Flotsam and Jetsam - Austin, Austin, Austin - Where's Austin?

 So, it seems the Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin went in for some elective surgery, suffered complications, and stayed in the hospital for 5 days, and hardly anyone was notified, including nominally President Joe Biden.  It's a good thing that's not an essential position or something. Hat Hair's KT, Why Did it Take Five Days for Pentagon to Disclose that Defense Sec Lloyd Austin is Hospitalized?. Politico, ‘He’s a cipher’: How Austin’s need for privacy just backfired. "Pressure is growing on Capitol Hill and within the administration for someone to lose their job." USA Today, Why was Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin hospitalized? Why is he facing backlash? What to know. At Althouse, "Lloyd Austin Owes Americans an Explanation/The secretary of defense has taken 'full responsibility' for failing to inform the public of his hospitalization, but that’s not enough " "Writes Tom Nichols in The Atlantic" and Someone? Why would it be anyone but Lloyd Austin himself? "I'm trying to read "‘He’s a cipher’: How Austin’s need for privacy just backfired/Pressure is growing on Capitol Hill and within the administration for someone to lose their job" (Politico)." At Da Caller, ‘Could Have Done A Better Job’: Lloyd Austin Addresses Lack Of Transparency Surrounding Hospitalization. From Breitbart, Sen. Roger Wicker Calls for a Briefing from the Pentagon After It Hid Austin’s Hospitalization and Trump Tells Biden to Fire Lloyd Austin for ‘Improper Professional Conduct’. Insty, BANANA REPUBLIC: Defense Secretary Austin Scandal Is Even Worse Than We Thought. “When it was first reported on Saturday that Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has been in the hospital since January 1, it was natural to assume that key figures in the Pentagon and the White House, for whatever reason, chose to keep his hospitalization a secret. What possible motive could there be for doing this? Who knows? It didn’t make a lot of sense, but the Biden administration has an extensive record of covering up scandals, so it wasn’t exactly out of character for the Biden administration to cover something up. The truth that has been coming out over the course of the day suggests something far, far worse. According to the latest reports, not even the White House knew about Lloyd’s hospitalization.” At Am Think, John F. Di Leo calls Lloyd Austin at the ICU: A Symptom of a More Serious Malady. Stephen Kruiser at PJM says There's Useless, Then There's Lloyd Austin Useless.

Harold Hutchinson at Da Caller notes ‘He Lost Me’: Jonathan Turley Rebuts Biden’s ‘Assault On Democracy’ Speech In Less Than 60 Seconds. PJM's Richard Fernandez at the Belmont Club: The Mystery of 2024 "Joe Biden's Jan 6 speech raises some interesting problems. What does he really want to achieve by declaring his foes outlaws?" Mike McDaniel at Am Think thinks Joe Biden at Valley Forge is the triumph of the shill II, Matt Boose at Am Great, says Biden’s Valley Forge Stunt Shows the Real Threat to Democracy. "Commemorating January 6 with breathless bombast has become an annual tradition for the left, but Biden’s Valley Forge rant was his most aggressive and audacious performance yet." TNP, Truth-Loose and Policy-Free: Biden’s Valley Forge Speech and His Campaign Plan. At NYPo the divine Ms. Devine says Joe Biden certainly knows how to wield his ‘power’ — to transform the country for the worse. Bob Spencer at PJM, Biden: Trump Speaks ‘the Same Exact Language Used in Nazi Germany.’ TNP wants you to WATCH: Trump Blasts Joe’s Valley Forge Speech as ‘Pathetic Fearmongering’. Nick Pope at Da Caller reports a Former Dem Presidential Candidate Blasts Biden For Claiming To Defend Democracy While ‘Suppressing’ Party Primary, Andrew Yang. Breitbart has a Poll: Record Low Satisfied in U.S. with ‘Way Democracy Is Working’ Under Biden and Biden Campaign: Restoring Roe Top Priority on Day 1 of Second Term. 

Dan Chaitin at Da Wire hears ‘Serious Stuff’: Jim Jordan Warns Hunter Biden Could Face A Year In Jail For Contempt. Never gonna happen, but it would be fun if they could force Joe to pardon Hunter. Twitchy, X Responds Hilariously as Mika Brzezinski Promotes #AskFLOTUS Hashtag for Upcoming Interview. Matt Margolis sees Barack Obama Hits Panic Button on Biden Campaign, And I’m Laughing Hysterically. At Am Think, Peter Olsson explains How Obama Pulls Biden's Strings. 

TownHall's Matt Vespa thinks that If Donald Trump Did This, the Establishment Media's Heads Would've Exploded. "President Joe Biden’s re-election campaign has begun organizing a series of off-the-record trips for top political reporters and editors to the team’s headquarters in Wilmington, Delaware and meet top officials, including the campaign manager, deputies, and other senior advisors for background briefings on campaign strategy." Hat Hair KT hears a Small City in Wisconsin Begs Biden for Help With Migrants. NYPo helpfully points out Initial US employment reports overstated by 439,000 jobs in 2023. 

WJ reports Judge Shuts Down Newest Attempt to Remove Trump from Ballot, in Wyoming. TNP, More Far-Left Activists Team Up to Keep Trump Off the Ballot. This Time in Illinois. Deabby Saunders at Am Spec discusses Partisan Efforts to Keep Trump off Ballots "In an era of hyper-partisanship, the Supreme Court will step in." At the Conservative Brief, Missouri Senator Sponsors Bill To Remove Joe Biden From 2024 Ballot. |“By the Democrats’ own standard, Joe Biden should be immediately disqualified and remove from the ballot for the ‘aid and comfort’ he has given our enemies,” Eigel, who is also running for governor of the state, added." From Da Wire, ‘We’re Gonna Fight Back’: DeSantis Says He’s Looking To Boot Biden Off Florida Ballot After States Go After Trump. "I don't believe in fighting with one hand tied behind your back." I like it. Sauce for the goose. Force the Supreme Court to step up and squash this nonsense once and for all. Victory Girls catch projection from Liz Cheney: Vote For Trump And You’ll Never Vote Again. At Da Fed, Tristan Justice thinks Cheney’s Memoir Offers Warning About Ruling Class, Not Trump. Mediaite, Clyburn Tells Tapper Trump Is ‘Closely’ Tied To Church Shooting That Took Place One Day After Trump’s 2015 Campaign Launch. At Am Think  Ted Noel explores The Twists and Turns of Trump’s Legal Journey.

From SLAY, Jonathan Turley: Jan 6 Was NOT an ‘Insurrection.’ NewsMax, cites Pence: Jan. 6 Not an 'Insurrection,' Keep Trump on Ballots. Steve Calabresi at  the Volokh report reports The January 6th Riot Was Not Like the Civil War, "A Response to Ilya Somin." Julio Rosas at  Mostly Peaceful, lists 4 Ways The BLM And Antifa Riots Were Worse Than January 6. 

At Am Spec, Jack Cashill discusses The Un-American Inequality of Jan. 6 ‘Justice’. "The media uses all manner of verbal jiu-jitsu to deny the obvious." WaEx, Jan. 6 rioters prosecuted ‘far too broadly’: Bill Barr. Ace complains Three Years After The Fact, And NOW Bill Barr Speaks Up? "And not even in a forceful manner. It is his usual lawyerly, smarmy, Deep-State-C*cksucking manner that is designed to keep him in the good graces of the people whose entire political philosophy is antithetical to what Barr claims to be...a conservative." Paul Bedard at WaEx, sees ‘Sympathy’ surging for Jan. 6 rioters, 43% agree ‘they had a point’. Jonathan Turley discusses how the Family of Ashli Babbitt Files $30 Million Wrongful Death Action. "The complaint, in my view, raises credible allegations that warrant serious review. The Justice Department is likely to seek threshold grounds for dismissal, but the case could offer needed answers to a number of questions. Many of us were not satisfied with the review of the government of the shooting. Discovery would allow for a new review of the underlying record." At Am Think,  J.R. Dunn wants No More J6s. "If it Sounds too Good, it is too Good. If somebody approaches you with what amounts to wish fulfillment daydreams of overcoming the wokies with one sharp blow, turn around and run. Nothing is ever that simple, however much we might want it to be. Don’t be conned."

 Nick Arama at RedState, CNN's First Electoral Map Shows Biden in Big Trouble, Trump in Position to Win. 

Map of 2024 based on CNN projections

Obviously take this with a grain of salt, but if this is indicative of reality and holds until November, this year will be interesting pic.twitter.com/IEsIGTaVrX

— Jesse Hughes ✝️🇺🇸 (@jhughes1776) January 6, 2024

At Althouse, This idea that the politics of the other is a mental disorder — literally. Heidi@ HeidiBriones, "Fetterman literally went to a mental hospital and now he's no longer a progressive. Whatever therapy he went through should be studied and replicated across the country and world.
Quote Cenk Uygur@cenkuygur "Now @JohnFetterman is telling everyone how he's not a progressive, he rejects us and is now calling Harvard "pinko." What the fuck? This is why people lose hope, because of frauds like Fetterman. You work hard to get a progressive elected and they turn into Republicans instantly." At HE, It's like the Right is trying to lose. 

Breitbart, Al Sharpton Leads Protest Against Bill Ackman; Retribution for Claudine Gay. Nick Arama again, with Bill Ackman Lights Up Colleges and Media in Fiery Posts After Wife Targeted for Plagiarism. At Twitchy, It Is So ON! Bill Ackman Calls Down the Thunder On Higher Ed in BRUTAL Post After Media Targets His Wife. Insty, GOOD: "Bill Ackman goes scorched earth on MIT and Business Insider after ‘attacks on my family.’ Related:|

Going after @BillAckman’s wife is one of the dumbest moves I’ve ever seen. MIT and Business Insider don’t understand the force of nature that’s about to come after them.

This guy literally beat out Brad Pitt competing for his wife. While you were losing sleep over not having… pic.twitter.com/LQdJfYMYF0

— Robert Sterling (@RobertMSterling) January 6, 2024

Tom Knighton at Tilting at Windmills notices Plagiarism isn't racism, but noticing it apparently is. TaxProf Blog has Lessons From The Resignations Of Penn And Harvard Presidents Liz Magill And Claudine Gay.

The Free Bacon is happy that a Pro-Hamas Professor Leaves George Washington University for School in Hamas-Friendly Qatar. "'This is an aligned professional and personal choice,' Lara Sheehi says of move to terror-tied nation." Don't let the door hit you where the Lord split you. At LI Jane Coleman reports Social Media Posts Bashing Israel And Implying Jews “Weaponized Their Religion” Lead To Call For Barrington (RI) School and DEI Committee Member To Resign. "Democrat Amanda Basse accused of sharing gross anti-Israel graphics, including one strongly suggesting Jews “weaponized their religion” to “ethnically cleanse Palestinians” in Gaza. Republican town leader calls on Basse to resign: “How can she continue to serve if this is how she feels about Jewish people in Barrington?” and Leslie Eastman sees  Anti-Israel Protesters Shut Down California State Assembly Session in Sacramento

Insurrection? "I am looking forward to the arrests, show trials, harsh penalties, and condemnation by Biden." Hat Hair's Dave Strom sees a High School B-Ball Game Canceled After Students Start Hurling Antisemitic Slurs. 

Josh Barro is Very Serious that Universities Are Not on the Level "Academics should think more about what their industry has done to lose the trust of Americans." Am Think's Clarice thinks about Higher Education: DEI and Cargo Cultism. Stu Smith at Bacon's Rebellion is astonished by Pleasure Activism at JMU’s Queer Teach-In. Hat Hair cites End Wokeness, This Astonishing Little Cartoon Is Apparently School Material in WI for 4th & 5th Graders. From the College Fix, Dartmouth ‘climate justice’ protestors arraigned on charges of criminal trespassing.

 

Da Wire is excited that Kim Davis Fighting Back After Ordered To Pay $100,000 To Gay Couple, Could End Up At SCOTUS, Legal Team Says, "...this case now is set up that it could possibly be the undoing of the very case that started this whole matter..."