NO ENEMIES TO THE LEFT: Obama endorses Justin Trudeau despite his history of blackface.

As good as Justin must feel today, this has to be causing Joe Biden to flinch a bit. Biden is struggling to raise money and last night’s debate showed that the other candidates now see Elizabeth Warren as the leader of the pack. So where is the Obama endorsement for Uncle Joe? Biden claimed months ago that he had asked Obama not to endorse him but I bet he’d welcome a surprise endorsement now. It’s true that Biden has made some odd and awkward statements but at least he hasn’t worn blackface.

Read the whole thing.

GOING BROKE, WENT WOKE: GQ is a holy text of woke capital.

GQ embracing all things ‘woke’ was predictable. Since 1932, this storied institution has published articles and photographs related to men’s fashion and culture. Once a port and cigars kind of publication, in the 1990s it became associated with the ‘metrosexual’ trend. GQ, Mark Simpson wrote, was:

‘…filled…with images of narcissistic young men sporting fashionable clothes and accessories. And they persuaded other young men to study them with a mixture of envy and desire.’

Being narcissistically obsessed with fashion and status naturally led the owners and staff of GQ to adopt a fashionable, high-status ideology. Like Rolex watches, ‘woke’ opinions are positional goods, too arcane, counter-intuitive and amorphous for anyone except an ideological elite. As with clothes, ‘woke’ fashions offer endless content as different social phenomena are humorlessly deconstructed. It is, in other words, a perfect fit.

* * * * * * * *

Sometimes the messaging is more obvious. Pharrell Williams appears to say ‘the dominant force on this planet right now is the older straight white male,’ and ask, ‘Man, what would the world be like if women held all of the highest positions worldwide?’ I too am disgusted by old straight white males putting down protesters in Hong Kong and imprisoning Uighurs, but am also curious what the world would be like if it was ruled by Marion Le Pen and Kolinda Grabar-Kitarowic.

Exit quote, via Twitchy:

OH, THE HUMANITY! Model spends $25K on surgery to increase breast size to N cup.

(Classical reference in headline.)

SELF-HERDING: Journalism professor tells journalists not to ask questions.

Plus, harsh but fair:

FIGHT THE POWER: Toronto Raptors Fans To Give Away Thousands of Pro-Hong Kong T-Shirts on Opening Night. “A group of local basketball fans who support Hong Kong’s pro-democracy movement raised more than $32,000 to produce and give away enough t-shirts to cover roughly a third of the Scotiabank Arena’s audience. The Raptors have not officially endorsed this giveaway, nor is the team involved in the political movement — but a strong faction of Raptors Nation is ready to make a statement.”

HARSH, BUT FAIR: “I also wonder if as many people will continue to vote in Drudge’s polls, now that he’s joined up with the Never-Trump crew. Maybe he should start a new magazine with Bill Kristol.”

IGNORANCE IS STRENGTH: ‘I’m sorry, we don’t need an old white male’s mansplanation’: What woman told Men in Black writer when he offered to clear up row with a friend over HIS film.

SHOW ME THE MONEY:

Previously: Dem Donors Leak to Press: Biden’s a ‘Weak Front-Runner.’

DOING THE E STREET SHUFFLE: Ilhan Omar Funnels 30 Percent of Campaign Cash to Alleged Boyfriend’s Firm — Nearly $150,000 in new payments went from Omar’s campaign to E Street Group.

HMM: Maine High School Suspends Three Girls for Posting Note Accusing Classmate of Sexual Assault.

YES, THOSE ‘STAR CHAMBER’ ANALOGIES APPLY TO PELOSI’S IMPEACHMENT PROCESS: It’s not an exact parallel but it’s getting closer, and it’s no good thing for America.

THEY CALLED THEM STEWARDESSES BACK THEN: Original Delta flight attendant dies at 103.

AT AMAZON, Shop Amazon Warehouse Deals – Deep Discounts on Open-box and Used Products.

Plus, Shop Amazon Outlet – Clearance, Markdowns and Overstock Deals.

TYLER O’NEIL: Winners and Losers of the Fourth Democratic Debate.

Losers: Television viewers.

Winners: Drunkblog readers.

SMOKE SIGNALS FROM THE MEMORY HOLE: Ouch: Elizabeth Warren Deletes Embarrassing DNA Test Video After PJ Media Story.

Not surprisingly, Jim Treacher, who celebrated “Happy Anniversary to Elizabeth Warren’s DNA Test!” yesterday, is taking a victory lap today: “Don’t worry, Liz. You’ve still got the journos on your side. Now that they know you’re not really Native American, they’re circling the wagons. Don’t you just love irony?”

Heh, indeed.™

DAVID HARSANYI: LeBron Jame$ Is A Coward. “There’s nothing wrong with exporting capitalism. There’s absolutely something wrong about supporting tyrants.”

Only last year, James, a purported champion of social justice, came out in support former quarterback Colin Kaepernick with the vacuous platitude, “I stand with anyone who believes in change.” Anyone? Of course, LeBron’s stand, as with most acts of pretend celebrity bravery, resulted in hosannas being thrown at him by the press, and, more importantly, never costing him a penny.

Americans tend to use word like “stand” and “fight” in their political disagreements, though they never really have to stand and fight for anything. Tank Man stood and fought. The Hong Kong protesters stand and fight. We take to social media and argue. Posting a Nike-approved picture on your Instagram account of Kaepernick—adorned with the $40-million market-test slogan, “Believe in something, Even if it means sacrificing everything”—is not an act of bravery, LeBron.

And that’s fine. All of this just speaks to the relative safety afforded dissent and protest in our political life. In the United States celebrities are free to accuse the president of being fascist dictator or “bum,” and no one is coming to knock on their doors. Watching fabulously wealthy men fretting over their words abroad is a useful reminder of the liberalism we have inherited.

And which they are gladly squandering.

UPDATE (FROM GLENN): They’re not so much “squandering” freedom, as selling it.

SHOCKER: Docs Still Overwhelmed by Regulatory Burdens: Survey.

OH: Gov. Cuomo drops the n-word during live radio interview.

AND THE HITS JUST KEEP ON COMING FOR THE DES MOINES REGISTER: Entire RAGBRAI staff resigns over Register’s handling of Carson King story:

A rift over the Des Moines Register’s handling of the Carson King story has led to the resignation of the entire staff of the Register’s Annual Great Bike Ride Across Iowa from the newspaper, effective immediately.

In a Tuesday post on RAGBRAI’s Facebook page, TJ Juskiewicz said the Register, “refused to offer me the opportunity to openly speak to the RAGBRAI Nation, and answer the hundreds of passionate questions asked about the future of RAGBRAI following the Des Moines Register’s handling of the Carson King story.”

Juskiewicz said his efforts to communicate with riders were blocked because “it did not mesh with the company’s PR narrative to spin the Carson King embarrassment.”

Juskiewicz says he was told the Register’s leadership, and public relations professionals “don’t want to issue any more public statements on this matter”.

But, Juskiewicz said the Register offered him “talking points for interviews regarding RAGBRAI if the Carson King situation comes up.”

So, 16-years after taking the job as RAGBRAI’s executive director, Juskiewicz, and his staff resigned.

“I can no longer be an effective leader when my principles are compromised by the leadership of Gannett/Des Moines Register,” said Juskiewicz.

Found via Iowahawk, who tweets, “This is one hell of a shoe drop: the entire RAGBRAI (Register’s Annual Great Bike Ride Across Iowa) staff resigns en masse in protest over the DMRegister’s Carson King fiasco, will start a new event with no affiliation to the paper,” adding, “For you non-Iowans, let me explain that this is a Big F’ing Deal. RAGBRAI has been a beloved state institution since 1973, attracts tens of thousands of riders, and is a major source of goodwill for the Register. This is a major kick in their nuts.”

To paraphrase Michelle Obama, for the first time in my life, I’m proud of a group of bicycle riders.

ANALYSIS: TRUE. The Vaping Crisis Is a Moral Panic Led by Anti-Smoking Crusaders.

DIRTY JOBS: You’re Swabbing a Dead Gorilla for Ebola. Then It Gets Worse.

CHRISTIAN TOTO: From Hanoi Jane to Climate Hypocrite, Fonda Does It All. “The celebrated star is making a fool of herself with her climate crusade, and the media is making it worse.”

Let’s not forget she survived the most offensive celebrity act of the past 50 years. In 1972 Fonda took her anti-Vietnam war activism to new levels, visiting Hanoi and posing for pictures on a anti-aircraft battery.

The nickname “Hanoi Jane” was born, and it’s never gone away despite her repeated apologies.

Now, sadly, she’s making a fool of herself on the national stage. Again.

Fonda got arrested last week to raise awareness for Climate Change. She vows to keep getting arrested in order to bring more attention to the cause.

“This is a collective crisis, it requires collective action and so I decided to use my celebrity to try to raise the sense of urgency and I moved to Washington and I’m going to get arrested every Friday,” she said.

The media is using Fonda for its own climate change messaging, letting her slide on anything remotely close to a tough but fair question.

To be fair, narratives don’t set themselves.