Archive for 2018

DAVID HARSANYI: There Is Nothing ‘Illegitimate’ About The Brett Kavanaugh Nomination. “Democrats keep creating a make-believe constitutional order.”

But much like their ideal Supreme Court, Democrats have set about fabricating brand new extra-constitutional standards that happen to always align with their partisan aims. Their latest concocted stipulation states that anyone nominated by a present under suspicion of criminality becomes “illegitimate.”

Democratic Sens. Mazie Hirono and Ed Markey canceled meetings this week with prospective Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh. Markey said the nominee was “illegitimate” because the president was “all but named as a co-conspirator.” A similar sentiment was repeated by many Democrats and liberal pundits. The Supreme Court itself, contends The New York Times’ Paul Krugman, would become “fundamentally illegitimate.”

Much of this, of course, is typical Trump-era hyperbole. None of these senators were going to vote for Kavanaugh anyway, and none of these pundits are going accept the validity of the Supreme Court that adheres to the Constitution as written. Yet, it’s still worth noting the vacuosness of their arguments.

Turns out there’s a lot of vacuity worth noting, so you’ll want to read the whole thing.

NO, THEY’RE NOT GOING TO ABDUCT YOUR CHILD: Fear of Strangers is Fatal. The “World’s Worst Mom,” Lenore Skenazy, on the deadly consequences of scaring parents.

PETA 0 BALTIMORE 1: PETA put up a billboard in Baltimore urging Charm City residents not to eat crab. It didn’t go down too well.

My favorite reaction: “You evolved a shell and claws to protect your meat. I have hands and a mallet. LET’S DO THIS.” 

REPOSTED FROM YESTERDAY: I’m not surprised that my friends in MSM have not said a word about this. Maybe because it’s indefensible?

The [Post’s] lawsuit drops this stunning little nugget into their complaint: “[T]here is no evidence of a newspaper or other website being unwittingly manipulated by illegitimate foreign political advertising.”

They might want to talk to their editors, who have been publishing reams of stories about how web manipulation robbed them of their preferred candidate’s rightful place.

TEACH WOMEN NOT TO LIE ABOUT RAPE: Victims of student who falsely accused them of rape speak out at her sentencing.

“I went from being a college student to sitting at home being expelled with no way to clear my name,” St. Hilaire told the judge, as Yovino smirked just a few feet away. [The reporter also observed her “rolling her eyes” as he delivered his victim-impact statement.] “I just hope she knows what she has done to me, my life will never be the same. I did nothing wrong, but everything has been altered because of this.”

Not much remorse there from the perpetrator.

HMM: China’s Charm Offensive in the South China Sea.

Since the 2016 Permanent Court of Arbitration ruling in favour of the Philippines, China has actively engaged in a campaign to restore its image among ASEAN countries by affecting a more cooperative stance on the issue. In April 2017, China reopened the Scarborough Shoal to Philippine fishing vessels, which had been barred from the area following a tense two-month standoff in 2012. Economic initiatives for Southeast Asia were liberally poured out through the Belt and Road Initiative.

China also agreed to restart negotiations for the code of conduct, which had been stalled since the signing of the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea in 2002. Earlier this month, the table-top phase of the inaugural ASEAN–China maritime exercise was held in Singapore. These olive branches from Beijing were generally well received in the various ASEAN capitals, and China is keen to maintain the goodwill it has generated over the past year.

At the same time, many ASEAN countries have begun to question the U.S. commitment to the region.

Years of Obama’s empty “pivot to Asia” promises will have that effect.

BILL GERTZ: China Set for North Korea Invasion.

According to the report, China fears North Korea’s provocative nuclear and missile tests will set off a regional conflict. Beijing wants stability, a denuclearized peninsula and no U.S. forces near its borders.

“China’s priority is maintaining stability on the Korean peninsula, which includes preventing a [North Korean] collapse and preventing a military conflict on