Sen. Dianne Feinstein signals no recollection of being absent for months in disquieting exchange with reporters: 'No, I've been here'



Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) was wheeled back into the Senate last week without having fully recovered from what her handlers claim was a bad case of shingles. Although she appeared confused, weary, and sickly, Democrats were nevertheless happy to have her back to vote forward their agenda.

A recent exchange between the 89-year-old senator and reporters, detailed by liberal publications Slate and the Los Angeles Times, revealed that while the California Democrat may be counted present for consequential votes in body, she may not be fully present in mind.

Despite Feinstein's doctor-prescribed "lighter schedule," the senator made time Tuesday afternoon to briefly answer questions posed to her by Slate's Jim Newell and others.

Feinstein was freshly back from being carted over to vote against a Republican bill, which successfully blocked a radical District of Columbia policing law.

Newell asked how she was feeling, and Feinstein responded from her wheelchair, "Oh, I'm feeling fine. I have a problem with the leg."

Responding to a follow-up question from another reporter concerning the nature of the problem, the senator added, "Well, nothing that's anyone concern but mine."

One reporter broached the subject of her May 10 return, asking about the well-wishes she received from her Senate colleagues.

"What have I heard about about what?" asked Feinstein, evidently confused.

"About your return," responded the reporter.

"I haven't been gone," said Feinstein. "You should ... I haven't been gone. I've been working."

Ostensibly giving her an out, one reporter asked, "You've been working from home is what you're saying?"

"No, I've been here," said Feinstein, becoming agitated. "I've been voting. Please, you either know or don't know."

Feinstein's handlers promptly wheeled her away following this disquieting exchange.

TheBlaze previously reported that the senior Democrat was first allegedly diagnosed with shingles on February 26, then hospitalized until March 6. She has reportedly been in recovery ever since.

A statement attributed to Feinstein — concerning her return to Washington that she does not appear to remember — indicated she was "still experiencing temporary side effects from the virus including vision and balance impairments."

The statement made no mention of the senator's well-documented cognitive decline.

An unnamed Californian member of Congress told the San Francisco Chronicle in April 2022, "I have worked with her for a long time and long enough to know what she was like just a few years ago: always in command, always in charge, on top of the details, basically couldn’t resist a conversation where she was driving some bill or some idea. All of that is gone."

The concerned lawmaker added, "She was an intellectual and political force not that long ago, and that’s why my encounter with her was so jarring. Because there was just no trace of that."

It is not only the fact of her past absence that appears to have confounded Feinstein, but her presence as well.

The Huffington Post reported that when Feinstein was first placed in a wheelchair outside the Senate last week, she asked, "Where am I going?"

While Feinstein may have trouble remembering why she is in the Senate, Democrats — who control only 51 of the 100 seats in the Senate and have a one-person advantage on the Senate Judiciary Committee — are sure to provide her with a reminder when the next vote comes up.

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First bus of illegal immigrants from Texas arrives in DC



A bus from Texas carrying dozens of illegal immigrants arrived in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday morning, allowing passengers to disembark just blocks away from the U.S. Capitol, according to a Fox News report.

Governor Greg Abbott (R-Texas) announced last week that he directed the Texas Division of Emergency Management (TDEM) to "charter buses and flights to transport migrants who have been processed and released from federal custody to Washington, D.C.," in response to the Biden administration's plan to rescind Title 42.

But critics on both the left and right were quick to slam the Texas governor's plan as a "publicity stunt" and "gimmick" when they found out that illegal immigrants "must volunteer" and "show documentation from DHS" to be transported to the Capitol.

Press secretary Jen Psaki said "I think it’s pretty clear this is a publicity stunt” when asked what the Biden administration planned to do in response to Gov. Abbott's initiative. “His own office admits that a migrant would need to voluntarily be transported, and then he can’t compel them to because, again, enforcement of our country’s immigration laws lies with the federal government and not a state,” she added.

Even Republican state Rep. Matt Schaefer called the plan a "gimmick" in a tweet shortly after Abbott's press conference announcing his plan.

Nevertheless, a bus from the Del Rio sector in Texas reportedly pulled up just blocks away from the U.S. Capitol building around 8 a.m. local time on Wednesday, to drop off dozens of immigrants said to be from Colombia, Cuba, Nicaragua, and Venezuela.

"In the last 24 hours, TDEM has dispatched buses to areas where communities have expressed concerns about the federal government dropping off migrants and has the capability to send as many as is necessary to fulfill the requests from mayors and county judges," Seth Christensen, chief of media and communications for TDEM, told Fox News.

“From the [Rio Grande Valley] to Terrell County, a large majority of the communities that originally reached out for support through this operation have now said that the federal government has stopped dropping migrants in their towns since the governor’s announcement on Wednesday,” Christensen added.

A tweet from Gov. Abbott's account on Wednesday boasted, "First Texas bus drops off illegal immigrants blocks from US Capitol in Washington, DC. Biden refuses to come see the mess he’s made at the border. So Texas is bringing the border to him."

First Texas bus drops off illegal immigrants blocks from US Capitol in Washington, DC.\n\nBiden refuses to come see the mess he\u2019s made at the border.\n\nSo Texas is bringing the border to him.https://www.foxnews.com/politics/texas-migrant-bus-arrives-washington-d-c\u00a0\u2026
— Greg Abbott (@Greg Abbott) 1649860211

Naturally, the reception on social media was mixed:

Texas Governor Abbott actually did it. First bus unloads illegal migrants in Washington DC.pic.twitter.com/gVpGBTDrcY
— Big Fish (@Big Fish) 1649860366
If the migrants are asked if they want to go to DC and they say yes...then they are just basically getting a free ride there...right? When they are being released they are free to go wherever they want..they choose DC. So isn't Texas just giving them a free ride where they chose?
— Bobbie Carr (@Bobbie Carr) 1649855629
I agree; more states than just Florida and Texas need to be making headlines.
— MRS. MASSACRE 2.0 (@MRS. MASSACRE 2.0) 1649857152
Very good. Next bus # Delaware in front of biden's estate. There's plenty of room for tents.
— George Rock (@George Rock) 1649855406
So you kidnapped people?
— Kim Ikpo (@Kim Ikpo) 1649861198


They chose to go to DC.https://www.cnn.com/2022/04/06/us/texas-immigrants-charter-buses-dc/index.html\u00a0\u2026
— birthdaycake (@birthdaycake) 1649856944
Of course it\u2019s a publicity stunt. But an amazing, genius publicity stunt. One that forces media to cover the issue.
— Mad Scientist (@Mad Scientist) 1649358730


Best news in a long time!
— Dianne (@Dianne) 1649859256

Here are more details as reported by Fox News:


VIDEO: Woman has little boy read 'The GayBCs' — a children's book with terms like 'bi,' 'coming out,' and 'queer.' And the reaction is swift.



A video of a woman having a little boy read from "The GayBCs" — a children's book that uses letters of the alphabet to introduce readers as young as 4 years old to LGBTQ words — has been making quite a stir on social media.

What are the details?

The video begins with the little boy reading aloud the word for letter A: "ally." Then the woman with him is heard introducing the rest of the letters, beginning with "B is for" — and the tyke answers "bi."

While some of the words don't possess immediate LGBTQ connotations — H is for "hope" and M is for "mountain," for instance — others like "bi" hit right at the heart of it. And little boy with his cute little-boy voice reads all of them:

  • C is for "coming out."
  • D is for "drag."
  • G is for "gay."
  • I is for "intersex."
  • L is for "lesbian."
  • N is for "non-binary."
  • O is for "orientation."
  • Q is for "queer."
  • T is for "trans."

As you might expect, some folks wondered why a kid so young was being introduced to such words:

The 'progressive alphabet' for the next generation. God help us! https://t.co/h7wPt6jdDN
— Dianne 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 (@Dianne 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿)1614549701.0

"The 'progressive alphabet' for the next generation," the Twitter commenter said. "God help us!"

Others seemed just as disturbed:

  • "iight folks, it's been real but I'm done with this planet," another commenter wrote in reaction to the clip. "Taking the next Elon Musk spaceship to Mars so we can start over."
  • "What the actual f***," another user declared.
  • "Why is this necessary?" yet another commenter asked.
  • "I'm gay & ... KIDS SHOULD NOT BE TAUGHT ABOUT SEX. PERIOD," another user noted. "Doesn't matter if it makes YOU feel better. Is P for pedo? S for sodomy? I'd object to a kid learning an alphabet of diseases, too. It's called preserving innocence."
  • "My 6 year old reads at a 3rd grade level and does not know half of these words by design," another commenter said. "This is full-on abuse. But those of us that do not perpetuate degeneracy can still do our jobs. Pull your kids. Vet their social circle. It's the very least you can do."

But not everyone was upset

As you might imagine, others were fully supportive of the little boy being introduced to LGBTQ words:

  • "I don't get what homophobic people find so toxic with videos like this," one commenter said before mocking detractors. "Wow the child is probably gonna grow up to be respectful that people can be different in many ways; omg I can't believe it, this is brainwashing!!"
  • "In the past if you read an ABCs book, it might've had B for boy with the color blue and G for girl with the color pink, until you associate the color with the gender," another user noted. "Familiarizing children with gay, trans, and non-binary things is the exact same thing. That isn't brainwashing."
  • "It's teaching kids that other people and minorities exist," another commenter wrote. "Trying to imply this is wrong is only implying that children should only grow up to misunderstand and be ignorant of other lifestyles ... perpetuates a problem; that is what we already have with ppl misunderstanding us."

There's more on the pages

The below video shows a woman reading each page of "The GayBCs" — and there's more text below the introductory lines noted above.

For instance, after "B is for 'bi'" the text reads, "You can shout it out loud. I like boys and girls, and that makes me proud." After "G is for 'gay'" the text reads, "It's word that implies you're a girl who likes girls or a guy who likes guys." And after "L is for 'lesbian'" the text reads, "It's love and affection between two special girls who share a connection."

The GayBCsyoutu.be