That was the plan

Charles C.W. Cooke: "Let’s Face It — the Plan Was for Biden to Die in Office." 

I'm looking forward to reading "Tidewater Dreams"

Media Nation: "How an AI-generated guide to summer books that don’t exist found its way into two newspapers."

Well, this is embarrassing. The Chicago Sun-Times and The Philadelphia Inquirer have been caught running an AI-generated guide to summer books that don’t exist.

The best and the brightest!  It's hard to believe they were fooled by such an obvious lies.  Professional journalists!

Hillary is an awful person

Legal Insurrection: "Hillary Clinton: A Republican Female President Would be a ‘Handmaiden to the Patriarchy’."

I've heard tell that both Hillary and Kamala's campaign were so bad that a Democrat woman will never win the Presidency.  A true feminist would therefore support a Republican female candidate but that outcome, to Hillary, is deplorable. 

The coverup and the gaslighting

Great essay from Sasha Stone: "All the President's Media - Alex Thompson is getting awards, and Jake Tapper is getting in the lifeboat."

To most of us who aren’t inside the bubble of the Left, the Tapper/Thompson book looks more like a rescue mission than a Mea Culpa. They have a book to sell, and they know who their best and most profitable buyers are - people who read the New Yorker with disposable income who have thrown money at the Democrats for almost a decade, all with the promise that they’d make the bad orange man go away.

What I know after a decade of irresponsible fear-mongering is that the “original sin” was the moment the Left, with all of the power, called itself “the resistance,” and with the help of a complicit press corps, went to war on a duly elected president and his supporters.

The news industry suppressed reporting the news when it might help the Bad Orange Man.

And let’s never forget The Atlantic: pic.twitter.com/KRPrBo6MdD

— Joe Concha (@JoeConchaTV) May 17, 2025

A complete loon

Looks like they've identified the guy who tried to blow up a fertility clinic in California: "REPORT: Palm Springs Fertility Clinic Bomber Was 'Anti-Natalist' Identified As 25-Year-Old Edward Bartkus."

Andy Ngo posts some of his manifesto and it's out there, man.

Why aren't you rubes paying attention?

NY Times: "One Thing Helping Trump’s Approval Rating: Some People Are Not Paying Attention."

Yes, that's the only explanation for Trump's approval rating.  

This article is amazing

These MSM clowns seriously have no concept of their own bias.  Washington Post: "Trump Justice Dept. considers removing key check on lawmaker prosecutions - The Justice Department’s Public Integrity Section is charged with ensuring cases against elected officials are not politically motivated. The Trump administration is considering changing that."

Funny, I remember a certain Justice Department deciding to raid a certain former President's home in a move that was - although unprecedented - certainly not politically motivated, oh no sir.  Do you know how many times this incident is mentioned in the article?

Zero point zero.  GFY Washington Post.

Who "signed" all those pardons?

We don’t need @jaketapper or anyone else to tell us Biden has been increasingly senile since the 2020 election. We need them to tell us who was actually running the federal government from 2020-2024 and how they did it. You’re not coming clean until you come clean about that.

— Randy Barnett (@RandyEBarnett) May 17, 2025

There's only one thing I'm absolutely sure that Biden was in charge of and that's the botched withdrawal from Afghanistan.  I firmly believe he pressed for that debacle because he desperately wanted to give a speech before the 20th anniversary of 9/11.  Well, he got his wish.

We're ALL trying to find out who did this

AMAC: "Media Shocked That Media Covered Up Biden’s Cognitive Decline." 

Excruciating

Hot Air: "NEW: Hur Tapes Released -- And It's Worse Than You Imagined."

It's not (just) that Biden sounds tired and his voice is raspy.  It's that his responses jump the track and go all over the place.  He's asked about the classified documents he retained and suddenly the discussion turns into Gutenberg's printing press and the impact on Europe.  What?

Robert Hur: 100% vindicated. 

This is true

Reason: "James Comey's Deleted '86 47' Instagram Post Is Obviously Protected by the First Amendment - A lot of conservatives are falling prey to the same snowflakery they criticize." 

It's surely protected speech but we're allowed to point out the hypocrisy of the Left's new "Assassination Chic." 

It turns out there is a way to stay independent

Pay your own bills.  Hot Air: "Harvard: By Golly, We Found Our Own Money to Fund Our Research!"

Shed a tear for Harvard shelling out a tiny portion of its $53 billion endowment. 

You love to see it

Ace: "Paid Liar Jen Psaki's Ratings Tank."

This story is repeating itself across the mainstream media but everybody keeps doubling down on the same old echo chamber.

Good to know security is tight around a Kennedy

Red State: "Scary Moment As Turmoil Erupts from Protesters Right Behind RFK Jr. During HHS Cong. Hearing." 

Out: Cheap Fakes. In: We wuz tricked!

Ace: "Democrat-Media Party In Full Conspiracy to Blame Only Biden and His Six Closest Advisors for the Greatest Electoral Fraud Ever Perpetrated on the American People."

Ace gets it exactly right here: this whole backlash against the Biden White House is a desperate and futile attempt to rehabilitate the reputation of the mainstream media:

How many times did we point out that Biden did all of his photo ops between 11 am and 4pm?

That's why we called him Sundown -- because people with dementia begin getting fuzzy around sundown.

But Jake Tapper, Super-Reporter, is just getting around to reporting this now.

I despise these media types, oozing with self-regard and smelling their own farts.  Caught in the coverup, they now need to pivot to claim they're the victims here.  When Joe Biden didn't sit down for traditional Super Bowl interviews, none of them wondered why a President would miss the chance to address the largest-possible audience he would ever have.  They didn't look at his schedule or the transcripts of his fundraising stops where he would tell the same stories over and over.  There was no reporting about the odd editing of having a dozen jump-cuts in a 30-second spot.

Stop the gaslighting.  We see you.

"Procedural concerns"

NBC: "DNC panel recommends redo of vote that elevated David Hogg to vice chair after procedural concerns."

David Hogg has been an embarrassing disaster for the DNC, advocating against fellow Democrats and clowning himself on Bill Maher.  But the "protect Democracy!" crowd can't just get rid of him since he was elected at the DNC convention.

What to do?  Oh, yeah!  There were problems with the "procedure" that only came to light three months later.

Sign of the times

Outkick: "McD's After Dark: DC-Area McDonald's Dining Room Is Now 21+"

That sign being: "no kids allowed."  The destruction of brick and mortar stores continues apace. 

Stay away from UCLA doctors

This report from the Washington Free Beacon is pretty wild: "'A Failed Medical School': How Racial Preferences, Supposedly Outlawed in California, Have Persisted at UCLA - Up to half of UCLA medical students now fail basic tests of medical competence. Whistleblowers say affirmative action, illegal in California since 1996, is to blame."

"UCLA still produces some very good graduates," one professor said. "But a third to a half of the medical school is incredibly unqualified."

Oh boy, I don't like those odds.  We're really heading towards a Harrison Bergeron world. 

The Peacemaker

Fox News: "Trump announces India and Pakistan agreed to ceasefire - President Trump declares Pakistan and India agreed to ceasefire"

So Trump gets the Nobel Peace Prize, right? 

The big guy needs cash

Gateway Pundit: "Democrats Privately Furious That Joe Biden Won’t Just Leave the National Stage."

Please stop this elder abuse

Just let Joe Biden retire in peace.  PJ Media: "A ‘Nuclear Bomb’ of Damaging Revelations Is Coming for Biden and Democrats."

Biden’s interview on “The View” was, as we previously reported, a disaster. Co-host Alyssa Farah Griffin had asked Joe Biden to respond to claims—sourced from Democrats themselves in several books—that his cognitive decline became significantly worse during his final year in office. The premise, she noted, reflected what many had already suspected as early as his 2020 campaign.

Biden denied the allegations, saying, “They are wrong. There’s nothing to sustain that,” but what followed only reinforced the concerns. His response quickly devolved into incoherent rambling, touching on the Capitol riot, COVID-19, and “the incompetence of the last outfit,” all in a confusing jumble of half-finished thoughts. At one point, he admitted, “I’m—I’m talking too long,” prompting Jill Biden to step in and take over the interview, clearly recognizing the need to contain the damage.

The question about Biden's cognitive decline was the most predicted question in the history of predictable questions and his response was merely "it's wrong" followed by random words indicating it's not wrong at all.

The word on the street is that the "Biden Inc." grift is falling apart since nobody is paying for Biden's speeches and, curiously!, nobody wants Hunter Biden's art anymore.

Take the L, hypocrite

Twitchy: "The Atlantic Journo Jonathan Chait's Own Words Come Back to Haunt Him on Fetterman Hit Piece."

It's really something how these hacks have complete amnesia when it comes to their past statements.

Turn about = fair play

Legal Insurrection: "Report: FBI Opens Case Against Letitia James for Alleged Mortgage Fraud."

From what I've read about this case, it's pretty much black letter law, so I expect the defense will heavily lean on 1) racism, 2) sexism, and 3) political retribution.

An American Pope!

I never thought I'd see an American Pope in my lifetime.  Nice.

Now it can be told...again

Ace: "More Than 60 US Servicemembers Were Injured Building Biden's Grotesque Hamas-Appeasing Gaza Pier -- A Figure That Was Covered Up Until Now." 

Nothing of value was lost

NY Post: "Dozens of masked anti-Israel protesters arrested after storming Columbia library, shoving past security as Ivy Leaguers prep for finals."

Normally I'd say that the journalism majors didn't have a chance to "study" but that would be mean.

I guess we're talking about Michelle Obama now

PJ Media: "Michelle Obama Goes Into Therapy, Is ‘Transitioning’ To Next Phase of Her Life."

How insufferable can Michelle Obama get? I suppose it makes sense — her fame has always been tied to her husband, and now she’s grappling with the fact that she’s no longer the center of attention. Her attempt to stay relevant, like that flop of a podcast with her brother, hasn’t exactly set the world on fire. 

Sure, she still has a loyal fanbase hanging on her every word, but lately she’s been making the rounds on every podcast she can find, eager to complain about how hard life is as “a black woman in America” and all the usual talking points. Honestly, if she wants to “transition” into anything, maybe she should start with silence.

There are very few people who have led a more privileged life than Michelle Obama but her vast wealth is a pittance compared to the coin of victimhood.  Nobody is tuning in to the podcast of her griping about how tough she had it in the White House.

Buy a Tesla

Hot Air: "California Gas Prices To Increase Up to 75% in 2026."

A USC professor has estimated that gas prices in California could rise to $8.43/gallon due to the loss of oil refineries. 

Me neither

Sasha Stone: "I Used to Value PBS and NPR. Not Anymore."

I stopped listening to NPR but today I turned it on while searching for a new podcast to stream.  NPR really has become the joke that conservatives claim: it was four minutes of excruciating liberal propaganda before I managed to turn away. 

Can't sugarcoat it anymore

Jonathan Turley: "The Cost of Arrogance: NPR’s undoing is a cautionary tale for the media." 

Related: "The Media Has Learned Nothing Week at Legal Insurrection." 

SLS/Orion grounded

Ars Technica: "White House budget seeks to end SLS, Orion, and Lunar Gateway programs."

The changes to SLS, Orion, and Gateway have been widely speculated upon in recent months, but seeing them in black and white is still significant. The development of the SLS rocket and Orion spacecraft has been a budget fixture for decades, costing in excess of $3 billion a year for slow progress. The projects have been widely derided as "jobs programs." However, that is one reason Congress has so fiercely supported them: They provide good-paying, reliable jobs across the country.

I spent exactly one terrible year working on the Orion program before fleeing to my (much better) current job.  During that time, there were regular newsletters and reports about how the work for the program was spread across multiple states and supporting countless subcontractors.  The actual work of producing a finished good was a secondary goal, IMO.

Extra - Speaking of setting taxpayer $ on fire: "California's High-Speed Rail Project Says 'Hold My Beer,' Manages to Get Horribly, Comically Worse." 

Zero it out

Federalist: "Here Are 12 Reasons Why NPR And PBS Deserved To Be Defunded." 

Terrible good news

I bet CNN hated reporting this. https://t.co/BPCJc22x9A

— Catturd ™ (@catturd2) May 2, 2025

Democrats still screaming at the sky

MSN: "Pritzker’s Total-War Message Is a Hit Among Angry Democrats."

But now, a voice from outside Washington (and not, believe it or not, California’s voluble governor, who has been all over the place in the debate over how to grapple with Trump 2.0) has turned the volume knob all the way up to 11 and may have preempted the ground for maximum combativeness.

What is the nature of this opposition?  Dunno.  According to the article it involves "fighting everywhere all at once" and mass protests.  Twenty-five hour filibusters?  It's time for 26-hour filibusters!

To say that Pritzker pulled no punches is an understatement. He compared the conduct of the current administration to those who ruled Nazi Germany and czarist Russia.

Of course.  Because those regimes were notoriously tolerant to anti-government protests.  This is all so much virtue signaling but this Kabuki dance is all the Democrats have at this point.

Stock futures up

Breitbart: "U.S. added 177,000 jobs in April, better than expected, as economy defies doomsayers." 

What a beautiful morning

Yahoo News: "Trump signs executive order to halt funding to PBS, NPR."

I used to listen to NPR fairly religiously but over the last ten years or so it has become unlistenable.  I didn't have a beef against PBS until "Washington Week" became a non-stop propaganda outlet.

Ain't we traveling to El Salvador no more?

Red State: "New: Body Cam Footage of 'Maryland Dad' Abrego-Garcia Released, and Democrats Look Like Imbeciles." 

You don't hate the media enough, continued

Twitchy: "Compare and Contrast: Two Headlines on Deportations Illustrate Why NO ONE Trust the Media Anymore." 

Fun fact

When you're doing intermittent fasting, breakfast for dinner is awesome.

They backed that horse

Hot Air: "Abrego Garcia Case Keeps Getting Worse for Dems-13."

The rumor going around is that Hakeem Jeffries put the kibosh on trips to El Salvador which means either 1) the new information coming out hurts the Dems narrative and/or 2) the internal polls are in.

Gorillas in the mist vibe

Not the Bee: "The New York Times just ran a 1,400-word story to explain what cross necklaces are."

Today I learned it's not just a lower-case "t'!  Thanks, New York Times!

You can stop gaslighting us anytime now

NEW: Former CNN reporter Chris Cillizza says journalists were *not* covering up Biden's mental decline but were rather just too trusting of the Biden White House.

"I think it was an inherent and sort of unconscious bias more than a conscious bias."

The clowns in the media never… pic.twitter.com/xXq0WkLrQw

— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) April 28, 2025

Trump is right again

Boston Globe: "Harvard releases searing reports on antisemitism, Islamophobia. ‘I am sorry,’ President Alan Garber says."

That report may bolster the Trump administration’s accusations, although, as the report’s authors note, it is focused on the events of the past academic year, not the current one.

In an open letter Tuesday, Harvard president Alan Garber emphasized that point in the letter’s first sentence. “The 2023-24 academic year was disappointing and painful,” he wrote in the letter’s first sentence.

Taken together, the reports described an institution that had failed to provide adequate support to its minority students at a time when they needed it most.

Despite outward appearances, you know that the biggest crisis for Harvard was admitting Trump was right all along.  The "oh, that was last year" rationalization is desperate. 

"She is dating a gang member"

NY Post: "Kilmar Abrego Garcia accused of being gang-banger in 2018 court docs — in latest claim of MS-13 affiliation."

I can see the mainstream media dismissing this story since it comes from the New York Post.  Just like Hunter's laptop.

Nobody is above the law

Jonathan Turley: "“This Judge is a Hero”: Democratic Politicians and Judges Praise Judge Dugan and Call for Resistance." 

The Red States take control

Twitchy: "READ STATES: Mississippi and Louisiana Outperform California, New York on Literacy, Math Testing."

I forget where I heard/read it but there was such an interesting story about how Mississippi and Louisiana were tired of being at the bottom of every education list so they invested in a wholesale revision of their education systems.  They both went back to phonics to teach reading, eliminated social advancement, and set standards across the state for reading and math.

Now they're ahead of the fruitcakes in California and New York.  Massachusetts is next. 

This headline makes me smile

Ace: "The Media Is at the Height of Its Power and Aren't at all Scared that Their Influence has been Slipping for Decades and is now Undeniable."

CNN is about an inch away of being beat in the ratings by a test pattern. 

Comments turned off

I really didn't expect anything different.  Red State: "Hoo Boy: Booker and Jeffries Hold Sit-In on Steps of Congress - I Can't Stop Laughing." 

Absolute clown show.

Exactly how much taxpayer $ was going to the Left

An older but good analysis over at Manhattan Contrarian: "Trying To Figure Out How Much Of The Government Grants Goes To Left-Wing Causes And Propaganda."

One excerpt:

More generally, here is an article from Harvard Magazine in 2022 that breaks down the faculty of Harvard’s “Arts & Sciences” divisions between science, humanities and social sciences.  (“Arts & Sciences” excludes the professional schools like Law, Medicine and Business.). In round numbers, it’s 40% science and 60% humanities and social sciences.  [Harvard President Alan] Garber doesn’t even try to defend anything in the majority consisting of humanities and social sciences.  A huge percentage of that is America hatred and Marxism.

Harvard wants to pretend that every dollar is being stolen from cancer research when 1) a lot of it is going to the humanities and 2) even the cancer research is larded up with "indirect" charges that go to overhead and sometimes yachts. 

This is an interesting coincidence:

A huge and barely-explored question remains, which is how much federal funding finds its way via various NGOs to Democrat-supporting political groups?  A tantalizing hint emerged on March 27, when a gun-control group called March for Our Lives suddenly laid off 13 of its 16 paid staffers.  March for Our Lives is the group founded by anti-gun activist David Hogg, the same guy who got elected Vice Chair of the DNC on February 1.  The stated mission of MFOL is “voter engagement” on the gun control issue.  Go to the tax filings of MFOL, and you will not find any disclosures of who the donors are.

Look in the mirror: you're the unwitting donor.

Everything is a kneejerk reaction

Townhall: "They Did It Again: Trump Set Another Trap for Dems on Rogue Judges."

Is there a single principle the Left will stand on and not abandon the moment it applies to the other side?  Are we still getting rid of the Jim Crow filibuster or nah?

That's pretty funny

We got a new Pope pic.twitter.com/ptU4SI44Ie

— Ned (@Nedsfeed) April 25, 2025

You don't hate the media enough

You think you do, but you don't.  Ace: "The New York Times Whines That an Illegal Alien Was Deported After 21 Years (Cue the Violins) "to a 'Home' He Barely Knew"."

Spoiler alert: this illegal served 15 years for kidnapping, a fact buried in the story with a throwaway line about a "kidnapping conviction he disputed."

This would be the first time in the history of the world a criminal said he didna do nuffin.

The ballad of "Maryland Man"

Breitbart: "Tim Pool's first question humiliates White House press corps." 

They all knew

The Washington Free Beacon has an article: "THEY KNEW: 30 Times Democrats Worried (Privately) About Biden’s Decline Before the Debate Fiasco."

This one made me chuckle the most:

26) In May, Daley grew even more concerned after attending a Biden campaign fundraiser in Chicago. "I’ll tell you, I got rattled," he told Whipple. "They had a receiving line, a photo line. And I had not seen the president up close in a couple of years. And I went through it with my wife—and he was friendly and all that, but he was just not the same guy." Daley called Biden's chief of staff, Jeff Zients, and begged him not to let the president go on stage with Trump at the CNN debate. "Do not do this," he said. "I’m telling you, don’t do it. I’m just telling you, come up with something, but do not do it."

I'm on the record repeatedly asserting that Joe Biden would never debate but his pride overruled his discretion and I've never been so happy to be wrong.

Analysis: true

Hot Air: "All Democrats Do Is Lie"

Lost among all the verbal salvos thrown out there is the simple fact that Abrego Garcia DID get due process, and he WAS adjudicated to be a gang member by an immigration judge. It was not a criminal trial because, after all, they didn't want to jail him but rather deport him, but the judge said right there in his order that the evidence showed he was a member of MS 13. 

Van Hollen lied. Right there on CNN, and many times elsewhere. 

As somebody noticed, the Democrats game is that there is no "due process" to get illegals into the country but plenty of due process to get them out.

What now, Chris Van Hollen?

Twitchy: "Paging Chris Van Hollen: Two More 'Maryland Men' Arrested Over Murder of 23-Year-Old Mother."

Will Maryland Senator Van Hollen make the trip to extend condolences to a woman (allegedly) murdered by an illegal?  Or does he only make trips to El Salvador to visit illegal wife beaters?

California ruins everything

Can't California do anything right anymore?  Every thing the Golden State touches turns to...not gold.  Now even Hollywood is circling the drain: "Hollywood At Risk of Becoming the “Next Detroit Auto.” L.A. Production Insiders Voice Alarm - As a new tally shows plummeting shoot days in Los Angeles, organizers gathered to strategize on ways to get postproduction and music incentives included in California's bill to boost the industry."

This is from about a month ago but here's Rob Lowe going off about California's hassle, red tape, taxes, and high expenses:

“There are no tax credits [in California], so like, all those other places are offering 40% — 40%. And then on top of that, there’s other stuff that they do,” Lowe, 61, said to Adam Scott on “Literally!”

“And then, that’s not even talking about union stuff. It’s just tax, economics of it all, so it’s criminal what California and LA have let happen — it’s criminal. Everybody should be fired.”

The tirade ensued after Lowe revealed he shoots his Fox program “The Floor” in Dublin.

“Why do I shoot my American game show ‘The Floor’ in Ireland?” the podcast host asked. “It’s cheaper to bring in 100 people to Ireland than to walk across the lot at Fox.”

That's right: they shoot "The Floor" in Dublin because production costs are so much lower and it's actually cheaper to fly all the contestants across the pond.  Just crazy.

Chuck Todd is the hot dog guy

Twitchy: "Chuck Todd Pretends He Didn’t Take Part in Trying to Deplatform and Destroy President Trump."

Long-time readers (both of you!) know I have a special contempt for high-school graduate Chuck Todd who perpetually believes he is the savior of journalism and therefore the country.  Now he's playing like the Internet doesn't exist and we don't have the evidence of his previous actions.

GFY Chuck.

Don't threaten me with a good time

Boston Globe: "Conservatives, be careful what you wish for at Harvard - Harvard has been slowly reforming itself under pressure. But now that the government is punishing the university anyway, its leaders may paradoxically feel less pressure to change."

Will it become the progressive version of Hillsdale College — a conservative hub that isn’t bashful about its entirely private funding status?

All of that might seem premature, since we don’t at this point know exactly what funds Harvard has lost or how deep the cuts go. But the more funds the Trump administration strips from Harvard, the more pressure points it removes. Indeed, the university paradoxically may feel less pressure to reform, since the government has already used up its main point of leverage. And it could even feel free to turn back the clock on changes most conservatives have celebrated.

Do it, Harvard.  Just drop the mask and get off the government dole.

Ground control to major clowns

Don Surber: "Did Katy Perry just kill feminism?"

Pretty funny take.

Congratulations, you played yourself

Legal Insurrection: "Sen. Van Hollen Meets with Abrego Garcia, Forgets Cameras Exist" - "Van Hollen made a grave mistake. His photo with the likely MS-13 gang member is political poison for his party. What a foolish unforced error." 

Interesting response

NY Post: "Ex-NY Times editor breaks down in tears, apologizes to Sarah Palin at defamation trial — but former Alaska gov wasn’t buying it."

ICYMI, this case is being re-tried because the first judge declared he would toss the case while the jury was deliberating.  Understandably, an appellate judge told us that smartphones exist and that the jury almost certainly heard the news their decision was irrelevant. 

Sarah Palin probably won't win this case either but it's fun to watch the NY Times squirm. 

And Luigi

I wish somebody loved me the way Democrats love illegal, wife beating, MS-13 gang members.

— Catturd ™ (@catturd2) April 17, 2025

Say her name

Townhall: "Today's Guest at the White House Was a Shocker...and Heartbreaking." 

Legal Insurrection: "Rachel Morin’s Mother Blasts Sen. Van Hollen for Trying to Free Suspected MS-13 Member - “And to have a senator from Maryland who didn’t even acknowledge or barely acknowledged my daughter and the brutal death that she endured..so that he can use my taxpayer money to fly to El Salvador to bring back someone that’s not even an American citizen.”

That's not allowed

Joe Biden created, through executive action and thin air, a program to ship immigrants into the country.

Donald Trump signed an executive action to reverse this and an Obama judge blocked it.  Of course.

The Left, and Harvard, hate free speech

But I repeat myself.  Daily Caller: "‘Why Didn’t The Left Care?’: CNBC Panelists Descend Into Shouting Match As Host Calls Out Left’s Hypocrisy On Speech."

Kernen further argued that Harvard University allows for students to shout antisemitic rhetoric on campus, but expresses outrage when conservatives practice their rights to free speech.

“The left, they don’t care about. They’re not up in arms about sending people to jail for a tweet over in the U.K. You don’t get to pick and choose. They pick and choose when sometimes they want free speech, when it doesn’t suit them, they don’t want free speech,” Kernen said. “If you misgender someone, you get thrown off the faculty. But if you say ‘from the river to the sea’ and lead a demonstration at that campus and say ‘genocide the Jews,’ you’re all celebrated at Harvard. That’s where this comes from.”

Poor, poor Harvard and their $53 billion endowment.

I want to believe this is going to happen

NY Post: "White House readies plan for Congress to ax taxpayer funding for NPR, PBS."

The major funding changes are contained in a long-awaited “rescissions” plan, obtained and first reported by The Post, that pitches a clawback of $1.1 billion appropriated for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) and $8.3 billion from USAID.

A memo drafted by White House budget director Russ Vought — and requested by GOP congressional leaders — accuses CPB of a “lengthy history of anti-conservative bias” and cites “waste, fraud, and abuse” at USAID.

All of this is true, but I'm concerned about making a request to Congress, even if it can be passed on a straight majority via reconciliation.  

This is a masterpiece

A cautionary tale about Facebook Marketplace: 😭pic.twitter.com/YuMu3GLGHz

— AlphaFo𝕏 (@Alphafox78) April 12, 2025

Credibility destroyed

Sasha Stone: "How The Media's Elitism Cost Them Their Credibility - And it might be too late to turn things around."

One minor quibble with this otherwise excellent essay: no mention of the media's execrable treatment of Brett Kavanaugh.  That was the irredeemable moment for me where it became clear that the mainstream media had no interest in fairness or telling the truth.

Burn them all to the ground.

They pay college football players now?

I read this story about the Tennessee quarterback leaving the team and realized I've been completely out of the loop on college sports nowadays. 

Bernie's perpetual grift

BREAKING: Bernie Sanders has some terrible news.

Donald Trump is rapidly turning America into an oligarchy. pic.twitter.com/VCfd5sxgx4

— MAZE (@mazemoore) April 11, 2025

Being a Democrat turns you into a wimp

What happened to astronaut Mark Kelly?  I can't believe he said this:

Reporter: "Did you like the no emissions on the Tesla, though, being electric?" 

Kelly: (Reluctantly) "Yeah, yeah. You know, I--"

Reporter: "'Cause the truck doesn't get very good miles per gallon."

Kelly: "I bought the Tesla for its performance. That thing was really fast. Um, but there were also things I didn't like about it. And I couldn't drive it anymore. I mean, the guy's calling me names. You saw that."

Reporter: "I did see that. Thanks, Senator."

Elon called him names.  This is the response from a person who isn't eight years old.  My God.

Well, I'm sure this exchange will turn the tide with young male voters.

Rachel Maddow: I'm a journalism

Ace: "On Eve of Trial, NBC Settles $30 Million Defamation Suit With Obstetrician That Rachel Maddow, Chris Hayes, and Niccole Wallace Repeatedly and Recklessly Defamed as a "Uterus Collector" Who Butchers Women and Steals the Uteruses of Immigrant Women."

I'm astonished that the woman who ran with the Russia Russia Russia hoax for three years has been duped again.  Just gobsmacked. 

Well, bye

Twitchy: "Greenland Base Commander Relieved of Her Post After Publicly Undermining VP Visit." 

Why can't Chuck Todd go away?

PJ Media: "Chuck Todd Finally Confesses but There's a Catch."

The point — once again — is that the entire mainstream media knew that Biden wasn't just unfit to run for reelection but that he was already so deep into senility that he was effectively a figurehead, a puppet of unknown figures. The electorate had the right to know all this, and Chuck Damn Todd had the duty to report it. 

Chuck Todd is a complete hack and his recent attempts to justify covering up for Biden is just part of his typical M.O.  He loves to cosplay as the White Knight protector of a higher truth, the same way he censored all viewpoints that didn't align with the environmental nuts. 

Go away, Chuck.  Nobody wants you here.  Take Stephanopoulos with you.

Snubbed

Hot Air: "Hilarious: Leavitt Refused to Answer Journalists Who Specify Pronouns in Bio." 

Those kids are sneaky

PJ Media: "DOGE Uncovers Massive Unemployment Fraud Under Biden Administration."

• 24,500 people, allegedly over 115 years old, claimed $59 million in benefits.
• 28,000 supposed children between the ages of 1 and 5 claimed $254 million.
• 9,700 claims from people with future birth dates totaled $69 million

It's a start.

To be fair it was first class on JetBlue

NY Post: "AOC flies first-class to Bernie Sanders’ ‘Fight Oligarchy’ rally as critics pan lefty pol for battling inequality one ‘mimosa at a time’." 

It's a constitutional crisis!

Liberals Devastated As Stock Market Recovers https://t.co/m3MVBz2cPS pic.twitter.com/xGnz02iw9d

— The Babylon Bee (@TheBabylonBee) April 9, 2025

AYFKM?

Legal Insurrection: "Judge Orders Trump to Restore Associated Press Access to White House - “No, the Court simply holds that under the First Amendment, if the Government opens its doors to some journalists—be it to the Oval Office, the East Room, or elsewhere—it cannot then shut those doors to other journalists because of their viewpoints.”

According to this logic, the White House cannot refuse a pass to any person calling himself/herself a "journalist."

Also, if the White House press secretary calls on everybody but the Associated Press during a press conference, is that also a violation of this order?  Does the White House have any discretion at all or is it only ever under the thumb of compulsion by flighty judicial decisions?

I feel like this is a hill the White House should fight on and it should use press access during the Biden administration as a counterargument.  

Mann overboard

Daily Caller: "Court Delivers Massive Blow To Famed Climate Scientist Who Sued Critics."

Hawaii judges

Volokh Conspiracy: "Twice, SCOTUS Finds Coastal Courts Improperly Exercised Venue - In two consecutive orders, the Court signals that progressive litigants forum shopped to the wrong courts." 

* reference to title here among other examples of judicial YOLOing.

Seems like a big deal

Fox News: "Supreme Court grants Trump request to lift stay halting Venezuelan deportations - Justices on the high court ruled 5-4 to grant the administration's request to lift the stay, in a temporary victory for Trump and his allies."

This ruling gives an imprimatur to Trump's broad interpretation of immigration laws.

You did it. The crazy son of a bitch, you did it.

Fox News: "Women's pool tournament championship features 2 transgender players after beating female competition."

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." 

Not actually surprising at all

Ace: "Former Biden Staffer: We Bullied the Weakling Press Into Only Reporting What We Allowed Them To Report. It's "So Weird" That the Press "Never Pushed Back."

Yeah, so so weird.  

MSNBC on the taxpayer's dime

Hot Air: "NPR's Katherine Maher Doesn't Remember Her Tweets, Admits NPR Blew It on Hunter Biden."

I used to listen to NPR fairly regularly during my work commute.  I even donated a couple times!  But Trump Derangement Syndrome made NPR intolerable and I'm not the only one who noticed:

Over the decade that NPR’s journalism priorities have narrowed, so has its audience. Back in 2011 it was roughly divided between liberals, moderates, and conservatives, tilting just slightly to the left. By 2023, progressive listeners outnumbered conservatives by six to one.

Defund these left-wing clowns, post-haste.  I refuse to pay for this.

This nothingburger is all they have

OMG, the performative outrage over this group chat story: "The Atlantic's Signal Story Is Quickly Falling Apart."

Yes, it's an embarrassing mistake but the Democrats are trying to revive the "but her emails" meme.

So unclassified info was discussed on an encrypted messaging app approved for use by staff, where all parties involved were unified under President Trump’s agenda.

They’re so bad at this lol.

— johnny maga (@_johnnymaga) March 25, 2025

Civil War

Ace: ""They Hate Us:" The Democrat Base is Revolting.  I Mean, They've Always Been Revolting. Now They're Rebelling." 

There's only four, geniuses

The Hill: "5 ways Democrats can fight Trump and defend the republic."

Two of them are more foot-stamping and the other two ("detail what we would do" and "eliminate waste, fraud and abuse") are things you either didn't do before the election or failed to articulate during the campaign.  You're all on board with cutting waste now? 

Just like Bernie's deathbed conversion for stopping illegal immigration, I guess. 

Old man yells at cloud

Left-wing fruitcake Robin Abcarian in the LA Times: "Americans aren't waiting for the Democratic Party to take on Trump."

What exactly are they doing?  Marching and protesting.  And protesting and marching.  And screaming at the sky.

Good luck with all that.

Trust has been lost

John Kass: "How the New York Times is killing America." - "The New York Times is as lost in its Acela Corridor provincialism as any isolated shepherd boy in the most remote valley of Kurdistan. It hates the America that most of us love and so many died for. In its offices and newsroom, The New York Times whispers into its sleeve like the politicos of old Chicago and Tammany." 

This is a condemnation of the New York Times and most of the mainstream media.  If a serious pandemic or national emergency emerges, nobody is going to believe the Boy who Cried Russian Collusion. 

Just like Reddit

Commentary: "Bluesky: The Online Cone of Silence"

I quickly learned that the site’s core innovation is not finding ways to facilitate thoughtful conversations. Instead, Bluesky’s secret sauce is the powerful tools it gives users to shut down voices they disagree with. Block lists—featuring the names of people you will not permit to see your posts—are public and widely shared and discussed. “People make nasty lists and lists and lists there,” a Bluesky user in Germany explained to me. Many Bluesky regulars import other users’ lists wholesale, allowing them to block hundreds of people they’ve never even heard of. One frustrated user complained, “I barely have 1,000 followers here on Bluesky and I’ve already been blocked by 300+ people!”

Perhaps it’s no surprise that a platform built on the notion that users need sanctuary from dangerous ideas would encourage hypervigilance against intruders. Some Bluesky users roam the site like white blood cells in the human bloodstream, always searching for invading pathogens. Any time a new user arrives who shows signs of heterodox thinking, they raise the alarm.

I've heard that Bluesky is the ultimate echo chamber and the drive to censor doesn't surprise me at all.  I've seen the same thing on Reddit where users rush to compliant (and left-leaning) moderators whenever a thought-crime is committed.  The Left hates free speech and, thus, these hive mind safe zones.

Girlboss governor caves

Outkick: "Maine Universities Back Down To Trump, Will Ban Trans Athletes From Women’s Sports."

They used to love Elon Musk

A fawning article from Rolling Stone back in November 2017:

Concluding paragraph: "I leave his home still hearing his chuckles in the doorway, and hoping that when the Mars colony builds its first statues of Musk, they’re not of a stiff man with a tight-lipped expression looking out into space, but of a fuzzy bear." 

More of this

It's the only way they learn: "Elon Musk Says He’s Suing Democrat Jamaal Bowman for Calling Him a ‘Nazi’ on CNN." 

Ratchet government

Federalist: "Republicans, Don’t Buy Democrats’ Lies About Medicaid ‘Cuts’." 

News anchors who don't follow the news

American Spectator: "How Much Longer Is CBS Going to Carry Margaret Brennan? - There must be a final level of embarrassment mainstream media is willing to tolerate."

You shant be missed

Red State: "BREAKING: Pres. Trump Is Set to Sign an Order Closing Department of Education."

How bad do you have to be at your core mission to keep your job?  It's time for this useless cabinet position to go. 

Uh-oh, they might be figuring it out

NY Post: "Dem Rep. Seth Moulton calls out own party for being ‘out of touch’ and alienating allies."

“We lost this election across the board, an election that should have been easy for us to win,” Moulton said. “I mean, when in our history have we ever run against a convicted felon sitting at the top of the ticket? So this past election should have been an easy one for Democrats. And yet we lost across the board because so many Americans said, ‘You guys are just out of touch. You‘re just out of touch. I mean, this other guy might be crazy, but you guys are not in touch with the majority of Americans,’ which is kind of by definition, what we showed by losing this election.”

And yet, when push came to shove, Moulton voted to keep biological men in women's sports after publicly stating that he didn't want his daughters to face that scenario.  He had the opportunity to stand up to the 20% nutcases in his party and backed down.

The damage-control tour is going great

Twitchy: "Chuck Schumer Gleefully Sneers at Weary Taxpayers Desperately Clinging to Their Hard-Earned Paycheck." 

Sounds like he reaped the whirlwind

Schumer spent years rousing his activist base to protest and riot and now won't face them. https://t.co/4WBDGIMa6K

— Stephen L. Miller (@redsteeze) March 17, 2025

* reference to title here. 

I know what the Dems need: more ping-pong paddles

USA Today: "Democratic Party's favorability hits record lows in two polls after 2024 losses." 

Astronaut rescue in process

Thomas Lifson: "CNN wants you to know that Biden did not strand the astronauts Musk is rescuing - As always, the media is stepping in to help the Democrats, this time, taking narrative control to diminish Musk’s rescue of the stranded astronauts."

Now that Elon Musk is on Trump’s team and the latest two-minute hate (and vandalism) target, he must not be allowed to look heroic in the media. But the spectacle of his SpaceX stepping up to rescue the astronauts who have been left in orbit at the International Space Station for months longer than planned is awfully compelling and—face it—downright epic. It takes no imagination whatsoever to foresee how the media would play up a successful rescue if Musk had happened to be a loyal Democrat.

The fact that Musk is doing what gigantic defense contractor Boeing was incapable of accomplishing—and the fact that his DOGE team is simultaneously uncovering unimaginable levels of waste, fraud, and abuse in federal spending -- makes the mission even more toxic in the eyes of the media division of the Democrat party.

I don't want to say that Joe Biden stranded two astronauts because he couldn't bear to give Elon Musk a win.  It's too terrible to think about.

Update - NY Post: "NASA ‘alien’ greets SpaceX crew aboard ISS as stranded astronauts gear up for return to Earth." 

American colleges hooked on federal cash

Gerald Ford once said: "A government big enough to give you everything you want is a government big enough to take from you everything you have."

The idea here - central to conservative theory - is that once you're dependent on the government to provide you with support, you've given up a portion of your freedom and self-sufficiency.  if external circumstances or a new government turns off the spigot, you're in a world of hurt.

Colleges are now in the "find out" stage of FAFO as Trump demands they adhere to new federal standards: "Colleges Are in Trouble and Suddenly Realizing They Have Few Allies."

No more antisemitism.  No more DEI.  Don't like it?  Stand on your principles without federal support.  Looking at you, Columbia. 

The press is always the hero of their own story

Boston Globe: "In Murrow’s empty shoes, a warning for American democracy - Few newsrooms have the courage to hire another Edward R. Murrow, who championed truth over lies when he challenged the powerful Senator Joseph McCarthy."

Just another journey down nostalgia lane for the legacy media, trying to convince themselves that they are the great defenders of Democracy and certainly not the discredited shell they've become.  This thing is so cookie cutter (Hitler references! "pillars" of Democracy!) that it could have been written by either ChatGPT or any college sociology major.  

The Michael Jordan of awfulness

Outkick: "The View's Sunny Hostin Claims She Is ‘Stuck’ In 'Racist' America And Wants To Leave."

We would also like Sunny Hostin to leave but ABC pays her $8 million/year to tell us how racist America is so she ain't goin' anywhere.

You're going to get tired of winning

Townhall: "Total Trump Victory' As Spending Bill Passes, Killing Far Left Hopes for a Gov't Shutdown."

Trump wins again

PJ Media: "BREAKING: Schumer Caves on CR, Blames Trump for His Own Surrender!"

I'll tell you exactly what happened: several Democrat Senators told (or screamed at) Schumer they were voting for the continuing resolution so he needed to make a humiliating reversal and try to portray his forced position as a profile in courage.  

Birds gotta fly and fish gotta swim

Democrats have to lie about Social Security.  Ace: "You're Not Going to Believe This, But Democrats' Line of Attack on Trump Is Spreading Lies About Trump Cutting, Get This, Social Security." 

In praise of John Feinstein

NY Post: "John Feinstein, famed sports author, dead at 69."

I've only read one book by John Feinstein but it's one of my favorite non-fiction books of all time: "The Last Amateurs."  It's about student-athletes playing basketball for the Patriot League which (at the writing) included Army, Bucknell, Colgate, Holy Cross, Lafayette, Lehigh, and Navy.

These kids are not on scholarships, their games will not be televised, the crowds are sparse and they'll never* go to the NBA.  They largely play for the love of the game and competition.  Feinstein's writing draws you in to this low-stakes world where the players are found studying in the hallway before the coach shows up for practice.

Just a great book - highly recommended.  RIP John Feinstein.

* Except for C.J. McCollum and Mike Muscala, according to Gemini.

We're on to your game

When it’s a D // When it’s an R pic.twitter.com/DnklPWi78s

— Drew Holden (@DrewHolden360) March 12, 2025

Remarkable given the slim margin

Townhall: "Virtually All House Republicans Unify to Pass Continuing Resolution."

Now the CR goes over to the Senate where who knows what might happen.  The Democrats are in full-blown "resist" mode but they also don't want to get blamed for shutting down the government.

Well...bye

NY Post: "NY Times tells editorial board writers: Accept new position or take buyout." 

This again? Really?

Hot Air: "This Is Stupid: Justice Department Investigating Big Egg Over Price Increases."

This is disappointing blame-shifting that the Democrats usually pull for Big Oil.  Now it's Big Egg, I guess.  Silly.

America was panicked into compliance

Boston Globe: "The case against Anthony Fauci - On the fifth anniversary of the COVID outbreak, a new book examines where American science — and politics — went wrong."

You probably don’t remember the lockdowns all that fondly. 

But if you’re like a lot of Americans on this fifth anniversary of the COVID-19 pandemic, you at least understand why they were put in place. 

The virus felt so frightening back then. So unexpected. 

And if public health officials made some mistakes — you might be convinced, by this point, that they kept schools closed too long — you’re willing to cut them some slack. 

People like infectious disease chief Anthony Fauci were doing the best they could with the information they had. They were following the science. And we got to the other side in better shape than we might have. 

But if there’s something comforting in this story — even a little triumphant — there’s just one problem: It’s almost completely wrong.

Oh, so now dissenting opinions are allowed and the truth can be told.  All during Covid, I insisted that wearing masks was performative nonsense that did nothing to stop the transmission of the virus.  At one point, the World Health Organization agreed but then gave in to the mob:

And while the WHO acknowledged that the evidence for masking’s effectiveness was scant, the group still “conditionally recommended” it in severe pandemics — explaining that there is “mechanistic plausibility for the potential effectiveness of this measure.”

Was it worth it, America?

The costs of the shutdowns were enormous: trillions of dollars in deficit spending to stave off economic ruin; massive learning loss, concentrated among the least advantaged children; the special pain of leaving loved ones to die alone in dreary nursing homes and emergency rooms; a further cleaving of our already divided society. 

And despite all the sacrifice, the United States still had a much higher death rate than other wealthy nations.

This is why Anthony Fauci had to get a blanket pardon.

Related (h/t Battleswarm): 

“Does Dr. Fauci have a Nobel Prize?”

“No, but he does have a pardon for crimes against humanity.”

There goes that car alarm again

Jonathan Turley: "Panic politics: Law professors’ umpteenth ‘constitutional crisis’ falls flat."

I thought we stopped doing these declarations sometime after the 51 security "experts" declared that Hunter Biden's laptop was Russian disinformation.

Anyway: yawn.

She deleted all her text messages

Twitchy: "Karen Bass Welcomes Investigation Into L.A. Wildfires Because She's Made Sure to Delete All the Evidence."

I can't wait to hear her explanation for this.  Perhaps she'll request a supplementary investigation.

Keep it up, you're doing great

Fox News: "Pollster warns Democrats' 'amateurish' anti-Trump antics are 'tanking' with Americans - Former Clinton advisor warns Democrats have turned the public off with their behavior." 

Interesting!

Red State: "ActBlue Fundraising Platform in Turmoil As Executives Resign and the Last Lawyer Has His Email Shut Off."

Hey, what did I miss and what happened to my investments?

I was largely incommunicado this week and, boy, did my phone explode when I turned off airplane mode.

Anyway, I see nothing has changed at "The View": "Sunny Hostin Baselessly Claims Trump Will Kill People By Taking Away Social Security, Medicaid."

This is all they have.

Hiatus

Well, traffic is off since the election - sounds like a good time for a vacation!  See you next weekend.

Meanwhile, here's K-pop sensation (G)I-DLE:

The beatings will continue until trust is restored

Hot Air: "How Low Can You Go: New Gallup Poll On the Trust-in-Media Limbo."

I've said this several times before but it bears repeating: the current legacy media must be burned to the ground.  Jeff Bezos should just fire everyone at the Washington Post and start anew. 

I'm feeling sad for Jeff Bezos. He sent out a blast yesterday, hoping for change. The paper today absolutely sucks. It is biased, stupid, partisan, packed with pathetic tropes, pounding the same worn bongos every single day. It's awful. He might just have to fire everyone.

— Jeffrey A Tucker (@jeffreyatucker) February 27, 2025

Even more winning

PJ Media: "Jeff Bezos Orders WaPo Opinion Section to Concentrate on 'Personal Liberties and Free Markets'." 

This is great news

Fox News: "Trump admin guts White House Correspondents Association in bid to end 'monopoly' of 'DC journalists' - The WHCA has determined access to the White House for decades." 

I forget where I saw it but the judge in the Associated Press lawsuit asked why the White House Correspondents Association had any standing in the case given they had no legal standard.  It's just a collection of (mostly) like-minded notebook-scratchers. 

Flashback

Just a little reminder on the occasion of Lester Holt leaving NBC Nightly News: "NBC's Lester Holt says we don’t need to hear both sides to define truth: ‘Fairness is overrated’." 

Temporary stays are not legal decisions

Jonathan Turley: "“We’re Winning Across the Board”: Raskin Takes a Premature Victory Lap Just Before a Slew of Court Losses." 

Twitchy: "Legal Analyst Leaves MSNBC Panel SPEECHLESS Pointing Out Trump Isn't Losing Legal Battles and LOL"

Tough times at MSNBC!

The winning continues

NY Post: "MSNBC cancels Joy Reid’s lefty show as network makes major shakeup." 

It only took Reid and MSNBC losing half their viewers since Trump's election.

Extra - Red State: "Schadenfreude Overload At MSNBC: Race-Obsessed Joy Reid and Others Finally Get the Kibosh." 

"Uber Eats driver" - that's the description they chose

Recent news from here in Western Massachusetts.  See if you can guess the inconvenient fact about this Uber Eats driver the Boston Globe omitted from the headline: "Uber Eats driver charged with raping customer in her Wilbraham apartment."

An Uber Eats driver is facing a rape charge for allegedly using a “ruse” to enter a female customer’s Wilbraham home and rape her during a delivery, legal filings show.

Roiber Andres Rodriguez Melendez, 21, pleaded not guilty on Feb. 14 to a rape count in Palmer District Court, records show. He was ordered held without bail after a dangerousness hearing.

His lawyer said Friday that he denies the allegations.

Rodriguez Melendez, who also has a pending case out of South Hadley for alleged motor vehicle violations, is a Colombian national who is “not here legally,” court papers said.

So an illegal alien raped a woman in Wilbraham.  To add insult to injury, he had an active warrant which means he's exactly the kind of person who would have been detained under the Laken Riley Act.

Every single Massachusetts politician except for Stephen Lynch (MA-8) voted against the Laken Riley Act.

The inevitable AP lawsuit

Twitchy: "The Associated Press Throws an Epic Toddler Tantrum, Sues Trump for Not Inviting Them to the Party."

An utterly ridiculous tantrum.  There is no free speech argument here: the AP can write whatever they want.  Also: the White House can grant or restrict access to any media outfit.

Have you considered calling Trump a "fascist" but harder?

Daily Caller: "‘Never Seen Anything Like This’: Fmr Clinton Pollster Says Dems’ Support ‘Is Falling Off A Cliff’." 

Robert Reich is an asshole

Loser’s mindset https://t.co/9WnJeHgT9A

— Chris Camillo (@ChrisCamillo) February 21, 2025

Robert Reich has been playing the same schtick for 30 years now and he still gets paid from stupid articles in the Guardian and some YouTube videos.  Like most charlatans humping the class warfare grift (e.g. Elizabeth Warren, Bernie Sanders), they will never debate and they can't stand the slightest bit of pushback.

Watch how easy it is to refute his premise: Jobs & Wozniak.  J.K. Rowling.  Hewlett & Packard.  That's just off the top of my head.

Yet another media outlet settles a lawsuit

Hot Air: "MSNBC Settles 'Uterus Collector' Lawsuit."

As predicted here, MSNBC's parent company has settled a defamation lawsuit filed against the network brought by a doctor who was dubbed the "uterus collector." The trial in this case was set to begin in April and MSNBC has wisely decided there was no upside to taking this to court.

There's a joke about Rachel Maddow that she's "always wrong, never in doubt."  I wonder how much of this settlement came out of her salary.

Another all-time low

Keep it up, Democrats.  Your'e doing great.

The Jasmine Crockett / Chuck Schumer / AOC axis of public relations is working out great. lmao look at these Dem numbers https://t.co/yGgW9my2AF

— Scott Jennings (@ScottJenningsKY) February 19, 2025

Hamas killed a baby

Then held on to the corpse for 16 months: "We Must Prepare Ourselves for the Pain of February 20."

Thursday, February 20, will always be remembered in Israeli history as a day of unimaginable emotional pain. It is a pain that should be felt by every civilized human being on this planet.

Hamas is releasing the bodies of four kidnapped victims. Let's be clear: these are not hostages. A hostage is someone who has been kidnapped and is alive. These are murder victims. They include the corpses of a mother, her toddler, and a nine-month-old infant who were kidnapped on Oct. 7 — 16 months ago — are being returned to Israel in coffins or body bags. In exchange for these bodies, hundreds of convicted mass murderers and terrorists will be released on Saturday. 

Pure evil.  I can't even with Gaza anymore.  I read stories like this and think: "Maybe we should ship the Palestinians to Jordan and turn Gaza into a parking lot."

Haha - what?

This is a bold strategy.  Let's see if it pays off, Cotton: "LA Mayor: I'm Investigating Why I Was 'Allowed' to Go AWOL." 

Stunning and brave

Legal Insurrection: "‘Wicked’ Star Cynthia Erivo Cast as Jesus in Hollywood Bowl’s ‘Jesus Christ Superstar’."

Never change, Hollywood.