January 17, 2025 — John Hinderaker

Biden Amends the Constitution

Featured image The last week of Joe Biden’s sorry term in office is turning out to be even worse, and even more bizarre, than what preceded. Today Biden decreed, apparently by tweeting about it, that the Equal Rights Amendment has now passed: Today I'm affirming what I have long believed and what three-fourths of the states have ratified: The 28th Amendment is the law of the land, guaranteeing all Americans equal rights »
January 17, 2025 — John Hinderaker

Supreme Court Slaps Down Walz [Updated]

Featured imageWe have been writing about the constitutional crisis in Minnesota. The Democratic minority in the Minnesota House is trying to use unconstitutional and illegal means to seize control of that body. Republicans hold a 67-66 advantage in that chamber, because a Democratic candidate, running in District 40B, cheated and got caught, resulting in a successful election challenge by his Republican opponent. The Democrats have refused to show up for the »
January 17, 2025 — Scott Johnson

CNN takes a hit

Featured imageI’ve been following Zachary Young’s defamation lawsuit against CNN through the daily reporting of the Washington Free Beacon’s Jessica Costescu along with Jessica’s X feed here. Young had a strong case with a judge and jury that seemed to see through CNN’s modus operandi. Much of the evidence with which CNN had to contend was internal to CNN. Fast as its lawyer talked, he either couldn’t talk fast enough or »
January 17, 2025 — Steven Hayward

Why Would We Want Canada?

Featured imageI enjoy watching Trump get everyone spun up with his latter-day manifest destiny pose, but is Canada becoming part of the U.S. a good idea? We’d have to bludgeon them into giving up the metric system, for starters. And we’d have to get rid of their single-payer health care system, although that would save lives apparently: Someone has gone to the trouble of figuring out what the electoral college vote »
January 17, 2025 — Steven Hayward

The Daily Chart: The Wages of Race-Baiting

Featured imageAs is obvious to anyone with a brain and basic sense perception (this excludes leftists, needless to say), charging racism is the first refuge of leftist scoundrels today. But there is a body of demagogic agitprop, mostly coming out of the leftist gain-of-function labs we call universities, that what ails the world is white supremacy, etc. And thus polls show a large number of Americans think the police shoot unarmed »
January 17, 2025 — Scott Johnson

Have you heard the news?

Featured imageSomeone inside the White House is determined to humiliate “President Biden” even further on his way out the door. Whoever that may be has now engineered “Biden’s” announcement that the Equal Rights Amendment is the law of the land. I kid you not. I would think we are being pranked, but NPR and others say it’s so. It must be so. Today I'm affirming what I have long believed and »
January 17, 2025 — Scott Johnson

Schuminations when the cheering stopped

Featured imageNew York Times reporters Annie Karni and Luke Broadwater have written the forthcoming book Mad House: How Donald Trump, MAGA Mean Girls, a Former Used Car Salesman, a Florida Nepo Baby, and a Man With Rats in His Walls Broke Congress. The book includes an account of Chuck Schumer’s meeting with President Biden at Biden’s vacation mansion in Rehoboth Beach following his disastrous June 27 debate with Trump. Today’s New »
January 16, 2025 — John Hinderaker

Constitutional Crisis in Minnesota

Featured imageYesterday I was on drive time radio in Chicago, on the Morning Answer with Dan Proft and Amy Jacobson. The segment started with another topic, but around halfway through we got to the current drama in Minnesota, where Democrats are boycotting the House of Representatives. That discussion is particularly worth your while: This morning I was on Detroit’s Morning Answer with John Anthony, again talking about Minnesota’s constitutional crisis. John, »
January 16, 2025 — Scott Johnson

Hope of the deal

Featured imageLiel Leibovitz is editor-at-large for Tablet and host of Tablet’s Rootless podcast. Gadi Taub is the rogue Israeli academic (as he describes himself) and co-host with Michae Doran of Tablet’s Israel Update podcast. In the Rootless episode below, Taub subjects the hostage deal to critical analysis. Both Leibovitz and Taub, by the way, are Israeli citizens, although Leibovitz is an expatriate who lives in New York. As Taub explains, there »
January 16, 2025 — Scott Johnson

The deal this time

Featured imagePresident Biden has claimed credit for the ceasefire/hostage deal announced yesterday. So has President Trump. The AP notes the competition for the bragging rights here. However, even Biden State Department spokesman Matthew Miller credited Trump. Miller commented: “The involvement of President-elect Trump’s team has been absolutely critical in getting this deal over the line.” The deal must be doubleplusgood! Doubt must be wrongthink. The Times of Israel has posted the »
January 15, 2025 — John Hinderaker

The Confirmation Hearings So Far

Featured imageSeveral of Donald Trump’s most important cabinet nominees have now undergone confirmation hearings. I have watched them live in bits and pieces as I have been able, and have seen many clips posted here and elsewhere. Some obvious common threads emerge. First, Trump’s nominees have uniformly done well. Pete Hegseth, Pam Bondi, Marco Rubio and Chris Wright have all come across as competent and likable, in contrast to most of »
January 17, 2025 — Scott Johnson

Today’s Biden jailbreak

Featured imagePresident Biden announced this morning that he would commute the sentences of nearly 2,500 inmates serving long prison terms for drug offenses. As the New York Times puts it, this is “the broadest commutation of individual sentences ever issued by a U.S. president.” “With this action,” Biden brags in the statement attributed to him by the White House, “I have now issued more individual pardons and commutations than any president »
January 17, 2025 — Scott Johnson

Thoughts from the ammo line

Featured imageAmmo Grrrll knows there’s no harm in asking: ARE PEOPLE REALLY JUST MORE STUPID THAN THEY USED TO BE? She writes: Decades ago I saw a comprehensive test from the late 19th century meant for 8th graders. I believe it came from Kansas, or some other square-ish state in Flyover Land. It covered mathematics, English grammar, and the History not only of the United States, but detailed history of whatever »
January 16, 2025 — John Hinderaker

CNN In Deep Trouble [Updated]

Featured imageWe noted here that CNN and Jake Tapper are on trial in Florida, in a defamation case brought by former serviceman Zachary Young. Young helped people escape from Afghanistan; CNN smeared him as an “illegal profiteer” operating within a “black market.” Apparently it is now conceded that this was false. Young alleges that CNN’s smear destroyed his business. We noted in the post linked above, at the jury selection stage, »
January 16, 2025 — Steven Hayward

The Daily Chart: Is 30 the New 20?

Featured imageNever mind whether 70 is the new 60. (For the record, I’ve already refuted the savants who said 60 is the new 50; they all lied.) There’s a flood of articles about how the current young generation—especially young men—aren’t growing up to responsible adulthood. The Wall Street Journal says “economists are warning that what seemed like a lag may in fact be a permanent state of arrested development. . . »
January 16, 2025 — Scott Johnson

The slurring Joe Biden blues

Featured imagePresident Biden gave his farewell speech last night. He promised it was his final such address near the top of his remarks. The White House has posted the video below on YouTube, but has not yet posted the text. The New York Times has posted a transcript here for those who might prefer to take it in without the full Madam Tussauds effect. Behind the Resolute Desk in the Oval »
January 15, 2025 — Steven Hayward

The Wright Stuff on Display Again

Featured imagePam Bondi’s confirmation hearing to be President Trump’s attorney general is generating the most fireworks on capitol hill today, but today is also the confirmation hearing for Chris Wright to be secretary of energy. It is getting much less attention, and one reason for it is the obvious superiority of Wright’s knowledge, capacious views, and ability to run circles around the dunderhead Democrats on the committee. I watched a few »