THIS MIGHT LEAVE A MARK: I’m not privy to all the facts here, so I won’t pre-judge it. But I’ll tell you this: Former RNC Chief of Staff Chris LaCivita is suing The Daily Beast for defamation, and he is being represented by Harmeet Dhillon’s firm.

I’d take this very seriously, given (1) the DB’s track record of (IMHO, of course) irresponsible gossip-mongering and a “mission” to insult Trump and people living in “flyover states”; and (2) Dhillon is a certified bad@ss.

Your mileage may vary, take only as directed, and if condition persists see a doctor.

PERHAPS THEY CAN TRY MARKETING A “LIBERAL TEARS” FLAVOR: I found this amusing story somewhat underreported. It appears that:

“Ben & Jerry’s infamously woke CEO has been fired by the ice cream company’s fed-up parent company Unilever. David Stever was booted on March 3 after Unilever bosses grew tired of Ben & Jerry’s advocating for divisive progressive causes like Black Lives Matters, DEI, defunding the police and Palestinian rights.”

Here’s the best part… 

“Ben & Jerry’s remaining bosses have now filed a lawsuit accusing the parent company of firing Stever for his political activism.”

Hmm, so many similes from which to choose…”biting the hand that feeds you,” “pissing in the company water cooler,” “choosing the wrong hill upon which to die” or maybe even “circular firing squad?”

How about just autophagy?

THIS ONE IS A BIT OF AN ODDBALL: Normally, under Florida Star v BJF, I’d agree with telling the opposing counsel to go pound sand. But in this wrinkle, the media filed (and was granted) a Motion to Intervene, and as such, I think by doing so, they submit to the courts’ jurisdiction if a Motion to Compel is filed and granted. Then comes the fun and games of trying to get an immediate — almost interlocutory — appeal and request for a stay.

“During that meeting, the lawyer inadvertently sent the reporter unreacted versions of the confidential documents. When they’d realized the error, the attorney demanded The Oregonian to return or destroy the documents, but the newspaper refused.“

What say you? Will we see a replay of Bankers Trust v. Procter & Gamble? There “somebody”  “leaked” the inadvertently disclosed documents to a third-party publisher who was not an intervenor.

Who says CivPro is no fun?

BREAKING NEWS: Just the News reporting that:

“Senate Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley on Friday sent a letter to Attorney General Pam Bondi and FBI Director Kash Patel, revealing that the bureau allegedly obtained the cellphones of President Donald Trump and his former Vice President Mike Pence.”

Remember when the phrase “deep state” or as Tucker calls it, “Permanent Washington” were so easily dismissed as a conspiracy theory? I have a (good) feeling those days are getting fewer and far between.

**Update: JTN dialed back the original lede and changed above. Originally said “listened in” but changed to show that they simply obtained the cellphones.

EXCERPT FROM A PERSONAL EMAIL: I got a ranting screed from a hardcore Dem pal, a great guy but totally unhinged when it comes to All Things Trump. His daughter apparently lost her dream job when the company folded b/c of the tariffs and trade regs w/r/t China. Apparently the company was wholly reliant on China.

At the risk of sounding cold-hearted, I sent him the note below. Real friends will tell you what you think they need to hear, not only what they want to hear:

Dear [XXX]:

Of course it’s not good that your daughter lost her dream job. But to be 100% honest, investing one’s life in a company that relies wholly on business with CCP is not a good choice. Never was. She chose poorly.

I do a lot of editorial work on this subject, and I have to tell you the CCP (which controls every major Chinese enterprise) are a very bad, no good, inhumane bunch. Even the NIH has something to say about it.

Interestingly, a large portion of my NYU students are FOTB Chinese. In my History of Journalism class, when I get to the section on cable news, I show them the video clip of this:

Only about 1/3 of the Chinese students had ever seen or heard of Tiananmen Square, and they only learned about it while in other countries. The subject is completely unfindable in any Chinese platform or outlet, and people who share this in China are subject to immediate arrest and often, made to disappear.

So, at the end of the day, from a moral perspective, in some ways, your daughter is better off. If she got a fabulous job with I.G. Farben in 1939 developing Zyklon B, and then lost her job…what would you say?

I know, people break long-time relationships taking the world too seriously. I could only end with this.

RESISTANCE? IGNORANCE? PERHAPS WE SHOULD EMBRACE THE POWER OF “AND.” Apparently Letitia James did not get the memo (or likely ignored it). So I get this job ad in my mailbox…

Special Counsel for Executive Division: Focus is Advancing LGBTQIA Rights

“The Special Counsel will collaborate with teams across OAG to analyze federal policy and lead responses to federal actions that threaten LGBTQIA people and communities; combat discrimination against LGBTQIA New Yorkers in education, healthcare, public accommodations, housing, employment, and other contexts using federal, state, and local laws; enhance relationships with organizations serving LGBTQIA communities; and engage in and supervise affirmative and defensive litigation in federal and state courts.”

All I can say is I’m rooting for Pam Bondi.

I’M NOT SURE WHAT TO MAKE OF THIS: San Francisco (Yay!) asked the Supreme Court (Boo!) if they can be allowed to dump sewage. Um…is that a “Yay” or a “Boo”?
Or is CNN’s headline editor headline writer misreading the case?

Anything is possible.

IT TOOK LONG ENOUGH: Hidden behind paywall, but The WSJ has an interesting article about reintroducing shop class in schools. IIRC, Glenn and others have mentioned that most Gen-X and Z’ers don’t even know how to change a tire.

I was at an AutoZone recently to replace an oil filter wrench. The kid gave me the “deer in the headlights” look, and just went to his checkout computer screen to see what I was talking about.

“Have you ever changed oil in a car?” I asked.
You get three guesses at what his response was, and the first two guesses don’t count.

MY “SHOCKED FACE” IS GETTING A WORKOUT: BBC review finds ‘serious flaws’ over Gaza documentary:

“The BBC has apologised and admitted “serious flaws” in the making of a documentary about children’s lives in Gaza. The documentary, Gaza: How to Survive a War Zone, was pulled from iPlayer last week after it emerged its 13-year-old narrator was the son of a Hamas official.”

Journalists and make-believe journalists — especially in the documentary/investigative space — need to learn to vet their sources first. And editors need to hold the creators’ feet to the fire on this. Clearly not a happening thing for the BBC.

JUDITH MILLER’S EXCELLENT TAKE ON THE SEPTEMBER 1972 MASSACRE OF ISRAELI OLYMPIANS. Well worth reading.

EVERYTHING I LEARNED IN LIFE CAME FROM ANIMAL HOUSE: Just The News reporting that:

“Attorney General Pam Bondi on Wednesday night announced that the Justice Department is expected to release more information about alleged sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein on Thursday, including his flight logs.”

I’ve heard they’d done some major redactions, but you know that certain limousine liberals will be very nervous today. As to the reference in this headline:
Boy is this great!

AN IMPORTANT CALL TO ARMS: Many of the contributors and readers here are well aware (some with personal experience) that, according to Ars Technica:

The FTC issued a Request for Information (RFI) seeking public comment until May 21. “Tech platform users who have been banned, shadow banned, demonetized, or otherwise censored are encouraged to share their comments in response to the RFI,” the FTC said. “The FTC is interested in understanding how consumers—including by potentially unfair or deceptive acts or practices, or potentially unfair methods of competition—have been harmed by the policies of tech firms.”

Now, there’s a lot I disagree with in the TA report at the link, but they do a prtty good job of showing names of “the usual suspects” who want to keep demonitizing un-approved viewpoints. Thus, it is imperative that this community take advantage of the opportunity to directly tell the FTC about the acts done by Big Tech and why they don’t want any review.

And, IMHO, this particular vein is not “pro-censorship” or even touching the First Amendment. It’s economics, pure and simple, and newspapers have long been held to anti-trust law. In fact, the SCOTUS said in a famous case:

[…] A law of general applicability does not target or single out the press […] the doctrine is generally applicable to the daily transactions of all […] citizens and the First Amendment does not forbid its application to the press.

C’mon, people. Put up or shut up.

MY MEAN-SPIRITED POST OF THE DAY: I think it should be a matter of course than when mentioning CNN’s Jake Tapper, he be henceforth referred to as: Jake “Convicted Liar” Tapper in light of this.

Now I know, it’s not a criminal judgment, and people aren’t really “convicted” of torts, but the Substantial Truth and Incremental Damage doctrines in libel law allow it. According to Adweek:

“Marquardt, Tapper, and senior CNN executives took the stand during the two-week trial, providing a window into its rarely-seen newsgathering process courtesy of e-mails and internal messaging systems. In one of Marquardt’s messages presented during the trial, the reporter wrote that he was “going to nail that Zachary Young mf-er.”

DATA AND PRIVACY? AYFKM? It turns out that while certain people *ahem* have been caterwauling about Musk having access to data that (in my personal experience) any Fortune 100 can access, this, from JustTheNews:

Just days after President Donald Trump fired the U.S. Coast Guard commandant, investigators confirmed Wednesday the military branch left computer systems and sensitive data vulnerable to foreign adversaries and hackers in a cybersecurity blunder that also left Pentagon systems dangerously exposed.

These people — it’s amazingly twee, isn’t it? — have started to call themselves “The Resistance” in social media. Totes adorbs. I’m betting the word gets mainstreamed (if David Hogg has anything to say about it) inside the next week.

BREAKING: Just The News reporting that:

“Michael Madigan, the long-serving Illinois House Speaker who in his hey-day rubbed elbows with elites like Barack Obama, was convicted Wednesday on 10 federal charges after a long-running influence peddling trial that exposed corruption and greed inside the state’s Democrat establishment.”

They should change the motto from “Land of Lincoln” to “Corruptio est via nostra.”

SADLY: Not the first time rank-and-file government employees abused their trust. JustTheNews is reporting that:

Airport workers have been charged for allegedly giving surveillance video to the news media of the deadly midair crash last week at Reagan National Airport, just outside of Washington, D.C., according to news reports Tuesday.

Less than three years ago, Kobe Bryant’s estate filed a lawsuit against Los Angeles Countyafter Kobe Bryan’s crash , alleging that:

“First responders took graphic photos of human remains at the scene as “souvenirs” and shared them with others. She claimed she suffered emotional distress and sued for negligence and invasion of privacy. In August 2022, a jury awarded Vanessa Bryant $16 million in her invasion of privacy trial against Los Angeles County.”

Aside from the Chiquita Banana phone hack (Gannett) and the Brown & Williamson case (CBS) I can’t think off hand of too many media outfits who bore the brunt of damages. There is an interesting line of cases about privacy and “ride-alongs” where any qualified immunity granted to the cops was not extended to the press.

BOOM! Goes the Dynamite! Meta agrees to pay $25 million to settle Trump lawsuit over suspended accounts

THIS JUST IN: (but you knew it was coming): Just The News reporting “Judge temporarily blocks Trump’s executive order to end guaranteed birthright citizenship”

The case was brought by Arizona, Illinois, Oregon and Washington.

“TRUMP FACTOR STRIKES AGAIN: President-elect and his envoy impact Mideast before inauguration.” Just The News’ story sums it up nicely:

“[W]hen pressed by the news media over who should get credit for the deal, the 46th American president demurred. “Is that a joke?” Biden retorted Wednesday afternoon. And moments later he walked away without providing an answer. The man succeeding Biden as U.S. president had changed the dynamic and enabled a deal that had been stalled for months.

[…]

Qatar’s Minister of State told Just the News that the deal unveiled Wednesday was made possible because President-elect Donald Trump coordinated with Biden’s outgoing team, made a powerful warning to both sides to reach a deal before he was inaugurated and then dispatched his own envoy to the region, Steve Witkoff, to help seal the deal, especially with a wary Israel.”

You know the old saying: “Victory has a thousand fathers but defeat is an orphan.”

ACCOUNTABILITY? Seems corporate America has the advantage over the government on this sort of thing. JustTheNews is reporting that:

“Defense Department IG finds Secretary Austin’s ’23 hospitalization increased national security risks: The report from the inspector general stated that neither Congress or the White House were notified about Austin’s surgery in a timely manner.”

When you read the story you’ll find that Austin did not keep the C-in-C or his staff fully informed of his medical issues. Compare this with the fiduciary duties that Securities Law requires of executives and the like.

I made this point several years ago when it was clear that Steve Jobs intentionally hid his cancer from shareholders — and his board — for as long as he could.

If the key CEO of a company I’m invested in is circling the drain, I have a right to know it. Why should it be any different for the Sectretary of Defense?

Just a rant: 
LOOKING BACK (A bit long): I’ve studied an awful lot of history in getting a degree in political philosphy, and that through the very left-leaning CUNY school system. On reflection, it has become clear to me that anyone who uses the word “insurrection” descibing the idiocy of Jan. 6 has no idea what they are talking about.

Was it a riot? Yep. Were many of the particpants dopes? Yep. But read how John Adams, Robespierre, Lenin, Mao and Castro pulled off genuine “revolutions” and you’ll see that mobbing a capitol building isn’t even close. You need to control central information and transportation hubs, get the army to back you, and bring weapons.

None of that happened on J6. If you use the word “insurrection” to describe J6: You have zero credibility.

THIS GOES BEYOND FACEPALM: Biden to give George Soros, Hillary Clinton the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

OK, Biden hasn’t been the actual “president” for quite some time — I get it — but who the hell is making these recomendations to him? One can guess Obama, Jarrett and other puppetmasters, but we can’t know for sure.

Making it worse is that the Department of Justice is very squishy about the applicability of FOIA to the White House:

“By its terms, the FOIA applies to “the Executive Office of the President,” 5 U.S.C. § 552(f), but this term does not include either “the President’s immediate personal staff” or any part of the Executive Office of the President “whose sole function is to advise and assist the President.” Meyer v. Bush, 981 F.2d 1288, 1291 n.1 (D.C. Cir. 1993) (quoting H.R. Rep. No. 1380, 93d Cong., 2d Sess. 14 (1974)); see also, e.g., Soucie v. David, 448 F.2d 1067, 1075 (D.C. Cir. 1971). This means, among other things, that the parts of the Executive Office of the President that are known as the “White House Office” are not subject to the FOIA; certain other parts of the Executive Office of the President are.”

Of course, we can’t expect all those “journalists” who were shocked —shocked I tell you — about Biden’s mental decline to bother looking into this.

Welp: Surgeon general calls for cancer-risk warning label on beverages with alcohol.

I got nuthin’. What say you, Vodkapundit?

Update (from Steve): I’ll take my chances, Charles.

“KNUCKLEHEADS.” Heh. Just The News quoting Elon Musk:

“The evil knuckleheads picked the wrong vehicle for a terrorist attack. Cybertruck actually contained the explosion and directed the blast upwards. Not even the glass doors of the lobby were broken,” Musk posted on X.

“Cybertruck is the worst possible choice for a car bomb, as its stainless steel armor will contain the blast better than any other commercial vehicle,” he also said.

Of course, I still think the damn thing is fugly and overpriced, but still…

HEY, JOE…WHERE YOU GOING WITH THAT BRICK IN YOUR HAND?* JustTheNews reporting that a federal judge has ordered the Biden Administration to stop selling off materials to be used in the southern border wall:

“The administration has been selling excess border wall materials for low prices ahead of President-elect Donald Trump’s second term. It comes after Biden halted construction of the wall, and Congress authorized the administration last year to dispose of unused border wall materials as part of the National Defense Authorization Act.”

Why, it’s as if the Biden administration is trying to sabotage the plans of the next president!

* Apologies to Billy Roberts and Jimi Hendrix.