September 29, 2023 — John Hinderaker
Democrats 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
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September 29, 2023 — John Hinderaker
Dianne 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
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September 28, 2023 — John Hinderaker
I didn’t watch last night’s GOP debate, which, based on the accounts I have read, including Scott’s, was a good decision. Many morning-after accounts have focused on the fact that Fox included a liberal Hispanic reporter as one of the moderators, and, in addition, the nominally Republican moderators asked many challenging if not outright hostile questions. See, for example, Ed Morrissey, who quotes some of the questions. I will reproduce
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September 28, 2023 — John Hinderaker
When I was a kid we were taught in school that America is a nation of immigrants. It was seen as something to be proud of, even if it arguably left out Native Americans. But now the phrase is taking on a whole new meaning, as illegal immigrants threaten to take over from childbirth as our main source of population growth. Via InstaPundit: Without the mass deportation of tens of
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September 28, 2023 — John Hinderaker
An interesting news story. Make of it what you will: The Senate passed a bipartisan resolution Wednesday to restore the formal dress code in the upper chamber following blowback over the loosening of the unofficial rule. Under the resolution, which passed unanimously, senators will once again be required to wear business attire on the floor. Does that mean Fetterman voted for it? Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV), who publicly split with
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September 27, 2023 — John Hinderaker
Liberals love to talk about misinformation. They also love to disseminate it. A case in point is New York Times health and science reporter Apoorva Mandavilli. She grotesquely exaggerated the impact of covid on children, apparently for the purpose of supporting school shutdowns, one of the worst policy fiascos of modern times. And her claims were not, remotely, in the ballpark: Reporter who wrote in NYT that 900,000 children had
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September 27, 2023 — John Hinderaker
Hillary Clinton was at the State Department yesterday for the unveiling of her official portrait as Secretary of State. She was ungracious as usual: Returning to the State Department for the unveiling of her official portrait, Mrs Clinton also used the occasion to display distaste for the policies of Donald Trump, the Republican former president, who defeated her in the 2016 United States presidential election. Mrs Clinton, the former US
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September 26, 2023 — John Hinderaker
Opinion polls indicate that the vast majority of Europeans have drunk the global warming kool-aid, at least in theory. But things change when they are confronted with “green” realities. The Wall Street Journal reports: For years, Europe has been at the forefront of the global drive to curb carbon emissions and slow climate change, pledging to reach net zero emissions by 2050. Overwhelming numbers of Europeans say they like the
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September 26, 2023 — John Hinderaker
Target Corporation has been even more woke than most large companies, but there are limits. Target has been vocal about the damage that organized retail theft is doing to its bottom line. Now the other shoe has dropped. The Wall Street Journal reports: Target is closing nine stores across four states because of theft and organized retail crime. The Minneapolis-based retailer said Tuesday stores in the New York City, Seattle,
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September 25, 2023 — John Hinderaker
This Real Clear Opinion Research survey has disquieting news about Americans’ tolerance of censorship. Carl Cannon comments on the results, including the partisan breakdown. Suffice it to say that not many Democrats are going to the wall for free speech these days. But I want to comment on just one aspect of that survey: It is remarkable that the number of people who think the government should censor “hateful posts
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September 25, 2023 — John Hinderaker
The Biden administration is doing all it can to maximize the number of illegal immigrants entering the country before a Republican administration can take over and stop the bleeding. The Center for Immigration Studies has used a FOIA request to shed light on an almost unbelievable aspect of the administration’s selling out of America: A little-known part of the Biden administration’s CBP One parole program permits inadmissible [Ed.: Illegal] aliens
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September 25, 2023 — John Hinderaker
It is generally known that Republicans are more likely to be religious than Democrats; in fact, this may be the most basic fault line in our contemporary politics. But the speed with which Democrats are abandoning religion is remarkable. This chart, from Gallup via Breitbart, shows it graphically. The percentage of Democrats describing themselves as religious has dropped from 60% in 1999 to only 37%–a rather small minority–today: Note that
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September 24, 2023 — John Hinderaker
The House has started an inquiry into the impeachment of President Biden. I think that is a good idea, in order to continue turning up evidence of Joe Biden’s corruption. But should the House actually proceed to vote for impeachment, resulting in a futile trial in the Senate? The Wall Street Journal says No, headlining “Americans Don’t Want Another Impeachment Fight. Voters say partisan battles are distracting lawmakers from fixing
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September 24, 2023 — John Hinderaker
British Home Secretary Suella Braverman is coming to Washington. At the top of her agenda is illegal immigration. She wants American help in resisting the tide of illegals that is swamping much of Western Europe as well as the U.S.: Ahead of the visit, she said: “Illegal migration and the unprecedented mass movement of people across the globe is placing unsustainable pressures on America, the UK, and Europe. “We must
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September 23, 2023 — John Hinderaker
Many criminals are dumb, and some are crazy. But virtually all criminals pay attention to what concerns them the most: the likelihood of being caught and the severity of punishment for their crimes. Even the most deranged criminal does not commit his felony in front of a policeman. And the extent to which laws are enforced is the most important variable influencing whether laws are broken. We are reminded of
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September 23, 2023 — John Hinderaker
In an interview with a Pennsylvania news station, Kamala Harris explained that “climate anxiety” is deterring “young leaders” from buying homes, as well as having children: As the Free Beacon points out, what is preventing young people from buying homes is skyrocketing interest rates, which are entirely the fault of the federal government, primarily the Biden administration. It’s just one more consequence of Bidenflation. But I would add this: if
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September 23, 2023 — John Hinderaker
Destroying the German economy isn’t easy, but that country’s government is working hard at it. Since the Industrial Revolution, it has been hard to imagine a de-industrialized Germany. But that is the way things are trending. The London Times reports: Germany is in the teeth of a “severe and sustained downtrend”, experts warned after a closely watched survey showed that a deep contraction in factory output was keeping its economy
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