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Did You Know That Will Smith Smacking Chris Rock At The Oscars Is All Trump's Fault

Not even 24 hours have gone by, and it is being dubbed "the smack heard 'round the world." Even those who have no use for or interest in what goes on in Hollywood have been treated to a nonstop account of what happened at this year's Academy Awards on Sunday night.

As host comedian Chris Rock prepared to announce the nominees for best documentary, Rock made a joke about actor Will Smith's wife, Jada Pinkett-Smith's, bald head.

As you probably know by now, it did not go over well with Smith, who promptly made his way to the stage and slapped Rock on live TV.

But neither Rock or Smith are to blame for the violent outburst.

No, in this post-2016 world, you can probably guess who is really to blame.

Why yes, it's Donald Trump's fault!

Usually, one does not have to go far to find anyone with Trump Derangement Syndrome in Hollywood. Sunday night, Hollywood did not even have to look amongst itself.

Former CNN analyst and former special agent for the FBI Asha Rangappa took her turn as unofficial Never Trumper to the stars to tweet out this display of mental gymnastics:

"so did anyone walk out after that happened??? Or are we getting an independent psychological case study on how Trump got normalized?"

Granted it is hard to get in the minds of these people, but if we take a shot at translating this word salad, we might safely assume that what Rangappa means is, because former President Donald Trump is such a violent individual, that during his four years in office, he just conditioned all of us to just accept this insane level of violence, of millionaires smacking each other like it's just another day in Chicago or something. 

But in an attempt to clean up the mess, Rangappa then explained that she wasn't comparing Smith to Trump.

Rather, she was comparing everybody else in the room - almost 100% Trump-hating Hollywood liberals - to Trump.

If you're confused, fear not. She probably is too.

This is not the first time that Trump Derangement Syndrome (TDS) has prompted an inane statement from Asha Rangappa. Back in November of 2021, a journalist claimed that a Southwest Airlines pilot had used the euphemism "Let's go Brandon" at the end of his overhead announcements before a flight.

This was nothing short of the equivalent of the pilot declaring allegiance to ISIS for Rangappa. She tweeted,

Needless to say, Rangappa got a bit of blowback for her ridiculous comments. Sen. Ted Cruz was nice enough to explain to Rangappa that no, those two things were not alike.

Others were not so nice and suggested Rangappa seek psychiatric help immediately.

  

The Oscar slap fight between Chris Rock and Will Smith will forever have a question mark beside it as there is plenty of speculation on social media that the whole thing was a staged publicity stunt.

Bottom line, Rock, Smith, and nearly everyone else that was in the room are actors. They get paid millions of dollars to pretend to be someone else, and they crave attention. The Oscars used to be a chance for average Americans to see their favorite film stars, dressed to the nines in beautiful gowns and tuxedos, and win awards for great work. 

Not anymore. It has become nothing more than a platform for multimillionaires to lecture the rest of us on things like gun control and climate change, while they fly around on privet jets with armed security guards.

Americans got tired of being lectured to by elitist hypocrites and have turned off the Oscars and other awards shows. Ratings have been falling steadily for the past few years. What better way to get people to watch than a bit of controversy?

A small price to pay for a ratings boost?

The night was not a total loss for Will Smith however, since moments after the slap, he won the Oscar for best actor for his role as Venus and Serena Williams' father in "King Richard." Depending on who you are, sometimes bad behavior has its rewards.

New White House "Tell All" Reveals Trouble Brewing Between Biden And Harris

As the Biden administration faces the wild swings of rising gas and food prices, general inflation, conflict abroad, and poor poll numbers for both President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, a new book due out in May claims to shed light on some of trouble brewing behind the scenes.

The book, "This Will Not Pass: Trump, Biden, and the Battle for America's Future," is coauthored by two New York Times reporters Jonathan Martin and Alex Burns.

The book dishes the inside scoop on how Kamala Harris' team, throughout the first year of Joe Biden's presidency, was upset about the areas of responsibility she was tasked with.

An excerpt reveals that Biden communications director Kate Bedingfield blamed Harris for her own horrendous first year in office - and that it maybe shouldn't have been a surprise: “In private, Bedingfield had taken to noting that the vice presidency was not the first time in Harris’s political career that she had fallen short of sky-high expectations: Her Senate office had been messy and her presidential campaign had been a fiasco. Perhaps, she suggested, the problem was not the vice president’s staff.”

Bedingfield gave a non-denial denial of the claim in a response to Politico, saying: “The fact that no one working on this book bothered to call to fact check this unattributed claim tells you what you need to know. Vice President Harris is a force in this administration and I have the utmost respect for the work she does every day to move the country forward."

Another bit in the book reveals that Harris and Biden's weekly lunches "lacked a real depth of personal and political intimacy.”

The new book also gives details about how First Lady Jill Biden was less than happy with the VP pick of Kamala Harris. An excerpt from the book states,

“Speaking in confidence with a close adviser to her husband’s campaign, the future first lady posed a pointed question. There are millions of people in the United States, she began. Why, she asked, do we have to choose the one who attacked Joe?”

The First Lady, already no fan of Kamala Harris, was referencing a presidential debate where then-candidate Harris attacked candidate Biden for racist busing views in the past. 

In the debate, Harris said, “It was hurtful to hear you talk about the reputations of two United States Senators who built their reputations and careers on the segregation of race in this country. It was not only that, but you also worked with them to oppose bussing. Do you agree today that you were wrong to oppose bussing in America?”

U.S. Consulate Shut Down After Being Hit With Gunfire and Grenades

A U.S. consulate was shut down after sustaining gunfire and grenade explosions amid open street warfare on Monday.

No, this was not 5,000 miles away in Ukraine. The U.S. consulate in question is in Nuevo Laredo, Mexico, mere blocks from the U.S.-Mexico border.

The consulate and several Mexican military facilities were hit with gunfire and chaos erupted around the city following the arrest of a suspected cartel leader.

The aftermath of the fighting looks every bit as intense as one might expect of an active war zone - though this occurred just a stone's throw away from U.S. soil. 

Nuevo Laredo, the city that endured a night of chaos at the hands of drug cartel fighting, sits directly opposite of Laredo, Texas.

Here is an image of the area, with the U.S. Consulate near the middle of the image, and the blue line snaking through the middle is Rio Grande river, which serves as the border:

[caption id="attachment_250628" align="alignnone" width="942"] Google Maps[/caption]

In addition to the gunfire sustained by the consulate and Mexican military buildings, suspected cartel members blocked roads with spike strips and set several semi trucks on fire. Mexican officials reported at least one fatality.

The night of violence followed the arrest of suspected cartel leader Juan Gerardo Trevino, otherwise known as "El Huevo," on drug trafficking, money laundering, and extortion charges. 

Following the temporary closure of the consulate, employees and American citizens were urged to stay indoors or avoid the area altogether.

America is in a curious position right now. Recall that not so long ago, when Republicans controlled the House and Senate, they refused to pony up even $1 billion for Donald Trump's border wall.

But now, the most pressing border issue is Ukraine's - thousands of miles from our shores.

Reasonable people can disagree on the relative merits of U.S. involvement in Ukraine. But shouldn't our government at least pay some attention to our own border? 

Last week, the Congress passed yet another $1.5 trillion spending bill that includes, wait for it, $13.6 billion for Ukraine.

The vote for billions for Ukraine passed by a wide bipartisan margin of 361-69. 

While the world's attention is focused on Ukraine, perhaps Americans need to be reminded of what exactly continues to go on in our own back yard. While the Russians commit their own atrocities, the drug cartels appear to be trying to keep up.

Back in November, Mexican authorities discovered nine half-naked and tortured bodies hanging from a bridge. The victims were all male and appeared to be victims of drug cartels.

And while this is just one incident, Mexican security officials say that this heinous image of bodies hanging from bridges has become so commonplace, citizens have almost become accustomed to the sight.

Anyone viewing sights and sounds of the drug war raging in Mexico, and not knowing where those images came from, could no doubt reasonably assume they were coming from Ukraine. The world is watching the horrors on the Russian-Ukraine border.

Americans should have at least one eye on the horrors on the U.S.-Mexican border.

Canada To The Rescue? Alberta Officials Say They Can Fill The Russian Oil Void As Gas Prices Skyrocket

On Tuesday, President Joe Biden announced the U.S. would ban imports of Russian oil, natural gas, and coal in reaction to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

While many Americans support the move on a moral basis, gas prices in the U.S. are expected to continue to skyrocket.

However, help may be closer to home than we think. Officials in Alberta Canada, the nation's large oil-producing province, says they are willing to take the place of Russian crude oil imports.

Alberta is home to the ill-fated Keystone Pipeline that Biden effectively shut down as one of his first acts in office.

On Monday, Alberta's Minister of Energy Sonya Savage responded to electric car producer Elon Musk, "Alberta is the answer to U.S. energy security. Real emissions reductions, reliable, right next door."

Savage was responding to Musk's call for the U.S. government to increase production here at home, even at the expense of his own electric car company, Tesla.

Officials from the Biden administration have spent quite a bit of time recently begging oil-producing nations who are not exactly friendly to the U.S. for help. They went to Venezuela this past weekend for talks on potentially selling Venezuelan oil on the international market.

U.S. officials have also been in contact with Saudi Arabia about an increase in production. That could be the next visit for the Biden administration. There has also been some talk of oil with Iran.

The obvious selling point with Canadian oil is that the U.S. does not have to deal with hostile nations.

Also on board with marketing Canadian oil as an alternative to Russian oil is Alberta Premier Jason Kenney. He stated that he and Savage would be attending an energy conference in Houston later in the week, and that,

 “We will be meeting with decision-makers to secure access to markets, attract job-creating investment to our province, and argue for Canadian energy to displace Russian conflict oil.”

Kenney added that he would welcome a visit from Joe Biden to discuss Canadian oil.

Americans are preparing to feel even more pain at the gas pump. But a convenient fact is being overlooked. Gas prices were on the rise before Vladimir Putin invaded Ukraine. 

In 2019 under Donald Trump, America was producing 12.3 million barrels of oil a day. Rapid increases in America's gas prices have been the norm since Trump's departure. 

Some Democrats Are Furious That Far-Left "Squad" Member Rashida Tlaib Is Doing A "Progressive Response" To Biden's State of The Union

Far-left Rep. Rashida Tlaib's planned response to President Joe Biden's State of the Union speech on Tuesday night is not going over well with some her fellow Democrats.

The episode is an illustration of a deep divide between moderate Democrats and the far-left progressive wing of the Democrat Party, best expressed by the so-called 'Squad.' And it is the last thing many Democrats know they need ahead of a midterm election that is expected to be ugly for Democrats.

Last week, I wrote about Tlaib's planned response on behalf of a left-wing party called the Working Families Party.

She's expected to trash moderate Democrats as "corporate Democrats" who are standing in the way of massive spending binges and major policy changes.

Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ) did not mince words during an interview with Axios when he condemned Tlaib's actions, saying, “It’s like keying your own car and slashing your own tires." 

Moderate Democrats like Gottheimer want the evening of Biden's first State of the Union speech to be his, so that he can list what he believes to be his accomplishments. 

Gottheimer disagrees that the State of the Union is an appropriate time for Democrats to air their dirty family laundry. Gottheimer says, 

“It’s massively counterproductive. This only highlights the real tension between the socialist far left and the common-sense moderate wing, which is focused on crime, costs, tax cuts and affordability, and turning the page on COVID.”

Once the darlings of the party, Democrats are waking up to the realization that the priorities of the Squad and the rest of the far left - like defunding the police, renaming schools that are named after Americans like George Washington and Abraham Lincoln based on modern day "woke" ideology, and the tearing down of historical statues - are not the priorities of average Americans.

Moderate Democrats know this will sting them big time in November.

It's the 'defund the police' movement that has moderate Democrats the most jittery. In February, Rep. Richie Torres (D-NY) declared to MSNBC that defund the police was "dead."

During the interview, Torres said that he agreed with New York Mayor Eric Adams that defunding police does not work.

“I agree with the Mayor. The defund police movement is dead in New York City and good riddance. And any elected official who is advocating for the abolition or even the defunding of police is out of touch with reality and should not be taken seriously.”

Last Spring, in the wake of the shooting of Daunte Wright in Minnesota, Tlaib again called for, "no more policing, incarceration, and militarization." However, House Majority Whip James Clyburn slapped back Tlaib's comments and said that the U.S. has "got to have police officers."

Rashida Tlaib almost appears to be sabotaging her own party. Not only by giving a progressive response to Biden's speech, but she is doing it on behalf of a far left group called the Working Families Party.

The Working Families party also supports defunding the police, and other far left agenda items like universal health and child care.

They are also endorsing other progressive candidates like Tlaib in races for Congress. 

In addition to Tlaib's response, Joe Biden, who in his inaugural address said he wanted to heal a divided nation, Rep. Colin Allred (D-TX) will give a response on behalf of the Congressional Black Caucus. 

Fencing is Not Enough: Washington D.C. Now Calling In The National Guard and Tow Trucks

Not content with re-installing the fencing barrier around the Capitol, National Guard troops and tow trucks are now reportedly headed to the D.C. area as well. 

A Fox News report says that state and local law enforcement in the D.C. area have called in National Guard troops to be deployed in Washington from late February to late March ahead of a reported American truckers convoy. 

The Canadian 'Freedom Convoy' movement to protest against cross-border vaccine mandate is, reportedly, spawning an American cousin.

"The People's Convoy" will begin in Barstow, California on Feb. 23, and makes its way across the United States. The plan is to arrive in Washington D.C. ahead of President Joe Biden's State of the Union speech on March 1.

A second group, The Great American Patriot Project, is reportedly planning routes from Fresno, California, and Cleveland and Columbus, Ohio.

According to the Fox News report, a permit was requested by the truckers from the National Park Service to accommodate 1,000 to 3,000 people. 

In addition to the National Guard troops, Fox reports that tow trucks are also being hired.

In a phone interview with Fox News, the owner of one towing company whose trucks have already been spotted near the Capitol stated that the city of Washington D.C. had hired the company specifically for the trucker convoy and to clear illegally parked vehicles.

 On the other side of the ledger, Bob Bolus, one of the organizers of the People's Convoy, said in an interview on Sunday:

"We will be along the Beltway where the Beltway will be shut down." He added, "I'll give you an analogy of that of a giant boa constrictor. That basically squeezes you, chokes you and it swallows you, and that's what we're going to do the D.C."

Bolus also assured the public that, "There will be a lane open for emergency vehicles, they'll be able to get in and out and all that. We will not compromise anybody's safety or health, one way or the other."

While there has been no discussion as to whether or not Joe Biden, Kamala Harris, or any other member of the Biden administration will be willing to meet with the truckers and even go as far as to listen to what they have to say, a familiar sign of what that answer might be is making a comeback around the Capitol building.

Authorities are beginning to reinstall fencing around the "People's House" that originally went up following the riot at the Capitol on January 6.