ON BRAND: Khalid Kamau, Georgia’s first socialist mayor, arrested on burglary charge.

MISSED IT BY THAT MUCH: WSJ blames abysmal recruitment numbers on military veterans. “Yes, you read that right: military veterans are the problem.  Not the drag queens, not the anti-white rhetoric and policies of Lloyd Austin, not coerced participation in experimental drug trials, but those who enlisted and served.  It is appalling that our media blame low recruitment numbers on people who sacrificed and risked their lives for their country.”

OUT ON A LIMB: Many black Americans agree with Supreme Court’s anti-Affirmative Action ruling: new poll.

NARRATOR VOICE: No one actually thinks this.

https://twitter.com/KevinTober94/status/1678050367001579525

To be fair, it’s not surprising that Zakaria is inspired by Biden: Fareed Zakaria suspended by CNN, Time for plagiarism.

ROGER KIMBALL: Poetic Justice for the Biden ‘Ministry of Truth.’

The injunction is against the FBI, the DOJ, the CDC and five other federal agencies, as well as against such officials as the Surgeon General and various White House staffers. It prohibits them from “threatening, pressuring, or coercing social-media companies in any manner to remove, delete, suppress, or reduce posted content of postings containing protected free speech.”

Everyone expects the Biden administration to appeal the judgment. After all, having been in the censorship business so long and so successfully, the administration will be loath to open the window on free expression and opinions critical of their performance.

We don’t yet know how this case will turn out. Perhaps Judge Doughty will be overturned and the censorship and suppression industry will go on its merry way making the world safe for Democrats. But I suspect that the genie has been let out of the bottle. The Deep state will howl. The forces of freedom will howl louder, and now they have the House and, most likely, the courts on their side.

Whatever happens, the Wall Street Journal’s Jacob Gershman is right: “The case is among the most potentially consequential First Amendment battles pending in the courts, testing the limits on government scrutiny of social-media content on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and other major platforms. Never before has a federal judge set such sweeping limits on how the federal government may communicate with online platforms.”

Exit quote: “I wish I knew what Judge Doughty’s favorite tipple is. I’d like to buy him a case of it.”

FASTER, PLEASE: The blueprint is set to end Joe Biden’s shaky reign in the White House.

MARK JUDGE: Mercy Street: When Rock and Roll made you read books.

This summer marks the 40th anniversary of Synchronicity, the great record by the rock band the Police. 2023 is also the year when the British rock band the Cure is touring to sold-out venues around the world. And David Bowie’s 1979 concert film Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders of Mars is being reissued.

What do these things have in common? These are all rock and roll acts whose music is steeped in literature. The artists are from a time when pop music often led fans to books, and often not easy ones, to understand the music. Taylor Swift, arguably America’s biggest pop star, is praised for her “self-confessional” songs about boyfriends and fame. Swift is a clever lyricist, yet she lacks the literary depth of previous music stars.

In 1983, my senior year in high school, Sting inspired me to read the novel The Sheltering Sky by Paul Bowles. The Sheltering Sky, about three American expatriates in the Sahara desert, is a dour and depressing read. I read it when I heard “Tea in the Sahara,” a song that Sting wrote that was based on Bowles’s novel. Further, Synchronicity the album was named after a concept explored by both Carl Jung and Arthur Koestler, whose anti-communist masterpiece Darkness at Noon I had also read in high school.

Yes, the lyrics to rock songs were much more informed and interesting back in the day. But Stanford apparently never got that message: Students expecting a ‘fight to the death’ to get a spot in Stanford’s new Taylor Swift class.

HAPPY FOURTH OF JULY FROM PBS! How PBS Wrecked Independence Day: An ‘Ideological Tool’ of Right-Wing Extremists.

OKAY, GROOMERS: Leftists Mock Anti-Sex Trafficking Film As ‘QAnon Adjacent.’

YOU KNOW WHAT TO DO NEXT, BEN AND JERRY: Nulhegan Chief Tells Ben and Jerry’s Their HQ is On Stolen Land After Ice Cream Giant Announces Support for Land-Back Movement.

BOMBS AWAY, SAYS DNC OPERATIVE WITH BYLINE: WaPo’s Jonathan Capehart Defends Cluster Bombs For Ukraine: “Democracy Has To Have All The Tools Possible To Make It Possible.”

BECAUSE SHE’S ABSOLUTELY THE VERY BEST AT SETTING GINORMOUS PILES OF CASH ON FIRE? How does Kathleen Kennedy still have a job at Lucasfilm?

The critics of Kennedy’s tenure as head of Lucasfilm certainly can’t blame her for everything that’s gone wrong with their beloved franchises. But it’s fair to say that the largest amount of blame lies at her feet. As criticism mounted, the seventy-year-old has turned increasingly toward the idea that the critiques are borne out of sexism or a “toxic fan base”, more upset about her “The Force Is Female” T-shirt and her promotion of Strong Female Characters. She’s repeatedly touted that the majority of her story team working on Star Wars is female, and Lucasfilm pointed out to the New York Times with satisfaction the introduction in The Last Jedi of the first Asian-American female star, Rose Tico — who became a target of ruthless fan hatred as soon as the film was released.

Kennedy’s next pet show for Disney+ is The Acolyte, whose star Jodie Turner-Smith was booed at the Celebration gathering for describing her character as “a powerful leader in a very woman-centered world, which I was very excited to kind of be in that because I feel like Star Wars is very patriarchal.” Leslye Headland, the showrunner whose experience includes The Bachelorette and Russian Doll, admitted her discomfort with Star Wars‘s masculine vibes: “I’m not sure how much I care about Han Solo anymore. When I was little I really liked him. When I watch him now, I’m kind of like, ‘Gosh a lot of my psyche makes sense now.’”

Inheriting a stable of beloved male characters only to have this year’s Mary Sue belittle them throughout the movie is not a way to keep a fan base happy; nor is using fan-baiting when the inevitable backlash occurs.

VANITY FAIR: Can Anyone Fix California?

TL;DR, considering that Sacramento, SF, Oakland and LA passed every law that Vanity Fair’s staff and core readership wanted:

SNOWFALLS ARE NOW JUST A THING OF THE PAST: About That Claim That July 3-4 Were the ‘Hottest Days on Record…’

BRENDAN O’NEILL: That breastfeeding bloke is the last straw.

Surely the breastfeeding bloke will be the last straw? All last week, institutions of repute – ITV, the TUC, sections of the Labour Party – insisted that Mika Minio-Paluello is a mum. In truth, he’s a man. This former Labour special adviser and TUC staffer is a bloke who only says he’s a woman. Science, reason and every chromosome in his own body beg to differ. And yet ITV had him on the news saying the cost-of-living crisis is ‘tough if you’re a mum like me’. When actual women pushed back against this lunatic description of a man as a mother, they were scolded by the TUC and the rest. ‘Mika’s a mum!’, cried the elites in a frenzy of unreason.

A couple of days into this outbreak of establishment derangement, Mika himself posted a Twitter thread that included a photo of him breastfeeding a baby. He wasn’t really breastfeeding, of course. Because he’s a man. He does not lactate like a woman. He cannot produce the milk an infant needs. To some of us it looked like he was posing with a babe at his parched, useless fella’s nipple to try to validate his identity as a ‘transwoman’. What say you now, TUC? Stella Creasy? All you bourgeois radicals on the internet who raged like modern-day witchfinders against Rosie Duffield when she dared to say Mika isn’t a mother? Do you still say he’s a mum? Do you think he’s breastfeeding that child? Do you think it’s okay to try to make a newborn suckle on the moob of a biological male?

Here’s why this story – mad as it is – matters. Because it represents yet another provocation by the elites. Yet another front in their culture war on truth and reason. Yet another of their assaults on us and what we know to be true. These ideologues are goading us. They say we should call women who give birth ‘birthing parents’, but this bloke? He’s a mother and woe betide the crone who disagrees. Actual breastfeeding should be called ‘chestfeeding’, they suggest, but this man putting a desiccated teat in a newborn’s mouth? That’s breastfeeding. Seriously – for how much longer are we going to tolerate this gaslighting?

Related: Let Allie Beth Stuckey explain the proper response to being called a “transphobe.”

We should have a strong aversion toward men trying to “breastfeed” babies. We should be averse to the idea that “female” is a costume to be donned or an identity to declare. These fears and aversions are healthy and logical.

What they aren’t is irrational. This is why “transphobe” isn’t accurate, because “phobia” is an *irrational* fear or aversion. But the fear and aversion felt in this case are extremely rational.

Read the whole thing.

IS THE NEW YORK TIMES A LIBERAL NEWSPAPER? OF COURSE IT IS: The New York Times spreads misinformation about misinformation.

The gatekeeper of establishment gatekeepers, the New York Times, regularly crusades against spreading “disinformation” or “misinformation” and in favor of censorship.

In a story on Thursday titled, “Ruling Puts Social Media at Crossroads of Disinformation and Free Speech,” the Times explored how dangerous it might be if the federal government is not allowed to direct social media companies on what kind of speech is allowed.

The Times frames the pro-First Amendment ruling as a right-wing victory carried out by a Trump-appointed, right-wing-friendly judge who seems to be warm to “debunked” claims from “vaccine skeptics.” The Times reported that this case was “being overseen by Judge Terry A. Doughty, who was appointed by President Donald J. Trump and has previously expressed little skepticism about debunked claims from vaccine skeptics. In one previous case, Judge Doughty accepted as fact the claim that “Covid-19 vaccines do not prevent transmission of the disease.” (Emphasis added). 

Wait, what was that?

“Judge Doughty accepted as fact the claim that ‘Covid-19 vaccines do not prevent transmission of the disease.”

COVID-19 vaccines DON’T stop transmission of the disease. Believing that is not accepting a “debunked” claim.

Here’s what the CDC says, “Vaccinated people can still become infected and have the potential to spread the virus to others, although at much lower rates than unvaccinated people.”

So, in their effort to make this judge look like a right-wing goon who wants to allow the spread of misinformation, the Times spreads their own misinformation.

I certainly wasn’t the only one who noticed.

If only the Gray Lady had a veteran columnist with decades of experience assigned to the coronavirus beat who could keep track of these things. If only.

(Classical reference in headline.)

SOMEBODY SET UP US THE BOMB: California reparations task force calls to ban police from enforcing public urination laws.

UNEXPECTEDLY: Resumes including ‘they/them’ pronouns are more likely to be overlooked, new report finds.

HOW DOES IT FEEL? Sound of Freedom Sends a Rolling Stone Writer Into Fits of Rage.

I haven’t even seen Sound of Freedom yet, but I’m already convinced I need to based on the absolute hysteria emanating from the left.

As I reported yesterday, The Guardian set off the parade of stupidity by tying the movie, which is based on a true story, to QAnon. Does the movie mention QAnon, Hillary Clinton, Pizzagate, or anything of the sort? Not even a little bit. Rather, it’s just a story about saving a girl from human traffickers in South America.

Admittedly, I severely underestimated how triggering that would be for some people, and now a reviewer from Rolling Stone is having a “hold my beer” moment.

We’ll start with his actual article, but the continuation of his freakout happens elsewhere.

I watched Jim Caviezel's QAnon-ish child-trafficking drama "Sound of Freedom" with the kind of muttering, coughing, "Amen!"-bellowing boomers who have made it a right-wing indie hit. Hard to overstate just how disgusting it was! https://t.co/SA1Q1OMnsD

— a little peanut 🥜 (@youwouldntpost) July 7, 2023

Past performance is no guarantee of future results:

Exit question:

Why don’t they write this story about every movie starring Tom Cruise and Will Smith, who are both leaders of the evil Scientologist cult? https://t.co/Ym4H4rnsPq

— Brent Scher (@BrentScher) July 8, 2023

IT BEGINS: Uh oh. The Atlantic calls for Biden to step aside.

Meanwhile, the Gray Lady’s Maureen Dowd begins to sharpen her hatchet: It’s Seven Grandkids, Mr. President.

But there’s a gatekeeper who must be removed first: Kamala… They Are Coming for You. The Cackling Vice President, Kamala Harris, is the domino that will fall first.

THE POWER LINE WEEK IN PICTURES: Cocaine Bear Edition.

GREAT MOMENTS IN BLOWBACK: Ben and Jerry’s HQ is on ‘stolen’ Native American land, Vermont chief says.

On Friday, Don Stevens — chief of the Nulhegan Band of The Coosuk Abenaki Nation, one of four tribes descended from the Abenaki that are recognized in Vermont — told The Post in an interview that he “looks forward to any kind of correspondence with the brand to see how they can better benefit Indigenous people.”

Stevens added that if the ice cream maker is “sincere,” it should reach out to him as the company’s corporate headquarters — located at 30 Community Dr. in South Burlington, Vt. — is situated on Western Abanaki land.

Ben & Jerry know what they must do next:

C’mon B&J, show us that you’re serious about returning your stolen land to its rightful owners.

And as Glenn wrote last night, the Coosuk Abenaki know what they must do next: “Go to the courthouse and file a lien, just for yuks.”

TUCKER REVEALS WHAT FORMER CAPITOL POLICE CHIEF TOLD HIM ABOUT FEDS DURING J6:

🚨BREAKING: Tucker Carlson says the Chief of the Police at the Capitol told him that the crowd on J6 was “FILLED with federal agents” pic.twitter.com/joPEmioX7W

— Benny Johnson (@bennyjohnson) July 7, 2023

A NON-DENIAL DENIAL: ‘Incredibly Irresponsible:’ White House Press Secretary Chides Reporter for Asking Whether Cocaine Belonged to Bidens.

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre scolded a reporter Friday for asking if she would answer, once and for all, whether the cocaine that was discovered in the White House on Sunday “belonged to the Biden family.”

A white powder was discovered in the West Wing of the White House on Sunday and it was later confirmed to be cocaine. Jean-Pierre’s comments come one day after NBC reported that the cocaine was found in a working area of the West Wing, contradicting initial reports that suggested it was found in a locker used by visitors in the West Wing lobby.

In response to the question, Jean-Pierre said: “There has been some irresponsible reporting about the family and I got to call that out here.”

“The Biden family was not here. They were at Camp David. They were not here Friday*. They were not here Saturday. They were not here Sunday. They were not even here Monday,” said Jean-Pierre. “They came back on Tuesday. So to ask that question is actually incredibly irresponsible.”

Jean-Pierre stressed in comments delivered from the podium earlier this week that the initially reported location where the cocaine was supposed to have been found is heavily trafficked by visitors.

“What I wanted to be very clear is that this is a heavily, heavily trafficked, heavily traveled, to be more accurate, area of the campus of the White House,” Jean-Pierre said. “It is where visitors to the West Wing come through.”

But NBC’s Andrea Mitchell reported that the new location is a “much more secure place” with “limited access” and that “normal people, average people, can’t get in there.”

* But they apparently were:

Speaking of non-denial denials:

Classical reference in headline: