IF IT WEREN’T FOR DOUBLE STANDARDS THEY’D HAVE NO STANDARDS AT ALL: DOJ’s Kristen Clarke Testified She Was Never Arrested. Court Records and Text Messages Indicate She Was.

Before becoming one of the Justice Department’s top leaders, Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke was allegedly involved in a violent domestic dispute, according to court documents, records, and text messages—an incident that ended in her arrest and was ultimately expunged. During her Senate confirmation, Clarke specifically denied ever having been arrested for or accused of committing a violent crime. . . .

Clarke’s ex-husband, Reginald Avery, alleged to the American Accountability Foundation’s Tom Jones in 2021 that Clarke attacked him with a knife, deeply slicing his finger to the bone, on the night of July 4, 2006, while they were married and living in Maryland.

According to messages and documents reviewed by The Daily Signal, police arrested Clarke that night. She did not respond to requests for comment for this story.

She’ll get a pass due to race, skin color, and — particularly — political affiliation.

COVID FOUR YEARS AGO TODAY: What Neil Ferguson’s booty call tells us about modern politics.

The conspiratorial left, convinced the world is run by secret cabals of bankers and cigar-chomping media moguls, thinks the Neil Ferguson story is a ‘dead cat’. In other words, they think the Daily Telegraph – Evil Tory Rag – revealed that Ferguson carried on bonking his mistress in defiance of a lockdown that he himself bears much responsibility for in order to distract attention from Britain overtaking Italy with the highest Covid death toll in Europe. A ‘dead cat’ strategy is when a sensationalist story is introduced to the mix to divert attention from a far more serious political crisis. Ferguson’s sexual antics are the Tory regime’s dead cat to Britain’s corona death toll, apparently.

This sums up the political infantilism of the left. It is actually incredibly important news that Ferguson, the Imperial College modeller who said it was possible 500,000 Brits would die if we didn’t lock down, defied the lockdown. It deserves the frontpage treatment it is getting today. For Ferguson’s booty call with his married lover actually reveals a great deal about the 21st-century elites and how they view their relationship with the masses. It’s one rule for them and another for us. They can carry on enjoying sneaky freedoms because their lives and jobs are important; we can’t because we are mere little people, whose silly work lives can casually be disrupted, whose love lives can be turned upside down, and whose families can be ripped apart. The Ferguson affair provides an illuminating insight into the new elitism.

It’s worth thinking about the largeness of this scandal. Ferguson’s scaremongering, his predictions of mass death if society didn’t close itself down, was the key justification for the lockdown in the UK. It influenced lockdowns elsewhere, too. Of course, this isn’t all on Ferguson. He does not exercise mind control over Boris Johnson. It was a combination of disarray among the political class and the wild clamouring of the media elite for the severest lockdown possible that led to the working people of Britain being decommissioned and almost the entire population being put under an unprecedented form of house arrest. But Ferguson’s figures, his graphs and models, his worst-case scenarios, were the godly pronouncements upon which this historic disruption of society was based. And Ferguson fully backed the lockdown that sprung from his work.

As the BBC reported the same day, Ferguson “quit as a government adviser on coronavirus after admitting an ‘error of judgement’.”

Mistakes were made! But the biggest was made by the man who hired him: Boris Johnson Missed His Churchill Moment: The pandemic was Boris’s biggest test. He failed.

When Johnson’s idol, Winston Churchill, first came to power in 1940, France was in the process of falling to Nazi Germany. Most of the other great European powers had already fallen. For a time, Britain stood alone in the world, the sole defender of the West, with Churchill at its helm. Even when his own ministers urged him to accept Hitler’s peace offer, Churchill held firm to his convictions and chose to fight on.

This is the laudable mantle that Johnson has, all his life, aspired to shoulder. He faced just such a defining moment in March of 2020. The entire world had surrendered to the People’s Republic of China, adopting its totalitarian disease-control strategy, and unlike France or Poland in World War II, we surrendered without a shot being fired. If any man in the world was well-positioned to stand against this, it was the garrulous British renegade, Boris Johnson.

Instead, the United Kingdom became a police state.

Well, to be fair, Airstrip One become an even bigger police state — and most of the authorities there needed little prompting to scale up their efforts.

LIMITED TIME DEAL: 2.5×4 American Flags for Outside | American Flag Made in USA. #CommissionEarned

WHERE’S THE SURPRISE? Pro-Palestinian protesters are backed by a surprising source: Biden’s biggest donors.

The donors include some of the biggest names in Democratic circles: Gates, Soros, Rockefeller and Pritzker, according to a POLITICO analysis.

Two of the organizers behind protests at Columbia University and on other campuses are Jewish Voice for Peace and IfNotNow. Both are supported by the Tides Foundation, which is seeded by Democratic megadonor George Soros as well as the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, and it in turn supports numerous small nonprofits that work for social change. (Gates did not return a request for comment, and Soros declined to comment.)

Another notable Democratic donor whose philanthropy has helped fund the protest movement is David Rockefeller Jr., who sits on the board of the Rockefeller Brothers Fund. In 2022, the fund gave $300,000 to the Tides Foundation; according to nonprofit tax forms, Tides has given nearly $500,000 over the past five years to Jewish Voice for Peace, which explicitly describes itself as anti-Zionist.

Several other groups involved in pro-Palestinian protests are backed by a foundation funded by Susan and Nick Pritzker, heir to the Hyatt Hotel empire — and supporters of Biden and numerous Democratic campaigns, including $6,600 to the Biden Victory Fund a few months ago and more than $300,000 during the 2020 campaign.

The trail of donations shows a series of blurred lines when it comes to liberal causes and Democratic politics.

They look perfectly clear to me.

IF THEY’RE HIDING SOMETHING, IT’S BECAUSE THEY HAVE SOMETHING TO HIDE:

For the 3rd consecutive year ⁦⁦the City of Pittsburgh run by Ed Gainey did not turn over its annual numbers to the FBI including homicides & assaults making it impossible for police & citizens get a true picture of crime in the nation from the FBI https://t.co/4rgQ58O2CE

— ZitoSalena (@ZitoSalena) May 5, 2024

A BLOW FOR CIVILIZATION: MIT becomes first elite university to ban diversity statements.

JIM MEIGS: Unscientific American: Science journalism surrenders to progressive ideology.

Today’s journalistic failings don’t owe simply to lazy reporting or a weakness for sensationalism but to a sweeping and increasingly pervasive worldview.

It is hard to put a single name on this sprawling ideology. It has its roots both in radical 1960s critiques of capitalism and in the late-twentieth-century postmodern movement that sought to “problematize” notions of objective truth. Critical race theory, which sees structural racism as the grand organizing principle of our society, is one branch. Queer studies, which seeks to “deconstruct” traditional norms of family, sex, and gender, is another. Critics of this worldview sometimes call it “identity politics”; supporters prefer the term “intersectionality.” In managerial settings, the doctrine lives under the label of diversity, equity, and inclusion, or DEI: a set of policies that sound anodyne—but in practice, are anything but.

This dogma sees Western values, and the United States in particular, as uniquely pernicious forces in world history. And, as exemplified by the anticapitalist tirades of climate activist Greta Thunberg, the movement features a deep eco-pessimism buoyed only by the distant hope of a collectivist green utopia.

The DEI worldview took over our institutions slowly, then all at once. Many on the left, especially journalists, saw Donald Trump’s election in 2016 as an existential threat that necessitated dropping the guardrails of balance and objectivity. Then, in early 2020, Covid lockdowns put American society under unbearable pressure. Finally, in May 2020, George Floyd’s death under the knee of a Minneapolis police officer provided the spark. Protesters exploded onto the streets. Every institution, from coffeehouses to Fortune 500 companies, felt compelled to demonstrate its commitment to the new “antiracist” ethos. In an already polarized environment, most media outlets lunged further left. Centrists—including New York Times opinion editor James Bennet and science writer Donald G. McNeil, Jr.—were forced out, while radical progressive voices were elevated.

In other words, journalism went from a sometimes-propaganda enterprise to a full-time propaganda enterprise.

VICTORIA TAFT: We’re Now in Full Goat Rodeo Mode in the NYC Trump Trial. “How do you go on offense against this ever-changing target? Get out the Gatling gun and pray and spray in hopes of hitting the moving target. This is what’s happening on cross-examination by the defense.”

IT WAS MY UNDERSTANDING THAT THERE WOULD BE NO CONSEQUENCES: ASU Senior Is Triggered After Learning Her Arrest During Pro-Hamas Protests Has Consequences. “Notice how she repeats “the cause” several times, without sharing much detail on this oh-so-important movement that she’s willing to throw away her future for. This attitude reminds me of a recent piece by RedState’s Brandon Morse; he pointed out that based on the naive answers these student revolutionary wannabes gave, so many of them just glommed onto the protests out of a desire for community, while not truly understanding what they’re truly supporting.”

FROM RACONTEUR PRESS, WITH STORIES BY LAW DOG, LEE ALLRED AND OTHERS:  Space Cowboys 5: Cattle Drive.

#CommissionEarned

When every inch of our planet has been explored, from the depths of the sea to the top of every mountain, Space and her untamed frontiers will still be beckoning us, calling us to go beyond the farthest star and see what there is to see.

Old Sam Clemens once said that History don’t repeat itself, but it do rhyme. In Space, we got a vast, unexplored, mysterious, and dangerous frontier. We’ll have herds of some kind to watch over and to drive to market. Most times we’ll be far and beyond the reach of “civilization,” with their myriad of laws, lawyers, and politicians. Those tough enough to carve out a living will need the independent, rugged spirit of the cowboy to survive. There will be leeches and villains, for sure, heroes and anti-heroes, and some folks just trying to eke out a living. If we choose to tell their tales draped in the lingo and trappings of the cowboy, that’s just another rhyme, with form following the function.

If you’re new to the Space Cowboy series, you’re in for a treat. These ten stories, from ten different authors, are where you’ll find Explorers charting new frontiers in space, Trailhands and Drovers watching over their cattle on alien plains, and Lawdogs of every stripe meting out frontier justice, and doing their best to make sure scallywags with evil intent don’t win in the end. These cowboys and cowgirls don’t back down from a challenge. It’s not in their nature.
(From the Introduction written by Rick Cutler)

IF YOU BELIEVE THAT, I HAVE SOME SWAMP LAND IN FLORIDA I SELL CHEEEEP:  Top House Intel Dem defends ‘very strong vetting process’ as Biden admin considers admitting Gazan refugees to US.

HOW ABOUT WE FIRE THE TEACHERS AND DISBAND THE UNION? IT ISN’T AS IF KIDS LEARN MUCH:  Chicago Teachers Union’s $50B demands include pay hikes, abortions, and migrant accommodations — at $2K per migrant.

THE FIRST ITEM UNDER THIS, NOTE THE COLUMNIST IS A GOSSIP COLUMNIST AND SHE DOESN’T SAY THIS IS PROVEN… OR DISPROVEN:  Antisemitic college protesters can go ahead and move if they don’t like it here.

Me? I’ve looked at pictures of Castro and Trudeau at the same ages, and I’m going to take old Justin’s mom’s word for it. There’s a reason I call the little b*stard Castreau.

OKAY, SO THERE WERE THREE THIS YEAR? REALLY? THAT AND TWO PEOPLE SETTING THEMSELVES ON FIRE SO FAR THIS YEAR? WHERE IS THIS STUFF COMING FROM:  Motorist Killed After Crashing Into White House Gates.

IT’S BEEN LIKE THAT FOR AT LEAST FORTY YEARS:  One-way speech on college campuses.

NOEM’S CAREER IS AS DEAD AS HER DOG: Another whopper found.

MORE EVIDENCE OF THE SHODDINESS OF THE PFIZER VAX:  Scoops Mcgoo reveals a bombshell.

THE LEFT IS VERY FOND OF CHILDREN’S CRUSADES:  I call it like I see it.

THIS:  No, Antisemitism Isn’t Scriptural.

In addition to this, for those who really don’t understand humans. Let’s say those 100 people in Jerusalem cursed themselves and all their descendants and that the Almighty, for whatever reason, is compelled to obey the words of stupid humans: Their descendants are all of us. Or at least all of us who have ancestors from the vast area extending from the middle East to Europe. And probably vast portions of Africa and China as well. No, your ancestry or 23andme accounts wouldn’t catch that, because they go by present day populations. (It would take too long to explain.) But humans travel and they copulate. In the same way we have DNA of not-quite men, if you go back 2000 years we have DNA from most people in general interconnected areas. And a few from surprisingly far away. It’s what humans are. Yes, even set-aside groups such as the Jewish people. There were enough conversions and people who didn’t abide by the separation for the DNA to be everywhere.

If you want to see it as “We’re all guilty,” it’s frankly closer to a valid scriptural interpretation.

AND PROBABLY HALF OF THOSE ARE NAMES THEY CAME UP WITH IN A BRAINSTORMING SESSIONS: “Gaza Health Ministry Cannot Provide Names for More Than 10,000 It Says Have Died”.

I wonder how many are hilariously made up within the culture. You know, John John. Or Jones Joneson.

YOU CAN’T HAVE OPEN LAWFARE AGAINST MEN AND EXPECT THEM TO STEP UP:  Meditations on Duty.

THE EASY ONES ANYONE CAN SAY:  Saying the Hard Things.

SINCE SOMEONE WANTED ME TO PRONOUNCE ON HR 6090 “Antisemitism Awareness Act of 2023:  I’m not a lawyer, but my reading of it is so out of consonance with what I hear bruited about on social media and blogs, it was a relief to come across J. C. Solomon’s comment as follows (note he is also not a lawyer, but his read is consonant with mine.):

About HR 6090 “Antisemitism Awareness Act of 2023”
I’m seeing a LOT of nonsense about bill HR 6090, “Antisemitism Awareness Act of 2023”. The only sensible objection I’ve seen is from Ben Shapiro and Marc Randazza, who take issue with how Title VI of the Civil Rights Act has been interpreted (mandates on campus speech codes) and don’t want to see this expanded.

Before commenting, read https://congress.gov/bill/118th-congress/house-bill/6090/text. It’s not long, and I don’t think it’s hard to understand. (Seriously, read the bill and what I’ve written below before responding. This little bit of homework may save you from earning mockery.)

What I’m seeing online, and from people who really should know better, is fearmongering about this making it illegal to criticize Israel, or even to quote parts of the Christian Bible which blame the Crucifixion on “the Jews”. This is patent nonsense, and I’m questioning some people’s motives in their comments.

The bill does not prohibit—
Reasonable criticism of Israeli policy or of anything Jews do;
Unreasonable criticism of the same;
Blaming Jews for the Crucifixion, or for forest fires, or the weather, or the economy, or two-headed calves, or anything else plausible or not;
Blatant antisemitism like calling for the destruction of Israel or genocide of Jews;
Or any other kind of speech or expression.

Here’s my paraphrase of the bill:
In certain cases under federal jurisdiction where discrimination by ethnicity is illegal in education, discrimination against Jews—called “antisemitism” and following the 2016 IHRA definition—also counts.

Basically, this codifies President Trump’s Executive Order 13899, https://trumpwhitehouse.archives.gov/presidential-actions/executive-order-combating-anti-semitism/

Even meetings of the Campus Jew-Haters for a Judenrein University should not be affected by this bill. (Though see concerns above about campus speech codes.) But a class or grant or other educational opportunity marked “No Jews”, even if coded “No Zionists” or “No Christ-Killers”, is restricted exactly as if it read “No Swedes” or “No Mongolians”.

If I’m missing something that makes the bill more dangerous or wrong, please point it out in the comments.

It’s entirely possible he — and I — are wrong. And note neither of us is particularly excited about anti-discrimnatory-set-asides for ethnicity or whatever.  As are most liberty minded people. But this is the regime we live under, and this changes nothing except to say it also applies to this group. (If we can’t get rid of it, we should apply it to all people, yes, including white people and render it ineffective that way.) Note when J. C. said substantially this on Twitter and asked for comments to the contrary, no one answered except with ad hominem and hysteria.

OPEN THREAD: Expatiate at will.

THE NEW SPACE RACE: SpaceX reveals EVA suit design as Polaris Dawn mission approaches.