alderman howard brookins jr., who represents chicago<u+2019>s 21st ward, doesn<u+2019>t like squirrels. apparently they don<u+2019>t like him either. he had denounced the creatures for being <u+201c><u+00a0><u+2018>aggressive,<u+2019> and aggressively damaging the trash cart lids,<u+201d> the washington post reports. the sciuridae family took their revenge: <u+201c>one [member] recently sent him to the hospital with a skull fracture in a <u+2018>freak bicycle accident,<u+2019> as the alderman wrote on facebook.<u+201d> they say even a blind squirrel finds a nut now and again, and<u+2014>oh, look! bernie sanders! wbur-fm reports the septuagenarian self-described socialist senator from vermont was speaking at boston<u+2019>s berklee performance center when a questioner asked him, in the reporter<u+2019>s paraphrase, <u+201c>how she could become the second latina senator in u.s. history.<u+201d> who knew sanders was latina? but if the question<u+2019>s premise was puzzling, the senator<u+2019>s answer was interesting: as graham vyse of the new republic notes, it<u+2019>s not clear to what extent sanders is rejecting identity politics. does he mean<u+2014>in vyse<u+2019>s words, please note<u+2014>that <u+201c>democrats should pursue an economic populism that doesn<u+2019>t address the unique challenges faced by women, people of color, lgbtq americans, and other marginalized groups<u+201d>? or just that they should <u+201c>layer a big dose of economic populism on top of these social-justice concerns<u+201d>? follow james on twitter sanders isn<u+2019>t exactly a scourge of political correctness; he routinely rails against the usual liberal litany of hated isms and phobias. example : <u+201c>there is no compromise on racism, bigotry, xenophobia and sexism. we will fight it in all its forms, whenever and wherever it re-emerges.<u+201d> (what<u+2019>s most telling about that tweet is the word <u+201c>it.<u+201d>) still, sanders has stumbled upon the proverbial nut in observing that if the democrats are wedded to identity politics, they err in forsaking all other forms of politics. the new york post has a good example. rep. tim ryan of ohio is challenging nancy pelosi, who has served as minority leader for three terms since democrats lost their majority in 2010: shut up, ian millhiser mansplained. millhiser is <u+201c>justice editor<u+201d> of thinkprogress, a website run by john podesta, who was chairman of hillary clinton<u+2019>s failed 2016 presidential campaign. <u+201c>[i am offended by] this thing where an obscure male backbencher thinks he deserves to replace the most accomplished woman in congress is how sexism works,<u+201d> millhiser tweeted sunday. he added: <u+201c>i<u+2019>m genuinely curious if anyone can argue why tim ryan should replace pelosi other than <u+2019>she was in the job when something bad happened.<u+2019><u+00a0><u+201d> we have no brief for ryan, but we can think of two possible reasons: (1) it is normal to hold leaders<u+2014>even female ones<u+2014>accountable when <u+201c>something bad<u+201d> happens while they are in charge, and (2) ryan, who represents a largely white-working-class district that includes youngstown, may<u+2014>like sanders<u+2014>have some insight into that failure. meanwhile, the new york times visits a black neighborhood in milwaukee and finds some surprising attitudes toward the new president: these sound like voters trump has a chance of winning over, assuming he seeks re-election in 2020. tnr<u+2019>s vyse concludes his sanders piece with this advice: what really should worry democrats is that trump and the republicans will figure out a way to keep speaking to blue-collar whites while simultaneously broadening the message for latinos, african-americans, asians and white millennials. two papers in one! out on a limb <u+201c>nyt<u+2019>s public editor is right. its 2016 coverage could have been better<u+201d><u+2014>headline, washington examiner, nov.<u+00a0>21 we blame george w. bush <u+201c>who<u+2019>s really to blame for the rigging of the mainstream media?<u+201d><u+2014>headline, adage.com, nov.<u+00a0>22 what would we do without experts? <u+201c>dental experts slam coca cola truck amid fears over kids<u+2019> teeth<u+201d><u+2014>headline, south wales evening post (swansea), nov.<u+00a0>22 life imitates the onion if you had to deal with the va, you<u+2019>d be surly too <u+201c>two surly veterans are opening their own brewpub in st. paul<u+2019>s lowertown<u+201d><u+2014>headline, startribune.com (minneapolis), nov.<u+00a0>21 hey, kids! what time is it? <u+201c>porn<u+2014>it<u+2019>s time for disney to do something about it<u+201d><u+2014>headline, onenewsnow.com, nov.<u+00a0>21 question and answer<u+2014>i question and answer<u+2014>ii question and answer<u+2014>iii question and answer<u+2014>iv question and answer<u+2014>v look out below! <u+201c>nearly every time the democrats face a crisis, their answer is the same<u+2014>move left. this time, they<u+2019>re about to fall off the edge.<u+201d><u+2014>subheadline, daily beast, nov.<u+00a0>21 it<u+2019>s always in the last place you look bottom stories of the day picking up the bill <u+201c>new york city mayor bill de blasio promised again monday to oppose the federal government if any policy of president-elect donald trump undermines the rights of new yorkers,<u+201d> the wall street journal reports: taxpayers around the country cheered de blasio<u+2019>s plan for an $8.3 billion cut in federal spending. follow @jamestaranto on twitter. join fans of best of the web today on facebook. subscribe to the best of the web email with one click. (carol muller helps compile best of the web. thanks to mike lavender, bruce goldman, wes van fleet, mordecai bobrowsky, andrew pterson, john gaylord, debbie wells, michele schiesser, arlene ross, ethel fenig, tony lima, richard belzer, liz rowan, eric jensen and garek berard. if you have a tip, write us at opinionjournal@wsj.com , and please include the url.)
the socialist squirrel - wsj
james taranto