Overplayed their hand

Manhattan Contrarian: "The Humiliation Of Letitia James -- And Of The New York Legal Establishment."

Should have stayed in Ghana

For the love of God, can you just do your job?
Can you attend to the city of Los Angeles?
What are you doing on national news shows?
Unless you're running for President, we don't see the purpose. Use your time instead to fill our potholes, deal with the city's crime, get the… https://t.co/eNOKaHyZxP

— Justine Bateman (@JustineBateman) August 30, 2025

The car won't run so they're replacing the floor mats

NY Sun: "The Democrats in Crisis Mull a Mini-Convention - The party grasps for gimmicks instead of reversing the leftward policy lurch that is disenchanting voters."

It’s hard to find fault with the Democrats’ idea of holding a so-called “Mini Convention” ahead of the Midterms. After all, we’d likely do the same thing if we lacked for, say, a popular platform on which to run. At a time when the Democrats are “hemorrhaging voters,” as the Times reports, though, it seems as if the party is grasping for gimmicks instead of reversing the leftward policy lurch that is disenchanting voters.

It's remarkable how the Democrats have become captured by their liberal orthodoxy.  Even they know their positions are unpopular and, hence, the non-stop parade of platitudes ("we need to fight!") serving Trump hatred and little else.

What an enormous self-own

Twitchy: "X ENDS J.B. Pritzker for Scolding Trump to Be More Like Illinois Students." 

Do you know why JD Vance will be the next President? This is why.

Red State: "JD Vance, White House Take Politico Reporter to Task Over Latest Hit Job on a Member of Trump Team."

Republicans are done with pretending that the mainstream media is a fair arbiter of public opinion.  They are not.  Trump and Vance have figured this out.  Just take a look at Vance's dress-down of Margaret Brennan at the VP debate.

Detroit's past and New York's future

City Journal: "Chicago Is on the Verge of Fiscal Collapse - A new Illinois law has put the Windy City’s already-underfunded pensions on even shakier ground."

Just a little reminder: "Even 5 years later, retirees feel the effects of Detroit's bankruptcy." 

Junk bond status, here we come Chicago!

So he did what Hillary did

Legal Insurrection: "Sources: John Bolton Sent Classified Emails on Private Server, Intercepted by Hostile Nation - The sources said the investigation picked up steam during the Biden administration which was when intelligence agents learned that another country had obtained Bolton’s emails." 

It's OK because he wiped the server...with a cloth. 

Circumventing the biased mainstream media

Columbia Journalism Review: "The White House Is Its Own Media Outlet - The Trump administration is publishing articles that are top-ranked on Google News." 

A discreet silence

Powerline: "A disgraceful vigil."

Every time there's a mass shooting, the Democrats rush to gun control but can never articulate what exactly that means.  Let's start with Chuck Schumer's security detail and the let him walk around D.C.

Protect the tribe

Twitchy: "Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey Is Mad We Noticed the Gender Ideology of Alleged Catholic School Shooter." 

Slow news day

When I was in high school, I regularly benched 200+ lbs.  Today I was at Planet Fitness and decided to see if I could bench the 135 lbs. that Mamdani struggled with at a New York street event.

Um...I couldn't do it.  To be fair: "Take on Me" was a big hit when I was in high school. 

A pyromaniac in a field of straw men

A professor from Villanova traveled to Colonial Williamsburg and he wants to shoehorn some anti-Trump rhetoric into his trip report: "MAGA has emptied ‘America’ of meaning"

Why, then, do his loyalists consider themselves some of the most patriotic Americans ever? How could it be that this voting bloc — one that decries a free press as the enemy of the people, that doesn’t respect election results, and that believes the president should have unlimited power — truly believes itself to be carrying forth the legacy of our freedom-loving, press-protecting, tyrant-mocking ancestors?

None of this is true and/or there are countervailing arguments on the other side.  There are legitimate complaints that could be made about the MAGA movement but the Left always resorts to - what's the word? - lying.

I don't think MAGA considers the free press the "enemy of the people" but I do believe they regard it as hopelessly biased and worthy of criticism.  There's not a single MAGA person who wants to get rid of Fox News but they also don't want to pay for NPR.  Do you see the distinction here, Brandon?  And I don't even know where you got this "unlimited power" nonsense.  Just completely made up.

Not a good move

Reason: "Trump's Executive Order Prohibiting Flag Burning Is Unconstitutional" - "The president is the last person who should confuse protected speech with incitement to violence."  Ouch.

Chuck Todd is a clown

Why is this guy still punishing us with his useless, hypocritical opinion since he got shit-canned from "Meet the Press."  Just go away, already. 

Twitchy: "Chuck Todd: Don't Make Democrats Live by Their Own Lawfare Rules."  Too late, Chucky - these are the rules you guys made and now you're going to live by them.

The poster child for mental illness

Townhall: "A Chicago Lib Had to Nuke Her Account After This Mind-Numbing Post Against More Policing." 

No margaritas in Uganda

NY Post: "Kilmar Abrego Garcia to be deported after refusing plea offer." - "Immigration officials said they intend to deport Kilmar Abrego Garcia to Uganda, after he declined an offer to be sent to Costa Rica in exchange for remaining in jail and pleading guilty to human smuggling charges, according to a Saturday court filing."

He got his due process.  Happy now, libs?

Oh no anyway

Outkick: "Hollywood Has Another Dismal Summer, After Telling Half Of Americans It Hates Them."

"Your sign is getting attention"

It's amazing to think that at no point during the creation and display of this sign, nobody told this demented old lady that it might be a bad idea: "So This Sweet Little Old Lady Had Sign at a Rally in Virginia Yesterday." 

Update - Virginia Democrats release a statement of regret. 

Democrats enter the death spiral stage

Swirling away: "'Death Cycle': Dem Bleedout Is Real -- And Spectacular."

This references an expansive New York Times article about how Americans are running away from the Democrat Party.  They have lost voters in every state that records party registration:

The stampede away from the Democratic Party is occurring in battleground states, the bluest states and the reddest states, too, according to a new analysis of voter registration data by The New York Times. The analysis used voter registration data compiled by L2, a nonpartisan data firm.

Few measurements reflect the luster of a political party’s brand more clearly than the choice by voters to identify with it — whether they register on a clipboard in a supermarket parking lot, at the Department of Motor Vehicles or in the comfort of their own home.

And fewer and fewer Americans are choosing to be Democrats.

One data point that was AH-MAY-ZING was that the Democrats' advantage in Pennsylvania is virtually wiped out.  If Pennsylvania turns into a reliable Red State like Ohio, it's going to be huge for Republicans in Presidential elections.  

Anyway: go Bernie and Mamdani! 

Democrats, please listen to this man! https://t.co/np6KmXCse3

— jimtreacher.substack.com (@jtLOL) August 20, 2025

It's California

PJ Media: "Bed Bath & Beyond Is Coming Back! But It Refuses to Operate in One State." 

TFG

Trump lives non-stop and rent-free in Kimmel's head.  Legal Insurrection: "Jimmy Kimmel Disappointed in People on the Right for Not Defending Colbert From Trump - “I thought one of the founding principles of this country was free speech. But people don’t seem to care about protecting it unless you agree with them.”

I have to say, if Joe Biden had used his muscle to get Sean Hannity kicked off the air, you may be surprised to learn that I would not support that. I would, in fact, support Sean Hannity in that situation, because I thought one of the founding principles of this country was free speech. But people don’t seem to care about protecting it unless you agree with them.

This statement is amazing on so many levels.  These guys really live in their own reality.

To avoid discovery

Hot Air: "New Insight on Why Paramount Settled Trump's Lawsuit."

The Redstones also worried that Mr. Trump’s lawyers could cherry-pick raw footage and internal communications and do more damage to CBS News’s reputation than any settlement would. Ms. Redstone said CBS personnel had told her that in October 2023, when Scott Pelley of “60 Minutes” interviewed President Joseph R. Biden Jr., the president had seemed drowsy and had to be prodded to answer. She and Tyler worried that CBS might be accused of editing the interview to conceal Mr. Biden’s failings.

The "60 Minutes" settlement appears to be less about manipulating video to help Kamala Harris than it was about covering up for Joe Biden.  My guess is that the raw footage of Biden's interview was typical for him but that emails around the CBS Newsroom would have been devastating. 

It's the best thing since Air America!

Semafor: "The left gets a new publication."

It's called "The Argument" which is hilarious and ironic since there will be no debate and no arguments.  It will be just another MSNBC-type echo chamber where no real opposing viewpoints will be entertained and they'll disagree on the margins, all the time believing they're engaged in real debate.

Prove me wrong, Argumenters! 

Colin Kaepernick cancelled

An ESPN Film on former NFL quarterback has been cancelled and nobody cares for the same reason nobody listens to Michelle Obama's podcast and nobody wants to hear from Prince Harry.

These are people in extremely rarefied positions who now want you to hear how they're victims.

Hard pass. 

The only language Putin speaks

NY Post: "Put pressure on Putin, Mr. President — it’s the only way to end this war."

News is breaking tonight that Putin is demanding the Donbass region in exchange for a cease fire.  There is zero chance Zelensky is going to approve this and a lot of Europeans are going to recoil at a "peace in our time" settlement.

Maybe this is all a chess game for Trump where he can later reject Putin's offer and say "well I tried!" before launching a new wave of sanctions to isolate Russia.  As much as Trump wants to end this war, I hope he'll see that he can only make a deal with somebody willing to negotiate.

The fact-checkers are at it again

Manhattan Contrarian: "The Pravda Press "Fact Checks" President Trump On D.C. Crime Statistics." 

What was gained here?

The Corner: "A Long Meeting That Did Not Result in a Deal, at Least Not Yet."

We didn't get a peace deal or indeed any kind of agreement about Ukraine.  Trump got to flex with some B-2 bombers but I'm not convinced that moved Putin.  I guess jaw-jaw is better than war-war but this all seemed like one big photo op that went nowhere. 

A former NPR reporter, of course

This illegal's driving record was "largely clean" before he entirely killed a woman and her daughter.  This mainstream media reporter has thoughts:

Clean kill pic.twitter.com/vfSwQBvmTm

— memetic_sisyphus (@memeticsisyphus) August 14, 2025

He lost it all for Bluesky cred

Federalist: "DC Sub Chucker Loses His Lunch, His Cool, And His Sweet DOJ Job In Pitiful Street Tantrum." 

Extra - He's the new Luigi: "Democrats Love Criminals: WaPo Says the D.C. Hoagie Tosser Is a Hero to Many." 

All eyes on Alaska

Trump is meeting with Putin today to discuss the Ukraine.  Let's temper our expectations: "Summitry with the Russians Often Goes Bad"

The Russians are telegraphing their strategy ahead of the meeting, which will consist of lavishing Trump with praise and cajoling him with the promise of deals for joint infrastructure projects in the Arctic and the like. All they want in exchange is for Ukraine to surrender vast swaths of unoccupied territory, including major industrial towns and cities, and to ratify the legitimacy of Russia’s previous conquests. Putin will likely accept something short of that if it leaves Ukraine vulnerable to internal subversion and, eventually, a third invasion.

We know what Trump’s goal for this summit is: peace, or something he can plausibly call peace. It’s unclear what tactics he will deploy in the pursuit of that goal, but there is an imbalance of objectives that favors Russia. Moscow is not suing for peace, nor is Kyiv. It’s Trump who has that goal in mind, and it is he who is putting that ask to Putin. The Kremlin’s acquiescence will come at a cost.

I don't have high hopes for this summit.  One fear I have is that Trump is desperate to show "the art of the deal" that he'll accept something sub-optimal in exchange for peace, like a land exchange in Ukraine.  Then there's Putin who has done nothing to pull back and apparently faces no consequences for the meat grinder he's created for the Russian military.

The most likely outcome I see is that there's no peace deal and Trump imposes new sanctions, including pressuring other countries, and this will not move Putin at all.

We just can't have an honest debate over Social Security

The Corner: "Five of Six Social Security ‘Myths’ in NYT Article Are Actually True."

Vote carefully, America

Reason: "The Next Wave of Socialist Politicians Will Bring Crisis, Not Change - From free buses to rent control, their big promises ignore the hard lessons of socialism’s failures." 

Stunning and brave

Boston Globe: "Harvard faculty won’t cave to Trump demands - Unlike our distant governing boards, we will not give up easily — no matter what kind of deals are signed in our name."

Sure thing, sweetheart.  Keep writing those letters. 

The NYT discovers flyover country...again

Ace: "Nine Months After the Election, the New York Times Realizes That Blue Collar Voters Are Sick of Regime Neoliberalism."

These articles from the mainstream media always have a "Gorillas in the Mist" vibe.  A New York-based journalist ventures out to the New Jersey suburbs - where electric bills have tripled - to discover that voters are motivated by things like economics or border security.  

They don't care about mean tweets or transgender rights at all!  Nor the Epstein files!  These strange creatures in their minivans. 

Woke is broke

If you believe that culture is upstream from politics, then you're going to love this video about the seismic shift in Hollywood (and elsewhere) away from the woke B.S.  So many wins yet I'm not yet tired of winning.

A stupid and futile gesture

PJ Media: "BREAKING: Texas Democrats Will Return Home, and the New Map Will Be Approved."

I don't know what they thought they were going to accomplish with this stunt.  This was always going to be the outcome, despite this tantrum. 

That's a fair characterization

I was watching a British quiz show and one of the solved categories was "names for American sandwiches" and the host said "LARGE American sandwiches but that's a tautology."

Well played.

Am I wrong to root for Mamdani?

Red State: "George Will Reveals Jaw-Dropping Take on NYC's Zohran Mamdani to Bill Maher"

George Will on Zorhan Mamdani: "I want him to win. I think every 20 years or so, we need a conspicuous, confined experiment with socialism so we can crack it up again."

This horrifies Nick Arama over at Red State:

I understand his point, that he thinks it will teach people who don't understand now. 

The problem is that if Mamdani wins, it means a lot of suffering, and not just for the people in New York. Because of New York's importance, it's going to lead to more leftism infecting and hurting people. And it's silly to think it would be "confined." It's like a virus - if you let it live, it spreads. 

It's an unfortunate aspect of people that they will always be taken in by the idea of a "free lunch."  Mamdani is promising free buses, cheap government-run grocery stores, and rent freezes.  Of course, this will all be paid for by the "rich" who definitely won't flee New York City.

I don't want New Yorkers to suffer from the inevitable damage that socialist policies will inflict on the city.  But I also believe - if New Yorkers are dumb enough to elect this guy - they should get what they voted for, good and hard. 

Completely fake news

Powerline: "The deep meaning of Canoe-gate"

This episode is one of many that define the current media landscape. The Democratic Party press has realized the old dream of men like Joseph Goebbels: they have abandoned any pretense of news reporting, in favor of 24/7 propaganda. Any connection between their stories and the truth is coincidental. But their mission is clear: smear JD Vance in advance of the 2028 presidential election, in which he is a likely Republican nominee.

None of this surprises me anymore.  The mainstream media has learned absolutely nothing since 2016 when they were shocked by Trump's victory and promised they would send reporters into flyover country.  Then they went right back to Zabar's for bagels and lox. 

Don't Bud Light your brand

Deadline: "As Stephen Colbert Signs Off For Summer Hiatus, He Says: “Netflix, Call Me I’m Available In June”

He's also making a pitch to Amazon because Jeff Bezos hasn't lost enough money at the Washington Post.  I doubt either will be willing to pick up a show that regularly insults half the country while losing $40 million/year. 

Madness

Red State: "If You'd Like to Paddleboard in Oregon, State Democrats Would Be Happy to Sell You a Permit."

Guess they ran out of pot money.

You're not getting your home back

Reason: "Gavin Newsom, Karen Bass Declare NIMBY Martial Law To Stop Duplexes in the Palisades." - "California Gov. Gavin Newsom and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass are doing their best to ensure that no new net housing is created during the rebuilding of Los Angeles' wildfire-ravaged neighborhoods." 

They're going to gerrymander even harder

The Corner: "On Gerrymandering, Democrats Are Threatening to Do . . . What They Already Did."

Same energy:

"Inadvertently" is doing some heavy lifting here

Ace: "Disgraced Fired Former ABC "Journalist" Terry Moran: Yes ABC "News" Was Politically Biased Against Trump and the GOP, "Inadvertently"."

BTW, my hand slipped this morning and I listed to a couple of minutes of NPR where they bashed Trump during the news update before announcing their very special interview with Amy "Get me a salad fork" Klobuchar.  So nothing - whatsoever - has changed over there.

Elizabeth Warren is a fraud

And I'm not (just) talking about her "Indian" heritage.  She's a hammer in search of a nail: every single issue comes down to those darn billionaires.  Here's what happens when she gets the slightest bit of pushback on her class warfare: "CNBC host battles Elizabeth Warren over raising taxes in New York City as senator defends Mamdani."

Warren argued the issue was affordability and argued New Yorkers can't afford groceries or housing in the city, as Faber agreed that affordability was a problem but pushed back and asked, "But raising taxes in order to do it – why is that the answer?"

"Oh dear, are you worried that billionaires are going to go hungry?" Warren mockingly responded.

"No, I’m worried that they’re going to leave and spend their money elsewhere!" Faber hit back.

Warren said that billionaires always threaten to do that, while Faber argued that big companies actually do move elsewhere. 

"They've left. And Goldman Sachs, when they create new jobs, they do it in Dallas. And Blackstone won’t build a new headquarters. I can go on and on," Faber said. 

This is all objectively true as is the demographic trends of people moving out of blue states and into red states.  Fauxcahontas only has her tired talking points, the ones that get her re-elected in Massachusetts.

I predict a wave of MAGA hats

Reason: "St. Louis Fan Removal for MAGA Hat Ignites Debate Over Free Speech - Michael Weitzel was ejected for violating the club’s fan code of conduct, which prohibits “threatening, abusive, or discriminatory" symbols and language." 

The great defenders of Democracy

Red State: "Here We Go: Texas Dems Run to Illinois to Deny a Quorum for Redistricting, and Now the Real Fun Begins." - "As expected, Texas Democratic legislators have fled the state to deny a quorum for Gov. Greg Abbott's redistricting push. The members flew to Illinois on Sunday, which qualifies as peak irony given that the blue state is arguably the most gerrymandered in the country." 

Flashback to 2011: "Wisconsin Democrats flee to prevent vote on union bill."  It didn't work then, either.

Bud Light should put her on their cans

Federalist: "‘Sydney Sweeney Has Great Jeans’ Is An Admission That Woke Marketing Was A Mistake."

This article is as supercilious as you would expect

Here's the NY Times (natch) resident pedant Maureen Dowd, eager to tell you how well-read she is: "Attention, Men: Books Are Sexy!"

"Why are you guys always looking at your phones and voting for Trump?" a confused Dowd laments.  This piece drips with hauteur and any other newspaper editor outside the NYT would have rejected it as both self-serving and hectoring.

You know, to a certain extent, I agree with Dowd and I wish Americans would read more classic fiction.  But she's the wrong messenger and the NY Times is the wrong forum.  My first thought after reading it was that Dowd has never changed a tire in her life.

The tolerant Left

Boston Globe: "Alan Dershowitz says farmer’s market on the Vineyard refused to sell him pierogi over his politics." 

Our next President

Red State: "JD Vance Bros Out on 'Ruthless' Podcast; His Take on Sydney Sweeney Proves Why He's the 2028 Frontrunner."

I haven't seen a national figure with such natural political ability since Reagan.  

Could this day get any better?

It's Friday and: "Corporation for Public Broadcasting to shut down following Trump budget cuts - The Corporation for Public Broadcasting had long provided federal funding to local public radio and television stations across the country. Congress recently revoked $1.1 billion in funding."

Buh-bye!

The Cory Booker trap

Democrat pollster Ruy Teixeira: "Democrats Should Give Up on #Resistance 2.0 - It hasn’t worked and it won’t work."

In short, voters get that Democrats hate Trump; they’ve already priced that in. Endlessly reminding voters of that fact and how Trump must be #Resisted! does nothing to change Democrats’ fundamental problem: voters neither like nor trust them and therefore do not find them an obvious choice over their opponents.

If that’s true, why do so many Democratic politicians persist in reading—loudly—from the #Resistance script? Wouldn’t they be better off as a party if they concentrated on winning voters away from their doubts about the Democrats—convincing them, say, that Democrats are actually a culturally moderate party that believes in working class abundance? They would! The problem is that the #Resistance trope is what advantages individual Democratic politicians within the party because it generates adulation from activists, media coverage, and gushers of donations. This contradiction between the interests of the party as a whole and the interests of individual politicians is a tragedy of the commons that is not easily solved—or even widely recognized in the current context.

Emphasis in original.  This is why Cory Booker beclowns himself with these filibusters and performative outbursts: it helps Cory Booker, but not the Democrat Party.

Therefore: keep it up, Cory, AOC and Jasmine.  You're doing great.