It's funny because it's true

Babylon Bee: "Democrats Prepare To Celebrate Dependence Day." 

Sources and methods

Legal Insurrection: "More Intelligence Sources Confirm Trump Not Briefed on Unsubstantiated ‘Russian Bounties’ Allegations" - “Because the allegations in recent press articles have not been verified or substantiated by the Intelligence Community, President Trump had not been briefed on the items,” NSA Robert O’Brien said in a statement."

So now the former and current Directors of National Intelligence, the National Security Advisor, and the Department of Defense have refuted the story with the Pentagon stating: "To date, DOD has no corroborating evidence to validate the recent allegations found in open-source reports.”  The New York Times - who would never push a bogus story - has an anonymous source.

Chuck Todd is garbage

High-school graduate Chuck Todd was at it again: "NBC News’ Chuck Todd slammed for asking Bolton if Trump 'is afraid to make Putin mad' because he wants his help: 'This is not journalism'"

Sunday's question wasn't the first time that Todd has been accused of anti-Republican bias. Earlier this year, he offered an on-air apology after he faced criticism for what was described as a deceptively edited clip of Attorney General William Barr about his defense of the Justice Department's push to drop the case against former national security adviser Michael Flynn.

I've been watching "Meet the Press" since Garrick Utley was bringing his staid style and brown suit to the table.  The show is utterly unwatchable now as Todd pushes his personal agenda.

Speaking of John Bolton: here's a guy who is doing his damnest to cash in on his time in Trump's White House yet never mentioned the explosive charge of Russian bounties in his book.  But now, oh man, he totes remembers!  Or doesn't.  It depends on who's paying.

Extra garbage media - Twitchy: "Members of the press gushing over Carl Bernstein column that is a journalistic mess display all the problems with journalism."  "”Detailed”, he says — with no one on the record, and no true details given."

And this:

Wow. Biden comes out of basement and agrees to finally answer a question or two. Our intrepid press corps uses the moment to ask him to explain, over and over, just how awesome he'll be.

— Kimberley Strassel (@KimStrassel) June 30, 2020

The garbage media

Red State: "Kayleigh McEnany Gives ‘Reporter’ Answer He Deserves After Ridiculous Question About Trump and the Civil War." 

If you don't like the science, wait a little bit

Reason: "CDC Antibody Studies Confirm Huge Gap Between COVID-19 Infections and Known Cases" - "The difference implies that the virus is much less deadly than it looks, but it also makes contact tracing a daunting challenge."

We're not far away from the scene from the Woody Allen's "Sleeper" where a guy wakes up 200 years into the future and all the scientists tell him that red meat and smoking are healthy.

Great moments in book reviews

Matt Taibbi: "On “White Fragility” - A few thoughts on America’s smash-hit #1 guide to egghead racialism."

It takes a special kind of ignorant for an author to choose an example that illustrates the mathematical opposite of one’s intended point, but this isn’t uncommon in White Fragility, which may be the dumbest book ever written. It makes The Art of the Deal read like Anna Karenina.

Heh.

The corrupt FBI and the compliant media

Kimberley Strassel in the WSJ: "Judging FBI Conduct" - "The D.C. Circuit becomes the first court to acknowledge the FBI’s 2016 abuse."

For years the evidence has piled up of a rogue FBI that spun a fake collusion narrative. This was followed by a savage special-counsel team that knew its collusion remit was baseless from the start—and so instead pursued consolation prosecutions. Including one against Mr. Flynn, despite FBI misconduct. Mr. Zelinsky was at the center of the FBI and prosecutorial excess—the actual politicization—that Mr. Barr is attempting to correct. This crew’s only hope of salvaging their reputations is to join Democrats’ campaign to besmirch Mr. Barr and fellow reformers. And the press—with its own Russia-hoax credibility problems—will gladly provide cover.

No kidding. 

Unacceptable

Washington Examiner: "White House: Trump wasn't briefed on 'alleged Russian bounty intelligence'."

The White House denied President Trump had been briefed on U.S. intelligence that reportedly determined Russia offered secret bounties to kill U.S. troops.

Kayleigh McEnany, the White House press secretary, issued a statement soon after presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden castigated Trump for allegedly taking no retaliatory action.

"The United States receives thousands of intelligence reports a day, and they are subject to strict scrutiny. While the White House does not routinely comment on alleged intelligence or internal deliberations, the CIA director, national security adviser, and the chief of staff can all confirm that neither the president nor the vice president were briefed on the alleged Russian bounty intelligence," she said on Saturday.

Obama used to pull this "oh man, I just saw this on the news" dodge all the time.  If Trump wasn't briefed then this is a major disconnect between the Commander-in-Chief and his intelligence officials.  Let's have some closed-door hearings to hear from these unnamed officials.

If these GRU bounties extend back into the Obama administration, this story will disappear faster than the Tara Reade allegations.

Update: Former DNI Richard Grenell denies claims.

Another update: So does current DNI John Ratcliffe. 

A couple of months, every 4 years

Instapundit in USA Today: "When Black lives matter to Democrats, and when they don't" - "Democrats say Black lives matter but it's becoming clear they only matter sometimes, which explains why Democrats blocked Tim Scott's justice reform bill."

Friday video

How else can they derive self-worth?

Reason: "Journalists Abandoning 'Objectivity' for 'Moral Clarity' Really Just Want To Call People Immoral" 

NASCAR goes along for the ride

Townhall: "In Race to Avoid Political Correctness Mob over 'Noose' Incident, It Looks Like NASCAR Crashed and Burned."

At this link you can see a picture from 2017, showing the rope loop they're now calling a "noose."  Is it possible that in the midst of this controversy nobody from NASCAR jogged down to Stall #4 to see the offending rope that has been in place for years?  Now I believe they knew it was a garage door pull but either wanted to capitalize on the publicity or were too afraid to contradict Bubba Wallace who is now all-in on the noose theory.

They wasted fifteen FBI agents on this.

Extra - Garbage CNN: "CNN Falls For (Another) Hoax Hate Crime."

It was a garage door pull rope

Legal Insurrection: "NASCAR “Noose” Story Was #FakeNoose" - "Although the noose is now known to have been in garage number 4 in 2019, nobody could have known Mr. Wallace would be assigned to garage number 4 last week."

Let me just say as a longtime NASCAR fan that I don't believe Bubba Wallace pulled a Jussie Smollett as some are alleging.  I've seen in some forums that he didn't even see the "noose" and that it was just reported to NASCAR officials who, perhaps, overreacted within the current political climate.

If you're an Alabaman, you probably don't appreciate the stereotypical profiling.

"Under pressure, @WLKY released the full video"

Our garbage media, pushing that narrative button again: "Receipt-filled thread details what REALLY happened in Louisville with driver who allegedly ‘struck’ protester."

Taxpayer-funded NPR was along for the ride. 

They invented some crimes to justify spying

Real Clear Investigations: "No Evidence Needed for Collusion Probe, Just a Pretext Devised by This Man."

Former FBI Director James Comey and his deputy Andrew McCabe have publicly testified they had sufficient evidence to justify investigating the Trump campaign for coordinating with Moscow to hack Clinton campaign emails and troll social media to influence the 2016 presidential  election — a scheme that, if true, would have violated espionage laws and warranted serious felony charges.

But the raft of new documents reveals that the actual basis for the cases was the suspicion that Trump campaign aides failed to file FARA forms with Washington bureaucrats and pay the required $305 in registration fees.

The corrupt FBI, who let Hillary off the hook, dreamed up the FARA and Logan Act charges and then used them as a basis to spy on a Presidential campaign.  The whole thing was a targeted farce.

Surprised it took this long

I said on Monday somebody was going to get killed in the CHAZ/CHOP.  Fox News: "Seattle police union chief calls for 'leadership' after fatal shooting in CHOP zone." 

Look at those circles

Can we appreciate the outstanding job some young staffer did laying out these circles on the floor?  And the spacing is just perfect.  I'm really impressed.

"I’ve never been to one anything like Joe Biden’s economic address in the Philadelphia suburbs today...Oh, and hardly any voters...The silence was striking...He arrived with such little fanfare that I didn’t even notice him enter the room."https://t.co/tCjs8Nz87F

— Mark Krikorian (@MarkSKrikorian) June 20, 2020

Everybody agrees: the Washington Post sucks

Follow up to this hot garbage story on the offended SJWs.  Hot Air: "Readers Unanimously Agree The Post Made A Huge Mistake Publishing That Halloween Cancel Culture Story."

Bad boys bad boys, whatcha gonna do?

Whatcha gonna do when cancel culture comes for you?

The Hill: "Jimmy Kimmel announces summer leave amid blackface controversy." 

Val Demings' stock drops

I'm on record as predicting that Joe Biden will pick Val Demings as his running mate because she checks all the boxes and comes from the critical state of Florida.  But now Black Lives Matter says "not so fast, pig."  Hot Air: "After Finally Getting A-Klo’s Scalp, BLM Takes Aim At … Val Demings?"  Because when you're blue, you ain't black.

The pressure is now intense that Biden pick a woman of color but the list is narrowing.  So I just want to say that this guy predicted way back in April that Biden would pick Susan Rice. 

The garbage media hits a new low and starts digging

From the smug, supercilious scribes at the once-respected Washington Post.  Reason: "The Washington Post's Halloween Costume Hit Job Is a New Low for Cancel Culture."

Brace yourself before diving in, because this is one of the worst newspaper articles of all time. Between the elite media navel-gazing, the smug sanctimony of the cancelers, the absurd one-sidedness of the narrative structure, the spirit of revenge taken to an odious extreme, it's hard not to come away feeling nauseated. Unfortunately, it's so emblematic of the rising dual trends of activist journalism and unforgiving progressivism that I'm going to go into some detail here.

Detail he does about a pair of SJWs who were offended (their natural state) by a Halloween costume.  I laughed and laughed until....

When Schafer was informed recently that the Post was writing about the incident, she thought she should inform her employer. Schafer was promptly fired, which is entirely the Post's fault. Gruber and Prince didn't know Schafer's name and had no way to publicly shame her without the newspaper's assistance.

WT actual F?  She was fired?  She lost her job over this?  Nice going, Washington Post.  A woman got canned because Democracy Dies In Darkness, you pretentious twits.

It's astonishing that this article—a story about a long-ago Halloween party attended by the Post's own staff and principally involving three private persons—made it to print, and everyone involved in its publication should be deeply ashamed. That includes Prince and Gruber, but also Fisher and Trent, and their editors. As far as cancel culture goes, this is a new and depressing low point.

To borrow a quote from the masthead of Ace of Spades: "Every normal man must be tempted, at times, to spit upon his hands, hoist the black flag, and begin slitting throats." - H. L. Mencken

You'd need a heart of stone not to laugh

Daily Wire: "Progressive Mayor Who Supported Black Lives Matter Gets Home Vandalized During Riots, Calls It ‘Domestic Terrorism’."

We've come to expect this double standard

Rich Lowry: "Selective Social-Distancing Rules Are One of the Great Scams in American Life." "Massive crowds are wonderful and healthful, if they’re woke. Otherwise, they’re life-threatening."

Can we agree on facts anymore?

Coleman Hughes: "Stories and Data." 

To demonstrate the existence of a racial bias, it’s not enough to cite the fact that black people comprise 14 percent of the population but about 35 percent of unarmed Americans shot dead by police. (By that logic, you could prove that police shootings were extremely sexist by pointing out that men comprise 50 percent of the population but 93 percent of unarmed Americans shot by cops.)

Instead, you must do what all good social scientists do: control for confounding variables to isolate the effect that one variable has upon another (in this case, the effect of a suspect’s race on a cop’s decision to pull the trigger). At least four careful studies have done this—one by Harvard economist Roland Fryer, one by a group of public-health researchers, one by economist Sendhil Mullainathan, and one by David Johnson, et al. None of these studies has found a racial bias in deadly shootings.

Good article.

Programming update

It appears that the Lifetime network has cancelled its "The First 48" marathon for "Grey's Anatomy."

This can only end in tears

PJ Media: "The Morning Briefing: Seattle's CHAZ/CHOP Is One Long Trump Campaign Ad."

While I am generally a fan of cleaning up hippie filth as soon as it erupts somewhere, I think that CHAZ/CHOP should be left to evolve into all of its dumpster fire potential.

Yeah, and that's the problem.  The laughable gardening and the dodgeball games can only go on so long before they set up a woman's-only tent to prevent sexual assault.  Then the actual dumpster fires will begin and somebody will get killed.  Only then will Seattle respond, belatedly and tragically.

Let the Media Reign of Terror continue

Red State: "Rolling Stone Editor Torches His Liberal Colleagues: ‘The American Left Has Lost Its Mind’."

Related - Washington Examiner: "Assault on open speech is an attack on America."

Tell me more about this institutional racism

Manifesto

National Review: "Black Lives Matter: A Thing of the Left Anchored on a Cop-Hate Strategy."

Eric Hoffer had it right: "Mass movements can rise and spread without belief in a God, but never without belief in a devil." 

Prepare for a plethora of platitudes

Looks like "Face the Nation" is the place to be this morning, since Spartacus is going to rain down righteous indignation over shootings in Minneapolis and Atlanta.  If he (or BLM) ever outlines a pathway towards racial reconciliation, you'll hear it here first.

Update: As expected, Spartacus said nothing of note.  Three times he was asked if changes to qualified immunity would represent a "poison pill" and three times he resorted to amorphous stump speech.

I don't want to hear one more word about "food deserts"

Wall Street Journal: "Chicago’s Walmart Plea" - "After the riots, the city begs the company it once shunned to stay."

Walmart spent years fighting local politicians to build new stores in Chicago, and it finally won approval in 2010 after paying off unions and liberal groups with a “community benefits agreement.” It now ranks among the largest employers in Chicago’s heavily minority south and west sides and throws off hundreds of millions of dollars in tax revenue for state and city politicians to spend. But after last week’s riots, Walmart seems to be having second thoughts about business in Chicago. 

Many large retailers including Walmart, Walgreens and Target had their stores heavily damaged and looted in the riots. During a conference call last week, Mayor Lori Lightfoot begged them not to bail on the city. Walmart wouldn’t commit to reopening damaged stores. “We are assessing each location to understand our ability to do that,” a Walmart representative said.

Sounds like it's Walmart's turn to shake down Chicago.

Yay, it's Friday

My favorite thing on the Internet right now:

Must be an election year

Because Black Votes Matter.  NY Post: "A ‘Black Lives’ pander by Democrats."  "Joe Biden’s video address to George Floyd’s funeral was impressive — but only if you just landed from Mars."

With maudlin soundtrack and husky voice, the former vice president oozed empathy as he churned out empty platitudes about “racial justice” that are at odds with his personal history and the record of the Democratic Party he has represented for 47 years.

“I grew up with Catholic social doctrine which taught me that faith without works is dead,” he said, “and you will know us by what we do.”

OK, I accept the challenge.

Let us know Biden and his party by what they have done for black people in all the decades Dems have enjoyed a firm hold on their vote.

Ah, yes, Mr. "Deeds not words."  Biden sure made a lot of money giving speeches (words) but until the Presidential campaign was an absolute tightwad giving to charity: "Biden gave average of $369 to charity a year." 

I'm 99% sure this is a fake story

Ace: "Antifa Warriors in Seattle Autonomous Zone: The Homeless People Took All of Our Food. Please Send Soy."

This sets off my "can't possibly be true" alarms.  If it's satire, it's damn funny.

Prepare the Goblet of Fire

They're going to throw J.K. Rowling in.  Federalist: "J.K. Rowling Doubles Down On The Truth About Transgenderism: It Hurts Women." 

BLM has no plans other than to raise money

Reddit had an "IamA" interview with Black Lives Matter's managing director Kailee Scales and...it didn't go great.  Reddit isn't exactly a right-wing paradise but she couldn't answer any questions about BLM's plans to help black people and simply refused to answer anything about financial transparency of this organization pulling in millions of dollars.

This was my favorite exchange:

What do you think is the most important thing that we as a society should be focusing on? 

Kailee Scales: "It is an exciting time for transformation. As a society, we must lean into this spirit and lean far. We need to know that we can have the fair, just, equitable world we are fighting for. It is in our reach -- anything is possible. We should continue to push at all levels for justice and liberation for all." 

fripletister
I support your movement but you seem entirely unprepared for this AMA. You gotta come in here with substance and really engage people, but as it stands you're flopping hard 

Auspants
It's because the movement itself is lead by people entirely unqualified for that sort of thing. It's going to be interesting to see how and where the millions of dollars of donations get spent. 

edvek
You think they have a budgeting oversight committee which tracks every penny spent? I don't think they do. 

chief89
So the most important thing to focus on is the spirit of transformation? Is there a more concrete answer? 

Pizza2kbitchslut
Lol that's the most vague surface-level bullshit you could've possibly come up with

If anybody - anybody at all - can tell us what solid goals BLM has other than defunding the police, let us know.  Shelby Steele called them out:

They -- striking to me about this particular one is that there was not even a list of demands, usually, there's always a long elaborate list of demands. That wasn't the case here. There's nothing that you can come away from.

Go ahead and defund the police, though.  It worked out great in Baltimore.

The race hustler

The Lid: "The MSM Continues To Cover Up Al Sharpton’s Racism, Homophobia, Misogyny, And Antisemitism."  "Al Sharpton is a low-life bigoted, anti-white, anti-Semitic, misogynistic, racist homophobe. But instead of pointing out how he spews hatred, the mainstream media covers up for his hatred.  And their adoration of Sharpton at George Floyd’s funeral is just the latest example."

I know I've said this many times but I grew up in the New York metropolitan area during the Tawana Brawley hoax and Sharpton's behavior was completely reprehensible. 

I'll believe it when I see it

PJ Media: "Justice Is Coming: 'As Many as 16-17' Obamagate Criminal Referrals Headed to DOJ."

Joe will bend the knee

Good article from Stanley Kurtz: "As the New York Times Goes, So Goes Biden."  It's AOC's party now, complete with the 1619 agitprop. 

Let the struggle sessions commence!

Instapundit: "Crybullies claim another scalp: NY Times editorial page editor James Bennet resigns amid staff fury over Tom Cotton op-ed."

Can you imagine allowing an opinion that differs from yours on the opinion page?  Bourgeois and counter-revolutionary madness!

Here's a picture of New York Times staffers rebuking James Bennet before his execution, er, resignation.

Garbage media corrections

The Washington Post issues a correction before darkness destroys our democracy.

Every day, every single day, the biggest and most famous media outlets in this country prove...they aren't even worth the price of a single newspaper.

This is inexcusable. https://t.co/59seKxyex1

— Pradheep J. Shanker (@Neoavatara) June 6, 2020

What's the plan, Stan?

Federalist: "Hoover Fellow: The Black Lives Matter Movement Is Deeply Unserious."

“Striking to me is that about this particular one is that there was not even a list of demands. Usually there’s always a long, elaborate list of demands. That wasn’t the case here. There’s nothing that you could come away from, this entire episode, the last two weeks or so that’s meaningful,” [Shelby Steele] said.

This echoes something I wrote earlier: there's no real attempt at meaningful reform in these protests.  Instead they exist to pick at the scab of victimization.  There will be a new round of marches with "No justice no peace!" signs but nothing will change because there are no plans to change. 

Nobody predicted this development

CBS Chicago: "Chicago’s South Side Left With Few Food Options After Weekend Violence."

The main grocery store there was looted for justice.

Gotta focus on the important matters

PJ Media: "This State-Sanctioned Graffiti Is the Ultimate Example of Anti-Trump Pettiness."  The mayor of Washington, D.C. painted "Black Lives Matter" over city streets.

In other news: "2019 had the highest homicide rate D.C. has seen in more than a decade."

Priorities.

Democracy dies in dumbness

Our garbage media at work: "Washington Post blasted over inaccurate 'grim milestone' tweet on unemployment rate: ‘It’s not true’."  They wanted it to be true. 

Did not see that coming

Hot Air: "May Jobs Report ADDS 2.5 Million Jobs; Update: Biggest Jobs Increase Ever, Says CNBC." 

Anecdotally: I'm working a limited number of days on-site and during my commute yesterday I thought there were a lot of cars on the road.  Definitely more than last month when everybody was flying down I-91.

Back on the merry-go-round

Instapundit linked to this article: "Are we being honest about who is to blame for systemic racism?"  In short, the author asks why cities run by Democrats for decades (Minneapolis, Baltimore, Chicago) are such hotbeds of racism:

"A city runs its police department and other services; therefore, if there is so much 'systemic racism' in these organizations, why hasn't it been corrected over so many years under Democratic leaders?

"Why aren't these cities garden spots of racial tolerance, understanding, and virtue?"

There have been no answers.

But I'm more interested in this conclusion:

Unfortunately, in too many cases when people say they want an open and honest discussion about race in America, what they mean is they want an open and honest discussion only about what they say is wrong with people who aren’t them.

When people talk about the need to deal with systemic racism, if they’re not willing to talk about the systems run – often for generations by the political party or politicians they support – they aren’t interested in an open and honest conversation; instead, they want only to use the issue as a club against people who aren’t them.

If that’s the case, we’re condemned to never get off this tragedy of a merry-go-round.

I've been reading articles calling for "police reform" - whatever that means - and "a conversation on race" - whatever that means - and calls to "vote!" - for what we don't know.  This opinion piece from Time magazine is typical:

One thing though: don’t ask me how to start. That’s part of your work, too. The answers are all around you if you are willing to look and listen.

Can we have a hint?  No?  The obvious and critical solutions are always just out of reach, unfathomable to America's first black President, the representative to Minnesota's 5th district, or Minnesota's district attorney.

Extra - Red State: "Bringing up these details — acknowledging who has been in charge in Minnesota, noting the black-on-white crime therein, seeing minority cops are shooting minorities — tends to raise the ire of those outraged and calling for change. This presents a problem to one of their central demands. We hear a lot of calls to have a serious dialogue about race in this country, but they resist when these facts are brought into the dialogue. If we are to have a serious discussion about race, then it has to be an honest discussion." 

Just making stuff up

The Corner: "A Times Reporter Gets the Facts Dead Wrong."  "One can reasonably disagree with the president’s choice to walk to St. John’s and take a photo with a Bible. But Times reporters should strive to meet a higher standard than making false claims easily disproven by consulting a transcript." 

Peaceful...except for that burning church

Federalist: "Media Falsely Claimed Violent Riots Were Peaceful And That Tear Gas Was Used Against Rioters" - "The entire narrative the media glommed onto in lockstep was that Trump was a monster who tear-gassed peaceful protesters to do something meaningless. None of that was true."

Pretty sneaky, sis

Babylon Bee: "Clever Churchgoers Avoid Arrest By Disguising Themselves As Rioters." "Religious people in Southern California have found a bold, creative solution for in-person meetings in spite of the continuing lockdown. This past weekend, several area churches attended church services disguised as righteously indignant rioters." 

Bricks and fire

Heather MacDonald: "Darkness Falls" - "The collapse of the rule of law across the country, intensified by Antifa radicals, is terrifying." 

A dog's breakfast

Red State: "Judge Sullivan Delivers Response In Flynn Case and It’s Something."

I'm not a lawyer so I'll accept this legal analysis that Sullivan is making up stuff out of whole cloth.  Waiting for the Legal Insurrection analysis.

It goes on and on like this while avoiding the core issue at hand. Rule 48 and Fokker require him to dismiss the case. He can investigate it all he likes, that’s never going to change

Strong chance of a writ of mandamus being issued for Flynn 2-1 after this hot garbage

/ENDS

— Undercover Huber (@JohnWHuber) June 1, 2020

See the future of policing in major cities

Wiki on the 2015 Baltimore riots:

The increase in shootings has occurred along with a 50% decline in arrests since the charging of six officers in Gray's death in custody. The heavy police presence in crime-ridden neighborhoods is no longer apparent with one resident stating, "Before it was over-policing. Now there's no police." One officer speaking anonymously stated, "After the protests, it seems like the citizens would appreciate a lack of police presence, and that's exactly what they're getting." Batts stated that his officers are "not holding back" despite encountering hostility in the Western District whenever they make an arrest with "30 to 50 people surrounding them at any time;" he also stated that his officers feel "confused and unsupported" in the wake of the charges. The president of the police union said his members are "afraid of going to jail for doing their jobs properly."

And the results: "Baltimore breaks city record for killings per capita in 2019" and "At this rate, Baltimore is on pace for 286 murders in 2020. At this point last year, the city was on pace for 284."