19 Vaccine Rollout Mine involved elevated blood pressure in one case reaching 199, as well as chest pains.  It has also limited the time I can do physical heavy work.

 PJ Media: ... According to Twitter’s  latest financial report,  not only did the company not meet revenue expectations, but they also admitted that since 2019, the company has been “over-stating” how many users are on the platform. “In March of 2019, we launched a feature that allowed people to link multiple separate accounts together in order to conveniently switch between accounts,” Twitter explains. “An error was made at that time, such that actions taken via the primary account resulted in all linked accounts being counted as [monetizable daily active Twitter users] mDAU.” “This resulted in an overstatement of mDAU from Q1’19 through Q4’21.” Based on their revised figures, Twitter now admits to having 1.9 million fewer global users in Q4 2021. ... I suspected that Musk's accountants would find the discrepancy.  The current management may have to deal with the SEC on these disclosure discrepancies. 

 Washington Examiner: The White House downplayed concerns that President Joe Biden  forgiving  certain federal student loan debt will  worsen inflation . White House press secretary Jen Psaki declined to comment Thursday on modeling by nonprofit organizations, such as the Committee for a Responsible Budget, that Biden exercising executive power to cancel select student debt would exacerbate rising consumer prices, especially since the president had not presented any proposals yet. “When you look at the choices that need to be made, the president is looking at the impact of student loans, something that many people in this country, millions of Americans, undertook to get a better education to make sure they were advancing their own knowledge to maybe help their family have a better life,” Psaki said. “Finding ways to provide relief to students to make sure that these working-class, working families are getting relief is more important than tax cuts to millionaires, bi...

  I&I: Biden Unites The Country! Nobody Wants Him As President Any More I am not sure if Dr. Jill was polled on this issue but a large majority think he was a bad choice. 

 Larry Keane: A new trend is emerging in the business world. Business leaders are waking up to the destructive “woke” policies being foisted on businesses by boardrooms more concerned with virtue signaling than their primary responsibility of ensuring corporate profitability and enhancing shareholder values. In short, the “woke” buck stops here, more corporate executives are saying. Mixing the politics of culture wars with business is a losing strategy. Former McDonald’s CEO Ed Rensi is leading the charge. He ran McDonalds from 1991-1997, bringing the chain’s McNugget to market and also served on the boards of Famous Dave’s Bar-B-Que, Great Wolf Resorts and Snap-on Inc. These days, he’s launching The Boardroom Initiative, comprised of three conservative advocacy groups — The  Job Creators Network ,  which was founded by Home Depot co-founder Bernie Marcus,  The Free Enterprise Group  and  Second Vote . The goal: get business back to business and out of poli...

  James Mullin: Fifteen reasons why no one should vote Democrat this November There are probably other reasons but this is a good start.  See, also: CNN: Democrats are slipping among Black voters too

  Legal Insurrection: Israeli Officials: Biden Close to Admitting Failure of Iran Nuke Talks   “The possibility that the sides will sign a deal in the foreseeable future is shrinking exponentially.” Joe Biden has to be one of the few people in the world who thought this would be a good idea.  Putting a bunch of genocidal religious bigots on a glide path to nuclear weapons and giving them billions in the process has to be one of the dumbest ideas in history. 

  DailyWire: The Russian tank design flaw that makes them 'mobile coffins': Multiple shells stored together means even an indirect hit can spark chain reaction and set off an explosion It is a design flaw that the US and other NATO countries have been able to exploit with their anti-tank weapons which hit the tanks on top at their most vulnerable point creating a chain reaction inside the tank.  The Russian problem has been compounded by their tendency to drive them down narrow roads in a single file with little to no flank protection.  This led to huge losses to the point that Ukraine may have more tanks than Russia now. See, also: Russian soldier 'admits 25,900 troops have been killed in just two months of fighting' in call intercepted by Ukraine

  Breitbart: Tom McClintock: Biden’s DHS Has Freed 836K Illegal Aliens into U.S., Exceeding the Population of North Dakota This is actually an undercount that does not include the 600,000 illegal got a ways who did not turn themselves into the Border Patrol.  It is highly likely that in that 600,000 were criminals who feared automatic separation, as well as drug cartel mules, who imported murderous fentanyl into the country.  See, also: SHERIFFS PROTEST JOE BIDEN’S BORDER DISGRACE

 Daily Caller: ... A Gallup poll released Wednesday found that 42% of Americans believe economic conditions are “poor,” while 32% said the economy is in fair shape. Over three quarters of Americans, 76%, said the economy is getting worse while less than one quarter, 20%, said it is improving. Gallup’s Economic Confidence Index, which measures the public’s feelings about the economy on a scale of +100 being very high and -100 being very low, currently stands at -39. The poll surveyed 1,018 adults between April 1-19 with a 4% margin of error. ... The Biden-Democrats big-spending created runaway inflation and they appear clueless as to how to turn it off. 

 Daily Caller: Republican Texas Rep. Chip Roy ripped Department of Homeland (DHS) Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas during a Thursday hearing, showing photos of those who have died due to the ongoing border crisis. During Roy’s time to question Mayorkas during the House Judiciary Committee, he grilled Mayorkas with photos of dead bodies, mobile morgues, dead livestock and more. Roy and Republicans have continued to press Mayorkas about the crisis at the border. “Mr. Secretary, do you know what this is? This is a mobile morgue, a body trailer needed by counties in south Texas overwhelmed by dead migrants. That particular trailer is filled with these bodies. Twenty-seven bodies that were stored in this mobile morgue in south Texas with dead bodies of migrants. Dead bodies like this one found on a ranch just three weeks ago in south Texas, a dead migrant. Somehow that’s compassion,” Roy said to Mayorkas. “How about the dead bodies found by migrants? Compassion? How about the ranchers, who ...

  Just the News: Biden DOJ coordinated legal assault on Georgia election integrity law with liberal groups   Justice Department now hiding contents of communications, claiming they are protected by attorney privileges, according to memo released under FOIA. They were apparently involved with those who falsely accused the Georgia voter integrity laws of being a return to "Jim Crow."  It is the kind of BS we have come to expect from Biden and his administration.

  The Biden administration put a woman in charge of it who described Hunter's laptop as a "Trump campaign product." The Biden administration has zero credibility on "disinformation."  She appears to be a practitioner of the politics of fraud.

  NY Times: Likelihood of Trump Indictment in Manhattan Fades as Grand Jury Wraps Up The investigation continues, but new signs have emerged that charges against former President Trump are unlikely to occur in the foreseeable future, if ever. I think the potential of this case happening was always remote.  I suspect it was just Democrats who were opposed to Trump's political policies looking for an excuse to get him out of office. 

  Washington Examiner: Durham team raises possibility 'Tech Exec-1' in Sussmann case committed fraud I suspect that possibility exists from Hillary Clinton on down when it comes to pushing the Russian collusion story.  She should not be exempt from being considered a suspect.

  Epoch Times: Turkish National With Terror Ties Deported After Crossing US Border Illegally Unless Turkey jails him, he is likely to come back and try a different area to cross Biden's open border. 

 ISW: ... Ukrainian news outlet Defense Express reported on April 27 that Russian Chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov will take personal command of the Russian offensive in the Izyum direction.[1] Citing unspecified Ukrainian military sources, Defense Express stated that Gerasimov is already in-theater and will command the offensive “at the operational and tactical level” and claimed the Russian military failed to create a single command structure under Southern Military District Commander Alexander Dvornikov. ISW cannot independently confirm this report. However, ISW previously assessed that Dvornikov’s appointment as overall commander in Ukraine would not solve Russia’s command and control challenges and likely strain his span of control.[2] If confirmed, the appointment of Russia’s senior general officer to command tactical operations indicates both the importance of the Izyum drive to Russia’s war in Ukraine and the breakdown in the Russian military’s normal chain of co...

 Fox News: Twitter employees still flooding Democrats with 99 percent of their donations for midterm elections   Partisan skew of Twitter employees illustrates challenge facing Elon Musk Musk wants to drag Twitter to the center.  That may require a turnover of personnel.  He could start by moving the company to Texas.  This also explains why Democrats are the only ones distraught over Musk's purchase. See, also: The Washington Post’s Repulsive Defense Of Twitter Execs Makes Even Elon Musk Look Good

 NY Post: Oh, (Big) Brother! President Biden came under fire Thursday for the creation of a “dystopian” disinformation bureau created under his Homeland Security department, which critics are blasting as just a way for the government to police free speech online. Conservatives slammed the Department of Homeland Security’s Orwellian new “Disinformation Governance Board” – with some suggesting the timing is convenient given Elon Musk vowed to make Twitter a free speech haven after his $44 billion takeover of the social media platform notorious for selectively censoring right-leaning points of view. Missouri Sen. Josh Hawley called the new board a “disgrace” that was designed to “monitor all Americans’ speech.” In a letter to Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, Hawley said he initially thought Wednesday’s announcement was “satire.” “Surely, no American administration would ever use the power of government to sit in judgement on the First Amendment speech of its own citize...

 Washington Examiner: Biden ‘disinformation’ chief a Trump dossier author fan and Hunter Biden laptop doubter Democrats have been the primary source of disinformation since Trump was elected and right through the 2020 campaign.  They are full time participants in the politics of fraud.

 Just the News: It’s becoming increasingly clear that after the economy, crime is a hot-button issue driving voter sentiment in the lead-up to the November elections. But despite voter concern, Democrats continue to be divided over the controversial “defund the police” mantra that has grabbed headlines for the past two years, and it’s beginning to hurt their prospects for the fall elections. The mixed messaging of party leaders versus the call to defund by progressives, especially extreme comments by members of the Squad, has become a costly roadblock to retaining the House as voters lose confidence in Democrats’ ability to address rising violence across the country. Even a cursory look at statements by Democratic leaders and radical backbenchers opposed to increased funding of police explains the party’s dilemma. On Feb. 13, George Stephanopoulos raised the issue of Rep. Cori Bush ’s statements calling for defunding the police during an interview with Speaker Nancy Pelosi . “With ...

 Newsmax: Researchers' findings that the majority of Republican candidates' fundraising emails went to a spam folder in the Gmail accounts owned by Google, while Democrat candidates' emails were delivered, were "horrifying to see," Republican National Committee Chair Ronna McDaniel told Newsmax Wednesday, following a filing to the Federal Election Commission about the issue. "These researchers in North Carolina, nonpartisan researchers, said that with the Republican Party and campaign emails 70% of them, went to spam," McDaniel said on Newsmax's " Wake Up America ." "For Democrats, less than 10% went to spam, so we've done some number calculation over since 2019 that would cost Republican candidates in the over $2 billion in donations, not to mention all the get-out-the-vote and other things that are important with these emails." The RNC, along with the National Republican Senatorial Committee and the National Republican Con...

 Stephen Green: ... The  Washington Examiner’ s Tom Rogan reported that a major oil depot was hit on Monday in Bryansk, more than 60 miles inside Russia’s border with Ukraine. That’s outside the range of most of Ukraine’s drones. While interesting, it isn’t exactly a “what the hell?” moment. British troops have been training Ukraine’s special operators since Russia annexed Ukraine and armed insurgents in Ukraine’s Donbas region back in 2014. Two more  such attacks  were reported the next day: Two explosions were reported in Voronezh, nearly 200 miles from Ukraine, and a Ukrainian drone was reportedly shot down over Kursk, about 70 miles from the border. The attacks in Kursk and Voronezh, where air-defense systems were reportedly activated, raised the specter of a wider war, as they were farther inside Russia than previous targets. If you had asked me last week if Ukraine could hit a target 200 miles inside Russia, I’d have been doubtful. Actually, it’s still a bit ha...

 Washington Examiner: Russia's  military is making "incremental progress" in its efforts to capture the Donbas region of  Ukraine , a senior U.S. defense official said. Russia and Ukraine's military  are mainly fighting in the Donbas region, which is in the eastern part of Ukraine that borders Russia and where Ukrainians and pro-Russian separatists have engaged in fighting for years. After the Russians failed to conquer the capital of Kyiv, they redirected their attention to the Donbas. "We would assess that Russian forces are making slow and uneven, and frankly, we would describe it as incremental progress in the Donbas, some advance in east of Izium and to the south a little bit. But there has been continued pushback by the Ukrainians, and so there's a lot of still back and forth in the Donbas in terms of territory gained and or lost by, frankly, both sides," the official told reporters Thursday. The Russians have 92 “operational battalion tactical gro...

 Matt Lewis: It has been said that you should never let a crisis go to waste, but what do you do when Donald Trump is out of office (and suspended from Facebook ) and the news slows to a crawl? Invent an emergency, of course! When Trump was in office, COVID-19 was a crisis and every unmasked presidential appearance all but an act of potential genocide . With Biden, it’s time to turn the page, even as the death count has mounted . With Trump sidelined, for now, and Biden plummeting in the polls, Democrats and the liberal media have returned again and again to the manufactured emergency to try and control the narrative. Remember the Georgia voting law ( ridiculously called Jim Crow 2.0 )? How about the viral images of border agents whipping Haitians seeking asylum? (After the agents’ actions were condemned by Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris, and DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, it turned out they were merely split horse reins .) Or how about one from the Trump era that is re...