BURIED LEDE: PEOPLE ARE STILL WEARING MASKS IN 2023. In-N-Out Bans Masks for Workers, COVID Cultists Melt Down.

A ‘FAST CAR’ — RIGHT INTO THE MEMORY HOLE: The woke erasure of Tracy Chapman.

Worse still, the thrust of the Washington Post article more or less erases Chapman’s huge success in the 1980s, implying that being a black lesbian thwarted her ambitions. Back in the real world, Chapman was nominated for several Grammy Awards, including Record of the Year and Song of the Year for ‘Fast Car’ (Bobby McFerrin’s ‘Don’t Worry, Be Happy’ beat her to those, somewhat incredibly). She won Best Female Pop Vocal Performance and Best New Artist.

Yahr’s article speaks to a broader phenomenon. It is yet another example of how fairly recent lesbian and gay history is being rewritten. Everything is being remoulded to fit the ‘LGBT+’ movement’s Year Zero worldview.

Singer Sam Smith has made similarly ridiculous claims about being a pioneering gay voice in pop music, seemingly unaware of the careers of those little-known, shunned artists Elton John, Freddie Mercury and George Michael.

Read the whole thing.

(P)RESIDENT: DEMOCRATIC PARTY STENOGRAPHERS ONLY, PLEASE. Biden Boots Daily Signal Reporter From White House Press Briefings.

Lucas isn’t the only reporter who will be left without a hard pass for the White House in two weeks. The White House won’t say exactly how many others will lose access. Officials also won’t disclose the number of hard passes currently in circulation.

Simon Ateba, the White House correspondent for Today News Africa who regularly spars with White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre, is among those sounding the alarm.

The new rules stipulate that reporters must work full time for “an organization whose principal business is news dissemination.” But the rules go even further by requiring reporters to act in a “professional manner,” “respecting their colleagues, White House employees, and guests,” and “not impeding events or briefings.”

When Trump or DeSantis takes office in January of 2025, his administration should keep the latter rules firmly in place, and if anyone has a Jim Acosta-style freakout, eject him with a reminder that this White House is simply continuing to follow the bipartisan rules laid down by its Democratic predecessor.

STOCKTON RUSH COULD NOT BE REACHED FOR COMMENT: Former commander of USAF Civil Air Patrol: ‘Stop hiring middle-aged white people, especially dudes that are pilots.’

TRUNALIMUNUMAPRZURE! Joe Biden Falls Apart on Camera During Meeting With Israel’s President.

TRIBES OBJECT, But a federal ruling approves construction of the largest lithium mine.

THIS WILL GET THEM BACK ON-SIDE! Charles Barkley Attacks Americans Boycotting Bud Light: ‘Rednecks’ And ‘A**holes.’

IT’S AN IDEA SO CRAZY, IT JUST MIGHT WORK: NYPD’s new boss needs to restore broken-windows policing and boost quality of life.

TRUMP SAYS HE’S A TARGET OF SPECIAL COUNSEL’S JANUARY 6 PROBE.

DEMOCRAT CALLS OUT DEMOCRATIC PARTY OPERATIVE WITH CHYRON: Cornel West To CNN’s Anderson Cooper: “You’re Very Much Part Of The Democratic Party Establishment.” And:

ANDERSON COOPER, CNN: I want to ask you, Senator Manchin, up in New Hampshire tonight, he seems to be testing the waters there. He says the parties are too far to the left, and to the right. What do you think of his politics?

CORNEL WEST: Well, you know, I just read the pamphlet “Common Sense.” And my God, they had the audacity to rename that after the great Thomas Payne’s [sic] revolutionary pamphlet of January 10, 1976, that was critical of all forms of hierarchy in the name of the dignity of those last, don’t call everyday people.

Thomas Paine? 1976? Forget it, he’s rolling.

LET’S GO SURFING NOW, EVERYONE IS LEARNING HOW: An otter in Santa Cruz is hassling surfers — and stealing their boards.

TWENTY MINUTES INTO THE FUTURE: Here’s What Will Probably Happen If Trump Wins The GOP Nomination.

I get that the memes and the Trump rallies are fun and the guy is entertaining as hell. I also understand the desire to vote for the politician who gave us 2016’s miracle win. I truly do. Yes, the former president has been his own worst enemy at times, but he also has been the target of an unprecedented level of lawfare from Democrats. The desire to see him not just vindicated but in a position to wreak sweet, sweet revenge on his – and our – persecutors is palpable. Hell, if I could wave a magic wand and make him president, I certainly would.

But I can’t, and you can’t, and for a variety of solid reasons, Trump can’t win the general election. So, it’s imperative that Republicans nominate someone who can. Our country, and our way of life, depend on it. There is a Door Number Two, if we’re wise enough to open it.

Read the whole thing.

“YOUR TERMS ARE ACCEPTABLE:” Barry Diller: Hollywood Faces an “Absolute Collapse” If Actor and Writer Strikes Are Not Resolved Soon.

Former Paramount CEO Barry Diller delivered a grim prediction for Hollywood on Sunday, warning that the industry is facing an “absolute collapse” if the Writers’ and Screen Actors Guild joint strike extends into the fall.

“What will happen is, if in fact, it doesn’t get settled until Christmas or so, then next year, there’s not going to be many programs for anybody to watch. So, you’re gonna see subscriptions get pulled, which is going to reduce the revenue of all these movie companies, television companies, the result of which is that there will be no programs,” Diller said on CBS’ “Face the Nation” Sunday. “And at just the time, [the] strike is settled that you want to get back up, there won’t be enough money.”

…

Diller said Hollywood is in the throes of a “perfect storm,” adding that he doesn’t think there is enough “trust” between the parties to reach a resolution soon.

With the exception of a few films such Top Gun: Maverick and Sound of Freedom, Hollywood trashed any post-pandemic good will acting the same way it did prior to 2020. There’s been plenty of woke lectures and fanbaiting, instead of creating product designed to get as many butts in seats as possible to kickstart theater attendance. If the strike causes the amount of damage that Diller predicts, Hollywood absolutely deserves that “perfect storm.” Or to put it in shorter terms:

JURY AWARDS $13 MILLION TO LAPD OFFICERS ACCUSED OF DRAWING HITLER MUSTACHE ON ARRESTEE:

The case stems from a January 2017 incident in which officers Stephen Glick and Alfred Garcia and their two female police partners responded to a suspected drunk driving collision, according to their suit.

The officers arrested a motorist. After he was found passed out in his jail cell, he was taken to an area hospital, the suit says. Two days later, the man lodged a complaint with the police department, alleging that his eyebrows and mustache had been shaved off, and someone had drawn various objects on his body with a sharpie, including a Hitler-style mustache, eyebrows, male genitalia and spelled out a Spanish slur that roughly translates to “male prostitute.”

According to the suit, when the department launched an investigation into the incident, internal affairs detectives automatically cast suspicion on the pair rather than on their female partners.

This, the suit contends, despite evidence suggesting the two male officers were never left alone with the arrestee. Glick’s body-worn camera was on for the duration of the arrest, with the exception of 12 minutes when the man was being booked at Newton Division station by Glick and his female partner, according to the suit.

“All of the evidence pointed to gender discrimination, from focusing on the males to the exclusion of the females,” said attorney Matt McNicholas, who filed the suit on the officers’ behalf.

Anyone who has read Jack Dunphy’s articles about the LAPD over the past 20 years or so would not be surprised by this suit.

THE MAN, THE MYTH, THE LEGEND: Non-Binary Biden Official Sam Brinton Was Traveling on Taxpayer Dime to Secure Nuclear Facility When Luggage Heist Occurred.

JAMES LILEKS’ BLACK AND WHITE WORLD:

In 1928, [Wernher Von Braun] was 16. When he was 17, [Fritz Lang’s] Woman in the Moon was released. We know he saw it. His V2 prototype had a “Woman in the Moon” logo.

This movie was his Star Trek, and he built the Enterprise. Except he was working for the Mirror Universe guys.

Click over to see just forward thinking Lang’s miniatures were — the moon landings begin here, and as Lileks alludes above far more sinister launches as well. Or as the title of Von Braun’s autobiography was frequently paraphrased, “I Aim for the Moon — But Sometimes Hit London.”

QUESTION ASKED AND ANSWERED:

Shot: Is Bezos Employee Jennifer Rubin Auditioning For a Job At The Babylon Bee?

—Newsalert, November 3rd, 2021.

Chaser: Wash Post publishes piece with debunked claim about DeSantis’ Florida despite source admitting it was wrong.

Several days after Business Insider admitted they had published inaccurate numbers of state residents that moved to Florida during the COVID-19 pandemic, Washington Post columnist Jennifer Rubin cited them and used them in an attack piece about Gov. Ron DeSantis’, R-Fla., leadership of the state.

Rubin published the column Friday in which she claimed, “DeSantis likes to brag that more people are moving to Florida than ever. Not so fast. ‘An estimated 674,740 people reported that their permanent address changed from Florida to another state in 2021.’” Those numbers are wrong and the Post, in a correction on Saturday, admitting the column “mischaracterized” the stats.

She originally added, “’That’s more than any other state, including New York or California, the two states that have received the most attention for outbound migration during the pandemic,’ according to the American Community Survey released in June tracking state-by-state migration.”

* * * * * * * *

Despite Business Insider admitting its original claim was contrary to the actual numbers, Rubin published the debunked fact in her piece three days later.

On Saturday afternoon, the Post offered a correction to Rubin’s column, admitting to “mischaracterizing” the numbers: “A previous version of this article mischaracterized Floridians’ state-to-state migration in 2021. According to the Census Bureau, more people moved into Florida than any other state that year. This version has been corrected.”

—Fox News, yesterday.

Much of what Rubin writes these days is unintentionally satiric, but to be honest, I trust the reporting at America’s Newspaper of Record much more than the vast majority of the WaPo’s output.

ALL ABOUT THE NARRATIVE:

Towards the end of All About the Story: News, Power, Politics, and the Washington Post, the new memoir by former Washington Postexecutive editor Len Downie, there is an irony so huge that only a journalist could miss it. Mere pages after Downie cites that awful, nonsensical cliche that “journalism’s job is to comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable,” he relates being forced to retire. It’s January 2008, and Downie is summoned to publisher Bo Jones’s office and informed it is time for him to go. Downie doesn’t take the news well. “I became numb as he discussed the details…I was determined not to show how shocked I was. I did not argue or ask questions.” After retreating from Jones’s office, Downie called his wife: “Something big, something life-changing has just happened,” he said.

It’s a great switchback: the man who wants to afflict the comfortable (why the comfortable should be attacked has never really been explained) was in fact one of the most comfortable—the rich top dog at one of the nation’s wealthiest and most elite media empires. He suddenly finds himself out of a job—afflicted, you might say, with unemployment (although his retirement perks ensured he would have a soft landing).

The reason for Downie’s sacking was the changing nature of journalism. By 2008 the digital revolution had drained advertising dollars, and the Post wanted younger, sharper staffers to handle the change. Soon the paper, which had been owned by the Graham family since 1933, would be sold. The Post was subsequently bought by Amazon’s Jeff Bezos in 2013. Since then, the paper, which has always been reliably liberal, has gone hard left, becoming sloppy, hysterical, and rawly radical. Donald Trump drove them insane.

QED: Jennifer Rubin humiliates herself using data from retracted story.

UPDATE:

THIS IS CNN: CNN Deceptively Edits RNC Chair To Paint Her as a Conspiracy Theorist.

It’s not just that the 51 former members of the intelligence community theorized Hunter’s laptop was Russian disinformation, it is that they did so for explicitly partisan purposes and the media just went along with it. McDaniel is making a case about fake news and implicitly, the media’s unwillingness to combat it when that fake news is spread by Democrats, not pushing wild theories about voting machines or anything of that sort.

Wallace owes viewers and explanation. He knew what McDaniel was talking about on Tuesday, but based off his answers to Coates, he doesn’t care. CNN’s dishonest editing didn’t just allow it to spread a false narrative about McDaniel, it allowed others to do the same. MSNBC’s Chris Hayes panned McDaniel on Thursday as someone who “just can’t say the straightforward sentence.” While secretary and Friday Way Too Early guest host Ali Vitali added, “And of course we will again underscore the fact president Biden did win the election and he did so fairly”

The fake version also made its way around the internet to Mediaite, the Washington Post, the DNC’s website, and HuffPost.

Why on earth is McDaniel going on CNN in the first place? But if she feels like she must, as Glenn wrote in the New York Post after Charlie Gibson’s deceptively edited interview with Sarah Palin in September of 2008: Bring Your Own Camera.

ITS ORIGIN AND PURPOSE, STILL A TOTAL MYSTERY: Was There Just a Jihad Terror Attack in Fargo, North Dakota?

On Friday afternoon, police in Fargo, North Dakota, responded to a report of a car crash at 9th Avenue South and 25th Street South. Fargo Police Chief David Zibolski said it was a “routine traffic accident,” but what happened when they arrived on the scene was anything but routine. A Fargo resident named Mohamad Barakat, 37, opened fire on the officers, killing one and injuring three others. Zibolski said that Barakat attacked the officers “for no known reason,” and authorities have as yet offered no hints as to the shooter’s motive. One of the most obvious possibilities, however, is being steadfastly ignored, as one might expect given today’s media narrative.

As Mark Steyn wrote almost 20 years ago:

NO. NEXT QUESTION? Does Biden deserve credit for falling inflation?

MARK JUDGE: Is conservatism capable of accepting victories? Or is it addicted to rage?

American conservatism has recently won several astounding victories. Yet in a disappointing sign that the political Right may be as addicted to outrage as the political Left, conservatives have not taken any time to step back, take a breath, and acknowledge the epochal nature of what has taken place.

In the past few years, the Supreme Court has overturned Roe v. Wade, abolished affirmative action, and protected the free speech of Christians in the workplace.

These are epic decisions. Yet many of those on the Right have not taken a week off or even torqued down their outrage. In one story that was reported, after Roe was overturned, a group of pro-life workers paused to cheer, then minutes later hunkered back down on their desks to continue working. Ben Shapiro, Charlie Kirk, and other popular social media conservatives haven’t even seemed to downshift in their attacks on the “woke.” Mark Levin has a new book coming out about how Democrats ”hate America.” It will drop around the same time as Christoper Rufo’s America’s Cultural Revolution: How the Radical Left Conquered Everything.

Read the whole thing.

BUT IT’S A DRY HELL: Jon Gabriel: You don’t have to be nuts to endure an Arizona summer. But it sure helps.

The Valley enjoyed a surprisingly mild summer this year. Then July hit.

Our weather apps buzz daily about “excessive heat warnings” followed by our smartphones shutting off until we head back inside. No return of our record-breaking 122 degrees; at least not yet. As I write, it’s a balmy 111.

Still, “King of the Hill” best expressed non-Arizonans’ view of our city. Bobby Hill shouted to his parents, “111 degrees?! Phoenix really can’t be that hot, can it?” then steps out of car.

“Oh my God, it’s like standing on the sun!”

“This city should not exist,” his mom replies. “It is a monument to man’s arrogance.”

Which are pretty ironic lines for a cartoon that was set in Texas.

K-12 IMPLOSION UPDATE: Parents slam woke Massachusetts school district for axing advanced math  classes to boost ‘equity’, after they attracted too many white and Asian students — with families now forced to hire private tutors instead.

WELL, CALIFORNIA HAS BEEN TRYING TO END THE CAR WITH “ROAD DIETS” AND BANNING GAS STATIONS SO YES: Climate Expert: Gas Car Cancellation Is Intended to End Private Transport.