🇺🇸 Family Affair

Plus, why the USDA is thinking about banning chocolate milk in schools...

May 17, 2023

The Flag

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Good morning, and happy Wednesday! Memorial Day weekend – the unofficial start of the summer travel season in the United States – is shaping up to be busy. At airports, it’s likely to be busier than it was in 2019 pre-pandemic.

Plus, why the USDA is thinking about banning chocolate milk in schools...

Also, have a hankering for some good, hearty food from one of America's most famous cities? Click here for a little taste of Chicago...

FLAG POLLS

🐘 Monday, May 15: 2024 Republican Presidential Nomination: Trump 55, DeSantis 17, Pence 6, Haley 4, Ramaswamy 4, Scott 2, Elder 1, Christie 0, Hutchinson 1, Sununu 0 (I&I/TIPP)

🐘 Monday, May 15: 2024 Kentucky Republican Presidential Primary: Trump 70, DeSantis 14, Pence 4, Haley 3, Ramaswamy 3, Christie 2, Scott 1, Hutchinson 0, Sununu 0 (Fox 56/Emerson)

🐘 Monday, May 15: Kentucky Governor - Republican Primary: Cameron 35, Craft 18, Quarles 15, Deters 10, Harmon 4, Keck 3, Cooper 2, Clark 2 (Fox 56/Emerson)

📈 Tuesday, May 16: President Biden Job Approval: Approve 44, Disapprove 54 (Rasmussen Reports)

TRENDING

Left: Ron DeSantis Goes to Iowa, Media Goes Wild Heather Parton, Salon

Left: Progressive Take Over of Big Cities Nearly Complete Ross Barkan, New York Magazine

Right: The Dem Plan to Pump & Dump Trump David Catron, The American Spectator

Right: How To Make Work Requirements Work Right Gingrich & Jindal, Fox News

Right: HRC & Big Pharma Push Radical Gender Ideology Aaron Sibarium, Free Beacon

POWERED BY TASTES OF CHICAGO

Where There's A Grill, There's A Way

With BBQ season on us and Father's Day around the corner, there's no better time to up your grill game. Tastes of Chicago offers a wide selection of other grate-ready delicacies straight from the Windy City — plus a $25 gift with an order of $125 or more.

Or, if you're in the mood to sit back and order a pizza, you can get Chicago deep dish delivered right to your doorstep. No offense, Domino's, but the real stuff just hits different.

QUICK CLICKS

Debt Ceiling Deal in Sight? Massive Air Strike, Cratering Consumer Demand

US: Biden, McCarthy hopeful on debt ceiling deal, US president cuts Asia trip short (Reuters) + Democrats vow to oppose work requirements in debt limit talks (MSNBC)

US: Missing Illinois girl from Netflix series reunited with father after 6 years (Fox 32 Chicago)

World: US assessing potential damage of Patriot missile defense system following Russian attack near Kyiv (CNN) + Russia’s most potent hypersonic weapon neutralized, says Ukraine (The Guardian)

US: Six More NYC School Gyms to House Illegal Aliens (American Greatness)

Business: Home Depot just forecast weak consumer demand — what that could mean for the rest of the economy (CNBC)

World: Hostel fire kills at least 6 in waterfront city as cops investigate possible arson (Fox News)

POLITICS

Family Affair

President Joe Biden and First Lady Dr. Jill Biden, joined by their family, watch fireworks from the Blue Room Balcony of the White House Wednesday, Jan. 20, 2021, during the Celebrate America special in honor of the 59th Presidential Inauguration. (Official White House Photo by Adam Schultz)

Last week GOP members of the House alleged that the Biden family had engaged in a "pay for play" scheme in which they received bribes from foreign entities and interests. This is said to have occurred while President Biden was serving as VP in the Obama Administration.

From The Flag: House Republicans say bank records indicate large sums of money were submitted to the Bidens and then funneled through numerous shell companies. President Biden denies the allegations which connect to his son Hunter and the legal troubles he continues to face. Here's more from both sides.

LEFT-LEANING SENTIMENT

GOP Is Long on Innuendo, Short on Evidence

  • Representative James Comer of Kentucky made a big show of last week's "reveal," yet he showed no evidence that Biden sought to enrich his family members or associates.

  • It would be wrong to immediately dismiss this allegation as a GOP "nothing burger," and a full-out investigation should be launched.

  • Congressional Republicans act like they want laws changed surrounding foreign money and political influence, but they also don't want to expose wrongdoing by Trump.

What does the GOP have on Biden? A whole lot of nothin’. Eugene Robinson, Washington Post Opinion: "Republicans who have been trying for years to 'prove' that President Biden is somehow corrupt made a big show (last week) of revealing their smear campaign to be a shameless, empty exercise in rumor and innuendo. ... With the leading candidate for the 2024 GOP presidential nomination, Donald Trump, facing felony charges in Manhattan, a civil verdict holding him responsible for sexual abuse, and the possibility of soon being hit with more state and federal charges, Republicans would love to be able to tar Biden with at least the appearance of illegality. So far, however, Biden has had every right to perform the “Dirt Off Your Shoulder” gesture that Barack Obama borrowed from Jay-Z. The GOP has come up with a whole lot of nothin’. ... Comer produced zero evidence for the central 'influence peddling' allegation that he makes."

Investigate the Biden Family Corruption Allegations, Wherever They Lead Matt Lewis, Daily Beast: "While everyone was focused on the E. Jean Carroll verdict, George Santos’ indictment, and CNN’s town hall with Donald Trump this week, allegations that the Biden family profited from their politically powerful patriarch (to the tune of millions of dollars) drew comparatively little attention. We have long known that Hunter Biden, as well as Joe’s brothers (Frank and James), cashed in on their famous father and brother. But a report released on Wednesday by House Oversight Chair James Comer ups the ante because it indicates that 1) the scope of family who profited is larger (including even Hallie Biden, Beau Biden’s widow, who was also linked to Hunter Biden), 2) the money came from foreign entities (including Chinese nationals and Romanian businessmen), and 3) some of the payments occurred while Joe Biden was serving as vice president."

One more opinion piece from the Left: The GOP has to keep pretending its Biden investigations are legit Hayes Brown, MSNBC

RIGHT-LEANING SENTIMENT

Biden Family’s Hand Caught in the Cookie Jar, but the Drive-by Media Looks the Other Way

  • Despite evidence of shell companies connected to the Biden family, as well as upwards of $10 million in payments, most in the media dismiss the story outright.

  • For more than a decade, the Biden family has been making money hand over fist – from entities including but not limited to the Chinese Communist Party.

  • Biden family bank records revealed by Chairman Comer and the House Committee on Oversight make Watergate look like a minor traffic ticket.

America’s state media: The blackout on Biden corruption is truly ‘Pulitzer-level stuff’ Jonathan Turley, The Hill Op-ed: "The whole purpose of influence peddling is to use family members as shields for corrupt officials. Instead of making a direct payment to a politician, which could be seen as a bribe, you can give millions to his or her spouse or children. ... The media simply fails to see the story. Of course, it can always look to the president for enlightenment. Just before his son received a massive transfer of money from one of the most corrupt figures in Romania, Biden explained to that country why corruption must remain everyone’s focus. 'Corruption is a cancer, a cancer that eats away at a citizen’s faith in democracy,' he said. 'Corruption is just another form of tyranny.' It is just a shame that no one wants to cover it."

Biden thinks it's just fine that his family monetized his office Editorial, Washington Examiner Opinion: "Although the liberal media have largely tiptoed around the story until now, they will not be able to do so much longer. Comer has found a lot more than anyone expected in such a short time, and there's just too much there to ignore. The evidence has long been there that Biden family members, and Hunter Biden especially, have been aggressively making money off the family patriarch's political career for at least the last 14 years. The new revelation goes into thousands of bank records that show multiple members of the Biden family have taken $10 million from foreign interests, including a businessman closely tied to the Chinese Communist Party and its intelligence agencies. These payments, including the gift of at least one massive 3.16-carat diamond, were made to Biden family members whose ability to earn money from such sources legitimately is not immediately obvious."

One more opinion piece from the Right: The walls are closing in on Biden family corruption David Bossie, Fox News Op-ed

FLAG THIS

Americans Closely Watching What They Call a "Serious" Situation

Polling conducted in the wake of these allegations indicates Americans are paying close attention and consider the situation important: 69% say alleged foreign influence peddling by the Bidens is a "serious scandal."

Over half of respondents say the situation is "very serious."

A majority of those surveyed (51%) agreed with the statement "This is about the entire Biden family, including the president (not just his son)."

Along political lines, asked if "impropriety" occurred, around 75% of Independents, just under half of Democrats, and 9 in 10 Republicans said "yes" (Rassmussen Reports).

Did the Biden Family engage in an influence peddling scheme as alleged?

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FLAG FINDS

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WATERCOOLER

Brown v. Board, Peanut Butter is a Liquid, Keeping a House Diary

On May 17, 1954: In a major civil rights victory, the U.S. Supreme Court hands down a unanimous decision in Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, ruling that racial segregation in public educational facilities is unconstitutional. The historic decision, which brought an end to federal tolerance of racial segregation, specifically dealt with Linda Brown, a young African American girl who had been denied admission to her local elementary school in Topeka, Kansas, because of the color of her skin.

Today I Learned that there is one McDonald's in the continental US that still serves fried apple pies.

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