Closing the tabs ...
NY Times: The Justice Department has opened a fraud investigation into a Federal Reserve governor, Lisa Cook, elevating claims President Trump has promoted in trying to oust her, according to people familiar with the situation.
The move, which centers on whether she falsified a mortgage application, was instigated by Ed Martin, a hyperpartisan Trump loyalist with little prosecutorial experience. He has said that it is legitimate for federal officials to publicly air criminal investigations into people targeted by the president, even if an investigation does not result in a conviction or even an indictment.
Ed: Note the use of the editorial language in the second *sentence* of their "news" report. Can the NYT offer an objective definition of "hyperpartisan," let alone "loyalist"? Also note that the NYT doesn't actually refute the allegations, which as we have already seen, is impossible. Documents show that Cook lied about her primary residence in the paperwork for two of the three properties.
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"Right to possess firearms" you say? First I'm hearing of it from you guys. pic.twitter.com/nfQo40isiZ
— Caleb Howe (@CalebHowe) September 4, 2025
Ed: I take it all back! It's working! I kid, I kid. It's still a dangerous policy if pursued, but the trolling is delicious.
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WSJ: Northwestern University President Michael Schill said Thursday he was resigning, marking the latest university leader to step down during a tumultuous period in higher education.
Like many of its peers, Northwestern has faced pressure from the Trump administration over its handling of pro-Palestinian protests on campus following the deadly Oct. 7, 2023 Hamas attacks in Israel.
The Midwestern university has had $790 million in federal research money frozen, affecting hundreds of scientific projects, including clinical trials with patients on lifesaving medicine.
Ed: Accountability has come to Academia, at least a little. NU didn't get as much attention from the media, which has focused more on the Poison Ivies, especially Harvard and Columbia. However, NU's response to anti-Semitic intimidation campaigns was nearly as bad, and had made the Trump administration's top ten targets for its pushback on higher ed. Schill had to go.
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This was, sadly, a necessary outcome, following a harmful tenure & very unfortunate chapter in NU’s history. Getting the next hire right is vital for the school.
— Guy Benson (@guypbenson) September 4, 2025
Ed: Guy is an alum of Northwestern and has followed the disgraceful conduct of the university under Schill closely. He's right; the next hire will speak loudly about whether NU learned its lesson and plans to reform, or hopes to cling to the progresssive pogrom agenda while remaining under the radar. Stay tuned.
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Ringside at the Reckoning: It’s not usual for people to blame Jews for anti-Semitism, and anti-Semites are especially prone to do so. Cenk Uygur, the leftist provocateur and self-styled Young Turk, does it in this tweet ...
Anti-Semitism is a curse that dates back many thousands of years. I would argue that it reached its zenith in the 1940s — not just in Europe, but also in the Middle East.
Israel is history’s response to anti-Semitism. That’s why it has been under attack in the Middle East since its founding, and the main reason why it is so hated.
Ed: This is exactly right. As my friend Paul Mirengoff says in the headline, Israel isn't the cause of virulent anti-Semitism; it's the result of virulent anti-Semitism. And every terror campaign waged against the Jews anywhere in the world is another reminder that an armed and self-defense-capable Israel is the ultimate answer for it.
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Every outrageous accusation against Israel has been debunked and quietly retracted, whether it was The Washington Post or The New York Times publishing pictures of terminally ill children as famine victims, the fake Genocide Studies organization, or the boy who was not shot by…
— Hussain Abdul-Hussain (@hahussain) September 4, 2025
... or the boy who was not shot by the IDF but hiding with his mother. Yet, the world rarely apologizes for these errors, preferring to believe Israel is bad due to persistent antisemitism.
Ed: Isn't it odd that the American media establishment keeps getting the story wrong in the same general direction?
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Daily Wire: The viral claim that a Gazan boy was “gunned down” by Israel’s military inside a U.S.-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation site is false. The Daily Wire has exclusively confirmed that “Amir” is alive — and in a safe, undisclosed location after a false tale about his death was spread by an American contractor.
The news that the boy is alive and unharmed debunks the claim made by former Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) contractor Tony Aguilar, who has garnered attention from politicians, major media outlets, and prominent podcasts such as the Tucker Carlson Show.
The child, who was erroneously labeled “Amir” by Aguilar but is actually named Abdul Rahim Muhammad Hamden, can be seen in footage obtained by The Daily Wire smiling and introducing himself to an interviewer.
Ed: Pallywood strikes again. And again. And again.
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Press freedom on trial outside @Glinner case in London.@metpoliceuk stopped journalist @MrAndyNgo from filming, while trans activist Sophia Brookes’ supporters intimidated reporters and even struck a cameraman. Instead of protecting the press, police threatened those… https://t.co/cIO7ohOko4
— Genspect (@genspect) September 4, 2025
... police threatened those documenting it.
This is not policing, it is press suppression.
Ed: The UK does not have a First Amendment. It desperately needs one.
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Newsmax: A Republican Party midterm convention, which President Donald Trump floated last week, is likely a "done deal," House Speaker Mike Johnson told members of the press on Wednesday.
"The president called me when I was on the road, maybe a week ago or whenever this made news in the morning," the Louisiana Republican said during his press briefing. "He said, 'Mike, I got a great idea ... how about a midterm convention?'"
And that idea, Johnson said, is "genius."
Ed: Is it? The quadrennial conventions support presidential nominations, which by their nature are national. Midterm elections are more local, and getting them too close to national messaging may be a mistake. Also, national conventions eat up a lot of resources -- including time -- that may be better spent in the field. Given the stakes surrounding the next midterm and its impact on Trump achieving any of his goals in the final two years of his presidency, it seems like an unnecessary risk.
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🚨 BREAKING: 11th Circuit OVERTURNS judge that ordered Alligator Alcatraz to shut down, state AG announces
— Florida’s Voice (@FLVoiceNews) September 4, 2025
"The 11th Circuit not only blocked Judge Williams’ order to close Alligator Alcatraz, but they blocked her from proceeding with the case until the appeal is complete."
Ed: I fully expected DeSantis to prevail on appeal. The lawsuit was absurd, and it appears that the 11th Circuit may have been annoyed at having to intervene in it at all.
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John Ondrasik: I had to smile at Kyle Smith’s op-ed about the ability of aging rock stars to keep on keeping on (“Classic Rock of the 70s and Older,” op-ed, Aug. 21). Though I didn’t partake in much of the flagrant drug use of the ’70s and ’80s, it was certainly readily available. We knew the passwords to get into the post-gig speakeasies, and the band’s daily hangovers were as biting as their solos.
But times, like the body and mind, change. The tour-bus pharmacy has evolved. Pot has been replaced with probiotics, cigarettes are now Celexa, and Jose Cuervo is lost somewhere behind the Omega 3s, Vitamin Bs and beta blockers. If that looks like cocaine, feel free to sample our low-carb protein powder.
Ed: It's a delightful response to Smith's fun column, but it reminds me of something I've noticed. People are living well while living longer. Take a look at the photos of your grandparents or great-grandparents and their generation, and they looked elderly while in the 50s. Are we taking better care of ourselves? Yes, but I have a sneaking suspicion that the real difference here is smoking. It's not nearly as ubiquitous as it was before the 1970s. What explanations might our readers have? I'm curious to know what you think.
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I don't care how much you hate your political opponent, wishing death on the sitting President of the United States means you are a broken-brained SOB.
— Scott Jennings (@ScottJenningsKY) September 3, 2025
Looking at you, @Tim_Walz. pic.twitter.com/D74hE4gTSr
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