News of the Week (July 5th, 2020)

Posted on July 5, 2020 by The Political Hat

 

News of the Week for July 5thth, 2020


 

Riots & Revolution

 

Are the wheels coming off in Atlanta?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports that Atlanta’s interim Police Chief Rodney Bryant was about to address the City Council on the unrest plaguing the city when a councilman informed Bryant

Crazy People Are Dangerous
Protesters in St. Louis are angry because . . . Well, does it really matter why they’re angry? They’re protesters. Being angry is sort of a prerequisite for being a protester. “Defund the police” is their demand, because the protesters are Democrats and Democrats hate police.

How Leftists’ Critical Race Theory Poisons Our Discussion of Racism
I recently revived my Instagram account in an attempt to kill time during the COVID-19 lockdown.

Hardin-Simmons University in Texas says student who made racist TikTok ‘no longer enrolled’
The school’s president, Eric Bruntmyer, called the video, “Deeply disappointing and an unacceptable social media post.”

Academic department calls on Penn State to require ‘structural racism’ courses
The African American Studies Department at Penn State University is calling for mandated classes on intersectionality, oppression, and racism as part of the general education requirement.

A Terrorist’s Ties to a Leading Black Lives Matter Group
Some conservatives have begun speculating the unrest in American cities—even as late as Monday night in Washington, DC, as “protestors” unsuccessfully worked to tear down a statue of Andrew Jackson and set up an autonomous zone across the street from the White House—may in part be an attempt to affect the upcoming presidential election, with the chaos and violence intended to make it as difficult as possible for Donald Trump to win a second term.

It’s not about Woodrow Wilson. It’s about indoctrination
Why Princeton caved to the mob

As Seattle Dithers: One Dead, One Critical In New CHAZ Shooting
Seattle’s elected leadership promised to dismantle the CHAZ/CHOP protest zone by yesterday morning. Their failure might have cost another life in the fourth shooting over the last nine days in or around the protest zone. Protesters claimed that a Jeep tried to ram its way through the barricades and that it was “met by force,” with two gunshots clearly shown in video of the car afterward. One of the two has already died, while the other remains in critical condition, KING reports

University apologizes for highlighting conservative group after students insist it’s ‘racist,’ ‘sexist,’ ‘fascist’
UC-Irvine Law Admissions apologized for spotlighting the campus’ chapter of the Federalist Society on its Instagram page after students commented on the post claiming that the organization “advocates against marginalized groups.”

Kneeling in the Church of Social Justice
America certainly has work to do on race, but ritual and symbolic acts aren’t the way forward.

Cops Side With Armed St. Louis Homeowners, Investigate Protesters For ‘Assault By Intimidation’
While reactions to the gun-toting lawyers are sharply divided by political leanings, St. Louis police are investigating the incident as a case of trespassing and fourth-degree assault by intimidation against the couples.

Activists Set Up Guillotine In Front Of Jeff Bezos’s D.C. Home, Call For Amazon To Be Abolished
Fringe activists set up a guillotine in front of Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos’s home in Washington, D.C., on Sunday where they reportedly demanded that Amazon be abolished.

Father of CHAZ shooting victim: Bring in the National Guard — now
At this point, it’s no longer a question of how to end Seattle’s brief experiment in armed anarchy. It’s a question of who will step up to end it. The father of a teenager murdered last weekend in the CHAZ/CHOP occupation area wants the National Guard to restore order before more people get murdered in the lawless zone

A Word for Thaddeus Kosciuzko
Earlier this month, during unrest in American cities, there was a lot of attention paid in Washington, D.C., to the area just outside the White House. As we continue into July, I don’t want to let an unfortunate but little-noted consequence of what happened there to be forgotten.

Our Millenarian Moment
Writing in Unherd, John Gray, interesting as ever, this time on the current woke moment. While he may downplay (to an extent) the millenarianism of the Bolsheviks, fellow millenarians to whom the woke are sometimes compared, these paragraphs are, in particular, worth considering

Georgetown lecture fund vows quota for ‘black voices’
The Georgetown University Lecture Fund will devote half its budget to “black voices.”

Scholar forced to resign over study that found police shootings not biased against blacks
Union rep tells College Fix that university should not share data that runs afoul of its support of BLM protests

CU-Boulder: ‘Black Lives Matter’ values are a ‘non-negotiable condition’ of enrollment
In response to recent Black Lives Matter protests and riots across the country, CU-Boulder administrators sent a memo to staff and students outlining strict policies on accepted viewpoints.

Seattle Leader on CHOP Shootings: ‘We Have to Dismantle Capitalism to Win a Violence-Free Society.’ WHAT?!
Two young men are dead after three horrific shootings in the past two weeks outside the antifa/anarchist Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone (CHAZ) Occupied Protest (CHOP) in Seattle, Washington. Yet according to a member of the Seattle City Council, capitalism is to blame when the rebels who tried to set up a post-capitalistic society opened fire on outsiders early Monday morning.

LA City Council approves first step in replacing LAPD with community responders for non-violent calls
The Los Angeles City Council on Tuesday approved the first step in a plan to replace Los Angeles Police Department officers with community-based, unarmed emergency responders for non-violent calls for service.

Floyd Judge To MN Officials: Either Stop Talking Or I’ll Order A Change Of Venue
Good luck on both counts, Judge Peter Cahill. The attorneys representing four Minneapolis police officers in the George Floyd homicide appeared in court yesterday to hash out preliminary motions in Cahill’s Hennepin County court. One of the attorneys declared that he might file a change of venue motion based on the inability of his client to get a fair trial in Minneapolis, based on continuing commentary by public officials in the Twin Cities.

Seattle PD Ordered To Take Back CHAZ/CHOP; East Precinct Reclaimed; Update: “Several Vehicles” Circling Area, PD Investigating
Maybe Jenny Durkan’s NIMBY response to the protest in front of her house finally embarrassed her into action. Starting early this morning, Seattle police began executing an order from the mayor in the “autonomous zone,” ordering protesters to disperse. As of 5 am PT, police had fortified their positions outside the East Precinct, nearly a month after Durkan had ordered police to abandon it.

Investigator: Rayshard Brooks Would’ve Been Charged On 10 Counts
At some point early this morning, former Atlanta Police Officer Garret Rolfe was released from jail after posting a half-million-dollar bond. Rolfe is still facing numerous charges in the death of Rayshard Brooks and the release came despite pleas from Brooks’ widow to keep him locked up. The terms of his release are quite restrictive and he won’t be able to leave town.

California’s slide from coronavirus success to danger zone began Memorial Day
The seeds of the latest surge in coronavirus cases in California appear to have been planted around Memorial Day.

Boston Arts Commission Votes to Remove Emancipation Memorial
I wonder when DC will remove the one in Lincoln Park.

“White Lives Don’t Matter” Academic: “I Resist Urges to Kneecap White Men”
More hateful tweets surface as Cambridge University continues to back Priyamvada Gopal.

Portland “Social Justice Summer Camp” Uses “Expert” (Anarchist) Teachers to Show 10-13 Year-Olds How to “Blockade” & “Free” Animals
Portland’s Professional Protesters™ have raided fur farms, set fire to SUV’s and ski resorts, run companies they didn’t like out of town, threatened people with violence, attacked police officers, pooped on American flags, manufactured IED’s and Molotov Cocktails, shot at least one person, and stopped thousands of Oregonians from going – anywhere, shouted down and drowned out people they don’t agree with and done millions of dollars in damage to the downtown Portland, Oregon area.

NYC Mayor de Blasio, City Council Pass Approves Budget That Cuts $1 Billion From NYPD
AOC denounced the budget because she literally wants to defund the police.

Two Americas: Risk-Tolerant vs. Zero-Risk—Will One Ruin the Other?
There really are two Americas: The Risk-Tolerant America, and Zero-Risk America.

Dean fired after saying ‘EVERYONE’S LIFE MATTERS’ in email
A University of Massachusetts-Lowell dean was fired after sources say she wrote “everyone’s life matters” in an email.

Chinese-Style Social Credit Is Here: Gab Founder Says He’s Blocked From Using Visa Over Vague ‘Hate Speech’ Charge
“Build your own platforms,” they said. So Gab did. Now they’re banned too.

Second tribal leader calls for removal of Mount Rushmore before Trump visit
A second South Dakota tribal leader called for the removal of the four sculptures on Mount Rushmore, which is carved into land sacred to the Lakota Sioux.

American Cities Take Double-Barreled Hit; How Will They Look in the Future?
The June issue of Commentary, likely assembled in early-to-mid-May, contained an article written by John Podhoretz and illustrated by Daniel Rose headlined “The Empty City.” Podhoretz selected ten eerie photos of a depopulated Manhattan shot by Rose, whom Podhoretz describes as “a businessman and amateur photographer whose stunning images you are seeing here and on our cover, used the time to document this unnerving reality:”

The Minneapolis effect
Heather Mac Donald documents the increase in violent crime that has accompanied the decrease in policing resulting from the denunciation, without evidence, of American police forces as racist, after an officer killed George Floyd in Minneapolis. She shows that the recent increase in violent crime has come with a speed and magnitude that makes the Ferguson effect — the spike that occurred after a police officer killed Michael Brown — seem tranquil.

Black Lives Matter: “We Are Trained Marxists” – Part I
Black Lives Matter is a Marxist revolutionary movement aimed at transforming the United States into a communist dystopia. BLM states that it wants to abolish the nuclear family, police, prisons and capitalism. BLM leaders have threatened to “burn down the system” if their demands are not met. They are also training militias.

This is how we end racism? Portland protesters mocked after setting ELK STATUE on fire
A mob in Portland, Oregon, has torched a statue of an elk, prompting observers to theorize that perhaps the animal was a “slave owner” or a “white supremacist”.

Play Stupid Games, Win Stupid Prizes
The U.S. economy added nearly 5 million jobs last month, and perhaps would have added more if not for deranged Ivy League graduates losing their jobs because they threatened to stab people

Appeals Court frees Molotov Cocktail Lawyers on bail and home confinement
Dissent: “The majority’s decision to affirm the release of these Appellees from pretrial detention subjects the community to an unacceptable risk of danger.”

Seattle Mayor Admits CHOP Antifastan Caused Crime Wave, ‘Alarming’ Spike in COVID Cases
NOW she tells us. When Mayor Jenny Durkan (D-Seattle) finally ordered police to clear out the antifa instigators in the Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone (CHAZ) Occupied Protest (CHOP), which has been dubbed “Antifastan” (no offense to Central Asian countries), her order made some very fascinating observations about the occupation she had allowed to fester for three long weeks. As it turns out, a lawless rebellion protest/anarchist commune might be bad for… public health and safety. Specifically, CHOP appears to have caused both a crime wave and an uptick in coronavirus cases amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Judicial Watch Sues D.C. For Equal Access to Paint City Streets
Judicial Watch has sued the city of Washington, D.C., for access to paint their own slogan on the street in front of their headquarters. The effort is in response to the city government painting “Black Lives Matter” on a street near the White House while allowing protesters to paint “Defund the Police” next to it.

Chicago Red Stars Soccer Player Defends Decision To Stand For Anthem
Alexi Lalas tweeted and then deleted this when players from the National Women’s Soccer League kneeled before a recent match: “Now it takes courage to actually stand for the national anthem.” Lalas had himself a full social media day and then the world moved on. Now comes the story of Rachel Hill, a player for the Chicago Red Stars who had to release a statement on why she was the only player standing for the anthem before a match against Orlando.

Black Leaders To Minneapolis City Council: Dismantling Police Is “Egregious, Grotesque, Absurd, Crazy, Ridiculous” … And Maybe Racist
If you think that dismantling an urban police department and replacing it with social workers is nuts, you’re in good company. The very people that the Minneapolis city council claimed to be serving in its attempt to eliminate its own police department have begun blasting the idea as “absurd” and “ridiculous.” African-American leaders within the city are accusing the council of rushing to a conclusion without engaging them — and offering a proposal that will leave them unprotected from violence in the future:

‘Little Mermaid’ Statue in Copenhagen Branded ‘Racist Fish’
It will be incidents like this that will eventually do in Black Lives Matter and the mob witc- hunters looking to sniff out “racism” wherever it hides — or anyone thinks it.

The Statues They Left Standing
They do no honor to the America we celebrate this July 4th.

Because Racism: Charter School System to Remove ‘Work Hard. Be Nice.’ as Its Official Slogan
On Wednesday the charter school organization The Knowledge is Power Program, commonly know as KIPP, announced that it will be retiring the slogan “Work hard. Be Nice.” as school officials believe the phrase is counterproductive to abolishing systemic racism.

Lincoln Statues Must Go, Margaret Sanger Stays?
Levar Stoney, the black Democrat mayor of Richmond, made the executive decision to remove a statue of Gen. Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson on Monument Avenue to “expedite the healing process for the city.” This demonstrated how cities with liberal majorities can take down statues in an orderly fashion without vandalizing them or pulling them down. Or it demonstrates how Democrat mayors respond to pressure from the self-appointed statue removal squads.

Gun sales surge, overwhelming NV’s background check system amid calls to “defund the police”
The number of people buying firearms has overwhelmed Nevada’s background check system. Thank everyone who’s been shouting about “defunding the police.”

Anti-Cancellation Clauses: corporate timeouts for the digital age
Right now, a lot of people are getting fired because of Internet mobs.

Memorial for dog named the ‘N word’ which died in 1902 is removed from graveyard
A dog named the ‘N word’ passed away in 1902 and was given a gravestone

Anonymous protesters alter ‘Defund the Police’ mural outside Milwaukee City Hall to read ‘Defend the Police’ in show of support for law enforcement
A street mural outside of Milwaukee City Hall was changed on Friday just days after it was created

How the Heroes of Black Lives Matter Executed Blacks
“We are thankful that he (Fidel Castro) provided a space where the traditional spiritual work of African people could flourish,” reads the eulogy from the U.S.-based Black Lives Matter for the top jailer and torturer of black political prisoners in the Western Hemisphere whose lifelong obsession was the destruction of the U.S. “As Fidel ascends to the realm of the ancestors, we summon his guidance, strength, and power as we recommit ourselves to the struggle for universal freedom. Fidel Vive!”

‘F*** the Fourth’ Trends on Twitter on the Fourth of July
As Americans celebrated the Fourth of July, angry activists and celebrities took to Twitter with one repeated message: “#F*** the Fourth.” In order to allow the expletive to trend on Twitter, activists replaced the “u” with a “v.” Conservatives responded by mocking the trend, which perversely increased the number of tweets about it, causing it to trend further.

Tammy Duckworth: We Should Listen To The Argument For Tearing Down Statues Of George Washington
The irony of this segment is that she started out on the right foot. What do you think about statues, Dana Bash asks? I think Trump wants us talking about statues because he doesn’t want to talk about hundreds of thousands of Americans being sick with COVID-19 or about the White House not punishing Russia for putting bounties on American troops, says Duckworth. Which is the right answer politically. The president’s spent the past month trying to remake the campaign as a culture war proxy fight, with ruinous results in the polls and other metrics. It’s not that people disagree with him that statues of the Founding Fathers should be left alone. They don’t. It’s that his political priorities seem so far out of touch with Americans’ anxiety right now that many come away thinking he either doesn’t care about the pandemic or doesn’t know what to do about it. Duckworth’s honing in on that.

Cops Re-Thinking Protest Rules After Car Driven by Black Man Kills White Seattle BLM Freeway Blocker
One of the Seattle Black Lives Matter protesters struck by a car while blocking Interstate 5 early July 4th has died and her death has forced state cops to re-think their permissive policies allowing protesters to take over freeways.

Antifa Rioters Throw Bricks, Mortars, M-80s at Police as Portland Descends Into a War Zone
Americans across the country set off fireworks to celebrate the Fourth of July on Saturday night, but in Portland, Ore., antifa and Black Lives Matter rioters weaponized fireworks, aiming incendiary devices at the courthouse and the Justice Center and causing extensive damage throughout the area.

Cornell University slammed for allegedly donating student fees to Black Lives Matter
A letter to the editor of the Cornell Sun blasted the school’s Student Activities Funding Commission.

Police identify 8-year-old girl killed after shots fired into car near burned Wendy’s
An 8-year-old girl was shot and killed Saturday night in Atlanta near the Wendy’s where Rayshard Brooks died last month.

Rochester Fredrick Douglass statue torn off pedestal, damaged
The Frederick Douglass statue at the Maplewood Rose Garden was torn off its pedestal and damaged, according to police.

 

Corona Virus

 

Flu virus with ‘pandemic potential’ found in China
A new strain of flu that has the potential to become a pandemic has been identified in China by scientists.

Alabama Students Threw “COVID Party” And Gambled On Who Gets Sick First
Does this help solve the mystery of why America’s outbreak is spiraling while Europe’s is collapsing? All this time we’ve been hashing out theories that we reopened too soon, or that the George Floyd protests seeded outbreaks.

Herman Cain Hospitalized With COVID-19
Newsmax TV contributor Herman Cain was admitted to a hospital Wednesday and is being treated for COVID-19.

Coronavirus lessons on density, mass transit, bureaucracy and censorship: They kill.
Coronavirus unknowns include how fatal it is and if we can make a vaccine. But we’ve already learned about four things that make the pandemic worse.

Report: Internal Polling Shows Trump Behind In Georgia — And Kansas
He won Kansas by 20 points four years ago. I don’t think I’d even bother linking a public poll showing him behind in Kansas now. The electorate’s moved considerably towards Democrats over the past six weeks, but “considerably” means eight or nine points, not 20.

 

Election 2020

 

A Timely Renaissance History Lesson
Piero il Sfortunato was treated so unfairly, believe me.

New thorn in Trump’s side: “Always Trumpers”?
Meh. No one named in this WaPo story is a real “Always Trumper.” Chuck Grassley, John Thune, and the Wall Street Journal editorial board are all Trumpers of convenience, people who defend him purely because their own constituencies insist upon it. POTUS hasn’t lost any true “Always Trumpers.” His famous line about shooting someone on Fifth Avenue and not losing any votes — among bona fide Always Trumpers — is memorable because it’s true.

“No More Of Jared’s Woke S***”: Trump Steering Away From Following Kushner’s Advice?
I’m a broken record on this point but I can’t get over the fact that the president’s slipped to a 10-point deficit in national polling and his diagnosis of what ails him is that he’s not Trumpy enough.

Will Biden, Dems “Abolish The Suburbs” If Elected?
Want to win the suburbs back, Republicans? Perhaps the first step is to keep them from becoming like the nearby cities and their meltdowns this spring. Team Trump has taken a broad aim at Joe Biden and Democrats, mainly on issues of character and competence, but last night Donald Trump himself sent up a flare on a real and suddenly urgent policy issue that could have significant implications in November.

Gallup: For The First Time, More Americans Favor Increasing Immigration Over Decreasing It
The photo above notwithstanding, this was a poll about immigration generally, not illegal immigration.

GOP “Ally” To Reuters: McConnell May Have To Start Distancing Senate Republicans From Trump Next Month
Meh. What would this even mean in practice? It’s like saying that the Trump Organization needs to start distancing itself from Trump.

New Polls: Trump Leads By Four In Texas — And Arizona
Encouraging polls are hard to come by lately but he’s had a couple. Trafalgar gave him a good one a few days ago when they found him a point up in Wisconsin, matching his margin from 2016. That was an outlier, as the previous three surveys of the state had Biden ahead by eight, eight, and 11 points. But if anyone’s entitled to a benefit of the doubt on a Rust Belt poll it’s Trafalgar, which detected Trump’s impending upsets there four years ago when no other pollster did. So maybe Wisconsin’s tighter at the moment than the conventional wisdom believes.

Democratic Fundraising Smashing Records After Riots and Unrest
ActBlue, the online fundraising platform preferred by Democrats and far-left radical groups posted a whopping $392 million cash haul in June, smashing the previous monthly record for the group by 50 percent.

GOP Senate Whack-A-Mole Continues
Late Wednesday night, a University of Montana poll came out with results for the three federal offices and the open Governorship, and while Republicans will be happy to be favorites to win both the House seat and the Governorship on the basis of the poll, they are in danger in the Senate. By a 47-43 margin, incumbent Republican Senator Steve Daines is losing to incumbent Democratic Governor Steve Bullock. And the main sensation that having Montana close creates for the Republicans is it adds to their Senate problems – and, increasingly, the way the Senate map looks like a game of Whack-A-Mole for them.

 

Gun Rights

 

Banned by YouTube, gun lovers are taking their videos to Pornhub
Want to broadcast your love of firearms? Social media used to be the perfect place — until the ban hammer came down.

St. Louis Couple Who Drew Guns to Protect Property Now Under Investigation
St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kimberly M. Gardner needs to read Missouri’s castle doctrine.

If You’re Buying A Gun Now, Get Some Training
Nothing can totally prepare you for a situation in which you have to decide whether to pick up a loaded firearm and use it to defend yourself, your family or your property. Nothing. Everything changes and everything keeps changing when you may have to take a life to save your own.

 

Hide the Decline

Environment &
“Green Energy”

 

DeSantis Does End Run Around “Nature Rights”
The Florida Democrat Party has a “nature rights” plank in its platform and the movement was actively trying to bring the rights of nature to the Sunshine State. Given the trends, there was a clear and present danger of enactment.

Michael E. Mann – wrong again
You have to wonder, is it ego combined with narcissism that prompts things like this?

 

Obamacare

Government in Healthcare

 

Medicare (Re-)Certification: Are you kidding me?
“Things to pay attention to when doing your recertification: New Kids- plan to do one section a day over a course of days cause it’s REALLY boring! It will take you about 12-14 hours to complete including the exam. Recerts- it will take you 4-6 hours approx. You will need to click into EACH section to download the slides and then you are required to take the quizzes at the end of each section.”

 

War & Terror

 

The New Cold War: Assessing China’s True Weaknesses
If you’re anything like me, you’re thinking the future was much better before it happened.

Is War With China Coming? Beijing Imposes ‘Direct Authoritarian Rule’ Over Hong Kong
On Tuesday, Chinese President Xi Jinping signed the “National Security Law” redefining crimes like secession, subversion, terrorism, and collusion with foreign powers in a way that better suits the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). The massive Hong Kong protests last year centered on opposition to this law, which likely undermines the agreement by which Britain ceded Hong Kong to China, establishing a “one country, two systems” regime. The text of the law has not yet been publicly released. Some protesters have warned about a coming “reign of terror” under the Chinese Communist Party.

China Caught Smuggling 10,800 Assault Weapons Parts Into Louisville By US Customs
China has been caught smuggling 10,800 Assault Weapons parts into Louisville by US Customs and Border Protection officers. The shipment arriving from Shenzhen, China, and destined for a residence in Melbourne, Florida was seized on May 22. The parcel was manifested as containing 100 Steel Pin Samples – a common practice used by smugglers for contraband trafficking.

China’s influence via WeChat is ‘flying under the radar’ of most Western democracies
China’s United Front Work Department performs its ‘biggest magic’ through WeChat. Is it time to rein in its covert influence? Should it even be banned?

The Fall Of Hong Kong
It wasn’t long after Chinese President Xi Jinping signed the new Hong Kong “national security” law that Hong Kong police began cracking down on the supposed violators. The police claimed that more than 300 protesters were arrested on a variety of charges related to the new law. Most of them boiled down to little more than saying things that Beijing doesn’t care for or carrying “propaganda” promoting Hong Kong’s independence. Keep in mind that this wasn’t a case of Chinese troops or security forces intervening directly in the affairs of the city. Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam sent out the local police to do this while praising China’s decision to enact the law.

Without firing a shot, China has killed Hong Kong
At the height of the protests in Hong Kong there were fears that the Xi administration would send in the troops, that we might see a 21st century rerun of Tiananmen Square.

Hair weaves from Chinese prison camps seized
Federal authorities in New York on Wednesday seized a shipment of weaves and other beauty accessories suspected to be made out of human hair taken from people locked inside a Chinese internment camp.

Colorado on cutting edge to reduce China’s rare earth element domination
WHEAT RIDGE—A Colorado city is now home to the tip of the spear in combating China’s domination of the world-market for rare earth elements (REE). Manipulation of the REE market by China most recently resulted in the shutdown of the Mountain Pass REE mine in California in 2015 after an attempt by Greenwood Village-based Molycorp to reopen what has been the only developed REE mine in the U.S.

China aims to control ports and shipping lanes in Europe and the Arctic
China’s military and economic ambitions are growing in Europe and the Arctic, where the rising communist power may be trying to gain control over important shipping lanes or seaports, according to a top U.S. admiral and Western analysts.

U.S. Prosecutors Move To Seize Cargo From Iranian Tankers Headed For Venezuela
Back in May Iran sent a convoy of five tankers carrying gasoline to Venezuela, helping the Maduro regime deal with a major gas shortage. At the time, the Trump administration was said to be debating how aggressively to respond. No direct confrontation of the convoy happened then but the situation changed dramatically this week when U.S. prosecutors moved to seize the cargo onboard four tankers headed for Venezuela.

 

National

 

Hulu Criticized After Removing Golden Girls Episode: “They Were in Mud Masks, Not Blackface”
“This was actually a great episode about racial and age perceptions, one of the ones that show how much Golden Girls was ahead of its time during first run.”

Roberts vs. Burke
Chief Justice John Roberts concurred with the Supreme Court’s liberals today in June Medical Services v. Russo, overturning a Louisiana law that imposed on abortion providers the same modest requirement imposed on all ambulatory care clinics in the state—that they have admitting privileges at a local hospital. He did so, he said, because the case was very similar to the case of Whole Woman’s Health v. Hellerstedt, in which the Court overturned a similar Texas law four years ago. Roberts was actually a dissenter in that earlier case, and said today that he continues to believe that case was wrongly decided. But he still thought it should apply simply as a precedent.

U.S. Deposits of Rare-Earth Elements Are . . . Not So Rare, after All
This morning, the Wall Street Journal reports that the Chinese government perceives its “its dominance in strategic rare-earth minerals as leverage that can be used against the West — including in trade disputes with the U.S., according to a new report by U.S.-based researchers. Rare earths are metals used for a variety of advanced technologies, including computer screens, high-tech weapons and electric vehicles.” A new report contends Beijing is prepared to use its rare-earth industry “as a geopolitical weapon.”

SCOTUS Strikes Down Louisiana Abortion Restrictions, 5-4
To paraphrase (one of) the endings of LOTR Return of the King: There may come a day when the Supreme Court revisits Roe v Wade, but … today is not that day. In a case that nearly duplicated Whole Woman’s Health in 2016, the court struck down requirements for abortionists in Louisiana to have admitting privileges at a nearby hospital. The 5-4 ruling was authored by Justice Stephen Breyer, but it was enabled by Chief Justice John Roberts’ swing vote

Rebel Swap? Mississippi To Remove Confederate Symbol From State Flag
Officially, at least, the Lost Cause is dead. The last state to include a symbol of the Confederacy has voted to remove it on a bipartisan basis. Hugs and cheers followed the vote last night in Mississippi’s state legislature, and the governor has already said he plans to sign the bill

Supreme Court upholds prostitution pledge for AIDS funding
The Supreme Court has upheld a provision of federal law that requires foreign affiliates of U.S.-based health organizations to denounce prostitution as a condition of receiving taxpayer money to fight AIDS around the world.

“A Woman Identified as Male at Birth”
A trans woman is a man who begins at some point to self-identify as a woman. Try telling that to the woke staff at Merriam-Webster dictionary, who are now defining a trans woman as “a woman who was identified as male at birth.” (For now, the definition of “woman” still stands as an “adult female person.”) This is utterly unscientific, politicized nonsense that must be resisted.

Supreme Court Gives a Victory to Public Funding of Religious Schools
By a 5-4 vote, the Supreme Court upheld a lower court decision that allowed a Montana scholarship program that benefitted mostly private school kids to go forward.

Catholic university threatens to revoke scholarship of student who criticized its pro-LGBTQ tweet
“A Catholic institution should uphold Catholic beliefs”

Rumor Du Jour: A Conservative SCOTUS Justice Might Be Retiring Soon
No, not Roberts. Sorry to disappoint.

Midnight Mitch To Dems: Don’t Mess With The Filibuster Any Further
This week we received another solid indication that Democrats – particularly in the Senate – are believing their own polling numbers and feeling their oats. Sensing that Donald Trump may be on the ropes, leading to potential down-ballot successes for progressives, hopes are rising on the left that the Democrats may just take back control of the Senate, scoring the hat trick for total control of the federal government. That would provide them with a number of options, one of which would be to start tinkering around with the Senate rules of operation. One thorny issue in particular – eliminating the filibuster for legislation – must be making the rounds, because Mitch McConnell stepped out yesterday to warn the minority not to try it if they do manage to take the majority back.

Gender “X” option now available on driver’s licenses in Rhode Island, Hawaii
People applying for a driver’s license in Rhode Island or Hawaii can now select “X” as their gender.

Happy 90th Birthday Thomas Sowell – our nation turns its lonely eyes to you
Today is Thomas Sowell’s 90th birthday, and I want to wish him a happy one.

Stanford Daily refuses to run College Republican’s op-ed, accuses it of “anti-blackness”
“Unsubstantiated and inflammatory claims that advance a racist narrative”

Black campus activists demand Pitt fire faculty found guilty of racial bias by committee of black jurors
University mostly mum on subject

Law prof wants to scrap US Constitution’s ‘racist’ and ‘gendered’ language
A professor of law at the University of Texas-Austin believes the language of the Constitution is outdated and should be changed to “reflect America’s modern values of equality and inclusion.”

Checkmate? SCOTUS Locks Up Mueller Grand-Jury Testimony Until 2021 … At Earliest
Access delayed is pretty much access denied, and that doesn’t just benefit Donald Trump. The Supreme Court granted cert in the Department of Justice’s battle to keep grand-jury testimony from Robert Mueller’s special counsel investigation sealed, which means the court won’t take up the case until October at the earliest. That’s bad news for House Democrats who wanted to use the material in the election, but it’s also a smart move for the Supreme Court itself.

Dungeons And Dragons Removing “Inherently Evil” Race Descriptions To Avoid Offending Anyone
Before getting to the meat of this story, I should probably start with a bit of disclosure. When I was younger, I used to play Dungeons and Dragons. I mean… I played it a lot. Probably obsessively. It started when I was in the Navy, but carried on well into my thirties. That fact is probably what later led me to become somewhat addicted to the online roleplaying game Everquest. So yes… I was one of those nerds.

Ghislaine Maxwell Arrested, Faces DoJ Indictment Today; Update: Six Counts, Including “Sexual Abuse Of Minor Victims”
Has the time come for Jeffrey Epstein’s enablers to answer for his crimes, and theirs? Today’s the day for the once-elusive Ghislaine Maxwell, the girlfriend and alleged chief pimp for the billionaire pedophile. NBC New York reported this morning that the FBI has arrested Maxwell, and that she will get arraigned today in federal court

San Francisco To Stop Releasing Mugshots Because… Oh, You Already Know Why
The Woke Brigade in San Francisco scores yet another victory over The Man, the patriarchy and whoever else we’re supposed to be dunking on these days. The police force in the City by the Bay announced this week that they will no longer be releasing mug shots of people who are arrested to the media and the public. At least in most cases. And why would these pictures of accused criminals be problematic? Because they “perpetuate racial stereotypes,” according to officials responsible for the new policy. Once you finish banging your head against your desk, we’ll move on to a brief summary from the Associated Press.

Charges Against Jeffrey Epstein Confidante Ghislaine Maxwell Unsealed
The Justice Department unsealed six criminal charges that Jeffrey Epstein confidante Ghislaine Maxwell is facing after the FBI arrested her on Thursday morning.

Former Transgender Girl Recounts How She Was “Brainwashed” By The Online Trans Community
Benji is one of a growing number of young women uniquely capable of warning girls in the grips of gender fever that it might be a good idea to turn back. But Benji doesn’t believe she merely avoided personal calamity. What she escaped — she insists — was a cult.

Going back to old Title IX rules would violate First Amendment, free speech groups tell court
Democratic attorneys general claim cross-examination causes “less reliable outcomes”

Young Americans know nothing about 4th of July
Campus Reform spoke with young Americans and students ahead of the 4th of July to see what they knew about the holiday.

Federal agents charge four Toledo city council members in bribery probe
The FBI has arrested multiple Toledo city council members accused of taking cash in exchange for votes during what is described in court records as a years-long, sweeping bribery scandal involving some of the city’s highest elected officials.

Statue of Jeffrey Epstein mysteriously appears in Albuquerque
It’s not clear who created the statue, or why it was placed in front of City Hall.

“What to the Slave Is the Fourth of July?”
Frederick Douglass | July 5, 1852

Short Circuit: A Roundup of Recent Federal Court Decisions
Excessive radon, Armageddon, and a hopeless romantic.

 

Economy & Taxes

 

Supreme Court Orders Restructuring of Consumer-Finance Watchdog
High court rules Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s single-director setup is too independent from president

Las Vegas Icon Cirque Du Soleil Files For Bankruptcy
For everyone who went to Vegas year after year and instead of going to one of the remarkable Cirque du Soleil performances would visit… less reputable “shows”, we have some bad news: you are now out of luck, because as the Las Vegas Review Journal reports, Cirque du Soleil – the Las Vegas Strip’s preeminent production company for more than two decades – has filed for bankruptcy protection, in which existing stakeholders have a “stalking horse” agreement to acquire the company, setting the minimum price for an auction.

Jobs Surge In June
The job gains in May were also revised upward, from 2.5 million to 2.7 million.

 

International

 

China cuts Uighur births with IUDs, abortion, sterilization
The Chinese government is taking draconian measures to slash birth rates among Uighurs and other minorities as part of a sweeping campaign to curb its Muslim population, even as it encourages some of the country’s Han majority to have more children.

China Swallows Hong Kong
The Chinese Communist Party, through what it portrays as its legislature (the “National People’s Congress”), has enacted a law crushing democracy in Hong Kong.

An Unexpected Radiation Spike Has Been Detected Over Europe
A mysterious increase in radiation levels over northern Europe was detected this month by authorities from several countries, although no nation has yet come forward to claim responsibility for the anomaly.

Boris Johnson says UK will open path to citizenship for Hong Kong citizens after introduction of China security law
Boris Johnson has pledged to extend the right of Hong Kong citizens to live and work in the UK after accusing China of a “clear and serious breach” of a treaty with Britain.

Do Black Lives Matter in socialist Cuba?: Justice for Hansel Ernesto
While the international community has joined the chorus condemning the U.S. over racism and police brutality, they are mum about Hansel Ernesto Hernandez, a young Cuban black man murdered by Castro police.

Video of the Day: “It’s easy to be a communist in Madrid, you douchebags!”
Venezuelan comes across some communists in Madrid: “Who wants a house in Caracas so you can live in communism? … Come on communists, come on over to Caracas! … It’s easy to be a communist in Madrid, you douchebags!”

Royal Family Tweets Photo Of Queen With Harper For Canada Day
A Tweet by the royal family is getting some attention on Canada Day. The photos show the Queen in Canada visiting various events. But if you look closely, you can see former PM Stephen Harper in the photos, rather than Justin Trudeau.

Shadi Saab, Apprentice and Heir to Maduro Frontman’s Criminal Network
“I think Alex Saab was training Shadi to follow in his footsteps, to be a financial architect of his criminal network,” Humire

Singing their way to Freedom
For four years, between 1987 and 1991, the peoples of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania fought Soviet occupation essentially by singing

Australian university teaching pro-China class that amounts to propaganda, critics say
An economics class at a Queensland uni is peddling Chinese “propaganda”, critics say, and is a sign of Beijing’s influence of local campuses.

Recruitment of Venezuelan Children by Colombian Guerrillas Is Rising
FundaRedes’ annual report reveals how criminal organizations capture Venezuelan children to use them for unlawful activities.

Will FARC Win the War in Colombia?
The FARC won the battle, but not the war. Who will win the war in Colombia when this state of “the calm before the storm” ends?

Why do Muslim states stay silent over China’s abuse of the Uighurs?
Nations that claim to be defenders of the faith offer no protest to the concentration camps

 

Opinion

 

When Narrative Journalism Kills: Mr. Jones Film Review
“The Kremlin is broke,” a young analyst tells British Prime Minister David Lloyd-George, “so how are the Soviets suddenly on a spending spree?” Thus begins the world-changing quest of the short-lived Gareth Jones, who uncovered the first of many communist atrocities — as well as the perils of narrative journalism. The little-heralded film Mr. Jones finally got its American release in streaming and Blu-Ray almost as quietly as the Holodomor occurred, and one suspects for the same reasons — it makes the wrong people look bad by telling the truth.

Cop Out
A world without police doesn’t work. Just ask Thomas Hobbes. Or Max Payne.

2020: Year Zero?
It’s a tragedy that many of our institutions are cheering on or enabling the destruction of our nation’s own history.

Orwellian Phrase of the Day
My nomination for the most Orwellian phrase of the moment is, “We need to have a conversation about X [race, class, gender, policing, inequality—fill in the blank].” What “we need a conversation” means in practice is, “You shut up and agree with the left.”

Woke censorship is basically a superstitious cult
We live in a society gripped by a quasi-religious fervor — and obsessed with symbols and irrational fears.

Why “Social Justice” Jerseys Are a Bad Idea for the NBA
We need politics in fewer of our cultural institutions, not more.

Longtime conservatives can hardly believe they’re now fighting a last-ditch battle to conserve the basic rights of free speech, private property, and presumed innocence. We have to fight to preserve history, and even to keep the police.
But that IS unquestionably where we are right now, and if you aren’t fighting tooth and nail against the all-out Democrat war against free speech, property, the rule of law, history, and the police, you are not “conservative” in any meaningful sense.

Repeating It Doesn’t Make It So
Remy Green and Avika M. Cohen have launched a series of articles explaining why the tirelessly reiterated tautology of Justice Gorsuch’s Bostock decision is not just correct, but obviously correct. Further, they argue that critics of the statement — from Alito on down to little old me — constantly acknowledge its correctness while trying to dispute it. Having decided that the airless logic is unassailable, they pronounce us all asphyxiated.

Leftists Are Using Race to Push an Anti-American Agenda
Our country is under attack from radical leftists. Mobs rampage through our streets, monuments are being destroyed, and the very law and order that ensures our communities’ peace and security is being undermined.

As We Navigate Our Modern Revolution, We Must Chose the Right Guide From History
There are revolutions and there are revolutions.

Nazi is not a term you throw around lightly
I haven’t really written about the Sad Puppies 3 campaign on my blog because when it really started to heat up, my two and a half month old son Brandon died of SIDs. After that, I kind of wanted to keep my little space on the Internet off that kind of harassment, like what I saw levelled at Brad Torgersen – for a while. Nevertheless, I openly support Sad Puppies 3, because I honestly saw it as a chance to vote for the Hugos, as a fan of Sci-Fi and Fantasy, to see try vote for books I felt was worthy, honestly.

Cultural Marxism and Its Conspirators: Part 2
How typical of the Marxist mind to define a term only in terms of an attack on its critics.

This 4th will be least patriotic in decades
This weekend, America turns 244 years old, and around the country, millions of people are set to celebrate. But for a growing number of Americans, the country celebrating its independence is no longer a tradition they’re proud of.

My professors tried to convince me that America is racist. I refused to buy into it.
It’s time to put an end to tribalism, drop the hyphens, and realize that we are Americans

Revenge of the Suburbs
Suburbia was never as bad as anyone said it was. Now it’s looking even better.

A More Perfect Union
Two hundred forty-four years ago, a group of men met in Philadelphia under the cloud of war to pledge their lives, fortunes, and sacred honor to a cause greater than themselves. These men, by adding their signatures to a “unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America,” became wanted men.

Racism Is Real. But Science Isn’t the Problem
In his June 9th eulogy for George Floyd, Reverend Al Sharpton said, “What happened to Floyd happens every day in this country, in education, in health services, and in every area of American life.” The metaphor goes to the suffocation of hopes, dreams, and basic rights among many black Americans, in part because of inequities in American society, and in part because of direct experiences with racism.

The eternal meaning of Independence Day
On July 9, 1858, Illinois Senator Stephen Douglas gave a campaign speech to a raucous throng from the balcony of the Tremont Hotel in Chicago. Abraham Lincoln was in the audience as Douglas prepared to speak. Douglas graciously invited Lincoln to join him on the balcony to listen to the speech.

The eternal meaning of Independence Day (2)
President Calvin Coolidge celebrated the 150th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1926, with a speech providing a magisterial review of the history and thought underlying the Declaration. His speech on the occasion deserves to be read and studied in its entirety. The following paragraph, however, is particularly relevant to the challenge that confronts us in the variants of the progressive dogma that pass themselves off today as the higher wisdom

Descendants of Frederick Douglass Read From One of the Greatest Speeches in American History
Americans used to have great reverence for the spoken word. Before radio and TV, there were political speeches and the great orators were prized for their ability to move audiences to laughter, to tears, or to rage.

Slavery, the Declaration of Independence and Frederick Douglass’ “What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?”
Douglass’ classic speech is an indictment of slavery, racism, and American hypocrisy – but also includes a great deal of praise of the American Revolution.

Two Reflections on the American Revolution
I recapitulate why it’s important that the American Revolution was not an ethno-nationalist secession movement, and address claims that history would have taken a better course had the Revolution been defeated or never happened.

What the Declaration of Independence Said and Meant
It officially adopted the political theory of the United States: securing the individual rights of We the People

The Declaration of Independence will never be outmoded, as President Coolidge explained
Equality, inalienable rights, and consent of the governed can be opposed only by reactionaries

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