March 27, 2025

SUMMER OF LOVE CONCLUDES:

Posted at 7:22 am by Ed Driscoll 9

CHRIS QUEEN: The Left’s ‘Inevitability’ Has Proven Hollow. “One of the constant drumbeats of the left is that its policies and cultural movements are inevitable. Progress always marches in the leftists’ direction, they tell us. They’re ‘on the right side of history,’ after all, and they like to remind us of that every chance they get. But is that true? Recent years have shown a backlash against the ‘inevitability’ of the left.”

Posted at 7:04 am by Stephen Green 16

ICYMI: ELIZABETH PRICE FOLEY: A Supreme Court Remedy for Nationwide Injunctions: Congress gave the Supreme Court the authority to curb them by clarifying the Rules of Civil Procedure.

Federal trial judges blocking presidential acts via nationwide injunctions are creating a serious conflict between the executive and judicial branches. The flood of such injunctions provoked President Trump to take to social media and call for the impeachment of a judge who issued a temporary restraining order. Chief Justice John Roberts responded in a statement to reporters that impeachment is inappropriate and the administration should rely on “the normal appellate review process.” Unsatisfied, Mr. Trump wrote on Thursday: “Unlawful Nationwide Injunctions by Radical Left Judges could very well lead to the destruction of our Country! . . . If Justice Roberts and the United States Supreme Court do not fix this toxic and unprecedented situation IMMEDIATELY, our Country is in very serious trouble!”

There is something the justices can do to rein in nationwide injunctions: exercise their authority under the Rules Enabling Act of 1934 to amend the federal rule on injunctions.

The recent outbreak of nationwide injunctions damages our constitutional system. They were almost unheard of before the 1960s. Only 12 were issued against George W. Bush and 19 against Barack Obama during each of their two terms. Joe Biden faced 28. Mr. Trump faced 86 during his first term, almost all issued by Democrat-appointed judges. Two months into his second term, more than 15 have already been issued.

Because nationwide injunctions often appear politically motivated, they create cynicism about the courts and the law. Worse, they enable lower-court judges to thwart the president’s Article II authority even in national security and defense. Lawmakers have introduced bills to halt nationwide injunctions. One recently passed the House Judiciary Committee and will likely pass the full House—then go to the Senate to die in a filibuster. . . .

An amendment to Rule 65 couldn’t take effect until Dec. 1. But once proposed—by May 1, as required—it would likely have an immediate, beneficial chilling effect on rogue judges. For the sake of the Constitution, the court should act quickly.

Yes, it should.

Posted at 7:00 am by Glenn Reynolds 12

March 26, 2025

TIM WALZ BEING TIM WALZ:

Posted at 10:45 pm by Glenn Reynolds 107

HOW TO DO IT:

Posted at 10:27 pm by Glenn Reynolds 159

OPEN THREAD: Let’s see how he does up there, without all the assistance!

Posted at 9:30 pm by Ed Driscoll 1533

AMERICA’S NEWSPAPER OF RECORD: Hegseth Kicking Himself For Not Just Getting 13 Soldiers Killed And Giving $80 Billion In Weapons To Terrorists. “‘I apologize for not exposing our soldiers to terrorist attacks and giving billions in high-grade weaponry to Islamists hellbent on killing us,’ said Hegseth. ‘My job wouldn’t be in jeopardy today if I had simply handed control of an entire country over to the people who perpetrated September 11th. I promise to rectify these terrible shortcomings to the satisfaction of the Democratic Party.’”

 

Posted at 9:14 pm by Ed Driscoll 71

WHAT 23ANDME TOLD AMERICA ABOUT ITSELF:

Many headlines have ensued, but what commentators seem to be missing is this: The disintegration of 23andMe represents a cultural collapse as well as a financial one. This is the tale of a zeitgeist fueled by both the self-loathing of white liberals and a reflexive anti-Americanism throughout the mainstream—phenomena that the current vibe shift has upended like Tupperware over a trash can, its vestiges sliding off like so many moldy leftovers into the abyss where fads go to die.

Back in 2017, with victimhood associated with blackness, brownness, or another minority racial status, white people were conversely assigned the role of society’s Bad Guys. Reactions varied: Certain white Americans leaped at the opportunity to confess, repent, and pay through the nose to self-flagellate at events like the infamous “Race2Dinner” parties where, for several thousand dollars, a real, live person of color would come to your home and call you a racist.

For those of lesser means but similar dispositions, 23andMe offered another path to redemption, by promising to find “surprises” in one’s ethnic makeup. As one white man, who discovered he had “Hidden African DNA,” wrote reassuringly in the 23andMe blog: “Our histories are not as black and white as we believe.”

This is not to say that every person who submitted a cheek swab for analysis was marinating in racial self-hatred; plenty of people were simply curious, hoping to uncover a bit of family history (or, for those who bought the 23andMe+ Total Health package, their risk factors for various genetic conditions). But if you were struggling with white guilt, 23andMe could apply the gloss of scientific rigor to your search for a get-out-of-oppressor-status-free card—a state of affairs that was lampooned in a 2017 episode of South Park, in which customers of a company called “DNA and Me” received their test results and gleefully announced themselves as members of oppressed groups (“I’m 21 percent victim!”).

You’ll never get to be the CEO of NPR with such a racialist worldview. Oh wait:

Posted at 8:45 pm by Ed Driscoll 180

NANCY WILSON MORPHED INTO PAULINE KAEL SO SLOWLY, I HARDLY EVEN NOTICED: Heart guitarist Nancy Wilson says it’s ‘more embarrassing’ to be an American now than during the Vietnam War.

Wilson, 71, made the remark in a recent interview with the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, where she reflected on the legendary rock group’s 1975 hit “Crazy on You,” which was her sister and Heart vocalist Ann Wilson’s critique of the Vietnam War.

“We were kind of embarrassed at that time to call ourselves American because of the dirty politics of the Vietnam War,” Wilson shared.

“To be as subtle as possible, it’s more embarrassing now,” she said.

More here:

Wilson’s perspective isn’t just about politics. She also sees rampant sexism and misogyny in today’s culture that echoes another of Heart’s most famous songs, “Barracuda.”

“[Barracuda] is even more relevant in the salacious billionaire culture with the grab-them-by-the-pussy mentality,” Wilson declared. “These songs will be there long after we are gone.”

Despite her disappointment with where America is today, Wilson added that she sees change on the horizon.

“I think for women* in the culture the pendulum will come back again, and there’ll be another renaissance in the arts to push back against the oppression of the cranky old rich white guys,” she noted. “I hope I am alive to see that next revolution.”

Well, not all women, of course: Heart to Sarah Palin: Don’t Play ‘Barracuda.’

(Classical reference in headline.)

Posted at 8:30 pm by Ed Driscoll 208

ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS NOBODY IS ASKING: Gondolas in Denver? One entrepreneur believes it can lift downtown up.

Downtown Denver is often referred to as a trailhead — but not often the main attraction — for tourists visiting the Rocky Mountains.

But what if building a gondola, bringing an iconic symbol and transit option from mountain ski resorts to downtown, could turn it into a destination?

This is the idea that Ryan Ross, the owner of a private investigation firm on the 16th Street Mall, offers to revitalize Denver’s downtown, which has been struggling with empty offices, businesses closing and disruptive construction since the pandemic.

Ross is proposing a three-loop gondola system connecting downtown’s most popular attractions, people-moving sidewalks on 16th Street Mall and a 1,000-seat indoor-outdoor amphitheater by Skyline Park.

He created a nonprofit to promote the project called New Downtown Denver and submitted the proposal to the newly-expanded Downtown Development Authority, the city’s financing tool expected to inject $570 million into downtown to revitalize the urban core.

“Downtown Denver needs a big infusion of energy and vitality and safety and fun,” Ross told The Denver Gazette. “And what they’ve (city officials) done so far is not helping.”

Getting the money for a gondola won’t be an easy lift, he said.

Yes, I guess it’s more of a Shelbyville idea…

 

Posted at 8:14 pm by Ed Driscoll 117

IT’S (D)IFFERENT WHEN THEY DO IT:

Full text:

Do you guys remember that time that a chubby Army lieutenant colonel with a dead-end career listened in on a confidential call between the President of the United States and the President of Ukraine, and then that rabidly partisan chow-thief LTC violated all of the confidentiality terms of his security clearance and ran to unauthorized Congressional staffers to blab the contents of that confidential, high-level conversation?

Remember how literally every Democrat alive thought that was just peachy-keen fine?

I remember. Good times.

Jim Hanson remembers: Alex Vindman Is Living, Breathing Proof That The Deep State Exists, And It Is Corrupt.

Posted at 5:23 pm by Stephen Green 204

UNDERPERFORMING:

Posted at 4:27 pm by Glenn Reynolds 265

ELIZABETH PRICE FOLEY: A Supreme Court Remedy for Nationwide Injunctions: Congress gave the Supreme Court the authority to curb them by clarifying the Rules of Civil Procedure.

Federal trial judges blocking presidential acts via nationwide injunctions are creating a serious conflict between the executive and judicial branches. The flood of such injunctions provoked President Trump to take to social media and call for the impeachment of a judge who issued a temporary restraining order. Chief Justice John Roberts responded in a statement to reporters that impeachment is inappropriate and the administration should rely on “the normal appellate review process.” Unsatisfied, Mr. Trump wrote on Thursday: “Unlawful Nationwide Injunctions by Radical Left Judges could very well lead to the destruction of our Country! . . . If Justice Roberts and the United States Supreme Court do not fix this toxic and unprecedented situation IMMEDIATELY, our Country is in very serious trouble!”

There is something the justices can do to rein in nationwide injunctions: exercise their authority under the Rules Enabling Act of 1934 to amend the federal rule on injunctions.

The recent outbreak of nationwide injunctions damages our constitutional system. They were almost unheard of before the 1960s. Only 12 were issued against George W. Bush and 19 against Barack Obama during each of their two terms. Joe Biden faced 28. Mr. Trump faced 86 during his first term, almost all issued by Democrat-appointed judges. Two months into his second term, more than 15 have already been issued.

Because nationwide injunctions often appear politically motivated, they create cynicism about the courts and the law. Worse, they enable lower-court judges to thwart the president’s Article II authority even in national security and defense. Lawmakers have introduced bills to halt nationwide injunctions. One recently passed the House Judiciary Committee and will likely pass the full House—then go to the Senate to die in a filibuster. . . .

An amendment to Rule 65 couldn’t take effect until Dec. 1. But once proposed—by May 1, as required—it would likely have an immediate, beneficial chilling effect on rogue judges. For the sake of the Constitution, the court should act quickly.

Yes, it should.

Posted at 4:06 pm by Glenn Reynolds 109