Friday, July 3, 2026

Flotsam and Jetsam - Hot Summer Day

And the country is getting ready for its 250th birthday tomorrow. The Victory Girls say Dear Democrats: Our National Party is Still On — Shut Up and STAY HOME and note Independence Day Gone Woke In San Diego County, California. Sounds like a blast! Beege Welborn at Hat Hair notes Anti-Trump States Wouldn't Fix Up Booths for the Fair - PA AMERICANs Took Matters Into Their Own Hands. Sore losers. Dr. Suneel Dhand's Newsletter gives 10 Reasons I'm PROUD to Be an American, "I left Britain and have been a citizen for over 10 years. Best thing I've ever done. An honest reflection this special July 4th." OTH, Hat Hair's John Sexton reports Man Charged with Felony for Damaging Reflecting Pool. "David Hearn, 67, of Maryland faces one felony count of destruction of property tied to a June 19 incident in which National Park Service employees say they caught him trying to rip a portion of sealant from the pool’s bottom. The charge carries a maximum sentence of up to 10 years in prison." It's DC, he won't be convicted. And at WaEx, Airman arrested during Capitol Hill protest urging Trump and Vance’s impeachment. "A Capitol Police spokesperson confirmed Watson’s arrest, noting that there are spots on Capitol Grounds where demonstrating is permitted, but “it is generally against the law for the public to demonstrate on the House Steps unless they are with a Member of Congress.” “Yesterday afternoon, a man was escorted to the House Steps by a Member of Congress,” the spokesperson told the Washington Examiner. “When the Member of Congress left the area, our officers gave the man lawful orders to stop the illegal demonstration or he would be arrested. The man refused our lawful orders. Jason Watson was then arrested for 22-1307 Crowding, Obstructing, and Incommoding.”" So he wasn't arrested for his speech denouncing Trump, he was arrested for unlawful conduct at the Capital, like the J6ers. I'm sure Pete Hegseth has plenty of grounds to toss him out of the Air Force, though. A Larry vid at Hat Hair says This Was All Trump Needed. They're Gonna Regret It.

At the Buckeye Firearms Assoc, Trump reiterates support for national right-to-carry reciprocity. As a fairly liberal New Yorker, I suspect Trump personally doesn't fell strongly pro-gun, but he knows his coalition. Mary Chastain is pleased to report the Energy Dept. is Moving to Drop ‘Green New Scam’ Appliance Mandates. "Thank you. THANK YOU. Make it happen!"

Hat Hair's Capt. Ed is worried that the US Adds Only 57,000 Jobs in June As Workforce Deflates. I gave up trying to make sense out of job numbers a while ago. The methodology is shitty, and manipulative. I also wonder how much of this is due to the ongoing self-deportation of illegals. The Wall Street Journal thinks it is.

Jenna’s Side is America Doesn't Have a Socialist Problem—We Have an Apathy Problem. "And apathy is how tiny, terrifying, highly motivated minorities end up running cities." At Hat Hair Dave Strom thinks Socialism in the West is Ignorance, Unearned Wealth, and Resentment,  Yes, The DSA Is a Communist Organization and Beege Welborn adds Commie Mamdani's Pied-à-Terre Billionaire Tax Attack Began Yesterday. Althouse notes "The DSA, in fact, seems to despise the Democratic Party. Darializa Avila Chevalier has called Joe Biden a 'rapist' and wrote 'Fuck Kamala Harris'...", ""... on social media. She proceeded to be nominated for a House race in New York last week by Democratic voters who presumably do not all share those feelings."  At Reason Kennedy recalls New York's Socialist Experiment Already Failed Once "Will Mamdani break New York City?" Leslie Eastman at LI hears NYC Mayor Mamdani’s Recommendation for ’78 Degrees’ Met with Frosty Reception. "The responses to his “78 degrees” suggestion included references to France and New York’s embrace of “Green Energy”." Capt. Ed hears from Fetterman: The One Thing That Would Force Me Out Of My Party Is ... being anti-Israel. Aren't we there already? Dave Strom thinks it might be AOC vs Vance?

Bonchie @bonchieredstate, "Every time. It’s never organic." Quote AG @AGHamilton29, "This is a major red flag. The CCP is funding/aiding left-wing groups and activism to try to push policies that discourage us developing energy independence."

From DataRepublican’s Substack, The 400,000 USAID Deaths That Nicholas Kristof Will Not Tell You About. "How USAID Built the South Sudan, Watched It Collapse, and Then Allowed China to Take Over."

Eric at Security and Cigars, explains Why Wolford Should Worry Big Gov Fans More Than Slaughter. "SCOTUS has now made clear that states and cities cannot simply designate broad categories of private property as “sensitive” and thereby ban the exercise of constitutional rights there. This has obvious and immediate implications for the Second Amendment, but it also reaches into First Amendment territory like speech, religion, and assembly. As well as many other rights protected by the Constitution." Charles C. W. Cooke @charlescwcooke, "Impressive ignorance. The unitary executive theory is about personnel; it confers no substantive powers on the executive branch that haven’t been delegated by Congress. The whole column is a bizarre non sequitur." Quote Dana Milbank @Milbank, "My latest column looks at how Democrats are drafting plans to to use the all-powerful, unitary executive that Trump has established (and the Roberts Court has blessed) to launch a new Progressive Era, in which a Democratic president imposes by executive fiat government-run health." At Da Caller, Clarence Thomas Laughs As MS NOW Reporter Barrages Him With Questions. Althouse says I don't believe Nina Totenberg's explanation for why she reported that Justice Alito was retiring. "I'm reading "'I am so, so sorry': NPR reporter explains SCOTUS retirement error" (CNN): "Say what really happened, " and "Democrats stopped talking about trans politics long before the court’s ruling this week." ""In June, which is L.G.B.T.Q. Pride month, no Democratic candidate mentioned the word 'transgender' in their TV ads, according to data from AdImpact, a media tracking firm. Their silence may be an attempt to deprive Republicans of campaign-trail ammunition.... A New York Times/Ipsos poll conducted in January 2025 showed that nearly 80 percent of Americans opposed allowing transgender athletes to participate in women’s sports...." At substact Insty recommends Ditching the Seventeenth. "Taking the Senate back to the Framers' Intent." Let State Legislators pick Senators? We could do worse, and have.

Gina Milan @ginamilan_ "Ruh Rho" Quote Paul Sperry @paulsperry_, "BREAKING: Here's the just-filed NLPC bar complaint against NY attorney Roberta Ann Kaplan. The basis for the complaint is that Kaplan failed to inform Trump’s lawyers + the court when she knew her client E. Jean Carroll provided false testimony by denying outside funding for her."

TownHall's Amy Curtis reports More Antifa Terrorists Were Just Sentenced in Texas "Antifa and their Leftist allies in the Democratic Party were not happy about these sentences. They really believed they were above the law, and are threatening the federal judges who put their comrades behind bars." Bob Spencer at PJM says Bravo: DeSantis Officially Calls Antifa and CAIR What They Really Are, terrorists. 

Dave Strom takes a look at The Immigrants Who Hate America. Libs of TikTok @libsoftiktok, "BREAKING: The Somali flag flying over Buffalo City Hall has been reportedly STOLEN just hours after it was raised. Buffalo's Democrat Mayor Sean Ryan, claims that individuals cut the cable in the middle of the night and took the flag down. He then goes on a rant about "diversity." Police are currently investigating, and no charges have been filed." At NYPo, Andy Arthur opines ABC’s ‘3% delusion’ on criminal migrants turns the law on its head "ABC’s statistic is real — of the 438,537 illegal immigrants detained in the administration’s first 14 months, 13,018 of them had been convicted of a crime like homicide or sexual assault in the US. Yet its conclusion is utterly wrong, ignoring the impact of the most significant immigration law Congress has enacted in years: the Laken Riley Act.  Americans should remember why Congress passed that law. Riley, a 22-year-old nursing student, was murdered in February 2024 by an illegal immigrant who had been apprehended for committing lesser offenses and released into the United States. Her vicious killing sparked outrage over a system that repeatedly ignored warning signs — until an innocent American paid the ultimate price." Dave Strom, Yes, The Activists Want to Protect Paedos From Deportation. Gov. Walz helped pardon a child rapist so he couldn't be deported. The feds may yet find a way. Visegrád 24 @visegrad24, "BREAKING British authorities have released the ringleader of a Rochdale grooming gang, Shabir Ahmed, from prison The Pakistani man was sentenced to 22 years for 30 child rape charges involving girls as young as 12. He was released after serving just 13 years & won’t be deported." Beege Welborn, Merz Scolds German Serfs Over Sick Day Slacking When There Are Immigrant Bennies to Support.

At Twitchy, Heavily Armed Would-Be Trans Terrorist Arrested for Planning Mass Shooting; Check out This Hardware. Shooting News Week, Cops Bust Would Be Casino Mass Shooter With An Actual Cache (This Time) of WeaponsRobby Starbuck @robbystarbuck, "There needs to be a deep investigation into how this weirdo was able to afford this. Well over $100k of guns listed. Seems unlikely for a mentally ill trans activist to come up with that on their own." Quote New York Post @nypost "Trans gunman caught in alleged casino terror plot with huge cache of weapons - as cops release chilling footage." Capt. Ed reports a WI Activist Declares 'Trans Jihad': 'Kill Your Local Republican.' Dustin Grage @GrageDustin, "WOW: Wisconsin Democrat staffer, Teha Delaruelle is calling on activists to "K*LL YOUR LOCAL REPUBLICAN." “We’re going to make this the moderate position for the state of Wisconsin” WTF!?" They should be careful; Republicans tend to be better armed.

Fish Pic Friday - Parker Outdoor Adventures

Thursday, July 2, 2026

Flotsam and Jetsam - The Heat is On

96 F in the shade. I saw 103 on the road this afternoon.

Don Surber is reveling in what he considers Trump’s Supreme victory, "Justices helped the president Slaughter the deep state's hold on the republic." And Girls sports for girls only. "5 middle school girls helped convince the Supreme Court to stop the transgender madness." Jonathan Turley at NYPo, Supreme Court allows Trump to say ‘You’re fired’ to meddling bureaucrats TownHall's Dmitri Bolt thinks Justice Kavanaugh May Have Handed the United States a Roadmap to Fix Birthright Citizenship. "Consistent with the Fourteenth Amendment, Congress could amend §1401(a) or otherwise enact new legislation establishing exceptions to birthright citizenship for children born to foreign citizens unlawfully or temporarily in the country," he added. "But Congress has not yet done so." At Da Signal, ‘MEDIEVAL’: Justices Thomas, Alito Argue ‘Birthright Citizenship’ Ruling Reverses the Declaration of Independence on Its 250th Anniversary. Da Wire, Trump Plans Assault On Birth Tourism After Letdown At SCOTUS. "Birth tourism schemes exploit our immigration system and violate criminal law." Matt Margolis at PJM sees The DOJ Goes to War on Birth Tourism After Losing at SCOTUS. Hat Hair's Beege Welborn wonders Will 'Pregnant' Become a Disqualifying Category for Foreign Entry? WSJ whines Supreme Court Gives Trump New Tools to Accelerate Deportations. Althouse reads the NYT, "The justices did find unanimity 45 percent of the time, up two points from last term. They joined together, for instance..." ""... to say a Texas man could not be prosecuted for violating a law banning drug users from gun possession merely because he frequently used marijuana, and they agreed that a New Jersey anti-abortion group could bring a challenge in federal court to government efforts to seek its donor list ... From "Despite Some Losses for Trump, Supreme Court Delivers Enduring Conservative Wins/The justices pushed back on some of President Trump’s signature moves, but they also expanded presidential power and supplied victories on long-sought conservative goals.""

NRO's Jim Geraghty notices Nina Totenberg and the Gerontocracy Strike Again. Mike Coté @ratlpolicy, "Nina Totenberg is a partisan hack masquerading as a neutral journalist. That she made such a profound error - targeting a conservative justice, no less - is entirely predictable. The media phalanx you folks have erected around her in response is similarly unsurprising." Quote Peter Baker @peterbakernyt, "No one is more mortified by a mistake than a journalist committed to factual reporting. The best own up to it, correct it and apologize for it, as @NinaTotenberg has done. It's worth remembering a long career dedicated to getting it right. x.com/brianstelter/s…" TownHall's Matt Vespa thinks NPR's Fiasco With Their Samuel Alito Story Just Got Worse. Matthew Keys @MatthewKeysLive, "So, to recap: NPR published an erroneous story about Samuel Alito retiring from the Supreme Court, then published an erroneous blog post about how the erroneous story was published in the first place. Can't make this up."

CBS is already whining about the next term, Supreme Court takes up challenges to AR-15 bans.

Sundance at CTH covers “New FBI Documents” in Russiagate Review? Several people have inquired about a Paul Sperry article [SEE HERE]...What Sperry’s sources seem to be outlining based on description, likely pertains to the FBI contractor issue from 2015 and 2016 where access to the NSA database was defensively investigated after the NSA compliance officer raised flags about unauthorized use." From News Wax, Trump: Acting DNI Can Declassify Records, Including on 2020 Election.

Andy Ngo at Ngo Comment BREAKING: North Texas Antifa Members Who Turned on Their Comrades Receive Years in Federal Prison, "Ahead of sentencing, one of the convicts tried to kill herself."

News Max, Report: Iranian Clerics Urge Trump, Netanyahu Assassinations. Aren't they just reiterating their old urgings? Peel another 5 layers off their leadership.

Sundance follows up his Canada posts, USTR Jamieson Greer Makes It Official: “The USMCA is not renewed”. Hat Hair's Beege Welborn thinks Canada's Carney About to Find Out When You Play Chicken, It's Best to Be Foghorn Leghorn. At Am Con, The Trump–Meloni Dust-Up Was Pure ‘Euroslopulism’ "As the Ukraine war rages on, European elites look as unserious as ever."

Ace says We Need Proof of Life of Mitch McConnell, "This isn't Russia -- we are entitled to know which of our "representatives" are living and capable of working." But of course this nation increasingly resembles Russia. Two weeks after deliberately vague reports about McConnell being "rushed" to the hospital, it is only due to a leak of EMS radio traffic that we now find out he was discovered "unconscious" and in need of "advanced life support." So where is he now? Is he conscious? Our Soviet officials won't tell us."

John A. Mapp, Jr. @mapp_john14664, "Recognize the motte and bailey tactic, and who is running cover for the “DSA” communists. Capt. Ed at Hat Hair, DemSoc Goes National: Socialists Boot Progressive Dem in Colorado. At Althouse, "Melat Kiros, a 29-year-old democratic socialist... unseats a 15-term incumbent and further propels the insurgent coalition..." "... that swept a series of congressional contests last week in New York." Ace, Democrat Socialists Take Another Scalp As a Gen Z Ethiopian Immigrant Defeats a 15-Term Congresswoman. "I'm glad, at least, to see Democrats suffering from their own DEI agenda themselves for once." Fusilli Spock @awstar11, "Never forget that even before this wave of DSA, communists were elected, 48 Democrat Senators voted to nuke the filibuster and promised to expand the Supreme Court. The difference between radical communist Democrats and mainstream Democrats is mostly tone." Quote RNC Research @RNCResearch, "MS NOW: If Democrats regain the majority, do you think that expanding the court or setting term limits for the court should be on the table? SHAPIRO: I think everything needs to be on the table. I think we need radical reform…" Jonah Goldberg @JonahDispatch, "I get what you mean here, but saying "the socialists" will have the "new ideas" is like saying "the Shakers have all the fresh thinking." Socialism is not new. The label is about 2 centuries old, give or take. The idea is thousands of years old. There's not a single major idea proposed by the DSA crowd that wasn't an old idea before I was born. From price controls and rent-freezes, to wealth taxes, or shunning Jews. It's all old, old hat. You can agree with it. Or admire it's newfound energy or something. But the ideas are old, tried, and failed." Quote Jim VandeHei @JimVandeHei "If you had to bet who’ll have the energy, organization, new ideas and star power for 28 Dems, it’s not close: socialists. The Sanders-Mamdani-AOC wing is swarming the Dem party, and Dem leaders will gradually than quickly do what establishment Rs did w Trump: acquiesce." RNC Research @RNCResearc, "Democrats can gaslight Americans all they want, but history is a great teacher. How to Spot a Communist, 2026..." Ace, People Are Starting to Notice That the Alleged "Working Class Populist Socialist" Uprising on the Left Is Made Up Exclusively of College-Educted Rich Leisure-Class Nepo Babies and NGO Sucklers. "The Claim: Democrats are electing "working class populists" who just happen to be socialists. The Reality: Democrats are electing rich-bitch children of privilege who are socialists because they've never done a day of work in their lives." Abe Greenwald at Commentary, Respectability for Radicals. At Hat Hair, John Sexton sees Ro Khanna Making a Play for the Socialist Revolutionaries and Trans March Organizers Defend Treatment of Scott Wiener, Capt. Ed reads Axios: House Dems Shocked, Shocked to Find DemSoc In Their Casino and Dave Strom thinks Even Degenerate Child Predators Deserve Representation Too, You Know. C3 @C_3C_3, "Photo 1: A man claiming he’s fighting the Oligarchy. Photo 2: The Oligarchy." Joel Pollak @joelpollak, "I’m going to add one qualification to Hen’s grim observation here. All these targets are Democratic Jews. Republican Jews are no less hated, but are inclined to stand up for themselves, and are led and surrounded by colleagues who unite to reject antisemitism and Israel-haters." Quote Hen Mazzig @HenMazzig, "Governor Josh Shapiro’s house was burnt down. Congressional candidate Scott Weiner was harassed until he left a Pride March." Joel Pollak @joelpollak, "It’s only the most prosperous society that has ever existed in the history of human civilization, built by the sacrifices of our parents and grandparents, but let’s find a reason to be resentful." Quote Acyn @Acyn, "AOC: I think young people overall feel a tremendous amount of betrayal about the world that we’ve been left with." Matt Margolis at PJM, Jesse Watters Just Predicted Exactly How the Democrat Party Tears Itself Apart. Dan McCarthy at RCP on Why Bill Maher Finds Himself Siding With the Right.


Mike LaChance @MikeLaChance33, "Isn't this the goal of the villain in almost every Batman movie?" Quote Mayor Zohran Kwame Mamdani @NYCMayor, "We just took another major step toward finally closing Rikers Island. By permanently closing a jail and transferring three properties to DCAS, we're moving closer to closing Rikers for good." From Twitchy, Zohran Mamdani's Air Conditioning Guidance Officially Ushers in NYC's 'Warmth of Collectivism' Era. Mayor Zohran Kwame Mamdani @NYCMayor, "New York: it's hot out there, and the power grid is working overtime to keep us cool. Set your AC to 78 degrees, turn off lights/electronics you're not using, and unplug what you can. Our City is doing its part too: maintaining the 78 degrees rule in our buildings, dimming/turning off our lights during peak electricity demand, asking private partners to do the same, and powering down non-essential equipment. A stable grid means the AC stays on, and lives are saved. Let's ease demand — and get through the heat — together." Driscoll at Insty says MAMDANI WASN’T KIDDING ABOUT HIS “WARMTH OF COLLECTIVISM” SHTICK: Enguerrand VII de Coucy @ingelramdecoucy, "Reminder that the reason that New York City is struggling to power its air conditioners is a Democratic Party crusade against the Indian Point Nuclear Power Plant that finally led to its shutdown in 2020, which led to a massive rise in fossil fuel usage to power the city." Insty, GET THE FEELING THIS MIGHT BE THE START OF A PERMANENT TEMPORARY SUSPENSION?
Washington Examiner @dcexaminer, "New York City to suspend evictions for two days due to heat dome." Da Caller sees David Axelrod Gets Brutal Lesson In Blue City Governance After Finding Man Passed Out In Chicago Heat.


FischerKing @FischerKing64, "The thing about Buttigieg is that he structured his entire life around becoming an acceptable white male Democrat candidate for POTUS. Ivy League, non combat military, homosexual, gay marriage - then he deliberately adopted black children. This is so weird it’s disqualifying." Quote MAZE @mazemoore, "Buttigieg claims are ridiculous. Pete Buttigieg claims that he was separated from his children, that his children had to go stay with their grandparents, and that it was the worst 24 hours ever (implying he couldn't see his kids for a day)." TownHall's Joe Abraham asks about The Hierarchy of Compassion: Who Counts?





Dave Strom, Now That It No Longer Matters, The Committee to Protect Journalists Revises Its Defense of Hamas. Nick Matau @nick_matau, "BBC had to release, on average, TWO CORRECTIONS PER WEEK for TWO STRAIGHT YEARS due to lying about Israel so much... and these people still somehow think BBC is pro Israek." Ace hears MSNOW Cancels Weekend Live Programming; Will Run Cheap Leftwing Podcasts From Earlier In the Week Instead "Canceling 2/7ths of the weekly original programming is always a sign of strength and profitability."

Megan McArdle @asymmetricinfo, "Air conditioning has reduced heat deaths in the US by three quarters since the 1970s. https://x.com/sdkassis/statu." Leslie Eastman at LI sees the European Commission Adopts Feudal Approach to Air Conditioning Distribution, "LET THEM EAT ICE: The elite bureaucrats on the upper floors allowed to enjoy cool air, while staff on lower floors are encouraged to enjoy more traditional options." Campus Reform opines Campus climate activism is the gateway drug to the radical left.

At Insty, FREDDY’S DEAD: "America’s favorite World Cup tourist deactivates X account after woke snowflakes dig up his old tweets. Well, Freddy is from Germany, where it is quite literally illegal to offend certain groups of people. Even though he remained anonymous in all his posts, he still decided to deactivate his X account after wokescolds discovered he was mildly critical of the woke theory that only white people can be racist." Joanne Jacobs hears Neutrality is racist, say woke librarians. From Da Wire, YMCA Scrubs ‘Gender Identity’ Pledge After Daily Wire Report, “Parents deserve the truth, not deletions.” i/o@ avidseries "Let us now dedicate this graph and the entirely unsurprising information contained on it to all the scumbags who sit atop the admissions committees at elite universities who accused Amy Wax of being a liar (or worse) for claiming that there are few if any blacks graduating near the top of the class at Penn's law school, and also to Wax's employer, which, rather than releasing its admissions data to refute Wax's claim, chose instead to investigate her and remove her from teaching duties..." 
Still more at the Wombat's In The Mailbox: 07.01.26 (Afternoon Edition).

Thursday Tanlines


At Anxious, The "Barbie drug" is back
The big picture: Melanotan II — nicknamed the "Barbie drug" because it can also suppress appetite — mimics a hormone that tells the body to make more melanin. It can be found as a nasal spray or shot, but it's not approved by the FDA or any other major regulator. Case studies suggest it could lead to the development of skin cancer. What we're hearing: "People who inject melanotan, their moles start to change," says Anthony Rossi, a dermatologic surgeon at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. He's removed atypical moles from a patient who used it.But he's seeing it taken at the gym as part of a "beautification stack" — and he's worried. "I don't really see a medical benefit of it at all," Rossi says.
At least with a nasal spray, there's no risk of hidden cameras.