February 20, 2020 — Scott Johnson
Is there anyone in the world who doesn’t know that Ilhan Omar married her brother in 2009? It has been my mission in life to get the world out over the past three and a half years. Today Martin Gould reports for The Daily Mail: “Ilhan Omar DID marry her brother and said she would ‘do what she had to do to get him “papers” to keep him in U.S.’,
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February 20, 2020 — Scott Johnson
Michael Bloomberg had a bad night in his debut appearance last night at the Democratic presidential candidates’ debates. What a pathetic performance. It may be too early to say, but perhaps there are some things money can’t buy. Bloomberg took a beating last night in Las Vegas. Looking like he had escaped from Madame Tussauds, Bloomberg responded to a Bernie Sanders comment by interjecting that his (Bloomberg’s) stents had been
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February 20, 2020 — Scott Johnson
Victor Davis Hanson is The Classicist featured in the Hoover Institution podcast of the same name. In the February 19 edition of the podcast, Victor speaks “In defense of farming” (embedded below). The podcast is occasioned by Michael Bloomberg’s 2016 remarks at Oxford University that we documented here and here. Victor cites the classic texts on agriculture to support his view of farming. What shaped Bloomberg’s view of farming? I
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February 20, 2020 — Scott Johnson
The Claremont Review of Books has just published its new (Winter) issue. This week we spend four days featuring book reviews to preview the issue this week. Today is day three: we feature two book reviews discussing current Supreme Court justices and related controversies. Conrad Black takes up two books on Brett Kavanaugh in “Confirmation Bias.” The two books offer sharply different perspectives on Kavanaugh’s nomination and confirmation to the
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February 19, 2020 — Scott Johnson
Jack Handey gave us this deep thought: If a kid asks where rain comes from, I think a cute thing to tell him is “God is crying.” And if he asks why God is crying, another cute thing to tell him is “Probably because of something you did.” James Comey’s Twitter feed is a fertile source of such deep thoughts. I give you, for example, the deep thought below. Political
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February 19, 2020 — Scott Johnson
Our friends at the American Spectator have moved to a subscription model and put up a paywall that kicks in after readers access a limited number of free articles. They have nevertheless graciously agreed to make access available to links posted on Power Line. The Spectator’s lead column today is Jeremy Lott’s “Mike Bloomberg, meet Paul Harvey.”. Related: The Federalist’s Sean Davis channels Paul Harvey in “So God made a
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February 19, 2020 — Scott Johnson
The identity politics that permeates our public life will destroy the United States if it has not already remade it into something that is destined to fall of its own weight. In the just published Winter issue of the Claremont Review of Books, Hillsdale’s David Azzerad reviews Mary Eberstadt’s new book on identity politics. The book comprises a short monograph by Eberstadt along with responses by Rod Dreher of the
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February 18, 2020 — Scott Johnson
I wanted to post the full video of Michael Bloomberg’s November 11, 2016 remarks at Oxford University in “Bloomin’ Bloomberg or Bloomberg bloomin’?,” but I just couldn’t come up with it this morning. I have now tracked it down and posted it below. The relevant passage incorporating Bloomberg’s reflections on agriculture, factory jobs and the like begins at 42:00. Victor Davis Hanson offered his observations on Tucker Carlson Tonight (video
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February 18, 2020 — Scott Johnson
The big political news of the day is this: Michael Bloomberg has qualified for Wednesday’s Democratic presidential debate in Las Vegas, setting up the first face-to-face showdown between the self-funding billionaire and the other top candidates for the nomination. Politico covers the story here. In an email alert, Politico advises: “Bloomberg, whose late entry has roiled the race, met the Democratic National Committee’s criteria by earning at least 10 percent
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February 18, 2020 — Scott Johnson
The Claremont Review of Books has just published its new (Winter) issue. Thanks to the editors, I reviewed the issue in galley to pick out four pieces to roll out this for Power Line readers. As always, I encourage readers to become subscribers (subscribe here) for the absurdly low price of $19.95 and get online access thrown in for free. This issue features essays by the likes of Amy Wax
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February 17, 2020 — Scott Johnson
There was a time in the recent past when fraudster Michael Avenatti was celebrated as the savior of the republic by the media adjunct of the Democratic Party — the savior of the republic from Donald Trump et al. He was celebrated as such by savants who continue to regale us with their wisdom. David Rutz documented the celebration in the Washington Free Beacon supercuts video below. They will never
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February 17, 2020 — Scott Johnson
I found the video below via Twitter and the obligatory tabloid story in the New York Post’s “Topless protester confronts Bernie Sanders, de Blasio at Nevada campaign rally.” The whole thing reminds me of the famous New York Post headline about the “Headless body in topless bar.” In this case, however, there must be a metaphor struggling to get out.
[email protected] can’t control his rally. He lets naked women take
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February 16, 2020 — Scott Johnson
In the February issue of the New Criterion John Steele Gordon revisits the Flashman novels of George MacDonald Fraser. Gordon’s essay is “No flash in the pan.” For reasons that are apparent from the outset of the essay, Gordon is a fan. The essay is an excellent weekend read. The premise of Fraser’s Flashman novels lies in the “discovery” of the papers of Harry Flashman; the novels purport to be
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February 16, 2020 — Scott Johnson
Yesterday I noted that Attorney General Barr has tasked Jeff Jensen, the United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Missouri, with a review of the case brought against former Trump National Security Advisor Michael Flynn. In addition to stints with PriceCoopersWaterhouse as a CPA, with the FBI as a Special Agent, with the Eastern District of Missouri US Attorney’s office as an Assistant United States Attorney, Jensen also worked,
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February 15, 2020 — Scott Johnson
Attorney General Barr has reportedly tasked Jeff Jensen, the United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Missouri, with a review of the case brought against former Trump National Security Advisor Michael Flynn. We have closely followed the Flynn case, which seems to have involved an operation run against him by the Comey FBI and Obama holdover Sally Yates. One should think that such a review is long overdue. The
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February 14, 2020 — Scott Johnson
Daily Mail reporter Martin Gould has been in town this week doing the work that the Star Tribune and the rest of the local press declines to do. I had lunch with him in Minneapolis on Wednesday to compare notes. He updates the tabloid elements of the Omar saga in “Ilhan Omar’s husband discovered she was cheating with her chief fundraiser when he walked in on the lovers lounging in
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February 14, 2020 — Scott Johnson
The Roger Stone sentencing kerfuffle is now playing among the Democrats and their mainstream media adjunct. Based on what we have learned so far, former prosecutor George Parry’s account of the matter is the one that is most to my taste. Parry addresses it in the American Spectator column “Flight of the drama queens” (the link goes to the column as posted at Parry’s site). Parry puts the affair in
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