Happy Tuesday!

A bit of a briefer Brew because of our Fetterman article, but still tasty.

Fetterman and the Dark Thirst for Power

A weekend tweet from John Cardillo sent shivers.

Being told that Fetterman is essentially brain dead and it’s being hidden because keeping him in office until August 18th avoids a special election which Republicans would most certainly win.

This must be investigated.

— John Cardillo (@johncardillo) February 25, 2023

Is Pennsylvania Sen. John Fetterman essentially brain dead? We don’t know. At this point it is just a rumor. What we do know is Fetterman is worse off than his staff wanted us to believe. And Democrats are desperate to keep him from quitting. And his wife took off to Canada rather than be near him.

I wrote up the whole stinking mess in “Sen. Fetterman and the Dark Thirst for Power.”

Later Monday, Fetterman’s team released a statement updating Fetterman’s situation. They didn’t have “a lot to update folks with since there’s no real news to report except that John is doing well, working with the wonderful doctors, and remains on a path to recovery.”

What? Biden is Thumbs-Up for “Gain-of-Function” Research?!!

With news the Energy Dept. now believes COVID-19 most likely came from a leak at the Wuhan Lab, the White House was asked, “Does the president believe gain-of-function research is prudent?”

You know, the type of research that was banned in the U.S., but we still paid for at labs like the Wuhan Laboratory? Research that lead to the virus escaping, killing hundreds of thousands of Americans? That gain-of-function research?

Well, answered spokesman John Kirby, “there has to be legitimate scientific research into the sources of potential pandemics” in order to prevent them.

He went on a bit about research being done in a safe and secure manner before concluding, “I think that’s a fancy way of saying ‘Yes’.”

Or it’s a fancy way of saying, “We’re okay with scientists playing God with our lives in Chinese labs.”

Paul Ryan Says He’ll Skip RNC Convention if Donald Trump is the GOP Nominee

So? More Big Macs for everybody else.

Seriously. One thing about Ryan. He will disparage Trump, sabotage Trump, get huffy about Trump. What he won’t do is get in the ring against Trump. At least Liz Cheney has the guts to consider a run against Trump. She may be delusional and obsessed on a level not seen since Fatal Attraction, but at least she’s willing to challenge him for leadership of the party straight up.

Ryan’s hand on Fox News was seen last week when the network refused to do live or even decent coverage the afternoon of Trump’s visit to East Palestine. (No matter. Some 178 million people apparently caught all or part of his visit via other avenues, according to an analysis released by Trump.) When Saturday Night Live gives Trump more favorable treatment than Ryan’s Fox News, the network’s got a problem.

Meanwhile, another sign TDS may be softening in the media: WaPo fact-checked Pete Buttigieg’s assertions that Trump is responsible for the Ohio train derailment. “From our analysis, none of the regulatory changes made during the Trump administration at this point can be cited as contributing to the accident,” wrote Glenn Kessler. Of course, they had to add a “so far.” “So Far, Trump’s rollback of regulations can’t be blamed for Ohio train wreck.”

Vermont Christian School’s Girls Basketball Player Forfeits Rather Than Play State Tournament Game Against Transgender Player

Mid Vermont Christian School forfeited their chance to advance in the Division IV state girl’s basketball tournament rather than be forced to play against a biological male on the opposing team.

“We believe playing against an opponent with a biological male jeopardizes the fairness of the game and the safety of our players,” Head of school Vicky Fogg told Valley News.” Allowing biological males to participate in women’s sports sets a bad precedent for the future of women’s sports in general.”

The Vermont Principal’s Association, the state’s governing school body for sports, has ruled that students can play on any team that “matches their gender identity used in schools.”

Whoopi Blasts Effort to Censor/Edit Old Books

We take a lot of shots at the hosts of The View. So it’s only fair to give a tip of the cup when one gets something right. So, way to go Whoopi! She shredded recent efforts to edit the classic works of Roald Dahl and Ian Fleming.

Look, y’all got to stop this. OK? Just put a disclaimer on it that says, listen, this book was written at this time or put out the original and what y’all have done. Because kids should have the right to read how people thought so that they know how to make the change.

You know, they tried to do this with Mark Twain as well because they were so concerned the n-word was in the book. Well that’s how they did it. That’s how it was. We don’t want people doing it today and you don’t see it as much. That’s how people learn.

Along The Stream

Tom Sileo explains how the new Major League Baseball rules are confusing and must be adjusted … but that doesn’t spoil the beauty of enjoying a spring training game. “MLB Spring Training 2023 ‘Normal’ Baseball is Back … Or Is It?”

The new “Conversations With Christians Engaged” podcast is up! Today the “Cultivating National Leaders” series ends with Bunni interviewing former Rep. Michele Bachmann!

Al Perrotta is the Managing Editor of The Stream, chief barista for The Brew and co-author, with John Zmirak, of The Politically Incorrect Guide to Immigration. You can follow him at @StreamingAl at GETTR, Gab, Parler, and now at TRUTH Social.