One must have a heart of stone not to laugh at this NY Mag article

There's a certain demographic that reads New York magazine and they're comfortable (in more ways than one) in their bubble.  Pandering to that audience produces such a cri de coeur as this one: "Summer of Rage: White men are the minority in the United States — no wonder they get uncomfortable when their power is challenged."

The article spends an inordinate amount of time defending California nutcase Maxine Waters who has been told to STFU by none other than Chuck Schumer.  Then it falls back on the tired, self-regarding trope that violent rhetoric, if not outright violence, is the appropriate response when there's so much pain inflicted by the white male minority.  Sarah Sanders can't eat a meal?  Tough: we're on the cusp of "The Handmaids Tale" don't you know.

Let's jump down to the conclusion:

One reason that the fury of women is regularly dismissed as theatrical and marginal and unserious is precisely because, on some level, the powerful must sense that it is the opposite of all of those things. That, in fact, it presents a very real threat.

Sure thing, baby cakes.  I'm with you: let Maxine, Hillary, and Pocahontas speak.

Here in Western Massachusetts

I had seen this story in the main Springfield news source but now I see it's getting national attention.  Fox News: "Reporter resigns after false tweet that Maryland shooting suspect had MAGA hat."

Yes, it was a dumb mistake, but it's interesting how these "mistakes" only go in one direction.

You just can't reason with these people

The Corner: "Sotomayor and Ginsburg Channel the SPLC."

Not surprising

Hit and Run: "Report: John Kelly to Leave White House by Summer's End - President Trump might soon be hiring his third chief of staff."

It seems like an impossible job.

Here's the guy who caused this mess

For the Democrats.  Hey, Harry Reid, now that you've nuked the filibuster for federal judges, are you worried the Republicans might do the same for Supreme Court nominees?



It's almost like elections have consequences, or something.

Extra - Hot Air: "If Schumer Hadn’t Insisted On Filibustering Gorsuch He’d Be In A Much Better Position Now."

Fire up the Resist! machine

Hot Air: "Chris Matthews On SCOTUS Vacancy: ‘This Is The Time For Vengeance’"  The man has a plan and here it is:

Matthews is so worked up over this he started yelling at an MSNBC host who was only trying to ask him what “tool” or mechanism Democrats could use to prevent a confirmation vote. When pressed, Matthews snapped “I’m not a parliamentarian.”

Maybe he can hide the keys to the voting machine.

I liked the part where they called FDR a racist

So the Supreme Court upheld Trump's travel ban today.  In the process, they made sure to remind everyone that Franklin Delano Roosevelt rounded up American citizens based on their race.  Bonus!

I've given up on Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who lives in some kind of "resist" reverie, along with the wise latina Sotomayor (the only two, it should be noted, that voted to make that guy bake the cake.)  But the other liberal justices basically argued that the plain language of the law can be negated if we think we know what's in the heart of the President.  Presumably, the Justices knew that FDR had a heart of gold when he - with great regret, I'm sure! - had to imprison those Japanese-Americans.

Extra - Powerline: "The four Democrats on the Supreme Court often disagree among themselves. However, in all cases that are viewed as both political and important, they vote as a bloc. I assume they don’t take an oath to the DNC when they are nominated, but their lockstep acquiescence in the party line in high-profile cases is undeniable."  He also notes that their opinion is, basically, Presidential powers exist for all Presidents except Trump.

Amen, brother

Jim Treacher: "Red Hen, Memories Pizza, Whatever".  "I don't like Trump, I don't trust Trump, and I didn't vote for Trump. Yet his enemies are now so crazy that I find myself forced to defend Trump. This doesn't make me resent him. It makes me resent them."

The next patrons at the Red Hen restaurant

"They smell bad."

I don't believe you

American Thinker: "Why mainstream media hysteria is increasing"

The mainstream media perceive that they have lost the ability to shape public perceptions beyond the 30% or so of the populace that is committed to left-progressivism.  The majority of the public no longer trusts or believes what they have to say.  And this sense of powerlessness in the face of a hated opponent is literally driving them crazy. 

As Instapundit says, if you accept they are just Democrats with bylines, you'll understand.

Extra - The New York Times notes that Trump supporters are tuning out the mainstream media.

The ACLU has principles

But, if that offends you, they can change.  Ace: "Leaked Memo Reveals that ACLU No Longer Supports Free Speech."

Mr. Chairman, I give up

Some of us amateur Constitutional advocates knew that Elizabeth Warren's Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) was unconstitutional since it was (apparently) unanswerable to both the Executive Branch and Congressional oversight.  Guess what?  A federal judge feels the same way.

This bob-and-weave should have been obvious if you saw Trey Gowdy try to get a straight "yes or no" answer from Elizabeth Warren:

It's all identity politics now

If we've learned anything over the past couple days, it's that there's nothing remaining from the Democrats' previous nuanced positions on illegal immigration. They're all-in for identity politics now, as Peter Beinart detailed in the Atlantic:

The myth, which liberals like myself find tempting, is that only the right has changed. In June 2015, we tell ourselves, Donald Trump rode down his golden escalator and pretty soon nativism, long a feature of conservative politics, had engulfed it. But that’s not the full story. If the right has grown more nationalistic, the left has grown less so. A decade ago, liberals publicly questioned immigration in ways that would shock many progressives today.

Who are these people and what did they say about illegal immigration?

Extra - Kamala knows how the game is played.

End of an era

Remember when General Motors and General Electric were the titans of American industry?  WSJ: "GE Drops Out of the Dow After More Than a Century" - "General Electric is being replaced by Walgreens Boots Alliance, in the latest setback for a troubled conglomerate that once had highest market value of any U.S. corporation"

Sacrifice the pawns

Ace: "Top Senate Democrat Shoots Down Cruz's Proposal to End the Family Separation Democrats and the Media Supposedly Care So Much About, In Order to "Keep the Focus on Trump"."

Hot Air: "Schumer’s made his decision. Child separation is an atrocity … but not so much of one that they’ll go over Trump’s head by making a deal with Ted Cruz."

This is why Democrats will never - ever - reform entitlements: they need to scare Grandma every two years.

The clean energy two-step

MassLive: "Massachusetts Senate passes ambitious clean energy bill."  "The idealistic goal would be reached by increasing the state's renewable portfolio standard by 3 percent every year, instead of the current 1 percent."

It sure worked out for Germany.  Hit and Run: "Germany Flops on Climate Change Goals - Germany won't be able to meet the goal of cutting emissions by 20 percent before 2020. But the attempt caused residential energy prices to double."

Meathead gets one right

The Hill: "Rob Reiner denounces Robert De Niro, celebrities for anti-Trump remarks."  "You’re helping Trump by saying ‘F--- Trump,’ because he can say 'look at these people, these elitists,' ” Reiner told “Rising” co-hosts Krystal Ball and Buck Sexton."

We're full up with 50 stars on the flag

Ricochet: "California Might Split Into 3 States. The US Should Only Keep One of Them."

Free speech win

Legal Insurrection: "SCOTUS: Minnesota can’t tread on voters’ t-shirts through “political” apparel ban at polling places."

This 7-2 ruling does not allow for campaigning but does permit your "Don't Tread On Me" T-shirt.  This case was first heard back in February and had some humorous exchanges.

Server? What illegal email server?

Federalist: "IG Report Shows Obama Lied When He Said He Knew Nothing About Hillary’s Secret E-mail Scheme."

In 2015, President Obama told America he only learned that his secretary of state Hillary Clinton was illegally using a private email server to conduct public business after The New York Times published a story saying so. Today’s release of a Department of Justice inspector general report shows that was a lie.

Bottom of page 89, y'all.

Extra - Twitchy: "1. Hillary was unbelievably reckless. 2. Scrubbing the reference to Obama was an enormously consequential change."

Emails? What emails? Oh, those emails.

Hot Air: "Did The FBI’s Slow Walk Of The Weiner Laptop Investigation Cost Clinton The Election?"

McCabe and Strzok sat on them for three weeks and then Comey felt compelled to reveal the renewed investigation right before the election.  But what might have been:

Comey told the OIG that, had he known about the laptop in the beginning of October and thought the email review could have been completed before the election, it may have affected his decision to notify Congress.

Something got buried and it was Hillary.

Republicans: Prepare to pounce!

Federalist: "What To Look For In The Inspector General’s Report About DOJ And FBI Election Interference."

It's official: the Russian collusion story is a dud

How do I know this?  Vox's Matthew Yglesias has a story called: "There’s actually lots of evidence of Trump-Russia collusion."  These are actual quotes to support his thesis:

I would not necessarily call any of this “evidence” of collusion, but it’s certainly grounds for suspicion.

Oh.

That Trumpworld was clearly open to both political collusion and financial dealmaking with the Russian government doesn’t demonstrate that either actually occurred. But it’s unquestionably evidence in favor of the possibility. 

This one made me laugh.  Yes, it's definitely maybe that there's unquestionable evidence of a possibility.  It's right in front of your eyes, America!

Yglesias is so often wrong he invites articles like "Does Matthew Yglesias Ever Tire Of Being Embarrassingly Wrong About Everything?" So if he says that Russian collusion is a thing, you can rest assured it is not.

Thanks, Bobby D

American Conservative: "A Tale of Two Tonys" looks at the Tony Awards and Anthony Bourdain:

I can’t imagine that many Trump voters were watching the Tony Awards last night, so they wouldn’t have seen that virtue-signaling display. But it will enjoy a long life on social media, where it will do Donald Trump a lot of good with the masses, because it will solidify their entirely accurate belief that the cultural elites hate them. De Niro and the standing-ovation-giving audience are so vain that they don’t recognize this.

DeNiro was a profile in courage, delivering his crude attack against Trump to a Broadway crowd in the heart of New York City.  It was like Daniel in the lion's den.

Life in the bubble

Hot Air: "Poll: Democratic Undergrads Far Less Likely To Trust, Befriend People With Differing Political Views."  By a wide margin.

The second half of the NBA championship

Social insecurity

Some cheery analysis from Zero Hedge on Social Security's pending insolvency:

The entire social support framework faces an inevitable conclusion where no amount of wishful thinking will change that outcome. The ONLY question is whether our elected leaders will start making the changes necessary sooner, while they can be done by choice, or later, when they are forced upon us.

Yeah, it's going to be the latter.

"My fight is over."

Sad news: "Fox News star Charles Krauthammer reveals he has weeks to live in heartbreaking letter."

I saw him at the University of Massachusetts in April 2015 where he talked about the "Consequences of American Retreat."  Great guy.  He'll be missed.

Number one, baby

WSJ: "Americans’ Wealth Surpasses $100 Trillion."

No dice

Andrew McCarthy: "Andrew McCabe Seeks Immunity for . . . What?" "Once McCabe realizes the Judiciary Committee will not give him immunity or otherwise interfere with the Justice Department’s ability to prosecute him, he is apt to become a much more forthcoming witness."

D-Day

Some of these are good: "Six Facts About D-Day You Never Learned in School."

Who could have seen this coming?

Oh, right, everybody.  Hot Air: "Shocker: McDonald’s Will Have Self-Order Kiosks In All Stores By 2020." 

Check it out: Nancy Pelosi lied

I know, I was as shocked as you.  Today the Trustees for Medicare and Social Security said the trust funds were being depleted and we should do something.  Nancy Pelosi sprang into action to scare Grandma:

Responding to the new report, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi faulted to the GOP tax bill’s impact on declining tax revenues.

“The GOP tax scam’s massive, unpaid-for giveaways to the wealthiest 1 percent and big corporations have gravely undermined the future of Medicare and Social Security, and now Republicans want America’s seniors to pay the bill,” she said in a statement.

Of course, Medicare and Social Security are paid out of FICA taxes which were not affected by the recent tax reform plan.  Demagoguing entitlements is all Nancy has because she certainly has never advanced a plan to fix the problem despite yearly warnings from the Trustees.

The secret is out

Ace: "Chris Matthews Rips Democrats as "A Party of Attitude and Elitism"."

Russians!

In honor of both the Stanley Cup playoffs and the end of "The Americans":

There go those Republicans again

Hot Air: "Inspector General’s Report Isn’t Out Yet, But The Washington Post Is Already Worried Republicans Will Seize On It."

This “Republicans seize” trope is what you get when 90% of the reporters in the national media are Democrats. As long as that systemic problem remains, we’ll keep seeing bad news for Democrats repackaged as attacks by Republicans.

Ignore that news harmful to Democrats; let's focus on the GOP highlighting it for political gain, darn them.

When you're stuck in an airport

Heather Wilhelm at the Corner: "The Astonishing Silliness of CNN."

Yip yip yip yip bom bom bom bom - get a job

Associated Press: "US unemployment falls to nearly 1969 levels; hiring solid."