Here in Western Mass

This is an event tomorrow afternoon at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst: "An Israeli Perspective on the Israel-Gaza Conflict: A Conversation with Dr. Jesse Ferris."

Odds that this perspective will be shouted down by antisemitic protesters: high. 

It's a good thing the border is so secure

NPR: "Wray warns of increased terrorist threat, says U.S. is in a 'dangerous period'." 

America's premiere university

City Journal: "Harvard’s Double Standard on Free Speech - At the university, you’re free to excuse Hamas’s atrocities, but don’t dare say anything that offends leftists."

In this year’s FIRE report, Harvard’s speech climate didn’t merely rank dead last among those of the 248 participating colleges. It was also the first school that FIRE has given an “Abysmal” rating for its speech climate, scoring it zero on the 100-point scale (even that was a generous upgrade, as its actual composite score was -10). That dismal distinction made headlines last month across the United States, Europe, the Middle East, and Asia—but not on the Harvard campus. The Crimson didn’t even publish an article in its news section, much less an editorial.

Leftists can't defend their positions, so the easiest thing to do is censor the other side.

I've been confidently told this is "accountability culture"

Hot Air: "Suddenly 'Cancel Culture' Is Terrible."

Twitchy: "Report: People's Jobs Are Being Targeted for Supporting Hamas."

I liked the T. Becket Adams quote: "We're at the "I never thought that nuking the filibuster would come back to haunt me" chapter in this particular culture war battle." 

Same energy as the "New York will always be a sanctuary city!" boast. 

How does the Bee do it?

The Babylon Bee is now the #1 predictor of the news.  For example:

Biden Announces He Has Secured Pinky Promise From Hamas Not To Use $100 Million For Terrorism https://t.co/YI1QvITb3F pic.twitter.com/xhbojxcMZv

— The Babylon Bee (@TheBabylonBee) October 28, 2023

A couple days later, we have this statement from the Biden security team:

Then came the statement from Deputy National Security Advisor Jon Finer. His remarks were even worse. According to Finer, they believe they can prevent Hamas from stealing the aid because they have an understanding with...wait for it...Hamas. 

You'll never - ever - guess what happened next.  Reuters: "Gazans break into aid centres, taking flour and supplies, UN says." 

That's Bidenomics, kids

CNBC: "For the second Halloween in a row, U.S. candy inflation hits double digits." 

Now here's Joe to tell you about your savings on insulin. 

Chandler is dead?

I'm only seeing this on TMZ but they're reporting that Matthew Perry has died.  Sheesh.

Update - L.A. Times confirms. 

Western Mass news update

Fox News: "Lecturer dodges on condemning terrorism in tense debate at UMass Amherst: ‘It’s not a yes or no question’."

Stumped by the question: "Do you condemn terrorism?"

When you ain't got no metrics

Reason: "Test Scores Are Plummeting Despite California Spending Wildly on Education - State officials seem to delight in how much money they "invest" in different priorities, without worrying too much about outcomes." 

The Left loves censorship, a continuing saga

Power Line: "Amy Klobuchar, Censor." - "Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar has an undistinguished legislative record. She has been a master of small-ball politics, sponsoring unimportant but superficially appealing bills while excelling at constituent service. But now, Klobuchar has stepped out as an advocate for censorship, a key Democratic Party priority."

This sparked a backlash from Matt Taibbi: "Amy Klobuchar, you suck"

These people are the worst. I would pay money to watch them all mauled by bears. Senator Klobuchar, Mr.Bezos, esteemed editors of the Washington Post, to hell with all of you.

They hate free speech.  Simple as that, demonstrated over and over.

Good

Hot Air: "The New Speaker Will Separate Ukraine and Israel Funding."

There's no need for these to be bundled.  

Disney eats its seed corn

Outkick: "Disney delays Snow White, Elio during dismal year."

I have to say that I just got back from a Disney cruise and had a great time.  The ship was filled with families having fun and a lot of Disney fanatics who are still captivated by the institutional magic of the Disney brand.  "Finding Nemo" was on the big screen and there was a lot of laughter at Monsters Inc. trivia.

But what does the current generation of young kids have to look forward to in the Disney universe?  A live-action remake of "Frozen"?  The pending "women are funny get over it" reincarnation of "The Marvels?"  How many kids are going to be watching "Lightyear" on repeat?

Disney got lazy and politically correct and the sub-$80, 10-year low in the stock price reflects how the paying public has turned against the brand.  I say this out of sadness: some of my best times were at Disney World and I've thought about taking my (future) grandkids there.  But the relentless price increases have pushed people away from the parks and sub-par movies have pushed people away from the shows.  The cruise line is doing just fine but how much longer will that last once the memories of "Tangled" and "Moana" fade away?  Walt Disney, who was continuously looking forward to the next great story, would be saddened to the lackadaisical cash-grab that now defines this company.

I'd like to see Disney turn it around but I fear the Bob Iger-era has looked to short-term profit at the expense of developing long-term and meaningful stories.

Dementia Joe's "work" week

This is your weekly reminder of all the hard work Biden is putting in while Americans are killed and missing (possibly held hostage) in Israel.  Here's Joe's schedule this week:

Monday morning: back to the White House after Delaware beach vacation

Monday afternoon: 6-minute speech gaslighting on Bidenomics

Tuesday: handing out medals to scientists

Wednesday: party time/state dinner with the PM of Australia (the B-52's cancelled due to "sorrow and pain" of Israel-Hamas war)

Thursday: nothing

Friday: Vacation time in Delaware

Today's banana republic news

Federalist: "FBI And Its Foreign Influence Task Force Purged Sources Who Were Onto Biden Corruption" - "The House needs to do more than question the personnel Grassley identified. It must first open a long-overdue impeachment inquiry into FBI Director Christopher Wray." 

Sounds about right

The Corner: "Jamaal Bowman Is a Pathetic Man-Child Unworthy of Respect." 

And now Gallup

The Messenger: "Trust in News Media Continues to Plummet"

Gallup's annual trust in media survey was released this week and the findings are more ominous for the state of the industry than ever before. 

Just 32% of American adults trust the media, tying the all-time low set in 2016. But here's where matters really go south: Nearly four-in-ten (39%) say they have no trust in the media whatsoever, marking the highest number saying that in the poll's history and a 12-point drop from the 2016 poll. For contrast, just 7% say they have a "great deal" of trust in the Fourth Estate.

If you look at the numbers, Democrats generally think the mainstream media is A-OK while both Republicans and Independents think they suck.  This is a trend that has widened over 20 years.

It's protected speech

Good (long) article about First Amendment rights.  Reason: "How To Yell 'Fire' in a Crowded Theater" - "Aside from narrowly defined exceptions, false speech is protected by the First Amendment."

Republicans for Hakeem Jeffries

Fox News: "House GOP spirals into chaos as Emmer becomes third speaker nominee dropped in three weeks." 

Seriously, at this point if I were a GOP Congressman, I would just threaten to vote for the Democrats' minority leader.  Anything to end this clown show. 

We condemn all hate, but not really

Legal Insurrection: "Hate Speech: Biden, Jean-Pierre Sometimes Mentions Anti-Semitism, But Always Mentions Islamophobia." 

It's a mystery how this keeps happening

So much distrust of the mainstream media, gosh.  Issues & Insights: "Americans’ Trust In The Media Hits All-Time Low In Latest I&I/TIPP Poll."

Maybe it's because of this: "NYT: A Week Later, Hamas "Fails to Make Case" that Israel Struck Hospital; UPDATE: "Editors Note"?"

Or maybe this: "How dumb is CNN?"  

It's like the "Homer into the Bushes" meme just with NYT pic.twitter.com/w2lOIwUgTc

— American Prometheus (@daniopp) October 17, 2023

Journalists can't do the basic function of their job

National Review: "The Media Will Never Forgive Israel for Not Bombing That Hospital" - "Reporters and pundits mishandled the Gaza hospital story because they wanted so badly for it to be true." 

We're seeing the same bias in play that exploded the Kavanaugh hoax and is currently ignoring the Biden shakedown story.  When is the media going to ask Dementia Joe about his $200,000 payday?

Not suspicious at all

Red State: "Things Heating Up: Biden Paid Cash for Beach Home Within Weeks of Hunter's Threat About Chinese Money." 

It's OK because Joe loves his son.

Back from vacation

Well, when I left there was no Speaker of the House, the ground invasion of Gaza was imminent and the members of the Squad were making anti-Israel gaffes.  So nothing has changed.

Taking a break

Enjoy these jazzy notes during a brief hiatus.

Stuff just got real

Wall Street Journal: "Don’t Hire My Anti-Semitic Law Students - Would your clients want an attorney who condones hatred and monstrous crimes?" 

Their choice was war

Powerline: "It's time to crush Gaza"

When a country is invaded by a foreign power, the only sane response is to retaliate with massive, overwhelming, disproportionate force. And when an invader commits the kinds of atrocities that we have seen over the last week, unprecedented in modern times, vengeance must be the order of the day.

War is a terrible thing. But the Gazans started this war, and war is what they are going to get. Every resulting casualty should be laid at the foot of Hamas and all Gazans who have supported and collaborated with Hamas–a large majority, by all indications.

John Hinderaker is echoing a quote from Civil War general William Tecumseh Sherman:

War is the remedy our enemies have chosen. Other simple remedies were within their choice. You know it and they know it, but they wanted war, and I say let us give them all they want; not a word of argument, not a sign of let up, no cave in till we are whipped or they are.

Sherman followed up this policy with his scorched earth March to the Sea because he and Grant were resolved to end the Civil War, once and for all.  Israel has the same intention for Hamas.

Totally totally called it

As predicted.  Twitchy: "Another 'embellishment' from President Biden: this time he's lying about his support of gay marriage."

Joe Biden once again claims he started supporting gay marriage in 1959 when he saw two guys kissing in Wilmington and his father told him "it's simple. They love each other."

There is not a chance the story is true: https://t.co/7QTXCggrag pic.twitter.com/zrxusqrwJh

— Greg Price (@greg_price11) October 14, 2023

Biden at the Human Rights Campaign dinner tonight

That means 100% chance of a retelling of the "Joey, they love each other" story which is just another made-up fabrication by Dementia Joe.

And 0% chance of any recounting of Biden's long history standing against gay rights. 

The penny drops at the NY Times

Hot Air: "NY Times Opinion: New York sounds like a southern border state now." 

Don't make me tap the poem on the Statue of Liberty, New York. 

Invasion imminent

Fox News: "Israel gives Palestinians deadline to flee Gaza as troops amass at border." 

Who doesn't want to wear the ribbon?!?

Daily Mail: "Transgender cyclists take gold AND silver medals at Chicago women's race, as critics insist pair had considerable biological advantage over female rivals."

Who?!?  Who are these "critics" spreading trans hate?

This will end badly

Reason: "Inflation Won't Go Away Until Congress Gets the Deficit Under Control" - "The Federal Reserve's higher interest rates were supposed to trigger changes to fiscal policy. So far, that hasn't happened." 

Biden administration does the right thing

Hey, credit where credit is due.  Hot Air: "US, Qatar refreeze $6 billion in Iran hostage payment." 

I do blame the media

AMAC: "Blame The Media For Biden’s Incompetence." - "This is a pattern that has played out throughout Biden’s presidency, with the media acting as Biden’s personal PR firm rather than the voice of the American people." 

Today's feel-good story: Israeli babe kills Hamas terrorists

Breitbart: "Early action by 25-year-old Israeli woman kills 5 terrorists, leads team to save kibbutz from Hamas."

Lieberman then rushed to open the armory, passed out guns to a 12-member security team, and planned their response to the imminent Hamas attack.

“She placed her squad of kibbutzniks in strategic positions across the settlement and set up ambushes that caught the gunmen off guard and turned the tables on them during their mission to inflict mass casualties,” the Post reported.

Lieberman killed five terrorists on her own, while her security team took out at least 20 more over a period of four hours. Together, they “turned Nir Am into an impenetrable fortress, while nearby kibbutzim suffered heavy losses,” the Post reported, citing Walla News.

This may sound paranoid, but I carry a knife (rule #9) with me almost all the time.  You need to hope for the best but prepare for the worst - all the time.  Like the Boy Scouts say: be prepared. 

Because of course

Red State: "Reporter Lights up State Dept. Spox After He Tries Blaming Trump for $6 Billion Biden Unfroze for Iran."

Also, gosh darn it, we just had to build that border wall.  Evergreen:

Jake Sullivan refuses to say whether or not Biden will seek to re-freeze $6 billion in assets for Iran. pic.twitter.com/uxNSXdi9KW

— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) October 10, 2023

Having solved all other problems...

Outkick: "California is banning certain candy including Peeps Marshmallows." 

Re-freeze the Iranian funds

Claw back that $6 billion:

Putting more money into the coffers of Iran was always a bad idea; it’s just a more vividly and visibly foolhardy idea now than it appeared to be last month when the Biden team agreed to it.

On September 12, U.S. State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said of those unfrozen funds, “When this money arrives in these accounts in Qatar, it will be held there under strict oversight by the United States Treasury Department, and the money can only be used for humanitarian purposes, and we will remain vigilant in watching the spending of those funds and have the ability to freeze them again if we need to.”

Great. What are you guys waiting for?

Just what would the Iranian government need to do to warrant the refreezing of those funds if not helping plan, train, and pull the trigger on this weekend’s attacks?

Seems like a no-brainer. Money is fungible.  

Israel's 9/11

Fox News: "At least 1100 dead, Israeli PM Netanyahu declares 'war' after Hamas terrorists launch massive attack." 

U.S. warships are on the move. 

Update - Wall Street Journal: "Iran Helped Plot Attack on Israel Over Several Weeks." 

This administration can't do anything right

Red State: "Jake Sullivan's Remarks a Week Ago on Middle East Show What a Clown Show Biden Team Is." 

Former Secretary of Defense Robert Gates once - correctly - stated that Biden has "been wrong on nearly every major foreign policy and national security issue over the past four decades."  All that's left to hit the trifecta is China invading Taiwan.

Iran thanks you for the $6 billion, dummies.

You almost have to respect how utterly and completely incompetent the Biden administration is…COVID, Afghanistan, the border, inflation/economy, now this…hard to imagine they could do worse if they were actively trying to fail https://t.co/g9oFJ9h8z9

— Ian Miller (@ianmSC) October 7, 2023

Atrocities

Hot Air: "War in Israel: 'We will fight them to the bitter end and avenge this black day'." 

Some tough-to-watch videos at the link. 

The gaslighting isn't working

TIPP Insights: "Bidenomics Crushes Economic Confidence - 54% believe the U.S. is in a recession." 

Don't let mentally-ill protesters win

As the British would say, I was gobsmacked when I read this: "Just Stop Oil’s most miserable stunt yet"

Eco-extremist troupe Just Stop Oil has once again disrupted the smooth running of civilised society to remind us of the coming climate catastrophe.

This time, these silly middle-class twats chose Wednesday evening’s performance of Les Misérables for their latest piece of performance politics. And once again, they did so in order to demand that we all stop enjoying ourselves, just as they have done at art galleries, the tennis and, indeed, some traffic lights on the North Circular.

On this particular occasion, JSO activists achieved their disruption through the medium of glue, attaching themselves to the stage at the Sondheim Theatre right in the middle of Les Mis. Less Victor Hugo than Victor Uhu.

Miserable indeed were the targets of JSO’s theatre of the absurd – namely, the audience, who were promptly sent home. Some had no doubt gone to considerable expense in the hope of getting away for a few stolen moments of entertainment in the middle of our supposed oil-driven orgy of ecological desecration.

Emphasis mine.  Why should the theater-goers suffer?  I have to believe there is exactly zero percent chance an American audience would just pack up and forfeit both the cost of the ticket (about $100) and the principle of letting these clowns ruin an evening at the theater.  Man, I have to believe that.

Iranian-backed Hamas attacks Israel

Fox News: "Israeli PM Netanyahu declares 'war' after Hamas terrorists launch massive attack." 

What is wrong with this fruitcake?

Red State: "People Wonder if Kamala Harris Was High After Hysterical Laughing Fit." 

Things that are not bans

Daily Signal: "Parents Who Object to Pornographic Material in School Libraries Aren’t ‘Book Banners’."

Governor Abbott wins

Let's face it: sending buses of illegals to the sanctuary cities of New York and Chicago was a masterstroke.  It led directly to this stunning reversal today: "Biden Admin Waives Numerous Federal Laws to Construct a Border Wall in South Texas - Mayorkas: “There is presently an acute and immediate need to construct physical barriers and roads in the vicinity of the border of the United States in order to prevent unlawful entries into the United States."

Of course, the "adults in the room" couldn't possibly take responsibility for their horrible immigration policies so they needed to find somebody to blame.  And the reason these brainiacs came up with was that there was a law passed in 2019 and - gosh darn it - they need to follow the law and build the wall.

Nobody can explain what law they're talking about.  Nobody can explain why this law was ignored for four years but only now it must be enforced.  In a sane world, nobody would buy such a ridiculous excuse.

Here's the truth: the citizens are angry and the mayors are freaking out: "Tensions flare between Chicago and White House over migrant crisis." 

Ultimately, we know why the Biden Administration reversed course on the border wall.  The internal polling came in and it's bad.  

Extra fun - You're going to need a bigger internet: "Here’s What Democrats Had To Say About The Border Wall When Trump Was President." 

Dementia Joe hates the poison he spreads regularly

This was quite the moment today:

More than anything, we need to change the poisonous atmosphere in Washington.  I know we have strong disagreements, but we need to stop seeing each other as enemies.  We need to talk to one another, listen to one another, work with one another.  And we can do that.

As the kids say, "this you bro?"

There’s no denying Biden’s January 2022 speech in Atlanta, denouncing the state’s recently-passed voting reform laws was incendiary by presidential standards. Biden denounced the law as “Jim Crow 2.0” and he asked lawmakers, “do you want to be on the side of John Lewis or Bull Connor?”As Foer puts it, “its implications were clear enough. He was arguably accusing Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema of siding with the man who had fired water cannons at black children.” But what’s fascinating is that apparently Biden was genuinely surprised that accusing everyone who disagreed with him on the filibuster of being the moral equivalent of segregationists had damaged his relationship with Senate GOP leader Mitch McConnell.

The Bull Connor comparison is why Dementia Joe doesn't do press conferences anymore.  

JOE BIDEN: We must STOP seeing each other as enemies.

-also-

JOE BIDEN: ‘MAGA Republicans’ are threat to US democracy.. pic.twitter.com/Aixoxlymni

— Chuck Callesto (@ChuckCallesto) October 4, 2023

Democrats hate free speech

We already knew this.  Hot Air: "Poll confirms what we all know: Democrats in love with censorship." 

"The largest non-emergency deficit we've ever run"

This economic analysis from Kelly Evans of CNBC is almost too good to excerpt and you should read the whole thing.  If you haven't been a fan of the economic turmoil we've recently experienced, well....

Unfortunately, it isn't over yet. In fact, like being trapped in a video game where each level gets progressively more difficult, the next chapter may be even more challenging. Because now, markets are freaking out over the government's fiscal problems. And we all know that might be the hardest thing for this country to try and solve. 

Bond yields keep rising as the Feds try to keep the money machine running.  Why?

The single biggest reason rates are rising is because the U.S. fiscal picture has been much worse than expected this year. The economic data have stopped getting noticeably better in recent weeks, even as the speed of the upward move in yields has increased.

It's all about the overspending:

And the biggest change since April, in terms of what could affect "real" yields, is not the U.S. long-term productivity picture, or demographics, or de-globalization, or what have you. It's the sharp increase in the budget deficit. Back in April, for instance, Goldman expected this year's deficit to be $1.6 trillion--already a hefty sum. But it actually came in at $2 trillion, and would have been $2.3 trillion if not for the Supreme Court's last-minute cancellation of the president's student loan forgiveness plan. 

And the problem is, there's no one-off "reason" for that sky-high figure, which is a doubling from last year and, at 7.4% of GDP, the largest non-emergency deficit we've ever run. Revenues have fallen back to historical averages after a surge in the two previous years, so that's not helping. But spending meanwhile remains about three points higher than it was pre-pandemic, and for a wide variety of reasons, from higher Medicare and Social Security payments, to a lack of Fed remittances, to FDIC spending on the bank bailouts, and so forth. 

As Evans notes, the rise in deficits, the increasing cost of the Federal government to service that debt, and runaway spending that nobody wants to cut is putting us into a "fiscal doom loop" that will be more and more difficult to avoid with inaction.  There's a feint towards entitlement reform but I've given up on that pipe dream, especially in an election year.

Governing by "appeal to emotion"

Reason: "On Guns, Drugs, and National Security, Dianne Feinstein Was Consistently Authoritarian - The late California senator always seemed to err on the side of more government power and less individual freedom."  

And she registered as a foreign lobbyist, right?

I hear that FARA violations are serious.  Washington Examiner: "Joe Biden's granddaughter worked on behalf of Peru and lived at White House: Report."