Monthly Archives: July 2018
July 29, 2018 — Paul Mirengoff
The hope of Democrats that they can stop the nomination of Brett Kavanaugh rests largely on two moderate Republican Senators, Susan Collins and Lisa Murkowski. So far the signs regarding these two aren’t encouraging for Democrats, though we’re still relatively early in the process. Democrats recall that during the fight over repealing Obamacare, Collins and Murkowski bucked the GOP leadership and, along with Sen. John McCain, defeated legislation that would
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July 29, 2018 — Paul Mirengoff
I don’t think any of us has commented on the articles of impeachment filed against Rod Rosenstein by a small number of conservative House Republicans. My comment is that there is no case for impeaching Rosenstein. I’ll give my reasons in a moment. I assume the articles were filed in order to focus attention on the fact that the Department of Justice hasn’t produced documents requested by the House at
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July 29, 2018 — John Hinderaker
I confess that even after I boarded the Trump train–basically, when no alternative was left–I didn’t imagine that Trump would prove to be a foreign policy genius. But isn’t that what we are seeing? Improving our trade deals, finally doing something about North Korea, standing up to Putin’s Russia, pushing back against Chinese theft of intellectual property, exposing anti-Semitism and fecklessness in the U.N., getting more contributions from NATO allies–it’s
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July 29, 2018 — John Hinderaker
On July 20, President Trump met with A.G. Sulzberger, publisher of the New York Times, and James Bennet, the paper’s editorial page editor. News of the meeting became public because the president tweeted about it: Had a very good and interesting meeting at the White House with A.G. Sulzberger, Publisher of the New York Times. Spent much time talking about the vast amounts of Fake News being put out by
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July 29, 2018 — Steven Hayward
On my last swing through Washington several weeks back Bill Kristol invited me to sit for one of his “Conversations with Kristol” interviews on the subject of what can be learned about statesmanship from Winston Churchill. The topic is inspired partly because of the success of the Darkest Hour film, and also because of the leftist backlash the film generated, which I have commented upon here a few times now.
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July 29, 2018 — Scott Johnson
In the Wall Street Journal’s weekend interview feature, columnist Kim Strassel tracks down House Intelligence Committee Chairman Devin Nunes in Tulare, California. She honors him as “Washington’s Public Enemy No. 1” (accessible here on Outline). Nunes is a straight shooter and dogged public servant. His admirable qualities come through clearly in this illuminating interview. The interview is also useful. It is useful in reminding us what we have learned in
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July 29, 2018 — Scott Johnson
Last week the New York Times breathlessly reported that Special Counsel Robert Mueller had opened a new avenue of inquiry in the investigation of President Trump. According to the story by Michael Schmidt and Maggie Haberman, “Mueller Examining Trump’s Tweets in Wide-Ranging Obstruction Inquiry.” They report that Mueller is “scrutinizing tweets and negative statements from the president about Attorney General Jeff Sessions and the former F.B.I. director James B. Comey[.]”
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July 28, 2018 — Paul Mirengoff
Ondray Harris, the director of the Labor Department’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP), has resigned after just eight months in this position. OFCCP audits government contractors across a wide range of industries to ensure compliance with workplace affirmative action and nondiscrimination laws. The Obama administration used OFCCP to apply radical views of anti-discrimination law to a vast swath of the nation’s employers. Bloomberg reported the resignation. It stated
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July 28, 2018 — John Hinderaker
CNN headlines: “Gun homicides on the rise, CDC says.” Shooting homicides are on the rise, though other common methods of murder remain flat, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. This chart shows the trends: Most murders are committed with firearms, for the same reason we arm our soldiers and police officers with firearms: they are very effective. CNN fails to note, however, that homicides are committed
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July 28, 2018 — Paul Mirengoff
Let’s put our American political scandals aside for a moment and consider a scandal involving French president Emanuel Macron and his former bodyguard. Until recently, Alexandre Benalla, age 26, was in charge of Macron’s personal security during presidential trips. This seems odd in itself. Like the U.S., France has a security force tasked with protecting the president. Why did Macron have his own personal bodyguard? Is this customary in France?
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July 28, 2018 — Scott Johnson
I greatly admire the job that House Intelligence Committee Chairman Devin Nunes has done unearthing the true story of the intelligence agencies’ “insurance” work on the 2016 election and the Democrats’ related collusion with the friends of Vladimir Putin. It is an improbable story that everyone involved has mightily sought to keep hidden from him and his colleagues. Rep. Nunes has shown himself to be a dogged and thick-skinned investigator.
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July 28, 2018 — Scott Johnson
We are suffocating in the stupidity of politicians such as up and coming Democrat Rep.-to-be Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a frank socialist. We are suffocating in the stupidity of the Democratic Party’s media adjunct such as MSNBC’s Chris Hayes. Hayes fancies himself a brilliant wit and I would concede that he is half-right. If breathing weren’t an autonomic function, they both might be too stupid to breathe. Glenn Reynolds provides perspective. Venezuela
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July 28, 2018 — Steven Hayward
Just when you think the left coast can’t possibly get any more insane, some jurisdiction (Seattle, San Francisco, Santa Barbara) comes along and says, “Oh yeah? Hold my [craft, gluten-free] beer!” I assume you’ve heard that plastic straws are being banned, with Santa Barbara attaching criminal penalties including large fines and jail time. Oh well, it should be easy to get around this ban in San Francisco at least. People
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July 27, 2018 — Paul Mirengoff
The release of a heavily-redacted version of the FBI’s application for a Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act warrant to wiretap Carter Page triggered a debate over whether the FBI gave the FISA court judges enough information to assess the anti-Trump motives of the people behind the Steele dossier. That dossier was at the core of the FBI’s application. Defenders of the FBI point to a footnote in the FISA application with
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July 27, 2018 — John Hinderaker
The fact that Facebook and Twitter are the platforms on which political discussion largely takes place, and probably will remain such for the foreseeable future, given the network effects that entrench them, is deeply troubling. Both companies are run by liberals, and free speech is under attack on both platforms. This story in Entertainment Weekly is a chilling reminder of how little regard liberals–even liberal reporters!–have for free speech: Facebook
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July 27, 2018 — Steven Hayward
I mentioned a couple weeks ago that I’ll be giving the keynote address for a National Association of Scholars conference at Grove City College next month on August 11. (Still time to register if you are in the hood or want to travel.) I decided to call my address “Should We Euthanize Universities Or Let Them Commit Suicide?” It will be a revision and extension of some of the themes
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July 27, 2018 — John Hinderaker
Just as dumb as you’ve always believed, apparently. Campus Reform sent an interviewer into Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s district to ask what they think of Ms. Ocasio-Cortez and socialism. They like both. The interviewer then asks how they think the “free stuff” will be paid for: The funny thing is, the Congressional candidate is no smarter than her soon-to-be constituents. Last night on the Daily Show, Trevor Noah asked Ocasio-Cortez how her
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