ASHE IN AMERICA

Hang onto your hats, folks. My husband and I turned, “we’ve been very clear,” into a drinking game, but it was before noon so we drank coffee. She said it 27 times.

On the domestic front, abortion, gas prices, hurricane tourism, and covid boosters were the topic of discussion, while North Korea, Iran, and Russia led the questions on the global front. There were few contentious moments today, though White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre did appear triggered at times. 

Reporters are Freaking Out About Abortion, Bracing for Legislative Shake Up

Yesterday, the Satanic Temple filed a lawsuit claiming that abortion bans violate their religious liberty, manifestly to sacrifice unborn human children to lucifer. Predictably, no one asked KJP if Biden was considering switching his place of worship.

Still, abortion was a big topic during the briefing as both reporters and the White House are desperate to make this the defining issue of the coming midterms. 

The very first question following KJP’s forgettable monologue was, “Has the White House given any more thought to a public health emergency regarding women’s reproductive health, especially as the sort of effects of abortion bans extend beyond abortion into miscarriage and other aspects of women’s rights?”

KJP didn’t have anything to announce, though I’m sure she was grateful for the suggestion, adding, “Look, we’ve taken a range of actions to ensure access. As you know, we’ve taken some executive actions very early on. And today you’ll hear from the President and Vice President on the additional actions that we will be taking. But we have been very clear.”

A follow up question challenged that, “The administration’s position has been that Congress needs to act, but that is just completely unrealistic,” to which KJP responded that the “American people need to make sure that their voices are being heard. That is also an important piece of Congress acting. You know, the American people have a say here.”

It was weird to hear KJP recognize that the people have a say in anything, and I had to check the transcript. 

All Your Metrics Go One Way…

Peter Doocy, enjoyable as always, asked, “You said the President is responsible for gas prices going down. Is the President responsible for prices going up?” to which KJP replied, “It’s a lot more nuanced than that, Peter, you know this.”

She then went on to blame the usual suspects, “There’s been pandemic and there’s been Putin’s war, and Putin’s war has increased gas prices at the pump.” 

She then gave a campaign ad for Democrats about the Inflation Reduction Act, CHIPs Act, and more before inexplicably declaring, “But we have seen the reality is we have seen the fastest decline in gasoline prices in over a decade. That’s because of what this president has done. And again, prices are going down by more than a dollar per gallon. And these are real savings. You’re talking about $100 per month in savings for an average family with two cars.”

I’m sorry, what now?

The administration keeps repeating this lie despite local reports from all over the country that the gas prices reversed their decline in recent weeks, including an increase of 15 cents per gallon in just one week in Kentucky, and as record high gas prices were reported in California yesterday. Drivers in Los Angeles County are now paying nearly seven dollars per gallon.

When Doocy followed up with, “When the president went to Saudi Arabia, he said, ‘I’m doing all I can to increase the supply for the United States of America, which I expect to happen.’ What happened?” 

KJP didn’t answer the question and instead said, ostensibly because of her refusal to comment on OPEC+, “So I want to be very clear, and we have said that, you know, his trip to, trip to the Middle East was not about oil. It was about America’s position in the Middle East.” 

Very clear. 

Hurricane Photo Ops Will Continue, Totally Without Politics

Of Biden’s performance in Puerto Rico yesterday, KJP said, “One of the things that we want to make sure that came out, and what you all saw from that, from the President and the First Lady’s visit, is that you saw a president that was committed.” 

No, we saw a president that should be committed. Nuance, Karine.

There was still no information provided on tomorrow’s hurricane tourism / photo op in Florida, but it sounds like Biden and DeSantis won’t appear together. 

When asked if DeSantis was going to join Biden for any sort of public speech or event, KJP replied, “So we know that the governor has a busy schedule as he is dealing with the aftermath of a catastrophic storm, as we also saw for ourselves. And many of you have been reporting on it. So, I can’t speak specifically to where he’s going to be at every step of the day. We will have more to share with the President and the First Lady are going to be doing tomorrow.”

Remember, there’s no politics in this.

No One is Getting Boosted

Despite all the hard work of reporters and administration officials to keep injecting Americans with experimental gene therapies, Americans aren’t lining up as they once did. One reporter lamented that no one is listening, no is getting boosted. 

“Last week, the Kaiser Family Foundation released a poll showing that nearly half of adults had heard little to nothing about the COVID booster, despite the efforts by the administration and others,” continuing, “Do you have a reaction to this or are you concerned about it? Are you going to be doing anything else in light of this to try to step up those education outreach efforts?”

KJP did not address the Kaiser poll but claimed that 10 million Americans got boosted in September, over half of them over age 65, and that the administration believes their booster campaign is “off to a strong start.” You can expect the coercion and propaganda to heat up and, good news, Fauci will join the briefing next week. We’ll pop some corn. 

Finally on the domestic front, “The president recently praised a group of Coast Guard rescue swimmers, one of them reportedly faces termination because he is unvaccinated…given the threats that we’re facing abroad will the president ever reconsider that vaccination requirement or consider issuing more exemptions?” 

KJP, predictably, refused to answer the question. “The president has the most, the deepest respect for the U.S. Coast Guard. That is something that you would hear from him directly. And the country, the president and the country are grateful for all of the U.S. Coast Guard heroes that have led the effort to save lives in Florida. 

We have seen that with our very own eyes these past couple of days. I would refer you specifically to the U.S. Coast Guard on this, on this issue, and this individual question is not something that I would comment from here, but you know, there, of course, have been multiple vaccination requirements, as you know, in place for quite some time.” 

Yes, all because of Biden’s Executive Order. 

Why is Zach Loesch allowed to save lives right now as an unvaccinated responder but not in a few weeks? Why won’t KJP comment on the Executive Order that is driving Loesch’s dismissal?

Reporters should not let this go, especially given all the garbage about “a women’s right to choose” during THE SAME PRESS CONFERENCE. 

What about Zach Loesch’s right to choose what’s right for his body?

Loesch’s dismissal, along with all the others who’ve held the line for bodily autonomy, puts Americans at risk. It’s that simple.

US Marine Fighters Showcase “Combined Deterrence” with Japan

On the global front, when asked about the North Korean missile launch that evacuated Japanese communities yesterday, KJP strongly condemned the attacks and stressed the need for “diplomacy and dialogue” in the region. 

“As it relates to our response, last night National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan and Secretary Blinken spoke with their Japanese and Republic of Korea counterparts. This morning, President Biden spoke with Prime Minister Kishida of Japan, where he reinforced our ironclad commitment to Japan’s defense.”

Aside from diplomacy, it sounds like the US Military is flexing, as she added, “And following this launch, US Marine Corps fighters joined Japan air self-defense fighters in a bilateral exercise over the Sea of Japan to enhance operational readiness and responses to regional threats, while defending our nations and to further strengthen regional peace and stability.”

She also referenced a “bilateral exercise as well over the West Sea to showcase combined deterrent and dynamic strike capabilities while demonstrating our nation’s bilateral interoperability. We will continue to coordinate the immediate and longer-term response bilaterally, trilaterally, with the Republic of Korea and with the international community.”

Karine refused to speculate on why North Korea was escalating their missile strikes, and specifically on whether it was in response to Vice President Harris’ disastrous visit last week, stating that she was “not going to, going to get into hypotheticals or get into, into the mind of the North Korea leader. ” 

She then reiterated that they’ve been very clear that, “Our goal remains the complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula. We remain prepared to engage in serious, serious and sustained diplomacy to make tangible progress towards that end…it’s unfortunate that the DPRK has not responded to our outreach.”

Oh, Rocket Man.

They Were For Iran Before They Were Against Iran

As reports of escalating violence by the Iranian regime against freedom protestors, one reporter gave a possible nod to conspiracy theorists who believe Obama is really running the Biden Administration when he asked, “On Iran, there’s been a notably different posture from the administration this summer of protests when compared to 2009 and those protests, obviously, there’s only been sanctions…What is the objective here for the United States? 

KJP responded, “We stand with all the citizens of Iran who are inspiring the world with their bravery. And we will continue to stand with them. That’s how we see our world, our role here, women and men in Iran should have the right to freedom of expression and assembly,” continuing, “Iran must end its use of violence against its own citizens simply for exercising their fundamental freedoms, their fundamental rights.”

Does she share that sentiment for DC prison guards? Asking for some J6ers.

“You’ll hear from the United States on…how are we imposing further costs on those perpetrators of violence against peaceful protesters, and we’ll continue to hold Iranian officials accountable.” Also, the Biden Administration gave them internet. 

A pointed follow up question seemed to trigger KJP, “[CIA Director] Bill Burns gave an interview yesterday. And he talked in support of the Iranian demonstrators, but was this coordinated by the White House because for him to speak, that has weight.” 

KJP appeared defensive, responding, “So with this message, we have been very clear. The president’s voice also has weight. Right. The president has spoken about his concerns, that he, about the intensity of the violent crackdown on peaceful protesters in Iran, again, who are demanding, as you know, their equal rights and basic human dignity. He spoke, and he spoke out about that during the, the U.N., the U.N., during UN General assembly that we saw, the General Assembly that we saw just two weeks ago. He was very clear.” 

I mean, obviously, it’s very clear. 

“You’ve seen you’ve heard statements from him. You’ve heard statements from his National Security Adviser. You’ve heard statements from me. So as a, as an administration, as a whole, holistically, we’ve been very, very clear.”

The reporter tried again to get a comment on the CIA Director specifically, but KJP refused to answer. “I hear your question. The president is speaking out…We’re going to continue to speak out.”

“Is this administration worried that Elon Musk is spreading Russian propaganda?”

Actual question during the briefing today. This, of course, is in response to the viral scuffle between Musk and Ukrainian President Zelenskyy on Twitter yesterday. 

KJP replied, “So we’ve been very clear about this. And I just said this earlier in the briefing. Anything without Ukraine. We, we are not going to talk about Ukraine without Ukraine.”

She means “Nothing without Ukraine,” based on prior comments. At least I think that’s what she means. I didn’t find it to be very clear. 

“We are going to continue to be there for Ukraine.” 

Awwwww.

She also spoke up for another world leader, saying that the Indian Prime Minister Modi “has public comments directly to Putin [that] are very clear.” 

We’re all very clear. Right?

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