MISTAKES WERE MADE: Canada’s House speaker resigns over inviting a man who fought for a Nazi unit to Parliament.

OH, CANADA: Poland Considers War Crimes Extradition for WWII Nazi Applauded by Trudeau and Zelensky.

PAST PERFORMANCE IS NO GUARANTEE OF FUTURE RESULTS: Hunter files lawsuit against Giuliani for “hacking” laptop data. “But in order for that to be true, won’t Hunter have to admit that the laptop data was actually his, a change in his previous representations in other court proceedings?”

WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY CAUGHT IN HUGE LIE ABOUT ‘BIDENOMICS:’ KJP: “This President has been so zeroed in, so laser-focused, on lowering costs for Americans — and we’ve done that!”

There’s no way to describe this statement as anything other than a lie. It is flatly untrue that the Biden administration has “lowered costs for Americans.”

As of September 2023, prices were up by the following amounts since Biden took office, according to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics:

It’s a good-sized list. But hey, Biden warned his supporters that “Milton Friedman isn’t running the show anymore.”

AMERICA’S NEWSPAPER OF RECORD: Biden Condemns Menendez For Taking Bribes In Gold Rather Than Fungible Assets Laundered By 20 Different Shell Companies.

MATT TAIBBI: Justin Trudeau’s Nazi Hot Take Flexibility.

To recap: Trudeau in a clear act of official disinformation smeared thousands of Canadian protesters as Nazis last year with context-twisting descriptions of a few decidedly un-representative photos. Now, after the Speaker of the House of Commons invited an ex-Nazi to parliament in a planned political act that had to be somewhat representative of the thinking of Trudeau’s Liberal government, the Prime Minister is complaining about “Russian disinformation,” as if that were to blame for this optics Hindenburg. As the CBC put it:

Trudeau warned that this event may fuel Russian propaganda. Russian President Vladimir Putin has claimed the Ukraine conflict is about rooting out Nazis.

Dude, Vladimir Putin didn’t invite a Nazi to parliament, your government did. Do Davosketeers like Trudeau have anything inside, like shame or their own thoughts, or are they just manicured readers of talking points? Sheesh. It’s almost funny, how repugnant these people are.

Jim Geraghty adds: The Intrigue Is North of the Border for Once.

As if the embarrassment wasn’t bad enough, Canada just handed Russia more easy fodder for propaganda that the Ukrainians are the real Nazis, and that the dictator who’s breaking treaties, hinting at global conspiracies involving Jews, and constantly bombing civilians — the dictator who has kidnapped at least 19,000 children — is the real hero of this war.

This morning, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters, “Such sloppiness of memory is outrageous. Many Western countries, including Canada, have raised a young generation that does not know who fought whom or what happened during the Second World War. And they know nothing about the threat of fascism.” The Kremlin is a pack of damnable liars, but that’s a fair criticism of Canada.

Prime Minister Zoolander keeps digging, to coin an Insta-phrase.

RIP: David McCallum, Star of ‘NCIS,’ ‘The Man From U.N.C.L.E.,’ Dies at 90.

MARK STEYN: Spirits of the Age.

So that’s how it was initially reported. As the characteristically somnolent monodaily’s original headline put it:

Retired police chief killed in bike crash remembered for laugh, love of coffee

Must have been a pretty bad “crash”, huh? But just one of those things, compounded at the hospital by the usual bureaucratic heartlessness of modern life.

And then this video emerged:

https://twitter.com/ghostbrowser8/status/1702795772092395828?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

So two joyriders steal a car, hit another vehicle, and then decide to kill a bicyclist for kicks. “Ready?” says the driver. “Hit his ass,” responds the passenger. And they do – and whaddayaknow, killing a guy makes for a really cool video when you post it on “social” media!

By the way, that lousy “bike crash” headline remained on the Review-Journal story for a month – from the initial publication on August 18th all the way till Saturday September 16th, after twenty-four hours of widespread derision on the Internet. The paper has become defensive about its coverage, which we’ll return to later.

Read the whole thing.

CANADA’S NAZI OVATION: The Intrigue Is North of the Border for Once. “As those of you who have cracked a history book know, as messy, bloody, and complicated as the history of southeastern Europe is, the side that was fighting against Russia in World War II was . . . the Nazis.”

Related: AP misses it by that much:

The AP wrote that Zelensky and Trudeau honored a WWII veteran of the ‘First Ukrainian Division’

The AP omitted that this was a volunteer division of the Waffen-SS pic.twitter.com/aBD5ravZok

— Jack Poso 🇺🇸 (@JackPosobiec) September 24, 2023

As does Politico, curiously enough:

Nazi-linked veteran received ovation during Zelenskyy’s Canada visithttps://t.co/q6OIcdSzKM.

— POLITICO (@politico) September 24, 2023

“I’LL ASK THE QUESTIONS, SIR!” CNN’s Jim Acosta Can’t Handle It When a Guest Says the Border Is ‘Open.’

SPRING FASCISM PREVIEW: Canadian Parliament gives standing ovation to Ukrainian Nazi.

Speaker of the House Anthony Rota recognized Yaroslav Hunka, 98, for his service in the ‘First Division’ of the Ukrainian National Army before immigrating to Canada.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau welcomed him as an honoured guest as part of Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky’s visit to Canada.

“We have with us in the Chamber today a Ukrainian-Canadian veteran from the Second World War who fought for Ukrainian Independence against the Russians and continues to support the troops today,” said Rota.

All House parties, Senate groups and foreign dignitaries gave Hunka a standing ovation for his efforts against the Russians then and now.

“He’s a Ukrainian hero — a Canadian hero — and we thank him for all his service,” concluded Rota.

However, Canada’s leading military affairs reporter, David Pugliese, wrote a 2020 article that says no such ‘First Division’ existed during WWII.

Members of the division served Adolf Hitler’s 14th Waffen SS Division Galicia — a designated criminal organization, according to the Nuremberg war crimes tribunal, reported military journal esprit de corps.

As many as 2,000 Waffen SS soldiers of Ukrainian heritage, including Hunka, supposedly changed their identities and masqueraded as “refugees” before capture to seek refuge in Canada in the 1950s.

As many as 30,000 Ukrainian refugees fled Europe for Canada at the time.

Before members of the unit surrendered to Allied forces, they hid their SS connection in the final days of the war by renaming themselves the First Division Ukrainian National Army.

More details at Forward: Zelenskyy joins Canadian Parliament’s ovation to 98-year-old veteran who fought with Nazis.

The Canadian Parliament gave a standing ovation on Friday to a 98-year-old immigrant from Ukraine who fought in a Third Reich military formation accused of war crimes.

The elderly veteran, Yaroslav Hunka was honored during a session in which President Volodomyr Zelenskyy of Ukraine addressed the lawmakers to thank them for their support since Russia invaded his country, saying Canada has always been on “the bright side of history.” The  Speaker of the House of Commons, Anthony Rota — who had compared Zelenskyy to Winston Churchill — recognized a “veteran from the Second World War who fought for Ukrainian independence against the Russians and continues to support the troops today even at his age of 98.”

The assembly then rose to applaud a man in a khaki uniform standing on the balcony, who saluted, according to this screenshot from Canadian television.

The man was identified as Hunka by the Associated Press, which published a photograph showing Zelenskyy smiling and raising a fist during the ovation.

The AP caption described Hunka as having “fought with the First Ukrainian Division in World War II before later immigrating to Canada.” The First Ukrainian Division is another name for the 14th Waffen Grenadier Division of the SS, the military wing of the Nazi Party; the unit was also called SS Galichina.

This is the same unit that is honored by controversial monuments in Canada, Australia, and, as the Forward recently exposed, the suburbs of Philadelphia and Detroit. Jewish groups have called for their removal.

After a Forward article in August that was followed by coverage in the Philadelphia Inquirer, local television stations and other news outlets, the Ukrainian Catholic Archeparchy of Philadelphia temporarily covered the monument located in a cemetery in Elkins Park, Pennsylvania, pending discussions with local Jewish leaders. The Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia and regional branches of the American Jewish Committee and the Anti-Defamation League had expressed outrage about the monument.

Formed in 1943, SS Galichina was composed of recruits from the Galicia region in western Ukraine. The unit was armed and trained by the Nazis and commanded by German officers. In 1944, the division was visited by SS head Heinrich Himmler, who spoke of the soldiers’ willingness to slaughter Poles.”

Three months earlier, SS Galichina subunits perpetrated what is known as the Huta Pieniacka massacre, burning 500 to 1,000 Polish villagers alive.

Not surprisingly, “Several Jewish advocacy organizations are condemning members of Parliament for giving a standing ovation to a man who fought for a Nazi unit during the Second World War,” CTV News reports.

(Classical — and NSFW — reference in headline.)

JON GABRIEL: We’re stuck with a Trump vs. Biden rematch in 2024? Not even close. 2024 election lineup is far from set, even if pundits say it is.

A BRIDGE TOO FAR: Sorcerer: William Friedkin’s Long Lost Existential Thriller.

My latest, over at EdDriscoll.com. 

TRUNALIMUNUMAPRZURE! (P)resident Biden refers to rapper LL Cool J as ‘boy’ while speaking to Congressional Black Caucus.

WATCH: Matt Gaetz Causes CNN Host to End Interview After Fact-Checking Her Live On-Air.

WEIMAR 2?

For all his faults, and his outsized ego, France’s President Macron has made significant pro-business moves, cut some corporate taxes, and slightly trimmed its bloated welfare state.

Italy’s Giorgia Meloni is at least attempting to reform Italy’s stagnant economy. Poland’s economy is easily beating its neighbour, and stealing a lot of its factories into the bargain.

By contrast, Germany is paralysed by a coalition comprising the Social Democrats, the Greens, and the Free Democrats that can agree on almost nothing….

The coalition’s one big idea was splurging €10bn on getting Intel to build a new chip factory in the country in an attempt to drag Germany into the 21st century.

Given the coming glut of semiconductors on the global market, it already looks like a white elephant. Otherwise, Chancellor Scholz’s coalition appears to have no clue how to fix the mess.

Related: Germany went from envy of the world to the worst-performing major developed economy. What happened?

For most of this century, Germany racked up one economic success after another, dominating global markets for high-end products like luxury cars and industrial machinery, selling so much to the rest of the world that half the economy ran on exports.

Jobs were plentiful and the government’s financial coffers grew as other European countries drowned in debt, and books were written about what other countries could learn from Germany.

No longer.

Now, Germany is the world’s worst-performing major developed economy, with both the International Monetary Fund and European Union expecting it to shrink this year.

It follows Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the loss of Moscow’s cheap natural gas — an unprecedented shock to Germany’s energy-intensive industries, long the manufacturing powerhouse of Europe.

If only somebody had warned them a few years ago about the dangers of being dependent upon Russian energy. If only.

WAPO STORY ON DAVE PORTNOY IS PUBLISHED, IMMEDIATELY GETS COMMUNITY NOTED ON X/TWITTER:

You’d think after being publicly humiliated by having your “journalistic” activism exposed to millions of people, the Post would have pulled the plug on the piece entirely.

But that would have made too much sense.

Instead, they published the Portnoy story anyway … and immediately got roasted by community notes on X (formerly Twitter).

“A phone call between Emily Heil and Dave Portnoy was shared prior to publication, in which the WaPo journalist admits to intentionally misleading advertisers into speaking negatively of the One Bite Pizza Festival. They agreed to an interview the next day, but Wapo cancelled.”

This weekend, New York will host Dave Portnoy's One Bite Pizza Festival.

Participating pizzerias have had to navigate buzz around the festival and backlash against the Barstool Sports founder's controversial remarks and allegations of sexual misconduct. https://t.co/v2XqLxkJwg

— The Washington Post (@washingtonpost) September 22, 2023

Exit quote:

The @washingtonpost got community noted for lying 😂😂😂. Ain't no fun when the rabbit got the gun https://t.co/kUtVMsFI9M

— Dave Portnoy (@stoolpresidente) September 23, 2023

HE’S RUNNING: Newsom vetoes California’s All Your Children Are Belong to Us bill.

WHO KNEW NYC RESTAURANTS STILL HAD A DRESS CODE? The NY Post tried eating at NYC’s finest restaurants dressed like Sen. John Fetterman — see how it went.

BOB TORRICELLI ISN’T AN OPTION? Ted Cruz predicts Democrats will dump Joe Biden for Michelle Obama right before the election.

As Michael Graham sagely cautioned in 2004 (the year Torricelli was swapped out and replaced by a fossilized Frank Lautenberg on the NJ ballot), “Don’t assume you know who’s on the Democratic ticket until Election Day.”

WHERE’S HUNTER, FAT? When Bob Menendez’ Aide Wanted to Meet With Vice President Biden, Who Do You Think He Emailed to Arrange The Sit-Down?

CHRISTIAN TOTO: Celebs Rally Against ‘Book Bans,’ Ignore Real Censorship.

Here is a partial list of the actors involved in the new “book banning” statement.

Mark Ruffalo, Billy Porter, Chelsea Handler, Constance Wu, John Leguizamo, Christie Brinkley, Angie Thomas, Raquel Willis, Idina Menzel, Roxane Gay, Adina Porter, Judy Blume, Busy Philipps, Garbage, Jodi Picoult, Natasha Rothwell, Andy Cohen, Sarah Paulson, Emma Roberts, Abigail Disney, Jazz Jennings, Margaret Atwood, Michael Ian Black, Sharon Stone, Judd Apatow, Nikki Giovanni, Alyssa Milano, Bill Nye, Zooey Deschanel, Patton Oswalt, Aisha Tyler, Natasha Lyonne, Maia Kobabe, Zoe Lister-Jones, Alok and Ava Max.

How many of those stars have spoken out against sensitivity readers? Big Tech censorship? The Biden administration’s censorship regime? Attacks on comedians for telling the “wrong” jokes?

None, to this reporter’s knowledge. If that is incorrect please share the details in the comments section.

Heck, Disney tried to censor “Jihad Rehab,” a film she previously championed after the woke mob targeted it for extinction.

It’s one thing for Hollywood stars to remain silent on modern censorship. It’s gross, but we can’t force celebrities to speak out on every issue of the day, even one that directly impacts their art form.

Of course Hollywood leftists are for censorship – Communist China is a major source of foreign revenue. As Jim Geraghty wrote in October of 2019, when the CCP-NBA connection was exposed for millions of Americans to see: We’re Not Exporting Our Values to China — We’re Importing Theirs.

THE POWER LINE WEEK IN PICTURES: Take a Flyer Edition.

JUST NBC THE RACISM! Leslie Jones Says ‘SNL’ Made Her A Caricature Of Herself: “Either I’m Trying To Love On The White Boys Or Beat Up On The White Boys Or I’m Doing Something Loud.”

“They take that one thing [about you] and they wring it,” she says. “They wring it because that’s the machine. So whatever it is that I’m giving that they’re so happy about, they feel like it’s got to be that all the time or something like that. So it was like a caricature of myself. … Either I’m trying to love on the white boys or beat up on the white boys, or I’m doing something loud.”

Jones says a chat on the topic with a former cast member (she didn’t say who) provided additional context.

“I was talking to another cast member that retired and they said ‘But in fairness, that’s how they do all of them. Not just the Black ones,’” Jones says. “I look back and I was like, ‘Oh, that’s right, Taran Killam!’ Taran wanted to do so much other stuff, but they would only have Taran in those very masculine [roles] and singing and stuff and I said, ‘Oh! This is a machine.’”

Jones also says she understands the pressures on executive producer Lorne Michaels to keep “the machine” running smoothly.

“I used to always be like, he’s the puppet master,” she says. “So he has to make the cast happy, has to make the writers happy, he has to make the WGA happy, he has to make NBC happy. Then he has to make a family in Omaha, Nebraska, who’s watching the show happy. Imagine the strings that have to go out to him. So it’s a machine that has to work.”

To be fair, it’s nice of Lorne to give some thought to the one family in Omaha that’s actually tuning in to watch the ancient low-rated late night variety show.

Exit question: Is It Finally Time to Put ‘Saturday Night Live’ to Bed?

NBC’s best option would be to return to their roots and resume showing Johnny Carson reruns at 11:30 on Saturday nights.

WITH JOE’S BLESSINGS: Dumping Unlimited U.S. Aid On Ukraine Won’t Stop China From Ransacking Taiwan.