May 24, 2025

JUST GOOD OLD ENGLISH VIOLENCE: The Roman massacre that never happened according to a new study of an iconic archaeological site. “A re-analysis of the burials, including a new program of radiocarbon dating, has revealed that, rather than dying in a single, catastrophic event, individuals fell over periods of lethal violence spanning multiple generations, spread across the late first century BC to the early first century AD. This is suggestive of episodic periods of bloodshed, possibly the result of localized turmoil, executions or dynastic infighting during the decades leading up to the Roman Conquest of Britain.”

Posted at 2:30 pm by Glenn Reynolds 68

GET WOKE, GO…: Sales collapse forces ‘woke’ mega-brand to make humiliating U-turn and relist on Amazon.

America’s most popular shoe is coming back to Amazon.

After a five-year hiatus, Nike shoes, clothing, and accessories are returning to the e-commerce giant.

The athletic brand swiped its products from the platform in 2019, as part of a push to sell more directly to consumers.

Things began getting awfully weird at Nike in 2019, a company that once existed to sell sneakers, starting most prominently when they issued a pair of Betsy Ross-flag embedded sneakers, likely only so that uber-woke Nike endorser Colin Kaepernick could dunk on them, to coincide with the Fourth of July. In Nike’s collective mind, this was evil and “offensive:”

Last month, Nike displayed this billboard at the London Marathon:

Billionaire investor Bill Ackman tweeted, “The idea that @Nike would make light of the holocaust using Hitler-red imagery in a post-October 7th world is stunning. Heads need to roll. WTF Nike?”

WTF, indeed.

Posted at 12:44 pm by Ed Driscoll 156

I MEAN HE’S NOT WRONG:

Posted at 12:34 pm by Glenn Reynolds 140

DISPATCHES FROM A WANNABE VICE PRESIDENT:

Here was the “land of the free” in 2020:

Perhaps Walz is referring to this sort of “freedom,” which was Tweeted by his campaign partner during the riots in 2020, and is still online:

As Ed Morrissey wrote last year, ‘Light ‘Em Up:’ Paintball Tim? “The entire episode speaks to Walz’ utter incompetence as an executive in the public sector. He’s an authoritarian whose instincts run to either inaction or over-reaction. His pandemic management speaks volumes in that regard, especially his COVID-19 Snitch Line and his vicious punishment for those who dared defy his authoritarian rule by decree. Just ask Lisa Hanson, who served most of a 90-day jail sentence for trying to re-open her coffee and wine bistro…The Walz administration was still prosecuting these cases in December 2021. By that time, practically the entire country had reopened. Even most of Minnesota had reopened by that time. Rather than drop the case as moot, the state threw a business owner in jail for two months, which is about two months longer than nearly all of the rioters got. That’s how authoritarian Walz is by nature, and that’s the Tim Walz that Republicans need to expose.”

Mission very much accomplished there. So why is Walz still acting like Hiroo Onoda? When does he get word that the war is over?

Posted at 12:14 pm by Ed Driscoll 102

A COOL AND LOGICAL ANALYSIS OF THE BICYCLE MENACE: Julie Burchill: Do cyclists know how hated they are?

I’ve found that people who support green politics are slightly nastier than others in their everyday life, feeling that they had ticked the nice box and therefore somehow won the right to be nasty. When I was a volunteer at a blind home a while ago, I’d regularly take a couple of sightless ladies out for a walk; we’d set out along the bustling main streets of our city, one on each arm, only for me to have to shove them roughly into the nearest doorway as some hulking brute drove a bike at us right there on the pavement.

Inevitably, people have been killed by cyclists; when they are, sentencing is risible. Until last year it was based on legislation from 1861 only allowing for a maximum two-year sentence; things are better now, but cyclists who kill are still treated far more leniently than motorists.

It’s not being paranoid to believe that a lot of this behaviour is another form of male violence towards women, as female cyclists also report frequent harassment by their male counterparts. Victoria Pendleton said: ‘If I’m out about on my road bike and I overtake a man, I will hear a rapid crunching of gears as they try to “make amends for it”… usually followed with a pedal-mashing stomp past me.’

Funny, I would think male lefty cyclists would be uber-Alan Alda-style feminists, but as Kate of Small Dead Animals likes to say, “Scratch a leftist, find a misogynist.”

(Classical reference in headline.)

Posted at 10:45 am by Ed Driscoll 257

DISPATCHES FROM THE EDUCATION APOCALYPSE: George Washington University Slapped With Lawsuit Alleging ‘Pervasive and Severe Antisemitic Harassment’ on Campus.

George Washington University (GW) was sued in federal court by Jewish students on Thursday, alleging it allowed “pervasive and severe antisemitic harassment” on campus for years without any action from the school’s leaders.

Students Sabrina Soffer, Ari Shapiro, and a group of anonymous plaintiffs accused GW of failing to address a surge in hostility towards Jewish students, particularly following the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attack on Israel, according to a copy of the complaint obtained by the Washington Free Beacon. The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, claims the university violated Title VI of the Civil Rights Act by allowing a “hostile educational environment” to flourish unchecked.

The 176-page complaint details a litany of incidents that paint GW as a campus where Jewish students face relentless intimidation. According to the filing, anti-Semitic acts include physical assaults, vandalism, and verbal harassment, with university administrators allegedly turning a blind eye. The lawsuit cites specific examples, such as anti-Israel protests that escalated into violence and Jewish students’ property being defaced with anti-Semitic slurs.

The lawsuit comes at a precarious time for elite universities as the Trump administration takes action against schools that fail to rein in campus anti-Semitism. The same day the complaint was filed, the Department of Homeland Security revoked Harvard University’s ability to accept international students, though a judge paused that order on Friday.

Still though, look on the bright side!

 

Posted at 10:14 am by Ed Driscoll 26

SHOULD DOJ BE ABLE TO SPY ON CONGRESS? Let’s do an experiment here. Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) is pushing legislation requiring that senators be informed whenever the Department of Justice (DOJ) asks a judge to approve listening to telephone calls by senators and staffers. This happens with Democratic and Republican Chief Executives.

As things presently stand, according to Daniel Schuman, editor of First Branch Forecast, there is essentially no limit on how much DOJ can spy on Members and staff of both chambers of Congress. Do you approve of this reality or would you support efforts by Wyden or others on the Hill to limit the ability of the executive branch to spy on legislators and staffers?

Posted at 8:49 am by Mark Tapscott 142