August 15, 2016 — Scott Johnson

A message to the Star Tribune

Featured image A reader has copied us on his message to reporter Maya Rao et al. at the Star Tribune regarding Ilhan Omar, the winner of the DFL nomination to represent District 60B in the state legislature. My inquiries to the Omar campaign last week may be mistaken; that was the point of my inquiries. They deserve a more substantive response than the one I received from Minneapolis criminal defense attorney Jean »
August 15, 2016 — Scott Johnson

The Clinton MOU & the Clinton MO

Featured imageThe Washington Post has published an editorial gently reviewing the revelations in the emails released last week via the litigation of Judicial Watch with the State Department. The editorial concludes: “Should Ms. Clinton win in November, she will bring to the Oval Office a web of connections and potential conflicts of interest, developed over decades in private, public and, in the case of her family’s philanthropic work, quasi-public activities. As »
August 14, 2016 — John Hinderaker

More on the Milwaukee Riots

Featured imagePaul has already commented on the shooting death of Sylville Smith in Milwaukee. These are a few supplemental observations. 1) When the first few nationally-hyped police shootings (or deaths in police custody) occurred, the “victim” was ritually described as an unarmed black man. But later events have shown that being unarmed, while greatly emphasized at the time, was superfluous. Sylville Smith was armed with a stolen semiautomatic pistol, which he »
August 14, 2016 — Paul Mirengoff

Trump running behind GOP Senate candidates in many key states

Featured imageIn this post, I expressed doubt that Donald Trump’s candidacy will have a significantly adverse effect on other Republicans running this year, unless Hillary Clinton wins by a landslide (which may happen). My post prompted a reader to send me some polls through which we can compare Trump’s standing in swing states with that of the Republican Senate candidates running in them. Here are the RCP averages: Ohio Trump -2.6 »
August 14, 2016 — Steven Hayward

Your Hillary Hillarity for the Day

Featured imageA reader sends along the following joke making the rounds on the interwebs, and it’s too good not to share with all of our readers: THE CLOCK A man died and went to Heaven. As he stood in front of the Pearly Gates, he saw a huge wall of clocks behind him. He asked, “What are all those clocks for?” St. Peter answered, “Those are Lie-Clocks. Everyone who has ever »
August 14, 2016 — Paul Mirengoff

Violence erupts in Milwaukee after black police officer kills armed black man [UPDATED]

Featured imageMilwaukee is the latest scene of anti-police rioting. Yesterday, rioters set fire to a gas stations, a bank branch, a beauty supply company, and an auto parts store. Three people were in the gas station. All managed to escape unharmed. The rioters also attacked a line of police officers who had been dispatched in response to the lawlessness. When the officers got in their cars to leave, some in the »
August 14, 2016 — Steven Hayward

The Climate Gang That Couldn’t Shoot Straight

Featured imageIf you’re following the latest sorties of the climate campaign, you’ll know that Senate Democrats, led by Rhode Island Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, are calling for RICO investigations of climate skeptics. Simpleton that I am, I always thought that the RICO statute (short for Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act) was intended chiefly for people named Rico, so it’s application to climate skeptics seems more like an attempt to intimidate climate »
August 14, 2016 — Scott Johnson

Sunday morning coming down

Featured imageLast week I took a look at the modern folk supergroup Cry Cry Cry. I hoped to inspire interest in the songs or the performers. Over the next few weeks I thought I would post videos of some of the same kind of lesser known songs that have hit me with the force of revelation at various points in my life. To me they feel like stones in the road. »
August 13, 2016 — John Hinderaker

How Did Resource-Rich Venezuela Become the World’s Most Godforsaken Place?

Featured imageHow bad have things gotten in socialist Venezuela? So bad that Venezuelans feel less secure than Syrians: Venezuelans feel less safe in their home country than civilians living in war-torn Syria, according to a new Gallup poll. Just 14 percent of Venezuelans said they feel safe in the country, compared with 32 percent of Syrian respondents who feel safe, according to the 2016 Global Law and Order Report. “Venezuela has »
August 13, 2016 — Paul Mirengoff

Will Trumpism survive a Trump defeat?

Featured imageJonathan Tobin takes up the question at Commentary. He defines Trumpism as “isolationism, protectionism, and populist blood and soil nativism.” Tobin answers his question this way: Though Trumpism without Trump would be a very different and less potent movement, it is a mistake to think even a landslide defeat for the Republicans will guarantee that it can resume its past stance as a supporter of a strong America on the »
August 13, 2016 — Steven Hayward

The Week in Pictures: Suction Cup Edition

Featured imageForget the Olympics. The dude climbing Trump Tower with suction cups was the sports highlight of the week, hands down. I’m amazed it isn’t being proposed as a new Olympic sport. Meanwhile, one of the candidates had another terrible week. Lied about things; said stupid stuff to reporters. Yeah, that’s right—it was the one who fancies pantsuits. The media hardly seemed to notice. This week’s gallery, by the way, achieves »
August 14, 2016 — Steven Hayward

NY Times Blasts Obama’s Executive Tyranny

Featured imageI’m sure the New York Times didn’t think it was doing what I claim in the headline here with its remarkable story yesterday on Obama’s use of executive power, but what else would you conclude from taking in the direct and cleared-eyed prose of Binyamin Appelbaum and Michael D. Shear: WASHINGTON — In nearly eight years in office, President Obama has sought to reshape the nation with a sweeping assertion »
August 14, 2016 — Scott Johnson

Will the Star Tribune ask the question?

Featured imageToday’s Star Tribune carries yet another story celebrating this past Tuesday’s primary victory of Somali American Ilhan Omar over 22-term incumbent Phyllis Kahn for the DFL nomination to represent District 60B in the state legislature. How did she do it? “Ilhan Omar dominated among students, rival’s analysis show.” In “Ilhan Omar: Her back pages” we raised the question whether Omar married her brother in 2009 for dishonest purposes. If so, »
August 13, 2016 — Paul Mirengoff

Our Fractured Republic

Featured imageIn a recent podcast, Steve talked with Yuval Levin about his brilliant new book, The Fractured Republic: Renewing America’s Social Contract in an Age of Individualism. In the interview, Yuval summarized the book’s themes and some of its key arguments. The discussion begins at around the 19 minute mark. At 21 minutes, Yuval sets forth his core thesis. At 23 minutes, he begins his critique of contemporary conservatism. I can’t »
August 13, 2016 — John Hinderaker

Summer Camp In Gaza

Featured imageIn the civilized world, summer camp means hiking, swimming, campfires, maybe learning how to tie knots. But in Gaza, where Hamas rules, summer camp means learning how to murder Jews. MEMRI has pictures of the camp activities that are going on under the supervision of Hamas’s Izz Al-Din Al-Qassam Brigades. We learned how to use knives at Boy Scout camp, but this was never part of the training: You often »
August 13, 2016 — Scott Johnson

How the GOP feeds the PC beast

Featured imageJohn Fund reports that congressional Republicans increased the Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights with a very generous budget increase last year. Fund takes up the matter in the NR column “How Republicans feed the beast of political correctness.” OCR is perhaps the most left-wing office in the federal bureaucracy. Bankrolling it that way Congress did was an egregious error (for which they were rewarded with the transgender guidance). »
August 12, 2016 — Paul Mirengoff

Report: Clinton Foundation under federal investigation after all

Featured imageA few days ago, CNN reported that the FBI asked to investigate the Clinton Foundation earlier this year, but the Department of Justice said it did not have enough evidence to open a formal probe. I wrote about this report here. But now, the Daily Caller is saying that several investigations of the Clinton Foundation have been launched, including one led by U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara of the Civil Frauds »