Iranians Are Dying for Freedom. Stolen Valor: DNC Head Compares Minnesota Demonstrators to Iranians. WaPo: Supreme Court Must Protect Women’s Sports. ‘Captivating’ U.S. Prez & More
A Tale of Two Protests: While radical Minnesotans appear to be desperately trying to reboot the George Floyd riots that swept the country six years ago, brave Iranians are “Dying to Be Free.”
More than 500 Iranians have been killed, as bodies pile up after the bloody mullah regime’s latest crackdown. President Trump has been briefed on options, including military strikes in support of the protestors.
In a post headlined “A New Symbol of Freedom,” Powerline notes:
As we watch events unfold in Iran, where more than 500 protesters have been killed and communications have been shut down by the Islamic regime, and as we await word on what the Trump administration will do to try to help the forces of freedom, let’s pause for a moment to note an iconic image that the rebellion has spawned. A pretty young woman burned a picture of the Ayatollah and lit a cigarette from the flames. And, of course, she was not wearing a head scarf.
When the protests started, President Trump promised “more than moral support” to the Iranians. “Time to make good on your promise to the Iranian people, Mr. President,” Eli Lake writes at The Free Press. The part being played by the deposed Shah’s son, Reza Pahlevi, is fascinating, but could backfire. A good first step for the president might be restoring internet communications.
A friend of mine noticed this on Twitter (X) by one Eric Daugherty:
BREAKING: Anti-Khamenei Iranians are CLASHING with pro-Hamas white liberal women in Washington You literally can’t make this crap up. The white liberal women support ISLAMIST HAMAS The Iranians want to OVERTHROW the Ayatollah! Liberals are insane.
Similarly, a post in PJ Media explores the differences between the women protesting in Iran and those protesting in Minneapolis. Meanwhile, a U-Haul truck plowed into a Los Angeles crowd supporting the Iranian protestors. A piece in The Tablet examined former President Obama’s abysmal failure in Iran and asked if things will be different this time.
Examiner Chief Political Correspondent Byron York has an excellent piece on the fatal shooting of Renee Good by an ICE agent that has (further) inflamed Minneapolis. Based on evidence so far, York leans very heavily in favor of the shooting being lawful. Whatever the evidence finally reveals, York writes:
“I’ve just been through enough of these cases where if there’s a political agenda, then the law gets thrown to the side,” Eric Nelson, the lawyer who defended Derek Chauvin, the Minneapolis officer now jailed for the death of George Floyd, told the Daily Mail. “It is entirely possible that the federal system could say we’re not going to indict [agent Ross], but the state could prosecute him for some form of homicide or manslaughter.”
Stolen Valor: Democratic National Committee head Ken Martin says that the Minneapolis protests are similar to the Iranian protesters. Endeavoring to calm the situation in Minneapolis (ha ha), Martin went on to say that “both countries are guilty of ‘killing protesters.'” Martin apparently did not comment on the asymmetry in the number of deaths in the two countries.
The death of Renee Good is a tragedy. But it is disgraceful to inflame the public, as Governor Tim Walz and Mayor Jacob Frey are doing. National Review argues that the “’affable’ Coach Walz” image peddled by the MSM when Walz was Kamala Harris’ running mate was never real.
Diversionary Tactic? The Federalist writes that “Democrats Want Anti-ICE Protesters to Die So They Can Protect Their Fraudulent Patronage with Riots.” The “fraudulent patronage” is an allegation about the relationship between the Democratic political establishment and the Somali fraudsters—also known as “our neighbors”—who have siphoned off billions of dollars from taxpayers. “Yes, Somali Immigrants Commit More Crime Than Natives” is the headline on a City Journal story. More on the Minnesota fraud.
Future of Women’s Sports: Tomorrow, the Supreme Court hears oral arguments on a West Virginia case involving a transgender-identifying male athlete who claims to be a woman. The New York Times report observes the case “could affect laws in 27 states that bar transgender athletes from joining girls’ and women’s sports teams.” From the NYT, which claims that President Trump “targeted” “transgender people”:
The outcome may also further influence the national conversation about transgender people in American society. President Trump targeted the community in his last presidential campaign and declared at his inauguration that it would be the “official policy of the United States government that there are only two genders: male and female.”
In a Washington Post editorial headlined “Trans Athletes Head to the Supreme Court,” the editors observe that “neither science, nor the American public, is on [the transgender-identifying athletes] side.” The editorial is excellent (the Post editorial pages are improving):
The Supreme Court has the chance this week to save women’s sports, allowing states to restore a level playing field for girls by excluding biological men and thereby correcting one of the worst excesses of America’s cultural revolution.
From a Wall Street Journal editorial:
Does a biological boy who transitions to become a girl have a constitutional right to compete in girls’ sports? Twenty-seven states have laws or policies forbidding this, but two appellate courts say that’s wrong. Now it’s up to the legal refs at the Supreme Court to reverse those faulty calls. …
Ruling for West Virginia would cabin Bostock so legislatures can make common-sense rules on transgenderism in athletics. More than half of the states have decided to protect girls’ sports, and the Supreme Court can underscore that disputes over biology and gender are best settled democratically.
Eyes are on Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch, the WaPo observes. USA TODAY featured the plaintiffs. A coalition of 207 women lawmakers has filed an amicus brief in support of protecting female athletes before the Supreme Court. Ingrid Jaques of USA TODAY says, “SCOTUS, let states do what’s right: Defend women in sports.”
Remember when former Mayor Eric Adams was depicted as the potential savior of New York? Well. “Eric Adams Just Blew His Chance to Delay Mamdani’s Rent Freeze” is the headline of a City Journal piece:
Now, an eleventh-hour bungle by the outgoing mayor has cleared away the final obstacle to Mamdani’s freeze. Everyday New Yorkers will be the ones forced to bear the costs: housing units that are shabbier, costlier, and fewer in number.
Mayor Mamdani is about to face the budgeting process. Nicole Gelinas of the same publication says it will force him to be more specific about his vague campaign promises. Meanwhile, the Bronx building that Mayor Mamdani cited to showcase his Housing Commissioner’s talents has been found to have 200 violations—after a favored nonprofit ran it into the ground.
Here’s a column headline that is going to send the Left further up the wall: “Trump Captivates the Globe.” The author is the Wall Street Journal’s Walter Russell Mead, who notes that for Trump, extreme volatility and risk are not a problem but an opportunity. Mead writes:
Imagine for a moment that Mr. Trump’s various gambles pay off. Cuba presumably will have to make its peace with America if Venezuela cuts off the oil and Washington tightens the screws on Havana. If six months from now Cuba, Venezuela and Iran have all changed alignment, Mr. Trump will tower above his recent predecessors. If he ends up with some kind of victory in Greenland, yet with leading European nations still committed to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and raising their defense spending to 5% of gross domestic product, historians are unlikely to call him a flop.
It is, however, at least equally possible that it all goes awry.
Meanwhile, foreign policy guru Elliott Abrams says that President Trump should not be relying on remnants of the Maduro regime to govern Venezuela.
What To Make of This: Federal prosecutors have opened an investigation into Fed Chair Powell. … We know What to Make of This: The Atlantic Monthly examines whether California Governor Gavin Newsom is front-runner for the Democratic nomination in 2028. At present, Newsom seems to be shedding his billionaires. … Newest Barbie: Mattel has added an autistic Barbie to a line devoted to showcasing diversity. How about, say, a bold, competent, conservative woman Barbie? Too diverse, Mattel?
