A bill would make it harder to control California’s thriving rats

The Economist

Rats, raptors and Californian liberals make a formidable political alliance

"Counting rats in a city may be impossible. But with plump specimens scurrying about during the day on State Street, the main shopping drag in Santa Barbara, a tourist destination in California, it appears that the beach town’s rodents are numerous. In fact, rats seem to be thriving statewide. Louis Rico, of American Rat Control, says Los Angeles’s rat population has probably grown by 50% in five years, bringing public-health problems. His Los Angeles County firm is “busy as heck”. Los Angeles comes second on a ranking of America’s “rattiest” cities by Orkin, a pest controller.

"What is behind the rat boom? Thanks to the end of California’s long drought, more fruit has fallen from trees or is tossed into the compost piles that rats love. Lengthening warm seasons have increased rodent breeding. Also to blame are policies that have restricted homebuilding in California and thereby driven up rents. Homelessness is soaring as a result—California is home to 12% of Americans but nearly half the country’s “unsheltered”, according to federal statistics. The resulting outdoor defecation feeds roaches for rats to eat." . . .

Why they won't convict Trump

Don Surber

"A few conservative bloggers are panicked. They believe a Republican Senate will convict President Donald John Trump and remove him from office. They genuinely believe this because they do not trust the party. Let me talk them down off the ledge.
"This won't happen.

1. Republicans overwhelmingly approve of Donald John Trump.
"The lines start forming two days before his rallies begin. There is always an overflow crowd and he almost dragged the least popular governor in America over the finish line in Kentucky.
"Reuters put his approval at 82%. Politicians will not turn their back on 82% of their base.

2. President Trump is an ATM.
"Thanks to President Trump, the Republican National Committee is flush with cash." . . .
And so on.....

Gotta love those social justice warriors

Leftist professors love those skulls full of mush.

Climate change activists storm football field, delay Harvard-Yale game "It would be hard to imagine climate change hijinks more hilarious than the protest at Saturday’s Harvard vs Yale football game.

"Both institutions are deep blue and filled with virtue-signalling administrators and professors. However, according to green justice warriors, both universities are “complicit in climate injustice.”

Protesters Violently Disrupt Pro-Israel Event at York University in Toronto

. . . "Members of Reservists on Duty, an organization that tours North American campuses “to speak with knowledge and confidence on behalf of Israel,” were hosted by Herut Canada at York University’s main campus on Wednesday evening. Earlier in the week, posters appeared all over the campus urging “No Israeli soldiers on our campus!” – leading to security concerns ahead of the scheduled event.

"Officers of the Toronto Police Service and private security personnel were on hand to enable attendees to enter the event, despite the best efforts of protesters outside to block them." . . .

Left Wing Student Protesters Block Entry to Ann Coulter Speech at UC Berkeley
“Campus police said on Twitter that ‘multiple’ mask-wearing protesters were arrested.”

Schiff is Nurse Ratched in the cuckoo's nest

Patricia McCarthy  . . . "Watching Adam Schiff's ridiculous impeachment "inquiry" hearings is like descending into the cuckoo's nest, that psychiatric realm of the lethal Nurse Ratched.  Adam Schiff is Nurse Ratched, the vicious and tyrannical head nurse of the psychiatric unit.  It's as though he has walked off the pages of Kesey's book!"

. . . "The message of Kesey's book is the contrast between the cruel insanity of Nurse Ratched and the essential humanity of her inmates.  Ratched is who came to mind watching Schiff's hearings meant to depose our president.  Schiff is nearly an exact parallel in real life, a dismal example of what the Democratic Party has become: angry, vicious, and bitter." . . .

Coming attractions in the Senate trial

Thomas Lifson  "I wasn't at all surprised when President Trump told Fox & Friends yesterday, ”I want a trial.” I’ve long believed that it could offer the perfect opportunity to turn over the boulder of the Deep State conspiracy to hobble his election and presidency and examine the creepy-crawlies that scramble in the light of day. As the undisputed champ of reality TV, he grasps the power of the medium and understands story arcs better than any of his foes.

"One of many actions of the plotters that the Senate trial could probe is hinted at by the request Senators Grassley and Johnson just made to the Federal Archivist: Via the Epoch Times:

"Johnson, chairman of the Senate Homeland Security Committee, and Grassley, chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, asked Archivist David Ferraro to produce records so as to “better understand the nature of these meetings, including who attended and what was discussed,” in a letter sent on Thursday (pdf).

“ 'According to recent reports, in January 2016 Ukrainian governmental officials and corruption investigators met with members of former President Obama’s National Security Council (NSC), Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Department of State and Department of Justice (DOJ). Obama Administration officials also met with Alexandra Chalupa, a contractor for the DNC, who reportedly worked with Ukrainian officials to undermine the Trump campaign,” Grassley said in a news release.

"Their letter, citing those reports, elaborated that in 2016, “some of Ukraine’s top corruption prosecutors and investigators [met] face to face with members of former President Obama’s National Security Council (NSC), FBI, State Department and Department of Justice (DOJ).' ”  . . .

Now we find out, thanks to Tom Fitton and Judicial Watch that DNC contractor Alexandra Chalupa, who worked with Hillary Clinton to get Ukraine dirt on Trump, visited the Obama White House 27 times and even had meetings with the alleged Ukraine whistleblower whose name dare not be spoken, Eric Ciaramella

Trump Is 100% On His Game

Lloyd Marcus

I thank God that President Trump is not like other Republicans.

. . . "Do these people who are supposedly on our side not understand what is at stake? If Trump is not reelected in 2020, Democrats will kill healthy babies even after they are born.

"Sixteen-year-old girls will have double mastectomies without parental consent or knowledge in absurd attempts to become men.

"Democrats will roll out the red carpet to drug dealing, murderous illegals along with illegal alien children carrying strange diseases being admitted into our schools. The Democrats’ Green New Deal promises to stop air travel, kill the fossil fuel industry, and implement a long list of insane job-killing and economy crushing initiatives. You cannot imagine the huge number of jobs Democrats will kill or force overseas.  Trump has our economy booming. Black unemployment has hit a new historic low.  All of Trump’s unprecedented remarkable successes for America will be flushed down the toilet if Democrats take the White House.

"Therefore, I do not care if Trump is what some would describe as rude to Democrats and fake news media. These people are arrogant, nasty, and view everyday Americans as their inferiors. Every time Trump fearlessly gets into their snooty faces, a huge smile appears on my face and I say, “Thank you, God!”

"It has been revealed that a few days after Trump was elected in 2016, Democrats, the deep state, and fake news media launched their coup to remove him from office. In essence they said, “Screw idiot American voters. We will not allow this guy to interrupt our plans for America’s decline and transformation.' ”

CNN's Don Lemon Calls Trump-supporters 'mental'

Speaking of hypocrisy, Lemon once said of Antifa, "No organization's perfect."  Does Lemon think Barack Obama ever did "anything wrong?"  JFK?  LBJ?  Don Lemon?

American Thinker "On Tuesday, November 19, CNN anchor Don Lemon made a mind-boggling statement.  He said, of the ongoing impeachment hearings, "I think on this one, the Republicans are on the wrong side of history, and they are the most hypocritical.  I'm not a partisan.  I know people think that I'm some liberal Democrat.  I'm not."  He went on to say, "I don't think the Republicans are serving themselves well."  Talk about hypocrisy!  If Lemon isn't "partisan," neither were Hitler or Stalin.  Lemon is to hypocrisy as Macy's is to Thanksgiving Day parades.  And it is the Democrats who are demonstrably damaging themselves with this carefully — if bizarrely — orchestrated farce."

"Incredibly, Lemon called the impeachment hearing testimony of Wednesday, November 20, "explosive" and deemed it "not a good day" for the president.  In fact, the painfully boring and tedious testimony went a long way towards exonerating Trump.  Again.  One wonders if Mr. Lemon would characterize testimony that Bill Clinton is a "fibber" and a "bit of a womanizer" as "explosive."  Does he think watching paint dry is "spine-tingling" and rearranging his sock drawer is "thrilling" and "dangerous"?

"Then he truly lost it, stating: "I have to say, at this point if you're continuing to say that there was no, as they say, 'quid pro quo,' or the president didn't ask, whether or not it's impeachable, that again is not up for me to decide, not up for you to decide, that's up for the Senate to decide and the American people.  But to deny that the president did not do something wrong at this point is...it's...it's mental.  It is mental."  He added: "If you can look at the mountain of evidence and say, 'Oh, nothing's wrong, the president didn't do anything wrong, he's just rooting out corruption,' you've got a problem because that is not what happened...the problem is you.' " . . .

A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood’ review: Tom Hanks gently lights up Mr. Rogers tale

Seattle Times  "A movie so sweet I’m not sure we deserve it, Marielle Heller’s “A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood” celebrates the gentle legacy of children’s television host Fred Rogers. Inspired by a 1998 Esquire magazine article by Tom Junod, it’s the story of how a rumpled, depressed and mildly jerky New York writer named Lloyd (Matthew Rhys) became transformed by an unexpected friendship with Rogers (Tom Hanks), whom Lloyd met when assigned to profile him. Through Rogers, Lloyd manages to reconnect with his difficult father (Chris Cooper) and his own newborn son. “I’m gonna get better at this,” he promises the infant.

"This is exactly what we’d expected from Fred Rogers, or a cinematic version of him: The man, who spent more than three decades as the creative force and star of “Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood” on public television, was kindness personified. (This subject matter must have been a fascinating lurch for Heller, whose previous film, last year’s wonderful “Can You Ever Forgive Me?,” centered on two thoroughly nasty characters.) And while “A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood” is charmingly filmed (I loved the animated depictions of the toy Neighborhood, and the way Heller switches camera formats to give a more old-school portrayal of Rogers’ TV show), it didn’t quite have the emotional wallop I expected. Perhaps last year’s documentary “Won’t You Be My Neighbor?” (a movie I, and surely countless other former residents of the Neighborhood, sobbed through) sweetly stole its thunder; perhaps this father-and-son tale is just a little too on-the-nose." . . .

★★★ “A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood,” with Tom Hanks, Matthew Rhys, Susan Kelechi Watson, Chris Cooper, Tammy Blanchard. Directed by Marielle Heller, from a screenplay by Micah Fitzerman-Blue and Noah Harpster, inspired by the article “Can You Say … Hero?” by Tom Junod. 108 minutes. Rated PG for some strong thematic material, a brief fight, and some mild language. Opens Nov. 22 at multiple theaters.

CHICK-FIL-A CAVES TO THE LEFT

Power Line  "We ate lunch at a Chick-fil-A today. When we entered the restaurant, the first thing we saw was an empty table that was set up to honor fallen military personnel over the Memorial Day weekend. There was a red rose, a folded flag, an inverted glass and an open Bible, along with text explaining the elements of the display." . . .

. . . "Chick-fil-A is unabashedly pro-American. I suspect that is the real reason for the animus that so many liberals bear against the company. There was a time when liberals were generally patriotic. George McGovern is a good example: he was wrong on just about every issue, but he was a veteran who loved his country. That is no longer true.
"Now, while no doubt there are honorable exceptions, liberals are usually anti-American. They have been taught a twisted, Zinnified version of American history, and they have internalized a Chomskyite view of the world in which all evils are traceable to American misdeeds. Liberals tend to be angry, unhappy people, and it is convenient for them to blame their problems on their country’s supposed failings. Organizations like Chick-fil-A that are pro-America, pro-religion (Chick-fil-A restaurants are closed on Sunday), and culturally upbeat are anathema.
"One of my daughters lives in Texas. Coincidentally, she ate lunch at a Chick-fil-A today, too. (She loves Chick-fil-A, so it isn’t that much of a coincidence.) She wrote this on our family text chat:

The very high functioning Down syndrome boy who took our order jogged next to the car as we pulled forward, running our card at the same time and then wished us a blessed day. And then a very obviously gay kid handed us our food. Take that haters.

"Of course, nothing will shame the haters. But it is good to see that a few outposts of sanity are holding out against the tidal wave of left-wing hate that has engulfed the country."

But now:.....Today’s saddest news story: Chick-fil-A To Stop Donating To Christian Charities Branded “Anti-LGBT.”  
. . . "The Salvation Army is probably the purest force for good in the U.S. The idea that it is “anti-LGBT” is false; the Army serves all comers. Of course, as a Christian organization, it does not subscribe to the radical LGBT agenda. But so what? Is kowtowing to demands of the most extreme elements of a tiny minority now a prerequisite for being allowed to do business?
Chick-fil-A’s unabashed Christian, pro-American culture is an important reason for the company’s explosive growth. It also serves great fast food. I won’t stop eating at Chick-fil-A on account of this retreat, but I won’t do it with the same enthusiasm, either.

It’s too bad: it isn’t as though the dimwitted left-wing Chick-fil-A boycotts hurt sales. On the contrary, Chick-fil-A is America’s fastest-growing restaurant chain. So the company’s caving in to the far Left wasn’t, apparently, an economic decision. Maybe it is another instance of corporate executives caring more about their standing within their peer group than about the well-being of the organization they lead, a phenomenon that Glenn Reynolds has described many times.

NO SAFE SPACES Teaser

Hollywood Conservatives for Trump  H/T to Jeffers MacArthur Dodge

The Simpsons take on Social Justice Warriors

How Republicans Won Phase One Of Impeachment

The first phase of impeachment did not go well for Democrats. It needed to be a time when support for the inquiry and impeachment grew. Instead, it shrank.

"Today’s Democrats Would Impeach George Washington If They Could"

By Mollie Hemingway at The Federalist  "With the likely conclusion of Rep. Adam Schiff’s impeachment proceedings, it’s worth taking a step back and looking at how things went for the majority Democrats and minority Republicans on the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence.
"Democrats ideally would have started their inquiry with credible bipartisan support and run things in such a way that public opinion developed in their favor. Public opinion would build pressure on Republican members toward an impeachment vote that had even stronger bipartisan credibility.
"That did not come even close to happening. To begin with, not only was the vote to begin proceedings not bipartisan, there was bipartisan opposition to it. Polling initially looked promising for impeachment, with media outlets attempting to claim significant bipartisan support for inquiry and removal, but then the polling moved in the wrong direction for Democrats.
"Emerson polling showed that support for impeachment flipped since October from 48 percent support with 44 percent opposing to now 45 percent opposed and 43 percent in support. Among key independents, the switch was even more pronounced. In October, 48 percent supported impeaching President Donald Trump, with 39 percent opposed. Now, 49 percent of independents oppose impeachment, while only 34 percent support it.

Democrat Rashida Tlaib shirts.

"A new Marquette University Law School poll found that 40 percent of registered voters in the swing state of Wisconsin think that Trump should be impeached and removed from office, while 53 percent do not think so. Another 6 percent weren’t sure.
"A new Gallup poll shows that Trump’s approval has ticked up two points since the impeachment drama began, with 50 percent of Americans opposed to it and 48 percent in support. Henry Olsen notes that Gallup polls all adults, not just registered voters, meaning that a poll of registered voters would have Trump’s job approval even higher and impeachment opposed by closer to a 52-46 margin.
"And not only are no Republicans expected to join with Democrats in an eventual impeachment vote, some members expect the bipartisan consensus against it to grow." . . .

Churchill didn't say this, but we wish he had,

Snopes  "On 7 August 2018, Texas governor Greg Abbott posted a 9gag.com-branded meme on Twitter which included a statement attributed to former British prime minister Sir Winston Churchill about how “fascists of the future will call themselves anti-fascists”:" . . .

. . . So who does deserve credit?

"Similar quotes positing the idea that fascism would come to America disguised by a different name can be traced at least as far back as 1936 (although they weren’t attached to Churchill’s name until decades later). On 18 March 1936, for example, the Cincinnati Inquirer reported on words delivered by Norman Thomas, an American Presbyterian minister who was running for president as the Socialist Party of America’s candidate, at an informal luncheon: “Fascism is coming in the United States most probably, but it will not come under that name.' ”  . . .

. . . Apparently Churchill’s name was spuriously appended to this statement about fascism circa 2010 more than 40 years after his death (and with no supporting evidence).

"Timothy Riley of the National Churchill Museum told us that these words do not appear in any of the articles, speeches, or books penned by Churchill: “Winston Churchill authored over 15 million words — in articles, speeches, books and other writings. There is no evidence that the statesman wrote the words in question. It is impossible to know if he uttered the words in conversation, but I am not aware of any of Churchill’s contemporaries who recorded or recalled the statement.”

But Churchill did say all this: Winston Churchill Quotes About Socialism

I suggest President Trump hang this in the Oval Office: