A VERY SMART MAN. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis sends a message in aftermath of hurricane Ian: 'We're a Second Amendment state'.

THE DIPLOMAD speculates about the Nordstream gas 'leaks'.

The Lawdog Files explains the technology of natural gas pipelines (linked from Instapundit).

ALEXANDRIA OCCASIONAL CORTEX OCASIO-CORTEZ: Abortion is an economic issue because giving birth forces parents to work against their will.

Hmm. Since most children are still being born within the 'confines' of a stable marriage, it would seem logical to assume (1) they are wanted and (2) willing (even eager) to work to provide for them. Unlike Ms. Ocasio-Cortez who seems willing to 'work' for her Tesla and to take her boy toy to Miami for a mask-free vacation during the COVID pandemic panic in locked-down New York city.

To call this woman bat-shit crazy is being far too kind.

OH, COME ON. 'OBJECTIVE TRUTH' IS WHATEVER DEMOCRATS SAY IT IS: Cornell professor warns universities are eliminating meaning of 'objective truth' from classrooms with critical race theory.

“FEMINIST CRITICISM” IS GENERALLY STUPID AND DISHONEST: Maybe that's because feminists are stupid and dishonest.

FLORIDA GOV. RON DESANTIS IS TRYING OUT HIS PRESIDENTIAL PITCH and it's a good one.

I admit that I am biased. I think Ron DeSantis is the smartest and most compelling Republican politician since Ronald Reagan. This is not a slam on former president Trump. Love him or hate him, Trump took a moribund Republican Party and created an entirely new political coalition that will endure long after he exits the stage. Trump deserves credit for a Republican rebirth and for exposing the fundamental corruption of our political and cultural ruling class.

Trump may have left office in 2021 battered, bloodied and politically wounded, but he did so having taken political ground that no Republican would ever have imagined we would occupy.

But in my opinion DeSantis is in a class by himself because he can build on Trump’s accomplishments, expand them, and solidify the new political coalition into something enduring.

Read it all.

A GLOBAL AWAKENING? Italia in the news.

HERE WE GO (AGAIN): Woke professor says climate change causes hate speech.

Given that Ian struck Florida first, he should have claimed that hate speech causes climate change (i.e., hurricanes)....

THIS IS MEDICINE? Planned Parenthood doctor tells Congress men can get pregnant.

Seriously.

YEAH, BUT IT'S NOT WHAT HE THINKS: Mayor Eric Adams says 'New York has a brand' that 'means something' to people.

YOKEL WOKEISM: Personnel is policy, especially at the university level, so stakeholders of an institution must learn to recognize the warning signs of wokeness.

And be prepared to fight back.

SO VOTE AGIN 'EM: A morass of morons.

STEPHEN HUNTER ON GUN CONTROL: Remember the great massacre spree of 1964?

MALLARD FILLMORE: They're gonna go hungry.

TRUE THAT: If the 'my 401K' trend is any indication Democrats are in seriously deep crap come November.

COVID-19 DROVE PARENTS TO HOME-SCHOOL THEIR KIDS and classroom politicization is keeping them there.

Or in private schools, as are our grandchildren.

KURT SCHLICHTER: Of course Gov. Ron DeSantis will run in 2024.

My ideal would be for DeSantis to run for President while Trump concentrated on giving him a unified (conservative) Republican Congress to work with.

NBC'S TODAY MORNING SHOW: Babies’ behavior begins before birth.

Take that, pro-choice lunatics....

CAN SHAREHOLDERS CHALLENGE CORPORATE DISCRIMINATION? A conservative nonprofit is about to find out.

I hope they win. And I hope the courts will find the corporate officers personally liable.

SEN. MARCO RUBIO [R-FL] questions the mainstream media. Specifically with respect to abortion:

This highlights two major problems we have in this country. First, reporters believe no one is allowed to ask them questions. They take offense at the idea that you, me, or anyone else should dare to question the sanctity of their reporting. That arrogant, dismissive attitude is exactly why there is a crisis of confidence in our nation’s news outlets. They truly think they are better than everyone else.

Second, Democrats get away with murder, literally. They are never pushed to answer specific questions about where they stand on the taking of human life. The truth is that every single Democrat supports taxpayer-funded abortion without any restrictions up until the moment a child is born. That is the truth, but Democrats never have to explain their radical position, because the press is all too willing to cover for them.

The national Democrat media has zero -- if that high -- credibility with many, if not most, Americans on any topic of national interest.

POWERLINE'S DAILY CHART: Public schools are no longer teaching, they're grooming.

INSTEAD OF 'WOKE AND AFRAID' IT SHOULD BE 'BROKE AND AFRAID': The third quarter estimated tax filing deadline was last week.

HOW EMBARRASSING: Joy Behar [co-host of The View] forgot the obvious choice for the 2024 Democrat presidential candidate.

Given that white 'Karens' probably still outnumber black women, I have to give Gov. Hair Gel a fighting chance.

Clearly, though, Democrats are probing the bottom of the cesspit.

AND SO AM I: The stock market is now worse off than when President Biden took office.

For me, it took Biden nine months to kill the Trump growth I had been experiencing, another five months to completely reverse those gains, and it's been steadily downhill ever since.

NOT A CHANCE, BUT A PLEASANT THOUGHT: New York crime victims denied concealed-carry permits should demand apologies, reparations.

AMMO GRRRLL assesses the ick factor.

ON ENERGY the Washington Post climbs the learning curve. But don't worry; they'll fall off.

The comments are delicious.

PUNCHING BACK HARDER: Florida warns credit card companies that it will bring down the hammer if they track firearm sales.

I hope DeSantis succeeds; nevertheless my future purchases will all be in cash....

POWERLINE'S DAILY CHART: an argument for term limits.

It might work if those being term-limited included the congresscritter's entire staff as well (think Joe Biden).

MARTHA'S VINEYARD: The hypocrisy of the Left knows no bounds.

It's Victor Davis Hanson; read it all.

ABOUT THOSE ELECTRIC VEHICLES: Will they have ejection seats?

AND NOW GET READY FOR ... feline Marxism.

Two comments: (1) click on the 'overproduction of (useless) elites' link to see the state of America today and (2) read the comments; they're hilarious (especially this one).

THESE PEOPLE ARE TRULY CRAZY. Diesel-powered trucks are now racist.

Or brain dead. Or both, if that's possible.

THE LEFT is a death cult.

On the bright side, when they die out there will be more for the rest of us.

THE DAILY CHART: Open borders.

GET WOKE, lose wars.

I found Glenn Reynolds' update amusing, since people who fly F-15's for a living don't typically come from Manhattan -- or Marthas Vineyard, or San Francisco, or Portland, or Chicago.

A POLITICAL MYSTERY: Why do Democrats insist on little children being indoctrinated in transgender ideology?

No answers are provided, so read the comments for the thoughts of the readers.

AMERICAN GREATNESS: The numbers, please.

What percentage of the country is black? The average answer was 41 percent. The actual number is 12 percent. Of course, if you watch television commercials, you would think it’s closer to 90 percent.

What percentage of marriages are mixed race? Average answer: 50 percent. The actual number is 1 percent. If you watch television commercials, you would think it is more like 99 percent.

What percentage is “Latinx”? Average answer: 39 percent. The actual number is 16 percent. Also, most Latinos hate the term “Latinx.”

How many families make over $500,000 a year? Average answer: 26 percent. The actual number is just one percent. We somehow think a quarter of the country is rich.

What percentage of Americans are vegetarians? Average answer: 30 percent. The actual number is a paltry five percent.

What percent of Americans live in New York City? Average answer: an astounding 30 percent. The actual number is just three percent.

What percentage of Americans are transgender? The answer given was 22 percent. The actual number is not even one percent.

What percentage of your fellow citizens are gay? The answer give was 30 percent. The actual number is just three percent.

So, why do people have such bogus and inaccurate estimates? Read the rest of the article.

BEXAR COUNTY (SAN ANTONIO TX) SHERIFF is looking into whether the illegal aliens who were flown [from Florida by Gov. Ron DeSantis] to Martha’s Vineyard were “lured” under false pretenses.

The absurdity of the move can’t be understated. I’m not sure there are even any local laws that would cover “luring” people who ultimately signed a release and voluntarily got on an airplane.

DeSantis responded.

ABOUT TIME SOMEONE ELSE NOTICED. Self-checkout systems were developed to lower labor costs by offloading work from employees to customers.

I guess it takes time for the obvious to sink in to the cluelessness of the customers.

What does surprise me (a little) is that the comments about self-checkout systems are mostly favorable. I use self-checkout, but only for a few items and only if there's nothing that requires weighing or looking up. I much prefer a manned (personed?) line for the human interaction with the checker and others waiting in line.

The reactions I see indicate that there are more than a few people who prefer talking to other people rather than robots.

JUST NOT THOSE EDUCATORS: Bay area teachers say California does not value educators.

It doesn't pay? That's utter nonsense; for the four years we endured southern California my wife was quite highly paid as an elementary school teacher.

But she was an educator, not a groomer....

RANDOM THOUGHT: Fools weathermen rush in where angels fear to tread.

After seeing some Weather Channel talking head idiot standing in the middle of the road in 80 mph winds telling me how unsafe it would to be to even think about venturing outside, I would not be deeply saddened to see him blown down the road and into the sea.

BUFFOONS IN THE NEWS:

From this Fox News story.

TRUTH: the ficuciary duty of universities.

Not social justice....

RED STATE [VIP]: Your triggers aren't my problem. Or as I would put it, "You mistake me for someone who gives a shit."

WHAT? SOLAR PANELS DON'T WORK IN THE DARK? California is learning that solar doesn't work without battery storage.

DON'T TELL DR. FAUCI: COVID is over.

FALLING LEAVES 2022, week 2.

We start with the usual pond view from the back deck.

While most of the trees are still green at least two are now mostly leafless. Looking back, these two seem to be the ones that took the most damage from last spring's late freeze.

Also the two bellwether trees on the opposite side of the house are now mostly leafless after turning deep red last week. Their cousins towering above them are also losing leaves rapidly.

The house and yard are still showing mostly green, though the brown in the center of the picture are the two damaged trees shown in the pond view above.

On the bright side, we're beginning to have a lawn. The area along the fire pit walkway has finally been seeded. The area around the fire pit is next after it's sloped to move rainwater away from the fire pit surround.

The trees on the south side of the house are definitely turning and leaves are beginning to pile up on the driveway. It's almost leaf blower time.

And finally the 'tunnel' that is our road out of the subdivision is now opening up.

I'm surprised at how fast Fall is falling this year. In the last two weeks the average daily temperature has dropped at least 10 degrees and we've had very little rain.

Until next week then.

KURT SCHLICHTER: Rebels without a rebellion.

There is no group in human history more deserving of a middle finger than our garbage ruling elite. Arrogant, stupid, corrupt, inept, and yet possessed of such awesome self-regard that is actually astonishing. How can people so devoid of any actual accomplishments be so firmly convinced of their own moral and mental superiority?

They went to University....

FINALLY! The GOP is learning how to fight.

IN DEFENSE OF CHAIN RESTAURANTS: A Twitter fight that matters!

AMMO GRRRLL writes on 'dating' -- and a few other thoughts.

AND NOW, last week's edition of PowerLine's Week in Pictures. Here are my two favorites this week:

Environmentalists take heart....

Only in California...

Now go see them all.

WHERE ARE THE WHITE SUPREMACISTS WHEN YOU REALLY, REALLY NEED THEM? Biden reportedly pressuring FBI to 'cook up' white supremacy cases.

THE WORLD WANTS NO PART OF 'WOKE' ... but it's glad we do.

NIKKI HALEY: I won’t stand for liberal intimidation from NY Attorney General Letitia James or her office.

James’ office is targeting Stand for America, which I founded to shine a light on failed liberal policies and promote strong conservative solutions. We’ve criticized New York state for the simple reason that it’s a basket case of crime, wokeness and half-baked radical ideas. Now the media have New York’s copy of our tax return, bearing the AG office’s official stamp. The return has our supporters’ names and personal information.

Federal and state law require that New York keep this information confidential. But it’s out in the open for all to see. Isn’t that convenient? The message is unmistakable: Criticize New York’s disastrous policies, and we’ll keep coming after you. In other words, shut up.

Liberals don't know who they’re messing with. And when Republicans take back the White House and Congress, they'll find out.

THE WAR IN UKRAINE: Ending with a whimper or a bang?

At the moment 'bang' seems more likely. Unless the U.S. gets out of the way and lets Russia and Ukraine settle it on their own terms.

NO. NUKE IT FROM ORBIT. Drain the academic swamp.

THERE'S DIVERSITY, and then there's 'diversity'.

You figure out which is which.

NEW YORK'S CONCEALED-CARRY SOCIAL MEDIA BACKGROUND CHECKS are meant to weed out political views that disagree with those in power.

JUST WHEN YOU THINK THEY'VE REACHED PEAK CRAZY: Are there transgender mice?

I'M A DEMOCRAT; I'M ENTITLED TO LEAD YOU. No elections needed.

VIDEO: Student calls cops on Prager U.

Be prepared to laugh.

BIDEN'S ECONOMIC VICTORY LAP is 58 pages of malarkey.

If you have masochistic tendencies, here is the entire report.

REVOLUTIONARY DRINKING: A day-long experiment in colonial boozing.

MARTHA'S VINEYARD 'rallies relief effort' for migrants by shipping them to Cape Cod military base. At taxpayer expense, in case you haven't guessed.

No vacation homeowners, apparently, stepped up to offer shelter to illegal immigrants from America's southern border.

Zero. None. Tells you all you need to know....

I'M A WEE BIT (WELL, A LOT) LATE with the God Save the Queen edition of PowerLine's Week in Pictures. My favorites, though, have nothing to do with the death of Queen Elizabeth II. Here they are:

and

There are many more good ones. Go see them.

IT WON'T BE LONG before satire becomes reality.

Congratulations to the Babylon Bee.

FACTS ARE SO ... INCONVENIENT: Congressional squad members AOC and Tlaib 'debunk' facts with nasty threats.

STEVEN F. HAYWARD ON THE PIPELINE: California's electric boogaloo to Nowheresville.

Yeah, and it's a great deal for electric vehicle manufacturers. You have to buy the car and the manufacturers don't have maintain it since it'll never leave the driveway.

STUDENT LOAN FORGIVENESS is [progressive] class warfare.

JUST BECAUSE WE'RE A SANCTUARY CITY doesn't mean we want illegal aliens running around. D.C. City Council member delivers hilarious take on 'emergency' from busing illegal aliens.

NEW MEXICO IS BROKEN: Democrat Judge teams up with leftwing nutters to boot a Republican county official from office as an 'insurrectionist'.

I saw it coming when I left permanently nearly 40 years ago even though I loved living in the high desert.

IN NAME ONLY: Is Joe Biden still President?

U-HAUL? You’ll never guess who Gavin Newsom blames for the droves of people fleeing California.

Nope. Trump (of course).

THE PRIMARY PURPOSE OF WOKE LIBERALISM IS TO FEEL GOOD ABOUT YOURSELF, and the residents of Martha’s Vineyard certainly rose to the challenge of providing proof.

FALLING LEAVES 2022, week 1. It begins.

Let's start with the usual view of the pond from the deck. From there it still looks pretty 'summery' -- no obvious leaf loss and no color changes

But looking the other way (west) from the front of the house, my bellwether tree (lower left) from last week is redder than ever and already losing leaves. The hardwoods towering above are also losing leaves and those remaining are turning yellow already.

Back to the view from the deck. Looking roughly north toward the fire pit is another view of summer. We're seeing more leaves on the ground, but for the most part the trees are still green and full.

To the south, however, the guard is changing. Here's a view looking south. Mostly green still, but the leaves are changing.

A landscape view, again looking north, showing that our new lawn is beginning to take shape. Hopefully the grass will continue to thicken even with the cold weather approaching.

And finally, a view from the pond taken from the dock. The leaves are still full but beginning to show clear signs of yellowing. Leaf fall should begin soon

Until next week. In the meantime here is week one from 2020 and 2021.

CORRECTION: Public education is a man-made progressive-made disaster.

There. Fixed.

SARAH HOYT: the dividing line.

I think she might be right.

SENATE MAJORITY LEADER DICK Durbin [D-IL] says emigrant bus arrivals in Chicago are 'cruel and inhumane'.

Oh, absolutely. Those deplorables must stay in Texas (and Arizona and Florida) where they rightfully belong.

KURT SCHLICHTER: Labels like 'conservative' are just a means to control you.

Sorry, but I'm not planning on being controlled.

AMMO GRRRLL: It's not my world any more.

POWERLINE: Impeach Biden?

I'm vindictive enough to want to punish Democrats with their own whip, but ... Kamala Harris.

PROOF THAT NEW YORK IS A BLUE STATE: Majority of New Yorkers back Biden's student-loan forgiveness plan.

Given New York taxes, I suspect they're also in debt up to their eyebrows.

IT'S ONLY A RECESSION when Republicans are in charge.

THE ROADS ARE RACIST: Who would have suspected that the weekend road trip with friends is almost the modern equivalent of a Klan rally?

Next we'll find the roads are fascist as well....

YOU HAVE TO BE KIDDING: Climate change overwhelming California power grid.

Nope; they're serious.

QUOTE OF THE DAY: “Biden’s speech had it all backwards.”

VICTOR DAVIS HANSON: How old bad ideas become wonderful again.

There is no end of history. Instead, civilization is a constant fight to embrace what has worked for the common good through the ages—and to reject what in the past has failed abysmally.

Bad and bankrupt ideas, protocols, and ideologies—like McCarthyism, communism, various cults, or fascism—resurface not because of their intrinsic or lasting value or record of success, but because civilizations become less vigilant and allow human vanities, ignorance, arrogance, and evil to reassert themselves.

Tail Gunner Joe [Biden] is back. Read it all.

STUDY SUGGESTS posting on social media makes users overconfident.

I'd be interested in the online behavior of the authors....

GET WOKE GO BROKE – big rig edition.

Linked from Instapundit here.

YES, WE LOVE OUR TROOPS: Pentagon tells struggling Army soldiers and their families to apply for food stamps.

I wish this were a new thing, but I remember it happening way back during the Viet Nam war...

REST IN PEACE, liberal arts.

I'm hopeful there will be a resurrection, but it won't be from within the academy.

I WAS TOLD CHICAGO WAS A SANCTUARY CITY: Illinois mayor fires back after migrants were secretly bussed to his town.

A PRELUDE TO WINTER: I'll be starting my annual 'Falling Leaves' series of pictures from around the house, pond, and neighborhood on Sundays starting September 18th. Here's a prelude of what's sure to come:

Two weeks ago it was green.

The last week or two has been significantly cooler -- nighttime temperatures now in the 50's and daytime averages have dropped to the low 80's -- and leaves are beginning to fall. Not significantly yet, but the leaf blower is getting ready now that we have (well, sort of) a lawn.

WHY LIBERALS BELIEVE IN 'SCIENCE': Science doesn't support their fantasies.

More here.

RED STATE: Stop falling for the term 'safety'.

I’m beyond sick and tired of the term “safety.” The left has inadvertently conditioned me to hear the word and immediately associate it with manipulation and attempts at control through fear.

It's not inadvertent.

Leftist entities are consistently attempting to push some sort of freedom-reducing measure on the general populace in the name of “safety.” We always have something to fear according to them, and the only way to avoid a disaster of epic proportions is to give the left more power. It’s the only way to keep our country “safe.”

Think TSA. I've given up flying anywhere less than 300 miles away and pretty much given up on flying anywhere.

Think lockdowns due to the COVID pandemic. The economic costs must be in the trillions of dollars by now, and what our children have lost in education is probably irretrievable.

We also apparently need to be kept “safe” from misinformation.

Much, if not most of which was and is true. But not to worry, Twitter, Google, Facebook and corporate America is stepping up to the plate to 'protect' us....

Anyone claiming to suppress you for your own safety isn’t doing it for your own safety. They’re doing it for their own benefit. We need to treat this word with a lot more suspicion than we do.

Keep in mind, it's about control; it's always about control.

I'd recommend reading the whole thing but it's behind a paywall. Here's what you may be missing.

DEMOCRATS and the 'F-bomb'.

It's a different 'F' than you might expect....

SOME FINAL THOUGHTS ABOUT QUEEN ELIZABETH II:

The World War II auto mechanic in this photo is Queen Elizabeth II.

A young female auto mechanic in military uniform in England in 1945 would not have been a rare sight, nor would a photograph of one such woman giving a demonstration to a visiting dignitary. This particular photo, however, is unusual because of what her job was when she wasn’t serving in the Auxiliary Territorial Service (ATS), a women’s army auxiliary branch.

The visiting dignitary is Queen Elizabeth — now known as the Queen Mother — and the young ATS subaltern is her daughter, the future Queen Elizabeth II.

THE AMERICAN SPECTATOR: Night falls on Camelot.

AN AMERICAN REMEMBRANCE of the Queen. (It's a pity that the related stories are behind The Spectator World paywall.)

GET YOUR FENTANYL HERE. Biden administration is placing vending machines filled with drug supplies in rural Kentucky.

No charge....

BREAKING: Queen Elizabeth II dead at age 96.

JUST DESSERTS: Rats found in daycare center used by families of House members.

A few [Republican] cats should take care of the problem....

KURT SCHLICHTER: Bet on the AR-15s.

Which explains why the Left is so vested in gun control....

THIS COULD GET INTERESTING: Florida prepares to hold the IRS accountable.

PHYSICS PROFESSOR TELLS HIS CLASS: Refusing to wear a face mask is a ‘manifestation of ableism and racism.’

The university should tell him to stay in his lane -- he's teaching physics, not social justice. But it won't....

IF THIS DOESN'T ENCOURAGE YOU TO VOTE REPUBLICAN, nothing will.

The video is here, though you may have to click through the Twitter warning to view it.

MANDATES FOR THEE BUT NOT FOR ME. Double standards are now the norm in academia.

IF YOU DISAGREE WITH US, WE MUST HATE YOU: Keisha Lance Bottoms responds to MAGA Republicans.

GREEN PARTIES IN EUROPE face sobering reality that they need fossil fuels after all.

They should be relabeled as 'Brown parties' (as in dead) but that color is already taken.

CHOICES, CHOICES:

Democrats: If you want a civil war, vote Republican.
Republicans: If you want to die of starvation in the dark, vote Democrat.

The thought is from here.

SARAH HOYT has fun with the farce that is the Biden administration.

She has a way with words -- enjoy.

EXACTLY: Biden’s soulless screed a smokescreen for what really ails the nation.

AND THE AMERICAN PEOPLE LIVED HAPPILY EVER AFTER: POTUS' green energy hocus pocus saves the Earth.

Where is that magic wand when you really need it?

DORK BRANDON re-emerges.

YOU CAN THANK DEMOCRATS: The myth of American income inequality.

FIGHTING BACK against ESG (environmental, social and governance) criteria in investing.

INFOGRAPHIC: "American Unity", a speech by Joe Biden.

WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY says Biden created “10 Thousand Million Jobs!”

No wonder there are so many job openings: 10 thousand million is 10 billion and the population of the entirety of Earth is roughly only 7 billion.

Yes, I'm a conservative and I can do math....

THESE ARE DARK DAYS: Biden goes full Mugabe.

Read it all.

IDIOTS? You go to war with the people you have.

If the Biden administration continues to insist, it will not go well for them.

POWERLINE: So who’s racist and xenophobic? "If their policies weren’t threatening to destroy our civilization, I would be tempted to keep liberals around just so we can laugh at them."

NOT WITHOUT A LONG AND BITTER FIGHT: Will I ever see the $36 million Oberlin College owes me?

In a just world Oberlin College would be bankrupted, razed to the ground and the earth above salted. (Or better yet, taken over by Hillsdale College.)

IMPRIMIS: We must lay siege to our institutions.

The leftist dream of a working-class rebellion in America fizzled after the ’60s. By the mid-1970s, radical groups like the Black Liberation Army and the Weather Underground had faded from prominence. But the leftist dreamers didn’t give up. Abandoning hope of a Russian-style revolution, they settled on a more sophisticated strategy—waging a revolution not of the proletariat, but of the elites, and specifically of the knowledge elites. It would proceed not by taking over the means of production, but by taking control of education and culture—a strategy that German Marxist Rudi Dutschke, a student activist in the 1960s, called “the long march through the institutions.”

This march through our institutions, begun a half-century ago, has now proved largely successful. Over the past two years, I’ve looked at the federal bureaucracy, the universities, K-12 schools, and big corporations. And what I’ve found is that the revolutionary ideas of the ’60s have been repackaged, repurposed, and injected into American life at the institutional level.

And we must fight back. Read the whole article.

RANDOM THOUGHT: a tale of two definitions.

Apparently, 'fascism' as defined in the first link above is limited to the Right side of the political spectrum as defined by the second link.

So the Left cannot possibly be fascists...

A STORY OF BETRAYAL: Former Minneapolis police officer speaks out. It's a discouraging story of wokeness run amok.

I am curious about one thing. Apparently the Minneapolis newspaper sent out a dozen reporters/photographers to document a Minneapolis summer night: so how many security personnel accompanied them?

THE TRUTH ABOUT GUNS: California won't quit trying to eviscerate the Second Amendment.

A CASE STUDY in Leftist ideology which goes to show that common sense still isn't common in our gentry class know-it-alls.

REASONS TO NEVER VOTE DEMOCRAT AGAIN: COVID tyranny must be punished.

THIS IS WHAT HAPPENS when corporations go from 'shareholders' to 'stakeholders'. Lawsuit alleges American Express discriminated against white employees,

UNSURPRISING IN TODAY'S SOCIETY: Bland Farms sells organic onions.

Seen in a local grocery store. I know it's just a name, but 'bland' and 'onions' in the same sentence is still a bit jarring.

WHAT BULLSHIT: All this talk of the appointment of a special master is a "red herring."

Read it if you wish, but recognize it's an op-ed in defense of misuse of the law.

TAKE THE OFFER, GOV. ABBOTT: Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot says she'd be 'happy to drain Texas' of all its [illegal] residents.

Gov. Doug Ducey [R-AZ], take note.

SO ONLY WITCH DOCTORS AND QUACKS NEED APPLY. California Senate passes bill that would punish doctors for COVID ‘misinformation’.

The First Amendment obviously doesn't apply to the free state of California.

PROOF: Democrats can't be fascists.

Heh.

THIS IS A MAN OF CHARACTER: Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis skips pricey fundraiser to attend a memorial service for a fallen member of his security detail.

PENNSYLVANIA GOV. TOM WOLF [D - (natch)] calls for $2,000 payments to help families ‘survive inflation’.

Did it occur to him to cut Pennsylvania taxes? Of course not. The Democrats only care about wealth transfer; not wealth creation.

"I AM THE POLICE." Not according to them....

KURT SCHLICHTER: Republicans desperately need an agenda.

It's here.

WITH LUCK IT WON'T LAST: How Raphael Warnock doubled his income since joining the Senate.

COLOR ME UNSURPRISED: The Feds go too far.

THEY WANT HER DEAD: Marjorie Taylor Greene Swatted for Second Night in a Row [update: now third night].

In response to the 'larger question' the answer is a resounding "No!".

NOT YOURS TO GIVE: Tennessee's Davy Crockett explains what's wrong with Biden's student loan giveaway.

PowerLine comments:

These days, many in government believe that all of our money is theirs to give, and we retain a portion of it only at their sufferance. And the idea that there are limits on the proper functions of government seems nearly extinct. Every time I hear a politician say that he is “fighting” to make my life better, I see another nail being driven into the coffin of the republic. Making my life better is my business, not the government’s.

Agreed, and what I want is for the government to "get out of the effing way!"

I HAVE NO PROBLEM WITH HER WORKING AT STARBUCKS: The plight of the progressive teacher.

Since I never go there. And she might learn something too.

ELITES’ DIVIDE & CONQUER FAILURE: How the middle class now view their rulers with rightly earned disdain.

Disdain is too polite; 'disgust' is much more suitable even though it's still not strong enough.

It's Victor Davis Hanson, so be sure to read it all.

MICHAEL RAMIREZ on the student loan debacle.

I want my money back. With interest.

HE SHOULD HAVE JUST COME ACROSS THE SOUTHERN BORDER. Novak Djokovic misses US Open over vaccine travel restrictions.

VANISHING HUMANS: A new problem for planet Earth.

On the bright side, "The future belongs to the people who show up, as they say. It seems doubtful that will be the greenies."

NO, IT WON'T: Trump derangement won’t end with Trump.

Trump just brought the progressives' derangement into the open. It won't end until the progressive movement is crushed, buried, and the earth salted above it.

I WAS WRONG ABOUT TRUMP: "We don't have to like his personality but his virtues far outweigh it. I humbly stand corrected."

A BLUEPRINT for a post-MAGA Republican party.

The Biden interregnum [which needs to be cut short -- Ed.] has been a demonstration project for all voters as to what occurs when unbound progressive fantasies are actually implemented. The early returns are in, and they’re not good.

Read their blueprint.

DOUBLING DOWN ON STUPID: Down with the Constitution.

Of course the authors are Harvard and Yale law school professors, which goes to show how badly the academy has been polluted by progressives.

IF ONLY:

Linked from here.

FROM A LOGO ON A T-SHIRT AD

[with] math the possibilities are infinite

I would add 'without math the possibilities are nil'.

PITY THEY DIDN'T BOTH LOSE. Rep. Jerry Nadler knocks off Carolyn Maloney in NY-12 battle of House Democrats.

CLEVER BILLBOARDS point out some of the Democrats radical excesses.

On the bright side, there are some Republicans who know how to aggressively and humorously defeat wokeism. We need more. Many more. Many, many more.

NEW JERSEY TEACHERS’ UNION AD smears parents as ‘extremists'. Connecticut, too.

The above 'cartoon' was posted to Twitter by Connecticut Senate Democrats in 2021.

WOKE RACISM: John McWhorter unmasks the Establishment Church of Wokeness.

Our [self-elected] Woke Elect need to be told to sit down, shut up, go home, and stay there.

BECAUSE THEY HAVE ROBOTS TO SERVE THEMSELVES. Greens want you to be cold, miserable, and few in number.

You can be their robot too....

SKEPTICAL? OR AFRAID? Pro-Trump primary wins in blue states leaves moderate Republicans skeptical of red wave.

They're afraid, because those pro-Trumpers are so very, very scary....

To themselves, not to 'We the People'. It seems 'moderate' Republicans are milquetoasts¹ who can't stand on their own two feet even with crutches and a cane. (And I'm not disparaging our disabled veterans; they can stand on two feet without crutches, canes -- or legs.)

Here's a random thought: Never let our leadership get so comfortable in office that they come to believe that they're indispensable. Hold them to account -- every hour of every day of their terms in office.

¹ Caspar Milquetoast is a comic strip character created in 1924 by cartoonist Harold T. Webster. Beginning a few years after the character's debut, the term milquetoast came to describe a timid or meek person. Caspar's last name is fitting because milk toast is a weak, bland concoction of buttered toast served in a dish of warm milk.

SHE WAS TOLD THERE'D BE NO MATH: Biden has created 'ten thousand million jobs' since he took office.

IMPRIMIS: A history lesson.

OR MAYBE SHE'S RUNNING TO BECOME BETO'S VICE PRESIDENT: Liz Cheney's quixotic presidential campaign.

RANDOM THOUGHT: Biden's cabinet secretaries appear to have been selected specifically for lack of relevant knowledge.

AMERICA'S NEWS OF RECORD: Mayor Adams mandates bike helmets to protect New Yorkers from getting sucker-punched.

I think it's satire....

SO NEXT TIME THE PLAN IS TO FAIL FASTER: The CDC finally admits it failed.

BACK OFF, OH MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE: Jordan Peterson takes a blowtorch to climate alarmists.

TRANS TOTALITARIANISM: a case study.

WHAT CLIMATE CRISIS? There is no climate emergency. Read the whole post by a group calling themselves Climate Intelligence, but this summary is worth noting:

Our advice to the European leaders is that science should strive for a significantly better understanding of the climate system, while politics should focus on minimizing potential climate damage by prioritizing adaptation strategies based on proven and affordable technologies.

Unfortunately common sense isn't common. Especially in our gentry class.

I'M VIRTUOUS, BUT NOT THAT VIRTUOUS: NYC councilwoman reportedly kills plan to house migrants in her district.

THIS IS SOMEHOW A SURPRISE? Employees’ remote work push has ‘gone way overboard’.