Author Archive: Ed Driscoll

SPRINGTIME FOR STARMER: Starmer’s feverish Faragephobia reveals his hatred of the masses.

You can always tell when a centrist is crapping himself: he plays the Hitler card. He goes rummaging in the darkest moment of modern times in search of an insult to fling at the person who’s put the wind up him. Witness David Lammy’s mad claim that Nigel Farage once ‘flirted with Hitler Youth’. It’s not true, of course, but it revealed a truth – that Labour is flailing like crazy in response to the threat posed by Reform UK to Keir Starmer’s government and the very foundations of British politics.

It was after Sir Keir’s speech at the Labour conference in Liverpool on Sunday that Lammy dropped the H-bomb. In a vain effort to sound more passionate, but coming off like a short-circuiting android, Starmer slammed Reform’s promise to scrap indefinite leave to remain for immigrants as ‘racist’ and ‘immoral’. Later, on the BBC, Lammy was asked if he thought Farage was racist. It’s even worse, Lammy hinted – he’s Adolf-adjacent. ‘I will leave it for the public to come to their own judgements about someone who once flirted with Hitler Youth when he was younger’, he said.

That “flirting” must have been a serious case of necrophilia, considering that Farage was born almost twenty years after the end of WWII.

Choose my ‘decency’ over Farage’s ‘division’, said Starmer. Coming off like a Temu Winston Churchill, he said to Farage: ‘You are the enemy and we will fight you.’ On the beaches? In the fields? Starmer’s readying of the Labour troops for war against the ‘racist’ and ‘immoral’ Farage generated some of the most batshit newspaper headlines I’ve seen in years. ‘Starmer vows Labour will never surrender Britain to “enemy” Farage’, cried the Independent, conjuring up an image of wet, woke hacks sobbing into a warm beer and playing ‘Nimrod’ on a loop as they vow to defend Britain – well, Hackney Wick – from the menace of Faragism.

Home secretary Shabana Mahmood clearly got the memo about madly obsessing over Farage. She told reporters that what Farage is doing is actually ‘worse than racist’. So he’s ultra racist, super-racist, the most racist? With his promise to get tough on immigration, he’s blowing a ‘very, very loud dog whistle to every racist in the country’, she said. For heaven’s sake, can we please retire the ‘dog whistle’ slur, that grossly elitist vision of the masses as a canine-like mob just waiting to be sprung into depraved action by a coded cry from one of their demagogic controllers? It’s still true, it seems: scratch an ‘anti-fascist’, find a classist.

As James Taranto has said, if you can hear the dog whistle, you’re the dog.

CHRISTOPHER RUFO: The Left-Wing Terror Memeplex.

Many of us who work in politics have felt sickened since the assassination of Charlie Kirk. We sense that a line has been crossed, perhaps permanently.

For years, the Left had accused conservative intellectuals of fomenting “stochastic terrorism”—incendiary rhetoric that inspires violence. This accusation was used to purge conservatives from social media, and, during the Biden administration, contributed to the F.B.I.’s decision to monitor conservatives, including parents who opposed critical race theory. The Left sought to use the stochastic terrorism construction as an all-purpose censorship tool.

This year, the tables have turned. Donald Trump is in power and left-wing violence has surged. Even The Atlantic, which previously seconded the idea of stochastic terrorism, has now conceded that political violence from the Left outstrips that from the Right.

After studying several recent incidents of left-wing terrorism, I want to articulate some initial thoughts about what I call the “left-wing terror memeplex.” This system, in which left-wing narratives inspire decentralized acts of violence, has four elements: prestige narratives, radicalized memespaces, copycat models, and disturbed individuals.

The memeplex is not organized like the older model of left-wing political terrorism, which relied on organized groups (such as the Weather Underground and Black Liberation Army), decentralized cells, ideological formation, and meticulous planning. By contrast, the memeplex is decentralized, mediated through the Internet, and, on the surface, appears unorganized. Left-wing media and political figures peddle narratives through the digital sphere; an individual commits an act of terrorism inspired by those narratives; and the media and political figures pretend that the two are unrelated and that the terrorist was a “lone wolf.”

And the left demands immunity from attacks using their own language: That’s a Twist: Pritzker Says It is Dangerous to Call Democrats Fascist.

Which seems odd, because they’ve been dropping F-bombs on the right for over 80 years, not least of which when FDR “awarded” a conservative newspaper journalist he hated with a Nazi Iron Cross in 1942.

THE SMUG LIFE ENTERS THE BOX CANYON:

 

NAPA NITWITS: What Democrats Are Doing During Schumer Shutdown Says Everything About Them.

We don’t know how long the Schumer Shutdown will last, but we do know that every day — heck, every hour — that it does, the Democrats will be screeching in front of every microphone they can find that it is the apocalypse for the American people.

But, as we all know by now, it is far more important to watch what Democrats do rather than listen to what they say.

And last night, we found out what Democrat leadership is planning for early October. (Hint: it does not involve negotiating with Republicans or fighting to serve the American people.)

Watch:

Will they be joining Gavin Newsom at the French Laundry or his winery?

JOHN ONDRASIK: Hollywood joins history’s shameful betrayals by blacklisting Jewish artists.

Over 3,900 film artists, including some of Hollywood’s most celebrated names, just signed a boycott of Israeli cinema institutions. They claim this is a principled stand. I call it what it is: a cowardly act that feeds antisemitism, punishes Jewish artists, and poisons the very spirit of creativity.

I am not Jewish. I don’t claim that heritage. But I don’t need to be Jewish to see right from wrong. Common sense alone tells us that when you single out the world’s one Jewish state, when you target its filmmakers and artists while ignoring brutal regimes across the globe, you are not standing for justice. You are standing for bigotry dressed up as virtue. You are empowering and legitimizing terrorists.

* * * * * * * * *

To paraphrase Martin Luther King Jr., “The ultimate tragedy is not the oppression and cruelty by the bad people but, the silence over that by the good people.” Silence in the face of antisemitism is surrender. And surrender from within is the most dangerous betrayal of all.

Hollywood has always prided itself on standing up for the marginalized, the persecuted, the oppressed. But today, that standard is being abandoned. Instead, conformity and cowardice rule the day. It’s easier to boycott Israelis than to challenge fashionable lies. It’s easier to parrot slogans than to defend truth.

This is not just about Israel. This is about the soul of art itself. When you turn creativity into a political weapon, when you punish people not for their talent but for their identity, you kill art. You replace courage with cowardice, imagination with ideology, and beauty with blacklists.

I’m so old, I can remember when Hollywood produced anti-blacklist movies on a regular basis. What changed?

More from Ondrasik:

Many of us have wondered how the Holocaust could ever have happened. We need wonder no longer. It’s shades of 1938. Because if you can’t find the courage to defend Jewish artists and the Jewish state, don’t be surprised when history remembers this as the moment Hollywood lost its conscience, creativity, and credibility. We all know who you are.

Flashback: The Academy Museum ignores Hollywood’s Jewish founders.

WE ARE TWO-SPIRITS IN THE MATERIAL WORLD: Former Deputy Director of Biden’s “Office of Gun Violence Prevention” insultingly calls two-spirit people “two-faced” when asked to define the term:

Mr. Hawley also asked about Mr. Jackson suggesting in his report that instead of funding the police, governments should invest in programs that “acknowledge the need for safe space, initiatives led by lesbian, gay, bisexual, two spirit, trans and gender non-conforming people.”

The Missouri Republican asked what a “two-spirit” individual was.

“I mean, really, this is your policy this is your policy-makers playbook. You are the witness called by the Democrats on this committee, so I assume you reflect their views. Well, you don’t want to fund the police,” Mr. Hawley said. “You want to fund safe spaces for ‘two spirit’ individuals. What is a two-spirit person?”

Mr. Jackson retorted, “I feel like I’m looking at a two-faced individual, because you talk about reducing violence and talking about speaking out against violence.”

In accordance with the prophecy:

Why is the Democratic Party such a cesspit of anti-two-spirit bigotry?

(Classical allusion in headline.)

BEGUN, THE CLONE WAR HAS: Babies could be born without biological mothers.

Babies could be born without a biological mother after scientists created functional human eggs from skin.

American researchers demonstrated it was possible to replace the DNA from an egg with the genetic material from another person’s skin, and turn it into a sex cell ready for fertilisation.

When the team fertilised the egg with sperm, it began growing into an embryo, until the experiment was halted at six days – the point at which an embryo would be transferred to the womb in IVF.

The breakthrough opens the possibility of skin DNA from a man being placed inside a donor egg and fertilised by another man, leading to a baby with two biological fathers and no DNA from a woman.

It could also provide an unlimited supply of fresh eggs for women who struggle to conceive because of age, infertility or medical treatment.

Pete and Chasten Buttigieg, your time is now!

In any case, it’s all fun and games until your lifeclock begins to blink red and black, and it’s time to don the hockey mask of doom:

21st CENTURY HEADLINES: Emily Blunt brands AI-generated actress Tilly Norwood ‘terrifying’ as she begs talent agencies not to sign her.

Emily Blunt has branded AI-generated actress Tilly Norwood ‘terrifying’ and begged talent agencies not to sign her.

AI talent studio Xicoia created the digital performer, a young brunette actress, with Eline Van der Velden unveiling the project at the Zurich Film Festival.

Tilly is already attracting interest from talent agents, and Smashing Machine actress Emily confessed she is horrified at the prospect.

Shown a report on Tilly, Emily told Variety: ‘Does it disappoint me? I don’t know how to quite answer it, other than to say how terrifying this is.

‘No, are you serious? That’s an AI? Good Lord, we’re screwed. That is really, really scary. Come on, agencies, don’t do that. Please stop. Please stop taking away our human connection.’

Yes, Hollywood is really screwed, and not just by “Tilly Norwood:”

Last lines of tweet: “The days of celebrities are pretty much coming to an end. Filmmaking just became content creation.

Miller adds, “It’s all artificial and soulless, but given Hollywood’s bottom-line-only business model with no original filmmaking and doubling down on franchises, sequels, and remakes, it was inevitable.”

Just as George Lucas kitbashed Flash Gordon, Star Trek, 2001: A Space Odyssey, Kurosawa samurai movies, The Dam Busters, and err, Triumph of the Will to make the first Star Wars movie, somebody’s going to use this technology to make the next original sci-fi movie or TV series, the video version of Les Paul and Mary Ford recording hit songs alone in their home studio in the late 1940s and ’50s. Meanwhile, Disney thinks the path to big screen salvation is a movie version of The Mandolorian. Good luck, fellas!

 

 

TRUNALIMUNUMAPRZURE! Unearthed Biden note cards reveal he had bios, photo reminders on Hillary Clinton, Schumer.

Unearthed note cards from the Biden era show the administration detailed the names and photos of high-profile Democrats, such as former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, as well as lesser-known individuals for then-President Joe Biden to ostensibly reference during live events, documents obtained by Fox News Digital show.

Five different “palm cards,” which are hand-sized note cards frequently used by politicians for quick reminders or talking points during public events, especially while on the campaign trail, were uncovered amid an investigation of National Archive documents related to the Biden administration’s use of an autopen, and obtained by Fox News Digital.

Four of the five cards obtained by Fox Digital are stamped with a disclaimer reading, “PRESIDENT HAS SEEN,” while a fifth card detailing an ABC News reporter’s question to Biden during a press conference did not include that stamp.

It is unclear if Biden relied on each of the cards during the various public events.

Clinton was among a handful of Americans who received a Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian honor in the U.S., in the waning days of the Biden administration. One of the palm cards obtained by Fox Digital reads “Presidential Medal of Freedom Recipients” and was followed by photos and short biographies of the recipients, including a photo of Clinton and a short note detailing she “was the Secretary of State in the Obama-Biden administration.”

The note card also included a photo of Hollywood actor Denzel Washington, who also received the prestigious award in January, and a note describing him as an actor, director and producer whom the New York Times called “one of the greatest actors of the 21st century.” The note also had photos and short bios for lesser known individuals who received the award, including renowned chef José Andrés and businessman and philanthropist David Rubenstein.

Flashback:

“Start your tape right now,” [MSNBC’s Joe Scarborough] continued, “because I’m about to tell you the truth. And eff you if you can’t handle the truth. This version of Biden, intellectually, analytically, is the best Biden ever. Not a close second, and I’ve known him for years. The Brzezinskis have known him for 50 years. If it weren’t the truth, I wouldn’t say it.”

Scarborough Goes Full Nutcase Defending Biden’s Mental Acuity, Matt Margolis, PJ Media.com, March 6th, 2024.

OPERATION PAPER CLIP: THE NEXT GENERATION. Prolific Liar Randi Weingarten’s Paperclip Stunt: Peak Hypocrisy from Education’s Chief Authoritarian.

Like much of the rest of the left, she’d rather attack Trump than dial down the Democrats’ feverish current tone, even though deescalation is their best chance of regaining power:

Classical reference in headline:

“Looks like [Wweingarten] is supporting Nazis.” She probably doesn’t know about Operation Paperclip, and she probably doesn’t care that she’s displaying a form of Holocaust denial: Are Democrats Whitewashing Hitler with Lame Attacks on Trump?

GREAT MOMENTS IN SAFETYISM: Politico Reporter Who Said She Cried Over Trump’s Election Now Covers His Presidency.

As a master’s student at Northwestern University’s esteemed journalism school in 2020, Cheyanne Daniels revealed that she cried when President Donald Trump was elected four years earlier because she knew “horrible things were to come.” She now covers the Trump presidency for Politico.

Daniels joined the outlet as a breaking news reporter in May following a three-year stint as a “race and politics reporter” for The Hill, where she covered both the 2024 election and stories like, “John Boyega: ‘Star Wars’ ‘most whitest, elite space,'” and, “‘Power Rangers’ actor splits with writer, says casting a ‘milestone.'”

Her reporting is now largely focused on the White House, the subject of several of her posts on social media. On Nov. 7, 2020, the day the Associated Press called the presidential election for Joe Biden, Daniels tweeted: “4 years ago, I cried when I realized Donald Trump had been elected, knowing horrible things were to come. Now, I’m in my apartment in D.C., hearing people cheering in the streets screaming that he has been defeated, and I’m crying once again. But for a very different reason.”

One week later, Daniels’s euphoria seemed to fade. “Trump may have lost the election,” she wrote, “but over 70 million people voted for him — and some of those voters were people who felt, like their demagogue, that MY life as a Black woman doesn’t matter, that I shouldn’t exist, I threaten the purity of white power.”

The posts raise questions about Politico‘s decision to hire Daniels for a role that, at least for the next three years, revolves around coverage of the Trump White House and, ostensibly, requires neutrality.

Nahh, I think everyone knows by now that Politico isn’t going to be at all “neutral” when covering Trump, but it’s always good to have additional confirmation.

DISPATCHES FROM THE INTERSECTION OF RADICAL CHIC AND THE EDUCATION APOCALYPSE: The Chicago Teachers Union Is Exactly Who You Thought They Were.

If you spend any time on social media, you have likely heard about the latest outrage from my city’s Cthulhu-like public sector behemoth, the Chicago Teachers Union: On Friday afternoon, to note the death of radical left-wing Sixties terrorist Assata Shakur (born Joanne Chesimard) in Cuba, the CTU’s X account issued the following statement:

Rest in Power, Rest in Peace, Assata Shakur.

Today we honor the life and legacy of a revolutionary fighter, a fierce writer, a revered elder of Black liberation, and a leader of freedom whose spirit continues to live in our struggle.

Assata refused to be silenced. She taught us that “It is our duty to fight for our freedom. It is our duty to win. We must love each other and support each other. We have nothing to lose but our chains.”

Keep in mind, as Noah Rothman eloquently explained yesterday afternoon, that Shakur was a cop-killer who escaped from prison to live the rest of her days in a totalitarian country. My readers tend to be a fairly savvy bunch, so I suspect many of you are asking yourselves why a teachers’ union would have felt the need to celebrate the passing of an infamous American terrorist murderer. (For those wondering — because it occurred to me to check — Shakur was never a teacher herself, unless her job was to instruct people in criminal undertakings.)

But while this question may puzzle out-of-towners, it makes all the sense in the world to us locals. The Chicago Teachers Union is (as I have explained many times in these pages) arguably the single most radical major union in America, a throbbing, graft-bloated parasite attached to Chicago city government the way a tick burrows deep into a pig. And much like a tick, the CTU isn’t content merely to suck money out of the city’s taxpayers. It gives back as well — in the form of Mayor Brandon Johnson, former CTU lobbyist and current laughingstock of America.

Sure, but they’re just crazy radical chic-obsessed Chicago teachers. It’s not like America would ever have a president who palled around the Chicago area with an unrepentant former terrorist who eventually went into education himself…

IS THE NFL TROLLING TRUMP WITH BAD BUNNY’S SUPER BOWL HALFTIME SHOW?

AN IDEA WHOSE TIME HAS COME: The Charlie Kirk Grant.

AND NOW, A WORD FROM CHUCK SCHUMER:

BRENDAN O’NEILL: The Gaza flotilla: the Woke Man’s Burden.

The flotilla looks less like ‘a protest’ and more like a ‘provocation’, says the Middle East Forum – and one which, courtesy of those frigates and the activists’ call for more navies to join in, could have ‘military consequences’. It’s hard to disagree with this assessment. If the flotilla’s aim were merely to drop off aid to Palestinians, why would it so noisily savour the arrival of warships and dream of their sailing all the way to the shores of Israel-Gaza? We need cool heads. These Israelophobic sailors might want to ‘amp up the pressure’ but Israel should refuse to do so. It should calmly intercept their boats and send the passengers home.

The flotilla and its fevered war dreams expose the ugly truth about Israelophobia. This fashionable rage of the activist class dresses itself up as ‘anti-war’ but it positively pulsates with a warlike loathing for one tiny nation. They imperiously damn Israel as a ‘rogue state’, sounding more George W Bush than Mahatma Gandhi. Some even dream of its erasure. ‘From the river to the sea!’, they cry. Or even ‘We don’t want two states, we want ’48!’ – a call for a return to that apparently blissful era of 1948 before the modern State of Israel was founded. This isn’t peace activism – it’s a moralistic crusade fuelled by a rank Western chauvinism that views Israel as an uncivilised blot on our planet, as the savages of the modern era. A nation supposedly in the grip of ‘genocidal mania’ that only ‘external intervention’ can fix.

The unhinged language, the sheer animus, is indistinguishable from the ‘humanitarian’ calamities of the 2000s, when imperious forces in the West likewise branded states in the Middle East as vectors of human evil that our civilised armies had a duty to encroach on and defeat. Israelophobia is the Woke Man’s Burden, neo-colonial arrogance in the drag of pacifism. The truly progressive cry today is ‘Hands off Israel’. Hamas, Hezbollah, Iran and every wanker in the West – back off and leave the Jewish State alone.

Related:

How dare you!

IS ANOTHER TRANSCONTINENTAL RAILROAD IN THE WORKS? CSX railroad replaces CEO after investor pressure and poor performance as Union Pacific merger looms.

CSX railroad announced Monday that it had replaced its CEO less than two months after an investment fund urged it to either find another railroad to merge with to better compete with the proposed transcontinental Union Pacific railroad or fire outgoing CEO Joe Hinrichs.

The outgoing CEO, who came to the railroad in 2022 after a long career with Ford, focused on repairing CSX’s relationship with its workers and labor unions and unifying the team after a bitter contract fight. But Ancora Holdings, which helped spur major changes at Norfolk Southern, said CSX’s operating performance deteriorated significantly under Hinrichs’ leadership. Hinrichs resigned to clear the way for Steve Angel to become CEO effective Sunday.

Angel, 70, also comes from outside the rail industry although earlier in his career he oversaw GE’s locomotive building unit, so he does have that experience. CSX said he has 45 years experience leading large public companies, including most recently as CEO of Linde and Praxair that provide industrial gasses to other companies.

“We are excited to welcome Steve as our new CEO. He is a visionary in creating long-term value and an expert in guiding companies through significant transformation,” the railroad’s board Chairman John Zillmer said.

CSX has been under pressure from Ancora and other investors since Union Pacific announced its $85 billion deal to acquire Norfolk Southern, which is CSX’s rival in the eastern United States. But both [Burlington Northern Santa Fe] and [Canadian Pacific Kansas City] railroads said they aren’t interested in a merger right now.

* * * * * * * *

Ancora said it continues to buy more CSX shares and hopes to develop a better relationship with the railroad. Ancora holds three seats on Norfolk Southern’s board after running a proxy campaign there to oust the previous CEO at that railroad, so the investment fund had input on the Union Pacific-Norfolk Southern merger.

Earlier: Union Pacific, Norfolk Southern discuss merger to create transcontinental railroad, AP source says.

UNEXPECTEDLY: Jimmy Kimmel’s ratings fall off cliff again after post-suspension viewer bump.

Jimmy Kimmel Live! enjoyed a short-lived ratings bonanza after his triumphant post-suspension return to ABC.

Kimmel’s late night show returned to screens on Tuesday with record-breaking ratings, after he was suspended for five days over remarks he made about Charlie Kirk‘s assassination.

As many as 6.5million people tuned to Kimmel on Tuesday, which was a three times the show’s usual audience and the biggest in over a decade.

But by Thursday, Kimmel averaged 2.3million – a shocking 64 percent drop since the show’s return episode, Fox News reported.

Notably, Kimmel lost 73 percent of the viewers in the coveted demographic of adults aged 25-54, getting just 465,000.

Typically, Kimmel gets about 1.8 million viewers each night on television. The numbers released by ABC do not include viewership from streaming services.

Evergreen:

IT’S COME TO THIS: Even Rosie O’Donnell’s Shrink Doesn’t Understand Why Her Trump Derangement Syndrome Is Out Of Control.

Former talk show host Rosie O’Donnell on “The Best People with Nicolle Wallace” Monday said even her therapist questioned why she was so devastated by President Donald Trump’s administration.

O’Donnell fled to Ireland to escape Trump’s second term, but continues to emotionally opine on the president. She said on the podcast that she could not comprehend why others did not share her emotions, including her therapist, who she said questioned her about them.

“When people say ‘I changed my mind,’ we have to say ‘Welcome back to reality. Let’s all be Americans together.’ Right? Because what’s happening is not only happening to Democrats,” O’Donnell told host Nicolle Wallace. “It’s happening to everyone. And when the Medicaid cuts go in, old people are going to start to die, to die.”

“What he’s done hasn’t even hit us yet. And if he’s not stopped now, we have lost our country,” she continued. “And I don’t know, Nicolle, how it is that some people cannot see it. My therapist said, ‘Why are you so upset?’ And I said to her, ‘Why are you not?’”

Well, probably because her therapist hasn’t spent nearly a quarter of a century mining the “current Republican president is worse than Hitler” trope for all its worth. Or as Mark Steyn once wrote:

When I was on the Rush Limbaugh show a couple of months back, a listener called up to insist that 9/11 was an inside job. I asked him whether that meant Bali and Madrid and London and Istanbul were also inside jobs. Because that’s one expensive operation to hide even in the great sucking maw of the federal budget. But the Toronto blogger Kathy Shaidle made a much sharper point:

“I wonder if the nuts even believe what they are saying. Because if something like 9/11 happened in Canada, and I believed with all my heart that, say, Stephen Harper was involved, I don’t think I could still live here. I’m not sure I could stop myself from running screaming to another country. How can you believe that your President killed 2,000 people, and in between bitching about this, just carry on buying your vente latte and so forth?”

Over to you, Col. de Grand Pre, and Charlie Sheen, and Alan Colmes.

Bush was so Hitler that even Kamala Harris eagerly sought his endorsement last year, and Barack Obama joked around with him at Jimmy Carter’s funeral.

THE CRITICAL DRINKER: The Mandalorian Isn’t Going To Save Star Wars.