WHO ARE THE MARGINALIZED?

Which brings us back to that event at South by Southwest, where the Atlantic was sponsoring a panel about marginalized points of view and diversity in journalism. The panelists, all Atlantic writers and editors, argued that the cultural and economic decks are stacked against feminists and advocates of minority interests They made this argument under the prestigious, high-profile auspices of South by Southwest and their own magazine, hosted bu a feminist groups called the Female Quotient, which enjoys the patronage of Google, PepsiCo, AT&T, NBCUniversal, Facebook, UBS, JPMorgan Chase and Deloitte. We should all be so marginalized. If you want to know who actually has the power in our society and who is actually marginalized, ask which ideas get you sponsorships from Google and Pepsi and which get you fired.

It's not the ones who are 'woke'. Read it all.

A GOOD MAN DESTROYED: Admiral Ronny Jackson withdraws from VA nomination. The Left is still apopleptic that he gave President Trump a clean bill of health at his annual physical.

JOHN KASICH ON 2020 RUN AGAINST TRUMP: ‘I can bring that [establishment Republican] party back’.

Somehow I don't think Trump voters want that party back....

SOCIAL JUSTICE WARRIORS are self-anointed jackasses.

TAKE THAT, GUN CONTROLLERS! Uearthed Government data show defensive firearm uses far more frequent than gun control advocates claim.

SPRING LEAVES, POST #3: It's been warm and wet over the last week, so there's some progress (finally!) from the foliage. No leaves yet in most of the trees, but they are definitely beginning to bud out. Here's the pond view:

And the house view:

In both pictures, you can see the ground foliage has visibly gotten greener (and thicker), but the trees are much the same -- still mostly bare because the new buds aren't visible yet.

But by next week ....

COEXIST? WITH LIBERALS? YOU HAVE TO BE KIDDING. More contemptible behavior from the Left.

MORE INSANITY FROM THE LEFT: Hillary says voters had to ‘hide their support’ for her while at the same time Shania Twain apologizes profusely for pro-Trump comment.

Judging from the record, I'd say it's much more likely that Trump voters 'had to hide their support' than for Hillary voters.

And election day proved it....

THE SAFE SPACE WITHIN A SAFE SPACE: One university's 'cry closet'.

It needs a lock on the outside....

RAND PAUL'S 'penny plan' for balancing the budget. I'd continue the cuts beyond Paul's 5 years until the government is forced to shut down whole departments (DoE [both of them] and HUD come to mind) and regulatory agencies (the CFPB comes to mind) and the national debt is cut back at least Clinton administration levels (~ $5 trillion).

HYPOCRISY IS THE TRIBUTE THAT VICE PAYS TO VIRTUE: State autonomy (federalism) is fine — when the GOP's in charge.

But let the Democrats have the reins of government....

IT’S FUN TO WATCH the Liberals’ and never Trumpers’ coup dreams die.

More popcorn, please.

THE BENEFITS OF BIG GOVERNMENT: An Illinois woman who runs a child care service out of her home is suing the state, saying its restrictions on day care facilities make it illegal for her to keep a gun in her house for self-defense.

She and her husband are both concealed-carry permit holders (in Illinois!).

BLUE ON BLUE: Planned Parenthood fights unionization attempt from SEIU.

All victims are equal, but ... my victims are more important than your victims.

MALLARD FILLMORE: It's not our fault!

IF YOU THOUGHT THE LEFT IS BARKING MAD ... you're right.

TIRED OF BEING PUSHED AROUND: ‘Sanctuary county’ declared for Illinois gun owners.

IT'S THE JOURNALISTS, STUPID: The Starbucks story is trash.

America is not racist. There are simply too many Democrats in American journalism. And they should stop acting like buffoons.

A Starbucks trifecta: Journalists. Democrats. Buffoons.

I SEE NOTHING: James Comey as Sgt. Schultz.

PRO-GUN SHIRT scares Texas woman. Not the gun he was wearing openly; the shirt he was wearing.

THIS IS what a New Jersey 'ethics' commissioner looks like.






Ethics are for little people....

MASS EXODUS from California, New York, and other liberal states. It's a result of getting rid of the state & local tax deduction.

Maybe it'll result in the high-tax states lowering their tax rates, but that's wishful thinking. My real worry is that those departing those states will bring their toxic progressive culture with them to 'normal' America.

#Resist!

BROWARD COUNTY LAW ENFORCEMENT seems to be a real hive of contemptible weasels. No argument from me.

HILLARY CLINTON: "They were never going to let me be President." Perhaps 'they' - whoever 'they' were - didn't believe she was worthy of the office she sought.

THE WASHINGTON FREE BEACON on New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo:

... a rich kid who's only accomplished anything by virtue of being the son of his more talented father, former New York Governor Mario Cuomo. They might suggest that Cuomo is insecure about the notion that if he were born a poor nobody, he would've never been elected to public office, given his lack of charisma, intelligence, and functioning moral compass.

That's the kind part. Now go read the rest.

POWERLINE insults rocks again.

More from the Washington Free Beacon.

THE LEFT'S POLICY PLAYBOOK: Amnesty, Abortion, and Big Spending.

Better plant those money trees now ... if the Dimocrats [not misspelled] have their way, we're going to need a whole forest of them.

Update: Oh, and reparations.

EARTH DAY 2018: Celebrate a world cleaned by capitalism.

Just don't tell those 'woke' environmentalists....

FROM POWERLINE'S WEEK IN PICTURES: two favorites this week.

Can a white person drink black coffee?

And bathroom choices for transgenders.

IT'S EARTH DAY! Here are the 10 dumbest tweets for your entertainment.

In its honor, we've got the lights on, all computers on, heat pump running, and both fireplaces fired up.

Baby, it's nice inside....

SPRING LEAVES, POST #2: The only difference from Friday's first post is that the weather is miserable (it's cold and raining and I can't get outdoors again) and I did manage to finish chipping up all trees/branches/vines/etc. that were in my woodpile.

Here's the pond. Still visible (which it won't be, midsummer), no leaves on the trees yet.

And the house. The chipper is gone and the mulch pile is bigger. But that's about it.

THE FARCE IS STRONG IN THIS ONE: DNC files lawsuit because reality isn't matching up with the liberal election loss narrative.

A GOOD QUESTION and I don't know the answer either.

SANITY MAY BE RETURNING TO AMERICA: Nebraska just passed a major occupational licensing reform measure.

AMMO GRRRLL travels through blinding sandstorms to the frozen tundra.

I'M SURE THE CHILDREN WILL BE HAPPY: Rhode Island town bans the sale and use of balloons.

To be super environmentally sensitive, they should also ban the sale and use of conddoms and latex gloves (medical personnel especially will bethrilled).

EXCEPT ON THE PROGRESSIVE LEFT: America is not as intolerant as we make it out to be.

There, it's worse.

THE DEATH TAX explained.

If only.

NEW YORK GOV. ANDREW CUOMO: I'm an undocumented immigrant. Well, good. That means he can't run for President in 2020.

And I don't think most citizens of New York state will be pleased to find out that their Governor is an illegal....

UPDATE: He's a female Jewish Muslim illegal immigrant. But is he black?

DELICIOUS: Arrogant New Yorker writer gets his head handed to him on a silver chicken platter.

Michelle Malkin weighs in as well:

Perhaps, in the interest of public health, the CDC should launch a weekly C-F-A-P [Chick-fil-A phobia] surveillance report to map the recurrence of this culturally infectious disease. Early-onset symptoms include fear of pressure-cooked poultry, allergic reaction to waffle potato fries and an irrational hatred of cow costumes. Anti-Christian prejudice and coastal elitism are common co-morbidities associated with this debilitating progressive condition.

Sans the arrogance and hubris, what remains of the author could be buried in a matchbox.

#NEVER TRUMP: If you don't like our principles ... we have others.

What happens to useful idiots when they're no longer useful? They're just idiots. And it's time for them to go away.

PRICKLY CITY explains political correctness.

JUST FOR FUN. A snow post from my email:

It’s been snowing all night. So the morning goes like this:

8:00    I made a snowman.

8:10    A feminist passed by and asked me why I didn’t make a snow woman.

8:15    So, I made a snow woman.

8:17    The nanny of the neighbors complained about the snow woman's voluptuous
            chest.

8:20    The gay couple living nearby grumbled that it could have been two snowmen
            instead.

8:25    The vegans at No. 12 complained about the carrot nose, as veggies are
            food and not to decorate snow figures with.

8:28    I am being called a racist because the snow couple is white.

8:31    The Muslim gent across the road wants the snow woman to wear a headscarf.

8:40    Someone calls the cops who show up to see what’s going on.

8:42    I am told that the broomstick of the snowman needs to be removed because
            it could be used as a deadly weapon. Things get worse after I mutter:
            "Yeah, if it's up your a***"

8:45    Local TV news crew shows up. I am asked if I know the difference
            between snowmen and snow-women? I reply, "Snowballs" and am called a
            sexist.

8:52    My phone is seized and thoroughly checked while I am being blindfolded
            and flown to the police station in a helicopter.

9:00    I'm on the news as a suspected terrorist bent on stirring up trouble
            during this difficult weather.

9:10    I am asked if I have any accomplices.

9:29    A little known jihadist group has claimed it was their plot.

Moral: There is no moral to this story. It’s just the America we live in today!

SPRING LEAVES, POST #1: The weather has been so crazy here (fog, rain, sleet, snow, hail, high winds, and freezing cold, all in one morning last week) that I'm just now starting my annual 'spring leaves' photo series. Here are the first pictures:

This is the pond, taken from the back deck.

And here is the house, taken from just down the road from our driveway.

I'm only about a month late compared to last year (March 5 start), but the trees seem to have maintained their schedule (here's April 16, 2017) while the flowering plants (hostas, day lilies) got fooled by an early warming.

I'll pick up the normal schedule on Sunday.

A ROUGH WEEK for the Dimocrats Democrats.

I'm looking forward to many more....

SEEN ON THE CHURCH MESSAGE BOARD: "Hard to rise early on Sunday morning? Try rising from the dead."

It was on Easter Sunday, but I'm a little slow getting the 'news' out these days....

ARE YOU RACIST if you like your coffee black?

More proof (if any is needed) that progressives are nuts.

WHY I NO LONGER WATCH MUCH TELEVISION: At least three minutes of every ten are filled with overwhelmingly repetitive, overwhelmingly smug commercials.

Commercials used to be about having the right things (i.e. 'keeping up with the Joneses'), now it's about having the right attitudes (i.e., political correctness).

MILLENNIALS KNOW A LOT OF STUFF. Just not history. And if they've been to college, what they do know is probably wrong.

HOWEVER MUCH, IT IS NOT ENOUGH: You won’t believe what tax reform will cost wealthy Californians in 2019.

JUST NOT ENOUGH: Sore loser Hillary sees popularity plummet.

TAMMY BRUCE: Turning California into three states won’t solve its problems. No, but it might confine them to a smaller area.

‘NOT BEING VIEWED AS AN ENEMY’ propels California company’s move to Texas.

Just leave California 'values' behind....

BUT TRUMP SCARED IT AWAY: Asteroid the size of a football field makes 'surprise' flyby close to Earth.

THEY SHOULD BE learning a valuable lesson about punishing the innocent in order to avoid confronting the guilty.

But they won't learn. They never do.

HEADLINE FIXED: California Gov. Brown wants to ensure ‘every [illegal] Californian is counted’ for 2020 census.

The issue has potentially far-reaching consequences for California, which has the highest number of illegal immigrants, approximately 2.35 million, according to data compiled by the Pew Research Center in 2014. Illegal immigrants make up nearly 6 percent of California's total population, dwarfing the total number of estimated illegal immigrants in states like Texas (1.65 million), New York (775,000), and Florida (850,000).

Complicating matters is the fact that California's population growth has slowed, based on U.S. Census Bureau data. In 2017, the state's overall population grew at a rate of 0.7 percent, slightly higher than the year prior but still an overall decline since 2009. In comparison, California's population grew at an annual average rate of 2.4 percent in the 1980s and slightly over 1 percent during the first decade of the new Millenium.

Furthermore, California's net domestic migration numbers are at a deficit, according to data from the U.S. Census Bureau. Nearly five million people moved to California from other states between 2007 and 2016, while almost six million left in the same time.

An undercounted illegal immigrant population and California's slowed growth rate could result in the state losing billions of dollars in federal funding. Currently, there are over 70 federal programs directly tied to population count. Those programs generated an estimated $76 billion for state coffers in the 2015 fiscal year, according to the Public Policy Institute of California.

It's about the Benjamins. It's always about the Benjamins.

SENATORS URGE THE FEDERAL COMMUNICATION COMMISSION to investigate the Sinclair Broadcast Group for ‘news distortion’ not carrying liberal bathwater like the rest of the mainstream media.

The authors of the letter requesting an investigation include:

Maria Cantwell (D-WA)
Patty Murray (D-WA)
Elizabeth Warren (D-MA)
Edward J. Markey (D-MA)
Jeffrey A. Merkley(D-OR)
Ron Wyden (D-OR)
Richard Blumenthal (D-CT)
Tina Smith (D-MN)
Bernard Sanders (I-VT)
Tammy Baldwin (D-WI)
Cory A. Booker (D-NJ)
Tom Udall (D-NM)

The 'D' stands for 'dumb'....

MISSION IMPOSSIBLE: “Achieving disagreement” inside the college bubble.

I'VE ALWAYS WONDERED where the environmental activists got their astroturf money.

JAMES COMEY: a legend in his own mind.

But not at the FBI.

Good lord, what a self-serving self-centered jackass. True to form he thinks he’s the smartest guy around.

Heh.

KEEP IT UP, JERRY: Governor Brown moves to hike California’s gas taxes. You'll turn California red yet.

REPUBLICANS, GET IT TOGETHER. Defy our expectations. Get smart and fight.

BLUE ON BLUE: The way to bet is 'both' 'all'. The Obama/Hillary Left are tripping over each other trying to get out of the way of the runaway bus.

BROWARD SCHOOL VIOLENCE: Cruz’s massacre is far from the full story.

The comments are instructive. Especially this one: [this school shooting was brought to you by] "two guys who never attended public school except for a photo-op."

HER 'LITTLE PINK HOUSE' WAS HER CASTLE — until the government said it wasn't. I was in New London a few years back and stopped by the now abandoned - and razed - property. I doubt very much it adds anything to New London's tax base.

More from Instapundit.

CALIFORNIA'S CRAZY ONE-PARTY LIBERAL POLITICS is why I finally had to leave the state.

NOT WIND AND SOLAR: Which energy sources are actually sustainable?

Wind and solar energy are basically an expensive joke.

THIS COMES AS NO SURPRISE: The demands of Antifa and the original fascists have a lot in common.

As usual with the progressive Left, they are what they claim to be against.

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE: here comes the connected cow.

It would be interesting to apply to politicians, but I don't think they're as smart as cattle.

CORRUPT DEMOCRAT SENATOR FRESH OFF BRIBERY MISTRIAL thinks Mike Pompeo might lack the integrity to serve as Secretary of State.

WHICH GENDER DIFFERENCES are “disparities” that must be addressed? And who should address them?

AMERICAN CANCER SOCIETY: Uh, no, California's coffee is safe to drink. Prior posts on California's coffee cancer crusade are here and here.

It's the entire state of California that is high-risk to human life.

AS IF IT DOESN'T HAVE ENOUGH PROBLEMS: Los Angeles is painting the city streets white in bid to combat climate change.

WHEW! London police successfully get 'assault pliers' off the street.

Just in time....

TEMPLE UNIVERSITY FACULTY are trying to erase the gender binary system.

I agree: there are two sexes, male and female,and three genders, he, she, and it (with 'personal pronouns' to match).

JEFF JACOBY: The citizenship question isn't the only one the Census should scrap.

I disagree on the citizenship question. The sole original purpose of the census is to allocate seats in the House of Representatives; only citizens (and perhaps legal immigrants who have entered the naturalization process) should be counted. Illegals are burdens for the states to reckon with.

On the other points, I agree. Government, mind your own damn business. Whether or not I have the latest ecologically sound toilets is not your concern.

‘KIDS’ DEMANDING MORE GOVERNMENT suddenly not so happy with more government. 'Assault backpacks' have now been banned at Marjorie Stoneman-Douglas high school.

Be careful about what you demand ... you may get it.

ON RETIREMENT: Most people are ill-suited for endless leisure.

I'd prefer to be a 'failed retiree' but it's a bit too late for me.

ANOTHER NAIL IN THE HIGHER EDUCATION COFFIN: Students forced to confess their white privilege.

More here.

POOR CALIFORNIA -- Democrats are turning the state into a major nightmare.

The Golden State has always been cheap brass - it's just that the tarnish is now showing.

IT'S A PROBLEM WHEN TRUMP REFUSES TO COOPERATE: Nancy Pelosi claims Robert Mueller was fired in bizarre fundraising email.

She's completely lost it and living in her own universe....

DEPAUW UNIVERSITY PROFESSOR JEFFREY MCCALL: CNN lost its way.

It's been going on for years before Trump became president, which is why I gave up watching CNN long ago.

LEAKED FACEBOOK 'UGLY TRUTH' MEMO about the social network’s growth sparks controversy.

“We connect people. Period. That’s why all the work we do in growth is justified. All the questionable contact importing practices. All the subtle language that helps people stay searchable by friends. All of the work we do to bring more communication in. The work we will likely have to do in China some day. All of it,” Bosworth wrote in the memo, according to Buzzfeed.

“So we connect more people,” he wrote elsewhere in the note. “That can be bad if they make it negative. Maybe it costs someone a life by exposing someone to bullies.

“Maybe someone dies in a terrorist attack coordinated on our tools,” Bosworth added. “The ugly truth is that we believe in connecting people so deeply that anything that allows us to connect more people more often is *de facto* good."

If you use Facebook, you're not a customer; you'e a product. And there's no warranty to protect you from the consequences.

VICTOR DAVIS HANSON: Mueller at the crossroads.

Of the four options Hanson posits, count on option 3. Option 4 has a likelihood approaching zero (from below).

DAVID HOGG'S 15 MINUTES OF FAME are over.

Finally.

ANTI-TRUMP MEDIA MELTS DOWN because VA Secretary-designate Dr. Ronny Jackson gave President Trump a clean bill of health in annual physical exam.

Yes, how can he be entrusted to run veterans hospitals if he can't find something wrong with President Trump?

POWERLINE'S WEEK IN PICTURES: My favorite this week: the original smart phone.

Now go and see the rest.

UNIVERSAL VOTER REGISTRATION is a lousy idea. Voting is a right of citizenship, not an obligation, and should be reserved for those who take those civil responsibilities seriously.

And that includes going a wee bit out of the way to register to vote....

UPDATE:

Do you really want these people voting?

IF YOU ARE INTERESTED in a 'behind-the-scenes' - but unclassified - view of Saturday's Syrian attack, here's your link.

CENSUS 2020: Ending California's raid on congressional seats.

YES, PLEASE: Make the Democrats pay for stalling Trump's nominees.

HEH: KATIE PAVLICH wrecks Dianne Feinstein's sanctimonious gun needs lecture with a single tweet. And yes, Dianne, there are coyotes in San Francisco.

MICHELLE MALKIN: the snitches in your kids' dental office.

Personally I think a lawsuit is warranted.

OH, THE HORROR! Chick-fil-A infiltrating Manhattan with 'pervasive Christian traditionalism'. Doug Powers (The Powers That Be) snarks: New Yorker writer living in fear as Big Apple is invaded by Christian chicken sandwiches.

THOU SHALT NOT HIT A BIRD WITH A GOLF BALL: Golfer hits bird in flight with tee shot; causes him to miss cut by one stroke.

Heh.

NO WONDER I'M GETTING FATTER:

I've been drinking regular water!

THE WAYBACK MACHINE: After 8 years of 'Hope & Change', nothing's changed.

MICHAEL RAMIREZ on the Russia 'collusion' investigation:

You can't get any better than this....

#BOYCOTTSTARBUCKS trends on Twitter after video shows arrest of two black men at Philadelphia location.

If the progressive Left were truly serious (which they aren't, and can never be), then Starbucks would be bankrupt in a week.

UPDATE: An extra shot of karma.

TEACHING MATH from 1950 through 2010:

IN 1950: A logger sells a truckload of lumber for $100. His cost of production is 4/5 of the price. What is his profit?

IN 1960: A logger sells a truckload of lumber for $100. His cost of production is 4/5 of the price, or $80. What is his profit?

IN 1970: A logger sells a truckload of lumber for $100 His cost of production is $80. Did he make a profit?

IN 1980: A logger sells a truckload of lumber for $100. His cost of production is $80 and his profit is $20. Your assignment: underline the number 20.

IN 1990: A logger cuts down a beautiful forest because he is selfish and inconsiderate and cares nothing for the habitat of animals or the preservation of our woodlands. He does this so he can make a profit of $20. What do you think of this way of making a living? Topic for class participation after answering the question: How did the birds and squirrels feel as the logger cut down their homes? (There are no wrong answers, and if you feel like crying, it's ok.)

IN 2000: Same question as in 1990 but if you have special needs or just feel you need assistance because of race, color, religion, sex, age, childhood memories, criminal background, then don't answer and the correct answer will be provided for you.

IN 2010: Un hachero vende una carrtada de madera para 100 pesos. El costo dela producciones es 80 pesos. Cuanto dinero ha hecho?

From my email (and not far off the truth).

IF YOU LIKE COMMON-SENSE GUN CONTROL, you'll love common-sense vegan control.

It's Ammo Grrrll....

FOX'S 'THE FIVE': Joy Behar is "preaching to a very stupid choir".

It's her base....

SEN. CORY BOOKER (D-NJ):

He is a pompous bully, a transparent phony, a tool and a fool of political correctness and identity politics squared. He is constitutionally incapable of faking sincerity on any matter he touches. He is a prosecutor in search of thoughtcrime.

In other words, a perfect Democrat presidential candidate....

IN CALIFORNIA, has backlash against liberal craziness finally begun?

California has always been the tip of the spear. Often the genesis of art, influence, ideas, style and entertainment, we also take the lead in ways that are less admirable with high state tax, high gas tax, high costs of living and housing, an out of control homeless problem in our urban areas, declining test scores in schools, increasingly inaccessible and cost-prohibitive health care, and many of our major cities often appear on lists of the least-livable cities in the U.S.

Yes, a backlash is beginning, but the real question is "Can it succeed?"

AT LEAST SHE WAS GOOD AT SOMETHING: Hillary was the best qualified loser in history.

IF WE CAN UNINSTALL FACEBOOK, why can't we uninstall Congress?

MICROSOFT JOINS THE CENSORS: They're fools if they believe anyone's going to pay attention to that twaddle. Of course, I'll be happy to follow the rules ... if I, and I alone, define 'inappropriate content;, 'offensive language', 'false', 'misleading', and 'harmful'. And they may not like my definitions....

I can play censor, too.

THE LEFT fails to take down Laura Ingraham. I'm pleased to announce that of the 15 companies that pulled ads from the Ingraham Angle, I've only patronized one. I will correct that error.

BTW, Arby's sells 'curly fries' with their meats. Try them; they're delicious.

IS THERE ANYTHING GLOBAL WARMING CAN'T DO? Frozen septic systems are emerging as an unexpected consequence of climate change in Minnesota.

TRUMP IS NOW more popular than Obama?

Why, yes. Yes he is.

FOOTIE PAJAMAS: Why millennial women want to date older men.

TOO BAD IT'S APRIL FOOL'S DAY: Elon Musk offers to buy and then delete Facebook.

HE HAD MARBLES? Sean Penn loses his marbles.

THIS SWORD HAS TWO EDGES: Environmental group has sued others, therefore it can be sued.

Punching back twice as hard....