Dear Jolters, No joviality out of the gate today. Nope -- I am demanding you read Kevin Williamson's essay "The War on the Private Mind." One of the sharpest and wisest pieces NR has published. I have to share a big hunk of it: There are three problems with rewarding those who use accusations of bigotry as a political cudgel. First, those who seek to protect religious liberties are not bigots, and going along with false accusations that they are makes one a party to a lie. Second, it is an excellent way to lose political contests, since there is almost nothing — up to and including requiring algebra classes — that the Left will not denounce as bigotry. Third, and related, it rewards and encourages those who cynically deploy accusations of bigotry for their own political ends. An excellent illustration of this dynamic is on display in the recent pronouncements of columnist and gay-rights activist Dan Savage, who, in what seems to be an effort to resurrect every lame stereotype about the shrill, hysterical, theatrical gay man, declaimed that the efforts of those who do not wish to see butchers and bakers and wedding-bouquet makers forced by their government at gunpoint to violate their religious scruples is — you probably have guessed already — nothing less than the consecration of Jim Crow Junior. "Anti-black bigots, racist bigots, during Jim Crow and segregation made the exact same arguments that you're hearing people make now," Savage said. Given the dramatic difference in the social and political position of blacks in the time of Bull Connor and gays in the time of Ellen DeGeneres, this is strictly Hitler-was-a-vegetarian stuff, the elevation of trivial formal similarities over dramatic substantial differences. The choices for explaining this are a.) moral illiteracy; b.) intellectual dishonesty; c.) both a and b. And you'll find more exceptional analysis on what happens when the Left rejects religious-freedom laws from Andrew Walker. "The current negotiations with the Iranians in Lausanne, Switzerland, have all the hallmarks of the Munich negotiations." So writes Victor Davis Hanson in his new NRO column. You'd be well advised to read it and to share it. A Walkerton, Indiana pizzeria owner doesn't want to cater a same-sex wedding. Ian Tuttle reports on the leftist Intolergencia's counterattack. And then there's more analysis of the Memories Pizza fracas from Kat Timpf. On the purely political front, there's a very interesting profile of hawkish Democrat congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard by Eliana Johnson and Brendan Bordelon. George Will's new column figures "there is no need to nominate Cruz in order to make the GOP conservative." Check it out. How about a slideshow on the 70th Anniversary of the Battle of Okinawa? Or a report on animal abuse in the meat industry? Or your pressing need to order a National Review mug? Or TWO National Review mugs? Well, it was fun to pinch hit for Jim for a few days, but today, we'll drop the bat and consider ourselves relief pitching. Taking liberties: My favorite relief appearance of all time happened on August 25th, 1968, when slugger Rocco Domenico Colavito took to the mound for the Yankees and pitched 2 2/3 innings of scoreless ball against the Tigers, picking up the victory (he also scored the winning run!), giving himself a career 1-0 record to go with his 374 home runs. Here's a picture of Rocky on the mound on that sweltering summer Sunday in the Bronx. 
For those of you who want to see a Colavito in a more traditional pose, voila:. 
No Jolt tomorrow (well, a tiny one, with no foolishness, since it will be Good Friday and Passover). Halleluiah: Big Jim is back on Monday. Was fun while it lasted -- now back to the minors for me. God bless. Jack Fowler Publisher | 
Megyn Kelly -> Pete Hegseth responds to 2017 rape accusation. 🔥 vol. 3, issue 13 | December 6, 2024 Quick Hits All the news you need in...
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