Welp, so much for the blue wave. That towering electoral tsunami, which was to deluge the midterm races in a soggy detritus of worn masks and Planned Parenthood pamphlets, has given way to a stark reality: 2022 is a Republican year. It was always a Republican year, as some of us have been pointing out. Voters simply weren’t about to prioritize third-trimester abortions over rising crime and the price of beef.

So it was that Jill Biden this week was dispatched to campaign in Rhode Island. Rhode Island. And while she no doubt made a pitstop at Brown to hobnob with her fellow doctorates, she was mainly there to campaign for endangered Democrats. In Rhode Island. A Democratic congressional PAC, meanwhile, is dumping money into deep-blue New Jersey. And New York’s unelected dowager Kathy Hochul has just seen a massive lead over her GOP gubernatorial opponent Lee Zeldin evaporate.

In swing states across the country, panicked Democrats are sliding down fireman’s poles. On Friday, Joe Biden and Kamala Harris will appear jointly to campaign for Senate candidate John Fetterman in Pennsylvania. For those not in the know: Biden and Kamala never appear together. Ever. In fact, it’s possible that Biden and Kamala appearing together will open a black hole that will destroy the universe in a crescendo of awkward cackles and come on mans. Yet the Pennsylvania race is seen as the key to a divided Senate. Desperate times and all that.

Barack Obama, meanwhile, has been hauled out of cryo to barnstorm across the marginal districts. The logic here is understandable: Obama may be the last popular asset the Democrats have left. The problem is that the subtext of every Obama appearance is: man, the current guy sure blows, doesn’t he? It’s the opposition party that’s supposed to harken back to a better time, not the crew currently in charge. Yet such a mess is the country right now that Democrats apparently think voters will be waxing nostalgic for the slowest economic recovery since the Great Depression.

Or maybe it’s more than that. Maybe Democrats are suffering — and nostalgia for the recent past is growing — for other reasons. Join me now in the DeLorean, darling, as we turn back the revolutionary calendar all the way to 2009. Obama has just been elected president, seemingly putting a pin in centuries of American racial strife. He opposes gay marriage and no one seems to care. Weekeness is not yet a thing. Neither is intersectionality. Suggesting children be given puberty blockers on demand can and will get you chucked off of a moving train. Crime is low; unity is high.

Now splinter back to today, when liberalism no longer seems idealistic or even woke so much as cruel. Consider as an example the recent debate between John Fetterman and Dr. Oz. Those who pointed out that Fetterman might be an unfit candidate due to his clear cognitive impairment — a reasonable enough observation a decade ago — were this year derided as ableist. The full shield of identity politics was brought to bear around Fetterman, with any criticism of his acuity ruled out of bounds. And then, when it came time to debate, when that shield had to come down, Fetterman was left pausing and stumbling and flip-flopping while the rest of us sank into our sofas. This wasn’t empowering; it was just…mean.

The same goes for Joe Biden’s recent trip to the mall in a Members Only jacket with trans TikTok star Dylan Mulvaney. Biden in that interview surrendered completely to trans ideology. He even went so far as to say states shouldn’t pass any laws against children receiving puberty-blocking hormones or sex-change surgeries. The policy is barbaric, of course, but the spectacle itself was also vicious. Here was this self-anointed cipher of the blue-collar Dems, this haunt of Irish-Catholic villages, being shanghaied into thumbs-upping child abuse by a preening man transitioning into — not a woman, mind you — but a girl.

I might even feel sorry for Biden had he not implied that I’m a domestic terrorist last month. And the list of cruelties rolls on: Covid lockdowns stunting children’s educational growth; soft-on-crime urban policies leaving addicts to die in sidewalk tents; feral Twitter hoards lying in wait for anyone who utters wrongthink. Remember: it’s the GOP that’s supposed to be the nasty party. The Democrats are all about equality and empathy and love. Yet this year has made the reality perfectly plain: liberalism doesn’t care about the disenfranchised so much as it fetishizes them in the abstract. And once they fall stray of the ideology, as actual people so often do, well, we’ve finished that story before, haven’t we?

The question now is whether liberals will ever correct for this, or whether they’re about to enter a “you’ve got to crack a few eggs to make an omelette” phase. I’m especially curious to see what they do if Hispanics start voting en masse for the GOP. Either way, this great leap forward is seeing victims fall into its gap. Don’t think voters haven’t noticed — and aren’t planning a little Election Day ritual humiliation of their own.

“We told them [the players]’You get bigger and better when you have this experience,’ ”said manager Rob Page. “We have now got a foretaste of tournament football and we want more of it.”

The Welsh trip should be considered even more impressive given the circumstances they have been in over the past month. In contrast to the other home nations, Wales was sent from Baku via Rome to Amsterdam without all but a few hundred tough supporters cheering them on.

In order not to be talked out during the tournament, the players and coaches remained silent when asked about the situation in the past few weeks. After losing to Denmark, there was more willingness to speak openly.

“You and we deserve more from this funny tournament line-up,” said Chris Gunter in a social media message to the fans.

The concern for the future is that as the young players inevitably improve in the years to come, Bale and Aaron Ramsey will naturally lose weight. Bale will turn 32 in a few weeks, while Ramsey will turn 31 this year.

Their brilliance against Turkey has shown that they will remain world class players on their day, but how long will that be the case?

Fortunately for Wales, the post-bale era has not yet begun. As long as he stays, his mere presence will believe his teammates and scare their opponents.

He doesn’t have the pace he used to have but, as he showed in that win against Turkey, he has other options to destroy a nervous defense.

That is not to say that nothing should change. Wales have problems starting with their leadership position. Page is expected to stay in office while Ryan Giggs awaits trial in January for accused of head butting and controlling his ex-girlfriend. The subject hangs like a cloud over the Football Association of Wales.

For the players, this tournament has helped create a siege mentality. In their minds, it was Wales versus the world (and especially the competition organizers). Their unity remains strong, and Gunter believes that this will continue to be their greatest strength for years to come.

“This country is in safe hands with the squad we have,” he said. “I would go into the trenches with any member of this team and staff… howl, but then smile that we ate at the top table again.

“And smile even more that we will come back and we will be the ones with the full stadium and blow our anthem [as] we all deserve. “

Eton, a Neapolitan mastiff cross, stares his master lovingly in the eyes and appears to be an adorable dog.

However, owner Anna White says her five-year-old pet is “behaviorally broken” from the slaughter he suffered as a puppy.

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Canine behaviorist Hannah Hawkins with crop-eared dog JessPhoto Credit: Chris Balcombe – Commissioned by The Sun.

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Jack Fincham from Love Island bought Elvis puppy with her ears cut offPhoto credit: @ jack_charlesf / Instagram

Eton has had his ears cut off – a practice of removing a dog’s outer ears or cutting off the tips or large portions, which is now done for cosmetic purposes.

This is often done with razor blades and without anesthetic.

Anna, 55, believes Eton’s nervous nature is due to him doing this.

She said, “If you make a sudden movement near his head, Eton will be scared, stiff as a statue, and growling.”

The number of sick people is increasing, with the number of cases increasing by 621 percent in the last six years and the number more than doubling from 47 to 101 in the last twelve months.

Love Island’s Jack Fincham recently got hot water for buying a pipe parade, Elvis, with his ears cut off.

But he posted on Instagram this week: “If it had been my choice, it would never have happened.

“I don’t have dogs’ ears cut off or tails docked, especially for aesthetic reasons.

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Ex-Emmerdale actress Gemma Atkinson urges people to sign the petitionPhoto credit: PA

“Elvis is a rescue dog and it wasn’t my choice.”

Other celebrities, including comic book Ricky Gervais and the hit radio network host, as well as ex-Emmerdale actress Gemma Atkinson, are calling on people to sign a petition to stop the cropping, which recently has 48,800 signatures.

Harvesting is banned in England and Wales except for medical reasons, but it is increasingly being done on breeds like Mastiffs, Cane Corsos and Bull Terriers to make them look their best on social media.

Ricky, an animal rights activist, told The Sun, “It’s barbaric. It causes so much suffering to dogs and is unnecessary.

“To think that someone would just do this for image is disgusting.

“I urge everyone to sign the petition so that no more dogs go through this and harm their health, behavior or welfare.”

Gemma, president of Bleakholt Animal Sanctuary in Edenfield, Lancs, said, “Influencers who pose on Instagram with dogs with their ears cut off are irresponsible.

“There’s nothing cool or trendy about that. Cutting ears has to stop. “

It is banned in all countries that have signed the European Convention for the Protection of Pets.

However, the import of cut dogs into the UK remains legal.

A GROWING TREND

The #flopnotcrop petition is supported by the RSPCA and the British Veterinary Association.

Other supporters since it launched last month include comedian John Bishop, Downton Abbey actor Peter Egan and Victoria Stil-well, host of Sky TV’s dog training show It’s Me Or The Dog.

The petition urges the government to ban the import of cut dogs and stop their advertising.

A spokesperson for the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs said Brexit will give the UK “the ability to manage its rules on the entry of pets into the country, including a ban on dogs with their ears cut off”.

The cultivation goes back thousands of years.

It was first done on working dogs seven to 12 weeks of age to prevent ear infections and other perceived health risks.

It was recently done by owners who breed dogs for hunting and fighting. What is worrying, however, is that it has also become a cosmetic procedure.

It is often a breed standard for dog shows in the United States, Canada, and Russia.

However, the RSPCA cites a “worrying, growing trend” fueled by the likes of Jack Fincham, Little Mix singer Leigh-Anne Pinnock and Aaron Chalmers of Geordie Shore posing with crop-eared dogs on social media.

Leigh-Anne’s friend, Watford footballer Andre Gray, told fans online that none of them agreed to have their pet Kyro have the surgery.

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Eton cut his ears when he was a puppyPhoto credit: Oliver Dixon – The Sun

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RSPCA puppy picture used in lawsuit against Simon DavisPhoto credit: SWNS: South West News Service

Both Leigh-Anne and Aaron bought their dogs from the famous dog breeder Simon Davis, 34, who was banned from keeping animals for 15 years last year.

He was sentenced to an 18-week prison term, suspended for 12 months, and sentenced to 160 hours of unpaid work.

Tragically, a dog with its ears cut off can sell for more money, encouraging criminals.

Anna, an RSPCA animal center manager from Potters Bar, Herts, added Eton, “Twenty years ago we only saw attack dogs cut off. Now it seems to be a fashion, an aesthetic thing done to much softer dogs like little bulldogs.

“Dogs are not status symbols that you can play with and adapt like dolls.

“It’s tragic that a botched five-minute procedure carried out five years ago to make Eton appear tough ruined his life.

“Nobody else would give him a home because of what a cruel person did to him. The memory is still imprinted on his brain. “

Insane

Ears are an important means of communication for dogs, making it difficult for them to socialize.

Anna and her husband Tony, 57, a veterinarian, have adopted 45 dogs over the years and say those with cropped ears share similar traits.

When done illegally, there is an added risk that unqualified growers will use grain by using raw DIY kits purchased online that often contain little or no anesthetic.

However, it is difficult to track people who illegally harvest in the UK or send puppies overseas for cultivation.

RSPCA dog expert Dr. Sam Gaines said, “Harvesting can significantly increase a dog’s selling price. Sellers simply tell potential buyers that the process was carried out in the US, Russia, or a variety of other countries where it is not illegal. “

But there were successful law enforcement operations. Last month, Lucy Thompson and James Voice of Nuneaton, Warks, were banned from owning lifelong animals after admitting they had harvested three pups.

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Little Mix’s Leigh-Anne bought her dogs from famous dog breeder Simon Davis

Dr. Gaines says cropping is “of no use” to a dog and creates a “long, long list of potential negatives.”

She said, “Not only is it extremely painful and traumatic, but it also often leaves a dog that has been mentally scarred for a lifetime.

“These first few weeks are a blueprint for how people will perceive it – for their future happiness with a family.”

Hannah Hawkins, 28, is a behaviorist and dog welfare consultant at the RSPCA’s Ashley Heath Animal Center in Ringwood, Dorset.

She has been working with three-year-old Cane Corso Jess since she was rescued from a nearby puppy farm in 2018.

Hannah said, “In addition to being malnourished and painfully weak, her ears were severely cut off, a sign that they had been done by someone with no veterinary background.

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Geordie Shore’s Aaron Chalmers has posed with crop-eared dogs on social media

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“It’s ironic that these attack dogs have their ears cut off to make them more aggressive when it actually makes them the opposite, who lack confidence.”

• Anyone concerned that someone might cut off dogs’ ears or send their dogs overseas to have the procedure done should report this to the RSPCA by calling the 24-hour emergency helpline on 0300 1234 999.

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