Good Riddance, Kirsten Gillibrand; She "packs it in"

National Review

The New York senator’s failed campaign was an increasingly transparent woker-than-thou contest.

"Yesterday evening, New York senator Kirsten Gillibrand ended her presidential bid after nine months of futile campaigning, failing ever to crest 3 percent in major polls. Her decision to bow out was precipitated by her failure to qualify for the third Democratic debate, slated for September 12. “Without it, I just didn’t see our path,” she said yesterday.

"The senator has a point. From the beginning, her upstart campaign was characterized by an enormous amount of virtue-mongering, insisting not only that her progressive bona fides made her superior to you, but that only she could help you comprehend exactly how backwards you are. In the last debate, for instance, she promised to traverse the suburbs explaining “institutional racism” and white privilege to white women.

"It was an interesting tactic from a candidate attempting to distinguish herself as a female candidate running for women, and it’s easy to see why the effort failed to gain much traction. The major policy centerpiece of her campaign was called “Fighting for women and families” and focused exclusively on issues like unlimited abortion rights, universal paid family leave, public education, and sexual harassment. Perhaps the most news attention she got all campaign came when she compared being pro-life to being racist. Light on substance, she needed a forum to peddle her platitudes, and without the debate stage, she had little hope of convincing Democrats to listen to her at all.

"The news that she had terminated her campaign came just a few days after a former Gillibrand staffer told the New York Post, “I don’t know that anyone even wants to see her on the debate stage. Everyone I have talked to finds her performative and obnoxious.' ” . . .

Monica Showalter: Gillibrand: Phony candidate for fake 'women's issue' problems packs it in   . . . "Good riddance, because never was there are more useless candidate.  She positioned herself as the candidate of women's issues, but she had no real foils to charge at.  Her yellings about abortion, women's workplace equality, and #MeToo only proved she was out of tune with the times.  Worse still, these issues tended to be problems of Democratic, not Republican, origin, which made her a nuisance to both sides."    
Even this pander looks contrived. What are "gay rights" anyway? TD

‘Sources Say’; The media’s hatred of Trump is destroying American journalism.

The American Spectator  "MSNBC’s Lawrence O’Donnell lives a secret double life performing as a drag queen in New Jersey gay bars, a source tells me. While there have long been rumors that O’Donnell enjoys dressing up in women’s clothing, evidence of his transvestite fetish has been difficult to obtain. Yet my source assures me that such evidence exists, and as for gossip about O’Donnell’s addiction to the rare narcotic Ibogaine … Well, has O’Donnell ever denied it?

"You could justify reporting almost anything by the nonexistent “journalism ethics” of Lawrence O’Donnell. On live TV Tuesday night, the MSNBC host told his audience that Donald Trump had obtained loans from Deutsche Bank co-signed by “Russian billionaires with ties to Vladimir Putin.” The basis for this claim, according to O’Donnell, was “a single source close to Deutsche Bank.” O’Donnell then added an interesting caveat: “If true … ”

"Yes, of course. It would be a big scoop, if true. And my exclusive reporting that O’Donnell spends his Saturday nights in drag cabaret shows, wearing high heels and fishnet stockings while twerking to Lady Gaga songs? A major bombshell, if true. As it is, however, I hesitate to vouch for my source’s assertion that the MSNBC host is an Ibogaine-addicted transvestite.

" Excuse my sarcasm, but what O’Donnell did Tuesday night was the kind of amateur blunder that would have gotten any reporter thrown down the stairs by the late Wes Pruden. “Get it first, get it right” was Pruden’s motto as editor at the Washington Times, and woe be unto any reporter who got it wrong, especially on a big story. One of the basic rules of reporting is that you cannot base a major story on a single source, especially an anonymous source. If you can’t get your source to go on the record, by name, you’ve got to have some other factual basis — a court document, for example — to justify the story. Otherwise, you undermine the reader’s confidence in your reporting. Why should anyone believe a story based on something as flimsy as “sources say”?" . . .

CNN reports: Jeffrey Epstein has died by suicide, sources say

MSNBC and its host Lawrence O’Donnell humiliated, forced to retract charges against President Trump

Thomas Lifson  "President Trump’s charge that his media enemies peddle fake news about him got reinforcement yesterday from one of his primary antagonists, who scored an own-goal on his team, MSNBC. That cable news channel’s host Lawrence O’Donnell on Tuesday had opened his show with a charge that President Trump’s loans from Deutsche Bank had been co-signed by Russian oligarchs close to Vladimir Putin, guaranteeing repayment at a time when his finances were strained. This amounted to mouth-to-mouth resuscitation for the Russia hoax, the claim that Vlad Putin has Trump in his hip pocket, a dream that the Left simply cannot let go of. As

"O’Donnell opened his show Tuesday, he touted his hot story to Rachel Maddow as the cable network transitioned to O’Donnell’s show from Maddow’s:" . . .

"President Trump’s personal and corporate lawyer sent a letter to MSNBC Wednesday demanding a retraction: . . ."

The schadenfreude level here tiptoes up to the sensory overload red line. O’Donnell is a nasty, angry man who clearly regards conservatives as inferior beings. One person who has his number is Tucker Carlson, who last night savored O’Donnell’s humiliation:
"Rigorous verification process"!
Note carefully the "retraction" that was not a retraction and serves to keep the story alive:

. . . "They also demanded a retraction. Tonight, we are retracting the story. We don’t know whether the information is inaccurate. But, the fact is, we do know it wasn’t ready for broadcast, and for that, I apologize.”

Weasel Zippers commented: They keep doing this and folks on the left just keep on believing them, no matter what.

But wait! There's more! (I love saying that.)
MSNBC’s Lawrence O’Donnell’s Retracts Russia Story On Air, Eric Trump Says Too Late, Expect Legal Action… 

This was a reckless attempt to slander our family and smear a great company. Apologies are not enough when the true intent was solely to damage and cause harm. As a company, we will be taking legal action. This unethical behavior has to stop. @Lawrence @MSNBC

Hemingway: Months After Mueller Report, Media Russia Truthers Are Embarrassing And Sad  . . . “ 'Rather than seeing any self-examination, or looking at why they were able to fall for such a ridiculous story, people got awards for their reporting,” Hemingway said. “And the main story, which is how this treasonous collusion narrative got started, how it was weaponized, and how it was fed throughout the U.S. government is a story that continues to be undercovered at every media outlet.' ” . . .

MSNBC’s Lawrence O’Donnell Lets Conspiracy Spread Online After TV Retraction

Could I Get That Illegal ‘To Go’?

" . . .The intoxicated illegal, Guillermo Diaz-Lopez, fled the scene, dragging a pedestrian on his truck, and was finally apprehended while trying to break through a police barrier. Today, you can visit “Annie’s Playground,” a beautiful 60,000-square-foot wonderland built in the victim’s honor in Fallston, Maryland -- at least until Elizabeth Warren and Kamala Harris demand its demolition to show their support for “undocumented immigrants.” 

Angel Mom Angie Morfin holds a photo of her son, Ruben, who was murdered
at 13-years-old by an illegal alien gang member. 

 Ann Coulter  "As we head into the long Labor Day weekend, here are two tips to make your holiday even more cheerful. 

"First: Remember to watch out for drunk driving illegal aliens! 

"The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has issued report after report showing that Hispanics are wildly overrepresented in drunk driving accidents (but also contribute so much to our cultural life, musical heritage and landscape!). 

"Or, as the Huffington Post puts it: “Latinos At Greater Risk of Dying From Driving While Intoxicated.” They’re victims of the drunk driving epidemic! German Concentration Camp Guards At Greater Risk of Dying From Accidental Inhalation of Zyklon B.* 

"One NHTSA report elaborated on the inebriated Latino driver problem: 

“The authors found that some Latino parents actively promoted drinking among their sons as a sign of masculinity or machismo. (A focus group) indicated drinking among Hispanics might be motivated by the need to prove their manhood within the Latino culture: ‘Everyone thinks they can handle alcohol, especially men.’ ... ‘A lot of Hispanics think that way. It’s the macho male and the woman gives in to the man. Machismo causes this behavior.’” 

"The report also stated, “Mexican-American DWI offenders vastly overestimated the number of drinks required to make them unsafe drivers (eight to 10 drinks).” 

"It’s unclear if the NHTSA’s methodology took into account the effects of Cinco de Mayo. 

"Naturally, it would be outrageous to conclude from this that drunk driving is the national sport of Mexico. However, last year alone, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) deported 80,730 illegals for drunk driving, the majority of them Mexicans." . . .

. . . "Yeah, that must have been rough, some real Brian Williams stuff there. But Don Rosenberg finding out his 25-year-old son had been run over, backed over and then run over again by an illegal alien -- well, that’s just a “traffic accident.” Our media have no idea who Don Rosenberg is, and no interest in finding out. Their concern for "children” is limited to the ones they can exploit to get their way on illegal immigration. They wail about “children separated from their parents,” but it would be a dream come true for the “Angel Mom”parents if their kids were merely separated from them for six months -- or six years! -- if only they could see them again, ever."

*No, go back and read that again: Coulter did not, repeat NOT, call Latinos "Nazis". That title is owned by Democrats to refer to their opposition. TD

Third-World California's Rat Problem Is Still Out Of Control, and Now Dems Want to...Ban Rat Poison?

Rich Terrell

It’s possible that rodents carrying bubonic plague are scurrying around LA. In the meantime, don’t expect California liberals to handle this situation seriously or find a rational solution to this problem. They’re mentally incapable of doing it. 

 Townhall  
"California’s decades-long affair with liberal politics has brought disease—literally. Rats are overrunning parts of the state. It’s only amplified by the rising homelessness crisis. For a region of the country that is smug, wealthy, and condescending to no end about how great they are—they do have a lot of bums in the street, fecal matter in the street, and hypodermic needles in the street. San Francisco is covered in crap. And the solution is quite simple: clean up the damn cities. But that would mean be mean to homeless people or something. Well, they’re ground zero for the rat infestation, which has brought back diseases we haven’t seen on such a daily basis since medieval times. Typhus has broken out. Police stations in Los Angeles were forced to pay fines that soared into the thousands of dollars due to the unsanitary conditions. City hall is running wild with rats. And now the state EPA office in Sacramento was forced to close its outdoor playground due to their rat problem; they were worried about kids getting sick. And what is the state proposing now? Oh, they want to ban rat poison (via WSJ):" . . .

Hollywood #MeToo pioneer Alyssa Milano: I aborted two of my children, and I’m ‘not sorry’

Alyssa Milano’s story about her two aborted children highlights how abortion is lethal selfishness

Milano

Lifesite News  . . . "Milano’s confession is revealing. Although the progressive press hails her as a hero, her story highlights starkly what this is really all about: selfishness. Children need their mothers and fathers, but many people would prefer to sacrifice their children in order to pursue illustrious careers. (Countless paths to stardom have been paved with the blood of unwanted pre-born children.) Milano can call it freedom if she likes, but the brutal reality is that two of her children died in 1993 because she felt that their presence in her life would be an unwelcome intrusion. She can claim that abortion is no big deal, she can claim that the decisions were difficult to make, but at the end of the day, the simple fact that this was driven by lethal selfishness towers above it all." . . .

Ex-Defense Secretary James Mattis says U.S. is at ‘breaking point’

“We are dividing into hostile tribes cheering against each other, fueled by emotion and a mutual disdain that jeopardizes our future, instead of rediscovering our common ground and finding solutions,” he said.

LA Times

"Former Defense Secretary James N. Mattis is warning of bitter political divisions that threaten American society, echoing themes he often cited before he resigned from the Trump administration in protest.

"The retired Marine general, who quit in December 2018 amid policy disagreements with President Trump, says he is concerned about the state of American politics and the administration’s treatment of allies.

"“We all know that we’re better than our current politics,” Mattis wrote in an essay adapted from his new book and published Wednesday by the Wall Street Journal. “Unlike in the past, where we were unified and drew in allies, currently our own commons seems to be breaking apart.”

"Mattis said the problem is made worse by this administration’s disregard for the enduring value of allies, which he alluded to in his resignation letter to Trump on Dec. 20.

" 'Nations with allies thrive,” he wrote in the Wall Street Journal, “and those without them wither. Alone, America cannot protect our people and our economy. At this time, we can see storm clouds gathering.”

"In an apparent reference to Trump, Mattis added: “A [polemist’s] role is not sufficient for a leader. A leader must display strategic acumen that incorporates respect for those nations that have stood with us when trouble loomed.”

"Mattis is breaking months of public silence as he promotes his new book, “Call Sign Chaos: Learning to Lead,” which is scheduled to be published Tuesday. Next week, he is to discuss the book in an appearance at the Council on Foreign Relations in New York.

"Without citing Trump by name, Mattis suggested the administration and its strongest critics are engaged in destructive politics. He said he worries more about internal divisions in American society than about external threats." . . .

Mattis resigned shortly after Trump announced he was pulling all U.S. troops from Syria. In Mattis’ view this amounted to betraying the Syrian Kurdish fighters who had partnered with American troops to combat the militant group Islamic State. Trump later backed away from his decision, allowing a portion of the U.S. force to remain in Syria in what the Pentagon sees as an effort to prevent a resurgence of Islamic State.

Stupid White Man TV Commercials from 2008, relevant still

Stupid White Man  Hollywood’s attack on men: Will the industry change its gender stereotyping following UN summit?

LOS ANGELES – “I’ve seen my father’s role as a parent being valued less by society,” actress Emma Watson, an Ivy League graduate and a U.N. Goodwill Ambassador, said in a now-celebrated speech at the United Nations last week. “We don’t often talk about men being imprisoned by gender stereotypes but I can see that they are.” . . .

. . . "For 30 years now, Progressive agenda-driven teachers have brainwashed American students that white men are bad and responsible for all the problems in the world. Stupid White Man TV Commercials confirm that message in the home.

"At the same time, liberal college professors have brainwashed American students and convinced them to turn away from Capitalism and embrace Socialism. Unfortunately, these young Americans (useful idiots) will now suffer the consequences of their brainwashing by Progressive/Socialist teachers and professors." . . .

Who can forget Hirono's insult to men?

The Silly Beto O’Rourke Ejects Breitbart News Reporter from Event at Historically Black College

Tony Branco

Beto O’Rourke Ejects Breitbart News Reporter from Event at Historically Black College
The Trump campaign responded. . . . "What was Beto's Campaign's justification? That Pollack had allegedly been "disruptive" at past events."

Victor Davis Hanson: How Robert O’Rourke Became ‘Beto’  "A great deal of controversy has continued the past few days over Robert Francis O’Rourke’s longtime use of a nickname given to him at birth (albeit temporarily jettisoned while in prep school) — especially in the wake of his recent sensational and unfounded charges that Donald Trump is directly responsible for the mass shootings in El Paso, Texas, and that white supremacy defines America, past and present, and explains Trump’s culpability.

"The point of the amused contention is not that O’Rourke was given such a nickname at or near birth. Rather, the controversy is over his continued use of the sobriquet for cynical political advantage in a somewhat related manner to Senator Elizabeth Warren’s longtime false cultural appropriation of a Native American identity for careerist purposes. After all, we live in a progressive era in which “cultural appropriation” is a mortal sin and non-minority university students are routinely chastised for wearing clothing or hairstyles associated with minority groups or appearing in dramas playing the roles of characters of a different ethnic background.

"According to the Dallas Morning News, a quite prescient senior O’Rourke once explained why he had given the shortened form of the Spanish “Roberto” to his son as a nickname. And he seemed to imply that such naming was for political reasons in addition to avoiding confusing young Robert with his maternal grandfather of the same first name: . . ."

The Silliness of Being Woke  . . . "Because being woke is something that is exclusively a white phenomena- being a white, straight, male makes you the ultimate oppressor- and that badge of courage is white guilt.  Just look at those two Democratic candidates: O’Rourke and Swalwell.  Both are lily white (despite the “Beto” moniker) and both have professed their guilt for being white.  The ultimate virtue signal is, of course, slavery reparations.  Reparations are supposedly a means of atonement for slavery where people having nothing to do with slavery make payments to people having nothing to do with slavery.  It is the ultimate virtue signal with a monetary price tag." . . .

Lockerdome

CNN Lost Their Mind (Again): Guess How Long Their Climate Change Town Hall Is

Don Lemon will have questions for the candidates that contain the phrase "...the bigotry of Donald Trump". TD

Beth Baumann at Townhall

"Just when we thought CNN couldn't get any more pathetic, they prove us wrong...again. The network on Tuesday announced their climate change town hall. The debate, scheduled for Sept. 4th will be seven hours long. Yes, seven hours. The reason? The network wants to give each of the 10 candidates ample time to respond to questions during this "unprecedented prime-time event."

"Each of the 10 candidates will be given 40 minutes to discuss their plans to address climate change. Hosts Wolf Blitzer, Erin Burnett, Anderson Cooper, Chris Cuomo and Don Lemon will act as moderators." . . .

. . . "Let's be clear about this: CNN is delusional if they think people are going to watch a seven hour town hall. People can barely handle three hour long debates. But you know what they say... desperate times call for desperate measures. Their ratings are down the toilet and they need something to help revive them." 

If their ratings are down the toilet, why is CNN on in so many public places, and why does the Ventura, CA school system promote CNN over all other news sources? This chart below I saw in a textbook from that source. TD

How Elizabeth Warren’s Candidacy Benefits From Her Democrat Competitors’ Weakness

Even so, Democrats usually prefer to fall in love with their candidates. Warren’s slow but steady climb in the polls suggest it has not been love at first sight for many. Rather, her success may be as much a function of the competition and where she is positioned among the top candidates.

The Federalist  "According to GQ magazine, it is “The Summer of Elizabeth Warren,” so if you’re going to Massachusetts, be sure to wear some flowers in your hair. The professor-turned-senator has turned “rock star,” drawing an estimated 15,000 people for a rally in Seattle (although the 12,000 who turned up for her in Minnesota is probably more impressive).
"The establishment media is convinced more each day that Warren would run away with the Democratic presidential nomination, were it not for the voice of the patriarchy placing doubts in the heads of middle-aged women that she is not as electable or likeable as some of her rivals. Ironically, Warren’s rise is probably driven as much by her rivals as her own efforts.
"Warren’s main problem is still Warren, and she knows it. The GQ profile gushes about her update of traditional rope-line politicking: “Other 2020 hopefuls oblige random requests for selfies with voters, but no one has the casual spontaneity of picture-taking down to a perfectly engineered production the way the Warren campaign does.” Her campaign sells the idea she has time for 42,000 selfies (and counting) because she has rejected big, corporate fundraising.
"The truth is closer to the reverse. Team Warren wants those selfies flooding social media to raise her name identification in a crowded field and create the appearance of broad, grassroots support. While the campaign would probably never say it out loud to any but the friendliest journalist, the personal touch implicitly pushes back against the widespread perception that Warren is not particularly likeable. The rally crowds suggest this plan is working better to humanize her than that early campaign video of her drinking beer in her kitchen." . . .

CNN Actually Does Need to Make Brian Stelter Apologize or Discipline Him for This:

The Resurgent Hat tip to the Doug Ross Journal

"For a show host who covers “Reliable Sources,” Brian Stelter went a bridge too far on Sunday and CNN either needs to make him apologize or needs to discipline him. This is too much for a network that prides itself in being fair and objective.
"First, Stelter decided it was appropriate and relevant to bring on people to discuss, as experts, the President’s mental state even though they have never diagnosed the President.
"Then, when one psychiatrist disagreed it was relevant and then insisted President Trump had perhaps killed more people than Hitler, Stalin, and Mao, Stelter only interrupted the man to insist talking about the President’s sanity was appropriate." . . .

"Yes, the guest on the show said it was not helpful to talk about the President’s sanity then suggested Trump had possibly killed more than Hitler, Stalin, or Mao.

"Stelter’s response?

"He didn’t rebuke the man, but instead challenged the man that yes we should talk about the President’s sanity." . . .

How sad that when the 1991 Gulf War was on we were tethered to CNN as a trusted news source. Now it is nothing but a propaganda channel for the left. TD