Current events in pictures

CNN's Jim Acosta gets taken to the woodshed

Before we begin, we must not forget to highlight this gem from CNN:

THIS is CNN!

Don Lemon: ‘Is It Preposterous’ to Think a Black Hole Caused Flight 370 to Go Missing?  "CNN’s Don Lemon has been entertaining all sorts of theories about the missing Malaysian Airlines Flight 370, including the chance something “supernatural” happened, but on Wednesday night, he actually asked panelists about the possibility a black hole was involved.
"Lemon brought this up along with other “conspiracy theories” people have been floating on Twitter, including people noting the eerie parallels to Lost and The Twilight Zone, and wondered, “is it preposterous” to consider a black hole as a possibility?" . . .

Jim Acosta Walks Out Of WH Press Briefing, Gets Crushed Online "CNN White House Correspondent Jim Acosta has been on a mission to get the White House to officially retract President Trump's favorite refrain: The Fake News Media is the enemy of the American people.

"At the White House briefing on Thursday, Acosta attempted to get Press Sec. Sarah Sanders to disavow the "enemy" label because he and his colleagues "deserve" it. "I think it would be a good thing if you were to state right here at this briefing that the press, the people who are gathered in this room right now, doing their jobs every day, asking questions of officials like the ones you brought forward earlier are not the enemy of the people," said Acosta, adding, "I think we deserve that." 
"But Sanders wouldn't play along; instead, she unloaded on him for his hypocritical request for softened rhetoric amid his and his colleague's over-the-top and at times dangerous "verbal assaults," which she's experienced firsthand." . . .

The tweet storm that ensued was a doozy.....

WATCH: Dana Loesch To Jim Acosta: Remember Your Network's 'Public Lynching' Of Me And Marco Rubio?

"I wonder if Acosta can imagine what it feels like when his network allows guest after guest, day after day, to refer to you as a 'murderer,'" Loesch continues. "To refer to six million law-abiding Americans as people who hate children and are terrible parents simply because we believe in the right of self-defense."

NRATV

✔@NRATV

"@Acosta is upset that someone yelled CNN sucks. Imagine how he'd feel if his network set up a public lynching of him. As they did of me... many in legacy #MSM stopped prioritizing advancing news and truth in favor of advancing themselves and their political agendas." —@DLoesch

After Being Heckled at Trump’s Tampa Rally, the Press Won’t Find Sympathy from Real America

. . . "But there are also things called “natural consequences.” CNN reporter Jim Acosta and other blatantly anti-Trump reporters have made names for themselves (partially by making themselves the story) by openly insulting Trump and his supporters and now get to enjoy the consequences of regularly trashing Real America." . . .

Outraged Veterans Slam Dem Councilwoman for Kneeling During the Pledge (Video)

SavingTheRepublic

"Haddam, CT councilwoman democrat Melissa Schlag took it upon herself to take a knee during the Pledge of Allegiance at the Haddam town meeting July 16 and did it again on the 30th. Schlag was caught on video saying the town is racist and fascist, so this should give you an idea of the type of person the town is having to deal with.

"The display of disrespect to our Flag, those who have fallen defending it outraged two veterans who slammed her. Vietnam War veteran Calvin Bunnell told her “It says on my shirt, ‘If you don’t like the flag, I will help you pack your bag and get the heck out of here,’” and that she was turning her back on half the towns residents. Another video of Schlag getting schooled has a man who is being identified as a “Black veteran” (not sure why his color matters) making it clear when she is off the clock have at it, take a knee, but when she’s representing the town she needs to stand." . . .

Bruce Springsteen says "F**k Trump" -

The man himself schools hundreds of shrieking young skulls full of mush:

Youtube

The New York Times — enemy of white people

NY Times Stands by New Editorial Board Hire Despite ‘Not Acceptable’ Tweets About ‘White People’

. . . "In a litany of tweets dating from around 2014, some of which have been deleted, Jeong made a number of comments that critics said were racist and disparaging. “Oh man it’s kind of sick how much joy I get out of being cruel to old white men,” she said in one tweet — now deleted — but archived here.

“ 'Dumbass f–ing white people marking up the internet with their opinions like dogs pissing on fire hydrants,” she in another." . . .

Paul Mirengoff at Power Line  "Steve has written about how the New York Times hired Sarah Jeong to be part of its editorial board, even though it knew Jeong has written a series of vicious, foul-mouthed attacks on white people, collectively. The Times excuses Jeong ravings on the theory that she was merely “imitating the rhetoric of her harassers” on the internet.

"Rubbish. As John Sexton counters:

First, the tweets aren’t all replying to other people. Second, the tweets are spread over a span of several years. Third and most importantly, other people behaving like racist trolls is not an excuse for behaving like a racist troll. Someone who makes a living writing about social media probably ought to know that. You are responsible for what you say, regardless of what someone else said. Maybe, once or twice, you get carried away by anger but not for 3 years at random intervals.

"Kevin Williamson, the conservative sacked by the New York Times for expressing an opinion far less offensive than Jeong’s serial racist invective, takes the high road. He says the Times should “resist the social-media mob campaign to have [Jeong] dismissed.”

"The Times can resist or not resist, as it chooses, but no one should buy its preposterous defense of Jeong. If the Times is fine with hiring an anti-white racist, then we’re entitled to conclude that the Times condones her racism and is, if not “the enemy of the American people,” at least the enemy of American white people."

The president tried to close the chapter as he left for a Pennsylvania political rally, saying that a mere 'large percentage' of the media are Americans' enemies  . . . "Sanders seemed to back up that sentiment on Thursday. 
"She told the CNN reporter, Jim Acosta, that it was 'ironic' to see 'you and the media attack the president for his rhetoric when they frequently lower the level of conversation in this country.'  

Acosta

"Acosta is among the network's most vocal and consistent Trump skeptics.
" 'Complaining about her own treatment that she sees as a consequence of media bias, she said some of the president's adversaries have 'said I should be harassed as a life sentence. That I should be choked.' 
" 'The was a reference to CNN anchor Nicole Wallace, who apologized in May for asking White House correspondent Kristen Welker: 'How do you resist the temptation to run up and wring her neck?' "

Watch how the press enjoyed Michelle Wolf's ear-splitting attack on Sarah Sanders

Sarah Sanders stands up to the Trump-hating Democrats

"Today Sarah Sanders press conference and Sarah Sanders press briefing had some ups and downs this was one of them, president trump from the white house was asked questions and Sarah responded. this is the latest news and breaking news in current events and business and news in politics and politicians, this is from the white house press briefing and white house press conference president Donald Trump questions were asked, this is Sarah Sanders press conference today"

Nicolle Wallace Angrily Bans Clips of Huckabee Sanders From Her Show, Has to Fan Herself: ‘That Made Me Sweat’  "MSNBC host Nicolle Wallace angrily said clips of White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders would no longer air on her program on Wednesday, dramatically fanning herself and saying Sanders' comments about the First Amendment "makes me sweat."

"Wallace played footage of President Donald Trump supporters jeering, cursing and flipping off CNN reporter Jim Acosta and other journalists at a rally Trump held in Florida on Tuesday. Wallace is a former Republican operative and co-host of "The View" who has found a niche moderating "Deadline: White House," and she is one of the network's fiercest critics of the Trump administration."

"This is someone who complains about a restaurant that exercises their First Amendment right to kick out someone that they think is obliterating democratic norms," she said. "Seriously, that made me sweat." . . .

All journalists should go out on Pennsylvania Avenue and chant ‘we’re not the enemy of the people, says Jim CNN Acosta  . . . "I can think of no worse way for the media to regain the trust of the American people than by leading a giant anti-Trump protest. All this silliness would prove is that the President is right when he says the media has a liberal agenda and is fake news. Go for it, Jim. It’s not like you’ve got any credibility to lose."
I'd say they have already pretty much done that already, wouldn't you?

3-D Plastic Gun Hype Misfires

Daniel John Sobieski

. . . "A few items of note here.  While individuals can download blueprints and "print" a gun using expensive equipment, they cannot be sold by anyone other than a licensed firearm dealer.  Without serial numbers, etc., no dealer would sell them.  Purchasers would still have to undergo background checks.  And the unreliable guns are not undetectable.  The likelihood of some disgruntled student showing up at his old school with a plastic 3-D gun he printed in his mom's basement is extremely low:

First off, as Stephen Gutowski of The Washington Free Beacon points out, it is easy and legal to find gun blueprints online – and it should be, given that the First Amendment problems with barring the ability to post and consume such blueprints are quite serious.  Gutowski also points out that the "vast majority of 3D printed gun designs are not undetectable to metal detectors," because they are made of metal, their parts manufactured by gun manufacturers.  It's actually illegal to build a gun that's undetectable, Gutowski explains – the ban on creation of such weapons was extended to 2023 under the Undetectable Firearms Act.

"If the guns fall apart and you need to have expensive equipment to make them, where's the "easy access"?  Wouldn't criminals just obtain one of the hundreds of millions of guns, real, reusable, and relatively cheap guns, already in existence?  If they want a gun, they aren't likely to buy a 3-D printer first." . . .

Obama, the petulant juvenile

The Tunnel Wall grooveyard. Some memories of when Obama was president, inspired by talk in 2018 of a government shutdown. 
"How can this petulant juvenile manage to stay so popular?"
"Yet they all still love this petulant juvenile President.

Obama will not attend Scalia funeral

"No doubt this petty man gets petty satisfaction from insulting a far, far better man than he."
. . . "Well, most of official Washington.  President Barack Obama has discovered he has something more important to do and will not attend.  Instead, he will be at the Supreme Court on Friday to "pay his respects" – a typical empty gesture from a man who apparently can't resist delivering one last snub to a justice who opposed him at every turn."

"The common thread through the funerals of those individuals he attended is that in death, they could do the president some partisan political good.  Scalia was useless to him politically, so Obama felt no need to honor him by attending his memorial service."  

The petulant juvenile is catching some backlash  . . . "If Obama does not attend, the president also potentially risks angering Republicans whom he will need to help confirm his eventual nominee to succeed Scalia.

"Los Angeles Times opinion writer Michael McGough raised this possibility in calling the decision a “dumb political move.' ” . . .

Obama administration releases top-secret doc revealing Israel's nuclear program  "Good heavens, what has this petulant juvenile president done now?"

Let it be so! UN Secretary General says the UN is running out of money

Legal Insurrection

“Our cash flow has never been this low so early in the calendar year, and the broader trend is also concerning; we are running out of cash sooner and staying in the red longer”

"Antonio Guterres, Secretary-General for the UN is concerned that the international governing body is alarmingly short on cash.

"According to Fox News, Guterres sent a letter to UN staff earlier this month saying there was “troubling financial situation facing the United Nations.” He went on, “our cash flow has never been this low so early in the calendar year, and the broader trend is also concerning; we are running out of cash sooner and staying in the red longer.”

"Deadbeat member states who pay late or not at all are being blamed for the UN’s cash flow issues." 

From Fox News

Capturing the delusional Middle East policy of Obama-Kerry perfectly, as the 2014 Gaza conflict raged.

Legal Insurrection

4 Years Ago – One of the Greatest Cartoons Ever

On July 31, 2014, Legal Insurrection cartoonist A.F. Branco posted what was, by far, the most viral cartoon he’s done for us, Crash of Civilization.

It took place as the 2014 Gaza conflict was in full swing. Here were some of our posts in the days before the cartoon, including:

• UN Official admits Hamas firing rockets “from the vicinity of UN facilities”
• Media cover-up of Hamas crimes starting to unravel
• Gaza ground war: More tunnel warfare, Hamas may have body parts of dead Israeli soldier. . . 

. . . 

"The cartoon (featured image) captured Kerry’s delusional attitude precisely. It shows John Kerry "mediating between Hamas and Bibi Netanyahu.

"Hamas’s demand was Death to All Jews. That is an actual Hamas demand. The 

Hamas charter calls for killing all Jews, and Hamas Imams call for the same.

"Kerry asked Bibi to at least meet Hamas half way.

"The cartoon worked at so many levels, and it went viral." . . .

Memo To Trump: Listen To Larry Kudlow And Fix The Unfair Capital Gains Tax

Investors.com  "Taxation: A few months before he became President Trump's top economic advisor, Larry Kudlow wrote a column urging  Trump to index capital gains taxes to inflation. Thankfully, the Trump administration appears to be listening. Not only would indexing fix a glaring problem in the tax code, it would add still more juice to the economy.

"In a column published by IBD last August, Kudlow called the lack of inflation adjustment for capital gains taxes "an unfair and misguided policy that punishes risk and success." He said Trump "should use his executive authority — as he so often has to drain the swamp — to remove this prosperity-killing practice." 

"Right on all counts.

"First, consider the fairness argument. One of the most important tax reforms enacted by President Reagan in the early 1980s was to index income tax brackets to inflation. Before that, families whose incomes just kept pace with inflation would get pushed into higher and higher tax brackets. Indexing tax brackets to inflation ended this unfair, and hidden, tax.

"But capital gains still suffer from lack of indexing. Let's say an investor bought $1,000 worth of a company's stock in 2000. Today, it's valued at $1,500. If he sold the stock, he'd face up to a 23.8% capital gains tax on the $500 gain. 

"That's not counting any state-imposed capital gains taxes.)

"But in real terms, his investment has gained only $7. So, his effective capital gains tax rate is 139%. If the gains were indexed to inflation, his tax bill would be $1.67 instead of $119.

"The longer the investment, the worse this inflation tax get. The effective tax rate, in fact, can be infinite, if the inflation-adjusted "gains" turn out to be losses." . . .

Are the Dems actually trying to build an image of being bad sports?

Thomas Lifson

RNC-DNC softball game in gentler times (2017).  Photo from Twitter via the Daily Caller.

"The Democratic National Committee has refused to participate in the annual softball game between Democrat and Republican leaders and staffers, a decade-old tradition that reaffirmed a spirit of national unity, good sportsmanship, and love of a sport invented by Americans.  The old expression, "take your ball and go home," connotes bad sportsmanship when someone doesn't get his way and decides that a game therefore must end.

Benny Johnson reports at the Daily Caller:

Despite being a time-honored tradition going back many years, the DNC is refusing to play the RNC at this year's annual softball game.

RNC sources tell The Daily Caller that they were "stunned" when Democrats abruptly pulled out of the good-natured game between leadership and staffers at opposing political organizations.

. . .