Flotsam and Jetsam - Droning on About Drones

Sundance at CTH hosts the Full Presser Video – President Trump Answers Media Questions in Lengthy Mar-a-Lago Press Conference. Ace, Trump Press Conference: There'll be "Hell to Pay" if Hamas Doesn't Release Its Hostages Before My Inauguration; Republican Senators Who Aren't "Reasonable" Will Be Primaried "That clip and others below the fold. Some other clips from his hour and fifteen minute press conference: On the drones: Collin Rugg @CollinRugg," JUST IN: Donald Trump says the federal government knows exactly what the drones are up to, says "something strange" is going on. Trump said he decided to cancel his trip to Bedminster. "Our military knows where they took off from. If it's a garage, they can go right into that garage. They know where it came from and where it went." "For some reason, they don't want to comment. And I think they'd be better off saying what it is." "Something strange is going on. For some reason, they don't want to tell the people." Capt. Ed at Hat Hair hears Trump: Of Course Biden Admin Knows About the Drones. At Althouse, Trump reveals something of what he knows/thinks about the drones (but declines to talk about whether he's received an intelligence briefing). Sundance at CTH, President Trump Answers Questions About Drones, “Something Strange is Going On” I'm quite sure they know what's happening. Clearly, a lot of it is akin to 50's style UFO hysteria, with all sorts of random sightings being attributed to drones. But there are drones out there, and I suspect the military has a pretty good accounting of the ones big enough to matter.  From the Wombat's In The Mailbox: 12.16.24, Twitchy, Return Of Republican President & Press Conferences Stirs CNN’s Daniel Dale From Four-Year Slumber.

Elle Purnell at Da Fed wants you to Watch CNN, MSNBC Repeatedly Air The Same Defamatory Phrase That Cost ABC $15 Million  At Mediaite, MSNBC Rips ABC-Trump Defamation Case Settlement, Says Comment for Which ABC Paid Trump $15 Million ‘Seems to Hold Up’. So sue them too, in a Trump friendly jurisdiction. Capt. Ed at Hat Hair sees the  NYT Hits Panic Button Over Trump Media Defamation Lawsuits for 'Critical Coverage'. At Fox, Liberals unload on ABC's settlement with Trump, defend George Stephanopoulos: 'Knee bent, ring kissed'. WaEx's Byron York discourses on Donald Trump, ABC News, and the toxic legacy of the E. Jean Carroll case  "The development particularly shocked Trump’s most determined adversaries. He’s not supposed to win a case like this! The media have a right to say virtually anything they want about the former president and current president-elect and not have to worry about Trump having some legal recourse to fight back. That, at least, was their implicit assumption." From the Wombat's In The Mailbox: 12.16.24, Twitchy: James Woods Shreds Adam Schiff’s Meet The Press Spin, Chuck Todd – Holding Journalists Accountable For Lies Sets A Dangerous Precedent, 

Althouse, "And and when I talk to people close to President-elect Trump and people who work for him, people on the outside — allies — they already see this as a resounding success." "Said Jonathan Swan at the end of today's episode of the NYT "Daily" podcast, "Pete Hegseth Was Toast. The MAGA Swarm Came to His Rescue."" Hat Hair cites OutKick, "When They Smell Blood in the Water': Clay Travis Defends Unleashing the Hegseth. At OTP, Trump Dares Republicans To Challenge RFK Jr., Tulsi Gabbard And Kash Patel. Sundance, Thom Tillis Threatens Trump Supporters to “Stand Down” on Pressure Because He Only Needs 4 Votes in Senate to Destroy Any Nomination. From the Wombat's In The Mailbox: 12.16.24, The Federalist, If Sen. Thom Tillis Sabotages Trump’s Cabinet Picks, Voters Should Fire Him.  Althouse cites the WaPoo, "When the topic turned to vaccines, the discussion was not about banning the product...." ""Kennedy spoke about the need for better study of the vaccine dosing schedule for newborns and the rise in chronic disease, while also rattling off statistics about the increase in autism rates despite multiple studies that have shown no link between vaccines and the disorder and World Health Organization estimates that immunizations have saved 154 million lives.. Here Trump redirected the conversation... while backing up Kennedy’s desire for more research...." 

Stephen Kruiser at PJM, The Trump 47 Reckoning Is Hitting the Dems From All Sides Now. From the Wombat's In The Mailbox: 12.16.24, The Great Victor Davis Hanson at Am Great, hopes Are the Years of Madness Ending? "The welcomed counterrevolution is one of restoration. No one knows quite what is ahead, but all know that it is at least better already than the current nightmare." Hat Hair's Beege Welborn, looks at Democratic Dead Reckoning. "In this instance, I don't mean being able to find their way out of a paper bag without celestial aids for navigation because it's patently obvious they can't. The exact opposite. I am using 'dead' in the literal sense - deceased, departed, expired, gone, stinks in the sink after 72 hours, aka MUERTO."

Paul Bedard at WaEx hears DEI contractors will be first fired at Pentagon. Liz Stauffer at LI, Veteran Journalist Dismantles Liberal Case Against Trump’s Deportation Plans: ‘It’s Easier Than You Think’ 
“Too many analysts [whom he refers to as deportation deniers] have confused what they want to be true with what actually is true.” At Da Caller, Trump Reportedly Looks To Privatize US Postal Service. At OTP, Gov. Youngkin Announces No Taxes On Tips In Virginia. Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. OTP, Trump: Biden’s Border Wall Fire Sale ‘Almost A Criminal Act’

From the Wombat's In The Mailbox: 12.16.24, The Gellers reports Mail-In Ballot Fraud Study Finds Trump ‘Almost Certainly’ Won In 2020 and Transterrestrial Musings suspects Voter Fraud In 2020.  Steve Richards at JTN, House GOP vows to refer ActBlue fundraising probe to incoming Trump Justice Department, "Chairman Bryan Steil’s committee has probed ActBlue over lax security measures that may have allowed illicit foreign money to flow to American political campaigns." Center Square AZ reports Arizona Republicans introduce Florida-style election reforms to speed results.

Mike Miller at RedState sees James O’Keefe Release Shocking Video of NSC Advisor Admitting Biden Is Far Worse Off Than We Know: 

SHOCKING UNDERCOVER VIDEO: ‘Joe Biden is Dead;’ National Security Council Advisor Inside the White House Details Biden "Can't Say a Sentence."

Henry Appel, a former spy who currently works at the Intelligence Programs Directorate for the NSC, reveals: 'We’re concerned about… pic.twitter.com/jLjifP0jm1

— James O'Keefe (@JamesOKeefeIII) December 16, 2024

Ace, "It's Just a Circus of Lies:" Democrat Megadonors Want the "Obama People" Out of the Party, Claiming They Caused the Historic Loss and Are Just "Grifters". "This is a wonderful story. I don't know how true it is or how widespread these sentiments are, though." John Sexton at Hat Hair hears the Atlantic: Democrats Went Too Far Left on Immigration. From the Pop Times the Mother of Suicide Victim Slams Biden for Commuting the Sentence of Corrupt Judge Who Convicted Her Son in “Kids for Cash” Scheme.

Ben Whedon at JTN reports that, as expected, Judge rejects Trump bid to toss conviction in Bragg case over SCOTUS immunity ruling. "Judge Juan Merchan ruled on Monday that the Bragg case related “entirely to unofficial conduct entitled to no immunity protections."

It’s interesting to see how many people in media are waking up to all the lies we’ve been told. Here’s Stephen A. Smith on January 6th revelations: pic.twitter.com/hIk6nmCW3t

— Clay Travis (@ClayTravis) December 15, 2024

Libs of TikTok@libsoftiktokm "Madison, WI police chief says he doesn’t know if the shooter was transgender and then uses he, she, and they pronouns to describe the shooter. Very odd and bizarre..." pagliacci the hated @Slatzism "I have made contact with the alleged boyfriend of the Wisconsin shooter. He has very graciously provided me the full manifesto, which I verified by having him screen record himself opening it from a direct link the shooter sent to him via WhatsApp. . . ." Althouse, "In the manifesto, called 'War Against Humanity,' the author writes that they have 'grown to hate people, and society' and calls their parents 'scum.'" ""The author also writes that they acquired weapons 'by lies and manipulation, and my father's stupidity' and describes wanting to die by suicide, but feeling like carrying out a shooting was 'better for evolution rather than just one stupid boring suicide.'" Writes Newsweek, in "Natalie Rupnow's Reported Manifesto: What We Know" (about the school shooting that took place in my city yesterday).

Newsweek also reports President Joe Biden's hasty response: "We need Congress to act. Now. From Newtown to Uvalde, Parkland to Madison.... Congress must pass commonsense gun safety laws: Universal background checks. A national red flag law. A ban on assault weapons and high-capacity magazines...."

But when he pardoned his son Hunter for violating existing gun laws, Joe Biden attacked the prosecution as unfair and biased. One might have thought he'd refrain from calling for more gun laws when he so recently and conspicuously treated a gun law as not justifying enforcement. And yet didn't we all expect it — expect that next time there's a school shooting, Joe would indignantly cry out for more gun laws? #hypocrisy

Catturd ™@catturd2 "He didn’t say jack shit about gun control, for weeks, after the CEO shooting. See how that works?" Quote Libs of TikTok@libsoftiktok, "Biden just released a statement calling for gun control in response to the shooting today at a school in Madison, Wisconsin." 'Becca Downs at TownHall, We Have Another Democrat Making Excuses for Murder of United HealthCare CEO. Victory Girls note a Socialist Creates “Most Wanted CEO” Deck of Cards After United Healthcare Shooting. Dave Strom at Hat Hair, By The Numbers: Who Supports Political Violence. Scott Rasmussen@ScottWRasmussen "On a related question, 13% said it is sometimes justifiable to murder someone like United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson as a means to bring about important societal change. The @NapolitanNews survey found that 71% disagree and say such murder is never justifiable. Reply Scott Rasmussen@ScottWRasmussen "Younger voters (34%), Progressive Democrats (29%), people who talk politics every day (24%), and those with a postgraduate degree (21%) were more likely than others to say that such murder is sometimes justifiable."

The Washington Reporter has an Op-Ed: Houston Keene: The federal bureaucracy is appointed, not anointed, "Our society has become far too polarized. Unfortunately, that polarization has spread to what is supposed to be a nonpartisan stable of civil servants working for the American people."

Dave Strom looks at Bluesky's Death Threat Problem.