Monthly Archives: June 2018
June 28, 2018 — Paul Mirengoff
Iran’s national soccer team received a hero’s welcome on its return to Tehran from the World Cup. The team missed out on the Round 16, but only narrowly. It defeated a decent Moroccan team, drew with Portugal, the current European champs, and lost 0-1 to Spain, one of the tournament favorites. That defeat could easily have been a draw or even a victory. Benjamin Netanyahu, a soccer fan, praised the
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June 28, 2018 — Scott Johnson
In the House Judiciary Committee hearing this morning, Rep. Jim Jordan grilled Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein about information improperly withheld or redacted from documents produced to the House in the Trump-Russia collusion investigations. Rosenstein smirked and explained that it’s not his fault. Rosenstein wanted it known that he just supervised the hired hands responsible for the work (video below). That might be a reasonable response if Rosenstein could say
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June 28, 2018 — Paul Mirengoff
Anthony Kennedy isn’t likely to get the moment in the sun sometimes granted to an outgoing or departed Supreme Court Justice. Two factors conspire against it. First, Kennedy was admired by neither the left nor the right. Second, the battle over confirming his successor has already commenced, even though no successor has been nominated. The intensity of the battle doesn’t leave much energy for Kennedy appreciation (or condemnation). Jack Goldsmith,
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June 28, 2018 — John Hinderaker
Mark Mathis of Clear Energy Alliance explains what is wrong with solar energy: Do you know what it feels like to work with someone who arrives late, does work that others could easily do, harms others’ productivity, and then skips out when they’re most needed? It’s frustrating isn’t it? Welcome to the Solar Value Eclipse. Instead of adding value and efficiency to the electric grid, having too much solar harms
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June 28, 2018 — Scott Johnson
Disgraced former FBI counterintelligence head Peter Strzok is a key witness to the origin of the investigation culminating in the Mueller Switch Project, and he is a Trump hater in the first degree. Yesterday he appeared behind closed doors for questioning by the House Judiciary and Oversight Committees. It is tough to come by news of his appearance. House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte ducked out briefly during the tenth
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June 28, 2018 — Scott Johnson
Since the election of Donald Trump the Democrats and the media have dialed up the hysteria up to 11 (a la Nigel Tufnel in This Is Spinal Tap). They are all but foaming at the mouth. Their hearts are full of hate. With a little help from Trump himself, Rep. Maxine may become their mascot. Now Justice Kennedy has announced his retirement from the Supreme Court effective July 31. He
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June 27, 2018 — Paul Mirengoff
The House today resoundingly defeated the so-called compromise immigration bill pushed by Speaker Ryan. The vote was 121-301. The legislation would have offered amnesty and a path to citizenship to an estimated 2.2 million direct beneficiaries. It would have eliminated certain categories of chain migration, but preserved the largest ones. It would have ended the visa lottery. Finally, it would have funded the border wall to the tune of $23
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June 27, 2018 — Paul Mirengoff
Yesterday, Steve linked to and discussed an article in which Irwin Stelzer argues that President Trump might win the trade disputes he has incited, and that winning them might even be “easy.” The article is significant because as Steve noted, Stelzer is not a fan of Trump. In addition, Stelzer is an astute observer of economic matters. As a counterpoint to Stelzer’s article, I recommend this piece by David Goldman.
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June 27, 2018 — John Hinderaker
Washington will soon be gripped by the drama of a Supreme Court nomination. The crazies will be out in force. Who will the nominee be? President Trump says he will stick to the list of 25 prospective nominees that he drew up before nominating Neil Gorsuch: President Donald Trump said Wednesday that he would move quickly to nominate a replacement for Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy, who announced that he
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June 27, 2018 — Paul Mirengoff
With Justice Kennedy’s retirement, the Senate prepares for the mother of all confirmation battles. Republicans have the votes necessary to confirm a well-qualified, solidly conservative nominee. But there may be a fly in the ointment. If so, his name is Jeff Flake. Flake has threatened to hold up President Trump’s nominees for courts of appeals. Why? Apparently because he’s unhappy about Trump’s tariffs and his Cuba policy. These seem to
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June 27, 2018 — Steven Hayward
That headline is not a misprint or slip: as the swing vote on a Court that has long divided 5 – 4 on key questions, Justice Anthony Kennedy has been effectively the “Chief Justice” of the Supreme Court for a long time. Lawyers who practice at the Supreme Court will tell you that case briefs and pleadings have long been written for an intended audience of one: Justice Kennedy. Here
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June 27, 2018 — Scott Johnson
Lee Smith is a keen and sober analyst of matters including the Mueller Switch Project. Having pieced together public evidence and related interviews, he speculates that the Mueller probe represents the culmination of a series of FBI stings on the Trump campaign. This is the burden of Lee’s RealClearPolitics column “Seven mysterious preludes to the FBI’s Trump-Russia probe.” It’s an important column that should remain of interest as more evidence
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June 27, 2018 — Steven Hayward
You know how the leading edge of environmental scolding targets beef, because caw farts and water and alfalfa and something something. Lately there has ben considerable research, and early stage production, of artificial meat. (Winston Churchill predicted this, by the way, in his 1931 essay “Fifty Years Hence”: “Synthetic food will, of course, also be used in the future. Nor need the pleasures of the table be banished. That gloomy
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June 27, 2018 — Paul Mirengoff
Maryland held its primaries yesterday. The left did well. In Montgomery County where I live, there was a lively race for County Executive. Marc Elrich, an ultra-leftist who pushed through the $15 minimum wage, holds a slight lead over David Blair, a businessman who seems to have a little bit of sense. Absentee votes have yet to be counted, though. We’re a one-party county, so the Democratic winner, probably Elrich,
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June 27, 2018 — Steven Hayward
If you think Democrats are losing their marbles now, just try out a thought experiment of what they will be like if Trump is re-elected in 2020. The cognitive dissonance—promising to leave the country while simultaneously saying we should admit migrants into this horrible oppressive country—will be off the chart. For a preview of how the 2020 campaign is likely to unfold, the Republican National Committee has produced the following
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June 27, 2018 — Scott Johnson
The Supreme Court has just issued its long-awaited ruling in Janus v. AFSCME 31, holding that public sector unions cannot compel the payment of agency fees from nonmembers. The ruling was 5-4, with Justice Gorsuch casting the vote that Justice Scalia would have cast in the case before the Court presenting the same issue at the time of Justice Scalia’s death. In an opinion by Justice Alito, the Court overruled
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June 27, 2018 — Scott Johnson
As we have pointed out a few times over the past 12 years that he has served as Minnesota’s Fifth District Congressman, Keith Ellison is not an apostle of peace and love. He made his name in Minnesota as an advocate of Louis Farrakhan and the Nation of Islam. When he first sought legislative office in Minnesota, he ran as an acknowledged member of the Nation of Islam under the
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