There was an important ruling last week by Magistrate Judge William B. Porter of the Eastern District of Virginia in favor of the press regarding the handling of files and materials taken in a search of the home of a Washington Post reporter. Judge Porter ruled against the Trump Administration in what he called an “unsupervised, wholesale” search of the files of Hannah Natanson, who covers the federal government for The Post. Instead, the court itself will conduct the review in camera. Continue reading “Court Rules for Washington Post Reporter in Major Win for the Press in National Security Case”
Category: Media
The Wall Street Journal just published a comprehensive book review of Rage and the Republic: The Unfinished Story of the American Revolution. It is a thoughtful and well-written discussion of the book that I recommend to readers. Continue reading “Wall Street Journal Reviews “Rage and the Republic””
Below is my column in the California Post and New York Post on the rise of profanity politics in the United States. Politicians today do not just solemnly swear, they can not stop swearing.
Here is the column: Continue reading “I Do Solemnly Swear: How Profanity Has Taken Hold of American Politics”
Below is my column on Fox.com on the new disclosures of secret orders targeting now FBI Director Kash Patel and White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles. It is only the latest example of the abuse of the investigatory powers by Special Counsel Jack Smith.
Here is the column: Continue reading “Jack Smith’s Secret Orders Targeting Patel and Wiles Should Alarm Us All”
This week, most Americans found a moment of rare unity in our pride over the performance of our athletes in the Winter Olympics. After years of rage politics, there was a brief respite as we joined in cheering our team in representing the United States in Milan and Cortina. Well, most of us. Some in the media found the entire demonstration of patriotism to be intolerable and triggering. What is striking is how this aversion to our flag and country was so openly expressed in major media. Continue reading ““You’re Not Alone”: Reporters Comfort Those Triggered and Traumatized by Scenes of Patriotism”
This week, CBS News Editor-in-Chief Bari Weiss was supposed to give the UCLA Burkle Center’s annual Daniel Pearl Memorial guest lecture on “The Future of Journalism.” It was a wonderful opportunity for students to hear from one of the impactful voices in the media. However, they will not be able to do so after a successful cancel campaign supported by faculty members. Continue reading ““Anathema in the University Mission”: Bari Weiss Canceled at UCLA” 
As the Winter Olympics reach their climax, a fascinating competition is unfolding in U.S. Democratic politics. From Eric Swalwell to Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, candidates are testing the proposition that they can win gold solely on style alone. Continue reading “The New Olympics: Candidates Vie for Gold Based Entirely on Style Points In American Politics”
In the classic movie comedy, A Fish Called Wanda, John Cleese lamented, “do you have any idea what it’s like being English? Being so correct all the time, being so stifled by this dread of, of doing the wrong thing.” Now 86, Cleese has a more pressing concern about being English: whether his exercise of free speech will make him a criminal in his own country. Continue reading “No Laughing Matter: John Cleese Declares “I’m Afraid They are Going to Have to Arrest Me.””
Below is my column in The Hill on the recent appearance of California Gov. Gavin Newsom and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D., N.Y.) in Munich. They found the perfect audience for pledging to reverse many current policies and re-embrace a high-taxation, high-regulation platform. The Europeans were giddy with excitement as they doubled down on policies that have stagnated many of their economies.
Here is the column:
Last year, I wrote a column expressing concerns over the move to release the Epstein files en masse, including grand jury material. The files include a wide range of tangential figures and unsupported allegations common to criminal investigations. Politicians eager to capitalize on the scandal would likely show little concern for the underlying facts in “outing” names and repeating unproven allegations.
That fear was realized this week with the chest-pounding speech of Rep. Ro Khanna (D., Cal.) on the House floor in which he took credit for outing six “wealthy, powerful men” who he suggested were actively shielded by the DOJ from public exposure. After the DOJ unredacted the names at his request, he read them on the floor. It turns out that four have nothing to do with Epstein. Continue reading “Ro Khanna and the Impunity of “Wealthy, Powerful Men””
There is a major verdict out of Texas where a mother and an attorney were ordered to pay millions for perpetuating an alleged hate crime hoax that was eagerly spread by the mainstream media. Asher Vann, a minor at the time, was labeled a racist maniac who tortured SeMarion Humphrey, his black classmate, with other classmates. After the jury found that the allegations constituted the intentional infliction of emotional distress, the same media that spread the story remained conspicuously silent. Crickets. Continue reading “Alleged Hate Crime Hoax Leads to Major Civil Award . . . Media is Silent”
I am delighted that the New York Post decided this week to run a long excerpt from my new book, “Rage and the Republic: The Unfinished Story of the American Revolution.”
I wanted to share the full excerpt and a clip from the audiobook below. Continue reading “New York Post Publishes Long Excerpt From “Rage and the Republic””
In an age of rage, it is often difficult to stand out in the mob as so many pander to the perpetually irate. However, New York Times columnist Jamelle Bouie has found a way to win the race to the bottom. In a posting on Bluesky, Bouie mocked the account of the addiction of the mother of Vice President J.D. Vance, saying that she should have sold her son for drugs. Continue reading “NY Times Columnist Jokes that Vance’s Mother Should Have Sold Him To Feed Her Addiction”
In the dystopian novel 1984, George Orwell wrote, “The Party told you to reject the evidence of your eyes and ears. It was their final, most essential command.” The true meaning of that line was never more clear than watching the truly bizarre photo op of California governor Gavin Newsom heralding the success of the greatest boondoggle in history: his high-speed train to nowhere. Without laying a single yard of track after burning $12 billion, Newsom showed a diesel freight train on a conventional track to create the appearance of a working railroad. Continue reading “Taking a Ride on Newsom’s “Train to Nowhere”: Californians Burn Billions for Political Boondoogle”
There is a chilling story out this morning that another assassination attempt may have been averted. This time, the target was not President Donald Trump or a conservative justice but my former student Russell Vought, director of the Office of Management and Budget. Notably, Colin Demarco, 26, referenced the “fascist” mantra being repeated by Democratic politicians, press, and pundits as the reason for his planning to kill Vought.