Profile in courage, this ain't

The Hill: "Dems wrestle over how to vote on ‘Green New Deal’."  The Senate Democrats are conspiring to vote 'present' on the non-binding resolution and even the Senator who threw his support behind the plan is backing away:

Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.), the Senate co-sponsor of Ocasio-Cortez’s Green New Deal resolution, said he’s working with Schumer and declined to say whether he would vote present instead of “yes” on his own proposal.

Brave Ed Markey bravely ran away.

Now we know why this was delayed several times

The Hill: "Michael Cohen's pathetic 'Cry for Me, Argentina' performance."

Okay, so no Russian collusion. No trip to Prague. No direct instruction to lie. And no secret effort asking WikiLeaks to hack the Democratic National Committee.

Pretty good stuff … for the Trump defense team.

Just a lot of hearsay and begging for empathy.  Cohen's big "bombshell" was that Roger Stone gave Trump inside information on Wikileaks in July 2016.  This would be the same information that Julian Assange was tweeting and appearing on TV to tout in June 2016.  Big reveal.

They ran out of other peoples' money

NPR: "If a Wealth Tax is Such a Good Idea, Why Did Europe Kill Theirs?"  It's a bad idea and unconstitutional to boot.

Kerjillion bazillion shabadoo

Hot Air: "Sure, Why Not: Green New Deal Could Cost $93 Trillion Over 10 Years, Study Says."

Remember, though: when you're on the "right side of history" and literally trying to save the world, piffling little things like the cost are not up for discussion.

"Of all tyrannies, a tyranny sincerely exercised for the good of its victims may be the most oppressive. It would be better to live under robber barons than under omnipotent moral busybodies. The robber baron's cruelty may sometimes sleep, his cupidity may at some point be satiated; but those who torment us for our own good will torment us without end for they do so with the approval of their own conscience." - C.S. Lewis.

Believe some survivors

Associated Press: "Virginia’s Fairfax compares himself to lynching victims."

When he finished his five-minute impromptu speech, stunned senators sat in awkward silence.

I'll bet.  One of Fairfax's accusers is speaking to law enforcement.

Russians everywhere

The Week: "The Mueller Joke"

From the very beginning, the special counsel investigation has been a string of anecdotes, compound adjectives ("Russia-linked"), and vanquished dreams in search of a conspiracy. The only crimes of which Paul Manafort, Roger Stone, Michael Cohen, and the rest have been accused are ones that were alleged to have been committed either well before or long after the 2016 election; in many cases, indeed, they were said to have occurred during the course of the investigation itself — process crimes. None of the charges in question were about colluding with Russia. The only one that has even directly involved the presidential election was a violation of federal campaign finance law.

This two-year temper-tantrum over Hillary losing has, unfortunately, solidified into doctrine for the anti-Trump left.  It will join Al Gore's "stolen" election and fabulist Christine Blasey Ford's testimony in a long line of "truthy" stories.  After holding up Mueller as the gold standard of investigation, Adam Schiff has indicated he won't accept his conclusions.  Because of course he won't: what purpose does the guy serve without the Russia investigation?

If there's any justice at all, the Mueller investigation will indict Andrew McCabe and Fusion GPS for trying to kneecap a duly-elected President.

Extra - Hot Air: "We’re At Least “One Collusion Short” On Any Mueller Bombshell."

"Journalism"

If you're confused, the "alleged" incident is the one with the video. pic.twitter.com/9syht3kNZA

— David Harsanyi (@davidharsanyi) February 22, 2019

That time Amy was forkless

Hot Air: "Revealed: The Time Amy Klobuchar Ate A Salad With A Comb And Made An Aide Clean It."  Gross.

The Bee is Patti Labelle

Oh, NY-14, why did you elect such a dummy?  Fox News: "Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez slammed over anti-Amazon push in New York City billboard: 'Thanks for nothing'."

The Peacock is Neil Patrick Harris

In other news: "It’s official: Jussie Smollett hit with felony criminal charges, is negotiating surrender for his arrest."

Enter Sandmann

Big news tonight is that Covington Catholic teen Nicholas Sandman is suing the Washington Post for defamation and some people are really stoked!  A quarter-billion dollars?  Take that, Bezos!

It's times like this it's good to visit a legal blog like Legal Insurrection:

I’ve read the Complaint, but it is hard to find specific false statements about Sandmann. As the Complaint states many times, Sandmann relies on the alleged ” false and defamatory gist” of WaPo’s coverage (that phrase appears 24 times). Many of the statements attributed to WaPo that contributed to this gist are the repetition of statements from Phillips and others as part of the news coverage that create the impression (sometimes explicitly so) that the students (and by implication Sandmann) were the aggressors. I wonder, though, whether those conclusions by WaPo were opinions as a legal matter and thus protected by the First Amendment.

So my gut is telling me there may be some legal problems surviving a motion to dismiss. I’ll be looking for solid legal analysis by others on this. If you find any analysis that’s not just wishful thinking, please post in the comments.

Sandmann may have better claims against Phillips, but good luck collecting.

Well I'm ambivalent here: on the one hand, I dislike nuisance lawsuits but I also hate the mainstream media.  Maybe Sandmann will settle for some college tuition.

Demand is far greater than the supply

Heather MacDonald at City Journal: "The Frenzied Search for Racism" - "Elites bought Jussie Smollett’s story because it confirmed their cherished narrative about a hateful America."

It's like we've been fake-victimized again

Babylon Bee: "Nation's Liberals Devastated After Learning Hate Crime Didn't Actually Happen."

The nation’s liberals were struck by a devastating blow this week after finding out a hate crime, reported by Empire actor Jussie Smollet, didn’t actually happen.

“I needed this to be true,” said liberal columnist Hanna Spalding. “When I first heard the news of this attack, I was filled with so much hope. I felt so validated. Then that was taken away. Now I just want to cry into my pillow.”

The latest news is that Jussie was so upset that his hoax letter didn't lead to Trump's impeachment, he moved on to a hoax attack.

A complete farce

Federalist: "7 Big Takeaways From Andrew McCabe’s Planned Coup" - "McCabe's actions prove that the Russia probe was always tainted and that many in the FBI and DOJ aren’t public servants, but rather incompetent attention-seekers."

The guy is waiting for his indictment from the grand jury so he needs some lawyer cash from his new book.

Extra - Victor Davis Hanson: "Autopsy of a dead coup".  "McCabe was iconic of an utterly corrupt FBI Washington hierarchy, which we now know from the behavior of its disgraced and departed leadership. They posed as patriotic scouts, but in reality proved themselves arrogant, smug, and incompetent. They harbored such a sense of superiority that they were convinced they could act outside the law in reifying an “insurance policy” that would end the Trump presidency."

Don't forget about Christine "Baby Talk" Ford

News media hopped from the laughable Steele dossier, to CNN’s bogus Don Jr. emails scoop, to BuzzFeed’s bogus Michael Cohen scoop, to the vile Covington smears, to the obvious Jussie Smollett hoax, and yet journos wonder why people say “Learn to code” when they finally get fired.

— Sean Davis (@seanmdav) February 17, 2019

How now, Jussie?

The Chicago police department would like a chit-chat.  Gateway Pundit: "Nigerian Bros Purchased the Rope Found Around Jussie Smollett’s Neck at Ace Hardware – Claim Smollett Paid Them to Orchestrate Attack."

Blondes are telling jokes about her

Powerline: "How dumb is Ocasio-Cortez?"

It's only going to get worse for her as the coverage shifts from "shiny new thing" to a public figure who has to substantiate her positions.  When she announced her Green New Deal the other day a reporter asked about nuclear power and she ceded the microphone to Senator Ed Markey with obvious relief.

Extra - Victory Girls: "Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s Econ Professors Should Be Fired."

Smollett lawyers up

Victory Girls: "Smollett Story Collapses Along with Liberal Virtue Signaling."  Chicago race hoaxer Jussie Smollett, who appears on some show on television, has hired a defense lawyer.  At this point, we can pretty much just move on to the next stage of finding ways to blame his behavior on Trump.

Golly it got quiet from 2009-2016

NATIONAL DEBT, TWITTER POSTS BY CNN

2008 $10.3T: 2
2009 $11.9T: 0
2010 $13.6T: 0
2011 $14.7T: 0
2012 $16.2T: 0
2013 $16.8T: 0
2014 $17.9T: 0
2015 $18.2T: 0
2016 $19.7T: 0
2017-now $22T: 11

But don’t call them biased. pic.twitter.com/vNO3wCwT5m

— Razor (@hale_razor) February 13, 2019

It will all be over soon

Federalist: "As The Russia Hoax Begins To Unravel, The Gaslighting Begins" - "The media has started backing away from the Russia collusion hoax. Many seem to know a reckoning is coming."

Ugh. No.

Hit and Run: "Trump Plans To Sign Border Deal and Declare National Emergency. Here’s What That Could Mean."

Trump's use of a national emergency declaration to secure border wall funding should trouble anyone who understands and appreciates separation of powers. According to a 2007 report from the Congressional Research Service (CRS), the 1976 National Emergencies Act entitles the president to "statutory delegations from Congress" that let him "seize property, organize and control the means of production, seize commodities, assign military forces abroad, institute martial law, seize and control all transportation and communication, regulate the operation of private enterprise, restrict travel, and, in a variety of ways, control the lives of United States citizens."

We don't know what limits there are on a president's ability to declare a national emergency. There is definitely potential for civil liberties abuses, particularly in regard to eminent domain, which is the process by which the government forces a property owner to sell.

One of the common complaints I make about the border security issue is that it's so very easy for people in Western Massachusetts to make pronouncements when they will bear very little of the consequences of illegal immigration.  So I hesitate to say this but - c'mon - this is not a national emergency.  This is not terrorists slamming 747s into the World Trade Center; it's the typical level of border crossings that have existed forever.  There's nothing extraordinary about it.

Speaking as someone who has warmed up to Trump, this "emergency" smells like something cooked up to save face and it sets a terrible precedent.

Extra - This Trump tweet aged really well.

More - The Corner: "Courts Should Not Defer to Trump’s National-Security Pretext."

"The truth is more complicated"

Oh, fer sure, fer sure.  Twitchy: "‘Ready at the drop of a hat’: NYT gets to work carrying Kamala Harris’ bong water." 

You've let him down, Virginia

National Review: "Ralph Northam Has Nobody to Blame but Himself."

In the Post interview, Northam spoke as if the citizens of his state had done something terrible, and needed to make amends:

“It’s obvious from what happened this week that we still have a lot of work to do. There are still some very deep wounds in Virginia, and especially in the area of equity,” he said. “There are ongoing inequities to access to things like education, health care, mortgages, capital, entrepreneurship. And so this has been a real, I think, an awakening for Virginia. It has really raised the level of awareness for racial issues in Virginia. And so we’re ready to learn from our mistakes.”

What’s this “we” stuff?

Sensitivity training for all!

Unexpectedly, Republicans pounce!

Investor's Business Daily: "The Press Needs More Than A Super Bowl Ad To Fix Its Plunging Credibility."

This follows the NY Times parody headline: "Ocasio-Cortez Team Flubs A Green New Deal Summary, And Republicans Pounce."  There's only Republican scandals and Democrat scandals that Republicans seize on for political advantage.

And this - "The only problem with left-wing antisemitism is it might help Republicans"  Yup, the New York Times again.

Oh, Kamala

National Review: "Report: Harris Backed Policy of Reporting Arrested Juvenile Aliens to ICE."

During her time serving as San Francisco district attorney, Senator Kamala Harris (D., Calif.) supported a policy that required local law enforcement to report the arrest of juvenile illegal immigrants to federal immigration authorities.

Harris, who as a 2020 presidential contender has cast herself as an advocate for illegal immigrants, in 2008 publicly supported then-mayor Gavin Newsom’s implementation of a policy that required local law-enforcement officers to report the arrest of illegal juvenile aliens suspected of committing a felony, regardless of whether they were ultimately convicted.

Kamala was just trying to please her man.

Liz Warren launches campaign

Here's an exclusive picture of Liz Warren's presidential campaign launch:

I've heard that before

Via Instapundit: "Gabriel Malor: “This week we learned that blackface isn’t disqualifying for Democratic politicians, and plagiarism isn’t disqualifying for elite journalists.”

Ah, but the question should also be: is plagiarism disqualifying for Democratic politicians? 

Mistakes were made

It's delicious watching the former editor of the New York Times caught in a plagiarism scandal over her book on the fake news.  Althouse: "Jill Abramson, caught and waffling."

We're all gonna (yawn) die

Manhattan Contrarian: "The Climate Scare: Ever More Shrill, Ever Less Serious."  "Do you think that the Dems would bring in a few serious scientists to prove their case?  Don’t kid yourself.  The majority’s witnesses were two politicians, a clergyman, a climate activist, and a 16 year old."  Oh, they have the best feelz.  (Hat tip: Maggie's Farm).

Pressure building in Virginia

Guess who's going to be the first out the door for Virginia's "blackface" problem.  Twitchy: "Kirsten Gillibrand, Cory Booker, & others call on Justin Fairfax to resign."

Extra - From Instapundit.  

Bartenders! Is there anything they can't do?

If you can mix a mai tai, you can redesign the laws of economics and physics

— David Burge (@iowahawkblog) February 7, 2019

La-la-la Lola

Ha-ha, my Google Play started to play the Kinks' "Lola" with the parenthetical "(Mono 'Cherry Cola' Single Version.)"

Which leads to a favorite bit of music trivia: in the original version Ray Davies sings "Coca Cola" but the BBC has a strict ban on commercial names, so:

The BBC banned the track for a different reason. The original song recorded in stereo had the word "Coca-Cola" in the lyrics, but because of BBC Radio's policy against product placement, Ray Davies was forced to make a 6000-mile round-trip flight from New York to London and back on June 3, 1970, interrupting the band's American tour, to change those words to the generic "cherry cola" for the single release, which is included on various compilation albums as well.

Davies: "...cherry cola".  "OK, Ray, we're done here."

Situational standards for fact-checking

Federalist: "The State Of American ‘Fact-Checking’ Is Completely Useless" - "With a veneer of impartiality, fact-checkers engage in a uniquely dishonest style of partisanship."

Thank heaven Trump was corrected in his "one-in-three" claim when it was really only 31%.

Learn to code

Fox News: "Kayleigh McEnany says Instagram removed her Elizabeth Warren post for 'harassment or bullying'"

Aw, this was barely 1/1024 of a bullying.

#Believecertainsurvivors

NPR: "Woman Alleging Sexual Assault By Virginia's Lt. Gov. Hires Washington Law Firm."

The same one hired by fabulist Christine Blasey Ford.  The first lesson will be to develop a quivering voice and talk like a scared toddler.

Extra - Daily Wire: "The Washington Post’s Bias In Running With Flimsy Accusations Against Kavanaugh And Not Fairfax Is Even Worse Than We Thought."

I can't think of a single example

Twitchy: "‘Has this ever happened before?’ Was Justin Fairfax literally born yesterday?"

Poor guy can't believe he's being attacked over uncorroborated sexual assault allegations.

Extra - Federalist: "Washington Post Displays Glaring Double Standard When Reporting Sexual Assault Claims."

Power Line: "Funny how the Post didn’t apply that same standard of review to Brett Kavanaugh, but of course he’s a Republican so shut up."

Patriots win!

The New England Patriots are now tied with the Steelers for the most Super Bowl wins (6).

The Patriots subreddit is gonna be LIT tonight.

Classic:

Super Bowl tomorrow!

Seen outside Boston:

Because of course they did

This is an apple.  Newsbusters: "CNN Mislabels Racist Democrat Governor Northam as a Republican."

Related - Twitchy: "Journos wonder why GOP oppo research didn’t dig up Northam blackface pics, everybody else wonders why the media didn’t."

We missed our chance to pounce!

Low expectations in Newark

I loved the unintentional humor of this line from an article about Cory Booker:

In Newark, Booker beat the corrupt old guard and became the first mayor in 45 years to leave office without being indicted.

Wow!  Let's skip the election.