May 4, 2024

SAD NEWS FROM BILL WHITTLE: Dick Rutan has died.

Lt. Col. (Ret.) Richard Glenn Rutan flew west on Friday, May 3, 2024 at 7:08 PM PDT

The last time Dick Rutan flew towards the western horizon was on December 14, 1986 when he and copilot Jeana Yeager set the last great aviation record by flying around the world, nonstop and unrefueled, in nine days, three minutes and 44 seconds in an aircraft called ‘Voyager,’ designed by his younger brother, legendary aircraft designer Burt Rutan.

A highly decorated Vietnam veteran, Dick Rutan flew 325 combat missions and was awarded the Silver Star, the Purple Heart, the Air Medal with three silver oak leaf clusters, the Collier Trophy and was also awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross – twice.

During his time in the skies over Vietnam, Dick was a member of an elite group of Fast Forward Air Controllers, often loitering over enemy anti-aircraft positions for six hours or more in a single sortie. These extremely hazardous missions had the call sign ‘Misty’; Dick Rutan was, and will forever be, Misty Four-Zero.

He spent his last day in the company of friends and family, including his brother, Burt, and passed away peacefully at Kootenai Health Hospital in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, in the company of his loving wife of 25 years, Kris Rutan. He is survived by daughters Holly Hogan and Jill Hoffman, and his four grandchildren, Jack, Sean, Noelle, and Haley.

Rest in peace.

Posted at 8:25 am by Stephen Green

THE EMPIRE STRIKES OUT: Mark Hamill Makes Cringey Appearance at White House Press Briefing, Lame Jokes Fall Flat.

Hamill made an appearance at the White House on Friday but did not provide the powerful celebrity endorsement that Joe Biden may have hoped for.

Sporting a pair of aviator sunglasses, Hamill was introduced to the podium by Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre but did not show the same stage presence as in his famous role as Luke Skywalker.

“How many of you had Mark Hamill will lead the press briefing on your bingo cards?” Hamill remarked. “I just got to meet the president and he gave me these aviator glasses.”

Some are questioning the timing:

But, perhaps the time is right! Is Biden embracing the “Genocide Joe” sobriquet foisted upon him by (ironically enough) the bloodthirstiest members of his constituency? Why else would he bring in an actor who made his living playing Luke Skywalker and in the Batman cartoon series, the Joker, each of whom are mass-murdering terrorists — and in Skywalker’s case a communist-inspired slave-owning religious fanatic to boot.

Exit question: Did Hamill and Joe commiserate about the synchronicity of each being manipulated by their handlers into ill-advised homages to Leni Riefenstahl?

Posted at 8:14 am by Ed Driscoll

HARVARD COMMENCEMENT SPEAKER PUBLISHED EDITORIAL LIKENING ISRAEL TO HITLER:

[Maria Ressa], the CEO of the Philippines-based news site Rappler and a Nobel Peace Prize laureate, will give the university’s commencement address on May 23, at a time when Harvard faces a congressional investigation for what House Republicans have called a “failure to protect Jewish students” and as anti-Semitism has surged on college campuses across the country.

* * * * * * * *

In a November editorial, Rappler called for a ceasefire and compared Israel’s actions to those by Adolf Hitler, according to a translation.

“What Israel is doing is clearly a disproportionate response and its intention is not simply to retaliate, but to launch an all-out war,” the editorial said. “In the intensity of Israel’s godlike technology, its paleolithic instincts can be seen in the lack of effort to differentiate between civilians and its enemy Hamas.”

The editorial said Israel’s actions were “about to reach genocide.”

“It is a great irony that the [Jewish] race that suffered centuries of oppression, even genocide at the hands of Adolf Hitler, is now [denying] the same aspirations [for] the Palestinians,” said the column.

“We like to think that our world is more modern, more aware, and more compassionate, compared for example to the time of Adolf Hitler, or the dropping of the atomic bomb on Hiroshima,” the editorial went on.

In its coverage of the Israel-Gaza conflict, Rappler has also referred to Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad as “militant” groups rather than terrorist organizations.

Ressa did not respond to a request for comment. Harvard did not respond to a request for comment.

Why are Democrat-monopoly Ivy League schools such cesspits of Antisemitism?

Posted at 7:44 am by Ed Driscoll

WE ARE GOVERNED BY MORONS. “He literally does not know the most basic things about government finance despite being an acknowledged ‘expert’ on the subject. He has the same grasp of basic economics as a third grader.”

Posted at 7:40 am by Glenn Reynolds

THE WEEKENDS AT THE COLLEGE DIDN’T TURN OUT LIKE YOU PLANNED:

The plastic garbage-can shields may have looked cool, but mostly just hampered their users and provided a convenient handle.

Posted at 7:30 am by Glenn Reynolds

JIM GERAGHTY: Biden-Harris a Profile in Cowardice on Campus Disorder.

On the menu today: More than a day late and a dollar short, President Biden says that breaking the law on college campuses is wrong. But he’s still ahead of his vice president, the former prosecutor, who for weeks has had absolutely nothing to say about the lawlessness that took over college campuses. If the objective for the protesters was to make some noise and postpone finals, maybe they accomplished what they set out to do. But if their objective was to influence or change U.S. public opinion, they failed miserably. Read on.

* * * * * * * *

Still, at least Biden eventually was roused to address the issue. As far as I can tell, Vice President Kamala Harris has not made any public remarks about the campus protests. The New York Times noted, “Vice President Kamala Harris, campaigning on Monday in Wisconsin, again took sharp swipes at former President Donald J. Trump for his actions on abortion, a hot topic across the country. But she stayed silent on the war in Gaza, another issue erupting elsewhere among the critical bloc of young voters she has been courting.” While speaking in Atlanta, “Harris did not address recent protests on Georgia college campuses tied to the White House’s handling of the conflict in Gaza.”

The vice president is a former prosecutor. She doesn’t have any thoughts on lawbreaking and whether the police should be called in on campus? For much of the reelection campaign, she’s been on a college tour!

Harris expressed her thoughts in 2020: Kamala Harris Lies, Claiming That She Never Promoted the Bail Fund That Bailed Out BLM Rioters As Well As Murderers and R4pists; But the Tweet In Which She Promoted that Bail Fund Is Still Up!

Posted at 7:14 am by Ed Driscoll

May 3, 2024

OPEN THREAD: Just do it.

Posted at 9:30 pm by Glenn Reynolds

IT’S NOT JUST SEC/ACC SCHOOLS NOW:

Posted at 6:44 pm by Glenn Reynolds

NOW IT’S AT LSU:

“Barbieland Intifada.” Heh. That one’s gonna stick.

Posted at 4:39 pm by Glenn Reynolds

IT’S ILLEGAL TO CAMP OVERNIGHT (BETWEEN 10 PM AND 7 AM) ON PUBLIC PROPERTY IN TENNESSEE: Police arrive to Tennessee College of Law lawn, protestors in support of Palestine disperse.

Demonstrators gathered in front of the Tennessee College of Law were told to disperse within 15 minutes or they would be arrested by the UT Police Department at 12:10 a.m. on Thursday morning. Shortly after at approximately 12:52 a.m, police donning riot gear showed up from both UTPD and the Knox County Sheriff’s Office.

Those who refused to leave were threatened with felony charges. A majority of the chancellor’s cabinet was on site for the announcement, which was given by an organizer to approximately 70 students and community members.

UT administration requested that the organizers of the event make a public call to disperse during a conversation. Administration was telling students they were violating laws and Tennessee code TCA 39-14-414.

TCA 39-14-414 provides: “It is an offense for a person to engage in camping on property owned by the state knowing that the area on which the camping occurs is not specifically designated for use as a camping area by the department or agency responsible for the land.” Full statute here.

I drove by the site the other day and took some pics but didn’t think they were interesting enough to post. Here they are:

Note the “Jewiciders,” as Pam Geller calls them, handing out food.

And yes, I think the Tennessee statute is a legitimate time, place, and manner restriction.

Posted at 4:11 pm by Glenn Reynolds