Flotsam and Jetsam - US Ukraine Ink Mineral Deal

The Peacock warns Ukraine says it hopes to sign U.S. minerals deal within 24 hours "Ukraine’s economy minister headed to Washington on Wednesday to help finalize the deal, according to two senior Ukrainian officials." Than, at NRO, U.S., Ukraine Sign Minerals Deal in Major Breakthrough for Peace Talks. NewsMax, US, Ukraine Sign Minerals Deal, Tying Trump to Kyiv. Sundance at CTH is pretty cynical about it, Treasury Announces Joint U.S-Ukraine Reconstruction Investment Fund (Minerals Deal) to Repay USA for Spending in Ukraine War "Will U.S. taxpayers ever see a dime repaid? Probably not, because the proceeds will likely end up in the pockets of the professional political class; however, the concept is a good idea in principle. It is more than likely Zelenskyy has sold his “minerals” to several countries in his perpetual tin cup tour. The ‘investment fund’ aspect is just another way to transfer proceeds into the bank accounts of U.S. Senators." VodkaPundit at PJM, Europe Just Proved Trump Right About NATO. "In a shocking-not-shocking exclusive report in The (UK) Times, Europe "would struggle to put 25,000 troops on the ground in Ukraine" as part of a postwar peacekeeping force." Hat Hair's Beege Welborn notes Rubio Took the Reins Down in Africa and Got Truce Talks Humming. Pete Van Buren at Am Con thinks the State Department Budget Cuts Don’t Go Far Enough. "The secretary has made a good start, but more fundamental changes are still necessary."

The Peacock whines Temu adds ‘import charges’ of about 145% after Trump tariffs, more than doubling price of many items, so cheap Chinese junk isn't quite as cheap. Beege Welborn at Hat Hair VIP, Are US Ports Now Ghost Towns or Should We Blame Slow Boats From China? Ace, America's Hat decides to make its election about Trump because even Canadian Boomers are addicted to American news fear pron.  Matt Margolis at PJM, With Election Over, Canada Seeks Trade Deal Day With Trump. "President Donald Trump confirmed on Wednesday that newly elected Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney reached out to him personally just one day after winning the country’s recent election, which proves that Canada is already eager to re-engage on trade." From No Pasaran! Remembering Reagan's Zero Option: How Trump's "Tariff War" Resembles the Last Battle of the Cold War. "Ronald Reagan, of course, was another heinous and brainless Republican duly detested across the globe not to mention another fascist or (neo-)Nazi who was willing to start the Third World War in addition to being the latest Adolf Hitler." The Great Victor Davis Hanson at Am Great alliterates Trump, Tariffs, Trade—and a Taboo? "Trump’s trade strategy aims to slash the U.S. deficit by forcing fairer deals with key partners—pushing reciprocity, not profiteering, to regain economic balance." Sundance crows Senate Effort to Block President Trump Tariff Authority Fails Despite Three Republicans In Support.

At Ace, Mostly because of a huge jump in imports. I mean...huge. -5% GDP change just because of the imports. In anticipation of tariffs. "The decline was driven by a large surge in imports, which are a subtraction in the calculation of GDP. Imports surged at an annualized rate of 41.3% in the first quarter as companies front-loaded orders ahead of anticipated tariffs from the Trump administration. The surge in imports was good for a -5% contribution to the GDP calculation in the first quarter." Sundance called it Awesome News – GDP Growth at -0.3% in First Quarter, Despite Massive Import Purchase Increase of 41.3% to Avoid Tariffs. NewsMax reports Trump Blames Biden for Wobbly Stock Market. W. Joseph Campbell @wjosephcampbell "Didn’t turn out quite so bad: Remember last week, when @WSJ, @CNN, @MSNBC, other mainstream #media outlets declared the Dow was headed for its worst April since the Great Depression? It ended the month down 3 percent, but *not* close at all to “worst April” since the Depression. In fact, the Dow was up seven successive trading days to close the month – its longest win streak of the year to date "Dow Heads for Worst April Since 1932" At Town hall Cutie Pavlich hears Trump Urge Patience As Congress Works on His Agenda and Kurt Schlichter warns Don’t Believe the Anti-Trump Propaganda. Beege Welborn documents Trump Outrage Du Jour: Requiring That Truck Drivers Habla Inglés. "I was all set to get worked up over this one, but I think I'll wait until some uber Lefty judge hears about it, steps up, and shuts it down." Althouse finds "Having escaped prison and death, President Trump has returned to power seeking vindication and vengeance — and done more in his first 100 days to change the trajectory of the country than any president since Franklin D. Roosevelt." "That's the subheadline at the NYT article "After the Arrests and Bullets, Trump Takes on Second Term With a New Fervor" by Peter Baker in the NYT. Free-access link (because it's the last-day of the month and I over-hoarded by 10 free links and must use them or lose them)."

Randy Barnett@RandyEBarnett "What do you call half the lawyers resigning from the Civil Rights Division of the DOJ? A start." Quote Raylan Givens @JewishWarrior13, "The Washington Post reported that about half of the lawyers in the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division resigned after the new head of the division, Harmeet Dhillon ordered her team to focus on combating anti-Semitism, transgender women's participation in women's sports,Show more" David Bernstein @ProfDBernstein, "The Obama administration literally had an (unannounced) policy that it would not take cases in which the victims of civil rights laws violations were white. It stacked DOJ's CRD with lawyers who were on board with this. Good riddance." At Twitchy, Cry Us a River: Julie Kelly DESTROYS Fired J6 Prosecutor for Her Fake Crocodile Tears. 

Toxic femininity was rejected at the ballot box. Even, or perhaps especially the MAHA and MAGA moms have had enough of this fake crying act by wicked deceivers who destroy lives. https://t.co/BSonjzMvFy

— Cernovich (@Cernovich) May 1, 2025

Oilfield Rando @Oilfield_Rando "I voted for this." Quote Breaking911@Breaking911, "NEW: FBI agents photographed kneeling during George Floyd protest have been removed from their positions - CNN/"

At Althouse, "'You could get him back, there’s a phone on this desk,' said Terry Moran, an ABC News correspondent.... 'I could,' Mr. Trump replied." At Da Wire, Here’s How Activist Judges Fought Trump’s Agenda In The First 100 Days, "100 Days Of Trump: Judges are blocking deportations and keeping men in women's prisons." A Larry video at Hat Hair, How Judges Are Sabotaging Trump’s Second Term w/ Josh Hammer. From Fox, Blue state judge attempts to stop Border Patrol from arresting suspected illegal immigrants without warrant, "Border Patrol argues it changed its procedures, making ruling irrelevant." LifeZette thinks MS-13 Backing Dems Manage to Look Even Worse After Trip Details Emerge. TNP hears Kristi Noem Vows Immediate Deportation if Kilmar Abrego Garcia Returns to U.S. Leah Barkoukis at TownHall hears DHS Smack Down This 'False Narrative' From the Media, Dems, and Influencers. From Da Blaze, Trump admin saves migrant sisters from sex slavery in crackdown on Biden's lost kids crisis: Report. Tyler O'Neil at Da Signal, Republican Slams Dem’s ‘Disgustingly Ignorant’ Holocaust Comparison in Battle Over Immigration Bill. Matt Margolis likes how Jesse Watters Humiliates Jessica Tarlov in Heated Debate Over MS-13 Gangmember “Use your brain, Jessica,” The Babylon Bee, Media Says No Evidence Demon-Horned Man With Sith Tattoos And Red Lightsaber A Member Of The Sith.

Bonchie at RedState sees The Kamala Harris Comeback Tour Hilariously Begins. At Althouse, "Kamala Harris will reemerge in California on Wednesday night for her first major speech since her departure from the White House.... Capt. Ed hears Tim Walz: Kamala Picked Me for Being Pretty Fly for a White Guy. Brad Stager at RedState reports Dems in Disarray: Meet the Sketchy, Beagle-Abusing Politician Looking to Impeach President Trump.

Collin Rugg @CollinRugg, "NEW: Former CNN reporter Chris Cillizza says journalists were *not* covering up Biden's mental decline but were rather just too trusting of the Biden White House. "I think it was an inherent and sort of unconscious bias more than a conscious bias." The clowns in the media never cared about reporting on Biden's obvious mental decline until they realized there was no way he would beat Trump. That's the truth. And now they're trying to save face." Alex Berenson at substack, notes The New York Times "investigates" the DC jet crash - and buries the truth it finds. "The Times managed to blame everything for the crash. Except that the (female) pilot of the military helicopter that hit the plane was warned to change course. She didn't. And almost 70 people died." From NotThe Bee, The New York Times just ran a 1,400-word story to explain what cross necklaces are.

Crémieux @cremieuxrecueil, "I'm happy to announce one of the biggest policy victories of this administration. It's been weeks in the making, but it's finally here: ACADEMIC PUBLISHERS CANNOT PAYWALL NIH-FUNDED RESEARCH ANY LONGER." Quote, NIH@NIH, "NIH Director Dr. Jay Bhattacharya has announced that the NIH Public Access Policy, originally slated to go into effect on 12/31/25 will now be effective 7/1/25. Read more in his statement: https://bit.ly/4jTQI4O"

Chris Rufo, “We Can’t Hire a White Guy”—a Professor on Life at Princeton. "President Christopher Eisgruber has created a system of widespread racial discrimination." John Sexton at Hat Hair sees Harvard Finally Releases Report on Antisemitism on Campus and Columbia Activist Mohsen Mahdawi Released on Bail. JJ Sefton at Ace's DEI in a fire (or as history shows, a crematorium), "Report: Thanks To DEI, Most Medical Schools Now Teach Doctors To Damage Patients." Greg Lukianoff, Cancel Culture vs. McCarthyism: the data is in. "Cancel Culture is happening on a historic scale, Part 5." From Da Wire, IBM Rolls Back DEI, Commits To Political Neutrality, "When external pressure meets authentic shareholder engagement — progress happens." John Sexton sees DEI is Being Written Out of Corporate Filings.

Duane Patterson at Hat Hair, Oklahoma, Where The Court Comes Sweepin' Down The Plains "The Supreme Court held oral arguments this morning in a case that all people concerned with religious liberty and school choice care very deeply about. It's called Oklahoma Charter School Board V. Drummond, and could be the final nail in the coffin of public officials desperate to keep religious discrimination alive and well."

The Wombat has FMJRA 2.0: Out of the Cellar (Again) up at The Other McCain.