March 23, 2023 — Scott Johnson

Giving it up for Walz

Featured image As I have mentioned a time or two previously, the Star Tribune is a pathetic excuse for a newspaper. My theory is that (a) owner Glen Taylor has a high tolerance for mediocrity and (b) gets his news from the paper, so he thinks it’s doing pretty, pretty well. Today the Star Tribune is featuring Brianna Biershcbach’s contribution to DFL public relations in “Gov. Tim Walz draws contrast between Minnesota »
March 23, 2023 — Steven Hayward

The Daily Chart: Federal Spending Trends

Featured imageWith a gargantuan national debt whose runaway growth shows no signs of abating, and a systemic budget deficit, it is worth keeping in mind that defense spending is not the driver of either the deficit or the growing debt. Here’s the last 100 years of federal spending by major category. Notice that we’re not far from the moment when interest on the national debt will come to exceed defense spending. »
March 23, 2023 — Scott Johnson

KJP on the Biden family business

Featured imageHouse Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer obtained a set of records documenting $1,00,000 in payments from a Chinese energy company that were distributed to members of the Biden family. Rep. Comer summarized his findings in a memo he posted online here. I noted the story in Hallie Biden in family business.” When a foreign reporter had the temerity to ask President Biden about it over the weekend, he commented: “That’s »
March 23, 2023 — Steven Hayward

Dumbing Down the Judiciary

Featured imageIf you look up “courtly southern gentleman” in a dictionary, you just might find a picture of Louisiana Senator John Kennedy (a former Democrat, by the way). He’s rapidly becoming my favorite senator in committee hearings, for his polite questions and unrancorous demeanor with Biden nominees that expose their ignorance or ideological bias. He’s bit like detective Columbo; he lets the nominees hang themselves with their own words. This week »
March 23, 2023 — Scott Johnson

Inside the Stanford shoutdown

Featured imageI have repeatedly noted the role played by the National Lawyers Guild chapter at Stanford in the shoutdown of Judge Duncan at the March 9 Federalist Society event that has disgraced the law school several times over. The National Lawyers Guild is an old Communist front group that seeks to spread the old-time religion despite the fall of the Soviet Union and the Communist International. Alan Dershowitz now reviews the »
March 23, 2023 — Scott Johnson

Dr. Tony Fauci: The light and the way

Featured imagePBS broadcast “Dr. Tony Fauci” in its American Masters series this past Tuesday evening. It is a two-hour episode that requires a toxic overexposure to the wit and wisdom of the fallacious Dr. Fauci. Unless one seeks a lesson on the perils of powers and celebrity, two hours with Dr. Fauci is roughly two hours too many. It should have been subtitled “The light and the way.” Ken Burns draws »
March 22, 2023 — Steven Hayward

Stanford’s DEI Dean “On Leave”; No Students Will Be Sanctioned

Featured imageThis afternoon Dean Jenny Martinez of Stanford Law School released a 10-page memorandum about the shameful Judge Duncan affair laying out the “next steps” regarding protests and freedom of speech. It is not until page 8 that we learn the most significant news—that “Associate Dean Tirien Steinbach is currently on leave.” Hopefully this is a prelude to her dismissal not only for her role in this specific matter, but for »
March 22, 2023 — John Hinderaker

Liberals, Stop Trying to Keep Black Kids Down!

Featured imageIn Minnesota, our legislature is considering a proposal to mandate the teaching of “Ethnic Studies” in all classrooms, starting in kindergarten. “Ethnic Studies” basically means wokeism or critical race theory, telling students that America is a hopelessly racist society, that white kids have it easy and black kids are doomed. (Asian kids don’t fit into this narrative.) This proposal, like so much of what we see coming from the Left, »
March 22, 2023 — Scott Johnson

Ramirez on the Stanford disgrace

Featured imageThe great Michael Ramirez has turned his easel to the Stanford disgrace featuring the shoutdown of Fifth Circuit Judge Kyle Duncan. We have followed the reporting of Aaron Sibarium and the opinion of the editors at the Washington Free Beacon on this deeply disgusting story. It is a disgrace without bottom. Michael’s cartoon of the day is posted at his Substack site under the title “Stanford Universilly” along with links »
March 22, 2023 — Scott Johnson

Comer in shadows

Featured imageReporters Jonathan Swan and Luke Broadwater profile House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer for readers who get their news from the New York Times. Comer’s investigation of the Biden family business is therefore belittled as a look into “sinister-sounding allegations against Mr. Biden and his family.” Were those “sinister-sounding allegations” formerly known as “Russian disinformation”? Maybe this is a step up. “Sinister-sounding allegations” must be something like George Smathers’s legendary »
March 21, 2023 — Steven Hayward

Thought for the Day: Morson on the Russian Way of War

Featured imageGary Saul Morson, writing on “Do Russians Worship War?” in the current issue of Commentary: Americans all too often presume that everyone else aspires to live and think as we do. Others must share our values, if only in secret, or at least be eager to learn them. This is a dangerous attitude to take with any nation or culture, but perhaps especially so with Russians—and never more so than »
March 22, 2023 — Steven Hayward

Monty Python On Trump

Featured imageA few days back the cheeky folks at the Babylon Bee posted up a controversial item claiming “Man Disappointed To Learn ‘Quoting Monty Python’ Not A Marketable Skill.” This seems quite wrong. Monty Python quotes are indispensable weapons against wokery, among other things. (Just refresh your memory of the “Loretta” scene from Life of Brian (which, incidentally, YouTube/Google now attach a warning label that the scene may be “inappropriate” for some »
March 22, 2023 — Steven Hayward

Thought for the Day: Mansfield on ‘Common Good Conservatism’

Featured imageHarvey Mansfield, Harvard’s most prominent conservative on the faculty, is a few weeks away from his final seminar and retirement. It is doubtful the Harvard government department will replace him with someone like him. But partly that is because there is no one else like him. Prof. Mansfield has just taken to the pages of National Affairs with a typically challenging essay on the topic of “common good conservatism,” which »
March 22, 2023 — Steven Hayward

The Daily Chart: Facebook’s Faceplant

Featured imageMeta, formerly known as Facebook, looks to be trying to go from Meta to Meh, with the announcement of an additional 10,000 layoffs, and the cancellation of 5,000 current job openings. This, on top of 11,000 layoffs last fall that Mark Zuckerberg said would be the extent of it. Maybe this has some reason to do with reducing Meta’s headcount: Between these layoffs and the precipitous decline of venture capital »
March 22, 2023 — Steven Hayward

Loose Ends (215)

Featured image• Let’s start with the Feel Good Story of the Day: Los Angeles teachers are about to go on strike (I know—how could you ever tell?), but many support staff have jumped the gun and already walked off the job, causing classes for half a million students to be canceled yesterday. Parents should heave a sigh of relief if a strike shuts down LA schools for good, though that is »
March 22, 2023 — Scott Johnson

Biden goes Blanco

Featured imagePresident Biden handed out National Humanities Medals and National Medals of Arts to 12 recipients (including Bruce Springsteen, Gladys Knight, Julia Louis-Dreyfus et al.) in the East Room of the White House yesterday. The transcript of his remarks is posted here. One of the honorees was “Maine poet” Richard Blanco. I’m guessing the quality of Blanco’s poetry was not Blanco’s principal qualification for the award. His citation reads: For breathing »
March 21, 2023 — John Hinderaker

DeSantis Takes Off the Gloves

Featured imageIn an interview with Piers Morgan that will be broadcast on Thursday, Ron DeSantis finally takes aim at Donald Trump. Until yesterday, he had remained silent in the face of Trump’s usually childish attacks on him. No more: Morgan provides a preview: [I]n a series of jabs at his likely biggest Republican nominee rival, DeSantis slammed Trump over his character failings, chaotic leadership style, and for his handling of the »