Not So Cool Hand Chuck

Power Line Blog  "Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell appeared on both FOX News Sunday and Meet the Press yesterday, mostly to address the prospective confirmation of Judge Gorsuch to the Supreme Court. Senator McConnell spoke “with the calm confidence of a Christian holding four aces” (to borrow Walter Blair’s misquotation of Mark Twain). He vowed that Judge Gorsuch would be confirmed and that Democrats would dictate the manner of his confirmation.

"McConnell noted that no Supreme Court nominee had ever been the subject of a partisan filibuster. He harked back to the confirmation of Clarence Thomas with 52 votes in 1991. He observed that Chuck Schumer and the Democrats had pioneered the use of the filibuster to block judicial nominees during the first term of the second President Bush. He laughed at Chuck Todd as Todd badgered him about Merrick Garland. I thought Senator McConnell was fantastic (video below).

The left-wing Politics USA claimed McConnell "fell apart and could only nervously laugh " when asked about this by Chuck Todd. Here's the interview; tell me if that was fake news or not.

In this video, Obama debates with himself on late-term justice nominees such as Merrick Garland. He has a tell when he is irritated by a question, his reply begins with "Look. . . "

"In a development that’s likely to cause fits for President Barack Obama, the Senate Democrats’ next leader, Sen. Charles Schumer told an 2007 audience — on video — that he wanted to block any Supreme Court nominations for the last 18 months of President George W. Bush’s presidency. That’s seven months longer than the amount of time remaining to Obama’s presidency."

Would the LA Times claim Obama tried to steal steal Alito's seat when they nominated Kagan and Sotomayor for Justice after filibustering the choice of President Bush?

As a senator from Illinois, Obama and 23 other senators attempted to stage a filibuster to block a confirmation vote on Alito, one of former President George W. Bush’s picks to serve on the bench. The filibuster bid failed and Alito was confirmed.Conservatives have seized on Obama’s filibuster vote to accuse him of hypocrisy for criticizing Republicans for saying the next president, and not Obama, should nominate Scalia’s successor. 

With bad polls for Trump, bring back Kellyanne Conway

"It's time for Trump to be the Big Dog once again. The people demand nothing less."

Monica Showalter  . . . "This is such sad news, given the meritlessness of the Russia "narrative" and the obstinacy and willingness to keep the status quo over compromise of the House Freedom Caucus.  What's more, Andrew Malcolm reports that the recriminations that have emerged in the wake of these snake-pit hissings is threatening the entire GOP agenda.

"The good news is that Trump can recover.  How do we know this?  Because he has, and he knows how.  Back during the 2016 presidential campaign, when all sorts of negative stories came out, Trump fought them off with vigor and energy by taking his case to the people.  That helped quite a bit.  But even more helpful, he re-steered the narrative back to substance and the issues.  That was the doing of campaign manager Kellyanne Conway.

"She knew what would bring Trump back in the polls, and her victory on election night was the final vindication.  She's since been buried in the Trump White House somewhere and now needs to be brought out front and center, just as she had been before.  She knows how to steer the political white noise back to issues and to the substantial, which is what people care about, and leave the nesting vipers of the D.C. Swamp to eat each other.  For that, she should be given wide berth to get this job done. " . . .

When climate change warriors can’t keep their stories straight

Brian C. Joondeph  "Mark Twain, author of the now politically incorrect Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, once said, “If you tell the truth, you don't have to remember anything.” Good advice, especially for those who play fast and loose with facts and truth. And relevant in the internet age when articles, headlines, words and photos are preserved in perpetuity.

"Lies, built upon lies, eventually become so tangled that the truth may be forever lost down the rabbit hole. Rather than starting with the truth, to avoid having to remember the labyrinthine path taken by each additional falsehood.

"CNN, the network famously referred to by President Trump as “fake news”, should heed the advice of Mark Twain. Otherwise they are likely to be tripped up over their own contradictory stories, in this case only a few years apart.

I"n 2015, CNN ran a story with the headline, “Did climate change cause California drought?” Less than two years later, CNN ran this headline, “California’s drought is almost over.” Is the irony of these two headlines lost on the journalistic mavens of CNN? Probably. But the internet remembers, happy to take CNN to task over their contradictions." . . .

After all, CNN totally missed the humor in a Sean Spicer quip during a recent White House press briefing. In response to reporters pestering him about mythical Trump-Russian collusion, Spicer responded, "If the President puts Russian salad dressing on his salad tonight, somehow that's a Russia connection." CNN, missing Spicer’s joke just as they missed the irony of climate change causing then somehow stopping a drought, ran a fact checking story to tell us that Russian dressing isn’t really Russian. Thanks, intrepid journalists. Did CNN ever fact check Barack Obama’s claim to have campaigned in 57 states with a news report telling us that there aren’t really 57 states?

Marvel VP of Sales blames diversity for falling comic book sales

Independent  "Despite forming the basis for the multi-million dollar blockbusters that have recently overtaken Hollywood, Marvel comic book sales have been falling.

"Well, Marvel VP of Sales, David Gabriel, spoke about what they believe could possibly lead to the decline, putting the blame on diversity.

“ 'What we heard was that people didn’t want any more diversity,” Gabriel told ICv2 at the Marvel Retailer summit. “They didn’t want female characters out there. That’s what we heard, whether we believe that or not.”

"H[e] continued: “I don’t know that that’s really true, but that’s what we saw in sales. We saw the sales of any character that was diverse, any character that was new, our female characters, anything that was not a core Marvel character, people were turning their nose up against." . . . 

The Superhero Movie Diversity Race Is Over — WB/DC Wins By a Mile
While Marvel and Sony dither about the diversity of their superhero lineups, DC Comics and Warner Bros. (in conjunction with New Line) punctured every Spandex ceiling on Wednesday when they announced an unprecedentedly diverse lineup of superhero movies.

Confirmed:  Ezra Miller, who self-identifies as queer, will play The Flash in 2018, the first time an openly gay actor will play a major superhero in a feature film. . . .

Superhero Comics Giving Classic Characters Race, Gender, Religion Swaps for Diversity  "Mainstream comic book superheroes — America’s modern mythology — have been redrawn from the stereotypical brown-haired, blue-eyed white male into a world of multicolored, multireligious and multigendered crusaders to reflect a greater diversity in their audience.

"Society has changed, so superheroes have to as well, said Axel Alonso, editor in chief at Marvel Comics, who in November debuted Captain America No. 1 with Samuel Wilson, the first African American superhero taking over Captain America’s red, white and blue uniform and shield.

“ 'Roles in society aren’t what they used to be. There’s far more diversity,” said Alonso, who has also shepherded a gay wedding in the X-Men, a gender change from male to female in Thor and the first mainstream female Muslim hero in Ms. Marvel.

"The change to a black Captain America is already having an impact outside of comics." . . .

I was fortunate to grow up when I did, able then to just enjoy comic book characters as a child should, characters who loved America and her ideals (usually unmet in the real world). But it would have been so much better if young African-American children then had their own superheroes to look up to as well, for their own sake as well as the sake of Jim Crow America.  But please...NOT like this (right)! ........................

A Beginner’s Guide to the Trump/Russia Controversy

Answering the most frequently asked questions about Trump, the Kremlin, 2016, and beyond

 

David French at NR   "The controversy over Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election, suspicions of the Trump campaign’s involvement in that interference, and concerns about illegitimate and illegal “deep state” attacks on the Trump administration has become so complicated and saturated with twists and turns as to be almost impossible to follow. Herewith is a modest effort to provide context, assess where we are, and offer a few tentative conclusions — an explainer, if you will: 

"First, and most importantly, did Russia actually “hack” the 2016 presidential election?

"No, and the use of that term to describe what Russia did needs to stop. The Russians hacked a few computers, but they did not “hack” an election. The media’s persistent insinuations otherwise are leading millions of Americans to believe that the Russians actually meddled with the election process itself, including with voting machines. There is zero evidence that occurred. None. Zilch. Nada. 

"Well, if the Russians didn’t “hack” the election, what did they do?" . . .

 Read more.

Anti-Trump propaganda masquerading as journalism in the Chicago Tribune

Thomas Lifson "We are at an unprecedented moment in American history, with the Democratic Party and its media allies attempting to remove from office, through an unrelenting propaganda campaign, a president elected only months ago.  Even though there is no “fire” – as in actual evidence of anything wrong – propagandists have long known that enough “smoke” blown over the public time and time again is sufficient to embolden Democrat pols to take action (impeachment) eventually, especially if willing or weak-kneed dupes on the Republican side are cowed by the public’s perception of something wrong.

This Chicago Tribune article, titled “Chicago bank tangled up in intrigue over ex-Trump aide Manafort” and written by Betsey Yerak, is an excellent example of the propagandists’ black arts.

"David Kahn writes

This is what passes for news analysis in our current environment. This article is pregnant with the notion that Manafort and the bank did something wrong. But it doesn't even begin to suggest what. This is one of countless articles that are just rife with innuendo. The innuendo is that somebody who is associated with Trump, who knows somebody or worked with somebody who is Russian, or pro Russian, has done something illegal, immoral or otherwise wrong. But none of these articles suggest what it is or what evidence supports it. Except for this innuendo, none of this is newsworthy.

comicallyincorrect

American Silliness, April 2, 2017

School Orders Boy to “Tolerate” Undressing with Girl and Make it “Natural”

. . . “ 'The District’s directive to Joel Doe was that he must change with students of the opposite sex, and make it as natural as possible, and that anything less would be intolerant and bullying against students who profess a gender identity with the opposite sex,” the lawsuit states.The young man’s parents made an appointment to school leaders and were told that the district is “all-inclusive.' ” . . .

PETA Says Milk is a ‘Symbol of White Supremacy’  "PETA’s shenanigans vary from the absurd to the downright offensive. From likening rape survivors to pigs and cows, to calling Pokémon a form of animal cruelty, PETA’s efforts to “save the animals” always make the headlines—and with good reason: they’re completely absurd."

Even the Russians can't take us seriously anymore!  Russia Trolls Democratic Party In Epic April Fools’ Day Prank . . . "The message begins with, “You have reached the Russian Embassy. Your call is very important to us.”  
 “ 'To arrange a call from a Russian diplomat to your political opponent, press 1,” the recording continues (in both English and Russian). Users are then instructed to “press 2” in order “to use the services of Russian hackers.” For “election interference” requests, “press 3.' ” . . .

A Northern Arizona University student lost credit on an English paper for using the word “mankind" instead of a gender-neutral alternative.

A stick for a gun is called "harrassment!"

March for Science Organizers Don’t Want ‘White Male’ Bill Nye  "It turns out the “March for Science” scheduled to happen later this month is nothing more than another progressive experiment in identity politics. It’s like the Women’s March, but with science!

"The event is scheduled for April 22nd and there’s already a battle for dominance among leadership. Bill Nye is often held up by the left for his politics but he’s being pushed aside for a leadership role in the march because after all, he’s a white male."

United Airlines made woman change seat because Muslim men wouldn’t sit next to her

DC Clothesline  "Stacey Butler reports for CBS2 Los Angeles that Mary Campos — an Orange County mom, a million-mile flier, and a senior consultant in the oil and gas industry — said United Airlines discriminated against her by changing her pre-assigned seat because two Muslim men refused to sit next to a female.

"On September 26, 2016, just before Campos got on her pre-booked flight to Houston, a gate agent handed her a new boarding pass, saying, “This is your new seat.”

"Campos said, “Excuse me?”.

The agent said, “I don’t know how to tell you this. The two gentlemen seated next to you have cultural beliefs that prevent them from sitting next to, or talking to or communicating with females.”

"Campos was shocked. She told CBS LA: “I thought I lived in a culture [America] where women were equal to men. We can’t discriminate against half the population for a belief from another nation.”

"Campos was told the two men in long orange shirts were Pakistani “monks” and that the female UA flight crew were not allowed to serve the men.

"Campos said she had no choice but to take her new seat assignment. Then she wrote a letter to the CEO of United Airlines, which said, in part:

“ 'What if I were handicapped, or transgender? What if your entire crew were female? Any belief that prevents individuals from interacting with females should not travel on commercial aircraft.”

"She got a reply that said United would look into it, but she didn’t hear from them again.

"CBS2 made inquiries and received this communication from UA spokesman Jonathan Guerin:

“ 'We regret that Ms. Campos was unhappy with the handling of the seat assignments on her flight. United holds its employees to the highest standards of professionalism and has zero tolerance for discrimination.' ” . . .

Clueless, the game

iOTWreport.com

Trump Has Repealed These 7 Pieces Of Obama’s Environmental Legacy

http://comicallyincorrect.com/2015/06/04/obama-train/

Daily Caller  "President Donald Trump signed executive orders and new legislation this week that repealed much of President Obama’s environmental legacy.

"Trump eliminated the Clean Power Plan (CPP) as well as rules and regulations from several different federal agencies that had been implemented as part of Obama’s environmentalist agenda.

“ 'We fully expected the Clean Power Plan to be overturned, but were surprised at the breadth of the Executive Order,” Kathleen Sgamma, vice president for government at the Western Energy Alliance, told The Daily Caller News Foundation. “It comprehensively clears out some of the regulatory overreach of the Obama Administration that was about greater federal control in the guise of environmental protection.”

“ 'Repealing those rules requires months if not years of rule-making and the inevitable follow-on litigation before they will be completely gone,” Sgamma continued." . . .

Here is an outline of parts of Obama’s environmental legacy Trump turned back. Each is discussed more in the article.

1. Stopping The Clean Power Plan
The Clean Power Plan would have only averted 0.019° Celsius of warming by the year 2100, an amount so small it can’t be detected, according to analysis by the libertarian Cato Institute using models created by the Environmental Protection Agency.

2. Changing How The Government Interprets The National Environmental Policy Act
3. Removing Strict Coal Mining Regulations
"America has 83,000 fewer coal jobs and 400 fewer coal mines than it did when Obama was elected in 2008, demonstrating the former president followed through on his pledge to “bankrupt” the coal industry."
4. EPA Denying Green Requests To Have Agency Ban Major Pesticide 
5. Simplifying How Public Lands Are Managed
6. Approving Keystone XL
7. Returning Environmental Regulation To The States. . . 

What Kind Of Man Is Mike Pence? Here’s That Article The Left Flipped Out Over.

RedState  "You know that profile of Mike Pence someone dredged up to try and make him out to be some chauvinist pig? The one where the online left lost their minds?

"It turns out; there is a video of it being read on C-SPAN in 2002. That video was found by Tommy Christopher and posted to Twitter. The contents of the video are revealing in their lack of anything scandalous."

Video at the link.

"So, let’s establish what Pence’s logic is/was:

1. He did not want to anyone to get a sense of impropriety about what he was doing.
2. He set for himself a list of rules to follow that included not eating alone with another woman and not drinking at any event that served liquor if his wife was not wife him.
3. He put his family first, even during campaign season, making sure he ate with his family at least twice a week and ran clean campaigns keeping the family out of the mix.
4. He never had staffers work late unless there was a critical vote, and it would be him and one (1) male staffer.

"My God. What a terrible man Mike Pence is.

"Here’s the thing. Everyone reporting on the story never really seemed to have it. They found one thing from a story that someone remembered and ran with this as though it were some shameful thing.

"When you hear the story being read, as it is in the video above, he is not some lunatic or chauvinist. He is a man trying to protect his family from the evils and the gossip-mongers of Washington D.C.

"Say what you want about the fact that he willingly went to work for Trump. Pence is a good man, and this profile is just another reason why."

California, a precious jewel wasted on Californians

Radical Leftist California Looking to Become Illegal Alien Dystopia: May Reconstitute as Defacto “Sanctuary State”  "Barry Secrest notes: The silver lining to this possibility might lie in the fact that California, through an illegal alien population approaching estimates of at least 1/4th of the total population, would most likely be barred from receiving a considerable amount of future federal funding, if it were to make illegals legal. 

"At present, the state is ranked first in the dizzying amount of both federal grants and benefits paid to the state based upon its current population…not to mention the dispensation of disallowing a large number of electoral votes, due to the states not meeting federal voting criteria." . . .

Leftist California Professors "Corrupt" Higher Education  . . . "California taxpayers spend $2.8 billion to educate the more than 230,000 students at the 10 campuses that comprise the UC system. But the report says the UC system does not help students learn how to think, but rather teaches them what to think. And what they "learn" is that they are victims -- whether of racism, sexism, classism or discrimination because of sexual orientation. Liberal profs, says the report, turn the UC campuses into "a sanctuary for a narrow ideological segment of the spectrum of social and political ideas."  

"Nationwide, left-wing professors vastly outnumber conservative professors in the humanities. It isn't even close."' . . .

Take the UC Berkeley history course that majors in that field must take, "The United States from Settlement to the Civil War." Its course description states its goals: "to understand how democratic political institutions emerged in the United States in this period in the context of an economy that depended on slave labor and violent land acquisition."