December 10, 2017 — Paul Mirengoff

A framework for analyzing the Colorado wedding cake case

Featured image Listening to the oral argument before the Supreme Court in the wedding cake case, it struck me how artificial the discussion was. Much of it centered on whether and under what circumstances cakes are speech. Bizarre. I don’t blame the advocates or the current Justices for the content of the argument. They must be mindful of Supreme Court precedents whether or not, as a practical matter, they fit this case »
December 10, 2017 — John Hinderaker

A Stain On America [with comment by Paul]

Featured imageThat is what President Trump called the Democratic Party media in a tweet today–a stain on America–and he is right. Very little discussion of all the purposely false and defamatory stories put out this week by the Fake News Media. They are out of control – correct reporting means nothing to them. Major lies written, then forced to be withdrawn after they are exposed…a stain on America! — Donald J. »
December 10, 2017 — John Hinderaker

Truax Delivers Stunning Upset In Great Day for Minnesota Boxing

Featured imageMinnesota has never been near the center of the boxing world. Until last night, the state had produced only one world title-holder since 1917. But Caleb Truax, the best Minnesota fighter of his generation, changed that with an epic upset over IBF super middleweight champion James DeGale in DeGale’s home town, London. I’ve seen the odds on the fight everywhere between 11 to 1 and 100 to one. Suffice it »
December 10, 2017 — John Hinderaker

More Global Warming Fraud: This Time, It’s Sea Level

Featured imageVia No Tricks Zone, another instance of fraud perpetrated by global warming alarmists who have charge of data. This time, they are changing sea level measurements to make it appear that sea level is rising abnormally, when it isn’t: In a new paper published in Earth Systems and Environment this month, Australian scientists Dr. Albert Parker and Dr. Clifford Ollier uncover evidence that Permanent Service for Mean Sea Level (PSMSL) »
December 10, 2017 — Steven Hayward

How to Have the Best First Date Ever!

Featured imageThe great Andrew Klavan has pointed out that some of the best free entertainment on the Internet is found at Everyday Feminism. Right now the site is running a wonderful satire. . . oh wait—this is for real! The item is “Ten Things Every Intersectional Feminist Should Ask on a First Date.” Keep your hot coffee mugs away from your keyboards. As a queer femme of color, I keep close »
December 10, 2017 — Paul Mirengoff

Rooney goal thwarts Liverpool [UPDATED]

Featured imageThe Everton revival continued today as the Toffees managed a 1-1 draw against high-flying Liverpool in the Merseyside Derby. Rooney scored on a penalty kick after his fine pass set up the play that won the penalty. More on that in a moment. Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp showed disrespect for Everton by fielding less than his best lineup. It will be interesting to see how that decision goes down this »
December 10, 2017 — Scott Johnson

In the Damond case, still waiting

Featured imageThree months ago the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension turned over its file in the July 15 shooting of Justine Damond by Minneapolis Police Officer Mohamed Noor to Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman. Freeman has vowed to make the prosecutorial decision himself rather than submit the case to a grand jury. We therefore await Freeman’s charging decision in this apparently outrageous case. It’s an important case. Justice is due the »
December 9, 2017 — Steven Hayward

How Do You Explain Trump at Berkeley?

Featured imageThis sounds a bit like the old joke, “How do you pet a porcupine?” Answer: “Very carefully.” More than a month ago I was asked during homecoming weekend to speak to an alumni panel on the topic of “Trump and the White Working Class,” along with the distinguished sociologist Arlie Hochschild, author of Strangers In Their Own Land, drawn from her experience of being embedded with rural folk in Louisiana, »
December 9, 2017 — Paul Mirengoff

Why doesn’t Daniel Shaver’s life matter? [UPDATED WITH CORRECTION]

Featured imageMost regular Power Line readers know that I don’t criticize the police lightly. I think I understand the dangers officers face when they confront suspects and need to make instant assessments of their intentions. That understanding makes me loath to condemn officers whose split second decisions produce tragic results. However, the case of former Mesa, Arizona police officer Philip Brailsford is different. His killing of Daniel Shaver warrants condemnation, though »
December 9, 2017 — Scott Johnson

Today in collusion

Featured imageDid the Trump campaign “collude” with friends of Vladimir Putin in the presidential campaign of 2016? I don’t think so, but the Clinton campaign certainly seems to have done so. Yet former FBI Director James Comey engineered the appointment of his good friend Robert Mueller to head a special counsel investigation in “collusion” with the New York Times. We have Comey’s testimony under oath telling the story. There might even »
December 9, 2017 — Steven Hayward

The Week in Pictures: “The Conversation” Edition

Featured imageAl Franken’s “resignation” speech contained a familiar trope of today’s liberalism—about how we need to have “a conversation” about sexual harassment. Liberals are always going on about how we need to have a “conversation”—usually a “national conversation” (the best kind!) about especially race and racism. But in practice what liberals have in mind is not a conversation at all, but a confession and repentance: everyone is supposed to confess his »
December 10, 2017 — Scott Johnson

What happened in Wisconsin

Featured imageOn Wednesday, a Wisconsin judge unsealed an 88-page report on the state Department of Justice’s (WIDoJ) investigation into a leak of sealed evidence from the politically motivated “John Doe” investigation of Gov. Scott Walker, his supporters, and various conservative groups related to his recall election campaign. The 88-page report is posted here. The report lacks an executive summary. The pseudonymous Warren Henry summarizes and comments on the report for the »
December 10, 2017 — Scott Johnson

The anthem, Army-Navy style

Featured imageHow a few NFL know-nothings have made the national anthem an item of controversy is beyond me. They must hate the United States. Hatred of the United States may not have been a deep secret of the progressive left, but it wasn’t proudly proclaimed for public consumption. Now you don’t have to take the trouble to suffer through the teachings of Woodrow Wilson or Howard Zinn to get a clue. »
December 9, 2017 — Paul Mirengoff

“Democracy dies in artificial sunlight”

Featured imageThat’s the subtitle of an article in PJ Media by Michael Walsh, a play on the Washington Post’s pretentious slogan. The title is “The end of media history and the last honest man,” a play on Francis Fukayama’s famous book. I don’t know whether our democracy will die in the artificial sunlight emitted by the mainstream media — the fake news media, as many now call it — but MSM »
December 9, 2017 — John Hinderaker

Why Won’t CNN Reveal Its Sources?

Featured imageI wrote yesterday about CNN’s latest fiasco, the alleged email scoop that fizzled. Some have wondered why CNN, apparently “burned” by two sources that told CNN about the email but got the date critically wrong, hasn’t disclosed who they were. CNN says it hasn’t outed its sources because it thinks they made an innocent mistake: CNN believes that its sources were just mistaken and did not want to deliberately mislead »
December 9, 2017 — Scott Johnson

Darkest two hours

Featured imageWe went to see Darkest Hour last night. The film portrays Winston Churchill (Gary Oldman) in May 1940. When Neville Chamberlain stepped down, Churchill became Prime Minister on May 10 and became Great Britain’s war leader. In Five Days in London: May 1940 (1999), John Lukacs focused on these events and took us into the cabinet meetings portrayed in the film. Stick with Lukacs. The film reduces Churchill to a »
December 8, 2017 — Paul Mirengoff

Beverly Nelson’s credibility takes another hit

Featured imageEarlier today, Breitbart ran a story called “Bombshell: Roy Moore Accuser Beverly Nelson Admits She Forged Yearbook.” What she said was she added notes to the inscription Moore wrote in her yearbook. John McCormack of the Weekly Standard countered with a story called “Moore Accuser Nelson Did Not Admit Yearbook Forgery, And Her Story Doesn’t Discredit Others.” McCormack argues that because the inscription and the added writing are clearly in »