Why Kash Patel’s perfect for FBI, fires burned Gavin Newsom’s political future and other commentary
From the right: Why Patel’s Perfect for FBI
Kash Patel’s “understanding of the FBI’s corruption” and willingness to attack “partisan witch hunts make him the perfect candidate to clean house,” argues The Federalist’s Elle Purnell — and explain why “Russia collusion hoaxers” like The New York Times’ Charlie Savage and Adam Goldman “don’t want him running” the agency. Their accusations in a hit piece ahead of Patel’s confirmation hearing “don’t deserve a line-by-line rebuttal,” as they’re still denying that the “fraudulent Steele dossier” was used to justify the “Crossfire Hurricane” FBI probe “into Trump and his campaign, seeking to uncover evidence of collusion between Trump and Russia to steal the 2016 election,” and the “warrant to spy on members of the Trump campaign, including Carter Page.” In other words, “Savage and Goldman are deep state apologists.”
Urbanist: Fires Burned Gavin’s Political Future
“Two years ago Gavin Newsom was widely seen as a rising Democratic star and likely future presidential candidate,” but “how quickly things change,” snarks Joel Kotkin at UnHerd. In his weekend trip to Cali, President Trump “wasted no time in attacking the state’s progressive policies,” calling “on Newsom to change the state’s water policies.” “Trump’s demands have drawn attention to the state’s self-inflicted wounds, and its pattern of astounding incompetence,” while his energy plans make “things all the more difficult for Newsom’s climate policies,” since “Texas, Oklahoma, North Dakota, Pennsylvania and Ohio are ready to get richer,” while “Newsom is taking California in the opposite direction.” “As the fires are extinguished, so too are the California governor’s presidential hopes.”
Energy beat: The Peril of Politicized ‘Forecasts’
The International Energy Agency is undermining energy security by discouraging investment in oil, natural gas and coal, caution Mark P. Mills & Neil Atkinson at The Wall Street Journal. The IEA’s 2024 World Energy Outlook does just that by predicting, for instance, that oil demand will peak around 2030 — based on an assumption “disconnected from reality,” namely that Paris Agreement signatories “are undertaking energy transition plans.” “In fact, none are fully meeting their promises, and most are far behind schedule.” On its current path, world demand for oil could jump by 10 million barrels a day over a decade. “If growth even close to that happens, but the world invests based on IEA scenarios, the resulting undersupply would cause tectonic price shocks.”
Justice watch: Trump Rights a DOJ Wrong
Until last week, “Dr. Eithan Haim, 34, was facing a potential decade in federal prison for revealing publicly [in 2023] that Texas Children’s Hospital was continuing to perform gender transitions on children even after declaring a moratorium on the controversial practice,” notes The Free Press’ Emily Yoffe. That ran “afoul of the Biden administration’s unquestioning support of medical transition of young people distressed about their gender,” which left him under Department of Justice investigation since last June, as he and his wife “lost close friendships, all their savings, and their peace of mind.” But on Friday, “the Trump DOJ issued a dismissal of all charges against him.” His attorney called the dismissal “a repudiation of the weaponization of federal law enforcement.”
Conservative: Doubts on DeepSeek
After news of the DeepSeek AI slammed US markets, JP’s Jim Geraghty warns, “When something seems too good to be true, it probably is, and that does double for any good news coming out of China.” What supposedly makes the new AI stand out is “how quickly it was built and ‘trained,’ how inexpensive it was compared to other AI models, and how it was built without the most advanced chips.” Yet some believe DeepSeek relies on smuggled super-high-end H-100 chips. And: “How certain are we that it really only cost $5.6 million to develop? Who’s in a position to verify that number? How do we know this really only took two months to get ‘trained’?” Or “that DeepSeek didn’t get some help from the Chinese government”?
— Compiled by The Post Editorial Board