Roundup
As often is the case these days, there’s a ton of news and so I’m resorting to a roundup for some of it:
(1) Trump actually has made America great again – for the moment. He’s shown leadership on the world stage and accomplished something most countries applaud (some of them secretly, some overtly): the destruction or near-destruction of Iran’s nuclear program. But the Senate Democrats (minus Fetterman) would like to have been able to stop him, and would like to prevent future such actions by him:
The resolution, authored by Sen. Tim Kaine of Virginia, aimed to affirm that Trump should seek authorization from Congress before launching more military action against Iran. Asked Friday if he would bomb Iranian nuclear sites again if he deemed necessary, Trump said, “Sure, without question.”
The measure was defeated in a 53-47 vote in the Republican-held Senate. One Democrat, Sen. John Fetterman of Pennsylvania, joined Republicans in opposition, while Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky was the only Republican to vote in favor.
Democrats had no such qualms about Obama’s bombing efforts abroad.
(2) Speaking of double standards, there’s Justice Kagan in 2022 on universal injunctions:
In a stunning display of judicial flip-flopping, Kagan’s own words from 2022 have come back to haunt her, exposing the left’s all-too-familiar habit of changing the rules when it suits their political objectives. …
Back in 2022, when President Biden was in the White House and conservatives were the ones seeking relief from his executive orders, Kagan was openly skeptical of nationwide injunctions.
“This can’t be right that one district judge can stop a nationwide policy in its tracks and leave it stuck for the years that it takes to go through a normal process,” she said.
(3) Did Andrew Sullivan just notice that trans extremism hurts gay people? That’s been obvious for well over a decade, and not just in the ways Sullivan mentions. I haven’t read Sullivan’s piece – it’s in the NY Times, and I can’t get behind their paywall at the moment – but the summary at the link, plus the quotes from Sullivan’s article, indicate he thinks that the excesses of the trans movement and in particular its move towards going after the children have alienated some of the public from the gay rights movement as well. Although that is certainly the case, the trans movement hurts gay people more directly by encouraging minors who would otherwise grow up to be gay or lesbian to mutilate themselves in an effort to change sex instead. This is most obvious in a country such as Iran, which punishes homosexuality harshly but encourages sex changes. But even in Western countries, the trans movement draws from people who would otherwise be gay if trans propaganda hadn’t swayed them.
(4) Cuomo isn’t withdrawing from the mayoral race:
While it’s hard to predict with any degree of certainty how this ultimately will play out, the first post-mayoral primary poll is out and shows Cuomo and Mamdani both with equal levels of support, and Adams trailing badly.
I hadn’t followed the mayoral race until a couple of days ago, but from what I’ve read and heard, Cuomo was sort of just phoning it in. Of course, plenty of New Yorkers dislike him for very good reasons. But still, he really didn’t attack Mamdani sufficiently, probably believing that he (Cuomo) could coast to victory. Now he’s woken up. But will New York? As far as Adams goes, he hadn’t really started his campaign till now. The big problem, however – aside for the fact that all these candidates are deeply flawed – is that the anti-Mamdani vote is split among Sliwa (the Repubublican, who probably doesn’t have any chance at all), Adams, and Cuomo.
(5) Speaking of Mamdani, the WaPo’s editorial board has come out against him:
Usually the liberal rag is little more than a mouthpiece for the DNC, so to see them go after a Democrat this hard is a stunner and reveals two things: 1) Mamdani and his extremist policies are truly a danger to the Big Apple, and 2), leftists are scared right now.
The headline of the piece is “Zohran Mamdani’s victory is bad for New York and the Democratic Party.”
The big problem, however – aside for the fact that all these candidates are deeply flawed – is that the anti-Mamdani vote is split among Sliwa (the Repubublican, who probably doesn’t have any chance at all), Adams, and Cuomo.
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Mark your ranked-choice ballot for (1) Curtis Sliwa, (2) Eric Adams, (3) Andrew Cuomo. Oh, wait, there is no ranked-choice voting in general elections, so you have a problem.
What did Democrats expect?
“Did Andrew Sullivan just notice that trans extremism hurts gay people?”
Decades ago, the rainbow crowd were outing in-the-closet gay people.
That was despicable. No doubt many closeted gay people had lives ruined.
Acquaintance married with four kids was outed. Nobody had a clue. He became an alcoholic
Archive.is usually routes around the NYT paywall.
Sullivan’s “now it can be told” for anyone curious.
Lots of people told him at the time of the original gay marriage victories that was a lie then, bloggers we still follow, I personally, probably also other people who comment here, but also people working for gay marriage then came out and said it then.
The “slippery slope” is a fallacy in formal argumentation, but when you’re talking about anything involving common-law-based legal systems that rely on precedent and analogy to fit new situations into existing law, and when you are talking about the shaping of public opinion toward breaching taboos, it is a straightforward description of what is exceedingly likely to happen.
Now Sullivan wants to go back up the slope to the place where he was comfortable, having been one of the primary architects of that slippery slope. The slippery slopes don’t work that way, that’s why you don’t make them.
Curious… Cuomo resigns the governorship, but is persevering for the mere mayoralty. He must care deeply about the fate of the metropolis. And now there’s word of Stefanik running for the governorship! She might succeed where Zeldin failed by a nose. Interesting.
The gay rights movement, especially in the marriage years, had long asked for simple liberal equality and mutual respect —
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It was a sales pitch and their antagonists saw through it.
Couplet is “=” (politically congruent) to couple
Gender: masculine, feminine refers to sex-correlated attributes
Trans- refers to a state or process of divergence.
Homosexuals are in the transgender spectrum. So what?
Rainbow symbols and rhetoric in the human context are albinophobic.
Marriage and nondiscrimination under Democratic law is inclusive: pedophilia, homosexuality, sadomasochism, polygamy, etc. #NoJudgment #NoLabels #LoveWins?
That said, civil unions for all consenting adults. #HateLovesAbortion
1) These dumb ***** don’t get that the constitution and laws are not a suicide pact. POTUS has the duty to “do the right thing”, constitution and laws be damn.
My father used to say don’t ask questions you can’t stand the answer to. Lahaina is a perfect example: law required permission to use the irrigation water for fire fighting. They were denied. I wouldn’t have asked. Cut the damn lock and open the valves.
5) This mandami dolt reminds me of that sleaze ball Ellis character in the first Die Hard movie.
Does NYC have a runoff if no one gets a majority in a mayoralty election with more than two candidates?
FOAF:
No. Justt a plurality.
FOX had a segment of the Man in the Street. However, it was a Women. They asked her about the Socialist saying he would tax White People more. Her comment was, ‘No, he said he would tax White areas more’. Yes looked Middle Aged and well off.
Sullivan wrote something similar—about the trans movement essentially being a war against gay people—about a year or so ago.
I remember being surprised to see it at the time because the claim (which to me seems clear as day—I had been thinking along the same lines) actually made some kind of sense…and when was the last time Andrew Sullivan made any kind of sense?
Of course, what he—somehow(!)—failed to mention, then and now (AFAIK), is that the trans movement is FAR MORE a war against straights or “normies” (whatever that might be)….:
Essentially it’s a war against society itself.
Cuomo is trying his very best to show da woild that he is, most definitely, a pimmel.
The standards of the left have all the characteristics of a pendulum. It doesn’t bother them in the least when this is pointed out.
Q: What do you get if you cross a Republican and a Bubba?
A: A Repubublican.
(2) Here is Senator Kennedy on Universal Injunctions. If Trump is the main attraction in the Government Comedy Hour, Kennedy is the opening act.
https://redstate.com/bobhoge/2025/06/28/sen-kennedy-breaks-down-scotus-injunction-decision-tells-detractors-to-file-hurt-feelings-report-n2191019
They are not an co-equal branch. There is no reading of the constitution that should make one think so. Congress is obviously supreme and the executive is obviously superior to the (spit) judiciary.
“Trump on a roll” – Even CNN has to admit that President Trump if stacking up wins!! Video (UPDATED)
https://commoncts.blogspot.com/2025/06/trump-on-roll-even-cnn-has-to-admit.html
Mamdani is NOT an aberration. For about 60 yrs each generation has happily paid the bill handed to them ( there was enough money) I don’t think this generation will. We are in for a lot of surprises!(It doesn’t mean they are right but they are there and they are a force)!
So the BBB survives a key vote 51 to 49. The turncoats are who you would expect: Thom and Rand. I’ve been looking for primary opponents to Thom. It seems there’s some buzz about Lara Trump entering the race. And then there’s Andy Nilsson. Let’s see who the President and his team find.
Paul has a principled argument Tillis has none of course the parliamentarian kept a lot of grift that had been stripped out like ev subsidies because skydragon
And some times they dont like a snickers
https://x.com/DataRepublican/status/1939332069794206146
@miguel:the parliamentarian
The “Blame the parliamentarian” tactic was signaled in the legacy media weeks ago, I commented on it at the time here.
The parliamentarian has no vote and no authority over the Senate, and serves at the pleasure of the Majority Leader. There is no such office mentioned in the Constitution. The parliamentarian is mentioned only twice in the Senate rules, both mentions related to who can be on the floor under what circumstances.
The chair of the Senate is the one who actually makes all rulings, and always can be overridden by a simple majority of the Senate. Blaming this and that on the parliamentarian is an old dodge to avoid accountability for the majority party. Both parties have used it.
Legacy media right now is amplifying this narrative with articles on who the parliamentarian is and how she has this mysterious power, but it’s all garbage.
The Senate just a month ago blew off the parliamentarian. As they have every right to do, and do whenever a majority wants to.
That’s all they have to do. There wasn’t even a parliamentarian before 1935… If they’re blaming the parliamentarian for not being able to do something, that’s simply a lie.
Incidentally that overruling of the parliamentarian in May was another “filibuster nuke”. Strangely under the radar. Funny how that works.
Trump says he’s going to find an alternative to Tillis. Trump’s endorsement, and funding from pro-Trump groups, would do a lot. The problem I see is that Trump endorsed Mark Robinson, and look where that got us. I hope opposition to Tillis will do something sensible this time.
On Cuomo: It seems to me that if he cared about New York rather than himself he would withdraw and endorse Adams.
Obviously the problem with the Senate is the same as it’s been for years. Most of the long-service GOP Senators were recruited to run by business groups, and are primarily concerned with business issues and want to enact the business agenda, which boils down to ‘fiscal conservative (unless it conflicts with corporate interests)/social liberal’. They can’t be as open about that as they used to be, o9f course. A few years ago they openly proclaimed that only a ‘business conservative/social liberal’ agenda could win elections. Now that that illusion lies shattered, they have to at least pretend to adapt.
That’s why Congress was more or less inert during Trump’s first term. Tax cuts? Fine. But that was all the GOP Senators really wanted to do. McConnell was willing to push a lot of Trump’s judges through, but otherwise he was business first. (Ditto Paul Ryan).
But their agenda hasn’t changed now. Tillis still wants open borders and massive immigration, because that’s what corporate America wants. Ditto Thune. Ditto several of the others. They’re still hoping they can wait out Trump and ‘go back to normal’ in 2028 or 2032.
— Sennacherib
One thing I’ve noticed over the years is that many, many rank-and-file ‘progressives’ simply take modern Western freedoms, liberties, and security for granted. They don’t understand how it happens, why it works, or how fundamentally unnatural those things are. So they just assume you can change anything you want, push any policy that suits your desires or immediate needs, and of course nothing else will change.
So having someone like Mamdani about to be mayor throws them for a loop.
Likewise those gays like Sullivan, who appear to be genuinely shocked and surprised that the avalanche didn’t stop with their one change. What they wanted was to be both gay and ‘normal’, culturally. They thought this was on offer, and so they backed the trojan horse of gay ‘marriage’.
Why would they believe something so transparently nonsensical? Because they wanted it so desperately. I’m not sure most straights can fully grasp this. They craved acceptance and normalization, and in common with many social lefties, they didn’t understand that the only way that could happen would be to rewire ‘normal’ into something else. Which made them natural suckers for the activists who were using them to push their own agenda.
Should they have known better? In principle, probably. But it’s like the old line that ‘the husband/wife is the last to know’ about the affair. That’s often true because the husband/wife often desperately doesn’t want it to be true, and so blinds themselves to it because the alternative is so very unpleasant.
Same thing with lefties shocked that many Muslims aren’t open to the gay agenda. They took it for granted that they would be. Of course they would be. That’s just ‘normal’. The default. Only the Right thinks otherwise. Then when reality smacks them in the face they’re shocked and mystified.
If it comes down to a hard choice, of course, the core lefty activists will choose the Muslims over the gays. If they can’t finesse it, they’ll end up telling the gays to get back in the closet, stop expecting their ‘marriages’ to be acknowledged by Muslims, and shut up.
Another thing about Mamdani is that he’s running for mayor of New York City. That’s where the big media power centers are (there and L.A.), that’s where the left corporate establishment often is. That’s where the NYT is, that’s the ‘second home’ of the Washington Post. So these people are personally affected, or potentially so, by a consequence of their theoretical policies. They always hate when that happens, and often suddenly change their tune.
The reason the country gave the illusion of unity immediately after 911 was that it happened in NYT, and so the elite power and media class felt personally threatened. As soon as that faded, they flipped back to siding with the enemy again, because they felt safe in doing so.
If the people of New York are stupid enough to follow the lead of the people in Los Angeles & Chicago then they deserve what they get. Very sad to see this happening to our once great cities.
Tillis just announced he will not run for re-election.
Hallelujah! Tillis whines that he’s been censured for being an “independent thinker.” He was censured for voting against the interests and policy preferences of the people who elected him. He voted against moving the Big Beautiful Bill forward claiming that Medicaid cuts would hurt North Carolinians. Only the ones here illegally, Thom.
Tillis and Murk are “this close” from doing a jumping Jim Jeffords. The difference is that jumping Jim switched control of the Senate from Republicans to Democrats. Now if they can convince two more Republicans to jump we’re talking. McConnell is a possibility. Does anyone know if the Mitt replacement from Utah, John Curtis, is a possibility for a jump?
“ The reason the country gave the illusion of unity immediately after 911 was that it happened in NYT…”
If only that wasn’t a typo
Bill Serra
“ If the people of New York are stupid enough”
The trouble with that is that it’s only some people from New York that are stupid. I live in California and you would think everyone here is a leftist but the state is so big that there’s a huge number of conservatives. In the last election, the Republican candidate for the Senate, Steve Garvey, got 41% of the vote with 6.3 million votes. And he was a poor candidate. In winning the 2024 Texas senate race, Ted Cruz got 53% with 6.0 million votes.
I have lived in California for 53 years and I’ll be damned if I’m going to let the left push me out. There are still some people who are willing to fight. A good example is the recently appointed United States attorney for Los Angeles, Bill Essayli. He has been prosecuting some of the blatant corruption in California government. Another good example is President Trump calling in the National Guard when the Los Angeles police were overwhelmed. Another good example is a Korean storekeeper who followed the example of his fellow storekeepers in the 1992 Los Angeles riots. He armed himself and protected his property.
We need to find organizations who will not give up. I send a lot of donations to reformcalifornia.org. Investigate them and send them money if you like what they are doing.
I’m of the belief that most of the Dem party are really communists in disguise. That said – they know that if New York goes full Commie, it’ll have repercussions across the country.
The WaPo knows this, and is trying to salvage the secret campaign to turn the country socialist using the boiling frog technique.
HC68,
I agree.
I personally think this is a matter of seeking power.