Archive for 2017

TRUE: Trump Didn’t Ruin the Media, Obama Did. “Obama was the first indicator that the media would simply refuse to cover stories they didn’t like about a politician they did. The media covered Clinton’s Chinagate and Travelgate. But they refused to cover the IRS scandal with the same level of vim as they would have under Bush; they downplayed the Obama administration’s involvement in the botched “Fast and Furious” gun operation scandal; and members of the mainstream media openly mocked the right’s anger over the administration’s manipulation of the 2012 Benghazi terror attack. Obama had to be protected at all costs, including the cost of the media’s credibility. Meanwhile, the media savaged 2012 Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney.”

Think of them as Democratic Party operatives with bylines and you won’t go far wrong. The thing is, nobody much cares what party operatives have to say.

I NEED MY TANNING PILLS: How a small molecule can induce UV-free tanning. “Dr. Fisher and his team tested the molecules in a laboratory culture of human skin and discovered that the more molecules they applied, the more the skin darkened. The artificially induced tan lasted for several days.”

IT’S TIME FOR SENSIBLE FRUM CONTROL: David Frum Writes Gibberish. His Trump-era breakdown has been impressive, even by the standards of many people’s Trump-era breakdowns.

OH, THAT LIBERAL FASCISM. ‘F*ck Steve Scalise’: HuffPost writer Jesse Benn wishes ‘violent resistance’ were more ‘organized.’

A year ago, Benn wrote a screed at the HuffPo headlined, “Sorry Liberals, A Violent Response To Trump Is As Logical As Any:”

In the face of media, politicians, and GOP primary voters normalizing Trump as a presidential candidate—whatever your personal beliefs regarding violent resistance—there’s an inherent value in forestalling Trump’s normalization. Violent resistance accomplishes this. In spite of this, such resistance is apparently more offensive and unacceptable to societal norms and liberal sensibilities than the nastiness being resisted in the first place.

A year ago, I would have written the snarky Allahpundit-inspired “What could go wrong?” rejoinder. Today, sadly, we know.

PAST PERFORMANCE IS NO GUARANTEE OF FUTURE RESULTS:

Shot: ‘Of course’: Journos concerned about ‘rush to blame Dems’ after Alexandria shooting.

Chaser: The Tucson Massacre’s Hall Of Shame: Liberals Who Used Tragedy To Smear The Right.

“Note the media has two modes for coverage of politically motivated shootings: 1, a rightwinger did it, or 2, we must not politicize this,” Ace of Spades tweets, linking to a 2012 New York Post article which notes, “Media assumptions that violence is right-wing are routine — and routinely wrong.”

2015 FACEBOOK POST SHOWS GUNMAN HODGKINSON DIDN’T LIKE REPRESENTATIVE SCALISE: The Daily Caller has published a Facebook post by James T. Hodgkinson. In the post the would be mass murderer maligns one of his victims, Congressman Steve Scalise. Remember, Hodgkinson was a Bernie Sanders supporter. Hey, Paul Krugman. That vote and the Facebook post strongly suggest Hodgkinson was a Democrat of some type. Some type.

MORE FOR PAUL KRUGMAN: Hodgkinson was a Trump-hater. Just like you, Paul. A Trump-hater. Of some type.

THE KRUGMAN PRECEDENT OF 2011:

You know that Republicans will yell about the evils of partisanship whenever anyone tries to make a connection between the rhetoric of Beck, Limbaugh, etc. and the violence I fear we’re going to see in the months and years ahead. But violent acts are what happen when you create a climate of hate. And it’s long past time for the GOP’s leaders to take a stand against the hate-mongers.

Stand up, Paul! Stand up against the Democrat hate-mongers right now!

AT AMAZON, Trader Joe’s 21 Seasoning Salute Blend, 2.2oz. This spice blend is amazing and really cuts down on the need for butter or oils on meat, fish or chicken. Plus it has no salt. My trainer at the gym told me about it and now I’m hooked.

BEN SHAPIRO: All the Rage.

Now, anger is nothing new in politics. Anger has dominated political discourse since the times of the Bible (ask Moses how he felt about a stiff-necked people seemingly ready to throw him overboard every few weeks). And some anger is justified. If you are angry at corruption in Washington, D.C., you have every right to be. If you are angry at a heedless leviathan grasping at your wages, that anger is justified. Even if you channel that emotion in the wrong direction, we can at least understand the anger.

But something new has happened to American politics in the last few years: Politicians have realized that the simplest path to power is to humor everyone’s anger. If you take someone’s anger from them, you’ve emotionally castrated them. More important, you run the risk of driving them into the arms of someone who will feed their anger — an anger that will now turn on you for the sin of having discounted that anger in the first place.

This is deeply unhealthy.

Indeed.

TEST DRIVE: 2018 Audi S5 Sportback. It’s like a mini-A7. Audis look great and drive wonderfully, but I have questions about reliability.