October 2, 2023 — John Hinderaker

Rep. Bowman Explains

Featured image Congressman Jamaal Bowman bizarrely pulled a fire alarm in the Cannon Office Building, apparently to disrupt the vote that was about to take place on the stopgap continuing resolution that Republican leaders had agreed to. Cannon claimed that he was just trying to open a door, an excuse that has prompted hilarity and lots of memes. Now Bowman’s office has produced talking points for use by his Democratic colleagues. Here »
October 2, 2023 — John Hinderaker

French Want to Ban Tourism?

Featured imageGlobal warming hysteria may have given rise to more craziness than anything in the last several centuries. And as bad as it is here in the U.S., it is even worse in Europe. Thus, this astonishing finding from France: On May 30, engineer Jean-Marc Jancovici, an expert on climate change, once again called for drastically limiting plane travel, and declared the need to establish a quota of 4 flights per »
October 2, 2023 — Scott Johnson

Newsom jumps the shark

Featured imageCalifornia Governor Gavin Newsom promised to appoint a black woman to replace the late Dianne Feinstein in the Senate, so you know this is a man who has his priorities in order. Politico reveals that Newsom will appoint Laphonza Butler to fill Feinstein’s seat. Butler apparently does not reside in California — Politico reports that she is registered to vote in Maryland. However, Butler owns a home in California. When »
October 2, 2023 — John Hinderaker

Trump Goes to Trial

Featured imageDonald Trump appeared this morning for a trial in New York City on the civil fraud charges that were brought against him by Democratic Party activist Letitia James. Politico has an account of this morning’s activities. This is an Alice In Wonderland trial, as judge Arthur Engoron issued an order last week finding Trump and others liable in fraud for providing documents to banks and insurance companies that inflated the »
October 1, 2023 — John Hinderaker

The GOP Debate, Illegal Immigration and Biden 2024

Featured imageI appeared on the excellent Outsiders show on Sky News Australia last night. There were significant technical hurdles. First, the signal coming from Australia was shaky. Then my four-year-old laptop’s battery, which has been on life support for a while, suddenly gave out. They bumped my appearance back to the end of the show, and we filmed it using my iPhone, which actually worked pretty well. It was a relatively »
October 1, 2023 — John Hinderaker

Who’s Your MAGA?

Featured imageDonald Trump’s “Make America Great Again” was a slogan of genius. While his supporters (and most Americans) instantly knew what it meant, Democrats hated it. They didn’t know whether to respond, “America is still great,” or “America was never great,” which is what most of them believe. It was a painful dilemma. But times have changed. Now Democrats embrace Trump’s slogan, or at least its acronym. They constantly refer derisively »
October 1, 2023 — Scott Johnson

My friend Scottie

Featured imageThis is an entirely personal note about my first friend in life — Scott Sansby. We have been friends since my family moved from Moorhead to St. Paul in 1958. Let me put it this way. We have been friends since the Eisenhower administration. We became friends that summer and then went to grade school together for the following five years. Scottie has a wide world of friends, but we »
September 30, 2023 — John Hinderaker

Dem Congressman Obstructs an Official Proceeding

Featured imageThe House of Representatives voted overwhelmingly today for a continuing resolution that will fund the federal government for 45 days. The “clean” CR does not include any of the conservative terms the Republicans have been trying to get, but it does include billions in disaster relief. Personally, I would just as soon have seen a government “shutdown,” i.e., a temporary furlough of nonessential government workers. The fact that Democrats voted »
September 30, 2023 — Steven Hayward

Podcast: The 3WHH, Phila-Pest Edition

Featured imageSettle in with your best chilled Hungarian dessert wine and Philly cheese steak for this cosmopolitan issue, which finds John Yoo—host for this week’s episode—tired out from looting in his home town of Philadelphia, while Lucretia and Steve are together in Budapest carrying on with more conspiracies against the international rules-based order. John gives us on-scene reports from ground-zero of the “recreational shopping” going on in Philadelphia, plus an update »
September 30, 2023 — Scott Johnson

Remembering Pat Paulsen

Featured imageI haven’t thought about the late comedian Pat Paulsen in a long time. He started running for president in 1968 and kept at it on a quadrennial basis, more or less like a comic version of Minnesota’s own boy wonder Harold Stassen (although Stassen himself became a punch line). See the history set forth in “Pat Paulsen for president!” The Library of Congress has even found a place in its »
September 29, 2023 — John Hinderaker

Trump the Authoritarian

Featured imageDemocrats like to label Donald Trump an authoritarian. This is why he supposedly is a threat to “our democracy.” The charge is generally groundless. Trump was president for four years, so he has a track record as the least authoritarian president of recent years. But Trump, being Trump, can’t get out of his own way. So earlier this week, on Truth Social, he handed the Democrats all the ammunition they »
October 1, 2023 — Lloyd Billingsley

The Pangloss-Pétain Presidency

Featured imageThe argument whether Joe Biden is the worst-ever president could be settled by ranking him with the worst people in American history. If that seems too glib or partisan, people might try an historical and literary approach. For example, Voltaire’s eponymous Candide finds chaos and catastrophe on every hand but his mentor Dr. Pangloss sees it as the best of all possible worlds. According to the good doctor, “It is »
October 1, 2023 — Steven Hayward

The Daily Chart: Depressing Stats

Featured imageThere’s a lot to be depressed about in the United States these days, especially when you look at the decrepit occupant of the White House every day. Still, I wonder if Americans might be overdoing this: Like the rest of our medical advice these days, perhaps some skepticism is in order. »
September 30, 2023 — Lloyd Billingsley

China’s Doll Departs

Featured imageSen. Dianne Feinstein has departed this life at the age of 90. The California Democrat can be remembered in several ways, especially as the American politician most faithful to the People’s Republic of China. In April of 2020, Missouri attorney general Eric Schmitt filed a lawsuit charging that Chinese Communist officials are “responsible for the enormous death, suffering, and economic losses they inflicted on the world, including Missourians.”  For Sen. »
September 30, 2023 — Scott Johnson

Coming soon

Featured imageDemocrats have rewritten their rules and schedule to accommodate the requirements of President Biden. Biden is not wildly popular in his own party. Those in the know — they know that Biden needs all the help he can get. He needs help remaining upright in public. He needs help in the Democratic caucuses and primaries to stave off embarrassment. It’s not an edifying sight. Running a quixotic campaign for the »
September 30, 2023 — Steven Hayward

The Week in Pictures: Code Violation Edition

Featured imageAs several observers have already mentioned, the Senate’s new Fetterman-friendly dress code, which made casual Friday look like the prom, lasted less than a Half-Scaramucci (Washington’s new favorite measure of time, though I’m holding out for a revival of “fortnight”). Speaking of someone not wearing any clothes, Justin Trudeau looks pretty foolish not noticing an actual Nazi in his midst, having been so good at spotting them among Canadian truckers »
September 29, 2023 — John Hinderaker

Dianne Feinstein, Centrist?

Featured imageDianne Feinstein died last night. She cast a Senate vote earlier in the day. Tributes to her are pouring in, which is natural and appropriate. But check out how the Washington Post described her: I think it is true that Feinstein was not as crazy as some of her Democratic colleagues, but is there any plausible sense in which she was a centrist? The American Conservative Union rates members of »