November 24, 2020 — Paul Mirengoff

School closings are harming academic performance

Featured image Yesterday, I wrote a post criticizing the closing of public schools in response to the pandemic. Much of the post consisted of quotations from an email I received from a reader regarding the situation in Arlington, Virginia. Today, the Washington Post has an article about the situation in Fairfax County, another Northern Virginia suburb of Washington, D.C. The article documents the “learning gap” produced by substituting online for in-person instruction »
November 24, 2020 — Steven Hayward

Civil War on the Left (75): Biden Staff Edition

Featured imageWell this didn’t take long. ‘People are pissed’: Tensions rise amid scramble for Biden jobs It is still early in the Biden transition. There are thousands of jobs to fill. But a similar sense of dread is starting to bubble up from veterans of the Biden campaign, particularly those who were there with the president-elect from the Philadelphia announcement speech to the Philadelphia victory speech. The target of their ire? »
November 24, 2020 — Paul Mirengoff

Will the earth survive John Kerry?

Featured imageJoe Biden has selected John Kerry — old foghorn himself — to be “climate czar”, as some accounts label the job, or “climate envoy”, as other accounts call it. I don’t think the climate will heed a czar. I’m not sure it will even accept an envoy. However, the actual job is perfect for Kerry at one level. As Kevin Williamson says, naming Kerry as the climate envoy is “a »
November 24, 2020 — John Hinderaker

There’s More Than One Way to Steal an Election

Featured imageThe jury is still out on whether the Biden campaign stole the 2020 election through voter fraud, but that isn’t the only way elections get stolen. The evidence is strong that the Democratic Party press swung this year’s election to Biden by its selective non-coverage of critically important news stories that reflected well on President Trump or poorly on Biden. The Media Research Center has conducted extensive polling in seven »
November 24, 2020 — Steven Hayward

Friday Event: Live Podcast Taping and Whisky Sipping!

Featured imageBy popular demand of our 12 listeners and in emulation of many of our podcast peers on the Ricochet network—but against our better judgment—”Lucretia” and I will be hosting a live taping of our Three Whisky Happy Hour this Friday afternoon at 4 pm Pacific/7 pm eastern. And—bonus!—we’re going to make the Zoom session a webinar format open to the entire Power Line readership for free, though we hope people »
November 24, 2020 — Paul Mirengoff

A perfect trustee for Dartmouth

Featured imageI gave up on Dartmouth College years ago. The fact that Dartmouth has gone from a top seven ranking in campus free speech (according to the FIRE rankings) to third worst says much of what we need to know about the College’s decline in the past decade. To some extent, Dartmouth may also have given up on me. I no longer get calls from students soliciting money, even though I »
November 24, 2020 — Scott Johnson

Query the Google effect

Featured imageI wasn’t familiar with the work of Robert Epstein on the impact of big tech on our elections before Tucker Carlson had him on last night to discuss the possible impact of Google on the 2020 elections. I have posted the video below. Epstein is an interesting guy. He is a psychologist by training and is in fact the former editor of Psychology Today. Among his research papers is one »
November 24, 2020 — Scott Johnson

Coronavirus in one state (130)

Featured imageGovernor Walz convened yet another COVID-19 press conference yesterday afternoon (video below). The verbiage flowed in the usual torrent. His performance made me wonder if the Emmy Foundation gave Walz a fair shot before it chose to recognize New York Governor Andrew Cuomo with an Emmy for his press conferences. Like Cuomo, Walz deserves some kind of recognition for what he has wrought in his press conferences. Indeed, Walz’s failure »
November 23, 2020 — John Hinderaker

Biden’s Foreign Policy Retreads

Featured imageToday Joe Biden announced several key members of his foreign policy team, assuming he takes office in January. His selections are all long-time Democratic Party mediocrities, suggesting that he has learned nothing from President Trump’s foreign policy successes. In fact, Biden made that clear in today’s announcement: We have no time to lose when it comes to our national security and foreign policy. I need a team ready on Day »
November 23, 2020 — Steven Hayward

Today’s Biden Blunder

Featured imageNews item: Biden intends to name John Kerry to be his “climate czar.” News item: Oil and gas stocks soaring on Wall Street today. Coincidence? I think not! I can think of no greater condign punishment for the International Order of Climatistas than sending Mr. Flower-Power Zipper Pull to their annual gabfests. This is the man who puts the goober in “lugubrious.” I hope and expect that he will take »
November 23, 2020 — Scott Johnson

The DiAngelo factor

Featured imageThe Washington Free Beacon’s Charles Fain Lehman reports on the forum conducted via Zoom by the University of Wisconsin’s Division of Diversity, Equity, and Educational Achievement. Doing the work that the mainstream media refuse to do, Lehman draws on documents obtained from the university in response to a freedom-of-information request for this outstanding report. Here is the opening: The prominent diversity consultant Robin DiAngelo raked in $12,750 for a speaking »
November 24, 2020 — Steven Hayward

Today’s Spinning Wheel

Featured imageNews item: Biden has ambitious plans for gun control, including bans on certain kinds of weapons, an excise tax on so-called “assault” rifles, and of course more background checks. You can read all the dreary details here if you’re a glutton. News item: “During my twelve-and-half years as a member of this body, I have never believed that additional gun control or federal registration of guns would reduce crime. I am »
November 24, 2020 — Scott Johnson

An Emmy for Andrew Cuomo

Featured imageIs there a governor who has turned in a more disgraceful performance in connection with the COVID-19 epidemic? I don’t think so. Yet he turned his press conferences to good use, portraying himself fighting the good fight in heroic terms. In his press conferences Cuomo played the role of a competent and candid public servant. The Washington Free Beacon’s Graham Piro notes that “Cuomo has taken heat for ordering thousands »
November 23, 2020 — Paul Mirengoff

Democrats confront a new reality — a tiny majority in the House

Featured imageWhen the dust settles from the 2020 election, House Democrats will find themselves with a very slender majority, possibly just four seats more than the majority threshold of 218. Whatever the precise number, the margin will be the smallest in the House in two decades. Thus, just a few defections on any legislation will prevent the Democrats from passing it, unless some Republicans join them. Few if any Republican are »
November 23, 2020 — Paul Mirengoff

Electing radical judges, the new frontier in wrecking our justice system

Featured imageWe have written often about the Soros-funded campaign to elect radical prosecutors. Its success has helped undermine the criminal justice system in St. Louis, for example. The next step for the same hard-left crowd might well be to elect radical judges. Doing so can erect a second barrier — a backup — to punishing criminals. In Maryland, four outside challengers won election to circuit courts this month. It’s extremely rare »
November 23, 2020 — Paul Mirengoff

School shutdowns border on the irrational

Featured imageI’m not quick to label approaches to dealing with the Wuhan coronavirus irrational. For example, I don’t think it was irrational for Norway to institute a lockdown last Spring or for Sweden not to do so. Both were rational responses to a novel crisis. Similarly, I don’t think it’s irrational now, with the virus spreading again so rapidly, to impose heightened restrictions in some areas for a few months until »
November 23, 2020 — Scott Johnson

Reports: Netanyahu met with crown prince

Featured imagePresident Trump is one of the most consequential presidents in American history. He accomplished great good under constant attack, including from enemies at the FBI, the CIA, and the National Security Council from day 1 of his administration. I am referring to the Russia hoax, of course, and to the related impeachment hoax, but there is much more. It turns out that Trump’s diplomacy has unleashed previously unthinkable progress toward »