EARLY EDITION: Five Fast News Stories For The Water Cooler (Mon. Mar 20)
TODAY: Dem changes teams; broken banks bought; Mexico drug warning; McCarthy calls out Biden; 11 other Biden payoffs
TODAY: Dem changes teams; broken banks bought; Mexico drug warning; McCarthy calls out Biden; 11 other Biden payoffs
1. Democrat Flips, gives Republicans new majority — here’s why
Francis Thompson was the longest-serving Democrat in Louisiana’s state legislature. Much like that famous Ronald Reagan quote, Thompson’s voting and principles haven’t changed. But Dem priorities at the State and Federal level have become nearly unrecognizable from what they once were.
Will this presidential election be the most important in American history?
Thompson’s party flip gives Louisiana Republicans a 70-vote supermajority for any new legislation they might put forward.
“Let me be clear—nothing has changed,” Thompson said in a statement soon after the switch. “There are values and principles that I firmly hold onto that guide my decisions. My conservative voting record over my years in the Legislature speaks for itself.”
“The push the past several years by Democratic leadership on both the national and state level to support certain issues does not align with those values and principles that are a part of my Christian life,” he continued. –JustTheNews
This is the inherent risk for any radical shift in political ideology… the people your ‘progress’ leaves behind might wake up to realize they suddenly have more in common with the other team. With the Dems tacking hard to the left in the last few years, others may yet make the same switch.
2. Buyers found for two broken banks
There was some panic when trading was halted on Silicon Valley Bank, it wasn’t until other dominos started to fall that people started really worrying about that dreaded financial bugaboo: contagion. Among those other dominoes were Signature Bank (notable for having Barney Frank on its board. Yes, THAT Barney Frank) and Credit Suisse.
Those jitters may be subsiding (at least a little) now that other banks have stepped in.
Credit Suisse has now been purchased for $2 Billion by the Swiss-based global bank UBS. Signature Bank, meanwhile, has been scooped up by New York Community Bancorp and will be operating under the ‘Flagstar’ name.
3. State Department warns Americans about dangerous Mexican pharmaceuticals
If you were thinking about cutting costs by buying and filling some prescriptions South of the Border, the State Department is warning you to think twice about that. The US Embassy in Mexico warned:
Exercise caution when purchasing medication in Mexico. Pharmaceuticals, both over the counter and requiring prescription in the United States, are often readily available for purchase with little regulation. Counterfeit medication is common and may prove to be ineffective, the wrong strength, or contain dangerous ingredients. Medication should be purchased in consultation with a medical professional and from reputable establishments.
-The Drug Enforcement Administration reports counterfeit prescription pills are sold by criminals on both sides of the border. These pills are sometimes represented as OxyContin, Percocet, Xanax and others, and may contain deadly doses of fentanyl. Counterfeit pills are readily advertised on social media and can be purchased at small, non-chain pharmacies in Mexico along the border and in tourist areas.
4. McCarthy warns Biden’s silence endangers economy
A lot of people who were outraged at Senator Cassidy’s ‘that’s a lie’ outburst to Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen have ignored the context of that outburst. Janet Yellen had just repeated (under oath) the Democrat talking point that Biden ‘stands ready to meet with Congress’.
Cassidy cut her off and said, ‘Because when a bipartisan group of senators has repeatedly requested to meet with him about Social [Security] so that someone who is a current beneficiary will not see her benefits cut by 24 percent, we have not heard anything on our request.’ (The Hill)
“I just saw the president again on St. Patrick’s Day, Friday,” McCarthy told reporters in Orlando, Florida, where House Republicans are holding a retreat this week.
“I sat down with him and said, you said we’d meet again. Every day that passes, you put the economy in jeopardy,” he said.
[…]
“I said: look, we’re not going to raise taxes and we’re not going to pass a clean debt ceiling. But everything else is up for negotiation,” McCarthy said. –WHTC
5. Eleven more sketchy Biden deals to investigate says Comer
While reporters are currently asking Joe Biden some awkward questions about a million dollars or so that can be traced — through bank records — from the CCP to his own family, Rep Comer is just getting started.
On an appearance on Maria Bartiromo’s Sunday Morning Futures program, he told the audience:
“This is one deal. We have 11 more to go,” he said. “And I’m pretty confident we’ll be getting more bank records in very soon.”
[…]
“We don’t know what the Bidens did in return for this money. The lawyer said that it was C capital for a business,” Comer said. “We haven’t been able to find a business… Right now, it looks like the Biden family just pocketed this money.”
[…]
“In the beginning, the White House denied having any knowledge or the fact that their family was involved in any sort of way, shape or form with the CCP,” Comer said. “But now we have bank records that reveal otherwise.” — NY Post
Cited Sources
Just The News; US Embassy in Mexico; TheHill; WHTC; NYPost
