B-Man

WILL THE ANTI-SEMITES PAY? Protesting for Hamas may have seemed like a lark to students at “elite” colleges and law schools, but it turns out that there might actually be consequences. Law firms, in particular, have expressed unwillingness to hire anti-Semites. https://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/2024/05/will-the-anti-semites-pay.php

That is true. But at least we will be heading in the right direction. .

Joe Biden Was Lying When He Promised 'Intelligence' to Israel in Exchange for Saving Hamas Are you ready for the most ridiculous outcome imaginable regarding the recent offer of intelligence to Israel in exchange for a ceasefire? Here's the update: Joe Biden was not telling the truth about being able to pinpoint the location of Hamas leaders, including top terrorist Yahya Sinwar. As reported, the Biden administration recently promised that it had intelligence to offer that negated the need to enter Rafah and finish off Hamas. That was coupled with a diplomatic push by Secretary of State Antony Blinken demanding Israel "get out of Gaza." At the time, it appeared the White House had been holding back valuable information while American hostages were still being held, prolonging the war in the process. https://redstate.com/bonchie/2024/05/19/update-joe-biden-was-lying-about-intelligence-he-promised-israel-in-exchange-for-backing-off-hamas-n2174379 .

Clearly in panic mode. The NYT has 3 articles this morning about Biden cultivating the black vote. 1."In Atlanta, Biden Warms Up His Pitch to Black Voters/The president, who is trailing key states in recent polling, tried to cast the election as a struggle for democracy itself." President Biden... asked Black voters at two campaign events in Atlanta to see the election as a choice between protecting democracy and letting it backslide.... Mr. Biden laid out his argument to a powerful slice of the electorate that has been drifting away from him during a campaign reception on Saturday afternoon: “We cannot let this man become president. We have to win this race, not for me but for America.” 2. "Live Updates: Biden to Speak at Morehouse Graduation/The visit to the historically Black college in Georgia gives President Biden an opportunity to speak to students in a battleground state as he works to shore up support among young voters." Oh! I took to long getting to this link. It's the speech, playing live, now. 3. "In His Beloved Philadelphia, Biden Faces Wariness From Black Voters/Even in the president’s favorite political stomping ground, his standing has slipped with Democrats who will be vital to a repeat victory, interviews with nearly two dozen Black voters showed." https://www.nytimes.com/2024/05/18/us/politics/biden-atlanta-black-voters.html?smid=url-share https://www.nytimes.com/live/2024/05/19/us/biden-morehouse-speech?smid=url-share https://www.nytimes.com/2024/05/18/us/politics/biden-philadelphia-black-voters.html?smid=url-share https://althouse.blogspot.com/2024/05/the-nyt-has-3-articles-this-morning.html

"The Trump campaign believes it can capitalize on — or foment — a backlash to the leftward march of the Twin Cities and still-fresh memories..." "... of the unrest after the killing of George Floyd. 'Very sad what’s happened to your state,' Mr. Trump told a newscaster on the conservative website Alpha News on Thursday, attacking Minneapolis’s progressive Representative Ilhan Omar as a 'hater,' promising 'mass deportations' and vowing 'to bring back the law enforcement the way it was' before Mr. Floyd’s murder. 'Your state is out of control, and it’s this radical left philosophy that cannot be left to continue.' Recent polling has Mr. Biden clinging to a narrow lead in Minnesota, inside some polls’ margins of error. His tenuous position has been exacerbated by the war in Gaza. A protest campaign for 'uncommitted' in the Democratic presidential primary in March drew 19 percent.... Even Democrats in the state have their worries.... [Representative Dean Phillips, a Democrat who represents the affluent, educated suburbs west of Minneapolis that for years had voted Republican] said, 'I confess to have spoken to more people, and some remarkable people, who say they will vote for Trump. Many will, and many more than will admit it.'" I'm reading "Trump Visits Minnesota, Hoping Its Political Divide Will Put It in Play/The Trump campaign says it can broaden the electoral battlefield with a play for Minnesota, but the state has disappointed Republicans for decades" (NYT). Hoping to put it in play? Clearly, it is in play, and Trump is forcing Biden to defend. Meanwhile, Biden must win all of the battleground states — Wisconsin, Michigan, and Pennsylvania — just to edge out Trump in the electoral college. Trump has so many more ways to win. Posted by Ann Althouse https://althouse.blogspot.com/2024/05/the-trump-campaign-believes-it-can.html https://www.nytimes.com/2024/05/17/us/politics/trump-minnesota.html?smid=url-share .

.

Reminder of what the thread is about. .

.

.

FTA: According to Politico, Ron Klein -- who runs the Biden debate camp -- wouldn't respond when asked if any illegal substances were used as part of their debate prep. That says it all right there, doesn't it? They can't answer that question. That should send off honking red alarm bells. And actually, I would have made the question broader: Are any drugs -- illegal or not -- being used to help enhance his performance? One has to wonder if this is a requirement, whether Biden would be able to comply and would he blow off the debate instead? I think Biden may simply say "no more rules," even though he's the one who put all kinds of restrictions that favor him on the debates. But then, the Trump campaign can call him out for being a coward and keep raising questions about being "juiced." The only good thing for Biden may be that people have such low expectations for him if he walks across the stage and doesn't fall off, the media will spin it as a win. The problem with Joe is he's still Joe. No matter how much they try to help him, that's the biggest weight around his neck. https://redstate.com/nick-arama/2024/05/18/trump-calls-for-a-drug-test-requirement-for-debate-biden-team-response-tells-you-everything-n2174360 .

.

Look at you crazy people on the right. Look at you Looney folks on the Left. I'm in the middle, I'm above all your arguments. There's another word for that . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Coward. .

WHERE’S HUNTER, FAT? Why You’re Going to Be Hearing More about Hunter Biden Soon. Democrats believe that they are the party serious about opposing the exploitation of women. Hunter Biden has schtupped prostitutes, impregnated a stripper, and then refused to pay child support. Joe Biden had to be shamed into acknowledging the existence of his seventh grandchild. Democrats believe that they are the party that is serious about the rule of law. Joe Biden spent decades enacting harsher penalties for drug use, possession, and dealing. Hunter Biden broke those laws many, many times and never suffered any legal consequence. Finally, for decades, Joe Biden pitched himself as this old-fashioned family man, where “his word as a Biden” meant a solemn promise, a man of traditional values shaped by the working-class virtues of Scranton, Pa. It’s just random bad luck that his younger son turned into Caligula. A lot of people think the myth of Narcissus is about a man who falls in love with himself — but the real “sin” in the myth is that Narcissus does not recognize himself. No one in government can address the deep skepticism and mistrust in the American public if they cannot see themselves and their past records clearly. Read the whole thing. https://www.nationalreview.com/the-morning-jolt/why-youre-going-to-be-hearing-more-about-hunter-biden-soon/? .

BERKELEY HATEWATCH UPDATE: UC Berkeley building defaced with swastika, other anti-Semitic graffiti. Just a few years ago, leftists were telling us we should punch Nazis. Now they’re slapping swastikas up everywhere and calling for Jews to be killed. Color me unsurprised. https://www.campusreform.org/article/uc-berkeley-building-defaced-swastika-anti-semitic-graffiti/25488 .

Harrison Butker, Harbinger? Life during and after the coming Demographic Winter. GLENN HARLAN REYNOLDS There are some things you’re not supposed to say in 2024 America, and Kansas City Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker said some of them. Speaking to a graduation crowd at conservative Catholic Benedictine College in Atchison, Kansas, Butker took on Joe Biden’s performative faux-Catholicism, transgender ideology and – most shockingly – suggested to female graduates that they would find a better, more rewarding, and more productive life as wives and mothers than in corporate-style careers. For this, he received a standing ovation from the crowd. (The full speech is here.) The wider world, however, was not so appreciative. Most notably, the city of Kansas City, Missouri tweeted out a repudiation and a pointed indication that he lived elsewhere, in a community the since-deleted tweet specifically named. Facing complaints of “doxing,” the tweet was removed and Kansas City mayor Quinton Lucas apologized. I’m not sure that naming the general place where somebody lives truly qualifies as doxing, but I’m also unclear as to why a municipal government thinks it’s its place to weigh in on what a non-resident private citizen says in a speech delivered in another state about social issues. There were also demands from assorted leftist activists that Butker be punished. Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey has weighed in, criticizing the city’s action, calling the mayor’s apology inadequate, and threatening to employ civil rights law: “I will enforce the Missouri Human Rights Act to ensure Missourians are not targeted for their free exercise of religion.” Well, this is a tempest in a teacup, really. But I think it’s also a harbinger. Over the past 50+ years, traditional ideas, like Butker’s, about marriage, child-rearing, and gender roles have been marginalized, in favor of those that put much less emphasis on, well, marriage, child-rearing, and traditional views about gender roles. And now we’re facing a global baby bust, or as some are calling it, a “demographic winter” due to plunging birth rates worldwide. “Fertility rates have fallen way below replacement level throughout the entire industrialized world, and this is starting to cause major problems all over the globe. Aging populations are counting on younger generations to take care of them as they get older, but younger generations are not nearly large enough to accomplish that task. Meanwhile, there aren’t enough qualified young workers in many fields to replace the expertise of older workers that are now retiring. Sadly, this is just the beginning.” https://instapundit.substack.com/p/harrison-butker-harbinger ,