March 17, 2023 — John Hinderaker
With their one-seat (by 321 votes) Senate majority giving them control of Minnesota’s legislature, Democrats are on a rampage. They are passing radical measures on every front. In some instances, they are proceeding by executive order. Thus, far-left Governor Tim Walz has made Minnesota a “sanctuary” where minors can suffer permanent genital mutilation in a manner that would be illegal where they live. Is that something to be proud of,
»
March 17, 2023 — John Hinderaker
We have written (here and here) about the Dutch government’s war on its own people. In service to the mythical god of global warming, the Netherlands is driving its farmers out of business. Which is not only bad for the farmers, it is bad for the Dutch economy, since that country is the number two exporter of food products in the world. Not to mention that it is bad for
»
March 16, 2023 — John Hinderaker
I wrote here about Hennepin County, Minnesota’s left-wing prosecutor who let off two juveniles (the older aged 17) who murdered a woman in the course of a home invasion. This was part of her stated rationale: [County Attorney Mary] Moriarty has said she is simply “following the science,” which she says is conclusive about adolescent brain development. According to Moriarty, the human brain is not fully developed until 25 years
»
March 16, 2023 — John Hinderaker
A dark horse candidate for the 2024 Democratic presidential nomination has been identified: Minnesota Governor Tim Walz. If that sounds far-fetched, consider this Daily Beast puff piece: “Minnesota’s Gov. Tim Walz Is the Anti-DeSantis. Dems Should Take Note.” It is actually true that Walz is the anti-DeSantis. His policies are the negative image of Florida’s governor’s. But you would have to be deeply delusional to think that the comparison is
»
March 15, 2023 — John Hinderaker
A Biden administration Consumer Product Safety official said that regulation of gas stoves, including a potential ban, was in the works. Conservatives (and people who like to cook) were then up in arms, but were reassured by numerous “fact checkers” that it was a false alarm. Just another right-wing fantasy: the Biden administration has no such plan. So the CSPC just made it up, apparently. Only it turns out that
»
March 15, 2023 — John Hinderaker
Some Democrats are suggesting that talk about possible bank failures should be censored, lest there be a run on the banks. Jonathan Turley reports: While some rushed to get their money after the collapses, at least one leading Democrat is pushing for censorship of those who do not have faith in the banking industry. *** Subjects from climate change to gender identity to COVID to elections have been gradually added
»
March 14, 2023 — John Hinderaker
Joe Biden thinks it is immoral not to facilitate irreversible sex change operations on children. It is a sign of the times that some people do not view this as utterly insane. Biden attacks Ron DeSantis, and DeSantis responds: It is not "sinful" to prohibit the mutilation of minors. It is not acceptable for the federal government to mandate that procedures like sex change operations be allowed for kids. https://t.co/YhPrrU5Poi
»
March 13, 2023 — John Hinderaker
Hennepin County, with a population of around 1.3 million, is Minnesota’s largest. In November, it elected Mary Moriarty as County Attorney. Moriarty ran as an “out” leftist committed to “restorative justice.” Residents of Hennepin County are now finding out what that means. My colleague David Zimmer recounts Moriarty’s handling of two recent criminal cases. In the first, she dismissed charges against a 35-year-old Honduran man who was accused of raping
»
March 12, 2023 — John Hinderaker
Sweden was an outlier during the covid epidemic, in that its government did not order a nationwide shutdown. This policy did not please much of Sweden’s establishment, as represented by The Local, which has been pro-lockdown. So this Local article is notable, in that it recognizes a basic fact about covid mortality that should have been obvious all along: At one point in May 2020, Sweden had the highest Covid-19
»
March 12, 2023 — John Hinderaker
Economist John Phelan offers this succinct explanation of how government policies contributed to the collapse of SVB: On Friday regulators shuttered Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) and seized its deposits in the largest U.S. banking failure since the 2008 financial crisis and the second-largest ever. We shouldn’t be surprised. Neither should we relax. To recap: Between June 2006 and December 2008, the Federal Reserve’s target for the federal funds rate was
»
March 11, 2023 — John Hinderaker
The news is doing nothing for me today, so here is something I have done once or twice before. The following are 14 propositions that I believe to be true. Or at least, I think I do. Each is intended to be fodder for disagreement. Feel free to say “Amen, brother” or “You can’t be serious” in the comments. If this gets a good reception, maybe next time I will
»
March 11, 2023 — John Hinderaker
Former Minnesota Vikings coach Bud Grant died today at age 95. Grant was a great athlete, a nine-letterman at the University of Minnesota in football, basketball and baseball. He played both professional football and professional basketball, and coached in the Canadian Football League for ten seasons before taking over the Vikings in 1967. Grant led the Vikings to four Super Bowls, all of which they lost. Probably they should have
»
March 10, 2023 — John Hinderaker
Reparations for slavery is an idea that, at best, is idiotic. More often it is malicious. Why people who never owned slaves should write checks to people who never were slaves is inexplicable. But insanity has its degrees, and this one takes the cake: Democratic Party legislators have introduced a bill in the Minnesota House of Representatives to create a $100 million fund to pay slavery reparations to descendants of
»
March 10, 2023 — John Hinderaker
No sooner had we forgiven Jane Fonda for her sins of many years ago than she gives fresh reason to condemn her. Today on The View–my God, does someone actually watch that show?–she suggested that pro-lifers should be murdered: Watch the latest video at foxnews.com One of the View’s hosts hurried to assure the audience that Fonda was kidding, but Jane herself remained mute. Subsequently, she beat a retreat: “While
»
March 10, 2023 — John Hinderaker
Mean scores on IQ tests rose generally in the U.S. beginning in the 1930s, apparently reflecting better nutrition and improved schooling. But that trend has now been reversed. A paper published in an upcoming journal finds IQ scores now declining: Labeled the Flynn effect (Herrnstein and Murray, 2010), intelligence quotient (IQ) scores substantially increased since 1932 and through the twentieth century, with differences ranging from 3.0 to 5.0 IQ points
»
March 10, 2023 — John Hinderaker
Today’s Rasmussen Reports tallies responses to the question: “Do you agree or disagree with this statement: The FBI has become ‘politically weaponized, starting from the top in Washington’? The results are rather stunning: Sixty-four percent (64%) of voters agree with that statement, including 44% who Strongly Agree that the FBI has been “politically weaponized.” Thirty percent (30%) disagree, including 17% who Strongly Disagree. This is a good example of how
»
March 9, 2023 — John Hinderaker
Today the House’s Weaponization Committee held a hearing in which Democrats attacked Twitter and the “so-called journalists” who revealed the Twitter Files: “Twitter Files” reporters Matt Taibbi and Michael Shellenberger held firm Thursday against an onslaught of attacks from Democrats who referred to them as “so-called journalists” and demanded they give up their sources during a tense House subcommittee hearing. “The Republicans have brought in two of [Twitter CEO] Elon
»
