Monthly Archives: March 2023
March 31, 2023 — John Hinderaker
When it came out that Audrey Hale was transgender, news outlets fell over themselves in their eagerness to refer to her as “him.” But CBS News has followed a different path. Executives at CBS have barred reporters from saying that Hale was transgender, or thought she was, or aspired to be: “The shooter’s gender identity has not been confirmed by CBS News,” the network’s executives insisted in a Tuesday memo
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March 31, 2023 — Steven Hayward
It is hard to single out the most egregious demagogue in the U.S. Senate, but near or at the top of my list is Rhode Island Senator Sheldon Whitehouse. He likes to blast “dark money” even though Democrats by far receive more so-called “dark money” than conservatives or Republicans. (I’m updating my periodic Lexicon of Political Terms accordingly, to reflect that “dark money” means “donations from the private sector that
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March 31, 2023 — Steven Hayward
We noted the other day that mass shootings by women are exceedingly rare, and in general violent crime is overwhelmingly male, but is this changing? Here’s one trend chart, from a study done by the Population Reference Bureau way back in 2006 (which is shortly after Mean Girls came out), that shows an significant uptick from 1980—2003: Meanwhile, in 2020 The Guardian reported: While crime rates in the western world have steadily
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March 31, 2023 — Elizabeth Stauffer
What happens when those tasked with enforcing the law are the biggest thugs of all? This is not a rhetorical question. It is now obvious that the federal government has become hopelessly corrupt. A deliberate campaign to weaponize government agencies against political foes began during the Obama administration and accelerated when President Joe Biden took office. The targeting of conservative groups by the IRS between 2010 and 2012 gave us the first clue
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March 31, 2023 — Scott Johnson
We were on our way out the door when the announcement that Trump had been indicted in New York state court dropped last night, yet the indictment remains sealed. Prosecutor Alvin Bragg seems to have achieved surprise with the timing of the indictment, or at least the announcement. Yet the indictment remains sealed. We have a good idea what it’s all about, but all the commentators can say at the
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March 31, 2023 — Scott Johnson
Ammo Grrrll may or may not be NEURO-DIVERGENT, WHAT A CRAZY TERM! She writes: When in the course of human lunacy the Left finds it necessary to destroy millennia-old institutions that have served humanity pretty well for, uh, millennia, they make up a stupid word that only the wokest cognoscenti are hip to. And then, SOMEHOW, within literally MINUTES, that’s the only acceptable word for whatever it is they were
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March 30, 2023 — Steven Hayward
• So, he’s a ham sandwich after all (assuming our readers know the cliche about grand juries). But what kind of ham? I’m torn between Black Forest and honey-baked, but definitely uncured. Totally not Spam ham, as a certain podcast partner insists. Served on white Wonderbread (the official bread of MAGA rallies—it has over 20 chemicals and additives to keep us healthy!) with a large slathering of mayo. • Trump
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March 30, 2023 — John Hinderaker
So the Democrats decided to indict Donald Trump after all. (I assume that Alvin Bragg would not have proceeded without a green light from higher-ups in the party.) Here, as in so many other areas, we are in uncharted waters. The Democrats have launched a sort of blitzkrieg against our traditions, our Constitution, our culture (at least, our culture as it was), and every form of restraint that makes civil
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March 30, 2023 — Steven Hayward
So Steven Rattner, one of the architects of the auto bailout in 2008, thinks this: As has been pointed out many times, if you remove gang violence, of the murders concentrated in just a handful of American urban areas (mostly gang driven), the U.S. place on this chart would fall right in line with the cluster here. But we don’t ever want to talk about gang violence, or why the
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March 30, 2023 — John Hinderaker
Left-wing extremists violently storm the state capitol in Tennessee, disrupting the work of that state’s legislature. Let’s arrest them for insurrection and give them 11 months in solitary confinement before we bring them to trial. 🚨 BREAKING: Leftists storm the Tennessee Capitol demanding more gun control measures. h/t: @TheTNHoller pic.twitter.com/d2K0Kb5t1c — MRCTV (@mrctv) March 30, 2023
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March 30, 2023 — Elizabeth Stauffer
One New Year’s Eve in the 1990s, I was seated on a train out of Manhattan when a huge man dressed as a woman took the facing seat directly across from me. Although he had caused quite a stir as he moved through the car, he seemed oblivious to the eye rolls from my fellow passengers. With his bare midriff, I remember thinking he must be cold given the freezing temperatures
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March 30, 2023 — John Hinderaker
In the wake of Audrey Hale’s murderous spree, we are hearing the familiar calls for more gun control legislation. Left unexplained is how adding one more to the hundreds of gun control statutes and regulations that already exist will magically stop murders (or some categories of murders) from taking place. As usual, the default left-wing policy is a ban on “assault weapons.” Never mind that such a ban was implemented
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March 30, 2023 — Scott Johnson
Minnesota Governor Tim Walz seeks to portray himself as a champion of freedom. Those of us who were subjected to his one-man rule during the Covid emergency have found him to be a petty tyrant. The Star Tribune is Walz’s handmaiden and most valuable player in Walz’s puffery, as in Brianna Bierschbach’s “Gov. Tim Walz draws contrast between Minnesota and conservative GOP-led states.” Bierschbach opened with Walz’s theatrics: Gov. Tim
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March 30, 2023 — Scott Johnson
Do not get within spitting distance of Dem Rep. Jamaal Bowman when he is instructing the press (“ask them every day — what are they going to do about gun violence?”), expounding on the need for “gun control” (“Why the hell won’t you do anything to save America’s children?”), and condemning colleagues who who disagree with him (“they’re all cowards,” “they’re freaking cowards,” “they’re gutless,” etc.). You are highly likely
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March 29, 2023 — John Hinderaker
There is much that could be said about the murders committed by Audrey Hale on Monday, but for the moment I want to address just one issue, in a series of related observations. * Police say they found a “manifesto” written by Ms. Hale, and apparently other writings as well. So far the contents of these writings have not been disclosed. I assume they will come out in due course,
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March 29, 2023 — Steven Hayward
“The trouble about writing satire is that the real world always anticipates you, and what were meant for exaggeration turn out to be nothing of the sort.” —C.S. Lewis, 1945 The Babylon Bee, this week: When satire becomes reality: Nearly 100 Babylon Bee joke stories have come true JUPITER, Fla. – The Babylon Bee has had nearly 100 joke headlines turn into prophecies after the stories eventually came true, the
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March 29, 2023 — Steven Hayward
Our Monday Daily Chart on the Wall Street Journal survey (which has garnered widespread attention beyond Power Line) showing the precipitous decline of traditional American values such as patriotism and religious faith was very sobering—and perhaps a little suspicious. Huge shifts such as were shown in their findings ought to prompt a closer look at the methodology. Sure enough, Patrick Ruffini, a very shrewd political analyst and survey designer with
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