Haha Newsom

PJ Media: "The Dems' Great White Hope Just Got Humiliated in Michigan."

This dude is so unctuous and people are starting to notice.

Oh, I believe it

Townhall: "You Won't Believe What This Former SPLC Exec Was Just Arrested For." 

What a dumb stunt

Ace: ""Republicans for Talarico" Turns Out To Be, Get This, A Bunch of Lifelong Democrat Donors ("And Other Losers," Says the RNC)."

Surely they could have guessed that these women would be identified as Democrat stooges.  The whole video reeked of fake.

Same energy:

Deception is the plan

Hot Air: "Hasan Piker Says It Out Loud: DSA Practicing Taqiyya." 

This is the communist equivalent of Taqiyya, the Shia Muslim practice of lying to non-Muslims in order to gain dominance. 

Taqiyya is not an invention of "Islamophobes." It is a literal doctrine practiced by many Islamists. It is how the 9/11 hijackers hid in plain sight and how terrorist cells try to blend in. You can shave your beards, drink alcohol, go to strip clubs, and become a dissolute Westerner as long as you are willing to kill for Allah.

I confess I'd never heard of Taqiyya until now.

I hereby disavow my strongly-held beliefs

Red State: "New Dem Talking Point on the DSA Emerges, and Francesca Hong Just Demonstrated Why It Won't Work."

DSA candidates are going to spend the next three months making sure nobody knows their positions.

Highly related - Reason: "Don't Let AOC Retcon Her Starring Role in 'Woke 1'."  Green New Deal?  Never heard of it!

Oh boy, a task force

The ultimate corporate buck-passing strategy: "WNBA commissioner says league task force will discuss response to transgender debate."

Generation Snowflake

Pens & Poison: "How Columbia University Made Me a Conservative - The lesson I never expected to learn from an Ivy League education.  (Hat tip: Maggie's Farm)

Yet on Wednesday, November 9th, 2016, walking into an exam for my Abnormal Psychology lecture at Barnard, Columbia’s all-girls sister school, I was surprised to find that the morning’s most abnormal behavior patterns were not nestled in the exam questions but plastered on the faces of my classmates, many of whom burst into the classroom bawling, insisting that they were unable to sit for the exam because of the election results.

The professor acquiesced and moved the exam to the following week.

I was rightfully taken aback. What were these girls even crying over? No one had died. Barack Obama would still be president for the next several months. We would have a dullard for a president for the next four years, sure, but did these girls really think that they—members of the privileged elite whose parents were paying $80,000 per year for them to attend one of the best universities in the world—would be personally affected by the reign of Donald Trump?

What was more astonishing was that my classmates—girls who supposedly represented the apex of female empowerment—did not at all embody the feminist strength that my grandmother once taught me.

When victimhood is the coin of the realm, everybody wants to be oppressed.  This country is jam-packed with AWFLs who are traumatized by a ballroom.

Molon labe my turkey

Washington Post editorial on the Thanksgiving-hating candidate: "Wisconsin taxpayers will flee if Francesca Hong becomes governor - Her bad economic ideas matter more than bizarre social media posts."

JD = 48

Breitbart: "Trump tells donors he wants VP Vance to win in 2028: 'We need to elect JD.'"

I agree with Trump that a Vance-Rubio ticket would be "very unbeatable."  Both of these guys are excellent politicians and debaters. 

These people are so dumb

Twitchy: "Democracy Dimwit: DSA Co-Chair Cannot Explain What ‘Taxing the Hell Out of Millionaires’ Means."

I would say it's because - like Mayor Mamdani - they've never been challenged in their lives.  For example, look at Mamdani's ridiculous back-and-forth when asked if his new supermarkets will require an I.D.

Extra - NY Post: "Mamdani is ‘thin-skinned and hyper-sensitive’ in private despite unflappable social media image: political sources." 

Plot twist: it's a woman

PJ Media: "Talarico Confirms Inappropriate Relationship With Staffer."

It's his current girlfriend but the relationship started when she was a staffer in Talarico's office.  I've been reliably told that this kind of power dynamic is the definition of the #MeToo movement.

These courts are wack

Hot Air: "Awkward: DC Circuit Tells Trump Not to Knock Down East Wing of the White House."

The DC circuit gave standing to a private group that claimed the Trump ballroom would hurt their eyes and feelings.

Enemy of the people

PJ Media: "El-Sayed Drops the Mask."

When it comes to these Islamist candidates, I'm reminded of Turkey's President Erdogan who said democracy is like a streetcar: "You ride it until you arrive at your destination," he said. "Then you step off."

Exodus

Hot Air: "Jews Are Moving From Blue States to Red Ones."

If you want to understand why, here's Bernie Sanders on "Meet the Press" this past Sunday:

KRISTEN WELKER:

Okay, and I want to follow up on what you — you just said. Dr. El-Sayed has made Israel a central issue in his primary. He said he, quote, “often struggles with the question of whether Israel has the right to exist as a Jewish state.” In the past, Senator, you have been quite clear that you do support Israel as a Jewish state. Should Dr. El-Sayed speak with the same clarity?

SEN. BERNIE SANDERS:

Look, I think right now the immediate issue of the moment is whether or not we continue to put tens of billions of dollars into the extremist Netanyahu government, which has killed 75,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, wounded 150,000, destroyed their infrastructure. And what the American people are saying overwhelmingly, Democrats, many independents — the majority of independents, and many Republicans, especially younger Republicans, “We’ve got better things to do with our money than to continue to fund the military of Israel.”

So the answer to the question as to whether DSA candidates should "speak with the same clarity" is "no."  Never answer the question directly and without equivocation or the antisemitism at the heart of the modern Democrat party might be revealed.

Flashback - "Shapiro says Harris aides asked if he was Israeli agent."  Remember that one?

Here we go again

I think this is attempt #5: "CA Man Arrested at Trump National Golf Club Was Armed to the Teeth." - "A man in California was arrested for watching the security setup at Trump National Golf Club in Rancho Palos Verdes. The president plans to visit the site later. The suspect was identified as Jeanine John Taele, 38, who was later found to have body armor, an illegally modified AR-15 rifle, ammunition, and a notebook with suspicious statements at his home." 

Dude is weird

Twitchy: "A Very Masculine James Talarico Wields a 'Blowtorch'." 

Remember when Dubya won the Presidency by 527 votes?

Ace: "Politico: NJ Democrat Officials Anonymously Admit Far More Illegals Are Registered to Vote Than the Governor "Mikie" Is Admitting; Some Think the Real Number Exceeds Trump's Estimate of 35,000."

Officials admit they have no idea how many illegals are enrolled to vote -- but they're totally sure it's not a problem and never effects any elections, not a single bingle one.

"Affects," Ace, "affects."

Governor Mikie told us that this mistake was discovered two years ago but, gosh!, we have no idea why the previous administration didn't do anything.  Yeah, it's a mystery.

Mamdani to starve married women

Irony can be pretty ironic: "Mamdani: You Need Voter, er, Eater ID to Buy Groceries at Commie Basket!"

The mayor's new supermarkets will require ID to keep our non-Big Apple residents.  What if you're a married woman who can't get an ID with your new name?  Drop dead.

Islam is the religion of peace

Also "Muslim Oxford Union President Tells Islam Critics That Without Security, They’d Be ‘Cooked’ by Mob."

Watch the video of the guy about to release a picture of Muhammad and the slow-boil panic that fills the room.

By the way, whatever happened to the Oxford Union, once held up as the premier debating society in the entire world?  It has devolved into woke shouting match of juveniles who are easily debunked. 

I really don't think "You're lucky we've got paid security to prevent you being murdered by Islamists for speaking at the world's oldest and most prestigious bastion of free expression" is quite the pro-immigration flex you think it is, love. https://t.co/Kg1wuq1Hgj

— RAW EGG NATIONALIST (@Babygravy9) August 1, 2026

Cancel culture

Hollywood in Toto: "Yet Another Jewish Artist Cancelled (While Legacy Media Sleeps)." 

TFG

Peggy Noonan: "Anthony Fauci Unmasks Himself - His diaries make clear that he saw the pandemic less as a historic emergency than a media opportunity."

As has been reported, it isn’t about witnessing or capturing the size and scale of a crisis, or feeling shock or anxiety. It is about other things.

On Jan. 6, 2020, he goes to a “Super A list” party. At a meeting later that month, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi hugs and kisses him and tells everyone “how great I am.” At another, President Trump tells Dr. Fauci, “Lou Dobbs . . . told me that you were one of the smartest, knowledgeable and outstanding persons he knows.” Dr. Fauci was “very pleased,” others “stunned and impressed.”

Jan. 30: “All my friends kept saying I was a national hero” and that they “ ‘felt safe in my arms.’ ”

March 8: “Nice profiles of me in Politico and NY Times today.”

March 15: “I did all 5 Sunday Shows today (my 3rd ‘Fauci 5’).” Apparently this is his version of “the full Ginsburg,” named for Monica Lewinsky’s attorney, William Ginsburg, when he did five Sunday shows in one morning.

March 26: “Donuts are being named after me; T shirts have my picture on them.”

It goes on.  The media created this monster.

It's all a self-esteem hustle

Townhall: "The Virtue-Signaling Virus That Won't Die." 

Look at all the women and children

NY Post: "Thousands of illegal African migrants overrun Spanish enclave, turn streets into open toilets and bathe in fountains: ‘An apocalypse’." 

Once you decide how much somebody "needs"

All bets are off.  Twitchy: "Bernie Sanders Asks How ‘Poor’ Mark Zuckerberg Will Survive If CA Passes Wealth Tax."

Does Bernie really need three homes?  Can't he sell two to feed the poor?

Endgame in Iran

Victor Davis Hanson: "The Iran War at the Crossroads."

We know the tired Iranian strategy by now. We might call it “theocratic rope-a-dope.” For the theocrats and their terrorist proxies, survival means outlasting Trump, waiting for the next cash-laden Democratic administration, and using “moderates” to play good cop while haggling away months.

The mullahs and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps feign indifference even as their half-century, half-trillion-dollar investments in what is now essentially a vaporized military-industrial-nuclear complex continue to be destroyed.

The war has finally revealed the full extent of Iran’s vast conventional arsenal, nuclear program, and missile and drone industry.

The thing about the rope-a-dope strategy is that you're still being pummeled.  The Iranians don't seem to realize it but day by day their influence in the region wanes.  Countries and oil companies are adjusting with new pipelines and tanker routes.  Soon enough, it won't matter that the Strait of Hormuz is controlled (or not) by the Iranians.  The world will have moved on.

Hope you're happy now

PJ Media: "Anthony Fauci: The Man Who Destroyed America’s Trust in Science."

Fauci did this: "Confidence in U.S. Institutions Remains Near All-Time Low." 

Federalist: "Unless Fauci Is Held Accountable, America Will Never Recover From His Lies - Because of Fauci, the U.S. government’s disastrous pandemic response was based on a tangled web of lies and subterfuge." 

Get out

Hot Air: "NYTimes Shocked, Shocked to Find Immigration Enforcement in Airports!"

Ace: "Media Can't Stop Boo-Hoo Whinin' and Cryin' That Trump Is Deporting The Democrats' Best Voters." 

It's times like this I wonder if newspapers actually believe their own bullshit or if they're just pandering to their liberal readers.

This is quite the development

NY Post: "Immigrant-led business group votes to sue NYC over Mamdani’s taxpayer-funded grocery stores, alleging unfair competition."

An immigrant-led business group is gearing up to sue New York City over Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s controversial plan to open five taxpayer-funded supermarkets — claiming the $70 million project will create unfair competition for nearby stores, The Post has learned.

As the far-left mayor announced new details of his plan this week — including a 30% discount on basic items like produce, meat, milk, cheese and bread – the Multicultural Business Coalition’s board voted to file a lawsuit in the coming weeks to block the pricey initiative, the group’s chairman Frank Garcia told The Post. 

This whole government-run grocery store is so incredibly stupid on so many levels.

New Yorkers vacationing in Florida next year https://t.co/xoj2usF76C pic.twitter.com/ooKy2e3f09

— The Drunk Republican (@DrunkRepub) July 27, 2026

Never enough

Jonathan Turley: "The Fair Share Myth and Other Socialist Fables"

The fair share myth is a virtual mantra among socialist and Democratic leaders, from Mamdani to Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) to Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.). In my book, “Rage and the Republic,” I address the false claim that the wealthy are not “paying their fair share.” In fact, the top 10 percent already pay more taxes than the bottom 90 percent combined.

In 2023, the top 1 percent paid an estimated 38.4 percent of all federal individual income taxes. One can certainly raise the need for additional taxes to support public works, but it is simple demagoguery to claim that the wealthy do not pay their fair share when the top 10 percent pay an estimated 75 percent of federal income taxes. The U.S. income tax system is already the most progressive in the developed world, even before additional New York state and city taxes are added in.

Turley also exposes the myth of the Nordic countries, always held up as "socialism" while their own leaders declare "we're not socialists." 

Massive ego trip

Federalist: "6 Years Later, Fauci’s Diary Confirms The Federalist Was Right About Everything." 

Looks like they ran out of other people's money

Townhall: "Democrats Mortgage Headquarters for $15 Million to Bail Out of Their Financial Fiasco."

That's the real crime

The Enterprise: "The Outsider the WNBA Cannot Forgive: The Caitlin Clark Problem."

The WNBA was handed the thing it had awaited for three decades, a player who could make the country care, and the country did. The arenas filled, the networks bid against one another, and the money came in torrents. At the precise moment the league should have been raising walls around the source of all of it, it kept reaching, instead, for the knife. Revealed preference is a stern teacher. Watch what the league does, not what it says, and you will know what it has decided Caitlin Clark is worth. So you may be asking what the real issue is and the answer to me is clear - the league is struggling with the fact that it took a straight white woman to make it relevant.

Sophie "The Pointer" Cunningham is coming up strong, too. 

At least she answered the questions

Red State: "DSA Co-Chair Confirms Its Extreme Agenda in Stunning Admission on Live TV."

The Sunday morning shows have become unwatchable because guests are asked simple questions and they inevitably respond with stump speeches and non-answers.  At least this woman laid it on the line.

Oh, sure, it's the cancer

Washington Post: "The shrinking world of former president Joe Biden - Cancer treatment has sharply limited Biden’s post-White House life even as his upcoming memoir threatens to reopen debates over his health and presidency."

You know I have no interest in talking about Joe Biden anymore (although I'll be interested to see how he rationalizes his Presidency in his memoir) but this gaslighting by the mainstream media is beyond the pale.  Biden isn't hiding because of his cancer.  He's hiding because he has been brain-addled for a very long time which is why he avoided the press for his entire Administration.

Flashback: "Staffer dressed as Easter Bunny stops Biden from answering reporter’s question."

Quarterback on Netflix

I'm currently about halfway through "Quarterback" on Netflix and I just need to say this: Joe Flacco is just about the coolest guy in the NFL.  This guy has played on half the teams in the entire NFL but he steps up every time.  A true professional.

The paper of record

Babylon Bee: "Trump Asks Democrats At Correspondents' Dinner To Hold All Assassination Attempts Until He Finishes Speech." 

Code word: Madagascar

Legal Insurrection: "College Professor’s Clever AI Trap Uncovers Rampant Cheating" - “The average grade was 96, with 40 students obtaining a perfect score. That compared to a midterm average ranging between 65 and 80 in previous years.”

Genius: he posted in white text a nonsense instruction to include the word "Madagascar" in an essay about the Industrial Revolution.  Thirty-two students just cut and pasted it into AI and spit out an essay they didn't even bother to proofread.

Not so long ago

Twitchy: "Elon Musk Told a Journo That Open Borders Dems Weren't Always Crazy (and Video Backs That Up)."

Specifically on immigration. 

Extra - Atlantic magazine 2024: "How Democrats Lost Their Way on Immigration"

Cui Bono?

NY Post: "Democrats pick South Carolina for first primary of 2028 in possible boost to Kamala Harris, dethroning Iowa and New Hampshire."

Good for Kamala!  I can think of another person who benefits if Kamala is the nominee.

These two clowns

Reason: "Zohran Mamdani Tells Jon Stewart Socialism Is Just Having a Library - Please stop letting these people lie about what their preferred economic system entails." 

Can we all appreciate the courage of Mamdani to appear on Jon Stewart's hard-hitting interview show?  So brave.  So stunning.

Makes sense to me, what's your problem?

Legal Insurrection: "Columnist Invokes Emmitt Till Murder to Attack Caitlin Clark - You know, just when I thought leftists couldn’t sink any lower, they do."

I don't even blame the columnist.  I blame the so-called editors at USA Today who allowed this tripe to be published in a national newspaper.

Elon to media: you suck

Red State: "Boom: Elon Delivers Mic Drop Moment Against the Media During Fiery Interview."

$17 for a Subway sub

That's it: the headline is the story.

I was in a hurry tonight so I got a footlong BMT and with tip it was $17 and change.  Maybe that's why the store was completely empty at 6:30pm.  I know the days of the "$5 footlong" are long past but, c'mon man.

Frankenstein's monster

Sasha Stone: "The Democrats Have a Communist Problem"

I’ve said it many times, and it only gets truer by the day: there is no saving the Left. There is only saving America from them. Godspeed, Republicans, Conservatives, and MAGA.

They made this bed. All of them called Trump a fascist for ten years too. They have dropped the seeds into this fertile ground. They should not be that surprised that weeds are cropping up that are too strong and too fast-moving to stop, even if they will kill the garden.

We're entering an election season where Democrats are going to have to show up at debates and answer simple questions like "is Benjamin Netanyahu a war criminal?" or "should we enforce immigration laws?" or "should biological men be allowed in women's sports?"

And they won't answer.  Their only goal is to get through 90 minutes without ever having to explain where they stand on any position.

Like this:

Theater kids

Fox News: "Mamdani sets internet ablaze with video explaining cave on plan to arrest Netanyahu: 'What a joke'."

Just playing to the anti-Jewish base, that one.

Another masterful interrogation from Gill

Legal Insurrection: "White Supremacy, Mickey Mouse, Politeness: Rep. Gill Takes on Smithsonian Director - “Ma’am, are you a white supremacist?”

GILL: Yes, under your leadership, it has been used as a reference. Is Mickey Mouse racist?

HARTIG: Mickey Mouse is not racist.

That's a relief.

You will pay for Medicare-for-All

Washington Post editorial: "Medicare-for-all means taxes-for-all - Billionaires don't have enough money to foot the bill."

Lots of eye-popping statistics in this editorial. 

Choosing Texas

Hot Air: "California Loses Another Vital Defense Contract to Texas."

Ideological diversity at the Boston Globe

I went into this article in the Boston Globe with high hopes: "On this 250th anniversary of America, how should a liberal feel about her country?"  It started out well:

My first visit was with Beverly Gage, a Yale University historian whose new book, “This Land Is Your Land,” recounts a year she spent road-tripping around the country, visiting historic sites in preparation for the country’s 250th anniversary.

“Whether or not people on the left like patriotism, it exists, and it’s a powerful, powerful force,” she told me when I visited her home in Connecticut for an interview. “To step aside, roll your eyes, to disengage, is not only, I think, a disservice to the people of the past but is also to concede a lot of things that I don’t think people on the left or liberals should concede to — that America is this one thing.”

I can get behind that!  Yes, patriotism is a powerful force and (most) Americans love their country.

Let's get another perspective:

I asked Massachusetts Representative Ayanna Pressley...

Oh Lord.

...about how she connects to the idea of patriotism, and she told me that one of the most patriotic things she’s ever seen was the Black custodians cleaning up the mess left behind by the January 6th insurrectionist mob who trashed the United States Capitol.

Of course.  We might as well make January 6th a national holiday at this point, the day where the government nearly collapsed to a bunch of middle-age men armed with MAGA hats and heart medication.

Moving to our last stop in this journey of patriotism:

To close out my series, I visited the Chelsea High School history fair, where freshmen presented projects on different chapters of American history. Chelsea is ground zero for ICE raids in Massachusetts, and I was curious how these kids — Chelsea High is 90 percent Latino — are processing various truths about American history while the American present bears down on them.

Unsurprisingly, the students were focused on eras that echo the chaos and xenophobia of America today. I saw at least three projects on the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850, a law that incentivized the capture of Black people in free states whether or not they were runaways.

Yeah, unsurprisingly indeed.  Victimology is the new coin of the land and the study of our oppression must never cease.  I wonder how many displays at that history fair showed the other side of the American Civil War: men who left their homes to march and die fighting to free men.  Probably zero.

After Donald Trump won the first time in 2016, shocked journalists pledged to spend more time in "flyover country" to better understand the people outside their intellectual echo chamber.  But they've learned exactly nothing.  Instead they stay firmly within the Bluesky tribe with a Yale historian, a Democrat representative, and some kids in Chelsea.

No viewpoints outside this sample size are required.

Game for the ages

Um, I decided not to watch the World Cup bronze game today.

Highlights on YouTube:

It was never "alive" to begin with

Townhall: "Iran Just Killed the Memorandum of Understanding."

The problem with negotiating with Iran is that nobody knows who is in charge.  The civil government is regularly undermined by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard who is being directed by a gay ayatollah in a coma.

I'm leaving today

Jonathan Turley: "“Start Spreadin’ the News”: New York Losing Billions as Millionaires Flee the Big Apple." 

If you "make it here, you can make it anywhere" is true.  You can make it in Florida or Texas.

Extra - Get ready for the Texas Stock Exchange:

The Wall Street Journal reported in recent days that the Texas Stock Exchange is now officially open for business, and trading is expected to start soon. Everything is big in Texas, as the saying goes, so New Yorkers should take this rival stock exchange seriously.

In some ways, the idea that Dallas could become the new financial center makes sense. Texas has no income tax. New York City has the highest income tax, capital gains tax and dividend tax. Mayor Zohran Mamdani is threatening even higher "soak the rich" tax increases as part of his goal of making NYC a socialist mecca. Housing will be free, groceries will be free, health care will be free, buses will be free.

This isn't Democratic socialism. This is unmitigated socialism.

New York was already losing to Texas before any of this happened. Over the past decade, nearly 2 million residents of New York state have fled. Many of them are now in Texas. New York has lost almost $1 trillion of income cumulatively over the past 12 years.

Sadly, these socialists will never learn.  These cities will go bankrupt gradually, then suddenly.

The source of much eye-rolling

Washington Post: "The rise and fall of a corporate fad - DEI mentions took off in 2020 and started collapsing in 2024." 

The important thing is that feelings weren't hurt

Hot Air: "Progressives in Cambridge, Mass Eliminated Shot Spotter. There Were Consequences."

Grinding gears

Washington Post: "The death of the stick shift is almost here - Driving a manual vehicle is a lost art. Hopes of a revival have fallen flat. With the rise of EVs and autonomous vehicles, only a few die-hards are holding on."

Less than 1 percent of new vehicles made for the U.S. market in 2025 were stick shifts, according to preliminary government data. At just 0.6 percent, it was an all-time low.

My first car was my father's hand-me-down Volkswagen Rabbit which (nobody recalls) had a helpful "shift up" light in the center of the dashboard console.  Soon the knowledge of operating a manual transmission will fade from memory like an ancient language.

NDAs? For an internal meeting?

PJ Media: "Democrats Are Panicking and Scrambling to Hide Something Big."

The DNC had their own officials sign non-disclosure agreements before a finance meeting.  The scuttlebutt is that the DNC is deeply in the red with debt exceeding money on hand. 

The intolerance factory

Hot Air: "Bluesky Gave Up on Competing with X."

Bluesky's actual problem is the one that no one there wants to talk about. It is a political silo for left-wing extremists that has a reputation for death threats and cancel culture. In fact, the last time I noticed something happening on Bluesky was when Popehat was banned for suggesting it would be good if someone murdered Elon Musk.

The stories I've heard about Bluesky is that the slightest deviation from the most left-wing positions will trigger a swarm attack like something from "The Birds."

Swalwell's pal

NY Post: "Swalwell pal Sen. Ruben Gallego had sexual relationships with two House staffers, sources reveal to The Post." 

The autopen must be exhausted

Ace: "Biden Slurs and Stumbles His Way Through Ad for His Ghostwritten "Memoir"."

Biden go vroom vroom! 

Brandon Gill: Superstar

Red State: "Like a Boss: Brandon Gill Ends an Ayanna Pressley Rant on Women's Rights With One Perfect Question."

Brandon Gill is like the Scott Jennings of Congress.  He does his homework and then confronts witnesses and opponents with simple questions that lead to unsatisfying responses.

After making NY too expensive

These guys need a raise: "NYC Council members want to give themselves 18.2% pay hike — and set automatic increases every year after." 

"Have you seen how much it costs to rent an apartment?" they cried.

The Left hates free speech

Hot Air: "A Case of Campus Cancel Culture Finally Goes to Trial."  Pushing back against the heckler's veto.

Cheating at Brown

Free Press: "I’m a Brown University Professor. Half My Students Are Cheating."

I saw this story elsewhere and the proof of cheating is the wide chasm in scores between the take-home midterm exam and the in-class final exam.  The funniest part is that there are two students - one got around a 95 on both exams and the other got around a 57 - who were clearly playing it straight.  I feel like the 57-score guy should be allowed to pass the class just on honesty.

The textbook definition of suicidal empathy

NY Post: "NY mom Jamey Carney’s migrant beau asked her for hefty dough a week before her murder in Ireland."

The migrant boyfriend suspected of murdering a New York mom at her home in Ireland allegedly asked her for a bunch of money just a week before her death.

Jamey Carney, 43, had told a pal that her beau, Ahmad Al-Saqar, sought the equivalent of around $5,700 about a week before her murder at her house in Killarney, the Irish Independent reported.

Al-Saqar is now wanted for questioning by authorities in connection with the murder of Carney, who is believed to have been beaten and then suffocated in her bed early Tuesday.

This woman absolutely bathed in the moral vanity of her bottomless tolerance and her pro-Palestinian causes.  She leaves behind a 13-year-old daughter.

Another business eyes the California exit

Semafor: "Paramount weighs leaving California over Warner Bros. rift."

As California tries to derail Paramount’s $110 billion takeover of Warner Bros. Discovery, Paramount CEO David Ellison’s friends and advisers have been pushing the media executive to consider shifting his business out of the state.

There's no saving that state.  Wait until the wealth tax hits.

Shocking news

Fox News: "Longtime GOP Sen. Lindsey Graham dies at 71 after 'brief and sudden illness'."

Ukraine is winning

Hot Air: "Russia Closes the Kerch Strait After 76 Ships Hit With Drones."

The Russians recently had their yearly military parade and there were no vehicles, only marching soldiers and a brief flyover.  And then, last week, Russia suspended exports of diesel because the entire country is running out of gas.

Entitled graduate students

Manhattan Contrarian: "What makes a person become a Communist?"

One requirement seems to be never holding a real job.

A man needs to have principles

Still rollin'

LA Times: "Every Rolling Stones album, ranked worst to best."

It's always crowded at the bottom but this list correctly names "Exile on Main St." as #1.

I saw the Rolling Stones at Shea Stadium in 1990 (I think) and - although the show was good - I swore off stadium concerts forever.  With my binoculars I could see the giant TV screens broadcasting the concert.

Free stuff for everyone

Paid for by the billionaires!  That's the shallow and childish ideology of the Socialist left: "Washington Post: Yes, the DSA Really Does Want to Destroy Capitalism." 

You can vote yourself into socialism but you have to shoot your way out.

Dozen red flags

WSJ: "The Red Flag That Led to Graham Platner’s Implosion Was Hiding in Plain Sight."

Hot Air: "Guess Who Was a Red-Flag Parade For Months (That We Never Spotted)?"

This opens the door for me to cite a great little country song: "Dozen Red Flags" by Mackenzie Carpenter.  It opens with these lyrics:

He deletes all his texts

Still talks to his ex

Flirts with my friends

His dad pays his rent

Hey!  Sounds like somebody we know!

"Mistakes were made"

Townhall: "The New York Times Is Trying to Do Damage Control After the Graham Platner Implosion."

He's out

Breaking news: "Oyster Shucked: Graham Platner Suspends Campaign Operations in Maine Senate Race."

These people, man...

Former NY Times editor Jill Abramson in today's Boston Globe: "The New York Times is taking heat over Graham Platner. It doesn’t deserve it."

During my 17-year career at the Times, I never saw partisan considerations color news stories. The Times’s policy, then and now, is to tell readers everything newsworthy that their reporters have confirmed as accurate and is important for readers to know.

I give up.  These people are in a bubble that cannot be pierced. 

Extra - This must be all in my imagination: "Trust in Media at New Low of 28% in U.S."

Unclear on the concept

Twitchy: "Move Over for Do-Over?: Dem on CSPAN Says Platner Is ‘Obstructing’ a Fair Election by Staying in Race." 

Maine Democrats voted for him.  He's your nominee, buddy. Democracy much?

I've been reliably told nobody is above the law

Hot Air: "Judge Dugan's Sentence is a Joke."

Ace: "Leftwing Judge Refuses to Sentence Former Judge Dugan to Jail for Helping Illegal Alien Elude Police, Won't Even Put Her on Probation."

Just a $5000 fine for a felony conviction.  Let's be honest: Dugan was never going to do a day in jail but at the very minimum there should have been some kind of probation or community service, just to bring her down a little bit and feel the bite of the law.

Instead she was let free and forced to pay her accumulated vacation from her severance. 

The NY Times does the NY Times

Catch and kill: "The New York Times Knew All About Graham Platner's Rape Allegation But Deliberately Buried It."

None of this should be surprising to anybody paying attention since the Brett Kavanaugh persecution.  Know what's the difference here?  There's evidence that Platner and his victim actually met. 

Shortages, stagnation and corruption

LA Times: "Democrats' newest ideas have been failing for centuries." "As Jason Furman, who chaired President Obama’s economic advisory council, put it, “Rent control has been about as disgraced as any economic policy in the tool kit.” The Swedish economist Assar Lindbeck — a socialist, mind you — was pithier: “In many cases rent control appears to be the most efficient technique presently known to destroy a city — except for bombing."

He's toast

NY Post: "Graham Platner’s ex Jenny Racicot accuses him of rape, says Maine Senate hopeful was ‘very drunk and wouldn’t take no for an answer’."

Stephen Green: "Is Platner out?"  The Maine Democrat Party is calling for his withdrawal.

Politico: "Exclusive: Woman who dated Graham Platner says he sexually assaulted her"

Here's one damning part about the New York Times:

Racicot said she later felt compelled to go public about her experience because the reaction to the Times story was dominated by controversy about another woman, Lyndsey Fifield, who alleged Platner mistreated her and faced attacks because of her ties to the Republican Party. (Contacted by POLITICO, Fifield stood by the allegations she made to the Times and declined to comment further.)

“My part of the story was just a read-over,” Racicot said in an interview. “And the story was Lyndsey, and the accusations of her being politically motivated.”

So Racicot, who appears to be a Democrat ("agrees with Platner politically") came forward because she felt the New York Times sought to discredit another accuser as politically-biased.  For the Times, it was a "catch and kill" story.

By the way, I guarantee this story was released by a Democrat to get Platner out before the July 13th deadline to replace him.  Republicans had been rumored to have a data dump ready to go the day after Platner couldn't withdraw from the race.

The wealth tax in California

NY Times: "It Failed in France. It Would Be a Disaster in California."

Other countries have made the same mistake Californians are being tempted to commit. In 1990, 12 industrialized countries levied a wealth tax. By 2025, nine countries had repealed theirs — including Denmark, Sweden, Germany, the Netherlands and France. These nations discovered that wealth taxes are hard to implement, cause wealthy people to move and take their money elsewhere and raise far less tax revenue than promised. The co-authors of the tax plan must know this history well: France, their home country, abolished its wealth tax in 2018 after an estimated 200 billion euros (about $228 billion) left the country over two decades and, according to estimates, the tax generated an annual budget shortfall of 7 billion euros.

All of the things that happened in France would happen in California, and the consequences would probably be worse.

California will probably vote for the wealth tax because if there's one thing California has produced besides fruits and nuts it's the sense of entitlement for other people's money.

Extra - Jonathan Turley: "No, the Framers would have hated the Billionaire Tax."

Get happy!

Washington Post: "25 reasons to be optimistic about America's future."

America 250!

Greatest country in the history of the universe, baby.

Oh, really, you're surprised? Interesting

Twitchy: "Patti LuPone ‘Furious’ After Gay Cruise She’s On Gets Banned From Turkey for Violating 'Moral Values'."

These people, man - and I mean the left-leaning types who delude themselves into believing the "religion of peace" will accept them.  It's not like we've been saying it for decades now.  Let's get Mamdani on the record for this issue.  Do it.

Great choice, New York

PJ Media: "Mamdani Gives 250th Anniversary Speech, and Boy, Does This Guy Hate America."

The politics of grievance: everybody is a victim all the time, even in the greatest country on Earth.  This is all they ever have.  This dude is a miserable jerk.

Undefeated after 250 years

National Review: "America’s 250-Year Winning Streak."

The old saw holds that “God has a special providence for fools, drunkards, and the United States of America.” And boy does God have a stellar HR team. Here, cometh the hour, cometh the man is close to a guarantee. At our birth, we needed a Washington, a Jefferson, a Franklin, an Adams, a Madison, and a Hamilton — and, remarkably, we got all of them in one crowd.

We've been amazingly blessed to have had these men to set America's firm foundation.  Read the whole thing.

The nepo kids in charge

Victor Davis Hanson: "The New Socialists—Elite, Ungrateful, and Toxic As Ever."

Dog bites man story

New government program starts with good intentions, ends with grabbing for more money: "As Cambridge eyes expansion of universal preschool, it weighs asking wealthier families to chip in."

First, the feel-good initiative:

When Cambridge rolled out universal preschool in 2024, it offered a benefit to families that was easy to understand: Every 4-year-old could go to school for free, regardless of their family’s income.

Then the money problem:

Now, Cambridge is weighing whether to expand the program to include free school for even younger kids. But officials say that tighter finances may force them to reconsider just how generous they can be this time around.

Oh no, we ran out of money for our new entitlement!  What can we do?

“I believe in universal preschool, don’t get me wrong. I do,” Cambridge Mayor Sumbul Siddiqui said in an interview. “The question here is how do we help our most vulnerable. If that means doing some means testing, we at least have to discuss it.”

And there it is: we're not going ask all Bostonians to pay for this universal benefit.  We're going to "ask" the rich and then condemn them as selfish elitists if they refuse.

Tale as old as time.

Why can't we have more of this?

Hot Air: "Ezra Klein and Christopher Rufo on Identity Politics."

A rational and reasonable discussion of opposing viewpoints is possible.

Not a big shift

More like status quo ante: "The birthright citizenship ruling isn’t a catastrophe - The government has plenty of mechanisms to discourage birth tourism and illegal immigration." 

I never thought Trump was going to win this case but I was surprised at the 5-4 ruling.  I thought it would be more like 7-2.

It's the end of democracy!

Federalist: "In Landmark Ruling, Supreme Court Affirms That Presidents Run The Executive Branch."

Of course it was a 6-3 ruling where Sotomayor resorted to emotional arguments instead of the law.

America! We like our $

Wall Street Journal: "European Soccer Fans Marvel at the Splendor of America’s Suburbs - Dutch fans in Missouri see a nation that is risky and expensive, but vast and bountiful: ‘Everything is three times the size’,:

I thought this was interesting:

Everink parked his van just up the street and has become a local legend at the Alley Bar, where he watches most of the games. Over the course of his road trip, he’s noticed another big cultural difference: “Here, if you sit at a table, within five minutes they talk about money,” he said. “We never talk about money. We talk about ourselves.” 

I must confess that I've always talked finances with my kids and - happy to say - they're very good with their money.  In fact, I believe financial literacy should be taught in public schools.  Kids need to learn how to balance a checkbook and the miracle of compounding interest.

It sure is

Atlantic: "Higher Ed Is Very Sorry - Universities are studying how they lost the public’s trust."

Bill Maher is voting for J.D. Vance

Well, he didn't say that in so many words but Maher was clearly giddy to have the Vice President on his show: "This Bill Maher Episode Was Wild...and the Libs Are Not Going to Like It."

By the way, Maher took another opportunity to note that Democrats refuse to come on his show for a long-form interview.

Same vibe as "I'm not a biologist"

Twitchy: "Rep. Brandon Gill Puts on an Absolute Clinic as He WIPES THE FLOOR With a SNAP Witness."

This particular witness was asked about the nutritional value of Coca-Cola and she responded "I'm not a nutritionist." 

Here comes the pushback

Ace: "Denmark's Left-Wing Government Plans to Ban the Islamic Call to Prayer, Saying That Parts of Denmark Feel Like "a Suburb of Islamabad"

Understatement

Jim Geraghty: "Say, I’m Starting to Think These Iranian Mullahs Might Not Be Trustworthy." 

Decades and decades is not "temporary"

Legal Insurrection: "SCOTUS: Trump Admin Can End “Temporary Protected Status” For Aliens from Syria and Haiti."

I can't believe this case even went to SCOTUS since the law stated that TPS was under the control of the Department of Homeland Security which is part of the Executive branch.  Of course that didn't stop the Supreme Court liberals from their usual appeal to emotion while skipping over the whole law part.

I expected nothing different

Twitchy: "Hakeem Jeffries' Horrible, Terrible, No-Good, VERY BAD Week Just Got Worse As CNBC Host Calls HIM Out."

He has nothing - nothing - except "but Trump."  He was really exposed as an empty suit when Rep. Mike Lawler confronted him in a hallway on Capitol Hill.

Um...hooray?

There's a bifurcation of opinions on the Right about the DSA's success in New York last night.

Hot Air: "Politico: You Know Who's Happy About DSA Wins This Cycle?"  It's the House Republicans.

Democrats seem upset: "Dem Rep Summed Up the NY Socialist Takeover Perfectly."

Then there are those on the Right who sense this is a terrible turn of events: "The Dangerous Fallacy: ‘Exposing’ Radical Leftists Won’t Save Us — Their Voters Are Growing and Rabid."

This is my position, also.  We can laugh and point but the bottom line is that utterly insane Socialists are on the verge of being elected to Congress.  These people should be kept far, far away from the levers of power.  We can laugh and say it's New York or California but it wasn't so long ago that Rudy Giuliani was the mayor of New York, Arnold Schwarzenegger was the Republican governor of California and even Charlie Baker was the governor of Massachusetts.  Massachusetts! For eight years!

I'm with Matt Walsh here:

Unbelievably retarded for Republicans to gloat about communists winning elections. This is not some kind of win for the right and if you think it is, you truly have no idea what’s actually happening in the country right now. https://t.co/hAHbzUWox1

— Matt Walsh (@MattWalshBlog) June 24, 2026

FAFO time

NY Post: "Lefty owner of anti-Israel NYC coffee shop calls US ally ‘Nazi Germany of our time’ in hateful online outburst."

Jim Treacher has more fallout:

Well, Poetica Coffee has now taken down their Facebook page and all their other social media. They’re getting clobbered on Yelp. Oh, and they’re being investigated by the Department of Justice. So that was a big Sunday for them.

They refunded a coffee purchased by Democrat Congressman Dan Goldman and essentially banned him saying they "we don’t serve racists, fascists, homophobes, genocide enablers." 

I have a feeling you won't be serving anybody soon enough.

This is the way

Hot Air: "Elon Musk Suggests He Could Sue Ro Khanna."

Twitchy: "Looks Like Elon Musk Has Had Enough of Rep. Ro Khanna's Defamation."

Ro Khanna made the mistake of defaming Musk from a podcast instead of the floor of Congress where he would have immunity.

Good news

WSJ Opinion: "Race Preferences Are Falling Nationwide" - "The Supreme Court’s 2023 ruling against racial preferences is turning out to be a landmark with profound consequences as its influence spreads. On Thursday the famously progressive Wisconsin Supreme Court ruled unanimously that a state program that issued scholarships based on race violates the U.S. Constitution." 

It started at the Biden DOJ

California Post editorial: "The Gavin Newsom probe is serious, and he knows it."

Newsom is desperate to paint this as a Trump operation but the investigation started in the Biden administration and last month his former chief of staff plead guilty to conspiracy and wire fraud charges.

The Final Boss of Incoherence

New York Editorial Board Substack: "Darializa Avila Chevalier on Housing, Immigration, & Her Run for Congress in New York's 13th District - The New York Editorial Board's interview with Darializa Avila Chevalier, a Manhattan Democrat running for Congress in New York's 13th District."

This interview of a candidate for Congress is really something.  Scroll to the bottom where she's asked a "gotcha!" question of whether murderers should be sent to prison.  It's wild.

Priorities

Federalist: "Corporate Media Can’t Be Bothered To Investigate Fraud And Crime, They Have An Algae Bloom To Track." 

I dunno: we go on with our lives?

Boston Globe: "Trump’s name was stripped from the Kennedy Center. Now what?"

This part made me laugh:

The federal judge who ordered the removal of Trump’s name, Christopher Cooper, has also blocked the closure. On Tuesday, he ruled the Kennedy Center board must present a plan to the court for staying open by Friday.

This is the new version of "bake me a cake" instead it's "play me a concert."

OK, Hawaiian judge.

It's not going well

NY Post: "With Strait of Hormuz held hostage, Trump’s Iran deal is worse than Obama’s."

As he prepared to sign his “memorandum of understanding” with the Islamic dictatorship of Iran, President Trump again insisted that his deal was much different than that of his predecessor, President Barack Obama.

He’s right — it’s probably worse.

Obama’s treaty did not prevent Iran from developing a nuclear weapon, it simply punted the issue down the road in exchange for cash.

Trump’s agreement has the same vague promises, the same payouts, but with the added twist that Iran can and will take the world hostage by shutting the Strait of Hormuz at will.

I've criticized Dementia Joe for his Afghan withdrawal because he was desperate to have it done before September 2021 so he could stand in the Rose Garden on the 20th anniversary of 9/11 and claim victory.  Trump seems to be driven by the same motivations: the need to reach a deal before heading to the G7 conference, or to bring down gas prices, or to claim the mantle of Great Negotiator.

I think it's just a matter of time before Iran violates this agreement because that's all Iran ever does.  They are completely untrustworthy and any "agreement" isn't worth the paper it's written on.

Not-so-golden state

Victor Davis Hanson: "Is California Reaching Critical Mass?"

And yet they keep voting for Democrats.  In other California news, the billionaire tax referendum reached enough signatures to appear on the ballot in November and even Gavin Newsom is trying to kill it.  Conservatives, Nevada, Texas and U-Haul are all hoping it passes.

Damning with faint praise

Oh, man, this is low-key hilarious:

"Joe and Jill, you are also here." https://t.co/CbvkLqpgtN

— Charles C. W. Cooke (@charlescwcooke) June 18, 2026

And yet I am not surprised

Ace: "Another Surprise: Harvard Students Experience Mental Illness at Double the Rate of the Normal Adult Population."

Mental illness tracks with political ideology and Harvard is full of prissy liberals:

She buys his oysters, too

Free Beacon: "Texas’s James Talarico, 37, Shares His Only Checking Account With His Mom."

This "guy" is a weirdo.

Think of all the learing centers we could buy

Twitchy: "Ratio Machine Elizabeth Warren Rake Stomps While Pitching All the 'Free' Stuff a Wealth Tax Could Provide." 

Oh we still want Greenland

NY Times: "After a Bitter Split, European Leaders Play Nice With Trump - A peace framework with Iran, and hope for cooperation with Ukraine, softened the tone on Tuesday at a Group of 7 gathering in France."

For all the sharp elbows of the last year, they appear to have concluded that the best way to deal with a disruptive president is to court him, particularly since they still hope to engage the United States on thorny issues like the war in Ukraine.

“We’re on the same team,” Mr. Merz said of the president on social media, wishing him a belated happy 80th birthday.

Such conciliatory words would have seemed improbable even a week ago, given the bitter split over Iran, Mr. Trump’s threats to take over Greenland and his regular hectoring of Europe’s centrist leaders — all of which persuaded several of them that America was no longer an ally, and was even, in some cases, a threat.

Now, though, Mr. Trump has presented at least the contours of a peace deal with Iran, and Europe’s leaders have gone back to charming him.

Because they want something.  Make no mistake: I didn't care about Europe's opinion back when they hated Trump.

Good

Legal Insurrection: "Judge Upholds Wisconsin Judge’s Conviction for Helping Illegal Alien Evade ICE - The problem for the defense is that this case did not involve some random encounter on the street. It was a targeted operation, conducted pursuant to agency procedures." 

These people are thick in Western Mass

Red State: "‘No Kings’ Crowd Gets Wrecked by One Brutally Honest Media Column." 

Color me skeptical

I want to believe: "Trump announces US and Iran have reached peace deal — here’s when the Strait of Hormuz reopens, and what happens next."

The proposed deal has all sorts of goodies for America:

The agreement has not been seen publicly, but the White House on Friday described to reporters five points that are in the deal:

• Iran will destroy its highly enriched uranium
• Tehran will pledge never to obtain a nuclear weapon
• Economic relief will come after those first two steps are completed
• The Strait of Hormuz will be open immediately upon signing
• Iran must stop funding terrorist groups including Hezbollah

Then there's this...

The signing will launch a 60-day negotiating process to determine the fate of Iran’s nuclear program and the extent of sanctions relief, according to officials.

(Sigh).  So another delay which will lead to Iranian intransigence and the need for further negotiations.  Look, I get it: "Meeting jaw to jaw is better than war" but this is just another dilatory tactic which will lead to a metaphoric rug-pull. 

Liberals are nuts

Focus on the Family: "Beliefs Matter: New Study Shows Widening Mental Health Gap Between Conservatives and Liberals." 

Envious losers

Professor Reynolds: "Elon Musk is a Genius, and a Litmus Test - People's reactions to him are diagnostic."

This single tweet cost California hundreds of billions of dollars in taxes, revenue, and jobs: pic.twitter.com/eXwbX4gi1l

— John LeFevre (@JohnLeFevre) June 12, 2026

To govern is to choose

Real Clear Politics: "Brian Urlacher: Illinois Politicians Have Spent Billions On Illegals, That Money Could've Gone To Keeping The Bears." 

Elon Musk is world's first trillionaire

SpaceX soars. 

The infinite grace extended to the Left

Boston Globe editorial: "Graham Platner won Maine’s Democratic primary. Now he needs to show the integrity, maturity, and honesty voters deserve in a senator. - At the end of the day, it will be Maine voters — not the national media, Washington pundits, or Democrats in other states — who decide whether Platner has the character and values to be a US senator."

Ah, yes, the classic "it's up to the voters" dodge, the talking point indistinguishable from the one repeated by numerous Democrats cornered on news shows.  We have our own opinions but - gosh darn it - it's really up to the voters in Maine so we just can't say. 

I've been reliably told that "character matters" for ten years.  Suddenly the past is irrelevant and subservient to the idea that we should look for "growth" that starts right now.

The Boston Globe had the chance to do the right thing and instead chose the predictable path of pandering to the Beacon Hill crowd.  Watch this editorial spring up in papers across the nation, the brand-new version of #MeToo.

Deja Vu all over again

NY Post: "Trump calls off Iran strikes, tells The Post US-Tehran deal is ‘all wrapped up’."

Yeah, we've heard this song before.  Unfortunately, I don't think anybody knows who is actually in charge in Iran.  The President says one thing and the Iranian Revolutionary Guards say another.  Maybe the threatened seizure of Kharg Island was the final wake up call but I fear we're bargaining with ghosts.

The pouncing will continue until morale improves

Hot Air: "You Don’t Hate the Media Enough, ‘Pouncing’ On Der Oysterführer Edition." 

Extra - Red State: "Watch: Legacy Media Hot Take on Platner and What Gets Considered 'Abuse' Has Jaws Dropping."

I have second-hand embarrassment for these "journalists" and their sliding scale of #MeToo.

One scam after another

Breitbart: "Karmelo Anthony supporters launch Change.org petition calling for the arrest of Austin Metcalf's brother"

Mere hours after the GiveSendGo fund supporting Karmelo Anthony was “unpublished,” activists supporting the teen murderer launched a petition calling for the arrest of Austin Metcalf’s brother, Hunter.

The petition, which as of this writing still has fewer than 50 signatures, charges Hunter Metcalf with contributing to his brother’s death by “allegedly assaulting” Anthony.

If there's one thing I've learned from YouTuber Pleasant Green, there is a bottomless supply of scammers who will use any opportunity to extract some cash from a tragic situation.

L.A....proved too much for the man

He couldn't make it!  "Outrage as Spencer Pratt is dumped from LA mayor’s race: ‘City is lost’."

I don't believe there were actual ballot shenanigans.  It's entirely possible that Democrat banked on mail-in ballots while Pratt did not.  That's pretty much the story of Trump's 2020 Presidential run. 

I've been waiting all day to use this video:

I also wish Democrats would move to another country

Red State: "New Poll Confirms What We Have Known All Along About the Modern Democrat Party."

Defense witness testifies for the prosecution

Why did this case go to trial?  "Defense Rests Case After Shocking Day in Karmelo Anthony Trial."

I'm trying to figure out the strategy here.  Was it to raise gobs of money for defense and then try to plead down to manslaughter or something?  There was an unexplained 90-minute recess in the case today where I suspect it was for the defense to beg for a plea deal.  Or maybe it was to ask Chat GPT how to run a plausible defense.

Bias? What bias?

Townhall: "Scott Pelley's Post-Firing Pity Tour Is Everything Wrong With Legacy Media." 

$40 a pack!

Reason: "Australia Tried To Tax Smoking Out of Existence. Now 80% of Tobacco Aussies Consume Is From the Black Market. - With cigarettes costing around $40 a pack, Australia’s war on smoking has become a case study in how prohibitionist policies create black markets, violence, and criminal power."

The Left loves sin taxes because it combines two of their favorite activities: taxing things and moral preening. 

Not-so-mighty ducks

Jonathan Turley: "Facing the Big Zero: The University of Oregon Grapples With a Budget Crisis After Years of Woke Excess." 

The Indiana Bears

Legal Insurrection: "The Bears Are Leaving Illinois for Indiana - The Chicago Bears may soon leave Illinois after more than a century in Chicago. Their potential move to Indiana is about more than football — it is a reminder that businesses, investment, and opportunity tend to go where they are welcomed."

It sounds from the article that Chicago and Illinois thought the Bears organization was bluffing. 

It's the New York Times

Tom Knighton: "I'm disgusted."

The posts are long, but important. The long and the short of it was that while the New York Times was reporting unverified and completely non-credible claims of Israeli soldiers using dogs to rape prisoners, they had Lyndsey’s account and were sitting on it.

Lyndsey has diary entries showing her talking about this, years before Platner entered politics. Her friends have come out and said they knew about this and the trauma long before he made a run for Senate. There’s more corroboration for this than Christine Blausey Ford’s accusations against Brett Kavanaugh, if for no other reason than we have proof they were in the same room together at least once.

And how has the left reacted?

The side that says “believe all women” is, unsurprisingly, hypocritically dismissing the accusations entirely.

I hate to say "I told you so" but, Lyndsey, you should have expected this kind of behavior from the New York Times.  This is the crew that jettisoned their editor because he dared to let a Republican voice an opposing view in the paper.  This is the mob that hounded Brett Kavanaugh over completely fictional allegations.  They're not here to play fair.

The New York Times responded to this criticism by blandly stating that their reporting "meets their standards."  Yeah, we know.

Jobs surprise

Yahoo: "Jobs report smashes expectations with payroll growth of 172,000."

Markets are down today because a hot job market increases the possibility of a Fed rate hike.

We just need to make it to June 9th

Boston Globe: "Platner denies hurting ex-girlfriend and says he will not quit Senate race."

Good on you, Graham!  Hang tight until the primary on Tuesday.  We can "believe all women" after that.

Extra - Here's the Atlantic, waking up to the danger and urging for the Janet Mills switcheroo: "Maine Has a Graham Platner Problem." 

Somewhat of a correction - We need to make it to July 2nd.  One step at a time!

The Category 5 Hurricane approaches, but let's hope it arrives in July when it's too late for the Oyster King to drop out. https://t.co/dH8EJIlhQL

— CA ET Nerd (@earlyvotedata) June 4, 2026

Senate passes ICE bill

Red State: "Finally! Senate Passes $70B ICE/CBP Border Bill."

Recall that this is the legislation that led to the Democrats record-breaking shutdown.

I knew because I had a proper education

Twitchy: "Not Sending Their Best: Bessent Exposes Democrat Rep. Chu's Shocking Ignorance."

This guy is approaching toast

Ace: "NYT: Ex GF of Platner Says He Knew All About "My Totenkopf," Used Physical Force Against Her, Bragged That He Would Rape His Male Enemies, "Not in a Gay Way," But to Show "I'm Dominant"

The most honest assessment I've seen about Platner is this: Eric Swalwell was thrown overboard because he was expendable.  He was just one of a dozen Democrats running for governor in California.  But Platner is the only game in town in Maine so the Democrats had to excuse the guy with the Nazi tattoo.  And he knew it was a Nazi tattoo so you can stop with that denial.

This is the Joe Biden scenario all over again: the general election is way too close so you either need to cut your guy loose or get four-square behind him.  We know how this worked out last time.

It's called pattern recognition

Hot Air: "It's Not Racist to Notice Reality."

This particular post is about Somali fraud in Ohio and how the Left goes into high dudgeon mode whenever they're asked about it.  I think it's fair to say that this selective outrage doesn't work anymore.

People are learing.

These Rubio videos are great

Twitchy: "Big-Eared Dem Rep. Jacobs Tries to Roast Rubio's Shoes, Forgets She's a Mid 5 Who Should Stick to Policy."

Always - always! - be on the offense with these clowns.  He roasted them good.

Extra - Scott Bessent in the Senate!  

Man publicly criticizes boss, gets fired

Wall Street Journal: "‘60 Minutes’ Correspondent Scott Pelley Fired by CBS News - Pelley’s exit comes after he made comments critical of Editor in Chief Bari Weiss."

These journalist types are high on their own supply.

Update: this headline gets it: "CBS Fires Scott Pelley After Pelley Tries Very Hard to Get Fired."  Good luck on Substack.

"One time"

Sure, Bernie, sure.  The only person to ever get rich from socialism has thoughts: "Bernie Sanders' AI Wealth Fund Bill Shows That He Doesn't Understand AI or Wealth - Sanders' plan would impose a one-time tax of 50 percent of AI companies' stock and give the government voting shares and the power to block corporate decisions." 

It's "black Little Mermaid" all over again

Twitchy: "Governor Newsom Press Office Genuinely Sorry for the MAGA People Miserable About Pride Month."

Who are these "MAGA" people, Gavin?  This guy is the textbook definition of projection. 

Hmmmm

Red State: "Speculation Runs Wild After Maine Gov. Janet Mills Throws a Wrench in Senate Primary Race."

She's just sayin' "hey, my name is still on the ballot - wink wink."

Worst reality show ever

Hot Air: "To Live and Die on Camera in Karen Bass's LA."

He was sending dick pics

Townhall: "The Nazi Tattoo, the Reddit Posts, and Now This: Graham Platner's Senate Campaign in Crisis."

Sheesh, every other day it's something new with this guy.

Update - It gets worse.  The Democrats are going to pull a Torricelli.  Watch it happen.

Cognitive dissonance in Boston

Renee Graham is a reliable race grifter for the Boston Globe with nearly every article of hers recounting a parade of horribles and examples of awful repression.  Here's a typical headline: "Jim Crow 2.0 is already working as the Supreme Court’s conservatives intended."

She's very, very upset that the cane-shaking clown Al Green was defeated in the Democrat primary for a Houston Congressional seat.  Just wait until you see Jim Crow in action!

But in Tuesday’s primary runoff, the Black Democratic congressman became a casualty of racist gerrymandering ordered by Trump and codified by the conservative-led Supreme Court’s gutting of the Voting Rights Act last month. Green lost his seat to Representative Christian Menefee, 38, also a Black incumbent, because new congressional maps forced them to compete in the same Houston district.

Sure, Menefee is also Black but he's not Black Black, I guess.