Upping the ante in his game with Nicolás Maduro, Trump ordered the US military to seize a tanker from Venezuela, flying under a false flag, carrying oil to sanctioned Iran. Matt Vespa at TownHall, We've Seized a Venezuelan Oil Tanker. "We've just seized a tanker on the coast of Venezuela," Trump said at a White House roundtable. "Large tanker, very large. Largest one ever seized action. And, other things are happening. So you'll be seeing that later. And you'll be talking about that later with some other people." John Sexton at Hat Hair, US Seizes Oil Tanker Off the Coast of Venezuela. At Da Wire, Trump Admin Drops Video Showing U.S. Forces Swarming Oil Tanker Off Venezuelan Coast. News Wax cites Gorka to Newsmax: Seized Tanker Part of 'Shadow Fleet' "This is a member of a shadow fleet," Gorka said. "The attempts to evade sanctions, and also to just do an end run around international law with flags of convenience — we're not going to allow this anymore." Althouse goes to the NYT, "As you probably know, we’ve just seized a tanker on the coast of Venezuela. A large tanker, very large. Largest one ever seized, actually, and other things are happening. It was seized for a very good reason." "Said President Trump. Quoted in "U.S. Seizes Oil Tanker Off Venezuelan Coast, Trump Says/The seizure comes as the United States builds up its forces in the Caribbean as part of a pressure campaign against Nicolás Maduro, the leader of Venezuela" (NYT)." One of her commenters added, "The tanker was loaded with Merey crude. This is a blended crude that uses heavy Orinco crude (very heavy, asphaltic, thick) and blends it with a lighter condensate crude that is shipped in from Iran for that purpose. The resultant Merey crude, which is then shipped back to Iran, can be refined there to produce gasoline, diesel, jet fuel, other consumer and industrial products. Merey crude is sanctioned because of the Iranian component. Hence, the ship turns off its AIS beacon and runs 'dark', spoofing its position artificially, showing it as 'somewhere else' to fool those interested. US has satellites, so we can see where it actually is, instead of relying on beacons." From TNP, Trump Hints at Military Option in Venezuela, Declares Maduro’s Regime Nearing End. CNN whines Trump administration quietly builds plans for what would happen if Maduro were ousted in Venezuela. At the Free Bacon, Dealing With Maduro Is No Distraction. It’s a Necessity.
At Breitbart, Trump Believes ‘It’s Time’ for Ukraine to Hold Presidential Election. Sundance at CTH sees Strategic Positioning: Mexican Legislature Passes Trump-Level Tariffs Against Chinese Textiles, Shoes, Appliances and Autos. TNP hears China Admits Trump Tariffs Severely Damaged Its Economy. Francis Sempka at Am Spec approves of Trump’s Post-Globalist ‘Flexible Realism’. "The president’s NSS renounces globalism, deters rivals, and puts America’s sovereignty first."
Brickhouse @Brick_House04, "
Republicans better stop running on foreign policy and start doing something here at home." Quote The Washington Times@WashTimes, "Democrat wins Miami mayor’s race for the first time in nearly 30 years." At RVM,
Karoline Leavitt Cooks Dems as the ‘Greatest Con Artists’ Over Affordability Narrative. From Ace,
In Astounding Coincidence the "Experts" Cannot Explain, US Oil Production Hits Record Highs as Gasoline Prices, Inexpicably, Fall to Lowest Levels Since the Chinese Engineered Bioweapon "
Despite Trump's reckless determination to produce the Dinosaur Poison called oil, gas prices are falling. Natural gas production also hit record highs in August before slipping a bit."
Eric Daugherty @EricLDaugh,"
HOLY CRAP! CNN has been FORCED to admit prices are going down in Donald Trump's economy It's getting so good, they can't ignore it anymore. "The price of gas, look at this! A 3.5 year LOW at $2.95 a gallon as of today!" "That is MILES away from the all-time [Biden] high set in 2022 of $5 per gallon." "It's a little bit lower than this point last year." Athena Thorne at PJM says
Stop Worrying About the Midterms — Trump Prosperity Will Be Undeniable by Then. But most of the media and Democrats (but I redund) won't portray it that way.
Amy Curtis at TownHall hears
Tim Walz Gets Testy With a Reporter Who Asked About Jailing Fraudsters. PJM's Matt Margolis thinks
This Viral Clip of Walz and Newsom Talking About 'Masculinity' is Comedy Gold. Walz talking about his "identity." John Sexton at Hat Hair says
Gavin Newsom Falls Short: Community, Confusion and Building Things. At Althouse,
This is not satire. This is Gavin Newsom presenting his "truly vulnerable book." At Hat Hair Dave Strom says
They Think Their Voters Are Idiots and
Democrat Congressman: Yes, the US Is the 'Great Satan', Hank Johnson and Beege Welborn calls it the
End Stage of Grief: Democrats Might Be Settling for the Best of the Worst, Kamala wants to run again. Amy Curtis,
Mamdani's DSA Comrade Calla Walsh Is Back and Calling for the Dismantling of the United States.
Matt Walsh @MattWalshBlog "The leftist mind in a nutshell. A white immigrant billionaire who makes rocket ships and electric cars is a “parasite” but an unemployed black Somali immigrant who scams the welfare system is an integral contributor to American culture who we must welcome and praise at all times. Quote Marco Foster @MarcoFoster_ "Jennifer Welch: “l just think it’s really important to remind everybody all the time that Elon Musk is a fucking immigrant that doesn’t pay taxes who is a parasite off the American taxpayer”" Elon paid $11 billion in taxes a couple of years ago. Driscoll at Insty cites
JIM GERAGHTY:
Wait, You’re Telling Me This Person Is Shifting the Overton Window? "Now I see the
New York Times has published a long and mostly positive profile of Jennifer Welch, an interior designer and former Bravo reality TV star, who has co-hosted a podcast since 2022. The Times gushes that Welch is “the rare figure who appeals to the mainstream liberal, angers the Fox News viewer and thrills the dirtbag left. As she challenges Democrats from a more progressive stance, a portrait of Kate Moss in the frame behind her, she provides the sensation of watching the Overton window shift in real time.” Here’s
Welch’s take on Erika Kirk, the widow of Charlie Kirk: You are an opportunistic grifter who weaponizes your gender to demean women, and you are a walking, talking, breathing example as to why nobody, number one, wants to be a Christian, and number two, wants to be a female hypocrite such as yourself. . . . This woman should be kicked to the curb."
Scott Jennings @ScottJenningsKY "
Median Democrat." Quote Andrew Cooperrider @KYCooperrider "Kentucky Representative Sarah Stalker says white children need the opportunity to feel bad about their skin color in K-12 educational settings."
At Insty has a
LEGAL EDUCATION UPDATE:
“Our Job is to Teach the Children, Not be the Children:” UVA lawprof Xiao Wang exposes immature and unprofessional behavior by his colleagues. "Professor Xiao Wang, director of University of Virginia’s Supreme Court Clinic, litigated the case of Ames v. Ohio Youth Services. The thrust of the case was quite simple, and intuitively appealing: Heterosexual employees alleging discrimination based on sexual orientation have the same burdens as homosexual employees alleging such discrimination. Such symmetry is built into our antidiscrimination laws, which is why the laws ban discrimination based on “race” or “sex” or “sexual orientation” and not “against people of color” or “women” or “people who identify as LQBTQ.” Not surprisingly, the Court reasserted this principle in a unanimous opinion. While the case was pending, however, Wang and his students were subjected to a campaign of harassment by some of his faculty colleagues and other students. You can watch a video of him recounted what transpired, and inspired the title of this blog post, here."
Betsey Stauffer at LI hears
Slotkin Drops Stunning New Explanation for Releasing ‘Seditious Six’ Video. “There [were] so many people coming to us, who were on active duty … saying … I’m going to be asked to do things I either don’t think are legal or I’m not trained for. What do I do?” "I don’t know if I’d be held accountable later after this administration." Still threatening the military.
At Am Great, the Great Victor Davis Hanson discourses on
Immigration Gone Wild "A border abandoned and laws ignored have turned public frustration into a sweeping backlash that now threatens even legal immigration." Dan McCarthy at RCP,
Democrats' Border Debacle Is the Media's, Too.
The Dank Knight @capeandcowell "
How is this even considered to be controversial. This quote should replace the one on the Statue of Liberty" Quote Breaking911 @Breaking911, "POTUS: "If you don't share our values, contribute to our economy, and assimilate into our society, then we don’t want you in our country." From the Center Square,
HUD terminates Biden-era guidance, claiming it unfairly favors Afghans. At NYPo,
Ilhan Omar blasted over resurfaced comments on Somali influence in the US as Elon Musk suggests she committed treason. From Da Caller,
Somalis Who Complained About Trump ‘Garbage’ Comments Involved With Company Accused Of Medicaid Fraud. VodkaPundit at Insty calls this
COLONIZATION, STRAIGHT UP:
Defiant L’s@DefiantLs "
“If a loving father wants to marry off his nine-year-old daughter to a righteous man and all parties consent, what is the issue with that?” This is North Carolina btw." Driscoll sees a hopeful
CHANGE:
Ryan James Girdusky @RyanGirdusky, "Preliminary data on births and fertility show that Trump's mass deportation plan is working. During Sept.-Oct., the number of foreign-born women having children in the U.S. declined in 41 states. Free substack article here:
https://natpop.substack.com/p/birth-data-c."
