Today in Washington coverage

You guys! Did you know that the Fair 'n' Balanced Network has an actual Peter Doocy beat? Here's the lead story (above) from Thursday evening:

President Biden grew heated Thursday while defending his administration's flip-flop on whether vaccinated Americans need to wear masks.

Fox News' Peter Doocy pressed Biden about his administration's reversal, pointing to the president's statement in May that, "If you are fully vaccinated, you no longer need to wear a mask."

Now, sure, this could be just another Shouty Biden story, or it could be just another anecdote illustrating why Fox News shouldn't have been drawing Messerschmitts in its textbook in fifth grade science class. But there's a more persistent pattern here:

July 27, 2nd paragraph:
Press secretary Jen Psaki responded to a question from Fox News' Peter Doocy by saying that masks are an "extra step" that provides further protection against COVID-19, while maintaining that vaccines against COVID-19 "work." 

July 26, 2nd paragraph:
During her daily press briefing, Psaki was asked by Fox News’ Peter Doocy whether Biden’s "comprehensive strategy" to combat gun crime, first announced June 23, was effective in cities like Chicago, where 73 people were shot over the weekend, 11 of them fatally.

July 22, 6th paragraph:
During her daily press briefing Thursday, Psaki was pressed by Fox News' Peter Doocy on whether the administration planned to "follow up with school districts to make sure that the Abolitionist Teaching Network material is not in lesson plans."

July 20, 2nd paragraph:
Fox News White House correspondent Peter Doocy on Tuesday asked White House press secretary Jen Psaki if the event was considered a "super-spreader," saying that "more than 10%" of the traveling Texas Democrats have tested positive.

July 19, 2nd paragraph:
Fox News’ Peter Doocy questioned Psaki during the administration’s daily press briefing, asking about "vaccine hesitancy" and if President Biden would reach out to Trump to "cut a PSA" telling people to get vaccinated against COVID-19.

July 16, 8th paragraph:
While questioning Psaki on Friday, Fox News White House correspondent Peter Doocy noted the checkered history of Big Tech deciding what was and wasn't misinformation, such as Facebook infamously flagging posts that hypothesized the coronavirus leaked from a Wuhan lab.

July 4, 3rd paragraph:
Jacobs’ tweet was a reaction to a White House exchange between Psaki and Fox News’ Peter Doocy, in which Doocy questioned Psaki on whether the White House was concerned about recent reports of an "abusive environment" inside the office of Vice President Kamala Harris.

July 2, lede:
White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki pushed back on Fox News White House correspondent Peter Doocy's question about a pun-filled tweet from 1600 Pennsylvania Av celebrating a reported 16-cent drop in the cost of an Independence Day barbecue.

July 1, 2nd paragraph:
"Well, the president did mention that the American Rescue Plan, the state and local funding, something that was supported by the president, a lot of Democrats who supported and voted for the bill, could help ensure local cops were kept on the beat in communities across the country. As you know, [it] didn't receive a single Republican vote. That funding has been used to keep cops on the beat," Psaki said in response to a question from Fox News' Peter Doocy on Tuesday.

June 28, paragraph 3:
"Something one of the advisers said this weekend, Cedric Richmond, he said Republicans defunded the police by not supporting the American Rescue Plan," Fox News' Peter Doocy asked Psaki on Monday. "But how is it that that is an argument to be made when the president never mentioned needing money for police to stop a crime wave when he was selling the American Rescue Plan?"

Bonus June 28, also paragraph 3:
"This weekend, Gwen Barry, who hopes to represent the United States as an Olympian on the hammer throwing events, won a bronze medal at the trials, and then she turned her back on the flag while the anthem played," Fox News' Peter Doocy said to Psaki during the daily White House briefing. "Does President Biden think that is appropriate behavior for someone who hopes to represent Team USA?"

June 22, paragraph 4:
Asked by Fox News’ Peter Doocy if Biden still thinks now is the right time to end the cash bail system, Psaki said: "I don’t think I have any new position on that for you but I’m happy to check."

One could go on -- back to the glorious days of March 26, for example:
Fox News White House correspondent Peter Doocy confronted press secretary Jen Psaki on Friday about why he was snubbed during President Biden’s first press conference, noting Fox has "never been" on the list of Biden's pre-approved reporters.

But you can actually play this game yourself at home! Meanwhile, enjoy the Chicago Tribune's coverage of that glorious day in December 1942 when FDR brought an Iron Cross to a press conference as a present for John O'Donnell of the isolationist (ahem, "prewar anti-interventionist") New York Daily News. The record's not entirely clear on why. Most accounts from the time point to an allegedly satirical column O'Donnell had written, though in 1947, O'Donnell suggested that FDR had made the play to influence the jury pool in O'Donnell's upcoming libel suit against the Philadelphia Record, which had called him a Naziphile,* out of revenge for O'Donnell's April 1941 story contending that Roosevelt was violating the Neutrality Act.

I haven't seen any suggestions besides the Trib's that other correspondents were "incensed," though it's entirely possible. But if you're wondering whether elbows have been thrown harder in the briefing room before, the answer is yes.

* That's Daily News style; in the World's Greatest Newspaper, it's "naziphile"

Read story before writing hed. Wait, don't.

 Sometimes you wonder why the Fair 'n' Balanced Network even bothers to write the stories, given that all the information you need is in the homepage display type. Note, above, what Floridians are mad about and what they're trying to do in Monday afternoon's lead story. Then compare it with the text at FoxBusiness:

Out-of-work Americans in Florida filed a lawsuit against Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis on Monday seeking to reinstate a pandemic relief program that paid out an extra $300 a week in unemployment benefits.

In a complaint filed late Sunday on behalf of 10 unemployed Floridians, three attorneys ... argued that DeSantis, as well as the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity and its director Dane Eagle, violated their "clear legal and statutory duty to secure such benefits for employees" by prematurely ending the benefits.

The attorneys are requesting an emergency injunction to force Florida to reinstate the $300 a week benefit until the case is decided, as well as provide four weeks of retroactive benefits.

"The unemployed of Florida need these benefits to pay basic living expenses such as rent, utilities, food and medicine," the suit said.

Suppose there's a spot on the cattle train to Siberia for the poor wretch who thought they were assigned to write a story about a lawsuit?

Four wings good! Two wings bad!

As you can tell from Friday evening's lead story, the Fair 'n' Balanced Network is very, very upset that some administrations have so little regard for America that they tweet about the price of a holiday cookout:

White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki pushed back on Fox News White House correspondent Peter Doocy's question about a pun-filled tweet from 1600 Pennsylvania Av celebrating a reported 16-cent drop in the cost of an Independence Day barbecue.

"Planning a cookout this year? Ketchup on the news," the White House tweeted Thursday. "According to the Farm Bureau, the cost of a 4th of July BBQ is down from last year. It’s a fact you must-hear(d) – Hot dog, the Biden economic plan is working. And that’s something we can all relish."

"Sixteen cents?" Doocy asked after noting the tweet.

(Yes, Fox needs someone else to write about Doocy's performance at the briefings.)

Psaki replied that there has "been a reduction in some of the costs of key components" of barbecuing. Doocy followed-up by asking whether such a discount is truly impactful given the more-than-$1-per-gallon rise in gas prices since Biden took office – as the administration has taken several steps to curtail America's energy production. 

How do you suppose it looked in ... oh, let's say, 2014?

Before you polish up the tongs for the grilling season, brace yourself.  Rising prices or shortages of many summer barbecue stables may put a damper on that Memorial Day party.

(Let's go ahead and stipulate here that "barbecue stables" is at least as bad as "must-hear(d)," which is from the nether pits of hell itself.)

From booze to burgers, a spike in demand for some classic food and drink items, coupled with harsh weather conditions, has made it more expensive than ever to get your grill fired up. 

Read on to see how your favorite summer foods could go up in smoke -- and plan accordingly.

Does that sound a bit like what you read in May 2008?

Hamburgers and hot dogs? Check. Lighter fluid? Check. Beer? Check. More money?

Americans are about to fire up their barbecues for the start of the summer cookout season, and one thing has become painfully apparent: It's going to cost a lot more than it did last year to roast a burger, or just about any other barbecue favorite, on the grill.

Food inflation is the highest in almost two decades, driven by record prices for oil, gas and mounting global demand for staples such as wheat and corn, and for proteins such as chicken. And that's reaching into Americans' backyards.

How about in 2013?

Talk about a grill buster.  Just in time for summer barbecue season, the price of beef is skyrocketing, which is putting out the flames of meat lovers everywhere.

A ground beef burger costs $3.26 a pound, up from $2.99 a year ago, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Steak averages $4.81 a pound at the store and ground beef $3.51 — historically high numbers, according to economists.

The spike is caused in part by high feed costs because of several droughts that have led to the smallest number of cattle in the U.S. herd since 1952. Last year’s drought — the worst in U.S. history — dried up grazing grasses and sent the costs of corn and soybeans, both used in cattle feed, soaring. The current drought in the Southwest continues to wipe out the feed and make it very expensive to raise cattle.

Good thing our commenters in 2014 knew who to blame, huh?

The cost of living will necessarily rise under my administration, in order to justify my flaky social engineering scheme. Coincidentally, I'll also offer to buy your votes with promises of free stuff.

Hey, mon, obum says we are doing fine in fact better than ever.  Guess, that boy, as never been to the grocery store.

All food prices are rising at an alarming rate.This is a sure fire way  to assure a higher percentage of people will become dependant on government assistance

Obama goes to Martha's Vineyard, takes two whole 747's and a separate $$$$ plane for his dog just like last time, heee really cares that you have a more expensive BBQ rib,,,,,can't you see him cry?

EVERY single stable facet of the American  economy is being attacked in one way or another by the obama group. WATCH OUT AMERICA ! ! !     From the Coal mines to the back yard vegetable garden, we are being monitored and CONTROLLED ! ! !  

No, I'm not suggesting that we should be kinder to inept PR efforts. But given Fox's concern with beer prices, I do think we can conclude by paraphrasing a wise photographer I once worked with: Why drink with Fox when you can drink alone?