Flotsam and Jetsam - Is Hegseth Gaining Ground? Wray Planning Resignation

Paul Bedard at WaEx reports Republicans want Hegseth at the Pentagon — 68% support, I'm surprised, it's so low, but then I remember my initial reaction to Trump picking Hegseth. Really? Bill Whittle, We need a HERO: Pete Hegseth vs. The Deep State. From Da Fetched, Democrat Mega-Donor on Pete Hegseth: “I Actually Think He’s Been a Pretty Good Guy”, Lindy Li. Rep. Biggs to Newsmax: Hegseth Close to Having Confirmation Votes. From Fox, 'Political price to pay': Trump orbit expected to ramp up Ernst criticisms while she withholds Hegseth support. Ben Whedon at JTN, Ernst signals openness to Hegseth after 'encouraging conversations'. Benny Johnson@bennyjohnson, "BREAKING: Senator Joni Ernst announces her SUPPORT For Pete Hegseth as Secretary of Defense. Ernst says she believes Pete Hegseth and not “anonymous sources” WE WON:" Color me skeptical, until the vote takes place.

At NYPo, Sen. Grassley expresses ‘no confidence’ in FBI Director Wray as Republicans cheer Trump nominee Kash Patel. Fox, Grassley rips Wray's 'failed' leadership at FBI with 11 pages of examples in blistering 'no confidence' letter, "'Time for you and your deputy to move on to the next chapter in your lives,' Grassley wrote to FBI Director Wray." WaT reports FBI Director Christopher Wray preparing to resign, by the inauguration. From OTP,  Meet The Senators, "Kash Patel Takes His Turn On Capitol Hill In Meeting Lawmakers Key To His Confirmation."  Reason's Jacob Sullum whines Kash Patel's Threats Against Journalists Make Him an Alarming Choice To Run the FBI ""We're gonna come after the people in the media," the Trump stalwart warns. "Whether it's criminally or civilly, we'll figure that out."" Nicholas Ballasy at JTN, Gabbard heads to Capitol Hill for meetings about her nomination as director of national intelligence, "Gabbard's past support for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has been thrust into the spotlight ahead of the meetings after his regime collapsed over the weekend." The Peacock whines Trump says RFK Jr. will investigate the discredited link between vaccines and autism: ‘Somebody has to find out’ "Researchers attribute a rise in autism diagnoses to increased screening and changing definitions of the condition. Hundreds of studies have found childhood vaccines to be safe." Fine, but I don't trust RFK Jr to do it fairly. From WokeSpy, Megyn Kelly sees the Deep State Planning to Derail Trump’s 2nd Term by Targeting Cabinet Picks. Not a tough prediction. But OTP hears Sen. Tom Cotton: GOP Senate Will Confirm All Trump’s Nominees. But they already got Gaetz. 

Lara and Donald Trump

From NewsMax, Lara Trump Steps Down From RNC Amid Senate Speculation, Rubio's Florida seat. Susie Moore at RedState says With Harmeet Dhillon, Trump Adds Another Stellar Pick to His Administration, Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights at the U.S. Department of Justice. Insty calls it ANOTHER GREAT TRUMP APPOINTMENT. "She and I did a free-speech panel together at Stanford Law several years ago and I was quite impressed." At Mediaite, Trump Reportedly Mulling Border Hawk Kari Lake as Ambassador to Mexico, that's gonna sting. At LifeZette, Trump’s Incoming WH Press Secretary Floats Alternative Media In The Briefing Room, oh no, not bloggers and podcasters!

Stephen Kruiser at PJM fears We All Might Run Out of Popcorn on Inauguration Day. At NYPo Michael Goodwin thinks Donald Trump is poised to have a successful 2nd term as Commander-in-Chief. NewsMax predicts Trump's First Battles for Second Term: Petty Agendas. Insty, at his substack, The Clock Strikes Thirteen, "And the Establishment gets washed away by a preference cascade. But it was a damn close-run thing." Paul Bedard is pleased, Trump can fire anybody he wants, thanks to Sean Spicer "Thanks in part to a court fight former Trump White House spokesman Sean Spicer lost over his firing by Biden from a three-year term to the Board of Visitors to the United States Naval Academy, the incoming president will have the legal backing to dump any of Biden’s over 4,000 appointments who try to stick around. And the best part, Spicer told Secrets, “They’ll have no one to blame but Biden himself.” . . . Spicer said that is exactly what he hoped the courts would do because he wanted to help a future Trump presidency fire Biden’s picks without having its hands tied."

Libs of TikTok@libsoftiktok "NBC is “fact checking” Trump’s interview this morning and they’re repeating the lies that crime is down. Trump is right. Crime is not down. Some major cities just stopped reporting it and the FBI recently quietly updated their crime statistics which was missing thousands of crimes. CRIME IS UP." Yitz Friedman@friedman_yitz, "2/ First, what the hell is this? Welker condescends to Trump, appearing to be trying to convince him to raise the minimum wage rather than asking him a question. Totally inappropriate. Trump proceeds to educate her on basic economics." Dave Strom at Hat Hair, Is It Any Wonder That No Sane Person Takes Fact Checks Seriously? Insty, WATCHING HER FACIAL EXPRESSIONS WITH THE SOUND OFF IS REVEALING. Driscoll at Insty, MSNBC HAS REVEALED A SINISTER NEW DIMENSION TO PROGRESSIVE MEDIA BIAS: And then there is MSNBC’s Joy Reid. On Tuesday, the TV host criticised Trump for “spending his time sitting in his golden palace, Mar-a-Lago, muscling other countries like he’s Tony Soprano with a social media site”. But one of the examples she gave was highly revealing. She cited his demand that Hamas – memo to the MSNBC faithful, that’s not a country – “release all hostages being held in Gaza before his inauguration, or there will be, quote, ‘all hell to pay in the Middle East’”. That damned Don Soprano, making demands on Hamas! Who does he think he is?" Too bad I can't vote for him again!

Ace wakes up and notices The Bulwark: Now That Hispanics Are Not Voting for the Democrat Party, the True Conservative (TM) Position Is To Deport Their Unapprovedly-Diverse Asses. Ian Jaeger @IanJaeger29, "BREAKING: President Trump to propose a plan to implement paper ballots, one day voting, voter ID, and proof of citizenship for all elections during his next administration." Matt Plumbo at Bongino notes Bellwether Counties Side With Election Winner Once Again in 2024, another reason to suspect hanky-panky in the 2020 election.

At TownHall, Matt Vespa sees a Progressive Host Nails Why Hunter Biden Got a Lengthy Blanket Pardon, Ana Kasparian. At Althouse, What are the downsides of granting blanket pardons of the sort Biden is considering? "Isaac Chotiner asks lawprof Rachel Barkow, in "Are Blanket Pardons for Officials on Donald Trump’s Target List a Good Idea?/As the Biden Administration considers granting clemency to officials singled out by Trump, a legal scholar explains the advantages and pitfalls of extending such protections" (The New Yorker)." At Am Great, the Great Victor Davis Hanson on Biden’s Paranoid Pardons and Leftist Morality, "This unprecedented pardon is not aberrant. It is characteristic of the left’s recent contempt for the rule of law." 'Bonchie' at RedState hears Liz Cheney Threatens Donald Trump's DOJ With 'Sanctions' If They Investigate Her. Twitchy, Liz Cheney Has a Warning for Any Lawyer Who Would Investigate the J6 Committee. Catturd ™@catturd2, "She’s terrified." Quote Ian Jaeger@IanJaeger29, "BREAKING: Liz Cheney says that any lawyer who investigates members of the January 6th committee, will find themselves engaged in sanctionable conduct."

At Twitchy, Now It Can Be Told! Joe Biden’s Totally REAL Not Made Up Priorities for His Last 42 Days in Office, handing out shit-tons of money to supporters. Breitbart, Biden Claims Credit for Toppling Assad and Zachary Levi Defends Endorsing Trump to Bill Maher: America Under Trump Was ‘Significantly Better’ Than Biden’s Four Years. RCP cites Halperin: Biggest Scandal Is Media Covering Up Biden's Decline, "All You Needed Was A C-SPAN Subscription". End Wokeness @EndWokeness notices "Jill and Joe Biden are refusing to even look at Kamala Harris tonight."

Nate Silver@NateSilver538 "Idk, maybe Democrats should try to win elections instead of cater to neurotic privileged weirdos." Quote Anthony LaMesa@ajlamesa, ""Democrats began their meeting on Thursday with a "land acknowledgement," a symbolic gesture that grants that the land a person is standing on previously belonged to Native Americans..." x.com/ajlamesa/statu…" John Kass thinks To Move Forward, Democrats Must Oust Obama. At Hat Hair, John Sexton hears Matt Yglesias: Conservatives are Right About Identity Politics, subtraction by division. Fox, Black Harris staffers say they were mistreated on the campaign, blame leadership for taking base for granted "The allegations only came to light now because staffers were reportedly advised against speaking out  ." My guess is that staffers are treated shittily across the board by both parties when they lose.  Steve Guest @SteveGuest, "WATCH: Following Kamala Harris’ loss, Biden Climate Czar John Podesta apologizes to the "climate regime" for the "disappointment that the United States has at times caused.""

The Redoubtable Julie Kelly My Latest for Real Clear Investigations, "How DC judges are brazenly denying any relief for J6ers even as President Trump continues to promise pardons are in the making on Day One,  at RCI, Nearly 4 Years Later, No Letup in Jan. 6 Prosecutions, Possible Pardons or Not. One of  The Chicago Boyz has Thoughts on J6 Pardons and Investigations "The pardon decision must reflect zero tolerance of violence other than justifiable self-defense. The pardon announcement must call attention to prosecutorial abuse, excessively lengthy pretrial detention, and pretrial prison conditions." Oilfield Rando@Oilfield_Rando, "Hey remember that time when a bunch of parents got put on an FBI terror watch list for yelling at school board meetings about teachers showing their kids gay p0rn?" Quote Breaking911@Breaking911, "Hawk Newsome, founder of BLM of Greater New York, reacts to Penny verdict by advocating for retaliation against white people: "We need some black vigilantes. People wanna jump up and choke us and kill us for being loud? How about we do the same?"

Which brings to one of two big news items from yesterday, the acquittal of Daniel Penny in New York for anything the death of Jordan Neely. Twitchy, WATCH: After Daniel Penny Verdict, NY Cops Are ARRESTING Black Lives Matter Agitators (About Time!). OTP wants you to WATCH: BLM Leader Calls For Choking, Killing White People After Penny’s Acquittal. Libs of TikTok@libsoftiktok, "Rolling Stone describes Jordan Neely as a “Michael Jackson impersonator” He had 42 prior arrests including for assault, and was a violent drug addict who threatened people on the subway. The media is evil." Stephen Kruiser at PJM wonders Are We Ready for Some BLM 'Winter of Love' Mostly Peaceful Stuff?

The other major event was an arrest in the brazen assassination of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson in the streets New York. The arrestee is a young, Ivy-educated, scion of a wealthy Maryland family. He was arrested with what was apparently the murder weapon still in his possession, with the fake ID he used in New York and a manifesto. He was spotted by sharp eyed employee at a McDonalds in Altoona, PA. Balmer Sun, Man arrested in connection to health care CEO’s killing was Maryland native, Gilman graduate. "Luigi Nicholas Mangione, 26, was eating at a McDonald’s in Altoona, Pennsylvania Monday morning when an employee recognized him — police had widely circulated surveillance footage of an alleged shooter — and called local police, authorities in New York told reporters at a news conference." Driscoll at Insty, DEVELOPING: Pennsylvania Police Question Man Found With ‘Similar’ Weapon As Was Used in Insurance CEO Assassination. "UPDATE: “The handwritten manifesto found on the person of the man detained in Altoona criticized health care companies for putting profits above care, according to a senior law enforcement official,” Andy Newman of the New York Times writes." Ace, in red italics, "Person of Interest" In Health Care CEO Assassination Caught in Altoona, PA, Identified as Luigi Mangione, "Former Ivy League Student" NYT: He Carried a Manifesto Decrying Health Care Corporations' Greed. At Hat Hair, Dave Strom calls out Hatred Born Out of Delusion. Melissa Chen@MsMelChen, "The public glee evident towards the United Health CEO death feels a tad “French Revolution” The top reaction to the official post from the company was the laugh emoji." But one good thing may have come out of it, from Semafor, Taylor Lorenz and Vox are parting ways.

Jonathon Turely, Jake Tapper and CNN Lose Major Motions in Defamation Case by Navy Veteran. Read it and you'll find it hard to ignore the actual malice.

Annette Bening

Driscoll hears ANNETTE BENING SAYS THE QUIET PART OUT LOUD ABOUT HAVING A “TRANS CHILD:” "Let’s look at that confession from Annette again: “To have a transgender child has made ME so much more interesting.”" Kevin Downey at PJM, The Marxism in Front of You That You Can't Unsee, Volume I: Trans Insanity. From the College Fix, Trans professor: House reps didn’t ‘offer any evidence’ trans colleague is really a man. Insty responds SO I’M PUTTING THIS PROF DOWN AS PRO-PANTSING, I GUESS: "Also, why do they always look like that?" Because it's hard to disguise a man as a woman. Stephen Kruiser has An Open Letter to Everyone Who Will Have Their Rights Taken Away on Jan. 20, 2025 "The concern makes sense. When Trump is officially president again, I can see him setting aside things like fixing the economy, avoiding World War III, and making the country safe from violent illegal alien criminals to focus on being mean to someone who can't even spell "Zoey" properly."

Dave Bernstein at Insty, I HOPE DADDY CAN AFFORD GOOD LAWYERS: Because these Sarah Lawrence students have just admitted to the serious felony of material support for terrorism. And given the Supreme Court’s holding in Holder v. Humanitarian Law Project, the First Amendment is unlikely to protect them. Da Wire, College Tells International Students To Return Before Trump Takes Office, Offers To Shelter Illegals, "Claremont McKenna College told students in the country illegally they could meet with 'an immigration lawyer for a free initial consultation'."

The Wombat has Ruke 5 Sunday: Little Mischief Baker (sic) and FMJRA 2.0: The Draft Plays On up and garnering clicks at The Other McCain.