Mark Hemingway
Mark Hemingway is a Senior Writer for The Weekly Standard. He has written for The Wall Street Journal, MTV.com, Reason and numerous other publications. Prior to joining The Weekly Standard, he worked at The Washington Examiner, National Review, Market News International, and USA Today. He has appeared on C-Span's "Washington Journal", CNN, MSNBC, Fox News, and National Public Radio's "All Things Considered'. He was the recipient of a Gold Award journalism fellowship from the Phillips Foundation in 2003 and was a Global Prosperity Initiative fellow at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University in 2003 and 2004. Originally from Bend, Oregon, he now lives in Alexandria, Virginia with his wife Mollie Ziegler Hemingway and two daughters.
Stories by Mark Hemingway
Blink-182 Guitarist Has a Strange Connection to the Government's Secret UFO Program
Of course he does.
12:04 PM, Dec 22, 2017
Well, it's not every day that Guitar World has an eye-opening political report , but here we are. In a normal year, it would be shocking enough to learn the Pentagon had a secret multimillion dollar program to investigate UFOs. But since it's still 2017, the least “normal year” in recent memory there is more: We find out that Tom DeLonge, the mega-platinum pop punker and founding member of Blink-182, has his fingerprints all over the story: Politico and The New York Times simultaneous Read more
While Truth Puts On Its Shoes
The media's reign of error.
4:00 AM, Dec 15, 2017
Covering the Trump presidency has not always been the media’s finest hour, but even grading on that curve, the month of December has brought astonishing screwups. Professor and venerable political observer Walter Russell Mead tweeted on December 8, “I remember Watergate pretty well, and I don’t remember anything like this level of journalistic carelessness back then. The constant stream of ‘bombshells’ that turn into duds is doing much more to damage the media than anything Trump could manage.” Read more
The #Resistance Is 'Creating a Genuine Constitutional Crisis at the CFPB'
This isn't how governments are supposed work.
6:25 AM, Dec 11, 2017
If we’ve learned anything over the past year, it’s that the Republican party, even when handed full control of the American government, is so riven and otherwise dysfunctional that it simply can’t govern. The one consolation Republicans have is that voters seem to intuitively understand that while the Democratic party is more effective, it’s ideological imperatives mean it can’t be trusted to govern, either. The recent controversy over the Consumer Finance Protection Bureau (CFPB) is another in Read more
The Washington Reporter Who Reinvented Horror and Science-Fiction
Les Whitten, 1928 - 2017.
11:50 AM, Dec 06, 2017
Les Whitten died over the weekend. Whitten was an investigative reporter who worked with famed columnist Jack Anderson, author of Washington’s Merry-Go-Round column. (Fox’s Brit Hume is another notable reporter who worked for Anderson.) However, Whitten was reasonably well-known in his own right. He’s slipped into obscurity a bit in recent decades, but in his prime he a was among the more colorful figures in the nation’s capital. Whitten’s Washington Post obituary—“ Les Whitten, investigative Read more
Washington Post: Conservatives Are Right About Sex
The lesson of 2017 is that conservatives have been right about sex all along.
6:01 AM, Nov 29, 2017
On Monday Washington Post columnist Christine Emba wrote a piece headlined “ Let's Rethink Sex .” It's a commendable essay in a lot of ways, but the headline is a bit misleading in the sense that it advocates rethinking a view of sexuality that much of the country never signed on to in the first place, and indeed, spent decades warning about the consequences of. And I don’t know if Emba is consciously massaging her point so as not to turn off the Post’s audience, but the prescription for add Read more
Will Clinton Allies Push Back Against the Bill Clinton Backlash?
At least one former aide is already doing so.
3:05 PM, Nov 17, 2017
The wave of sexual abuse allegations against men from Harvey Weinstein to Roy Moore has prompted significant reflection among liberals about how Bill Clinton’s misdeeds were handled and how his accusers were treated in the 1990s. New York senator Kirsten Gillbrand, who holds the seat that Hillary Clinton occupied from 2001-2009, said Thursday that Bill Clinton should have resigned for the Lewinsky affair. That prompted a public warning shot from Phillipe Reines, a longtime Clinton aide and s Read more
Liberals Are Finally Coming to Grips With the Sins of Bill Clinton
In some cases, very reluctantly. But progress is progress.
3:47 PM, Nov 14, 2017
Nearly a month ago, I wrote “ There's an Awakening Against Sexual Assault, So Why Is No One Talking About Bill Clinton? ” It took long enough, but there is a growing chorus of voices on the left demanding that Clinton’s crimes not be ignored. The disturbing allegations against Roy Moore appear to have finally broken the resolve of Democrats who seem be not only tired of defending the Clintons but genuinely coming to terms with how the charges of hypocrisy of defending Bill hinder progress in c Read more
Rough Draft
Mark Hemingway needs an editor.
3:10 AM, Nov 03, 2017
I recently saw a sportswriter on social media paying tribute to a deceased editor he’d had the pleasure of working with. “The best editors are a psychologist, a friend, an idea person, a life vest,” he wrote. “Every story written is a trust fall into an editor’s arms.” I don’t doubt this sentiment is well-intended or that this particular editor, God rest his soul, was a real prince. But in nearly two decades of writing, and occasional editing, I’ve never thought of exploiting my professional rel Read more
The Convergence of the Scandals
Russian meddling and Russian muddling.
3:10 AM, Nov 03, 2017
On October 30, special prosecutor Robert Mueller indicted President Donald Trump’s former campaign chairman Paul Manafort and deputy chairman Rick Gates on 12 charges, including money laundering, false statements, and conspiracy against the United States, related to their work with Ukrainian political entities. That same day, Mueller’s team revealed that George Papadopoulos, a foreign policy adviser to the Trump campaign, had pleaded guilty to lying to investigators about his contacts with Russi Read more
Is Georgetown University Still Catholic?
It is a question, alas, that must be asked.
11:45 AM, Oct 25, 2017
October 31 marks the 500th anniversary of the Reformation, and the occasion brings to mind a joke: A young priest asks a wise older priest, "What's the difference between the Jesuit and Dominican orders?" The older priest says wearily, "Well, actually they have a lot in common. They were both founded by Spaniards, St. Dominic for the Dominicans, and St. Ignatius of Loyola for the Jesuits. They were also both founded to combat heresy: the Dominicans to fight the Albigensians, and the Jesuits to f Read more
There's an Awakening Against Sexual Assault, So Why Is No One Talking About Bill Clinton?
1:29 PM, Oct 20, 2017
Axios has put together this nifty series of charts detailing the timeline of sexual assault charges against Harvey Weinstein, Bill O'Reilly, Roger Ailes, Donald Trump, and Bill Cosby. The charts track the dates of when the various incidents allegedly occurred relative to the years they were first reported in the media. Looking at the charts, one conclusion is pretty clear. "One common trait shared by recent high-profile sexual assault scandals is that it took a major media event for many of Read more
The Latest O'Keefe Video Reveals an Important Truth About Media Bias
Namely, the ideological leanings of editors who are cogs in the machine are not the real problem.
4:00 PM, Oct 18, 2017
James O’Keefe’s undercover investigations of various liberal institutions have resulted in everything from congressional action to criminal charges filed against the conservative provocateur. His latest exposé reveals an important truth, but maybe not the one he intended. Last July, he launched a series called American Pravda focused on CNN that aimed to show just how liberal the American media is, and in particular, how hostile they are to President Trump. He recently turned his hidden came Read more
The Boy Scouts Admit Girls, Failure
What the organization's latest move says about its future.
9:05 AM, Oct 13, 2017
The Boy Scouts of America announced Wednesday that they would admit girls into the organization for the first time ever. From now on, Cub Scout dens (usually around 6 to 12 kids) will be single gender—either male or female. Cub Scout packs (comprised of multiple dens) will have the option of being co-ed or single gender. As for the Boy Scouts proper, there will be a separate program available for older girls that will allow them to attain the rank of Eagle Scout. The rationale behind this dram Read more
What Is Happening at West Point?
A recent West Point instructor charges that standards at the institution have been degraded to the point he questions 'whether the institution should even remain open.'
12:59 PM, Oct 11, 2017
Retired Lt. Col. Robert M. Heffington, who recently quit teaching at West Point, has penned an open letter about a series of disturbing developments that have taken place at the U.S. Military Academy, starting with the revelation that West Point graduate Spenser Rapone is an avowed Communist who has insulted Defense secretary James Mattis and Vice President Mike Pence on social media: Dear Sir/Ma’am, Before you read any further, please understand that the following paragraphs come from a pl Read more
Bay Urea
Mark Hemingway, bothered by the Bay.
4:00 AM, Oct 06, 2017
I was recently in San Francisco on business. I was there on business because, well, I would never go there for pleasure. That’s right, I don’t like San Francisco. When talking to avid travelers, I’ve found that voicing this opinion is equivalent to announcing that you find baby animals repellent or think Michael Jordan is an overrated athlete. Yes, I grant that the setting, with its hills, bay, and bridges, is geographically spectacular. And the city doesn’t lack for fascinating history or int Read more
ACLU Employees Complain About Group's 'Rigid Stance' on Free Speech
We are now through the looking glass.
12:35 PM, Oct 05, 2017
The New York Times has a report about an internal struggle at the ACLU . The organization helped sue to for the right of assembly for the white supremacist rally in Charlottesville in August that resulted in the death of a young woman, after a car driven by one of the white supremacists plowed into a crowd. The response from ACLU employees is alarming: Since then, a question has hung over the organization: What will it do the next time the alt-right seeks the A.C.L.U.’s help? That question Read more
Remembering Tom Petty
The Heartbreakers were the quintessential American band.
9:11 AM, Oct 03, 2017
C.S. Lewis and Aldous Huxley both died on the same day as the JFK assassination. It's an odd bit of historical trivia that often gets cited to show how even important markers can get lost amid earth shattering news. It might be as stretch to compare Tom Petty to those intellectual titans, but it would also be a mistake to underestimate what a beloved figure he was. That Petty died in the wake of one of the worst mass shootings in U.S. history seems somehow too coincidental not to notice. It's Read more
Mitch McConnell, Albatross
The Senate majority leader can't get Republicans elected.
3:38 PM, Sep 27, 2017
Controversial firebrand Roy Moore’s primary victory Tuesday over appointed Alabama senator Luther Strange to run for the Senate seat vacated by Attorney General Jeff Sessions wasn't even close. Moore won the race by nearly 10 points. One way to view the result is simply to say that all politics are local. Strange was appointed to Sessions’ vacant seat by disgraced then-Gov. Robert Bentley, who was in the middle of a major sex and corruption scandal that led to his resignation. As the state att Read more
The New 'Committee to Investigate Russia' Is a Little Too Hollywood
And a little too conspiratorial, as well.
7:30 AM, Sep 23, 2017
The evidence clearly suggests that Russia tried to influence in our election last year, and more broadly, Russia is actively trying to destabilize the U.S. both politically and culturally. Russians are running a 24/7 propaganda operation on D.C. airwaves , for crying out loud. They're not even being subtle about this. However, investigating Russia's influence efforts and responding accordingly has become much more difficult than it needs to be. That’s because it has become a highly charged pa Read more
Disregard 'The Kimmel Test'
Both Jimmy Kimmel and Senator Cassidy mean well, but Kimmel is overstating the problems of the Graham-Cassidy legislation-and Cassidy should have known that he can't make promises involving the difficult tradeoffs of health care policy.
10:45 AM, Sep 22, 2017
The fate of America's latest attempt at comprehensive health care reform may hinge on the opinions of a late night talk show host. I've nothing against Jimmy Kimmel; topical political jokes are the meat and potatoes of late-night comedy. And in fact, Kimmel has a reputation for joking about the problems of Obamacare when liberal comedians such as Stephen Colbert were afraid to say what was obvious. But Kimmel recently had a son born with a heart defect. It was an understandably traumatic and t Read more
Beware Coverage of the House Intelligence Committee's 'Unmasking' Investigation
Media outlets trying to dismiss the inquiry started by Devin Nunes are using talking points from former Obama officials.
2:53 PM, Sep 12, 2017
For some months now, the House Intelligence Committee, led by Rep. Devin Nunes, has been investigating whether there were political motivations to the the Obama White House’s “unmasking” of American citizens who were named in intelligence reports. Nunes has previously stated that he has seen evidence that this occurred from, among others, National Security Adviser Susan Rice. Nunes received quite a bit of criticism for the way he obtained and presented this evidence. Nunes subsequently recused h Read more
FBI Investigating Russian Propaganda Radio Station in D.C.
Yahoo News reports the inquiry looks into whether Sputnik is acting in violation of the Foreign Agents Registration Act.
12:22 PM, Sep 12, 2017
In July, I noted that Sputnik Radio—an honest-to-God Russian propaganda outlet—had started broadcasting on Washington D.C. airwaves : I spent the last few days driving around listening to Sputnik, and the experience is like being immersed in some menacing alternate history timeline: It's like The Man in the High Castle, but for Cold War kids and with real-world implications. It’s not an exaggeration to say that any patriotic American with a half-functioning brain would be alarmed by what’s be Read more
Conservative Publisher Abandons New York Times Best-Sellers List
Was the best-sellers list ever an accurate accounting of book sales?
5:30 AM, Sep 10, 2017
Conservative book publisher Regnery, which has published major conservative authors such as Mark Levin and Ann Coulter, has made a startling announcement: They no longer want anything to do with the New York Times’s best-sellers list. According to the Associated Press , “Regnery is annoyed that its book [Dinesh D’Souza’s] ‘The Big Lie: Exposing the Nazi Roots of the American Left’ was only No. 7 on the Times’ latest best-sellers list even though another organization that tracks sales ranked i Read more
Academic Gabfest
Among the political scientists.
3:30 AM, Sep 08, 2017
San Francisco In Donald Trump’s America, political science departments are so beside themselves about what’s happening that they aren’t even pretending they’re relevant anymore. At the 2017 meeting of the American Political Science Association (APSA) in San Francisco over Labor Day weekend, the theme is “The Quest for Legitimacy.” Perusing APSA’s 427-page, phone-book-sized program, though, one gets the impression that it’s less a quest than a saunter with an indeterminate destination. The pr Read more
Ta-Nehisi Coates and the Glowing Amulet of Identity Politics
The Atlantic correspondent has vaulted into the realm of writers whom people are afraid to edit. That's too bad.
4:03 PM, Sep 07, 2017
Ta-Nehisi Coates—national correspondent for the Atlantic, MacArthur Genius Grant recipient, National Book Award winner—has a new essay out Thursday, which makes it something of an intellectual holiday for America's liberals. It might also be an intellectual holiday in more ways than one, as hinted first by the headline: “ The First White President: The foundation of Donald Trump’s presidency is the negation of Barack Obama’s legacy .” Conservatives have long looked askance at Coates's identi Read more
Bill de Blasio Sure Sounds Like a Communist
New York mayor hates private property and pines for the right to control rents.
7:50 PM, Sep 05, 2017
Pretty incredible quote here in the New York magazine interview with New York mayor Bill de Blasio . Several people have jokingly called the man a communist, but here he is arguing against private property rights more or less on the basis of "each according to his ability, each according to his needs": In 2013, you ran on reducing income inequality. Where has it been hardest to make progress? Wages, housing, schools? What’s been hardest is the way our legal system is structured to favor Read more
Is Cake an Artistic Medium? The Supreme Court Will Decide This Fall.
Jack Phillips, the Colorado baker who won't make cakes for gay weddings, will argue his case.
5:15 AM, Aug 29, 2017
Lakewood, Colorado There's a yellowing newspaper article hanging on the wall of Jack Phillips's bakery, from shortly after he first opened up shop in 1993. Aside from the Lakewood paper offering up a positive review, Phillips was pleased that the reporter seemed to get exactly what he was trying to do—the article calls the place “an art gallery of cakes.” “The name is Masterpiece Cakeshop. I thought of that when we first opened up that masterpiece, to me, it indicates art,” Phillips tells th Read more
Trump's Charlottesville Remarks Are Ignorant and Inarticulate
There may be good occasions for him to attack the media, but the tragedy in Charlottesville isn't proving to be one of them.
12:25 PM, Aug 17, 2017
Let's cut to the heart of a big problem with Trump's remarks about Charlottesville over the last few days: They were ignorant and inarticulate. Trump is a genius at communicating in very unorthodox ways. He's like Rain Man when it comes to trolling the media. (For example, when he tweeted out the GIF of him “wrestling” the CNN logo, the network covered it extensively and ended up widely condemned for going after the private citizen who created the GIF.) Frankly, however, Trump sucks at speakin Read more
President Trump Just Did Mitch McConnell a Huge Favor in the Alabama Senate Race. Why?
They might be quarreling over Obamacare, but the president and the majority leader unite in support of Luther Strange.
12:08 PM, Aug 10, 2017
Fred Barnes has a good rundown of the state of play in the Alabama Senate race this morning . He rightly zeroes in on the most important question in the race right now: Will Trump's endorsement of of former Alabama attorney general Luther Strange, who was appointed to fill Jeff Sessions’s seat in January help put him over the top in the GOP primary? However, there's a secondary question here that's worth looking at. Why is Trump helping McConnell and the establishment GOP elect their preferre Read more
Both Sides Now
A Washington oppo shop's curious Russia connections.
3:00 AM, Aug 04, 2017
In July, when news broke that Donald Trump Jr., Jared Kushner, and Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort met last year with a Russian lawyer and a former Russian intelligence officer who promised dirt on the Hillary Clinton campaign, there was a media feeding frenzy. After months of speculation about collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia, this meeting was something concrete. However, there was one detail about the meeting that the media and Democrats in Congress have decidedly not b Read more