SENATE NOW RATED A TOSS-UP AFTER MOST PRIMARIES HAVE BEEN HELD:
Even in a “red wave” election, winning the Senate is going to be an uphill battle for Republicans. Of the 35 seats up for grabs, Republicans are defending 21 of them while Democrats are defending only 14 seats, all of which are in states that voted for President Joe Biden in 2020. This limits Republicans’ offensive opportunities.
Read the whole thing.
LIVE AT 4PM EASTERN: ‘Five O’Clock Somewhere’ with Kruiser, VodkaPundit, Special Guest Ed Morrissey.
SANITY THREATENS TO REAPPEAR: Germany: On second thought, about those nuclear reactors … “As Germany is about to put the cold in ‘cold turkey’ in its winter withdrawal from their addiction to cheap Russian energy, they’re starting to question many of their previous decisions. Earlier this week, the Washington Post reported that Berlin wants to spin up its coal-fueled generation plants to make up for the shortfall in Russian natural gas, along with several other European nations. At the time, I mentioned that any serious effort to remain ‘green’ would include a new look at nuclear power as well. Lo and behold, the Wall Street Journal reports, Germany has second thoughts about shutting down those plants too.”
READER FAVORITE: Apple AirPods Pro Wireless Earbuds with MagSafe Charging Case. #CommissionEarned
DON’T ASK ME, ASK PROFESSOR CARRINGTON: How worried should we be about solar flares and space weather?
AN ERRAND BOY, SENT BY GROCERY CLERKS, TO COLLECT A BILL: The great White House replacement. Joe Biden is an errand boy, a figurehead, and he has outlived his plausibility:
“There is this sense that things are kind of out of control,” quoth Axelrod when asked about the Big Guy™, “and he’s not in command.” Right you are, Dave! My only question is: what took you so long?
Of course, Axelrod’s devastating admission was not a disinterested or impartial judgment. Nothing Obama’s main men say is that. Every word is calculated for political advantage. But the question is, whose advantage? I am not entirely sure. I am confident, though, that Axelrod’s breathtaking admission was part of the next step in resetting the political chess board. It was another stage in the emergency effort at damage control that the shadowy cadre of people who actually run the United States have been undertaking ever since the full magnitude of Joe Biden’s incompetence became manifest.
Back in March, I predicted that the Democrats were prepping to eject Biden. One sign of that, I said, was the fact that elements of the regime-propaganda secretariat — in this case the New York Times — had suddenly gone off the reservation by admitting that Hunter Biden’s “Laptop from Hell” was not “Russian disinformation” as they and all their cohort had insisted, but was, in fact, the real deal. And not just the salacious stuff about Hunter’s “private” life, but also all the possibly criminal stuff about Chinese involvement with the Bidens’ finances and, especially, Joe Biden’s personal involvement with various schemes involving millions of dollars.
It’s Roger Kimball, so read the whole thing.
DISPATCHES FROM WEIMAR AMERICA: Whoopi Goldberg Talks To God, Suggests He Supports Abortion.
A MOVE TOWARD FREE SPEECH AND NEUTRALITY: UNC Chapel Hill Board of Trustees pass free speech and student fees resolutions.
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Board of Trustees (BOT) unanimously passed two resolutions at its July 27 meeting.
The Freedom of Speech resolution was introduced and read by BOT member Dr. Perrin Jones.
“The Board of Trustees reaffirms its commitment to academic freedom as embodied in the Chicago principles and the Kalven Committee Report on the University’s Role in Political and Social Action, which is attached hereto as Attachment A,” the Resolution on the Affirmation of Academic Freedom and Freedom of Speech reads in part.
The University of Chicago Kalven Committee Report on the University’s Role in Political and Social Action outlines how colleges and universities should stay neutral and abstain from political or social commentary in their official capacities.
In an interview with North State Journal, Jones said the Kalven Report was added because “we felt like institutional neutrality was of paramount importance for academic freedom to exist on campus.”
“The reason we passed the resolution is we felt it was important for the board to show that the principles of academic freedom are of paramount importance to us and to the university,” Jones told NSJ.
During the meeting, Jones remarked that the people who entrusted them to lead the university feel that “Carolina has lost her way” and that “It is no longer centered on the pursuit of knowledge and exposure to the greatest ideas and discoveries of the human mind and an environment that nurtures open debate and inquiry.”
“They are concerned our students are learning what to think rather than how to think,” Jones said.
After brief remarks, the resolution passed unanimously.
The student fees resolution was brought forward and read by BOT member Teresa Artis Neal.
The resolution on “Viewpoint-Neutral Access to Mandatory Student Fees” states that “the Chancellor shall direct appropriate University personnel to develop and issue policy requiring that the Senates of the Undergraduate Student Government and the Graduate and Professional Students Government must appropriate all student fees in a viewpoint-neutral manner, including any necessary procedures required to ensure compliance with this requirement.”
Neal said her resolution was also aligned with promoting academic freedom and expression.
More like this, please.
TAYLOR SWIFT’S PRIVATE JET HYPOCRISY: Taylor Swift finally faces the woke mob.
It’s been four years since pop superstar Taylor Swift went full lib. After years of speculation over her political leanings (her silence on issues led some to believe she was a secret Trump supporter), Swift urged her fellow Tennessee residents to vote against the “appalling” and “terrifying” Republican Marsha Blackburn for Senate.
“I will be voting for Phil Bredesen for Senate and Jim Cooper for House of Representatives. Please, please educate yourself on the candidates running in your state and vote based on who most closely represents your values,” Swift wrote in an Instagram post.
Since then, Swift has been outspoken about her pro-choice, anti-gun, and anti-Trump views. But unlike some of her fellow left-wing celebrities, Swift has somehow avoided being accused of not being woke enough. Katy Perry, a former foe of Swift and alleged subject of the song “Bad Blood,” has taken heat for cultural appropriation in her music videos. Jimmy Fallon and Jimmy Kimmel apologized for past incidents of blackface. Demi Lovato was dragged for visiting Israel.
Alas, recent reports of Swift’s private jet usage finally suggest she’s not the woke hero she makes herself out to be. The digital marketing agency Yard discovered that Swift’s planes emit more CO2 in seven months than 1,184 average people would in an entire year. She apparently has two jets (how luxurious!) that took 170 trips in just 200 days this year, and the average flight time is just 80 minutes.
Yet rather than say she was sorry and promise to “educate herself” and “do better,” as the PR-crafted celebrity apologies usually go, a rep for Swift tried to pass the buck.
“Taylor’s jet is loaned out regularly to other individuals,” her spokesperson said. “To attribute most or all of these trips to her is blatantly incorrect.”
Ah, well, in that case everything is totally fine! The carbon emissions are offset, you see, by Swift’s generous lending of her private plane to her less wealthy friends. Isn’t charity great?
I don’t want to hear another word about Glenn Reynolds’ carbon footprint.
WHAT ABOUT A NICE SHARP CHEDDAR, OR A NOBLE STILTON? Jarlsberg bests Camembert in bone-thinning prevention, study shows.
GOSH, THAT WOULD BE A SHAME: Sinema Wants Changes to Reconciliation Bill That May Torpedo the Whole Thing.
THE GADSDEN FLAG TRIGGERS LEFTIES: Florida’s ‘vile’ new ‘Don’t Tread on Me’ license plate ‘stirs controversy,’ media says.
Spread these around to encourage them to remain in blue states.
And this would be funny if it wasn’t true:
UPDATE: From the comments: “Vile ‘Don’t Tread On Me’ Plate Offends Those Who Would Tread On You.”
BRITTNEY GRINER SENTENCED TO NINE YEARS IN PRISON AFTER BEING FOUND GUILTY ON DRUG CHARGES IN RUSSIA. “Griner is being used as a political pawn. Now, with the sentencing, it forces the hand of President Joe Biden to do something sooner rather than later and get the American citizen out of Russian prison.”
JONATHAN TURLEY: The Political and Media Elite Prepare To Drop Hunter Biden in a ‘Controlled Demolition.’
For news junkies, there has been a remarkable and sudden shift in the media in the coverage of the Hunter Biden scandal. The shift is the very fact that there is suddenly coverage of the Hunter Biden scandal. From CNN to NPR, reporters are now acknowledging that the infamous laptop is not “Russian disinformation” as was widely claimed before the 2020 election. After years of burying the story, the media is now attempting an even more precarious exercise.
It is called controlled demolition: the implosion of a scandal to limit any blast effect on nearby structures or individuals. Like those buildings dropped between other structures, it takes precision and, most importantly, cooperation to pull off. Specifically, this controlled demolition will require the perfect timing of the media, Democratic politicians, and most importantly, the Justice Department.
That was the same alliance that successfully killed the story before the election despite evidence of a multimillion dollar influence peddling scheme by the Biden family.
Read the whole thing.
GOOD. KIDS ARE TOO YOUNG TO CONSENT: DeSantis Wants to Sue Doctors Who Butcher ‘Trans’ Kids for Profit.
EX-IM BANK STILL A CRONY CAPITALISM EMBARRASSMENT: New analysis by Open the Books finds Boeing continues to be the biggest beneficiary of the Export-Import Bank’s billions in tax-backed loans. China, Russia, Turkey and Nigeria are doing rather well by Ex-Im as well.
READER FAVORITE: Alpha Grillers Instant Read Meat Thermometer for Grill and Cooking. #CommissionEarned
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