Welcome to the first full day of Spring!

World Down Syndrome Day

And we start off Spring with a burst of sunshine. It’s World Down Syndrome Day, and our own Tom Sileo shares the celebration of life and the latest on his amazing daughter Natalie.

Sure, He’s Brave and Charismatic, But …

… and has done a dazzling job rallying his people against long odds to hold off the Russian invasion of Ukraine. And his mastery of public messaging will be studied for years. But before we go dubbing Volodymyr Zelensky the next Winston Churchill … or St. Patrick, as Bono did last week … perhaps we ought to tap the brakes a bit on the fan-boying.

On Sunday, Zelensky signed a decree that combines all national TV channels into one platform, citing the importance of a “unified information policy” under martial law. In other words, Ukraine television is now state-run TV. Not that he’d be getting much pushback anyway. He banned three opposition stations last year.

He has also just banned Ukraine’s main opposition party and many others for the “period of martial law.” As Bradford File noted on Twitter, good thing we’re sending him billions and moving troops that direction to “save Democracy.”

Sure, Putin has clamped down on media that go against the party line, and political opposition, and the West is outraged. Zelensky does it, let’s build him a statue! Read aloud poems in his honor. Watch his sitcom on Netflix.

Of course, the criminalization of dissent is not exactly something the Biden administration is against. Hello, J6 prisoners. But for the rest of us, we must be cautious in celebrating someone so eager to throw away basic human rights. And again. Zelensky’s clampdowns started long before Putin came across his border.

What good is it to repel Putin if you’re going to turn into Putin?

Meanwhile, Zelensky was on CNN Sunday morning, stating he’s “ready for negotiations” once again with Putin. “I’m ready for negotiations with him. I was ready for the last two years. And I think that without negotiations we cannot end this war.” Zelensky warned that if negotiations fail “that would mean that this is a third World War.”

The threat must be real. Joe Biden “evacuated” to a bunker in West Virginia. No wait. That’s not it. He spent another weekend of leisure at his beach mansion in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware. Got in a nice bike ride yesterday.

Stacey Abrams, President of Earth? Star Trek: Discovery Thinks So

Anyone can be governor of Georgia … as Brian Kemp has proven … but to be on Star Trek? Score one for gubernatorial candidate and Hollywood fav Stacey Abrams. Abrams popped up Thursday night on Star Trek: Discovery as President of United Earth. Sure, she’s no Dame Judi Dench. She looked more like a kid at a candy store than a planetary leader.

And the show’s blatant political partisan opportunism is a stain on the Star Trek legacy. Still, a Star Trek cameo is a Star Trek cameo, no matter how wretched her politics … or acting chops.

pic.twitter.com/E6uw6tXznk

— Ruben Garcia (@goRubenRuben) March 19, 2022

Abrams had previously done an episode of Blackish. Still she’s far behind Donald Trump, who has 26 TV and film credits to his name on IMDB. Younger folks won’t remember, but Hollywood adored Trump right up until he announced he was running for President.

On Twitter, liberals are mocking conservatives who are griping about the cameo. Here’s the difference. No conservative is asking for Abrams to be cut from the episode. Remember the effort to try and cut Trump out of Home Alone 2?

Speaking of politicians and bad acting…

AOC’s Whispering About Socialism and Capitalism

AOC’s picked up Joe Biden’s weird habit of whispering. In a creepy video posted last week, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez used a whisper to condemn capitalism and celebrate socialism.

“Let me tell you a secret,” AOC whispered to her adoring flock. “Most people don’t really know what capitalism is. Most people don’t even know what socialism is. But most people are not capitalists, because they don’t have capitalist money. They’re not billionaires.”

Soak in the ridiculousness of that statement.

Pssst. I’ll tell you a secret: AOC is an embarrassment to Congress and to women everywhere.
pic.twitter.com/OplGJuF1XU

— Lavern Spicer (@lavern_spicer) March 18, 2022

Let me tell you a little secret, AOC. You do need to whisper … out of respect for the 100 million murdered by socialism in the 20th Century.

GOP Launches Voter Registration Initiative … at Gas Stations

The Republicans have found a clever way to boost their fortunes. Holding voter registration drives at gas stations to grab those incensed by high gasoline prices. RNC chairwoman Ronna McDaniel announced the initiative Saturday.

Don't like the #BidenGasHike? Vote!

Republicans are coming to gas stations nationwide to register voters! #LeadRighthttps://t.co/cOIrsy6Fgv

— Ronna McDaniel (@GOPChairwoman) March 19, 2022

Seems they pinched the idea from Scott Pressler, who’s already been tweeting about registering new voters at filling stations for a couple weeks now.

Gas station voter registration is a mood. pic.twitter.com/9YBscJ5ER8

— #ThePersistence (@ScottPresler) March 19, 2022

Twitter Blocks Babylon Bee Again … for “Hateful Conduct” … Simply Mocking USA Today

The Big Brother social media giant has again suspended the Babylon Bee, according to that satire site’s CEO Seth Dillon.

I just received this notice that we’ve been locked out of our account for “hateful conduct.” pic.twitter.com/udMriKcDr6

— Seth Dillon (@SethDillon) March 20, 2022

The offending tweet seems to be “The Babylon Bee’s Man of the Year is Rachel Levine.” Rachel Levine, the Deputy Secretary of Health and Human Service, is biologically male and was just named a USA Today “Woman of the Year”.

The Bee also just published a list of its “Women of the Year” … if I describe it, I spoil the joke.

Twitter said it would remove the lock 12 hours after the offending tweet is deleted.

Along The Stream

Annemarie McLean returns with a look at a new report that questions whether mRNA vaccines can alter human DNA. Will conspiracy theorists once again be proven right?

Tom Gilson offers an intense, powerful “Jordan Peterson Knows the Fear of God.”

 

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 real soon at TRUTH Social.