Monthly Archives: July 2017
July 21, 2017 — Steven Hayward
Jonah Goldberg notes in a recent column that climate change alarmism seems to have turned itself up past 11, probably because (my theory) Trump has driven them out of what little of their minds was left: One of the hallmarks of the “Ugly American” is the habit of thinking foreigners will understand what you’re saying if you just shout it louder and louder. The Ugly Environmentalist does something similar. He
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July 21, 2017 — Steven Hayward
What do you get when you cross sports with hyper-genderism? You get the usual outrage machine train wreck of course. Like when tennis great John McEnroe said that if Serena Williams played in men’s professional tennis she’d rank around 700th. The media erupted as if to say, “You cannot be serious!” Yes, he can—as even Williams herself agreed. Fortunately we have The Factual Feminist, Christina Hoff Sommers, on the case,
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July 21, 2017 — Paul Mirengoff
Sean Spicer resigned from his job as White House press secretary this morning. The resignation occurred promptly after President Trump appointed Anthony Scaramucci to be White House communications director. Spicer reportedly told Trump he believes the appointment is a major mistake. It had been rumored for quite some time that Spicer would go. He seemed to lose Trump’s confidence and certainly had lost the trust of the White House press
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July 21, 2017 — John Hinderaker
I take it as a given that Special Counsel Robert Mueller is part of the Democratic Party’s effort to destroy the Trump administration. This is evidenced by the fact that he has staffed his investigation with Democratic Party activist lawyers and contributors to the Hillary Clinton campaign, and by his expansion of his “investigation” beyond any reasonable interpretation of his charge. This is what the order appointing Mueller says he
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July 21, 2017 — Paul Mirengoff
Did President Trump certify to Congress on Monday that Iran is complying with the nuclear deal? This is what virtually of all of the reporting on his action says he did. We wrote that, early in the day, National Security Council director H. R. McMaster indicated the administration would certify Iranian compliance. The next day we reported, per Eli Lake, that Trump had balked at providing certification and came close
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July 21, 2017 — Scott Johnson
CIA Director Mike Pompeo took the occasion of an interview by New York Times columnist Bret Stephens at the Aspen Security Forum yesterday to call out the Times for disclosing the identity of the CIA new officer in charge of Iran operations. The Times’s wantonly destructive article blowing the identity of the CIA officer required a little help from its friends — the usual cadre of “current and former intelligence
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July 21, 2017 — Scott Johnson
Minneapolis Police Chief Janeé Harteau returned from vacation and held a press conference yesterday afternoon on the shooting death of Justine Damond by Officer Mohamed Noor. The Star Tribune reports on the press conference here along with two-minute audio excerpts. The Star Tribune has also posted video of the entire press conference on Facebook here. The department’s video of Chief Harteau’s statement is posted on YouTube. I have embedded it
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July 21, 2017 — Scott Johnson
Ammo Grrrll has been inspired by A VERY MINOR CELEBRITY’S AUCTION! She writes: I recently read a first-person account by a woman who had been a “proud lesbian” until her partner up and decided she was actually a man. This woman expected to be a Professional Gay Woman for life with all the dual rights and privileges to which she was entitled, and suddenly she finds herself married to a
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July 20, 2017 — Paul Mirengoff
I’ve been critical of President Trump today. But few days go by without me being happy he defeated Hillary Clinton. Here’s a reminder of why. Yesterday, Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson announced that his agency will “reinterpret” the ultra-instrusive Obama housing rule known as Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing (AFFH). The rule was designed by the Obama administration to seize federal control over local zoning for the purpose of
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July 20, 2017 — Paul Mirengoff
We know little, if anything, about what happened at the formal between President Trump and Vladimir Putin after Trump told the autocrat-thug that he was honored to meet him. We know nothing about what transpired at the dinner in Hamburg after Trump sought out Putin for further discussion. But now we know what Trump has done for Putin since they met in Germany. He has ended a CIA program in
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July 20, 2017 — Scott Johnson
In his interview with three New York Times reporters yesterday — an interview most notable for the dissatisfaction he expressed with Attorney General Sessions on account of his recusal from the Special Counsel investigation — President Trump was asked if the investigation would cross a red line if it expanded to look at his family’s finances beyond any relationship to Russia. “I would say yes,” Trump responded, though he would
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July 20, 2017 — Steven Hayward
John and Scott have both offered long posts about the shooting of Justine Damond by Minneapolis police officer Mohamed Noor, and I have only two questions to add. First, I am surprised I haven’t seen more questions or comments about a most peculiar aspect of the story—that officer Noor fired at Damond from the passenger seat out the driver’s side window, meaning he shot past his partner. I am no
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July 20, 2017 — Paul Mirengoff
Most of us understand, I think, that President Trump lacks class and self-discipline. Still, I would not have expected him to rip Jeff Sessions, his Attorney General, in an interview with the New York Times, of all organs. If Trump is this unhappy with Sessions, then fire him. Or accept his resignation, which Sessions reportedly offered after the last time Trump popped off about him. But don’t whine to Maggie
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July 20, 2017 — Steven Hayward
Turkey, sometimes an unsteady ally during the Cold War and in Middle Eastern affairs but an ally nonetheless, is showing increasing signs under Erdogan of tilting toward Islamism and away from the West. And that’s leaving aside the appalling scene from Erdogan’s recent visit to Washington, which featured his security goons beating up on protestors in the streets of Washington outside the Turkish embassy. Today the Wall Street Journal reports
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July 20, 2017 — Scott Johnson
Despite whatever political disagreements I have had with Senator McCain over the years, I am deeply saddened by the news that he is contending with an aggressive form of brain cancer. I found the occasions on which I have spent time in his company to be a personal highlight. He is an American original. We extend prayers on behalf of him and his family. In 2008 when Senator McCain was
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July 20, 2017 — Scott Johnson
I wrote about the ongoing cage match between Minnesota Democratic Governor Mark Dayton and Minnesota’s majority-Republican House and Senate here and here. It’s an interesting story that deserves national attention as a sign of the political times. At the end of this year’s slightly extended legislative session Dayton signed all tax and budget bills. He could have vetoed any of them. Even though he professed extreme unhappiness with certain items,
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July 19, 2017 — John Hinderaker
The Daily Mail rushes in where others fear to tread, so take this story with a grain of salt. Minneapolis police officer Mohamed Noor and his lawyer have refused to explain why Noor shot Justine Damond, in a case that has reverberated around the world. But the Daily Mail claims to have interviewed Noor’s friends. Somewhat to my amazement, they allegedly say that Noor did it on purpose: Killer policeman
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