It’s Friday and time for your Brew.

Memorial Day Weekend

How in the world do we say “thank you” to those who have given the “full measure of their devotion”? Hamburgers and hot dogs and great prices on appliances don’t cut it.

Two ways to say thank you come to mind this year. Is there a war memorial in your town, listing those who have died serving our country? Perhaps it’s one you have passed by a million times on your way to and fro … maybe even on your way to a Memorial Day picnic. Why not stop and study the names etched in the stone? Consider the grandkids who never got to know them. Or the children they never got to have. To protect the nation. To protect you and me.

Also this year, as so many of the freedoms they died for are being carved up and discarded, perhaps the greatest way we can honor our fallen this Memorial Day is by rededicating ourselves to the work of ensuring they did not die in vain.

Memorial Day Weekend Travel

We’re hitting the road and skies. AAA estimates 42.3 million Americans will travel 50 miles or more over the long holiday weekend. That’s up 2.7 million or 7% from last year.

AAA predicts this will be the third busiest Memorial Weekend since 2000. Of particular note is air travel. Almost 3.4 million people are expected to fly, which even exceeds the last pre-COVID year of 2019.

In terms of driving, we’ll still be shy of pre-pandemic numbers by about half a million motorists.

Whatever the mode of transportation, we pray you get to your destination safely and without pulling out too many hairs.

Speaking of holidays and travel, in honor of the holiday, we will not be having a Brew for Memorial Day … barring major breaking news. We will see you again on Tuesday.

Supreme Court Unanimously Rejects EPA Efforts to Regulate All Bodies of Water

In a 9-0 vote, the Supreme Court unanimously rejected the EPA’s efforts to vastly broaden its definition of bodies of water it can regulate. The Feds must define “Waters of the United States” as a water source with a “continuous surface connection” to major bodies of water. The Biden EPA wanted to regulate wetlands, lakes, ponds, streams and other “relatively permanent” waterways. Pretty much everything short of a puddle in your drive way.

The decision is a major blow to the EPA’s efforts to expand its powers under the Clean Water Act.

The case was brought by Michael and Chantell Sackett of Idaho who were prohibited from building a home near a wetland on their property. The Sacketts were ordered to restore the site, threatened with $40,000 a day in fines. According to the opinion, “The EPA classified the wetlands on the Sacketts’ lot as ‘waters of the United States’ because they were near a ditch that fed into a creek, which fed into Priest Lake, a navigable, intrastate lake. The Sacketts sued, alleging that their property was not ‘waters of the United States.'”

Every single Supreme Court justice agreed. Yet, despite the unanimity, Democrats were in an uproar, with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer tweeting: “This MAGA Supreme Court is continuing to erode our country’s environmental laws. Make no mistake – this ruling will mean more polluted water, and more destruction of wetlands.”

Justices Sonia Sotomayor and Ketanji Brown Jackson will be shocked to learn they are MAGA.

"The EPA must provide clear evidence that it is authorized to regulate in the manner it proposes."

Read the #SCOTUS opinion for our first win of the day in Sackett v. EPA.https://t.co/ZPUuguFN5d pic.twitter.com/LIl7RAT5JE

— Pacific Legal 🗡⚖️ (@PacificLegal) May 25, 2023

Target Stock Plummeting in Pride Month Backlash

Target going full trans ideology and offering children LGBTQ-friendly clothing for Pride Month is costing the company billions. Around $9 billion in market value alone.  

On May 17, Target’s stock price closed at 160.96. Last night, it closed at 140.75.

Meanwhile, CNN had a funny headline for an article Thursday, “Target is being held hostage by an anti-LGBTQ campaign.” Customers saying “We’re going to avoid your store if it insists on doing something we find offensive” is now akin to the take-over of the U.S. Embassy in Iran?

Did anybody talk about Atlanta being “held hostage” during the boycotts there over Georgia’s election bill?

Better example. Riley Gaines was forced to lock herself in a room when chased by trans activists after a speech at San Francisco State. She was not able to leave for hours. Did CNN call her a hostage? Nope. See for yourself.

Strange: FBI Quickly ID’d the Car of the J6 Bomber, But Still No Arrest?

The FBI quickly identified the car that was used by whoever planted pipe bombs on January 6 at the DNC and RNC, but two years later hasn’t identified a suspect. Had a a visible license plate and everything. FBI whistleblower Kyle Seraphin told the Washington Times, “tied whoever the person was that dropped the bombs with [surveillance] cameras all the way through the train and getting into a car with that license plate.”

House Republicans on Wednesday hit the FBI up again for a detailed briefing on their investigation. Wrote Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan, “One former FBI assistant director observed, ‘[i]t just doesn’t add up … there’s just too much to work with to not know who this guy is.”

I don’t want to say the FBI is slow-walking the investigation, but Director Christopher Wray’s Secret Service code name is “Tim Conway.”

 

Along The Stream

Dr. Michael Brown weighs in with “Target and LA Dodgers Put Budweiser to Shame”

In a related vein, Amy K. Hall writes, “You Can’t Tear Down the Norm and Then Be Surprised By What Comes Next.”

And with that, let us wish you a safe Memorial Day Weekend. The Brew is honoring the holiday, barring major breaking news. We will see you again Tuesday morning. 

 

Al Perrotta is the Managing Editor of The Stream, chief barista for The Brew and co-author, with John Zmirak, of The Politically Incorrect Guide to Immigration. You can follow him at @StreamingAl at GETTR, Gab, Parler, and now at TRUTH Social.