Author Archive: Ed Driscoll
March 28, 2025
KAROL MARKOWICZ: Don’t let the leftists memory-hole their madness.
Did the last five years, call it “the age of woke,” really happen — or were they just a fever dream?
Apparently we all imagined a time where COVID and cancel culture collided to oppress us.
No one was shunned for saying really obvious and true things, schools weren’t closed indefinitely under pressure from teachers’ unions, and race conflict wasn’t pushed on Americans from every direction.
At least that’s what the left would have us believe.
On Wednesday when National Public Radio CEO Katherine Maher testified in a congressional hearing, she stumbled on some basic questions . . . involving her own opinions.
“Do you believe that America is addicted to white supremacy?” Rep. Brandon Gill asked her.
* * * * * * * *
The last five years happened, much as the left may want to wipe the slate clean.
There’s an impulse to simply move on, without any accountability or apology for their lunacy. As a famous woman once said: What difference, at this point, does it make?
But it matters very much. We’re still living in the thick of so many of the left’s bad ideas and policies.
Biological boys are still playing in girls’ sports — and every single Senate Democrat this month voted against a law to stop it.
They’re waving away some of their madness, but certainly not all.
We can’t let the left simply pretend the last five difficult years didn’t happen. It’s time to challenge outright the lies, the rewrites, the scoffing at ideas they once considered mandatory.
Those who pushed the very worst policies, and forced them on the rest of us, can’t now get to claim otherwise.
Read the whole thing.
THE CRITICAL DRINKER: Avengers: Doomsday — Nostalgia Is All They Have Left.
HAROLD STASSEN SMILES: The Hillary Clinton Political Comeback Begins Today!
Don’t worry, Democrats! Hillary Clinton is here to save the day!
In a blistering op-ed in today’s New York Times, Hillary Clinton officially launched her political comeback. The Clinton Express is back for one final mission.
And don’t be naïve. She’s eyeing the 2028 Democratic Party nomination.
It’s a comeback nearly a decade in the making. Ever since losing the 2016 election, the Clintons have been exiled to the political wilderness — just another relic from a long-forgotten era. Indeed, in an age of #MeToo and ideological purity, the Clintons were always a bad fit.
They were like the creepy old guy in the nightclub. Everyone else is 30 years younger, whereas the Clintons were still rocking bellbottom jeans and sideburns:
BILL: Hey, baby! Wanna see the back of my VW van?
GIRL: Eww, no thank you. I don’t have daddy issues.
But the #MeToo movement is now over. And you can’t truly understand the Democratic Party’s current mindset without appreciating how utterly and thoroughly traumatizing MAGA’s 2024 victory was to their psyche.
They warned us he was Hitler. They told us democracy was on the line. They even convicted him of dozens of felonies! And Trump STILL won the popular vote!
So now, the Democrats are working through the five stages of grief.
The Party of Youth™ has found their candidate!
LEFTIST GETS MUGGED BY REALITY: OMG! Jon Stewart SPEECHLESS As He Gets MUCH-Needed Lesson on How USELESS Gov. Programs Really ARE (Watch).
Before the decade is out Klein and Yglesias will be functionally early-2000s Republicans. Which is what they spent their careers fighting. https://t.co/IawEFW4Rv1
— Holden (@Holden114) March 28, 2025
What’s next for establishment left pundits?
To be fair, this might a bit too far for Krugman. Embracing the libertarian-themed philosophy of Thomas Sowell would require him to jettison the more collectivist economic ideas of his earlier crush on the right, Richard Nixon.
OH, TO BE IN ENGLAND: Britain becomes only G7 country unable to make new steel.
British Steel has announced plans to close its two blast furnaces in Scunthorpe, making Britain the only G7 country unable to manufacture its own steel.
Jingye, the Chinese steel group that owns the plant, blamed Donald Trump as it announced plans to shut key operations, putting up to 2,700 jobs at risk. It said the “imposition of tariffs” had made the blast furnaces and steel making operations “no longer financially sustainable”. The closures signal the end of steel production in the UK after more than 150 years.
Mr Trump has imposed 25pc tariffs on steel and aluminium imports to the US that came into effect earlier this month.
It’s okay though, because Britain will soon not be able to make oil and gas, either: Just Stop Oil Just Stopped Oil in Great Britain.
To end this post on a happier note, Keir Starmer has at least ended all violence in England: Owning a ninja sword in UK will soon be illegal amid surge in knife crime.
8.2-MAGNITUDE EARTHQUAKE STRIKES BURMA:
An 8.2-magnitude earthquake has struck Myanmar, causing widespread damage across the region including 800 miles (1,300km) away in Bangkok, where an unfinished 30-storey skyscraper collapsed after the tremor.
The earthquake was initially registered as 7.7 magnitude but was later upgraded to 8.2, making it the worst earthquake to hit Myanmar since 1946. State television confirmed the deaths of 144 people, with a further 732 injured.
The earthquake was so powerful that footage shows water tipping out of swimming pools atop high-rise buildings in the Thai capital. Both the Thai Prime Minister, Paetongtarn Shinawatra, and Myanmar’s military junta have declared a state of emergency after the quake.
An air traffic control tower collapsed at Naypyidaw International Airport, killing all staff who were on duty, Burmese media said.
The US Geological Survey estimates that thousands of deaths are likely. It has issued a red alert for deaths and damage, warning: “High casualties and extensive damage are probable, with the disaster likely widespread”.
* * * * * * * *
The 8.2-magnitude earthquake struck central Myanmar, around 10 miles (16km) from Mandalay, on Friday at a depth of 6.2 miles (10km). The quake was followed by a powerful 6.4 magnitude aftershock.
Widespread destruction has been reported across Myanmar. Mandalay’s Ava Bridge collapsed into the Irrawaddy River after the quake, and buildings and temples lie in ruins.
Sam Cook, lecturer in Crisis and Disaster Management at Aston University, said: “My main concern is the scale of impact on the 5.3 million people living in rural areas of this geopolitically isolated country – particularly in the historically significant and densely populated former northern capital.”
Some terrifying moments were captured on video:
Earthquake sum up 3pm (Mynamar/Thailand)
– 7.7 quake hit near Mandalay/Myanmar
– Hundreds of homes collapsed (various Myanmar cities)
– Strong shocks in Thailand + multiple building collapse in Bangkok
– USGS predicts thousands of people dead(Bangkok clips from social media:) pic.twitter.com/kJodTn6BIg
— Florian Witulski (@vaitor) March 28, 2025
GOODER AND HARDER, CALIFORNIA: 75 Days After the Palisades Fire, Only Four Building Permits Have Been Issued.
The Pacific Palisades fire burned more than 6,800 structures, both homes and businesses. Clearly, the rebuilding process is going to take a while for many families even if insurance covers the losses. What should not take a long time are permits for people who lost everything to get started. Indeed, Mayor Karen Bass vowed to streamline the process and made a big show when the first permit was issued.
The first permit was issued March 5, less than two months after the Palisades fire destroyed or seriously damaged more than 6,000 homes in Pacific Palisades and surrounding areas.
“We want this to be happening on your lot, too,” said Mayor Karen Bass at a news conference in the Palisades on Friday.
Bass and L.A. County leaders have pledged to streamline permitting procedures for property owners who want to rebuild.
The home which got the first approval was mostly intact and just needed repairs. The second approval went to a home that had been completely rebuilt a year before the fire. The owner just resubmitted the same blueprints for a rebuild. None of these approvals should have taken a week. They were no brainers.
And yet, more than two months after the Palisades Fire was put out, only four permits for rebuilding have been issued.
Epic Adam Carolla rant from a hotel after the LA wildfires forced to evacuate from his home, where he predicts Hollywood leftists will be so frustrated by the rebuild effort that they will not vote Democrat:
"You guys all voted for Karen Bass, the mayor of Los Angeles. You all… pic.twitter.com/YhNqBnJJR9— Eric Abbenante (@EricAbbenante) January 9, 2025
THE ISRAELI WOMAN WHO SPEAKS TO THE ARAB WORLD:
She may be little known within her native Israel, but to millions across the Arab world, Idit Bar is a familiar face and a formidable voice.
A scholar of Islam, fluent Arabic speaker, and unrelenting advocate for the Israeli narrative, Bar has emerged as a singular figure in the public diplomacy battlefield—appearing on hostile Arabic-language TV networks and social media platforms to challenge decades of entrenched hatred and misinformation about Israel.
“Without knowledge of Arabic, we’re like blind people in the dark,” Bar says. Since the October 7 massacre, she has been filling a glaring void in Israel’s public diplomacy. Appearing live on major Arab outlets—often facing former intelligence officials or leading editors—she articulates Israel’s case with clarity and conviction, fearlessly confronting narratives rooted in deep historical bias and modern-day incitement.
Bar does not enter these arenas unprepared. “They bring seasoned, sophisticated speakers with impressive credentials—former generals, diplomats. I come armed with facts,” she says. “Because I speak Arabic fluently, they can’t confuse me. I know their culture, their history and their references. That makes me more dangerous to them than an IDF soldier.”
* * * * * * * *
She is the only Israeli woman who appears regularly on Arabic media platforms. “People say I’m brave. But what choice do I have? Should I sit back while they lie about us?”
It’s a safe bet how the Economist would answer that question:
‘DEMOCRACY AT RISK’: Pressure Groups Suing Trump Lose Their Minds After Facing One Ounce of the Left’s Own Medicine. PJM alum Tyler O’Neil writes:
Leftist groups that are suing to block President Donald Trump from fulfilling his promises to the American people can’t take the idea that the administration refuses to roll over and play dead.
Twenty-two
leftist pressure groups—sorry, “civil rights organizations”—released a statement warning that Trump’s “dangerous assault on the legal profession and the rule of law” represents a threat to “the viability of our democracy.”That’s rich.
It’s particularly rich coming from the side that got lawyers disbarred and prosecuted for merely representing their clients in challenging the results of the 2020 presidential election. (Oh, did you think we’d just forget about John Eastman?)
What did Trump do to ostensibly undermine Justice with a capital J, you ask?
He directed the attorney general and the secretary of homeland security to pursue sanctions against attorneys and law firms filing “frivolous, unreasonable, and vexatious litigation” to block his administration’s priorities.
Forget a threat to democracy or to the legal system—it would be a stretch to say this is anything more than humdrum.
“Any litigant, if they think their opponent is making a frivolous argument, can seek sanctions, in any case,” John Malcolm, director of the Meese Center for Legal and Judicial Studies at The Heritage Foundation, explained in an interview with The Daily Signal.
“That determination is going to be made by an independent judge as to whether the argument being made is frivolous and whether to award sanctions,” Malcolm noted. Trump’s memo wasn’t “granting any authority to the Department of Justice that it hasn’t always had. He’s just urging them to be more aggressive. There’s nothing wrong with that.”
“Trump is not doing anything other than telling government officials to actually enforce the law and federal court rules,” Hans von Spakovsky, a senior legal fellow at Heritage and former Justice Department lawyer, told The Daily Signal. “Liberal groups saying this is somehow wrong are themselves completely wrong. They are trying to mislead the public.”
Read the whole thing.
SUSPECT ARRESTED FOR TESLA VEHICLE FIRES AT LAS VEGAS SERVICE CENTER:
Arrest records show Paul Kim, 36, was taken into custody Wednesday on suspicion of third-degree arson, property destruction, shooting a gun into a vehicle, and possession of an explosive or flammable device.
Kim also appeared in federal court on Thursday, where he was charged with arson and having an unregistered firearm.
Clark County Sheriff Kevin McMahill confirmed Paul’s arrest at a press conference Thursday, saying investigators worked with “very little information” to identify a suspect.
“It’s incredible work by everybody involved,” McMahill said.
Police said someone used Molotov cocktails to set fire to several Tesla cars at the collision center near Jones Boulevard and the Southern 215 Beltway on Tuesday, March 18.
This came amid a rise in protests, property destruction and graffiti involving Tesla vehicles and centers.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk has generated controversy for his work with the Trump administration in the so-called Department of Government Efficiency, which has spearheaded large cuts and layoffs across the federal government.
Assistant Sheriff Dori Koren, who oversees LVMPD’s counterterrorism section, said the perpetrator arrived at the center driving a black-colored sedan and wearing a mask and gloves. He began shooting surveillance cameras and spraypainted the word “RESIST”* on the front doors.
Exit quote: “Kim’s social media shows ‘loose but self-proclaimed ties’ to accounts belonging to ‘Community Party USA,’ ‘Revolutionary Communists International,’ ‘Hidden Palestine’ and ‘Palestine Action,’ according to Koren. His social media remains under investigation.”
*What exactly are we “resisting?”, when DOGE is Clinton, Gore, Obama, Biden, Pelosi, and Bernie Sanders-approved?
March 27, 2025
YOU STAY CLASSY, JASMINE: Flashback: Jasmine Crockett Attacked Byron Donalds for Interracial Marriage: ‘You Married a White Woman.’ “Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D., Texas) once attacked Rep. Byron Donalds (R., Fla.) for having a white wife, saying Donalds ‘married a white woman and so you think that whitewashed you.’ It’s unclear whether Crockett believes Kamala Harris is ‘whitewashed’ for marrying a white man.”
MUCH MORE LIKE THIS, PLEASE: Trump official turns tables on CNN’s Kaitlan Collins in tense exchange: ‘Why don’t you answer my question?’
Initially, Kaitlan Collins pressed [VA Secretary Doug Collins] for his perspective on the recent controversy surrounding leaked group chat messages discussing sensitive war plans.
The secretary repeatedly deflected, emphasizing his commitment solely to veterans’ welfare.
“I was not involved in the chat,” Secretary Collins stated clearly.
“I trust the president’s opinion on it. I trust what’s been going on. Everyone’s entitled to their own opinion. My opinion is that my job is to take care of veterans in this country as they come out of service, and that’s what I’m going to continue to do.”
However, when Kaitlan Collins continued to press the issue, the secretary grew increasingly frustrated.
“Kaitlan, as I’ve just told you, I’ve just answered the question,” he responded.
“I wasn’t a part of it and, you know, I’m not going to speculate more than what the president has already talked about, and those who have been involved have talked about, but would love to talk about the veterans.”
The situation escalated further when the CNN host, who so far this week has twicebeen prevented from asking follow-up questions at the White House related to the Signal chat controversy, asked the secretary a third time about the leaks. Secretary Collins, visibly agitated, pivoted dramatically.
“Well, Kaitlan, since you undoubtedly don’t want to talk about the VA, I have a question as VA secretary,” he retorted sharply.
“I want to ask you because I’ve been curious about this, because my job is to take care of veterans, and I would like to know why CNN is hostile to veterans, especially one in Florida where you just had a $5 million defamation suit taking offense at a veteran who is trying to help people.”
At which point, the low-rated newsreader momentarily pretended she was Upton Sinclair diligently preparing the rough first draft of The Jungle:
Mustachioed Villain Kaitlin Collins pulls rank and claims she has some kind of Journalistic Authority over him to compel him to answer. Mustache McGee asserts "I'm conducting an *investigation*" and then shrieks "I'm asking the questions here." https://t.co/f1HlnovYbm
— The Reaping Phase (@AceofSpadesHQ) March 27, 2025
As Ace of Spades writes,“Finally, [Collins] does what I’ve been praying for for decades: He starts demanding she answer his questions, specifically about why CNN continues to employ the Convicted Defamer who #Rigged a CNN story against a veteran — this is the guy who was getting American allies out of Afghanistan — and who wrote ‘We’re going to get this MFer.’ Mustache McGee actually attempts to pull rank and assert that she has some kind of Journalistic Authority over him to compel him to answer while she refuses to answer his questions. She asserts ‘I’m conducting an investigation’ and then hisses ‘I’m asking the questions here.’ As if she’s a judge presiding over court and directing the witness to answer. They really believe this. Mustache McGee really believes that She Has the Girl-Boss Power Here and that she has an elevated status, that of an aristocrat, that gives her social power to order about the peasants.”
SKYNET SMILES IN WRY BEMUSEMENT: OpenAI CEO Responds to ChatGPT Users Creating Studio Ghibli-Style AI Images.
The latest version of OpenAI‘s image generation technology has resulted in a flood of users sharing images on social media that have been transformed in the style of Studio Ghibli, the legendary Japanese animation studio.
On Tuesday, OpenAI launched what it called its “most advanced image generator yet,” built into GPT‑4o. That features a “natively multimodal model capable of precise, accurate, photorealistic outputs.” As it turns out, the image generator also is very good at replicating the anime style of Studio Ghibli, the company behind such popular films as “Spirited Away,” “My Neighbor Totoro” and “The Boy and the Heron.”
* * * * * * * *
Reps for Studio Ghibli in North America declined to comment.
However, Hayao Miyazaki, the co-founder of Studio Ghibli, has previously expressed strong disapproval of AI-generated animation. In a 2016 meeting where he was shown an AI animation demo, Miyazaki said, “I am utterly disgusted. If you really want to make creepy stuff you can go ahead and do it. I would never wish to incorporate this technology into my work at all.” He also said, “I strongly feel that this is an insult to life itself.”
As for the rest of us, it’s a lot of fun. So much so that, “‘Our GPUs Are Melting:’ Sam Altman Limits ChatGPT Image Output After Ghibli Frenzy Overloads Servers.”
You can tell ChatGPT what you’d like it to draw, or upload a photo and ask it to create a Ghibli-style illustration based on the image, which will take ChatGPT a couple of minutes to spit out. I had a fun 15 minutes last night creating Ghibli-style cartoons of Jimmy Page, Jeff Beck, Eric Clapton, the Beatles, and the Rolling Stones:
GREAT MOMENTS IN PERSPECTIVE:
On the Signal matter, Politico Playbook makes a statement with great confidence, but maybe not much perspective. pic.twitter.com/qo430nwrgo
— Byron York (@ByronYork) March 27, 2025
🚨 SIGNAL SCANDAL: Katherine Maher, the leftist NPR CEO, is currently the Chair of the Board of Signal!
WHAT ARE THE ODDS? pic.twitter.com/jWNTeAt3Jz
— Publius (@OcrazioCornPop) March 27, 2025
UPDATE:
Democratic Politicians didn’t call for one member of President Biden’s cabinet to resign after this.
But they want Pete Hegseth and Mike Waltz to resign over some text messages.
— Ian Jaeger (@IanJaeger29) March 26, 2025
DEVELOPING: Police make arrest in Las Vegas Tesla fire.
SKYNET SMILES: Rand Corporation tells lawmakers to prepare for AI ‘wonder weapons’ in cyberspace.
The Rand Corporation is warning lawmakers they need to prepare for the sudden emergence of advanced artificial intelligence “wonder weapons” in cyberspace.
Rand’s Jim Mitre told the Senate Armed Services Committee that unforeseen weaponry could emerge upon the development of artificial general intelligence (AGI).
Researchers, such as those at the nonprofit Rand Corp., use AGI to refer to a theoretical AI system that outperforms human abilities.
“AGI might enable a significant first-mover advantage via the sudden emergence of a decisive wonder weapon,” Mr. Mitre said in written testimony. “For example, a capability so proficient at identifying and exploiting vulnerabilities in enemy cyberdefenses that it provides what might be called a splendid first cyber strike that completely disables a retaliatory cyber strike.”
Mr. Mitre said the emergence of AGI may alter the global balance of power, with states that control and capitalize on the consequences of AGI’s emergence gaining expanded influence.
To be perfectly honest, this was the 21st century I was promised back in the ’70s and ’80s.
SUMMER OF LOVE CONCLUDES:
It's so satisfying to watch elite libs who were singing from the rooftops about reparations and going into ecstasy about George Floyd, now wake up with this massive cultural hangover. The era of Robin DiAngelo is officially over.pic.twitter.com/nHcReq8fg1
— Christopher F. Rufo ⚔️ (@realchrisrufo) March 26, 2025
March 26, 2025
OPEN THREAD: Let’s see how he does up there, without all the assistance!
AMERICA’S NEWSPAPER OF RECORD: Hegseth Kicking Himself For Not Just Getting 13 Soldiers Killed And Giving $80 Billion In Weapons To Terrorists. “‘I apologize for not exposing our soldiers to terrorist attacks and giving billions in high-grade weaponry to Islamists hellbent on killing us,’ said Hegseth. ‘My job wouldn’t be in jeopardy today if I had simply handed control of an entire country over to the people who perpetrated September 11th. I promise to rectify these terrible shortcomings to the satisfaction of the Democratic Party.’”
WHAT 23ANDME TOLD AMERICA ABOUT ITSELF:
Many headlines have ensued, but what commentators seem to be missing is this: The disintegration of 23andMe represents a cultural collapse as well as a financial one. This is the tale of a zeitgeist fueled by both the self-loathing of white liberals and a reflexive anti-Americanism throughout the mainstream—phenomena that the current vibe shift has upended like Tupperware over a trash can, its vestiges sliding off like so many moldy leftovers into the abyss where fads go to die.
Back in 2017, with victimhood associated with blackness, brownness, or another minority racial status, white people were conversely assigned the role of society’s Bad Guys. Reactions varied: Certain white Americans leaped at the opportunity to confess, repent, and pay through the nose to self-flagellate at events like the infamous “Race2Dinner” parties where, for several thousand dollars, a real, live person of color would come to your home and call you a racist.
For those of lesser means but similar dispositions, 23andMe offered another path to redemption, by promising to find “surprises” in one’s ethnic makeup. As one white man, who discovered he had “Hidden African DNA,” wrote reassuringly in the 23andMe blog: “Our histories are not as black and white as we believe.”
This is not to say that every person who submitted a cheek swab for analysis was marinating in racial self-hatred; plenty of people were simply curious, hoping to uncover a bit of family history (or, for those who bought the 23andMe+ Total Health package, their risk factors for various genetic conditions). But if you were struggling with white guilt, 23andMe could apply the gloss of scientific rigor to your search for a get-out-of-oppressor-status-free card—a state of affairs that was lampooned in a 2017 episode of South Park, in which customers of a company called “DNA and Me” received their test results and gleefully announced themselves as members of oppressed groups (“I’m 21 percent victim!”).
You’ll never get to be the CEO of NPR with such a racialist worldview. Oh wait:
An absolute clinic from @realBrandonGill here. pic.twitter.com/tEA0CAwhT0
— Luke Thompson (@ltthompso) March 26, 2025
NANCY WILSON MORPHED INTO PAULINE KAEL SO SLOWLY, I HARDLY EVEN NOTICED: Heart guitarist Nancy Wilson says it’s ‘more embarrassing’ to be an American now than during the Vietnam War.
Wilson, 71, made the remark in a recent interview with the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, where she reflected on the legendary rock group’s 1975 hit “Crazy on You,” which was her sister and Heart vocalist Ann Wilson’s critique of the Vietnam War.
“We were kind of embarrassed at that time to call ourselves American because of the dirty politics of the Vietnam War,” Wilson shared.
“To be as subtle as possible, it’s more embarrassing now,” she said.
Wilson’s perspective isn’t just about politics. She also sees rampant sexism and misogyny in today’s culture that echoes another of Heart’s most famous songs, “Barracuda.”
“[Barracuda] is even more relevant in the salacious billionaire culture with the grab-them-by-the-pussy mentality,” Wilson declared. “These songs will be there long after we are gone.”
Despite her disappointment with where America is today, Wilson added that she sees change on the horizon.
“I think for women* in the culture the pendulum will come back again, and there’ll be another renaissance in the arts to push back against the oppression of the cranky old rich white guys,” she noted. “I hope I am alive to see that next revolution.”
Well, not all women, of course: Heart to Sarah Palin: Don’t Play ‘Barracuda.’
(Classical reference in headline.)
ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS NOBODY IS ASKING: Gondolas in Denver? One entrepreneur believes it can lift downtown up.
Downtown Denver is often referred to as a trailhead — but not often the main attraction — for tourists visiting the Rocky Mountains.
But what if building a gondola, bringing an iconic symbol and transit option from mountain ski resorts to downtown, could turn it into a destination?
This is the idea that Ryan Ross, the owner of a private investigation firm on the 16th Street Mall, offers to revitalize Denver’s downtown, which has been struggling with empty offices, businesses closing and disruptive construction since the pandemic.
Ross is proposing a three-loop gondola system connecting downtown’s most popular attractions, people-moving sidewalks on 16th Street Mall and a 1,000-seat indoor-outdoor amphitheater by Skyline Park.
He created a nonprofit to promote the project called New Downtown Denver and submitted the proposal to the newly-expanded Downtown Development Authority, the city’s financing tool expected to inject $570 million into downtown to revitalize the urban core.
“Downtown Denver needs a big infusion of energy and vitality and safety and fun,” Ross told The Denver Gazette. “And what they’ve (city officials) done so far is not helping.”
Getting the money for a gondola won’t be an easy lift, he said.
Yes, I guess it’s more of a Shelbyville idea…
COVID FIVE YEARS AGO TODAY: This was the Minneapolis Star-Tribune’s front page:
As James Lileks wrote last year:
The story had no “Two weeks to stop the spread” messaging. The lockdown was open-ended, although I seem to recall we thought it was supposed to be two weeks, then reviewed. In two weeks the headline would be “New Target — May 4” which was almost a month away.
The rules were adjusted to let landscapers go back to work.
On May 3 a story noted that the target date was now May 17. A “business analyst was quoted as saying he would still stay home because he thought “There will be a couple of waves of death,” and that the skyways should be all closed because they were a “cesspool” of disease.
On the 14th the lockdowns were modified: “faith gatherings of 10 or fewer” were permitted, and the paper noted that people “can leave the house more.” Restaurants, bars, gyms, and the like would be closed until June 1st. Another order: “anyone who can work from home, must.”
To ensure those open-ended lockdowns, our future would-be vice president went full Orwell: Walz Implemented COVID Hotline To Snitch On Neighbors.
The hotline generated thousands of reports – against people playing basketball, walking their dogs, or attending church, local outlet Alpha News reported in 2022. Walz’s administration continued to monitor the hotline until November 2020, though it remained operational until June 2022.
In one example of a complaint, someone alerted authorities to a church service that wasn’t following Walz’s “legal requirements,” the outlet noted.
“I am aware that the apostolic Lutheran church at [address] is planning to hold church services oct 2-4th [sic]. Hundreds are expected And [sic] they will be serving meals in the church dining hall. I don’t believe this fits with legal requirements and I am. Aware [sic] that multiple families that attend this church currently have coronavirus.”
People also called in lists of “non-essential” businesses that remained open or didn’t strictly follow government masking requirements.
A recording of the hotline circulating online reveals a prerecorded message telling callers they have reached the “Office of Public Safety Stay At Home Hotline.”
But not everybody had to stay at home: Getting back to the Minneapolis Star-Tribune in 2020, Lileks wrote that “There was nothing on the front page on June 1st about COVID restrictions lifting, because it was the sixth day of the Floyd Protests.”
That was the day that Walz referred to “the week of righteous anger being expressed by community leaders and all people of conscience,” in a press conference.
And that feeling of “righteous anger” was infectious! During those legendarily “peaceful but occasionally slightly fiery protests,” Walz’s wife was imbibing the sweet smell of small businesses in flames, his daughter was tweeting advice to the rioters on whether or not the National Guard or SWAT would be present, and Kamala was offering to bail out those few who were actually arrested.
Why, it’s almost as: The Riots Are Part of the Plan.
Also Covid five years ago today:
Three years later, Fauci was still dissembling about masks: Anthony Fauci continues to mislead about masking, as CNN confronts him (amazing video). It works for individuals but not populations, is his new line, but, this too, lacks data.
In 2021, (P)resident Joe Biden’s handlers were tweeting:
“Well, it’s not a request, it’s a demand, and the president of the United States does not get to tell me or any other American citizen what to wear,” Tucker Carlson said in response. “He’s not offering a choice. He’s laying down an ultimatum. He’s saying if you don’t get vaccinated, you must wear a mask. Again, that’s not within his powers to demand.”
Two years later, with some hardcore Biden supporters still wearing masks, America’s Newspaper of Record was goofing on Democrats’ long obsession with intermingling face coverings and violence:
And if you missed it from Steve earlier today: It’s the 5th Anniversary of the Most Cringe-Inducing Moment of the Lockdowns.
5 YEARS AGO: Celebrities join together and sing Imagine to help us with the lockdown pic.twitter.com/f86TmZom1B
— End Wokeness (@EndWokeness) March 25, 2025
It’s easy to picture the clueless futuristic historian in Woody Allen’s Sleeper responding to the above clip and saying, “At first, we didn’t know exactly what this was, but we’ve developed a theory. We feel that when citizens in your society were guilty of a crime against the state, they were forced to watch this.”