Words! What do they mean?

Ace: "Democrat Senator: "I'm Confused;" When You Say Illegal Immigrants Broke The Law, What "Law" Are You Talking About?"

She seems to think that immigration laws sprang up, like Athena from the head of Zeus, with the Trump administration.

Who's going to pay for it? The other guy.

Hit and Run: "Bernie Sanders' Medicare-for-All Plan Will Cost $32 Trillion Over 10 Years - Yes, that's trillion with a "t."

Not to worry: super-smart economics major Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has a plan to raise $2 trillion over ten years.  The other $30 trillion will be found (waves hands in air) with the magic of socialism!

Venezuela was once a very rich country. https://t.co/8n3kGiVJdD

— Instapundit.com (@instapundit) July 28, 2018

Lost to history

NY Times: "The decline of the Civil War re-enactor."

There was a time when I wanted to be a Civil War re-enactor.  I had been to the 130th re-enactment of the Battle of Gettysburg and you could tell there was a special camaraderie among these men (and some women) who put on wool uniforms and marched across a hot Pennsylvania field.  (Heat exhaustion was the deadliest enemy that day).  But the hobby is expensive, starting with a Civil War-era reproduction rifle, and it requires a lot of traveling and time off work. 

By the way, stupid New York Times, it's "Battle Cry of Freedom" not "*The* Battle Cry of Freedom."

Elizabeth Warren could beat him

Some Chicago-Sun Times writer at a rally:

I left the hall thinking: Donald Trump is going to be re-elected in 2020. The Democrats don’t have anyone who can touch him. Bank on it. Don’t hate me for being the one to tell you.

I'm quite confident Elizabeth Warren could beat Trump.  I sure hope the Democrats don't nominate Liz Warren because she would totally win.

She's an airhead

Hot Air: "Ocasio-Cortez: I Plan To Pay For My Agenda By … Er …"

Forget the fact that she (allegedly) studied economics in college.  Purely on a political level, she must have known that somebody would question the cost of her socialist paradise.  Her response to Trevor Noah is pure ad-libbing and B.S.  This is the person that Tom Perez labeled as the future of the Democratic Party.

You'll get nothing and like it!

Hot Air: "Grassley To Schumer: Feel Free To Pound Sand On Your Document Demands, My Friend."  Stop pretending you're "considering" the Kavanaugh nomination.

Detroit schools invite a lawsuit

Heard this one on NPR this morning: "Students Argue Literacy Is A Right In Lawsuit - A group of students from Detroit filed a lawsuit in 2016 against the state of Michigan, claiming bad schools prevented them from learning to read."  An excerpt:

KING: These kids are essentially saying, we have the right to know how to read. It's guaranteed by the Constitution, and our schools failed us. I've got to ask you, does the Constitution actually say anything about literacy?
ROSENBAUM: The word literacy doesn't appear in the Constitution itself, but built into the notions of liberty, built into the notions of being able to participate in our democracy and built into our notions of equality is the idea that when children are compelled to go to a building that is designated as a school, they have to find inside that building teachers and books and core curricular subjects - conditions that make learning possible - and that the exercise of liberty interests cannot be vindicated where their counterparts a few miles away are on campuses that could be mistaken for the University of Michigan.

Pretty sure he's referring to Grosse Point there. This case was already rejected by a Federal Judge who said there's no right to literacy in the Constitution.  Part of me is compelled by the argument that when you force kids to go to a government building for most of their lives, there ought to be some kind of positive output.

The Ninth Circuit said that?

One of my favorite Simpsons moments is when Robert Goulet arrives at Bart's Treehouse Casino and, unsure of the situation, says "I should call my manager."  Nelson shakes a fist and says "Your manager told you to shut up!"  Goulet responds "Vera said that?"

Hot Air: "The Second Amendment Guarantees The Right To Open Carry, Says … The Ninth Circuit?"  The logic goes like this: since the Supreme Court said in Heller that an individual can carry a firearm for protection, when Hawaii banned concealed weapons they opened the door for open carry.  Holsters for everyone.

Is this something?

CNN: "Satellite images show North Korea has begun dismantling key test site."

The "Political Party #2" that shall not be named

Byron York: "FISA warrant application supports Nunes memo."  For me, the critical question is whether the FISA judges knew the Steele dossier was basically opposition research.  Here's York:

Thus, the FISA application could easily have explained that the dossier research was paid for by "Candidate #2" and "Political Party #2," meaning the Democrats. And yet the FBI chose to describe the situation this way, in a footnote: "Source #1...was approached by an identified U.S. person, who indicated to Source #1 that a U.S.-based law firm had hired the identified U.S. person to conduct research regarding Candidate #1's ties to Russia...The identified U.S. person hired Source #1 to conduct this research. The identified U.S. person never advised Source #1 as to the motivation behind the research into Candidate #1's ties to Russia. The FBI speculates that the identified U.S. person was likely looking for information that could be used to discredit Candidate #1's campaign."

Democrats argue that the FISA Court judges should have been able to figure out, from that obscure description, that the DNC and Clinton campaign paid for the dossier. That seems a pretty weak argument, but in any case, the Nunes memo's statement that the FISA application did not disclose or reference the role of the DNC and the Clinton campaign is undeniably true.

This was the basis for three separate renewals of the Carter Page FISA warrant that led to not the hint of a charge against Page.  No wonder they buried it with inscrutable writing in a footnote.

Speaking of Ukraine

Interesting analysis of the Carter Page FISA warrant from Mark Tapscott: "This FISA Passage Points to the Heart of Mueller’s Collusion Case Against Trump? - FBI officials contend Carter Page allegedly influenced Trump and the Republican Party to go easy on Russia in Ukraine."

Worst puppet ever

Fox News: "Pentagon to give Ukraine $200 million more in military aid." 

That's the way he is

Jonah Goldberg: "The Likeliest Explanation for Trump’s Helsinki Fiasco."  "Amid these and other appalling statements, Trump made it clear that he can only understand the investigation into Russian interference as an attempt to rob him of credit for his electoral victory, and thus to delegitimize his presidency."

It's come to this: no straws for you

Hit and Run: "Santa Barbara Bans Plastic Straws, Authorizes $1,000 Fines and Jail Time for Violators - The California city has passed what is likely the most severe straw ban in the country."

This lawsuit is so dumb

(How dumb is it?)
It's so dumb that even Massachusetts AG Maura Healey didn't sign on to it.

Twitchy: "‘Completely idiotic’: New York’s AG files suit against federal government’s ‘unconstitutional tax law’."  It's based on the Constitutional principle of "no fair", or something.

She's a bit of an airhead

Hot Air: "Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Is The Best Thing To Happen To The GOP All Year." Keep moving to the Left, Dems.  Feel the Bern.

Extra - Joe Lieberman said that? WSJ: "Vote Joe Crowley"

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s surprise primary victory over Rep. Joe Crowley seems likely to hurt Congress, America and the Democratic Party. It doesn’t have to.

Wow.  It sounds like a lot of Democrats are already tired of her schtick.

This guy

I think it was during the election that P.J. O'Rourke said that at least Hillary was in the range of normal distribution.  What's wrong with this guy?  Power Line: "Trump plays the useful idiot in Helsinki."

The 2020 lineup

Althouse: "In "Warren is Preparing for 2020. So Are Biden, Booker, Harris and Sanders," the NYT seems bent on boosting optimism for Democrats."

The NY Times cheerleading Democrats?  Say it ain't so!  There is no way Trump could be so lucky to face any of these people.

Yes, we'll vote no

PJ Media: "Dems Who Introduced 'Abolish ICE' Bill Now Say They'll Vote Against It."  Apparently it wasn't legislation at all, it was a "conversation starter."

CNN is fake news

Hot Air: "Trump Shuts Down CNN’s Jim Acosta At Joint UK Press Conference."

I'm not a huge fan of this kind of throwdown; I think Presidents should face questions from a range of media sources.  But then I read about Chris Cillizza crybabying about it and that feeling dissipates.

American Pie, explained

Interesting exposition:

That didn't take long

Hot Air: "Senate Resistance To Judge Kavanaugh Is Collapsing."

But wait!  The scoop over at the WashPost is that Kavanaugh likes baseball and beer!  He's a monster.

How to journalism 101

The Corner: "NBC’s Capitol Hill Reporter Demonstrates Why So Many Dislike the Press."

Step 1: Bombshell!
Step 2: One source
Step 3: Retraction

Run, Liz, run!

The Hill: "Dems mull whether Warren is the one to take on Trump."

I'm not entirely sure she's going to be re-elected to the Senate in Massachusetts.  There's a lot of people here really tired of her "fighting" schtick with virtually nothing to show for it.

It's Brett Kavanaugh

The libertarians over at Reason like him: "SCOTUS Contender Brett Kavanaugh Sees Perils of Aggressive Administrative State - Like Neil Gorsuch, the D.C. Circuit judge has criticized Chevron deference for encouraging executive arrogance."

What if Trump chooses ALL FOUR!?!

All day long it's been a horse race for the next Supreme Court Justice, between Kavanaugh, Barrett, Kethledge, and Hardiman.  But I've recently been informed by the good people at Vox that there's really no limit in the number of justices on the Supreme Court.

Good to know!  And Republicans control Congress so they could make it happen.  Welcome to the Court, lady and gentlemen.

Verdict: True

Jenna Ellis in the Washington Examiner: "When they lose, Democrats just want to change the rules."  Don't say we didn't warn you:



Also, we haven't forgotten about the Torricelli rule. 

From Reddit's "Not the Onion"

Atlantic: "Students in Detroit Are Suing the State Because They Weren’t Taught to Read."

This case is not being heard in Detroit or even Michigan, but Federal Court.  The plaintiffs argument is that their Constitutional rights were undermined by Detroit's terrible schools.

Elections have consequences

Victor Davis Hanson: "The Left Can't Come To Grips With The Loss Of Power."

Hat tip: Maggie's Farm

Elizabeth Warren is useless

First, this from Twitchy: "2020 will be LIT: Trump says he’ll offer opponent Elizabeth Warren $1 million for DNA test."

Trump seizes upon Elizabeth Warren's questionable heritage because it exposes the hypocrisy of the identity-politics Democrats.  C'mon, it's not even up for debate that she usurped an affirmative action spot at Harvard.  But if you want to know why I dislike Pocahontas, it's this:

Warren was the primary sponsor of 5 bills that were enacted.

That's right: for somebody who is supposed to be a leader of the Democrats, who never shuts up about all the "fighting" and "persisting" she does, her legislative record is wafer-thin.  Five pieces of legislation.  Here they are:

S. 2355: A bill to designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 25 New Chardon Street Lobby in Boston, Massachusetts, as the “John Fitzgerald Kennedy Post ...
S. 1198: Veterans Care Financial Protection Act of 2017
S. 670: Over-the-Counter Hearing Aid Act of 2017
S. 2744 (114th): Genetic Research Privacy Protection Act
S. 885 (114th): National POW/MIA Remembrance Act of 2015

One of her five accomplishments is re-naming a post office.  As much as I dislike his politics, here's the legislative record for the junior Senator from Massachusetts:

Markey was the primary sponsor of 26 bills that were enacted.

There's a post office or two in there also but at least this guy is working the legislative levers to get something done for the citizens of Massachusetts and/or America.  Meanwhile, Liz is just taking up space and leaving a brick on the "NO" button.

Happy Fourth of July!

Chuck Schumer *hearts* Korematsu

The Corner: "Chuck Schumer Is Not Opposed to Overturning Precedent."

The Old Gray Lady can't help it

I'm a little late for the party but here's a good one from the Federalist: "The New York Times Beclowns Itself With Fake News About Free Speech - In an opinion article posing as a news story, The New York Times launches an illiberal and wrongheaded attack on free speech. At least we know where they stand."

It's amazing that a newspaper - of all forums - should call for the abridgment of the First Amendment but the NY Times just can't help itself.  That bubble is impenetrable.

Extra - Legal Insurrection: "Who's afraid of the 1st Amendment?"

Uh, sure Dan

According to Dan Rather, Lebron James is heading to California to join the #resistance.

The $154 million paycheck is incidental.

And now the WashPost wants Maxine to be quiet!

Will this axis of racism/sexism/nutcase Californianism ever end?  Hot Air: "WaPo: Dems About To Outrage Themselves Out Of Midterm Win."

Keep it up, Maxine.  You're fighting the good fight.

Go, Maxine, go!

Don't let the Man keep you down.  Fox News: "Maxine Waters brushes off alleged threats, vows to 'Impeach 45'."