July 2018

Plus, we snagged a telephone scammer.

Hosted by Jim Swift

The federal price tag of Bernie Sanders's proposal is not surprising. But the implications are kind of insane.

Standing beside a collection of empty boxes labeled “Missing Records” on Tuesday, Minority leader Chuck Schumer redoubled Democrats’ calls for documents from Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh’s time as staff secretary in the Bush administration.

Um, no.

“Urban-rural splits have become the great global divider,” the Financial Times’ Gideon Rachman writes in an interesting column Tuesday. Rachman notes that’s an old story in countries like the United States and Britain, where everyone knows that that rural conservatives do battle with urban liberals…

Also: In praise of Andrew Lloyd Webber, the other riders in the Tour, and more.

The president campaigned on the idea that the pact was a “total disaster.” Can he do better?

“Good for the country, good for them, good for us.”

Evgenia Citkowitz’s The Shades, reviewed

“We want to do something that changes behavior,” says Majority whip John Cornyn.

They may not be true, but they feel true.

Spoiler alert: It's Stalinism.

Plus, when you should leave the ballpark.

Off by 82 grand and a few days.

Mere days ago he condemned Hassan Rouhani’s ‘demented words of violence & death' in a tweet.

Giuseppe Conte heads a right-wing and populist coalition government

Kentucky senator had expressed reservations about the judge's record on surveillance and data collection.

Also: What Russian populism can teach us today, and more.

Hosted by Charlie Sykes.

As the comedian pivoted from political comedy to become a legend, so too will another generation of funny-men and -women—and soon.

On the special counsel, presidential pardons, and impeachment, the most important decisions will be rendered not by judges or senators but by the American people

Devin Nunes (R-Calif.), the chair of the House Intelligence Committee, is an exception to the rule that committee chairs, male or female, are allowed to run things as they choose. Democrats, left-wing groups, and those who obsess about Trump won’t let him.

I wish I’d bothered to learn more poetry when I was younger so that I could think beyond Yeats’s done-to-death “Second Coming” when musing about British politics right now. Perhaps in 2018 it is better explained in meme form, as the dog in the burning house muttering “This is fine,” or the sweating…

It’s the telecoms who are invading our privacy.

Gary Saul Morson on the rise and fall of the first Russian populists.

Amy Henderson on the case for warts-and-all biographies.

Michael Taube on the death of Gord Downie and the end of the Tragically Hip, "Canada's house band."

Andrew Egger reviews Joe Mungo Reed’s ‘We Begin Our Ascent.’

Sophia Buono on a starkly authentic film depicting a young athlete’s struggles.

On July 25, 2018, at approximately 3:00 p.m. eastern daylight time, the tweets fell silent, and a truce was declared on the European front of the trade war between the United States and, well, the rest of the world. President Donald Trump of the United States of America, and President Jean-Claude…

Look at Ozy Fest and despair.

Hosted by Charlie Sykes.

An all-encompassing poll of campaigns provides a different way to chart out key races.

Also: An indulgent biography of Donald Maclean, and more.

Applying checks and balances to our government’s surveillance activities was the right idea. But who will oversee the overseers?

"Well, I call it stupid."

What do most people do when they see a naked or nearly naked person in public? Most probably experience a moment of shock, point and laugh, call the police, or all of the above. Ask Eric Stagno. After seeing him parade around naked in a Planet Fitness gym doing “yoga-like” exercises, alarmed gym…

Rob Rogers, cartoonist at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette for 25 years, was recently fired. Rogers was known for drawing acerbically satirical cartoons about Donald Trump. It follows, at least in the minds of the #resistance, that he was fired because he was anti-Trump. The Scrapbook knows about this…

One of the annoyances of modern life is the way in which highly technical studies in medical journals are reported in the media as though their practical relevance were immediate. Journalists who don’t grasp the nuances of the study’s conclusions and qualifications report that white wine may cause…

The left-wing organization MoveOn subjected itself to ridicule this week by posting a message to its social media accounts: “Low wages are violence. Knowingly letting people suffer is violence. It must end.” The attached graphic had to do with the minimum wage, which the staff at MoveOn in their…

Daily Show host Trevor Noah has expressed the novel view that France’s recent victory in the World Cup is an “African victory,” since most of the players on the team are of African descent. This didn’t go over well with the French ambassador to the United States, Gérard Araud, who wrote a terse…

Did Trump’s coddling of Putin damage his approval rating?

A number of Republican lawmakers met with White House economic and trade advisers Larry Kudlow and Peter Navarro on Thursday morning, primarily to ask one question: What is their long-term trade plan?

Plus, when airline CEOs sit in the cheap seats.

Hosted by Charlie Sykes.

The July 25 resolution by 11 House Republicans introducing articles of impeachment against deputy attorney general Rod Rosenstein is not a serious legal document.

Also: The life and music of Ukrainian Jews, how the opioid crisis began, and more.

In this latest episode, the Substandard reflects on Stanley Kubrick and the 50th anniversary of 2001: A Space Odyssey. Sonny and JVL wade into the James Gunn tweet controversy. Vic is celebrating Civilization and its contents. Plus ladder golf and Carmine’s portions!

On Tuesday night, Brian Kemp—the Georgia secretary of state and self-proclaimed “politically incorrect conservative” who owns a truck, talks about standing for the national anthem and happily supports President Trump—beat Lieutenant Gov. Casey Cagle in the state’s gubernatorial runoff, officially…

Analyzing the trade "deal" Trump made with the European Union.

The White House disinvites Kaitlan Collins.

Plus, how abortion polls.

Trump's anger about the Mueller investigation will make any meeting counterproductive.

The secretary of state faced lawmakers still angry about the president’s Helsinki press conference.

No. It’s just amateur, unmarked, photoshopping.

(Spoiler: Yes.)

Public views of abortion in all 50 states (plus the District of Columbia) would take on an added importance if Roe v. Wade were overturned.

The Justice Department has charged 12 Russian officials with hacking the DNC. Matt Tait helped shine a light on their meddling in 2016.

Also: The Trotskyite in the Gulag, the best English detective novel, and more.

The Pyrrhic logic of trade wars.

“Brexit means Brexit.” That’s Theresa May’s most famous slogan. The problem is, it doesn’t really mean anything because the British vote to leave the European Union provided no indication of what leaving would actually entail. And it’s not clear that the people who supported it really agreed on a…

It’s been a rough few weeks for the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. A bedrock of the liberal international order, NATO has over the years faced challenges and crises from both within and without. But until recently, few would have envisioned NATO becoming a punching bag for the president of the…

Just like the woman herself.

The National Park Service’s skewed teaching on Japanese internment.

Lord Carrington, 1919-2018.

Mark Hemingway, stock boy.

House Republicans will have the opportunity to press White House economic and trade advisers Larry Kudlow and Peter Navarro on the administration’s handling of tariffs and trade wars during a closed-door meeting on Thursday.

Plus, Chick-fil-A at home?!

Looks like trade wars are not that good or easy to win.

Hosted by Charlie Sykes.

Also: Dictator lit, slavery and American wealth, and more.

The unhappy track record of happy talk.

Was the 14th Amendment a new Constitution?

What we can learn about modern Russia from a century-old massacre.

Legislation names Hezbollah, Hamas, the Islamic State, and Boko Haram as examples.

Ohio Republican Jim Jordan on Monday stood behind a GOP memo alleging surveillance abuse in the case of Carter Page even after the release of the FISA applications contradicted some of the memo’s claims.

The president’s blustery tweet was part of a defensible policy on Iran.

The footnotes

The White House press secretary’s statement seemingly came out of nowhere: “Not only is the president looking to take away [former CIA director John] Brennan's security clearance,” Sarah Huckabee Sanders said Monday. “He's also looking into the clearances of Comey, Clapper, Hayden, Rice, and…

Plus, can Congressional Aides be happy?

It has nothing to do with his tweets.

In this latest micro episode, the Substandard breaks apart the trailers for Aquaman and Shazam! Everyone agrees Aquaman will be an unmitigated disaster. Sonny is betting Shazam! does great numbers. JVL strongly disagrees. Vic liked the version of Shazam! starring Shaquille O’Neal.

What do you think?

The British human rights advocate has worked to hold China accountable as the regime reaches "well beyond its borders to silence critics," he says.

Hosted by Charlie Sykes.

Also: “Almost everything about the Rudyard Kipling row is stupid,” and more.

A multi-million-dollar agency gets free work from poor writers.

The Special Election in Ohio's 12th District Has Flown Under the Radar

On Monday, July 9, President Donald Trump nominated Brett Kavanaugh to replace Anthony Kennedy on the Supreme Court. Kavanaugh is a serious and respected federal judge with a well-thought-through constitutionalist orientation. Based on what we know now, he deserves enthusiastic support from all who…

The governor’s race in the Peach State has been combative. With President Trump intervening, it’s about to go all-out.

Virtue signaling with quinoa and kale.

The pitfalls of weighing Trump’s actions one at a time and hoping thereby to arrive at a judicious assessment.

Why the success of the Federalist Society is unlikely to be replicated.

Anthony Daniels on the literary talent (or lack thereof ) of tyrants at the typewriter.

James Gardner on the surprising resilience of Giacometti’s spindly statues.

Alice B. Lloyd on Robert Anthony Siegel’s memoir of outlaws, love, and family.

Adam J. White on what happens when the commander in chief takes the mound.

Did the Duke of Buckingham conspire to kill King James I?

Hamzeh Daoud, a rising junior at Stanford, took to Facebook on Friday afternoon to declare that he’ll “physically fight zionists on campus next year.” Angered by the Israeli government’s passage of its “basic law,” Daoud said that he’ll physically fight zionists on campus “if someone comes at me…

Lots of good news last week. "The economy is as good as it’s ever been, ever. . . . People can’t believe what’s happening,” says President Trump, abandoning his usual preference for understatement. Economic growth “may be 4 percent for a quarter or two” Larry Kudlow, the president’s economic…

The city hosting the 2020 GOP convention has come a long way.

Hosted by Charlie Sykes.

We'll let you guess.

The government seeks to learn from the events of 2016.

The pace has been dizzying. With all the walk backs, reversals, dropped contractions, and various obfuscations: Russia week has been Peak Trump. Herewith some quick takeaways.

Marco Rubio warns that the United States is not ready for the havoc that impersonation technology can wreak.

Did the president’s “team” actually discuss handing over U.S. citizens to Kremlin interrogators?

A muted reaction to Helsinki from the GOP Congress.

John Podhoretz explains how The Rock's poorly chosen star vehicles risk squandering fans’ affections.

Tom Perrotta on the Serbian star’s Wimbledon comeback.

Politics is rarely edifying, much less elegant. And the mayhem over President Trump’s comments after meeting with Vladimir Putin and the response of his adversaries is an example of just how bad politics can get.

Is there anything with a shorter shelf life than the official talking points of the Trump White House? For Donald Trump, it’s the script to go off script, and any statement he makes today will be altered, contradicted, or undone tomorrow.

Donald Trump has long been loath to concede that operatives of the Russian government interfered in the 2016 presidential election, feeling as he does that the media like to talk about it mainly to suggest that he only defeated Hillary Clinton thanks to the aid of foreign troublemakers. It’s…

“‘Having a vagina doesn’t make a woman,’ she said in an interview. ‘Even if many people don’t want to see me as a woman . . .’ ” (“Aiming for Miss Universe, and Transgender Rights,” New York Times, July 14).

By historical standards, security and quality of life in 21st-century America are remarkably high. We may be on a slow decline, but the journey to the bottom is a very long one. And despite daily predictions of doom, Donald Trump has yet to turn the country into a hellscape where the few citizens…

For more than a year and a half now, hundreds of intellectuals and historians and commentators have written books and articles and delivered lectures on the origins and meaning of Donald Trump’s 2016 victory. A foreign observer could be forgiven for thinking every writer on politics and culture in…

The Scrapbook is now at the middle station of life, and for as long as we can remember, bright people have been devising clever ways to get kids to read books. “Educational” television programs that encourage reading, ad campaigns promoting book-reading, kids’ books full of flatulent humor, book…

An op-ed in the New York Times on July 14 caught our attention: “We Pick a Party, Then a Church.” The author, Michele Margolis, an assistant professor of political science at Penn, contends that the common assumption about religious and political affiliations in America—that party affiliations are…

Schumer-led effort calls on Trump to refuse Putin's request to interview Americans.

Hosted by Charlie Sykes.

In this latest episode, the Substandard discusses the Rock's latest actioner, Skyscraper, and the disaster flick genre (The Poseidon Adventure > Beyond the Poseidon Adventure). JVL buys a ton of baseball cards. Sonny reappraises The Dark Knight III: The Master Race. And Vic reappraises Neve…

Must everything be about the Washington and the presidency?

Trump's most popular tweets are written by his staff.

Hosted by Charlie Sykes.

Senator says 'there is real value in having a broad bipartisan statement' even if the measure has no force of law.

A recent poll and one from May indicate the beleaguered Democratic incumbent is unexpectedly weak.

The site claims a "satire" label. Readers don't believe it.

The president’s approach to international policy is venturing outside the very mainstream of American politics.

What happens in voters’ backyards can affect their choices as powerfully as what is happening in D.C.

Also: What Merton teaches us today, strange nineteenth-century Iranian art, a reader recommends Leibowitz, and more.

The Open Championship returns to Carnoustie, an historic landscape of pain.

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez says she’s “willing to learn and evolve.” That would be good.

J.D. Greear, the new president of the Southern Baptist Convention, wants to distance his church from political partisanship. But it would be a mistake to assume that means a retreat from the public sphere.

The New York Times recently ran an article, "How Much Will the Trade War Cost a Typical American Family? Around $60 (So Far)", that shows how broad is the misunderstanding of President Trump’s tariffs. Roughly speaking the article added up the cost assuming everybody keeps buying from China. But…

It's only a question of how, when — and whether we'll notice.

David Skinner, taskmaster.

As a presidential candidate, Donald Trump vowed to nominate federal judges “in the mold of” Antonin Scalia, and he has lived up to his word. Neil Gorsuch was a superior pick to replace the late Justice Scalia in 2017. And the nomination of Brett Kavanaugh to replace Anthony Kennedy on the Supreme…

Trump's "I misspoke" clarification is even worse than his original answer.

What Trump actually did is bad enough.

The Senate majority leader did not mention the president by name, and in response to a question later said, “I'm not here to critique anyone else. I'm here to speak for myself.”

Plus, Philip Van Cleave's suspect defense.

Fake News can mimic reality in such a way that people begin to incorrectly dismiss actual reports. Take this headline from the station WHNT-19 in Alabama: “Jasper officers suspended for alleged ‘white power’ gesture.” The headline is paired with an image of the symbol known widely as an “O.K.”

Also: Peter Lanyon’s art of sky and air, giving up on baseball, and more.

Hosted by Charlie Sykes

As if weren’t enough that Donald Trump waffled about whether Russia has been interfering with U.S. affairs as Vladimir Putin stood next to him on Monday, his dissembling came on the same day a Russian woman was charged in a U.S. district court with interfering in U.S. affairs.

Wrong Mayor. False Report.

A new new low.

He's running.

Senate Foreign Relations Committee chairman worries about damage to relations with allies.

Anchor Chris Wallace even attempted to hand the Russian head of state a hard copy of the recent indictment of 12 Russian intelligence officers in the Mueller probe.

Donald Trump’s atrocious performance in Helsinki shows that nothing positive he might do is worth the downside.

Plus, Elon Musk steps in it.

The first president without the ability to code-switch.

The Arizona senator leads a chorus of GOP condemnations of the president’s press conference with Vladimir Putin.

In this latest micro episode, JVL, Sonny, and Vic share their wishes and wishlist on Prime Day 2018. But is it a Merry Prime Day or Happy Prime Day?

The Donald Trump presidency somehow reaches a new low.

Also: The ethics of tact, Bergman at 100, and more.

Do liberals care about climate change, or do they just care about caring about climate change?

Hosted by Charlie Sykes.

Putin has already won.

Much to lose, little to gain.

A powerful woman, a protest movement, and the political interests impeding them.

There are better ways than tariffs to get concessions.

Congress has the power to do so.

Three lessons from Hayek that helped a conservative reformer understand that authority should be devolved.

Catesby Leigh on the fight to build a World War I memorial near the White House.

B.D. McClay reviews Daisy Hildyard's 'The Second Body'—a thought experiment in how we relate to the world.

The rise of sabermetrics makes rational sense—but it has also made the sport less fun to watch.

Kevin Gutzman on what Noah Feldman's recent biography of the fourth president gets right—and wrong.

Just like the balloon designed to mock him.

John Simon introduces the great director to a new generation on his centennial.

Veni, vidi, vici. That’s what Trump would have tweeted en route to a weekend of golf at his courses in Scotland had he not forgotten his high school Latin. Traditional diplomat Nicholas Burns, former U.S. ambassador to NATO, says “The president treated the NATO allies almost with contempt.” Delete…

The tournament is great. But it could great greater.

Charges are also warning to anyone who may have communicated with the Russians that lying about it is a bad idea.

And how the Thai soccer team was rescued.

In wake of a new indictment against Russian agents, Dan Coats warns that Moscow’s 'actions are persistent, they’re pervasive, and they’re meant to undermine America’s democracy.'

Majority whip Steve Scalise: 'I think everyone ought to be on record about where they stand on that issue.'

The indictment does much to confirm that Russians meddled in the 2016 election.

Hosted by Charlie Sykes.

An old rumor finds new life.

Also: Don’t follow your passions.

So Brett Kavanaugh is now part of the story. Kavanaugh, from that part of the swamp known as Bethesda, Md., is President Trump’s nominee for the seat vacated by retiring Justice Anthony Kennedy. If Kavanaugh is confirmed, and if, as advertised, he is a constitutionalist, the country will be closer…

When President Trump announced last Monday that he had chosen Brett Kavanaugh to replace Anthony Kennedy, his little speech rang out like a starter pistol. Instantly every activist, party hack, and ideological mainchancer bolted from the blocks, issuing petitions and press releases and formal…

Justice Anthony Kennedy’s retirement triggered alarm among left-wing lawmakers and activists by giving Donald Trump his second Supreme Court nominee in less than two years. It also inspired some to revive the idea of "packing the court" with additional Democratic appointees as soon as circumstances…

Democrats will go after him by fair means or foul. Mostly foul.

One of China’s bravest departs again to the darkness.

Will he ever stop running?

The GOP primary in Wisconsin is a contest of personalities, not policies.

Whether the end of (Theresa) May comes in July or September, Jacob Rees-Mogg will be Tory executioner and Tory kingmaker.

Subtlety not being Donald Trump’s customary approach to his job, his nomination of Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court was a surprisingly artful political play.

"How will you cover 2018 without the repeat of the 2016 errors and continue on with what I have read as really strong journalism since 2017? . . .

It’s July. The news tends to be less momentous than at other times. The Scrapbook understands that. But the media’s sudden fixation on individual acts of “protest” has us wishing for more stories about kids giving back to the community and celebrities saying dumb things.

On June 3, at 6:13 p.m., President Trump was evidently in a bad mood. He had heard or read one too many times that he uses bad grammar and eccentric capitalization. He tweeted:

One of the tragedies of American life, as we’ve had occasion to lament in these pages before, is the slow decline of local journalism. The Internet and social media seem to meet many people’s need to stay connected to their communities, news organizations are widely reviled by a polarized public,…

The line between politics and entertainment grows blurrier with each passing hour. Consider: As the battle over President Trump’s second Supreme Court nomination began to take shape, millions of conservatives in search of expert analysis tuned into . . . Tomi Lahren.

President Donald Trump visited Brussels on July 10 as part of his three-nation European trip. There he offended our NATO allies and outraged both the American and European news media by excoriating the many alliance members who spend below the 2 percent of GDP they agreed to spend on defense in…

With the retirement of Justice Anthony Kennedy and nomination of Brett Kavanaugh to take his place, liberal academics and commentators are panicked, so sure are they that a more conservative Supreme Court will overturn Roe v. Wade. Believing as we do that Roe was a moral and constitutional…

Plus, Jon Kyl the sherpa.

The disgraced FBI agent's high-minded self-defense is hard to take seriously, but Republicans present no evidence that he did anything to stop Trump.

The early numbers make sense based on what we know about partisanship and history.

Hosted by Jim Swift.

Trump manages to pick a Supreme Court nominee that appeals both to the establishment and the Deplorables.

Daniella Greenbaum left her job for defending Scarlett Johansson's.

Also: Should teachers use Minecraft to get kids interested in reading?

On this latest mega episode, the Substandard discusses Ant-Man and the Wasp and how a film with such a small scope ends up a big winner. JVL gets trolled over his recent dishwasher purchase, quite literally a sound investment. Sonny talks Justice League and Zack Snyder. And Vic talks all things…

House Speaker Paul Ryan discussed his upcoming retirement and future political prospects during an appearance at the Economic Club of Washington, D.C. on Thursday morning.

He’s right—or at least not wrong.

New polling shows Missouri Republican Senate candidate Josh Hawley with a slight lead over Democratic incumbent Claire McCaskill in what promises to be one of the country’s tightest and most consequential races.

Republicans passed a symbolic measure to call out Trump's tariffs. Some say they wouldn't support it if it actually counted.

For much of the post-World War II era, the United States believed it required a military capable of fighting and winning two major conflicts at once. In no small measure this was a legacy of the war just fought, with major action in the Pacific against Imperial Japan and in Europe against Nazi…

What does AT&T want to do to HBO?

When Theresa May goes down, Jacob Rees-Mogg will be Tory executioner and Tory kingmaker.

What costs too much for Republicans does too little for Dems.

Plus, D.C. dive bars are dying.

Former FBI official to testify before the House judiciary and oversight committees.

Hosted by Jonathan V. Last.

The Kentucky senator is staying mum about any concerns he may have regarding Kavanaugh’s views on spying powers.

We've reached tit-for-tat-for-tit in the president's trade war.

In this latest micro episode, the Substandard reflects on the passing of Marvel legend Steve Ditko, the reclusive illustrator behind Spider-Man, Doc Oc, and Dr. Strange, among others. The discussion of Ditko vs. Stan Lee turns into a full-on geekfest when JVL, Sonny, and Vic recall their favorite…

Just before a largely symbolic Senate vote aiming to curtail President Donald Trump’s trade powers on Wednesday, North Carolina Republican Thom Tillis told THE WEEKLY STANDARD he would support the measure—but only because it is non-binding.

Also: What is a faithful translation?

Defending an actress for being hired to do a job is apparently beyond the pale these days.

Even as Republican leaders in the Senate have become more open to a measure that would roll back some of President Donald Trump’s unilateral trade powers, GOP leadership in the House is sounding increasingly skeptical of the idea.

Given that Republicans hold a slim 51-49 majority in the Senate and a few key moderates in both parties could decide the fate of Brett Kavanaugh’s nomination to the Supreme Court, here are a few facts and possibilities about his confirmation process.

Jeff Flake’s personal trade war, waged with hopes of imposing congressional oversight over President Donald Trump’s unilateral national security tariffs, could move closer to a resolution this week.

Do Democrats know what a judge does?

“They can probably create some bumps in the road,” Senate majority whip John Cornyn said of Democrats in opposition, “But they can’t stop it.”

Protesters waved Lionel Messi shirts stained with fake blood outside Argentina’s training facility in Spain recently. Fans were urged to burn pictures and jerseys of the Argentinian phenom. These were not soccer hooligans. Nor was it theatrics from Iceland, Nigeria or Croatia, the countries that…

Old center-right policies get caught in the web of opposition to something new.

SwingSeat: Republicans get good news in Tennessee but bad news in West Virginia and Montana.

Senators are coming together to examine ideas on paid family leave Wednesday, encouraged along by the support of first daughter and senior White House adviser Ivanka Trump.

Conservative columnist defended casting Scarlett Johnansson as a trans man.

Ahead of the meeting between President Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin, both Republicans and Democrats in Congress are reaffirming support for sanctions levied against Russia after its annexation of Crimea in 2014.

The Maine senator is one of two pro-choice Republicans whom Democrats hope to sway.

Hosted by Charlie Sykes.

SwingSeat update: Why new polling Arizona, Texas, and Nevada doesn't change the overall picture.

Also: An interview with the new chairman of the NEH, and more.

Asked by Shannon Bream about the upcoming fight over the nomination of Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court, Senator Ben Sasse of Nebraska delivered, as is his habit, a brief seminar on civics: “A judge’s job is not to be making social policy for America,” he said. “A judge’s job is to defend the…

(1) Naming Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court is the least Trumpiest thing Trump has done so far (tied with his appointment of Neil Gorsuch.) The often-erratic president followed a highly un-erratic path to this pick, outsourcing the vetting to groups such as the Federalist Society and working…

It was 8:30 p.m., and hundreds of people were yelling incoherently back and forth at each other in front of the Supreme Court. Most were there to oppose President Donald Trump’s pick to succeed retiring Supreme Court justice Anthony Kennedy, Brett Kavanaugh. (You can read more about Kavanaugh…

Let the hearings begin.

The president chooses an originalist who would give conservatives a solid majority.

Seth Grossman made multiple racist social media posts and called diversity 'a bunch of crap.'

Is the president a shill for Big Formula? Maybe. That doesn't mean he's wrong.

Plus, introducing TWS Access!

Hosted by Charlie Sykes.

China is targeting agriculture because of farm country's support for the president.

Britain’s prime minister rocked by resignations related to Brexit.

Also: The 1518 dancing plague of Strasbourg, bad memoirs, and more.

North Korea was never going to “denuclearize.”

The coffee giant is ditching plastic straws— for the right reason.

Both entered politics as outsiders, but that is where the similarity ends.

Nearly every news cycle in the Trump Era contains at least one predictable part—the Trump Tweet. Whether the news cycle is about a policy debate, a political scandal, a cultural fight between Trump and a celebrity—or something else entirely—the president almost always tweets something.

On June 22, Jahi McMath’s mother announced that her dear daughter had died. Again. While the death of a child is always particularly tragic, few families have had to deal with it twice—with the same child.

It is oddly fitting that Steve Ditko had been dead for a week before the rest of the world discovered word of his death.

What we've got here is a failure to communicate.

Reflecting on the prominence of the art.

Even those without a college degree who are seeking work are doing well.

The American economic expansion, heading into its tenth year, still has room to run. So say some of the best regarded pundits. The Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta estimates that in the second quarter the economy has grown at an annual rate of 3.8 percent. Too gloomy a guess for forecasters at…

The United States and China moved full steam ahead with a trade war on Friday, leaving a number of American industries about to be caught in the crossfire.

Are we talking about the same lawmaker?

Today on the Daily Standard podcast, editor-in-chief Stephen Hayes and reporter Andrew Egger discuss the latest from Washington, including the resignation of EPA administrator Scott Pruitt, Trump's latest defense of Vladimir Putin, and the president's upcoming Supreme Court nomination announcement.

Also: A life of Alcibiades, Christian hospitality, and more.

The Wisconsin Supreme Court rules for professor John McAdams

Donald Trump is unpopular. If you’ve read any of the wonkier election or polling coverage in the last 18 or so months, that shouldn’t be a surprise. But what, exactly, do people like—and dislike—about Trump? Quinnipiac recently did some polling that sheds light on these two questions.

The SCOTUS shortlister is recalled as ‘remarkably fair-minded and smart.'

Roger Federer has staked his claim as the best ever, while Serena Williams is still making her bid in the women's game at age 36. But since they've done it after their careers seemed over, maybe it's wise to wait before making such declarations.

Data show that people tend to support nominees who espouse “Original Intent,” defined as judges who “look to the intent of the drafters and ratifiers of the Constitution to reach conclusions about its meaning.”

There’s a pretty good reason Brett Kavanaugh is likely to be President Trump’s nominee to replace Justice Anthony Kennedy on the Supreme Court. Kavanaugh appears to meet the president’s three criteria better than the other finalists.

President Trump tweeted the news Thursday afternoon.

Hosted by Charlie Sykes.

Also: An alternative Nobel Prize in Literature, the obscene price of art, and more.

His relationship with James Comey could present problems.

Creeping totalitarianism.

In this latest episode, the Substandard discusses Sicario: Day of Soldado. Sonny goes off on all the ways it went wrong. JVL gets ready for a day of baseball with his mystery date. Vic gets ready for a tropical 5K "fun" run. Plus a ranking of best and worst sequels and a dishwasher update!

Obvious fake news churns out real threats.

For what seems like the hundredth time since President Trump took office, Sen. Susan Collins is in a bind. Justice Anthony Kennedy’s retirement has provided Trump with the opportunity to appoint another conservative to the Supreme Court—provided he can manage to get one through a closely-divided…

Intelligence committee affirms assessment issued in January 2017 that Putin approved the influence campaign.

On June 26, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez pulled off an upset victory against Incumbent Democratic Rep. Joe Crowley, a senior Democrat who had been floated as a replacement for Nancy Pelosi. Ocasio-Cortez is a Democratic Socialist who ran on a platform that involved abolishing ICE, Medicare for all,…

We have now had several opportunities to see just what the president, practitioner of the art of the deal, can do when given an opportunity to negotiate with other heads of state. Short answer: give away the store.

DeMarcus Cousins is an economic genius.

She wasn't even on the panel.

Today on the Daily Standard Podcast, Chris Deaton and Ethan Epstein join host Charlie Sykes to discuss what's next for the Democratic party now that Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez may represent its future, as well as President Trump's relationship with three very different men: Kim Jong un, Vladimir…

The chairman of the Democratic National Party, Tom Perez, on Tuesday said socialist political candidates like Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez are the "future" of the party.

Environmental data for 2017 are pouring in, and the results might not be what you’d expect.

ALA won’t honor Little House on the Prairie author anymore: All the more reason to read her recent biography.

“No one is able to counter this guy in an intelligent way,” the film director said.

Justice Anthony Kennedy is retiring a villain to the left. That's partly due to a spate of final Supreme Court decisions this summer in which he agreed that the First Amendment applies to Americans—even if those Americans happen to run a pro-life pregnancy center or own a bakery—but mostly due to…

For a party desperately in need of pre-Social Security-age blood, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez seems like a promising prospect. The woman who felled Representative Joe Crowley in the New York 14th last week is just 28-years-old, which would make her the youngest member of Congress next January when she…

Greetings from the Midwestern Bureau of TWS. We’re dark this week, as regular readers know, but we’re not taking the week off! The website must go on. A number of Standard writers and editors are back in their non-swamp ancestral homes for the Fourth. I’m in Saint Louis, where I went to college…

In the words of Run–D.M.C., it’s tricky.

On this latest micro episode, the Substandard discusses LeBron James exiting Cleveland (again) to become a Los Angeles Laker. Wrestling analogies abound!

Hosted by Charlie Sykes.

Anthony Kennedy’s retirement has sparked a free-fall panic among progressives, Democrats, and others who for five decades have enjoyed the fruits of rule-by-judiciary on the nation’s most contested social issues. Left-of-center commentators have proclaimed that Roe is dead, that Kennedy’s famous…

LeBron James gave Cleveland fans four incredible seasons. That'll have to be enough.

This is one the best GOP results of the Trump era.

If enacted, the STATES Act could provide a valuable framework for policy-making in a fractured and diverse country.

Rule of law or family values?

A few weeks ago I received a printed postcard in the mail, beginning “Dear Friend of Donald Hall.” In a few brief lines it announced that Don had been diagnosed with cancer, and would no longer be able to read or answer any letters.

As the list of possible SCOTUS picks narrows to rumored likelies, what about the women?

The Declaration of Independence as strategy.