They Did It! America Doesn’t Have a King!

America is safe from monarchy now. The United Kingdom, Belgium, Denmark, Luxembourg, Monaco, Norway, the Netherlands, Spain, and Sweden all have monarchs, but George Conway and friends took to the streets in the United States to save our country from following their lead. Conway led chants while wearing a shirt with the message “I am Antifa,” so we know he was serious about his commitment to ensuring that King Charles III didn’t take advantage of Donald Trump’s notorious weakness as a president to retake the former colonies. Speaker Mike Johnson, though, wasn’t a fan of the rallies. POLITICO: “They needed a stunt,” Johnson said. “They needed a show. Chuck Schumer has — needs cover right now. He’s closed the government down because he needs political cover, and this was a part of it.” … Reports of the protests show demonstrators dressed in costumes of inflatable animals, dancing in the streets and holding signs criticizing Trump and his administration. Organizers estimated that almost 7 million people took part. Though he congratulated protesters on a “violent-free, free speech exercise,” Johnson on Sunday condemned what he said were “hateful messages” of the demonstrations. (POLITICO)

‘No Kings’ Doesn’t Apply Outside the United States, Say ‘No Kings’ Rally Organizers

 
Some things you can’t make up, and this is one of them. Democrats Abroad, an organization representing…Democrats abroad…wanted to make clear that they don’t object to kings per se, but Donald Trump in particular. Hence they changed the name of the rally to “No Tyrants.” Democrats Abroad: A few notes: We’ve changed the “No Kings” theme of other events around the world to “No Tyrants,” so as not to mix messages in a country with a monarchy. We’re also swapping out “No Crowns!” in favor of “No Clowns!” Come dressed as a Tr*mp clown–DT himself, or one of his cronies. Think bad blonde wig, orange face, long red tie, or whatever gets your creative juices flowing! (X) So…No Kings means no Donald Trump, but other kings are fine. David Strom: Makes sense, if you think about it. In the COVID era, the left was all in on tyrannical rule–telling you where you could go, what you could do, who you could visit, who could work, and who would stay home, and even whether you could take some prescribed drugs or not. Your speech was monitored and censored; you could get fired if you chose not to inject yourself with an experimental and potentially genetically modified agent, and even if you could surf or skateboard. Now that Donald Trump is president, it is tyrannical to allow people to keep more of their money or to protect their children from groomers who want to coach them onto gay dating sites. Enforcing immigration laws passed by Congress is beyond the pale. (Hot Air)

Shock: Israel/Hamas Ceasefire on Shaky Grounds

Hamas is shooting at Gazans, killing Israeli soldiers, and Israel is back to retaliatory strikes on Hamas terrorists. Ceasefires are rarely without issue, but this particular one seems to be in trouble just days into its implementation. Still, neither sides want a return to all-out war. New York Times: Israel on Sunday launched its heaviest wave of attacks on Gaza since a fragile cease-fire took hold a week ago and said it was temporarily suspending humanitarian aid to the territory after accusing Hamas of firing on its forces and violating the truce. The aid was halted because of the intensity of the Israeli strikes, and was expected to resume once the bombing was over, according to an Israeli official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss a sensitive matter. Israeli officials had initially said that humanitarian aid would be suspended until further notice, but later appeared to step back from that decision. Israel said two of its soldiers were killed on Sunday when Palestinian militants attacked forces who were operating in an area where the Israeli military is allowed to be under the cease-fire agreement. The deaths prompted a strong response. Gaza’s health ministry initially reported 14 Palestinian deaths across the territory on Sunday. Both Israel and Hamas have now accused each other of violating the truce after repeated flare-ups of violence over the past three days. But both sides made clear on Sunday that they were still committed to maintaining the truce. (New York Times) Expect a lot more conflict, but all-out war is likely off the table.

Never Forget: Mamdani Campaigns with WTC Bombing Conspirator

Zohran Mamdani’s sympathy for Islamism is of the “Queers for Palestine” variety—a mix of Marxism, Critical Theory, and pure hatred for America and Western Culture. It is the latter that leads him to ally with terrorists. New York Post: Lefty NYC mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani gleefully campaigned this week with a notorious, gay-hating Brooklyn imam who is an unindicted co-conspirator in 1993 World Trade Center bombing and who has been linked to other terrorist activity in the United States — including urging “jihad” on the Big Apple. The Democratic frontrunner to become the city’s next mayor was seen laughing and grinning while standing arm-in-arm with Siraj Wahhaj  at the imam’s Bedford-Stuyvesant mosque in a photo the socialist posted to X a day after the first mayoral debate. “Today at Masjid At-Taqwa, I had the pleasure of meeting with Imam Siraj Wahhaj, one of the nation’s foremost Muslim leaders and a pillar of the Bed-Stuy community for nearly half a century,” Mamdani wrote on X of the Friday encounter. (New York Post) New Yorkers went from “Never Forget” to “I want free stuff” very quickly. Likely, they will regret it.

UK Needs a First Amendment: Jewish Lawyer Arrested for Wearing Star of David

The Metropolitan Police in London arrested a Jewish lawyer who was monitoring an anti-Israel protest, claiming that his pendant featuring a Star of David antagonized the protesters. Telegraph: A Jewish lawyer wearing a Star of David was arrested after police alleged the symbol had “antagonised” pro-Palestine protesters. Police interview footage obtained by The Telegraph shows a detective accusing the Jewish man of openly wearing a Star of David that could cause “offence”. The suspect, who was handcuffed and detained by police for almost ten hours, told The Telegraph his arrest appeared to be an attempt by the Metropolitan Police to “criminalise the wearing of a Star of David”. He was displaying the Jewish symbol on a silver chain around his neck. The six-pointed star, measured just 2cm – less than an inch – across. The man, who is in his 40s, was arrested at 7pm on Aug 29 at a pro-Palestine protest outside the Israeli embassy in Kensington in central London. The lawyer insists he was acting as an independent legal observer, monitoring the event for unlawful behaviour by the protesters and to scrutinise the actions of police. But officers instead accused him of antagonising the crowd and being part of a counter-protest. He was handcuffed behind his back, bundled into the back of a “meat wagon” and then held for questioning at Hammersmith police station, before finally being released at 4.30am the next morning. (Telegraph) Video: (X) Metropolitan Police respond: (X)

Essay on ‘The Great Feminization’ Sparks Debate

Sometimes an essay captures the imagination enough to spark widespread discussion and debate among intellectuals. Jeanne Kirkpatrick defined the Reagan Era with “Dictatorships and Double Standards,” and Francis Fukuyama the post-Soviet era with “The End of History.” There was “Bowling Alone” and “Jihad vs. McWorld,” and Trump’s era was ushered in by “The Flight 93 Election.” Could Helen Andrews’ “The Great Feminization” be the defining essay of the late 2020s? Compact Magazine: Everything you think of as wokeness involves prioritizing the feminine over the masculine: empathy over rationality, safety over risk, cohesion over competition. Other writers who have proposed their own versions of the Great Feminization thesis, such as Noah Carl or Bo Winegard and Cory Clark, who looked at feminization’s effects on academia, offer survey data showing sex differences in political values. One survey, for example, found that 71 percent of men said protecting free speech was more important than preserving a cohesive society, and 59 percent of women said the opposite. The most relevant differences are not about individuals but about groups. In my experience, individuals are unique and you come across outliers who defy stereotypes every day, but groups of men and women display consistent differences. Which makes sense, if you think about it statistically. A random woman might be taller than a random man, but a group of ten random women is very unlikely to have an average height greater than that of a group of ten men. The larger the group of people, the more likely it is to conform to statistical averages. Female group dynamics favor consensus and cooperation. Men order each other around, but women can only suggest and persuade. Any criticism or negative sentiment, if it absolutely must be expressed, needs to be buried in layers of compliments. The outcome of a discussion is less important than the fact that a discussion was held and everyone participated in it. The most important sex difference in group dynamics is attitude to conflict. In short, men wage conflict openly while women covertly undermine or ostracize their enemies. (Compact Magazine) Read the whole thing. Alson, Andrews, explaining her views: (YouTube)

MP: ‘Hating Israel Is Not Enough’

Fans of Israel’s Maccabi Football Team are being banned from a match being held in the West Midlands. A number of Muslim Members of Parliament are applauding the police’s ban on fans attending the game, with one asserting that “Hating Israel is not enough.” (X) Hot Air: The West Midlands police have declared that they cannot protect the fans of the Israeli Maccabi soccer team at a local match, so they have banned them from attending a match featuring the team. It’s a neat way to slap restrictions on Jews–our “diversity is our strength” Muslim residents hate you, so you must go. Quite on brand for a number of reasons. First, the restriction is aimed at Jews and their supporters; second, the implicit admission that the police cannot restrain the violent impulses of Muslims in predominantly Muslim areas, and third, the arbitrary use of police powers to restrict disfavored speech (in this case, the cheering on of Israelis). The decision was made, of course, because British politicians (among others) pushed the ban. British Muslim politicians, to be clear. (Hot Air) (BBC)

Trump and Vance Join Bluesky, Heads Explode

Donald Trump and J.D. Vance sure picked a good weekend to trigger the liberals. As the geriatric wing of the Democratic Party took to the streets with their walkers to protest Charles III’s monarchy—after all, kings named “Charles” have not done well by Britain—President Trump and Vice President Vance trolled the left by posting memes to Bluesky. Fox News: In its first post, the Trump administration appeared to poke fun at the platform’s liberal users, many of whom joined the site to escape conservative voices. Many once-prominent users of Twitter, now known as X since Elon Musk bought it, solely post on Bluesky.  “What’s up, Bluesky? We thought you might’ve missed some of our greatest hits, so we put this together for you,” the post read, featuring a reel of the administration’s top-performing memes. (Fox News) Vice President Vance posted a video of Trump in royal regalia, including a crown. Both videos are worth watching. (J.D. Vance on Bluesky) (White House on Bluesky)

Trump-Zelensky Meeting on Friday Was ‘Tough’

The Ukraine War is proving to be the toughest diplomatic nut to crack. Donald Trump spent a couple of hours on the phone with Vladimir Putin last week, and ended the week with a long meeting with Volodimir Zelensky in which Trump denied the Ukranian President’s request for Tomahawk cruise missiles. Axios: President Trump told Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in a tense meeting on Friday that he doesn’t intend to provide long-range Tomahawk missiles, at least for now, two sources briefed on the meeting tell Axios. Why it matters: Zelensky hoped to leave Washington with commitments around new weapons for Ukraine, but found Trump in a totally different state of mind a day after he held a lengthy call with Russian president Vladimir Putin. Trump made clear his priority now is diplomacy, and he thinks providing Tomahawks could undermine it, the sources say. Behind the scenes: One of the sources said the meeting “was not easy,” while the other simply said “it was bad.” “Nobody shouted, but Trump was tough,” according to the first source “Trump gave several strong statements during the meeting and at some points it got a bit emotional,” the second source said. The meeting ended abruptly after 2.5 hours. “I think we’re done. Let’s see what happens next week,” Trump said, referring to planned talks between the U.S. and Russia. Trump intends to meet Putin in Budapest some time in the next two weeks. (Axios)

French Crown Jewels Stolen From Louvre in Daring Robbery

Brad Pitt, George Clooney, and Matt Damon all deny that they were in Paris on Sunday, but an enterprising crew of jewel thieves with skills that match theirs broke into the Louvre on Sunday and managed to abscond with the crown jewels from the ancien régime and some Napoleonic era jewelry. New York Times: Thieves made off with jewelry of “incalculable” value in a brazen daylight robbery on Sunday at the Louvre Museum in Paris, according to France’s interior minister. The heist unfolded around 9:30 a.m. Laurent Nuñez, the interior minister, told France Inter radio that the thieves had used a lift mechanism on a truck — typically used to move furniture into Parisian apartments through the windows — to break into the Galerie d’Apollon, a second-floor wing of the museum. The Apollon Gallery’s gilded hall holds the royal collection of gems and the crown diamonds, including “The Regent,” “The Sancy” and the “Hortensia.” The thieves broke into two display cases and snatched eight precious objects before fleeing on motor scooters with their loot — all within just seven minutes, according to Mr. Nuñez… According to the French Culture Ministry, five museum staff were in the Apollon Gallery when the burglars broke in, sounding the security alarms. They applied the museum’s security protocol: contacting the police and “prioritizing the protection of people.” Visitors had been inside the building for 30 minutes by then. Some panicked at first, worrying the building was experiencing a terrorist attack or a fire, said Joseph Sanchez, a tourist from Puerto Rico who was in line with family members waiting to see Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa when security guards began to shout for people to exit the room. They were kept in the museum’s lobby for more than an hour before being calmly evacuated, Mr. Sanchez said in an interview. (New York Times)