June 4, 2026 — John Hinderaker

John Bolton reportedly will plead guilty to a single count of retaining classified information, and will pay a $2.25 million fine to avoid jail time. From the indictment that gave rise to the current plea: “From on or about April 9, 2018, through at least on or about August 22, 2025, BOLTON abused his position as National Security Advisor by sharing more than a thousand pages of information about his
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June 4, 2026 — John Hinderaker

I have often expressed puzzlement over the Trump administration’s cease fire in Iran and its strategy going forward. In general, my views align with Scott’s, as expressed earlier today. However, for a more optimistic view, check out Condoleezza Rice’s op-ed in the Wall Street Journal: The war against Iran has been a limited war, and its outcome is likely to be inconclusive. But it has achieved enough to produce a
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June 3, 2026 — John Hinderaker

CBS News has fired Scott Pelley. The new regime at CBS News is praising Pelley, probably disingenuously: [New CBS News head Bari] Weiss nevertheless praised Pelley’s body of work and highlighted several of his recent reports for “60 Minutes.” “That unfortunate outcome does not discount from the amazing contributions and work that Scott Pelley has done for CBS and for ‘60 Minutes’ over the course of his career,” Weiss said.
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June 3, 2026 — John Hinderaker

Secretary of State Marco Rubio has been testifying before the House Foreign Affairs Committee, ostensibly on the State Department’s budget. But Democrats on the committee have no interest in any legitimate oversight role. Nor do they have any interest in asking Rubio questions. They proceed in what has become the usual style: they harangue the witness, often with an affect of insane rage, and the witness may or may not
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June 2, 2026 — John Hinderaker

As we await primary results from Los Angeles, this is a break from the news. (For up to the minute hard news coverage, go here.) First a video, of a kid with remarkable skills as a mimic and an excellent knowledge of bird calls. It is taking the internet by storm. Following the video, some observations on turkeys. I saw it. Now you have to see it. His name is
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June 2, 2026 — John Hinderaker

For years, working-class white Britons have suffered under a discriminatory system of justice in which they are second-class citizens. Left-wing British authorities have consistently had their thumbs on the scale in favor of non-white minorities, the Pakistani rape gangs being the most notorious, but by no means the only, instance. British police have come in for well-deserved criticism, as they have been more interested in arresting whites for controversial Facebook
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June 1, 2026 — John Hinderaker

Bill has written here and here about Henry Nowak, the 18 year old Briton who was stabbed to death by Vickrum Digwa, a Sikh. The perpetrator, having stabbed Nowak, collaborated with family members to put out the story that Nowak was a “racist,” while his mother hid the murder weapon. This is the call that Digwa’s brother made to report the crime. The suggestion that the victim was a “racist”
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June 1, 2026 — John Hinderaker

In the bleak days circa 2020, many universities abandoned admissions test requirements in the name of “equity.” They believed that certain races are inherently unable to compete, and therefore it was only fair to do away with tests as entrance requirements. The result has been a comprehensive disaster in higher education, made worse by the fact that, owing to grade inflation, there is no way other than the SAT and
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June 1, 2026 — John Hinderaker

When the Wall Street Journal broke the story of Graham Platner’s sexts with multiple women on a hookup app, written just months after his marriage, Platner remained silent and sent his wife Amy out to do a video. Amy said that she and Graham were working on their marriage, but it’s hard: a classic formula for our time. She reminded me of Hillary Clinton, salvaging her husband’s campaign back in
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June 1, 2026 — John Hinderaker

Last night on the Rita Panahi show, we had a wide-ranging conversation that started with Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez wearing a hijab, covered Zohran Mamdani scorning Israel Day in New York, the status of a deal (or not) in Iran, and Graham Platner, including this post on Platner’s anti-Semitism. We finished up with the City of Boston’s “Trans Period Pride” event. All in all, an entertaining segment. The video starts with Lefties
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May 31, 2026 — John Hinderaker

Democrats have shed oceans of crocodile tears over the plight of the average American, struggling to afford gasoline in the wake of “Trump’s war” against Iran. Never mentioned, of course, is the fact that for more than 20 years, Democrats have been doing all they can to raise, not lower, the price of oil. As with so many issues, Democrats rely on the rest of us suffering from memory loss.
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May 31, 2026 — John Hinderaker

Scott notes below the latest fiasco in the candidacy of Graham Platner for the U.S. Senate. On paper, one would think that Platner is the worst candidate for any office ever to surface in either major party. A self-described Communist with a Nazi tattoo, a man with zero political experience and little success in business, a crude bully and misogynist with a twisted sexual history–how could Platner possibly have crushed
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May 30, 2026 — John Hinderaker

This year we are celebrating the 250th anniversary of our country’s founding. While most attention is understandably on the Declaration and the Revolution, it is a golden opportunity to remember the history of our nation as a whole. And America’s history is, in great part, the history of its regions, states and towns. Too often, those histories are ignored in favor of the national narrative. This is why American Experiment
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May 30, 2026 — John Hinderaker

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent is one of the heroes of President Trump’s remarkable cabinet. Yesterday he delivered a speech at the Reagan National Economic Forum that everyone should watch or read. Here is the speech, which consists of the first 16:32 of the video. The rest is conversation with Larry Kudlow: The complete text is here. Bessent diagnoses the problems that have been caused by the delinking of economic policy
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May 30, 2026 — John Hinderaker

There was plenty of news this week, but meme creators were mostly focused on lesser stories, like Jill Biden’s recollection of her husband’s disastrous debate performance, which came as a surprise to everyone who hadn’t been paying attention for the previous four years. Good times! But what inspired memesters more than anything else was the candidacy of James Talarico, Democratic candidate for the Senate in Texas. Can a non-binary vegan
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May 29, 2026 — John Hinderaker

Around the country, many people think of Minnesota as a blue state. But that is misguided: the Minnesota House is split 67-67, and the Senate is 34-33 for the DFL. We have eight Congressmen, four Republicans and four Democrats. And in 2024, 50% of votes for Congressional candidates were cast for Democrats, and 48% for Republicans. It doesn’t get any closer than that. This year’s election promises to be excruciatingly
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May 29, 2026 — John Hinderaker

Jaxson Dart is the second-year starting quarterback for the New York Giants. The Giants have been a terrible team, but Dart, from the University of Mississippi, excelled as a rookie and has brought hope to the franchise. Last week he had the opportunity to introduce President Trump at a rally in New York. His introduction was brief and anodyne: Nevertheless, it sparked a storm of controversy. One of Dart’s teammates
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