It's Friday, September 12, 2025
A hell of a day to be putting out a newsletter focused on the lighter side of politics, as the anniversary of 9/11 was overshadowed by the horrific assassination of Charlie Kirk, may he rest in peace. I think at this point we can all agree on three things:
Dozens if not hundreds of liberal intellectuals will keep their jobs due to the fact that the suspect appears to be an ugly little bitch.
Taylor Lorenz should stay off the internet.
It's a good thing Barack Obama wasn't president on 9/11 because the weakness he exuded would have discouraged the United 93 passengers from fighting back, the U.S. Capitol Building would have been destroyed and rebuilt as some hideous monument to Obama's self-regard, and he would have heightened the country's humiliation by dropping a limp-wristed floater in the dirt at game three of the World Series before jetting off on his Muslim apology tour.
On a more serious note, it has been heartwarming to see Democrats and liberal pundits condemning the assassination with moving statements such as: "I disagreed with Charlie Kirk on most issues—especially his support for genocidal fascism, white supremacy, the reinstitution of slavery, transgender death camps, homosexual castration, animal cruelty, the mass slaughter of innocent children, and the wholesale destruction of American democracy as we know it in an existential conflict to determine whether or not the United States will literally become Nazi Germany, but it's absolutely insane to think that anyone would ever think that killing him was OK."
J.B. Pritzker, the Illinois governor and fatass billionaire who really wants to be president, had a similar take echoed by Elizabeth Warren and other prominent Democrats. Pritzker offered "sympathy to Charlie Kirk's family" before instantly switching gears to blame Donald Trump for "fomenting" political violence. Democratic congressman Dan Goldman, heir to the Levi Strauss denim fortune, urged Republicans to "come to their senses and recognize that this is not a war."
Crucial context: In an interview posted the day before Kirk was assassinated, U.S. senator and presidential hopeful Chris Murphy said Democrats "have to be willing to do whatever is necessary" because "we're in a war right now to save this country."
Scumbags gonna scumbag: It certainly didn't take long for the liberal media to disgrace themselves. TMZ employees erupted in cheers and laughter as their boss Harvey Levin announced that Kirk was dead. Jezebel (sort of) apologized for its article about paying witches to put a curse on Kirk days before he died. The media outlet for disgruntled feminists surreptitiously removed the byline of Claire Guinan (she/her), the self-described "passionate storyteller and artist" who authored the groundbreaking piece of witchcraft journalism. Her "journey as a creator" is "deeply rooted" in her training at Savannah College of Art and Design.
On Thursday, when authorities revealed that the suspect's gun had been found with ammunition bearing transgender and anti-fascist messages, CNN went out of its way to keep its readers ill-informed by describing them as "cultural phrases." Maybe they're just incompetent journalists who would use the same vague language to describe an assassin's bullet inscribed with pro-Trump slogans, or maybe they're ideological hacks who just constantly whine about the importance of "truth" but don't actually give a shit.
MSNBC's coverage of the shooting was a carnival of partisan lunacy. Within seconds of reporting Kirk had been shot, Keith Olbermann's ex-girlfriend Katy Tur warned that Trump would use it as "justification for something bad." MSNBC contributor Matthew Dowd speculated that the perpetrator could have been one of Kirk's supporters "shooting their gun off in celebration," and went on to say that Kirk had it coming because of his opinions.
"I always go back to 'hateful thoughts lead to hateful words, which then lead to hateful actions,'" Dowd said. "You can't stop with these sort of awful thoughts you have and then saying these awful words and not expect awful actions to take place."
The bald freak had an excellent point. Islamic terrorists made the same argument to justify shooting up the Charlie Hebdo offices in 2015.
Hours later, Dowd joined the ignoble ranks of Joy Reid, Martin Bashir, and others who were fired after being deemed too batshit crazy to appear on MSNBC. (Bashir was canned in 2013 for urging viewers to defecate in Sarah Palin's mouth.) No one is going to miss this clown show when it's gone.
Crucial context: Dowd, a former Republican consultant who lost his mind after Trump's election in 2016, is the author of a self-help book titled, Revelations on the River: Healing a Nation, Healing Ourselves. It's only 146 pages long but it felt like 1,400. (You can read our review here.) It's the starry-eyed manifesto of a man who is deeply unwell, and includes a three-page biography in which Dowd heralds himself as a "renowned thought-leader" who is "one of the most creative analysts, visionaries, and political strategists of his generation." Reading it is like being trapped in a room with the most boring person you know who has just taken psychedelic drugs for the first time.
Gunning for your guns: Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and other Democrats weren't interested in quibbling about the vile "rhetoric" that may have inspired the shooter. "We have to pass gun safety legislation to stop this," AOC told reporters. "People can finger point all they want." It's not clear what kind of legislation would have stopped this particular shooting, which appears to have been carried out with an "older-model .30 caliber hunting rifle." In other words, the kind of gun Democrats are always insisting they don't want to ban.
The (rhetorical) question on everyone's mind: Why are the people celebrating Kirk's death on social media all so goddamn ugly?
What they're saying: Ilhan Omar, the multimillionaire congresswoman, told Mehdi Hasan, a like-minded anti-Semite, that the people eulogizing Kirk as a champion of "civic debate" were "full of shit."
What he said: This exchange between Charlie Kirk and a gender non-conforming weirdo named "Mercury" offers a concise (and chilling, in retrospect) summary of our political environment.
MERCURY: "Why are you here?"
KIRK: "When people stop talking, really bad stuff starts. When marriages stop talking, divorce happens. When civilizations stop talking, civil war ensues. When you stop having a human connection with someone you disagree with, it becomes a lot easier to want to commit violence against that group. What we as a culture have to get back to is being able to have a reasonable disagreement where violence is not an option."
MERCURY: Accuses Kirk of committing "emotional violence."
KIRK: "Isn't why we have the First Amendment to try to push our boundaries and to hear things that might make you mildly uncomfortable?"
Mercury: "This doesn't make me mildly uncomfortable ... it makes me angry."
If you read one thing today: Matthew Continetti considers what it will take to stop America's "slide into the abyss" with characteristic insight.
Is there a way back? I used to think that inspired statecraft could reverse the downward slide. I now believe that only a collective effort can do so. A renewed commitment to law enforcement and constitutionalism. A communal pledge to promote free speech and tolerance for opposing views. A decision to decentralize power and allow states and localities to decide matters for themselves. A reckoning with the antisocial costs of smartphones and social media. A revival of color blindness and American patriotism. Kirk’s own life pointed to the true sources of happiness and human flourishing: family, faith, vocation, and national pride.
Read the whole thing here.
Palate cleanser: Respectful photos of hot babes who love freedom. God bless America!
Email: stiles@freebeacon.com
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Spot on our culture is a disgrace. Women look like Porn stars the LGBTQ are radical nut jobs Mental illness is alive and well. Charlie belieived in the good the True and beautiful and was growing with more knowledge which is why he was killed. Sad
"Is there a way back? I used to think that inspired statecraft could reverse the downward slide. I now believe that only a collective effort can do so. A renewed commitment to law enforcement and constitutionalism."
The way back is a country turning back to God. A nation that hates God and everything he stands for cannot expect to have a civil, law-biding society. This country seems to be in a basket, careening down the wide path. That is not a good place.