Politics

• The makings of a Parkinson’s exit strategy? Now that Joe Biden is no longer useful to the Democrats, his colleagues and their Leftmedia co-conspirators are trying to figure out how to get rid of him without blowing up the party. But chaos reigns supreme. Asked yesterday whether he and his fellow Democrats are at least on the same page about what to do with Biden, Tennessee Congressman Steve Cohen said, “We’re not even in the same book.” In their hearts, they know that what lefty Atlantic writer Derek Thompson says is true: “Time is an arrow. The consequence is obvious. … I’ve become really, really, really confident that Biden’s age — not Trump, not Project 2025, not January 6, Biden’s age — is the durable centerpiece of this election. It is a profoundly losing issue. And it’s not a solvable problem.” But maybe a Parkinson’s diagnosis will offer Biden an off-ramp. As neurologist Tom Pitts told dozens of stunned NBC News viewers yesterday, “Rigidity, loss of arm swings, standing up lordotically, you notice when he turns, it’s kind of end-block turning, it’s not a quick turn, so that’s one of the hallmarks of Parkinson’s. … I could’ve diagnosed him from across the mall.”

• Pelosi noncommittal on Biden’s 2024 bid, says “time is running short” to find replacement (NY Post)

• Stephanopoulos caught on camera after Biden interview: “I don’t think he can serve four more years” (Daily Wire)

• Humor: Janet Yellen reassures nation that Biden’s dementia is transitory (Babylon Bee)

• Biden spokesmouth angrily declines Trump’s charity golf challenge: Last night, during a massive rally in south Florida, Donald Trump picked up Joe Biden’s debate-stage taunt and turned it back on him. “I’m also officially challenging crooked Joe,” said Trump, “to an 18-hole golf match right here on Doral’s Blue Monster, considered one of the greatest tournament golf courses anywhere in the world.” Trump offered Biden 10 strokes per side, 20 strokes total. In addition, he said that if he lost, he’d donate $1 million to the charity of Biden’s choice. Said Team Biden spokesmouth James Singer in response: “Joe Biden doesn’t have time for Donald Trump’s weird antics — he’s busy leading America and defending the free world.” We’re not sure what these “weird antics” are that Singer mentions, but perhaps someone should remind him that it was his own boss who first brought up the golf challenge, and it was Trump who ultimately ended the squabble by saying, “Let’s not act like children.”

• Obituary smears: On Tuesday, former Oklahoma Senator Jim Inhofe died at age 89. The Republican was first elected to the Senate in 1994 and held that seat until he retired last year. Inhofe was a U.S. Army veteran who staunchly supported the military and was for a time the top Republican on the Senate Armed Services Committee. Inhofe was also a strong critic of the Left’s anthropogenic climate change narrative, which he once labeled “the greatest hoax ever perpetrated on the American people.” Thus, in reporting on his passing, Leftmedia outlets chose to smear him with headlines like this from The New York Times: “James M. Inhofe, Senator Who Denied Climate Change, Dies at 89.” Politico’s headline wasn’t any better: “Former Sen. Jim Inhofe, who called climate change a ‘hoax,’ dead at 89.” After being widely chastised on social media, Politico changed the headline to read, “Jim Inhofe, 89, dies after a long Senate career marked by fight against climate science.” Not any better. It’s illustrative to contrast the reporting by these same Leftmedia outlets on the deaths of leftists. For example, here are two from the Times: “Edward M. Kennedy, Senate Stalwart, Is Dead at 77”; “Robert C. Byrd, a Pillar of the Senate, Dies at 92.” Even worse is this headline from Politico: “Cuba’s Fidel Castro, who defied U.S. for 50 years, has died.”

• Musk says Dems are making it near “impossible” to prove voter fraud: When Elon Musk purchased Twitter nearly two years ago, he committed himself to exposing the speech-suppressing rottenness of leftists and their Big Tech brethren, and he repositioned the platform as a protector of free speech and a promoter of the marketplace of ideas. And now, Musk is using his platform to advocate for voting integrity. “When combined with mail-in ballots, the system is designed to make it impossible to prove fraud,” said Musk on Monday as part of a series. “Mail-in and drop box ballots should not be allowed, as cameras on the in-person voting stations would at least prevent large-scale fraud by counting how many people showed up vs ballots cast.” Musk’s voice is a welcome one — first, because he’s right, and second, because he’s powerful. By the time we went to press, Musk’s post had been viewed nearly 49 million times.

• Sotomayor carjacker thwarted: In Washington, DC, last week, an 18-year-old criminal was wounded in his carjacking attempt. His crime was thwarted by two armed U.S. Marshalls who were sitting in the car outside the house of U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor. In the attempted carjacking, the criminal drew a handgun on the two Marshalls, who both drew their weapons and fired on the man. Carjackings have become a major problem in the nation’s capital. But what makes this incident especially ironic is that it demonstrates the wisdom of the Second Amendment. Yet Sotomayor erroneously claimed in her dissent on Heller that “the Framers did not write the Second Amendment in order to protect a private right of armed self defense.” Don’t hold your breath for a change of heart after this incident.

Culture

• John Deere has gone full woke and is firing hundreds of Americans to move operations to Mexico (Not the Bee)

• Chicago mayor blames Nixon: The Windy City experienced an especially violent Fourth of July long weekend, with 109 people shot and 19 of them dying. In a press conference addressing the violence, Democrat Mayor Brandon Johnson sought to shift blame for the city’s long-running violence problem, primarily perpetrated by blacks against other blacks, by ridiculously pinning it onto … [checks notes] … Richard Nixon. “Black death has been, unfortunately, accepted in this country for a very long time,” Johnson stated. “We had a chance 60 years ago to get at the root causes. And people mocked President Johnson, and we ended up with Richard Nixon.” Really? Chicago has been run by Democrats for nearly a century. The violence Chicagoans are experiencing has everything to do with Democrat policies. Furthermore, Mayor Johnson has only leaned into these soft-on-crime policies even harder. And when faced with the negative results, he turns and blames the election of a Republican president nearly 60 years ago. With leadership like this, it’s no wonder Chicago can’t stop the violence.

• Youngkin order makes Virginia’s K-12 schools cellphone-free: In his new book, The Anxious Generation: How the Great Rewiring of Childhood Is Causing an Epidemic of Mental Illness, social psychologist Jonathan Haidt calls for parents to reconsider the wisdom of introducing their kids to smartphones and social media — at least not until age 16. Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin seems to agree, at least where cellphones are concerned. Yesterday, Youngkin issued Executive Order 33, “which directs the Virginia Department of Education to draft guidance for public school divisions to adopt local policies and procedures establishing cell phone-free education” while establishing “protocols allowing parents to contact their children in emergency and other important situations.” Said Youngkin, who, for our money, would make a great and savvy vice presidential pick: “We’re establishing cell phone-free education in schools benefiting students, parents and educators across Virginia. This essential action will promote a healthier educational environment where every child is free to learn.”

• Are children’s publishers dialing back the wokeness? In June, the world’s largest children’s book publisher, Scholastic, was publicly exposed for promoting its pro-LGBTQ 2024 guide dubbed “Read with Pride” to K-12 educators. Similarly, Pearson, the leading academic publisher, was also exposed for pushing pro-LGBTQ material. Both of these publishers were effectively bowing to the Rainbow Mafia and its ever-increasing demand to celebrate sexual deviancy. However, it appears that leaning hard into “Pride” has not helped these publishers’ bottom lines. Apparently, both Scholastic and Pearson have quietly backed off their Rainbow promotion. The Washington Times reports that they “have distanced themselves from a push to replace biological sex with gender identity in K-12 classroom discussions.” For example, Scholastic’s “Read with Pride” guide has “vanished” from its website, leaving behind only a list of recommended books. Pearson has also removed its guides for “genderism” and “antiracism.” According to Family Research Council senior fellow Joseph Backholm, the reason is simple: “The public didn’t want it then and doesn’t want it now.”

• Biden administration releases report detailing extent of its LGBT imperialism abroad (Blaze Media)

Misc.

• Dem senators ask DOJ to investigate Clarence Thomas for possible tax law violations (The Hill)

• Biden admin sent migrant children to live in homes that weren’t deemed safe (Daily Caller)

• Hunter Biden withdraws bid for new trial in gun case after feds blast him for “failure to read” orders (NY Post)

• Freedom Caucus loses two members in one night after Bob Good defeat (Washington Examiner)

• Three Republican senators talk weaponization of government (Daily Signal)

• Trade school enrollments boom as high school grads shun costly four-year degrees (Washington Times) | Poll finds only 36% of Americans have confidence in higher education (AP)

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