"'Just to state this,' wrote Neera Tanden, president of the Center for American Progress, 'Justice Kennedy's son gave a billion dollar loan to Trump when no one would give him a dime, and Justice Kennedy has been ruling in favor of the Trump Administration position for 2 years as the Court decides 5-4 case after 5-4 case.'

"This was crazy conspiracy theory completely ungrounded in facts. Still, 21,600 Twitter users spread the lie promulgated by a well-respected matron of the progressive movement. The conspiracy was somehow that because the bank where Justice Anthony Kennedy's son works loaned money to a Donald Trump Jr. business, President Trump was able to force or entice Kennedy to retire. It made no sense.

"It was fact-free fearmongering. And so it was a perfect kickoff to the progressive movement's efforts in the wake of Kennedy's retirement.

"Dishonesty is ever-present in the political fray. Factual errors crop up everywhere. But the truth rarely seems to take a beating as much when a Supreme Court seat is up for grabs."

"We, therefore, the Representatives of the united States of America, in General Congress, Assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the Name, and by Authority of the good People of these Colonies, solemnly publish and declare, That these United Colonies are, and of Right ought to be Free and Independent States; that they are Absolved from all Allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain, is and ought to be totally dissolved; and that as Free and Independent States, they have full Power to levy War, conclude Peace, contract Alliances, establish Commerce, and to do all other Acts and Things which Independent States may of right do. And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor."

"Call it the summer of '68.

"Rioters in the streets.

"Communists on the ballot.

"Radical leftists threaten to kidnap, rape and torture political enemies. Even the children of political enemies. ...

"There is good news. In the summer of 1968, sober-minded American voters saw the daily drumbeat of the 'Antifa' fascists on television. Voters did not freak out and riot back in the streets. They did not arm up and shoot back.

"No, they just showed up at the voting booth in November. And delivered one of the most stunning rebukes to the 'Antifa' fascist crowd in U.S. history.

"So, 'Antifa,' please, keep the riots going. And definitely keep up your calls to abolish ICE. That is a real winner."

"When the U.S. Supreme Court decided Tuesday to endorse the president's so-called 'Muslim ban,' the Left's knee-jerk response was typically predictable, pathetic, and phony: 'Trump is a racist!' ...

"Despite the Left's now-yawn-inducing screams of 'racism,' this policy has nothing to do with Islamophobia. And it never did. It concerns U.S. national security and counter-terrorism. ...

"Individuals who traveled from or through these 'countries of concern,' as they are known officially, have experienced increased scrutiny since December 2015. Donald J. Trump was not president back then. In fact, as anti-Trump CNN reported on January 30, 2017: "The seven Muslim-majority countries targeted in President Trump's executive order on immigration were initially identified as 'countries of concern' under the Obama administration." (Emphasis added.) By the Left's logic, compiling this list of 'countries of concern' would make Barack Hussein Obama an anti-Muslim bigot.

"Once again, the fact that the Left went from zero to racism in just 10 seconds after Tuesday's Supreme Court decision confirms that the Democrat choir has just one hymn in its missal. How sad. How ugly."

"Prominent Democratic pollster Mark Penn said on Thursday that a vast majority of Americans don't really support so-called sanctuary cities that shield immigrants in the country illegally from deportation.

"Penn, who served as chief strategist for Hillary Clinton's 2008 presidential campaign, revealed that 84 percent of Americans favor turning undocumented immigrants over to federal agents. ...

"Penn said the response was strikingly 'out of sync' with what the public might think about sanctuary cities. The broad term refers to cities that don't fully cooperate with federal authorities when it comes to turning over people in the country illegally to immigration enforcement."

"Justice Anthony Kennedy's retirement from the Supreme Court is going to have immediate political consequences by creating a headache for red state Senate Democrats seeking reelection. ...

"Democrats are expected to overwhelmingly oppose any of the 25 names that Trump has promised he'd choose from, and they'll be under pressure from their base to pull out all stops to try and block a vote.

"But the political incentives of the party as a whole are much different than the pressures facing the Democratic Senators up for re-election in red states.

"In 2018, there are 10 Democrats seeking re-election in states that Trump carried in 2016. Of those, five races are viewed as 'tossups' by Cook Political report: Sens. Bill Nelson of Florida, Joe Donnelly in Indiana, Claire McCaskill in Missouri, Heidi Heitkamp in North Dakota, and Joe Manchin in West Virginia.

"The difficulty faced by red state Democrats is that even in a more conservative states, a substantial portion of their base is going to be fiercely anti-Trump, and opposed to any of his judicial nominees. At the same time, particularly in the very red states (Missouri, North Dakota, Indiana, and West Virginia) where Trump won big, it's going to be really difficult to vote 'no' on a qualified Supreme Court nominee."

"So much for the claim that Donald Trump's strident campaign rhetoric about Muslims rendered him unfit to wield the powers of the presidency. The Supreme Court will have none of it.

"That's the bottom line in the justices' blockbuster decision to back President Trump against a suit by Hawaii on the so-called Muslim travel ban, overruling the lower courts.

"Not only that, but the decision was a major blow to the 'judicial resistance' -- the attempts by judges to constrain Trump's clearly vested powers because they don't like the president who's wielding them.

"The vote may have been a narrow five to four. It was backed up, though, by a thumping decision by Chief Justice John Roberts, eviscerating claims by the judicial resistance to Trump. ...

"So clearly did the high court assert Trump's authority under the Immigration and Nationality Act that this case could well be remembered for its weakening of the judicial resistance seeking to use the courts to undo the voters' choice in 2016."

"Two senior Trump administration officials were heckled at restaurants. A third was denied service. Florida GOP Attorney General Pam Bondi required a police escort away from a movie about Mister Rogers after activists yelled at her in Tampa -- where two other Republican lawmakers say they were also politically harassed last week, one of them with her kids in tow.

"In the Donald Trump era, the left is as aggressively confrontational as anyone can remember.

"What it means for 2018 -- whether it portends a blue wave of populist revolt for Democrats or a red wall of silent majority resistance from Republicans -- largely depends on one's political persuasion. But there's a bipartisan sense that this election season marks another inflection point in the collapse of civil political discourse."

"Because stopping illegal immigration is popular in much of the nation, it is not surprising that an early poll finds most criticism directed at the Central American parents who risk their children's lives by bringing them on the dangerous journey or sending them with smugglers.

"Rasmussen reports that 54 percent of likely voters said the parents are more to blame for the crisis, against 35 percent who say the government is more to blame.

"Meanwhile, the left is going in the opposite direction by uniting behind California Sen. Dianne Feinstein, who turned 85 last week and is seeking another six-year term. Trying to rally the far-left base in her blue state, Feinstein authored a bill that would, among other things, prohibit an arrest for illegal entry anywhere within 100 miles of a border.

"Incredibly, the other 48 Senate Dems signed on, meaning they've all cast their lots with an outlandishly radical policy.

"Yet Feinstein and others insist they don't favor open borders. OK, then, let's put it this way: they favor no borders and want the US to admit the whole world, free of charge and no questions asked.

"Yeah, that'll sell in November."

"Charles Krauthammer, a longtime Fox News contributor, Pulitzer Prize winner, Harvard-trained psychiatrist and best-selling author who came to be known as the dean of conservative commentators, died Thursday. He was 68. ...

"In recent years, Krauthammer was best known for his nightly appearance as a panelist on Fox News' 'Special Report with Bret Baier' and as a commentator on various Fox news shows. ...

"But Krauthammer was arguably a Renaissance man, achieving mastery in such disparate fields as psychiatry, speech-writing, print journalism and television. He won the Edwin Dunlop Prize for excellence in psychiatric research and clinical medicine. Journalism honors included the Pulitzer Prize for Commentary for his Washington Post columns in 1987 and the National Magazine Award for his work at The New Republic in 1984. His book, 'Things That Matter: Three Decades of Passions, Pastimes and Politics,' instantly became a New York Times bestseller, remaining in the number one slot for 10 weeks, and on the coveted list for nearly 40."