Be careful what you wish for. Comedian Owen Benjamin spent yesterday on Twitter saying very not-nice things about one of the survivors of the Parkland school shooting. I won't link to them here because this is a family-friendly newsletter, but part of his schtick was taunting that he can't be boycotted because he doesn't have sponsors. Well... Today he announced that he does need sponsors because: "Both twitter accounts [were] suspended and now my ability to make an income has been revoked." He goes on: "This is disgusting. I have a two year old and a pregnant wife and they just set my life back to 0 with on big swoop. I just worked tirelessly for the last 5 months building my online ability to make a living and it’s all gone. You will be next. Fight it now." Correction: Benjamin chose to set his life back, not Twitter. And what's "disgusting" is not accepting that and trotting out the wife and kids to beg for money. Before the recent months where Benjamin "tirelessly" building up his following on the right, he was a mildly successful comedian. His fans, though, have pledged through a Patreon account to pay him $5,000 a month to continue his, uh, work. Taking the red pill can have strange side effects! Speaking of making a living, how would you like to make one binge watching Netflix? Because that's a job that exists in 2018. While we're talking about internet controversy and jobs, one of the biggest anonymous alt-right trolls on Twitter was unmasked... by Paul Nehlen. Yes, the Paul Nehlen who got banned from Twitter for his many (poorly put together) lists of Jewish members of the press. Popcorn! **Late Update** Nehlen was just banned from Gab.ai, the social media site many on the alt-right frequent in lieu of Twitter. Conservative criticism of Trump and delusion. Jonah Goldberg and Ramesh Ponnuru have a worthwhile response to their colleague Rich Lowry: "Rich says conservatives should be free to criticize the president, but all too often the response to such criticism is, “Why bother? He’s not going anywhere and this is the man people voted for.” But most Republican voters did not vote to affirm the entire Trump package. They wanted someone other than Hillary Clinton, and conservative judges. Pretending otherwise is to give license to the president’s worst instincts." Nota bene: If you agree with this sentiment you obviously wanted Hillary to be president, or something. Kevin Williamson leaves The Atlantic. Well, that didn't last long. As a wise man (Bill Kristol) predicted: "But the philistine progressive mob can’t stand him. Why? Because he won’t bend the knee...to them." Beware Ancestry.com! This Washington Post story about a woman who found out who her real father was via Ancestry.com is fascinating and awful. New Hampshire 2020. Whether you're interested in who will be challenging President Trump on the right or on the left, there's a wonderful new newsletter being put out by Michael Graham that you simply must sign up for. Save the date! Join us at the 2018 Weekly Standard summit.This May 17-20 at the historic Broadmoor resort in Colorado Springs, join Stephen F. Hayes, Fred Barnes, John McCormack, Michael Warren and special guests Bret Baier, Senator Tim Scott, Representative Trey Gowdy, A.B. Stoddard, and Jonah Goldberg as they discuss the future of American politics. RESERVE YOUR PLACE TODAY! Book your tickets now. —Jim Swift, deputy online editor. Please feel free to send us comments, thoughts and links to dailystandard@weeklystandard.com. —30— |