January 12, 2025 — Scott Johnson
Reading serious reference to President Biden’s “legacy” as though it is anything but an unprecedented catastrophe presents a challenge to my progress in anger management. Joe Biden — this is the guy who opened our borders and invited the world to “come on down,” like someone trying to find his calling as a game show host. This is the guy who deployed the forces of the Department of Justice to
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January 12, 2025 — Scott Johnson
I have been writing about the lawsuit styled United States v. City of Minneapolis that was filed last week here in federal district court. I covered the press conference announcing the consent decree in “Is it something I didn’t say?” and in four subsequent footnotes (Note 1, Note 2, Note 3, and Note 4). The case has been given the File No. 25-CV-48. If you are a registered PACER user,
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January 12, 2025 — Scott Johnson
The second time I saw Tom Rush perform live he appeared in Minneapolis for a show at the Cedar Theater on the West Bank. A few days before the show I contacted Tom by email and asked him for an interview, which he kindly granted. I was ecstatic to see him live after many years and just about equally happy to chat with him for Power Line, although I don’t
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January 11, 2025 — Scott Johnson
Following up on the Deena Winter/Jeffrey Anderson exchange in “Note 3” of this series, I want to add a few facts. Deena cites the current budget of the Minneapolis Police Department. Deena writes: “[F]unding has only increased every year since 2020, except in 2021. It is now at record levels.” Deena doesn’t break down the budget. It should be noted, however, that as of 2020 the department employed around 900
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January 11, 2025 — Scott Johnson
The Russia hoax was concocted by the Clinton campaign with attorney Marc Elias serving as a cutout. They undertook the hoax with the full knowledge and assistance of the Obama administration, including CIA Director John Brennan, Vice President Biden, and Obama himself. The underlying documents were handed off to the press and the FBI, whose senior leadership then sought to surveil, sting, and depose President Trump in the early days
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January 10, 2025 — Scott Johnson
Erick Erickson argues that the press is circling the wagons to protect California’s prog authorities dealing with the wildfires ravaging huge swaths Los Angeles County. He presents as Exhibit A the video below. In the video LA Fox 11 news anchor Melvin Robert responds to developer and former Los Angeles mayoral candidate Rick Caruso’s claim that hydrants were running out of water. Robert begged to disagree. As the broadcast cut
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January 10, 2025 — Scott Johnson
Jeffrey Anderson is the former director of the Bureau of Justice Statistics at the Department of Justice. Jeff commented on Minneapolis murder statistics in “MPD consent decree: Note 1.” Reader Dave Begley forwarded Jeff’s commentary to reporter Deena Winter, who covered the press conference for the Star Tribune. Like the other reporters called on by Department of Justice press officer Julia Hartnett at the press conference, Winter supports the consent
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January 10, 2025 — Scott Johnson
Ammo Grrrll points out the IMPORTANT PARTS! She writes: When you were a very small child, if you fell and skinned your knee it was not a big deal at all. Falling was a routine part of a small child’s life. Unless you thought you could get some mileage out of it from one of your parents, you just went about your day. If I approached my Papa bawling with
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January 9, 2025 — Scott Johnson
The wildfires ravaging the Los Angeles area expose the corruption and mismanagement of a generation of left-wing leaders of LA and California. Our alleged president dropped in for some reason or other and found it a good time to announce the birth of his great-grandson or great-granddaughter. He was confused about the baby’s sex. While the wildfires burn it’s cloudy with a chance of rain in Biden’s mind. Sky News
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January 9, 2025 — Scott Johnson
Yesterday Yoram Hazony recommended Stalin’s War: A New History of World War II. It is a mind-boggling book that hasn’t received the recognition it is due. On the publication date of the book in 2021 we posted his backgrounder “The story behind Stalin’s War.” McMeekin’s “Stalin’s War” is the best history I’ve read in years. Among other themes: 1. Stalin was every bit as evil as Hitler. 2. FDR was
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January 9, 2025 — Scott Johnson
I missed any acknowledgment of the anniversary of Elvis Presley’s birth yesterday. Let me catch up this morning. The second volume of Peter Guralnick’s two-volume biography of Elvis — Last Train to Memphis and Careless Love — includes the true story of the day in December 1970 when Elvis met Nixon in the White House. The story of the visit provides insight into Elvis’s patriotism as well as comic relief
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January 8, 2025 — Scott Johnson
Susan Page was granted what was to be a 45-minute interview by our outgoing alleged president who cannot shuffle off the stage fast enough. The interview is pathetically unilluminating. Page’s story on it is here along with a transcript here. Biden shows no awareness of his present incapacity and Page isn’t inclined to press him on it. This was the best she could do: “Do you think you would’ve had
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January 8, 2025 — Scott Johnson
At the press conference announcing the federal consent decree that is to bind the Minneapolis Police Department, Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke implied that such decrees improve police performance. She specifically cited a few consent decrees in her comments at about 14:55-17:15 of the press conference video that I included in “Is it something I didn’t say?” and have reposted at the bottom. Here are my notes on what Clarke
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January 8, 2025 — Scott Johnson
Jeffrey Anderson is president of the American Main Street Initiative and served as director of the Bureau of Justice Statistics at the Department of Justice from 2017 to 2021. He writes frequently for City Journal (see his columns here) and the Claremont Review of Books (see his essays here). I invited Jeff to take a look at the matters I take up in “Is it something I didn’t say?” regarding
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January 7, 2025 — Scott Johnson
Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke came to town and called a press conference yesterday. Joined by Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey and Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara, Clarke announced the city’s agreement to a federal consent decree governing Minneapolis police. I wrote about the federal consent decree when agreement was imminent last week. This is in addition to the first such consent decree with state authorities entered in 2023. Notice of
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January 6, 2025 — Scott Johnson
Yesterday President Biden signed a bipartisan bill increasing Social Security benefits for some 3,000,000 public employees — the so-called Social Security Fairness Act. The bill provides for teachers, firefighters, policeman and other public sector workers who also receive pension income to receive increases in their Social Security benefits. More here and here. Why is this a good idea? I don’t know. Biden hung around after the signing ceremony to respond
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January 5, 2025 — Scott Johnson
On Meet the Press this morning Kristen Welker confronted Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer with his defense of President Biden’s mental acuity before Biden was elbowed aside by someone or other. Schumer is schameless. He was lying then. He’s lying now. Even NBC News knows it. 🚨Chuck Schumer confronted with clip of him lying about Biden’s mental fitness pre-debate — asked if he and other Democrats misled Americans: “We didn’t…He’ll
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