February 18, 2025 — John Hinderaker

Trump and Ukraine: What Is Going On?

Featured image Over the last year, I have been surprised to learn that in some quarters I am considered a “Never Trumper.” That is ridiculous: I have voted for Trump three times, and through the fall of 2024 I had a Trump sign in my front yard. I have commented on Trump’s actions many times, probably in the hundreds, and I would guess my assessments have been 85% positive. And I am »
February 18, 2025 — John Hinderaker

No Transition In Sight

Featured imageVitol is a large energy and commodities company, with revenue of $400 billion. It has major petroleum investments, but also genuflects to the left with “renewable” investments and an ESG section on its web page. As a company that needs to make money, its forecasts reflect reality rather than fantasies. This is how Vitol sees the demand for oil from now until 2040: Vitol predicts demand for oil used in »
February 18, 2025 — John Hinderaker

We’re Going to Win

Featured imageIt is often said that the future belongs to those who show up. And the most relevant way of showing up, is having children. Anecdotally, it has been obvious for a long time that conservatives are more likely to have children than liberals, and apt to have more children. But the data are clear, and getting clearer: The "relationship between voting Republican and having more babies is growing stronger over »
February 18, 2025 — Steven Hayward

The Daily Chart: Eggonomics

Featured imageI use a lot of eggs, because I long ago swallowed the propaganda campaign of Big Egg about the “incredible, edible egg.” I cook them fried (up and over easy), scrambled, poached, boiled, in omelettes, several styles of breakfast burritos, as an ingredient for other complex dishes, and even cooked in an air fryer. (Aside: if Ronald Reagan came back and was a contestant on a Food Network cooking show, »
February 18, 2025 — Scott Johnson

Cue the Drye tears

Featured imageThis past Sunday’s 60 Minutes segment promoting German censorship as a model of good governance was easily the worst of this particular show. However, its segment on the Trump treatment of USAID shows 60 Minutes in its partisan propaganda mode. John Nolte’s Breitbart column lays out the propagandistic deceptions of the segment in “Disgraced ’60 Minutes’ Misleads Viewers on USAID Staff Reductions” (links omitted). Here is the segment. “Twelve days »
February 18, 2025 — Scott Johnson

One thing you can say about CBS News

Featured imageJohn’s post on the enthusiastic 60 Minutes segment supporting censorship in Germany put me in mind of Lesley Stahl’s 60 Minutes segment on President Trump in advance of the 2020 presidential election. Stahl reported in her narration: “As we moved from subject to subject, our conversation grew more tense. President Trump brought up what he calls the unfairness of the fake media. Most prominently: a lack of coverage of his »
February 17, 2025 — John Hinderaker

Free Speech, German Style

Featured imageYou probably have heard about the 60 Minutes segment last night that focused on Germany’s criminalization of “hate speech” on the internet. 60 Minutes reporters accompanied six armed policemen as they raided an apartment at dawn, searching for evidence of a thought crime. That was one of more than 50 such raids conducted simultaneously across Germany. They also interviewed law enforcement personnel, “experts,” and a left-wing activist or two. First »
February 17, 2025 — Scott Johnson

Word salad on Broadway

Featured imageFormer Vice President Kamala Harris visited backstage with the cast and crew of Wonderful World on Broadway over the weekend. The New York Post helps with a transcription of a few of the quotable quotes from her remarks along with a great screenshot of Kamala in mid-flight. This is one of the quotes: “When we think about these moments where we see things that are being taken, but also let’s »
February 17, 2025 — Scott Johnson

The Brennan Syndrome

Featured imageJohn posted video of Margaret Brennan’s exchange with Secretary of State Marco Rubio here yesterday. It may be instructive to pause over it for another moment. In the exchange, Brennan criticized Vice President Vance’s speech at the Munich Security Conference (video and text posted here). Brennan instructed Rubio: “Well, he [Vance] was standing in a country where free speech was weaponized to conduct a genocide.” Rubio responded as a well-informed »
February 16, 2025 — John Hinderaker

Why No One Respects the Legacy Media

Featured imageExercise caution in watching this video. It could cost you some brain cells. Margaret Brennan–CBS’s chief foreign affairs correspondent!–tries to tell Secretary of State Marco Rubio that the problem with Nazi Germany was that they had too much free speech. Hence the Holocaust. Marco commendably keeps his composure in responding: Secretary of State Marco Rubio defends @JDVance's "historic" speech last week in Munich, leaves ABC's Margaret Brennan speechless after she »
February 16, 2025 — John Hinderaker

USA!

Featured imageCurrently the Four Nations round-robin hockey tournament is in progress. The U.S., Canada, Sweden and Finland are participating. It started with two games in Montreal, and will continue with two games in Boston. Last night, a fired-up Team USA beat Canada 3-1 to take a commanding lead in the tournament going into the final two games. The evening began with a hostile Canadian crowd, that included Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, »
February 18, 2025 — Scott Johnson

Seven things you can say about Tom Cotton

Featured imageToday is the official publication date of Seven Things You Can’t Say About China, by Senator Tom Cotton. Senator Cotton is a member of the Senate Intelligence Committee. He became its chairman in the new Congress. As I like to say of authorities when the assertion applies: he knows what he is talking about. John Hinderaker previewed the book here last week. I want to add these seven things you »
February 17, 2025 — Steven Hayward

The Daily Chart: Europe’s Weakness

Featured imageThe European, especially the German government that is about to get tossed out on its keister next weekend, is mightily upset at Vice President Vance’s Munich speech, not to mention other statements that a Europe that is worried about Russian aggression needs to step up. This is a stark depiction of how weak Europe has become: Long past time for the U.S. to stop subsidizing Europe’s welfare states. Chaser: Macron »
February 17, 2025 — Scott Johnson

A new tone

Featured imagePrime Minister Netanyahu and Secretary Rubio met in Jerusalem yesterday. After their meeting they both made statements on the subjects discussed. The U.S. Embassy in Israel has posted the text of their statements here. I have posted full video below. Rubio speaks second and concludes his remarks with this: I close where I began by reiterating our strong support for our allies, very close allies and partners here in Israel, »
February 17, 2025 — Scott Johnson

“Woman On the Run”

Featured imageTCM first broadcast the 1950 film noir Woman On the Run in April 2019 with this introduction by Noir Alley host Eddie Muller. I only caught up with the film on January 24 this year when it was rebroadcast with a terrific introduction by Muller and guest Ernest Dickerson. The two of them hit all the points I would want to make about the merits of the movie with a »
February 16, 2025 — John Hinderaker

Gaza, Ukraine and DOGE

Featured imageI appeared on Sky News Australia’s excellent Outsiders program last night. In a bit of a departure, most of my segment dealt with foreign policy. We talked about Gaza and Israel, and the fact that noon yesterday passed without all Hell breaking loose. We talked about the prospects for peace in Ukraine and Secretary Rubio’s visit to Israel. And we found time at the end for DOGE and the vast »
February 16, 2025 — Scott Johnson

Four days in October

Featured imageDan Senor got a long interview with former Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for Senor’s Call Me Back podcast. It is the first of what promises to be a series with Gallant reviewing the regional war from his perspective in command of Israeli forces. This first episode runs 90 minutes and covers only the first four days of the war — “with an emphasis on one day that could have »