Virginia Striped Bass YOY Index Comes in "Average"

Juvenile striped bass maintain average abundance in Virginia waters in 2026

Preliminary results from an ongoing long-term survey conducted by William & Mary’s Virginia Institute of Marine Science (VIMS) suggest that an average year class of young-of-year striped bass was produced in the Virginia tributaries of the Chesapeake Bay in 2026. Striped bass are an important top predator in the Chesapeake Bay ecosystem and a valuable resource for commercial and recreational anglers. The 2026 year class, representing fish hatched this spring, will reach fishable sizes in three to four years.

 

The VIMS Juvenile Striped Bass Seine Survey recorded a mean value of 9.52 fish per seine
haul in the Virginia portion of the Chesapeake Bay. The 2026 value is an increase from the 5.12 fish per seine haul recorded in 2025, though both years are similar to the historical average (7.77 fish per seine haul) observed in Virginia tributaries. The improvement in recruitment observed in 2025 and 2026 is consistent with historically observed patterns: years with below-average recruitment (i.e., 1999, 2002, 2012, 2024) were followed by years with average to above-average recruitment (i.e., 2000, 2003, 2013, 2025).

“While this year’s class is considered average in terms of abundance, it represents a significant increase from 2024,” said Jack Buchanan, marine scientist at VIMS and the chief scientist of the Juvenile Striped Bass Seine Survey, who noted that striped bass recruitment can vary considerably from year to year. “A single year of poor recruitment can be partially offset by the previous or following year’s production, which helps stabilize the overall population and the fisheries it supports.”

We need better than average to get the Striped Bass population back up to historical abundances, but I guess average is better than below average, like Marylands. VIMS tries to make it sound good. 

Maybe El Nino winter will be a help next year.

Flotsam and Jetsam - Did Ilhan Omar Flunk Her DNA Test?

Well now, if this is true... At Twitchy, WHOA ... So THAT'S What the DNA Is for: Ilhan Omar Is Officially in DEEP and We Are ALL Here for It. Miranda Devine @mirandadevine, "Ahem. Five years ago I wrote a column about DNA test results that showed there was a 99.999998 percent chance that Ilhan Omar and her second husband Ahmed Elmi were siblings. A few hours before we went to press my informant was arrested by Biden's FBI. Funny that." Insider Wire @InsiderWire, "#BREAKING: DNA report says Ilhan Omar and her ex-husband are siblings; Biden DOJ refused to act." But did he preemptively pardon her? Ace sees the Report: DNA Proves Ilhan Omar Married Her Gay Brother, "Is that so." Will Chamberlain @willchamberlain, "WaPo, while attempting to exonerate Ilhan Omar, actually reported some incredibly new, damning information. Ilhan Omar's second husband - the one alleged to be her brother - applied for a green card, was asked about the marriage, and then withdrew his application." Quote Benjamin Weingarten @bhweingarten, "Lo and behold, it appears Ilhan Omar's alleged Brother-Husband had filed one of the same documents that her lawyers were seeking out back in 2019 regarding a petition to convert one's immigration status from conditional to permanent residency." PJM's Cathy Salgado wonders Did Ilhan Omar’s Husband Sell Empty Barrels of Wine? Libs of TikTok @libsoftiktok, "HOLY CRAP Ilhan Omar and her husband's winery was SHUT DOWN for FRAUD after they reportedly sold EMPTY WINE BARRELS." To be fair, if you were shutting down a winery, you'd probably be able to see the empty barrels. Not the Bee @Not_the_Bee, "So if all the reports are true, Ilhan Omar lied about her age to make it seem like she naturalized through her father, who apparently she lied about being a citizen in the first place, then used her illegitimate citizenship to marry her brother so that he could inherit her fake naturalization before remarrying and starting a fraudulent winery that sold empty bottles of wine?" The Babylon Bee @TheBabylonBee, "Ilhan Omar Furiously Denies Immigration Fraud Charges, Says She Only Married Brother For Love."

Joe Chalfant at TownHall, Zelensky's Temper Tantrum May Have Just Cost Ukraine American Military Support. Hat Hair's John Sexton cites WSJ: Musk Ordered the Starshield Slowdown in Ukraine, but the evidence seems muddled. Sundance at CTH is all over Ukraine's woes, with Zelenskyy Calls Rubio as Witkoff Travels to Meet Him in Norway, Following 45 Minute Call with Zelenskyy, Secretary Marco Rubio Notes Ukraine Officials are Lying and Manipulative Which He Told Zelenskyy Openly "As noted, Rubio emphasized nothing substantive has changed in the U.S. support profile with Ukraine and President Trump has not modified any security arrangement at all. Zelenskyy is just making stuff up. Rubio noted that Ukraine is targeting U.S. commercial shipping in the Black Sea and that has to stop. That was part of the phone call. Additionally, Rubio emphasized how Ukraine officials are just “making stuff up” for some reason, that can best be considered a Ukraine political operation against the Trump White House. " And Interesting – Following the “Cut the BS” Confrontation by Rubio, Suddenly Zelenskyy Thanks USA and Says All Early Warning Systems “Working Great”.

AP claims China defends DeepSeek after US ban of its AI from government systems. Trent Telenko @TrentTelenko, "The ability to lay mines by drone-subs will be the biggest use case for them in a war with China. The problem is China can and will do the same to Western ports." Quote TWZ @thewarzonewire, "Ghost Shark Extra-Large Uncrewed Underwater Vehicles’ Payload Bay Seen For First Time Ghost Shark will deploy aerial drones, lay mines, and execute seabed resupply missions as part of Australia’s new undersea arsenal."

Sundance hosts President Trump Holding an Oval Office Press Conference Following Announcement from Fraud Taskforce. Ace, Trump Creates $25 Million Fund to Pay Bounties to Whistleblowers Who Alert the Government of Fraud, "If you want to stop foreign pirates, issue letters of marque and reprisal. This isn't quite that but it's good to incentivize people to report fraud. ... A 1% commission. That could be huge." From WaEx, Trump administration withholds $1.2 billion in federal Medicaid funding from California, over fraud concerns.

Roger Simon wonders Are the French Riots the Republicans’ October Surprise. "Don't be a “chi-en-lit” and vote Democrat." From State of the Day, the STATE OF MONDAY: The GOP Has Billionaires. But Where Are The Voters? "The people are souring, and the oligarchs are spending." A Larry video at Hat Hair highlights a Trump’s Pollster Explaining the Voter Turnout Gap That Could Decide the Midterms. Liz Mair at Not Quite Miss Congeniality says Matt Lewis is right: Ted Cruz could totally be a presidential contender in 2028. Yeah, but I'm still leaning Vance/Rubio or Rubio Vance. Put Cruz on the Supreme Court instead. At PJM, Sarah Anderson hears María Corina Machado Has a Message for Midterm Voters and VodkaPundit points out This TDS Sufferer Actually Left the Country, and the Schadenfreude Is Almost Unbearable. ""Annie," to name just one, complained about the "huge misconceptions about access to quality health care" in Britain, and she even admitted that "the quality of life is significantly lower than in the U.S.""

Amy Curtis at TownHall, Abdul El-Sayed's Events Are Astroturfed, and Here's the Proof. Capt. Ed at Hat Hair snickers at El-Sayed's New Pitch to Black Voters: I'm No 'Gas Station Abdul'! "Actually, it's tough to determine who's being racist in Michigan. Is it black voters who worry that El-Sayed has much more invested in 'Palestine' than Detroit? Or is it the candidate who thinks that "gas station Abduls" have poisoned voters' minds against him?" Kevin Downey at PJM calls him El-So Long: The Detroit News Throws Michigan's Jihaddy Daddy Under the Bus. Abe Greenwald at Commentary on The Disavowal Game. Dan Greenfield at Jihadwatch hears 1 in 3 Minnesota Gang Members are Somali Muslims.

At PJM, Ohio Dem Gubernatorial Candidate Has Mommy Issues That You Won't Believe. Beege Welborn at Hat Hair hears One of the Most Brutal Political Campaign Ads Ever Is Unleashed - 'My Daughter Is a Liar' . Kentucky Girl @Kentuckygirl1, "This is Dr. Amy Acton, the Democrat candidate for Governor. In 2019, there was a police visit to her home after she and her husband apparently got into a drunken domestic dispute. According to the police record, after drinking and taking an unknown amount of medication, she allegedly pulled a mirror off the wall, and was about to start driving until her husband talked her out of it. A medic was dispatched to the scene and advised that Acton be taken to the hospital to get checked out, but she declined. At the time, she was the director of the Ohio Department of Health. This is not a person who should be leading anything, except maybe an AA meeting." Ace, Ohio Democrat Gubernatorial Candidate Is a "Liar" Who "Needs Help" Says... Her Mom in Campaign Attack Ad, "Amy Acton is, reportedly, Kamalaesque in her passion for self-medication." Teri Christoph at RedState reports Hakeem Jeffries Walks Into a Cuban Bakery in Miami and All Hell Breaks Loose. "House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (NY-08) walked into a Cuban bakery in Miami last week hoping to help a Democrat win a congressional seat, but instead set off a political firestorm that has ended with two Cuban bakeries publicly denouncing socialism."

At the NYT a Midterm Update: Bloomberg Gives $80 Million to Democrats as Election Day Nears. Money in politics is bad, except when it ours. Beege Welborn sees Gloom, Despair and Agony - when the Bulwark Discovers Some Dem Turncoats Financed by Republican Money. From Commonplace, Calling Elections Rigged Is Bad Politics and Worse Civics. "The habit that’s killing confidence in elections—and the party that keeps picking it up."

Eric Florack at PJM asserts Elissa Slotkin’s ‘Deterrence Message’ Has a Name, and It Isn’t ‘Defending Democracy’. Shipwreckedcrew @shipwreckedcrew, "You are an elected official. You made a public statement encouraging members of the Armed Forces to defy lawful orders. You chose to run for office and subject yourself to that scrutiny. What you are proposing, on the other hand, is a legal/political vendetta against persons for no reason other than they have political positions different than yours. Your goal is to drive them away from public service. That's a Stanlist/Maoist approach to political opposition -- your clearly stated desire is to create a one-party state where political opposition is not just to be rebutted, but to be imprisoned. You're a disgrace -- and I suspect your comments will haunt the rest of your political career. You've likely put a ceiling on any ability you might have had to climb higher." Quote Elissa Slotkin @ElissaSlotkin, "This isn't my first rodeo with President Trump. After calling for me to be arrested, tried, and hanged for a 90 second video he didn't like, he is now attacking me for saying that there will be accountability for people who commit crimes on his behalf." InfantryDort @infantrydort, "THE LAST GATE You may be wondering why there has been a full on attack against the War Department the past couple of years. Coupled with disturbing reports of communists planning some form of uprising, and the picture becomes clearer. Let's break it down so you can remain vigilant: If you want to break a republic without rolling tanks down Pennsylvania Avenue, you don't start with the center of power. You start with the men who guard it. That's the part people still don't seem to understand. The street is noise. The NGOs are scaffolding. The lawyers give the thing language. None of it matters if the military still answers to lawful civilian authority. So you work the force. You teach officers to distrust the chain. Telling them obedience is weakness and resistance is conscience. You turn every single hard order into a moral emergency. Making hesitation sound noble. You make defiance sound constitutional. You scare them, saying they'll be investigated. Sound familiar? You don't need a coup in the old sense..." Quote DataRepublican (small r) @DataRepublican, "THREAD: The true reason Pete Hegseth is being targeted is because he's standing between President Trump and a coup @PeteHegseth named the institutions... CFR, Brookings, the general class... in 37 seconds in a video by @Liz_Wheeler . Within 72 hours of his nomination, a color revolution planning document cited him as an insider threat. They didn't go after him because of drinking. They didn't go after him because of women. They went after him because every color revolution manual ever written says the same thing: you cannot topple a government unless the security forces defect. And a loyal Secretary of Defense is the one person who makes sure they don't. I have the receipts. Their own documents. Their own training sessions. Their own words on camera. As always, patience as I pull together the thread."

Ace has a Report: Debanking of Conservatives Was Driven by the KKK-Funding Race Grift Organization the SPLC, "Ben Whedon of Just the News... Hat Hair's John Sexton safely predicts More Lawfare on the Way if Democrats prevail in the midterms. Riley Rogerson @riley_rogerson, "NEW — Elon Musk is facing a gauntlet of Democratic oversight next term. Multiple committees — including Foreign Affairs, Oversight and Science — are looking at investigating Musk if they have the gavels. From DOGE to Ukraine, the uberwealthy GOP donor could be an irresistible target. “The sheer number of conflicts of interest are astounding,” Rep. Zoe Lofgren said. w/ @ChrisMarquette_ @adamwren" Althouse finds "Congress must demand a full accounting of the damage Mr. Musk and DOGE caused, and we will not let anyone obstruct our oversight." "Said House Foreign Affairs ranking member Rep. Greg Meeks, quoted in "Capitol agenda: Dem gavels are coming for Elon Musk/Democrats have long eyed investigating the world’s richest man and the GOP’s top donor. They may get their chance if they win back congressional power in November." That's in Politico this morning, along with this: "Democrats have a message for Elon Musk: Watch out/From DOGE to Ukraine, the uberwealthy GOP donor could be an irresistible target if House gavels change hands."" Hans Mahncke at Da Fed explains How Democrat Activists Conned The Country By Pretending To Be ‘Journalists.’

From Expression, Campus deplatformings hit record high. "For the first time, FIRE has recorded more than 200 attempts to block campus speakers in a single year." At Campus Reform, a Survey finds 45% of students say violence is justified if it stops 'hate speech'. "The Buckley Institute's 2026 undergraduate survey also found students prefer socialism to capitalism and that 22 percent say America deserved the Sept. 11 attacks." Steve McGuire @sfmcguire79, "“Such opinions simply should not be permitted, argued the Columbia Political Review.” Are these some of the kids who are supposedly always on the right side of history?" Quote Adam Lehodey @adamlehodey, "Last week, two Columbia students dared to offer a dissenting opinion on the Cornell case—they got death threats and were told they should not be allowed to speak. @Nikos_Mohammadi and Christina Ma argued no more than that students should think before arriving at sweeping conclusions about a complex case, and that it was infantilizing to suggest women could not make decisions they might later regret. None of their detractors have so-far been able to offer a coherent response to their arguments—except making personal attacks and saying they should not be allowed to speak. In that regard, they've already won the argument."

Sundance reports France Plans to Use Military to Control Riots and Support Police. CBS still going with "mostly peaceful riots": CBS News @CBSNews, "CCTV footage from Nice, France shows the moment a mob of looters broke into a phone case store over the weekend, destroying displays and stealing merchandise. The incident comes after largely peaceful anti-government protests in many cities across France descended into riots, with damage to historic properties and thousands of arrests." At Twitchy, Rob Schneider Lists All the Social Benefits France Has (and Is Burning Anyway). Rob Schneider @RobSchneider, "France has FREE health care, paid parental leave, paid family leave, FREE child care, FREE preschool, 5 weeks paid vacation, a 35 hour work week, generous unemployment and housing benefits, and heavily subsidized higher education. Everything the left says they want AND THEY'RE STILL PROTESTING AND BURNING SHIT DOWN." Matt Vespa at TownHall, Here's What Caused a Liberal Journalist to Suffer a Total Meltdown on Katie Pavlich's Show. Overton @overton_news, "Social justice journalist Lisa Durden MELTS DOWN on air after getting absolutely wrecked about the riots in France by conservative commentator Ben Ferguson. Durden claimed the riots were just “student protests,” but Ferguson wasn’t about to let that slide, and he had the receipts to back it up. Then he delivered a brutal reality check that sent Durden into a fit of RAGE. FERGUSON: “You either have to be incredibly incompetent or totally blind to look at the images and think that this is students that are doing this.” Durden immediately snapped. DURDEN: “What you’re not going to do is call me a pathological liar!” “I’m talking now! You’re not going to call me a pathological liar because you don’t know me, so stop that right now!”"“EXCUSE YOU!”" From Ace, Fox News Identifies 54 Marxist /Communist Organizations Funding and Directing the Riots in France, "Many of these are funded by CCP-connected Marxist tech billionaire, Neville Roy Singham and his awful communist wife," and Feminists: Rape Is a Weapon of White Supremacy. Also Feminists: If Our Revolutionary Islamic Brothers Threaten to Rape Women, That's Just "Collateral Damage" In the Cause of Socialist Justice. VodkaPundit at Insty, THAT’S GONNA LEAVE A MARK: "Sorry, but X’s autotranslate feature is so smooth that I don’t always notice — but which X doesn’t do for embeds. So here’s the English translation from the original Portuguese: “Europe will be destroyed by women who project onto those animals the motherhood that belonged to the children they aborted.”"

Florence Pugh

Sidney Sweeney is back in the news, kinda, at The Telegraph, Feminist snobs who attack Sydney Sweeney’s naked body are hypocrites "Except… Boy oh boy, does Sweeney reap a different critical reception – especially from women – whenever she disrobes, or dresses daringly. Pugh's stance is widely commended as empowering. But when Sweeney chooses to pose naked for an ad, she is single handedly reversing women's rights by decades. The actress's recent participation in the prediction market platform Novig's "Just Sports" campaign, saw Marie Claire denounce her for a retrogressive step that "sexualised female bodies". Good thing Marie Claire has never, ever put a naked woman on its cover. Except, hang on, didn't Cara Delevingne "Bare All" on the front cover of their September 2019 "Obsession Issue" (to pluck one of many examples)? Meanwhile the Olympic gold medal-winning swimmer Ariarne Titmus called Sweeney's decision not just, "a kick in the face to every woman who has dedicated her life to perfecting her craft, but every woman who enjoys sport for what it really is". Beege Welborn is outraged (not unusual for her), Oh, Say, Can You See...WNBA Teams Scooting Off the Court Before the National Anthem? I Do. John Sexton wonders Could This Teen Wrestler's Case Be the Last Straw for Trans Athletes? Do trans girls have the constitutional right to feel up cis girls? Now it's Vicky Taft's turn to be outraged at PJM, Girls Are Forced to Compete With Boys in Washington. Now They Sleep and Bathe With Them. "Now the girls need to bunk in with the boys on the team, and the one dude on the team is hazing your daughter. He'd love to be in a "lesbian relationship" (heterosexual, if you're keeping book) with her. Wink, wink. Oh, yes, that happened too. And it's perfectly fine with the state superintendent of schools, who is a complete dyed-in-the-wool leftist whackadoodle, because he reckons there is such a thing as "chest feeding." Reminder, Chris Reykdal is in charge of school science departments too."

The Wednesday Wetness

 With Facing Blank Pages, aka Anaïs Pierquet

Facing Blank Pages, "We run the best longboard surf retreats in Lombok, Mentawai, Java and beyond! Whatever your level, come and join us to improve your longboard surf skills, ..."

El Nino is Here, What Will Winter Look Like?

 NOAA, El Nino looms large over U.S. Winter Outlook, "Expected impacts include warmer North, wetter South and East"

Sounds good to me.

Flotsam and Jetsam - Is France Done For?

Sundance at CTH says Macron Orders Curfew in Primary Tourist Regions of Paris to Stop Discussion of Riots, Arson and Looting, note the "stop discussion." PJM's Rick Moran sees Government Buildings Torched As French Riots Reach the 'Point of No Return'. Hank Berrien at Da Wire, watches as France Burns: Palestinian Flags Fly Over France’s Republic Statue As Riots Rock The Country, "Historic Limoges town hall gutted, 1,200 arrested, 150 cops hurt." At Hombre de Oliver, RIP Limoges Hôtel de Ville. "A few thoughts on city halls inspired by the news of its destruction." At PJM, VodkaPundit wonders Where Are the Gendarmes? Probably rioting for better police stations. Ace hears French Police Flee from Violent "Students" "Protesting Class Sizes" as "Class Size Riots" Spread Throughout Europe. "Boy, foreign immigrants and 35-year-old communist fifth columnists sure are bears for education resources." Larry Alex Taunton @LarryTaunton, "There is no 2a in France. Imagine: Francois hears someone breaking into his home one night. He has no gun. Gun possession, but for rare cases, is illegal. So, he grabs a golf club. He confronts the intruder hellbent on harming his family. Francois puts a 3-wood to the side of Muhammad’s head. Muhammad is hospitalized with a fractured skull and Francois is jailed for excessive use of force. What was he supposed to do? Nothing, really. This is precisely what Democrats want here. All of your rights hang on the Second Amendment." Quote Breaking911 @Breaking911, "Looters in Marseille, France, have reportedly begun targeting private homes, breaking into large villas in the affluent 7th arrondissement." Francois is screwed. 

Althouse sees Tourists salvaging what they can of their Paris trip? Or are these locals? I'm guessing locals. They're smoking! Fox News @FoxNews, "A striking contrast on the streets of Paris: A couple sits sipping drinks at an outdoor café as flames burn just steps away. The moment was captured Saturday near the Arc de Triomphe, on the outskirts of rioting that erupted during demonstrations over rising prices, inequality and public spending. Video shows the pair continuing their conversation as a burning trash bin lights up the background." PJM's Stephen Kruiser thinks The Burqafication of France Is Nearly Complete. Abe Greenwald at Commentary takes on The Riot Coalition. Krzysztof Szczawinski @Kristof_Poland, "The Useful Idiot: A Natural History Specimen: Western, educated, well-meaning. Habitat: universities, NGOs, quality newspapers, dinner parties where the wine is good and the opinions are better. Status: abundant...." Krzysztof Szczawinski @Kristof_Poland, "The look of someone discovering reality. This young woman stood in front of a smashed shop window in Paris last night and said the smashing and looting are not what the cause is about. She still believes the people who broke the glass share her cause. They don’t. They have their own...." Jeffrey Carter at Points And Figures notes France Burns, But So Does the US. Matt Goodwin predicts Yes. Marine Le Pen will be the next President of France. Here’s why.

TownHall's Matt Vespa reports The Feds Have That DNA Evidence on Ilhan Omar...and It Could Totally Wreck Her. Ace, We Got Your DNA: Federal Agents Dug Through Ilhan Omar's and Her "Sister's" Garbage to Find DNA to Establish Whether Or Not They're Actually Related, "Remember, when you toss out your garbage, you are abandoning it and disowning it, so no warrant is needed to search and seize it. So we have Ilhan "Omar's" DNA." PJM's Cathy Salgado hears there is No Record of Ilhan Omar’s Father’s U.S. Naturalization? This would be a big deal, since her claim to citizenship comes through him, with her receiving citizenship as a minor (a factoid also in dispute) from his naturalization. Bill Glahn at Power Line on Missing Ilhan’s missing defense. Dave Harsanyi at Da Signal observes Ilhan Omar Isn’t Above the Law Either.

Northern Barbarian @xnoesbueno, "The memo went out. “Pearl clutching” is the new Dem dismissal when anyone hits them for advocating violence, calling for punitive lawfare, pretty much whenever they open their mouths. “Spare me the pearl clutching.” All the violent, seditious, gun and money grabbing pearl clutchers are gonna be saying it." Quote Elissa Slotkin @ElissaSlotkin, "Spare me the pearl-clutching — especially from Republican Members of Congress and online MAGA grifters who have cheered President Trump's weaponization of the government against those he doesn’t like, as recently as last week. This is a subject I know something about: Less than a a year ago, Trump directed the DOJ and FBI to investigate me, and then tried to criminally indict me for a 90 second video, exercising basic free speech. The same free speech you’re exercising now, lying about what I said in this clip...." Quote Mike Lee @SenMikeLee, "It is absolutely disgraceful to threaten young Americans for participating in politics and serving their country." Ian Miller @ianmSC, "Amazingly and predictably Elissa Slotkin has managed to make herself the victim after calling for fascist government prosecutions of everyone who disagrees with her political ideology so that they're too scared to ever work in government." Quote Greg Price @greg_price11, "Elissa Slotkin claims that the only reason that she's being attacked for threatening lawfare against young conservatives for serving in the Trump administration is because she's a woman." Is she? It's so hard to tell with Democrats these days. Hans Mahncke @HansMahncke, "Slotkin has, in many ways, done us a favor. She has revealed the ultimate purpose of lawfare, which is to override the will of voters. This is no longer about Trump, if it ever was. The simple truth is that the left has built a long-term system to subvert election results and ultimately entrench de facto one-party rule. We cannot keep fighting the abuses one at a time while leaving the system that produces them untouched. This is why we founded http://Counterlawfare.org. We need to confront this machinery head-on, expose how it operates, and awaken Americans to the full scale of the threat." At his NYPo gig, Insty writes Elissa Slotkin’s threats to prosecute conservatives moves America closer to civil war. Power Line's John Hinderacker worries Is Another Civil War In Our Future? "Once the powers of the federal government are openly deployed to keep one political party in power, there is no basis for shared citizenship and the union is doomed."

From Twitchy, Perpetually Furious Judge Ana Reyes Triggered by Trump’s Post Calling Her a Crazed Lunatic. Beege Welborn at Hat Hair, The Judge in the Back Said 'Everyone Attack' and It Turned Into a Golf Course Blitz. I think the Federal government should file a writ with Judge Reyes everytime the government plans to cut down a tree...

TheFOO @PolitiBunny, "Just answer the question, lil guy." Quote DSA Watch @DSA_Watch, "Reporter: “Your sister in law was on a Terrorist Watch list” Abdul El-Sayed: “Mike Rogers and his Flock camera and his Patriot Act and his surveillance state” x.com/dsa_watch/stat…" Rabbi Barclay warns War Has Many Faces. Sister Toldja at RedState reports a Reporter Reveals What He's Been Told About Michigan Polling in Latest Concerning Sign for El-Sayed. “One of the factors that is really worth paying closer attention to are the number of Democrats, lifelong Jewish Democrats, especially in the Detroit suburbs, who are saying for the first time in their lives they’re voting Republican,” Peters said. “That’s a big deal.” Hat Hair's Dave Strom hears the New Hotness: Mamdani Is Really a Moderate, You Know. Deroy Murdock at Da Signal says Soft on Terrorism, Hard on Guns: Talarico’s Legislative Record Is Scarier Than Halloween. Buck Throckmorton at Ace's THE MORNING RANT: Wealth Extraction – It’s What Socialists and the “Financialize Everything” Capitalists Have in Common. 'Dave Freer @davefreersf, "Based on past records: I think we can safely say that my 2 year old grand-daughter would be more to be trusted than any government, to manage her money. And she'd crumple it, lose it or eat it, & pooh it into her nappy. Come back when you can demonstrate that Govt. can do better." Quote Gabriel Zucman @gabriel_zucman "Hi @elonmusk , we’ve conducted the most comprehensive study to date on tax unfairness in the United States. We found that you, like your fellow billionaires, pay a lower effective tax rate than the average American. So if you really want to help the American people, I have a ..." Quote Elon Musk @elonmusk, "Next year, I will give one of my SpaceX shares to every kid in America." Nick Gillespie at Reason warns us Be Prepared for Elizabeth Warren's Reign of Economic Error, "The progressive Democrat, whose party may take control of the Senate, is sounding alarms over consolidation in the hot sauce business." Stephen L. Miller @redsteeze, "It's not that hard. The left lets institutions and communities break down to a point of total degradation to prove why more government and non profits are the answer. The goal is to purposely not solve problems and make life and safety worse. See the entire defund the police movement and homelessness nonprofits in California. Gavin Newson promised to end homelessness and instead it ballooned on purpose...." 

DataRepublican (small r) @DataRepublican, "THE DEMOCRACY FILES, PART 1: THE PLAN. I am working on gathering all the documents. Now, here's something to understand about the "democracy" and protest ecosystem: almost nobody knows the 'grand plan' so to speak. They simply agree to play a role. For example, 99% of people breaking stuff on the streets believe they're doing it out of an organic uprising. They don't see that the police have been ordered to stand down. They don't see that legal services have already been arranged for them. They don't see that foundations are paying for their bonds. Similarly here, governors aren't participating in a pact to destroy the Constitution. Governors simply have agreed to push back on the Insurrection Act. The effect is the same: the governors end up playing a role in a grander plan...." Scott McKay at Da Fed, says Hey Democrats, That Rage Engine of Yours Is Going to Throw a Rod, You Know "The Left keeps revving up the outrage, but voters may be running out of gas."

PJM's Stephen Kruiser thinks Trump Vs. the Pollsters Is a Fight That's Always Fun to Watch. From Twitchy hears James Woods Sums Up Gavin Newsom and His Call for a 'Blue Tsunami' With One Glorious (NSFW) Word. James Woods @RealJamesWoods, "Well, you could start with water in the fire department reservoirs, dick head." Quote Gavin Newsom @GavinNewsom, "A blue wave isn’t enough. We need a BLUE TSUNAMI. From New Hampshire to California, we have an opportunity to send a message across this country that we’re BETTER than this." Shipwreckedcrew @shipwreckedcrew, "So, is it a coincidence that DOJ is out arresting people in California today for being non-citizens who have registered to vote? What does that prove? It proves that there are registered voters in California who are ineligible to vote in federal elections and California has sent them mail-in ballots. That is "knowledge" under the "aiding and abetting" theory of criminal culpability. Coming up shortly on Substack." Sarah Hoy proposes A Pause Before The Fire "The one thing I can tell you for frigging sure is that the October surprise they’re warming up is a stock market crash. Yes, yes, I know. AI is overmonetized and will come down hard. I get that. And it will inevitably take some companies — like the chip makers — down hard as well."

Pro Life reports All 47 Senate Democrats Begged Lee Zeldin Not to Test Your Tap Water for "mifepristone and misoprostol – the two drugs used in a chemical abortion – along with their metabolites." Don't turn on the lights 'cause we don't want to see! Leslie Eastman at LI reports Monarch Butterfly Populations Rebound as U.S. Honeybee Colony Counts Rise. “Two new reports from WWF-Mexico and its partners found that colonies covered 7.24 acres of forest in the 2025-2026 season. That’s an increase of 4.42 acres compared to last season.” I blame Trump.

Luke Greenberg at PJM sees U.S. Targets A7 Network Over Alleged Role in Iran Sanctions Evasion. @instapundit @instapundit, "Once we liberate Iran we can produce an expeditionary force made up of Iranians who hate Muslims." Quote Nioh Berg @NiohBerg, "After Iran is free, America should seriously consider liberating Europe." At Reason, Trump's War With Iran Pushed Him To Waive a Century-Old Shipping Law. Commerce Boomed. "The Jones Act requires all goods moved between American ports to be carried on American-built, American-crewed ships." The problem is that our deindustrialization has all but killed American shipping. RCP observes the obvious, Ethanol Mandates Are Driving Up Fuel Prices. Ethanol mandates are a bipartisan folly.

At the Algemeiner, Trump Gives Netanyahu ‘Complete and Total Endorsement’ Nine Days Before Israeli Election. Sundance hosts Secretary Rubio Delivers Remarks and Answers Media Questions from Uzbekistan and Outgoing Senator John Cornyn Sends Alarming Public Statement Via His X Account: Senator John Cornyn @JohnCornyn, "Recent reports on Starshield satellite communication disruptions in Ukraine raise serious concerns and must be investigated. I joined @SenatorShaheen, @SenThomTillis, and six of our Senate colleagues in calling for the @DeptofWar Inspector General to determine what happened with this critical capability and protect American personnel. It remains in our national interest to help Ukraine defend itself from Putin’s aggression." "Option #1 – Senator John Cornyn genuinely doesn’t know that Ukraine has never had access to “Starshield.” The implications within this possibility are alarming, especially when you consider his senate office staff wouldn’t stop him from making a public fool of himself. Option #2 – Assuming he’s not made a mistake. Senator John Cornyn has just publicly exposed a deep state, highly classified secret, outlining to Russian Federation President Vladimir Putin that the United States has indeed been operating the Ukraine targeting system against Russia all along. This has major implications. Option #3 – Again, assuming he’s not made a mistake. Senator John Cornyn has just exposed that elements within the United States government are controlling military operations and operating without the knowledge of President Donald Trump and Secretary of state Marco Rubio. You choose."

At Lawrence Person's BattleSwarm Blog, “Why Is Everyone Investing in Texas?” Good barbeque? Kurt Schlichter @KurtSchlichter, "That’s not enough. We should cut more. People should pay for their own healthcare. And the government should get out of the healthcare business so we don’t have the Obamacare system that is absolutely screwed up – just as we warned it would be." Quote Rep. James Walkinshaw @Rep_Walkinshaw, "$1 trillion. That's the Medicaid cut Trump signed into law, and it's coming for Americans' health care. Families already struggle to afford groceries, rent, and gas under his economy." At Twitchy, Get a Look at the 'Researchers' Leaving the US Because of Trump’s Politicization of Science. May I suggest Afghanistan?

RCP looks at The Rise and Fall of Katie Zacharia. I really don't think she got a fair deal, but who would want to take that on, especially after Karoline Leavitt knocked it out of the park? Teri Christoph at RedState says About That Rumor That Susie Wiles Is on Her Way Out..., take them with a salt lick. From Da Caller, ‘It Was Epic’: Kid Rock Discusses Trump Dinner With Stephen A. Smith, Bill Maher. Hat Hair VIP's Capt. Ed wonders Did Vance Just Throw 2028 Into Chaos? "Did J.D. Vance just signal that he will walk away from politics at the end of this term? Or is he really just the kind of procrastinator he claims?"

Da Fed's Brianna Lyman maintains Serial Liar And Russia Hoaxer Ken Dilanian Should Not Be Allowed Within 500 Feet Of A Newsroom.

JT Young at Am Spec thinks What Happened to John Cleese Isn’t Funny, "Britain’s free-speech crackdown makes the Ministry of Silly Walks look positively sensible."

TownHall's Kurt Schlichter sees Woke 2 Is Here, and It’s Failing Hilariously. Nocturnal Nick @foxluvsbunny, "I was flying to New York and while boarding the woman in front of me was struggling to get her bag into the overhead bin. I asked if she needed some help and she said no. About an hour into the flight a flight attendant pulled me aside and asked what I had said to her. Turns out she reported me to the crew for sexual harassment and said I made her uncomfortable. Fortunately several witnesses took my side and so I didn’t get into any trouble, but you’ve still got to be careful. There’s some crazy people out there who will try to ruin your life over nothing." Quote Jay@countrypilled, Replying to @RichardArion1, "what is the worst thing that happened to you for approaching a girl? you got imprisoned? pepper sprayed for introducing yourself to her? you shouldn't live in fear of women. they're just women, and a lot of them are nice." From Althouse, "The onslaught against [Jane] Doe and her supporters is taken directly from the playbook that established them: Gamergate." "Writes Nathan Taylor Pemberton, in "I Have Never Seen the Online Right So Happy" (NYT)." Pretty much completely rewriting history.

From the College Fix, a Rutgers student sues school over arrest for hanging ‘anti-Hamas fliers’. According to the Cleveland Jewish News, "Yiorgos Maravelias had been arrested at a May 2024 pro-Israel counter-protest for, he claims, hanging “anti-Hamas fliers” near an “anti-Israel encampment.” Maravelias, a disabled veteran, said he got involved in “campus activism” shortly after Hamas’ October 2023 assault against Israel, Fox News reported. He said he had set up a table next to a “vocal minority” of anti-Israel Rutgers law students to share his views about Hamas — that they’re “rapists, monsters, [and] savages.” Maravelias’ complaint alleges Rutgers Law administrators “disfavored” his political views and “perceiv[ed] him as Jewish” (he’s not), and notes Rutgers is “home to the controversial Center for Security, Race and Rights,” headed by Law Professor Sahar Aziz, whom Maravelias accuses of “ripping [down] his fliers from a bulletin board.”"

And still more at the Wombat's In The Mailbox: 10.19.26. 

Tuesday Tanlines

Padma Lakshmi

At Indian Express, Why Indian skin tans so quickly

Celebrity dermatologist Dr Jaishree Sharad, in a recent chat with host Priyali Mahtani, explains why Indian skin tans so quickly, while breaking down the role of eumelanin – the pigment responsible for the brown tones in our skin.

Priyali asks her if it’s patchy skin where the face is a different skin colour from the hands, chest, or tummy, or if it’s a characteristic of Indian skin types more than any other? Is it something unique that is commonly found with our Indian skin tone? 

Deepika Padukone

 

Dr Sharad explains why Indian skin tans so quickly: it’s because of
the pigment called eumelanin. Melanin is of two types: eumelanin and pheomelanin.

“Now, melanin is something that is giving us colour. So if you have eumelanin, you’re getting a darker shade. If you have pheo, you get more red shades. We have shades of brown. So when you have more eumelanin, you tan sooner. So you don’t need to make an effort to tan,” she says.