LITERALLY HITLER: Bush’s PEPFAR Has Saved More Than 16 Million Lives. “Senate Foreign Relations Committee passed a five-year PEPFAR extension to ensure ‘the United States has no intention of abandoning the global fight against HIV/AIDS.'”

21ST CENTURY HEADLINES: Houston officials halt plans to open first US ‘robot brothel.’

ADD “MY SHARONA” AND MAKE IT AN EVEN TEN: Nine Hits from the ‘70s That Sound Totally Inappropriate Today.

POLITICO: Why the FBI Should Investigate ‘Boofing.’

I’ll sleep better at night, knowing that the country’s premier investigative agency has gotten to the bottom, so to speak, of Mid Atlantic high school fart references.

BUT OF COURSE: Hypocritical Liberals Cry Bullsh*t When Kellyanne Conway Says She’s A Sexual Assault Victim.

TONI AIRAKSINEN: ‘Girl Power’ Book Emphasis Making Young Men Feel ‘Unwanted.’

DEMOCRATS SHRIEK “IT’S NOT A TRIAL, IT’S A JOB INTERVIEW” anytime someone suggests that due process should apply. You want this to be a job interview? Fine, let’s do that. Grab your nearest 6-inch-thick HR book of questions you’re not allowed to ask in an interview.

THAT’S DIFFERENT BECAUSE SHUT UP: He Spoofed ‘Angry Kavanaugh’ On ‘SNL,’ But Here’s How Matt Damon Said He’d Handle Accusations.

In December 2017, Damon appeared on ABC’s “Popcorn” with Peter Travers and explained that in the years before the #MeToo movement, false allegations were often settled monetarily. But after the fall of Harvey Weinstein, all that changed.

“If you make the same claim to me today,” he said, “it would be scorched-earth. I don’t care if it would cost me $10 million in court for 10 years, you are not taking my name from me, you are not taking my name and reputation from me, I’ve worked too hard for it, I’ve earned it, you can’t just blow me up like that.”

Believe all women, except for the ones who might have something bad to say about Matt Damon.

RACHEL MITCHELL: ‘He Said, She Said’ Case Incredibly Difficult to Prove, Kavanaugh Allegation Even Weaker Than That.

She outlined several points as to why Ford’s allegation is weaker than a typical “he said, she said” case.

1. Dr. Ford has not offered a consistent account of when the alleged assault happen.
2. Dr. Ford has struggled to identify Judge Kavanaugh as the assailant by name.
3. When speaking with her husband, Dr. Ford changed her description of the incident to become less specific.
4. Dr. Ford has no memory of key details of the night in question–details that could help corroborate her account.
5. Dr. Ford’s account of the alleged assault has not been corroborated by anyone she identified as having attended–including her lifelong friend.
6. Dr. Ford has not offered a consistent account of the alleged assault.
7. Dr. Ford has struggled to recall important recent events relating to her allegations, and her testimony regarding recent events raises further questions about her memory.
8. Dr. Ford’s description of the psychological impact of the event raises questions.
9. The activities of congressional Democrats and Dr. Ford’s attorneys likely affected Dr. Ford’s account.

Mitchell provided details to each point using Ford’s own testimony, her polygraph test, and the letter she sent to Feinstein.

Believe the evidence, not the woman.

BLUE WAVE? NRCC Cancels $1 Million In Ads In Vulnerable House Seat.

The National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) has reportedly decided to cut at least $1 million in advertising that was going toward helping Rep. Kevin Yoder of Kansas as the GOP re-evaluates certain candidates’ chances of winning heading into November.

Yoder, who has served in Kansas’ 3rd congressional district since 2011, was endorsed by President Donald Trump and faces Sharice Davids in November’s election.

The NRCC’s decision to slash advertising for Yoder reportedly comes from the organization’s lack of confidence that Yoder can pull out a win against Davids, The Hill reports, who would become Kansas’ first Native American and openly gay nominee for Congress.

Republicans have cut funding and advertisements for several other races as well in recent months where it’s similarly unsure of their chances against Democrats amid a so-called “blue wave.”

Both the NRCC and the Congressional Leadership Fund have pulled ads from Reps. Keith Rothfus of Pennsylvania, Mike Coffman of Colorado and Mike Bishop of Michigan, the report states.

This would be an excellent time to find a vulnerable candidate to donate to, or better yet volunteer for their campaign.

BLUE STATE BLUES: Oregon Sheriffs Urge Voters to Kill State’s Sanctuary Law. “But DA says he doesn’t see any need for county sheriffs or city cops to be checking whether an ‘otherwise law-abiding resident has the correct immigration papers.'”

So it’s OK to break the law, so long as you aren’t breaking a law which progressive DAs find it politically convenient to ignore.

SATIRE… OR IS IT? Flake Relieved to Do the Right Thing After 17 Years.

WINNING: Price of Air Force’s F-35 dips below $90M for first time.

Prices for the Navy and Marine versions, which are insanely more complicated beasts, are coming down, too.

JAY COST: In the Kavanaugh Hearings, Democrats Break Norms to Gain Power.

What grates me about this recent talk of norms is that that efforts to police norms have of late been notoriously one-sided, mainly serving the purpose of advancing Democratic political priorities. For instance, in 2011, President Barack Obama invited Paul Ryan, who was then the chairman of the House Budget Committee, to a speech on entitlements. At the speech, Obama blasted Ryan’s economic proposals as “a vision of our future that is deeply pessimistic,” and he proceeded to rip them to shreds in a highly partisan fashion, with Ryan in attendance, at the invitation of the White House.

Was this a violation of the “norms” of government? Yes. Did liberal pundits and their supposedly nonpartisan friends in the mainstream media blast the president for said violation? Not especially.

That is one of the problem with policing norms. They are not written down, so it is easy to be sensitive to the violation of norms that negatively affect your side while shrugging off those violations that positively affect your side.

Which brings me to Brett Kavanaugh.

In the last few years, I have rarely seen a more egregious violation of norms than what I have witnessed in the past 15 days.

Plus: “And continuously on Twitter, I have watched journalists, in blatant and open advocacy against Brett Kavanaugh, abandon the norms that they usually like to tout.”

I think it was Ace who noted a few years ago that the press has gone from merely biased to nakedly partisan — to shrinking audiences and plummeting trust, I’d add.

I’M OLD ENOUGH TO REMEMBER WHEN PAYING YOUR FAIR SHARE WAS PATRIOTIC: New York Towns Gearing Up to Fight IRS Ruling on Local Taxes. “New federal code capped state and local tax deductions at $10,000, hurting some residents in the high-tax suburbs.”

State lawmakers approved a bill in March that allowed the creation of the charitable funds. Under New York’s law—which is similar to legislation adopted in New Jersey and Connecticut—localities can issue a taxpayer a credit against their property taxes for up to 95% of the amount donated to a designated charitable fund. New York may issue credits against state income tax for up to 85% of a donation.

Fourteen New York municipalities have set up the charitable funds, according to a database of local laws and interviews with municipal officials. Charitable deductions against federal income aren’t limited, but the IRS rule would block the relief intended by New York lawmakers by requiring taxpayers to subtract the value of the state credits from the amount of their donation.

Why should voters in low-tax states continue subsidizing their tax-and-spend lifestyles?

IT’S ALWAYS IN THE LAST PLACE YOU LOOK: Army might have found its new rifle in Colorado Springs garage.

Grier, a self-described inventor who has worked at a local bed and breakfast, built the new “ribbon gun” with a hobbyist’s tools. It looks like a space-age toy drawn by a fifth-grader.

But goofy origins and cartoon-looks aside, this could be the gun of the future. The Army is studying Grier’s gun and has ordered a military-grade prototype.

The specifications are incredible, four 6 mm barrels cut side by side within one steel block. New ammunition blocks fired by electromagnetic actuators that could theoretically give the weapon a firing rate of 250 rounds per second.

And then there’s the feature no soldier would turn down. “It’s called a power shot,” Grier said.

That’s the shotgun feature of this sniper-shot, machine-assault gun that can send four bullets simultaneously whizzing toward an enemy at more than 2,500 mph.

It isn’t science fiction. He’s built the gun and patented the technology behind it. Now his garage-based company, FD munitions, is hoping the Army will buy it.

I’ll take two.

OH: One of the Women Who Ambushed Flake in Elevator is Director of Soros-Funded Group. “The other woman is reportedly an activist with the group.”

BELIEVE ALL WOMEN: Michael Moore Says His Ex-Wife’s Lawsuit Is a ‘Smear Campaign.’

WOULD THAT HE HAD HAD AS MUCH CONCERN OVER HILLARY’S ILLEGAL EMAIL SERVER: ‘Little lies point to bigger lies’: James Comey writes that the FBI’s investigation into Kavanaugh won’t be ‘as hard as Republicans hope it will be.’

DANIEL HANNAN: The Eurocrats are expecting us to drop Brexit. How little they understand the British.

Try a thought experiment. Imagine any other potential trading partner – Japan, say – making the offer that the United Kingdom made at Salzburg. Picture, if you can, Japanese negotiators promising their Brussels counterparts that they would unilaterally adopt European goods standards, align their labour and environmental laws with the EU’s in perpetuity, contribute to Europe’s security and pay for the privilege.

We know what Eurocrats’ reaction would be. “Quick”, they would exclaim, their voices trembling with excitement, “sign on the dotted line before they come to their senses!”

So how are we to explain their response to the UK’s proposals? What are we to make of Donald Tusk’s unstatesmanlike and ungallant trolling of our prime minister? Why, when Theresa May had gone as far as any British leader could have gone to accommodate his concerns – arguably further – was he so hostile? And why did the 27 governments, most of whom don’t want a complete breakdown, go along with him?

Brussels doesn’t want a deal. Brussels wants to punish British voters for having dared to cross Brussels.

LIZ SHELD’S MORNING BRIEF: Canada Jumps on Board Trade Agreement and Much, Much More. “Most of the media is busy researching drinking parties at Yale in the mid to late 80s to care but the U.S. reaches trade deal with Canada and Mexico, providing Trump a crucial win.”

DESPERATION: Venezuela Pumps Dollars Into Market and Slows Rout in Currency.

While far from a major policy victory and possibly only ephemeral, the bolivar’s relative stability is a rare feat for Venezuela and could even help slow the breakneck pace of hyperinflation, which is forecast to reach 1 million percent this year. President Nicolas Maduro devalued the bolivar by 95 percent last month in what was perceived as a tacit acceptance of the ubiquitous black-market exchange, where most Venezuelans acquire dollars.

Stabilizing the bolivar (Mark III, Mark IV?) is a race between the collapsing economy and the country’s dollar reserves. Given that the country’s only remaining export of any importance is oil, and the oil industry’s increasing decrepitude, it’s no mystery who will win the race.

AT EVERY OPPORTUNITY: How Jeff Flake seized the spotlight in Kavanaugh confirmation.

Flake, after voting to send Kavanaugh’s nomination to the full Senate, asked for a delay of up to a week before the full Senate votes on Kavanaugh, to allow time for an FBI investigation.

In movies, this kind of twist would require a spoiler alert. In breaking news, it was just a stunning development in a story that’s beginning to strain our capacity for stunning developments. “Shocking” was a word networks threw around a lot.

It wasn’t “Mr. Smith Goes to Washington,” exactly — a lot of social-media wags said Flake just wants it both ways — but it was gripping, nonetheless.

Flake wasn’t around immediately afterward to explain, so it fell to other senators. And Flake was the only subject reporters were asking about.

“Jeff’s a really good guy,” Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham said. “I wouldn’t have done it.”

To be fair, Graham laughed, and so did the reporters around him.

Flake is retiring from the Senate, but no one realistically supposes his political career is over.

I suspect his political future involves a TV news network job as an analyst who explains why Republicans are wrong.

WELL, GOOD: For the White House, it’s Brett Kavanaugh or bust.

RETENTION: Air Force ups maximum retention bonus to $100K, plans big expansion.

The bonus was previously capped at $90,000, although not all airmen eligible for a selective re-enlistment bonus received the maximum amount.

The Air Force also plans to increase the number of career fields eligible for the bonuses to 115 in fiscal 2019, up from 92 in May, according to a chart that was posted on myPers and provided by Air Force Personnel Center. The unofficial Facebook page Air Force amn/nco/snco first posted images of the chart Thursday.

If the Air Force wants to increase retention, they ought to aim for a corresponding reduction in bureaucratic BS.