March 26, 2025

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 97

UNDERPERFORMING:

Posted at 4:27 pm by Glenn Reynolds 215

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 77

STUNNING: Dying SpaceX rocket triggers giant spiral of light above UK and Europe during secret mission.

At around 8 p.m. local time (4 p.m. ET), people across the U.K. reported seeing the luminous swirl grow as it slowly streaked across the sky like something from a sci-fi movie, according to the BBC. The light show was most clearly visible above parts of England, including Lincolnshire, Yorkshire, Leicestershire, Suffolk and Essex, as well as in Wales and further afield in Sweden, Croatia, Poland, and Hungary.

Photographer Simon Minnican captured the ethereal scene in a stunning video that showed a bright spot appear and then grow in size before swelling into an ever-expanding vortex. The entire spectacle lasted around 12 minutes, with the spiral of light dissipating roughly 4 minutes after it unfurled.

There was initially some wild speculation about what had caused the unusual light show, with at least one observer blaming UFOs. However, experts quickly pointed out that it was a “SpaceX spiral” — an increasingly common phenomenon triggered by light reflecting off rocket fuel dumped into space by spinning SpaceX rockets before they reenter Earth’s atmosphere.

And here’s the video.

Posted at 3:50 pm by Stephen Green 116

HOWEVER MUCH YOU DESPISE THE MEDIA, IT ISN’T ENOUGH: Legacy Media Buries Death Threats Against Gal Gadot.

We’re now learning a much bigger movie star, Gal Gadot of “Snow White” fame, had to beef up security measures in recent months. The news is getting mostly ignored in the press.

Why? Journalists can’t pin this one on Musk, Trump or other right-leaning figure. Plus, the likely threat comes from the far Left, the same group shouting “Free Palestine” and harassing Jews across college campuses.

Is there another explanation?

Much more at the link courtesy of Christian Toto.

Posted at 2:48 pm by Stephen Green 76

COVID FIVE YEARS AGO TODAY: This was the Minneapolis Star-Tribune’s front page:

As James Lileks wrote last year:

The story had no “Two weeks to stop the spread” messaging. The lockdown was open-ended, although I seem to recall we thought it was supposed to be two weeks, then reviewed. In two weeks the headline would be “New Target — May 4” which was almost a month away.

The rules were adjusted to let landscapers go back to work.

On May 3 a story noted that the target date was now May 17. A “business analyst was quoted as saying he would still stay home because he thought “There will be a couple of waves of death,” and that the skyways should be all closed because they were a “cesspool” of disease.

On the 14th the lockdowns were modified: “faith gatherings of 10 or fewer” were permitted, and the paper noted that people “can leave the house more.” Restaurants, bars, gyms, and the like would be closed until June 1st. Another order: “anyone who can work from home, must.”

To ensure those open-ended lockdowns, our future would-be vice president went full Orwell: Walz Implemented COVID Hotline To Snitch On Neighbors.

The hotline generated thousands of reports – against people playing basketball, walking their dogs, or attending church, local outlet Alpha News reported in 2022. Walz’s administration continued to monitor the hotline until November 2020, though it remained operational until June 2022.

In one example of a complaint, someone alerted authorities to a church service that wasn’t following Walz’s “legal requirements,” the outlet noted.

“I am aware that the apostolic Lutheran church at [address] is planning to hold church services oct 2-4th [sic]. Hundreds are expected And [sic] they will be serving meals in the church dining hall. I don’t believe this fits with legal requirements and I am. Aware [sic] that multiple families that attend this church currently have coronavirus.”

People also called in lists of “non-essential” businesses that remained open or didn’t strictly follow government masking requirements.

A recording of the hotline circulating online reveals a prerecorded message telling callers they have reached the “Office of Public Safety Stay At Home Hotline.”

But not everybody had to stay at home: Getting back to the Minneapolis Star-Tribune in 2020, Lileks wrote that “There was nothing on the front page on June 1st about COVID restrictions lifting, because it was the sixth day of the Floyd Protests.”

That was the day that Walz referred to “the week of righteous anger being expressed by community leaders and all people of conscience,” in a press conference.

And that feeling of “righteous anger” was infectious! During those legendarily “peaceful but occasionally slightly fiery protests,” Walz’s wife was imbibing the sweet smell of small businesses in flames, his daughter was tweeting advice to the rioters on whether or not the National Guard or SWAT would be present, and Kamala was offering to bail out those few who were actually arrested.

Why, it’s almost as: The Riots Are Part of the Plan.

Also Covid five years ago today:

Three years later, Fauci was still dissembling about masks: Anthony Fauci continues to mislead about masking, as CNN confronts him (amazing video). It works for individuals but not populations, is his new line, but, this too, lacks data.

In 2021, (P)resident Joe Biden’s handlers were tweeting:

“Well, it’s not a request, it’s a demand, and the president of the United States does not get to tell me or any other American citizen what to wear,” Tucker Carlson said in response. “He’s not offering a choice. He’s laying down an ultimatum. He’s saying if you don’t get vaccinated, you must wear a mask. Again, that’s not within his powers to demand.”

Two years later, with some hardcore Biden supporters still wearing masks, America’s Newspaper of Record was goofing on Democrats’ long obsession with intermingling face coverings and violence:

And if you missed it from Steve earlier today: It’s the 5th Anniversary of the Most Cringe-Inducing Moment of the Lockdowns.

It’s easy to picture the clueless futuristic historian in Woody Allen’s Sleeper responding to the above clip and saying, “At first, we didn’t know exactly what this was, but we’ve developed a theory.  We feel that when citizens in your society were guilty of a crime against the state, they were forced to watch this.”

Posted at 2:35 pm by Ed Driscoll 137

HOW KAMALA RESPONDED WHEN HER TEAM TOLD HER THERE WAS NO WAY SHE COULD BEAT TRUMP:

Though Harris was behind in the battleground states, her spokespeople were oddly upbeat. Appearing on MSNBC back on October 27, campaign chair Jen O’Malley Dillon had declared, “We are very confident we’re going to win this thing.” On Friday, November 1, senior adviser David Plouffe posted on X that late-breaking undecided voters were going for Harris by more than 10 points.

A campaign has a gravitational pull, and chief of staff [Lorraine] Voles was feeling it. “You get sucked into the momentum,” she said. “Like you believe it. I’ve been on winning ones and losing ones, and this felt more like [Bill] Clinton’s [in 1992] than [Michael] Dukakis’s [in 1988].” Voles wasn’t talking poll numbers or analytics, but intangibles. “The rallies were so big and so enthusiastic. People were lining the streets.” But Harris’s pollsters didn’t share the kumbaya cohesion. One ex-Biden campaign official couldn’t understand all the heady talk. “They still had consistent polling results that showed her down by two in every state,” she said, “and Trump always overperforms. How the hell were they going to make that up?”

On election morning Harris gathered with her family in the front part of the house while, in the back, Nix, campaign chief of staff Voles, and others monitored returns. O’Malley Dillon and company were running the campaign nerve center at the Marriott Marquis hotel near Howard University with an army of data crunchers, keeping Harris and her inner circle informed as returns came in.

The vice president was hunkered down with her family. “We saw her maybe one time that whole night,” said one of her close insiders, when the VP “came back” to their section of the house. As the evening wore on, “it was just like, ‘What’s going on?’ The SG [second gentleman] would come in. Doug would say, ‘What’s happening?’ ” The realization grew that it was going to be a difficult night. One key indicator: Voles had summoned a photographer and a videographer. They were supposed to head to the Howard University campus with Harris for her victory speech. Instead, they cooled their heels.

The moment of truth came just after midnight. O’Malley Dillon huddled with her two best analytics experts. They were her barometer, her North Star, and when they told her they did not see a path, O’Malley Dillon knew there wasn’t one. She called the vice president. “We’re down in the blue wall states, and we’re not going to be able to make it up,” she said. “Oh, my God,” said Harris. “What is going to happen to this country?”

Biden reportedly demanded of Harris, “let there be no daylight between us,” but it sounds like his camp was far more rational about what the internal polling was saying than hers. Still, her team must have known that the iceberg was coming, and would hit hard. Did they not warn Harris? Did she not inquire as to how her campaign was doing?

Posted at 2:22 pm by Ed Driscoll 150

VICTORIA TAFT: Distinguishing the Signal From the Noise.

After the hypersonic quickness and near-flawlessness of the first few weeks of the Trump 47 presidency, the mediacrats have seized upon a Signal chat between 17 high-level administration officials and Atlantic editor Jeffrey Goldberg. They’ve attempted to turn a discussion about attacking Houthis into the theft of the Manhattan Project. It won’t work, but it doesn’t mean that between applauding the Tesla showroom fire bombings and threatening the drivers of those cars, the left won’t keep trying to make this fetch happen.

The Morning Joe gadflies, endless CNN panels, even Hillary Clinton and everyone at the Trump White House agree on one thing: Jeffrey Goldberg shouldn’t have been on that Signal text chain because no one can trust him.

Financier, Shark Tank’s Kevin O’Leary, often says, “To be effective you must be able to distinguish the signal from the noise.” The way this issue has been discussed by mediacrats, it’s been all noise. Endless noise.

Read the whole thing.

Posted at 2:17 pm by Stephen Green 42

JUST ANOTHER DECADES-LONG HANGOVER FROM THE CARTER ADMINISTRATION: There’s no reason for the Department of Education to exist. “Thus far, none of the 80 staffers employed by the Education Department’s public relations office have been able to explain why the agency exists.”

Posted at 1:46 pm by Stephen Green 31

NPR BOSS MAKES THE ULTIMATE BIDEN CONFESSION AS SHE’S GRILLED OVER WOKE-ISM AND LIES AT BLOCKBUSTER HEARING ON CAPITOL HILL:

NPR’s CEO has owned up to not giving the Hunter Biden laptop story the coverage it deserved.

Katherine Maher, a progressive who previously headed Wikipedia before starting at NPR last year, made the admission after being grilled relentlessly by Marjorie Taylor Greene on Capitol Hill about the broadcaster’s alleged bias.

‘I do want to say that NPR acknowledges we were mistaken in failing to cover the Hunter Biden laptop story more aggressively or sooner,’ Maher said Wednesday, at a hearing centered around whether NPR should receive federal funding.

At another moment, Greene confronted Maher — a 41-year-old former tech exec — on some of her more opinionated comments.

This included statements to social media penned in the past, like one that slammed Donald Trump as a ‘racist’ and ‘sociopath’ in 2020.

When asked by GOP Rep. Tim Burchett about such tweets, Maher said: ‘I regret [them] today.’

When asked about her tweets by Rep. Brandon Gill (R-TX), Maher was reduced to little more than a slimline Sgt. Schultz impersonation. She knows nothing, nothing!

Earlier: ‘Bat Guano Crazy:’ NPR CEO Katherine Maher Says Truth Is a ‘Distraction’ to ‘Getting Things Done.’

Here’s another tweet Maher probably doesn’t remember sending. As I wrote last year, remember the 1960s, when Marshall McLuhan envisioned an interconnected “global village” with everyone wired together and sharing ideas? Right around the same time that Martin Luther King envisioned a world in which people were judged by the content of their character, and not their skin color? So much for those ideas:

Also from Christopher Rufo last year: Quotations from Chairman Maher. NPR’s new CEO exemplifies the ideological capture of America’s institutions.

Posted at 1:35 pm by Ed Driscoll 121

ALSO JUST IN, GAMBLING GOING ON IN RICK’S CAFÉ: Confirmed: Biden Was Given the Press Questions In Advance.

Imagine if the Donald Trump for President campaign demanded that questions directed at Trump were pre-scripted and that the campaign would get the right to pre-approve quotes derived from those interviews.

We would hear nonstop about propaganda, suppressing the truth, First Amendment concerns, and be treated to a media freakout that would go on for days or weeks.

Now look at how the same Pravda Media responded to demands by the Biden administration’s demands for the same privilege: mute compliance.

You want us to be the propaganda outlet for the most corrupt president in America? Of course! Isn’t that our job?

It certainly was while Biden was in office. Is the card in his hand in the above photo anything like this one?

At NewsBusters, Tim Graham adds: Team Biden’s Mistreatment of a Pliant Press Corps.

Michael LaRosa was Jill Biden’s press secretary for the first 18 months of Biden’s presidency, and in recent weeks he’s loosened his lips about how Team Joe mistreated a pliant press corps.

In an interview with Cenk Uygur on “The Young Turks” show, LaRosa admitted: “They did bully a lot of journalists, and I think they would tell you that now. They wouldn’t have told you at the time.”

LaRosa didn’t want to say the reporters were “co-conspirators,” but it’s impossible to see all of their obsequious cooperation with Team Biden and think that word is inappropriate.

* * * * * * * *

On “Doctor” Jill Biden’s team, LaRosa said, he told staffers it was “unethical” to require questions before granting access, but they replied it’s what Team Joe (or “the boys team”) required. “These young kids are really taught to make that a part of their sort of pre-pre-screening for interviews.”

“Yeah, it’s amazing to me that no one in the press complained about it,” mused Uygur. The press corps was stuffed with pushovers, from the same leftist press outlets who screamed hostile, un-screened questions at Trump and called it “strengthening democracy.”

Uygur wondered: “Did the press ever push back? We couldn’t see the press pushing back at all, until the debate [fiasco].” This underlined how much the press is a megaphone for Democrats, and when the Donkey Party breaks down into two sides, the press will then present both sides.

LaRosa thought maybe the local reporters would be less intimidated by a national campaign. “Like why didn’t any of these reporters even in New Hampshire, and some of these small town papers or local news, like why didn’t anybody ever say anything [about the pre-screening]? I thought it was so weird at the time.”

Ben Rhodes smiles. Keep the above image in mind the next time anyone in the DNC-MSM dusts off their hoary old “comfort the afflicted, afflict the comfortable” cliché.

Posted at 1:22 pm by Ed Driscoll 50