Story by Dragg

Kentucky Woman Got Tired Of Waiting On Her Chicken, So Police Say She Pulled An AR-15 On A KFC Employee

A KFC incident making headlines across Kentucky reportedly began with an ordinary inconvenience before taking a dangerous turn. A Lexington woman is facing a felony charge after authorities said she pointed an AR-15-style rifle at a KFC employee during a confrontation over a delayed drive-through order.

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According to WKYT, 33-year-old Nayda Roman allegedly became frustrated while waiting for food at the KFC on Richmond Road in Lexington. The reported confrontation happened on May 11, although Roman was not taken into custody until late July.

An arrest report states that Roman exchanged words with members of the restaurant staff before leaving her position in the drive-through line. Instead of leaving the property entirely, police said she drove around the building and entered the restaurant’s parking lot.  Continue reading

Authorities allege Roman then parked her vehicle, opened the trunk, and removed an AR-15-style rifle. The arrest citation claims she pointed the firearm at an employee in a “threatening manner.” Roman allegedly returned to her vehicle and drove away shortly afterward.

The employee was left to process a situation that allegedly escalated from a slow order to the presence of a high-powered weapon. While fast food customers regularly complain about long lines, incorrect orders and slow service, the allegations connected to this situation are far beyond a heated exchange at the window.

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Ex-governor blames wildfires on climate change as suspect is arrested

Story by Emma Richter

 • 5h

©CC Composite Editor

The former governor of Washington State blamed the raging wildfires on climate change, but a man who was previously convicted of killing his father has been arrested for allegedly starting the blazes. Jay Inslee, who served in the role from 2013 to 2025, shared a video of himself on Sunday afternoon discussing the wildfires that have burned more than 10,000 acres and remain zero percent contained as of Tuesday morning. Inslee donned a casual royal blue hoodie and filmed himself outside as he spoke about the infernos. In the clip and its caption, the Democrat said climate change was to blame for the fires. He also made the same assumption on CNN. ‘Three enormous wildfires are raging in Spokane. Thousands of people are evacuating, not knowing if they’ll come back to a home or nothing but ashes. ‘Climate change isn’t some faraway threat. It’s happening right now, to our neighbors and friends. We have to fight for them,’ Inslee, 75, wrote. The following day, Aaron F Farinacci, 37, was arrested and booked on suspicion of arson after he allegedly started the Old Trail Fire in Spokane.

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Kentucky woman got tired of waiting on her chicken, so police say she pulled an AR-15 on a KFC employee

Story by Draggy

 • 7h • 

3 min read

Kentucky Woman Got Tired Of Waiting On Her Chicken, So Police Say She Pulled An AR-15 On A KFC Employee

A KFC incident making headlines across Kentucky reportedly began with an ordinary inconvenience before taking a dangerous turn. A Lexington woman is facing a felony charge after authorities said she pointed an AR-15-style rifle at a KFC employee during a confrontation over a delayed drive-through order.

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According to WKYT, 33-year-old Nayda Roman allegedly became frustrated while waiting for food at the KFC on Richmond Road in Lexington. The reported confrontation happened on May 11, although Roman was not taken into custody until late July.

An arrest report states that Roman exchanged words with members of the restaurant staff before leaving her position in the drive-through line. Instead of leaving the property entirely, police said she drove around the building and entered the restaurant’s parking lot.  Continue reading

Authorities allege Roman then parked her vehicle, opened the trunk, and removed an AR-15-style rifle. The arrest citation claims she pointed the firearm at an employee in a “threatening manner.” Roman allegedly returned to her vehicle and drove away shortly afterward.

The employee was left to process a situation that allegedly escalated from a slow order to the presence of a high-powered weapon. While fast food customers regularly complain about long lines, incorrect orders and slow service, the allegations connected to this situation are far beyond a heated exchange at the window.

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Ex-governor blames wildfires on climate change as suspect is arrested

Story by Emma Richter

 • 5h

©CC Composite Editor

The former governor of Washington State blamed the raging wildfires on climate change, but a man who was previously convicted of killing his father has been arrested for allegedly starting the blazes. Jay Inslee, who served in the role from 2013 to 2025, shared a video of himself on Sunday afternoon discussing the wildfires that have burned more than 10,000 acres and remain zero percent contained as of Tuesday morning. Inslee donned a casual royal blue hoodie and filmed himself outside as he spoke about the infernos. In the clip and its caption, the Democrat said climate change was to blame for the fires. He also made the same assumption on CNN. ‘Three enormous wildfires are raging in Spokane. Thousands of people are evacuating, not knowing if they’ll come back to a home or nothing but ashes. ‘Climate change isn’t some faraway threat. It’s happening right now, to our neighbors and friends. We have to fight for them,’ Inslee, 75, wrote. The following day, Aaron F Farinacci, 37, was arrested and booked on suspicion of arson after he allegedly started the Old Trail Fire in Spokane.

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Kentucky woman got tired of waiting on her chicken, so police say she pulled an AR-15 on a KFC employee

Story by Draggy

 • 7h • 

3 min read

Kentucky Woman Got Tired Of Waiting On Her Chicken, So Police Say She Pulled An AR-15 On A KFC Employee

A KFC incident making headlines across Kentucky reportedly began with an ordinary inconvenience before taking a dangerous turn. A Lexington woman is facing a felony charge after authorities said she pointed an AR-15-style rifle at a KFC employee during a confrontation over a delayed drive-through order.

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Money Metals Exchange·Sponsored

According to WKYT, 33-year-old Nayda Roman allegedly became frustrated while waiting for food at the KFC on Richmond Road in Lexington. The reported confrontation happened on May 11, although Roman was not taken into custody until late July.

An arrest report states that Roman exchanged words with members of the restaurant staff before leaving her position in the drive-through line. Instead of leaving the property entirely, police said she drove around the building and entered the restaurant’s parking lot.  Continue reading

Authorities allege Roman then parked her vehicle, opened the trunk, and removed an AR-15-style rifle. The arrest citation claims she pointed the firearm at an employee in a “threatening manner.” Roman allegedly returned to her vehicle and drove away shortly afterward.

The employee was left to process a situation that allegedly escalated from a slow order to the presence of a high-powered weapon. While fast food customers regularly complain about long lines, incorrect orders and slow service, the allegations connected to this situation are far beyond a heated exchange at the window.

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Sponsored

Visit Baller Alert

Shamar McCoy arrested in Atlanta on a battery charge from November 2024

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Ex-governor blames wildfires on climate change as suspect is arrested

Story by Emma Richter

 • 5h

©CC Composite Editor

The former governor of Washington State blamed the raging wildfires on climate change, but a man who was previously convicted of killing his father has been arrested for allegedly starting the blazes. Jay Inslee, who served in the role from 2013 to 2025, shared a video of himself on Sunday afternoon discussing the wildfires that have burned more than 10,000 acres and remain zero percent contained as of Tuesday morning. Inslee donned a casual royal blue hoodie and filmed himself outside as he spoke about the infernos. In the clip and its caption, the Democrat said climate change was to blame for the fires. He also made the same assumption on CNN. ‘Three enormous wildfires are raging in Spokane. Thousands of people are evacuating, not knowing if they’ll come back to a home or nothing but ashes. ‘Climate change isn’t some faraway threat. It’s happening right now, to our neighbors and friends. We have to fight for them,’ Inslee, 75, wrote. The following day, Aaron F Farinacci, 37, was arrested and booked on suspicion of arson after he allegedly started the Old Trail Fire in Spokane.

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Story by Draggy

 • 7h • 

3 min read

Kentucky Woman Got Tired Of Waiting On Her Chicken, So Police Say She Pulled An AR-15 On A KFC Employee

A KFC incident making headlines across Kentucky reportedly began with an ordinary inconvenience before taking a dangerous turn. A Lexington woman is facing a felony charge after authorities said she pointed an AR-15-style rifle at a KFC employee during a confrontation over a delayed drive-through order.

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Money Metals Exchange·Sponsored

According to WKYT, 33-year-old Nayda Roman allegedly became frustrated while waiting for food at the KFC on Richmond Road in Lexington. The reported confrontation happened on May 11, although Roman was not taken into custody until late July.

An arrest report states that Roman exchanged words with members of the restaurant staff before leaving her position in the drive-through line. Instead of leaving the property entirely, police said she drove around the building and entered the restaurant’s parking lot.  Continue reading

Authorities allege Roman then parked her vehicle, opened the trunk, and removed an AR-15-style rifle. The arrest citation claims she pointed the firearm at an employee in a “threatening manner.” Roman allegedly returned to her vehicle and drove away shortly afterward.

The employee was left to process a situation that allegedly escalated from a slow order to the presence of a high-powered weapon. While fast food customers regularly complain about long lines, incorrect orders and slow service, the allegations connected to this situation are far beyond a heated exchange at the window.

https://adsdkprod.azureedge.net/assets/sf/v1.0.0-1/safeframe-v2.html

Sponsored

Visit Baller Alert

Shamar McCoy arrested in Atlanta on a battery charge from November 2024

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Sponsored Content

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The Independent

·8h

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Daily Mail

2.4M Followers

Ex-governor blames wildfires on climate change as suspect is arrested

Story by Emma Richter

 • 5h

©CC Composite Editor

The former governor of Washington State blamed the raging wildfires on climate change, but a man who was previously convicted of killing his father has been arrested for allegedly starting the blazes. Jay Inslee, who served in the role from 2013 to 2025, shared a video of himself on Sunday afternoon discussing the wildfires that have burned more than 10,000 acres and remain zero percent contained as of Tuesday morning. Inslee donned a casual royal blue hoodie and filmed himself outside as he spoke about the infernos. In the clip and its caption, the Democrat said climate change was to blame for the fires. He also made the same assumption on CNN. ‘Three enormous wildfires are raging in Spokane. Thousands of people are evacuating, not knowing if they’ll come back to a home or nothing but ashes. ‘Climate change isn’t some faraway threat. It’s happening right now, to our neighbors and friends. We have to fight for them,’ Inslee, 75, wrote. The following day, Aaron F Farinacci, 37, was arrested and booked on suspicion of arson after he allegedly started the Old Trail Fire in Spokane.

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A KFC incident making headlines across Kentucky reportedly began with an ordinary inconvenience before taking a dangerous turn. A Lexington woman is facing a felony charge after authorities said she pointed an AR-15-style rifle at a KFC employee during a confrontation over a delayed drive-through order.

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According to WKYT, 33-year-old Nayda Roman allegedly became frustrated while waiting for food at the KFC on Richmond Road in Lexington. The reported confrontation happened on May 11, although Roman was not taken into custody until late July.

An arrest report states that Roman exchanged words with members of the restaurant staff before leaving her position in the drive-through line. Instead of leaving the property entirely, police said she drove around the building and entered the restaurant’s parking lot.

Authorities allege Roman then parked her vehicle, opened the trunk, and removed an AR-15-style rifle. The arrest citation claims she pointed the firearm at an employee in a “threatening manner.” Roman allegedly returned to her vehicle and drove away shortly afterward.

The employee was left to process a situation that allegedly escalated from a slow order to the presence of a high-powered weapon. While fast food customers regularly complain about long lines, incorrect orders and slow service, the allegations connected to this situation are far beyond a heated exchange at the window.

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Investigators reportedly used multiple forms of evidence to identify Roman. Police reviewed security footage from the KFC and used the video to identify the vehicle involved in the incident. Officers then compared the footage with police body camera recordings from earlier traffic stops involving that vehicle.

Police also presented a photo lineup to the employee, who reportedly identified Roman as the person involved. The combination of the restaurant surveillance, previous body camera footage, and the employee’s identification ultimately led authorities to Roman.

Roman was taken into custody in late July and charged with one count of first-degree wanton endangerment. Jail records showed Roman was booked into the Fayette County Detention Center on Monday, July 27. LEX 18 reported that she was arrested on July 28, creating a one-day difference between the published timelines.

Under Kentucky law, first-degree wanton endangerment applies when someone allegedly displays extreme indifference to human life and creates a substantial danger of death or serious physical injury. The statute classifies the offense as a Class D felony. It becomes a Class C felony when a firearm is discharged during the offense. None of the reviewed reports allege that Roman fired the rifle.

The charge connected to the KFC rifle arrest remains an allegation and does not amount to a conviction. As of August 3, Law and Crime reported that Roman’s next court appearance had not been publicly confirmed. No plea, conviction, or final legal outcome was included in the latest available reporting.

Beyond the legal process, the case puts another spotlight on what restaurant workers may face while simply trying to complete a shift. Employees have no control over every delay happening inside a busy kitchen, yet the person working the window often becomes the most accessible target for a customer’s frustration.

No matter how Roman felt in the moment, the arrest now means navigating a felony case connected to what reportedly began as impatience over food. For the employee, it means being placed at the center of an encounter that allegedly became threatening without warning.

After the high of the Declaration of Independence, wartime reality set in for the founders.

Despite the heady moment in Philadelphia with the Declaration of Independence’s approval in early July, 1776, that summer was a tough one for the nation’s founders, George Washington in particular. The rest of that year — until Washington crossed the Delaware River and won the Battle of Trenton on Dec. 26 — would go down as the worst period of the Revolutionary War.

Throughout those unhappy months, the outcome of the war was very much in doubt. Trouble was brewing even before the founders adopted the Declaration in Philadelphia. On July 2, British forces under Gen. William Howe occupied Staten Island and sought to establish control of New York Harbor. Over the ensuing weeks, they relocated to Long Island and prepared a major assault on Washington’s forces.

Washington and his army had established elements of a defensive position on the island. But they were unprepared for the attack that came. Outnumbered, outmaneuvered and outthought, Washington’s forces were defeated at the Battle of Long Island on Aug. 27 and had to escape across the East River to Manhattan.

This evacuation provided only a temporary reprieve. British forces pursued Washington and his beleaguered army northward, forcing a battle at Harlem Heights near the current location of Columbia University on Sept. 16. There, led by “Knowlton’s Rangers,” the Continentals held their own at first — but soon had to flee north once more. The British again caught up to the Continental Army and achieved another decisive victory at the Battle of White Plains on Oct. 28.

Washington then directed the Continental Army to return to Manhattan and defend Fort Washington. But on Nov. 16, the army suffered another major defeat as thousands of troops were captured. What was left of Washington’s ragtag army fled through New Jersey to Pennsylvania, hoping to outrun the British and perhaps pick up reinforcements from patriotic colonists along the way.

Thus began a counterpunch strategy that Washington would employ in one form or another throughout the war. He generally eschewed open-field battles except when conditions were favorable — as happened at Saratoga in 1777 and Yorktown in 1781 — and instead relied on surprise and deception.

Though reinforcements were generally not forthcoming, rebel and Colonial forces managed to stay one step ahead of the pursuing redcoats. As the belligerents moved closer, the Continental Congress took precautions and evacuated indefensible Philadelphia. Fortunately, Washington’s troops arrived at the Delaware River as winter set in — allowing them to commandeer local shipping and cross the river themselves, creating a defensive barrier against the British that promised to hold at least until the river froze.

That crossing of the Delaware westward bought the Continental Army time to rest and recover — and for Washington to regain his footing. As John Adams wryly put it, reflecting on the events of the previous months, “in general, our Generals were out generalled.” But on Christmas night, Washington would cross back over the Delaware to strike unsuspecting and dispersed Hessian and British forces at the Battle of Trenton. He would surprise the British again a week later at the Battle of Princeton.

Washington was arguably the only American military commander in history to fix his own flawed strategy during a major war. In other conflicts where the U.S. struggled initially but later turned things around, a new military leader was needed to develop and implement a new strategy, as happened when Gen. Ulysses S. Grant turned the tide of the Civil War and when Gen. Matthew B. Ridgway replaced Gen. Douglas MacArthur in the Korean War.

Before turning things around, Washington needed to ride out some tough experiences — and get a few lucky breaks along the way. The Fourth of July in 1776 was a short-lived party. Celebrations over the signing of the Declaration looked like a premature taunt of King George III until the Continental Army’s fortunes improved. Washington’s perseverance might be the most important lesson from 1776 — and one Americans can still absorb today.

Michael O’Hanlon

Michael O’Hanlon is a defense and strategy analyst at the Brookings Institution and the author of “To Dare Mighty Things: U.S. Defense Strategy Since the Revolution.”

Michael A. Letts

There’s been a real mess brewing in the city of Seattle, and things have just about reached a fever pitch.

Criminal activity has reached an all-time high within the city, thanks to an inept Mayor, Katie Wilson, who can’t seem to figure out how to benefit her police department more. But then came a terrifying act – a mass shooting during the Bite of Seattle food event – on Sunday evening that has managed to leave three dead and a toddler wounded.

The police have acted quickly enough to apprehend a suspect, but they are still investigating the matter. But the shooting has led to a series of questions, namely surrounding then police chief Shon Barnes.

Apparently Barnes had been traveling at the time of the shooting, as he had just taken a trip from Chicago and was visiting the National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives in Dallas. 

Of course, officers are allowed to visit events such as this, but apparently Barnes took criticism of his out of town visit the wrong way.

During a press conference earlier this week, Barnes actually got into a confrontation with a reporter who kept pressing him about his being out of town, insisting he was dedicated to his city. It’s clear the pressure had gotten to him, and he simply needed to contain himself before he did something he regretted.

Now, I don’t personally know the history of Barnes, though it sounds like it might have been a bit troubled. But rather than work with him to try and put the pieces together on what happened and, more importantly, trying to keep it from occurring again, Mayor Wilson instead decided to give him a choice – resign or be fired. 

Which is a horrible decision. It’s true that the shooting was a tragedy, and the press conference did not do Barnes any favors. But to come to such a drastic decision and leave the city with even more questions? It just shows how absolutely flawed Wilson’s leadership is.

Barnes chose to resign, with Wilson saying, “I’ll say this decision was not solely due to the events of Sunday. Multiple factors figured into this decision and into the conversation that the Chief and I had.”

But a different resolution couldn’t have been made? Suspension? An investigation into the matter? It sounds like Wilson’s just trying to save face with her voter base, rather than standing behind the police and trying to right the wrongs.

Again, I can’t speak on Barnes’ record, I just can’t help but think Wilson doesn’t “get it” when it comes to doing what’s right for the city. And I’m not the only one who thinks this.

City Council President Joy Hollingsworth and council members Bob Kettle, Dan Strauss and Debora Juarez made a joint statement following the resignation. “Having cycled through four police chiefs in just two and a half years, our priority must be stability, not further disruption. The people of Seattle deserve reliable leadership, especially as we close out a busy summer of public events.”

That says everything you need to know right there. Four police chiefs in less than three years. That means Wilson has butted heads with every single one of them, potentially wiping out any plans to give them the support they deserve.

What’s more, a letter penned by the Urban League of Metropolitan Seattle and the Seattle NAACP noted that Barnes “should not be made a scapegoat for the complex challenges of public safety.”

So you’ve got a troubled police chief who didn’t even get a chance to validate himself for his actions and a mayor who can’t see eye to eye with, well, anyone in law enforcement. It’s a real mess, and the people of Seattle deserve far better.

There is light at the end of the tunnel here, and that’s with Deputy Chief Andre Sayles, who has stepped into the role of interim chief. It sounds like he’s good with Seattle police as a whole, with Kent Loux, President of the Seattle Police Officers Guild, noting he’s a “good pick.”

Michael A. Letts | 9:55 PM on August 03, 2026

    

AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson

There’s been a real mess brewing in the city of Seattle, and things have just about reached a fever pitch.

Criminal activity has reached an all-time high within the city, thanks to an inept Mayor, Katie Wilson, who can’t seem to figure out how to benefit her police department more. But then came a terrifying act – a mass shooting during the Bite of Seattle food event – on Sunday evening that has managed to leave three dead and a toddler wounded.

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The police have acted quickly enough to apprehend a suspect, but they are still investigating the matter. But the shooting has led to a series of questions, namely surrounding then police chief Shon Barnes.

Apparently Barnes had been traveling at the time of the shooting, as he had just taken a trip from Chicago and was visiting the National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives in Dallas. 

Of course, officers are allowed to visit events such as this, but apparently Barnes took criticism of his out of town visit the wrong way.

During a press conference earlier this week, Barnes actually got into a confrontation with a reporter who kept pressing him about his being out of town, insisting he was dedicated to his city. It’s clear the pressure had gotten to him, and he simply needed to contain himself before he did something he regretted.

Now, I don’t personally know the history of Barnes, though it sounds like it might have been a bit troubled. But rather than work with him to try and put the pieces together on what happened and, more importantly, trying to keep it from occurring again, Mayor Wilson instead decided to give him a choice – resign or be fired. 

Which is a horrible decision. It’s true that the shooting was a tragedy, and the press conference did not do Barnes any favors. But to come to such a drastic decision and leave the city with even more questions? It just shows how absolutely flawed Wilson’s leadership is.

Barnes chose to resign, with Wilson saying, “I’ll say this decision was not solely due to the events of Sunday. Multiple factors figured into this decision and into the conversation that the Chief and I had.”

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But a different resolution couldn’t have been made? Suspension? An investigation into the matter? It sounds like Wilson’s just trying to save face with her voter base, rather than standing behind the police and trying to right the wrongs.

Again, I can’t speak on Barnes’ record, I just can’t help but think Wilson doesn’t “get it” when it comes to doing what’s right for the city. And I’m not the only one who thinks this.

City Council President Joy Hollingsworth and council members Bob Kettle, Dan Strauss and Debora Juarez made a joint statement following the resignation. “Having cycled through four police chiefs in just two and a half years, our priority must be stability, not further disruption. The people of Seattle deserve reliable leadership, especially as we close out a busy summer of public events.”

That says everything you need to know right there. Four police chiefs in less than three years. That means Wilson has butted heads with every single one of them, potentially wiping out any plans to give them the support they deserve.

What’s more, a letter penned by the Urban League of Metropolitan Seattle and the Seattle NAACP noted that Barnes “should not be made a scapegoat for the complex challenges of public safety.”

So you’ve got a troubled police chief who didn’t even get a chance to validate himself for his actions and a mayor who can’t see eye to eye with, well, anyone in law enforcement. It’s a real mess, and the people of Seattle deserve far better.

There is light at the end of the tunnel here, and that’s with Deputy Chief Andre Sayles, who has stepped into the role of interim chief. It sounds like he’s good with Seattle police as a whole, with Kent Loux, President of the Seattle Police Officers Guild, noting he’s a “good pick.”

Now we just need Wilson to settle down and actually work with the police to make things good again. Between not addressing the shooting for several hours (which, surprise, she blamed the police for when it was clearly her fault) and dismissing a police chief before he even had a chance to figure out a proper resolution, I have zero faith in her at the moment. All we can hope is that she’ll work with Sayles and actually move forward in giving the police the support they need.

Because, otherwise, we’ll be looking at number five in a long line of police officials that Wilson can’t stand, and we have no idea who she’ll pick next.

Get on the same page as your city and police department, Mayor Wilson. They deserve that much.

I thought of various clever-seeming ways to organize this cornucopia of quotes from the diary of former Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, Anthony Fauci. But that would mean cutting some of these gems. So here they are, in ascending order of embarrassing awfulness.

1. Anthony Fauci on Anthony Fauci:

— “Apparently, a lot of people at the Pentagon admire me very much …”

— “The nurses went absolutely wild to see me, they were squealing and laughing and clapping. It was something to behold.”

— “Did I mention he’s easy on the eyes?” — Fauci, quoting The Anthony Fauci Fan Club Twitter account (which he does at length).

2. If the Real Housewives had a baby with George Santos, it would be Anthony Fauci.

— “A Gala event was held tonight… It was the highest level of AAA list you could imagine in Washington DC.”

— “One person said that Tyra [Banks] was sexy, but I was even more sexy than she was. She [said] ‘that is true and my mother is in love with you.’ Zing 😊”

— “I am such a valued spokesperson and a good communicator…”

— “Wonderful brunch… the typical Washington A list was there.”

3. His obvious humble brags. All this adoration is ridiculous!

— “The ridiculous attention to me continues; fan clubs, Swags, am constantly on TV; countless profiles of me.”

— “Many print profiles and features on me. Ridiculous—too numerous to count!” (Kind of like those myocarditis deaths.)

— “A photographer from across the landscape shot me and focused on my polkadot socks. It got tweeted around the country. ‘Birx has her scarfs and Fauci has his socks.’ Geeeez.” (It must be very exciting to be tweeted all around the country.)

— “The ‘swag’ around me is getting really ridiculous. You can buy Fauci T-shirts, mugs, donuts, sweat shirts, candles, pillows, etc. Geeeez!! I do not like this one bit.”

— “Continued crazy stuff: Petition to name me ‘Sexiest Man Alive’; video games named after me; Fauci Bobblehead; dishes in restaurants named after me, and on and on.”

(If you’re going for merch, how about autographed Anthony Fauci coffins?)

4. He’s disturbingly impressed with celebrities.

— “[Julia Roberts] embarrassed me somewhat when… she put her hands in front of her mouth and said ‘Oh my God. It’s Dr. Fauci, he is here.’ Then she went on to say that I was her personal hero…”

— “Joan Baez texted me tonight asking me about what she should wear for the State Department dinner…”

— “There was a wonderful series of testimonials to me from an amazing group of people: Robert DeNiro, Al Pacino, Leonardo DiCaprio, Francis Ford Coppola … Maria Tomei…”

— “Noteworthy is the fact that I had an extraordinary podcast interview for one hour with famous actor Alec Baldwin.”

— “It was a star-studded evening and I had pleasant conversations with people some of whom I had met before such as Julia Roberts, Sean Penn, Matt Damon, Mike Ferrone, among many others.”

5. He was more interested in Fauci bobbleheads and Fauci donuts than the number of elderly people dying alone in hospitals.

— “Bobblehead raising money: Fauci bobblehead raises $100,000 for American Hospital Association.”

— “Bobbleheads of me being made in massive quantities in China.”

— “Fauci Bobblehead Raises $200k for Healthcare Workers”

— “Spoke with Robyn Ross of the Washington Post Magazine. She is writing a piece on my Bobblehead” (And get this: they’re all made by pangolins!)

He writes about the Fauci donuts eight times in his diary—or eight times more than he mentioned Sweden. (From the beginning of the pandemic, Sweden imposed no lockdowns, advised citizens against wearing masks and had less excess mortality than the U.S.)

6. He’s obsessed with how famous he is, boasting about his fame dozens of times.

— “I was beset by a horde of at least 20 paparazzi who followed me … walking backwards surrounding me and flashing lights that blinded me.”

— “The problem is that now I am one of the most recognizable and well-known people in the world.”

— “The situation with my national and international fame is explosive and really unimaginable. It is not hyperbole to say that today I am the most famous and talked about person in the country and one of the most recognizable person in the world.”

— “Multiple TV cameras and hundreds of camera clicks followed me out of the Rayburn Building as I had a car waiting for me to take me to the Oval Office.”

7. Fauci’s amazing adventure! (While you were quarantining at home.)

— “Amazing night at NATS Stadium where I threw out the first pitch to open the 2020 Baseball season … Unfortunately, I threw a bouncer to the right of the plate. I felt really badly but the overwhelming public reaction to it was sympathetic and positive. … I signed a Nats Jersey that will hang on the wall in Nats stadium next to a similar shirt signed by President Obama.”

— “After the gala we were invited to another gala at the Cafe Milano …”

— “I went to a book party last night for Jonathan Karl’s new book about Trump. It took place at the Cafe Milano. …”

–”I was totally swamped all night by people wanting to say hello, shake my hands, and take pictures with me.”

— “Last night I received another humbling honor associated with the honorary doctorate in science that I received from Rockefeller University in New York City. … the audience at the celebratory dinner was giving me a standing ovation, … This will have been my 58th honorary doctorate.”

8. With all the time he spent being photographed for magazine covers, it’s no wonder that Fauci lacked basic knowledge of COVID, such as the fact that the survival rate for people under the age of 70 was 99.95%.

— “Did major photo shoot with People magazine.”

— “Nature magazine picked me as one of Nature’s 10—people who shaped science in 2020.”

— “[White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows] did not like the fact that I did an InStyle piece and did not want any more profiles of me.”

— “Over the past three weeks I have been on the cover of Time magazine X2, once as one of the 100 most influential people in the world again as the ‘guardian of the year.’ Also, on the cover of People magazine.”

9. He has remarkably thin skin.

— “It’s no secret that I have been clearly targeted by rather radical elements who just keep attacking me every day, all day—Fox News, Breitbart—all those other crazies.”

— “The onslaught against me by the radical right continues….Some of the valid press such as the Washington Post, the Los Angeles Times, and others are calling out the lies of the far right.”

— “General Mark Milley came up to me put his arms around my shoulder and said ‘the only person who was getting his balls kicked more than me in Washington is you.’ I responded by saying ‘no shit.’”

10. He is thrilled to be asked for selfies.

— “I got completely surrounded by ‘well-wishers’ who wanted selfies and/or to shake my hands.”

— “Every young intern as well as seasoned veteran in the WH coming over to me congratulating me and thanking me for my work and even asking for selfies.”

— “I was totally mobbed for selfies.”

— “Several women civilian employees as well as military officers came over to me wanting selfies… One of them actually broke into tears.”

— “I took the time to visit them and there was the usual selfies galore.”

— “The people at the Abyssinian church or extremely kind to me… And all of them wanting to take selfies with me.”

— “Went to do PSAs with the White House digital Comms team. They all wanted selfies with me.”

— “I was totally mobbed by my colleagues wanting selfies. I must have done at least 100 (no exaggerating!)”

— “As soon as people recognized me there was a wave of applause and squealing and screaming and clapping and thanking me with multiple people coming and asking for selfies.”

I’d end it there, but his next sentence was this: “It was a little bit embarrassing, but it was just a manifestation of how people need a symbol of integrity and truth.”

Ann Coulter

Kurt SchlichterFollow @KurtSchlichter

Aug 03, 2026

The opinions expressed by columnists are their own and do not necessarily represent the views of Townhall.com.

The current trend of Democratic Socialists of America goobers going on Fox and proudly coming out for all the weird and stupid things they support is akin to the phenomenon of a few years ago where you had furries publicly and proudly proclaiming their bizarre identity, except the people pretending to be cartoon foxes and wombats were less embarrassing. As dumb and creepy as it is to dress up as an anime marsupial and admit that their furry fetish tops “sincere people” and “long walks on the beach” on their list of turn-ons, at least the furry strange-os didn’t murder 100 million people over the last century. Of course, it’s probably only because their costumes don’t provide opposable thumbs to hold the guns.

It’s both amusing and horrifying to watch these DSA out n’ proud people in action. It’s pretty clear they never got the memo: you’re supposed to hide the most insane parts of your agenda so normal people can be suckered in. It’s like being inside a Trojan horse, which probably has a slightly different meaning to these perverts; you want to come across as someone vaguely relatable and then only reveal your true self when you come to power. But it’s hard for them to resist the limelight. They’ve never been in the limelight before. Look at these goofs. They are a hapless collection of weirdos, losers, and mutations, the kind of people who, in a civilized society, would’ve been bullied in middle school and high school into something near normality. Along the way, our society made the mistake of celebrating freaks, and now we’re overrun by them. Worse, in some places, we’re going to be run by them.

And that’s a problem. Socialism is bad. It’s strange that you have to say it, but people seem to forget most of the 20th century when socialism, the fantasy ideology of the evil, the envious, and the cruel, was both put into practice and thoroughly repudiated. The heaps of the dead are testimony to its inevitable result. They try to get around the truth of history by claiming that true communism has never been tried—yeah, I know there is supposed to be a difference between socialism and communism, but that’s like the difference between syphilis and AIDS; one is an inevitable gateway infection for the other, and you certainly don’t want either. But based on the world’s experience with this political pathology, true communism probably means 200 million dead. Maybe even more.

Some people who, for whatever reason, cannot accept the fact that other people are just plain evil will try to whitewash Marxism by arguing that it’s merely bad policy. See, it doesn’t work, they tell you, as if that’s the reason you don’t want to put it into practice. But it’s an inhuman and anti-God ideology that twists and perverts human nature to elevate lies and murder over truth and justice. As these creeps demonstrate, socialism is simply a means for losers to take from productive people what they’re too lazy and stupid to generate on their own. That’s why you never see one of these Marxists looking forward to the revolution where they get to be the guy digging the sewer line or manning a garbage truck; no, after the revolution, the cadres are going to be the ones composing genderfluid poetry or doing interpretive dances in their gardens, conveniently forgetting that the gardens wouldn’t be theirs, nor would anything else.

No, the evil of socialism is not a bug, but rather a feature. Remember, it’s driven by hate—hate of the normal, hate of the smarter, hate of the better, hate of your parents who just didn’t get you. And every single time it’s put into practice, we see the same thing. Since everything in socialism goes against human nature, you need an apparatus of repression designed to force people to accept what nature rejects. There’s not a socialist country without thuggish police. There’s not a socialist country where you can speak freely. There’s not a socialist country where you are free because your freedom defeats the whole purpose of socialism, which is ensuring your submission to the cadres.

We could go through all their policy prescriptions, from open borders to amnesty to free everything for everybody, thanks to the people like you who have to work to generate this bounty while the cadres are busy playing their lutes. Socialism is not about making lives better or creating prosperity or security or any of those things. It’s about jerks living out their personal psychodramas while they get off on making you miserable.

Nothing demonstrates that more than the idea of defunding the police and getting rid of prisons. After all, you wicked normal people deserve to have thugs, junkies, murderers, rapists, and other Democrat constituencies turned on you to make you pay for the crime of being you. You need to understand the deep hate that lives within all these people, and that’s why, in every single leftist sector of society, you see the actual criminals not merely being ignored but being idolized. The DSA types would free these barbarians for the express purpose of allowing those barbarians to hurt you, because you deserve to be hurt. You deserve to be killed. You deserve to be raped. Why? Because these freaks don’t like you and it amuses them to see you in pain.

But there’s a practical side to it too. The old Soviet Union understood it. Regular criminals were victims of society, and you, being the foundation of society, need to be victimized in return. If you were a regular criminal, you were treated infinitely better than someone who committed a real crime, that is, a political crime. If you opposed the regime, then you were a real criminal.

So all this stuff about closing the prisons is just nonsense. Same with defunding the police. The DSA types have no intention of ending prisons or ending the police. They just intend to change the target demographic from actual criminals to people like you who stand up and demand your rights. In the socialist paradigm, the only real crime is opposing the socialists. And they would not hesitate to lock you up or murder you if you get in their way.

Now, some people point to the social contract by which we give up our natural right to seek justice from those who wrong us in favor of the procedures we set up through our democratic government. This allows prosecution and punishment to be taken away from what are sometimes called vigilantes and given to our properly constituted government. And these folks critique the DSA prison-closing/police-defunding agenda by pointing out that we could just become vigilantes and do the justice dispensing ourselves. But of course, that would never happen, because the socialists would see vigilantism as an actual crime. Exercising power outside of the socialist structure is unforgivable. Oh, you can rape and molest and murder to your heart’s content, but cut into the party’s action? That’s when the gloves come off. That’s when the underfunded secret police are set upon you and haul you off to the unclosed gulag with the other uppity kulaks.

Socialism isn’t a bunch of 1960s ethnically homogeneous Swedes paying 55 percent in taxes to live moderately comfortably in clean and safe Stockholm. It’s Los Angeles in 2026 where a hobo is crapping on your lawn. It’s London in 2026 where you get arrested for tweeting unapproved things. It’s Spain in 2026, where a zillion Third World barbarians without shirts jump the border and run past cheering 20-something lefty girls in a grand de-reconquista.

We’ve actually been spoiled when it comes to defeating socialism. In the 1980s, Ronald Reagan smashed the big socialist enchilada without firing a shot. The USSR collapsed under its own weight, but that was in large part because there was a counterexample, the glorious United States of the ’80s, a beacon to the rest of the world demonstrating that there was something better. But now, the socialists are hitting everything at once. They don’t want a counterexample hanging around out there. They don’t want people to know that there’s an alternative and to be able to peacefully undo their color revolution. We were spoiled, because we defeated socialism without much bloodshed in the big scheme of things.

But this time, we may not get off so easily. Socialists don’t always just give up. Chile overthrew the communists by throwing a bunch of them out of helicopters. The Spanish Nationalists defeated a communist-run revolution through years of fighting. Once the DSA-types get power, do you think they’ll just give it up if we ask nicely? Understand what kind of America these DSA types want. Understand that they will use the engines of government, including the courts and law enforcement, against you. Understand that there will still be crimes; it’s just those crimes will be saying what you think, praying how you want, and owning guns.

The last part is key. The last part is your backstop against perpetual tyranny. The last part is why they want you disarmed. So, buy guns and ammunition, because once the suckers and saps vote us into socialism, there is no voting our way back out of it.

BIG NEWS! Kurt’s next action-packed conservative novel, “American Warlord,” is out for presale now! Read Kurt’s Kelly Turnbull/People’s Republic series, including his latest “Panama Red,” and follow Kurt on X @KurtSchlichter!

Rep. Max Miller’s (R-OH) lawyer has taken full responsibility for making an inappropriate photo of the lawmaker’s young daughter public on social media.

In a statement to Mediaite, attorney Aaron Minc apologized for what he called a “completely unintentional” inclusion of the 2-year-old’s image.

Lawyers for Miller’s wife, Emily Moreno, filed a letter in court claiming the image appeared to show the child’s genitals and could constitute Child Sex Abuse Material.

Emily Moreno has accused Miller of scalding her with boiling water, and other abuse. Her father, Sen. Bernie Moreno (R-OH), finally called for Miller to quit Congress on Sunday.

Read Minc’s statement in full:

In the course of assembling and publishing a large volume of documents, I was responsible for ensuring that any sensitive information was redacted and removed from the files.

I took several steps to do this, made multiple passes and searches to redact and delete anything I could find, including the child’s name throughout and any other private information. I bleeped audio mentions of her name. I converted video files to audio so her image would not appear. I redacted current addresses and dates of birth that I could find referenced for any of the parties. I deleted metadata or converted files into PDFs where relevant. (Although I did not edit information already in publicly filed court documents and news article attachments.)

Unfortunately, I missed the last three pages of a 40+ page document with sensitive content. It was completely unintentional and a mistake. The moment I discovered the issue on Monday morning, I corrected the file immediately.

To be clear, this was completely my fault. I am solely responsible for what happened. I was the only person responsible for assembling, creating, reviewing, adding, deleting, redacting, or making any changes to the information and files that were in this folder. I am Mr. Miller’s personal counsel. I am not paid by, and do not work for, his campaign.

I am truly sorry to Congressman Miller, Ms. Moreno, both of their families, and, especially, to their daughter. I deeply regret the mistake. I find it egregious and shameful that Ms. Moreno and here counsels have decided to make a media spectacle regarding this unfortunate mistake and attract media attention to this incident as a means to try to gain leverage in court and distract from the underlying evidence that exonerates Mr. Miller from the false allegations he is accused of, and we are attempting to fight on his behalf.

Miller has vehemently denied abusing Emily Moreno and issued a video statement on Sunday to again reject the allegations.

Kathianne Boniello, Mediaite

Don Surber

Democrat nominees are creepy and kooky, mysterious and spooky. They’re all together ooky.

Aug 04, 2026

Democrats should be in the driver’s seat this fall. Mid-term elections usually go to the party out of power. The SAVE Act won’t be passed in time to stop fraud and corruption at the polls. The president is unpopular. The war is unpopular. The economy is as slow as Jessica Tarlov. And MAGA is almost as enthusiastic as Detroit Tigers fans.

The problem for Democrats are the openly communist Democrats who primaried the ones who can pass for normal. The crop of Democrat nominees this year look like they should live at 1313 Cemetery Lane with their children, Pugsley and Wednesday. Click, click.

Let’s start with Morticia, who was played by Kamala two years go.

Today, Democrats likely will nominate Francesco Hong today. If elected, she would be the first woman governor of Wisconsin, its first Asian governor, and its first bipolar governor.

She is a restauranteur—or was until her restaurant folded last year.

In a 2023 interview with Meal Magazine, she said, “At 18, I had a mental breakdown. I didn’t actually walk at my high school graduation because I had been hospitalized for a week at a child psychiatric hospital. I just felt like nothing had meaning anymore. It was a numbness that took over, and a pain that I couldn’t describe. I couldn’t feel anymore, and that scared the hell out of me. And I found myself self-harming to feel something.”

When asked about cutting, Hong said, “It was cutting. I was diagnosed with bipolar disease. I was taking SSRIs and I’d overdosed on lithium. I didn’t know why I couldn’t connect with people deeper, and that pushes you into isolation.”

Darrell McGraw served on the West Virginia Supreme Court for 12 years and then as the state’s attorney general for 20 years. He was DSA when DSA wasn’t cool. He also was bipolar and had episodes that flared up. I witnessed one. It was not pretty.

But a case for the role of Morticia could be made by Melat Kiros. At 29, she primaried a 30-year congresswoman in Colorado, who was the most leftist member of that state’s congressional delegation.

Colorado Newsline reported, “Kiros was fired from her position at the New York office of law firm Sidley Austin in late 2023, after she posted an open letter defending students protesting Israel’s war in Gaza from charges of antisemitism. She moved back to Denver, where she was raised after her family immigrated from Ethiopia when she was 11 months old, and worked as a barista before and during her campaign.”

Click, click.

Then there’s Gomez. Last year, he was played by Mamdani.

This year, Abdul El-Sayed gets the role. He likely will win the Democrat nomination for the U.S. Senate in Michigan. He bills himself as a physician and has a medical degree but he is not licensed as a doctor in Michigan or anywhere else.

El-Sayed supported erecting the Ground Zero mosque near the World Trade Center site, describing it in a 2010 column as an “exemplary response” to the attacks that would “transform grief into hope.”

His pal at rallies is Hasan Piker, a news celebrity who said “America deserved 9/11.”

El-Sayed argued that does not constitute an endorsement of those specific remarks, while emphasizing their shared economic and anti-war views—the war being the one against the Iranian regime, which has cried Death to America for 47 years.

Well, Obama survived Jeremiah “God Damn America” Wright’s reaction five days after 9/11. Ilhan Omar dismissed 9/11 as “some people did something.” The power of the media to turn Muslims into the victims of 9/11 shouldn’t shock anyone who ever worked at a newspaper.

Then there’s Uncle Fester. Tampon Tim played him in 2024 as Democrats sought the white male vote. They presented him as a high school football coach and war hero. Indeed, he said in 2018, “We can make sure that those weapons of war that I carried in war is the only place where those weapons are at.”

Walz never was in a war. He retired after 24 years in the National Guard to avoid deployment to Iraq in 2005.

This year, two Maine Democrat nominees for the U.S. Senate vie for the role of Uncle Fester. The first one was a rich kid who cosplayed being an oyster farmer. Democrats were OK with his Nazi tattoo, misogynist posts online and him saying instead of shooting an intruder, he would rape him but not in a homosexual way.

After his nomination, the allegations of his rape of women in a heterosexual way soured voters. Polls showed his rapid decline and he withdrew. Failed gubernatorial candidate Troy Jackson replaced him on the ballot.

Jackson is a lumberjack who hasn’t jacked any lumber in 28 years. He’s shacked up with a cousin for 29 years, with whom he had two children.

Click, click.

(Yes, today’s newsletter is click, click bait.)

Finding a new Pugsley after Fire Alarm Puller Jamaal Bowman lost two years ago is a little harder because the IQ required is so low. Thankfully, Democrats nominated James Talarico for U.S. Senate in Texas. He plays with dolls—Tony Fauci dolls.

But a case alsocould be made for Scott Wiener, who seeks to replace Nancy Pelosi, attended and praised San Francisco’s Folsom Street Fair, which has included public “piss play” in kiddie pools by fetish groups. He authored decriminalizing giving AIDS to people, as well as having sex with minors. Strait-laced people are not the ones obsessed with sex.

And there’s California congressional nominee Randy Villegas. He is Wiener-lite becauseas a member of the board for the Visalia Unified School District, he re-hired a pedophile.

Click, click.

Finally, there’s the daughter, Wednesday Addams. (Democrats have not had a good Lurch since John Kerry lost to Bush 22 years ago.)

The nominees for Wednesday are:

Darializa Avila Chevalier, who primaried Congressman Adriano Espaillat. She called the United States a “fucking disgrace.” She supports abolishing borders, the police and prisons.

JoAnna Mendoza, who is the Democrat nominee to unseat Republican Congressman Juan Ciscomani. She’s a retired Marine DI and lesbian—who mysteriously married a Syrian man in 1998. The marriage last 16 days.

Washington state Congresswoman Marie Gluesenkamp Perez beheaded a chicken while in college, which explains why DSA did not primary her.

And the winner is: Congressional nominees Sarah Trone Garriott of Iowa who officiated at a Satanic wedding. Nice day for a black wedding.

What all these rejects share in common is their unfitness for office as communists seek the worst candidates because if elected, they will more likely bring chaos than normal people would.

Ah for the good old days when Democrats let a klansman and a rich kid who left a woman to die underwater in the Chappaquiddick run the Senate.

Oh, there are a few old codgers screaming at clouds. James Carville said, “I am not going to be in the same party with Hasan Piker. I can tell you that right now. If he becomes a force in the Democrat Party, I’m out of here. I have no intention of ever being in the political party with that guy.”

Somebody needs to inform Carville that Democrats don’t want him because he’s 81.

An equally impotent Bill Maher said, “I would vote for Sara Palin” over a DSA candidate. Who cares? She ain’t on the ballot.

Just remember, this year’s Democrat nominees may be creepy and kooky, mysterious and spooky—all together ooky—but there is a good chance they will win in 

Posted on August 3, 2026 by John Hinderaker in Academic left, Education, Great Britain, Race

Academia: How Corrupt Can It Get? More corrupt, I suspect, than we can imagine. This is a big topic, but for now let’s take the case of Cambridge University professor Jason Arday. Arday’s story, as related by himself, is almost miraculous. And, it turns out, almost entirely false. Greeted as a hero just a few years ago–Cambridge’s youngest black professor!–his career is now on the rocks.

The story can be told in a chronological series of London Times articles:

February 2023: Jason Arday becomes Cambridge University’s youngest black professor.

An autistic sociologist who could not read or write until he was 18 has become Cambridge University’s youngest black professor.

Wait, what? Did this not strike anyone in academia as improbable?

Jason Arday, 37, was diagnosed with global development delay as well as autism spectrum disorder at the age of three and did not learn to speak until he was 11.

Less than eight years ago he was working in Sainsbury’s after therapists and career advisers predicted he would spend his adult life in assisted living and need lifelong support.

Arday, from Clapham, south London, has told how he defied the difficulties he faced and worked his way up in academia to land his dream role at Cambridge.

He couldn’t speak until he was 11, couldn’t read or write until he was 18? And now is a professor at Cambridge? It is notable that Arday’s parents, who presumably know something about his ability to speak and read, have never given an interview to any news outlet.

You may wonder, in what field of study has Arday so distinguished himself that, after such a slow start, he is now a Cambridge professor? No, you probably don’t need to wonder:

Bhaskar Vira, pro-vice-chancellor for education at the University of Cambridge, said: “Jason Arday is an exceptional scholar of race, inequality and education. He will contribute significantly to Cambridge’s research in this area and to addressing the under-representation of people from socioeconomically disadvantaged backgrounds, especially those from black, Asian, and other minority ethnic communities.

“His experiences highlight the barriers faced by many under-represented groups across higher education and especially at leading universities.

Posted on August 3, 2026 by John Hinderaker in Academic left, Education, Great Britain, Race

Academia: How Corrupt Can It Get? More corrupt, I suspect, than we can imagine. This is a big topic, but for now let’s take the case of Cambridge University professor Jason Arday. Arday’s story, as related by himself, is almost miraculous. And, it turns out, almost entirely false. Greeted as a hero just a few years ago–Cambridge’s youngest black professor!–his career is now on the rocks.

The story can be told in a chronological series of London Times articles:

February 2023: Jason Arday becomes Cambridge University’s youngest black professor.

An autistic sociologist who could not read or write until he was 18 has become Cambridge University’s youngest black professor.

Wait, what? Did this not strike anyone in academia as improbable?

Jason Arday, 37, was diagnosed with global development delay as well as autism spectrum disorder at the age of three and did not learn to speak until he was 11.

Less than eight years ago he was working in Sainsbury’s after therapists and career advisers predicted he would spend his adult life in assisted living and need lifelong support.

Arday, from Clapham, south London, has told how he defied the difficulties he faced and worked his way up in academia to land his dream role at Cambridge.

He couldn’t speak until he was 11, couldn’t read or write until he was 18? And now is a professor at Cambridge? It is notable that Arday’s parents, who presumably know something about his ability to speak and read, have never given an interview to any news outlet.

You may wonder, in what field of study has Arday so distinguished himself that, after such a slow start, he is now a Cambridge professor? No, you probably don’t need to wonder:

Bhaskar Vira, pro-vice-chancellor for education at the University of Cambridge, said: “Jason Arday is an exceptional scholar of race, inequality and education. He will contribute significantly to Cambridge’s research in this area and to addressing the under-representation of people from socioeconomically disadvantaged backgrounds, especially those from black, Asian, and other minority ethnic communities.

“His experiences highlight the barriers faced by many under-represented groups across higher education and especially at leading universities.

Next: July 2026: Cambridge University pioneer Jason Arday in plagiarism row.

The youngest black professor ever ­appointed at Cambridge University has been accused of plagiarising the work of other academics, a month before the release of his memoir, which details his “improbable triumphs and heart-breaking setbacks”.

Concerns about Jason Arday’s work have circulated within academic circles since 2023, the year he was made ­professor of sociology at the age of 37.

They were aired publicly this week in an article published on the blog of a former Cambridge academic, who presented a side-by-side comparison of ­Arday’s PhD dissertation with the thesis of another student.

This Times article takes a neutral stance on the plagiarism question, and devotes equal time to undermining the person who raised the issue. It also repeats, uncritically, Arday’s origin story:

Arday’s achievement in becoming a professor at such a young age was even more impressive for the fact that he was unable to read or write until he was 18. Diagnosed at age three with autism spectrum disorder, he was non-verbal until the age of 11 and left school with two GCSEs, in PE and textiles.

But Arday’s fantastic claims now began to draw scrutiny.

July 2026: Cambridge University professor faces scrutiny over fundraising claims.

A Cambridge professor accused of plagiarism is facing fresh questions about claims he made of long distance running feats and charity fundraising.

Jason Arday, who at 37 became the youngest black professor ever ­appointed at the University of Cambridge, has repeatedly spoken about extraordinary endurance running challenges, which he said raised vast sums of money for charity.

Experts in ultra-distance running have now cast doubt on some of his claims, some of which have been removed from the internet or the references changed. *** Arday has spoken often of undertaking endurance running challenges to raise money for charity. He told the Greenbelt Festival in 2024: “When I was 25, I ran 30 marathons in 35 days. And then I did a series of challenges after that and then I ran 300 miles in 3 days on the treadmill. And then the final challenge when I was 30, I ran 600 miles in 6 days. And I was fortunate that I got to that target of a million pounds before I turned 30.”

Extraordinary claims. But at this point, both the London Times and Cambridge University were on Arday’s side:

On Friday June 24, Cambridge defended Arday, ­saying that the allegations of plagiarism against him were unfounded and part of “a vile campaign to undermine his credibility”. Liverpool John Moores University said it had investigated the allegations and cleared Arday of any wrongdoing.

August 2026: ‘Plagiarist’ professor Jason Arday faces scrutiny over pig’s head claim.

A Cambridge academic at the centre of a plagiarism row is facing further scrutiny over claims that police investigated a pig’s head he said was sent to his parents.

Jason Arday was fêted as the youngest black professor at the university, but has become embroiled in a plagiarism scandal after he was alleged to have used the work of other academics in his dissertation.

In an interview with The Times last week, he acknowledged a series of errors in his work but denied he was “a liar”.

He has now faced further scrutiny over claims he has made about his personal life, including the level of abuse he is alleged to have suffered. In an interview with The Guardian, published on Saturday, he claimed a severed pig’s head was delivered to his parents’ home in south London.

However, the Metropolitan Police told The Times they could find “no record of any allegation involving a pig’s head and no record of any of the subsequent claims about officers visiting butchers [as Arday alleged]”.

The Times article also describes Arday’s claim, obviously false, that he was featured in a television series that aired before he was born.

The Times article also describes Arday’s claim, obviously false, that he was featured in a television series that aired before he was born.

August 3, 2026: Cambridge academic loses backing over plagiarism claims.

The president of a Cambridge college has withdrawn her support for the Cambridge professor Jason Arday after he appeared to admit plagiarising parts of his PhD thesis.

Professor Dame Ijeoma Uchegbu, a nanoscientist and the head of Wolfson College, had previously signed an open letter in support of Arday that was circulated by the Good Law Project.

Arday, who was the youngest black professor to be appointed by the university, has been accused of plagiarism and making exaggerated claims about his sporting and fundraising achievements.

This is notable:

Significant parts of his PhD thesis appear to have been copied verbatim from another researcher, Paula Zwozdiak-Myers, who wrote a PhD thesis on the same topic several years earlier.

When LJMU investigated the case, Arday did not dispute the specific allegations of plagiarism but said the misconduct panel should consider the political context of a “war on critical race theory” and the weaponisation of plagiarism allegations against black researchers.

So, a guilty plea. But the “political context” makes it OK. We are all on the same side, aren’t we?

Posted on August 3, 2026 by John Hinderaker in Academic left, Education, Great Britain, Race

Academia: How Corrupt Can It Get? More corrupt, I suspect, than we can imagine. This is a big topic, but for now let’s take the case of Cambridge University professor Jason Arday. Arday’s story, as related by himself, is almost miraculous. And, it turns out, almost entirely false. Greeted as a hero just a few years ago–Cambridge’s youngest black professor!–his career is now on the rocks.

The story can be told in a chronological series of London Times articles:

February 2023: Jason Arday becomes Cambridge University’s youngest black professor.

An autistic sociologist who could not read or write until he was 18 has become Cambridge University’s youngest black professor.

Wait, what? Did this not strike anyone in academia as improbable?

Jason Arday, 37, was diagnosed with global development delay as well as autism spectrum disorder at the age of three and did not learn to speak until he was 11.

Less than eight years ago he was working in Sainsbury’s after therapists and career advisers predicted he would spend his adult life in assisted living and need lifelong support.

Arday, from Clapham, south London, has told how he defied the difficulties he faced and worked his way up in academia to land his dream role at Cambridge.

He couldn’t speak until he was 11, couldn’t read or write until he was 18? And now is a professor at Cambridge? It is notable that Arday’s parents, who presumably know something about his ability to speak and read, have never given an interview to any news outlet.

You may wonder, in what field of study has Arday so distinguished himself that, after such a slow start, he is now a Cambridge professor? No, you probably don’t need to wonder:

Bhaskar Vira, pro-vice-chancellor for education at the University of Cambridge, said: “Jason Arday is an exceptional scholar of race, inequality and education. He will contribute significantly to Cambridge’s research in this area and to addressing the under-representation of people from socioeconomically disadvantaged backgrounds, especially those from black, Asian, and other minority ethnic communities.

“His experiences highlight the barriers faced by many under-represented groups across higher education and especially at leading universities.

Next: July 2026: Cambridge University pioneer Jason Arday in plagiarism row.

The youngest black professor ever ­appointed at Cambridge University has been accused of plagiarising the work of other academics, a month before the release of his memoir, which details his “improbable triumphs and heart-breaking setbacks”.

Concerns about Jason Arday’s work have circulated within academic circles since 2023, the year he was made ­professor of sociology at the age of 37.

They were aired publicly this week in an article published on the blog of a former Cambridge academic, who presented a side-by-side comparison of ­Arday’s PhD dissertation with the thesis of another student.

This Times article takes a neutral stance on the plagiarism question, and devotes equal time to undermining the person who raised the issue. It also repeats, uncritically, Arday’s origin story:

Arday’s achievement in becoming a professor at such a young age was even more impressive for the fact that he was unable to read or write until he was 18. Diagnosed at age three with autism spectrum disorder, he was non-verbal until the age of 11 and left school with two GCSEs, in PE and textiles.

But Arday’s fantastic claims now began to draw scrutiny.

July 2026: Cambridge University professor faces scrutiny over fundraising claims.

A Cambridge professor accused of plagiarism is facing fresh questions about claims he made of long distance running feats and charity fundraising.

Jason Arday, who at 37 became the youngest black professor ever ­appointed at the University of Cambridge, has repeatedly spoken about extraordinary endurance running challenges, which he said raised vast sums of money for charity.

Experts in ultra-distance running have now cast doubt on some of his claims, some of which have been removed from the internet or the references changed. *** Arday has spoken often of undertaking endurance running challenges to raise money for charity. He told the Greenbelt Festival in 2024: “When I was 25, I ran 30 marathons in 35 days. And then I did a series of challenges after that and then I ran 300 miles in 3 days on the treadmill. And then the final challenge when I was 30, I ran 600 miles in 6 days. And I was fortunate that I got to that target of a million pounds before I turned 30.”

Extraordinary claims. But at this point, both the London Times and Cambridge University were on Arday’s side:

On Friday June 24, Cambridge defended Arday, ­saying that the allegations of plagiarism against him were unfounded and part of “a vile campaign to undermine his credibility”. Liverpool John Moores University said it had investigated the allegations and cleared Arday of any wrongdoing.

August 2026: ‘Plagiarist’ professor Jason Arday faces scrutiny over pig’s head claim.

A Cambridge academic at the centre of a plagiarism row is facing further scrutiny over claims that police investigated a pig’s head he said was sent to his parents.

Jason Arday was fêted as the youngest black professor at the university, but has become embroiled in a plagiarism scandal after he was alleged to have used the work of other academics in his dissertation.

In an interview with The Times last week, he acknowledged a series of errors in his work but denied he was “a liar”.

He has now faced further scrutiny over claims he has made about his personal life, including the level of abuse he is alleged to have suffered. In an interview with The Guardian, published on Saturday, he claimed a severed pig’s head was delivered to his parents’ home in south London.

However, the Metropolitan Police told The Times they could find “no record of any allegation involving a pig’s head and no record of any of the subsequent claims about officers visiting butchers [as Arday alleged]”.

The Times article also describes Arday’s claim, obviously false, that he was featured in a television series that aired before he was born.

August 3, 2026: Cambridge academic loses backing over plagiarism claims.

The president of a Cambridge college has withdrawn her support for the Cambridge professor Jason Arday after he appeared to admit plagiarising parts of his PhD thesis.

Professor Dame Ijeoma Uchegbu, a nanoscientist and the head of Wolfson College, had previously signed an open letter in support of Arday that was circulated by the Good Law Project.

Arday, who was the youngest black professor to be appointed by the university, has been accused of plagiarism and making exaggerated claims about his sporting and fundraising achievements.

This is notable:

Significant parts of his PhD thesis appear to have been copied verbatim from another researcher, Paula Zwozdiak-Myers, who wrote a PhD thesis on the same topic several years earlier.

When LJMU investigated the case, Arday did not dispute the specific allegations of plagiarism but said the misconduct panel should consider the political context of a “war on critical race theory” and the weaponisation of plagiarism allegations against black researchers.

So, a guilty plea. But the “political context” makes it OK. We are all on the same side, aren’t we?

It seems clear that Jason Arday’s entire story is a lie. Academia is most sensitive to the plagiarism issue, but that is perhaps the least of it.

On X, we have The Great Unchecked Fairy Tale of Jason Arday:

Arday has said he was diagnosed with autism and global developmental delay at three. Non-verbal until eleven. Couldn’t read or write until eighteen. He claimed three hours of speech therapy every day, six or seven days a week, from the age of three. In a later video he upped it to four to five hours every day from the age of three. He has also said his mother “holds five degrees” and that he comes from “a family of nurses.”

His parents have never given a public interview. Not once. No clinic named. No therapist. No school records from Wandsworth, Southfields or Merton confirming any of this. The five-degrees claim for his mother only appeared recently. Earlier profiles just called her a mental health nurse. Daily private therapy on that scale for eight years would have cost a fortune. No one has ever produced a single independent source for any of it.

Developing normal speech after being non-verbal until eleven is medically improbable. He left school with GCSEs in PE and Textiles — tests that require literacy and are normally taken at 15 or 16. His forthcoming memoir now softens it to “left secondary school with two GCSEs… still barely able to read or write.” The story moves when it needs to.

He has also claimed to be deaf in one ear. This claim appeared only recently and has never been independently verified.

His parents have never given a single public interview, never confirmed the diagnoses, never confirmed the speech therapy, never confirmed the five degrees, and never spoken in support of any part of the early-life story.

There is much, much more at the link. To be fair, though, there is one aspect of Arday’s story that is actually documented: at one time in his life, he was a physical education teacher. From P.E. teacher to Cambridge professor! It took chutzpah, if nothing else. And it shows the utter corruption of academia, desperate as always for “an exceptional scholar of race, inequality and education.”

John Hinderaker

What I’ve learned from speaking with Iranian officials and analysts.

Last week, I was invited to join a program hosted by an independent Iranian media platform called Azad, which specializes in facilitating debates between policy experts in Iran and further abroad. My debate was with Majid Shakeri, who gained prominence as a foreign policy advisor to Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf (the current speaker of the country’s parliament) during Ghalibaf’s most recent presidential campaign. Shakeri was also part of the negotiating team that went to Islamabad earlier this year to hammer out the (now-moribund) MOU with the United States.

These days, when you listen to Shakeri’s interviews, you will hear him insist that he holds no official position. But he remains influential. His worldview, which brings together—not always convincingly—the principles of a son of the revolution with the pragmatism of an academic economist, is ascendant in Tehran. It is a reflection of Iran’s intellectual environment, which retains significant space for public discussion of political, economic, and social issues, that I would be invited on to talk with Shakeri. It was also characteristically Iranian that the discussion lasted three hours.

Our debate, at its core, was about how much pessimism is warranted on the war. Shakeri, like other Iranian analysts and officials I have spoken to in recent weeks, simply does not believe a deal with the Trump administration is possible. As a result, his prescriptions for Iranian policy are not focused on maximizing the potential for a diplomatic breakthrough. Instead, he is calling for proactive management of an ongoing U.S. threat.

Interestingly, we were not miles apart in our understanding of the causes of the U.S.–Iran war or the nature of the crisis now unfolding in the Strait of Hormuz. For many years, the divergence between Western and Iranian policy analysis reflected fundamental differences in worldview. But recently those differences in perspective have become less pronounced. Policy analysis in Iran has been fully professionalized, with think tanks, research institutes, and media platforms adopting the same kinds of methodologies and modalities as their Western counterparts. Moreover, the crises at hand have become more legible. Whereas analysis during the War on Terror leant itself to a significant degree of esotericism about ideologies and their impacts, the crisis unfolding in the Persian Gulf is a question of material realities, including stockpiles of missile interceptors and inventories of crude oil. It is easier for analysts to be objective when all they must do is count.

And when it comes to diplomacy with the United States, Iranian analysts are often counting. They are counting the times the Trump administration has violated agreements, or interrupted negotiations with military attacks. They are counting the reasons a comprehensive agreement seems impossible to reach with this White House.

First, at a technical level, the Trump administration was unable to execute even the most basic confidence-building measures of the MOU. After it was signed, no Iranian assets were released; while a waiver was initially issued to permit Iranian oil exports, it was never fully implemented and ended up being rescinded. Iranian leaders are also looking to other contexts. In Venezuela, where the administration has used its complete political control to make a full-court press for economic engagement with the U.S., reports indicate that American oil companies are struggling to make headway, even as Trump touts his big investment targets.

Second, in the domain of politics, Iranian policy experts discern a growing rift between the Rubio and Vance camps and are concluding that the administration is inherently dysfunctional. As NBC recently reported, the president is “exasperated” because “there is no unity” among his top aides. During the Biden years, the issue was whether the president could defend his deal from political rivals in Congress. Now, the rivals are within the cabinet itself.

Finally, at an individual level, there is a growing sense that Trump is too erratic to stick by his own deals. Even Saudi Arabia, the Mideast country with perhaps the greatest influence in the White House after Israel, could not protect its own recent nuclear deal from the President’s inconstancy.

Facing the perceived inexperience and irrationality in Washington, policymakers in Tehran are struggling to find a way out of this crisis. Advocates for diplomacy have been forced to acknowledge that talks have a low chance of success, even as they insist that Iran cannot afford to sustain this war for much longer. For more hawkish figures like Shakeri, there is no strong, positive case for diplomatic engagement. They believe that Washington’s dysfunction will continue to manifest in the form of economic pressure and kinetic action against Iran—and it is therefore necessary to “win” the war before any discussion of new diplomatic understandings, whether with regional neighbors or the United States.

Stuck between the U.S. and Iran are the regional countries, which have borne a huge cost during the last six months of fighting. But the war arguably would have been much worse were it not for the strength of regional diplomacy. As I insisted to Shakeri, Iran’s shift towards a more constructive “neighborhood policy,” a move that began seven years ago in response to Trump’s withdrawal from JCPOA and imposition of “maximum pressure” sanctions, prevented the outbreak of a full regional war. While Iran struck its Arab neighbors in retaliation for the American and Israeli attacks, regional countries have been able to forestall further escalation through direct dialogue with Tehran. In other words, the region has been trying to compensate for Washington’s strategic errors for the better part of a decade, and it is this compensatory approach that offers the best chance to bring the war to a close and restore security and stability in the Persian Gulf.

Amid growing pessimism about what Washington can do to resolve this war diplomatically, perhaps there should be optimism that Trump can be convinced to step away from the crisis altogether. If he tries to do less, the negotiations underway between Iran and its regional neighbors will provide an opening for the United States to reduce its military and economic interventionism in the region. The Trump administration should rely on regional allies—especially Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates—to advance their own interests in a manner that also addresses American concerns over potential Iranian hegemony.

Shakeri insisted that Iran would not allow the Strait of Hormuz to reopen until it saw a definitive change in U.S. strategy—not just a shift in tactics. We might hope that he is wrong in that assessment, but I too am skeptical the crisis can be resolved in any other way.

About The Author

Esfandyar Batmanghelidj

Esfandyar Batmanghelidj is the Founder and CEO of Bourse & Bazaar Foundation.

The American Conservative

MADRID — The Spanish government proudly announced that after a recent demographic change, the city of Ceuta is now the fastest-growing city on the planet.

Spain stated that Ceuta has become something of an overnight sensation, with tens of thousands moving into the city over the course of mere hours.

“It has become the hot destination, especially for young men,” said Spanish government spokesman Alejandro Via. “There are so many people pouring into the city, we literally cannot stop them. The population growth is explosive and unprecedented, a true reflection of the amazing work the Spanish government has done in making Spain such a desired destination. Move over, Texas and Florida. Cueta is now the fastest-growing place in the world!”

According to local reports, the population of Ceuta, previously 85,000, increased by 75% over the course of just two hours last week. “What a testament to how wonderful Spain is,” said local man Carlos Pineda. “People are actually killing each other by the dozens just to get here. There are a bunch of people sleeping on my lawn because there are simply no beds left in the city. It is a proud accomplishment for all of Spain.”

At publishing time, thousands of the new arrivals had returned to Morocco, prompting the Spanish Tourism Board to announce that Ceuta had quickly rebranded itself the top tourist destination on the planet.

Babylon Bee