Flotsam and Jetsam - More on the Baltimore Bridge Disaster, Smithsonian Pays for Anti-Conservative Bias

I'm going to do a little on yesterday's big news, the collision of the MV Dali with the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore Harbor, which resulted in a complete collapse of the bridge into the harbor. As of this morning, seven people are thought to be missing, almost certainly dead given a 185 foot fall into 48 F water. However, the toll could have been much worse, as the bridge was shut down because of a May Day call from the Dali. The Port of Baltimore will most certainly be closed for months, if not years, as they clear the debris, and of course, the reconstruction of the bridge will take longer, and is a federal responsibility, since it is an interstate highway, if it is reconstructed at all. Of course, politicians immediately used it as an excuse to pontificate on their pet projects, and Joe Biden reminisced on the many times he had crossed the bridge by rail, even though there was no rail line on the bridge, and no rail line that crosses the harbor at all. 

First off, a reconstruction of the collision on YouTube, an attempt to dispel rumors that the collision was deliberate: MV Dali Hitting Key Bridge in Baltimore - Track and Video Analysis.

Stacy McCain, no fan of Baltimore says Baltimore, a Reeking Hellhole of a City, Somehow Just Got Even Worse. Laughing Wolf, Baltimore "Baltimore is about the 12th or 13th busiest port in the United States. For all intents and purposes, consider it offline for at least a year. For the next few months, the ships that are there are likely to stay there, and no new ships will arrive. This is going to have several major impacts." From the Slantic, Baltimore Lost More Than a Bridge "Looking out from the harbor used to be an exercise in optimism." Reuters Baltimore Port: What impact will bridge collapse have on shipping?. At the Wombat's In The Mailbox: 03.26.24, 357 Magnum: A Bridge Collapse From The 1980s With Similarities To Today, EBL,  Francis Scott Key Bridge Collapses in Baltimore After Cargo Ship Collision, The Geller Report, Iconic Maryland Bridge Collapses After Cargo Vessel Steers Directly Into Bridge’s Support Column, Victory Girls: Francis Scott Key Bridge Collapse Is An Economic Disaster. NYPo, Biden claims he commuted over collapsed Baltimore Key Bridge by train ‘many times’ – but it doesn’t have any rail lines. At PM, Biden claims he took the train over Francis Scott Key bridge 'many, many times'—there are no rail lines "Biden vowed to "move heaven and earth" to repair the bridge after the collapse." PJM's Matt Margolis thinks Joe Biden Tells a Huge Whopper to Make Key Bridge Collapse About Himself. AP is already making the case for changing the bridge's name (Key was a slave owner, of course)  Who was Francis Scott Key, whose namesake bridge fell? His poem became ‘The Star-Spangled Banner’. brit@pashedmotatos "Only took 12 hours for “the bridge was racist” articles." And the Babylon Bee snarks Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg Holds Emergency Press Conference To Announce He Is Taking 3 More Months Maternity Leave "It has come to my attention that the twin babies I purchased at the baby store require more undivided attention," said Buttigieg. "I will be taking some much-needed time off to care for my children, and that is in no way related to the tragic bridge collapse that apparently happened somewhere. Right now, I need to be a mother to my children. Please respect my family's privacy during this time." Larry at Hat Hair, Trump: Cash King, Buttigieg: Bridge Bust!

Dave Catron at Am Spec on Why Biden Is Bleeding Non-White Voters. "Black and Latino voters have been hit hard by inflation and they aren't buying Biden's happy talk." From Da Caller's Reagan Reese, Could Joe Biden Deliver A MAGA Tidal Wave 8 Years In The Making? and Team Biden Reportedly Building Mass Operation To Take Down 3rd Party Candidate They Fear Could Cost Him Election. Ace,
RFK Jr. Picks "Radical Leftist" as Running Mate, Ending Chances of Pulling Many Republican Votes "Though, it must be said, NeverTrump has really embraced radical leftists, so who knows. Oh wait, he's anti-vax. NeverTrumpers all share the single allowed Liberal White Suburban Housewife Opinion on questions of covid and vaccines. So he was never a possibility. They'll just all vote for Biden again. You know, Mr. Sensible Conservative." Capt. Ed at Hat Hair adds "Or as I like to put it: It's the first time in a very long while that a Kennedy needed to marry for the money. Shanahan is the antithesis of the RFK anti-establishment groove. Furthermore, she has absolutely zero prep to be one heartbeat away from the Oval Office, not even entrepreneurial experience a la Trump.  This now looks more like a Green Party ticket rather than a Libertarian ticket. And maybe it will wind up replacing Jill Stein in the end."

NewsMax reports Feds Widen Probe in Jim Biden's Americore Dealings. Matt Vespa at TownHall tells The Curious Case of the Man Who Bought Most of Hunter Biden's Overpriced Art. Why did the CIA wave off the IRS probe of first bro Kevin Morris? Reagan Reese again, KJP Ragequits Local Radio Appearance After Host Asks Point Blank If Biden ‘Has Dementia’. Capt. Ed, ""I don't understand the fragility of this person," said one of the hosts at the end. That's the fragility of progressivism, especially its woke variant, which seeks to end debate and dissent on all issues." NYPo, Karine Jean-Pierre blasts ‘insulting’ radio host for asking if Biden has dementia.

At the Wombat's In The Mailbox: 03.26.24, from Twitchy, Carol Roth DEMOLISHES the Biden Administration's Lies About the Reality of Income Tax Rates. Victory Girls, Biden Panders To Youth Vote By Offering Marijuana Policy Change, or as Hat Hair  puts it, Hey, Kids. I'll Legalize Pot if You Vote For Me. Joel Kotkin at The Telegraph thinks Electric cars will decide the outcome of the American election "If the President loses voters in key Midwestern swing states this election, he’ll have nobody to blame but himself." I Meme Therefore I Am@ImMeme "This is THE BEST RED PILLED video you will ever see." Jake Smith at Da Caller, Pentagon Spent Every Last Penny Of Latest Ukraine Package Before Congress Even Approved It. 

KT at Hat Hair, More, Please: First Illegal Alien Charged with Assault on Texas National Guardsman. From NottheBee, Someone just put up these signs at the Colorado Capitol. Check it out.

Mary Chastain at LI reports the Judge in Trump’s Hush Money Case Slaps Him With Gag Order. "The gag order doesn’t cover Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg." Capt. Ed says One has to wonder whether Judge Juan Merchan will impose similar restrictions on Bragg, but he probably won't need to issue that order. Letitia James wanted to litigate her lawsuit in the media, but I think Bragg wants a lower personal profile. Otherwise, these conditions are not really even a gag order per se, more of a comportment order. " Laura Loomer@LauraLoomer
Merchan’s daughter has @KamalaHarris as a Client at her company that focuses on Campaigns and elections!!! Judge Merchan, the NY State Supreme Court Judge who issued a GAG ORDER against President Trump today has a daughter named Loren Merchan. She is the President and Partner at a company called Authentic Campaigns @authentic_HQ that boasts @KamalaHarris as a Client! They also have Trump hater @AdamSchiff as a client. An X account belonging to Loren Merchan under the handle @LorenM426 shows her profile picture is President Trump behind bars in a jail cell." Simon Ateba@simonateba "NEW: Outraged New York Attorney General Letitia James EXPLODES, says Donald Trump isn’t off the hook but is still accountable for 'Staggering Fraud.’ In a statement, her office said, “Donald Trump is still facing accountability for his staggering fraud.” NOTE: James was reacting to New York appeals court which agreed to hold off collection of Trump's more than $454 million civil fraud judgment — if he puts up $175 million within 10 days. NOTE: James said collection of assets will be paused if Trump posts $175 million bond within 10 days as ordered by the Appeals Court." At Althouse, "No matter how much one disapproves of Mr. Trump, or wishes that his presidential ambitions fail, every defendant deserves due process, including recourse to appeal...." ""Seeking appeal should not be effectively impossible, or expensive to the point of imposing vast and irreparable harm, particularly when a defendant has a colorable argument before appellate judges, as Mr. Trump appears to have...." That's the Editorial Board of The Washington Post."

Also from Althouse, "Trump is America’s biggest comedian. His badinage is hardly Wildean, but his put-downs, honed to the sharpness of stilettos..." ""... are many people’s idea of fun. For them, he makes anger, fear, and resentment entertaining. For anyone who questions how much talent and charisma this requires, there is a simple answer: Ron DeSantis. Why did DeSantis’s attempt to appeal to Republican voters as a straitlaced version of Trump fall so flat? Because Trumpism without the cruel laughter is nothing." and I wasn't going to go out of my way to watch Trump's press conference, but now it's the next thing I'm going to do. Tom Jackson at Hat Hair VIP, Taking On Laurel Lee, Trump Launches Another Unnecessary Intramural Battle. 

OutKick, NBC Plans To Fire Ronna McDaniel Amid In House Backlash. Insty, YOU WILL NEVER FIND A MORE WRETCHED HIVE OF SCUM AND VILLAINY: There are no good guys at NBC. 

For YEARS you have falsely claimed that Trump stole the 2016 election by colluding with Russia. You spent years attacking people who didn't agree with your dangerous conspiracy theory. You can sit down.

— Mollie (@MZHemingway) March 26, 2024

At the Wombat's In The Mailbox: 03.26.24, from Da Fed, If Free Speech Doesn’t Survive Ruling Class Demagoguery Neither Will Democracy, Alabama Secretary Of State Warns Of ‘Misleading’ Voter Registration Mailer By Leftist Group, If Pennsylvania Is Going To Flood Elections With Mail-In Ballots, We Need A Flood Of Poll Watchers, Wisconsin Voters Have A Chance To Rid Their Elections Of ‘Zuckbucks’ For Good, Kristi Noem Would Be A Disaster As Donald Trump’s Veep, Exclusive: School Board Members Accuse Wisconsin Public Schools Superintendent Of Election Meddling, NBC’s Most Insufferable, Nagging Hosts Saved Democracy By Blowing Up Ronna McDaniel’s Contract, and Investigator Who Claims To Have ‘Disproven’ 2020 Fraud Claims Isn’t Telling The Whole Story. 

Ilya Somin at the Volokh Reports opines Squatters' Rights Laws Violate the Takings Clause. "Where these laws allow squatters to occupy houses without the owner's consent, they qualify as takings of private property that require payment of compensation under the Fifth Amendment."

From Behind the Black, Pushback: Smithsonian to pay Catholic students $50K and publicly apologize for ejecting them from Air & Space for wearing pro-life hats.

The Smithsonian has agreed to pay twelve Catholic students $50K and publicly apologize to them for ejecting them from the Air & Space museum last January because they were wearing pro-life hats.

That hat is to the right. Though many others were wearing t-shirts and hats with other political statements, museum officials singled these students out for harassment and ejection. According to their lawyer,

Once in the museum, they were accosted several times and told they would be forced to leave unless they removed their pro-life hats. The group all wore the same blue hat that simply said, “Rosary PRO-LIFE.” Other individuals in the museum were wearing hats of all kinds without issue.

The museum staff mocked the students, called them expletives, and made comments that the museum was a “neutral zone” where they could not express such statements. The employee who ultimately forced the students to leave the museum was rubbing his hands together in glee as they exited the building.

According to the settlement deal [pdf]:

…the Smithsonian has agreed to settle with our clients, providing a monetary amount of $50,000, a private tour to be given by the director of the National Air and Space Museum, personal apologies, and the public dissemination of an “after action” report that was conducted by the Smithsonian following the incident that occurred. In addition, the Smithsonian will “further reiterate via a bulk distribution method to all security officers stationed at all Smithsonian museums open to the public and the National Zoological Park, the current Smithsonian policy regarding the wearing of hats or other types of clothing with messages, including religious and political speech.”

The Smithsonian is also required to arrange a screening (in person or online) for the students where everyone will watch the security footage of the harassment. Very clearly this is intended to underline the egregious action taken by the museum staff in order to make sure such behavior is not repeated in the future.

As soon as this story hit the press, the Smithsonian immediately denied it had any policy forbidding the wearing of any political paraphernalia. It continues to say so, and though the settlement states that the actual individuals who behaved badly have been identified and been given a good talking to, the settlement also absolves the museum from any “admission of liability or fault,” and there is no indication those individuals have been disciplined in any way.

They should have been fired.  

The Wombat has FMJRA 2.0: Gloom, Despair, Etc. up and garnering clicks at The Other McCain.