HOW MANY LEFTIES DOES IT TAKE TO CHANGE A LIGHT BULB? That’s not funny! Actually this fellow on the Australian Broadcasting System *does* have a sense of humor…and a lot of common sense:

“Don’t get me wrong, I love left-wing values and hope that one day they’ll win out across the globe. It’s just that on that day, I don’t want any left-wing people alive to see that happen. Why? Because we’re f*cking useless.”

SEE? SOCIALISM WORKS! It’s magic! Material goods just appear out of thin air!

WHO WATCHES THE WATCHMEN? My column this week about the abandonment of self-appraisal by modern media.

“But I think President Trump’s greatest mistake is calling the press “the enemy of the people.” When you look at the way journalism has abandoned their promise of self-accountability, it may be more accurate to say that “the press is the enemy of the press.” As far as credibility goes, these are mostly self-inflicted wounds. To be sure, Trump has cleverly milked this populist view for all it’s worth, but there are a lot of moving parts to the all-time low esteem in which journalists are held.”

CREDIT WHERE IT’S DUE: Heaven knows, PEN International often sounds like it was written by the old TASS editors, and they often have trouble with allowing viewpoints that differ from theirs (libertarian, conservative) but when they’re right, they’re right. PEN’s Chief Executive Officer Suzanne Nossel wrote in Foreign Policy magazine that:

In demonstrating that a company as mighty as Google was unable to resist the allure of the Chinese market, despite the terms of entry, Beijing will advance its campaign to remake global internet governance on its own terms. The utopian notion of an internet that unifies people across borders, fosters the unfettered flow of information, and allows truth and reason to triumph is already under attack on multiple fronts. The trade-off, to date, has been that countries insistent on controlling the internet have had to forfeit access to the world’s most powerful and innovative online services in favor of local providers.

To be fair, Google is not the only company to sell its soul to China for filthy lucre. Faux social justice warriors Apple and Starbucks come to mind, as does Bloomberg, who happily agreed to filter out delivery of news to China that made the government uncomfortable, despite a spate of editorial resignations.

IT’S SO GODDAM OFFENSIVE I ALMOST DIDN’T WANT TO PUBLISH THIS: I suppose it’s inevitable, but the sanctity and pain of this day really shouldn’t be turned into political fodder. This is just plain disgusting.

OK, I ADMIT IT: I’m in love.

I, too, am a senior Trump administration official. I proudly serve in this administration, and I enthusiastically support most of its decisions and the direction it is taking the country. But I don’t agree with the president on everything. When there is disagreement, there is a right way and a wrong way to address it. I pick up the phone and call him or meet with him in person.

To quote Rick Springfield, “where can I find a woman like that?”

BE NOT AFRAID: I’ve written before about how jihadists and anti-Semites have mastered the PR game and co-opted the alleged intelligentsia of Oxbridge and the extreme US left.

But take heart: an Op/Ed in yesterday’s WSJ points out that smugness, a false sense of superiority and a compliant liberal press are all they have. The facts speak for themselves:

In 2012 [Corbyn] approved of a mural that grotesquely depicted Jewish bankers, and he did not reverse himself until earlier this year…In 2012 he appeared on Iranian television to celebrate the release of Palestinian terrorists by Israel in a painful prisoner exchange with Hamas. He referred to the returning convicts as “brothers.”

And most sickening of all:

In 2014 he laid a wreath at the graves of terrorists involved in the murder of Israeli athletes at the Munich Summer Olympics in 1972.

You know, I’m not a Trump guy, but you’ll see no pictures of him hugging an avowed segregationist.

**CORRECTION: last line changed to more accurately describe Strom Thurmond’s legislative history***

WORLD CLASS SPIN: According to The Boston Globe, a lie isn’t a lie unless it makes a difference.

“In the most exhaustive review undertaken of Elizabeth Warren’s professional history, the Globe found clear evidence, in documents and interviews, that her claim to Native American ethnicity was never considered by the Harvard Law faculty, which voted resoundingly to hire her…”

Glad they cleared that up.

SLATE NOW HIRING BLIND PHOTO EDITORS: I, for one, support hiring physically challenged people. Or perhaps that thing on the left side of his desk is actually the Weather Control/Time Warp device he bought from Dick Cheney.

IF IT WERE RUSSIA, THE SCREAMS WOULD BE UNBEARABLE: A refreshingly honest Op/Ed moment at The Washington Post, where a former political prisoner rightly (IMHO) chides Google for being evil a.f. and cozying up to China.

In prison I labored secretly for months to secure a forbidden shortwave radio, which I kept hidden in a used milk carton. I listened to programs like Voice of America and Radio Free Asia at night while wrapped under my quilt, the speaker pressed close to my ear at the lowest possible volume. Having had my freedom denied me by the Chinese Communist Party, the news of this upstart tech company risking lost revenue to do the right thing gave me real hope […] And then came news about Google’s work on a censored search engine (code-named “Dragonfly”). After my initial shock wore off, I found myself wondering what had occurred to cause the company to shed its defining principle in such a blatant fashion. Does Google really want to become a tool of the dictatorial communist regime?

“Don’t Be Evil?” That’s so 90’s. The fact is most of Congress and K Street are bought and paid for by China, and the more people see Putin hiding in their closet, the more China will be able to strengthen its economic, military and social engineering hegemony.

BACK TO THE FUTURE: Boston TV reporter gets punked.

**Bonus Update: the twitterverse weighs in.

REPOSTED FROM YESTERDAY: I’m not surprised that my friends in MSM have not said a word about this. Maybe because it’s indefensible?

The [Post’s] lawsuit drops this stunning little nugget into their complaint: “[T]here is no evidence of a newspaper or other website being unwittingly manipulated by illegitimate foreign political advertising.”

They might want to talk to their editors, who have been publishing reams of stories about how web manipulation robbed them of their preferred candidate’s rightful place.

DEMOCRACY DIES IN DARKNESS: But The Washington Post’s income thrives in it. My latest column for The Daily Caller.

HERMAN CAIN HAS NOT LOST HIS SENSE OF HUMOR.

TAKEDOWN OF THE YEAR: Ignore the commentary and watch the CNN “analyst” freak out at the idea of Brennan having his security clearance revoked. Revoke ALL their clearances. If the USGOV needs their assistance they can be cleared on an expedited basis. Instead you’re being lied to so these K-Street scum can make huge consulting fees with lobbyists and mega-corporations.

There, I fixed it.

Related (From Ed): ‘GET OUT!!!’ CNN’s Berserk Phil Mudd Tries to Kick Guest off Show.

BUT THEY’RE SO WOKE!: Ok, Michelle Wolff’s “humor” leaves something to be desired, for sure. She compared First Daughter and White House advisor Ivanka Trump to herpes, made a satirical video linking ICE to ISIS while impersonating Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen, and celebrated abortions in honor of Independence Day with a parade and marching band. But the best part:

The Daily Beast reported late Friday night that the writing staff and showrunners of The Break with Michelle Wolf found out about their show’s cancellation on Twitter.

As is the case with all these preening Hollywood frauds “speaking truth to power”, screw the worker: “it’s all about MEEEEEEE!”

FILE UNDER “TWEETS THAT DID NOT AGE WELL.” Heh.

THE CONSERVATIVE CONUNDRUM: When is more government regulation justified? My weekly column in the Daily Caller. (Note copious citations to Glenn Reynolds’ work. I only steal from the best).

Related: When Digital Platforms Become Censors.

I’M NEVER ONE TO DOUBT THE PROFESSOR: but this has to be a hoax. Nobody, I mean nobody is named “Nimrod.”

THEY KEEP TELLING ME TRUMP IS WAGING WAR ON THE PRESS: I’d pay good money to see Jim Acosta shoot his petulant self-important mouth off in China. Or Singapore. Or Saudi. Or Thailand. Or Venezuela. Or Cuba. Or Turkey. But unlike Washington DC, it’s hard to get a good facial massage in those places, and a man’s got to have his priorities.  All in the name of brave journalism, you know.
#MeanTweetsHurtsMyFeels

TRUMP DERANGEMENT SYNDROME: Is it really a thing?  Yes and no.

My column for The Daily Caller this week…

SARAH JEONG ACCUSED OF LEAVING DEVASTATION BEHIND IN PURSUIT OF A STORY: Reporting from repressive regimes is tricky business. I’ve had to manage many stories over the years filed from Saudi Arabia, Russia and of course, my experience with China and the way it has been surrendered to is almost legendary. Reporters often forget that they are not the only ones at risk: in these countries identifying sources may expose them to not just public harassment but government pressure or even arrest and in some cases torture or worse.

Now infamous Sarah Jeong of The New York Times Editorial Board is being accused of exactly such recklessness by a young woman in China, who claims that Jeong, working for Vice exposed her to danger:

Vice would endanger me for a few clicks because in Brooklyn certain things are no big deal. This is not journalism and does not deserve to hide behind the protection legitimate use of that title warrants, this is a savage abuse of privilege knowing full well that in China I had no possible recourse against a billion dollar company who thought titillating their readers with my personal details was worth putting me in jeopardy.

Read the Whole Thing. ™

LET’S TALK ABOUT MELANIA’S SHOES INSTEAD: I’m not one to say this sort of thing, but if this were happening in a white neighborhood it would lead the news. Every damned day. The Chicago Tribune reports:

At least 41 people were shot from 11 a.m. Saturday through Sunday morning, four fatally, police said. Three of those deaths happened since about midnight in a period when 35 people were shot. During one 2½-hour early-morning period alone, 25 people were shot — two fatally — in five multiple-injury shootings, police said.

One of the dead was a 17-year-old girl who was shot in the face.

If there is such a thing as “white privilege,” its the lower odds of being gunned down in a city run for decades by corrupt Democrats.

UPDATE (FROM GLENN): Related: Chicago Politicians Are In Bed With The Gangs.

THE BRAVEST OF THE BRAVE: Acosta faces down Granny in near death experience. Hey, she might be packing Werther’s Originals, and that’s ASSAULT CANDY.

Do. Not. Mess. With. Granny.

Related (From Ed): CNN’s April Ryan Is Shown to Lie About Trump’s Tampa Rally By a Most Amazing Person — Jim Acosta.

ON MY MUST READ LIST: Coming Feb.12, 2019 W.W. Norton & Co., “Gumbo Life: Tales from the Roux Bayou.” If you like great writing or cajun food or thoughtful insight into cultures other than your own…this is a guaranteed must read. Besides, Ken Wells can write like a house afire.