DEAL OF THE DAY: CAP Barbell Rubber Medicine Ball, 12-Pounds. #CommissonEarned

ROGER KIMBALL: Show Trials, Then And Now.

Powerline’s Scott Johnson quoted a TV Guide reporter who described the viewership of the first January 6 House Committee’s prime-time television extravaganza as “decent.”

In context, “decent” means “dismal” since, as Johnson notes, “the networks graciously handed their prime-time slots over to the committee’s motley crew in unison, Soviet style.”

A show trial is a mock or make-believe trial in which the guilt of the party is predetermined.

The trial is just a form of theater.

Lenin called them “model trials.”

The aim was not to discover the truth—which was supposedly already known—but to stage a propaganda exhibition.

The Soviet Union specialized in the genre as did Communist China, Nazi Germany, and other totalitarian countries.

As the White Queen in Alice in Wonderland put it, it was always “Sentence first—verdict afterwards.”

If you turned on the television on June 9 and you weren’t tuned in to Fox News you were watching—or “watching”—a couple hours of Bennie Thompson and Liz Cheney conducting a show trial.

They vilified Donald Trump while airing a few misleadingly edited clips from the events of that day.

As I have noted elsewhere, the Democrats went all out on this show.

They hired a former ABC consultant to make sure the production values were high.

It was only the substance that was clumsy, amateurish, unconvincing.

At least, that is what I think.

“The issue is never the issue.”

That’s what Democratic demigod and house philosopher Saul Alinsky taught.

If nothing else, the first episode of the January 6th show confirms that the actors have absorbed that lesson.

The announced issue was the protest at the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.

But the real issue was the person of Donald Trump and the populist movement he embodies.

That was the half-articulated obbligato that underlay the entire proceeding.

As The Wall Street Journal put it, the House Committee “made clear in its first hearing that its main goal is showing Donald Trump was to blame for the attack on the Capitol, raising the question of what legal or political consequences the former president might face at the end of the probe.”

They made it clear, but they did not really acknowledge it.

Why? Because the ultimate legitimacy of the Committee requires that it be seen as something other than what it in fact was: a nakedly partisan witch hunt.

The Democrats face several problems in putting over this blind.

For one thing, most of the American people do not really care about a brief protest in Washington, D.C., a year and a half ago.

Maybe the carefully curated clips broadcast by the Commission are dramatic.

But many commentators instantly pointed out the tendentious—i.e., untruthful—editing, as when Trump’s direction that protesters make their way “peacefully and patriotically” to the Capitol was clipped to omit the word “peacefully.”

H. L. Mencken once observed that no one “ever lost money by underestimating the intelligence of the great masses of the plain people.”

That’s a nicely phrased comment.—

But I suspect we are on the verge of seeing it disproved.

Overreach is the Dems’ brand nowadays.

HMM: There Is No Military Path For Ukraine To ‘Defeat’ Russia.

UPDATE: I wouldn’t make too much of this statement. There was no military path for Vietnam to defeat the United States either. Or for the Taliban. And yet.

I’M NOT GOING TO ASK ‘WHAT COULD POSSIBLY GO WRONG?’ SO LONG AS THE AVS BRING HOME THE CUP: Denver ready to party: City overrides 30-day permit process, allows bar expansion during Stanley Cup.

TO BE FAIR, HE’S A MORON, AND A FASCIST: Trudeau still ranting about guns not being for self-defense.

IF YOU’RE LOOKING TO THROW SEVERELY DISABLED WORKERS OUT OF A JOB, THIS IS AN EXCELLENT STRATEGY:  When the Commission on Civil Rights reported on requiring employers to pay the standard minimum wage to Down Syndrome workers, their families were overwhelmingly against it. 

PJ MEDIA VIP ROUNDUP: Don’t forget that VODKAPUNDIT promo code if you’ve been thinking of joining us.

Matt Margolis: Study Finds the Trans Craze Is Killing Kids, Not Saving Them. “You never know who or what in your child’s life might try to brainwash him or her into thinking s/he’s transgender. His teachers? Her camp counselors? Disney programming?”

Megan Fox: Abuse Victims Write In: ‘I Saw My Abuser in Amber Heard.’ “Since my extensive coverage of the Johnny Depp vs. Amber Heard trial began, I have received many emails from victims of domestic violence who want to be heard. And the reason they reached out to me is that Big Media is refusing to hear them.”

Yours Truly: ‘Natural Immunity Wins Again.’ “I’m reporting this news exclusively to our VIP subscribers because if I make this scientific knowledge available to the general public, there’s a very good chance all of PJ Media will get squeezed — hard — by various social media giants.”

FLASHBACK, OCTOBER, 2020: “A Biden victory will unleash an aggressive campaign to de-Trumpify America.” “Now, it’s mainstream to characterize Trump and his supporters as tribal enemies. For example, Trump and his supporters aren’t just political opponents anymore. They are now fascists (anti-fascist tribe) and racists (anti-racism tribe)—people who represent an imminent threat.”

ON SUNDAYS I DO A PROMO POST AND SOME OF THE READERS DO A VIGNETTE CHALLENGE:  Book Promo And Vignettes by Luke, Mary Catelli and ‘Nother Mike.

And yesterday I didn’t stay up long enough to post, so I’m doing it today.

YOU’RE ALL ON TIME OUT, THIS ARTICLE WAS OUT THERE FOR SEVEN YEARS, AND NO ONE SENT IT TO ME:  What Does Space Taste Like and Why Does It Matter?

Apparently it tastes like steak with raspberries.  Guys, it’s a sign we’re supposed to go to space. Obviously.

CHASER:  In Praise of Dead White Males.

SHOT:  THE MILLENNIAL URBAN PROVINCIALISM OF ASH SARKAR.

IF THEY HAD ANYTHING THEY’D HAVE SHOWN IT DURING THURSDAY’S SHOW TRIAL:  Members of Jan. 6 committee claim there’s enough evidence to indict Trump.

WELL, OF COURSE THE LEFTY AREAS ARE NIMBY:  Kansas is #32 in educational racial equality, belieing officials’ anti-racism claims.

OUR LONG NATIONAL NIGHTMARE IS FINALLY OVER:  Yellowstone’s Mount Doane renamed to First Peoples Mountain for being offensive.

ROLL LEFT AND DIE!  Media learning that bias doesn’t sell.

QUELLE SURPRISE:  Bzzt! Another phony claim from Joe Biden’s happy economy falls apart: Consumers are maxing their credit cards.

I THINK SO TOO:  Why Democrat Poll Numbers Are Worse Than You Think.

JUST IN CASE WE NEED LESS BRAIN ACTIVITY IN THE OVAL OFFICE THAN SLOW JOE:  Is AOC Thinking About Running For President In 2024?

IT’S PROJECTION, LIKE EVERYTHING ELSE:  Violent Trump Supporters Dreamed Up By Left.

BEHOLD, MY SHOCKED FACE:  China Rejects WHO Call For Deeper Probe of Wuhan Lab Leak Possibility, Calls It A “Political Lie”.

WHERE IS THIS EQUAL PROTECTION UNDER THE LAW?  Washington State Supreme Court Imposes Different Standards On Police “Seizures” For “BIPOC” and Whites.

IT’S ALMOST LIKE THEIR CONTACT WITH REALITY IS THREAD-THIN: Dems “Renewable” Energy Plans Face Battery Shortage As They Run Up Cost Of Reliable Fossil Fuels.

AND THAT MY FRIENDS, MEANS YOU AND ME:  Biden Says Feds to Cover 100% of New Mexico Wildfire Response Costs After Feds Incompetence Contributed To Blaze.

The feds screw up and our taxes pay for it.

NOTHING TO SEE HERE, MOVE ALONG: There’s a run on Chinese banks and it’s being ignored by the world.