Headline #1: Epic War of Words between Candace Owens & Cardi B Turns Ugly
Conservative commentator and political activist Candace Owens engaged in an intense Twitter battle with singer and pop icon Cardi B, culminating with Cardi B deleting multiple tweets and Owens promising legal action.
Thoughts and Observations:
- The online fisticuffs started when Owens opined on the quasi-pornographic shenanigans from Cardi B at the Grammy Awards last Sunday, tweeting the following “You are a cancer cell to culture. Young black girls are having their minds poisoned by what you are trying to package and sell to them as ’empowerment.’” Owens’ comment was spot-on.
- Cardi B’s responses were weak and barely literate, so she then resorted to slander, accusing Owens’ husband of having a sexual relationship with her brother. Cardi B posted a long-debunked fake Tweet purporting to have been initiated by Owens, and Owens was having none of it. After Owens threatened a lawsuit, Cardi B deleted all tweets referencing the fake-news post. Could it be that the entertainer’s lawyers told her to take them down and shut the heck up?
- Many of the singer’s responses alluded to her absurd song “WAP.” For those who haven’t had the pleasure, the song sounds like it was written by a hyper-sexual adolescent who’s failing her high school English class and struggling to cope with the recent onslaught of post-pubescent hormones. Based on her replies and antics on Sunday night, Cardi B is proud of her song. She shouldn’t be. It’s degrading to all women, but black women in particular.
- This is just the latest skirmish in our ongoing culture war. For those of us on the right, we are blessed to have Candace Owens on our side. Intellectually, Cardi B is no match for Owens, but neither are most on the left. Owens is tenacious and sharp as hell, and the fact that she’s black disarms them of many of their typical talking points.
- Candace Owens isn’t even 32 years old yet, but she’s already hinted at running for president one day, even though she won’t be eligible to run until she’s 35 years old; per the Constitution. There are many who downplay such talk when it comes to political commentators. They correctly point out that political pundits don’t necessarily have a suitable skill set for public office. Additionally, they’ll tell us, we need such personalities in the media to ensure the conservative message gets out. But we also need conservatives in government, and we need them to be electable. Owens may very well be the future of the Republican party and the entire conservative movement.
- I don’t know what Owens’ entire skill set consists of, or what type of management capabilities she has, but she definitely has electability. She’s charismatic, relentless, and attractive, and could have an extremely broad appeal. I wouldn’t dismiss a political future for Ms. Owens.
Headline #2: Biden Calls Putin a ‘Killer,’ Tit-for-Tat Ensues
After President Joe Biden called Russian President Vladimir Putin a “killer” on national television, Putin responded with, “It takes one to know one,” and proceeded to challenge Biden to a live, on-air discussion/debate.
Thoughts and Observations:
- Make no mistake, Putin is a bad guy. He’s a former KGB agent who has frequently lamented the downfall of the USSR. His government is notorious for killing political opponents, he cozies up with some of the worst actors in the world (e.g. Iran and Syria), and given half-a-chance he wouldn’t hesitate to destroy America. Biden calling out Putin is wholly appropriate and justified, but there are others who are as just as deserving of Biden’s scorn, if not more so. We’ll see if Joe takes a similarly strong approach with China; don’t bet on it.
- Joe Biden is almost exactly ten years older than Vladimir Putin, but Putin carriers himself as if Biden is old enough to be his grandfather. Putin regularly comes across as sharp, clever, and witty. He may be a sociopath, but he’s on the ball.
- Contrarily, as we all know, Biden comes across as confused, senile, and yes… sleepy. That statement is not meant to insult or belittle the president, it’s simply an observation. But it’s an observation that Republicans in America, the rest of the world, and plenty of Democrats would agree with.
- On Friday, Biden tripped and stumbled three times on his way up the stairs leading to Air Force One, in an episode reminiscent of Chevy Chase’s depictions of President Gerald Ford on SNL in the late-1970s. When we see Biden’s deterioration in action, when it’s not a skit on SNL, it’s more sad than funny. Having someone in this state of decline running our country is a serious problem.
- Does Putin’s superior mental acuity matter? Of course it does. Biden may have some competent people on his team, people who aren’t senile and bewildered, and they may indeed be the driving force behind Biden’s policies. But Joe Biden is still our president and the rest of the world – like it or not – will associate, at least to some degree, Joe Biden’s persona with our country as a whole. That’s how it works.
- The White House rightfully blew off Putin’s challenge/invitation. Such a discussion would be undignified. But regardless of the appropriateness of such a meeting, there’s no way Biden’s handlers should or would allow it. They won’t even let Biden handle his own press conferences with a media that would merely launch softballs at Biden if/when he was to have such a press conference. If Biden were to have a tête-à-tête with Putin, Biden would get his clock cleaned.
- Let’s hope those aforementioned Biden handlers, including Secretary of State Antony Blinken, are capable of effectively filling the void left by a confounded Biden. We can criticize Biden for his radical domestic policies, and we should do everything we can to ensure he or Vice-President Harris is defeated electorally in four years, but we need Biden to succeed with foreign affairs. We need the administration to show strength and to act in the best interests of our nation.
- It’s worth noting: while Biden’s Defense Department has shown a laser focus on maternity uniforms for pregnant soldiers and Twitter wars with Tucker Carlson, we still have dangerous characters like Vladimir Putin sitting in the shadows waiting to clobber us. Here’s a suggestion for President Biden: let’s have a little less focus on wokeness and let’s concentrate on the important stuff like Vladimir Putin. He’s that mean-looking bald guy who talks funny.
Headline #3: Democrats Continue Their Effort to Eliminate Senate Filibuster
Democrats, unhappy with the restrictions on their radical agenda posed by the filibuster, continued this week with their attacks on the upper house’s long-standing parliamentary practice requiring 60 votes in order to pass legislative bills.
Thoughts and Observations:
- Democrats seemed to be emboldened last week when moderate Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV), one of only two Senate Democrats who supports the filibuster, signaled a potential willingness to modify Senate rules on the matter. Senators such as Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) seized on what they thought was an opening by stepping up their rhetoric, with Warren stating the filibuster “has deep roots in racism.”
- Manchin on Wednesday, however, appeared to shutdown the idea of any serious alterations to the filibuster. Any freedom-loving American should pray, and pray hard, that Manchin stands his ground, along with Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ). Those two Democratic senators are the only people standing between us and complete, leftist tyranny; which is what the elimination of the filibuster would bring.
- As noted, Sen. Warren called the filibuster racist, which begs the question: is there anything in American politics that Democrats don’t like that is not racist? If someone disagrees with a Democrat, they’re a racist. If there’s a natural phenomenon such as COVID, it’s racist. When planetary physics and some manmade factors result in climate change, that’s racist. How about the furniture in the Senate chambers? Or the carpeting? Or the plumbing? Is any of that racist as well, Sen. Warren? If so, let’s get it all out on the table now. If we’re truly going to rid this country of racism, let’s put the complete list out there for all Americans to see so that we can fix this damned problem once and for all.
- These latest efforts by Democrats underscore the importance of the balance of power in the Senate. When both Democrats won their run-offs in Georgia’s Senate Election on January 5th, those results were devastating, but at least we have the filibuster protecting us from the complete madness of their most radical ideas: court-packing, adding states to the union, etc. If Democrats pick up additional seats in 2022, and/or if Manchin and Sinema give in to pressure, we’re in real trouble.
Headline #4: Sen. Rand Paul Clashes with Fauci over Mask-Wearing
On Thursday during a Senate hearing on the COVID pandemic, Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) confronted Dr. Anthony Fauci regarding Fauci’s mask-wearing even though he has been vaccinated. Sen. Paul pointed out that those who are vaccinated are unlikely to transmit the disease and should therefore not where masks.
Thoughts and Observations:
- Alluding to the only rational justification for wearing a mask even though vaccinated, Paul asked Fauci several times, point blank, “What studies can you point to that shows significant re-infection?” Fauci had no answer, but chose instead to be combative.
- Let’s keep in mind, when Fauci and Paul are butting heads, they are both medical doctors. Rand Paul isn’t just a senator, he’s a board-certified physician. Indeed, Fauci’s specialty is in infectious diseases and Paul’s is not; but they are nonetheless, both highly trained medical doctors. And in the case of Rand Paul, he’s a medical doctor who hasn’t been constantly wrong regarding COVID and lied to the American public about it.
- The best Fauci could do was to point to the possibility that vaccines “could be” ineffective against certain mutations of the virus, and he mentioned a specific mutation from South Africa. And Dr. Fauci is correct, that could be a problem. And it could be that we get struck by lightning whenever we step outside, but we do it anyway. And it could be that we get in a deadly car accident if we drive 65 mph, but we do it anyway. The only studies we have on various mutations shows that the vaccines are, in fact, highly effective against re-infections of COVID, and that includes the South African mutation.
- If we were to follow Fauci’s logic and apply it accordingly, we would never stop wearing masks. Because at every turn, and every day, there “could be” a COVID mutation waiting to kill us. Or a new virus. Or a new antibiotic-resistant bacteria. Fauci, the doctor whom is held up by the left as the protector of Science, is being entirely unscientific; and we shouldn’t be surprised.
- Sen. Paul called Fauci’s mask-wearing “theater,” which is what apparently irked Fauci. But Paul was dead on. That’s all it is: theater. Fauci wearing a mask even though he’s vaccinated is for show, and nothing more. Fauci was in fact following his own advice and wearing two masks, even though he has been vaccinated. The whole idea is absurd.
- Dr. Fauci has become no less political than Sen. Paul. At the beginning of the pandemic, when Fauci still had credibility, he appeared to be someone doing the best he could during a difficult time. But not any longer; the mask is off, no pun intended. Fauci is another political tool of the Democratic Party; a leftist bureaucrat who tailors his scientific recommendations to match his politics.
Headline #5: Revealed: Foreign Threats to the US 2020 Federal Election
In a fifteen-page PDF document released by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence last week, it was revealed that Russia indeed tried to interfere in our 2020 elections, but opinions in the intelligence community differ regarding China’s actions.
Thoughts and Observations:
- The overwhelming coverage by the mainstream media on the matter highlighted the activities of Russia, and tried to downplay any involvement by China. They ignored, however, the statement from the report explaining, “The National Intelligence Officer for Cyber assesses that China took… steps to undermine former President Trump’s reelection chances, primarily through social media and official public statements and media.”
- Even in the case of Russia, however, it was determined that foreign entities did not affect actual results of the election. That revelation should be reassuring to all Americans.
- It’s unacceptable for Russia, China, or anyone else to attempt to meddle in our elections, and we should hold those countries accountable. But let’s not pretend we don’t do the same thing. President Barack Obama practically campaigned against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
- Let’s also consider this wonderful quote from former Secretary of State and would-be president Hillary Clinton who explained, “I do not think we should have pushed for an election in the Palestinian territories. I think that was a big mistake. And if we were going to push for an election, then we should have made sure that we did something to determine who was going to win.”
- Moving forward, the focus of our state and federal governments should be primarily on election security: let’s ensure there’s no voter fraud, and no voter suppression. We should monitor foreign entities for possible interference and hold them to account. But games by the Russians or Chinese are not threatening our democracy, whereas election security is.
PF Whalen
P.F. Whalen is a conservative blogger at TheBlueStateConservative.com. His work has appeared in multiple publications, including the Western Journal, Human Events, and American Thinker. Follow him on Parler @PFWhalen