May 20, 2025

#JOURNALISM:

Posted at 9:10 am by Glenn Reynolds 7

KRUISER’S MORNING BRIEFING: Finally, Consequences Are Making a Comeback. “We don’t know how this is all going to play out, but one thing is certain: Democrats aren’t going to stop their scofflaw ways unless some repercussions are doled out. Now that a we have a leftist county judge and a Democratic congresswoman in legal hot water for not letting ICE do its job, perhaps others with think twice before joining the resistance.”

Posted at 9:06 am by Stephen Green 7

THE CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE DOESN’T LOVE STAND-YOUR-GROUND LAWS:  I missed this when it came out:  California is apparently considering an anti-Stand-Your-Ground law.

The Commission on Civil Rights undertook a study of the racial impact of Stand-Your-Ground laws a little while ago.  When the research indicated that Florida’s SYG law didn’t have the anti-black effect that my progressive colleagues thought, they threw out the research.  I had fun writing about it.

Posted at 8:43 am by Gail Heriot 16

HMM: Voters: Trump protects Constitution better than Biden.

Voters have a message for liberals charging that President Donald Trump is a threat to democracy: former President Joe Biden was worse.

In its latest poll to reveal how wrong America views Trump’s Washington critics, Rasmussen Reports said that a majority of likely voters believe that the president is “preserving, protecting and defending the Constitution.”

Rasmussen said that 52% feel Trump is upholding the Constitution.

Biden, however, didn’t get a majority to agree when he was president. In May of last year, just 44% said Biden was doing a good or excellent job of preserving, protecting, and defending the Constitution.

Doing a better job than Biden is a low bar, but it’s comforting that so many people ignore the 24/7/365 media drumbeat about Trump being a fascist, a threat to democracy, etc.

Posted at 8:35 am by Stephen Green 24

ICYMI: Epstein Suicide Confirmed by Kash Patel and Frankie Five Angels. “MCC’s failures made it at least look like someone was sure that Epstein would have a wide-open window of opportunity to kill himself. The hint, delivered in the form of missing guards and plenty of alone time, was no more subtle than Hagen mentioning what happened to those caught plotting against the emperors of Rome.”

Posted at 8:04 am by Stephen Green 46

SALENA ZITO: The Future of A.I. is in Western Pennsylvania.

At EQT Corp., the country’s largest independent natural gas producer, business is good — and it’s about to get better thanks to a surging local industry that needs all the Appalachian energy it can get: Artificial intelligence.

“I mean the size of this thing, it’s crazy,” Rice says. “We are hearing estimates for power demand for AI that’s anywhere [from] 50 to 75 gigawatts of power, which is the equivalent of the power needed to power 10 to 15 New York Cities.”

As David Friedman keeps pointing out, A.I. isn’t like the software revolution, it’s more heavy metal. “If you want to understand where AI is really going, ignore the hype cycles and product demos. Watch the grid.”

Posted at 8:00 am by Glenn Reynolds 29

VAN JONES: Dems Will Be Paying For Biden Health ‘Coverup’ For A Long Time.

JAKE TAPPER, CNN: Van, I remember how emotional you were in the immediate moments after the June 27, 2024, debate because of what you saw on the stage. And with all this new reporting coming out — and I should disclose that I gave both of you copies of the book so you would have a little bit more information. Do you feel like you were duped, Van? Like, how do you feel?

VAN JONES, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: First, this book is extraordinary. I don’t care who you are, left, right, or otherwise. Anybody who cares about this country and about just the dynamics of power, this is “the emperor’s new clothes” playing itself out in real time.

Everybody knew, but everyone was afraid to say — except for David Axelrod, for two years — that something was wrong here.

I was shocked. I love Joe Biden. I don’t like him. I love him. I got a chance to work with him when I was a part of the Obama administration and loved him more every day.

I was shocked to see his condition when he came out. And so was the world. And that wasn’t the first time he was in that condition. The book makes it very, very clear. There are people who knew and said nothing. And that is a crime against this republic. And I think the Democrats are going to pay for a long time for being a part of what is now being revealed to be a massive cover-up.

Tapper was in on the coverup, so what does that make him?

I’d also add that Biden’s decline was obvious in 2020 — for those with eyes — and yet Democrat insiders still thought that Biden was better than any of the alternatives in 2020.

Posted at 7:33 am by Stephen Green 105

HMM: Is AOC’s Engagement Off, or Is She Just Skirting Ethics Rules? “Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-Workers’ Paradise) announced her engagement way back in 2022, but it’s three years later now, and questions have begun to swirl around her marital plans. This is not just a matter of leftist schoolgirls dreaming of emulating Comrade Heroine, or even of disappointed young blokes who yearn to take the place of the beta schlub AOC apparently plans to marry. It actually involves serious ethics violations, which just a scant few months ago Democrats could commit by the bucketload without fear of the slightest consequences beyond a few curmudgeons grumbling at PJ Media. Now, however, it’s a different story.”

Posted at 7:02 am by Stephen Green 25