Biden failure to inspire could blunt his agenda . . . It’s perhaps the greatest power allotted to the president: The bully pulpit. Every president who has succeeded with his agenda has understood this, from Theodore Roosevelt to Franklin Roosevelt, to Ronald Reagan and Donald Trump. Biden got elected sitting on his rump in a basement. The basement is a good place for a nap, which is what people are seeking both during and after Biden presidential speeches.“Candidate Joe Biden promised his term, following four years of Donald Trump’s daily chaos, would be boring. But, his lack of pizzazz and declarations that his own speeches are dull risks alienating some voters. “Biden’s confessed inability to hold the public’s attention or stoke its imagination may be a relief to voters exhausted by Trump’s reality television-style tenure. Yet, experts say it could blunt the power of the bully pulpit as he tries to ramp up support for his $1.8 trillion “human” infrastructure proposal . . . White House Dossier

 

Biden’s reaction to Cuban protests has been a disgrace . . . The initial Biden administration response to the mass rallies for freedom that took place across Cuba on Sunday was a disgrace.

As Cubans took to the streets defying the Communist regime’s totalitarian police, a senior State Department official tweeted that the administration viewed the protests as merely a result of unhappiness “about rising COVID cases/deaths” in the island country. That’s pure bunk. The slogans shouted by thousands who risked imprisonment or worse were about an end to the Communist dictatorship installed in the 1950s. “Freedom!” “Enough!” they cried.

The starvation and shortages that have outraged demonstrators are a direct result of the regime’s policies and repression. Some blame the lack of tourism because of the pandemic. But that money was largely funneled to an unaccountable and brutal government, not its long-suffering citizens. New York Post

Obama-Rhodes Legacy In Shambles as Cubans March Against Communism . . . Anti-communist protests in Cuba are threatening to dismantle one of the last vestiges of former president Barack Obama's diplomatic legacy. The unrest has come as a shock to journalists and other Democrats who cheered the Obama administration's efforts to normalize U.S. relations with the communist regime. The controversial initiative, spearheaded by failed novelist Ben Rhodes, culminated in 2016 with Obama's visit to Havana, where he attended a baseball game with Cuban dictator Raúl Castro. Washington Free Beacon

Trump 2020 legal adviser Jenna Ellis leaving Republican Party in protest . . . Jenna Ellis, a senior legal adviser to former President Donald Trump's 2020 campaign, said on Monday she is leaving the Republican Party in protest following the disclosure of an email from a top Republican National Committee lawyer criticizing her efforts in challenging the results of the November contest. Ellis made the announcement on Real America's Voice. She questioned what happened to the "millions raised" by the RNC in November and December of last year when the election challenges were playing out, saying, "the Trump team never saw a dime of that help." "I am leaving the Republican Party until the Republican Party comes back home to conservatives," she said during an follow-up appearance on Newsmax. Washington Examiner

Conservative talk radio host Larry Elder enters California recall election against Newsom . . . Conservative talk radio host Larry Elder has announced a bid for governor in California's recall election of Gov. Gavin Newsom (D).  Elder, a regular Fox News guest with a nationally syndicated show, announced his run on Monday night after teasing an announcement earlier in the day.  His campaign website refers to him as the "sage from South Central" the part of Los Angeles where he grew up. The Hill

Omar and Tlaib Mum on Whether Palestinian Aid Should Be Conditioned on Human Rights Abuses . . . Top proponents of conditioning aid to Israel based on alleged human rights violations will not say whether they also support conditioning aid to the Palestinian Authority. Reps. Ilhan Omar (D., Minn.) and Rashida Tlaib (D., Mich.) both say U.S. aid to Israel should be conditioned on the Jewish state's treatment of the Palestinians, which they claim violates international law. Neither congresswoman's office responded, however, to Washington Free Beacon inquiries about their position on conditioning U.S. aid to the Palestinians in the wake of the Palestinian government's murder of an anti-corruption activist last month. Washington Free Beacon

J.D. Vance mocks Harris for condescending to rural voters . . . 
Vice President Kamala Harris suggested rural voters would be treated unfairly by new GOP voting laws because they would be required to submit ballots with a copy of their ID, and they don’t have access to copying machines. You know, in flyover country, the deplorables don’t have all your modern conveniences. They have Bibles, guns, some primitive food, and that’s it. Hillbilly Elegy author and Ohio senate candidate J.D. Vance had some fun with it. He appeared on Fox News: “We have all kinds of crazy things in small towns in the state of Ohio and across the country. We’ve got electricity, we’ve got running water, we even have soap. And it’s amazing that the vice president of the United States thinks that people can’t make photocopies in rural communities. Kamala Harris, like a lot of folks who come from our elite class, they have this stereotype of small-town America that it’s all backwards." White House Dossier

‘Up To Speed On Their Diversity Training’: Navy Unprepared For Military Confrontation . . . Four Republican members of Congress are sounding the alarm about naval readiness following the release of a report intended to address “a series of high–profile and damaging operational failures in the Navy’s Surface Warfare community.” Two retired military officers, Lt. Gen. Robert Schmidle, USMC and Rear Admiral Mark Montgomery, USN, interviewed 77 members of the Navy for the report. The report was commissioned by Republicans Arkansas Sen. Tom Cotton, Indiana Rep. Jim Banks, Texas Rep. Dan Crenshaw and Wisconsin Rep. Mike Gallagher. They found that interviewees held a “broad consensus” that the Navy is “insufficient[ly] focus[ed] on warfighting skills.” Daily Caller

 

Biden urges cities to use COVID funds to hire cops, despite police skepticism . . . President Biden on Monday met with state and local leaders and urged them to use billions of dollars in the coronavirus relief package to hire more police officers. But it’s not about the money, police say. During the White House meeting, Mr. Biden called on leaders to use the $350 billion set aside for states in the relief plan to bolster overtime pay, cover overtime costs and spend on community policing strategies. However, Mr. Biden’s strategy raised questions among law enforcement officials, who say funding can’t offset the exodus of officers that they tie to plunging morale and demands for broad defunding of police. “In that hiring money, hopefully, there will be a recruitment strategy selling the job to qualified applicants,” said James Pasco, executive director of the Fraternal Order of Police. Washington Times

US and Russia pledge to ‘move together’ against climate change . . .    The US and Russia have agreed to forge “close co-operation” on climate change, in the first positive sign of a potential easing of tensions between the two countries since a high-stakes presidential summit last month. John Kerry, the White House’s special climate envoy, held talks in Moscow on Monday and pledged to “move together” with the Kremlin ahead of crunch global climate meetings in Glasgow this November. Climate change is one of the few areas where there is hope of enhanced collaboration between Moscow and Washington. It is seen as a promising testing ground for a first step in improving wider ties, which are riven with distrust over cyber warfare, allegations of election meddling and years of tit-for-tat sanctions that have severed many economic ties. Financial Times
 

Coffee consumption linked to lower risk of COVID-19 infection . . . Regular coffee consumption of at least one cup daily was associated with a lower risk of COVID-19 infection, according to a study. Researchers with Northwestern University published findings in the Nutrients journal, stemming from an analysis of nearly 40,000 participants in the U.K. Biobank. The team studied participants’ dietary habits from 2006 to 2010 and hypothesized the subsequent risk of coronavirus infection in 2020. Researchers specifically looked at participants’ consumption of coffee, tea, processed meat, red meat, fruit, vegetables and oily fish. After adjusting for factors like race, age, sex and other factors like physical activity, BMI level and history of certain medical conditions, researchers found “habitual consumption of 1 or more cups of coffee per day was associated with about a 10% decrease in risk of COVID-19 compared to less than 1 cup/day.” New York Post

 

 

 

Gas prices hits record $3.15 a gallon amid oil price surge . . . Americans are paying an average of $3.15 per gallon for gas — the most in seven years — as the economy reopens and people hit the road in droves. At $3.147 a gallon, the average national price of regular unleaded gasoline is now nearly $1 higher than where it was this time last year, according to data from the American Automobile Association. And some folks are getting pinched at the pump more than others. New York residents are paying an average of $3.19 per gallon for regular unleaded gas, while across the river in New Jersey people are forking over an average of $3.16 a gallon, according to AAA’s data. California beats them all, however, with a reported average of $4.31 a gallon — making it the most expensive gas state in the union. Black gold is currently cheapest in the south and midwest, due in part to lower taxes and fewer costs associated with transporting gas from oil wells and refineries in oil-producing states like Texas and Louisiana. Mississippi currently ranks the cheapest state for gas with regular unleaded going for just $2.77 per gallon. New York Post

 

Trump Organization CFO Removed as Officer of Subsidiaries, Records Show . . . The Trump Organization has removed longtime finance chief Allen Weisselberg as an officer at some of its subsidiaries, after prosecutors accused him and the company of a 15-year tax-fraud scheme, according to public filings and people familiar with the matter. The removal of Mr. Weisselberg as an officer from multiple Trump Organization entities comes amid discussions of potential changes in the chief financial officer’s duties, responsibilities and possibly title at former President Donald Trump’s company, people familiar with the matter said. Mr. Weisselberg, who has worked for the Trump family since 1973, is expected to remain at the company, the people said. Wall Street Journal

 

Educators face termination for proposing male-only, female-only bathrooms in schools . . . Oregon educators are fighting for their jobs after starting a campaign to keep biological males and females in their own school restrooms and locker rooms and make it optional for school employees to use their students' preferred gender pronouns. Assistant principal Rachel Damiano and science teacher Katie Medart of North Middle School face a pre-termination hearing before the school board Thursday. They are seeking a temporary restraining order (TRO) and preliminary injunction as they continue suing the Grants Pass School District for violating their speech rights under the U.S. and Oregon constitutions. The district argues the federal court can't reinstate Damiano and Medart to their positions, from which they've been on paid leave for three months for "inappropriate behavior," unless the school board accepts the superintendent's recommendation to fire them. Just the News

Missing 12-foot python found in crawlspace at Louisiana mall . . . An interactive aquarium located at Louisiana's largest mall announced a 12-foot escaped python was safely recaptured after more than 48 hours of searching. The Blue Zoo, a recently opened interactive aquarium at the Mall of Louisiana in Baton Rouge, said Cara the Burmese Python was captured in a crawlspace at the mall early Thursday morning, more than 48 hours after the reptile escaped from her enclosure. The zoo had enlisted the help of a specialist reptile trapper and local animal control officials to search the mall for the missing python.

 

A Blue Zoo caretaker, identified as Victoria, said the searchers found evidence of Cara in the ceiling. "She was in our ceiling," Victoria told WBRZ-TV. "We knew exactly where she was for the most part." Victoria said Cara is a docile snake that did not pose any danger to mall visitors during her time on the loose. She said Cara had found a comfortable spot in the crawlspace. "She did the snake thing, where she coiled up and sat down and hunkered down," she said. UPI