Well, this is terrifying

Red State: "Intel Sources Claim China Plans Attack on Taiwan in 'Next Few Months'." 

Now it can be told

Looking back on this Jim Geraghty article from August 2021 is amazing in light of all the tell-all books coming out now: "Something Is Wrong with the President." 

The Bud Light-ification of Hollywood

Federalist: "Snow White Bombing Was The Best Gift Hollywood Could Give Us."

I don't want to see Disney fail.  I like Disney.  But Snow White represents a larger ideological drift in Hollywood where Americans who just want to be entertained with a story are cudgeled with modern posturing.  Thus the downward spiral of movie viewership. 

You can blame the failure of Snow White on its main star dumping on 1) the original story, 2) Disney fans and 3) half the country.  But I think people would have still gone to see the classic story if it had remained the classic story instead of the "girlboss" trope so popular and ubiquitous in contemporary movies.

Recently there was a story in the paper that the art house cinema in the middle of Amherst, Massachusetts was facing financial pressure due to waning attendance.  For those of you who don't know much about Western Massachusetts, this is the perfectly ideal place for a boutique cinema, smack-dab in the middle of the Five College system.  My wife and I used to be regulars but we've gone less and less over the years; the last movie we saw there was "The Holdovers" (which was great!).  Now you need to look no further than Conclave and Emilia Perez to understand why we - and many others - have skipped the movie house.  Like Snow White, it's just a non-stop diminution of traditional values dressed up as entertainment and people aren't buying it anymore.

Watch this: the real reason the US is betting on tariffs

This is the way, part #2

Always - always - throw it back in their faces.  Red State: "Grab Some Popcorn: Amy Klobuchar Tries to Corner Witness on Attacking Judges, Gets Hit by Schumer Threat." 

Awesome way to start the weekend!

Townhall: "This Reporter Had Only Four Words for This Dem Rep After She Accused Him of Serial Sexual Harassment."

The words were: "See you in court."  This is the way.  $10 million libel lawsuit.

Stock up on avocados

NY Post: "Shoppers may need to buy these items quickly before Trump’s tariffs kick in."

I'm not a fan of these tariffs although I understand Trump's motivation.  But historically they're not the best tool and the libertarian in me says the government should stay out of this.

Mental illness

Fox Business: "Liberals admit to shoplifting from Whole Foods as a way to stick it to Jeff Bezos - 'If a billionaire can steal from me, I can scrape a little off the top, too,' one man confessing to theft said."

This is the same mindset leading to the keying of Teslas to stick it to Elon Musk and his American automobile company.  T.S. Eliot had it right:

"Half the harm that is done in this world is due to people who want to feel important. They don't mean to do harm; but the harm does not interest them. Or they do not see it, or they justify it because they are absorbed in the endless struggle to think well of themselves."

 

They've learned nothing

Shot: "Cory Booker’s sad stunt epitomizes Democrats’ empty agenda."

Chaser: "Sad Trombone: Dems in Deep Disarray As More Bad Polling News Hits Them Where It Hurts."

Hangover: "Cory Booker’s Record 25 Hour Filibuster Overshadowed by Dem Party’s All-Time Low 21% Approval Rating." 

Extra - Outkick: "Cory Booker Finally Shuts Up Just In Time For Dems To Get Hit With An Embarrassing New Approval Rating." 

New focus group research has dropped

Twitchy: "'McCarthyism' Is the New 'Hitler': Sen. Markey Goes on CNN to Whine About Trump Withholding Harvard Funds." 

Won't somebody think of the poor Harvard students? 

Where were the Inspectors General?

Mark Tapscott: "Three Groups That Could Have Prevented the Stench Being Uncovered by DOGE - Where Were They While Fraudster Politicians and Bureaucrats in Both Parties Swam in Corruption and Waste of Your Tax Dollars and Mine?" 

Who watches the watchdogs?  I guess DOGE now.

Keep pushing that narrative

Astroturfed for $200

PJ Media: "There's Something Very Suspicious Going on With Those Tesla Protests." 

Awesome sauce

Axios: "Scoop: White House to take charge of briefing-room seating chart."

Eat a bag of d**ks, WHCA.  You've invited this retaliation with your biased coverage. 

A sudden realization

Red State: "Laugh-Out-Loud: NY Times Editorial Board Thinks Democrats Went Too Far Left in 2024."

There's only one reason the Times is making this admission now and it's not to criticize the Democrats nor is it to express a mea culpa for its terrible reporting.  It's because they've become so alarmed by the drop in the polls for the home team, they needed to stage an intervention. 

They're so lost

NY Post: "Democrats’ response to losing? Profanity chic and terrorist porn."

They 100% focus-grouped the profanity ploy. 

Can American schools be saved?

I'm skeptical.  It's been over four decades since the landmark report "A Nation at Risk" was released and American kids are dumber than ever.  If there was anybody more suitable for this heavy lift, it might be the liberal governor in the most liberal state in America.

Or not: "The state stepped in to fix the Boston Public Schools. Now it’s giving up. - There has been some progress. But the district failed to meet several of its goals, and the goals it did meet have not translated into sustained academic gains."

Everybody's got their two cents on how to fix American schools so here's mine: slash them to the bone.  And by that I mean schools should only focus on teaching kids how to read and write and do nothing else.

The mission creep of American schools is undeniable, and if we’re being brutally honest, too many schools have become one-stop social services hubs that also teach a little reading and math on the side. Instead of maintaining a focus on academics, schools are stretched to the breaking point, in part because of federal and state mandates and in part because they have been captured by an ideology that demands that every single student's need be met before any teaching or learning can occur. 

Schools used to be institutions of academic instruction, designed to equip students with the knowledge and skills necessary to become good citizens, prepared to meaningfully participate in a free society. But somewhere along the way, we decided that schools should also become social service hubs that cater to all the needs of students and families and aspire to fix societal problems that extend far beyond education. It seems fair —and even overdue —to seriously ask if it makes sense to continue using the word “school” to describe educational institutions that are also expected (or required!) to provide breakfast, lunch and snack, host immunization clinics, offer wrap-around health services, provide counseling, address declining mental health, disrupt the “school to prison pipeline,” supervise toothbrushing, teach financial literacy and host drag queen story hour. 

Massachusetts governor Maura Healey has the opportunity to capture the "only Nixon can go to China" moment: oppose the teachers union, fire the score of administrators, and help Bay State kids.  But she won't so we'll continue to move kids through this pipeline where they don't learn anything but at least their feelings aren't hurt.

There's a reason homeschooling is taking off in America.

Related - "The average college student today." 

Tired of winning

NY Post: "Columbia University interim president Katrina Armstrong resigns, just days after caving to Trump admin demands." 

The Left eats their own.  Amirite, Chuck Schumer?

Always be on offense

Townhall: "Scott Jennings Has a Reminder for Biden Admin Officials Worrying About Accountability After 'Signalgate'."

This guy is a national treasure.

How do you like this headline?

Real Clear Politics: "CNN's Enten: Trump Is More Popular Than Ever, Americans Who Think We're On The Right Track "Through The Roof"."

But but but Hitler!

The Left hates free speech

Federalist: Senate Dems Claim Censorship Industrial Complex Never Happened — And If It Did It Was A Good Thing - At a Senate Judiciary hearing, Democrats can’t help but admit they support government censorship of free speech." 

I'm so sorry this is happening to you

Red State: "James Carville Is 'Worried' About How Good Donald Trump Is Looking in Polling; He Thinks It's Bad for US."