THE NEW SPACE RACE: Six weeks, three moon landers: The era of private space exploration is here.
February 28, 2025
BYRON YORK: IRS contractor Charles Littlejohn leaked Trump’s tax returns, but we’re now learning how much damage he really did.
For much of President Donald Trump‘s first term in office, the coalition of Democrats, activists, and media figures known collectively as the Resistance believed that obtaining Trump’s tax returns would be the key to bringing down the president. Finally, on Sept. 27, 2020, at the height of Trump’s reelection campaign, the New York Times reported that it had “obtained tax-return data extending over more than two decades for Mr. Trump and the hundreds of companies that make up his business organization, including detailed information from his first two years in office.” The paper published several long articles based on the information.
Voila! The Holy Grail of the Resistance! The problem was the stories came and went and did not become the huge, earthshaking scandal the anti-Trumpers had hoped. The long-awaited bombshells weren’t really bombshells, and the political world moved on.
The New York Times did not reveal, of course, how it had obtained the information. That did not happen until Sept. 29, 2023, when the Justice Department charged a man named Charles Edward Littlejohn with unauthorized disclosure of tax returns. Littlejohn was not an employee of the IRS. He worked for the consulting firm Booz Allen Hamilton, which worked under contract for the IRS.
* * * * * * * *
Like so many Resistance talking heads in Washington and elsewhere, Littlejohn believed that Trump posed a danger to democracy, and that meeting that danger justified breaking the law. And now, with Trump again in the White House, the question is, is there another Charles Littlejohn out there somewhere in the deep recesses of the federal bureaucracy?
Only one?
WAIT, SO CLIMATE CHANGE ISN’T JUST ABOUT MY SUV? Scientists match Earth’s ice age cycles with orbital shifts.
KINDA?
I watched the world go absolutely insane over Covid and a junkie career criminal in Minneapolis. I lived it. I watched everyone lose their minds.
So when normies try to tell me “things are just so crazy” under Trump, I kinda want to just slap them.
— Oilfield Rando (@Oilfield_Rando) February 28, 2025
We have at least four years of “Everything is the worst thing ever” from the Left. But it’s gotten easier and easier to tune out.
THE RATIONAL BASIS TEST IS AN UNCONSTITUTIONAL KLUDGE. So argues Clark Neily for Cato, and the argument is not crazy at all. In fact, I am a little embarrassed it hadn’t occurred to me before.
FINALLY:
JUST IN: President Trump and Vice President JD Vance excoriate President Zelensky during heated meeting in the Oval Office.
"You don’t have the cards right now… You’re gambling with WWIII," Trump told Zelensky.
"It's going to be very hard to do business like this. You've got… pic.twitter.com/43SX9itTyl
— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) February 28, 2025
Also, Trump comments on Zelensky’s fashion sense: What a Big Boy! Look Who’s All Dressed Up Today! Trump Greets Zelenskyy As Only He Can and LOL (Watch).
President Trump greets Zelenskyy: “He’s all dressed up today.” 😂
pic.twitter.com/GqxaNjgjjJ— Greg Price (@greg_price11) February 28, 2025
The media will of course turn the amps up to 11 over this confrontation, despite Trump’s predecessor also being unnerved by Zelensky’s theatrics:
— Stephen L. Miller (@redsteeze) February 28, 2025
UPDATE:
When JD Vance noted that Zelesnky was "campaigning with the opposition," he was referring to Zelensky appearing with Gov. Josh Shapiro in swing-state Pennsylvania and signing missiles just weeks before the presidential election. pic.twitter.com/hbT15aI2U8
— Charlie Spiering (@charliespiering) February 28, 2025
Why didn’t Zelensky think there was at least a 50-50 chance that this moment could come back to haunt him?
Related:
Last week I was telling a WH reporter that normal Americans don't love the strategy-free Ukraine war as much as the DC complex does and I think he had never considered that reality before and was taken aback a bit.
— Mollie (@MZHemingway) February 28, 2025
UPDATE (1:30 PM EST):
Amen, Mr. President. pic.twitter.com/TMvjQhqCG7
— Pete Hegseth (@PeteHegseth) February 28, 2025
UPDATE (1:40 PM): Trump And Vance Clash With Zelensky In Fiery White House Meeting. ‘You’re gambling with World War III, and what you’re doing is very disrespectful to the country,’ Trump said.
THE NEW SPACE RACE: The Moon’s next robotic visitor is lining up for landing this weekend.
NATURE IS HEALING, GERMANY IS REVERTING TO FORM: Elections Over, German Government Launches National Snitch Line.
Excuse me – I should change that in the interest of being precise. Thanks to my naturally cynical nature regarding authoritarian European governments marching towards outright fascism, I only interpret it to be a ‘snitch’ line.
The Stas…there I go again. Dammit – it’s early.
The democratically elected German government is, in fact, launching a two-pronged effort – either online or by phone – to afford their citizens avenues for ‘advice’ on how to deal with conspiracy freaks. Those in their personal lives or even ones of accidental acquaintance who speak such strange and terrifying sentiments not approved by polite society that a good German might be…alarmed by the utterances. Or upsetting emails.
And not know where to turn for advice on how to respond, if they even should.
Don’t worry, I’m sure this will end better than the first two times it was tried – and unlike in 1933 and 1950, I’m sure the greatcoats will only be available in pleather.
Related: Meanwhile, over in Airstrip One: British PM Is Wrong, There Is No Free Speech In The UK.
SAVAGE:
J.K. Rowling is hilarious 😆 pic.twitter.com/W1upynmrg2
— Defiant L’s (@DefiantLs) February 28, 2025
Rowling spends her FU money wisely.
TO BE FAIR, SHE’S AN IDIOT:
Government employee compares replying to an email to “what I imagine living in North Korea to be like” pic.twitter.com/XDbDw9YJe1
— Ana Mostarac (@anammostarac) February 27, 2025
FRANCIS FORD COPPOLA ACCEPTS RAZZIES FOR MEGALOPOLIS:
The vast majority of celebrities and filmmakers ignore the Razzies, while few interviewers have the nerve – and understandably so – to ask celebrities about their “wins.”
However, Francis Ford Coppola, who earned “Worst Director” for his critically panned Megalopolis, issued a scathing retort on social media today.
“I am thrilled to accept the Razzie award in so many important categories for Megalopolis, and for the distinctive honor of being nominated as the worst director, worst screenplay, and worst picture,” he wrote in part, “at a time when so few have the courage to go against the prevailing trends of contemporary moviemaking!”
“In this wreck of a world today, where ART is given scores as if it were professional wrestling, I chose to NOT follow the gutless rules laid down by an industry so terrified of risk that despite the enormous pool of young talent at its disposal, may not create pictures that will be relevant and alive 50 years from now,” Coppola concluded.
Flashback to October: Megalopolis: Making Sense of Francis Ford Coppola’s Fever Dreams.
As I wrote at the time, after taking one for the team, and seeing Coppola’s new movie in an otherwise empty theater, shorter version: I can’t say it’s a good film, but I’m glad the Maestro, now 85, is still making movies, and movies that are about ideas, rather than sequels, spaceships and superheroes.
But unlike films that bombed or were torched by critics during their initial debut such as Citizen Kane, It’s a Wonderful Life, Vertigo, 2001: A Space Odyssey and Blade Runner, I don’t think there’s going to be a critical re-assessment from critics that there’s a masterpiece hidden inside what sadly could be Coppola’s last movie.
SHOP ‘TIL YOU DROP: What Is Friday’s ‘Economic Blackout’ and What’s the Best Way to Miss It?
MY “SHOCKED FACE” IS GETTING A WORKOUT: BBC review finds ‘serious flaws’ over Gaza documentary:
“The BBC has apologised and admitted “serious flaws” in the making of a documentary about children’s lives in Gaza. The documentary, Gaza: How to Survive a War Zone, was pulled from iPlayer last week after it emerged its 13-year-old narrator was the son of a Hamas official.”
Journalists and make-believe journalists — especially in the documentary/investigative space — need to learn to vet their sources first. And editors need to hold the creators’ feet to the fire on this. Clearly not a happening thing for the BBC.
NEWSPAPER THAT SOUGHT TO RECAST AMERICA’S FOUNDING FROM 1776 To 1619 SUDDENLY WORRIED ABOUT “LANGUAGE POLICE:”
The tweet goes to a story headlined: The MAGA War on Speech.
In 1791, the nation’s founders ratified the First Amendment to the Constitution. It would come to offer protections in the new nation essentially never seen before: the right to ask things of and to criticize the government; to express opinions, popular or not; to assemble peacefully; to practice diverse religious beliefs; and to have a free press that publishes information without fear of censorship or retribution.
“New nation?” The New York Times assured me in 2020 that it was actually founded in 1619, so it would have been almost 175 years old by 1791.
This constitutional provision reflects the framers’ intent to establish a society where individuals have the ability to voice their views and participate actively in shaping the nation’s governance while holding their leaders accountable. Together, these five guaranteed liberties continue today to make the people of the United States the freest in the world.
Sounds good! So why the Times’ deep love of the Soviet Union in the first half of the 20th century? Any plans to return Walter Duranty’s Pulitzer?
President Trump and many of his supporters — from tech leaders like Elon Musk to populist politicians like Vice President JD Vance — have spent the past several years portraying themselves as free-speech crusaders. Capitalizing on the censorial strains of the left, they regularly lecture about the necessity of letting people say whatever they want, even if it’s hateful, asinine or corrosive.
Tell me more about “the censorial strains of the left,” including the Times’ role in 2020, please.
Over the past month Mr. Trump and his allies have embarked on an expansive crackdown on free expression and disfavored speakers that should be decried not just as hypocritical but also as un-American and unconstitutional.
In the distorted view of the Trump administration, protecting free speech requires controlling free speech — banning words, phrases and ideas that challenge or complicate a government-favored speech. Officials in Washington have spent the past month stripping federal websites of any hint of undesirable words and thoughts, disciplining news organizations that refuse to parrot the president’s language, and threatening to punish those who have voiced criticism of investigations and prosecutions.
Banning words, phrases, and ideas, that sounds bad. Good thing the left would never do such a thing!
● NYT columnist Farhad Manjoo calls for the abolition of gendered language.
● Professor of ‘art crime’ instructs protesters on better way to topple statues that offend them.
● NYT’s Nikole Hannah-Jones Endorses Riots And Toppling Statues As A Product Of The 1619 Project.
The reckoning for the Jacobin left’s attempt at making 2020 Year Zero was long overdue, and their freakout will be fascinating to watch. This headline will also drive them absolutely bonkers: Trump To Make English The Nation’s Official Language.
UPDATE: VDH asks: Who caused the counter-revolution?
NOPE, STILL NOT SICK OF ALL THE WINNING: Guess What’s Not a Question: WHO Is On the Verge of Collapse.
BOOK REVIEW: I ordered the book, The Let Them Theory: A Life-Changing Tool That Millions of People Can’t Stop Talking About the other day and read it. I have to say I was impressed. I’m not ready to tattoo “Let Them” on my arm like some of her readers but the book was helpful. I put it up the other day and commenters wondered if it was based on stoicism. The answer is “a little bit” but it is mostly based on using the “Let Them” theory calm your stress response down.
I know this sounds dumb, but as I read the chapter on how to do this, it made more sense. Mel Robbins, the author, gives an example of getting stressed on an airplane when a man behind her is sick and coughing loudly without covering his mouth. She has to speak at several conferences and is upset that he is going to get everyone sick. She asks the guy to cover his mouth but he coughs even more and doesn’t listen. What should you do in this case?
She says you could get angry, sick and stressed out, but why bother ruining your trip. Instead, she covered her mouth with her scarf and put on headphones to drown out the coughing. Instead of complaining about the guy, telling her friends or spouse about what an idiot the man was, she just thought “Let them”…cough. It saved her hours and days of stress and kept her calm while she went on her speaking tour.
I decided to try this technique as I went about doing errands over the past couple of days. My windshield wiper broke at the car wash? No big deal. “Let Me” stay calm and find someone to fix it. If they can’t? Let Them be busy and I can deal with it another day. Someone’s behavior is irritating you? “Let Them” be irritating and think about how you want to respond. Mostly, the book is about how not to let other people’s behavior control how you respond. Easier said than done but if you find yourself getting flustered or annoyed easily, it might help.
I’D HAVE VOTED FOR IT TWICE BUT THEY ONLY LET DEMS DO THAT: Why, Yes, I Did Vote for This. Thank You Ever So Much for Asking. “They have to hit social media to pose the question, because the odds on any of them entering into a meaningful dialogue with someone who has different political views than they do are worse than lottery odds. Most of real America is outside their ken. It’s a desperate push to get the newer, not-so-MAGA Trump voters to feel bad about the ‘bull in a China shop’ approach that the Trump 47 crew is taking to fix the bloated nightmare that is the federal behemoth.”
HOMESHORING: Eli Lilly says it will spend billions to move drug manufacturing to U.S. soil. “Eli Lilly said Wednesday it will build three manufacturing plants in the United States to make the key raw ingredients in its medicines, a push to bring home a critical part of the pharmaceutical supply chain that largely comes from foreign sources.”
WHY JOHNNY [WON’T] READ, COLLEGE EDITION. Man, my kids are so doomed.
THE LEGAL ACADEMY’S SELF-MARGINALIZATION CONTINUES: 950+ law professors label Trump’s actions a ‘constitutional crisis.’
FIRE THEM, FIRE THEM ALL: Warfare at the Washington Post: Journalists in ‘Open Rebellion’ Against Jeff Bezos.
SUNLIGHT IS THE BEST DISINFECTANT: University of Florida newsletter pulls mention of illegal alien scholarships after Campus Reform report.
HIGH SCHOOL HALL MONITOR COMPLAINS ABOUT FUSSY STUDENTS:
I'm sorry, but NOW the NYT Editorial Board is concerned about "language police"?!? pic.twitter.com/hMVbl2pXaN
— Rod Dreher (@roddreher) February 28, 2025
However much you mock the media, it isn’t enough.