Flotsam and Jetsam - Cleaning Up from July 4

Actually, as usual, the people who shot off the fireworks on the beach did a very good job of cleaning up after themselves.

At Hat Hair Salena Zito details A Very Consequential Two Weeks for Donald Trump's Presidency. From LifeZette, Mount Rushmore Could Get Trump Upgrade Under GOP Push. "Rep. Andy Ogles (R-TN) has formally requested that President Donald Trump be added to Mount Rushmore, reigniting a long-discussed idea just ahead of Independence Day." Nah, Give him his own mountain. I suggest El Capitan in Yosemite. NYPo reports Melania does President Trump’s signature dance as first couple celebrates Fourth of July at White House. I hope she's having more fun this time around.

Herr Professor Jacobson at LI relays the news Elon Musk Says Will Launch The “America Party” In Third-Party Attempt To Punish Republicans. "Considering how much Democrats hate Musk and want to bring him down – and they absolutely will if they regain power – Elon shouldn’t wish to hard for something, his third party ploy may just get it for him." Sundance at CTH, Elon Musk Announces The Creation of a Third Party. I understand his frustration, but I also understand that politicians will be politicians; he doesn't seem to. The last time a third part succeeded in the US was when the Republicans took over from the wreckage of the Whig party, before the Civil war. Democrats have been pissed Republican freed their slaves ever since then. Jerry Dunleavy at JTN reports Trump threatens Musk’s government contracts — and SpaceX founder’s China ties may get new scrutiny. At Mediaite, Elon Musk Blasts ‘Fat, Drunken Slob’ Steve Bannon: ‘Will Go Back To Prison and This Time for a Long Time’.

At LifeZette, Byron Donalds Details How Businessman Trump Closed the ‘Big, Beautiful’ Deal. "If he has to use the stick, he’ll use it. If he has to use carrots, he’ll do that too. He’s about accomplishing the mission—period, point blank." From Da Caller, Media Said The Big Beautiful Bill Was Dead. Trump Proved Them Wrong. They almost had me convinced. Well, drama sells clicks. PJM's Matt Margolis hears House Dems Secretly Raged as Jeffries’ Marathon Speech Backfired Spectacularly.

The Peacock reports Trump says tariff letters to 12 countries signed, going out Monday. "U.S. President Donald Trump said he had signed letters to 12 countries outlining the various tariff levels they would face on goods they export to the United States, with the “take it or leave it” offers to be sent out on Monday." At NYPo, Trump begins rolling out ‘reciprocal’ tariffs of up to 70% on nations without deals: ‘We’re giving them a bargain.’ At Da Wire, Trump Set To Send A Dozen ‘Take It Or Leave It’ Trade Deal Offers. NewsMax, EU Diplomat: US Has Threatened Potential 17 Percent Tariff on EU Food Exports. From WokeSpy, Fed Reserve Chair Jerome Powell Accused of Lying to Congress Over $2.5B “Palace of Versailles” HQ Revamp. Send them to Fargo, ND.

From NewsMax, Trump Says Ukraine Needs Patriot Missiles for Its Defense, Chides Putin. Steve Richards at JTN, Trump reshapes Middle East by boxing in Iran, facilitating peace between Israel and neighbors. "In five short months, the president has made tremendous progress towards his early second term promises on the Middle East." At OTP, ‘Trumpugees’ Look To The Netherlands To Escape Trump. Great!

LifeZette reports Trump Signals Plan to Reclaim D.C. After Congressional Staffer Killed. Good luck with that.

At OTP, Noem Grilled Over Delayed Flood Warning System In Texas Tragedy. My dear departed Uncle John had a job with the weather service that largely consisted of estimating the probability of the maximum amount of rain that could fall in areas. It's a tough job, since weather is a chaotic system. 

'Becca Downs at TownHall notices The Fact-Checkers Once Again Race to Defend Mamdani and Scott Jennings Offers a Telling Reminder on Democrats' 'Big Tent' Amidst Concerns With Mamdani From NYPo, Why Trump’s ‘Mamdani the Commie’ tag will stick — despite the media’s cover operation. Because they're true. Nick Arama at RedState, Scott Jennings Skewers the Democrats for Exactly Why They Are Hemorrhaging Voters. Scott Jennings @ScottJenningsKY, "Democrats are having a hard time coming to grips with the fact that Republicans are taking all of their voters. The Democratic tent is so diverse that in one corner they have the socialists and in the other corner they have the communists! It's really wide - lol." Eyal Yakoby @EYakoby "This didn’t get enough attention." From Da Caller, NYPD Retirements Reportedly Hit Historic High — And Union Says Zohran Mamdani Could Make It Worse.

'Becca Downs says Yikes! Did You See How Biden Celebrated the 4th of July Holiday Weekend in Malibu?, "struggling to set up beach chairs." Da Fetched cites a DNC Insider: Jill Biden Committed ‘Elder Abuse’ to Keep Joe in Office. “They deny the cover-up, but I had a front-row seat watching it happen.” Nick Arama reads a New Book that Reveals Who Hunter Wanted to Pay His Legal Bills and His 'Inappropriate' Appearance in Meetings. NYPo, Hunter Biden begged DNC to pay his legal fees for tax, gun cases. From Althouse, "This Fourth of July, I am taking a moment to reflect. Things are hard right now. They are probably going to get worse before they get better." ""But I love our country — and when you love something, you fight for it. Together, we will continue to fight for the ideals of our nation." Tweeted Kamala Harris, quoted in "Critics slam Kamala Harris for gloomy July 4 post — with photo that crops out Biden" (NY Post). That reads as though somebody forced her. Come on, you have to write something for the 4th of July. Speaking of Biden and The New York Post, there's also "Biden struggles to set up beach chair in Malibu during first Fourth of July weekend since leaving office." Malibu! Whatever happened to Delaware? Oh, I see Malibu is Hunter's home. As for the struggling with the chair, he has Stage 4 cancer, and he is no longer attempting to serve as President." Hunter has a place in Malibu, but needs the DNC to pay his legal bills, so he can stay in Malibu. OutKick reminds us of a Shocker: Less Than 40 Percent Of Democrats Are Proud To Be American.

Stacy McCain notices Chicago Celebrates 4th of July With Patriotism and Deadly Gunfire "But, yeah, mainly it was the gunfire . . ."

Carlo Carrasco, USAID formally shut down and incorporated into State Department. Reagan Reese at Da Caller, State Department Ends Decades-Long Program Paying Under-Performing Diplomats. 

From Power Line's This Week in Pictures

Kaelen Deese at WaEx reports a Judge temporarily halts South Sudan deportations despite Trump wins at Supreme Court "This marks the third time the removal efforts have been delayed by lower court intervention after the Supreme Court has twice said the removals can take place." PJM's Matt Margolis asks Did You Catch Sotomayor’s Latest Supreme Court Meltdown? "Sotomayor has a clear pattern: when she doesn’t get her way, she doesn’t just dissent—she melts down. Her opinions read more like political rants than legal reasoning, full of dramatic warnings about the supposed collapse of judicial independence. She’s quick to accuse her colleagues of bias, yet never questions her own." At Althouse, "Her opinions, sometimes joined by no other justice, have been the subject of scornful criticism from the right and have raised questions about her relationships with her fellow justices, including the other two members of its liberal wing." "Writes Adam Liptak, in The New York Times, about Ketanji Brown Jackson. . . . I think Liptak is trying to build Jackson's reputation. He writes things like: "Justice Jackson has appeared comfortable expressing herself from the start." He compares her to Justice Breyer and Justice Brandeis. . . That does not work as a compliment to Jackson." Also, "It remains unclear whether South Sudan’s government in Juba has detained the men, or what their ultimate fate might be." "From "U.S. Turns Eight Migrants Over to South Sudan, Ending Weeks of Legal Limbo/Courts blocked the handover after lawyers raised concerns of torture. Then the Supreme Court intervened to allow the Trump administration’s plan to move forward" (NYT)." From WokeSpy, Michigan AG Dana Nessel Sues President Donald Trump To Keep Illegal Immigrants On Medicaid.

LifeZette, Trump Sends In Marines to Back ICE in Florida as AOC Melts Down Again. From NYPo, Hundreds of accused murderers, thieves and sex offenders, including illegal migrants, nabbed in sweeping federal operation, in New Jersey. At Da Blaze, Trump's crackdown on illegal immigration could greatly impact Democrats' political clout. DOJ, The Department of Justice Creates Section Dedicated to Denaturalization Cases. I agree in principle that egregious offenders by naturalized citizens should lead to denaturalization, the law is so complicated it's hard not be stray over the line now and then.

At Twitchy, Dan Bongino Shreds NY Times Into Confetti Over 'Trump's Politicized FBI Made America Less Safe' Hit Piece. Matt Margolis, Bongino Drops a Truth Bomb Destroying the New York Times. "Backing up his rebuttal with a barrage of statistics, Bongino offered a “small snippet of data points” that he says prove the effectiveness of the FBI’s new direction. Among the highlights, he touted the Bureau’s violent crime initiative, “Summer Heat,” which he notes has the murder rate “trending to be the lowest in U.S. history by a longshot.” He promised that “Summer Heat is coming to a city or town near you soon as we assist your community in removing criminal predators from the streets.”" Catturd ™ @catturd2 "This POS needs to be arrested - @FBI @FBIDDBongino @FBIDirectorKash" Quote, The Patriot Oasis™ @ThePatriotOasis, "BREAKING: Far-Left extremist calls to "Un-Alive" Supreme Court Justise Clarence Thomas and President Donald Trump Hey @FBI we need you on this one."

Dave Strom at Hat Hair takes a look at a New Batch of Kennedy Assassination Docs which Begin Peeling the Onion of CIA Lies "After six decades of life, I have become a terrible cynic, but I still don't believe the CIA actively conspired to kill the president. Still, I am perfectly willing to believe that they conspired to cover up their gross or even criminal negligence in allowing it to happen. I've never believed that Johnson had Kennedy killed--no, I am not CERTAIN he didn't, but it strikes me as vanishingly unlikely--and a CIA conspiracy to kill the president seems way too risky for all involved. Too many potential leaks to risk it, even if they wanted to."

Nick Dixon @NJDixon "I see the left have arrived at the quoting Mussolini on breakfast TV stage." Quote BBC Breakfast @BBCBreakfast "You can break one stick, but if you get a bundle of sticks tied together you can't break them' Actor Steve Coogan told #BBCBreakfast why he believes the co-operative movement still has a significant role to play in society." To be fair, the fasces was featured on American dimes right up until the end of WWII.

Insty wonders DOES WEST VIRGINIA UNIVERSITY THINK IT’S HARVARD? "University shakes down Jewish student for handing out pro-Israel book." Tom Knighton at BA thinks Maine College Professors Attacks Christian Student's 2A Beliefs With Asinine Argument. What would Jesus carry? Libs of TikTok, EXCLUSIVE: WA School District ADMITS to Ignoring Christmas While Promoting Pride. At Da Caller, ‘Trans’ Inmate Back In Male Prison Years After Allegedly Raping Female Cellmate, in Washington, or as I like to call it, Ultima California.

Hunter Ash @ArtemisConsort "A great explanation for white wokeness I heard: upper-middle-class whites desperately want to express sneering, classist contempt, and lower-class whites are the only socially acceptable target."

The Wombat has FMJRA 2.0: Wait Until Next Year up and garnering clicks at The Other McCain.