Gone Fishin'

 But not like this:

or this:

Back later with fresh lies:

Flotsam and Jetsam - Gone Fishin' DIY

It's been a while since I resorted to this.

Trump and the Republicans

Andy Ngo on X: "Hammam al-Hammami, the @flydubai pilot who tried killing his non-Muslim co-pilot to hijack a plane flying to Israel, had fundamentalist Islamic social media posts. He posted about wanting a wife who would wear a face covering and stop working. He complained about mixed-sex work"
Althouse: "The co-pilot who tried to hijack a flight bound for Israel... used a crash ax to attack the captain in the cockpit, UAE officials said."
There’s No Business Like Antisemitism Business
Russia Plans to Freeze Ukraine Into Submission This Winter – HotAir
AND THEN THERE ARE THE FACTS: Hakeem Jeffrries, Meet the Best U.S. Economy in Decades
Three Easy Ways to Reduce Pain at the Pump – HotAir
Steel Manufacturing, Bonds, and America First
The Diesel Export Trap: A Quick Fix That Raises Prices - RealClearEnergy
Is The GOP Failing To Sell Trump’s Economic Gains? I&I/TIPP Poll – Issues & Insights
This Explosive Headline Is a Lock for First-Ballot Induction Into the 'TDS Hall of Fame' – Twitchy

The Disloyal Opposition

EXCLUSIVE: Abdul El-Sayed Top Staffer Quits Campaign—Shares Disturbing Truth About “Manufactured Man”–“Pushed multiple staff to tears”–“Immature”–“Cartoonishly fake masculinity” and “Loves to fart in public” - The Gateway Pundit
Dear DSA: How to Destroy the 5 Democrats Who Want to Be President – PJ Media
Maura Healey Having a Mass. Gas Attack and Seems to Have Wiped Her Two Memory Chips – HotAir

The Just Us System

Judge Says the Law 'Criminalizing Non-Citizen Voting' Is Unconstitutional UPDATE – HotAir
Justice Samuel Alito Thinks He Knows Who Leaked the Landmark Dobbs Opinion
Gad Saad on X: "Oh I noticed."
Althouse: The ultimate process clusterfuck.
Althouse: "Well, she’s still trying to proceed as normal, and she’s trying to tell herself that she can just go on with her life as if this didn’t happen."

Althouse: Someone who styles himself ExHedgeFundGuy makes a TikTok clip out of a classic Camille Paglia interview and fails to include her name.
Laocoon of Troy on X: "Paglia's point is that women have been raised in a way that makes them naïve. They believe that the suburban, middle-class setting is the default condition of the world, and that the rights they have go with them anywhere, even to a foreign country or a bedroom during a drunken https://t.co/ZapI9RXklM"
Daniel Friedman on X: "Ever since the Dear Colleague letter in 2011 and the crackdowns on Greek life after Duke Lacrosse, fraternities have been training chapter presidents on how to protect their chapters from these situations. The Chi Phi president (who is not one of the 7 accused men) messed up,"

Cornell brings back #MeToo - The Spectator
Report: How Radical Environmental Special Interests Manipulate the Federal Judiciary - House Judiciary Committee Republicans
Even Democrats Oppose Letting Foreign Citizens Tilt The House

The Great Culture War

Daniel Foubert on X: "I'm French 🇫🇷. I was born in Paris. I spent 25 years there. But now: I don't even want to know what happens in that hellhole 💀⚰️. Not “troubled.” Not “declining.” Not “going through a difficult period.” No. A HELLHOLE. A country where everything is dirty, expensive,"
Dr. Eli David on X: "Lebanese 🇱🇧 journalist and author Brigitte Gabriel: “When I was born, Beirut was considered the ‘Paris of the Middle East.’ Today, Paris is considered the Beirut of Europe.” https://t.co/HybA8wN51T"
Trans rights better in Iran than Britain, say Green activists
Actress Criticizes Islam, Loses Her Career – PJ Media
Floridians demand school fire educator who said Jews “control everything”, that Israel is a “fake country”
Writing Is Critical Thinking — Even in the Age of AI - The American Spectator |

Palm Sunday

With Jocelyn Binder:

From the Beeb, Six years, hundreds of plants and one tree casualty - Edinburgh's Palm House returns

After six years and an unprecedented botanical operation, Edinburgh's famous Palm Houses are back. The historic glasshouses at the Royal Botanic Garden have been closed to the public for vital restoration work.

Hundreds of plants had to be temporarily moved while repairs were done on the 19th century buildings - the vast majority of them surviving the experience. But members of the public are once again able to enjoy the redesigned space.
...
Whilst most of the plants were saved in the process of moving, there was one major casualty - the Sabal palm tree which was over 200 years old. It had grown too tall for the glass house and had to be cut down and couldn't be stored.

But some seedlings were kept, and so its legacy has not been forgotten. One of the Sabal palm's descendants is growing in its place.

Who would have thought Edinburgh would have a palm tree museum?

Was It Something I Did?

Hat Hair's Beege Welborn is incensed Drexel University Closes Philadelphia's 200 Yr Old Academy of Natural Sciences

A beloved Philadelphia museum is now closed for good, after nearly 200 years of educating children and families. The Academy of Natural Sciences on the Ben Franklin Parkway was open to the public one final day on Sunday.  Drexel University announced the surprise closure last month, citing declining attendance and the university's financial struggles.

City Council plans to hold a special hearing next month to hear from museum leadership about the struggles leading to the closure.

The museum was founded in 1812 and opened to the public in 1828.

This is unconscionable. No notice to fundraise and save any of the treasures, like Lewis and Clark's samples, which were sent back from the expedition. It's not just dinosaurs.

The Academy of Natural Sciences will close its Parkway museum at the end of the month, ending a nearly 200-year run as a destination for generations of visitors.

The museum, founded in 1812 and opened to the public in 1828, has long been a fixture for families, students and educators.

News of the closure left many visitors disappointed as they reflected on memories made inside the institution's galleries and exhibits.  "I think it's a loss to Philadelphia," said Marcia Halbert of Germantown. Halbert, 97, said she visited the museum with her children and brought students there during her career as a teacher.

This is as underhanded as can be. And tragic.

I used to work for the Academy. I started at the Academy's Benedict Estuarine Research Laboratory (in Benedict MD) in 1985 as a post-doc, and stayed there until 2004, when the Academy sold/gave the laboratory to Morgan State University because we ran a chronic $20 k budget deficit in a multimillion dollar, multi-investigator program. So naturally, my view on this is a bit more nuanced. An institution is going to do what it's got to do.

Money, as always, was the issue that drove conflict. The public face of the institution, the museum which is now being closed, had a fairly large endowment and the curators in the museum mostly received money for the endowment, and from proceeds from the museum. The research arm, of which I was a part, was largely self-funded through grants and contracts. Both sides resented the other. 

This article doesn't mention it, but the research arm is still continuing under Drexel. I assume the collections, some of which would be worth real money, will be kept by Drexel, although I suppose some might be sold off to raise money. Like the Audubon Elephant Folio, kept on display under glass in the Academy library. I assume the bulk of the collections will largely go to cheaper off-site facilities, like the ones the Smithsonian keeps in Suitland, MD. 

There was an apocryphal rumor among Academy employees that back in the glory days of the 19th century, rich Philadelphians used to visit Africa on safari, and send back stuffed animals, and other things for the collection. One was reported to be a pygmy bearer who died on safari, stuffed into a barrel of alcohol, and shipped back to the Academy. I want to know who gets custody of the pygmy.

Flotsam and Jetsam - The FlyDubai Captain Speaks

The pilot of the FlyDubai flight is well enough to talk. Capt. Ed at Hat Hair hears the Hero Captain Speak: 'I Knew I Was Not Going to Let Others Die.' From the Victory Girls, FlyDubai Flight Reveals Heroes Instead Of Becoming A Horror. "I was so badly hurt that I had fallen to the ground. But I knew I had to act. I could feel the aircraft was going down." "Said Capt. Smit Machchhar, from a hospital bed, quoted in "'I Couldn’t Let All of Them Die': Pilot on FlyDubai Flight Recalls Sudden Attack/Capt. Smit Machchhar, who was stabbed by his co-pilot midair between Dubai and Tel Aviv, said he 'had to act' to prevent a crash despite serious injuries"

From NYPo, Trump’s Iran strategy is working — the ayatollah suffers as oil flows again. NewsSquawk reports US Treasury Secretary Bessent says Iran loaded zero crude oil onto tankers in September. The Trump Administration is cutting off the Iranian regime’s most critical source of revenue. RCW asserts Tehran’s Hormuz Offer Reveals Its Real Dilemma. "The Islamic Republic faces two dangers at once. Continued war drains the resources it needs to govern. Yet wartime conditions have made it easier for the state to define and contain domestic opposition as a national security threat. Tehran needs economic relief, but an agreement over the Strait of Hormuz will not resolve the crisis that already existed between the government and Iranian society." Bob Spencer at PJM notes Iran Touts Islam's Teachings of Equality. Reality, As Always, Is Different.

At Right Times with Kathy Gyngell, Why China Will Not Invade Taiwan. "Behind China's vast military lies an untested army, a purged high command and a leadership at war with itself." PJM's Sarah Anderson sees Venezuela 9 Months Later: Pressure, Protests, Power Outages... and a U.S. Military Base?

Hat Hair's Dave Strom thinks Canada's Ministers are Living in a Dream World. "Canada was, for years running, neck and neck with the US in terms of economic performance, but no longer. In productivity growth, for instance, Canada is right at the bottom of the G7, and its GDP per capita is dreadful compared to its competitors." At Da Signal, Victor Davis Hanson wonders Why Is Mark Carney Preparing for an American Invasion? "Carney is doing this, once again, to jack up opinion in Canada for a new nationalism to avoid the great dissatisfaction in Alberta and Quebec, and especially to try to influence the midterms in the United States and to otherwise mask his unpopular socialist globalist agenda."

At Construction Physics, Understanding the AI That Drives Robots, "An Explanation of Vision-Language-Action Models." Chris Queen at PJM hears AI Is Going to Destroy Us All — Just Like Everything Else Was Supposed To. John Sexton at Hat Hair, Headquarters @HQNewsNow, "Bill Gates on Trump's idea to use lawsuits to regulate AI: "Do we just use the liability laws to try and keep humans safe? ... We've created a society that tries to keep people safe not by saying, 'oh, we can bankrupt the person who does that.' ... Say you kill 100 million. You want to use a lawsuit? I almost can't keep a straight face.""

Capt. Ed, Midterm Miss: US Adds Only 29,000 Jobs in September. Breitbart Bus Dig explores Republican Electoral Optimism Versus Consumer Sentiment. From Twitchy, LA-HOO-ZA-HER: Hillary Clinton Instantly REGRETS Sharing 2 Headlines to Dunk on Trump's Economy. 

Crémieux @cremieuxrecueil, "Amazing. These researchers found that there's a spike in Bitcoin activity around the time foreign aid money goes out. Somewhere between 2 and 6 cents of every dollar of World Bank foreign aid disbursements got siphoned off into crypto wallets." From Ace, RFKJr. Exposes More Billions in Medical Fraud.

Don Surber tells Trump his Best midterm strategy? Finish the job "What is the use of being president if you don’t do the job as you see fit?" Cynical Publius @CynicalPublius. "In any competitive situation, winning requires two things: 1. The ability to win. 2. The will to win. MAGA has consistently shown the ability to win at the ballot box. Thus, the mid-terms come down to MAGA's will to win. This is why you are experiencing an epic information war campaign to convince you that you cannot win. That campaign's singular purpose is to BREAK your WILL to win. Please do not let that happen." From Decision Desk HQ, Episode 46: Can Susan Collins survive in Maine? Can Sherrod Brown flip Ohio? Capt. Ed is happy Paxton Goes Soft? $20M Family-Ad Campaign Floods Texas. unseen1 @unseen1_unseen, "Yeap. The dems aren't acting like it's in the bag anymore." Quote Seth Keshel @RealSKeshel, "There is a WHOLE LOT of language out there like this right now: 1) Republicans will steal the election 2) Republicans will buy the election 3) Polls have underestimated Republicans." Mark Tapscott says Not So Fast on That Coming Democrat Blue Wave. TownHall's Matt Vespa thinks We Need to Talk About the Current Slate of 2026 Polls. "Polling during the Trump years has always been atrocious, and this 2026 cycle is even more outrageous. The problem is increasing polarization and the insanity of liberals, who no doubt harass these pollsters when they see what they don’t like — Nate Silver got this treatment a little in 2024 — so silly things happen. These are businesses, so they chalk up whatever concerns to who’s paying. O’Connor notes that’s part of the problem: whatever you think, there’s a poll to satisfy your bias."

VodkaPundit at Insty notes IT’S GOOD TO BE THE NOMENKLATURA: Abdul El-Sayed Billed County Taxpayers $9,000 a Month in ‘Consulting’ Fees While Running for Senate. Hat Hair's Dave Strom, Caught: Abdul El-Sayed 'Resigned' From Government Job to Run for Senate, Remained on Payroll. Peter J. Hasson @peterjhasson, "Abdul you're not going to believe this but SpaceX alone made 4,400 millionaires, including welders and cafeteria workers." Quote Dr. Abdul El-Sayed @AbdulElSayed, "I'd rather have an economy that makes 1,000 millionaires than 1 billionaire." From CJ, Mamdani Will Be Honored Alongside Group with Alleged Ties to Iranian Regime. John Sexton can't believe Mamdani: Socialism Is Just Dignity. Everywhere it's been tried it bring poverty and totalitarianism, the opposite of dignity. AP @Average_NY_Guy, "He’s planning to spend $607 MILLION to renovate… Wait for it… 1,148 apartments. That’s roughly $528,746 PER APARTMENT. For renovations. $607 million is an insane amount of money. Private developers renovate projects with thousands of apartments for a fraction of that. Give $607 million to a Hasidic developer from Brooklyn and he’ll renovate half the city, put up a whole neighborhood of new buildings, and probably still come in under budget." Quote NYCHA @NYCHA, "@NYCHA closes $607M deal to modernize Brooklyn’s Nostrand Houses via the Public Preservation Trust! Highlights: • Renovations for 1,148 apartments (~2,000 residents) • Lead/mold fix & upgrades • 100% public & affordable • 100% public ownership." It's not like it's his money. Eric Daugherty @EricLDaugh, "JUST NOW: The Trump White House just LAUNCHED a devastating tracker that calculates the exact cost of Democrats’ 2026 socialist policies would cost the U.S. if they win $355,000 PER HOUSEHOLD. INCOME PLUMMETS. MORTGAGE RATES SURGE! Vote red! Add about $49T to the deficit over 10 years, which the Council of Economic Advisers puts at roughly $355K per household: - $22K: lost take-home pay per worker every year if they raise taxes to pay for it - 12%+ 30-year mortgage rates if they borrow it - 130% to 160% higher prices over the decade - 254% federal debt as a share of GDP by 2036, more than DOUBLE today - 39.6% average federal income tax rate, up from 14.1% - 6.9M jobs lost from the 32-hour workweek at the high - 3.3M rental homes lost to rent control DSA also calls for ABOLISHING the police and the prison system, which then costs lives!" At TownHall, a video, Socialism Offers 'Liberation,' but It's Really About Control. Russ Greene @GreenPlusAnE, "Robert Nozick explains socialism's attraction to intellectuals: they don't care about the "working class". Rather, they resent capitalists for earning more money than them, despite their apparently inferior merit. They're disappointed meritocrats, not suffering laborers." From NotTheBee, Democrat confuses 'Mein Kampf' and 'Communist Manifesto' during attack on Republican opponent.

PJM's Vicky Taft has another edition of West Coast, Messed Coast™ — After Decades, Could This Political Earthquake Happen? Yes, If You Vote. "Could it be that after 40 years in the progressive oppressive wilderness, Oregon could elect the first GOP governor since Vic Atiyeh in 1982? Let's grab the Magic 8 Ball. "Most likely," it reads. California is murkier, but hope springs eternal. We'll talk about it." NYPo reports Nithya Raman takes double-digit lead over Karen Bass in new LA mayor’s race prediction. Frying pan, fire. With the caveat that midterm polling sucks. From the Free Bacon, High Hopes Never Die: Buttigieg Surges to 1 Percent With Black Voters, "Plus: Kamala Harris flexes her famed rhetorical chops on the campaign trail."

John Sexton reports Letitia James Takes Over Cornell 7 Case (She Issued Her Judgement Days Ago). Coddled Affluent Professional @feelsdesperate, "Hochul is a very unpopular governor and her aids probably told her to do this because they think it will rally the base. The only thing that it will do is further delegitimize the prosecutorial apparatus. If you’re a ‘reasonable Dem’ this should be a blackpill because Hochul is a Catholic from Buffalo - she’s supposed to be a sensible, moderating force and not a rabid, unprincipled ideologue." Quote Phil Holloway @PhilHollowayEsq, "New York Governor Kathy Hochul has removed local DA Matthew Van Houten from the Cornell 7 case She says she lost confidence. And has thus appointed New York AG Letitia James. Politics has fully infected this case." Buck Sexton @BuckSexton, "You appoint Laetitia James as special prosecutor because you want a predetermined outcome, not an investigation or an impartial prosecutorial decision based on fact and law Hochul knows this. Everyone does." Insty, IF YOU WONDERED IF THE CORNELL THING WAS A POLITICAL OP: Hochul Names Letitia James as Special Prosecutor in Cornell Case and IF IT WASN’T OBVIOUS BEFORE, THE LAETITIA JAMES APPOINTMENT MAKES IT SO: Northern Barbarian @xnoesbueno, "The October Unsurprise" Quote Paul @WomanDefiner, "Lol, democrats plan to gas up mentally ill females by highlighting the Clancy trial, the Cornell 7 story, and the execution of the first female inmate in decades is kind of ingenious but utterly destructive long term. All of these stories are built on bald faced lies or lies by omission. Millions of dollars is being thrown at leftist online personalities and foreign bot farms to push it. I bet they highlight a few more before November." Dan McLaughlin at NRO explores The Moral Wilderness of the Cornell Seven Case "We should get the facts and the law straight before holding a moral panic — but we should still demand a more moral society." That ship has sailed. Northern Barbarian @xnoesbueno, "It is necessary for you to believe this young woman did not lustily agree to be gangbanged. By white males (also a brown one and an Asian one but never mind that.) Through the first Tuesday in November, anyway. After that, never mind. The fun part will be the slander suits, prosecutorial abuse suits after the dust settles." Quote C3 @C_3C_3, "Well well well… The signed statement did not claim she was drugged against her will, unconscious, or gang-raped, and that sex stopped when she asked."

Josh Blackmun at the Volokh Conspiracy says Somehow the N.Y. Times Made Me Sympathetic To Chief Justice Roberts. "Jodi Kantor's latest expose tells us nothing about the Court's decision but does destroy John Roberts's last refuge from scoundrels like me."

Matt Margolis, Renee Good's Family Sues the Government. Here’s Everything That Blows Up Their Case. From Campus Reform, UIC students protest CBP recruiting, demand ‘sanctuary campus’

Vodka at Insty looks at France, Visegrád 24 @visegrad24, "A French woman tells one of the second and third-generation migrant rioter no to vandalize her city He responds by trying to set her face on fire." Rick Morab at PJM, Rioting at French Schools Explodes Nationwide as the Government Is Running Scared. Beege Welborn, No Worries: Rotherham Man Explodes on Street, Determined to Be a 'Household Accident.' Stephen Kruiser thinks The United Kingdom Has Outlived Its Usefulness to the Free World. cdrsalamander @cdrsalamander, "They’ve destroyed their cities." Quote Richard J. Schenk @RichardJSchenk, "EU Commission staff refuse to move to Brussels North station due to crack smoking, public defecation & human trafficking. The EU’s disastrous migration policies also destroyed Brussels North, but Eurocrats think only regular people should have to live with the consequences." VodkaPundit at Insty says OH NO, PLEASE DON’T SPARK WORRIES: ":Japan’s harsher permanent residency rules, hiked visa fees begin, sparking xenophobia worries. “The Immigration Control and Refugee Recognition Act sets three requirements for permanent residency: good conduct; assets or skills sufficient to make an independent living; and the person’s permanent residence being in Japan’s national interest. The government revised its guidelines Oct. 1, making the second and third requirements stricter.” Those rules aren’t xenophobia — they’re just good sense."

Beege Welborn sees a Maine Wire Reporter Needed the 'Reflexes of a Cheetah' Today 

Some lunatic just attempted to murder our reporter @iAmJoeSokol.

We have the entire chilling interaction on camera.

We will take all necessary actions to demand justice. pic.twitter.com/Iwlpf3BWIx

— The Maine Wire (@TheMaineWire) October 1, 2026

I&I sees Reality Slaps College Graduates In The Face "The job market is booming for young people – but not those with college degrees. Are employers finally coming to realize that colleges these days mainly produce coddled, know-nothing, whiny, entitled brats? A recent analysis from Burning Glass Institute found that unemployment among those 22-34 years old without a college degree is lower than it’s been in decades, but those with college diplomas are having a much harder time finding work than before." The college educated have not done a good job of demonstrating their usefulness. 

Rusty Weiss at RedState, Bad News, Bra Burners: Sydney Sweeney’s Naked Sports Ad Just Hit the Jackpot "Sweeney’s naked sports ad for Novig has done more than just turn heads. It helped the prediction-market platform quadruple its valuation, from $500 million earlier this year to $2 billion by the end of September. Oh, and also sure to enrage the woke sports mob? The "Euphoria" star is an equity investor in the company. The paper value of her undisclosed stake has likely skyrocketed, too. "Novig continues to field investor interest and could raise additional capital soon at an even higher valuation," the Wall Street Journal reported. Everything she touches turns to gold."

Confirmed: Sydney Sweeney knows ball. pic.twitter.com/EXQ4PzVZsi

— Novig (@Novig) September 9, 2026

Matt Margolis, Michelle Obama Accidentally Admits That Trans Ideology Is Biologically Absurd. "Men would film themselves going into labor, and honoring their pain, you know? There would be trophies given," she said. She went on to say that "there would be the birth-Olympics," and then played the part of one fella congratulating another. "Well done, dude! Bob, you did that without an epidural!" Hold the phone here. Haven't Democrats been telling us for years now that men can get pregnant? Why, yes they have."

And, of course more still left on the Table at the Wombat's In The Mailbox: 10.02.26 (Afternoon Edition) and In The Mailbox: 10.02.26 (Evening Edition).

Rule 5 Saturday - Jocelyn Binder

This week's Rule 5 wonder is  Jocelyn Binder, Sexy After Breast Cancer

Jocelyn Binder is an unstoppable model & influencer hailing from Los Angeles California by way of Florida. Launching her modeling career at age 15, Jocelyn signed to Wilhelmina and Direct Model Management in New York non-exclusively and went on to be featured in publications such as Maxim, multiple international Playboy editions (including the cover of Playboy South Africa), FHM and others. She also starred alongside Johnny Depp in Marilyn Manson's "Say10" music video.

At age 28 she was diagnosed with breast cancer and underwent chemotherapy and a double mastectomy that, for a short time, halted her modeling career. Given a diagnosis that had a median of 24 months before death, Jocelyn resigned herself to fight. She formed a powerful system by combining Western & Eastern medicine with modern techniques that left her without a trace of cancer in her body. Throughout her recovery, Jocelyn found herself fielding questions about her journey, and decided she would share her story. Vowing to spread some of the wisdom that guided her from stage 4 cancer to remission in just ten months, she wrote the book “Sexy After Breast Cancer”. Jocelyn's powerful account of resilience is a warning shot to the disease and a reminder that women can embrace their sexiness at any stage of their fight.

Once in a while she even breaks model protocol, and smiles.