Author: John Hinderaker

Trump the Authoritarian

(John Hinderaker) Democrats like to label Donald Trump an authoritarian. This is why he supposedly is a threat to “our democracy.” The charge is generally groundless. Trump was president for four years, so he has a track record as the least authoritarian president of recent years. But Trump, being Trump, can’t get out of his own way. So earlier this week, on Truth Social, he handed the Democrats all the ammunition they

Dianne Feinstein, Centrist?

(John Hinderaker) Dianne Feinstein died last night. She cast a Senate vote earlier in the day. Tributes to her are pouring in, which is natural and appropriate. But check out how the Washington Post described her: I think it is true that Feinstein was not as crazy as some of her Democratic colleagues, but is there any plausible sense in which she was a centrist? The American Conservative Union rates members of

A Comment on Last Night’s Debate

(John Hinderaker) I didn’t watch last night’s GOP debate, which, based on the accounts I have read, including Scott’s, was a good decision. Many morning-after accounts have focused on the fact that Fox included a liberal Hispanic reporter as one of the moderators, and, in addition, the nominally Republican moderators asked many challenging if not outright hostile questions. See, for example, Ed Morrissey, who quotes some of the questions. I will reproduce

A Nation of Illegal Immigrants?

(John Hinderaker) When I was a kid we were taught in school that America is a nation of immigrants. It was seen as something to be proud of, even if it arguably left out Native Americans. But now the phrase is taking on a whole new meaning, as illegal immigrants threaten to take over from childbirth as our main source of population growth. Via InstaPundit: Without the mass deportation of tens of

Hoodies Banned From the Hood

(John Hinderaker) An interesting news story. Make of it what you will: The Senate passed a bipartisan resolution Wednesday to restore the formal dress code in the upper chamber following blowback over the loosening of the unofficial rule. Under the resolution, which passed unanimously, senators will once again be required to wear business attire on the floor. Does that mean Fetterman voted for it? Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV), who publicly split with

New York Times, Home of Misinformation

(John Hinderaker) Liberals love to talk about misinformation. They also love to disseminate it. A case in point is New York Times health and science reporter Apoorva Mandavilli. She grotesquely exaggerated the impact of covid on children, apparently for the purpose of supporting school shutdowns, one of the worst policy fiascos of modern times. And her claims were not, remotely, in the ballpark: Reporter who wrote in NYT that 900,000 children had

Hillary Can’t Let Go

(John Hinderaker) Hillary Clinton was at the State Department yesterday for the unveiling of her official portrait as Secretary of State. She was ungracious as usual: Returning to the State Department for the unveiling of her official portrait, Mrs Clinton also used the occasion to display distaste for the policies of Donald Trump, the Republican former president, who defeated her in the 2016 United States presidential election. Mrs Clinton, the former US

Europe: Tangled Up In Green

(John Hinderaker) Opinion polls indicate that the vast majority of Europeans have drunk the global warming kool-aid, at least in theory. But things change when they are confronted with “green” realities. The Wall Street Journal reports: For years, Europe has been at the forefront of the global drive to curb carbon emissions and slow climate change, pledging to reach net zero emissions by 2050. Overwhelming numbers of Europeans say they like the

Target: Not So Blue

(John Hinderaker) Target Corporation has been even more woke than most large companies, but there are limits. Target has been vocal about the damage that organized retail theft is doing to its bottom line. Now the other shoe has dropped. The Wall Street Journal reports: Target is closing nine stores across four states because of theft and organized retail crime. The Minneapolis-based retailer said Tuesday stores in the New York City, Seattle,

The Twitter Files, Live and In Person

(John Hinderaker) This Real Clear Opinion Research survey has disquieting news about Americans’ tolerance of censorship. Carl Cannon comments on the results, including the partisan breakdown. Suffice it to say that not many Democrats are going to the wall for free speech these days. But I want to comment on just one aspect of that survey: It is remarkable that the number of people who think the government should censor “hateful posts