THEY’RE UP AGAINST A REALITY-SHOW KING: Byron York: Can Democrats produce a daily impeachment show?
Archive for 2020
January 18, 2020
“BAIL REFORM”: It’s unusual for wrongheaded reforms to unravel as quickly as New York’s appears to be doing.
The U.S. Commission on Civil Rights will be conducting a briefing on bail reform in May. Maybe by then everyone will agree that New York’s effort was a mistake, and they will have moved on to something else.
IT’S WEIRD HOW “FIX AMERICA’S DEMOCRACY” ALWAYS TURNS OUT TO MEAN “RIG THINGS SO THE LEFT ALWAYS WINS.” Harvard releases radical proposal to fix America’s democracy that divides Washington D.C. into 127 new states, adding enough votes in Congress to rewrite the constitution and eliminate the Electoral College.
UPDATE: Eugene Volokh emails to suggest that this is making too much out of a student note in the Harvard Law Review. On the one hand, I get it, but on the other hand, this is how crazy and stupid ideas start out, so I think it’s important to mock them early. And in particular the use of “fix our democracy” to mean “rig things so the left always wins.”
Also, it’s never a bad time to mock Harvard in general, or Harvard Law in particular.
THE BABYLON BEE IS SAVAGE: Pelosi Releases Limited-Edition Replica Of Dentures Worn During Trump Impeachment. The signature is a nice touch.
BUT IT’S ALL JUST SO VERY AMUSING: If CNN Can’t Take Punches, They Shouldn’t Be Throwing Them.
Under Trump, more and more Republicans are learning to be Groucho — I mean, even Martha McSally — but the Democrats are still cluelessly doing Margaret Dumont.
January 17, 2020
“I WOULDN’T GO TO WAR WITH YOU PEOPLE. YOU’RE A BUNCH OF DOPES AND BABIES.” “Ironically, it makes the people Trump called ‘dopes and babies’ look like dopes and babies.” If the epithet fits, you should quit. Plus: “Why should those people be facilitated in their comfort and established old ways? During the Vietnam War era, we would have reacted with derision at expectations like that.”
SHAKE, RATTLE AND ROLL: On this day in 1994, the Northridge quake shook Southern California. It was the first (but alas not the last) earthquake to scare the living daylights out of me.
THE IGNOBLE EXPERIMENT: One hundred years ago today, Prohibition began.
NORTHAM’S REALLY TURNED OUT TO BE SCUM. How a Democratic Governor and the Mainstream Media Tried to Delegitimize a Civil Rights Rally Before It Even Started. “Northam probably knows more about white supremacy than I do, given his history, but this is starting to get ridiculous.”
UPDATE: So I’m wondering: What if Virginians rebelled and overthrew Northam’s government? It’s unlikely, but if they did, federal intervention is also unlikely. There have been two such cases in American history — the Dorr Rebellion in Rhode Island, and the Wilmington Insurrection of 1898, and in both cases the federal government didn’t intervene. To intervene, the president would have to make a declaration under the Insurrection Act, and there’s no obligation that he do so. And the question of which state government is legitimate is, according to the Supreme Court’s decision in Luther v. Borden, political and non-justiciable.
Which means that if Northam were to be physically removed from office and a new state government put in in his place — possibly with a new legislature — it would be up to Trump to decide whether to restore the status quo ante, or to recognize the new state government as legitimate.
This probably won’t matter, but it’s worth noting, and I doubt very much that Ralph “Coonman” Northam has thought about it at all.
SAVAGERY FROM THE BABYLON BEE: Gov. Northam Says Virginia Should Be Kept Comfortable While Lawmakers Debate Whether to Kill It.
OPEN THREAD: Make yourself at home.
SUPER GAFFE-O-MATIC 76: Sounds Like Biden Thinks Beto Is Latino. “‘There will be Latinos in my cabinet and I guaranteed there will be Latinos in my White House. And both of them are qualified,’ he said referring to O’Rourke and [Julian] Castro.”
WHY IS BERNIE’S CAMPAIGN SUCH A CESSPIT OF LAWLESSNESS AND HATE? Sanders Field Organizer in Iowa Bailed Out By Regional Field Director After Arrest, Still No Comment from Campaign.
IF CNN CAN’T TAKE PUNCHES, THEY SHOULDN’T BE THROWING THEM: “Martha McSally did everyone a huge favor by calling these clowns out…For decades the left has demonized Fox News and other right wing outlets, the response from the conservative movement in the past has been to say, ‘come on guys, we’re not that bad.’ Well that time is over. There is a new conservative movement and this one doesn’t play that game, this one is ready to punch back just as the good senator from Arizona did Thursday afternoon.”
Read the whole thing.
Related: Seething McSally: Reporters Are ‘In Cahoots With The Democrats.’
Party operatives with bylines, you might say.
GOOD AND HARD: California’s AB5 — Are We Having Fun Yet?
New article from Nina Yablok (aka Mrs. Ed Driscoll), who is still licensed to practice law in California, and who spent a great deal of time arguing independent contractor (IC) issues in front of the California Employment Development Department, which does innumerable IC audits. Nina was also PJM’s legal counsel until its acquisition last year by Salem.
UPDATE: CA Gig Bill Author Throws Temper Tantrum in Interview, Calls Those Affected Liars.
(Bumped.)
TRUST BUT VERIFY. WELL, ACTUALLY, JUST VERIFY: The Misleading Math of Climate Activism.
This is a VIP article. If you haven’t signed up yet, get on the stick, and use CHARLIE as a promo code for a nice discount.
I AGREE. FIGHT THE BIGOTRY! Boris Johnson says veganism is a ‘crime against cheese-lovers.’ As Jesus said, blessed are the cheesemakers.